Pittsburgh Pirates Versus the 2020 Hall of Fame Class

Yesterday, two new players were elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.  How did the Pittsburgh Pirates manage against the two newest members?

It has been a while since a former Pittsburgh Pirates player made the Hall of Fame.  The closest one over the last few years has been Barry Bonds, who obviously might not get into Major League Baseball’s shrine. Still, it is important to recognize the players who are being inducted as they had an impact not just on their teams, but all of Major League Baseball.

Last night it was announced that two players would be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame for the class of 2020.  One of the players was an obvious pick in Derek Jeter.  Jeter received 99.7 percent of votes with just one person not voting for him.  The other player entering Cooperstown is Larry Walker.  Walker was not a slam dunk by any means and just made the cut, receiving 76.6 percent of the vote and making it by just six votes.  Both players are very deserving and put up really impressive numbers during their years of playing.

How did the two newest members of Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame fare against the Pittsburgh Pirates?  It’s important to note that Walker has a much larger sample size against the Bucs than Jeter.  Walker played for the Expos, the Rockies, and the Cardinals, all National League teams.  Meanwhile, Jeter only played for the Yankees so he only played the Pirates in interleague play and has limited numbers throughout his 20 years.

Even with his limited games against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Jeter put up really impressive numbers against them.  Jeter only played in 12 career games against the Bucs but he make an impact.  His career batting average was an outstanding .422 along with an OPS just over 1.000 at 1.052.  Although he had 19 hits in his 12 games he did only drive in three runs.  Overall, Jeter had a solid career against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Larry Walker, on the other hand, played 147 career games against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  While they limited Walker compared to a lot of teams, he still put up really strong numbers against the Bucs.  Walker hit for a strong batting average at .299 with a career OPS of .955.  While those numbers aren’t as good as Jeter’s, they are still elite-level, especially over almost a full season worth of games against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Where he really made his impact was with the 36 home runs and 108 RBIs he had in his 147 games.

Both Derek Jeter and Larry Walker deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.  They both posted Hall of Fame level career numbers and did so consistently throughout their lengthy careers.  Both players got some opportunities against the Pittsburgh Pirates and produced at a high level against them as well.