20 Greatest Pittsburgh Pirates

20

Vern Law

19

John Candelaria

18

Dave Parker

When Parker was named Most Valuable Player in the National League, Cincinnati manager Sparky Anderson called him “the eighth wonder of the world.” If anyone should have been given a $7 million deal, Parker was the man. He proved a good short-term investment when he led the Pirates to the pennant and a victory in the World Series in 1979.

17

Tommy Leach

Tommy Leach and Honus Wagner came up with the Louisville Colonels at the same time and both moved to Pittsburgh after the franchise was transferred there a few years later. The two played 14 seasons together, usually hitting 3-4 in the lineup, Tommy first. They were different types of people, different physically, but they were good friends and shared a lot of train rides together.

16

Bill Mazeroski

Maz was called “No Touch” because he transferred the ball so quickly on the pivot. His range up the middle was amazing, he made plays beyond the bag in shallow center field that most people had never seen before. Teammate Smoky Burgess, who had a front row seat from his position at catcher facing the infield, said: “Maz went up the middle and set to throw quicker than anyone else, and he had a third baseman’s arm.”

15

Pie Traynor

Traynor was famous for spearing drives that were headed down the line, and with his back to first base, firing the ball across the diamond. There are so many newspaper accounts mentioning this play that we have to assume that it was rare to see a third baseman range that far to his right in those days. Bob Broeg, who covered both leagues in St. Louis for decades, insisted Traynor was the greatest gloveman he ever saw at the hot corner. Broeg was prone to exaggeration, but the man did witness Traynor play the position with his own eyes. Rogers Hornsby sang Pie’s praises, and Casey Stengel said: “Of the third basemen, Traynor went farther to his left and made more [plays] than anyone.” In 1969, when Major League Baseball selected a team of the greatest players to celebrate their centennial, Traynor was the third baseman. Three years later, when he was running for reelection, Richard Nixon named Traynor as the greatest third baseman in the history of the National League.

14

Sam Leever

13

Bob Friend

12

Andrew McCutchen

“The hardest thing in baseball is getting that first Gold Glove or Silver Slugger. After you get it, it’s like a breath of fresh air, and you strive for it again. You have that confidence you can do it because you’ve done it before. That’s how it’s going to be with me. I’ve done these things before and I know I can do better.” — McCutchen

11

Ralph Kiner

“Ralph had a natural home run swing. All he needed was somebody to teach him the value of hard work and self-discipline. Early in the morning on off-days, every chance we got, we worked on hitting.” — Hank Greenberg

10

Fred Clarke

One of the most integral figures in the history of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Fred Clarke was player-manager during the deadball era, establishing the team as one of the most successful in baseball. Leading the team from his position in the outfield, the Bucs won four pennants and one world championship, and his teams won nearly 60 percent of their games. Under Clarke, the Pirates favored defense, pitching, and aggressive baserunning. He engaged in numerous battles with the other two dominant managers in the league at that time, John McGraw of the Giants and Frank Chance of the Cubs.

9

Barry Bonds

A tremendous baseball player who was never really happy unless someone kissed his ass. He was probably clean in Pittsburgh, but none of his teammates, and his Hall of Fame manager, could stand him.

8

Wilbur Cooper

7

Babe Adams

Adams was the premier control specialist of the deadball era. He allowed only 1.29 walks per nine innings, which ranks second all-time to teammate Deacon Phillippe. In two of his finest seasons, Babe walked only 41 batters in a combined 526 ⅓ innings. Four times he led the National League in fewest walks per nine, and five times he led in WHIP (walks plus hits per nine innings). In 1914, Adams pitched a 21-inning game without issuing a walk.

6

Max Carey

It’s practically impossible to play five years and have more stolen bases than runs batted in, but Carey played two decades and nearly accomplished it. He led the league in steals ten times and batted leadoff or second in nearly every game he played. He frequently came to the plate right after the pitcher made an out. He put himself in scoring position a lot, and even though players were thrown out stealing a lot in his era, he once swiped 31 straight bags. Carey was credited as being the most studious base stealer of his time. He observed every pitcher in the league until he understood their tendencies and pickoff moves. He was clever too: one of Max’s favorite tricks was to turn to look at the first baseman, and when he saw him move his feet to hop back into fielding position, Carey would bolt for second base.

5

Willie Stargell

People probably said more nice things about Willie Stargell than any player in history, with the possible exception of Mariano Rivera. Maybe Bobby Doerr is in that conversation. When the Pirates held “Willie Stargell Day” in 1980, Houston second baseman Joe Morgan sent a telegram that read: “Some people are only superstars statistically, but you are a .400 hitter as a person. When I grow up, I want to be just like you.”

4

Arky Vaughan

“He was one of the fellows who went out of his way to be nice to me when I came in here as a rookie. Believe me, I needed it. He was a fine fellow.” — Jackie Robinson

3

Paul Waner

2

Roberto Clemente

Ranks among the ten greatest right fielders in baseball history.

1

Honus Wagner

Wagner was a freak, one of those athletes who seemed genetically a generation ahead of his time. Like Wilt Chamberlain and Jim Brown, Joe Louis and Gordie Howe, and of course Babe Ruth a decade or so later, Wagner was just better than everyone else. He could throw harder, run faster, hit the ball farther than anyone else. The game came easy to him, and he could outthink the other players on the diamond too. John McGraw said that no shortstop he ever saw could go as deep in the hole to get the ball like Honus. His fielding statistics are strange because we look at them through the lens of modern times, but remember he was playing with basically an oven mitt on his left hand on fields littered with rocks. In comparison to his league, Wagner’s statistics are more impressive than anyone other than the Bambino.