The Hitters
Meet your 1967 Pittsburgh Pirates!
Catchers
Henry "Gato" Cruz
31 years old
8/5/4/4/7 (8/5/4/4/7)
1966: .288/.353/.392
Career: .313/.366/.435
Cruz arrived in a trade with Baltimore last season that sent prospects Ken Smolinski and Herb Garder to the Orioles. He adjusted slowly to the NL, but hit .333 in the World Series.
Joey Rustin
32 years old
5/7/6/7/6 (6/6/6/8/7)
1966: .204/.277/.315
Career: .234/.310/.361
Rustin's inability to get anything going at the plate led the Pirates to deal for Cruz. Despite playing backup after the trade, Rustin was still honored for his work behind the plate with a Gold Glove, his first.
First Basemen
Fletcher Jones
30 years old
6/6/10/5/6 (7/5/10/5/6)
1966: .267/.328/.493
Career: .252/.312/.458
Jones set the Pirates' team record for homers with 37, and led the team and league in RBI with 121 in the best season of his career. A strong candidate for Batter of the Year, he lost the award to San Francisco's Jed Williams.
Kenny Bluel
25 years old
5/6/6/3/5 (5/6/7/7/5)
1966: .316/.371/.561 at AAA
Career: No major league at-bats
Bluel will likely be shuttling back and forth between the majors and AAA, as Eric Wellman can back up at first base when need be. He could use some work on making better contact, which will probably only come in the minors.
Second Basemen
Alberto Val
31 years old
8/8/4/9/7 (8/8/4/10/7)
1966: .289/.388/.466
Career: .299/.377/.427
Val raced out of the gate, leading the league in offense the first couple months of the season. He cooled down in the second half, but still posted his best overall season, capped by hitting .409 in the World Series.
Brian McGee
32 years old
4/6/4/7/5 (5/7/4/8/5)
1966: .212/.326/.381 in 160 AB
Career: .246/.339/.393
McGee was once considered the second baseman of the future until suffering a season-ending elbow injury in 1961 that would open the door for Alberto Val. McGee is often a late-inning defensive replacement for Val.
Third Basemen
Ben Trome
29 years old
8/6/6/4/7 (8/7/5/5/6)
1966: .284/.361/.415
Career: .326/.380/.477
Trome hit under .323 for the first time in his career last season but drew a lot more walks than ever before, so was still productive. He also hit .348 in the World Series and continues to provide stellar defense at the hot corner.
Eric Wellman
29 years old
6/7/4/4/6 (7/7/4/5/6)
1966: .297/.324/.426 in 101 AB
Career: .244/.273/.373
Wellman is a versatile defensive backup, able to play 2B, SS, 3B and CF with varying degrees of success and has proven to be a capable pinch hitter when necessary as well.
Shortstops
Tim Crusher
28 years old
6/9/9/7/8 (6/9/8/7/7)
1966: .246/.323/.500
Career: .236/.315/.434
Crusher had his best season in 1966, pounding 26 homers, 30 doubles and 7 triples, enabling him to be quite valuable despite a .246 average. He's entering the prime of his career, and the Pirates hope he'll continue his improvement.
Vic Stokes
34 years old
7/7/3/3/7 (7/7/2/4/6)
1966: .324/.347/.381 in 139 AB
Career: .286/.342/.376
Stokes isn't much with the glove any more, but he remains a very valuable pinch-hitter and backup. He's been named by some in the organization as a future managerial candidate.
Outfielders
Al "Bash" Mahoney
25 years old
7/6/7/4/5 (8/7/9/5/6)
1966: .304/.339/.459
Career: .293/.336/.418
George Adkison may have won World Series MVP, but it was Bash Mahoney's dramatic game-winning homer in the bottom of the 14th in game 1 of the World Series that most Pirates fans will remember. Mahoney had a breakout season in 1966 and is still getting better.
Asa "Cannonball" Booker
31 years old
9/9/6/4/7 (8/8/6/5/7)
1966: .294/.349/.459
Career: .302/.351/.482
Booker's never matched his 1962 Batter of the Year numbers, but he remains a dependable hitter if not the outright star he was expected to be. He's becoming known as much for his civil rights work as for his baseball skills, a confidante and friend of Martin Luther King.
Cap Marcrum
26 years old
8/6/7/6/8 (7/6/7/7/8)
1966: .301/.355/.401
Career: .291/.349/.412
Marcrum's heading into his fifth full season in the majors, so it's hard to remember that he's still just 26 and growing into his early promise. After a dismal 1965, he bounced back with a solid 1966, though his power output has been disappointing to the team.
Ernest Baize
36 years old
5/4/2/3/5 (5/5/1/4/5)
1966: .355/.394/.484
Career: .296/.361/.378
Baize was once a starter, when the team's fortunes were down, but in the twilight of his career, he's become the pinch-hitter extraordinaire. He's clumsy at best in the outfield, so he's mostly just a professional hitter now.
Ray "Beanpole" Eshelman
24 years old
5/9/4/3/7 (6/9/4/4/6)
1966: .250/.281/.429 in 168 AB
Career: first season in the majors last year
Eshelman's a defensive whiz at all three positions and can come up with a big hit when necessary, a slap hitter with line drive power into the generous Forbes Field gaps.