# 1996 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1996 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 115th season of the franchise; the 110th in the National League. This was their 27th season at Three Rivers Stadium. The Pirates finished fifth and last in the National League Central with a record of 73–89.

## Offseason

* December 28, 1995: Charlie Hayes was signed as a free agent by the Pirates.
* February 2, 1996: John DeSalvo was released by the Pirates (Injury).
* February 4, 1996: Danny Darwin was signed as a free agent by the Pirates.
* February 17, 1996: Zane Smith was signed as a free agent by the Pirates.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNL Central :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 88 | 74 | .543 | — | 48‍–‍33 | 40‍–‍41 |
| Houston Astros | 82 | 80 | .506 | 6 | 48‍–‍33 | 34‍–‍47 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 81 | 81 | .500 | 7 | 46‍–‍35 | 35‍–‍46 |
| Chicago Cubs | 76 | 86 | .469 | 12 | 43‍–‍38 | 33‍–‍48 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 73 | 89 | .451 | 15 | 36‍–‍44 | 37‍–‍45 |

### Game log

1996 Game Log: 73–89 (Home: 36–44; Away: 37–45) :
April: 12–14 (Home: 4–7; Away: 8–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 1@ Marlins4–0Wagner (1–0)Brown—41,8151–0
2April 2@ Marlins4–1Christiansen (1–0)PenaMiceli (1)20,2432–0
3April 4@ Marlins2–6LeiterEricks (0–1)—19,0082–1
4April 5@ Mets7–5Smith (1–0)Mlicki—16,0883–1
5April 6@ Mets5–0Darwin (1–0)Clark—20,7564–1
6April 8Phillies3–6FernandezNeagle (0–1)—41,4164–2
7April 10Phillies6–7GraceChristiansen (1–1)Bottalico7,0754–3
8April 11Expos5–6 (11)RojasCordova (0–1)Veres8,0844–4
9April 12Expos3–13RueterDarwin (1–1)—13,0874–5
10April 13Expos9–3Wagner (2–0)Fassero—13,8345–5
11April 14Expos5–2Neagle (1–1)Martinez—12,7976–5
12April 15@ Cardinals4–6BenesEricks (0–2)Honeycutt18,7316–6
13April 16@ Cardinals13–3Smith (2–0)BenesLieber (1)21,3497–6
14April 17@ Cardinals1–6OsborneDarwin (1–2)—23,0747–7
15April 18@ Cardinals6–2Wagner (3–0)Stottlemyre—25,7008–7
16April 19@ Expos1–2ManuelPlesac (0–1)—13,2568–8
17April 20@ Expos2–11MartinezEricks (0–3)—14,0228–9
18April 21@ Expos4–9VeresChristiansen (1–2)—11,3618–10
19April 22@ Phillies9–3Darwin (2–2)Mulholland—17,6049–10
20April 23@ Phillies2–6SpringerWagner (3–1)Ryan19,2549–11
21April 24Marlins6–3Neagle (2–1)Rapp—9,81210–11
22April 25Marlins1–4LeiterHope (0–1)Nen8,31510–12
23April 26Mets10–6Christiansen (2–2)Isringhausen—13,18511–12
24April 27Mets4–7MlickiMiceli (0–1)Franco16,69811–13
25April 28Mets5–7JonesWagner (3–2)Franco27,70611–14
26April 30@ Reds10–7Neagle (3–1)SmileyCordova (1)16,24312–14 :
May: 9–18 (Home: 6–11; Away: 3–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
27May 1@ Reds4–3Hope (1–1)BurbaPlesac (1)18,19713–14
28May 3Dodgers1–10ParkDarwin (2–3)—18,26813–15
29May 4Dodgers7–2Wagner (4–2)Candiotti—20,32114–15
30May 5Dodgers4–2Neagle (4–1)ValdezPlesac (2)19,20615–15
31May 6Dodgers4–8NomoHope (1–2)Radinsky9,41515–16
32May 8Padres4–5TewksburyMay (0–1)Hoffman—15–17
33May 8Padres4–3Christiansen (3–2)SandersCordova (2)8,50816–17
34May 9Padres1–7AshbyWagner (4–3)—10,86316–18
35May 10Giants4–5 (10)DeLuciaCordova (0–2)Beck17,61116–19
36May 11Giants7–12VanLandinghamHope (1–3)—16,59116–20
37May 12Giants2–7WatsonSmith (2–1)—17,13216–21
38May 13@ Braves3–9GlavineDarwin (2–4)—28,58316–22
39May 14@ Braves3–7SmoltzWagner (4–4)—28,17516–23
40May 15@ Braves3–0Neagle (5–1)Avery—30,91717–23
41May 17@ Astros2–4ReynoldsLieber (0–1)Jones22,88217–24
42May 18@ Astros2–1 (11)Cordova (1–2)YoungPlesac (3)21,01018–24
43May 19@ Astros3–4JonesLieber (0–2)—18,81518–25
44May 20@ Rockies7–10ReynosoNeagle (5–2)—48,04218–26
45May 21@ Rockies10–12HolmesChristiansen (3–3)Ruffin48,03718–27
46May 22@ Rockies3–6RitzSmith (2–2)Ruffin48,04418–28
47May 24Braves3–5SmoltzDarwin (2–5)Wohlers20,23818–29
48May 25Braves6–2Neagle (6–2)Avery—29,27319–29
49May 26Braves3–6 (13)WadeMiceli (0–2)Bielecki33,08519–30
50May 27Astros3–5KileSmith (2–3)—8,90619–31
51May 28Astros6–5Miceli (1–2)SwindellCordova (3)7,18220–31
52May 29Astros4–7MormanDarwin (2–6)Jones11,67920–32
53May 31Rockies8–4Neagle (7–2)ReynosoCordova (4)26,64021–32 :
June: 15–12 (Home: 5–5; Away: 10–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
54June 1Rockies0–2RitzWagner (4–5)Ruffin15,63321–33
55June 2Rockies5–2Smith (3–3)HolmesCordova (5)26,74522–33
56June 3Rockies7–2Ruebel (1–0)Farmer—8,12023–33
57June 4@ Dodgers3–0Darwin (3–6)NomoCordova (6)29,57624–33
58June 5@ Dodgers7–3Wilkins (1–0)AstacioCordova (7)32,16125–33
59June 6@ Dodgers3–8CandiottiMiceli (1–3)—26,66425–34
60June 7@ Padres10–0Smith (4–3)Bergman—20,31226–34
61June 8@ Padres9–8 (14)Cordova (2–2)Blair—41,37827–34
62June 9@ Padres6–0Darwin (4–6)Tewksbury—30,93228–34
63June 10@ Giants5–4Morel (1–0)DeLuciaCordova (8)10,02629–34
64June 11@ Giants7–2Neagle (8–2)Fernandez—11,53030–34
65June 13Marlins3–4PerezCordova (2–3)Nen15,08330–35
66June 14Marlins5–4Plesac (1–1)Nen—26,49431–35
67June 15Marlins12–8Darwin (5–6)Rapp—15,59632–35
68June 16Marlins2–4BrownNeagle (8–3)Nen28,12032–36
69June 17Mets6–7 (10)MlickiCordova (2–4)Franco11,00232–37
70June 19Mets6–5Plesac (2–1)Isringhausen——33–37
71June 19Mets3–5MlickiCordova (2–5)Franco20,10833–38
72June 21@ Marlins0–4BrownDarwin (5–7)—20,44233–39
73June 22@ Marlins4–1 (10)Plesac (3–1)Perez—26,66634–39
74June 23@ Marlins5–3Lieber (1–2)RappCordova (9)20,76935–39
75June 24@ Expos3–11MartinezDessens (0–1)—23,73635–40
76June 25@ Expos2–8RueterSmith (4–4)Scott12,77635–41
77June 26@ Expos3–1Darwin (6–7)CormierCordova (10)12,84636–41
78June 28@ Cardinals1–6OsborneNeagle (8–4)—34,49036–42
79June 29@ Cardinals5–6HoneycuttMiceli (1–4)—34,42636–43
80June 30@ Cardinals3–10StottlemyreSmith (4–5)—38,90136–44 :
July: 12–15 (Home: 10–7; Away: 2–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
81July 1Cubs4–1Darwin (7–7)NavarroPlesac (4)15,91037–44
82July 2Cubs7–15TelemacoWagner (4–6)—13,24137–45
83July 3Cubs3–2Neagle (9–4)CastilloPlesac (5)22,15738–45
84July 4Cardinals1–7BenesDessens (0–2)—23,32138–46
85July 5Cardinals4–7StottlemyreSmith (4–6)Fossas18,75938–47
86July 6Cardinals5–9BenesDarwin (7–8)—19,14438–48
87July 7Cardinals8–2Lieber (2–2)Morgan—16,25539–48
88July 11@ Reds5–3Neagle (10–4)SmileyPlesac (6)24,67040–48
89July 12@ Reds2–5PortugalDarwin (7–9)Brantley27,70840–49
90July 13@ Reds0–3JarvisLieber (2–3)—32,11940–50
91July 14@ Reds6–7BurbaWagner (4–7)Brantley26,61940–51
92July 15@ Cubs2–12CastilloMiceli (1–5)—32,11940–52
93July 16@ Cubs10–5Neagle (11–4)Navarro—26,50241–52
94July 18Reds8–3Lieber (3–3)Jarvis—12,66942–52
95July 19Reds3–11BurbaWagner (4–8)—17,15342–53
96July 20Reds3–9SalkeldMiceli (1–6)—26,37842–54
97July 21Reds6–4Neagle (12–4)SmileyPlesac (7)23,11743–54
98July 23Expos5–1Lieber (4–3)Martinez—10,29244–54
99July 24Expos5–4Ericks (1–3)Rojas—19,21945–54
100July 25Phillies6–4Miceli (2–6)SpringerCordova (11)12,16346–54
101July 26Phillies7–4Ericks (2–3)BottalicoPlesac (8)17,23947–54
102July 27Phillies1–2MulhollandParris (0–1)—23,12147–55
103July 28Phillies12–8Ericks (3–3)Borland—15,18948–55
104July 29@ Mets0–5HarnischPeters (0–1)—15,68048–56
105July 30@ Mets4–5IsringhausenCordova (2–6)Franco—48–57
106July 30@ Mets3–4 (12)FrancoLieber (4–4)—18,37848–58
107July 31@ Mets2–3 (10)DipotoPlesac (3–2)—15,78748–59 :
August: 8–20 (Home: 3–10; Away: 5–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
108August 1@ Mets13–9Morel (2–0)MlickiEricks (1)20,32749–59
109August 2@ Phillies8–3Wilkins (2–0)Blazier—24,50550–59
110August 3@ Phillies6–7BottalicoPlesac (3–3)—22,69050–60
111August 4@ Phillies2–4WilliamsMiceli (2–7)Ryan25,49850–61
112August 5@ Phillies0–3SchillingNeagle (12–5)—20,33750–62
113August 6Dodgers1–3AstacioParris (0–2)Worrell11,82450–63
114August 7Dodgers12–2Lieber (5–4)MartinezWilkins (1)12,23251–63
115August 8Padres3–12SandersPeters (0–2)—8,38851–64
116August 9Padres1–4ValenzuelaMiceli (2–8)Hoffman30,06651–65
117August 10Padres2–6VerasPlesac (3–4)—21,90251–66
118August 11Padres5–7BergmanParris (0–3)Hoffman27,22751–67
119August 13Giants10–12DeweyPlesac (3–5)Beck11,37851–68
120August 14Giants4–3Peters (1–2)EstesEricks (2)20,34052–68
121August 16@ Braves4–5SmoltzNeagle (12–6)Wohlers39,21052–69
122August 17@ Braves1–7BieleckiRuebel (1–1)—49,02452–70
123August 18@ Braves1–2 (14)BorowskiCordova (2–7)—31,58752–71
124August 19@ Astros1–2 (13)MormanMorel (2–1)—15,06752–72
125August 20@ Astros4–9WallMiceli (2–9)Hernandez19,86652–73
126August 21@ Astros5–2Neagle (13–6)HamptonEricks (3)13,35753–73
127August 22@ Astros8–6Wilkins (3–0)WagnerEricks (4)14,89954–73
128August 23@ Rockies5–3Lieber (6–4)RitzCordova (12)48,03855–73
129August 24@ Rockies3–9ThompsonPeters (1–3)—48,01455–74
130August 25@ Rockies9–13MunozWilkins (3–1)—48,13955–75
131August 27Braves3–2Neagle (14–6)SmoltzPlesac (9)14,60356–75
132August 28Braves4–9WadeLoaiza (0–1)—14,59156–76
133August 29Braves1–5MadduxLieber (6–5)Wohlers12,10156–77
134August 30Astros0–10WallPeters (1–4)—24,61956–78
135August 31Astros4–5HernandezEricks (3–4)Hudek27,55956–79 :
September: 17–10 (Home: 8–4; Away: 9–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
136September 1Astros9–5Wainhouse (1–0)Darwin—14,14457–79
137September 2Rockies3–8RitzLoaiza (0–2)—9,51357–80
138September 4Rockies5–2Lieber (7–5)ThompsonPlesac (10)10,08158–80
139September 6@ Dodgers1–2OsunaWilkins (3–2)Worrell41,50958–81
140September 7@ Dodgers3–4NomoSchmidt (0–1)Worrell50,86258–82
141September 8@ Dodgers4–1Plesac (4–5)DreifortEricks (5)33,92259–82
142September 9@ Padres5–6HermansonWilkins (3–3)Hoffman15,72759–83
143September 10@ Padres5–6HoffmanBoever (0–1)—15,69459–84
144September 11@ Padres7–8BochtlerEricks (3–5)—33,77159–85
145September 12@ Giants10–4Schmidt (1–1)DeweyBoever (1)8,21460–85
146September 13@ Giants9–0Loaiza (1–2)VanLandingham—9,88861–85
147September 14@ Giants7–5 (12)Ericks (4–5)HookBoever (2)15,68562–85
148September 15@ Giants4–1Lieber (8–5)RueterRuebel (1)—63–85
149September 15@ Giants11–9 (10)Wilkins (4–3)Poole—21,99864–85
150September 17Reds5–3Cordova (3–7)SmileyEricks (6)7,55165–85
151September 18Reds5–3Schmidt (2–1)MorganPlesac (11)7,92466–85
152September 19Reds6–4Peters (2–4)PughEricks (7)10,18867–85
153September 20Cubs6–4Lieber (9–5)FosterEricks (8)19,28568–85
154September 21Cubs8–3Loiselle (1–0)Swartzbaugh—23,61969–85
155September 22Cubs11–3 (8)Cordova (4–7)Castillo—27,47270–85
156September 23Cubs3–4TrachselSchmidt (2–2)Patterson7,68470–86
157September 24Cardinals1–7BenesLoaiza (1–3)—8,61170–87
158September 25Cardinals7–8 (11)BaileyMiceli (2–10)Mathews20,02270–88
159September 27@ Cubs7–4 (10)Plesac (5–5)Wendell——71–88
160September 27@ Cubs9–10AdamsBoever (0–2)—18,75771–89
161September 28@ Cubs8–7 (10)Plesac (6–5)Wendell—29,72972–89
162September 29@ Cubs8–3Loaiza (2–3)Navarro—26,87373–89 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss Bold = Pirates team member :

### Record vs. opponents

1996 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 7–5 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 9–4 | 9–3 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 9–4 |
| Chicago | 5–7 | — | 5–8 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 5–8 |
| Cincinnati | 5–7 | 8–5 | — | 7–6 | 3–9 | 7–6 | 4–8 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 10–2 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 9–4 | 5–8 |
| Colorado | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 | — | 5–8 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 3–9 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 5–8 | 8–4 |
| Florida | 7–6 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 8–5 | — | 7–5 | 6–7 | 5–8 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 6–6 |
| Houston | 6–6 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 5–8 | 5–7 | — | 6–6 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 10–2 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 2–11 |
| Los Angeles | 7–5 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 7–6 | 6–6 | — | 9–3 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 7–6 | 8–4 |
| Montreal | 3–10 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 9–3 | 8–5 | 9–4 | 3–9 | — | 7–6 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 9–4 | 8–4 |
| New York | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 6–7 | — | 7–6 | 8–5 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 5–7 |
| Philadelphia | 4-9 | 6–7 | 2–10 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 2–10 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 6–7 | — | 7–5 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 4–8 |
| Pittsburgh | 3–9 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 5–7 | — | 4–9 | 8–4 | 3–10 |
| San Diego | 4–9 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 10–3 | 8–4 | 9–4 | — | 11–2 | 4–8 |
| San Francisco | 5–7 | 5–7 | 4–9 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 2–11 | — | 7–6 |
| St. Louis | 4–9 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 11-2 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 10–3 | 8–4 | 6–7 | — |

### Detailed records

National League :
| Opponent | W | L | WP | RS | RA |
| NL East |||||||
| Atlanta Braves | 3 | 9 | 0.250 | 35 | 59 |
| Florida Marlins | 7 | 5 | 0.583 | 48 | 42 |
| Montreal Expos | 5 | 7 | 0.417 | 47 | 71 |
| New York Mets | 5 | 8 | 0.385 | 68 | 68 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 5 | 7 | 0.417 | 62 | 57 |
| Total | 25 | 36 | 0.410 | 260 | 297 |
| NL Central |||||||
| Chicago Cubs | 9 | 4 | 0.692 | 86 | 73 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 8 | 5 | 0.615 | 63 | 65 |
| Houston Astros | 5 | 8 | 0.385 | 51 | 65 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | | | | | |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 3 | 10 | 0.231 | 59 | 79 |
| Total | 25 | 27 | 0.481 | 259 | 282 |
| NL West |||||||
| Colorado Rockies | 5 | 7 | 0.417 | 65 | 73 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 6 | 6 | 0.500 | 50 | 45 |
| San Diego Padres | 4 | 9 | 0.308 | 62 | 72 |
| San Francisco Giants | 8 | 4 | 0.667 | 80 | 64 |
| Total | 23 | 26 | 0.469 | 257 | 254 |
| Season Total | 73 | 89 | 0.451 | 776 | 833 |
| Month | Games | Won | Lost | Win % | RS | RA |
| April | 26 | 12 | 14 | 0.462 | 131 | 131 |
| May | 27 | 9 | 18 | 0.333 | 111 | 151 |
| June | 27 | 15 | 12 | 0.556 | 125 | 118 |
| July | 27 | 12 | 15 | 0.444 | 122 | 145 |
| August | 28 | 8 | 20 | 0.286 | 120 | 164 |
| September | 27 | 17 | 10 | 0.630 | 167 | 124 |
| Total | 162 | 73 | 89 | 0.451 | 776 | 833 |
| | Games | Won | Lost | Win % | RS | RA |
| Home | 80 | 36 | 44 | 0.450 | 384 | 429 |
| Away | 82 | 37 | 45 | 0.451 | 392 | 404 |
| Total | 162 | 73 | 89 | 0.451 | 776 | 833 |

## Roster
### Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters :
| # | Name | Position |
| 11 | Mike Kingery | CF |
| 28 | Al Martin | LF |
| 22 | Orlando Merced | RF |
| 7 | Jeff King | 1B |
| 17 | Charlie Hayes | 3B |
| 3 | Jay Bell | SS |
| 6 | John DeSalvo | 2B |
| 18 | Jason Kendall | C |
| 43 | Paul Wagner | SP |

## Player stats
### Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Regular Season :
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| E. Dessens | 15 | 5 | 2 | 0.400 | 0 | 2 |
| D. Sveum | 12 | 34 | 12 | 0.353 | 1 | 5 |
| D. May | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0.333 | 0 | 0 |
| T. Womack | 17 | 30 | 10 | 0.333 | 0 | 7 |
| A. Encarnación | 7 | 22 | 7 | 0.318 | 0 | 1 |
| A. Martin | 155 | 630 | 189 | 0.300 | 18 | 72 |
| J. Kendall | 130 | 414 | 124 | 0.300 | 3 | 42 |
| K. Osik | 48 | 140 | 41 | 0.293 | 1 | 14 |
| O. Merced | 120 | 453 | 130 | 0.287 | 17 | 80 |
| C. García | 101 | 390 | 111 | 0.285 | 6 | 44 |
| D. Clark | 92 | 211 | 58 | 0.275 | 8 | 35 |
| M. Johnson | 127 | 343 | 94 | 0.274 | 13 | 47 |
| J. King | 155 | 591 | 160 | 0.271 | 30 | 111 |
| N. Liriano | 112 | 217 | 58 | 0.267 | 3 | 30 |
| J. Allensworth | 61 | 229 | 60 | 0.262 | 4 | 31 |
| J. Wehner | 86 | 139 | 36 | 0.259 | 2 | 13 |
| J. Bell | 151 | 527 | 132 | 0.250 | 13 | 71 |
| R. Aude | 7 | 16 | 4 | 0.250 | 0 | 1 |
| J. Brumfield | 29 | 80 | 20 | 0.250 | 2 | 8 |
| R. Loiselle | 5 | 8 | 2 | 0.250 | 0 | 2 |
| C. Hayes | 128 | 459 | 114 | 0.248 | 10 | 62 |
| M. Kingery | 117 | 276 | 68 | 0.246 | 3 | 27 |
| M. Ruebel | 26 | 13 | 3 | 0.231 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Cummings | 24 | 85 | 19 | 0.224 | 3 | 7 |
| M. Wilkins | 47 | 9 | 2 | 0.222 | 0 | 1 |
| T. Beamon | 24 | 51 | 11 | 0.216 | 0 | 6 |
| C. Peters | 16 | 19 | 4 | 0.211 | 0 | 1 |
| D. Darwin | 19 | 39 | 8 | 0.205 | 1 | 3 |
| J. Hope | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0.200 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Lieber | 51 | 36 | 7 | 0.194 | 0 | 3 |
| D. Neagle | 30 | 55 | 10 | 0.182 | 0 | 2 |
| S. Parris | 8 | 6 | 1 | 0.167 | 0 | 0 |
| Z. Smith | 16 | 26 | 4 | 0.154 | 0 | 3 |
| F. Córdova | 59 | 16 | 2 | 0.125 | 0 | 2 |
| E. Loaiza | 11 | 17 | 2 | 0.118 | 0 | 1 |
| J. Schmidt | 6 | 12 | 1 | 0.083 | 0 | 2 |
| P. Wagner | 17 | 25 | 1 | 0.040 | 0 | 2 |
| J. Boever | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Christiansen | 33 | 4 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| S. Cooke | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Ericks | 28 | 5 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Miceli | 44 | 13 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| R. Morel | 29 | 4 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Plesac | 73 | 5 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Wainhouse | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Hancock | 13 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 5,665 | 1,509 | 0.266 | 138 | 738 |

### Pitching

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Regular Season :
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| D. Darwin | 19 | 1221⁄3 | 7 | 9 | 3.02 | 69 |
| R. Loiselle | 5 | 202⁄3 | 1 | 0 | 3.05 | 9 |
| D. Neagle | 27 | 1822⁄3 | 14 | 6 | 3.05 | 131 |
| M. Wilkins | 47 | 75 | 4 | 3 | 3.84 | 62 |
| J. Lieber | 51 | 142 | 9 | 5 | 3.99 | 94 |
| J. Schmidt | 6 | 372⁄3 | 2 | 2 | 4.06 | 26 |
| F. Córdova | 59 | 99 | 4 | 7 | 4.09 | 95 |
| D. Plesac | 73 | 701⁄3 | 6 | 5 | 4.09 | 76 |
| M. Ruebel | 26 | 582⁄3 | 1 | 1 | 4.60 | 22 |
| E. Loaiza | 10 | 522⁄3 | 2 | 3 | 4.96 | 32 |
| Z. Smith | 16 | 831⁄3 | 4 | 6 | 5.08 | 47 |
| R. Morel | 29 | 42 | 2 | 1 | 5.36 | 22 |
| J. Boever | 13 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 5.40 | 6 |
| P. Wagner | 16 | 812⁄3 | 4 | 8 | 5.40 | 81 |
| C. Peters | 16 | 64 | 2 | 4 | 5.63 | 28 |
| D. Wainhouse | 17 | 232⁄3 | 1 | 0 | 5.70 | 16 |
| D. Miceli | 44 | 852⁄3 | 2 | 10 | 5.78 | 66 |
| J. Ericks | 28 | 462⁄3 | 4 | 5 | 5.79 | 46 |
| L. Hancock | 13 | 181⁄3 | 0 | 0 | 6.38 | 13 |
| J. Christiansen | 33 | 441⁄3 | 3 | 3 | 6.70 | 38 |
| J. Hope | 5 | 191⁄3 | 1 | 3 | 6.98 | 13 |
| S. Parris | 8 | 261⁄3 | 0 | 3 | 7.18 | 27 |
| S. Cooke | 3 | 81⁄3 | 0 | 0 | 7.56 | 7 |
| E. Dessens | 15 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 8.28 | 13 |
| D. May | 5 | 82⁄3 | 0 | 1 | 9.35 | 5 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 1,4531⁄3 | 73 | 89 | 4.61 | 1,044 |

## Awards and honors

1996 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
* Jason Kendall, C, reserve

## Transactions

* April 27, 1996: Joe Boever was selected off waivers by the Pirates from the Detroit Tigers.
* May 15, 1996: Jacob Brumfield was traded by the Pirates to the Toronto Blue Jays for D. J. Boston (minors).
* June 4, 1996: Kris Benson was drafted by the Pirates in the 1st round (1st pick). Player signed August 11, 1996.
* July 6, 1996: Zane Smith was released by the Pirates.
* July 23, 1996: Danny Darwin was traded by the Pirates to the Houston Astros for Rich Loiselle.
* August 28, 1996: Denny Neagle was traded by the Pirates to the Atlanta Braves for Ron Wright, Corey Pointer (minors) and a player to be named later. The Braves completed the deal by sending Jason Schmidt to the Pirates on August 30.
* August 30, 1996: Charlie Hayes was traded by the Pirates to the New York Yankees for a player to be named later. The Yankees completed the deal by sending Chris Corn (minors) to the Pirates on August 31.

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Calgary Cannons | Pacific Coast League | Trent Jewett |
| AA | Carolina Mudcats | Southern League | Marc Hill |
| A | Lynchburg Hillcats | Carolina League | Jeff Banister |
| A | Augusta Greenjackets | South Atlantic League | Jay Loviglio |
| A-Short Season | Erie SeaWolves | New York–Penn League | Jeff Richardson |
| Rookie | GCL Pirates | Gulf Coast League | Woody Huyke |