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Pittsburgh Pirates: Three More Forgotten All-Stars From 20 Years of Losing

By Noah Wright |
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CLEVELAND, OH – JULY 09: A general view of Progressive Field prior to the 90th MLB All-Star Game on July 9, 2019 at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – JULY 09: A general view of Progressive Field prior to the 90th MLB All-Star Game on July 9, 2019 at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images) /

From 1992 to 2012, the Pittsburgh Pirates never had a single winning season, but regardless of how good or bad they were, they still had to send a representative to the MLB All-Star Game. Some of which have become forgotten.

From 1992 to 2012, the Pittsburgh Pirates always finished the season with a sub-.500 record. But even though they had a handful of awful teams in those 20 years, thanks to one of baseball’s sillier rules, they still had to send a representative to the Mid-Summer Classic.

Because of that, they’ve sent many underwhelming players to the All-Star Game, whether they truly deserved it or not. Even when they did deserve to go, many get rounded into the underwhelming group because of the amount of players.

So let’s go over three more players that many fans have likely forgotten represented the Pittsburgh Pirates as a National League All-Star. I previously went over five other players that you may have forgotten went to an All-Star Game in the 20 years of losing, which you can read here.

But, without further ado, let’s jump into the three forgotten NL All-Stars from the Pittsburgh Pirates 20 consecutive losing seasons that we will discuss today.

22 Aug 1993: Infielder Carlos Garcia of the Pittsburgh Pirates runs to field a ball during a game against the San Diego Padres at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport
22 Aug 1993: Infielder Carlos Garcia of the Pittsburgh Pirates runs to field a ball during a game against the San Diego Padres at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport /

1994 – Infielder Carlos Garcia

Carlos Garcia was once a top prospect in the early-1990s. Baseball America ranked him #62 in 1991 and #45 in 1993 despite not posting great numbers in the minors except for 1992. Garcia didn’t play much in 1990 to 1992, only accumulating 71 plate appearances, but played a full season in 1993 when he batted just .269/.316/.399 with a 91 OPS+, a dozen home runs and 18 stolen bases. He was a poor defensive second baseman with -6 total zone runs above average.

1994 was when things started to look up for the former top prospect. Although he started off the year with a weak .267/.307/.332 line, Garica still made the MLB All-Star Game, being the Pittsburgh Pirates lone representative during a game that took place in their own park. Garcia got off to a hot start in the second half, batting .305/.318/.467, but it was cut short as a strike took place, cutting the season short in early August.

Garica finished the 1994 season with a .676 OPS and 75 OPS+. After that, Garica mainly served as a utility infielder. Although he did improve with the bat, hitting for a .289/.335/.408 line, and a 94 OPS+, his glove was still subpar with a -0.9 dWAR in both seasons. Garcia played until 1999 where he bounced between the Toronto Blue Jays, Anaheim Angels, and San Diego Padres after being traded away from the Pirates.

Pittsburgh Pirates base runner Tony Womack calls for time to umpire Jim Joyce after stealing second base during the fifth inning of their 10 June game with the Pittsburgh Pirates at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, OH. The Pirates later won the game in the eleventh inning 4-3. AFP PHOTO/Anthony ONCHAK (Photo by ANTHONY ONCHAK / AFP) (Photo credit should read ANTHONY ONCHAK/AFP via Getty Images)
Pittsburgh Pirates base runner Tony Womack calls for time to umpire Jim Joyce after stealing second base during the fifth inning of their 10 June game with the Pittsburgh Pirates at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, OH. The Pirates later won the game in the eleventh inning 4-3. AFP PHOTO/Anthony ONCHAK (Photo by ANTHONY ONCHAK / AFP) (Photo credit should read ANTHONY ONCHAK/AFP via Getty Images) /

1997 – Second Baseman Tony Womack

The mid-to-late 90s Pittsburgh Pirates had a few of more notable players like Francisco Cordova, Jason Kendall, and Kevin Young. However, despite all three producing above average seasons, none of the trio made the 1997 All-Star Game. The Pirates’ lone representative that year was second baseman Tony Womack.

Womack wasn’t any sort of top prospect or anything, and 1997, his age 27 season, was actually his rookie campaign. He was your typical speedy, light hitting middle infielder, and played parts of the 1993, 1994, and 1996 seasons. Going into the break, the Pirates’ second baseman only had a .272/.318/.357 batting line, coming in with a sub-.700 OPS. Womack did do better in the second half with a .730 OPS, but still finished with an overall mediocre season with the bat that included a .278/.326/.374 batting line, 81 OPS+, and 82 wRC+.

Womack actually had a negative bWAR and fWAR in 1997, both putting him at -0.9 wins above replacement because not only was he a below average batter, but an awful fielder. At second base, the lefty batter had -26 total zone runs above average, and a -2.3 dWAR. He did provide positive value on the bases, stealing a league leading 60 bags in 67 attempts, and was worth 9.0 base running runs above average.

Although he never really got much better with the bat, he did see some improvements with the glove, and became a useful utility man throughout his career seeing time in the outfield and shortstop along with the keystone. Womack played his last season in 2006, and stole 363 bases with the Pirates, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Cardinals, Yankees, Cubs and Cardinals.

PITTSBURGH – JULY 19: Jack Wilson #2 of the Pittsburgh Pirates plays shortstop during the game against the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park on July 19, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Giants defeated the Pirates 4-3. (Photo by Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH – JULY 19: Jack Wilson #2 of the Pittsburgh Pirates plays shortstop during the game against the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park on July 19, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Giants defeated the Pirates 4-3. (Photo by Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

2004 – Shortstop Jack Wilson

Jack Wilson was quite the fielder during his career. He is one of 14 MLB players to reach at least 100+ defensive runs saved. In total, the middle infielder has a +116 DRS mark. That’s the 8th highest mark in history. He also has +76 total zone runs, which is comparable to Lou Whitaker and Ken Griffey Jr. He also has +21 defensive WAR, and ties him with Nellie Fox for 47th of all time.

I actually consider him one of the most underrated defenders of all time. When you combine his defensive prowess with his popularity among Pittsburgh Pirates fans in during his time in the Burgh, and Wilson himself is not forgotten about Pirate fans. There are many fans, however, who may have forgotten that he was a NL All-Star in 2004.

But he wasn’t really known to be much of a batter. Overall, he is only a career .265/.306/.366 line and 76 OPS+. However, he did have his moments with the bat like in 2004 and 2007. In one of those years, Wilson made the All-Star Game, that being in 2004.

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In 2004, Wilson batted for a solid .308/.335/.459 with an impressive amount of doubles with 41, and led the league in triples at 12. Weirdly enough, he had more triples than home runs with 11 long balls. Going into the All-Star Break, Wilson was batting .332/.354/.501, but fell off in the second half hitting .279/.313/.407. Still, an overall above average batter, even though it  was just by 4%, is very good considering that Wilson also had +11 DRS, 8.0 UZR and 2.1 range runs above average. Overall, he had a 4.8 bWAR and 4.3 fWAR.

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