1953 Pittsburgh Pirates season

1953 Pittsburgh Pirates
Major League affiliations
	National League (since 1887);
Location
	Forbes Field (since 1909);
	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (since 1887);
Other information
Owner(s)	John W. Galbreath
General manager(s)	Branch Rickey
Manager(s)	Fred Haney
Local television	none
Local radio	WWSW; Rosey Rowswell, Bob Prince
	[[1952 Pittsburgh Pirates season#REDIRECTmw:Help:Magic words#Other; This page is a soft redirect. < Previous season]] [[1954 Pittsburgh Pirates season#REDIRECTmw:Help:Magic words#Other; This page is a soft redirect.Next season >]]

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.^[1]

Offseason

October 14, 1952: Gus Bell was traded by the Pirates to the Cincinnati Reds for Cal Abrams, Joe Rossi, and Gail Henley.^[2]
Prior to 1953 season: Don Williams was signed as an amateur free agent by the Pirates.^[3]
March 19, 1953: Johnny O'Brien was signed by the Pirates as an amateur free agent (bonus baby).^[4]
March 19, 1953: Eddie O'Brien was signed by the Pirates as an amateur free agent (bonus baby).^[5]

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

Opening Day lineup

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.^[6]
June 14, 1953: Pete Castiglione was traded by the Pirates to the St. Louis Cardinals for Hal Rice.^[7]

Roster

1953 Pittsburgh Pirates

Roster

Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

39 Bob Addis
37 Clem Koshorek

Manager

2 Fred Haney

Coaches

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

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Hutchinson, Brunswick

Waco franchise transferred to Longview, May 22, 1953

Notes

^ The Best Game Ever, Prologue, p. xx, Jim Reisler, Carroll & Graf Publishers, New York, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7867-1943-3
^ Gus Bell page at Baseball Reference
^ Don Williams page at Baseball Reference
^ Johnny O'Brien page at Baseball Reference
^ Eddie O'Brien page at Baseball Reference
^ Ralph Kiner page at Baseball Reference
^ 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, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-17-6.

[1] The Best Game Ever, Prologue, p. xx, Jim Reisler, Carroll & Graf Publishers, New York, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7867-1943-3

[2] Gus Bell page at Baseball Reference

[3] Don Williams page at Baseball Reference

[4] Johnny O'Brien page at Baseball Reference

[5] Eddie O'Brien page at Baseball Reference

[6] Ralph Kiner page at Baseball Reference

[7] Hal Rice page at Baseball Reference

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