Pittsburgh Pirates: Five Best Third Basemen in Team History

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(Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

Number Five – Bob Elliot

Bob Elliot served as an outfielder early in his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but transitioned to third base by his age 25 season. Overall, Elliot was a pretty solid batter. In the 4,398 plate appearances Elliot accumulated during his Pirates’ tenure, he put up a .292/.363/.419 slash line.

Although he wasn’t a big time power hitter, having just 50 home runs, Elliot was a solid base runner with 6.7 base running runs above average. Overall, Elliot had a 118 wRC+ and OPS+. That wRC+ mark is the 4th best mark in Pittsburgh Pirates history.

However, the one knock that placed Elliot at the bottom of this list is his defense. Elliot was not a good defender at the hot corner with the Pirates. Throughout his time primarily as a third baseman, which was from 1942 to 1956, Elliot had -12 total zone runs. However, during his time as an outfielder, Elliot had +11 total zone runs.

Overall, Elliot has a career fWAR of 22.5 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Among all third basemen in Pirate history, he ranks 4th. After leaving Pittsburgh, Elliot went on to enjoy success with the Boston Braves, New York Giants, St. Louis Browns, and Chicago White Sox.