# 1943 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1943 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 62nd season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 57th in the National League. The Pirates finished fourth in the league standings with a record of 80–74.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 105 | 49 | .682 | — | 58‍–‍21 | 47‍–‍28 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 87 | 67 | .565 | 18 | 48‍–‍29 | 39‍–‍38 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 81 | 72 | .529 | 23½ | 46‍–‍31 | 35‍–‍41 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 80 | 74 | .519 | 25 | 47‍–‍30 | 33‍–‍44 |
| Chicago Cubs | 74 | 79 | .484 | 30½ | 36‍–‍38 | 38‍–‍41 |
| Boston Braves | 68 | 85 | .444 | 36½ | 38‍–‍39 | 30‍–‍46 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 64 | 90 | .416 | 41 | 33‍–‍43 | 31‍–‍47 |
| New York Giants | 55 | 98 | .359 | 49½ | 34‍–‍43 | 21‍–‍55 |

### Record vs. opponents

1943 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BOS | BR | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL |
| Boston | — | 12–9 | 8–14 | 11–11 | 11–11 | 11–11 | 12–10 | 3–19 |
| Brooklyn | 9–12 | — | 10–12 | 13–9 | 14–8 | 17–5 | 11–11 | 7–15 |
| Chicago | 14–8 | 12–10 | — | 9–13 | 12–9–1 | 10–12 | 8–14 | 9–13 |
| Cincinnati | 11–11 | 9–13 | 13–9 | — | 16–6–1 | 19–3 | 9–13 | 10–12 |
| New York | 11–11 | 8–14 | 9–12–1 | 6–16–1 | — | 8–14–1 | 9–13 | 4–18 |
| Philadelphia | 11–11 | 5–17 | 12–10 | 3–19 | 14–8–1 | — | 10–12–1 | 9–13–1 |
| Pittsburgh | 10–12 | 11–11 | 14–8 | 13–9 | 13–9 | 12–10–1 | — | 7–15–2 |
| St. Louis | 19–3 | 15–7 | 13–9 | 12–10 | 18–4 | 13–9–1 | 15–7–2 | — |

### Game log

1943 Game Log: 80–74 (Home: 47–30; Away: 33–44) :
April: 3–4 (Home: 1–2; Away: 2–2)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 21@ Cubs6–0Sewell (1–0)Derringer—9,0441–0
2April 22@ Cubs3–4HanyzewskiDietz (0–1)—3,3251–1
3April 24@ Cubs3–6BithornHallett (0–1)—6,7711–2
4April 25@ Cubs6–2Sewell (2–0)Warneke—7,3492–2
5April 27Reds4–1Lanning (1–0)StarrRescigno (1)11,9373–2
6April 28Reds1–3RiddleHebert (0–1)Beggs2,1213–3
7April 29Reds1–6Vander MeerGornicki (0–1)—3,1463–4 :
May: 13–13 (Home: 9–3; Away: 4–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
8May 1Cubs6–3Sewell (3–0)Passeau—2,6674–4
9May 2Cubs3–0Hebert (1–1)Bithorn—16,4915–4
10May 2Cubs1–0Klinger (1–0)Barrett—16,4916–4
11May 3@ Reds5–7Vander MeerDietz (0–2)Riddle2,9586–5
12May 4@ Reds8–3Rescigno (1–0)Starr—1,6857–5
13May 5@ Reds2–3WaltersLanning (1–1)—8,3707–6
14May 9Cardinals1–8CooperHebert (1–2)—25,8877–7
15May 9Cardinals3–3—25,8877–7
16May 13@ Dodgers4–5WebberDietz (0–3)—6,7357–8
17May 14@ Dodgers5–2Gornicki (1–1)Fitzsimmons—7,2308–8
18May 15@ Giants1–2 (11)AdamsRescigno (1–1)—6,8568–9
19May 16@ Giants1–3WittigButcher (0–1)—13,0568–10
20May 16@ Giants2–1Klinger (2–0)Trinkle—13,0569–10
21May 18@ Braves0–4JaverySewell (3–1)—1,0269–11
22May 19@ Braves1–2 (11)AndrewsRescigno (1–2)——9–12
23May 19@ Braves3–5JeffcoatGornicki (1–2)Stout4,9599–13
24May 22@ Phillies0–10RoweKlinger (2–1)—11,6929–14
25May 23@ Phillies4–1Sewell (4–1)Podgajny——10–14
26May 23@ Phillies2–5KrausRescigno (1–3)Johnson—10–15
27May 26Dodgers17–4Hebert (2–2)Macon—2,13011–15
28May 27Dodgers9–5Lanning (2–1)MeltonButcher (1)14,72412–15
29May 28Dodgers2–6HeadGornicki (1–3)—2,45612–16
30May 29Phillies12–4Rescigno (2–3)Gerheauser—1,72713–16
31May 30Phillies4–3Sewell (5–1)Rowe——14–16
32May 30Phillies2–1 (10)Hebert (3–2)Kraus—7,29715–16
33May 31Braves1–6TobinBrandt (0–1)—14,39115–17
34May 31Braves4–0Klinger (3–1)Salvo—14,39116–17 :
June: 16–11 (Home: 12–4; Away: 4–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
35June 1Braves5–4 (14)Lanning (3–1)Javery—1,07717–17
36June 2Braves3–2Rescigno (3–3)Andrews—10,16218–17
37June 3Giants9–6Sewell (6–1)TrinkleLanning (1)3,05119–17
38June 4Giants9–8Butcher (1–1)MungoGornicki (1)14,12020–17
39June 5Giants1–5HubbellRescigno (3–4)—3,18620–18
40June 6Giants18–1Klinger (4–1)Melton——21–18
41June 6Giants7–0Hallett (1–1)Wittig—21,35822–18
42June 7Dodgers1–4FitzsimmonsHebert (3–3)—19,16222–19
43June 9@ Cardinals3–4CooperSewell (6–2)—2,36522–20
44June 10@ Cardinals0–5LanierGornicki (1–4)—13,35622–21
45June 12@ Cardinals0–1PolletHallett (1–2)—3,02222–22
46June 13@ Cardinals10–3Hebert (4–3)Brecheen—16,25523–22
47June 13@ Cardinals4–4 (12)—16,25523–22
48June 15Cubs4–2Sewell (7–2)Prim—1,70724–22
49June 16Cubs5–2Gornicki (2–4)Bithorn—12,38925–22
50June 17Cubs2–3 (7)DerringerHebert (4–4)—2,07125–23
51June 18Reds0–1 (14)StarrButcher (1–2)—2,27425–24
52June 19Reds4–3 (11)Lanning (4–1)Shoun—4,23526–24
53June 20Reds5–4Sewell (8–2)Vander Meer——27–24
54June 20Reds4–2Rescigno (4–4)BeggsLanning (2)27,39228–24
55June 22@ Cubs0–1DerringerPodgajny (0–1)—3,78328–25
56June 23@ Cubs1–4PasseauHebert (4–5)——28–26
57June 23@ Cubs7–5Gornicki (3–4)Fleming—8,89329–26
58June 24@ Cubs2–1Sewell (9–2)Lee—3,21730–26
59June 26@ Reds9–0Butcher (2–2)Vander Meer—2,10431–26
60June 27@ Reds3–6RiddlePodgajny (0–2)—12,01531–27
61June 27@ Reds1–5StarrGornicki (3–5)Beggs12,01531–28
62June 28Reds7–1Sewell (10–2)Walters—12,97932–28
63June 30@ Phillies3–3 (11)—10,65532–28 :
July: 18–14 (Home: 12–7; Away: 6–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
64July 1@ Phillies1–6RowePodgajny (0–3)——32–29
65July 1@ Phillies2–1Klinger (5–1)Gerheauser—6,88433–29
66July 2@ Phillies2–1Sewell (11–2)Kraus—3,66934–29
67July 3@ Braves10–1Rescigno (5–4)Javery—2,55935–29
68July 4@ Braves1–3BarrettHebert (4–6)——35–30
69July 4@ Braves0–13TobinGornicki (3–6)—13,27535–31
70July 5@ Giants8–4Butcher (3–2)Melton——36–31
71July 5@ Giants0–9ChaseKlinger (5–2)—8,68836–32
72July 8@ Dodgers8–2Sewell (12–2)Fitzsimmons—7,07537–32
73July 9@ Dodgers7–8 (10)HigbeKlinger (5–3)—9,56337–33
74July 10@ Dodgers6–23DavisPodgajny (0–4)—14,63137–34
75July 11@ Dodgers3–2Butcher (4–2)Higbe——38–34
76July 11@ Dodgers4–5AllenRescigno (5–5)Head28,69638–35
77July 15Cardinals4–3Klinger (6–3)Lanier—24,57839–35
78July 16Cardinals9–5Sewell (13–2)Krist—4,05040–35
79July 17Cardinals7–3Butcher (5–2)Brecheen——41–35
80July 17Cardinals3–2Hebert (5–6)Munger—11,36242–35
81July 18Cardinals4–7CooperGornicki (3–7)——42–36
82July 18Cardinals5–6MungerSewell (13–3)Cooper34,34942–37
83July 20Phillies1–0Sewell (14–3)Barrett—11,99643–37
84July 21Phillies10–2Klinger (7–3)Conger—2,04144–37
85July 22Phillies0–3RoweButcher (5–3)——44–38
86July 22Phillies6–9KrausGornicki (3–8)—5,19944–39
87July 23Phillies3–2Gee (1–0)Gerheauser—1,89545–39
88July 24Dodgers6–1Sewell (15–3)Melton—5,95146–39
89July 25Dodgers7–1Klinger (8–3)Head——47–39
90July 25Dodgers7–1Hebert (6–6)Higbe—30,30948–39
91July 26Dodgers6–10 (10)MaconButcher (5–4)—6,12548–40
92July 27Giants8–5Gee (2–0)Chase—2,73549–40
93July 28Giants8–3Sewell (16–3)Hubbell—29,58550–40
94July 30Giants7–13MeltonKlinger (8–4)Adams2,85150–41
95July 31Braves5–6JaveryHebert (6–7)—3,76250–42 :
August: 17–20 (Home: 6–7; Away: 11–13)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
96August 1Braves3–6 (10)TobinGee (2–1)——50–43
97August 1Braves7–1Sewell (17–3)Odom—31,84451–43
98August 2Braves5–4Gornicki (4–8)Barrett—11,10952–43
99August 3Braves1–6AndrewsRescigno (5–6)—2,45552–44
100August 4Phillies6–2Butcher (6–4)Gerheauser—10,41753–44
101August 6@ Cardinals3–8LanierSewell (17–4)—23,97653–45
102August 7@ Cardinals4–1Hebert (7–7)Munger—3,53054–45
103August 8@ Cardinals6–8DicksonRescigno (5–7)Lanier—54–46
104August 8@ Cardinals2–5BrecheenKlinger (8–5)—15,57254–47
105August 11@ Phillies1–2RoweSewell (17–5)——54–48
106August 11@ Phillies0–2BarrettGornicki (4–9)—11,12954–49
107August 12@ Phillies3–4CongerRescigno (5–8)Kimball12,06554–50
108August 14@ Phillies8–2Klinger (9–5)Kraus——55–50
109August 14@ Phillies2–1Butcher (7–4)GerheauserGornicki (2)6,34456–50
110August 15@ Braves1–5TobinHebert (7–8)——56–51
111August 15@ Braves11–1Sewell (18–5)Barrett—18,40057–51
112August 16@ Braves5–1Gee (3–1)Javery—1,65458–51
113August 17@ Braves8–0Gornicki (5–9)Andrews——59–51
114August 17@ Braves4–3 (11)Gornicki (6–9)AndrewsSewell (1)4,83160–51
115August 18@ Giants7–6 (10)Gornicki (7–9)AllenSewell (2)—61–51
116August 18@ Giants2–3HubbellButcher (7–5)—5,80561–52
117August 19@ Giants8–1Hebert (8–8)Fischer—2,86362–52
118August 20@ Giants2–3ChaseSewell (18–6)——62–53
119August 20@ Giants4–7MeltonKlinger (9–6)—7,05062–54
120August 21@ Giants4–3Brandt (1–1)Feldman—5,18663–54
121August 22@ Dodgers1–6HeadGornicki (7–10)——63–55
122August 22@ Dodgers6–8BarneyGornicki (7–11)—28,28563–56
123August 24@ Dodgers9–6 (6)Sewell (19–6)DavisGornicki (3)6,61164–56
124August 25@ Dodgers4–6WyattButcher (7–6)Webber10,99564–57
125August 26Cubs2–3DerringerHebert (8–9)—2,10764–58
126August 27Cubs2–3PasseauKlinger (9–7)—9,11564–59
127August 28Cubs5–4Gee (4–1)Wyse—3,15465–59
128August 29Cubs2–11BithornSewell (19–7)——65–60
129August 29Cubs3–1Gornicki (8–11)Hanyzewski—19,14266–60
130August 30Cardinals4–3 (10)Brandt (2–1)Brazle——67–60 :
September: 13–10 (Home: 7–5; Away: 6–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
133September 1Cardinals6–8DicksonGee (4–2)—5,23467–63
134September 3@ Cubs5–1Sewell (20–7)Hanyzewski—5,71768–63
135September 4@ Cubs7–4Gornicki (9–11)DerringerRescigno (2)3,21269–63
136September 5@ Cubs5–4 (12)Brandt (3–1)EricksonSewell (3)—70–63
137September 6@ Cardinals2–3BrazleButcher (7–7)——70–64
138September 6@ Cardinals2–6BrecheenHebert (8–11)—13,42970–65
139September 8@ Cardinals1–5MungerSewell (20–8)—4,04970–66
140September 10@ Reds9–6Hebert (9–11)Beggs——71–66
141September 10@ Reds0–1WaltersButcher (7–8)—9,61371–67
142September 11@ Reds11–1Klinger (10–8)Vander Meer—1,56872–67
143September 12@ Reds0–1RiddleSewell (20–9)——72–68
144September 12@ Reds7–0Rescigno (6–8)Starr—10,30373–68
145September 17Reds1–0Butcher (8–8)Walters—6,11874–68
146September 19Reds10–3Sewell (21–9)Riddle——75–68
147September 19Reds2–1Butcher (9–8)Vander Meer—13,64676–68
148September 22Braves3–5AndrewsGornicki (9–12)—1,40476–69
149September 23Braves1–2TobinGee (4–3)—1,78476–70
150September 25Giants7–2Butcher (10–8)Chase—1,53077–70
151September 26Giants5–0Klinger (11–8)Melton——78–70
152September 26Giants3–4 (10)VoiselleGornicki (9–13)—38,61778–71
153September 28Dodgers5–2Hebert (10–11)Melton——79–71
154September 28Dodgers4–2Brandt (4–1)DavisGornicki (4)3,41080–71
155September 29Dodgers7–14OstermuellerRescigno (6–9)—1,57980–72 :
October: 0–2 (Home: 0–2; Away: 0–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
156October 3Phillies1–3BarrettGee (4–4)——80–73
157October 3Phillies3–11McKeeCuccurullo (0–1)—5,43080–74 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie Bold = Pirates team member :

### Roster
## 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 |
| C | Al López | 118 | 372 | 98 | .263 | 1 | 39 |
| 1B | Elbie Fletcher | 154 | 544 | 154 | .283 | 9 | 70 |
| 2B | Pete Coscarart | 133 | 491 | 119 | .242 | 0 | 48 |
| SS | Frankie Gustine | 112 | 414 | 120 | .290 | 0 | 43 |
| 3B | Bob Elliott | 156 | 581 | 183 | .315 | 7 | 101 |
| OF | Johnny Barrett | 130 | 290 | 67 | .231 | 1 | 32 |
| OF | Vince DiMaggio | 157 | 580 | 144 | .248 | 15 | 88 |
| OF | Jim Russell | 146 | 533 | 138 | .259 | 4 | 44 |

#### 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 |
| Maurice Van Robays | 69 | 236 | 68 | .288 | 1 | 35 |
| Tommy O'Brien | 89 | 232 | 72 | .310 | 2 | 26 |
| Bill Baker | 63 | 172 | 47 | .273 | 1 | 26 |
| Al Rubeling | 47 | 168 | 44 | .262 | 0 | 9 |
| Huck Geary | 46 | 166 | 25 | .151 | 1 | 13 |
| Johnny Wyrostek | 51 | 79 | 12 | .152 | 0 | 1 |
| Frank Colman | 32 | 59 | 16 | .271 | 0 | 4 |
| Tony Ordeñana | 1 | 4 | 2 | .500 | 0 | 3 |
| Hank Camelli | 1 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Jimmy Wasdell | 4 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 1 |

### 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 |
| Rip Sewell | 35 | 265.1 | 21 | 9 | 2.54 | 65 |
| Bob Klinger | 33 | 195.0 | 11 | 8 | 2.72 | 65 |
| Max Butcher | 33 | 193.2 | 10 | 8 | 2.60 | 45 |
| Wally Hebert | 34 | 184.0 | 10 | 11 | 2.98 | 41 |
| Johnny Gee | 15 | 82.0 | 4 | 4 | 4.28 | 18 |
| Cookie Cuccurullo | 1 | 7.0 | 0 | 1 | 6.43 | 3 |

#### 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 |
| Hank Gornicki | 42 | 147.0 | 9 | 13 | 3.98 | 63 |
| Xavier Rescigno | 37 | 132.2 | 6 | 9 | 2.98 | 41 |
| Jack Hallett | 9 | 47.2 | 1 | 2 | 1.70 | 11 |
| Johnny Podgajny | 15 | 34.1 | 0 | 4 | 4.72 | 7 |
| Johnny Lanning | 12 | 27.0 | 4 | 1 | 2.33 | 11 |

#### 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 |
| Bill Brandt | 29 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3.14 | 17 |
| Harry Shuman | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.32 | 5 |
| Dutch Dietz | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6.00 | 4 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AA | Toronto Maple Leafs | International League | Burleigh Grimes |
| A | Albany Senators | Eastern League | Ripper Collins |
| B | York White Roses | Interstate League | Bunny Griffiths |
| D | Hornell Maples | PONY League | Frank Oceak |