The Pittsburgh Pirates are one of 28 teams sitting at home for this year’s World Series, which begins Friday as the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers do battle to end the 2025 season.
The last time
the Pirates were this close to a World Series came back in 1992, where they would have faced off against the Blue Jays, who won their first title in franchise history against the Atlanta Braves. The infamous Game 7 of that series was the final game Barry Bonds played in a Pirates uniform.
Bleacher Report writer Joel Reuter listed Bonds as the second-best player to never win a World Series.
“Before he was the face of the franchise for the San Francisco Giants, Barry Bonds was a homegrown superstar for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and he helped lead them to three straight NLCS appearances in 1990, 1991 and 1992,” Reuter wrote.
“However, none of those playoff runs ended in the World Series, and it was not until his age-37 season in 2002 that he had his first and only chance to finally win a ring.
“Bonds went 8-for-17 with two doubles, four home runs and six RBI while tallying 13 walks in 30 plate appearances, but the Angels came out on top in a thrilling seven-game series.”
The only player higher on Reuter’s list is Boston Red Sox legend Ted Williams.
Since Bonds’ departure from Pittsburgh, the Pirates have only made the playoffs in 2013, 2014 and 2015, but failed to advance past the National League Division Series.
