The Pittsburgh Pirates have been flying under the radar for most of this Major League Baseball season. They got off to a lackluster start after opening the first quarter of the 2015 season with 18 wins and 22 losses.

Instead of the Pirates, most of the attention has been focused on the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The New York Mets also received much attention after coming up victorious most games, as did the Chicago Cubs with their young players.

Due to all of the craze that took place in the NL Central, the Pirates went dark for most of the season. But since late May, the best team in baseball has been the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Since the first 40 games, the Pirates have gone 74-38, a .661 winning percentage, with winning records for each month of the season since June. With 10 games left on the schedule, the Pirates have won 92 games. If they keep the momentum they are on, the Pirates have an opportunity to beat the franchise record of 98 wins, left by the ’91 and ’79 club

Travis Sawchik’s book Big Data Baseball details how the Pirates were able to end their 20 consecutive losing seasons in 2013. It explains how the coaches and the front office used all the possible data they could to make the team better.

As depicted in the 2011 baseball film Moneyball, it’s clear that a World Series victory cannot be achieved by just statistics. Fans need to believe that pitcher A.J. Burnett has another season left in him. Fans have to believe in the scouts that said Jung Ho Kang, a player from Korea, would be able to hit in the majors.

The really interesting part about this ball club is that the Pirates don’t have one, designated strength. When it comes to the Cardinals, they have their bullpen. The Cubs hit home runs, with third-baseman Kris Bryant being a fine example of that. The Dodgers have aces Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, while the New York Metropolitans have a slew of power arms.

The Pirates, while not especially excelling in any one area, are probably the most balanced team of the playoff contenders. They are ranked ninth in walks, fourth in batting average, and 10th in the National League when it comes to home runs. And, they are hitting .277 with runners in scoring position. The pitching staff is ranked fourth in strikeouts. They’re third in fewest runs allowed; they’ve given up the fewest amount of home runs, and they have turned the most double plays.

Closing pitcher Mark Melancon is Pittsburgh’s secret weapon, as the Pirates have only lost one game in which they have led after seven innings. Tony Watson and Jared Hughes both have ERAs hovering around 2.00. The main man to look to for K’s is veteran pitcher Joe Blanton, who has 1.88 ERA with 34 strikeouts since being traded to the Pirates from the Kansas City Royals.

The Pirates are a ball club that desperately needs to make it somewhere this postseason. If not, there is going to be some serious offseason moves, both on the field and in the front office. Simply slipping their way into the postseason just isn’t enough for this franchise anymore. This is indeed a new era for Pittsburgh Pirates baseball.