Sunday, May 22, 2016

Pirates Short Stops

At the monthly breakfast of the Gang of Four yesterday, the following questions came up:

Who is the best Pirates short stop in our lifetimes, and does Jordy Mercer belong in the discussion?

We all know that any discussion of Pirates short stops starts and stops with Honus Wagner, hence the "in our lifetime" imitation.  Since the personal knowledge of the Pirates among our group goes back to the late 1950's, we narrowed down which guys played the most at the Number 6 position, so it was time to open up a spreadsheet:



Seasons with Pirates BA Hits Runs Home Runs Runs Batted In OPS
Dick Groat
9
0.290
1,435
554
39
707
0.696
Gene Alley
11
0.254
999
442
55
342
0.665
Jay Bell
8
0.269
1,124
623
78
423
0.741
Frank Taveras
8
0.253
626
310
1
310
0.615
Jack Wilson
9
0.269
1,158
508
60
389
0.687
Jordy Mercer
5
0.262
377
146
25
146
0.694








Per Season:







Groat


159
62
4
79

Alley


91
40
5
31

Bell


141
78
10
53

Taveras


78
39
< 1
39

Wilson


129
56
7
43

Mercer


75
29
5
29










Mercer’s stats are through May 21, 2016







A couple of limitations to my research:
  • This takes into account only offensive numbers.  I don't have the smarts to ranks modern day defensive metrics for these guys.
  • The "average per season" figures could tend to short change guys.  For example, Mercer played only 42 games in his first season, 2012, and has played only 41 games so far this season.  There are similar patterns for some of the other guys.
  • Only the players' seasons with the Pirates are considered.
  • Overall career numbers may flatten out a guy's performance.  I am thinking mainly of Gene Alley, injuries curtailed what could have been a bright career, but from 1966-68, he was arguable the best SS in the game.
  • I never would have guessed that Frank Taveras was with the Pirates for eight seasons!
Okay, all that said, here is what jumps out at me:
  1. I was surprised at Groat's run production.  His 707 RBI (79 per season) is far above anyone else on the list.
  2. Similarly, I didn't recall what a run producer Jay Bell was, and his OPS was significantly higher that any of the others.
  3. Jack Wilson was a much better player that we may have given him credit. Would you have guessed that until two nights ago, he held he record for most hits in PNC Park?  I wouldn't have.  Nor would I have guessed that he hit 60 HRs as a Pirate. The fact that Wilson played almost exclusively for lousy Pirates teams no doubt diminishes him in our memories. 
  4. And while this is completely subjective, it seems to me that every time I went to a Pirate game when Wilson was playing, he always seemed to make a play in the field that made you where you said "I can't believe he made that play."
So, my Top three Pirates Short Stops In My Lifetime are:

#3 - Jack Wilson
#2 - Jay Bell
#1 - Dick Groat



(NOTE: On any given day, I could reverse the positions of Bell and Wilson on my list.)

As to the second part of the question, "Does Jordy Mercer belong in the discussion?", I would say that no, he does not, but only because it is too soon to say. He seems to be getting better each season, so perhaps the question should be revisited in a couple of years.  Of course, in recent years, the Pirates have invested Number One draft picks in short stops Cole Tucker and Kevin Newman, so who knows how long Mercer's tenure will be with the Pirates.

Agree, disagree, or any other thoughts?

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