Pittsburgh Pirates: Most Underrated Season at Each Position in Franchise History

With a long storied history, many great seasons among Pittsburgh Pirates players are going to be overshadowed by other great seasons. So let’s find the most underrated season at each position in franchise history.

When you think of the best seasons in the history of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise, your mind probably goes to Roberto Clemente’s MVP season in 1966, or one of Barry Bonds’ early 90s seasons where he posted a 190+ OPS+/wRC+. Possibly you think of Andrew McCutchen’s 2013 NL MVP season, or one of hte many elite seasons posted by Willie Stargell or Dave Parker. But there are many seasons that fall well under the radar.

Most of these seasons aren’t ones you immediately think of when you think of the best single season performances by a player in Pirates’ history. But despite receiving little attention, these seasons are some of the best seasons each position has produced.

It’s hard to use surface numbers to compare players from different eras. 20 home runs is a lot in 1930, but not very many in the context of today’s game. So that’s why we will be using league and era adjusted stats like wRC+. It is adjusted for factors such as the league averages, park factors, and more.

With that out of the way, let’s get into the most underrated season by a Pirates’ catcher.