Pittsburgh Pirates
Established: 1882
Other Names:
Allegheny (1882-1886)
Pittsburgh Alleghenys (1887-1890)
2016 results: 78-83,
3rd NL Central
2017 Prediction: 3rd
World Series Titles: 5
Most Recent: 1979
Last World Series
Appearance: 1979
Last Division Title: 1992
Ballpark: PNC
Park
Est: 2001
Best Season: 1909
The Pirates have won four World
Series since the 1909 victory, but even though the two Championship teams in
the 70s were exceptional, they don’t hold a candle to the 1909 squad. They
finished first place in the National League with 110 wins (in 152 games),
easily the most in franchise history. The second-place Cubs won 104 games,
which any other year, would have been enough to capture the flag. The World
Series wasn’t as easy, but the Pirates triumphed in seven games over the
Detroit Tigers, led by arguably the best hitter in baseball history, Ty Cobb.
Pittsburgh was led offensively by Honus Wagner, Dots Miller and Fred Clark
while the pitching staff included Howie Camnits (25 wins), Vic Willis (22) and
Lefty Leifield (19).
Best All-time Player:
Honus Wagner
Eighth on baseball’s All-time
hits list with 3420, Wagner played 18 of his 21 MLB seasons with the Pirates,
collecting 2967 of his hits in Pittsburgh. He also hit 82 home runs, had 1474
RBIs and 639 stolen bases while with the Pirates. He won eight batting titles,
but never finished with an average over .400 and therefore always played second
fiddle to Ty Cobb. But he did have over 100 RBIs nine times in his career while
Cobb did it seven times. But when the two players faced each other in the World
Series in 1909, Wagner batted .333 in leading his team to the Championship
while Cobb hit a miserable .231. Wagner was inducted into the Hall of Fame in
1936.
Best Player on the
Current Roster: Andrew McCutcheon
Not really sure how much longer
McCutcheon will be a Pirate considering all the trade rumours that surrounded
him during the offseason, but as long as he’s on the roster, he’s the best
player on the team. In his eight years with the Pirates, he has accumulated
1304 hits for a .292 batting average, scored 720 runs, hit 175 home runs, added
637 RBIs and stolen 160 bases. He is a five-time All-Star, won four Silver
Sluggers, and was awarded a Gold Glove in 2012. He won the NL MVP Award in 2013
when he batted .317, hit 21 home runs, had 84 RBIs and 27 stolen bases.
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