Pittsburgh Pirates

What Gerrit Cole did Friday afternoon in Game 2 of the NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals is what every organization dreams of from a No. 1 overall draft pick.

The Cincinnati Reds will travel to Pittsburgh tonight to take on the Pirates in the National League wild-card game. 

The Pirates swept the Reds to end the regular season and finished with an impressive 94-68 record. The season marked the Pirates first winning season since 1992. 

Baseball season is fast approaching its 162nd game and regular season conclusion. For the second year, though, four teams will be playing game 163. Since being implemented last season, much has been said about the incongruity of a one-game playoff after a 162-game marathon, and the debate will likely continue as long as it exists. For now, though, 90-plus wins may only be good for one extra game.

With the St. Louis Cardinals clinging to the NL Central lead, the Pittsburgh Pirates may reluctantly settle for a National League wild-card berth.

We can add back-to-back-to-back home runs to the list of amazing things that the 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates have accomplished.

To give you an idea of how long it's been since the Pittsburgh Pirates posted a winning campaign, take a minute to soak up the landscape of Major League Baseball all the way back in the summer of 1992.

Among the numerous differences in the sport between then and now, the following stand out:

-Each league featured only two divisions, an East and West.

-Wild cards were not part of the postseason landscape.

For the first time since 1992, the Pittsburgh Pirates can call themselves winners.

The most amazing part, at least to me, of the 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates rise to prominence—The quick and seismic shift from "The Pirates finally got over .500!" to "The Pirates are World Series contenders!"

Yes, folks, they are.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have endured two decades of losing seasons, but even with plenty of games in hand for the remainder of the 2013 MLB season, that unenviable streak has come to an end.

The Minnesota Twins have traded veteran first baseman Justin Morneau to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for outfielder Alex Presley and a player to be named later or cash, the Pirates announced on Twitter.