Top 5 Pittsburgh Pirates
Creating my list of the top five Pittsburgh Pirates in team history was a lot more difficult than I thought. The first three were easy, but the trick was narrowing down a list of deserving players for the final two spots.
Bill Mazeroski
While there are plenty of other people who could go into the number five spot on this list, "The Maz" gets the nod because not only is he a Hall of Famer, and one of the best defensive second basemen in baseball history, but he hit what is arguably the most famous home run of all time – the blast that sunk the Yankees in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series.
He wasn’t known for his bat (although he was a .260 lifetime hitter), he wasn’t known for his speed (just 27 career stolen bases), and, 1960 notwithstanding, he wasn’t a home run hitter. But he made the Hall of Fame on the strength of his glove. Eight Gold Gloves in 17 seasons with the Bucs, and a special place in the heart of Pittsburgh fans everywhere.
He wasn’t known for his bat (although he was a .260 lifetime hitter), he wasn’t known for his speed (just 27 career stolen bases), and, 1960 notwithstanding, he wasn’t a home run hitter. But he made the Hall of Fame on the strength of his glove. Eight Gold Gloves in 17 seasons with the Bucs, and a special place in the heart of Pittsburgh fans everywhere.
Ralph Kiner
Kiner burst onto the season after World War II as a 23-year-old outfielder, and became the first great post-WWII home run hitter. He led the National League in home runs for each of his first seven seasons. After hitting 23 in his rookie year, Kiner blasted 51 homers in his sophomore season, 1947, and for the next five years, never hit less than 40. A fan favorite for his prodigious bombs, Kiner eventually moved to first base, and his Pirate career came to an end with a trade to the Cubs midway through the 1953 season.
Back injuries forced Kiner into an early retirement in 1956, and he went on to become the voice of the New York Mets. A new generation of fans knew him as the host of the "Kiner’s Korner" radio program and his frequent malaprops. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1975.
One more Ralph Kiner story: After the 1950 season, when he hit 47 home runs and finished 5th in the MVP voting (after hitting 54 HRs and finishing 4th the season before), Kiner thought that he was deserving of a six-figure salary (at a time when nobody in the National League was making $100,000), and he told team president Branch Rickey. The "Mahatma" responded to his slugger by saying "Son, we finished last in the league last season with you, we can finish last without you, too."
Willie Stargell
The man who turned "We Are Family" from a disco song to a motto for World Champions, Stargell spent his entire 21-year career with the Bucs. He was already on his way to a Hall-of-Fame career when, in 1979, a career renaissance lead to 32 home runs, an NL MVP award, and a second World Series ring at the age of 39. "Pops" was the unquestioned leader of the clubhouse, the head of the Pirates "family" who literally gave out gold stars for quality plays, stars that the players wore on their famous flat hats.
But before all that, Stargell was a powerful slugger, leading the league in homers in 1971 and 1973, finishing second in the MVP race both times. He was known for hitting balls clean out of Forbes Field, the Pirates’ home when he first came up in 1963, and later into the upper deck at Three Rivers Stadium. A first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, his number 8 was retired and a statue of Stargell stands outside of PNC Park, the Pirates’ home field. He might have been the most popular Pirate of all time were it not for the man at No. 1 on this list.
But before all that, Stargell was a powerful slugger, leading the league in homers in 1971 and 1973, finishing second in the MVP race both times. He was known for hitting balls clean out of Forbes Field, the Pirates’ home when he first came up in 1963, and later into the upper deck at Three Rivers Stadium. A first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, his number 8 was retired and a statue of Stargell stands outside of PNC Park, the Pirates’ home field. He might have been the most popular Pirate of all time were it not for the man at No. 1 on this list.
Honus Wagner
Today, John Peter Wagner is best known as the person whose face is on the most valuable baseball card in the world. But for the first decade of the 1900s, "The Flying Dutchman" was baseball’s first all-around superstar. Not only was he the leading hitter and base-stealer of his day, but he also revolutionized the way the shortstop position was played. When Wagner retired, he was the NL career leader in runs, hits and stolen bases. He was a member of the charter class of the Hall of Fame, along with Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson.
Wagner was also a key figure in how the Pirates got their name. Following the 1899 season, he was involved in an incredibly unbalanced 16-player "trade" between his team, the Louisville Colonels, and the Pittsburgh Alleghenys. Newspaper writers blasted the deal, which sent 12 Colonels, including Wagner, fellow future Hall-of-Famers Fred Clarke and Rube Waddell, and ace pitcher Deacon Phillippe. The papers called the Alleghenys "no worse than a bunch of Pirates" for the way the team plundered the financially-desperate Louisville team, and the name stuck.
Roberto Clemente
Most people would say that Honus Wagner was the greatest player in Pirates history, but few can argue that when it comes to a combination of ability and popularity, Roberto Clemente was the greatest Pirate of them all.
He was drafted by the Pirates from the Dodgers organization (there’s that plundering again) before the 1955 season. Forced to stay with the team all season or risk losing him back to the Dodgers, not much was expected of the skinny outfielder, although he did play in all but 30 games that season. It wasn’t until the 1960 season that his career really took off, and from that point on, Clemente failed to hit at least .300 only once, taking four batting titles in that span. He also won the 1966 NL MVP award and was the MVP of the Buccos’ 1971 World Series victory. Clemente was also an outstanding right fielder, winning the Gold Glove 12 straight seasons. His throwing arm was so powerful, former Cardinals catcher and broadcaster Tim McCarver once likened it to a Howitzer.
Sadly, Clemente died on New Year’s Eve, 1972, when his plane crashed off the coast of Puerto Rico. He was on a relief mission to help victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua at the time – he made the decision to go because he wanted to personally guarantee that the aid would make it to the victims. After his death, the Baseball Writers Association of America waived the five-year waiting period for Hall of Fame election, and Clemente was inducted the following summer, becoming the first Latin American Hall of Famer. He finished his career with exactly 3,000 hits.
In addition to having his number 21 retired by the Pirates and a statue outside of PNC Park, Clemente’s legacy is remembered in other ways. The right-field wall is 21 feet high in honor of his position and uniform number. And in 1999, the Sixth Street Bridge over the Allegheny River in downtown Pittsburgh was renamed the Roberto Clemente Bridge. Fittingly, it dominates the view behind right field at PNC Park.
He was drafted by the Pirates from the Dodgers organization (there’s that plundering again) before the 1955 season. Forced to stay with the team all season or risk losing him back to the Dodgers, not much was expected of the skinny outfielder, although he did play in all but 30 games that season. It wasn’t until the 1960 season that his career really took off, and from that point on, Clemente failed to hit at least .300 only once, taking four batting titles in that span. He also won the 1966 NL MVP award and was the MVP of the Buccos’ 1971 World Series victory. Clemente was also an outstanding right fielder, winning the Gold Glove 12 straight seasons. His throwing arm was so powerful, former Cardinals catcher and broadcaster Tim McCarver once likened it to a Howitzer.
Sadly, Clemente died on New Year’s Eve, 1972, when his plane crashed off the coast of Puerto Rico. He was on a relief mission to help victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua at the time – he made the decision to go because he wanted to personally guarantee that the aid would make it to the victims. After his death, the Baseball Writers Association of America waived the five-year waiting period for Hall of Fame election, and Clemente was inducted the following summer, becoming the first Latin American Hall of Famer. He finished his career with exactly 3,000 hits.
In addition to having his number 21 retired by the Pirates and a statue outside of PNC Park, Clemente’s legacy is remembered in other ways. The right-field wall is 21 feet high in honor of his position and uniform number. And in 1999, the Sixth Street Bridge over the Allegheny River in downtown Pittsburgh was renamed the Roberto Clemente Bridge. Fittingly, it dominates the view behind right field at PNC Park.
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