Pirates Annual Caravan Begins December 13
Pirates Annual Caravan Begins December 13
The Caravan features private and public appearances by current players, coaches, broadcasters, members of the front office and the Pirate Parrot and/or Pirates Pierogies. At each public visit, the participants will sign free autographs for fans, meet with members of the media and discuss the 2012 Pirates season.
Five separate groups of players, coaches, broadcasters and front office staff will travel throughout the region during the week of Tuesday, December 13 through Thursday, December 15.
PirateFest will take place during the weekend following the Caravan. Now in its 22nd year, PirateFest will once again take place at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center from Saturday, December 17 through Sunday, December 18. Based on last year's record-setting PirateFest attendance, the two-day interactive baseball carnival will be showcased over an expanded footprint in order to better accommodate the increased demand, and will feature a Holiday theme in addition to offering free autograph sessions, youth baseball clinics, prizes, games and question and answer sessions with Pirates management and players and much more.
"The support that our fans showed us throughout 2011 began with record crowds for the Caravan and PirateFest during the off-season and continued throughout the summer with 17 sellouts at PNC Park was overwhelming," said Pirates President Frank Coonelly. "The Winter Caravan and PirateFest provide us with an opportunity to say thank you to the fans for their remarkable support in 2011 and to show them our commitment to finish the job in 2012. These two winter events also give fans an opportunity to reconnect with our players and staff locally in Pittsburgh and in a number of outlying communities in the tri-state area during the holiday season."
Manager Clint Hurdle, players Andrew McCutchen, Joel Hanrahan, Kevin Correia, Jose Tabata, Jeff Karstens, James McDonald, Daniel McCutchen, Alex Presley, Brad Lincoln and Michael McKenry and coaches Jeff Banister, Nick Leyva, Luis Silverio and Ray Searage are all scheduled to participate in this year's Winter Caravan.