This week is the ten-year anniversary for Pirates Prospects, marking ten full years that we have covered the Pittsburgh Pirates and their minor league system.
I say “this week”, because I’ve posted anniversary articles in the past anywhere from the 23rd through the 25th. On one of those days in 2009, I launched the site to provide a reference for certain things like the Pirates’ MLB payroll, while also focusing on the prospects each day, with a specific focus on Pedro Alvarez and the Lynchburg Hillcats. I lived near Lynchburg at the time, and having a place to write down live reports of that team was a key reason why I started this site.
The coverage has grown massively since that first year. John Dreker and Wilbur Miller joined the site in the middle of the 2010 season, and we’ve had a lot of other contributors along the way.
When I started the site, I never thought it would reach this point. It was originally a side project, and quickly became my full-time job, thanks to the response to the site. It was originally meant to give Pirates fans a site to track the prospects, similar to what Red Sox fans had with Sox Prospects. This site has grown into something that no other team’s fan base has — a fully credentialed outlet providing live coverage and reports from every level of the system throughout the year.
None of this would have been possible without your support over the years, or without the contributions from all of our writers.
The road has been rocky the last few years, and there were times I didn’t think we’d get to this point. As we enter our 11th season covering the Pirates, and celebrate 10 full years, I’ve been thinking about where the site is going. I’ve got some ideas for the upcoming season that I’m excited about, including some looks at our coverage and rankings over the years, along with some new features and some big articles that I’ve always wanted to write. I’ll have more details on that as the season approaches.
For now, I want to say thanks to everyone who has made this possible. As a way of saying thanks, we’re giving a 10% discount off the 2019 Prospect Guide. Just use the code “10YEARGUIDE” when purchasing. We’ll have other sales on the site in the future, celebrating the ten-year anniversary.
