Pittsburgh Pirates fans loudly voiced their displeasure with the team during Saturday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians, but it sounds like they may have been muted at one point.
The Pirates, who are in last place in the NL Central, were trailing 3-0 in the top of the eighth inning when fans at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pa., began chanting “sell the team!” The chants could be heard very clearly on the SportsNet Pittsburgh broadcast but then abruptly stopped in the middle of an at-bat.
The way the chants suddenly disappeared made fans believe SportsNet Pittsburgh cut the audio from the crowd. You can hear the sudden change at around the 18-second mark:
Hey @Pirates @SNPittsburgh do you think cutting the crowd mic will silence us? The embarrassment has only just begun. (18 second mark)
— Irate Pirates Fan (@IratePiratesFan) April 20, 2025
SELL! THE! TEAM! Oh, and Happy Easter! pic.twitter.com/yNZ0NVlmOK
The Pirates purchased a share in SportsNet Pittsburgh prior to last season, so it would not be a shock if the network cut the audio of fans calling for owner Bob Nutting to sell the team.
Pirates fans have been urging Nutting to sell the team for years now, but he has shown no inclination to do so. The team has not been to the playoffs since 2015. Pittsburgh has a payroll of just under $88 million, which ranks 26th in baseball.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan recently unloaded on the Pirates for making plenty of money but refusing to spend to build a contender around stud pitcher Paul Skenes. The franchise has also angered fans this season with some moves that have nothing to do with the actual product on the field.
The Pirates’ TV network can try to drown out some of the frustration from fans, but the angry chants are not going anywhere.
