Now that the Pittsburgh Pirate fans’ wait for a winning season is finally ending, it seems only fitting to look back on some of the players who puffed us full of hope over the past 20 seasons, only to let the air out of us before too long.

Here is my All-Major Hope, Major Letdown Team of the past 20 years:

Pitchers — Jimmy Anderson, Kris Benson, Steve Cooke, Zach Duke, Tom Gorzelanny, Evan Meek, Oliver Perez, Jason Schmidt, Jose Silva, Ian Snell, John Van Benschoten and Paul Wagner.

All of these guys were supposed to be all that at some point early in their big league careers. Some of then actually produced a double-digit win season for the Bucs.

Others — like Duke and Perez — had explosive starts for the Pirates.

All blew up in our faces rather quickly.

Catcher — Ryan Doumit. This was the switch-hitting power hitting backstop who was going to give us such an edge at that position. Problem was, his power was over-rated and he couldn’t play the position.

First Base — Jeff Clement and Brad Eldred. Both were big potential power bats, Clement from the left side of the plate, “Big Country” Eldred from the right.

Both struck out a ton and fizzled quickly.

Second Base — Jose Castillo and Warren Morris. Morris nearly won the Rookie of the Year Award and did nothing afterward. Castillo had speed, power, range — all in the potential category that never shifted over to reality.

Shortstop — Pat Meares. Signed from the Twins as a free agent, Meares was supposed to anchor the position for years. A wrist injury curtailed a career that was going nowhere anyway.

Third Base — Freddy Garcia. One of those Rule V selections who had raw power — and raw skills that never did develop.

Left Field — Midre Cummings. He was a gem of a prospect acquired from Minnesota. That gem turned out to be fake.

Center Field — Chris Duffy. The Pirates gave this speedster four straight years to settle into the leadoff position of the batting order. He settled for mediocrity and a short career in the big leagues instead.

Right Field — Jose Guillen and Chad Hermansen. Guillen had one of the strongest outfield arms to ever play for the Pirates. He drew comparisons to Roberto Clemente that way. He developed attitude issues that resulted in a trade to Tampa Bay after just three seasons in Pittsburgh.

Hermansen was a big power hitter in the minor leagues and brought speed to the table as well. One of the top prospects in all of baseball at one point, he never did make the transition to performing at the major league level.

If all of the above names had reached their potential, baseball in Pittsburgh might have been different over the past two decades. Of course, that’s all in the past now.

Thank goodness.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle