Batting First for the Pirates in the ‘Live Ball’ Era: From Carson to Carlos

Somebody has to bat first — to help set the table for the sluggers in the heart of the lineup. And during the 75 years of the so-called “live ball” (i.e. since 1920), 35 different players have served as the principal leadoff batter for the Pirates in one or more seasons. This article takes a retrospective look at who they were and what some of them accomplished as first-up batters. A couple assembled outstanding records; and another was on the verge.

1920-1929
When the Elite Batted First

Carson Bigbee, an outfielder who spent his entire major league career (1916- 1926) with the Bucs, was the first principal leadoff batter during the “live ball” era for Pittsburgh; he was their game starter nearly 85% of the time in the 1920 and 1921 campaigns (during which he put together an on base percentage of .348.)

Then a trio of eventual Hall of Famers took over the number-one slot in the batting order: Rabbit Maranville (1922 and 1923); Max Carey (1924-1926); and Lloyd “Little Poison” Waner (1927). Overall for the “Roaring Twenties” decade, Bigbee appeared in the most leadoff games with 326; Maranville (who was a Pirate from 1921 through 1926) was next in line with 313 first- up games. For comparison, the NL’s top leadoff batter (in terms of most leadoff games) in the 1920s was George Burns with 744 first- batter games.

1930-1939
The Senior Circuit’s First Great Leadoff Batter in the “Live Ball” Era

After a phenomenal rookie season in 1927 (in which he fashioned a .355 batting average and a .390 on base percentage in 150 games — 132 as a leadoff batter), Lloyd Waner relinquished the role of principal first-up batter to Sparky Adams in 1928 and Dick Bartell in 1929. However, Waner reclaimed the primary slot in 1930 and held it for most of the decade. (Woody Jensen and Lee Handley handled primary leadoff duties for the 1936 and 1938 seasons, respectively.)

Unquestionably, Little Poison was the numero uno number-one batter in the National League during the noisy thirties. Overall, he appeared in 912 games as a leadoff batter (tops in the in majors and 74% of all the games he played) and put together a .311 batting average and a .345 on base percentage. Significantly, he became the first National Leaguer to surpass the 1000 lifetime leadoff games plateau; he finished his big league career in 1945 with 1203 first-up contests — 1147 of them with the Pirates.

1940-1955
In Search of Another Franchise Leadoff Batter (Part 1)

During the next 16 years, the Pirates had considerable difficulty coming up with a player who could handle the leadoff role on a year-to-year-to-year basis (as Little Poison had done). From 1940 through 1955, 10 different players tried to fulfill that obligation; none was successful — Lee Handley (1940 and 1946); Frankie Gustine and Alf Anderson (1941); Pete Coscarart (the War Years of 1942- 1945); Billy Cox (1947); Stan Rojek (1948 and 1949); Bob Dillinger (1950), Pete Castiglione (1951); Clem Koshorek (1952); Cal Abrams (1953); Curt Roberts (1954); and even Roberto Clemente (1955, his rookie year, and 1957).

1956- 1970
Some Stability at the Top

In 1956 (following four consecutive cellar finishes), the Bucs finally acquired a leadoff batter who would help them climb ultimately to the top of the diamond world in 1960. That May, Bill Virdon, the 1955 NL Rookie of the Year, was obtained from the Cardinals for pitcher Dick Littlefield and hometown hero, outfielder Bobby Del Greco, While Virdon didn’t make people forget Little Poison, he did stabilize the top of the Pirate batting order, serving as their principal leadoff batter for six years (1956 and 1958-1962). By the time he retired after the 1965 campaign, he had amassed a total of 634 first-up games, the second highest total in Pirate history during the “live ball” era. During his principal leadoff years he compiled a .264 batting average and a .318 on base percentage.

Dick Schofield took over as the primary first-up for the Corsairs for the 1963 and 1964 seasons. And Bonus Baby Bob Bailey had that responsibility in 1965. Then, for 1966, Pittsburgh obtained Matty Alou from San Francisco and inserted him at the top of the order for 122 games. Under the fast-talking tutelage of Buc skipper Harry Walker (translated deftly by Roberto Clemente), the diminutive Dominican outfielder responded with a league-leading .342 batting average. He thus became only the second principal leadoff batter in the NL (during the “live ball” era) to capture a batting crown. New Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn of the cross-state Philadelphia Phillies had been the first one to achieve the feat. And he did it twice.

In spite of Alou’s outstanding hitting ability, the Pirates brought in an established leadoff batter to share the first-up duties with him in the next campaign. In 1967, Alou led off 81 games in which he batted a nifty .324 (.338 overall), while Maury Wills, a six-time stolen base champion, led off 79 games, in which he batted an even .300. And in 1968, Wills took over as primary leadoff guy, sporting a .289 mark in 118 games, while Alou was a backup leadoff batter, hitting .337 in 20 games there.

Then, with Wills gone in the expansion draft, Alou returned to the number-one slot full-time in 1969, appearing first up in 161 games and putting together a glowing .331 batting average and a .371 on base percentage. He remained the Pirate principal leadoff batter in 1970 (115 games) although his overall batting average dropped to .297. Following the 1970 campaign, Alou was dealt to the Cards, thus ending a period of stability at the top of the order for Pittsburgh.

Overall, Matty Alou had appeared in 499 games as a Bucco leadoff batter. During his five years in Pittsburgh, he compiled a very impressive .327 batting average and a .358 on base percentage — numbers in line with those carved out by the legendary Lloyd Warner.

1971-1985
In Search of Another Franchise Leadoff Batter (Part 2)

Following Alou’s departure, the Pirates employed four different players as their principal leadoff batters during the next eight seasons. Dave Cash was the man in 1971 (44 games) and 1972 (60); Gene Clines took over in 1973 (55); Rennie Stennett did the job in 1974 (125) and 1975 (118); and Frank Taveras occupied the number-one slot in 1976 (105), 1977 (88), and 1978 (157).

In 1979, the Bucs then settled on Omar Moreno, a base-stealing outfielder, to set their offensive table. He held that position through the 1982 campaign. During his Pittsburgh tenure, Moreno copped two stolen base titles and led off 597 games. He compiled a .255 batting average and a .315 on base percentage — again, figures that certainly didn’t erase the honored memory of Little Poison.

Marvell Wynne took over the principal leadoff duties for Pittsburgh in 1983 and 1984. And Joe Orsulak served as the primary table setter in 1985.

1986-1994
Perhaps the Best at the Top; But Too Good to be There

As specified nowadays, the ideal lead-off batter is an “igniter”; a “make it happen” player — a batter who can get on base with hits and walks; advance into scoring position with a stolen base; and, if needed, blast the ball out of the park with regularity. Even Little Poison didn’t possess all those attributes. But Barry Bonds does (certainly now). And he was the Pirates’ principal leadoff batter for four years beginning in 1986. During that stretch (427 first-up games), he assembled a batting average of only .256 and an on-base percentage of just .347 — but he also walloped 84 homers and swiped 117 bases. Of course, during his next three years with Pittsburgh, Bonds blossomed. He greatly improved his batting and on-base percentage without sacrificing power or base-stealing prowess. By that point, he was utilized in the leadoff slot only infrequently (just 13 games) — he was simply too good to be there.

Instead, the Pirates relied on Wally Backman in 1990; Orlando Merced in 1991 and Gary Redus in 1992. Although none could have been called prototypical leadoff men, the Pirates won three straight division titles. And for the last two seasons, Pittsburgh has depended on Carlos — Carlos Garcia — to ignite the offense. While it’s still early in the second baseman’s career, he has demonstrated that he can pop the ball into the seats. Maybe in time, he’ll be mentioned in the same breath with Little Poison.

Concluding Remarks

The top five number-one batters for the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 1920-1994 period were Lloyd Waner, with 1147 leadoff games; Bill Virdon, 634; Omar Moreno, 597; Matty Alou, 499: and Barry Bonds, 440.

Finally, it is interesting to note that some other Pirates with illustrious diamond credentials also occupied the leadoff slot, at least for one game during the “live ball” era: Hall of Famers Pie Traynor, 2 games; Kiki Cuyler, 2; Paul Waner, 101: Arky Vaughan, 1; Freddy Lindstrom, 19; and slugger Willie Stargell, 2.