1952 Pittsburgh Pirates season

‎MLB yearly infobox-pre1969 alt
name = Pittsburgh Pirates
season = 1952
misc =

current league = National League
y1 = 1887
Uniform
ballpark = Forbes Field
y4 = 1909
city = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
y5 = 1887
owners = John W. Galbreath
general manager =Branch Rickey
managers = Billy Meyer
television = none
radio = WWSW
Rosey Rowswell, Bob Prince|The 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 71st season of the Pittsburgh Pirates in Major League Baseball, and their 66th season in the National League. The Pirates posted a record of 42 wins and 112 losses, their worst record since 1890, and one of the worst in major league history.

Offseason and expectations

The by|1952 Pittsburgh Pirates were led by 70-year-old general manager Branch Rickey and 60-year-old manager Billy Meyer. Meyer led Pittsburgh to a last-place finish in the National League in 1950. After Rickey was installed as general manager, the Pirates were second-to-last in 1951. Tension was high as the two-year contract of their star slugger, Ralph Kiner, expired before the 1952 season. Kiner was the premier power hitter in baseball, having won the previous six National League home run titles.Finoli, p. 112.] Rickey voiced inconsistent levels of commitment to Kiner when talking to the media. Kiner received permission to instead negotiate directly with owner John W. Galbreath and agreed to a reported one-year, $90,000 contract, making him the highest-paid player in the National League. Kiner was signed, but the most famous Pirate of all, 78-year-old Hall of Fame member Honus Wagner, decided to retire from his part-time coaching duties with the team. His number was retired, and he was given a lifetime pass to Forbes Field.Finoli, p. 113.]

Branch Rickey wanted to hold a tryout for dozens of kids from the low minor league levels, and his plan was largely supported by Bing Crosby and the rest of the team's ownership. Rickey hired his former scout and coach Clyde Sukeforth, who had scouted Jackie Robinson for Rickey in the 1940s. Several top young prospects, like Vern Law and Danny O'Connell, were called to military service for the Korean War, and the more experienced Danny Murtaugh retired to accept a minor league managing position. Expectations were high for 23-year-old outfielder Gus Bell to support Kiner in the lineup. Murry Dickson, who had won 21 games in 1951, nearly a third of the entire team's win total, was once again expected to be the anchor of the pitching rotation.

A season to forget

The Pirates struggled for all of spring training in 1952.O'Toole, p. 66.] Gus Bell missed training time due to family-related car problems and illness and was sent to the minor leagues. Towards the end of spring training, pitcher Bill Werle was suspended indefinitely and fined $500, only the third player fined in over two decades of Billy Meyer's managing career.O'Toole, p. 64.] Werle professed his innocence and was reinstated before Opening Day but he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals two weeks later.O'Toole, p. 64-65.]

13 rookies made the Pirates' Opening Day roster including four teenagers, Bobby Del Greco, Tony Bartirome, Jim Waugh and Lee Walls. After four games, Pittsburgh's record was 2-2 but they quickly tumbled to the bottom of the majors by losing 16 of their next 17 games. [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1952/VPIT01952.htm 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates Schedule, Box Scores and Splits] from Retrosheet.] The early two-game winning streak matched the longest they would see all year.O'Toole, p. 77.] Their top three pitchers combined to win just one of their first nine games started.O'Toole, p. 67.] Kiner's hitting was affected by the lack of support as well as back problems and his batting average was under .220 several weeks into the season. Kiner's difficulties and a club earned run average over five resulted in a 5-28 record in mid-May.Finoli, p. 114.] Gus Bell returned from the minors on May 12 and hit for some power but Kiner hit only .241 with 13 home runs and 31 RBIs in the first half which ended with Pittsburgh at 21-59.O'Toole, p. 70.] 21-year-old Dick Groat was one of the Pirates' few bright spots in the first half with four hits in his first three games, but others went into long slumps like Jack Merson's 0-for-35, Clyde McCullough's 0-for-24 and Tony Bartirome's 0-for-29.

The second half soon resembled the first with a 2-11 stretch in mid-July. They were mathematically eliminated from pennant contention on August 6 with more than six weeks left to play. In early August, Pittsburgh called up 20-year-old pitcher Ron Necciai from the minors. Necciai had pitched a legendary 27-strikeout game in the minors but gave up five runs in his first inning in the majors.O'Toole, p. 75.] Necciai not only finished the season with poor numbers but also injured his arm and never again pitched in the majors. Branch Rickey's youth movement, derided as "Operation Peach Fuzz", continued unabated. On August 20, the average age of Pittsburgh's starting lineup was only 23 with Kiner and Garagiola being the only non-rookies. On September 5, pitcher Bill Bell made his major league debut at age 18. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bellbi01.shtml Bill Bell] from Baseball-Reference.com.] Including Bell, seven of the eight youngest players in the National League in 1952 were Pittsburgh Pirates. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL_1952_t.shtml 1952 National League Expanded Leaderboards] from Baseball-Reference.com.] "Rickey's Dinks", as they were sometimes called, were not only young but small. In one game, the entire infield was less than six feet tall.

The Pirates difficulties reached off the field as well. Ralph Kiner, enduring his worst season to-date, received a death threat in an attempt to extort $6,200. Rather than pay, he contacted the authorities and was kept under guard for a time. Financially, Pittsburgh's attendance was the lowest since World War II, falling more than 30% short of the one million budgeted. Branch Rickey sometimes saved money by sending only 21 players on road trips. The final losses for the franchise, including minor leagues and bonuses, were $800,000.

Billy Meyer resigned as manager on September 27, the second-to-last day of the season.

Final results

When the season mercifully ended, Pittsburgh's final record was 42-112. The winning percentage and number of losses were the worst for the franchise since the 1890 season (which was greatly affected by the inclusion of the Players' League) and the worst for any franchise since the 1935 Boston Braves. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/PIT/ Pittsburgh Pirates History & Encyclopedia] from Baseball-Reference.com.] [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/writers/john_donovan/09/04/losers/ The (dis)honor roll] from SI.com - by John Donovan.] Since 1952, the only non-expansion team to finish worse has been the 2003 Detroit Tigers.

A few individuals came away with positive notes. A late-season home run surge by Ralph Kiner brought him his seventh consecutive home run championship (he finished tied with Hank Sauer with 37 on the year). It was also his last. Dick Groat finished at .284 and was third in National League Rookie of the Year voting. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1952.shtml#NLroy 1952 National League Rookie of the Year Award] from Baseball-Reference.com.] Joe Garagiola lodged the most playing time of his career and hit .273 with a career-high 54 RBIs, third most on the team behind only Kiner and Gus Bell.

On the flipside, teenagers Tony Bartirome and Bobby Del Greco were regulars but neither hit over .220. Seven other players had at least 40 at-bats but hit under .200. Kiner's home run total (37) was more than the next four highest on the team combined (16, 8, 7, 5). As a team, Pittsburgh was last in the National League in runs, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, RBIs, batting average, slugging percentage, complete games, ERA, walks allowed, home runs allowed, fielding percentage and errors committed. Murry Dickson, who won 21 games in 1951, lost 20 games in 1952, going 14-20. Only three other pitchers won more than two games.

Among their young players, only Jim Waugh - the youngest - played in the majors again before 1955. Waugh played in 1953, his last year; Ron Necciai and Tony Bartirome never played after 1952; Bill Bell pitched one inning in 1955, his last; and Bobby Del Greco, Lee Walls and Ron Kline had longer careers but not until several years later. Dick Groat and pitcher Bob Friend were the only players to endure the 1952 season who also played with the 1960 World Series champion Pirates.

Anecdotes, etc.

The failure of the 1952 Pirates was the source of several anecdotes and side-stories. "Pittsburgh Press" writer Len Biederman recalled an earlier humorous practice by giving Dick Groat a dime while he was in an 0-for-19 slump. When Groat broke out of the slump with a 5-for-5 game, Biederman gave Kiner a quarter with similar positive results so Biederman continued giving coins to various Pirates. Joe Garagiola, the regular catcher for the 1952 Pirates, frequently used the team's struggles in his later career as a baseball sportscaster with lines like, "They talk about Pearl Harbor being something; they should have seen the 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates" and "In an eight-team league, we should've finished ninth."

Regular season

Opening Day Starters

eason standings

Transactions

*June 16, 1952: Dick Groat was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/groatdi01.shtml Dick Groat Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]
*October 14, 1952: Gus Bell was traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Cincinnati Reds for Cal Abrams, Joe Rossi, and Gail Henley. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bellgu01.shtml Gus Bell Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]

Roster

tarting pitchers

Notes

References

*Cite book
last=Finoli
first=David
coauthors=Bill Ranier
title=The Pittsburgh Pirates Encyclopedia
publisher=Sports Publishing LLC
isbn=1582614164
year=2003
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=1VwOLIVOWvwC&pg=RA11-PA156-IA9&lpg=RA11-PA156-IA9&dq=Gus+Bell+Hollywood+Stars&source=web&ots=qi_2xfdrjt&sig=IkGOFLEOZdKTdGIH0bP3fJWu3zA&hl=en#PPP1,M1
*Cite book
last=O'Toole
first=Andrew
title=Branch Rickey in Pittsburgh
publisher=McFarland & Company
isbn=0786408391
year=2000
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=OTANSSqBwXAC&pg=PA66&dq=1952+Pittsburgh+Pirates&num=100&ei=cMP6R7PkEIzcygTWgpy3BA&sig=m5FeR1t2tSVaxjqJsiE6NH-RVvI#PPA63,M1
chapter=Rickey Dinks
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/PIT/1952.shtml 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at Baseball Reference]
* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1952&t=PIT 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates Page at Baseball Almanac]