Pie Traynor
The original "Mr. Pirate," Pie Traynor served for the Bucs as player, manager, sportscaster, and scout for more than half a century. He was the greatest defensive third baseman of his time, and he consistently batted .300, finishing in the top ten in batting in the National League six times. Most experts considered him the finest third baseman of the first half of the 20th century.
| Career Batting Stats |
| G |
AB |
H |
R |
HR |
RBI |
SB |
AVG |
SLG |
OBP |
OPS |
OPS+ |
| 1941 |
7559 |
2416 |
1183 |
58 |
1273 |
158 |
.320 |
.435 |
.362 |
.797 |
108.7 |
|
Teams Pie Traynor Managed
Pittsburgh Pirates (1934-1939)
Where does Pie Traynor rank among baseball greats?
Pie Traynor ranks #11 among the Top 50 all-time at 3B. Rankings ⇒
Best Season: 1923
Just 23 years old, young Pie batted .338 with 208 hits and 108 runs scored. He also batted in 101 runners, stole 28 bases, and hit 19 triples to lead the league. Traynor was the #4 batter in the Bucs lineup for most of his career, surrounded by fellow Hall of Famers Lloyd Waner, Max Carey, Kiki Cuyler, Arky Vaughan, and Paul Waner. He had other years where he batted for a higher average - but he rarely played as many games (153) as he did in '23.
Where He Played
Third base; Traynor did play 50 games at shortstop and one game at first base.
Born
Harold Joseph Traynor was born on November 11, 1898, in Framingham, MA.
Died
March 16, 1972, Pittsburgh, PA
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Major League Debut
9 15,
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1920
Pie Traynor
Joe Sewell
Marty McManus
Bob Meusel
Bibb Falk
Eddie Rommel
Zack Taylor
Sammy Hale
Slim Harriss
Traynor may have received his nickname for his favorite childhood food or when his father (a printer) one day declared that the dirty boy resembled pied type.
Uniform Numbers
#20 (1932-1935, 1937)
Similar Players
None, though White Sox' third baseman Willie Kamm was compared to Traynor defensively.
Related Players
Paul Waner, Lloyd Waner, Max Carey, Arky Vaughan
| Hall of Fame Voting |
| Year |
Election |
Votes |
Pct |
| 1938 |
BBWAA |
3 |
1.1% |
1939 |
BBWAA |
10 |
3.6% |
1942 |
BBWAA |
45 |
19.3% |
1945 |
BBWAA |
81 |
32.8% |
1946 |
BBWAA |
53 |
20.2% |
1946 |
Nominating Vote |
65 |
32.2% |
1947 |
BBWAA |
119 |
73.9% |
1948 |
BBWAA |
93 |
76.9% |
|
Post-Season Appearances
1925 World Series
1927 World Series
Batting Feats
Hitting Streaks
24 games (1929)
21 games (1930)
All-Star Selections
1933 NL
1934 NL
Replaced
Clyde "Pooch" Barnhart, whose bat was major league calibre, but whose glove wasn't. After Traynor supplanted Barnhart at the hot corner in 1922, Clyde was used by the Pirates as a fourth outfielder.
Replaced By
When Arky Vaughan emerged as the Bucs' shortstop in 1932, and slick-fielding infielder Tommy Thevenow began to knock on the door about the same time, Traynor's time was running out. By 1935, Thevenow was at third base alongside Vaughan. Thevenow never hit well enough to stay in the lineup full-time, so Bill Brubaker was given the third base job in 1936.
Best Strength as a Player
His defensive range and throwing arm.
Largest Weakness as a Player
By most accounts, Traynor was a bad-ball hitter. He never exhibited great patience at the plate, and his on-base percentages suffered from that. His batting average was the majority of his value offensively.
Learn More about Pie Traynor
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