Play ball! The Pirates kicked off another season of baseball on the North Shore Friday.
Hope springs eternal for the first home game of the season. It was the Pirates and Yankees in a historic home opener. Once again thousands made the pilgrimage across the Clemente Bridge to inside PNC Park.
The sun didn’t really come out, but as John Fogerty told us, we’re born again with that new grass on the field.
“We’ve been coming for so long. I’m just so happy. We’re going to win today,” Tracy Harris of Monaca said while she was in line for gates to open.
Baseball has marked the time. This field, this game. It’s part of our past Pittsburgh, to paraphrase “Field of Dreams.”
“It’s our Christmas. Can’t miss it,” Zack Stynchula of Latrobe said.
Many yinzers wear their hearts on their sleeves. Stynchula, who was sporting a colorful Pirates jacket, wears it on his sleeves, shoulders, chest and back. For 19 years, he’s been coming to the home opener.
“That’s the best place on Earth. It’s just a good time no matter what. You bring the right people, it’s something to look forward to,” Stynchula said.
To argue the fictional Jimmy Dugan, sometimes there is crying in baseball. Judy Bosack has been going to home openers for years. If you look at the corner of her tailgate, you see a hat without a fan. Her father, who never gave up on the Bucs, passed away a few years ago.
“We’re just here because my dad loved the Pirates and no matter how bad they do, we’re still here,” Bosack said.
So how can you not be romantic about baseball? Throw the records out the window. There’s a pride on the North Shore that, at least for one day, thinking, “Why can’t our boys of summer do it?”
“I will never give up on the Bucs. I have a bottle of wine saved for when they win it all,” Brandy Sinclair said. She’s gone to the home opener for the last 10 years.
Hopefully that can be uncorked soon.
Pirates home opener brings in fans from around the country
“It’s always a new beginning, we can only hope for the best,” Mary Coon, a Pirates fan from Uniontown, said.
Along the North Shore Friday morning, Pirates fans from all over were getting ready.
“I’m surprised I haven’t seen Yankees fans yet,” Randi Dunkle, a Pirates fan from Fort Myers, Florida, said.
Some fans of other teams stopped by the Pirates game as well.
“We’re off to a great start, even with our torpedo bats and everything, but we’re ready to see if they work here in Pittsburgh,” Ken O’Connor, a New York Yankees fan from Cranford, New Jersey, said.
Many are traveling to Pittsburgh from out of town.
“Hyatt Place has become home away from home,” Dunkle said.
Businesses like Tom’s Watch Bar are ready to welcome people on Friday through the weekend.
“We have a beer special, IC Light cans for $5,” Matthew Wade, Bar Manager at Tom’s Watch Bar, said. “We have an activation, lots of fans going on the patio, some games, some chances to win a lot of prizes.”
Wade knows how dedicated Yankees fans will travel for games.
“They bring a crowd, whether it’s opening day or mid-season or end of the year,” he said. “My bar team’s ready to rock and roll, my servers are ready to go,” he said.
If you’re coming from the north, it is recommended to park on the North Shore. Downtown will be the easiest place to park if you’re coming from the south, west or east.
“It’s a lot of fun, I’ve been here several times,” Jeff Hewitt, a Pirates fan from Coalport, Clearfield County, said.
Fans are coming into town for the Pirates home opener 02:16
