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DETROIT \u2013 The Pirates were reigning World Series champions when Don Kelly was born. The 46-year-old manager hasn\u2019t been alive to see his hometown team win a playoff series \u2013 that\u2019s how long it\u2019s been.<\/p>\n
Since the days of Jim Leyland, a mentor of Kelly who led Pittsburgh to three straight division titles from 1990-92, only one other manager had even guided the Pirates to a winning season. Like Leyland, Clint Hurdle led the Pirates to three straight playoff appearances from 2013-15. Again under Hurdle, the Pirates went 82-79 in 2018, the last time they finished above .500.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But by winning Sunday\u2019s season finale in Detroit, Kelly and the Pirates notched a winning season \u2013 their fifth in the last 34 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know the goal was to be in the playoffs, and once that was done, we weren\u2019t just going to give up,\u201d Konnor Griffin explained. \u201cWe knew that we could set the tone going into next spring training with being over .500, so being able to get that done, that was big for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Pirates entered the season with playoff expectations. They made it to September still in the hunt for a potential postseason berth. While the team fell short of its goal, there is a silver lining in finishing with a rare winning season. The Pirates aren\u2019t satisfied with the result, nor should they be. But it could be a first step in trying to establish a winning culture in an organization that has done so little of that for the better part of the last 34 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that culture word is real and I think that we\u2019ve seen it through the resiliency, through the toughness of this team and it\u2019s continued to build as the season has gone on,\u201d said Kelly. \u201cI think the foundation is being laid for that winning culture and consistent winning in Pittsburgh.\u201d<\/p>\n
A common theme for the Pirates this season was resiliency. Kelly often spoke about the way his team had a knack for dealing with adversity and bouncing back from bad stretches or losses. The Pirates adopted a \u201c1-0 today\u201d mindset for the season. <\/p>\n
Injuries were among the reasons the Pirates settled for a winning season despite hoping to make the playoffs. Once they were finally healthy, the team played better. Over the final 30 games of the season, Pittsburgh went 19-11 to ensure they\u2019d finish above .500. The Pirates feel what they showed the final month of the season is a reflection of who they are as a team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a lot of things we had to work through, a lot of adversity missing a lot of key guys throughout and not really having full strength for most of it,\u201d Bryan Reynolds recently said. \u201cI think it was pretty good besides a slide or two we had. We\u2019re at full strength now but just a little too late, just ran out of time. It\u2019s the best year I\u2019ve had here, so definitely something to build on.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the biggest priorities the Pirates have this season will be attempting to re-sign Brandon Lowe, who paced the offense with 35 home runs and 96 RBI. But even if Lowe lands elsewhere, the Pirates feel they have a core they can build around heading into next season. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis definitely feels like a group to build off of. I\u2019m not the GM. I don\u2019t make those decisions in the offseason, but it definitely feels like a group that\u2019s building together moving forward,\u201d Ryan O\u2019Hearn said during the team\u2019s last homestand. \u201cDoesn\u2019t feel like the end. I\u2019ve been on teams where it kind of felt like the end of an era-type thing, but this definitely feels like a team that you want to build forward with.\u201d<\/p>\n
After ending a stretch of seven straight losing seasons, up next for the Pirates will be to snap MLB\u2019s second-longest playoff drought. With how the team finished this season, they feel the pieces are in place to get back to the playoffs next year for the first time since 2015.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing forward, really excited about what that means for the future of Pirates baseball,\u201d said Kelly. <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMentioned in this article:Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a><\/p>\n