Pittsburgh Pirates: All-Time Award Winning Team

PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 31: Former Pirate MVPs Dick Groat and Barry Bonds stand with 2013 National League MVP Andrew McCutchen #22 of the Pittsburgh Pirates during Opening Day at PNC Park on March 31, 2014 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 31: Former Pirate MVPs Dick Groat and Barry Bonds stand with 2013 National League MVP Andrew McCutchen #22 of the Pittsburgh Pirates during Opening Day at PNC Park on March 31, 2014 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH – 1960: Bill Mazeroski #9 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrates in the locker room after a 1960 World Series game against the New York Yankees at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Morris Berman/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH – 1960: Bill Mazeroski #9 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrates in the locker room after a 1960 World Series game against the New York Yankees at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Morris Berman/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

Second Base – Bill Mazeroski

Now Hall Of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski wasn’t known for his offense. He only hit for a .260/.299/.367 line, .667 OPS, .293 wOBA, and 82 wRC+. Though offense wasn’t his big selling point, nobody is going to forget his 1960 World Series walk off home run. But what the second baseman lacked in offense, he made up for in his defensive prowess.

Maz had a total of +148 total zone runs as a second baseman. That is the 24th most of all time. It ranks ahead of some of the best defenders of all-time like Ichiro Suzuki, Scott Rolen, Omar Vizquel, and Mike Schmidt. Mazeroski had a +24 dWAR, which also ranked 24th of all-time. However, both marks are the highest among any primary second baseman ever.

Mazeroski was awarded for his defensive prowess with 9 Gold Glove Awards. The only second baseman with more of the award is Roberto Alomar with 10. That easily gave him the spot on this team. No other Pirates’ second baseman even came relatively close to 9 awards.