ALTOONA, Pa. -- What an incredible night. Anyone who was there at PNC Park will never forget it. Even those watching on TV surely could tell how electric it was on the evening of Oct. 1, 2013.
Jordy Mercer was there for that magical National League Wild Card Game against the Reds, with the home team prevailing, 6-2.
The Pirates infielder, who recently retired from baseball after a 10-year MLB career, was all too happy to share his memories about that unforgettable evening -- one that was 20 years in the making after two decades of losing.
"It was pandemonium, and we loved every minute of it," Mercer said.
I caught up with Mercer recently for a new edition of the Memory Lane podcast. You can catch the entire interview below as he discusses his career, his favorite memories from playing with the Pirates and what he plans to do now that he's retired.
But first and foremost, Mercer will always hold a special place for that magical evening in 2013.
"We knew it was gonna be crazy. We knew it," Mercer said of his Pirates teammates. "But we had no idea it was gonna be like that. And that's what was so cool about the whole situation is fans were going nuts."
Everybody bought into the blackout theme at PNC Park, Mercer recalled, and as Pirates players were watching everything play out, they were in amazement.
"We knew that this place was ready to erupt," Mercer said. "We knew there were hungry, hungry fans ready to do this with us. So we expected some of this, right. We expected it to be crazy hostile. … We did not expect it to be anything like that. I promise you. Nobody on that team expected anything like that.
"I'll never forget when they're doing the starting lineups … and the hair was literally standing up on my neck," he added. "It was crazy. It was absolutely just nuts."
Mercer played in 103 games for the Pirates in 2013, but he didn't appear in the Wild Card Game. Clint Barmes played shortstop that evening.
Still, Mercer could tell that Pittsburgh's passionate baseball fans were ready to go crazy after the buildup from late that season.
"School started back in August, and we were still selling out in August and September -- crazy crowds. Like, you just don't see that in the big leagues when school starts," Mercer said.
"We noticed it big time. … and it was just fun to play in.
"There was quite a bit of pressure throughout the city. You could just feel it, of 20 losing seasons. You knew that you needed to get this done. We wanted to be that team, too. The players in there, we wanted to do it. We wanted to be the team to change it."
And they did just that.
The 2013 Pirates not only ended the 20-year losing streak and reached the playoffs, they also set the tone for three straight postseason appearances.
"We talked about how this is how Pittsburgh should be," Mercer said. "This is how the Pirates organization should be. This town is a humongous sports town. They bleed black and gold. That's what they do.
"We just kept looking around in amazement of how awesome this was and how like, man, we should make this an every year thing. This has got to be something we do on a yearly basis because of how much fun we're having."
The Pirates certainly had a lot of fun in that Wild Card Game -- no one more so than catcher Russell Martin, who hit two home runs.
Martin's first homer capped one of the great moments in recent Pirates history.
With the PNC Park crowd loudly chanting "C-U-E-T-O … C-U-E-T-O," Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto dropped the ball on the mound during Martin's at-bat in the second inning.
Then, this happened:
Mercer, of course, remembers Cueto dropping the ball. All Pirates fans remember that.
But for the Bucco players, Martin's home run that followed remains the biggest memory.
"The one thing I remember is Russ' home run after that," Mercer said. "That's what I remember, and I think a lot of us remember that. Yeah, (Cueto dropping the ball) led into it. I don't think we really thought much of it at the time. But as soon as he hit the home run, I think that's when we were like, What just happened? And then craziness hit."
Check out the entire discussion with Mercer in the Memory Lane podcast below.
