Pittsburgh Pirates: 30 greatest players in franchise history

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.