1953 Pittsburgh Pirates 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.Offseason
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Game log
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.
- June 14, 1953: Pete Castiglione was traded by the Pirates to the St. Louis Cardinals for Hal Rice.
Roster
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 | | 89 | 279 | 69 | .247 | 2 | 22 |
SS | | 89 | 261 | 62 | .238 | 0 | 14 |
OF | | 119 | 448 | 128 | .286 | 15 | 43 |
OF | | 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 |
| 78 | 286 | 89 | .311 | 4 | 42 |
| 41 | 148 | 40 | .270 | 7 | 29 |
| 27 | 73 | 17 | .233 | 2 | 14 |
| 13 | 43 | 7 | .163 | 0 | 2 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 45 | 200.2 | 10 | 19 | 4.53 | 88 |
| 41 | 119 | 6 | 8 | 6.58 | 56 |
| 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 |
| 30 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4.82 | 36 |
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Hutchinson, Brunswick
Waco franchise transferred to Longview, May 22, 1953