Battling Bucs : ATP Near and Far: Second Base

ATP Near and Far is a 10 part series dedicated to assembling two teams of All Time Pirates greats based upon their place of birth. The "near" team will consist of players born exclusively in the state of Pennsylvania and the "far" team will consist of players born outside of the 50 US states and the District of Columbia. Each roster will consist of 25 players the particulars of how the rosters will be assembled can be found in the introduction post here.
All Time Pirates Near and Far: Second Basemen
Pennsylvania: Going back over the local guys have 18 eligible players with another 15 who have played the position. The ineligible players are Bill McKechnie, Honus Wagner, Tun Berger, John Wehner, Tom O’Brien, Tom McCreery, Bones Ely, Frank Thomas, Dick Smith, Don Kelly, Bill Stuart, Denny Mack, Jim McDonald, Monte Cross and Lute Boone.
Of the 18 eligible players 5 come in with fewer than 100 career PA for the Pirates. These players are Harry Gilbert, John McDonald, Harry Truby, Joe Quest and Heinie Smith. Gilbert received all of 8 career plate appearances over 2 games back in 1890 getting 2 hits in that time; his time with the Pirates was his entire major league career. McDonald was the all glove middle infielder the Pirates acquired during Spring Training in 2013. He batted 35 times getting 2 hits and was traded in June. His glove work has enabled him to have a long major league career spanning from 1999 to currently. Truby received 35 PA for the Pirates in 1896 prior that year and the previous year he played for the Chicago Cubs; the 1895-1896 seasons was his entire major league career. Quest played in 12 games recording 44 plate appearances for Pittsburgh in 1884. His career primarily spanned from 1878-1896 where he played for 5 different franchises (he also had a cup of coffee with Cleveland as an 18 year old in 1871). Smith recorded 69 PA across 15 games for Pittsburgh in 1899. Prior to Pittsburgh he was with Louisville and after Pittsburgh he played for the New York Giants and Detroit Tigers with his career lasting from 1897-1903.
* I had originally falsely had Sam Crane (1890) listed but the one who played for the Pirates was born in Massachusetts; another player by the name born in Harrisburg played in the majors from 1914-22 but never for the Pirates.
Moving up we have four players with fewer than 250 PA but then no one else with less than 700. This four player group includes Bill Regan, Otto Knabe, Howdy Groskloss and Joe Schultz. Regan a native of Pittsburgh played for Boston for most of his career (1926-1930) but spent his final season 1931 with the Pirates. He received 113 plate appearances but hit poorly posting a 43 wRC+. Knabe spent two seasons with the Pirates but they were spread apart (1905 and 1916). In between he spent most of his time with Philadelphia and also had a two year stint in Baltimore. For most of his career he was a quality 2B. His first stint in Pittsburgh was just 13 PA which were quite good (he reached base 6 times) but his last stint which was longer (103 PA) wasn’t too good (.505 OPS). He finished up the 1916 season with Chicago and his career was over. Groskloss played his entire career with the Pirates from 1930-32. Most of his playing time came in 1931 where he posted decent numbers but the following year he saw sporadic playing time and performed poorly.
You may remember the name Joe Schultz from the catcher section as his son also played for the Pirates. Schultz Sr played for the team in 1916 and saw time in 77 games accumulating 221 PA. He wasn’t bad in that time posting a 88 wRC+. Much like his son Schultz would go on to have a solid career as a reserve player. Junior spent most of his time with the Cubs whereas senior here played most of his career with the Cardinals (one of 7 franchises but by far his longest). Schultz was a classic utility player and played everywhere but catcher and pitcher in his career (he never played 1B for the Pirates). His career began with the Boston Braves in 1912 and lasted through 1925 when it ended with the Reds. Of special note Schultz is one of 4 players on either team not to have a primary position as he played an equal number of games at 2B and 3B for the Pirates.
Coming in with under 1,000 plate appearances we have the trio of George Creamer, Sparky Adams and Fred Dunlap. Creamer was the Pirates (Alleghenys) primary 2B for two years in the franchise’s early days, 1883 and 1884. His first year with the team was a solid one in which he posted a 100 wRC+ in 389 PA but the second year he hit poorly posting just a 66 wRC+ in 357 PA. That would prove to be the final year of his career which began in 1878 for the Milwaukee Grays. Adams had a long career spanning from 1922-1934 and he spent two years near the middle of his career (1928 and 1929) with the Pirates. In his first year he was the primary 2B appearing in 135 games and recorded 628 PA but the following year saw him take on a much more limited role where he played all over the field and only collected 218 plate appearances. In all he had 845 plate appearances with the Pirates and wasn’t all that good of a hitter posting a 75 wRC+ in them.
Dunlap may or may not be a name you are familiar with depending on how sabremetricly inclined you are. Dunlap’s career began with the Cleveland Blues in 1880 and lasted all the way through 1891. His time with the Pirates was near the end of his career, 1888-1890. Dunlap was a very good player throughout his career and played both facets of the game quite well however during his time with the Pirates his usually level of offensive performance wasn’t there as he posted just a 92 wRC+. That’s not bad at all for a middle infielder but falls well short of his usual marks but he was near the end of his career at this point so that is understandable. In all he played 220 games for the Pirates and recorded 911 plate appearances.
Now the reason you may have heard of Dunlap: his special season in 1884. Prior to the start of that season Dunlap left the Cleveland Blues of the NL and joined the St Louis Maroons of the Union Association. The level of play in that league can be debated but you still have to give Dunlap credit for his marvelous performance that year. He led the Blues to a 94-19 record while hitting for a ridiculous line of .412/.448/.621 and he belted a league high 13 homers that season. That season he posted a 10.2 fWAR the earliest season in which any position player cracked the 10 fWAR threshold.
Next comes a trio of players with between one thousand and two thousand plate appearances: Tony Piet, Ed Abbaticchio and Danny Murtaugh. Piet played for the Pirates in the early 30’s (1931-33) and was the team’s regular 2B in 1932 (when he played every inning) and 1933 (before getting traded). With the Pirates, Piet was a fairly good all around player with a good defensive reputation and a solid batting line of .298/.352/.403 good for a 108 wRC+. The Pirates were his first franchise but he would play for 3 more after being traded. Abbaticchio played for Pittsburgh from 1907-1910 (he only had 3 PA in 1910). In that time he collected 1,291 PA posted a 112 wRC+ (good for 2^nd place on this list) and a 6.8 fWAR (good for 4^th on the list). He also happened to be the return for the PA born 2B with the most career plate appearances for the Pirates who we will get to in a little bit. His career began with the Phillies in 1897 before moving on to the Boston Doves who would trade him to Pittsburgh but in 1910 they purchased him back and he ended his career there. Murtaugh racked up more PA than the other two players in this group but he wasn’t as good as a hitter posting just a 82 wRC+. Instead he got by with very solid glove work. Murtaugh played with the Pirates from 1948-1951 and had two good seasons with the bats (1948 and 1950) and two poor ones (1949 and 1951). In 1948 Murtaugh was good enough to finish 9^th in the MVP voting. Prior to playing with the Pirates he played for Philadelphia (1941-43, 46) and the Boston Braves (1947). In 1944-45 he was serving in World War II. Overall his 1,434 PA ranks 4^th of all eligible players but his 2.9 fWAR (which ranks 7^th) leaves a lot to be desired.
Remaining are three 2B who cover the whole spectrum. One is a plus bat with just ok defense, one is a defensive stalwart who struggled at the plate and the other is a more balanced player who played both sides well but wasn’t as good at either as the other two were at their best aspect. First up with 2,823 plate appearances and counting is the man currently manning the position, Neil Walker. We all know about Walker drafted by the Pirates in the first round of the 2004 draft he was originally selected as a catcher before moving to 3B and then later to his current position, 2B. He is a popular player in large part due to his local ties but he is also a very solid baseball player. During his time with the Pirates so far he has posted a 115 wRC+ which is the best of all eligible 2B (on either team actually). On the defensive side the general consensus seems to be he has limited range but he is a sure handed defender making most of the plays he is able to get to and coupled with the Pirates shifting tendencies this covers a lot of his faults.
Moving on with 3,090 plate appearances we get Lou Bierbauer who played for the Pirates from 1891-96. Bierbauer wasn’t much with the bat posting just a 75 wRC+ but he is generally considered to have been an elite defender at the position. Simply put there isn’t much to talk about in regards to his bat at his peak (1893-94) he wasn’t bad posting a .732 OPS (86 OPS+) but overall he was a poor hitter who still managed to see the lineup nearly every day because of his glove. Being that he played in the 1800s and all it is impossible to say much about his glove but the fact he managed to start at least three quarters of the games played each season from 1891-95 for the Pirates must men he was doing something right. Every single game Bierbauer played (707 in all) he played at 2B for the Pirates making him far and away the player (on the PA team) with the most games who has played only one position. His career began in 1886 with the Philadelphia Athletics and would last through 1898 when he played for the Cardinals.
Finally for the PA side coming in 1^st place with 4,003 career plate appearances and a 24.9 fWAR (which is also 2^nd best of all Pennsylvania position players) is Claude Ritchey. Ritchey played with the Pirates from 1900-1906 and in that time he posted a 109 wRC+ (good for 3^rd of all eligible players) and probably has the second best defensive reputation in the group. Ritchey was a consistently solid player with the Pirates posting a solid offensive year each season he was with the Pirates. As I alluded to earlier Ritchey’s Pirates career came to a close when he was traded to Boston in a larger deal that saw Ginger Beaumont come to the Pirates and ultimately replace him. Another player who played so early on it is tough to get a feel for just what kind of player they were but Ritchey legitimately appears to be one of the best 2B of his era.

International: Switching teams to the “far” side we find a group of 19 eligible players with another 20 guys who spent at least one game at the position. One of those 20 Julio Gotay had quite a fascinating Pirates career. Gotay played in 7 games across 1963-64 picking up 5 plate appearances and playing the field only once. The math doesn’t appear to work out there but he had two games in which he served just as a pinch runner. Gotay is one of the few players to not qualify at any position. To make it more odd Gotay wasn’t a player getting his first taste of the majors as the year before joining the Pirates he received 406 PA for the St Louis Cardinals. In all he played from 1960-68 and picked up more than 1,000 career PA but only 5 came with the Pirates.
The other 19 ineligible players are Rafael Belliard, Mario Mendoza, Fernando Gonzalez, Denny Gonzalez, Jose Pagan, Luis Cruz, Bill Kuehne, Ozzie Virgil, Jose Hernandez, Jose Bautista, Manny Mota, Andre Rodgers, Al Pedrique, Fritz Mollwitz, Luis Sojo, Billy Reid, Yamaico Navarro, Ronny Cedeno and most noteworthy the great one, Roberto Clemente.
First up on the list coming in with a combined total of 12 PA we have the trio of Luis Figueroa, Nelson Norman and Houston Jimenez. Figuero, born in Puerto Rico, played for the Pirates in 2011 in 4 games he received just 2 plate appearances. He would then hang around the minors for a while before getting brief appearances with Toronto (2006) and San Francisco (2007). Norman, born in the Dominican Republic, played for the Pirates late in the 1982 season. He appeared in just 3 games and his first two only as a defensive replacement at 2B but in the last game of the year he started at SS picking up 3 PA and no hits. Norman spent the previous 4 years with the Rangers including the 1979 season where he was the team’s regular shortstop. After his year with the Pirates he wouldn’t appear in the majors again until 1987 with the Montreal Expos. Jimenez, from Mexico, played for the Pirates in 1987 appearing in 5 games and registering 7 PA. Prior to coming to Pittsburgh he played for the Twins in 1983-84 and then the year after his time with the Pirates he played briefly with the Indians in 1988.
In the under 100 PA group we also have Michael Martinez, Mendy Lopez and Henry Youngman. Martinez, born in the Dominican Republic, is one of the forgettable infielders who played for the Pirates in the 2014 season when they were parading people out there. Oddly he was on the team primarily for his ability to play shortstop but never actually played there instead appearing at 2B and in the OF. He received 44 PA across 26 games and hit poorly. Also from the Dominican Republic Lopez played for the Pirates in 2001-02. In 2002 he saw no time in the field picking up just 3 PA all as a pinch hitter. In 2001 he played in 22 games picking up 48 plate appearances. Youngman is a player form baseball’s early days having played in Pittsburgh in 1890. From Germany, Youngman only appeared in the majors for Pittsburgh in that one season. In 13 games he received 53 plate appearances.
The next group looking at players with under 300 plate appearances contains 4 players who have played for the Pirates in the 2000s and one who played for them in the 60s. Getting the oddball out of the way we have Jose Martinez who played for the Pirates in 1969 and 1970. In 1969 Martinez, who is from Cuba, was a key part of the bench appearing in 77 games and picking up 179 plate appearances but his role the following year was much smaller appearing in just 19 games while receiving just 22 plate appearances. As a career high light on September 8, 1969 Martinez in his only plate appearance that day hit a grand slam in the top of the 9^th inning (his only career home run) to put the Pirates ahead 6-2.
Moving on to the more recent vintage we have Akinori Iwamura, Luis Rivas, Ramon Vazquez and Enrique Wilson. Iwamura, who is from Japan, I am sure most of you recall as the failed pickup by the Pirates before the 2010 season to fill their gaping hole at 2B. It was his poor performance in 54 games that year which ultimately led to Neil Walker getting a shot at the everyday 2B job. Rivas had a relatively long career spanning from 2000 until his stop with the Pirates in 2008. In Spring Training during that 2008 year Rivas won the backup middle infield and went on to appear in 79 games and record 223 plate appearances. The Venezuelan born Rivas wasn’t good in that time posting a 51 wRC+ at the plate. After Rivas came Ramon Vazquez in 2009. During the offseason the Pirates signed the Puerto Rico born Vazquez to a 2 year, 4 million dollar deal and he appeared to be a reasonably nice pickup for their bench as he was coming off a strong year in Texas of course because of how the Pirates were back then that never happened and Vazquez was terrible and was released before year two of his contract. Wilson had a reasonably successful career as a backup infielder from 1997 through 2005 and his brief stop with the Pirates in 2000-01 was no different. For reasons I don’t recall nor understand the Pirates in the midst of a poor 2000 season traded their starting LF WIl Cordero to the Indians for two veteran bench players instead of prospects and the Dominican born Wilson was one of them. Wilson did ok for them in 2000 but struggled in 2001 and was traded to the Yankees.
Before we get to the guys with a ton of plate appearances we have John O’Brien and Nelson Liriano coming in with under 600 while the remaining 6 each have more than 1,600. O’Brien (not to be confused with the Johnny O’Brien who played with the Pirates from 1953-1958 and was also a 2B) played for the Pirates in 1899 which was his last season in the majors. Born in Canada O’Brien’s career lasted from 1891-1899 and with the Pirates he received more time at 2B than anyone else that year appearing in 77 games and receiving 312 plate appearances. He didn’t do much in that time posting just a 59 wRC+. Liriano, born in the Dominican Republic is a much more recent player having played for the Pirates in 1995-96 (his career was from 1987-98). While with Pittsburgh he played a lot of 2B but was the backup to another player who will be mentioned later on in this group. He collected 523 PA in those two years and hit pretty well posting a 87 wRC+ (which amazingly ties him for the 2^nd best mark of all eligible international 2B). He wasn’t considered much of a defender though which is why his fWAR with the Pirates was -1.0.
Remaining are 6 players with 1,600+ plate appearances which makes for a good sample but bringing up the rear of this group in terms of plate appearances are two pretty bad players of relatively recent vintage: Abraham Nunez and Jose Castillo. Nunez was with the Pirates from 1997-04 and spent most of those years as a key member of the bench serving as the primary backup at 2B and SS. Nunez was a capable defender at both positions but he was pretty dreadful at the plate posting a line of .238/.306/.316 good for only a 63 wRC+. In all Nunez, a native of the Dominican Republic, collect 1,679 plate appearances for the Pirates which says a good bit about how they were bad for so long. Castillo when he first made it to the big leagues showed a lot of promise but alas like with so many others from this time period it never materialized and for his career he was just slightly a better hitter than Nunez while also being a much worse fielder. The Venezuelan born Castillo got off to a good start to his career in 2004-05 but regressed in 2006 and was just flat out bad in 2007 which would prove to be his last year with the Pirates. He showed some decent power as his .124 ISO is the highest of all eligible 2B for this team but he struggled with plate discipline and in the field. His -2.0 fWAR is by far the lowest for this position and is also the second lowest of all eligible position players for the international team.
Next up on the list we have the Venezuelan born Carlos Garcia who played with the Pirates from 1990-96 and collected 1,926 plate appearances. With an 86 wRC+ in his time with the Pirates Garcia is right there along with Nelson Liriano and two yet to be mentioned players for best offensive 2B on the international team. Garcia played with the Pirates in 1990-92 but he did so sparingly and didn’t have his rookie season until 1993. In 1995-96 he shared the position (while getting the majority of the playing time) with the previously mentioned Nelson Liriano. In 1994 he would earn an All Star appearance. After leaving the Pirates Garcia would play with 3 more teams for one season a piece. Jose Lind coming in with 3,075 PA has the 2^nd most playing time of any eligible 2B but is only third in terms of fWAR. Lind is essentially the international squad’s answer to Lou Bierbauer as he is a light hitter who made a career out of playing extremely good defense at second base. Oddly enough like Bierbauer, Lind never played a position other than 2B for the Pirates either. As I mentioned the Puerto Rico born Lind wasn’t much with the bat posting just a 75 wRC+ in his time in Pittsburgh (1987-1992). Lind got by with his defense and at the plate he had a very strong rookie campaign, 3 so-so years and two awful ones while with the Pirates.
Finally in the last paring we have Pop Smith and Rennie Stennett who come in 2^nd and 1^st respectively in terms of fWAR, 3^rd and 1^st in terms of career PA and 1^st and 2^nd respectively in terms of wRC+. Pop Smith, born in Canada, played for the Pirates in their early days, 1885-1889 and split his time almost evenly between 2B and SS. His 88 wRC+ just barely tops Liriano, Garcia and Stennett for best of the eligible 2B however his raw line of .220/.280/.301 is far from impressive but I guess we need to account for his era. Again with players from this early on it is impossible to know for certain but Smith seems to have been a relatively solid defender up the middle. Of note he is also the only eligible 2B on either team to have played a game at either of the two previously discussed positions (he has one career game at catcher).
Stennett, from Panama, has a career fWAR of 14.7 with the Pirates good enough for the top spot amongst eligible 2B and fourth best of all position players on the international squad. Stennett had a long career for the Pirates racking up 4,293 plate appearances over 1971-79 seasons meaning he was twice part of a World Series winner. Stennett’s career mark of 87 wRC+ doesn’t shout superstar but he was an above average regular with the Pirates and was their primary 2B every year he was on the team save for his first season. He would go on to play two years in San Francisco but they were subpar years and he would move on to the Mexican league in 1981.
That is quite a list of eligible second basemen with reasonable debates to be had on each side. I see a clear front runner for each team but as I always say I can be swayed if someone wants to make their case.