1957 Pittsburgh Pirates season

1957 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)	Joe L. Brown
Manager(s)	Bobby Bragan, Danny Murtaugh
Local television	KDKA-TV Bob Prince, Paul Long
Local radio	KDKA Bob Prince, Dick Bingham
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The 1957 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 76th season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 71st in the National League. The Pirates finished tied with the Chicago Cubs for eighth and last in the league standings with a record of 62–92.

Regular season

The Pittsburgh Pirates played the Brooklyn Dodgers in the final game at Ebbets Field. The game was contested on September 24, 1957, and Brooklyn pitcher Danny McDevitt pitched a complete game. He had nine strikeouts while allowing just five hits.^[2]

Season standings

National League	W	L	GB	Pct.
Milwaukee Braves	95	59	--	.617
St. Louis Cardinals	87	67	8	.565
Brooklyn Dodgers	84	70	11	.545
Cincinnati Redlegs	80	74	15	.519
Philadelphia Phillies	77	77	18	.500
New York Giants	69	85	26	.448
Chicago Cubs	62	92	33	.403
Pittsburgh Pirates	62	92	33	.403

Record vs. opponents

1957 National League Records Sources:
Team	BR	CHC	CIN	MIL	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Brooklyn	—	17–5	12–10	10–12	12–10	9–13	12–10	12–10
Chicago	5–17	—	7–15	9–13	9–13	8–14–1	12–10–1	12–10
Cincinnati	10–12	15–7	—	4–18	12–10	16–6	14–8	9–13
Milwaukee	12–10	13–9	18–4	—	13–9	12–10–1	16–6	11–11
New York	10–12	13–9	10–12	9–13	—	10–12	9–13	8–14
Philadelphia	13–9	14–8–1	6–16	10–12–1	12–10	—	13–9	9–13
Pittsburgh	10–12	10–12–1	8–14	6–16	13–9	9–13	—	6–16
St. Louis	10–12	10–12	13–9	11–11	14–8	13–9	16–6	—

Notable transactions

• May 1, 1957: Dale Long and Lee Walls were traded by the Pirates to the Chicago Cubs for Dee Fondy and Gene Baker.^[3]
• May 14, 1957: Bob Smith was purchased by the Pirates from the St. Louis Cardinals.^[4]

Roster

1957 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers 39 Luis Arroyo 28 Chuck Churn 30 Bennie Daniels 31 Whammy Douglas 26 Roy Face 19 Bob Friend 30 Dick Hall 29 Nellie King 22 Ron Kline 37 Bob Kuzava 32 Vern Law 16 Eddie O'Brien  6 Johnny O'Brien 31 Laurin Pepper 34 Bob Purkey 37 Bob Smith 35 Red Swanson 36 Joe Trimble 38,52 George Witt		Catchers 20 Hank Foiles 17,28 Danny Kravitz 17 Hardy Peterson 10 Dick Rand Infielders 23 Gene Baker  3 Dee Fondy  8 Gene Freese 24 Dick Groat 31 Ken Hamlin  3 Dale Long  9 Bill Mazeroski  5 Buddy Pritchard 15 Frank Thomas		Outfielders 21 Roberto Clemente 25 Román Mejías 12 Jim Pendleton 14 John Powers  4 Bob Skinner 11 Paul Smith 18 Bill Virdon 16 Lee Walls		Manager  2 Bobby Bragan 40 Danny Murtaugh Coaches 42 Lenny Levy 40 Danny Murtaugh 43 Sam Narron 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
1B	Fondy, DeeDee Fondy	95	323	101	.313	2	35

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
Thomas, FrankFrank Thomas	151	594	172	.290	23	89
Baker, GeneGene Baker	111	365	97	.266	2	36
Smith, PaulPaul Smith	81	150	38	.253	3	11
Rand, DickDick Rand	60	105	23	.219	1	9
Peterson, HardyHardy Peterson	30	73	22	.301	2	11
O'Brien, JohnnyJohnny O'Brien	34	35	11	.314	0	1
Powers, JohnJohn Powers	20	35	10	.286	2	8
Long, DaleDale Long	7	22	4	.182	0	5
Walls, LeeLee Walls	8	22	4	.182	0	0
Hamlin, KenKen Hamlin	2	1	0	.000	0	0

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	40	277	14	18	3.38	143
Douglas, WhammyWhammy Douglas	11	47	3	3	3.26	28
Daniels, BennieBennie Daniels	1	7	0	1	1.29	101

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
Arroyo, LuisLuis Arroyo	54	130.2	3	11	4.68	2
Swanson, RedRed Swanson	32	72.2	3	3	3.72	29

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
Face, RoyRoy Face	59	4	6	10	3.07	53
Smith, BobBob Smith	20	2	4	0	3.11	35
O'Brien, JohnnyJohnny O'Brien	16	0	3	0	6.08	19
Churn, ChuckChuck Churn	5	0	0	0	4.32	4

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
Open	Hollywood Stars	Pacific Coast League	Clyde King
AAA	Columbus Jets	International League	Frank Oceak
A	Lincoln Chiefs	Western League	Larry Shepard
B	Beaumont Pirates	Big State League	Monty Basgall
C	Douglas Copper Kings	Arizona–Mexico League	Bob Clear
C	San Jose JoSox	California League	Dick Whitman
C	Grand Forks Chiefs	Northern League	Al Kubski and Jack Paepke
D	Salem Rebels	Appalachian League	Larry Dorton
D	Clinton Pirates	Midwest League	Stan Wentzel
D	Jamestown Falcons	New York–Penn League	Jack Paepke

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Lincoln

Jamestown club folded, June 25, 1957

Notes

1. From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Shore in 1907.
2. Sports Illustrated, December 6, 2010, Volume 113, Number 21, p.24, Published by Time Inc.
3. Dee Fondy at Baseball Reference
4. Bob Smith at Baseball Reference

References

• 1957 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Reference
• 1957 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Almanac
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.