My last all era team. I could think of no other way to finish this series off then with the 20 year stretch this franchise and its fans just endured. It was dark times to be sure but the concept of an all era team is to highlight the outstanding individual seasons and there is no doubt this era has its good share. This is the team I am of course most familiar with but as I have said before the first season I remember in good detail is 1997 so the first few years of this era are at best fuzzy for me if I recall them at all.
Catcher: One thing this era won't give us is a lot of difficult choices between players. Now like is the case here it might be easy enough to identify the player but which particular season was his best can be more difficult to obtain. The easy call here is Jason Kendall and as for which season his best is it really comes down to 1998 and 2000. Oddly enough the year in between these would probably be the easy winner if it wasn't for that gruesome ankle injury that cut his season short. My memory often tells me it was at that point in which Kendall started to slip but his strong 2000 campaign says otherwise. The winning season by a hair here ended up being 1998 but really it’s a coin flip as the two seasons were almost identical. In 1998 Kendall hit .327/.411/.473 good for a 136 wRC+. He also stole a career high 26 bases and added his second highest career mark of 12 home runs.
First Base: Much as it is today first base was a big hole for the Pirates for most of the streak. Adding to the problem is the fact that most of the players who had marginally good season while playing some 1B spent the majority of their time at other positions. Think Jeff King, Orlando Merced, John Vander Wal and to some extent even Garrett Jones. All of this does leave us with one name though and once again we are left with just a task of picking his best season but even that really isn't all too hard. The winner here is easily Kevin Young and his best season was unquestionably 1999. That season Young hit .298/.387/.522 while helping out both with the long ball, 26 HR, and on the bases, 22 steals. He was also a major run producer scoring 103 runs and driving in 106. On the year his offensive performance was 26% above league average. His only real competition was Jeff King's 1996 season.
Second Base: There is no clear winner here as this position hasn't produced a lot of quality players over the last 20 years. Jeff King's 1996 season is probably better than anyone else but despite playing a career high 71 games at the position he spent most of that year at 1B. That leaves us with Freddy Sanchez and Neil Walker as our top competitors with Pokey Reese and Warren Morris a little behind them. Sanchez's 2007 was clearly his best year as a 2B with the Pirates but Walker's best year is a little harder to pick out. Statistically based on rate stats Walker's rookie season in 2010 was better than both of his other years and Sanchez's best year but that comes with only 110 games. After much debate I gave the edge to Sanchez's 2007 and then I invoked the Kiki Cuyler rule and put Sanchez' career best 2006 season in this spot as it loses out at the 3B position. This was the season Sanchez won the batting title hitting .344/.378/.473 on his way to a 119 wRC+. Sanchez was never much of a threat for the long ball or the stolen base as he only had 6 and 3 respectively on the season.
Third Base: As mentioned above Freddy Sanchez' 2006 season was not quite good enough to win the 3B position so it gets him moved over to 2B. Sanchez's season was clearly the second best edging out both Randa and King but our winner here topping them all was Aramis Ramirez's 2001 season. Ramirez was rushed to the major leagues by the Pirates well before he was ready and was subsequently dumped for nothing when he team ran into financial troubles. His time with the Pirates is often recalled to be much better than it honestly was as the 2001 season was in actuality his only good year with the club. Ramirez of course went on to have quite a great career which is still playing out. As for his 2001 season on the year he hit .300/.350/.536 good enough for a 125 wRC+. He showed good power for the season hitting 34 HR and driving in 112 runs.
Shortstop: The player I most remember as the shortstop of this era is Jack Wilson. Wilson was a spectacular defensive shortstop while here and even had one great offensive year, 2004 where he collected over 200 hits. However none of this is enough to put Wilson on the team as we get our first and only player to win a starting position player job on two separate teams in Jay Bell. The best season of Bell's Pirates career and arguably the best season of his entire career came in 1993. Bell hit an impressive .310/.392/.437 good for a 125 wRC+. He hit 9 home runs on the year and stole 16 bases all while playing a good defensive shortstop. Bell's top competition came from himself and Wilson's 2004 campaign.
Left Field: Despite having two of the best players of the era picking this position was quite easy as the best of Brian Giles was a step better than the best of Jason Bay. I believe Giles is usually underappreciated for just how good he really was. The offensive numbers he put up while with the Pirates are comparable to what Joey Votto is doing today. I don't think most people recall him being just that good but he really was. His best season was probably 2002 when he hit .298/.450/.622 with 38 home runs and 15 stolen bases. He posted a 174 wRC+ and was walked 21% of time showing teams were clearly pitching around him.
Center Field: Giles was originally acquired as a center fielder by the Pirates and if he would be eligible for this position his firsts season with the team in 1999 may well have been enough to win the spot. However with him already filling left field this position became an easy one as Andrew McCutchen runs away with it with his great 2012 season. I'm certain I need to say very little about McCutchen so I'll just post his stats and move on. On the year he hit .327/.400/.553 positing a 158 wRC+ while hitting 31 home runs and stealing 20 bases.
Right Field: If this were a real team I would obviously either move Giles here and put Bay in left field or put Bay here but alas it isn't so my choices become far less exciting. Orlando Merced had a few good years at the beginning of the era and Reggie Sanders one year with the Pirates was rather good but in the end edging them both out and shocking me is 2000 John Vander Wal. I really don't recall Vander Wal being that good but his 2000 season was a strong year as he hit .299/.410/.563 posting a 142 wRC+. He also hit 24 home runs and stole 11 bases. It was all and all just a solid year from him making him the surprise of this team.
Bench: The player for here is an easy choice as Jason Bay was one of the best 5 Pirate players of this era but he came up short because he went up against arguably the best Pirates of the era. Bay's best season came in 2005 when he hit .306/.402/.559 good for a 150 wRC+. He hit 32 home runs on the season and stole 21 bases. Bay easily won but if this team were real he'd be starting and the competition here would be more fierce including Jack Wilson, Jeff King, Joe Randa, John Vander Wal, Orlando Merced even Nate McLouth.
Starting Rotation: Bright spots on the pitching side of the ledger were few and far between in this era but even so we can cobble together a pretty nice rotation.
2004 Oliver Perez: The ace of this staff in my mind is unquestionably Oliver Perez and the one tremendous year he posted. Perez had stuff that simply made you drool as he posted an eye popping 10.97 K/9 and an ERA of 2.98. The team obviously wasn't all that good but he still managed to go 12-10 in 30 starts and throw 196 innings. His control was a little off at 3.72 BB/9 but man the guy had the best raw stuff of any pitcher in the era.
1996 Denny Neagle: Neagle had a few strong seasons in this era but in my mind his best came in 1996. That season Neagle went 14-6 in 27 starts throwing 182.2 innings. He got things done differently than Perez striking out only 6.45 batters per nine but he displayed great control walking only 1.68 batters per nine. His ERA was a solid 3.05.
2012 AJ Burnett: He is often credited with changing the culture of the team and to a certain extent I believe that to be true. With as much angst that was spent on him this offseason I don't think more really needs written about him but Burnett undoubtedly earned a spot in the middle of this rotation. Burnett posted an era high 16 wins while pitching 202.1 innings and maintaining a solid 3.51 ERA. He missed plenty of bats with an 8.01 K/9 and showed improved control with a 2.76 BB/9.
1998 Francisco Cordova: Cordova has always been a bit of a mystery to me as he was signed from Mexico in his mid 20s came and pitched 5 decent seasons for the Pirates and than before turning 30 was out of the MLB and back playing in Mexico. His last season was just in 2011 so he stuck around a long time after leaving the states. Anyway I was tempted to take 1997 in large part due to his no hitter and the fact he actually had a winning record but 1998 was a slightly better year for Cordova. On the season he went 13-14 while pitching 220.1 innings and posting a 3.31 ERA. He wasn't really a strikeout pitcher with only 6.441 K/9 but he showed decent control with 2.82 BB/9. He makes for a very solid 4th starter in this rotation.
2000 Kris Benson: There were a few ways I could have went with this number 5 spot but in the end I opted to go much like I started with a what could have been. If there was any pitcher in this era that could match the raw talent of Perez it was Benson. Benson was a consensus number 1 draft pick for a reason but in the end it didn't work out and he ended up being a relatively mediocre starter. It didn't start out that way though as Benson started his MLB career with two solid seasons in 1999 and 2000. It was hopefully a sign of brighter things to come but they never did. On the 2000 season Benson went only 10-12 posting a respectable 3.85 ERA. He was a bit of a strikeout pitcher with 7.61 K/9 but his control was also a little off at 3.56 BB/9. He could have been so much more but alas it wasn't meant to be so he finds himself barely holding on to the fifth spot on a relatively uninspiring rotation.
A lot of others made a run at the back end of the rotation but fell just short. Among them were Jon Lieber, Ian Snell, Jason Schmidt, Todd Ritchie, Esteban Loaiza, Paul Maholm, Zack Duke and Steve Cooke.
Relief Pitcher: There are a lot of routes I could have considered here. Mike Williams 46 saves in 2002 is the era high and he has a number of other solid season, Jose Mesa had a good year with the Pirates, Rich Loiselle had his magical rookie season in 1997, Matt Capps had a good run and Mike Gonzalez was at times simply terrific. None of them won though and really only Mike Gonzalez and Mike Williams were particularly close. The winner here is 2011 Joel Hanrahan. Hanrahan didn't have his strike out stuff working that year at only 8.00 K/9 but he had atypical control at 2.10 BB/9 and posted a dazzling 1.83 ERA while racking up 40 saves.
Opening Day Lineup
1. 2012 Andrew McCutchen, CF (R)
2. 2000 Jason Kendall, C (R)
3. 2002 Brian Giles, LF (L)
4. 2001 Aramis Ramirez, 3B (R)
5. 1999 Kevin Young, 1B (R)
6. 2000 John Vander Wal, RF (L)
7. 2006 Freddy Sanchez, 2B (R)
8. 1993 Jay Bell, SS (R)
9. 2004 Oliver Perez, P (L)
And now of course without the single season restriction.
C: Jason Kendall
1B: Kevin Young
2B: Freddy Sanchez
3B: Jeff King
SS: Jack Wilson
LF: Brian Giles
CF: Andrew McCutchen
RF: Orlando Merced
BN: Jason Bay
Not too many surprises here. Walker gave Sanchez another good run at 2B but he just barely held him off. Ramirez falls off due to only having the one good season allowing Kind to take this spot. Wilson barely edges out Bell due to more playing time and Merced gets RF taking down Vander Wal and his one good season.
SP: Denny Neagle
SP: Francisco Cordova
SP: Kris Benson
SP: Paul Maholm
SP: Jason Schmidt
RP: Joel Hanrahan
Perez and Burnett fall off because they simply were not here long enough or in Perez's case was not good enough long enough here. Maholm makes the roster due to longevity and Schmidt barely squeaks by Lieber for the last spot. For the reliever spot Hanrahan holds off a longevity run from Mike Williams.
