Neil Walker at his alma malter, Pine Richland
photo cred: pinerichland.org
Every Pittsburgh Pirate fan knows who the team's starting 2nd baseman is. It is Neil Walker the Pittsburgh Kid out of Pine Richland high school, and up until this year being the "Pittsburgh Kid" was probably the best part of his game, but not anymore.
Although he battled injuries for a part of the 2014 season, Walker enjoyed his best season of his career both offensively and defensively. If it wasn't for getting hurt, Walker would have been an All-Star selection this season. Walker hit a solid .271 with an impressive 23 home runs and 76 runs batted in. Along with the great offensive output, Walker made only 5 errors in a whopping 630 chances, giving him a .992 fielding percentage. Walker also showed a great improvement with his range this year, surprising us as fans time-after-time with some great game changing plays.
photo cred: espn.com
Walker definitely surprised me with his great 2014 season, and as a Pittsburgh Pirates fan and Pittsburgh native, I am really looking forward to seeing what he can do as an encore in 2015. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Walker representing the National League at 2nd base next year at the Mid-Summer Classic.
The next position that will be examined in the post-season position report cards for the Pittsburgh Pirates will be shortstop. Shortstop is one of the most crucial positions in all of baseball, and the Pirates have been pretty weak here in the recent past.
This year's shortstop was primarily Oklahoma St. product, Jordy Mercer, with a little bit of Clint Barmes mixed in as well. Mercer provided the offense from the position, while Barmes' main role was as a defensive specialist. Although most casual baseball fans probably couldn't tell you who Jordy Mercer or Clint Barmes is, they did a fine enough job this year for the Bucs.
After a very shaky first couple of months of the season for Mercer where he was batting in the .100's, he figured it out and became of of the most productive National League shortstops over the rest of the year. Mercer ended the year hitting .255 with 12 home runs and 55 runs batted in. Mercer was also extremely durable, playing in 149 of 162 total games this past year. Mercer has room to improve defensively in 2015 though, he committed 11 errors this year giving him a .982 fielding percentage.
Clint Barmes played in only 48 games in 2014, his lowest total since his 2007 campaign in Colorado. His numbers were not great either. He batted .245 with 0 home runs and just 7 runs batted in. His fielding percentage was not normal of Barmes either. He fielded at just a .975%. Barmes is a free agent this off season, don't look for the Pirates to re-sign him.
Clint Barmes
photo cred: zimbio.com
So if you throw out a month or two worth of at-bats for Mercer, the offensive numbers produced by Pirates shortstops this season would be pretty good, unfortunately that's not how it works. So below average numbers at the plate and shaky defense do not help this grade.
The Pittsburgh Pirates had one of the more interesting 3rd base situations in all of baseball in 2014, but in the end it worked out better than anyone could have imagined.
Pedro Alvarez, a 2013 All-Star selection, National League home run leader, and 2014 starting 3rd baseman not only lost his job to Josh Harrison in 2014, but we may have seen him play his last inning in a Pirate uniform. From an offensive standpoint the numbers were not terrible. Alvarez hit .231 with 18 home runs and 56 runs batted in, in 122 games. The problem was in the field. Alvarez has always been a below average 3rd baseman defensively, but this year was the worst to date. The Pirates even tried moving him to 1st base because Alvarez got to the point where he was no longer able to make an accurate throw across the diamond to 1st base. Alvarez averaged about an error every 4 games, finishing the year with 25 errors in 99 games played at 3rd base.
So if Alvarez had such a dissapointing 2014 season, how the the Pirates manage to make their way to the postseason for a 2nd consecutive year? The answer to that question is Josh Harrison. Harrison was arguably the best story of the year in all of baseball. He basically came out tof nowhere and became an All-Star right in front of our eyes. Harrison has been with the Pirates for 4 years now, but before 2014 he never played in more than 104 games and his primary role was as a utility player, fillling in for players who needed a day off or to provide a spark. Harrison is an NL MVP candidate, finishing the year 2nd in the NL batting race with a .315 average, 13 home runs, 52 runs batted in, and 18 stolen bases. Not to mention Harrison was very solid defensively at 3rd base. He had 3 errors in 72 games at the hot corner for a .984 fielding percentage. Harrison found a home at 3rd base with Alvarez's struggles, but Harrison also played left and right field, shortstop, and 2nd base. Without Harrison's career year, the Pirates would not have had a successful season like they did.
It may not have been the way that they drew it up, but the Pirates couldn't have asked for better numbers from a 3rd baseman than what Harrison provided them with. It will be interesting to see if he can have a repeat performance in 2015, but regardless he deserves a shot to do so with the Pirates at 3rd base next year.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have seem to have found a good thing when it comes to acquiring former New York Yankees. First there was AJ Burnett, then Russell Martin, and this year was Chris Stewart.
So both of the Pirates catchers this year were former Yankees, and they both seem to like it in Pittsburgh. Russell Martin excelled in his first season in Pittsburgh last year, but was even better this year, putting up MVP like numbers. Chris Stewart had one of his best years of his career. He hit close to .300 (.294), playing in about a third of the games this season.
Russell Martin will probably win a gold glove this year for being the best defensive catcher in the National League, but not only that, he had an on-base percentage of over .400 (.402). His best quality although is one that cannot be measured by statistics. He is a great veteran presence on and off the field, he manages the pitching staff extremely well, and he is undoubtedly the heart and sole leader of the Pirates. If this was indeed his last season in Pittsburgh, then he is going to be truly missed withing the organization and by fans all over Pittsburgh.
Russell Martin photo cred: www.steelcitybuzz.come
The position of backup catcher might be the most undervalued position in all of baseball. Finding a catcher that can fill in for the starter about every third day, handle the pitching staff, and play well both offensively and defensively is about as difficult as it sounds, but the Pirates did just that this year in the form of Chris Stewart. Stewart hit .294 in 49 games, and held a solid .991 fielding percentage (3 errors).
Chris Stewart photo cred: espn.com
The only area for improvement where both Martin and Stewart were lacking was in the power department. Martin finished the year with 11 home runs, and Stewart did not hit 1. Stewart also only had 5 doubles the entire year. Other than that there are no complaints.
Clayton Kershaw, will he win the MVP in 2014? photo cred: thegurdian.com
Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates CF photo cred: espn.com
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What a year it was for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Realistically, the Pirates have three legitimate Most Valuable Player candidates for the National League, and it should surprise nobody if after all the votes have been counted Andrew McCutchen, Russell Martin, and Josh Harrison all finish in the top-10 for the race.
Hit .314 in 146 games this past year with an on-base percentage of .410, for a slugging percentage of .952. Hit 25 balls out of the park this year and drove in 83, while stealing 18 bases. I would say that it is pretty much down to him and LA Dodger's pitcher, Clayton Kershaw to take home the award.
Who do you think will bring home the MVP hardware this year?
Well, its been almost two weeks since that game that we'd all like to forget. The game where the San Francisco Giants crushed the Pirates hopes and dreams of a championship with an 8-0 beat down, and for anybody that is still sulking, sad, or even refused to watch baseball because the Pirates are eliminated, stop and cheer up. There is some great baseball being played in the American and National League Championship Series.
The feel-good story of the Kansas City Royals, a team a lot like the Pirates, are currently up 2 games to none on the American League East Champion Baltimore Orioles. So there is a team to root for right there.
Also the Giants, yes those Giants, are up 1 game to zero on the Pirates bitter rival the St. Louis Cardinals. It would be a pretty good thing to see the Giants win becuase as a Pirate fan you could say your team lost to the best team left, and it goes without saying, its alwyas a good thing to see the Cardinals lose.
So in conclusion... Cheer up Pirate fans, life goes on
A depressed Pittsburgh fan (don't let this be you) photo cred: espn.com
Pittsburgh Pirates fans are going to have to wait another year to see if their team can win a championship. The Pirates season ended on Wednesday with an 8 to 0 shellacking put on them by Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants
For all the buzz, hype, and excitement in and around the city of Pittsburgh for the Pirates wild card game, they sure turned in a dud of a performance for the largest crowd in PNC Park history, along with everybody watching on television. The game stayed competitive for the first 3 innings, but then in the top of the 4th, Giants' shortstop Brandon Crawford delivered a gut-wrenching blow to the Pirates when he took Edinson Volquez deep over the Clemente Wall in right field for a two-strike grand slam. That was it for the Pirates. The Giants tacked on a few more runs over the remainder of the game to take it 8 to 0, sending the Pirates home for the winter.
A definite positive to take from this season for Pirate fans is that they have now recorded winning records and made it to the postseason for 2 consecutive years, after a North American Sports record 20 straight losing seasons from 1992 to 2012. So it seems the Pirates have made the jump and are here to stay when it comes to being competitive.
So one question remains... Where do they go from here? The Bucs are heading into a very tough off-season where some of their key contributors from the 2014 seasons will be becoming free agents.
The Pirates off-season is going to be extremely important, as well as interesting, and definitely one to pay attention to over the next few months. It will be exiting to see what happens.
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