OnlyBucs

While Virdon was not my favorite Bucco of those years of my early teens he deserves a great amount of credit for the success of that 60 team. Like Quail said he was a great situational hitter who could beat you with a HR or a bunt single. I got to see that catch against the Yankees and almost crapped my pants cheering so hard. My Dad had to calm me down.



What a lot of folks forget is that Virdon won he 1955 Rookie of the Year with the Cards. He was traded to the Pirates early in the 56 season for Bobby DelGreco and Dick Littlefield. Talk about a steal for the Buccos.



Yes Virdon should get consideration for best Bucco CF of all time.

7357434B4E220 wrote: Great post Quail. I too was always a huge fan of Virdon. A .267 career hitter but as you noted, that went a lot further in those days. For example, in 1960 he hit .264 when the league average was .254. Not a star hitter like Cutch or AVS but always an offensive contributor. Interesting that he was ROY in hitting .281 with 17 HRs in 1955 but never again hit more than 10 (once) while averaging 7 HRs a year thereafter. In 1956 he hit .319 to finish 2nd to Hank Aaron in the NL batting race. But averaged only .259 thereafter. For his time he was an average offensive contributor (after his first 2 years) but his ability to play superb defense in CF with the huge dimensions of Forbes Field made him extremely valuable.



He was an unsung hero of the 1960 World Series. His .241 BA for the series doesn't look impressive. But he and Maz led the Bucs with 5 RBIs each. In game 4, won by the Bucs 3-2, he drove in 2 of the 3 runs and his incredible catch of Bob Cerv's drive leaping into the wall with 2 NY runners on saved the game. That was 1 of several outstanding defensive plays he made in the series. He and Don Hoak stood out defensively for the series. Virdon also drove in 2 runs in the 10-9 finale.



I attended 9 Pirate fantasy camps and Virdon was always present so I got to talk to him a lot. He's very nice, very friendly but more serious than most of the former Pirates there who tend to joke around most of the time. He's very knowledgeable and seems to be accorded a degree of reverence by both campers and former Pirates that is unique to him. There's no one associated with the Pirates that I respect more.   


Bobster- Very cool to hear about your meeting the Quail! I've never had an opportunity to speak with him other than to just say hi to him as he passed by while I was at a spring training game once.



However, my favorite memory of him as a player is indelibly etched in my mind. On September 1st 1965 my Dad and I went to a double header against the Dodgers at Forbes Field. Koufax and Drysdale were the starting pitchers for the Dodgers against Tommy Sisk and Vernon Law. I was disappointed during the first game as Manny Mota got the start in Center against the left hander Koufax. My disappointment was eased by the fact that the Pirates prevailed over the Hall Of Fame southpaw with a 3-2 victory in game 1.



In the second game Virdon got the start in Center and I was delighted. The Dodgers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning. The Pirates were held scoreless until the bottom of the 6th inning when the Quail hit a solo shot to right off of Drysdale to tie the score at 1-1. It remained tied until the bottom of the 8th when Virdon singled and advanced to 3rd on a single by Clemente. Virdon then scored when pinch hitter Manny Mota grounded into a force out. Vernon Law finished off the Dodgers in the top of the 9th and the Pirates swept the doubleheader with a 2-1 victory in the nightcap. Virdon scored both runs in the victory, was 3 for 4 at the plate and I was smilin' like a butcher's dog for a week after! 


I was listening to the game on 7/23/68. Coach Virdon, age 37 and in his 3rd year of retirement as a player, had been activated for OF depth for a couple weeks in July. He had been used briefly for defense twice and had PH once (a K). But on 7/23/68 with the Bucs trailing the Reds 5-3 in the bottom of the ninth, Virdon hit a 2-run PH HR off Ted Abernathy to send the game to extra innings. The crowd went nuts as Coach Virdon's first hit in 3 years was a game tying HR. Unfortunately, they lost the game in the 12th. But it was quite a thrill to see him come out of retirement and tie the game that way.

27060E270C04630 wrote: While Virdon was not my favorite Bucco of those years of my early teens he deserves a great amount of credit for the success of that 60 team.  Like Quail said he was a great situational hitter who could beat you with a HR or a bunt single.  I got to see that catch against the Yankees and almost crapped my pants cheering so hard.  My Dad had to calm me

down.

What a lot of folks forget is that Virdon won he 1955 Rookie of the Year with the Cards.  He was traded to the Pirates early in the 56 season for Bobby DelGreco and Dick Littlefield.  Talk about a steal for the Buccos.



Yes Virdon should get consideration for best Bucco CF of all time.




Possum, I keep expecting you to say, What about Max Carey?

Good stuff on Virdon. I knew he was a pretty good player, but I never knew he was that good on defense. I mostly know him as a coach that specialized in outfield defense.



I have heard him speak. I always wondered if Lloyd McClendon ever listened to Virdon on the bench. I was not a fan of McClendon, but I respected Virdon.

212A222E2B2A317472053C242D2A2A6B262A450 wrote: Good stuff on Virdon.  I knew he was a pretty good player, but I never knew he was that good on defense.  I mostly know him as a coach that specialized in outfield defense. 



I have heard him speak.  I always wondered if Lloyd McClendon ever listened to Virdon on the bench.  I was not a fan of McClendon, but I respected Virdon.
I asked him that. He said McClendon did not often ask for his opinion. And he didn't want to impose on Mac so he didn't offer unless he was asked.

The answer is, NO! Cutch may have been a good centerfielder for a few years, but for the last two years, he was not. Remember, he was moved to right field last year, and only moved back to center when Marte was suspended. Let's be realistic, he can't play the position any more. That's why he's going to play in right for the Giants. Let's also retire Al Oliver's and Dave Parker's.