Pirates players from the Pittsburgh area who you may have forgotten

As Pirates fans, we all know about “The Renegade” David Bednar and “The Pittsburgh Kid” Neil Walker, products of Mars Area and Pine-Richland, but what about other locals that have played for their hometown team?

Here are some lesser-known local names that have been members of the Pirates organization, as well as those currently in the system.

Pittsburgh Pirates players from the Pittsburgh area who you may have forgotten

Sam McDowell, 1975

McDowell signed with the Indians out of Central Catholic High School and had a stellar career in Cleveland before getting traded to the Giants in the Gaylord Perry deal. He was a six-time All-Star, and should have won the Cy Young Award in 1970 with 20 wins, a 2.92 ERA, 305 innings pitched and 304 strikeouts (worth 8.3 bWAR). McDowell signed with the Pirates in April of 1975 as a bullpen arm, appearing in 14 games to a 2.86 ERA, an improvement from his time with the Yankees. He was eventually released in June and never returned to the majors. In 2006, he was inducted into the then-Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame. Behind Dan Marino, Sam McDowell is arguably the greatest athlete to come out of Central Catholic.

Lance Parrish, 1994

Although he grew up in Southern California, Tigers great Lance Parrish was born in Clairton, Allegheny County. He was the 16th overall pick in the 1974 MLB Draft, and like his former teammate Lou Whitaker, has a strong case to be in the Hall of Fame based on his accomplishments and statistical value. Parrish was an eight-time All-Star, a six-time Silver Slugger and three-time Gold Glove Award winner, winning the ‘84 World Series with Detroit and mashing 324 home runs. He spent 40 games with Pittsburgh in the 1994 season, hitting .270 with three home runs and 16 runs batted in for his age-38 season. Since his playing days ended, Parrish has been a coach for several minor league teams, including spending time as the Erie Seawolves manager from 2014 to 2017. He is now with the Tigers as a Special Assistant to the General Manager, alongside Kirk Gibson, Jim Leyland and Alan Trammell.

Chris Peters, 1996-2000

Peters, out of Peters Township High School, was drafted by the Pirates in the 37th round of the 1993 MLB Draft, and was with the team from 1996 to 2000 (including the ‘97 “Freak Show”) before continuing his career with a brief stint in Montreal the following season. Peters also pitched for the Erie Seawolves in 2002, as well as the Camden Riversharks and the Newark Bears (under manager Bill Madlock) of the independent Atlantic League in 2003. He was used as a starter and reliever, and his best season came in the 1998 rotation, when he put up 3.2 bWAR, totaling 103 strikeouts in 148 innings pitched with eight wins and a 3.47 ERA.

Brian Holliday, 2002-2008 (minors)

Holliday was a member of the ‘01 and ‘02 Moon Area baseball teams that won consecutive state championships. He was drafted by the Pirates in the 12th round of the 2002 MLB Draft. As a pitching prospect, he spent six years in the organization, winning the 2004 South Atlantic League championship with the Hickory Crawdads and making it up to Altoona in 2008. Holliday played for the York Revolution the following season, then the now-defunct Newark Bears in 2010. This team, managed by Hall of Famer Tim Raines, included current Indianapolis Indians hitting coach Eric Munson, former big leaguers Armando Benítez, Carl Everett, Scott Spiezio and one-time Pirate J.R. House. Holliday has since been a scout for the Detroit Tigers, as well as an instructor.

Josh Sharpless, 2006-2007

Sharpless, of Freedom High School and Allegheny College, was drafted by Pittsburgh in the 24th round of the 2003 MLB Draft, the only player from Allegheny to make it to the majors. He only pitched 16.1 innings between two years for the Pirates as reliever, but had a strong minor league career ERA of 2.82 across six seasons, spending time on the '04 Hickory championship team with Brian Holliday and other notable prospects, such as Paul Maholm and Nyjer Morgan. That year out of the bullpen, Sharpless tossed 74.1 innings to a 3.03 ERA with 109 strikeouts. He also joined Holliday on the 2009 York Revolution team, which also featured Pete Rose Jr. and former Bucco Shane Youman.

Clayton Hamilton, 2006-2007 (minors)

Clayton Hamilton was the player to be named later from the Padres in the Bobby Hill trade. He went to Blackhawk High School and was originally drafted by the Pirates out of Penn State, a program that up until that point had only produced Nate Bump; Hamilton did not sign.

He was then taken by San Diego in the 17th round of the 2004 MLB Draft. After a few solid years in the minors, his best coming in 2005 with the Fort Wayne Wizards, Hamilton was traded in late ‘05 and made his debut for the Pirates organization in Lynchburg the following season. With the Hillcats, he was primarily a starter, and was eventually claimed by Texas in the minor league phase of 2007's Rule 5 draft after struggling that season. Hamilton continued to pitch in the minors for the Rangers over the next three seasons, reaching their Triple-A team, Oklahoma City, in 2009. In 2010, he made the decision to play in Japan and signed with the Yokohama Baystars. Between the major Central League and minor Eastern League, he worked mainly as a reliever. Hamilton’s career arc is one of the more interesting examined here.

Jimmy Rider, 2012-2013 (minors)

Another Peters Township product, Jimmy Rider, a shortstop, was drafted by the Pirates in the 26th round of the 2012 MLB Draft out of Kent State University. With the Golden Flashes, he won the 2012 MAC championship and made it to the College World Series, hitting .357 that season. Rider was later inducted into the Kent State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022. He only spent two minor league seasons in the Pirates system, including a brief 14-game stint with the West Virginia Power where he hit .302, before getting traded to Boston in 2013 for “future considerations”. He spent the next year with the Greenville Drive and put up respectable numbers before retiring after the season.

Others:

Besides Bednar, there are a few others with the Pirates that have Western Pennsylvania roots. Don Kelly, out of Mount Lebanon and Point Park University, has been the team’s bench coach since the 2020 season. He was with Pittsburgh for 25 games in 2007 and spent most of his career in Detroit, before working for them as a scout. Kelly was the Astros' first base coach in 2019, and is married to Carrie Walker, Neil’s sister.

Isaac Mattson went to Harbor Creek High School outside of Erie and played his college ball at Pitt. He made his debut with the Orioles in 2021 and pitched in 12 games for the Washington Wild Things the following year. After spending most of 2024 between Altoona and Indianapolis, Mattson joined the Pirates this September.

Justin Meis, currently with the Curve, went to Bethal Park, then Eastern Michigan. He was their 10th round pick in 2021 and was used exclusively out of the bullpen this season.

Justin Miknis, a catcher from DuBois, was promoted to High-A Greensboro this year. He was taken in last year's draft in the 16th round out of Kent State.