On this day (October 17th) in 1971 AND in 1979, the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Baltimore Orioles in game 7 of two World Series. These victories were their fourth and fifth World Series victories, respectively.

The 1971 World Series tickets were the beginning of my ticket collection. Both the Pirates and Orioles took pride in their design of these tickets. So colorful and so bold. That Oriole swinging the bat is just super. Pittsburgh chose to use a different color (blue, yellow, or pink) for each specific game. Together, these tickets make an awesome display.

The 1979 World Series tickets are a bit more standardized for both teams. The official ‘76th World Series’ logo is a classic late 70s design. The logo of the home team is displayed on each ticket. I like the common size used for these tickets. While I was too young to remember the 71 Series, these games still remain vivid in my memories. We are Family!

A fun piece of Pittsburgh trivia: October 17 is the day that the Pirates won their fourth and fifth World Championships. June 12 is the day the Pengiuns won their third (2009) and fourth (2016) Stanley Cups.

Enjoy my tickets!

This is the SABR write-up for the 1971 WS.

https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/october-17-1971-blass-clemente-lead-pirates-to-victory-in-world-series-game-7/

This is the SABR write-up for the 1979 WS.

https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/october-17-1979-pops-stargell-named-mvp-as-pirates-complete-world-series-comeback/

No matter what happens, the Pirates have won the series against the world champions
We won the series against Tampa Bay 2-1, Cleveland 2-1, and Milwaukee 7-6!

Edit: Typo

As someone who is pro salary cap in the MLB, this postseason has kind of opened my eyes a bit. I'm not sure the Pirates would be contenders even if a salary were to be implemented. The reason why the Rays, Guardians, and Brewers are always good even though they are small market is because they have competent ownership and elite front offices.

The Rays excel at trading players at their peak for elite, young players. This allows them to have a continuous pipeline of talent. The Guardians maximize homegrown talent. They are elite and drafting and developing. The Brewers have a incredibly large and development departments, they are elite in scouting. All three of these small market teams are consistently good even though they are small market because each team excels and is on the cutting edge of something. What are the Pirates good at? What are the Pirates on the cutting edge of?

The Brewers, Rays, and Guardians will be good regardless if there's a salary cap implemented or not. If there is one implemented, and if a salary cap is implemented these teams will only be more successful. The big market teams will continue to spend. It just feels like until the Pirates have competent ownership and and elite front office, then they will always struggle.

Around the League

TB @ CLE Delayed Start

^{Last Updated: 10/16/2026 8:00:10 PM EDT}

Ok now for something positive. Say the pirates won the central,and won both the nlds and nlcs. What would be the reaction if they did it and what would the fox brodcasters say?

Jazz is going into his age 29 season and Lowe into his age 32 season. Interestingly, I think Jazz might be a buy low free agent compared to Lowe and they end up near the same AAV. Jazz will probably get a longer deal, but for the sake of comparison consider it the the same deal.

And even more so, if they win?
Three out of the five teams in the NL Central have made the WS in the past 15 years, with 2 winning and 1 pending.
Aside from the Mariners, we have the longest active WS drought.

The three remaining teams this season are all considered smaller market teams. I’m sick of that being used as an excuse for the utter incompetence of the FO. Things are changing, sure, but not nearly fast enough.

The Brewers, Rays and Guardians are the poster teams for how to run a smaller market franchise. It CAN be done, but Bob refuses to sell as well as won’t/can’t get the right team around him to build a true contender.

Around the League

TB 2 @ CLE 3 - Final

MIL 6 @ LAD 4 - Final

^{Last Updated: 10/15/2026 11:11:45 PM EDT}

Not the best looking card in the collection, but definitely one of my favorites. Topps 1960.

Orlando Merced was my favorite player back when I was a kid watching the Pirates, so I drew him today

On this day in 1960, Maz shocked the world. This day is still celebrated in Pittsburgh. On the University of Pittsburgh campus, the piece of the ivy-covered Forbes Field wall where Bill Mazeroski's shot sailed over Yogi's head still stands. Across the street, the original home plate still resides in its original location in a glass case on the first floor of the Law School building. People still gather every year to listen to a rebroadcast of the game synced Maz's home run at 3:36 pm. How awesome!

After the game, Pirate announcer Bob Prince, gave a historically generic interview in the dugout with Maz. Prince later said that he was setting up to interview the Yankees, heard the crowd go nuts, and switched dugouts without asking how the Pirates won. He said later how embarrassed he felt when his wife told him Maz won the game with a walk-off home run.

Here is the box score for Game 7.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT196010130.shtml

This is still a proud team and a proud fanbase. Please enjoy my cards.

Three historic Pirate games happened in 1971 at Three Rivers Stadium.

Bob Gibson threw the first and only no-hitter of his Major League Baseball career on August 14, 1971 as the Cardinals beat the Pirates 11-0.

The Pirates started the first all-minority lineup on September 1, 1971 as the Pirates beat the Phillies 10-7.

On October 13, 1971, the first night game in World Series history was played between the Baltimore Orioles and the Pirates. Bruce Kison, a 21-year old rookie, pitched 6⅓ scoreless innings of relief to lead the Pirates to a 4-3 victory in game 4. This victory brought the series to a tie at two games apiece.

This is the SABR article about that game.

https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/october-13-1971-kisons-relief-mays-timely-pinch-hit-bring-bucs-into-world-series-tie-with-birds/

I'm amazed that this night game didn't happen years earlier. Today, it is the norm not the exception.

Around the League

MIL 6 @ LAD 2 - Final

^{Last Updated: 10/14/2026 11:16:10 PM EDT}

Everybody has seen the commercials MLB has put on tv about their proposal to the players. And would they accept it or say no?

Around the League

CLE 1 @ TB 3 - Top 9, 0 Outs

^{Last Updated: 10/13/2026 10:47:21 PM EDT}

Around the League

LAD 4 @ MIL 7 - Final

CLE 7 @ TB 3 - Final

^{Last Updated: 10/12/2026 11:07:45 PM EDT}