Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Players With Notable Short Stints

Kenny Lofton

By the time Kenny Lofton made his way to the Pittsburgh Pirates, he was a long-established veteran of the sport. For 10 seasons from 1992 to 2001, Lofton was a premiere center fielder for (mostly) the Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves.

He wasn’t the biggest hitter, turning in a productive 303/.379/.428 line and 112 wRC+, but he could sure run and field. He led the American League in stolen bases every year from ‘92 to ‘96 and in total, stole 477 bags. He racked up 15 defensive WAR in this time as well and won four Gold Glove Awards for his efforts. With a 47.7 fWAR in this 10 season span, Lofton ranked as the 5th most valuable outfielder in baseball among the likes of Bernie Williams, Gary Sheffield and Larry Walker.

Lofton left Cleveland in 2002, splitting the season with the rival Chicago Cubs before eventually being traded to the San Francisco Giants. That’s when the Pirates signed the speedy outfielder to a one-year deal.

Lofton put up his typical low power, high contact numbers with a .277/.333/.437 line and 99 wRC+ in 374 plate appearances. Though Lofton was no longer the defensive wizard he was in his prime with the Indians, he could still get it done in center field with a 5.0 UZR/150 and 3.8 outfield arm runs above average across the entire season. Lofton was approaching his late 30’s at this point, as this was his age 36-season, but that didn’t seem to slow him down. He stole 18 bases in 84 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

However, Lofton would end up being part of one of the most ill-fated trades in Pirate history. Along with Lofton, the Bucs sent young third baseman Aramis Ramirez to the Chicago Cubs for Matt Brubak, Jose Hernandez and Bobby Hill. Brubak never appeared in the Majors, and Hill and Hernandez combined for -0.1 bWAR in their Pirates tenure. We all know that Ramirez became one of the best third basemen in the league, but Lofton was also very productive for the third of the season he was with the Cubs. In 236 plate appearances, he hit .327/.381/.471 with a 120 OPS+ and 1.8 bWAR. He tacked on 12 more stolen bases and his defense improved moving to Wrigley.

Rich Gossage

Rich Gossage, famously known by his iconic mustache and nickname Goose, is one of the best relievers to ever play the game. His 31.1 career fWAR is the second most by any relief pitcher. He played from the early 70’s up to the mid-90’s, and the intimidating right hander is best known for his seven season tenure with the New York Yankees. But before he was one of the most dominant Yankee relief pitchers of all time, he was once the Pirates’ lockdown closer.

The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Gossage in a 1976-1977 offseason trade that sent the closer and fellow pitcher Terry Foster to Pittsburgh in exchange for Silvio Martinez and the underrated Richie Zisk to the Chicago White Sox.

Up to that point, Gossage had been used in almost every role. From 1972 to 1974, Gossage was a swing man. He appeared in 95 games, eight of which were starts, but overall put up mixed numbers. In 1975, he was a shutdown closer with a 1.84 ERA, 2.62 FIP and 1.19 WHIP in 141.2 innings while leading the league in saves. Gossage was moved to the rotation almost full-time the next season, but the results were overall middling with a 3.94 ERA, 3.68 FIP and 1.35 WHIP in 224 innings.

That was when he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Despite this being his only season in Pittsburgh, it’s arguably the best season of his career. Goose was absolutely dominant, putting together a 1.62 FIP, 2.50 FIP and 0.95 WHIP in 133 innings of work. He and Kent Tekulve made a formidable duo in the Bucs’ pen. Gossage struck out batters at an insane 28.9% rate, over double the league average that year, while only allowing 9 home runs. Though he wasn’t a control freak, he kept his walk rate below 10% at 9.4%, which was right around league average.

Among seasons where Gossage pitched at least 50 innings, it’s the best year of his career in terms of ERA, FIP, WHIP, ERA+, ERA-,  strikeout rate, hits/9, and fWAR.

Justin Morneau

Justin Morneau was one of the premier first basemen in the late-2000s and early 2010s. Considered one of the Twins’ best players of all-time, Morneau looked like one of the brightest hitters in baseball in the years 2006 to 2010.

In these five years, Morneau hit .298/.372/.528 with 136 home runs, 133 wRC+ and 17.6 fWAR. He was also quite the defender at first too with +9 DRS, a 3.2 UZR/150 and 5.6 range runs above average. Morneau took home the 2006 American League MVP, two Silver Sluggers and went to four straight MLB All-Star Games from 2007 to 2010.

However, Morneau missed half of the 2010 season due to a concussion, and was affected by multiple other injuries in 2011. It was the second straight season Morneau failed to play even 100 games. He was able to stay healthy for most of 2012 appearing in 134 games and collecting 570 plate appearances, but the production was no longer there. He hit for a respectable .267/.333/.440 line, 19 long balls and 107 wRC+, but it was a far cry from his numbers between ‘06-’10.

By 2013, Morneau’s contract was nearing its end. In his first 543 plate appearances of the season, he hit .259/.315/.426 with 17 long balls and a 102 OPS+. That was when he was traded to the Pirates for Alex Presley and Duke Welker.

Though Morneau had a solid .260/.370 BA/OBP, the power was completely non-existent Only four of the 20 hits he had in 92 plate appearances with the Pirates went for extras, and none of them left the park. Still, he was the starting first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates in their first ever playoff game at PNC Park, and the first in 20 years, that being the legendary 2013 National League Wild Card Game.

After 2013, the Pittsburgh Pirates let Morneau go in free agency, making him one of the multiple first basemen who started for the Pirates in the 2010’s. He signed on with the Colorado Rockies and had an outstanding bounceback season hitting .314/.364/.496 with 17 long balls and 32 doubles in 550 plate appearances, putting together a 122 wRC+. However, this was the last time Morneau would play a full season. The former Twins’ MVP only played 107 games across the next two years with the Rockies and Chicago White Sox. After the 2017 season, he retired and was hired by the Twins as a special assistant.