The Cleveland Indians, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Arizona Diamondbacks and finally, the Pittsburgh Pirates are all in the playoff hunt midway though the 2011 MLB season.
Just to make sure that last part went through, the Pittsburgh Pirates are a half game out of first place and five games over .500.
This is the first time the Pirates have been in contention since 1992, when they won 96 games and lost in the National League Championships Series. The team hasn’t won more than 79 games in a single season since then.
It has been a rough 19 years for fans of a proud franchise that has won five World Series titles, but this recent success is sprouting some life back into a changing pastime.
All four of the teams listed above are currently in the lower have of the MLB team salaries, and only Milwaukee is higher than No. 25 in the league. The end of the steroid era has lessoned the gap between rich and poor teams.
Now, the difference is still clearly visible. Teams with a higher payroll can stay competitive for longer periods of time, but small market teams are making their presence felt.
Power hitting giants have faded away into memories of court hearings and dominating pitchers are leading teams to titles. And the fans love it.
Many visitors to the Valley during the All-Star break were upset at the boos that rained down from the crowd on certain players from certain teams, but that is part of baseball’s return to its roots.
“Moneyball,” staring Brad Pitt, will be released in September, telling the story of a small market team and its attempt to be successful. But that was one team in 2002, and lately it has been teams across the league.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are competitive again. The team that couldn’t hold onto its star caliber athletes over the last decade now has a roster that believes they can win the title.
So maybe it is just their belief, and maybe it is just the circle of the sports world that brings a team back to the top, but it looks more like they finally have a chance to breathe.
Small market teams aren’t diminished as much as they used to be, and they are taking advantage of it.
An Indians-Pirates World Series would be a pleasant change of pace.
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