Pittsburgh Pirates: Spring Training Schedule Is Set
By Larry Snyder
The Pittsburgh Pirates Tuesday disclosed their 2016 Spring Training schedule, including an exhibition contest in the Hoosier State. The crew of the Jolly Roger battle the Cincinnati Reds Saturday, April 2 at Victory Field, the home of their Triple-A affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians.
Clint Hurdle‘s gang gets their spring slate underway at noon Monday, Feb. 29 with their annual “Black and Gold” intrasquad game. They begin their Grapefruit League schedule Tuesday, March 1 against the Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida.
The Grapefruit League home opener for Pittsburgh is Wednesday, March 2 in a rematch with the Tigers at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Florida. The Pirates have played their Spring Training match-ups there since 1969. Bradenton is the 16th different training site used by the Bucs since 1900.
The Pirates’ 31-game spring schedule has 16 contests at McKechnie Field. It includes five of their first seven Spring Training games. Click here for the complete Pirates Spring Training schedule.
The Pirates enjoy baseball under the stars this spring with two night match-ups at McKechnie Field this spring. The first is Saturday, March 26 against the Tampa Bay Rays and Sunday, March 27 when they face the Baltimore Orioles. The first pitch for both contests is 6:05 p.m. ET.
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The lights will be on for the crew of the Jolly Roger for two road games. The Bucs battle the Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers on Friday, March 25 and also when they clash with the New York Yankees in Tampa Tuesday, March 29. The remainder of Pittsburgh’s Grapefruit League contests get underway at 1:05 p.m. ET.
The Pirates will have all hands on deck to open the regular season against the St. Louis Cardinals along the North Shore at PNC Park Monday, April 4. Check in here for Pittsburgh’s regular-season schedule.
In the spring of 2015. the Pirates established a club attendance record by drawing 106,038 fans to their 15 Spring Training match-ups at McKechnie Field.
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From The Clipboard: Jung Ho Kang finished in third place Monday night in the National League Rookie of the Year Award race. Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant was the unanimous winner, and San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Duffy ended up second in the balloting announced by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
There was sad news Tuesday as former Pirates infield prospect, Jordan Galvez perished Tuesday in a plane crash in his native Colombia. The 5-foot-11, 157-pound one-time infield candidate was 23-years-old. The pilot and Galvez died when the Cessna 402 struck an electrical wire upon takeoff in Acandi, Columbia and slammed into a church.
Eight other passengers survived and were transported to a hospital with various injuries. The tragic report came from the local newspaper, Noticias de Cali, Valle y Colombia.