Team Breakdowns Pittsburgh Pirates
W 24 L 32 .429 Pct Tied for Fifth Place
The Pirates were in the cellar for much of the season. They were eventually joined there by the underachieving Dodgers and the VERY underachieving Reds.
Pittsburgh played .500 ball at Forbes Field (14-14) but had the worst road record in the league (10-18). They had a five-game win streak and a five game losing streak.
Roberto Clemente got off to a slow start but came on to have an excellent season (.337/.367/.505). Richie Hebner, though he only played in 48 games, looked good also (.314/.364/.523). The Lumber Company turned out to be made of Balsa wood, as the Bucs were next to last in team homers.
The most disappointing players were Matty Alou (.197/.253/.225) and Willie Stargell (.185/.237/.321). Stargell only had five homeruns and struck out 44 times.
Pitching was horrible, except for Dave Giusti, who led the league in saves with 10. No regular had an ERA under 3.25. Bob Veale had one of the season’s special moments when he pitched a no-hitter against Oakland in Game #3. Oddly, though he allowed no runs and Pittsburgh won, 4-1, he did give up a run. He walked pitcher, Blue Moon Odom, in the top of the third, then, to add insult to injury, Stargell committed a three-base-error, allowing Odom to score.
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