1966 Pittsburgh Pirates season

1966 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 (minority shareholders)
General manager(s)	Joe L. Brown
Manager(s)	Harry Walker
Local television	KDKA-TV Bob Prince, Jim Woods, Don Hoak
Local radio	KDKA Bob Prince, Jim Woods, Don Hoak
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The 1966 Pittsburgh Pirates season involved the team's third-place finish in the National League at 92–70, three games behind the NL Champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

Offseason

• November 22, 1965: Bill Virdon was released by the Pirates.^[2]
• November 29, 1965: 1965 rule 5 draft
  • Dave Roberts was selected by the Pirates from the Houston Astros.^[3]
  • Jesse Gonder was drafted by the Pirates from the Atlanta Braves.^[4]
• January 29, 1966: Del Unser was drafted by the Pirates in the 4th round of the secondary phase of the 1966 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign.^[5]

Regular season

Pirates outfielder Roberto Clemente was the National League's Most Valuable Player for the 1966 season.

Season standings

National League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Los Angeles Dodgers	95	67	0.586	—	53–28	42–39
San Francisco Giants	93	68	0.578	1½	47–34	46–34
Pittsburgh Pirates	92	70	0.568	3	46–35	46–35
Philadelphia Phillies	87	75	0.537	8	48–33	39–42
Atlanta Braves	85	77	0.525	10	43–38	42–39
St. Louis Cardinals	83	79	0.512	12	43–38	40–41
Cincinnati Reds	76	84	0.475	18	46–33	30–51
Houston Astros	72	90	0.444	23	45–36	27–54
New York Mets	66	95	0.410	28½	32–49	34–46
Chicago Cubs	59	103	0.364	36	32–49	27–54

Record vs. opponents

1966 National League Records Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	NYM	PHI	PIT	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	7–11	10–8	14–4–1	7–11	14–4	11–7	7–11	8–10	7–11
Chicago	11–7	—	6–12	5–13	8–10	8–10	5–13	6–12	6–12	4–14
Cincinnati	8–10	12–6	—	4–14	6–12	10–7	10–8	8–10	7–10	11–7
Houston	4–14–1	13–5	14–4	—	7–11	7–11	7–11	4–14	6–12	10–8
Los Angeles	11–7	10–8	12–6	11–7	—	12–6	11–7	9–9	9–9	10–8
New York	4–14	10–8	7–10	11–7	6–12	—	7–11	5–13	9–9	7–11
Philadelphia	7-11	13–5	8–10	11–7	7–11	11–7	—	10–8	10–8	10–8
Pittsburgh	11–7	12–6	10–8	14–4	9–9	13–5	8–10	—	7–11	8–10
San Francisco	10–8	12–6	10–7	12–6	9–9	9–9	8–10	11–7	—	12–6
St. Louis	11–7	14–4	7–11	8–10	8–10	11–7	8–10	10–8	6–12	—

Notable transactions

• June 7, 1966: Bill Laxton was drafted by the Pirates in the 7th round of the 1966 Major League Baseball Draft.^[6]

Roster

1966 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers 28 Steve Blass 43 Don Cardwell 26 Roy Face 22 Woodie Fryman 32 Vern Law 34 Al McBean 19 Pete Mikkelsen 31 Billy O'Dell 37 Bob Purkey 29 Don Schwall 28 Jim Shellenback 25 Tommie Sisk 39 Bob Veale 31 Luke Walker		Catchers 20 Jesse Gonder 12 Jerry May 10 Jim Pagliaroni Infielders 14 Gene Alley  7 Bob Bailey 17 Donn Clendenon  9 Bill Mazeroski 45 Gene Michael 11 José Pagán 45 Dave Roberts 16 Andre Rodgers		Outfielders 18 Matty Alou 23 Don Bosch 21 Roberto Clemente 24 Jerry Lynch 15 Manny Mota  8 Willie Stargell Other batters 23 George Spriggs		Manager  3 Harry Walker Coaches  5 Alex Grammas  6 Clyde King  4 Johnny Pesky  2 Hal Smith

Statistics

Batting

Regular Season[7] Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI Alou, MattyMatty Alou 141 535 183 0.342 2 27 Mota, MannyManny Mota 116 322 107 0.332 5 46 Clemente, RobertoRoberto Clemente 154 638 202 0.317 29 119 Stargell, WillieWillie Stargell 140 485 153 0.315 33 102 Clendenon, DonnDonn Clendenon 155 571 171 0.299 28 98 Alley, GeneGene Alley 147 579 173 0.299 7 43 Bailey, BobBob Bailey 126 380 106 0.279 13 46 Pagan, JoseJose Pagan 109 368 97 0.264 4 54 Mazeroski, BillBill Mazeroski 162 621 163 0.262 16 82 May, JerryJerry May 42 52 13 0.250 1 2 Law, VernVern Law 34 66 16 0.242 1 3 Pagliaroni, JimJim Pagliaroni 123 374 88 0.235 11 49 Blass, SteveSteve Blass 34 52 12 0.231 0 6 Gonder, JesseJesse Gonder 59 160 36 0.225 7 16 Lynch, JerryJerry Lynch 64 56 12 0.214 1 6 Rodgers, AndreAndre Rodgers 36 49 9 0.184 0 4 Fryman, WoodieWoodie Fryman 36 63 10 0.159 0 2 Michael, GeneGene Michael 30 33 5 0.152 0 2 Mikkelsen, PetePete Mikkelsen 71 20 3 0.150 0 0 Spriggs, GeorgeGeorge Spriggs 9 7 1 0.143 0 0 Veale, BobBob Veale 38 94 13 0.138 0 2 Roberts, DaveDave Roberts 14 16 2 0.125 0 0 Cardwell, DonDon Cardwell 32 29 3 0.103 0 3 McBean, AlAl McBean 50 10 1 0.100 0 0 Schwall, DonDon Schwall 11 10 1 0.100 0 0 Sisk, TommieTommie Sisk 34 51 5 0.098 0 2 O'Dell, BillyBilly O'Dell 37 16 1 0.063 0 1 Bosch, DonDon Bosch 3 2 0 0.000 0 0 Face, RoyRoy Face 54 11 0 0.000 0 0 Purkey, BobBob Purkey 11 4 0 0.000 0 0 Walker, LukeLuke Walker 10 2 0 0.000 0 0 Shellenback, JimJim Shellenback 2 0 0 — 0 0

Regular Season[8] Player G IP W L ERA SO Purkey, BobBob Purkey 10 19^2⁄3 0 1 1.37 5 Schwall, DonDon Schwall 11 41^2⁄3 3 2 2.16 24 Face, RoyRoy Face 54 70 6 6 2.70 67 O'Dell, BillyBilly O'Dell 37 71^1⁄3 3 2 2.78 47 Veale, BobBob Veale 38 268^1⁄3 16 12 3.02 229 Mikkelsen, PetePete Mikkelsen 71 126 9 8 3.07 76 McBean, AlAl McBean 47 86^2⁄3 4 3 3.22 54 Fryman, WoodieWoodie Fryman 36 181^2⁄3 12 9 3.81 105 Blass, SteveSteve Blass 34 155^2⁄3 11 7 3.87 76 Law, VernVern Law 31 177^2⁄3 12 8 4.05 88 Sisk, TommieTommie Sisk 34 150 10 5 4.14 60 Walker, LukeLuke Walker 10 10 0 1 4.50 7 Cardwell, DonDon Cardwell 32 101^2⁄3 6 6 4.60 60 Shellenback, JimJim Shellenback 2 3 0 0 9.00 0

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Columbus Jets	International League	Larry Shepard
AA	Asheville Tourists	Southern League	Harding "Pete" Peterson
A	Raleigh Pirates	Carolina League	Joe Morgan
A	Clinton Pirates	Midwest League	Frank Oceak
A	Gastonia Pirates	Western Carolinas League	Bob Clear
Rookie	Salem Pirates	Appalachian League	George Detore

Notes

1. From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Shore in 1907.
2. Bill Virdon page at Baseball Reference
3. Dave Roberts page at Baseball Reference
4. Jesse Gonder page at Baseball Reference
5. Del Unser page at Baseball Reference
6. Bill Laxton page at Baseball Reference
7. "Major League Baseball Regular Season Hitting Stats | pirates.com: Stats". Pittsburgh Pirates.
8. "Major League Baseball Regular Season Pitching Stats | pirates.com: Stats". Pittsburgh Pirates.

References

• 1966 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at Baseball Reference
• 1966 Pittsburgh Pirates Page at Baseball Almanac
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.