The Baseball Scholar

Pittsburgh Pirates Best Single Seasons

Dave Franks
1–2 minutes

These are the greatest individual seasons in Pittsburgh Pirates history, broken down by player and position. Since we’re celebrating standout seasons, players can show up multiple times especially if they logged meaningful time at different spots on the field. Outfielders and pitchers may also appear for multiple seasons when those performances rank as the franchise’s best at their respective positions.

Catcher

  • Russell Martin – 2014

    Russell Martin Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
    5.7 140 111 460 379 45 110 20 0 11 67 59 78 4 4 .290 .402 .430 .832

    • First Base

  • Jason Thompson – 1982

    Jason Thompson Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
    4.8 152 156 662 550 87 156 32 0 31 101 101 107 1 0 .284 .391 .511 .902

    • Second Base

  • George Grantham – 1929

    George Grantham Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
    3.8 142 110 457 349 85 107 23 10 12 90 93 38 10 .307 .454 .533 .987

    • Third Base

  • Richie Hebner – 1972

    Richie Hebner Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
    5.3 151 124 492 427 63 128 24 4 19 72 52 54 0 0 .300 .378 .508 .886

    • Shortstop

  • Honus Wagner – 1908HOF

    Honus Wagner Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
    11.5 194 151 641 568 100 201 39 19 10 109 54 53 .354 .415 .542 .957

    • Outfield

  • Barry Bonds – 1992MVP

    Barry Bonds Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
    9.0 198 140 612 473 109 147 36 5 34 103 127 69 39 8 .311 .456 .624 1.080

    • Outfield

  • Willie Stargell – 1971HOF

    Willie Stargell Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
    7.9 186 141 606 511 104 151 26 0 48 125 83 154 0 0 .295 .398 .628 1.026

    • Outfield

  • Barry Bonds – 1990MVP

    Barry Bonds Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS
    9.7 165 151 621 519 104 156 32 3 33 114 93 83 52 13 .301 .406 .565 .970

    • Starting Pitcher

  • Paul Skenes – 2025ActiveCy Young

    Paul Skenes Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG ShO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    7.6 46 32 32 10 10 1.97 187.2 1 0 0 45 41 42 216 29.5% 0.95

    • Starting Pitcher

  • Paul Skenes – 2024ActiveRookie of the Year

    Paul Skenes Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG ShO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    5.9 46 23 23 11 3 1.96 133 0 0 0 31 29 32 170 33.1% 0.95

    • Starting Pitcher

  • John Candelaria – 1977

    John Candelaria Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG ShO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    7.4 59 33 33 20 5 2.34 230.2 6 1 0 64 60 50 133 14.5% 1.07

    • Starting Pitcher

  • George Witt – 1958

    George Witt Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG ShO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    4.0 42 18 15 9 2 1.61 106 5 3 0 22 19 59 81 18.3% 1.29

    • Starting Pitcher

  • Rick Reuschel – 1985

    Rick Reuschel Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG ShO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    6.2 63 31 26 14 8 2.27 194 9 1 1 58 49 52 138 17.9% 1.06

    • Relief Pitcher

  • Rich Gossage – 1977HOF

    Rich Gossage Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG ShO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    6.0 41 72 0 11 9 1.62 133 0 0 26 27 24 49 151 28.9% 0.95

    • Relief Pitcher

  • Bob Veale – 1963

    Bob Veale Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG ShO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    3.3 32 34 7 5 2 1.04 77.2 3 2 3 15 9 40 68 21.2% 1.27

    • Relief Pitcher

  • Kent Tekulve – 1983

    Kent Tekulve Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG ShO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    3.8 44 76 0 7 5 1.64 99 0 0 18 27 18 36 52 13.1% 1.15

    • Honorable Mention

  • Catcher – Jason Kendall, 1998
  • First Base – Willie Stargell, 1972
  • Second Base – Jim Viox, 1913
  • Third Base – Bill Madlock, 1982
  • Shortstop – Arky Vaughan, 1935
  • Outfield – Ralph Kiner, 1949
  • Outfield – Roberto Clemente, 1967
  • Outfield – Ralph Kiner, 1951
  • Starting Pitcher – Vic Willis, 1906
  • Starting Pitcher – Denny Neagle, 1996
  • Starting Pitcher – Vern Law, 1965
  • Starting Pitcher – Babe Adams, 1913
  • Starting Pitcher – Rick Rhoden, 1986
  • Relief Pitcher – Roy Face, 1962
  • Relief Pitcher – Michael Gonzalez, 2004

    • All underlying data used in this analysis is available in The Baseball Scholar Data Library.

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