Rob Manfred: “We Need to Deal With That Issue” in regards to the Pittsburgh Pirates being cheap, useless, and painfully irrelevant

It finally happened. Somebody put MLB commissioner Rob Manfred in front of a mic and asked him the one question every Pittsburgh sports fan has been screaming for years: Why are the Pirates allowed to be this bad for this long?

Credit to Pat McAfee, who might be the most famous Yinzer to ever appear on television outside of Mr. Rodgers, for throwing it straight at the commissioner. His question was simple: Why does one of baseball’s proud old franchises keep showing up to a gunfight with a plastic spork?

Here’s what Rob Manfred said about the Pittsburgh Pirates:

"Pittsburgh is a great sports town and there's a lot of really passionate Pirates fans..

They just want to look at the system and think that they have a fair chance to win..

We need to deal with that issue" ~ Rob Manfred#ProgrumSummerRoadTrip pic.twitter.com/GLjBUbt9Lv

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 14, 2025

“There are tons and tons of really passionate Pirates fans who remember when the Pirates were a great, great team, year-in and year-out. And they just want to look at the system and say ‘we got a fair chance to win’ when you’re sitting around in February and looking at spring training and what the year is gonna be like. We need to deal with that issue.”

Yeah, no shit, Rob.

If only an MLB Commissioner was around for this interview, he would do something about this type of behavior from his owners.

Oh…wait.

I mean seriously, when Rob Manfred says Pirates fans “remember when the Pirates were a great, great team,” he’s talking about a time when Sony released the Walkman and Iranian students stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran.

Michigan State University, led by Earvin “Magic” Johnson, defeated Larry Bird-led Indiana State 75–64 in the NCAA tournament championship game in Salt Lake City.

Fast forward to today and the Pirates are a glorified Triple-A franchise propped up by a beautiful stadium and a fanbase that deserves so much better. They haven’t sniffed a World Series since 1979 and the last time they won a playoff series was 1992.

Barry Bonds still had a normal-sized head. Since then it’s been pure organizational rot.

They’re perennial bottom-dwellers in payroll, leadership, and ambition. While Pirates fans rage against the machine, owner Bob Nutting, affectionately known as “Bottom Line Bob,” keeps cashing revenue-sharing checks and crying poor.

If Rob Manfred actually wants to “deal with that issue,” then he should make MLB teams have a salary floor…like every fan has requested for years at this point.

Tell these bottom-feeding owners that if they’re not willing to invest in their rosters, they need to sell. Full stop. No more excuses. No more hoarding profits.

Baseball needs parity. The league thrives when new teams emerge, when small markets compete, when fans actually believe their team has a chance to matter past June. Every sport benefits from hope. The Pirates haven’t offered that in decades.

DFA Bob Nutting. The world doesn’t need another Dodgers-Yankees October. We need a city like Pittsburgh back in the mix. They’ve earned it.

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