Florida Complex League Pirates

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.{{cite web|title=GCL Pirates Win First Gulf Coast League Championship in Franchise History|url=http://www.piratesprospects.com/2012/08/gcl-pirates-win-first-gulf-coast-league-championship-in-franchise-history.html|last=Williams|first=Tim|date=August 29, 2012}}

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,{{Cite web|url=http://www.bucsdugout.com/2009/7/4/938007/dinesh-patel-and-rinku-singh-make|title=Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh Make Pro Debuts|date=July 4, 2009}} 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.{{cite news|title=The Bradenton Pirates: They are the world|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/pirates/the-bradenton-pirates-they-are-the-world-348904/?print=1|last=Kovacevic|first=Dejan|date=July 10, 2009|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette}}

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.

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{{Florida Complex League Pirates roster}}

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t470 Official website]

{{Pittsburgh Pirates}}

{{Gulf Coast League}}

{{Florida Sports}}

Category:Baseball teams established in 1968

Category:Florida Complex League teams

Category:Professional baseball teams in Florida

Category:Pittsburgh Pirates

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Category:1968 establishments in Florida

Category:Baseball teams in Bradenton, Florida

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