5 Pirates legends who should be inducted into the team's Hall of Fame

Since its debut in 2022, the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame has honored the best to ever wear the black and gold, from Honus Wagner and Josh Gibson to Kent Tekulve and Dave Parker. Its first class featured 19 players, followed by just seven in the next two. This year, Barry Bonds, Jim Leyland and Manny Sanguillen were inducted into the Hall.

Most of the greats have already made it, but what about those that haven’t yet earned a plaque at PNC Park? Here are the next five most likely inductees.

5 Pirates legends who should be inducted into the team's Hall of Fame

Satchel Paige

Satchel Paige is one of the most legendary figures in the game. He began his five-decade career in the Negro Leagues with the Birmingham Black Barons and later played with the Pittsburgh Crawfords alongside Josh Gibson before joining the Cleveland Indians in 1948 and winning the World Series. Other Negro League players who have been with the Crawfords and Homestead Grays, like Gibson, as well as Buck Leonard, Ray Brown and Oscar Charleston are also members of the Pirates Hall of Fame. It’s a no-brainer that Paige should join them, and I’m honestly a bit surprised he hasn’t already.

Al Oliver

Al Oliver was one of the best hitters of his generation. If the Silver Slugger Award had been around earlier, he likely would have won more than the three he already has. He was a valuable member of the 1971 World Series team, particularly in Games 4 and 6. Oliver would go on to be a seven-time All-Star, three as a Pirate, and won the batting title in 1982 with the Montreal Expos, hitting .331 that season. He finished his career with 2,743 hits and 43.7 WAR. Al turns 78 this month, and it’d be great to honor him at PNC Park next year.

John Candelaria

The "Candy Man" is one of the more underrated pitchers in team history. He ranks fourth all-time in strikeouts at 1,159, and held an impressive 3.17 ERA as a starter for Pittsburgh. Candelaria was also the last Pirate to single-handedly throw a no-hitter, against the Dodgers on August 9th, 1976, at Three Rivers Stadium. He won the ERA title, pitching to a .234 in 1977, while winning 20 games and finishing fifth in the Cy Young Award voting. Candelaria went six unearned and got the win in Game 6 of the 1979 World Series. He’s another member of the “We Are Family” Bucs team that deserves recognition. 

Jason Kendall

Based on his numbers alone, Kendall deserves to be a Pirates Hall of Famer. Regardless of the falling out he had with Pittsburgh, he’s arguably the best catcher we’ve ever had. A fun fact about Kendall is that at 140 steals as a Pirate, he has more than Andy Van Slyke, Dave Parker and speedster Tony Womack. He also had a career .306 average with the Bucs. Kendall ranks third all-time in hits by catchers in MLB history with 2,195, if you don’t count the games Ted Simmons wasn’t behind the dish. If not for his season-ending ankle injury in 1999, he might have a plaque in Cooperstown now considering the numbers he put up before then, in spite of the era he played in.

Lanny Frattare

For 33 years, Frattare was the play-by-play announcer for the Pirates and the voice of Pittsburgh. In 2008, the same year he announced his partial retirement, he was nominated for the Ford Frick Award, given by the Baseball Hall of Fame for broadcasting excellence. A fan favorite, his signature line, “there was no doubt about it”, still plays in the minds of the lifelong die-hards. Steve Blass was inducted into the Pirates Hall of Fame as a player and broadcaster, and I can see Frattare joining him. Currently, he teaches at Waynesburg University and calls baseball games for WVU and local high school sports. Some would say he’s the most deserving of anyone not yet inducted. 

Honorable Mentions

I’d say Bill Madlock has the next best chance, given his Pirates tenure. The same can be said for Bobby Bonilla and Andy Van Slyke. There’s a strong argument for Brian Giles to get in, too. I could see Bob Walk eventually getting in, for his contributions as a player and announcer like Blass. Cool Papa Bell, a Hall of Famer who played for both the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords would make sense. Dock Ellis is an interesting pick, considering his legacy on and off the field. Unsung heroes like Smoky Burgess, Bob Skinner and Frank Thomas would be appropriate as well.

The Future

Besides the obvious choice of Andrew McCutchen, I believe a handful of others from the 2000s on will later be inducted. There’s a case for someone like Jack Wilson. With 1,158 hits as a Pirate, he has more than names like Ralph Kiner, Matty Alou and Barry Bonds. The fans loved him and it'd be a great PR move.

Jason Bay and Freddy Sanchez should also be in consideration. I also think more than one player from the most recent playoff teams will get in. Gerrit Cole and Starling Marte are deserving. With his work in the booth, Neil Walker may be worthy, too. If Bryan Reynolds stays with the Bucs for most of, if not all, his career, he'd be a no-doubter. He will likely land in the top 5 in franchise history for home runs if he maintains his current production, and could possibly surpass Roberto Clemente for 3rd all-time.

Even someone like Paul Skenes is worth mentioning now. He started the All-Star game and will likely be the NL Rookie of the Year. Skenes, in my opinion, will be the best pitcher in team history in terms of pure talent, and will eventually make it to Cooperstown. We’ll just have to wait and see. 

More Pirates content from Rum Bunter