Random Wednesday: 1966 Pittsburgh Pirates
March 26, 2008 by Geoff Young
Filed under History
Hey, here’s a fun team that doesn’t get a lot of attention. The 1966 Pittsburgh Pirates went 92-70, good enough for third place in an extremely tight National League race. The Dodgers won the pennant, with the Giants back of them by 1 1/2 games. The Bucs, in turn, finished 1 1/2 games behind San Francisco.
Harry “The Hat” Walker managed the Pirates in ‘66, and what an offense he had at his disposal. Future Hall-of-Famers Willie Stargell (.315/.381/.581, 164 OPS+) and Roberto Clemente (.317/.360/.536, 146 OPS+) had monster seasons (Clemente won the MVP award), as did first baseman Donn Clendenon (.299/.358/.520, 141 OPS+). Matty Alou (.342/.373/.421, 121 OPS+) won the batting title, finishing 15 points ahead of brother Felipe. As a team, they led the NL in batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage, and placed second (to the Braves) in runs scored.
The pitching wasn’t quite as good as the hitting, but then, with that offense, it didn’t need to be. Left-hander Bob Veale (16-12, 3.02 ERA, 118 ERA+) led the charge. The rest of the rotation was nothing special but did feature a couple of promising youngsters in Woodie Fryman and Steve Blass. Nobody in the bullpen dominated, but as a unit, Roy Face, Pete Mikkelsen, Al McBean, and Billy O’Dell offered solid support when needed.
The Pirates spent 60 days in first in ‘66, the last time coming on September 10. Never once during the season were they under .500. They never won more than six games in a row, nor did they ever lose more than four straight. That is some kind of consistency.
Speaking of which, the Pirates went 46-35 both at home and on the road. Their downfall, if you want to call it that, was a 40-37 record after the All-Star break. Getting swept at home by the Giants over the final weekend didn’t help either.
This was a good Pirates team that easily could have won the pennant and might have been a better match for the Baltimore Orioles (who swept the Dodgers in the World Series). What wouldn’t Pittsburgh fans do for such a potent lineup right about now?
