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Jun 14, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz (15) throws his helmet after making the final out against the Chicago Cubs during the ninth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images David Banks-Imagn Images

Pirates Drop Below .500 for First Time in Century

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Pirates on SI
By Dominic Campbell | Last updated Jul 20, 2025 5:44 PM ET

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates reached a new low after a horrible weekend at PNC Park, their first series back from the All-Star break.

The Pirates suffered a sweep vs. the Chicago White Sox at home, losing 10-1 on July 18, 10-4 on July 19 and 7-2 on July 20, getting outscored 27-7 and having a run differential of -20.

These three losses put them at 10,879-10,880 all-time in franchise history, dropping them below .500 for the first time since Aug. 22, 1903.

Many sites reported that the Pirates fell below .500 following the second loss to the White Sox, but John Dreker found that Baseball-Reference missed a win from the 1884 Pittsburgh Alleghenys, placing them at 30 wins instead of 31 wins, which is shown in the Spalding baseball guide.

I wanted to share this from the official 1885 Spalding baseball guide. It's the head-to-head records from 1884, which shows the Alleghenys(Pirates) with 31 wins and one win vs Baltimore & then Baseball-Reference with 30 wins/zero wins vs Baltimore, plus the missing game boxscore pic.twitter.com/o4eFQ306gY
— John Dreker (@JohnDreker) July 19, 2025

The Pirates ended the debate regardless with their most recent defeat, achieving this humiliating record for the first time in 122 years.

The franchise originally started as the Alleghenys from 1882-1890, with the first five seasons, 1882-86, taking place in the American Association, before joining the National League in 1887. They finished with a 442-617 record as the Alleghenys.

Pittsburgh then had no nickname from 1891-94, going 281-266 during that time, before taking on the "Pirates" in 1896 and having a 10,156-9,957 record since doing so.

The Pirates had success throughout the 20th century, winning nine NL pennants and five World Series, in 1909, 1925, 1960, 1971 and 1979.

Pittsburgh has struggled since then, with just six playoff appearances and no series wins, which includes two instances of three straight seasons making the postseason, 1990-92 and 2013-25.

The Pirates had 20 consecutive losing seasons from 1993-2012, setting a record for the four North American professional sports leagues.

Bob Nutting has owned the Pirates since 2007 and the franchise holds a 1,322-1,588 win-loss record (.454) in his 19th season.

They also have just four winning seasons during his reign, along with 2018, and will almost certainly extend their streak to seven after this season.

Only three other teams have had a worse record during Nutting's tenure, including the Miami Marlins at 1,308-1,601 (.445), the Kansas City Royals at 1,322-1,592 (.454) and the Colorado Rockies at 1,320-1,594 (.453).

The Pirates currently have a record of 39-61 after 100 games in the 2025 season with 11 losses in the past 12 games and three sweeps.

They are 20.5 games back of the Chicago Cubs in first place of the NL Central, 15.5 games back from a Wild Card spot and have the third worst record in baseball.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Pirates on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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