TWB: The Pittsburgh Pirates

[canadiancreed]

Stobart deflected the credit for the staff's surprising showing. "Everyone underestimated these guys, including themselves. All I did was to break up the pity party. Anybody could do that,"

For some reason this made me laugh

and the underachieving Reds starting to make noise in the middle of the pack,

you know, if you had said to me that we'd still be in this a month agao, i would have told you to boil your head. But with us going 17-3 in the last twenty games....well I'll try to make this a mess to predict

[ifspuds]

We interrupt the regular columnists for a message from... well, me.

Being a Dodgers fan outside of the fantasy world of OOTP leagues, and being of an age where my first baseball memories are the late '70s and '80s Dodgers, I'm not too familiar with what it feels like to be a fan of a "cursed" team. I'm familiar with the concept. You can't be an obsessive baseball fan without knowing on an academic level about the pain (until this past season of course) of Red Sox fans, or true Cubs fans. But it's something you don't quite understand *until* you actually experience the heartbreak.

Anyone that's read this thread over the last few seasons knows about the heartbreak of 1952 and 1953, when the long-suffering Pirates nearly broke 40 years of futility only to just barely lose out on the pennant in what were two of the greatest pennant races in the history of the league. 1954 began with promise, but when Cotton Simson and (especially) Ace Shipley hit the inevitable wall that all veterans eventually do, the team went spiralling down to a 74-80 record. They came back in 1955 with a surprising 81-73 record, but finished a whopping 24 games behind the Cubs and were never really in contention, and we traded our ace Martin Gwaltney in the process. We were rebuilding a bit, but my intention was more to retool, getting advanced prospects or players in the prime or nearing the prime of their careers. I expected some nice returns, but not so soon.

Harvey Gaunt has been outstanding, earning an All-Star berth and is 16-3, 2.79 midway through July. The offense has been blistering the ball, and the bullpen has been surprisingly good. On July 16th, we're 56-31 and 3.5 games in front of Chicago and 5 up on Brooklyn. We're on pace to break the team record for wins set in 1953 (93). Our 4th starter woes have conceivably been settled for now by trading two prospects for Garland "Hired Gun" Sisk, who has pitched in the postseason in 6 of the last 9 seasons for 3 different National League teams.

So why am I so certain we're going to find a way to give it all away, most likely in the most heartbreaking of fashions? The Pirates were, from 1908-1912, perennial winners and 4-time World Series entrants (winning 1 in 1909). They haven't won a pennant since, and even a winning season was something to celebrate in the Steel City. There wasn't much of a curse there, just some really, really rotten teams. But after 1952 and 1953, even the most skeptical of Pirates fans is certain that the universe is stacked against them, and I'm inclined to believe them. This season has just been far too much of a pleasant surprise to be real. Every morning, I open up the TWB standings and scan the National League from the bottom up, expecting to see Pittsburgh dropping like a rock. Like a more paranoid Cinderella at the ball, I keep looking over my shoulder at the clock, certain that it's about to strike midnight, and the carriage that's trying to carry us back to the Promised Land is going to turn right back into a pumpkin. And worse... our Prince Charming, Martin Gwaltney, is currently tearing up the American League for the Kansas City A's.

Stay tuned for what is certain to be an eventful second half. Here's hoping the clock never does strike midnight, and the ball goes on all season long.

[canadiancreed]

Considering that I dont have a "home team" to root for till 1969, I mist say that the Pirates are my second fav to win it all.

Behind my guys of course

[Matt from TN]

This could be a gutwrenching disappointment, losing the pennant in late Sept again, or perhaps it's the most unlikely of pennant winners. Let's hope for the latter.

[canadiancreed]

So am I, only having the Reds win the pennant being the unlikely one :d

[ifspuds]

Since we're at the All-Star break (or just past it at least), and because I'm bored at work, here's a midseason report card on the Pirates.

Catcher
Doug Provenzano: .299/.386/.429, 6 HR, 32 RBI, 39 runs.

Provenzano, who was named to start on the All-Star team in his rookie season, stands a good chance of being named the first Pirates rookie of the year since Garfield McElhaney (who'd better be on the Best Names in TWB History list somewhere) in 1934. He's thrown out 35.1% of runners attempting to steal as well. The 25-year old Provenzano is still getting better (6/7/5/6/6 ratings over 7/7/6/8/7 talents). I'd like a little bit more power, but I can't complain at all.

Grade: A-

First Base
Ben Giordano: .358/.421/.532, 14 HR, 56 RBI, 53 runs.

Giordano, the 1953 Batter of the Year, is back up to that level of play after a couple of slow seasons. He's 2nd in the NL in average, 2nd in OBP, 5th in slugging, and tied for 8th in homers. Samoan Ben was also a 1956 All-Star, named as a reserve behind Chicago's Bobby Johnson. Again, a few more homers would be nice, but I'll take it.

Grade: A-

Second Base
Herm Vardaman: .324/.461/.489, 12 HR, 61 RBI, 58 runs.

After a curious collapse in batting average in 1955 had a few observers worried that Herm might experience an early decline (he's 29 years old), the man they're calling "Short Pants" in Pittsburgh has come back with a vengeance. His 12 homers already tie a career high, and his .461 OBP and .489 slugging are both career highs as well. He's 6th in average, 1st in OBP, 10th in slugging, 3rd in OPS and 2nd in RC/27. While players such as Giordano or Perry get more press, there's no question who makes the Pirates offense go. Also an All-Star starter.

Grade: A

Shortstop
vs. RHP: Cutter Brekke: .251/.326/.385, 6 HR, 35 RBI, 30 runs.
vs. LHP: Hal Breault Jr.: .346/.389/.442, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 12 runs.

It's tempting to say that Breault Jr. should be starting more often, but I'm of the opinion that his numbers are mostly a product of hitting lefties. Brekke's value is declining rapidly, but he is 37 years old. There are calls in Pittsburgh to bring up Doug "The Count" Williams, who is hitting .304 with 15 homers at AAA, and Williams might just see Pittsburgh before the September roster expansion. This is easily the weakest spot in an otherwise strong lineup.

Grade: C-

Third Base
Ike Walker: .260/.380/.353, 6 HR, 48 RBI, 46 runs.

Will the real Ike Walker please stand up? Last season, Ike hit .308/.413/.474. The season before? .316/.400/.423. In 1952, he hit 26 homers. He's cracked double digits once since then. The .380 on-base percentage is nice, but that .260 average is uncharacteristic for him. I'm hoping for a hot streak as the season wears on.

Grade: B-

Left Field
Matt Praks: .283/.346/.472, 14 HR, 52 RBI, 51 runs.

Praks' line doesn't look too bad, until you consider that he hit .373 last year, and then you have to wonder what's wrong. His 14 HR tie him for the team lead, and he's playing outstanding defense, so it's not all bad. Still, something over .300 isn't too much to ask, is it? Another player I'm hoping will hit a hot streak.

Grade: B

Center Field
Albert Huschke: .265/.320/.377, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 44 runs.

Huschke, who's won 3 of the last 4 Gold Gloves in center field, is likely to win another. He hit .315 last season, which was a career high, but he was much worse than .265 early this season. He hit .298 in June and is hitting .400 so far in July. A nice round .270/.340/.380 line would be plenty.

Grade: B

Right Field
William "Harold" Perry: .313/.393/.535, 14 HR, 66 RBI, 59 runs.

Like Vardaman, Perry went into a tailspin last season, hitting .264/.339/.431, easily the worst season since 1949, when he was in his second season. This year, until an early July swoon (2 for his last 27), he's been on fire. He's 8th in average, 8th in OBP and 3rd in slugging. No complaints about the Pirates captain this season.

Grade: A

Starting Pitchers
Harvey Gaunt: 16-3, 2.74 ERA, .194 OAvg, 1.09 WHIP, 125 Ks
Daniel Blisit: 11-4, 3.37 ERA, .257 OAvg, 1.24 WHIP, 66 Ks
Jack Schoonover: 8-9, 4.36 ERA, .259 OAvg, 1.41 WHIP, 79 Ks

The 4th starter spot has been held down by several players, and is now the property of recent acquisition Garland Sisk, so I'll just talk about the three guys that have been in the rotation all season.

I've written a lot about Harvey Gaunt already. He leads the NL in wins, is 3rd in strikeouts, 3rd in ERA and 4th in runners per 9 IP. He's the ace.

Daniel Blisit was named to the All-Star team, a nice turnaround from a dismal 1955. The trick has been reducing the number of hits he's giving up, with his OAvg falling from .301 last season to .257 this.

Jack Schoonover hasn't been too much different from 1955, just a little bit higher ERA. The Carpenter was 16-17, 3.82 last year, with nearly identical peripheral numbers. He's a decent back of the rotation guy, and is pretty much holding the fort for Jumbo Houk at AAA.

Grades: Gaunt: A, Blisit B+, Schoonover C+

Bullpen
Henry Cavaluzzo: 0-0, 2.89 ERA, .254 OAvg, 1.39 WHIP, 18.2 IP, 6 K.
Denny Savard: 9-0, 9 SV, 2.64 ERA, .258 OAvg, 1.36 WHIP, 47.2 IP, 39 K.
Dean Schiffman: 2-1, 2.57 ERA, .250 OAvg, 1.43 WHIP, 14 IP, 11 K.
Russell Toledo: 1-2, 15 SV, 1.85 ERA, .241 OAvg, 1.36 WHIP, 24.1 IP, 17 K.

All of these guys were significantly worse in 1955, save Schiffman, who is making his first appearance in the majors after coming over from Kansas City in May. They've all been great this season. The Pirates have never had a good bullpen in the Live Era (since 1946), but this year appears to be an exception. If there's a carriage about to turn into a pumpkin (see my last post), I think it'll be the bullpen. But for now...

Grade: B+

[ifspuds]

Pirates Hang On, Face the Ghosts of 1953
by Langford Thomason
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A look at the standings might make a Pirate fan wonder if the calendar has flipped back to 1953.

For those of you that have blocked the memory from your mind, 1953 was the season where former manager Slap Hertzog's blatant roster mismanagement hamstrung his team and left them on the outside looking in at the pennant-winning Cardinals. The second straight season of falling just short. The season that cost Hertzog -- who has now resurfaced in Kansas City, where the Athletics have failed to keep pace with the Yankees -- his managerial job.

No one, least of all this humble scribe, expected the Pirates to be in a first-place tie in the National League in the middle of August, so perhaps perspective is in order. However, given that the Pittsburgh nine has found itself atop this lofty perch, it is time to start wondering if this incarnation of our baseball boys can avoid the mistakes of the past. Will the coaching staff, inexperienced in the rigors of a pennant race, be able to handle a roster of snakebitten players? Will hired gun Garland Sisk provide quality innings down the stretch? Will "Hangman" Gaunt regain the form that once had him as a frontrunner for the league's top pitcher honors? Will recent callup Doug Williams continue to improve and provide some pop at the end of the lineup?

Will it be 1953 all over again, and can this city survive it if so?

This team is sorely in need of an ace. While 7-run innings are pleasant if on the offensive side, they are a luxury not to be depended on. And with the inconsistent nature of the Pirates' motley collection of #3 starters, they will need far too many of those 7-run innings to afford their fans any real comfort. The bold moves that assembled this roster at the outset of the season have trickled to a stop. The acquisition of Garland Sisk was a temporary bandage at best, when surgery was needed. Jumbo Houk and the injured Ben Alford are nice enough pitchers, but how many 3rd starters does one team need? Could the Pirates not package these unproven players for a top starting pitcher? Or are they simply content to let the winds of fate blow the Pirate ship indiscriminately about? History suggests that trusting fate has not been kind to this franchise.

-----

July 1, 1956
Overall Record: 71-45, tied for 1st place with the Brooklyn Dodgers

Top Hitter: Ben Giordano, after being the topic of trade rumors all through the offseason, has come back with his best season since his Batter of the Year season of 1953 (there's that 1953 parallel again): .356/.419/.523, 18 HR, 67 RBI, 76 runs. Amusingly enough, he's 4th on the team in RBIs, behind Perry (87), Praks (75) and Vardaman (74).

Top Pitcher: It's time to give some credit to closer Russell Toledo. After a frightening (5.50 ERA, 1.67 WHIP) 1955, he's bounced back with a terrific 1956: 1-2, 1.65 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 17 saves. Having a more reliable bullpen has been a big boost to this team.

Injury News: Denny Savard (9-0, 3.47, 14 saves) is out 2-3 weeks with a bad back. We've got a little softer schedule coming up, so hopefully we'll have some blowouts and keep the pen rested.

Development News: Backup catcher Rich Schuldt got boosts to contact, plate discipline and avoiding strikeouts. He's now 5/8/2/5/5 rated over 6/7/2/6/6 talents.

High Points: We're in first!

Low Points: We're tied for first and the Cubs are only a game back!

Prospect News: Doug Williams was called up at the start of August and given the starting job against right-handers. He's only hitting 221/284/338, but his ratings did go up from 4/6/4/3/5 to 5/6/5/3/5 (over 7/6/7/5/5 talents), so that's good. The second half of his month was an improvement over his sub-.200 first half, so things are getting better.

[ifspuds]

Pirates Hopeful Heading Into September
by Jack McKinley
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Sure, they were tied for first halfway through last month and now they're a game and a half back of Brooklyn. Yes, the Dodgers once again handed the Pirates their hats and kicked them all over the diamond in a 3-game sweep. But the Pittsburgh Pirates still have hope they can put the proper touch on a surprising season and bring home the National League pennant. With a light schedule over the month of September, there is a very reasonable expectation that this team can catch the frontrunning Dodgers by season's end.

"We're not looking past anyone. Philly has played us tough, and so have the Cardinals. We still have to get out and keep pounding the ball if we want to get back in it," said manager Bud Breckenridge. "Still, it's a bit of a relief that we're done with the Cubs and the Reds."

The second half of August started with great promise, as the Pirates put the finishing touches on a 4-game sweep of the rival Cubs, outscoring the Chicago squad 36-11 over the series. But the tide turned as the hometown team headed to Brooklyn. The first game looked as though it would be a thrilling comeback win for the Pirates, as they went ahead 8-7 with 4 runs in the top of the 9th, but Russell Toledo, who's been so reliable in the late innings, gave up the tying run in the bottom half before Roger Joyce touched him up for the game-winning homer to lead off the 10th. The Brooklyns took care of business from there on out, winning the next two games for a series sweep that would end up keeping the Pirates out of first place as August came to a close.

The offense continues to shine, still tops in the National League in runs scored and now 2nd overall across both leagues. Harvey Gaunt looks to have gotten his early August jitters out of the way as well, allowing just 4 runs in his last 4 starts, all of them coming in a 4-1 loss to Brooklyn. It's not known if the Pirates will shop around for last-minute help. Other than another upgrade to the starting rotation, which would be difficult to come by to say the least, it's hard to see what could be improved without wrecking any future plans. So hang on, Pirates fans. The team that's carried you all spring and summer wants you to stick around for the end of the ride. It's sure to be exciting.

-----

September 1, 1956
Overall Record: 82-50, 2nd place, 1.5 games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Top Hitter: We can now call this a career year for Harold Perry. He's hitting .291/.375/.529 with a career high 25 homers and 105 RBI, both tops on the team.

Top Pitcher: Harvey Gaunt is back. He tossed a 1-hitter against Chicago to start out the last sim, and didn't pitch badly in the 4-1 loss to Brooklyn. He followed that up with his 20th win, a 5-hit shutout against Cincinnati, before going 10 shutout innings against Milwaukee in a game that Pittsburgh finally won 1-0 in 16.

Injury News: Russell Toledo has a sore shoulder that's got him at 90% for 6 more days. Savard will be back tomorrow, so we can shift some of the duties around to protect him.

Development News: The season-ending injury that struck Ben "Reverend" Alford at the start of the season had already sapped 2 points off his 10 control talent, but now he's taken a 2-point hit to his stuff talent as well. He started the season as 6/10/6, and is now 4/8/6. He's just 20, so hopefully he can bring it back up, but I was counting on him to be the #2 guy next season.

High Points: It's very encouraging to see Harvey Gaunt pitching well again, and the offense continues to play very well.

Low Points: I'd like to be a little closer than 1.5 games, with Brooklyn playing so well lately. But we do have what looks to be an easier schedule than the Dodgers, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Prospect News: Doug Williams continues to play better, bringing his numbers up to 257/301/381 (was 221/284/338 on August 15th). Looks as though we do indeed have our shortstop.

[canadiancreed]

On one hand I'd like to root for Pittsburgh, but you released my ancestor, so I dont really know what to think now

[ifspuds]

Grr.

Thanks for pointing it out. He never should have been released. That's what I get for trying to be clever with my roster management.

Shall we say that he asked for his release, since he wasn't playing and didn't feel like he was offering anything, the team obliged, and then decided that they really needed him as a player-coach and brought him back?

[canadiancreed]

a good angle although the team obliged thing seems a bit odd. He realyl cant be part of the team solution with those dreadful ratings can he? I was goign to label it as a paperwork snafu, like I had with Downey and Gahan

[ifspuds]

Ten Days to Go
by Jack McKinley
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Ten more days remain in the 1956 season, and the months that have led up to this point boil down to one point only: after taking two of three in a crucial 3-game series against Brooklyn, the Pirates find themselves, against all odds, tied for first place with the Dodgers. April to mid-September, and the only thing that is resolved is this: one of the two teams that have faced the Yankees 4 times in the World Series will make it a fifth meeting.

After the Brooklyns pounded Jack Schoonover and the Pirates 7-1 in the opening game of the series to take a 2-game lead in the standings, Pittsburgh had to come up big to save their season. And come up big they did. Despite falling behind 6-1 after an inning and a half in the second game, the offense came alive and pounded back, taking a 14-7 win to pull within a game of the lead. Even Garland Sisk got into the action, starting the comeback in the second inning with a bases-loaded triple. But it was game 3 that will go down in Pittsburgh lore should the Pirates finally break their 44-year postseason dry spell.

Facing Brooklyn ace and strikeout king Joe Helton, Daniel Blisit turned in a gem of an effort. Blisit, who was so maligned at the start of the season, hurled 9 and a third 3-hit shutout innings to outlast Helton, who was just as good: 2 hits, 3 walks and 6 strikeouts over 9 shutout innings. After Blisit got the first out of the 10th, Dean Schiffman came on. Schiffman, who has otherwise been excellent since coming over from the Athletics, walked Charlie Shellenbarger, which sent manager Bud Breckenridge out to make the call for Russell Toledo, who rewarded his team's confidence with 2 quick outs. Then, after a quick two outs in the bottom half, both strikeouts, Chester Munch, who has accepted his backup role with grace and dignity, stepped into a Barry Sammons fastball and sent it screaming down the right field line and well into the seats for a dramatic game-winning home run to knot the two teams atop the National League standings.

"Unbelievable. Just unbelievable," said Breckenridge after the heart-stopping win. "These guys play with such heart. Nothing gets them down any more. Down 5 runs? We'll score 14. Getting dominated by a pitcher? We've got a veteran coming off the bench that knows how to work the count. Whatever happens in these next ten days, I couldn't be prouder of these 25 guys."

Neither could their fans.

-----

September 16, 1956
Overall Record: 90-55, tied for first with the Brooklyn Dodgers

Top Hitter: He's been a backup all season, but I want to give some love to Chester Munch. His homer put us back into a tie for first, but he's had an excellent season outside of that as a 4th outfielder and defensive replacement, hitting 352/401/555 with 9 homers and 36 RBI. Just a solid, solid year out of the 35-year old veteran, who was nearly traded several times this season.

Top Pitcher: Daniel Blisit has had a great season as well. Despite facing some declines at age 35, he's gone 19-7, 3.53 and since an 8-run debacle on August 7th, he hasn't allowed more than 4 runs in a game since. And since August 12th, he's given up 1, 1, 2, 1, 3 and 0 runs in his starts. Just need a couple more like that.

Injury News: We head into the last 10 days injury free.

Development News: Nothing much to talk about here.

High Points: All I ask is for a chance at the pennant. And we've got it.

Low Points: I think I'm getting an ulcer.

Prospect News: Not much on this front either, with the minor league season over. I'm hoping Gene Houk can take over for Schoonover next season.

[canadiancreed]

this coudl be very intresting.

right now i've got three storylines all lined up that if they come to pass shoudl be quite intresting.

Either way, go knock those Dodgers out of the lead and out of the city

[ifspuds]

The final sim was run today, and if I'm ruining the suspense for anyone that doesn't already know, I apologize.

St. Louis, they of the anemic offense, took us to the cleaners in a 3-game sweep. First game wasn't so bad... we were up 1-0 going to the 9th, when Harvey Gaunt lost the shutout, and we lost 2-1. Next two games, we gave up 10 runs in each one and were never close.

We won the next 6, but it really didn't matter at that point. Brooklyn had swept Philly and was up by 3 games with 6 to play. The Dodgers win the NL pennant by 1 game, the 3rd year in the last 5 that we finished less than 2 games out.

The logical side of me says "Well, it's good for the story line. Who cares about the Pirates once they finally win one?".

The rest of me just wants to hit something. And I consider myself a pacifist. I need to stop caring so much.

[canadiancreed]

yes if you keep caring so much you'll end up like me

and I wonder if this will signal the beginning of the end for the Pirates current go? Will you go into a rebuild? Will teh Curse of Cecil be the Pirates version of the Bambino's aura on the team?

[Matt from TN]

Originally Posted by ifspuds

The logical side of me says "Well, it's good for the story line. Who cares about the Pirates once they finally win one?".

The rest of me just wants to hit something. And I consider myself a pacifist. I need to stop caring so much.

I hate to see you going thru this because I'd like to see you win one. but you could hardly script a better story than this.

The WS will come someday for Pittsburgh. And how sweet it will be when that happens.

[fhomess]

I think a lot of us are going to care when the Pirates finally win another pennant. If you meant after that, I suppose people will find them a bit less compelling. It sure is frustrating to get so close so often without winning, though.

[ifspuds]

I meant that the story is less interesting after they win. After all, someone has to be the TWB equivalent of the Cubs, or Red Sox, or White Sox, or any other team that went decades without breaking through, right?

Some seasons it feels like the Pirates are all of them rolled into one.

Besides, it has to be pretty frustrating to never get close, either.

[ifspuds]

Yesterday, March 31st, 1957, Pirates pitching coach Jonathan Stobart died at his home of a sudden heart attack. Stobart was 65 years old.

The Passing of a True Pirate
by Jack McKinley
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

For most fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates, September 3rd, 1927 didn't mean much. I remember it like it was yesterday. I had been with the Post-Gazette for a couple of years, covering all things from fairs to farms to funerals, but I'd always wanted to write about the Pirates. You see, I was nine years old when the Pirates won their first and only World Series. I fell in love with that team, as did an entire city. So covering the ball team was a dream of mine. When Bill Symanski, who usually covered the games, came up sick on that September day, the editor called me in and told me to get over to the field. Jonathan Stobart was pitching for his 20th win, and someone had to cover it. That someone turned out to be me.

Jonathan Stobart, since 1920, had been a regular member of a Pirates rotation that toiled for some of the best Pirates teams since the glory days. Not that such a characterization was a compliment, necessarily: every one of the teams had finished at least 4th and at least 13 games back save for the 1920 squad, which fell 4 games short in 3rd place. But in every one of the seasons between 1920 and 1927, Stobart had won at least 16 games, and except for 1925, his ERA was 3.28 or better. But the numbers tell only a fraction of the story that was Jonathan Stobart. He wasn't overpowering. He struck out over 100 batters only once in his career. He wasn't particularly tricky, and often gave up a lot of hits. He had good control, but he wasn't so accurate as to avoid walking a guy now and then. Jonathan Stobart was simply tougher than anyone else on the field. No one outthought him, and no one outfaced him. Quite simply, Stobart exemplified the Pittsburgh ethos. But in 1927, I had never met the man, and knew very little about him. All I knew is that I wanted to meet him, and congratulate him on winning 20 games for the first time in his career. On September 3rd, 1927, after a 3-1 win over the Chicago Cubs, I did.

I still have the scars from the tongue-lashing he laid on me.

Never ask a proud man if a personal achievement makes up for the team's lack of success. Never ask a competitive man if he thought it came easy. And never, never doubt Jonathan Stobart. For a man with such heart and such will, it came as the saddest of surprises yesterday morning to hear that one of the greatest players -- one of the greatest men -- ever to don the Pirates uniform had died, a failure of the heart.

It is impossible for me to sum up the man that was Jonathan Stobart. No one cut to the point as directly as Jonathan Stobart, and usually in language that would make a sailor blush and cover his ears. To listen to the man, you might have thought that no one, not God Almighty himself, could measure up to Stobart's standards. You soon learned that he wasn't focused solely on your failings, but instead that he wanted you to set lofty standards for yourself. He refused to tolerate complacency. Losing games was not blasphemy. Someone always had to lose. Failing to try, however, was a deadlier sin than all seven others combined. There was only one way to gain Jonathan Stobart's respect, and that was to work your hardest and understand your abilities. Once gained, his respect was a precious gift that made you stand up a little straighter just knowing that you'd earned it.

I could list accolades from former teammates, players and colleagues from today until the end of the season and still wouldn't reach the end of the list. And I don't think he'd have wanted to hear it anyway. For such a proud, fiery soul, the one thing that meant more to Jonathan Stobart than the 183 career wins or the 3.11 career ERA or countless other achievements was that someone else get the credit. For a man that spent so many years getting others to live up to the highest of goals, he refused to admit that he himself had done so.

The Pirates announced a week ago, on the 30th anniversary of "Ray of Light" Brown's retirement, that on Opening Day of this season, Brown's uniform number 10 would be retired from circulation, never to be worn by a Pittsburgh player again. The 69-year old Brown made a statement at Forbes Field this morning that he would refuse the honor unless the team also retired Jonathan Stobart's #1 at the same time. In his statement, a tearful Ray Brown said the following: "Stob meant more to this team and this city than ten Ray Browns. It would have earned me a litany of complaints and hard words to say it to him, but Jonathan Stobart was the greatest Pirate. Jonathan Stobart was the truest Pirate of them all."

Ray of Light said it all. I have no other words to write.

[ifspuds]

The following was published in the Sporting News after Jonathan Stobart's sudden fatal heart attack...

"Young reporters seek out sources that are a sieve of inside information on clubs, and consider controversial quips the foundation of great articles. Controversy sells, we are told, and controversy is what younger members of the press seek out.

For longtime out-of-town reporters in the know, when traveling to Pittsburgh or when the Pirates rolled into your town, Jonathan Stobart was always the first member of the organization that you would look up. His colorful tongue could have made for those great quotes, but that wasn't why you sought him out.

You went to Stobart because you would get a honest, no-nonsense appraisal of the club. You would get his joy of a young prospect turning the corner, his frustration over a good pitcher losing his form, and his melancholy when the game started passing by a favorite veteran.

By a established understanding between Baseball Men and Newspaper Men of another era, you knew you were getting insight, and that it was off the record. For Stobart, the press was never an avenue to publicly hang out clubhouse dirty laundry, or as some Baseball Men today use it, to hang a player out to dry.

He would give you a pulse of the club, and often a tip on a story that was building long before the younger hawks on the best sniffed it out. Yet when his players opened the out-of-town papers, or flipped through the national magazines, they would never see a bad word aimed at them from Stobart.

He had too much respect for his players to do that, and we had to much respect for him. It's the type of respect that's dying out in the game and the press that covers it."
-Bill Harrison, Senior Editor, The Sporting News

Thanks to jdw for writing this up for me.