Editing Pittsburgh Pirates (section)

==Rivalries==

===Philadelphia Phillies===
{{Main|Phillies–Pirates rivalry}}
The rivalry between the [[Philadelphia Phillies]] and the Pirates was considered by some to be one of the best rivalries in the National League until 1994.<ref>{{Cite news|title=In Depth: Baseball's Most Intense Rivalries|url=https://www.forbes.com/2009/04/28/baseball-best-rivalries-lifestyle-sports-baseball_slide_7.html?thisSpeed=undefined|date=April 28, 2009|work=Forbes|first=Matt|last=Woolsey}}</ref><ref name=LostRivalry>{{cite news|title=Pirates—Phillies: A Rivalry Lost and Missed|date=July 4, 2005|first=Gene|last=Collier|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|page=D1}}</ref><ref name=PhilliesPirates>{{cite web|url=http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050707&content_id=1119893&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714103810/http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050707&content_id=1119893&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 14, 2011|title=Notes: Phils–Pirates rivalry fading|date=July 7, 2005|access-date=January 3, 2011|first=George|last=Von Benko|website=Philadelphia Phillies|publisher=MLB}}</ref> It began when the Pittsburgh Pirates entered the NL in 1887, four years after the Phillies.<ref name=PhilliesRealignment>{{cite news|title=Baseball Owners Vote to Break Each League Into Three Divisions|date=September 10, 1993|first=Jayson|last=Stark|newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer|page=A1|author-link=Jayson Stark}}</ref>

The Phillies and the Pirates remained together after the National League split into two divisions in 1969. During the period of two-division play (1969–1993), the two [[National League East]] division rivals won the two highest numbers of division championships, reigning almost exclusively as NL East champions in the 1970s and again in the early 1990s.<ref name=PhilliesPirates/><ref name="MostTitles"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Pirates perform rare three-peat feat 4–2|date=September 28, 1992|newspaper=USA Today|page=5C}}</ref> The Pirates nine, the Phillies six; together, the two teams' 15 championships accounted for more than half of the 25 NL East championships during that span.<ref name=MostTitles>{{cite news|title=Pirates, Phillies Have Owned the Outgoing NL East Division|date=September 27, 1993|first=Gene|last=Collier|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|page=D1}}</ref>

After the Pirates moved to the [[National League Central]] in 1994, the teams face each other only in two series each year and the rivalry has diminished.<ref name=LostRivalry/><ref name=PhilliesPirates/> However, many fans, especially older ones, retain their dislike for the other team, with regional differences between [[Delaware Valley|Eastern]] and [[Western Pennsylvania]] still fueling the rivalry.<ref>{{cite news|title=It's Philly vs. the Burgh|date=May 11, 2008|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|page=B1}}</ref>

===Cincinnati Reds===
{{main|Pirates-Reds rivalry}}
The Pirates' biggest divisional rival is the [[Cincinnati Reds]], given the two teams' proximity, the carryover of the cities' [[Bengals–Steelers rivalry|football rivalry]], and the fact that the Reds and Pirates have met six times in the postseason,<ref>{{cite web | date=October 8, 2019 |title=The 10 most common postseason matchups |work=MLB.com |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/most-common-postseason-matchups |access-date=September 3, 2020}}</ref> most recently in the [[2013 National League Wild Card Game]]. In the 2010s, the two teams frequently [[hit by pitch|hit each other with pitches]], occasionally resulting in brawls.<ref>{{cite web | date=August 1, 2019 |title=Reds-Pirates brawl results in 40 games of bans |work=ESPN |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/27303252/reds-pirates-brawl-results-40-games-bans |access-date=September 3, 2020}}</ref>

===Divisional foes===
From 2013 to 2015, the Pirates battled with the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] for the Central Division title, with the Cardinals narrowly winning the division each year. The two teams faced off in the [[2013 National League Division Series]], which the Cardinals won in five games. The Pirates had a contentious<ref>{{cite web | date=April 20, 2014 |title=Carlos Gomez, Travis Snider Ejected as Benches Clear During Brewers vs. Pirates |work=Bleacher Report |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2035888-carlos-gomez-travis-snider-ejected-as-benches-clear-during-brewers-vs-pirates |access-date=September 3, 2020}}</ref> battle with the [[Milwaukee Brewers]] for a Wild Card spot in 2014 and faced off against the [[Chicago Cubs]] in the [[2015 National League Wild Card Game]]. The Cubs were major rivals for the Pirates earlier in their history, as both were among the best teams in baseball in the early 1900s and the Cubs eliminated the Pirates from the pennant race in the last week of 
[[Homer in the Gloamin'|the 1938 season]].

===Interleague===
The Pirates play an annual [[Interleague play|interleague]] series against the [[Detroit Tigers]]. While the Pirates and Tigers only became "natural rivals" because the other AL and NL Central teams were already paired up, it has become popular with fans of both teams, possibly due to the rivalry between the [[National Hockey League]]'s [[Detroit Red Wings]] and [[Pittsburgh Penguins]]. The two teams have several other connections as well. The Tigers' AA Minor League affiliate, the [[Erie SeaWolves]], located near Pittsburgh, is a former affiliate of the Pirates and has retained the logo of a wolf wearing a pirate bandanna and eye patch. Additionally, Jim Leyland, former manager of both the Pirates (1986–1996) and the Tigers (2005–2013), remains popular in Pittsburgh where he resides. The Pirates led the regular-season series, 36–29. The two teams played in the [[1909 World Series]].

An on-and-off rivalry with the [[Cleveland Guardians]] stems from the close proximity of both cities, and features some carryover elements from the [[Browns–Steelers rivalry|longstanding rivalry]] in the [[National Football League]] between the [[Cleveland Browns]] and [[Pittsburgh Steelers]]. Because the Guardians' designated interleague rival is the Reds and the Pirates' designated rival is the Tigers, the teams have only played periodically.  The teams played one three-game series each year from 1997 to 2001 and periodically between 2002 and 2022, generally only in years in which the AL Central played the NL Central in the former interleague play rotation. The teams played six games in 2020 as MLB instituted an abbreviated schedule focusing on regional match-ups. Beginning in 2023, the teams will play a three-game series each season as a result of the new "balanced" schedule.  The Pirates lead the series 21–19.<ref>{{cite web |title=Head-to-head results for Cleveland Indians vs. Pittsburgh Pirates from 1901 to 2016 |url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/games/head2head-games.cgi?team1=CLE&team2=PIT&from=1901&to=2016 |work=Baseball-Reference.com |year=2016 |access-date=May 20, 2016 |publisher=Sports Reference |archive-date=December 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214154429/https://stathead.com/baseball/head2head-games.cgi?team1=CLE&team2=PIT&from=1901&to=2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>