A New Generation of Pirates Starting to Feel Like Family

If Sister Sledge made no other major impact, at least the group gave the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates their theme song, “We Are Family.” Fans and players alike danced to the beat as the song echoed through Three Rivers Stadium and the Pirates went on to win the World Series.

The theme fit. The Pirates were a tight group. Many of them had played in Pittsburgh together for years, and Willie Stargell, the team’s elder statesman, made sure those that who hadn’t, still felt at home.

That attitude began to diminish in the early 1980s as the older players moved on and the team played worse.

By 1984, no one could remember who Sister Sledge was. And even if the group had continued to play the song, there were few fans to dance to it. The Pirates’ home attendance in 1984 was 773,500 and it dropped to 735,900 last year.

But the old feeling may be back in the Steel City. With the addition of new, young players, the Pirates are close to becoming a family again.

And what’s more, they’re winning. With a 5-2 victory over the Padres Sunday at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, the Pirates evened their record at 10-10.

This is the latest the Pirates have been at .500 since the end of the 1983 season. On May 4, 1985, the Pirates already were mired in last place in the National League Eastern Division at 7-14.

The Pirates finished last year with the worst record in baseball, 57-104, and that was 43 1/2 games behind the St. Lous Cardinals.

“The enthusiasm is back,” said second baseman Johnny Ray, who started playing for the Pirates in 1981 when Stargell and the family were still together.

Both Ray and veteran catcher Tony Pena said a big reason for that is the house cleaning the Pirates did at the end of last season.

First, the Pirates traded veterans John Candelaria, Al Holland and George Hendrick to the California Angels for unproven youngsters Mike Brown, Pat Clements and Bob Kipper on Aug. 2. Bill Madlock was sent to the Dodgers for R.J. Reynolds and Sid Bream, neither of whom had played much.

All now play and contribute to the Pirate effort. Those five, along with Joe Orsulak, 23, who hit .300 last season in 121 games and went 2 for 5 with two RBIs Sunday, makes for a strong young nucleus.

To make matters better, the team was purchased by a group called Pittsburgh Associates and the new ownership replaced 10-year manager Chuck Tanner with Jim Leyland.

“Changes had to be made,” Ray said. “The Pirate organization was going downhill. It was obvious.

“There was a lot of negativism from the players last year. The whole atmosphere is different (this year). We’ve got guys who just want to go out and play and give 110%.

“Players come to the park feeling good. They don’t come knowing they’re going to lose . . . or saying, ‘I don’t feel like playing today.’ I think they’ve built a good base for the future.”

Brown said he had heard stories that nothing but terrible fans, terrible players and a terrible city awaited him in Pittsburgh.

“I found a good group of players,” said Brown, who hit .330 for the final two months of the season. “This team is much closer than the Angel teams I was on. And I think the fans are starting to come around, too.”

So will the Pirates rekindle their theme song of yore?

“I wouldn’t want to say that yet,” Ray said. “That was a different era. We’re just getting there.”