The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division.
History
Professional baseball has been played in the Pittsburgh area since 1876. The teams of the era were independents, barnstorming throughout the region and not affiliated with any organized league, though they did have salaries and were run as business organizations.[2] On October 15, 1881, the strongest team in the area joined the American Association as a founding member to begin play in 1882.