Pittsburgh Pirates: 5 Best Left Fielders in Franchise History

Some of the most talented Pittsburgh Pirates ever played in left field. But out of all the All-Stars and MVPs, who were the five best to man left field for the Pirates?

Many of the Pittsburgh Pirates positions have a deep history in not just Pittsburgh history, but MLB history as a whole. As I have been doing, I have been going through each position on the diamond, and ranking who the best five players the Pirates have had man who position in their history. This time, we’re going to go through one of the deepest positions the Pirates have had in their history – left field.

This one was truly hard. The Pittsburgh Pirates have had so many great players in left field. Many of them are already in the Hall of Fame, or Hall of Fame worthy. Like with the past lists, I will be heavily weighing a player’s league adjusted stats such as wRC+ and OPS+, and taking into account positional adjustments for defense. Also, if a player has played more games with the Pirates, they’ll be weighed heavier than one with fewer games played with the Pirates.

So with that out-of-the-way, let’s get into number 5, which might surprise you.

Number 5 – Brian Giles

Brian Giles is one of the most underrated hitters not just in Pittsburgh Pirates history, but MLB history. The left fielder may have played only four and three-quarters of a season with the Pirates, but he was outstanding offensively in every single one of those seasons.

During his Pirates’ tenure, Giles batted for a .308/.426/.591 line in 3,114 plate appearances. In three of the four full seasons he played with the Pirates, Giles had an OPS above 1.000. In 2002, he posted a 1.072 OPS, which was the 2nd best in the National League, behind only Barry Bonds who had one of the best seasons in MLB history in 2002.

He averaged about 35 home runs a season, and is the Pirate franchise leader in wRC+ (156), slugging percentage, and on base percentage. He also owns the 2nd highest wOBA (.426) and walk rate (16.7%) in franchise history. Defensively, he wasn’t awful, but he was below league average. He finished up his Pirates tenure with only -3 total zone runs, but a -5.0 dWAR.

Giles is not number 1 on this list for one reason and one reason alone. That reason being his playing time. Despite being the best Pirates batter of all-time, Giles didn’t even spend 5 full seasons in a Pirates uniform. If he spent the majority of his career in Pittsburgh, I honestly think he could have gone down in history as a top three Pirate ever.

Number 3 – Barry Bonds

Like with Kiner, had Barry Bonds had about 1,000 more plate appearances with the Pittsburgh Pirates he probably would be a spot or two higher. Bonds had 4,255 plate appearances with the Pirates, which puts him lower on the list.

Bonds’ first few seasons with the Bucs were solid, but he wouldn’t reach his full potential until the early 1990s. From 1986 to 1989, Bonds hit just .256/.345/.458. He also hit 84 home runs and collected 117 stolen bases, showing the rare trait of power and speed. Overall good production, including a 124 OPS+. But from 1990 to 1992, Bonds became a fantastic batter.

In this three-year span, Bonds hit .301/.424/.566 with 92 home runs and 134 stolen bases. This all included a 177 OPS+, and a 204 OPS+ season in 1992. In ‘92, Bonds batted for a .311/.456/.624 with 34 home runs. He won the NL MVP that season, and the 198 wRC+ he had that season is the highest single season mark of any Pirates’ batter.

What gave Bonds the edge here over Kiner is his ability to play the other side of the ball. Bonds was an outstanding batter with the Pirates. His 145 wRC+ is the 5th best in Pirates history. But Bonds has the 7th highest base running runs above average mark at 20.3. Among all Pirates outfielder of all time, Bonds has the 2nd highest total zone mark at 129. Only the great Roberto Clemente ranks higher than Bonds, and Bonds probably would have surpassed him if he played with the Pirates longer.

Number 2 – Fred Clarke

Fred Clarke played with the Pittsburgh Pirates when Honus Wagner was the best player in baseball. But Clarke wasn’t too far behind the all-time great shortstop. Clarke spent 15 years with the Pirates from 1900 to 1915. However, he only played 11 games from 1913 to 1915, so we’ll mainly be focusing on 1900 – 1911.

Clarke’s overall slash line might not look too impressive. A .300/.380/.419 line across 6,351 plate appearances would be a good, but not great batter in 2020. But that’s why we look at the era and league adjusted stats. Across these dozen seasons, Clarke posted a 136 OPS+, and has a career 134 wRC+ (that wRC+ includes those 11 games from ‘13-’15).

Clarke was a consistent above average slugger, as most of the time, the league average slugging percentage sat between .300-.350. In today’s game, a batter who sits between 130-135 wRC+, or 30%-35% above the league average, would put him among the likes of 2019 Mookie Betts, Eugenio Suarez, Rafael Devers, or 2018 Freddie Freeman.

Number 1 – Willie Stargell

Willie “Pops” Stargell was easily the best batter in baseball during the 1970s. In his career, Pops Stargell hit .282/.360/.529 with a 147 OPS+ and 145 wRC+. Stargell is the all time home run leader in Pirates history with 475 long balls. All time, Stargell’s home run total ties him with St. Louis Cardinals legend Stan Musial for the 32nd most of all time.

Stargell dominated the 1970s. Across the decade, he put up a .287/.374/.555 line and 296 home runs. Stargell’s 154 wRC+ ranked as the best during the decade. He also led the MLB in home runs during the decade, surpassing Reggie Jackson by four. The most impressive part about this is that Stargell only averaged 126 games a season during the decade while Jackson averaged 144 games a season.

Stargell has a career fWAR of 62.9, which places him 5th among all Pirates batters. Stargell did spend the last five seasons of his career as a primary first baseman, and has 7027.1 innings logged in the infield. However, a majority of his time came from left field. In his career, the slugger had -22 total zone runs in left, which made him a solid, but not great outfielder. Regardless, Willie Stargell takes the top spot as the best Pirates left fielder of all time.

Honorable Mentions

This list could have had a handful of other names on it, and none of them would have been a big surprise, so I thought it would only be fair to include an honorable mentions list.

Jason Bay

Jason Bay had a good career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bay demonstrated both power and speed during his time in Pittsburgh. In 3038 plate appearances, Bay batted .281/.375/.515, and had a 131 OPS+. He had 139 home runs, and stole 50 bags. He is also the only Pirate to win National League Rookie of the Year, taking home the award in 2004.

Starling Marte

Starling Marte was the Bucs’ primary left fielder from 2013 to 2017. Across these 5 years, Marte hit .290/.347/.439 with a 115 OPS+. His main attraction was his speed, as he stole 169 bags and averaged about 34 in one, 162 game season. He swiped over 40 bases in 2013 and 2016. Marte was also a top tier defender in left with a career +71 DRS, 24 UZR, 16 range runs above average, 9.8 arm runs above average, and a 7 UZR/150. Although his offense continued to be above average once he transitioned to center field in 2018 and 2019, his defense did take a hit.

Max Carey

Max Carey has the 2nd highest fWAR among all Pirates left fielders, but, overall, he was more of a solid batter than truly elite. Carey played with the Pirates for almost the entirety of his career. From 1910 to half way through 1926, Carey batted .287/.363/.391 with the Pirates. That included a 115 wRC+ and 111 OPS+. However, he does have 738 career stolen bases, and 86 total zone runs, so he was a good fielder during his career.