| Florida Complex League Pirates | |
| Founded: | 1968 |
| City: | Bradenton, Florida |
| Uniformlogo: | Pittsburgh Pirates Cap Insignia.svg |
| Class Level: | Rookie |
| Current League: | Florida Complex League |
| Division: | Northwest Division |
| Past League: | Gulf Coast League (1968–2020) |
| Nickname: | FCL Pirates Black & Gold |
| Pastnames: | GCL Pirates (1968–2020) |
| Ballpark: | Pirate City complex |
| Leaguenum: | 1 |
| Leaguechamps: | 2012 |
| Divnum: | 6 |
| Owner: | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| Manager: | José Mosquera |
The Florida Complex League Pirates are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Pirates. The team plays its home games in Bradenton, Florida, at the Pirate City complex. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball either as draftees or non-drafted free agents from the United States, Canada, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and other countries.
The team was first established in 1968, and has competed continuously since then. The team won division championships in 2002, 2003, 2008, and 2013. In 2012, the team won its first league championship.[1]
In 2009, the team had nine players each from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, with the United States third at six players. They were the two highly publicized, pioneering Indian pitchers, Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, who became the first Indian-born players to sign professional baseball contracts in the United States,[2] a second baseman named Henry from Colombia, two players from Puerto Rico, and one each from Mexico, Panama, Australia, Canada and one of the first three players ever signed out of South Africa, Gift Ngoepe, while one of the Americans, Chris Aure, was from Alaska. "We eat together in the cafeteria, but sometimes we try each other's foods," Ngoepe says. "I listen to the Indians' music when I go past their rooms, and they listen to my music from Africa. We tell each other stories about our home countries. We do everything together." "Everybody's the same here, like family," Venezuelan infielder Elevys Gonzalez says.[3]
For the 2021 season, the team is fielding two squads in the league, differentiated as "Black" and "Gold" in reference to the team's colors.
| Year | Record | Win–loss % | Manager | Regular Season Finish | Playoffs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 27-33 | .450 | 6th GCL | No playoffs until 1983 | ||
| 1969 | 28-26 | .519 | Buddy Pritchard | 4th GCL | ||
| 1970 | 23-40 | .365 | 8th GCL | |||
| 1971 | 20-32 | .385 | 6th GCL | |||
| 1972 | 21-39 | .350 | Ed Napoleon | 7th(t) GCL | ||
| 1973 | 17-37 | .315 | 9th GCL | |||
| 1974 | 11-42 | .208 | Woody Huyke | 9th GCL | ||
| 1975 | 23-31 | .426 | Woody Huyke | 4th GCL | ||
| 1976 | 11-41 | .212 | Woody Huyke | 7th GCL | ||
| 1977 | 22–32 | .407 | Woody Huyke | 7th GCL | ||
| 1978 | 21–32 | .396 | Woody Huyke | 6th GCL | ||
| 1979 | 20–32 | .385 | Woody Huyke | 6th GCL | ||
| 1980 | 24–39 | .381 | Woody Huyke | 8th GCL | ||
| 1981 | 32–28 | .533 | Woody Huyke | 5th GCL | ||
| 1982 | 27–35 | .435 | Woody Huyke | 3rd GCL | ||
| 1983 | 28–32 | .467 | Woody Huyke | 3rd GCL North | Did not qualify | |
| 1984 | 21–42 | .333 | Woody Huyke | 5th GCL North | Did not qualify | |
| 1985 | 15–47 | .242 | Woody Huyke | 5th GCL North | Did not qualify | |
| 1986 | 24–39 | .381 | Woody Huyke | 5th GCL North | Did not qualify | |
| 1987 | 33–30 | .390 | Woody Huyke | 2nd GCL North | Did not qualify | |
| 1988 | 26–37 | .413 | 5th GCL South | Did not qualify | ||
| 1989 | 21–42 | .333 | Woody Huyke | 8th GCL South | Did not qualify | |
| 1991 | 30–29 | .508 | Woody Huyke | 3rd GCL Central | Did not qualify | |
| 1992 | 23–37 | .383 | Woody Huyke | 4th GCL Central | Did not qualify | |
| 1993 | 21–38 | .356 | Woody Huyke | 7th GCL West | Did not qualify | |
| 1994 | 25–35 | .417 | Woody Huyke | 4th GCL West | Did not qualify | |
| 1995 | 23–36 | .390 | Woody Huyke | 4th GCL Northwest | Did not qualify | |
| 1996 | 28–31 | .475 | Woody Huyke | 3rd GCL Northwest | Did not qualify | |
| 1997 | 27–32 | .458 | Woody Huyke | 6th GCL Northwest | Did not qualify | |
| 1998 | 25–35 | .407 | Woody Huyke | 6th GCL West | Did not qualify | |
| 1999 | 24–35 | .407 | Woody Huyke | 5th GCL North | Did not qualify | |
| 2000 | 34–26 | .567 | Woody Huyke | 2nd GCL North | Did not qualify | |
| 2001 | 22–34 | .393 | Woody Huyke | 6th GCL West | Did not qualify | |
| 2002 | 37–23 | .617 | Woody Huyke | 1st GCL North | Lost in 1st round vs. GCL Dodgers (1 game to 0) | |
| 2003 | 36–20 | .643 | Woody Huyke | 1st GCL North | Lost in Finals vs. GCL Braves (2 games to 0) | |
| 2004 | 30–28 | .517 | Woody Huyke | 3rd GCL South | Did not qualify | |
| 2005 | 28–26 | .519 | 2nd GCL South | Did not qualify | ||
| 2006 | 27–26 | .509 | 4th GCL North | Did not qualify | ||
| 2007 | 26–30 | .464 | 4th GCL South | Did not qualify | ||
| 2008 | 37–19 | .661 | Tom Prince | 1st GCL South | Lost in 1st round vs. GCL Phillies (1 game to 0) | |
| 2009 | 29–31 | .483 | Tom Prince | 4th GCL North | Did not qualify | |
| 2010 | 29–30 | .492 | Tom Prince | 4th GCL North | Did not qualify | |
| 2011 | 34–26 | .567 | Tom Prince | 2nd GCL North | Lost in 1st round | |
| 2012 | 36–24 | .600 | Tom Prince | 2nd GCL North | Won GCL Championship vs. GCL Red Sox (2 games to 0) Won in first round vs. GCL Cardinals (1 game to 0) | |
| 2013 | 33-27 | .600 | 1st GCL Northwest | Lost in 1st round vs. GCL Nationals (1 game to 0) | ||
| 2014 | 20-40 | .333 | Milver Reyes | 3rd GCL Northwest | Did not qualify | |
| 2015 | 28-31 | .475 | Milver Reyes | 3rd GCL Northwest | Did not qualify | |
| 2016 | 22-34 | .393 | 2nd GCL Northwest | Did not qualify | ||
| 2017 | 26-34 | .433 | 3rd GCL Northeast | Did not qualify |