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Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Notable Players Who Had Short Stints

By Noah Wright

UNDATED: Luis Tiant #23 of the Boston Red Sox pitches during a game circa 1971-78. (Photo by Rich Pilling/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
UNDATED: Luis Tiant #23 of the Boston Red Sox pitches during a game circa 1971-78. (Photo by Rich Pilling/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 08: Brandon Inge #2 of the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Oakland Athletics during the game on July 8, 2013 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 08: Brandon Inge #2 of the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Oakland Athletics during the game on July 8, 2013 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

Brandon Inge

Brandon Inge was a long time utility man with the Detroit Tigers. He originally came up as a catcher and that was his primary position from 2001 to 2003. He was quite the fielder with 3.0 dWAR and averaged 2.2 dWAR through 650 plate appearances. However, he wasn’t much of a hitter. He turned in a line of just .198/.254/.314 line and 51 wRC+ through his first 919 career plate appearances.

After 2003, Inge slowly transitioned to third base. His defensive ability at third base was just as good as behind the plate. From his first season primarily playing third base in 2004 up through 2012, Inge had +65 DRS, 39.6 UZR, a 5.8 UZR/150 and 25.5 range runs above average.

Though he was never a great batter, his offense did improve. His last 4277 plate appearances with the Tigers saw him hit .242/.315/.403 with 125 home runs, a .314 wOBA and 88 wRC+. Inge hit double digits home runs for seven straight years from 2004-2010. This included a pair of 27 home run campaigns in 2006 and 2009.

By 2011, Inge was regulated to a bench role where he only received 303 plate appearances in 102 games, posting a 49 wRC+ and .249 wOBA. With the Tigers signing Prince Fielder in the the following offseason and moving Miguel Cabrera to third base, Inge was essentially out of a job. He only appeared in nine games with the Tigers before being released in late April. He was picked up by the Oakland Athletics where he spent multiple injured list stints and hit .226/.286/.389 with an 88 OPS+ through 311 plate appearances.

The following offeseason Inge was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He opened the season as one of the team’s reserve utility men seeing an ample amount of time at second base, third base and right field. But he only collected a total of 110 plate appearances where he had 19 hits, just two walks and 32 strikeouts. He also spent some time on the injured list but was eventually designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 23rd and released by the team on July 30th.

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