Bradenton Marauders

The Pittsburgh Pirates have had their spring training facilities in Bradenton, Florida, since in 1969, when the city met with Pirates' general manager Joe Brown and owner John W. Galbreath and both sides agreed to a lease of 40 years, with an option for another 40 years.

After the Reds' spring-training departure from Florida's Grapefruit League to Arizona's Cactus League in 2009, the Reds and Pirates did an "affiliate-swap". The Pirates took over the Sarasota Reds, while the Reds became the parent club of the Pirates' former Class A-Advanced affiliate, the Lynchburg Hillcats of the Carolina League. On November 10, 2009, baseball officials voted to allow the Pirates to purchase and uproot the Sarasota Reds. The Pirates moved the team to Bradenton, where they were renamed the Bradenton Marauders. The Marauders became the first Florida State League team located in Bradenton since the Bradenton Growers folded in 1926. The Marauders are also the Pirates' first affiliate in the Florida State League since the Leesburg Pirates ended play in 1948.

2010–2011: Franchise firsts and early success

Inaugural season

On April 8, 2010, the Marauders played their first game in front of 2,396 spectators at McKechnie Field. The inaugural game ended in 18–3 Bradenton victory over the Fort Myers Miracle. Pittsburgh Pirates prospect, Bryan Morris, was the team's starting pitcher. The team's first hit came off its first batter, Greg Picart. Meanwhile, Quincy Latimore registered the team's first home run and run scored. In the fourth inning of the game, Jeremy Farrell registered the team's first grand slam. Calvin Anderson, Eric Fryer, Robbie Grossman, Joel Hanrahan, Starling Marte, and Tony Sanchez also played for the Marauders in their first game.

A few nights later on April 12, 2010, the Marauders completed their first ever four-game series sweep at McKechnie Field. The team capped off their first ever, four-game series sweep with a final score of 6–2 over Fort Myers. The team's first loss came on Thursday April 15, 2010, when they were defeated 3–2 by the Jupiter Hammerheads at Roger Dean Stadium. The Marauders' first home loss came on Saturday April 17, 2010, by a score of 10–7, to the St. Lucie Mets.

On May 16, 2010, Bryan Morris became the very first Marauder to be promoted, when he was called up to the Pirates' Double A affiliate, the Altoona Curve.

The Marauders finished their 2010 inaugural season with a 76–62 record and led the league in runs, batting average, on-base percentage and on-base plus slugging, and they also finished fifth (out of 12 teams) in runs allowed and fourth in ERA. They also finished third in the league in overall winning percentage. The team lost the Southern Division Championship to the Charlotte Stone Crabs 2 games to 1.

In March 2011, Nathan Adcock became the first player from the Marauders to make a major league team's 25-man roster. Adcock was added to the Kansas City Royals roster after he was chosen by the team in the Rule 5 draft.

Establishing a fanbase

The Marauders play struggled during the first half of the 2011 FSL season. The team finished the first half of the season with a 30–40 record and never really contending for the South Division title. At the start of the season's second half, the Marauders posted a 7–5 record. Two scheduled home games were also moved to Port Charlotte's Sports Park while McKechnie Field's roof underwent construction earlier in the season.

However one of the biggest stories involving the team came in the form of improved attendance. After 40 homes, the Marauders drew 56,718 fans to their home games in 2011, with a game average of 1,418 fans. The team ranks eighth in attendance in the Florida State League. In all of 2010, the team drew 51,856 fans in 70 home dates, only the Dunedin Blue Jays drew fewer fans. According to team officials, the turn-around attendance is believed to be a result of the team having a full season to market itself and establish a fanbase. By the season's end, the team drew a total regular season attendance of 103,978 fans, doubling the previous year's attendance.

On August 18, 2011, Bradenton's Robbie Grossman became the first minor league player to score 100 runs and walk 100 times in a season since Nick Swisher did so in 2004. He is also the first player in the Florida State League to walk 100 times since 1998. Ramon Cabrera was also awarded the Florida State League batting title on September 5 by finishing the 2011 season with a .343 batting average. Three of the FSL's top four hitters were members of the Marauders: Cabrera (1st), Eleyvs Gonzalez (2nd) and Adalberto Santos (4th).

On August 30, 2011, the Marauders defeated the Palm Beach Cardinals, 6–3, to clinch the Florida State League's second half title, for the second time in two years, and playoff berth. However the team would go on to lose the Southern Division Championship, 2 games to 1, for the second straight year.

2012–present

The 2012 campaign was the first in which the Marauders failed to make the playoffs. However the year still was memorable for having the Pirates' top prospect in the line-up, Gerrit Cole. It was also the first in which the team used their alternate logo which features two crossed bats behind a skull wearing an eye patch.

Bradenton missed the playoffs again in 2013, however the line-up once again featured the top prospect for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Gregory Polanco. Shortstop Alen Hanson, Polanco, and starting pitcher Nick Kingham represented Bradenton at the 52nd Annual FSL All-Star Game. Jeff Locke also became the first Marauders player to make the roster for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

'Million Dollar' recognition and an all-star season

In 2014 the journey of current Marauders' player Rinku Singh from India to professional baseball was portrayed in the movie Million Dollar Arm. The film starred Jon Hamm and was produced by Walt Disney Pictures. The Marauders recognized Singh with a commemorative bobblehead that was given away at the gates to the first 1,000 fans on Saturday, May 17 against Dunedin.

The club's 2014 roster consisted of three of the Pirates top 20 prospects, as comprised by MLB.com: pitcher Tyler Glasnow, outfielder Josh Bell and catcher Jin De-Jhang. The club also hosted the 2014 Florida State League All-Star Game on Saturday, June 14 at McKechnie Field. The Marauders were represented in the game by outfielder Josh Bell and left-handed pitcher Orlando Castro. The Marauders returned to the playoffs in 2014 by clinching Second Half South Division Championship for the third time in five years. However the team was eliminated by Fort Myers in the first round. Still the club won, a franchise-best, 78 games in the regular season and swept the Florida State League Pitcher of the Year (Tyler Glasnow), and the Player of the Year (Josh Bell) awards.

First championship season

Despite a late season surge, the 2015 Marauders were eliminated from playoff contention with a 4–1 loss to the St. Lucie Mets on September 4. However the following season proved much better for the Marauders. On June 20, 2016, the Marauders’ clinched a first-half division title for the first time in franchise history. On September 7, 2016, the Marauders defeated the St. Lucie Mets with a 4–1 win in Game 2 of the FSL South Division Series at McKechnie Field. The win advanced the Marauders to the Florida State League Championship Series for the first time in franchise history. A week later on September 12, 2016, the Marauders defeated the Tampa Yankees, 3 games to 1, at McKechnie Field to win their first Florida State League title.