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Pittsburgh Pirates: Clutchest Seasons in Franchise History

By Noah Wright

PITTSBURGH, PA - JULY 11: Andrew McCutchen #22 of the Pittsburgh Pirates reacts after hitting the game-winning two run home run in the 14th inning against the St Louis Cardinals during the game at PNC Park on July 11, 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - JULY 11: Andrew McCutchen #22 of the Pittsburgh Pirates reacts after hitting the game-winning two run home run in the 14th inning against the St Louis Cardinals during the game at PNC Park on July 11, 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) /
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CIRCA 1975: Richie Zisk #22 of the Pittsburgh Pirates at bat during a game from his 1975 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Richie Zisk played for 13 years with 4 different and was a 2-time All-Star.(Photo by: 1975 SPX/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
CIRCA 1975: Richie Zisk #22 of the Pittsburgh Pirates at bat during a game from his 1975 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Richie Zisk played for 13 years with 4 different and was a 2-time All-Star.(Photo by: 1975 SPX/Diamond Images via Getty Images) /

Richie Zisk, 1974

Richie Zisk had a pretty underrated Pirates tenure. From his rookie season in 1973 to 1976, Zisk hit for a .302/.367/.481 line, hit 68 home runs, and posted a 139 wRC+ and .382 wOBA. Though he was never much of a fielder, he still averaged about 4.5 bWAR a season. His wRC+ was actually the 12th highest among qualified batters in these four years as well.

1974 was Zisk’s sophomore season. After a strong rookie campaign where he finished 9th in National League Rookie of the Year voting, Zisk followed that up with a .313/.386/.476 line, 17 long balls and 30 doubles in 604 plate appearances. Zisk had put up a 144 wRC+ and .390 wOBA to go along with his great surface numbers. He actually managed to finish top 10 in MVP voting, coming in at 9th place. He also outhit many current Hall of Famers in this year, including Johnny Bench (142 wRC+), Carl Yastrzemski (140 wRC+) and Tony Perez (122 wRC+).

JT Riddle Needs to Go. dark. Next

Zisk has the highest single season clutch index for any Pirate at +2.43. Even though he hit well throughout the season, the slugger was even better when it really mattered. Zisk posted an outstanding .377/.471/.643 line in the 187 plate appearances he received when he stepped to the plate with RISP. 24 of his 58 hits went for extra bases. He also did a significant amount of damage in high leverage situations, hitting .328/.400/.563 with six long balls.

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