Remembering forgotten Pirates of the past: Dave Giusti

The Pittsburgh Pirates were one of the more dominant teams of 1970s, and had some of the best players in the game across the board. Some would go on to Cooperstown, while others have gone overlooked in the years since. Dave Giusti was one of the best closers of his era, and represents the forgotten contingent of those great Pirates teams.

Giusti was one of the first successful starters-turned-relief-pitchers. He was with the Pirates for seven seasons, and is up there with the likes of Roy Face and the quirky Kent Tekulve as the best closers in franchise history. The high point of his career came in 1971, when he led the National League with 30 saves and won the World Series. Giusti’s story begins in central New York.

Giusti was born in Seneca Falls, New York and played baseball and basketball at Syracuse University. With the Orange baseball team, he made it to the College World Series in 1961, losing to Oklahoma State in the second round. Giusti signed with the expansion Houston Colt .45s team out of college, and made his major league debut in 1962. He was then a starting pitcher, known for his palmball.

After some time spent in the minors, Giusti became a regular in Houston's rotation during the 1964 season. The Colt .45s, who later became the Astros in 1965, never found the same success as their expansion counterpart New York Mets. Houston's best record in that first decade of their history was 81-81. Giusti’s best year with them came in 1968, in which he had an 11-14 record with a 3.19 ERA and 186 strikeouts in 251 innings pitched. Run support was not easy to find on that team. He was traded to the Cardinals that offseason, but went unprotected in that year's expansion draft, and was picked up by San Diego. Shortly thereafter, the Padres traded him back to St. Louis.

Dave Giusti's place in Pirates history began in 1969-70 offseason

After a decent season with the Redbirds in 1969, Giusti was traded to Pittsburgh. He struggled as a starter in his first spring training with the Pirates and looked to compete for the closer's role; the previous year with the Cardinals had seen him used as a starter and relief pitcher. 1970 was a significant season for Giusti and the Pirates. In their first season playing at Three Rivers Stadium, they won the NL East Division, but lost to Cincinnati in the Championship Series. Giusti enjoyed a breakout campaign of his own, establishing himself as the Bucs closer that year with 26 saves. He received Cy Young and even MVP votes for his efforts that season.

‘71 was even better. In addition to his World Series ring (earning a save in Game 4), Giusti was named The Sporting News Fireman of the Year for the National League. The Pirates would go on to win their third consecutive NL East title in 1972, as Giusti posted a career low 1.93 ERA and picked up 22 saves.

The Bucs didn’t make it back to the World Series that postseason, however. A rematch of the 1970 NLCS ended in disaster that Giusti played a part in. He gave up a leadoff solo shot to Johnny Bench in the ninth inning that tied the game, and left two runners on with no outs before he was replaced on the mound by Bob Moose. With two outs and George Foster now on third, Moose threw a wild pitch to Hal McRae that allowed Foster to score, which clinched the pennant for the Reds.

Despite this unfortunate outcome, Giusti was still at the top of his game in ‘73, making his first All-Star team after previous snubs. On the whole, though, the Pirates took a step back that year. Without Roberto Clemente, they finished the season 80-82, two games back of the first place Mets. Manager Bill Virdon had been fired in September and replaced by Danny Murtaugh. Willie Stargell had a career year, but finished second in NL MVP voting to Pete Rose of the rival Reds. ‘74 was a different story. The Bucs won the NL East again, but could not get over the pennant hump, this time losing to the Dodgers. Giusti was 35 years old, but remained a reliable presence coming out of the bullpen. He had received Cy Young Award votes in consecutive seasons. To that point, Giusti had recorded the most saves in National League history.  

The Pirates' 1975 season ended in another loss in the playoffs to the Reds. Giusti was still the Pirates closer, though other arms like Tekulve were getting looks by that point. ‘76 was his worst and final season with the team. In 40 appearances, Giusti had a 4.32 ERA in just 58 and 1/3 innings pitched, his lowest total since 1964 when he pitched for the Colt .45s. Moose had the most saves of anyone in the bullpen that year with 10. Tekulve had nine, sporting an elite ERA of 2.45 in over 100 innings pitched.

The logjam resolved itself when Giusti was traded to the Athletics in a large deal with Tony Armas that included Phil Garner in the return; the Pirates had also acquired Goose Gossage from the White Sox that offseason, and Richie Zisk was off to Chicago. 1977 would be Giusti’s last year in the big leagues. He performed well on an A’s team that didn’t have a bonafide closer. Giusti had an ERA under 3.00 with six saves before he was dealt to the Cubs that August. He wouldn’t find as much success in his new home. 

Giusti finished out the season poorly, ending an outstanding career on an otherwise sour note. In 20 appearances for the Cubs, he had an ERA over 6.00 and recorded the highest WHIP of his career at 1.737. The Cubs were a .500 team that finished fourth in the NL East. Regardless of how things ended, Giusti has much to be proud of. He ranks third in Pirates franchise history with 133 saves. It’s difficult to compare him to someone like Mark Melancon, who played in a different era for a shorter time. He’s still one of the best closers the Pirates have ever had.

Before there was Dennis Eckersley and John Smoltz, there was Dave Giusti. He is a member of the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame - like another former Pirates closer, Jason Grilli. Giusti has remained in the Pittsburgh area since retiring from the game.