Pittsburgh Pirates: Forgotten Opening Day Starters

Let's take a look at some of the forgotten players who have ended up as Opening Day starters for the Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been around for quite a while. The first recorded Opening Day line-up dates back to 1901. Since then, the Pirates have seen their fair share of legends pass through Black And Gold. Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell have the most Opening Day starts with 16, but Pie Traynor and Bill Mazeroski aren’t far behind with 13 each. Honus Wagner, Gus Suhr, Fred Clarke, Paul Waner and Geroge Gibson each have double digit Opening Day nods.

But what about the players who only had one or two Opening Day starts? What one-and-done Opening Day starters stand out the most throughout the Pirates’ history? With Opening Day just around the corner, let’s take a look at three of the most forgotten standout Opening Day starters who only made one appearance for the Pirates.

Jim Bunning

Jim Bunning is one of two, one-and-done Hall Of Fame Opening Day starters in the Pirates’ history. Bunning spent most of his Major League career with the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies. A nine-time all-star, Bunning was elected into the Hall Of Fame in 1996. The Pirates acquired the talented pitcher in the ‘67-’68 off-season, and he became their Opening Day starter the following year.

In 160 innings, Bunning had a 3.88 ERA, 3.39 FIP, and 1.35 WHIP. He had a 13.9% strikeout rate, along with a 7% walk rate. While these might seem like solid numbers, these were well below average. 1968 was the year of the pitcher. The league average ERA and FIP was just 2.98 while the average WHIP was 1.19. After adjusting for the insane pitching environment, Bunning had just a 75 ERA+, making him 25% worse than the average pitcher at limiting earned runs. Just to show how pitcher friendly 1968 was, Bryse Wilson, who ended 2022 with a 5.52 ERA, also had a 75 ERA+.

Bunning’s first outing as a Pirate didn’t go so well. In eight innings, he allowed four earned runs against the Houston Astros. He struck out five batters, but also allowed three free passes and a home run. The Pirates lost 4-5, and Bunning ended the day with a no-decision. The Astros walked the Pirates off with three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Bunning was brought back for the 1969 season, where he worked to a 3.81 ERA, 2.81 FIP, and 1.26 WHIP across 156 innings. While the Pirates were in contention, they traded Bunning to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Ron Mitchell and Chuck Goggin in August. Mitchell never appeared in the big leagues for the Pirates and Goggin only had nine plate appearances in black and gold. Bunning would return to the Phillies for his last two season in the major leagues. He struggled, but he was in his age-38 and 39 campaigns. 

Benito Santiago

Benito Santiago is best known for the seven seasons he spent with the San Diego Padres. During his time with the Friars, Santiago batted .264/.298/.406 with a 94 wRC+, collecting four Silver Slugger awards, three Gold Gloves, and going to four straight all-star games from 1989 through 1991. Santiago was one of baseball’s best defensive catchers in this time, racking up +9.2 defensive WAR in this span. But his last few games were spent with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Santiago was the Pirates’ 2005 Opening Day catcher at 40 years old. The backstop went 2-for-4 that day with a triple. Despite starting his Pirates tenure out with a five game hit streak, Santiago would only suit up for six total games. He missed time and was released in May, closing out his major league career. Santiago would sign with the New York Mets in June of that season, but was released about a month later in July.

The Pirates were one of the many teams that Santiago played with during his Major League career. Aside from the Padres and Bucs, Santiago also suited up for the Florida Marlins, Cincinnati Reds (two stints), Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, and Kansas City Royals. In total, he played in 20 seasons. Santiago’s 2005 was short lived, but is one of the more memorable players in recent baseball history to make a brief cameo with the Pirates.

Jose Bautista

Jose Bautista was known for his prodigious power with the Toronto Blue Jays. From 2010 through 2016, Bautista batted .264/.387/.542 with a 152 wRC+. During this time, he was one of baseball’s best hitters. He crushed 249 home runs, which led the league by a dozen. He also had the 4th best wRC+, wOBA, and 5th best OPS. Bautista started eight straight Opening Days for the Jays, but he also made two appearances in the Pirates’ Opening Day line-ups as a third baseman.

The Pirates originally drafted Bautista in the 20th round of the 2000 draft, but bounced around a ton before ending up back with the Pirates. He was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2003-2004 Rule 5 draft. He was then put on waivers in early-June, and selected by the Tampa Bay Rays. At the end of the month, he was purchased by the Kansas City Royals. Bautista’s 2004 journey was far from over, as he then was traded to the New York Mets at the trade deadline. On the same day, he was traded once again, back to the Pirates. 

Either way, Bautista became the Pirates’ regular third baseman in the late-2000s. After playing 117 games in 2006, Bautista was the Pirates’ 2007 Opening Day starting third baseman. Bautista went 2-4 with a double on OD. In total, he batted .254/.33/.414 with a 97 wRC+. Bautista only struck out 16.4% of the time with a fantastic 11.1% walk rate with a .160 isolated slugging percentage. 

The following season, Bautista went 1-5 with a double, three K’s, and a sac-bunt. Overall, he would slash .242/.325/.404 with a .319 wOBA, and 91 wRC+. Bautista hit for about the same amount of power with a .162 ISO, but saw his walk rate of 10.5% and strikeout rate of 21.2% move in the wrong direction. He was then traded to the Jays in mid-August. His first season up North went about as well as it went with Pittsburgh. In 404 trips to the plate, he batted .235/.349/.408 with a 102 wRC+. However, that would be the last time until 2017 when Bautista would have a wRC+ under 123.

Although I understand why many blame the Pirates for not identifying and taking advantage of Bautista’s potential, it’s not as if four other teams didn’t play hot-potato with him in one single season, and it's not as if he was a top prospect who eventually figured it out. Up until 2010, he was a slightly below average OF/3B who nearly 30 years old. Bautista’s career ended up as one of the best in Blue Jays’ history, but he got his start in professional baseball with the Pirates, and made two appearances on Opening Day.