Pittsburgh Pirates: Celebrate 1909 Pennant in Exciting Fashion

One hundred years ago this fall, the Pittsburgh Pirates, now a symbol of baseball gone awry, beat the Detroit Tigers in the World Series.

Tomorrow, amid a weekend series with those same Tigers, the Pirates will celebrate their historic first title in an almost unique fashion as they "turn back the clock" at PNC Park.

Both teams will be clad in their 1909 uniforms, the giant electronic scoreboard will be turned off in favor of a traditional one, the booming music will be silenced, and PA announcements will be kept to a minimum. 

In addition, the mascots and perigees will take a day off.

The goal is to make this Sunday's game very much the way it would have been when Honus Wager famously squared off with the equally legendary Ty Cobb a century ago.

While this isn't likely to be the first or last time a team has turned back the clock to celebrate its rich history, it is something of a novelty to behold. 

Baseball has become very much oriented with outrageous mascots, booming introductory music, and loud proclamations of who is batting. 

Lost is the art of keeping score by hand with a scorecard.  Also, gone is the following of a game by watching and not listening. So many things have become forgotten.

Tomorrow, fans of the Pirates and Tigers will be treated to a good, old-fashioned game of ball that is as close to the genuine 1909 article as possible in today's technologically advanced ballparks.

As I sit down and prepare my jersey and glove for the game as I always do, I can't help but think that baseball needs more of this and less of the bad press, loud music, and exploding scoreboards.

I can't help but wonder if, in the renewed silence of the ballpark, we will hear the echoes of Wagner, Cobb, and other stars from days long since passed.