Brandon and Vanessa Marlin’s daughter Braylee was born 2 ½ weeks early, but the couple from Upper St. Clair is OK with that.
“I was trying to coerce her out,” the proud papa said. “I said ‘Braylee, you’ve got to come because the Pirates are going to be playing here in Buctober, so hurry up.’ That same night she came.”
The Marlins were among the new parents to snap family photos with the Pirate Parrot when he visited West Penn Hospital in Bloomfield Monday morning. Every baby born since Saturday will take home a bib identifying them as the “Littlest Pittsburgh Pirates fan.”
West Penn Hospital Marketing Manager Patty Toner said they’ll keep handing out the bibs as long as the Pirates keep winning.
This is the third consecutive season the Pirates have clinched a spot in the post-season. In 2013, they won the wildcard game against the Cincinnati Reds but fell to the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Division Series. Last year, the Bucs made it to the wildcard game but lost to the San Francisco Giants, who went on to win the World Series.
The Pirates have secured a spot in the wildcard game against the Chicago Cubs at the very least, and are currently three games back from the National League Central-leading Cardinals. The Pirates are the only NL team that could still feasibly catch St. Louis, but even a sweep against the red birds this week in Pittsburgh would still leave the two teams tied with three games left to play.
