Pittsburgh Pirates: Five Best Second Basemen in Franchise History
The Pittsburgh Pirates have some very talented batters, and very talented fielders throughout their second base history. But who are the five best?
The Pittsburgh Pirates have had plenty of quality second basemen in their franchise’s history. Many of these players were pretty underrated players. A lot of these players were even ones that slipped through the cracks of recognition from their peers around the league during their playing careers. Meanwhile, some have been all-star level players and even a Hall of Fame player.
But that doesn’t mean they aren’t good players. Today, let’s take a look at the Pittsburgh Pirates top five second basemen of all time. Like with all these lists, I will be using era adjusted stats. Stats like wRC+ and OPS+ are era adjusted, so they are designed to compare players from different eras and leagues. I will also take into consideration how long they’ve played with the Pittsburgh Pirates. As always, players who had longer tenures in Pittsburgh will be waited more than those who had shorter stints, even if the shorter stint was better statistically.
So, without further ado, let’s get into the number five spot on our list.
Number 5 – Rennie Stennet
Now Rennie Stennett was never that big of a batter. In his Pittsburgh Pirates tenure, which went from 1971 to 1979, the light hitting Stennet only had a .278/.309/.366 line, and 88 OPS+ and 90 wRC+. Although he did not walk much with a 4.2% walk rate, he struck out just 7.2% of the time. However he did have his moments with the bat like in 1977 when he hit .336/.376/.430 with a 115 OPS+ and 117 wRC+.
But despite that, Stennett was a great fielder. At the keystone for the Bucs, Stennet had +55 total zone runs above average. That’s the 4th highest among all Pirates second basemen. Overall, the middle infielder has a 14.3 fWAR with the Pirates, which is the 6th highest among all Pirates second basemen with at least 2000 plate appearances in a Pirate uniform.
He also has the distinction of the being part of the first all-minority line-up in baseball history. On September 1st, 1971, he batted lead off for the Pirates along with Gene Clines, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Manny Sanguillen, Dave Cash, Al Oliver, Jackie Hernandez, and Dock Ellis.
Stennett also played in 14 postseason games with the Pirates, which included winning a World Series Championship in 1979. He also took home a ring in 1971, even though he was not on the postseason roster.
Number 4 – Johnny Ray
After Stennett was was picked up by the San Francisco Giants at the end of the 1970s, Johnny Ray took over at second for the Pittsburgh Pirates. From 1981 to 1987, Ray was the Pirates’ primary keystone defender.
Like Stennett, he was never a fantastic batter, but he was better than his predecessor. He hit only .286/.334/.390 with a 99 OPS+ and wRC+. But he did have a solid three year stretch from 1984 to 1986 when he hit .295/.347/.400 with a 108 OPS+. He also walked (259) a handful of more times than he went down on strike three (207). Plus, Ray was a doubles machine. He collected 30 or more doubles five different times with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ray was quite durable as well playing at least 150 games seven different times in his career, five of which were with the Pirates for the entirety of the season.
He was also a great fielder to go along with his overall average offense. His +39 total zone runs sits just behind Stennet at number five. He also had a 7.3 defensive WAR with the Pittsburgh Pirates. His 19.1 fWAR is the 4th highest among all Pirates second basemen.
Number 3 – Neil Walker
Now we finally get to a guy who was a better batter than a fielder. Neil Walker had -22 defensive runs saved with the Pittsburgh Pirates, which is the lowest mark of any Pirates’ second baseman. He also had -8 total zone runs with the Pirates, and a -5.8 UZR/150. His UZR/150 is the second lowest among all Pirates 2B’s. His UZR of -28.8 was the lowest of any 2B between 2010 to 2015. Overall, Walker had a dWAR of only -0.2. Not really great numbers, but why is he number three on this list?
Well, he was kind of an all-bat player.
Waker hit .272/.338/.431 with a 113 OPS+ and 114 wRC+ with 93 home runs. He leads all Pirates in wRC+ who played primarily second base. He also blasted 93 home runs, and his lowest home run total with the Pirates was 12. He also ranked 4th in primary second basemen in all of baseball from 2010 to 2015 in home runs, and 3rd in players who played most of their games at the keystone. Walker hit 173 doubles, and hit 30 or more two times.
The highlight of the Pittsburgh Kid’s career with the Bucs was in 2014. During that season, Walker hit .271/.342/.467 with 21 home runs, 25 doubles, and a 126 OPS+ and 130 wRC+, both of which are his career highs. This all led to the switch hitter winning the National League silver slugger award. From 2010 to 2015, the years he played full seasons with the Pirates, Walker ranked in the top five in home runs, wRC+, and OPS among all second basemen of the time, making him one of the best offensive second basemen of the first half of the 2010s. Even though Walker was poor hitter in the postseason, he still played a huge role in getting the Pirates to the postseason in three consecutive seasons from 2013 – 2015.
Plus, he was one of the most clutch batters the Pirates had in the 2010s. Walker has three of the top 15 seasons in wRC+ from 2010 to 2015 in high leverage situations. Walker is probably the best batter the Pirates ever had to primarily play second base.
Overall, Walker has a solid 15.4 fWAR with the Pittsburgh Pirates. That ranks 5th among all second basemen, passing the aforementioned Stennett and Freddy Sanchez as other notable names who played second base for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Number 2 – Claude Ritchey
Claude Ritchey was the Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman at the turn of the century. He locked down the potion for the Bucs from 1900 to 1906. In the seven seasons he played in a Pirates uniform, Ritchey hit for a solid .277/.351/.350 slash line.
Clearly, he wasn’t any sort of a power hitter with only 201 extra base hits and a single home run. While, yes, this was the Deadball Era and home runs were extremely rare, that does not mean there was not any players with higher slugging percentages.
Regardless, Ritchey had a 105 OPS+ and 109 wRC+ making him about 5 to 10% better than a league average hitter. Notably, he stole at least 10 bases in six of the seven seasons he played with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
But Ritchey wasn’t known for his bat. It was his defense where he made his name known. With the Pirates, Ritchey had +74 total zone runs above average, the second highest mark among all time Pirates second baseman, and 4th highest among all Pirates players. Overall, the switch hitter had a 24.9 fWAR. This is the second highest among all Pirate second basemen in the franchise’s history.
Number 1 – Bill Mazeroski
Bill Mazeroski is number one on this list, and is probably the best fielding infielder the Pittsburgh Pirates have ever had. He’s kind of like an anti-Walker. While Walker was pretty much all bat, Mazeroski was all glove.
Mazeroski has a .260/.299/.367 line, an 84 OPS+, and 82 wRC+. He also only had a .649 OPS in high leverage situations. Among the 89 Pirates players who stepped to the plate at least 2500 times in a Pirate uniform, Maz ranks 74th out of 84 in wRC+, OPS, and 79th out of 84 batters in wOBA at .293. Although he was not a great batter, he did have his moments like having a .964 OPS in his 34 postseason plate appearances. This, of course, included him hitting the greatest home run baseball history when he walked off Game 7 of the 1960 World Series to defeat the New York Yankees.
But Mazeroski was easily one of, if not the best, defensive second basemen of all time, and ranks among some of the best defenders of all time. He is easily the best defensive second basemen since the turn of the 20th century. Mazeroski had a total zone runs above average mark of 148.
Among all second basemen, that ranks 3rd, only behind Bid McPhee and Joe Gordon. In 12 of the 17 seasons of his career, he posted a defensive WAR of at least 1. 5 different times he posted a dWAR of at least two. Although Gold Gloves Awards aren’t the best way to identify a good fielder, Mazeroski has eight well earned Gold Glove Awards, which falls just one short for the most by any National League second baseman (Ryne Sandberg has nine).
His 24.0 dWAR mark is the 30th highest of all time, and the highest mark of any primary second baseman. The next closest is the aforementioned Gordon, who ranks 35th all time. Needless to say, there’s a bit of a gap between the best defensive second baseman of all time, and the second best. Despite his below average offensive output, Mazeroski leads all Pirates second basemen in fWAR at 30.9.