Pittsburgh Pirates: Five Best Right Fielders in Franchise History

The history of Pittsburgh Pirates outfielders is very deep. Let’s go over the five best players at our last outfield position, right field.

So far, we have covered left field and center field. So, let’s get into our final outfield spot on our countdown of the five best Pittsburgh Pirates players in franchise history at each position – right field.

Right field has many names that are, or at least should, be in the Hall of Fame. So needless to say, the Pittsburgh Pirates have a ton of history and tradition at the right field position.

Like I have always said with any of these lists, I will be putting heavy emphasis on era adjusted stats like OPS+ and wRC+. After all, a .500 slugging percentage means two completely different things in 1900 and 2000. Which is just one example why it is important to use era adjusted stats any time you are comparing players across different eras of baseball.

I will also take into account time played. Every player here has appeared in at least 2500 plate appearances. So without further ado, let’s get this list started off with number five on the list of the five best right fielders in Pittsburgh Pirates franchise history.

Number Five – Orlando Merced

Now, yes, Orlando Merced played a good amount of games at first base during his Pittsburgh Pirates career. Despite this, he still had more plate appearances with the Pirates than a few I considered putting on the list. Also, he spent more time in right field than those players as well.

Merced was an excellent batter with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was one of the more underrated bats the Pirates had in the early-to-mid 90’s.

From 1990, his debut season, to 1996, Merced put up a solid line of .283/.364/.428 line, and a 114 wRC+ in 2980 plate appearances. Although he wasn’t a big power hitter, indicated by his sub-.450 slugging percentage and .145 isolated slugging, Merced was an on base machine. Out of all right fielders in Pirate history with at least 2000 plate appearances, Merced has the 4th highest OBP. He also has a strong 11.4% walk rate to combat a just as good 14.3% strikeout rate.

But he wasn’t just a bat only right fielder. The Pirates must have recognized the defensive potential Merced had at first base, as the move to right field really paid dividends. Merced had +26 total zone runs in right for the Pirates. He also had a great arm. Just by going off the 5.6 arm runs above average he had in the final two years of his career, just imagine what that number would have been if the stat was created in the early 90s?

Number Four – Kiki Cuyler

Kiki Cuyler may have only been with the Pittsburgh Pirates for a few seasons, but you’d be hard pressed to find a more effective batter than him. During his Pirates tenure from 1921 to 1927 (note he did only play 13 games from 1921-1923), Cuyler put up a slash line that consisted of a .336 batting average, .399 on base percentage and .513 slugging percentage in 2288 plate appearances.

Overall, he had a strong 137 wRC+. Of any Pirates right fielder with at least 2000 plate appearances under their belt, he leads them all in slugging. He also posted a 1.021 OPS season in 1925 and finished 2nd in MVP voting that season as well.

Not only was he a proficient batter, but Cuyler was really good when it came to fielding, and stealing bases. Cuyler racked up a total of 20 total zone runs during his Pirates tenure. He also stole 30 or more bags 3 different times, including 41 in 1925, the same season where he posted an OPS above 1.000.

After spending time with the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and Brooklyn Dodgers, Cuyler retired following the 1938 season. He was then elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968. Also, Cuyler won a World Series with the Pirates in 1925.

Number Three – Dave Parker

Dave Parker deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. The fact he is not in the Hall of Fame is a shame.

The Cobra was a five-tool player in his prime with the Pittsburgh Pirates. During his tenure with the Bucs, which lasted from 1973 to 1983, Parker was an outstanding batter. He hit .305/.353/.494 with 166 home runs, and a 131 OPS+/wRC+ in 5267 plate appearances. Overall, he had a 33.3 fWAR with the Bucs.

When I say he was a five-tool player in his prime, I wasn’t joking. From 1975 to 1980, Parker hit 131 home runs, averaging 20-25 a season, and stole 94 bases, averaging 15-18 a season. He also won three, well deserved Gold Glove Awards with the Pirates. Parker racked up +17 total zone runs in his Pirates tenure, including a +25 mark in 1977.

We also can’t talk about Dave Parker’s fielding ability without talking about the cannon he had on his right shoulder. Parker fell just one outfield assist from 100 during his time with the Pirates in right field. Overall he had 101 with one outfield assist in both left and center field.

The Cobra also won the 1978 MVP, despite not making the All-Star Game. Parker hit .334/.394/.585 in his MVP season. Both his batting average and slugging percentage led the league. He slammed 30 home runs, and 20 stolen bases. Parker also led the league in OPS+ at 166, and had an overall bWAR of 7 that season. He also helped the Pirates take home a World Series Championship in 1979.

Number One – Roberto Clemente

Yea, this shouldn’t be a surprise to no one. The late but great Roberto Clemente is one of the greatest Pirates ever. Roberto Clemente was a Rule 5 Draft pick from the Brooklyn Dodgers, and this ended up being the best Rule 5 Draft pick in history. Clemente didn’t get off to the hottest of starts to his career. From his 1955 rookie season up until his age 25-season in 1959, the legendary outfielder hit just .282/.311/.395 with an 89 OPS+. But even though he wasn’t effective with the bat yet, Clemente was easily a top-tier defender having +69 total zone runs. From 1960 onward, Clemente would never look back.

Clemente’s bat would finally come around to match his outstanding glove work. From 1960 to his final season in 1972, Clemente batted .329/.375/.503 with a 144 OPS+ and 143 wRC+. Consistency was key for Clemente in this 13-year span. He only ever missed one All-Star Game, that being 1968 when he still finished with a 152 OPS+ and 8.2 bWAR. Although he wasn’t a big time home run hitter, Clemente never dipped below double digits.

Clemente, like the last two names we’ve talked about, has also won an MVP. That being in 1966. During that year, the right fielder hit .317/.360/.536 with 29 home runs, a 146 OPS+/143 wRC+, and had +17 total zone runs. This all accumulated to an 8.2 bWAR. The thing about it? This wasn’t even close to his best season. Clemente had an OPS+ higher than 146 five separate times (min. 500 plate appearances a season). He also had a bWAR of at least 8.2 two other times.

Clemente’s tenure came to a tragic ending on December 31, 1972. While delivering medical and other survival supplies to Nicaragua, which was recently struck by an earthquake, Clemente’s plane malfunctioned, and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. What makes it worse is that Clemente, who was just 38 at the time, still had a lot more baseball left in him. In his final season, Clemente finally hit the 3,000 hit mark, and is the only player with exactly 3,000 hits. He still posted really strong numbers that consisted of a .312/.356/.479 line. Despite his advancing baseball age, Clemente was still 38% better than the league average batter (138 OPS+), and had +11 total zone runs, which still made him an elite defender.

But we should not end on that unhappy note. Clemente’s bottom line includes a .317/.359/.475 slash in 10,212 plate appearances, 240 home runs, and a 130 OPS+/192 wRC+. He has a career 94.8 bWAR, which is the 37th highest mark of all time. His +205 total zone runs is the 5th highest of all time as well. Last but certainly not least is the inhuman like arm he had. Clemente’s 283 outfield assists is the 17th most of all time.