coolhandgopher
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The next installment of "Holy Hell, I didn't know/don't remember that he played for that franchise!" is the Pittsburgh Pirates. Viewing the yearly rosters of the Pirates was a fascinating exercise in seeing the correlation of a strong farm system leading to success at the MLB level contrasted with the reliance of established veterans past their primes often equated to miserable seasons. And let me tell you, the Pirates farm system was cooking through the '60s and '70s--a few names will pop up in the Top 10 but there are several homegrown products who lead to a model franchise until they weren't.
1. Willie Randolph-A brief cup of coffee in 1975 as a 20 year old before being shuttled over to the Yankees in a package for Doc Medich, where he settled in for thirteen years and five All-Star games through the rest of the '70s and most of the '80s.
2. Tony Armas-His cup of coffee came a year later, in 1976 as a 22 year old for four games, before being included in a deal to Oakland (with Doc Medich!) that brought back Phil Garner who would be the stalwart 2B for the "We Are Family" championship Pirates of 1979.
3. Wilbur Wood-The last on this Top 10 list of those who emerged later in their career as an All-Star. Wood was with the Pirates in 1964-65 before being traded to the White Sox where he was the staff ace through much of the '70s. (730 innings pitched across 1972 and 1973!)
4. Jim Bunning-The future HOF who established that resume with the Tigers and Phillies was towards the tail end of his career when at ages 36 and 37 he was a rotation member in 1968-69.
5. "Sudden" Sam McDowell-One of my favorite baseball nicknames, great arms, and cautionary tales spent his last season with the Pirates in 1975 at the age of 32 when he was released after 14 fairly effective games. By that time (according to his SABR profile) he had become such a raging alcoholic that he was blacklisted by the entirety of MLB. The good news is that he got clean a few years after banishment from MLB and went on to work several years within baseball assisting other players struggling with addiction issues.
6. Amos Otis-A cornerstone of those great Royals teams from the '70s and '80s wound up his career as a Pirate in 1984 at age 37 with a .165 average over 40 games before being released in August.
7. Kirk Gibson-His days of Tiger greatness and World Series legend were in the rearview by the time he made it to the Pirates in 1992 at age 35. He was released in May after 16 games with a .196 average, but he did bounce back to play three more seasons with the Tigers as a fairly effective reserve outfielder.
8. Lonnie Smith-"Skates" matriculated to the Pirates in 1993 after being a savior to the Twins in the '91 World Series
. By this time, he was 37 years old and almost done as a big leaguer; he was traded after 94 games to Baltimore in August, where he had one more season in him.
9. Lance Parrish-Another legendary Tiger of the '80s found himself on the back side of his career in Pittsburgh during the '90s, specifically 1994 where he was a back-up for 40 games.
10. Kenny Lofton-The point guard from Arizona had a great and well-traveled baseball career that included 84 games in 2003 at the age of 36 in Pittsburgh before he was shuttled over to the Cubs and on the cusp of a World Series appearance before Bartman happened. (which is incredibly unfair to Bartman, I know).
Honorable mention: Bo Belinsky, Mudcat Grant, George Hendrick, Steve Kemp, Freddie Patek
Local Team Angle: Houston Jimenez-The Twins answer to Mario Mendoza and inexplicable favorite of mine through the 1983 and 1984 seasons emerged back in MLB three seasons later to play 5 games with the Pirates in the year of the Twins first World Championship.
1. Willie Randolph-A brief cup of coffee in 1975 as a 20 year old before being shuttled over to the Yankees in a package for Doc Medich, where he settled in for thirteen years and five All-Star games through the rest of the '70s and most of the '80s.
2. Tony Armas-His cup of coffee came a year later, in 1976 as a 22 year old for four games, before being included in a deal to Oakland (with Doc Medich!) that brought back Phil Garner who would be the stalwart 2B for the "We Are Family" championship Pirates of 1979.
3. Wilbur Wood-The last on this Top 10 list of those who emerged later in their career as an All-Star. Wood was with the Pirates in 1964-65 before being traded to the White Sox where he was the staff ace through much of the '70s. (730 innings pitched across 1972 and 1973!)
4. Jim Bunning-The future HOF who established that resume with the Tigers and Phillies was towards the tail end of his career when at ages 36 and 37 he was a rotation member in 1968-69.
5. "Sudden" Sam McDowell-One of my favorite baseball nicknames, great arms, and cautionary tales spent his last season with the Pirates in 1975 at the age of 32 when he was released after 14 fairly effective games. By that time (according to his SABR profile) he had become such a raging alcoholic that he was blacklisted by the entirety of MLB. The good news is that he got clean a few years after banishment from MLB and went on to work several years within baseball assisting other players struggling with addiction issues.
6. Amos Otis-A cornerstone of those great Royals teams from the '70s and '80s wound up his career as a Pirate in 1984 at age 37 with a .165 average over 40 games before being released in August.
7. Kirk Gibson-His days of Tiger greatness and World Series legend were in the rearview by the time he made it to the Pirates in 1992 at age 35. He was released in May after 16 games with a .196 average, but he did bounce back to play three more seasons with the Tigers as a fairly effective reserve outfielder.
8. Lonnie Smith-"Skates" matriculated to the Pirates in 1993 after being a savior to the Twins in the '91 World Series
. By this time, he was 37 years old and almost done as a big leaguer; he was traded after 94 games to Baltimore in August, where he had one more season in him. 9. Lance Parrish-Another legendary Tiger of the '80s found himself on the back side of his career in Pittsburgh during the '90s, specifically 1994 where he was a back-up for 40 games.
10. Kenny Lofton-The point guard from Arizona had a great and well-traveled baseball career that included 84 games in 2003 at the age of 36 in Pittsburgh before he was shuttled over to the Cubs and on the cusp of a World Series appearance before Bartman happened. (which is incredibly unfair to Bartman, I know).
Honorable mention: Bo Belinsky, Mudcat Grant, George Hendrick, Steve Kemp, Freddie Patek
Local Team Angle: Houston Jimenez-The Twins answer to Mario Mendoza and inexplicable favorite of mine through the 1983 and 1984 seasons emerged back in MLB three seasons later to play 5 games with the Pirates in the year of the Twins first World Championship.
