Honoring International Talk Like A Pirate Day - All About the Pirates

In honor of International Talk Like A Pirate Day, we're devoting a post to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In case you haven't checked out the All-Time team, you can do so by clicking the link below:

All-Time Pirates Team

Here are some All-Time Pirate notables... take note of the Pirate references.

All-Time Captain - Willie Stargell
A good captain is worth his weight in gold; Willie Stargell, who earned the nickame "Pops" in his later years, might not have been been the most talented Pirate of all-time but he was certainly a tremendous leader (the leader of the fabled 1979 Pirates team).  He's a hall of famer and the one guy that personifies Pirates Baseball.  

All-Time Skipper - Danny Murtaugh
Murtaugh grew up in Chester, PA, where he attended Chester High School playing basketball and baseball as a member of the Chester High Clippers.  He led the Pirates to two World Championships and had his number retired by the Pirates in 1977.

All-Time Pirate Moment - October 13, 1960: Maz Hits First Series-Ending HR in World Series History to Steal a Championship from the Yankees
The 1960 World Series featuring the heavily favored Yankees of the 1960's and the up-start Pirates, is one of the greatest fall classics in baseball history.  The series was a see-saw up until game seven - the Pirates won game one, the Yankees blasted their way to double-digit wins in games two and three, the Pirates won the next two to take a 3-2 lead in the series before the Yankees won game 6 to set up a decisive game 7 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.  The game was quite possibly the greatest game in baseball history.  The Pirates jumped out to a 4-0 lead (scoring 2 in each of the first two innings) before the Yankees rallied in the 5th and 6th innings to pull ahead 5-4 (scored 1 run in the 5th and 4 in the 6th).  The Yankees would tack on two more in the top of the 8th to pull ahead 7-4 before the Pirates would pull ahead, again.  They scored five runs in the bottom of the frame to take a 9-7 lead heading into the 9th but the resilient and relentless Yankee lineup refused to go down without a fight. The top of the 9th would see them score two more runs to tie the game setting up one of the most iconic moments in baseball history.  With the count 1-0, at approximately 3:36 PM, Bill Mazeroski, who had led off the inning, hit a shot over the head of Yogi Berra, who was playing in left field, to seal the Pirates third World Championship (their first in thirty-five years).  As Yogi dropped to his knees in despair, the Forbes Field crowd erupted; they had witnessed the first ever home run to end a World Series.


Best Pirate Nickname (a Pirate is only as good as his nickname) - Honus Wagner "The Flying Dutchman"

Historical Player Profiles: Arky Vaughan

If you were told the Pittsburgh Pirates have had the two best shortstops in the history of baseball, would you believe it? Although there have been outstanding shortstops over the years including Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Cal Ripken, the argument can most assuredly be made. When you think of Pirate shortstops, Honus Wagner is the immediate thought, and in many circles he is the best to ever play the position. The other great Pirate at SS is Arky Vaughan.

Born in Arkansas, moving to California at a very young age, Joseph Vaughan was given the nickname "Arky" because of his southern accent. The accent was acquired from being around his family, and the nickname was one he supposedly didn't mind. Vaughan broke into the majors with the Pirates in 1932. He made his impact immediately felt by hitting .318 with an on base percentage of .375. He would play along side Hall of Famers Pie Traynor, Paul Waner, and Lloyd Waner during his time with the Pirates. During his ten year stint with the Buccos, Vaughan led the league in runs twice, and three times each he led the league in triples, walks, and on base percentage. 1935 was probably his best year when he led the league in batting at .385, on base at .491, and he hit 19 HR and 99 RBI.

Pirates In First Place After All Star Break

As it stands this very minute, the Pittsburgh Pirates are in a tie for first place in the National League Central. Yes, those Pittsburgh Pirates that haven't had a winning season over .500 since 1992. They're in first place. This Buccos team has seemingly come out of nowhere this year to surprise just about everyone. So, how have they managed to not only stay in the hunt, but lead the pack? Simple, they have scored more runs than they've allowed. In the lineup, the Pirates are getting big numbers from Andrew McCutchen (.290, 14 HR, 56, RBI, 15 SB) who is making a case for best NL center fielder according to my colleague OCP. Other big time contributors include Neil Walker, Jose Tabata, and Garrett Jones.

All-Time Pirates Team

Back to the NL for our All-Time team.  This week, we looked at the Buccos.  Certainly one of the best lineups you're going to find and there were a lot of great position players that didn't make the cut.  We used the "McCovey Rule" to make sure that there were spots for Willie Stargell and Ralph Kiner (although Willie's in the Hall as an outfielder, he makes our team at first base because he played there and he's better than any back up first baseman you're going to find in Pirates history).  Honus Wagner is an exception to our post 1920's rule because he might be the greatest shortstop in baseball history; the only time that we venture into the dead ball era (and prior to that) is when there are players that carry historical significance like Wagner.  For that reason, we left two non-Hall of Fame starting pitchers off of our list that rank 1 and 2 on the Pirates All-Time wins list.  The pitching wasn't great so it was really tough to come to an agreement. In fact, of the ten original baseball franchises, the Pirates are the only team without a pitcher in the Hall of Fame (listed as his primary team).  The other position that generated discussion was catcher; you won't find a clear cut answer here but there are three guys that spent significant time behind the plate in Pittsburgh who are worthy of consideration.  Without further adieu, here is our All-Time Pirates roster.