Each Wednesday home game at PNC Park will be designated a Military Appreciation day in 2020.
Pirates players, coaches and Bucco Brigade staff will showcase their support by wearing specially designed uniforms to honor our service men and women, and Pirates Charities selects a different non-profit organization each game that serves veterans and members of our military.
The honoree non-profit is recognized on the field prior to the game, hosted in the Pirates Charities suite and will receive the proceeds of the day's 50/50 raffle to help continue their important work.
2019 honoree organizations included:
Pirates Charities is pleased to offer 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organizations serving active duty members of our military and veterans in the greater Pittsburgh region the opportunity to apply to participate in this program. Applications for the 2020 Military Wednesday program are accepted on a rolling basis.
Pirates Charities worked with local nonprofit organizations that assist our armed forces to host 125 service members, veterans, and their families for a special event at PNC Park the morning of July 4, 2019. Guests took batting practice on the field, participated in kids' baseball activities, and enjoyed face painting, balloon animals, and airbrush tattoos alongside a brunch in the Miller Lite Skull Bar. After the festivities, attendees continued celebrating our Independence Day by enjoying the Pirates game that afternoon.
Lance Corporal Kody Stallard surprised his dad - Jim - after Jim won the Chick-fil-A Spot the Cow contest in honor of his 43rd birthday. Lance Corporal Kody Stallard recently returned from his third deployment in the Pacific and wasn't expected home for a few more months. He had been stationed in Okinawa, Japan for 16 months.
On May 18, 2017, the Pirates participated in the National Chair of Honor program to honor and recognize POW/MIA.
This chair will remain perpetually empty at PNC Park to help people remember that even though our soldiers are not here, there is always space for them.
Every year during Spring Training, the Pirates and Pirates Charities partner with local organizations in Manatee County to host active-duty military members, veterans, and their guests for a day of appreciation at LECOM Park. All guests receive a Pirates military cap during a pregame barbeque picnic, before enjoying reserved seating at a Pirates Spring Training game.
