Pittsburgh Pirates: Constructing the Franchise’s All-Offense Line Up

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PITTSBURGH, PA – 1982: Richie Hebner of the Pittsburgh Pirates bats during a Major League Baseball game at Three Rivers Stadium in 1982 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – 1982: Richie Hebner of the Pittsburgh Pirates bats during a Major League Baseball game at Three Rivers Stadium in 1982 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images) /

Third Base Richie Hebner

From 1969 to 1976, Richie Hebner served as the team’s hot corner defender, and he did quite well in the batter’s box. Hebner got off to a great start to his career. Through his first 3147 plate appearances at the MLB level, Hebner was batting .287/.360/.466 with a 131 OPS+ and 122 wRC+. He was a key member of the Pirates’ Lumber Company of the 1970s.

While it took a few years for his power to come around, it eventually did. From 1971 to 1976, Hebner had a .478 slugging percentage, and hit 79 home runs. Hebner was a top 10 third basemen for the first half of the decade. From 1969-1976, Hebner’s wRC+ tied him with Mike Schmidt and Darrell Evans, while sitting just behind Joe Torre (132).

Hebner did fall off the last two years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and returned to the team in 1983 and 1984, but wasn’t quite the same batter in any of those years. But he still has a career .277/.350/.442 line, 122 OPS+/wRC+. If you don’t consider Bobby Bonilla a third baseman, then Riche Hebner leads all Pirate third basemen in wRC+, 4th in wOBA (.355), and 3rd in OPS.