"For the final home game of the 2011 season, each Pirates player taped a message that played between innings on the video screen in the outfield. They thanked the fans and informed the lucky ones sitting in certain seats that they were welcome on the field after the game.

Late in the game, manager Clint Hurdle's message of thanks began, and the crowd rose to its feet to return the gesture.

"That completely ambushed me," Hurdle said later. "As I told my folks, if there was any part of me that wasn't in after that seventh inning, it was all in. How can you not live where you work when the fans at least show that kind of appreciation?""