Continuing my 5 in 50 series, today’s team is the Pittsburgh Pirates. This will be a list of the top 5 greatest players for the Pirates since in the 1972 season. The criteria are as follows: Player must have been part of team for at least 5 full seasons. Both regular season and post season success will be measured (statistical leaders, awards, et). Players on this list can be from any position. Multiple players at the same position can be included. I’ll list the major accomplishments for each player only for the team they are selected.
Here is my list of the top 5 greatest Pirates players in the
last 50 years.
5. Bill Madlock (1979-1985):
2-time batting champion. 1979 World Series champion.
4. Andrew McCutcheon
(2009-2017): 2013 NL MVP, finished 3 times in top 5 MVP voting.
3. Dave Parker (1973-1983):
1978 NL MVP, 2-time NL batting champion. 1979 World Series champion.
2. Willie Stargell (1972-1982):
1979 NL MVP. 1979 NLCS MVP and World Series MVP.
1. Barry Bonds (1986-1992):
2-time NL MVP. 3-time gold glove.
Honorable mention to Andy Van Slyke, Doug Drabek, Kent Tekulve,
John Candelaria
Notes. The Pirates
had some terrific players in their history. It’s hard to argue with anyone on
this list. Madlock is often overlooked as one of the great hitters. He won an
additional 2 batting titles with the Cubs and is the only player with at least
4 batting titles not inducted into the Hall of Fame. McCutcheon was the best
player the Pirates have had since Bonds left. Parker is another player who should
be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Stargell had a terrific Hall of Fame career who had one of
the greatest seasons ever in 1979. He had the MVP sweep, winning the regular
season MVP, League Championship Series MVP, and World Series MVP in the same season.
Finally Bonds as a Pirate is how all baseball fans want to remember him. Pre-steroids,
great all-around player who did it all who was on his way to the Hall of Fame.
Next up I move to the National League West and the Arizona
Diamondbacks.
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