The most legendary numbers in Pittsburgh Pirates history

4. No. 22

What can be said about Andrew McCutchen that hasn’t been already? Their greatest player of the 21st century and potential Hall of Famer helped lead the Pirates to their first winning season in over 20 years and the playoffs, winning numerous awards including MVP along the way. His No. 22 will likely be retired and he might get a statue at PNC Park someday. This year, in his age 37 season, Cutch hit 20 home runs and had a respectable OPS of .739.

Xavier Nady was a lot better than you probably remember. He put up solid numbers in the roughly two seasons he was in Pittsburgh, putting up 2.5 WAR in 89 games and hitting .330 before getting dealt to the Yankees at the 2008 deadline. Jason Schmidt’s best years were with the Giants, but he still had some very good years with the Bucs, particularly from 1997 to 1999, where he pitched over 600 innings and struck out 442 batters.

Richie Zisk was a regular presence in the Pirates outfield from ‘73 to ‘76, earning Rookie of the Year and MVP votes in consecutive seasons. He accrued 15.6 WAR in Pittsburgh before making the American League All-Star teams with the White Sox and Rangers.

Many will not know the name Murry Dickson, myself included before writing this piece. He spent nearly 20 years in the majors, and served in the Army as a jeep driver in Europe during World War II. In five seasons with Pittsburgh, Dickson won 66 games, received MVP votes in ‘52 and was an All-Star in ‘53.

Ryan Vogelsong, who wore No. 22 for the Pirates from 2003 to 2006, was another pitcher that found greater success in San Francisco, which included two World Series titles. John Wehner, best known as one of our color commentators for nearly two decades, hit the last home run at Three Rivers stadium. “Rock” rocked No. 12 for most of his career but was No. 22 from ‘92 to ‘93. Former manager and player Lloyd McClendon was No. 22 before Wehner during the 1991 season.