1953 Pittsburgh Pirates season

1953 Pittsburgh Pirates
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1887)
Location
Forbes Field (since 1909)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1] (since 1907)
Other information
Owner(s)	John W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Bing Crosby, Thomas Johnson, Branch Rickey (minority shareholders)
General manager(s)	Branch Rickey
Manager(s)	Fred Haney
Local television	none
Local radio	WWSW Rosey Rowswell, Bob Prince
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The 1953 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 72nd in franchise history. In April 1953, the New York Yankees visited Forbes Field and played two preseason games against the Pirates. Mickey Mantle hit a 500-foot home run that landed on the roof.^[2]

Offseason

• October 14, 1952: Gus Bell was traded by the Pirates to the Cincinnati Reds for Cal Abrams, Joe Rossi, and Gail Henley.^[3]
• Prior to 1953 season: Don Williams was signed as an amateur free agent by the Pirates.^[4]
• March 19, 1953: Johnny O'Brien was signed by the Pirates as an amateur free agent (bonus baby).^[5]
• March 19, 1953: Eddie O'Brien was signed by the Pirates as an amateur free agent (bonus baby).^[6]

Regular season

Season standings

National League	W	L	GB	Pct.
Brooklyn Dodgers	105	49	--	.682
Milwaukee Braves	92	62	13	.597
Philadelphia Phillies	83	71	22	.539
St. Louis Cardinals	83	71	22	.439
New York Giants	70	84	35	.455
Cincinnati Redlegs	68	86	37	.442
Chicago Cubs	65	89	40	.422
Pittsburgh Pirates	50	104	55	.325

Record vs. opponents

1953 National League Records Sources:
Team	BR	CHC	CIN	MIL	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Brooklyn	—	13–9–1	15–7	13–9	15–7	14–8	20–2	15–7
Chicago	9–13–1	—	12–10	8–14	9–13	5–17	11–11	11–11
Cincinnati	7–15	10–12	—	8–14	9–13	12–10	15–7	7–15–1
Milwaukee	9–13	14–8	14–8	—	14–8–1	13–9–1	15–7	13–9–1
New York	7–15	13–9	13–9	8–14–1	—	9–13	11–11	9–13
Philadelphia	8–14	17–5	10–12	9–13–1	13–9	—	15–7	11–11–1
Pittsburgh	2–20	11–11	7–15	7–15	11–11	7–15	—	5–17
St. Louis	7–15	11–11	15–7–1	9–13–1	13–9	11–11–1	17–5	—

Notable transactions

• June 4, 1953: Ralph Kiner, Joe Garagiola, Catfish Metkovich, and Howie Pollet were traded by the Pirates to the Chicago Cubs for Toby Atwell, Bob Schultz, Preston Ward, George Freese, Bob Addis, Gene Hermanski, and $150,000.^[7]
• June 14, 1953: Pete Castiglione was traded by the Pirates to the St. Louis Cardinals for Hal Rice.^[8]

Roster

1953 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers 32 Roger Bowman 22 Murry Dickson 26 Roy Face 19 Bob Friend 36 Bob Hall 29 Johnny Hetki 32 Cal Hogue 24 Paul LaPalme 28 Johnny Lindell 25 Bill Macdonald 35 Woody Main 20 Paul Pettit 11 Howie Pollet 37 Bob Schultz 23 Jim Waugh		Catchers 11 Toby Atwell  9 Ed Fitz Gerald  3 Joe Garagiola 31 Vic Janowicz  9 Nick Koback 14 Pete Naton  6 Mike Sandlock 10 Jack Shepard Infielders 16 Pete Castiglione 12 Dick Cole  5 Dick Hall 44 Catfish Metkovich 27 Eddie O'Brien 30 Johnny O'Brien 10 Danny O'Connell 13 Eddie Pellagrini  7 Dick Smith 21 Paul Smith  5 Preston Ward		Outfielders 18 Cal Abrams 17 Carlos Bernier 16 Brandy Davis  7 Gene Hermanski  4 Ralph Kiner 14 Felipe Montemayor 44 Hal Rice 15 Frank Thomas Other batters 39 Bob Addis 37 Clem Koshorek		Manager  2 Fred Haney Coaches 40 John Fitzpatrick 43 Sam Narron 42 Bill Posedel 41 Clyde Sukeforth

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
2B	O'Brien, JohnnyJohnny O'Brien	89	279	69	.247	2	22
SS	O'Brien, EddieEddie O'Brien	89	261	62	.238	0	14
OF	Abrams, CalCal Abrams	119	448	128	.286	15	43
OF	Thomas, FrankFrank Thomas	128	455	116	.255	30	102

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Rice, HalHal Rice	78	286	89	.311	4	42
Kiner, RalphRalph Kiner	41	148	40	.270	7	29
Garagiola, JoeJoe Garagiola	27	73	17	.233	2	14
Smith, DickDick Smith	13	43	7	.163	0	2
Metkovich, CatfishCatfish Metkovich	26	41	6	.146	1	7

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Friend, BobBob Friend	32	170.2	8	11	4.90	66

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Dickson, MurryMurry Dickson	45	200.2	10	19	4.53	88
Face, RoyRoy Face	41	119	6	8	6.58	56
Pollet, HowieHowie Pollet	5	12.2	1	1	10.66	8

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Bowman, RogerRoger Bowman	30	0	4	0	4.82	36

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AA	New Orleans Pelicans	Southern Association	Danny Murtaugh
A	Charleston Rebels	Sally League	Frank Oceak, Norm Shope and Larry Shepard
A	Denver Bears	Western League	Andy Cohen
B	Waco/Longview Pirates	Big State League	Buster Chatham
B	Burlington-Graham Pirates	Carolina League	Stan Wentzel
C	Billings Mustangs	Pioneer League	Cliff Dapper
C	St. Jean Canadiens	Provincial League	George Genovese
C	Hutchinson Elks	Western Association	Wes Griffin
D	Bristol Twins	Appalachian League	George Detore
D	Dublin Irish	Georgia State League	John George and Frank Oceak
D	Brunswick Pirates	Georgia–Florida League	Jack Paepke
D	Batavia Clippers	PONY League	George Kinnamon

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Hutchinson, Brunswick

Waco franchise transferred to Longview, May 22, 1953

Notes

1. From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Shore in 1907.
2. The Best Game Ever, Prologue, p. xx, Jim Reisler, Carroll & Graf Publishers, New York, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7867-1943-3
3. Gus Bell page at Baseball Reference
4. Don Williams page at Baseball Reference
5. Johnny O'Brien page at Baseball Reference
6. Eddie O'Brien page at Baseball Reference
7. Ralph Kiner page at Baseball Reference
8. Hal Rice page at Baseball Reference

References

• 1953 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at Baseball Reference
• 1953 Pittsburgh Pirates Page at Baseball Almanac
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-17-6.