{"id":73998,"date":"2024-05-21T20:25:48","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T00:25:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=73998"},"modified":"2024-05-21T20:25:48","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T00:25:48","slug":"pirates-hall-of-fame-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/05\/21\/pirates-hall-of-fame-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"2024 Inductees To Pirates Hall of Fame Announced"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Pittsburgh Pirates have announced the 2024 class of inductees into the Pirates Hall of Fame. The Pirates created their Hall of Fame in 2022 and jump-started it with 19 inductees. Those included 15 former Pirates and, in a nice gesture, four former Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays. The Negro Leagues players were signed to Pirates \u201ccontracts\u201d by their descendants so they may be inducted. There were four more inductees in 2023. Here are the 2024 inductees, announced before Tuesday\u2019s game against the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park. Beside each name, the reader will find the years he played for Pittsburgh and his statistics while a Pirate.<\/p>\n<h2>2024 Inductees To Pirates Hall of Fame Announced<\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">We&#8217;re excited to officially welcome our 2024 Hall of Fame Class on August 24 at PNC Park! \ud83d\udc9b <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qRb9Q89MKB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/qRb9Q89MKB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Pirates\/status\/1793047138366025995?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 21, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p>&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>His Time Was Short But Worthy of Pirates Hall of Fame<\/h3>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bondsba01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Barry Bonds<\/a><\/strong>, LF\/CF, 1986-1992; .275\/.380\/.503, 176 HR, 556 RBIs, 251 SB, 147 OPS+. As Bonds with the Pirates for just seven years, his inclusion comes as a mild surprise. Although he achieved greater heights with the Giants after he left Pittsburgh, his Pirates years were nothing to sneeze at. His Giants career is clouded with suspicion of PED use, which is what\u2019s kept him <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2018\/01\/11\/making-case-barry-bonds-2018-hall-fame-ballot\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">out of the Baseball Hall of Fame<\/a> so far. But there were no such reservations about his time with the Pirates. As a Pirate, Bonds won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1990 and 1992. He also won the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards in 1990-1992.<\/p>\n<h3>No Mr. Nice Guy<\/h3>\n<p>Those were the same years the Pirates won the National League East Division but never advanced beyond the League Championship Series. Unfortunately, Bonds was a failure in the postseason. In three postseason series with the Pirates, he hit 13-for-68, 1 HR, and 3 RBI. During the 1992 postseason, Bonds was open about his desire to leave Pittsburgh. Combined with his postseason failures and often surly attitude, he remains a polarizing figure in Pittsburgh. During spring training 1991, TV cameras caught manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/managers\/leylaji99.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jim Leyland<\/a> famously cussing him out over an incident of misbehavior. In Pittsburgh, the city where everybody knows everything that goes on, there are tales of Bonds not treating some people right. Yet, this is the Pirates Hall of Fame we\u2019re discussing here, not an all-Emily Post or all-Andrew Carnegie team.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless, Bonds could beat a team with his speed, power, and ability to hit for average. His throwing arm was suspect, causing Leyland to move him from center field to left field, but eventually, Bonds excelled at retrieving the ball from the left field corner and quickly throwing a strike to second base. There can be no doubt Bonds was one of the great players of his era, if not the greatest.<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XErmV_0UOzA?si=kyZXb0ALk0g7CRVz\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Resurrecting The Dead<\/h3>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/l\/leylaji99.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jim Leyland<\/a><\/strong>, manager, 1986-1996; 851-863. Leyland was hired in 1986 to resurrect a moribund Pirates team that had lost 104 games the previous year. With the help of some shrewd trades by general manager Syd Thrift, also hired in 1986, Leyland turned it around. As the Pirates improved, Thrift declared immodestly, \u201cIt ain\u2019t easy to resurrect the dead.\u201d However, Thrift wasn\u2019t around when Leyland led the Pirates to three straight NL East Division titles in 1990-92. Unfortunately, as noted above, the Pirates suffered losses in the NLCS in each of those years, none more heartbreaking than in 1992. After the 1992 season, the team\u2019s core was lost to free agency or payroll-reducing trades. Leyland decided to bolt himself in 1996 when he was informed the Pirates would undergo another rebuilding cycle.<\/p>\n<h3>Two Hall Of Fame Inductions In 2024<\/h3>\n<p>Leyland will be <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/01\/24\/baseball-hall-of-fame-inductees-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame<\/a> on July 21 in Cooperstown. For this writer, his inclusion there is highly questionable. He finally won a World Series in 1997 with the Florida Marlins. Later, he won two American League pennants with the Detroit Tigers. However, the standard was set by the first two managers inducted into the Hall. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=mcgrajo01,mcgrajo02&amp;search=John+McGraw&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">John McGraw<\/a> won 10 pennants and three World Series in 33 years. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mackco01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Connie Mack<\/a> won nine pennants and five World Series in 53 years. Few managers meet this standard. In any event, Leyland is plenty good enough for the Pirates Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n<p>If we sometimes disagreed with Leyland\u2019s game strategy \u2013 this writer could write an entire treatise on why he never should have had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/merceor01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Orlando Merced<\/a> bunt in Game 6 of the 1991 NLCS \u2013 there was no doubt that he was a great motivator whose teams played hard. His arguments with umpires could be fun to watch. He also left no doubt about who was in charge when he confronted Bonds as discussed above. It\u2019s on YouTube if the reader would like to see it. The video is not embedded here out of a desire to maintain a site that\u2019s safe for work, children, and clergy.<\/p>\n<h3>The Roadrunner<\/h3>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/sanguma01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Manny Sanguillen<\/a><\/strong>, C\/1B\/RF, 1967, 1969-76, 1978-80; .299\/.329\/.403, 59 HR, 527 RBI. Sanguillen was a three-time All-Star who, in his day, was considered the second-best catcher in baseball behind <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/benchjo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Johnny Bench<\/a>. A notorious bad-ball hitter and overly aggressive base runner, his prime years were 1969-75, when he hit .305\/.333\/.415, 54 HR, and 461 RBI. For a catcher, he had exceptional speed in his younger days. Legendary Pirates broadcaster Bob Prince dubbed him \u201cThe Roadrunner.\u201d Sanguillen was a member of six East Division winners and two World Series champions. In the 1971 and 1979 Series, he was 12-for-32.<\/p>\n<p>Sanguillen was close to Pirates star <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/clemero01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Roberto Clemente<\/a>. When Clemente died in a tragic airplane crash on New Year&#8217;s Eve, 1972, Sanguillen spent days scuba diving off the Puerto Rican coast in search of the body. To start the 1973 season, Sanguillen was installed as the Pirates\u2019 right fielder. The front office had tossed the idea around for years that Sanguillen would be Clemente\u2019s ultimate replacement there because of his speed and strong arm. Sanguillen never pushed back on that notion. However, he looked uncomfortable replacing his idol and never took to the position. By mid-season, he was back behind the dish. After that, he was never again the same catcher, although he continued to get high marks for his game-calling.<\/p>\n<h3>Two Trades And One Final Great Moment<\/h3>\n<p>But Sanguillen continued to hit, hitting .328 as late as 1975. That year, he made his final All-Star team and received MVP votes for the fourth time. After the 1976 season, the Pirates traded him to the Oakland Athletics for manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/t\/tannech01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chuck Tanner<\/a>. The Pirates reacquired Sanguillen in 1978 after which he began to serve as a pinch hitter and a reserve catcher\/first baseman. He had one final great moment up his sleeve in Game 2 of the 1979 World Series. That\u2019s when his ninth-inning pinch-hit single off Orioles ace <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/stanhdo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Don Stanhouse<\/a> drove in the winning run in Baltimore. Today Sanguillen is regularly found at Manny\u2019s BBQ behind the outfield stands at PNC Park. With his knees wrapped in ice packs, he\u2019ll sign autographs and talk baseball.<\/p>\n<h3>The Last Word<\/h3>\n<p>The 2024 Pirates Hall of Fame class joins past inductees <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/becklja01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jake Beckley<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/blassst01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Steve Blass<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=brownra99,brownra01&amp;search=Ray+Brown&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ray Brown<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/careyma01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Max Carey<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/charlos99.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oscar Charleston<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/clarkfr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fred Clarke<\/a>, Clemente, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/f\/facero01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Roy Face<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/f\/frienbo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bob Friend<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=,gibsojo99,gibson005jos&amp;search=Josh+Gibson&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Josh Gibson<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/groatdi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dick Groat<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kinerra01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ralph Kiner<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/l\/leonabu99.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Buck Leonard<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mazerbi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bill Mazeroski<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/murtada01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Danny Murtaugh<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/parkeda01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dave Parker<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/stargwi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Willie Stargell<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/t\/tekulke01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kent Tekulve<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/t\/traynpi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pie Traynor<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vaughar01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Arky Vaughan<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wagneho01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Honus Wagner<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wanerll01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lloyd Waner<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wanerpa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul Waner<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credits: <em>Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Pittsburgh Pirates have announced the 2024 class of inductees into the Pirates Hall of Fame. The Pirates created their Hall of Fame in 2022 and jump-started it with 19 inductees. Those included 15 former Pirates and, in a nice gesture, four former Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays. The Negro Leagues players were signed to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5010,"featured_media":74017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,1071],"tags":[70,3199,2458,1092,3740,2272,5122,5452],"class_list":["post-73998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pirates","category-mlb","tag-barry-bonds","tag-dave-parker","tag-honus-wagner","tag-jim-leyland","tag-josh-gibson","tag-roberto-clemente","tag-roy-face","tag-willie-stargell"],"modified_by":"Evan Mazza, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5010"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}