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On the 50th anniversary of the Pirates' win over the Yankees in the 1960 World Series, I thought I'd provide a KTE on that team which I watched and rooted for.
C -Smoky Burgess - the rotund lefty hitting catcher was one of the best hitters of his day, a fair receiver. He went on to set pincg-hitting records before he retired.
1B -Dick Stuart - "Dr. Strangeglove" - later a Met. Righty power hitter. As a fielder, well, he was a righty power hitter.
2B - Bill Mazeroski - Became a Hall of Fame second baseman, mainly for his glove. And it was richly deserved. He was so smooth that the ball never seemed to touch his hands on the DP pivot. Occasional power.
At this point, I have to talk about Forbes Field. The left field line was 365' from home plate. To hit a home run down the line, the batter had to clear a high scoreboard (think Fenway Park). The scoreboard extended almost to left field power alley, where the home run distance was 406 feet. Hitting home runs there was a definite challenge. Center Field was 457 feet, so far that the batting practice screen was stored there during games because they felt it was so far away that it wouldn't interfere with balls hit during games. The right field foul line was about 300 feet, but there was a high screen in front of the pavillion that extended to right center. A much more reachable home run target.
SS - Dick Groat - That year's MVP because he hit .325. An ex-Duke player, he had limited range but seemed to always be in the right position to field the ball.
3B - Don Hoak - in the off season he was a boxer, and he played third base that way - always battling. If there was a fight on the field, the smart players stood behind him.
LF - Bob Skinner - Nicknamed Dog, and I never figured out why. Lefty hitter with decent power, not a gazelle, and was platooned with another lefty hitter, Jerry Lynch. Lynch was a lethal pinch hitter, and "Lynch in the Pinch" was often heard when my friends and I listened to Buc games on KDKA.
CF -Bill Virdon - the lefty hitter was nicknamed "Quail" because of his quick start after a fly ball. He had a lot of ground to cover, and he covered it very well. Not a potent hitter, but good enough in the days when centerfield was considered a defensive position.
RF - Roberto Clemente - "Arriba" - Hall of Fame rightty hitter with a cannon arm. And he liked to show it off. Constantly complained of aches and pains, but it didn't stop him from playing. Probably the best fielding right fielder I ever saw. And finished his career with exactly 3,000 hits. Was killed in a plane crash while ferrying needed supplies to earthquake victims in Latin America.
BENCH - major subs:
Gino Cimoli - Righty hitting outfielder with a good arm and not much power.
Hal Smith - Righty platooned at catcher with Burgess. Not to be confused with the other Hal Smith, who also played in the majors during that time.
Rocky Nelson - Lefty first baseman. I think the reason he was there was because baseball lore said you had to have a lefty first baseman on your roster.
Dick Schofield - "Ducky" Light hitting shortstop, switch hitter. Later became a Met (or was that his son? All those Schofields looked, fielded, and batted alike).
Joe Christopher _ Righty hitting outfielder - later became a Met.
PITCHERS
Bob Friend - Righty who was often accused of doctoring the baseball. Had a herky-jerky motion.
Vern Law - "The Deacon" because he was a Mormon elder. Had a zillion kids, all of their first names began with "V". Never accused of doing anything with the ball except thrwing it well.
Harvey Haddix - "The Kitten" because he had come up with the Cards while they still had Harry "The Cat" Bricheen. The lefty starter is probably best known for pitching 12 perfect innings against the Braves, only to lose in the 13 th.
Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell - the prototypical "veteran lefty" starter that all teams seem to need.
Joe Gibbon - hard throwing lefty middleman.
Roy Face - ElRoy was the best reliever of his time. Threw the fork ball, threw it for strikes, and got a lot of ground balls that his infield turned into double plays. While he was a dominant reliever for a long pewriod of time, I still remember that Yankee broadcaster Mel Allen used to call him "Leroy".
The other pitchers:
Tom Cheney
Bennie Daniels
Fred Green
Red Witt
Paul Giel - an ex college football star who never was as good at baseball. Big bonus baby.
Jim Umbricht
Clem Labine - yeah, that one.
Earl Francis
Diomedes Olivo - Lefty reliever, a member of a baseball pitching family of which several reach ed the majors. His nickname was "Chi Chi".
Don Gross
Finally, while the Mets had a slogan (Let's Go Mets), the Pirates also had one. It was "Beat 'Em Bucs".
And in 1960, beat 'em they did.
Later
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