It's been a long road for Pittsburgh Pirates fans since 1979.

Since winning an entertaining seven-game World Series against the Baltimore Orioles in 1979, the Pirates haven't found much success at all. The franchise missed the postseason every year during the 1980s and the 1990s often led to missed opportunities and disappointing ends. Last year, the Pirates successfully made the playoffs for the first time since 1992, the last year NL MVP Barry Bonds was on the team.

This year, the Pirates are currently 86-71 and have already clinched a postseason wild card berth.

Last season the Pirates were a wild card team as well, defeating the Cincinnati Reds in the first round of the National League Playoffs. There's still a chance the Pirates could avoid a single elimination game in the first round by winning the NL Central. The St. Louis Cardinals are just two wins ahead of the Pirates, so Pittsburgh can't fall asleep just yet.

Reigning National League Most Valuable Player Andrew McCutchen leads the team with 166 hits, 85 runs scored, 37 doubles and 24 home runs. This is the third consecutive season that McCutchen has batted over .300. It's unlikely he will get the NL MVP again, but McCutchen has proven to be one of the best hitters in the game. Josh Harrison is also having a terrific season with a team leading .317 batting average.

As a team, the Pirates have the No. 4 ranked offense in the NL with 660 runs scored and rank No. 3 overall in home runs with 150.

Leading the Pirates pitching staff in wins is Dominican-born starter Edinson Volquez. Volquez has proven to be one of the best additions of the off-season, and he will be a free agent after this season. Volquez is 12-7 this year with a 3.15 earned runs against average. Gerrit Cole and Tony Watson also have double digit victories for the Pirates this year. The primary closer for the Pirates this year has been Mark Melancon who has 32 saves.

The Pirates rank No. 5 in the NL in team pitching with a 3.45 ERA.

For Pirates fans, it must have been great to see their team make the playoffs again. But, on the other side, it did seem a little overboard. The Pirates were celebrating as if they had just won the National League Pennant or a World Series. After a win against the Atlanta Braves, the team popped champagne bottles and jumped for joy as if October was over. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers showed no emotion after they clinched a playoff berth, because they know much more work is to be done.

It's safe to say if the Royals make the postseason for the first time since 1985, there will be a lot of celebrating in Kansas City.

Clint Hurdle has proven to be a good manager for the Pirates over the last four seasons now, making two playoff appearances and winning an NL Manager of the Year Award.

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