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?