Cincinnati Enquirer columnist Jason Williams on Friday delivered a blunt message to Reds fans: stop treating the Pittsburgh Pirates as an automatic win. Williams pointed to recent results, a promising start to the season for Pittsburgh and fresh roster moves as proof that the old dismissive view of the Pirates is out of date.
“This is an ingrained way of thinking in Cincinnati that needs to change,” Williams wrote, arguing Reds supporters must “stop looking down on the Pirates and thinking of them as easy wins on the schedule.” The comment followed a week in which Pittsburgh won two of three games in Cincinnati and improved to 4-3 on the young season. Williams also highlighted the club’s recent roster activity, noting the Pirates’ decision to call up prospect Konnor Griffin.
Williams backed his case with longer-term numbers that undercut the Reds’ sense of superiority. Since 2022, Pittsburgh is 36-25 against Cincinnati, he noted, and the Reds have lost the season series to the Pirates five of the last eight years. Over the past decade the two teams’ struggles in the National League Central are comparable: Cincinnati has finished last four times versus Pittsburgh’s five last-place finishes, Williams wrote.
The columnist also reminded readers of concrete milestones that complicate Cincinnati’s taunts. Pittsburgh’s most recent postseason series victory came in 2013, when the Pirates beat the Reds in the wild-card game. Both clubs share five World Series championships in franchise history, Williams pointed out, while noting that the Pirates have never won the NL Central since the division’s creation in 1994 and the Reds have claimed that division crown only three times.
Williams conceded the Pirates’ 4-3 mark comes from a very small sample — “It’s impossible to say whether they are just yet due to only playing seven games,” he wrote — but argued the club’s talent infusion and recent performance warrant greater respect. In his column he went as far as to reference what he called “the best pitcher in the world” on Pittsburgh’s staff, framing that as another reason Cincinnati should be wary, though he did not specify which player he meant.
The piece was meant as a wake-up call for a fan base that Williams says still defaults to seeing Pittsburgh as an easy opponent. He contrasted that attitude with the broader baseball world’s view: teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers already treat the Pirates as a legitimate threat, he said, so Cincinnati’s continued condescension is increasingly out of step.
For now the debate is timely but provisional. Early-season records and one prospect promotion do not guarantee sustained success, but Williams’ column underscores a shifting rivalry dynamic — recent head-to-head dominance by Pittsburgh and comparable franchise histories make it harder for Reds fans to cling to the old assumptions. How Cincinnati responds over the next weeks and months will show whether the change in perception is temporary or long overdue.