Pittsburgh Pirates: 30 greatest players in franchise history

The Pittsburgh Pirates have had plenty of great players. Which men crack the top-30 of all-time?

For more than 100 years, the Pittsburgh Pirates have taken the field annually with a roster of men looking to win a championship. As of 2019, the franchise’s record sits a few points above .500. They’ve retired eight numbers and have employed more than two dozen Hall of Famers during their existence. Some of those men are all-time greats in Major League Baseball history.

In those attempts to win a World Series, they’ve come away successful five times. It’s a rich history with periods of sustained winning and lengthy droughts they hope to never live through again.

With a history as long as this one, the most unfortunate takeaway I had when making this list of the greatest Pirates player is how few All-Stars, MVPs and Cy Young winners there were. Many of the greats played before those so honors even existed. So we don’t have those accomplishments listed on the back of their valuable baseball cards.

Still, thanks to the accessibility of record books, we’re able to look at numbers and compare Pirates players from the past to each other and major league players from all years.

When trying to decide the greatness of athletes, it’s important to look at more than numbers. The importance to the franchise is also something to weigh. The championships this team won are spread out over the years, so there aren’t too many guys who won more than one. Many of the best, though, did come away with at least one.

Like all franchises, the Pirates moved on from some players too soon or got the final, less-productive years from others. Thankfully, they did get some great seasons from many others to help make this a nice, full list capable of competing alongside most. Let’s begin with No. 30.

One of the few Pirates on this list many of us had an opportunity to see play, Andy Van Slyke was a valuable, sometimes overlooked part of the Pirates from 1987 to 1994. His five Gold Glove Awards, three All-Star selections and a pair of Silver Sluggers help make him a top-30 player in team history.

Van Slyke finished fourth in the MVP vote twice while with the Pirates. In 1992, he did so with a league-leading 199 hits and 45 doubles. It was the last great full season for Van Slyke and an important one to the Pirates franchise. Their trip to the 1992 postseason was the last they would have for two decades.

Van Slyke sits 15th in WAR for position players. His mix of above-average power and his ability to hit for a good average, as well as his OBP are reasons for this.

In his 4,441 trips to the plate in black and yellow, Van Slyke slashed .283/.353/.458. His 1988 season included two notable career-bests when he smashed 25 home runs and drove in 100 runs.

During those productive Pirates seasons of the early 1990s when they won three straight NL East titles, Van Slyke was the center fielder in Pittsburgh. He didn’t do much in the postseason, but without him, they may have never been in that position in the first place.

Free agency after the 1994 season ended prematurely signaled the end of Van Slyke’s time in Pittsburgh. In those eight years, he did plenty to make himself a memorable member of Pirates history.

Due to the era in which he played for the Pirates, many wouldn’t name Brian Giles as a franchise great. However, when you crunch what he did in his four and a half seasons in Pittsburgh, they measure up really well.

Giles joined the Pirates in 1999 and immediately became an impact in the middle of the order. He hit 39 home runs that first year and drove in 115 runs. He had an equally as impressive year in 2000 when Giles smacked 35 home runs and drove in 123.

Over the next few seasons, Giles quietly put together a tremendous baseball career in Pittsburgh. He hit 165 home runs in 3,114 plate appearances. He did so with an impressive .308/.426/.591 batting line and a pair of All-Star selections. Based on the numbers, he could have easily gone to the Midsummer Classic in each season.

The interesting thing about Giles in his time with the Pirates is that he managed to set a few franchise records. He currently holds the best lifetime slugging percentage at .591 and the greatest OPS at 1.018. I believe a big reason for this is that despite having some great sluggers in franchise history, many of their best hitters played in the early days of baseball.

Along with those power percentages, he’s second in OBP for a Pirates career by only three points. Another power statistic he ranks No. 2 in is at-bats per home run.

Giles is an outlier in Pirates history. He was with them during some very dark days. Wins were hard to find. Great seasons from him were not.

In parts of 17 seasons with the Pirates, Lloyd Waner put together an impressive Hall of Fame career. Beginning with his 223 hits in 1927, Waner delivered many consistent notable seasons. These include 220+ hits in each of his first three seasons. You’ll have a tough time finding a player burst onto the scene with as much firepower as this.

Waner’s 234 hits in 1929 set a personal career-high. For as great as this was, he only led the league once in this category when he struck 214 hits in 1931. As a member of the Pirates, Waner finished with 2,317 hits. Only five Pirates in franchise history have more.

Many of Waner’s numbers don’t stand out because he was primarily a singles hitter. His 198 singles in 1927 is a franchise record.

To understand how Waner played the game, it helps to know how well he was able to put his bat on the ball. His 43.4 at-bats per strikeout is the best in team history. In fact, only Willie Keeler and Joe Sewell have better totals in their MLB careers. This is some impressive company.

Waner’s single-season high for strikeouts came in his rookie campaign when he fanned 23 times. In 7,773 plate appearances with the Pirates, he only struck out 167 times.

At the end of his Pirates career, Waner produced a .319/.356/.399 slash line. Although many were singles, they helped make Pittsburgh better as a ball club. He was a dangerous run-scoring threat who always seemed to find a way to get on base and put the ball in play.

Shortstop Dick Groat was in the right place at the right time with the Pirates. As the team was building up toward something special, he put together a great year in 1960 and helped the team win a championship. The season was strong enough to earn him the National League MVP award and a batting title with an average of .325.

A military man like pitcher Vern Law, who as you know won the Cy Young in 1960 with the Pirates, Groat began his career in 1952 and stayed with the Pirates through 1962. He was a three-time All-Star with Pittsburgh and a lifetime .290/.329/.370 hitter.

One thing Groat never did accomplish in his MLB career was a Gold Glove victory. He had a positive WAR each year of his career while in Pittsburgh. However, without these advanced metrics back in the 1950s and 1960s, voters likely looked at the high error totals and passed on him.

Groat’s 1,435 hits are 15th all-time in Pirates history. He was the second MVP winner in franchise history following a drought which lasted over 30 years.

The light-hitting shortstop didn’t have a particularly strong World Series in 1960, as he hit just .214/.214/.286 in the seven games. Still, anyone who can win the league’s MVP for the eventual World Series winner definitely had an impact even with his presence alone.

Groat never had any monster years for the Pirates. He was more of a consistent hitter and fielder of the era. A true throwback to an earlier era, he’s worthy of a spot on this list.

Catchers like Jason Kendall are incredibly rare. During his nine seasons with the Pirates from 1996 to 2004, he showed off how uniquely talented he was. Even if the team wasn’t winning much, he was someone fans could root for.

Kendall debuted in 1996 and made the National League All-Star team as a rookie. He did so two more times with the Pirates. Thanks to his ability to start 140+ games as a catcher consistently and play well when he was in the lineup, Kendall managed to become of the league’s best backstops.

On offense, Kendall thrived with a mix of hitting for average and using his uncharacteristically good speed. It’s uncommon to see a catcher steal a lot of bases. From 1998 to 2000, Kendall stole more than 20 in each season.

Kendall was as dangerous at the plate as any leadoff man in baseball. You don’t see catchers bat first in many lineups. However, his .306/.387/.418 batting line tells us why he did see time in the one-hole while with the Pirates.

Kendall often batted well over .300 and would finish the year with an OBP above the .400 mark. He did whatever he could to get on base; including his Pirates record of 177 hit by pitches. Only two others have ever reached 100.

In six of his nine seasons, Kendall was a .300 hitter for Pittsburgh. Three times he finished with an OBP above .400 with the final two seasons each finishing at .399.

Had he played on better teams, his status in MLB history may have been different. Unfortunately, Kendall didn’t see any playoff action at all with the Pirates, as his tenure in Pittsburgh lasted through their postseason drought.

Only two Pirates have won the Cy Young award. Doug Drabek was the most recent to do so in 1990. Thirty years earlier, Vern Law took home the honor. At the time, Major League Baseball shared the award between the leagues. On a team bound for championship glory, Law was credited as the best pitcher in 1960 in all of baseball.

Law gets bonus points for his military service, which removed him from baseball in 1952 and 1953. Fortunately for him, this was the beginning of his career. He was able to bounce back from a poor freshman and sophomore season in 1950 and 1951, as well as another rough year in 1954.

In the late 1950s, Law found his groove. His ERA started to go down and his win totals began to climb. In 1959, he won 18 games with a 2.98 ERA. The next year he went 20-9 with a 3.08 ERA. As you already know, it was the Cy Young season for him.

The year was masterful for the time and included a sixth-place finish in the MVP vote, leading to the only All-Star selection of his career. Law was good, but never as outstanding as he was in this particular year. He pitched to contact for much of his career. The 120 strikeouts he had in 1960 were a career high and came with an average of only four per nine innings.

Law made three starts for the Pirates in the 1960 World Series and left with a 2-0 record and 3.44 ERA. It was a memorable year for him and one the City of Pittsburgh needed. His 18 complete games in the regular season led the league one year after tossing 20 games from start to finish in 1959.

All 16 of his MLB seasons took place with the Pirates. Law would win 162 games for them while posting a 3.77 ERA.

When the topic of borderline Hall of Famers not already in Cooperstown comes up, I’ve heard the name Al Oliver mentioned on more than one occasion. His Pirates career only got things started. In those parts of 10 seasons with Pittsburgh, Oliver was an incredibly steady bat in the lineup. It’s quite clear why many who saw him play think so highly of him.

After four games in 1968, Oliver’s official rookie campaign took place in 1969. He was the Rookie of the Year runner-up with a .285/.333/.445 batting line and 17 home runs to help his case. Numbers like this were typical from Oliver throughout his time with the Pirates.

Oliver would go on to receive three All-Star selections while with the Pirates. He received MVP consideration five times with two seven-place finishes as the highlight. Overall numbers included 135 home runs and a .296/.335/.454 batting line.

Oliver was with the Pirates for the 1971 World Series victory, but unfortunately, left before they won again in 1979. He didn’t have any memorable postseason series. In six playoff series with the Pirates, he never finished with a batting average above .250.

The left-handed hitting first baseman/outfielder doesn’t own any notable Pirates records for a single-season or career. He was, nevertheless, a presence in the lineup the team could rely on to bat around .300. Four times he finished with an average over .300. Every full season he played, Pittsburgh fans saw him hit at least 11 home runs and drive in 61 runs.

Long before relievers were earning big dollars and valuing the save, Roy Face was the man finishing games for the Pirates. His failure as a starter led to a career as an incredibly successful reliever. Thankfully it turned out this way. Face was an amazing Pirates pitcher throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

Face’s first year as a near full-time reliever was in 1956 when he appeared in 68 games. It was only the beginning of his transition.

In 1958, he led the league with 20 saves. A year later, Face went 18-1 as a relief pitcher. He finished seventh in the MVP vote and earned the first of three All-Star selections.

Face led the league in saves two more times with 17 in 1961 and 28 in 1962. His Pirates career ended with 186 saves and 547 games finished. Both are records nobody has managed to beat.

The 100 wins Face managed to collect mostly as a reliever are a notable highlight of a tremendous career. Maybe more important for a list like this, his 802 games show off how long he spent in Pittsburgh. No other pitcher has stepped on a mound for the Pirates as often as him.

The Pirates haven’t had many amazing closers over the years. Usually, the good ones they do land, don’t stay. Face was different. Through the highs and lows, they could count on him to be there for the ninth inning and more.

Face meant a lot to the Pirates. Looking at his numbers and accomplishments, it’s safe to say he meant a lot to Major League Baseball as well. His talent helped shape the usefulness of relief pitchers.

On the great Pirates teams of the 1970s, you could usually find Manny Sanguillen in the lineup. The two-time World Champion and three-time All-Star catcher spent all but one season with the Pirates. He returned to the Pirates after that one year with the Oakland Athletics, ready to help them win one more championship before his career was over.

Sanguillen was far from elite. In an era when Johnny Bench was setting a new standard for catchers, he sometimes went forgotten.

Still, Sanguillen made a name for himself in Pittsburgh. He was a true contact hitter who never struck out more than 48 times in a season. He hit over .300 four times and finished with a batting line with the Pirates of .299/.329/.403.

Sanguillen never won any major awards, but he did receive mild MVP consideration four times. In 1971, he came closest to capturing the award with an eighth-place spot in the final results.

Although he didn’t play much in the 1979 postseason, Sanguillen was an important part of the 1971 championship. He batted .379 in the seven-game series versus the Baltimore Orioles and stole a pair of bases.

One thing to note about Sanguillen’s career, which includes the year in Oakland, is that his .296 batting is the 10th highest for any catcher in MLB history. Since WWII, it’s the fourth highest.

As far as catchers go, Sanguillen is one of the best offensive ones Major League Baseball has had. He didn’t hit for incredible power, but pure hitting capabilities put him in a unique class without too many members.

Relief pitcher Kent Tekulve spent parts of 12 seasons with the Pirates. In a time when relievers were still trying to carve out their niche, he was a unique pitcher way ahead of his time.

Tekulve led the league in games three times while with the Pirates. In 1979, he appeared in 94 games and reached 135.1 innings pitched, all as a reliever. It was not uncommon for Tekulve to have years like this. One season prior, he had similar numbers in these categories.

Tekulve was more than a relief pitcher. He was often called upon to close the game. While his season-high in saves is only 31 (done twice) he is listed as second all-time in team history with 158 saves. His 470 games finished may be more notable, as many of those outings likely didn’t provide save opportunities for him.

The one-time All-Star accomplished something more important. In 1978 and 1979, Tekulve finished fifth in the Cy Young vote. He was a multi-inning relief threat for more than half of his team’s games. With a 2.33 and 2.75 ERA in each season respectively, he was a key member of the team’s success.

Tekulve earned three saves in the 1979 World Series. His last came in Game 7 when he tossed a one-two-three inning against the Baltimore Orioles to take the series.

As of 2019, he was the last man to throw a pitch in a Pirates’ World Series game. There aren’t too many other relievers in franchise history they would want on the mound closing out the game than Tekulve.

When Ed Morris was pitching for the Pirates, the game was a little bit different. Some may even call it unrecognizable. This is what happens when you play a sport at its very early stages.

Morris pitched for the Pirates from 1885 to 1889. During this time, he put together two or three of the greatest years any Pittsburgh pitcher ever has.

In 1885, Morris finished the year with a 13.3 WAR. This is the highest for a pitcher in any single-season. The following year, he set an incredible runner-up mark at 10.9. The number he finished with in 1885 is the 18th highest in MLB history.

Morris owns many Pirates single-season records. His 41 wins, 326 strikeouts and 63 complete games in 1886 are among them. Plenty of pitchers don’t even start 63 games over two seasons. Morris completed that many in 1885 and 1886. In fact, he completed every game he started both years and nearly all but five in his Pirates career.

I understand baseball was different back then. However, it’s undeniable how one-of-a-kind Morris was even for then.

Baseball historians have credited Morris as “the first great left-handed pitcher in history.” If he was born 100 years later with the same talent, he would have surely put together some fascinating seasons.

Morris’ spot on this list isn’t as high as others because of how short his Pirates career was. In those five seasons, he still managed to capture attention with 129 wins and a 2.81 ERA. If only anyone reading this had a chance to see it in person.

Lefty John Candelaria never won a major award while with the Pirates. He only made it to one All-Star Game, too. Nevertheless, he was an important part of their success in the late 1970s. His sixth-place spot in franchise history in WAR is one example of how he measures up against others from his era.

Candelaria’s MLB career began in 1975 and parts of 12 seasons were spent with the Pirates. The highest ERA he ever had in a season was only 4.01. This level of consistency made him vital.

The 1977 season is the one where Candelaria burned brightest. He went 20-5 with a league-best 2.34 ERA. His fifth-place Cy Young finish and lone All-Star selection were honors he took home as well.

Amazingly, Candelaria is the all-time leader in several pitching statistics among all Pirates. These include base-out runs saved, win-probability added and other advanced analytics. Admittedly, I’m not well-versed enough in these numbers to explain them any further than to say it’s a really good thing to be at the top of the list.

Pittsburgh could count on wins from Candelaria. He went 124-87 while representing the Pirates, posting a 3.17 ERA in his 1,873 innings pitched as a starter and reliever. If not for his poor finish in 1993, the end totals would have looked better.

One other accomplishment to note is Candelaria’s fourth-place spot in team history in strikeouts. The Pirates haven’t had too many great pitchers in the post-WWII era. Candelaria stands out as one of the better arms they have employed.

Often unfairly credited as “the worst player in the Hall of Fame,” Bill Mazeroski is known for two things. One is his walk-off home run in the 1960 World Series. The other is his Hall of Fame defense.

Defensive players don’t get their justice when it comes to Cooperstown. Mazeroski is an all-time defender, owning a defensive WAR of 24. This number is the 23rd highest in MLB history.

I don’t want to make this into a debate about his spot in Cooperstown. Instead, let’s focus on why he’s one of the greatest Pirates to ever put on a pair of cleats.

Mazeroski spent all 17 years of his MLB career in Pittsburgh. Spanning from 1956 to 1972, he was an All-Star seven times. He also won eight Gold Gloves in his march to become one, if not, the greatest defensive second baseman in baseball history.

At the plate, Mazeroski was underwhelming. He slashed .260/.299/.367. Struggles in his final four seasons definitely dragged the totals down from an already non-fantastic level.

Even though his bat wasn’t the fattest, Mazeroski made his mark on the Pirates franchise. He won two World Series with the organization. As already stated, a home run over the left field wall in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series highlights his career.

An offensive plus, Mazeroski does rank eighth in franchise history with 2,016 hits. I suppose spending 17 years in one city will help here. To even do that, though, is an accomplishment in itself.

Whatever you think of Mazeroski and his spot in the National Baseball Hall of Fame is irrelevant. He’s a true Pirate with one of MLB’s biggest hits.

One of many notable pitchers from the early 1900s to play for the Pirates, Deacon Phillippe spent all but one season with the team. His MLB career started in 1899 at age 27 with the Louisville Colonels before spending the next 12 seasons with the Pirates.

In his first four seasons in Pittsburgh, Phillippe was a 20-game winner. His 25 wins in 1903 set a personal best. Through all of his years with the Pirates, he managed to come away with 168 wins, which puts him fifth in franchise history.

Phillippe ranks seventh in team history for pitcher WAR at 30.0. His great control on the mound was a major key to his success. Phillippe five times with the lowest walks per nine rate.

The 1909 season signaled a change for Phillippe. He began to see more action as a reliever and with a lot of success. He was nearly a full-time reliever in 1910, which turned out to be a good thing. He went 14-2 for a league-best .875 winning percentage. His 2.29 ERA in eight starts and 23 relief appearances also highlighted one last great year from him.

There aren’t any major statistics you will find Phillippe listed at the top of in team history. However, he’s a top-five in many thanks to his well-roundedness on the mound.

Phillippe was one of many famous Pirates traded by the Louisville team to Pittsburgh weeks before the turn of the century. While he is far from the best-known in the group, he put together a career no one should ever forget.

In sixth-place on the all-time list of Pirates home runs, we find Dave Parker. His 166 home runs in 11 seasons with the Pirates is a highlight of a career that also included an MVP, three Gold Gloves and four All-Star selections while representing Pittsburgh. He was much more than a power hitter. He was a guy who played baseball at an elite level.

If Parker stayed in Pittsburgh longer, we probably would have seen him land higher on this list. His 34.8 WAR ranks 14th in franchise history. However, it’s the plethora of accomplishments he made outside of this one number that makes him so special.

Parker isn’t No. 1 in any major statistic, nor does he own any single-season Pirates records. It’s the previously mentioned awards, plus his pair of batting titles that help make him a great.

During the Pirates’ run to a championship in 1979, Parker delivered in both the NLCS and World Series. He batted .333 against the Cincinnati Reds before putting together an even better series versus the Baltimore Orioles. In that World Series, Parker slashed .345/.394/.448 with four RBI.

One year before winning the MVP, Parker led the league with 215 hits and 44 doubles in 1977. He added a few more league-leading totals in the MVP season, including a .585 slugging percentage. Parker ultimately finished his career in Pittsburgh with a .305/.353/.494 batting line. Those two seasons stand out as the best.

Parker never got much attention when it came to the Hall of Fame vote. One day, though, we may see a Veteran’s Committee elect him.

All 13 seasons of Sam Leever’s MLB career took place with the Pirates. From 1898 to 1910, not a single pitch of his at the major league level took place with any other organization. Even back then, this was somewhat uncommon.

Leever was more than a kid with perfect Pirates attendance. Each year, the Pirates could count on him for double-digit wins and an ERA below 3.18. I am almost literal with this. In all but his first and final two seasons, this description is an exact fit for Leever.

Leever won 21 games in 1899 and finished seasons with 20+ victories three more times after that. His lifetime ERA of 2.47 and 194 total wins are among the best any Pirate has ever produced. The ERA is fourth all-time with the win total tied for second-place.

In addition to those spots on the leaderboard, Leever has the fourth highest WAR for pitchers at 41.9. It’s clear to see why. He won often and didn’t give the opposing time many chances to score runs.

Leever did pitch in the 1903 World Series. Unfortunately, he didn’t perform well. In two starts, he went 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA.

For what it’s worth, Leever was spectacular in the regular season that year. He went 25-7 with a league-leading 2.06 ERA. The Pirates can credit him for helping to get them into the postseason, which at the time, landed a team directly into the World Series.

Like any pitcher who played over 100 years ago, it’s tough to know just how great he was. There were no All-Star Games or major awards back then. Considering he led the league in winning percentage three times and is right there with many other great Pirates pitchers of the time, it’s safe to put Leever among the elite.

The long Pirates playoff drought ended in 2013. A big reason for it was the talent and leadership of outfielder Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen won the National League MVP and helped the Pirates earn their first spot in the postseason in more than two decades.

During his nine seasons in Pittsburgh, McCutchen managed to accumulate a 39.3 WAR. This was good enough to land him 10th all-time in this category in franchise history.

McCutchen wasn’t able to set any new highs in team history or set any single-season records. However, he was a well-rounded player from the beginning. During his best years with the Pirates from 2012 to 2015, McCutchen always finished in the top-five of the MVP vote. Each year, he had an OBP over .400

Just about every achievement possible was unlocked in those nine seasons. Aside from never taking his team all the way, McCutchen managed to do a lot with the Pirates.

Included with the MVP is a Gold Glove, four Silver Sluggers and five All-Star appearances. A mix of power, speed and an ability to get on base highlighted his time in Western Pennsylvania. He is by far the best player the franchise has had this century, making him an easy selection.

McCutchen is still active as of 2019 and will play a few more seasons. There’s nothing to suggest he will ever return to the Pirates, but I wouldn’t be surprised if in the final years of his career we see him finish in the city where he began his career.

Fred Clarke’s name may sound common enough. However, he was anything but your typical baseball player. His career ended more than 100 years ago. So if you’re reading this right now and you can say you saw him play, I’m not going to believe you.

Clarke spent parts of 15 seasons with the Pirates. If we eliminate the 12 games he played over his final three seasons, his numbers actually look a little more impressive, as he was able to do more over less time.

When it comes to WAR, Clarke ranks eighth in Pirates history. He’s also 10th in hits and in the top-10 of a few other categories.

Perhaps his best season, Clarke led the league in 1903 with 32 doubles, a .532 slugging percentage and a .946 OPS. He was with the team for two World Series appearances, winning it all for Pittsburgh in 1909.

Clarke is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame for his playing skills. One could argue he deserves a spot in there for his managing career as well. During his tenure with the Pirates, Clarke was a player and manager at the same time. His .595 winning percentage with the Pirates is the highest in franchise history. To accomplish this over a 16-year span is tremendous.

The days of player/managers are well in the past. Clarke may be the best baseball has ever seen in terms of how long he did both at an elite level. As a true legend in Pirates history, it’s no surprise to see him land on this list.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Bob Friend was usually the best pitcher on the Pirates. In his 15 seasons with the club, he won 191 games while pitching to a 3.55 ERA.

While not spectacular, these numbers stand out in the franchise’s history. The win total ranks fourth all-time in team history. The 47.7 WAR he earned over those seasons is third.

Friend is a little more modern than other Pirates pitchers on this list. Because of this, we can more easily measure where he is among all-time franchise greats.

Friend never won a Cy Young, but in the short period he had a chance, he did finish third in the voting once. This occurred in 1958, when he won a league-best 22 games over 38 starts.

Nobody on the Pirates struck out more batters than Friend did. His 1,682 is a franchise record that remains today.

While with the Pirates, Friend did make one postseason appearance. The 1960 World Series included a memorable match-up between the Pirates and New York Yankees. Unfortunately for Friend, he pitched terribly. Friend went 0-2 in the series with a 13.50 ERA in two starts and a relief appearance.

Friend’s career was far from Hall of Fame worthy. However, he pitched incredibly well at a time when the Pirates needed him most. If not for a regular season in 1960 that included 18 wins and a 3.00 ERA, they may not have even had a chance to win it all. For this and other reasons, he’s an all-time great for the Pirates.

With a nickname like Babe, you better be a good baseball player. Thankfully, Babe Adams was just that.

The right-handed hurler had an interesting career, which began more than 100 years ago. After some struggles early on, he put together his first full season in MLB at 27 years old in 1909. Adams went 12-3 with the Pirates with a franchise-record 1.11 ERA over 130 innings. I don’t care what era it was. This was amazing.

Adams continued to pitch well for the Pirates over the next few seasons. However, a horrible 1916 campaign, which included a 5.72 ERA, put a temporary stop to it. He was demoted to the minor leagues and didn’t play a full year with Pittsburgh again until 1919. At this stage, he was already 37 years old.

Against the odds, Adams won 17 games for the 1919 Pirates and another 17 the following season. He was a good pitcher for several more seasons, eventually winning 194 games for Pittsburgh over parts of 18 seasons. Even until today, he has the highest WAR for a pitcher at 49.8.

Among other accomplishments, Adams is second in Pirates wins (194) and first in shutouts (44). He is not in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but he is one of only a few Pirates to have won more than one World Series with the team.

Adams pitched in both the 1909 championship and again in 1925. He was a far more important piece in 1909 when he went 3-0 against Ty Cobb the Detroit Tigers with a 1.33 ERA. In Game 7, he tossed a six-hit shutout and kept Cobb off the bases.

We could all debate who the greatest pitcher in Pirates history is. Frankly, not many of us can go off more than statistics. From looking at those numbers, I believe the title belongs to Wilbur Cooper. Their ERAs are an exact match which is why I give the edge to the man who won more games.

Cooper pitched for the Pirates from 1912 to 1924. During this time, he won a team record 202 games, while also tossing a franchise-best 263 complete games. Although, he does place second in WAR to Babe Adams by only a slight margin at 48 to 49.8.

Cooper isn’t a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but he sure could be. Because he pitched in relief often, I feel as if he didn’t have an opportunity to amass more wins than he did. This was the case for many pitchers back then, including Adams.

Measuring Cooper’s numbers up to today’s standards is impossible. When he played a century ago, pitchers stayed in games longer.

On a side note, Cooper was a pretty good hitter, too. He batted .240/.270/.305 while with the Pirates. In 1922, he hit the only four home runs of his Pittsburgh career.

Unfortunately for Cooper, he never got to play in the postseason with the Pirates. They traded him a year before winning the 1925 World Series.

In today’s MLB, it’s hard enough to win 200 games. Cooper will likely go down as the only player in Pirates history to leave the ballpark with 200 victories. The National League will be lucky enough to see someone else accomplish this in our lifetime, let alone one city with a single player.

Blink and you may have missed Ralph Kiner’s MLB career. For a guy who played in only 10 big league seasons, he accomplished a lot. It’s a shame he didn’t last longer. A back injury ended his career prematurely, making him what essentially equates to the Sandy Koufax of sluggers.

Kiner debuted in 1946 for the Pirates and finished the year with a league-leading 23 home runs. The total was a rare low during a decade when the National League lacked tremendous pop. Thankfully, Kiner hit just enough in his rookie year to set forth an amazing streak.

In every full season he spent in Pittsburgh, Kiner led the league in home runs. There’s no typo here. From 1946 to 1952, Kiner hit as many or more home runs than everyone else. Johnny Mize tied him twice and Hank Sauer tried to dethrone Kiner once.

Kiner was a rare player for any era. His league-leading home run totals were never pipsqueak like it was in 1946. He smashed 51 in 1947, 40 in 1948, 54 in 1949, 47 in 1950, 42 in 1951 and finally another 37 in 1952. All told, he hit 301 home runs for the Pirates.

The specific period from 1947 to 1951 was the best for Kiner. Each year, he hit 40+ home runs, while scoring and driving in 100+ runs. He led the league in OPS three times during those great seasons and made his mark on MLB history.

Although he doesn’t own any all-time Pirates records other than home runs per at-bat, he does have some single-season records. These include the .658 slugging percentage and 54 home runs in 1949, as well as the 137 walks in 1951.

In the early days of the Pirates, Max Carey was the guy they could rely on to steal a base. We often associated those Deadball Era players with playing small-ball. They hit lots of singles and steal bags. This was the type of player Carey was, except he was one of the better to do it.

Carey led the league in stolen bases 10 times from 1913 to 1925. The 63 bags he stole in 1916 was the high. Amazingly, this was never a single-season record for the franchise. In fact, Carey’s National Baseball Hall of Fame career doesn’t include any single-season records for Pirates players.

Carey does own other achievements. His 688 stolen bases with the Pirates is more than anyone else in franchise history. He’s the ninth-best base stealer of all-time with 738 for his entire career. If we only include the bases he stole with the Pirates, he’s still No. 12.

Unfortunately, Carey’s career began in 1910, so many of his best seasons took place before the MVP award existed. He retired before the first All-Star Game, too. Those are just additional accomplishments he could have added to his Pirates’ resume.

During his 17 seasons in Pittsburgh, Carey managed to compile a 52.3 WAR. This ranks sixth all-time in team history.

The speedy center fielder made one trip to the World Series in 1925, when the Pirates took on the Washington Senators. Carey made the most of the October seven-game series, batting .458/.552/.625 in 31 trips to the plate. The Pirates won the series after they were down 3-1. Carey’s three doubles in Game 7 against Walter Johnson certainly helped.

Barry Bonds is best remembered for his majestic home runs while with the San Francisco Giants. Before he was doing that, Bonds was hammering long balls for the Pirates. Although his Pittsburgh accomplishments don’t measure up to what he did in the Bay Area, Bonds is still an easy choice as an all-time Pirates great.

Debuting in 1986, Bonds was a quick-footed outfielder with some pop. He hit 16 home runs and stole 36 bases in his rookie season. He continued to get better for the rest of the decade and into the 1990s.

Bonds made his first All-Star team in 1990. It was also the same year he won the MVP. What’s more, Bonds added a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove to his mantle. Clearly, the kid was something special.

For two more years, Pirates fans got to see the future home run champion clobber home runs. He finished second in the MVP in 1991 and won the award in his final season as a Pirate in 1992. In both years, he also took home the Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove.

This was just a preview of what the future held for Bonds. In those seven seasons, we still did see Bonds smack 176 home runs and steal 251 bases. He came up just short of 1,000 hits, settling at 984.

Bonds is seventh in franchise history with a 50.3 WAR. He didn’t stay long enough to set any franchise records, which he surely would have if not for free agency. Bonds is the only player in team history to win multiple MVPs. Hopefully, someone joins him in the near future.

Old-school baseball names don’t get much better than Arky Vaughan. Born as Joseph Floyd Vaughan in Arkansas, we can guess where the nickname came from.

In 10 seasons with the Pirates, he never once hit below .300. He led the league in multiple categories throughout his career. You could often find him atop the list of players in runs scored, OBP and triples. He was, without a doubt, consistently one of the best players in the league.

Vaughan’s statistics are impossible to comprehend from today’s standard. He walked 778 times with the Pirates. During the decade he spent in Pittsburgh, Vaughan only struck out 227 times. Drawing walks was a specialty of his; something he led the league in three times.

Vaughan doesn’t hold any major lifetime records for the Pirates. However, his 1935 season is one of the best a Pirates player has ever had.

The year finished with Vaughan batting .385/.491/.607. The batting average and OBP are both single-season Pirates records that remain today. I don’t expect anyone to beat them either. The 1.098 OPS also set a new high. While there have been challengers in Pirates uniforms since, nobody has reached his number.

An All-Star selection was all but a given for Vaughan during his Pittsburgh days. From 1934 to 1941, he cracked the roster each season. In addition to this honor, he placed third in the MVP vote twice.

Vaughan’s final contribution to the Pirates came in 1985 when he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The overdue honor, unfortunately, came well after he passed away.

Some sluggers don’t get the credit they deserve. I believe Willie Stargell is one of those men.

All 21 of his MLB seasons took place as a member of the Pirates. During that time, he was a seven-time All-Star, two-time home run champion and an MVP winner. Men with these accomplishments are a rare breed.

Stargell began his MLB career in 1962. It only took him until 1964 to become an All-Star for the first time. By 1965, he was receiving consideration in the MVP vote on an almost yearly basis.

The best way to describe Stargell is “run producer.” He drove in 100 or more runs five times in his career. Four other times he settled for an RBI total in the 90s. He was a true monster at the plate and someone National League foes did not want to mess with.

Although he won the 1979 MVP in a year where he wasn’t even an All-Star, Stargell’s best seasons came at the beginning of the 1970s. From 1971 to 1973, Stargell put together his three best years.

They included a league-leading 48 home runs in 1971 and another home run crown in 1973 with 44 more. The 1973 season included two other notable league-leading totals. Nobody had more doubles (43) or RBI (119) than Stargell.

MVP voters took notice of his feats with a second-place finish in 1971 and 1973, as well as a third-place finish in 1972. He did eventually get the hardware years later in what ended up as his final full season.

In Pirates record books, you’ll see Stargell’s name at the top of home runs with 475, RBI with 1,540, extra base hits with 953 and multiple other categories. Nobody struck out in a Pirates uniform more, but nobody walked as much as he did either.

What made Stargell so special was his consistency. From 1964 to 1976, he always finished the year with at least 20 home runs. He was more than that, though, slashing .282/.360/.529 for his career.

The icing on the cake of his National Baseball Hall of Fame career; Stargell was the NLCS and World Series MVP in 1979 at 39 years old.

Fans of old-time baseball know the name Paul Waner very well. His résumé includes an MVP award in his sophomore season, a spot in the first MLB All-Star Game and several other noteworthy accomplishments in Pirates and MLB history.

Let’s start with Waner’s early days with the Pirates, shall we?

In 1927, Waner led the league with 237 hits. They included 42 doubles, 18 triples and nine home runs. He ended the year with 131 RBI and the MVP Award.

Unfortunately, he ran into a buzzsaw called the 1927 New York Yankees and his one shot at a championship was over in four games. Still, he hit .380 in one of the best seasons a baseball player has ever had.

Waner did more than have one amazing year. As his lifetime slash line of .333/.403/.473 shows, he put together the type of career we don’t see these days.

Waner is the all-time leader in two major categories in Pirates history. His 558 doubles top the list. The 1,681 runs created is also better than anyone else to ever suit up for Pittsburgh.

Looking at his numbers from a single-season standpoint, his 131 RBI and 237 hits in 1927 remain Pirates records. He added one more that still stands today when he knocked 62 doubles in 1932. This total is actually the fifth highest in a single season for any MLB player.

From his debut in 1962 through 1937, Waner never finished a year batting below .309. In 1938, his batting average dropped to a Pirates-worst .280.

Ultimately, his time in Pittsburgh ended with a .340/.407/.490 slash line. He’s third all-time in hits with 2,868 and near the top in many other categories. Fortunately, he did end up with well over 3,000 hits when he wrapped up his National Baseball Hall of Fame career playing in a few more places.

The premature ending to Roberto Clemente’s life is only part of the story. Truly one of baseball’s greatest human beings, Clemente spent his entire 18-year MLB career with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In those 2,433 games, he finished with exactly 3,000 hits and a batting line of .317/.359/.475. A legend on and off the field, he’s the second greatest player to ever suit up for this franchise.

Clemente began his career in 1955. His early years didn’t include many accolades. It wasn’t until he became an All-Star for the first time in 1960 that things began to turn around for the 25-year-old.

From 1960 to 1972, Clemente was an All-Star in every year, but one. Beginning in 1961, he had a stranglehold on Gold Glove Awards. He would win one in every year of his career afterwards.

Clemente’s amazing outfield arm made him one of the most dangerous fielders in baseball. He was a two-way player, though, with four seasons in his career with 200+ hits. Twice, he led the league in this category. Four times, he won a batting title.

In 1966, Clemente was the National League MVP winner. The year included a career-best 29 home runs and 119 RBI. He also added 202 hits to go along with a .317/.360/.536 batting line.

It’s no coincidence his MVP season included a batting average and OBP nearly identical to his career numbers. This should show you how fantastic of a player he was, that an average year was practically MVP-worthy.

When October rolled around, Clemente was just as amazing. He helped the Pirates win the 1960 and 1971 World Series. In the latter, he was the series MVP with a pair of home runs and .412 batting average against the Baltimore Orioles.

Sadly, on New Year’s Eve of 1972, Clemente passed away tragically in a plane crash while en route to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. Though this took him from us way too soon, his legacy continues both as a baseball player and person.

It’s not hard to figure out who the greatest player in Pirates history is. Honus Wagner is arguably a top-10 player of all-time in Major League Baseball history. If you are going to base this thought on WAR alone, it’s exactly at No. 10 where he falls.

The 130.8 WAR for Wagner beats out plenty of legends. It’s nearly twice as high as anyone else in Pirates history, with the exception of Roberto Clemente.

The great thing about Wagner, aside from his baseball skills, is how even people who never saw him play know the name. This is a little mind-blowing considering he played his last MLB game more than 100 years ago in a career that began in the 1800s.

Wagner joined the Pirates in 1900 and stayed for 18 seasons. While with Pittsburgh, he had 2,967 hits and slashed .328/.394/.468. He won 8 batting titles and led the league multiple times in hits, doubles, RBI and stolen bases, among other numbers.

More from Pirates All-Time Lists

• Players You Forgot The Pittsburgh Pirates Drafted Part 5
• Pittsburgh Pirates: Four Players Robbed of NL Rookie of the Year
• Pittsburgh Pirates: Clutchest Seasons in Franchise History
• Pittsburgh Pirates: Notable Players to Never Make an All-Star Appearance
• Pittsburgh Pirates: Constructing the Franchise’s All-Offense Line Up

In addition to his league dominance, Wagner leads all Pirates players in multiple categories. This includes runs scored and plate appearances. So nobody has represented the Pirates more at the plate than the franchise’s greatest player. That’s a pretty nice claim.

Wagner’s legacy is survived by his many accomplishments on the field and the fact that his T206 baseball card issued by the American Tobacco Company from 1909 to 1911 is regarded as the most valuable in history. Its rarity is legendary among baseball fans, whether they’ve ever collected cards or not.

In 1936, Wagner was part of the first-class elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Both an all-time Pirate and baseball player, he’s a true legend of American athletics and pioneer of the game we all love.

Which Pirates players would make it into your top-30?