Caple: Seattle Pilots barely remembered except through ‘Ball Four’
From SABR member Jim Caple at ESPN.com on August 25, 2016, with mention of SABR member David Eskenazi:
The Seattle Pilots had an official theme song that included the lyrics: “You brought the majors to the evergreen Northwest; now, go, go you Pilots, you’re going to be the best!”
Sadly, those lyrics should have been: “Now go, go you Pilots, you’re going to be the Milwaukee Brewers (not that you’re ever going to be very good there, either).”
As part of a four-team expansion that also saw the debuts of the Montreal Expos, Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres, the Pilots began in Seattle in 1969. But just a year later they were gone, relocated to Milwaukee after going bankrupt and being bought by Bud Selig. Nearly a half-century later, little physically remains here from that season. The Pilots’ home of Sicks’ Stadium was torn down decades ago, and a Lowe’s home improvement store now stands on the site. Inside the store is a replica of the departed ballpark’s home plate and markings where the bases and mound once were.
“You go back a couple generations in baseball history and we had professional baseball from 1901 to 1969, through two world wars and a depression, and then — poof! — it’s gone,” Seattle sports historian David Eskenazi said. “The first year we didn’t have pro baseball was 1970.”
Read the full article here: http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/17083888/seattle-pilots-now-milwaukee-brewers-barely-remembered-ball-four
Originally published: August 25, 2016. Last Updated: August 25, 2016.