Pirates Possible Outcomes

The Pirates current record is 65-76. So what can happen between now and October?

86-76

An epic winning streak over the final 21 games would result in our now best possible record. The teams’ longest winning streak in franchise history was 16 games in 1909 when the Pirates finished the season 110-42 and won the World Series. This was arguably the 4th best team in MLB history if you reference their winning percentages. Our longest streak this season is four games. Wake up from your dream world. Let’s continue.

82-80

This, of course, would break our 18 year long curse. That means we can only afford to lose no more than four more games, win at least 17 of our next 21 games, and have a winning percentage of at least .810. Comparatively, the Phillies have a winning percentage of .650 and are already guaranteed a winning season. We have to play nearly perfect against upcoming teams such as the Marlins, Cardinals, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Reds, and Brewers. That's easier said than done since the Buccos seem to always choke on potential sweeps. If you glance at the past schedule, you can see we had a total of 11 opportunities to sweep, but only capitalized twice all season long.

80-82

This would mark our best record since 1999 when we had Brian Giles and the team went 78-83. The 1997 Pirates actually had a better opportunity of winning as they were 79-83 and only 5 games behind the Astros for first place. That was a sad season for the entire NL Central division.

76-86

Sadly, this would become our best record since moving into PNC Park on March 31, 2001. The Pirates ended their first season in their pretty new stadium at 62-100. Their best record currently stands at 75-87 from the 2003 season.

73-89

This was the prediction I made on August 30th based upon their current performance and their upcoming opponents in the remainder of the season.

65-97

An epic losing streak is, thankfully, improbable. Their longest losing skid this season was that appalling 10 games from July/August. The Pirates’ longest modern era streak is 12 games from 1914 and 1939. The franchise record is 23 games from 1889 when the team was known as the Alleghenies.

57-105

Does this look familiar? If you only hopped on the bandwagon this year when the Pirates started playing well, then this may not ring any bells. This was last season's record. We've already won more games than last season and there are still 21 games left. That's pretty cool, right?