Tim Murray

𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙗𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙣 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙨.

[Tim Murray @MurrayContracts]

@Irina_exh Babe Ruth or Josh Gibson.

[Tim Murray @MurrayContracts]

@bolts6629 @atrupar His rationales have been a damn moving target--including that we do these Middle East wars "almost out of habit." Wow.

[Tim Murray @MurrayContracts]

@kaitlancollins Neocon.

[Tim Murray @MurrayContracts]

@BBGreatMoments Willie Stargell.

[Tim Murray @MurrayContracts]

@OleTimeHardball Ruth.

[Tim Murray @MurrayContracts]

@ShadowofEzra Is this something he knows, or is he speculating?

[Tim Murray @MurrayContracts]

@TheNickRuffini @BBGreatMoments Definitely.

[Tim Murray @MurrayContracts]

No, no, no. Trump's UFC birthday bash celebrated a sport whose fanbase is 75–90% male, about 90 percent ages 44 and under. This was not a unifying event. Ronald Reagan's Liberty Weekend in 1986, on the other hand, was. It was a massive four-day extravaganza from July 3 to July 6, 1986 marking both the nation's Independence Day and the grand reopening of the newly restored Statue of Liberty. It was a moment for all Americans.

[Tim Murray @MurrayContracts]

@AZ_Brittney Not a fan.

[Tim Murray @MurrayContracts]

@S_Oakland_Pgh @MLB @RedSox This pretty awesome. Did not know.

[Tim Murray @MurrayContracts]

MLB has historically allowed moves when owners demonstrated financial hardship, inadequate facilities, or untapped larger markets—especially during the post-WWII westward expansion. It has been more protective in recent decades, prioritizing stability, but still approves viable relocations (as with the A's--a "legacy" team that has been moved like a ping-pong ball in its lifetime).

Starting in 1981, there was credible talk and serious rumors about relocating the Pittsburgh Pirates. Everyone said that the Galbreaths were so wealthy, they would never, ever move this legacy team. But did not Dan Galbreath actually meet with Louisiana Superdome officials in the spring of 1981? (Benchmark: Three Rivers Stadium was not even eleven years old at that time). Then the Galbreaths gave up the ship, and the team was salvaged by a consortium of landmark businesses headquartered here, the "Pittsburgh Associates." A different time. And that group was not interested in a long-term stake in owning a baseball franchise. So, credible talk and threats of relocation intensified until "Plan B" in 1997.

The difference now is the ballpark. But the ballpark is now more than a quarter century old (by the time Three Rivers was that age, it was on its last legs), and the ballpark hasn't solved the market disparity created by the absence of a salary cap, despite whatever promises were fed to us.

But let's keep telling ourselves that it can't possibly happen here.

[Tim Murray @MurrayContracts]

I like Skenes, but he's openly taken a position that is opposed to the fanbase. We have endured decades of failure, mostly due to the absence of a salary cap.

But it goes beyond the fact that the Pirates are perpetually lousy or mediocre at best. Suppose Nutting proves to the MLB that he's willing to spend real money on this team over the next couple of seasons, and suppose the team is still mired in mediocrity and loses Skenes to a big market club. Would it surprise anyone if Nutting eyed a larger market for better local TV deals, sponsorships, and attendance potential? It's the absence of a salary cap that creates exactly that incentive. And, yes, there are larger markets out there that would love to have the Pirates.

There seems to be a delusion here that ownership is glued to Pittsburgh because we have a beautiful ballpark. The ballpark is beautiful, but it happens to be 25 years old, and it can't create a level playing field. Only a salary cap (and salary floor) can do that.

[Tim Murray @MurrayContracts]

@TheJenniWren Sick.

[Tim Murray @MurrayContracts]

Surprised few others picked him (I did). Universally ranked #1 or #2 among the pundits. He anchored the Steel Curtain defense, transformed a losing franchise into a dynasty, earned 2× Defensive Player of the Year, 10× Pro Bowl, and 4 Super Bowl rings. He’s on the NFL’s All-Time Team and a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Greene set the tone for Steelers toughness and pride.

[Tim Murray @MurrayContracts]

@td_nash (1) Joe Greene; (2) Bradshaw; (3) Lambert; (4) Franco; (5) Troy P.

[Tim Murray @MurrayContracts]

Among my favorite memories from being at the ballpark in the Clemente era: opposing team has a runner on third, fly ball deep to right, Clemente catches it--then gives a demonstration of "the" arm. The ball goes hurtling toward the catcher like a missile. The runner hardly ever challenged him, so very few of those ever wound up as a stat. But what I recall most was the roar of the crowd when that ball would go sailing in--low roar as we all wondered if the runner would move--by the time the ball reaches the catcher and it's clear the runner isn't budging, the roar has turned into an explosion. A grand slam couldn't be more thrilling for me. Sends chills up my spine just recalling it.

[Tim Murray @MurrayContracts]

@Steigerworld2 Am hoping that if the MLB can restore fiscal sanity, "MLB" baseball will no longer be dead to you. A big "if," and I hope the owners are serious and stay united.

[Tim Murray @MurrayContracts]

@Steigerworld2 Very persuasive.

[Tim Murray @MurrayContracts]

Bob Prince was my idol, too. There were other great broadcasters, but none of them--NONE of them--were showmen like Prince. I think a lot of people get it wrong when they talk about him--you'd think he was just an exuberant cheerleader. That wasn't it. What made him great was that he didn’t so much broadcast the game, he lived it. When he’d explode with “he was out by a gnat’s eyelash!” you’d think it was actually happening to him. His unparalleled excitement when the Bucs were winning, and his equally unparalleled disgust when they did something stupid, never sounded contrived. I think the secret was this: there was a tension, a drama to every broadcast, and that's what kept us glued to the broadcast--he made it SEEM important, sometimes dire.

Back then, everybody here knew who he was--ask most folks today to name even one Bucs' broadcaster. But when Prince ruled the airways, that distinctive voice blared from one porch radio to the next. The man had more charisma than the rest of the media combined.

Not long ago, I re-listened to the broadcast of the last game played at Forbes Field in 1970. I knew how it came out--yet I was glued to it. Prince was BETTER than I remembered, the GOAT.

It was a dark day when Prince was fired. The usually astute Joe Brown was complicit. "Stupid" doesn't describe that move.