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Committee Chairman

Kirk Buchner, "The Committee Chairman", is the owner and operator of the site.  Kirk can be contacted at [email protected] .

Bill Swift was a Pittsburgh Pirate for most of his career, first appearing in 1932, where he went 14-10 as a rookie and led the NL in BB/9 (1.1).  

Swift was never a permanent starter in his career, and was used wherever needed.  Winning 70 Games against 57 Losses in his first five years, Swift at least 200 Innings in all of those years, complied either as a starter or reliever, and was one of the better Pitchers in not allowing Walks.

He would be moved to more of a bullpen role in his later three years with the Pirates and was traded to Boston after.  Swift slid into the final spot on this list because he was a competent batter, hitting .230 with 132 Hits for Pittsburgh.  He had a 91-79 Record with a 3.57 ERA on the mound.

49. Gus Sohr

Playing all but his last two years in the Majors with Pittsburgh, Gus Suhr debuted in 1930 for the Pirates, where he was their starting First Baseman for the majority of the decade.

Suhr went to the 1936 All-Star Game and had eight 150-plus Hits years, twice batting over .300.  He would only have 79 Home Runs for Pittsburgh but was a good clutch hitter with 789 RBIs.   

Notably, Suhr was at one time the National League Iron Man, having played in 822 consecutive Games.   With the Pirates, he had 1,379 Hits and batted .278.

48. Tony Pena

Tony Pena signed with the Pirates as an Amateur Free Agent in 1975, and five years later, the Dominican Catcher made his first appearance for the parent club.

Pena became Pittsburgh’s lead Catcher in 1982, and he was an All-Star that year.  Batting .301 with 15 Home Runs in 1983, Pena received the most MVP votes of his career, with an 11th place finish.  Pena also won the Gold Glove, his first of three straight, and over the next two seasons he led the NL in Runners Caught Stealing.  He would also finish in the top ten Defensive bWAR four times, including a league-leading 2.5 in 1984.  

Pena went to three more All-Star Games as a Pirate and had five consecutive double-digit years in Home Runs (1982-86).  He was traded to St. Louis after the 1986 Season, leaving the club with 821 Hits, a .286 Batting Average, and 63 Home Runs.

Emerson “Pink” Hawley played for Pittsburgh for three seasons in the 1890s, where the ten-year veteran was at his best in the game.

Hawley first arrived in Pittsburgh when he was traded from St. Louis in 1895, and the Pitcher responded with his best professional baseball season.   That year, he led the NL in Games Pitched (56) and Innings (444.1) and had a career-best 3.18 ERA and 31 Wins.

He played for Pittsburgh for another two years, winning 40 Games, and posting a 71-61 Record before being dealt to Cincinnati after the 1897 Season.