Saturday's SportsNet Pittsburgh broadcast of the Pirates game against Cleveland appeared to deliberately cut out the loud chants of "Sell the team!" by fans in attendance at PNC Park.
It happened in the top of the eighth inning with two outs with runners on first and second as the Guardians led 3-0 (which would be the final score of the game). With the count 1-0 to Guardians batter Kyle Manzardo, runner Steven Kwan stole third base with no throw from the catcher, and the "Sell the team!" chants began to grow as the broadcast was showing a replay of the stolen base.
The chants were pretty loud as Pirates reliever Caleb Ferguson threw his next pitch right down the middle, which Manzardo swung at and missed. Suddenly, however, the sound of the chants appeared to be replaced with a rythmic clapping in support of the home team.
The Pirates are one of several teams having rough starts to their 2025 season as they find themselves in last place in the National League Central. However, they have also been caught in the middle of a few public relations fiascos, including replacing a Roberto Clemente tribute with an advertising sign and the removal of personalized "Bucco Bricks" paid for by fans. To top things off, the Pirates have not made the playoffs since 2015 and have finished near the bottom of the division for the past 8 years. The fan base is clearly getting fed up with owner Robert Nutting and his lack of effort in putting a quality product on the field, and it seems they are getting closer to reaching a breaking point.
In the end, the Guardians
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
