A crowd of nearly 30,000 for the Pirates’ game Sunday against the Reds “pushed the franchise over its attendance total from last season with 16 home dates remaining," according to Ron Cook of the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE. The team was in first place in the NL Central late last month before sliding to their current position of 4th place, and Pirates President Frank Coonelly said, “Our fans have gotten excited about this team. They saw how fun it was again to be watching a team in the middle of summer that was in contention for a division crown.” Meanwhile, Cook notes Pirates officials have indicated that there is a "ticket price increase that's coming for next season." Coonelly "wouldn't confirm it officially but left no doubt that it's going to happen." The Pirates have not raised ticket prices since the '01 season, and Coonelly said, "We're the only team in Major League Baseball that has a streak quite like that" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 8/23).
WATCH AND LEARN: In Pittsburgh, Rob Biertempfel reports Fox’ regional broadcast of the Reds-Pirates game Saturday drew a 7.2 rating in the Pittsburgh market, making it the “second-highest single-game rating in the local market in the 15-year history” of the net’s Saturday afternoon coverage. The game drew a 17 share, meaning 17% of televisions “in Pittsburgh that were on during the game were tuned to the Pirates” (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 8/23).
INVESTING IN THE FUTURE: The POST-GAZETTE’s Cook yesterday reported the Pirates signed RF Jose Tabata to a "six-year contract that guarantees him $15 million through the 2016 season.” The signing is an “absolute steal for the Pirates," and Sunday was a "good day for the Pirates franchise." Pirates management "will show all of us something if it brings in a big bat this offseason to help its core young players" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 8/22).
