Before Melissa Mele and Kelley George decided to put a non-sports fanatic in charge of Pitt’s Sports Business Association, previous leaders couldn’t seem to keep the club itself in business. “[Mele...

Small-market teams like the Pirates acquire prospects or undervalued players through strong drafts and savvy trades. But sustaining their place at the top isn’t always a home run. A core of young, cheap...

Imagine you’re the commissioner of the MLB. You, in theory, want what’s best for the sport, including increased viewership — especially considering the low ratings in last year’s World Series,...

For what felt like an endless time, it seemed that the Pirates would never find their buried treasure.But after 20 years of losing, Pittsburgh’s local ball club has compiled consecutive winning seasons....

Man, was that a letdown. After the utter joy of the Pirates season, it’s all over after an undeniable failure: an 8-0 drubbing at the hands of the San Francisco Giants in a one-game playoff.  After...

Baseball fans are a stubborn bunch. Some will stick to long-held beliefs forever. Others will embrace new logic and won’t accept anything to the contrary. And almost all of them are uncompromising in...

Do you hear that sound? No, that’s not the screaming fans in a sold-out PNC Park. That’s the cha-ching of a cash register after every clutch hit by Russell Martin.Two years ago, the Pirates signed...

It occurred to me about three weeks ago. I was watching the Pittsburgh Pirates play the Cincinnati Reds in front of a sellout crowd at PNC Park. The fans were loud, passionate and raucous, and, much to...