# 1966 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1966 Pittsburgh Pirates season involved the team's third-place finish in the National League at 92–70, three games behind the NL Champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

## Offseason

* November 22, 1965: Bill Virdon was released by the Pirates.
* November 29, 1965: 1965 rule 5 draft
** Dave Roberts was selected by the Pirates from the Houston Astros.
** Jesse Gonder was drafted by the Pirates from the Atlanta Braves.
* December 1, 1965: Matty Alou was traded to the Pirates by the San Francisco Giants for Ozzie Virgil and Joe Gibbon.
* December 10, 1965: Bob Friend was traded by the Pirates to the New York Yankees for Pete Mikkelsen.
* January 29, 1966: Del Unser was drafted by the Pirates in the 4th round of the secondary phase of the 1966 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign.

## Regular season

Pirates outfielder Roberto Clemente was the National League's Most Valuable Player for the 1966 season.

### Season standings

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 95 | 67 | .586 | — | 53‍–‍28 | 42‍–‍39 |
| San Francisco Giants | 93 | 68 | .578 | 1½ | 47‍–‍34 | 46‍–‍34 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 92 | 70 | .568 | 3 | 46‍–‍35 | 46‍–‍35 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 87 | 75 | .537 | 8 | 48‍–‍33 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Atlanta Braves | 85 | 77 | .525 | 10 | 43‍–‍38 | 42‍–‍39 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 83 | 79 | .512 | 12 | 43‍–‍38 | 40‍–‍41 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 76 | 84 | .475 | 18 | 46‍–‍33 | 30‍–‍51 |
| Houston Astros | 72 | 90 | .444 | 23 | 45‍–‍36 | 27‍–‍54 |
| New York Mets | 66 | 95 | .410 | 28½ | 32‍–‍49 | 34‍–‍46 |
| Chicago Cubs | 59 | 103 | .364 | 36 | 32‍–‍49 | 27‍–‍54 |

### Record vs. opponents

1966 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | NYM | PHI | PIT | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 7–11 | 10–8 | 14–4–1 | 7–11 | 14–4 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 8–10 | 7–11 |
| Chicago | 11–7 | — | 6–12 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 5–13 | 6–12 | 6–12 | 4–14 |
| Cincinnati | 8–10 | 12–6 | — | 4–14 | 6–12 | 10–7 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 7–10 | 11–7 |
| Houston | 4–14–1 | 13–5 | 14–4 | — | 7–11 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 4–14 | 6–12 | 10–8 |
| Los Angeles | 11–7 | 10–8 | 12–6 | 11–7 | — | 12–6 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 10–8 |
| New York | 4–14 | 10–8 | 7–10 | 11–7 | 6–12 | — | 7–11 | 5–13 | 9–9 | 7–11 |
| Philadelphia | 7-11 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 11–7 | — | 10–8 | 10–8 | 10–8 |
| Pittsburgh | 11–7 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 14–4 | 9–9 | 13–5 | 8–10 | — | 7–11 | 8–10 |
| San Francisco | 10–8 | 12–6 | 10–7 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 11–7 | — | 12–6 |
| St. Louis | 11–7 | 14–4 | 7–11 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 6–12 | — |

### Game log

1966 Game Log: 92–70 (Home: 46–35; Away: 46–35) :
April: 10–5 (Home: 6–3; Away: 4–2)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 12@ Braves3–2 (13)Schwall (1–0)Cloninger—50,6711–0
2April 13@ Braves6–0Law (1–0)Johnson—12,7212–0
3April 15Cardinals2–9GibsonCardwell (0–1)—32,2312–1
4April 16Cardinals5–3SiskWashburnFace8,6223–1
5April 17Cardinals6–5Fryman (1–0)Jackson—12,6844–1
6April 18Reds4–3McBean (1–0)JayFace (2)7,5275–1
7April 19Reds7–3Blass (1–0)Ellis—3,7506–1
8April 20Reds3–2Face (1–0)Baldschun—8,6547–1
9April 21Reds2–1Veale (1–0)Pappas—5,7278–1
10April 22@ Cardinals5–7WashburnMikkelsen (0–1)Aust19,7858–2
11April 23@ Cardinals5–4Mikkelsen (1–1)WoodeshickFace (3)11,5089–2
12April 24@ Cardinals2–5SadeckiCardwell (0–2)Stallard11,2179–3
13April 25Phillies0–5BunningVeale (1–1)—9,5649–4
14April 28@ Cubs9–6 (10)Face (2–0)KoonceMikkelsen (1)3,07610–4
15April 29Mets2–5 (11)SelmaWalker (0–1)Sutherland8,66510–5 :
May: 14–15 (Home: 5–7; Away: 9–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
16May 1Mets8–0Veale (2–1)Fisher—29,43311–5
17May 3@ Reds5–4 (12)Face (3–0)Ellis—4,66912–5
18May 4@ Reds4–3Blass (2–0)O'ToolePurkey (1)4,01913–5
19May 5@ Reds6–10JayMcBean (1–1)McCool3,73513–6
20May 6@ Phillies7–8 (11)KnowlesFace (3–1)—18,98213–7
21May 7@ Phillies3–7BunningSisk (0–1)—7,00613–8
22May 8@ Phillies3–2Veale (3–1)Herbert—8,41114–8
23May 10Giants1–2 (15)LinzyPurkey (0–1)Gibbon6,75014–9
24May 11Giants1–6PerrySchwall (1–1)—4,37314–10
25May 12Giants0–3MarichalVeale (3–2)—5,34314–11
26May 13Dodgers4–3Fryman (2–0)Regan—13,38815–11
27May 14Dodgers1–4KoufaxBlass (2–1)—11,60215–12
28May 15Dodgers1–3SuttonCardwell (0–3)Regan16,20515–13
29May 17Braves5–2Veale (4–2)BlasingameFace (4)7,93816–13
30May 18Braves2–4JohnsonLaw (1–1)—7,64216–14
31May 20@ Dodgers7–3Mikkelsen (2–1)Sutton—33,48417–14
32May 21@ Dodgers4–5 (12)PerranoskiSchwall (1–2)—34,83917–15
33May 22@ Dodgers4–0Veale (5–2)Osteen—30,82618–15
34May 23@ Dodgers2–3KoufaxMikkelsen (2–2)—24,18818–16
35May 24@ Giants2–5PerryLaw (1–2)Linzy14,15818–17
36May 25@ Giants3–2Schwall (2–2)ShawFace (5)9,66319–17
37May 26@ Astros3–2Blass (3–1)FarrellMikkelsen (2)14,44020–17
38May 27@ Astros6–0Veale (6–2)LatmanMikkelsen (3)18,10421–17
39May 28@ Astros1–2GiustiCardwell (0–4)Raymond13,23521–18
40May 28@ Astros5–2Fryman (3–0)Roberts—30,38322–18
41May 29@ Astros2–3 (11)RaymondFace (3–2)—25,40422–19
42May 30Cubs3–2Mikkelsen (3–2)Ellsworth—23–19
43May 30Cubs5–3McBean (2–1)ConnorsFace (6)15,32724–19
44May 31Cubs1–2BroglioVeale (6–3)—3,82524–20 :
June: 19–9 (Home: 11–4; Away: 8–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
45June 1@ Mets3–1Cardwell (1–4)RibantMcBean (1)11,79525–20
46June 2@ Mets5–0Law (2–2)Gardner—11,78526–20
47June 3Astros7–2Fryman (4–0)Dierker—11,26327–20
48June 4Astros9–6Schwall (3–2)RaymondMikkelsen (4)6,94628–20
49June 5Astros10–5Mikkelsen (4–2)Bruce—27,37029–20
50June 7Cardinals9–1Cardwell (2–4)Gibson—12,41830–20
51June 8Cardinals5–11DennisLaw (2–3)—9,62430–21
52June 9Cardinals2–4JacksonFryman (4–1)—11,23230–22
53June 10Braves2–8JohnsonVeale (6–4)Olivo15,17730–23
54June 11Braves5–3Blass (4–1)UmbachFace (7)8,76331–23
55June 12Braves11–8Sisk (1–1)CarrollFace (8)14,52032–23
56June 13Reds5–4Mikkelsen (5–2)McCool—10,86233–23
57June 14Reds0–3MaloneyFryman (4–2)—11,65533–24
58June 15@ Cardinals0–1GibsonVeale (6–5)—21,65233–25
59June 16@ Cardinals2–1Blass (5–1)BrilesFace (9)16,87734–25
60June 17@ Braves4–2Cardwell (3–4)CarrollFryman (1)17,70435–25
61June 18@ Braves9–6Law (3–3)BlasingameFace (10)21,08336–25
62June 19@ Braves2–1 (11)Veale (7–5)Abernathy—17,22937–25
63June 21@ Reds8–11NottebartFryman (4–3)McCool7,66537–26
64June 22@ Reds3–4MaloneyMikkelsen (5–3)—7,84337–27
65June 23@ Reds3–5PappasCardwell (3–5)Nottebart6,03937–28
66June 24@ Phillies3–1Veale (8–5)Bunning—26,79138–28
67June 25@ Phillies7–8CulpMikkelsen (5–4)Craig23,16038–29
68June 26@ Phillies2–0Fryman (5–3)Jackson—18,73439–29
69June 27Astros8–5Blass (6–1)BruceFace (11)11,67940–29
70June 28Astros4–3Veale (9–5)Giusti—11,71341–29
71June 29Astros6–5O'Dell (1–0)Owens—12,50042–29
72June 30Astros9–0Law (4–3)Roberts—15,18343–29 :
July: 17–14 (Home: 8–6; Away: 9–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
73July 1@ Mets12–0Fryman (6–3)Fisher—24,05644–29
74July 2@ Mets3–4RibantBlass (6–2)Hamilton14,37944–30
75July 3@ Mets8–7Veale (10–5)RusteckFace (12)45–30
76July 3@ Mets8–9GardnerMcBean (2–2)Hamilton28,29645–31
77July 4@ Cubs7–5Law (5–3)HandsFace (13)46–31
78July 4@ Cubs4–6 (8)LeeCardwell (3–6)Hendley23,16446–32
79July 5@ Cubs6–0Fryman (7–3)Faul—6,18347–32
80July 6@ Cubs10–5Blass (7–2)EllsworthMikkelsen (5)6,48348–32
81July 7@ Cubs4–5HoeftMikkelsen (5–5)Hendley7,06348–33
82July 8Mets10–2Law (6–3)Shaw—49–33
83July 8Mets9–2Sisk (2–1)FisherO'Dell (1)32,44050–33
84July 9Mets6–3Fryman (8–3)Hepler—13,30951–33
85July 10Mets9–4Face (4–2)Shaw—26,15052–33
86July 14Cubs10–4Veale (11–5)Ellsworth—11,69253–33
87July 15Cubs4–5RobertsLaw (6–4)—15,48853–34
88July 16Cubs1–4HandsFryman (8–4)Jenkins9,76453–35
89July 17Giants7–4Blass (8–2)HerbelMikkelsen (6)54–35
90July 17Giants7–1Sisk (3–1)Priddy—35,18455–35
91July 18Giants2–3PerryVeale (11–6)McDaniel33,90855–36
92July 20@ Dodgers8–5Cardwell (4–6)BrewerMcBean (2)39,54556–36
93July 21@ Dodgers3–4 (10)ReganFace (4–3)—35,58656–37
94July 22@ Astros2–5DierkerBlass (8–3)—28,94256–38
95July 23@ Astros4–3McBean (3–2)RaymondMikkelsen (7)43,82557–38
96July 24@ Astros11–6Cardwell (5–6)TaylorFace (14)34,55658–38
97July 25@ Giants1–2MarichalFryman (8–5)—22,19158–39
98July 26@ Giants3–8PerryBlass (8–4)McDaniel21,78658–40
99July 27@ Giants5–3Mikkelsen (6–5)LinzyFace (15)22,15459–40
100July 29Phillies5–3O'Dell (2–0)ShortFace (16)25,35860–40
101July 30Phillies1–4JacksonFryman (8–6)—15,80460–41
102July 31Phillies1–8BunningLaw (6–5)—60–42
103July 31Phillies5–6 (10)VerbanicFace (4–4)Herbert28,94760–43 :
August: 18–12 (Home: 11–6; Away: 7–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
104August 1Dodgers1–5ReganSisk (3–2)—27,39860–44
105August 2Dodgers6–5Mikkelsen (7–5)PerranoskiMcBean (3)12,88661–44
106August 3Dodgers3–1Veale (12–6)Sutton—21,95262–44
107August 4Dodgers8–1Law (7–5)Osteen—22,52963–44
108August 5Reds3–4PappasMikkelsen (7–6)McCool20,06463–45
109August 6Reds9–3Sisk (4–2)O'Toole—11,40164–45
110August 7Reds7–9NottebartVeale (12–7)McCool18,47064–46
111August 9Mets2–1Fryman (9–6)RibantMikkelsen (8)12,84765–46
112August 10Mets10–4Law (8–5)ShawO'Dell (2)15,00866–46
113August 11Mets7–5Face (5–4)Gardner—12,38167–46
114August 12@ Reds14–11 (13)Sisk (5–2)McCool—25,47768–46
115August 13@ Reds0–11 (5)MaloneyFryman (9–7)—9,00368–47
116August 14@ Reds4–2Mikkelsen (8–6)Nottebart—19,76769–47
117August 16@ Mets3–0 (7)Sisk (6–2)McGraw—23,95370–47
118August 17@ Mets7–8HeplerMcBean (3–3)Friend32,46170–48
119August 18@ Mets5–9GardnerFryman (9–8)Terry26,82970–49
120August 19@ Cubs3–4 (11)HendleyFace (5–5)—11,09270–50
121August 20@ Cubs3–2Sisk (7–2)HandsMikkelsen (9)14,44671–50
122August 21@ Cubs8–1Veale (13–7)Roberts—15,94472–50
123August 22Phillies6–5Cardwell (6–6)BuhlMikkelsen (10)15,11973–50
124August 23Phillies4–5ShortO'Dell (2–1)—25,50473–51
125August 24Phillies6–4Law (9–5)Jackson—19,89974–51
126August 25Phillies1–4BunningVeale (13–8)—25,65874–52
127August 26@ Cardinals7–4Fryman (10–8)JacksonMikkelsen (11)43,95175–52
128August 27@ Cardinals1–5GibsonBlass (8–5)—30,45775–53
129August 28@ Cardinals2–3WashburnLaw (9–6)Briles75–54
130August 28@ Cardinals5–1O'Dell (3–1)CarltonMikkelsen (12)46,21176–54
131August 29Astros0–2CuellarVeale (13–9)—13,01176–55
132August 30Astros8–2Fryman (11–8)GiustiMikkelsen (13)11,56477–55
133August 31Dodgers4–3Blass (9–5)DrysdaleO'Dell (3)31,03678–55 :
September: 14–12 (Home: 5–6; Away: 9–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
134September 1Dodgers3–4 (10)SuttonLaw (9–7)Perranoski26,76178–56
135September 2Cubs7–3Veale (14–9)JenkinsCardwell (1)13,67779–56
136September 3Cubs9–1Sisk (8–2)Holtzman—10,89180–56
137September 4Cubs8–5McBean (4–3)ChurchFace (17)12,89981–56
138September 5Braves13–5Law (10–7)Kelley—82–56
139September 5Braves5–7CloningerBlass (9–6)—30,74782–57
140September 6Braves1–4JarvisVeale (14–10)Ritchie10,79282–58
141September 7Braves3–8JohnsonSisk (8–3)—12,10082–59
142September 9Cardinals3–2 (12)Face (6–5)Briles—19,67683–59
143September 10Cardinals5–6GibsonMikkelsen (8–7)Woodeshick13,53583–60
144September 11Cardinals3–4HughesVeale (14–11)—17,85983–61
145September 13@ Astros9–3Sisk (9–3)GiustiFace (18)17,87284–61
146September 15@ Dodgers3–5DrysdaleLaw (10–8)Regan50,55984–62
147September 16@ Dodgers1–5KoufaxVeale (14–12)—54,51084–63
148September 17@ Dodgers9–5Law (11–8)MillerO'Dell (4)44,33085–63
149September 18@ Giants3–1Fryman (12–8)Perry—41,98186–63
150September 19@ Giants6–1 (11)Mikkelsen (9–7)Linzy—12,87187–63
151September 20@ Giants6–0Law (12–8)Herbel—30,18788–63
152September 21@ Giants5–6MarichalFace (6–6)—15,33888–64
153September 22@ Braves1–14JarvisFryman (12–9)—11,00488–65
154September 23@ Braves3–0Veale (15–12)Schwall—21,23889–65
155September 24@ Braves8–6Blass (10–6)OlivoMikkelsen (14)20,05490–65
156September 25@ Braves2–6KelleySisk (9–4)Carroll28,37290–66
157September 26@ Phillies4–5 (11)BunningO'Dell (3–2)—8,28990–67
158September 28@ Phillies2–1Blass (11–6)BunningSisk (1)91–67
159September 28@ Phillies4–2Veale (16–12)Jackson—7,21392–67 :
October: 0–3 (Home: 0–3; Away: 0–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
160October 1Giants4–5MarichalMikkelsen (9–8)—92–68
161October 1Giants0–2BolinSisk (9–5)—18,92892–69
162October 2Giants3–7 (11)McDanielBlass (11–7)—33,82792–70 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss Bold = Pirates team member :

### Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters :
| # | Name | Position |
| 18 | Matty Alou | CF |
| 14 | Gene Alley | SS |
| 21 | Roberto Clemente | RF |
| 8 | Willie Stargell | LF |
| 17 | Donn Clendenon | 1B |
| 9 | Bill Mazeroski | 2B |
| 7 | Bob Bailey | 3B |
| 10 | Jim Pagliaroni | C |
| 39 | Bob Veale | SP |

### Notable transactions

* April 7, 1966: Bob Purkey was sold to the Pirates by the St. Louis Cardinals.
* June 7, 1966: 1966 Major League Baseball draft
** Richie Hebner was drafted by the Pirates in the 1st round of the 1966 Major League Baseball Draft.
** Dave Cash was drafted by the Pirates in the 5th round of the 1966 Major League Baseball Draft.
** Gene Clines was drafted by the Pirates in the 6th round of the 1966 Major League Baseball Draft.
* June 15, 1966: Don Schwall was traded by the Pirates to the Atlanta Braves for Billy O'Dell.

### Roster
## Statistics
### 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 |
| Matty Alou | 141 | 535 | 183 | 0.342 | 2 | 27 |
| Manny Mota | 116 | 322 | 107 | 0.332 | 5 | 46 |
| Roberto Clemente | 154 | 638 | 202 | 0.317 | 29 | 119 |
| Willie Stargell | 140 | 485 | 153 | 0.315 | 33 | 102 |
| Donn Clendenon | 155 | 571 | 171 | 0.299 | 28 | 98 |
| Gene Alley | 147 | 579 | 173 | 0.299 | 7 | 43 |
| Bob Bailey | 126 | 380 | 106 | 0.279 | 13 | 46 |
| Jose Pagan | 109 | 368 | 97 | 0.264 | 4 | 54 |
| Bill Mazeroski | 162 | 621 | 163 | 0.262 | 16 | 82 |
| Jerry May | 42 | 52 | 13 | 0.250 | 1 | 2 |
| Vern Law | 34 | 66 | 16 | 0.242 | 1 | 3 |
| Jim Pagliaroni | 123 | 374 | 88 | 0.235 | 11 | 49 |
| Steve Blass | 34 | 52 | 12 | 0.231 | 0 | 6 |
| Jesse Gonder | 59 | 160 | 36 | 0.225 | 7 | 16 |
| Jerry Lynch | 64 | 56 | 12 | 0.214 | 1 | 6 |
| Andre Rodgers | 36 | 49 | 9 | 0.184 | 0 | 4 |
| Woodie Fryman | 36 | 63 | 10 | 0.159 | 0 | 2 |
| Gene Michael | 30 | 33 | 5 | 0.152 | 0 | 2 |
| Pete Mikkelsen | 71 | 20 | 3 | 0.150 | 0 | 0 |
| George Spriggs | 9 | 7 | 1 | 0.143 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Veale | 38 | 94 | 13 | 0.138 | 0 | 2 |
| Dave Roberts | 14 | 16 | 2 | 0.125 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Cardwell | 32 | 29 | 3 | 0.103 | 0 | 3 |
| Al McBean | 50 | 10 | 1 | 0.100 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Schwall | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0.100 | 0 | 0 |
| Tommie Sisk | 34 | 51 | 5 | 0.098 | 0 | 2 |
| Billy O'Dell | 37 | 16 | 1 | 0.063 | 0 | 1 |
| Don Bosch | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Roy Face | 54 | 11 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Purkey | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Luke Walker | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Shellenback | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 5,676 | 1,586 | 0.279 | 158 | 715 |

### 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 |
| Bob Purkey | 10 | 192⁄3 | 0 | 1 | 1.37 | 5 |
| Don Schwall | 11 | 412⁄3 | 3 | 2 | 2.16 | 24 |
| Roy Face | 54 | 70 | 6 | 6 | 2.70 | 67 |
| Billy O'Dell | 37 | 711⁄3 | 3 | 2 | 2.78 | 47 |
| Bob Veale | 38 | 2681⁄3 | 16 | 12 | 3.02 | 229 |
| Pete Mikkelsen | 71 | 126 | 9 | 8 | 3.07 | 76 |
| Al McBean | 47 | 862⁄3 | 4 | 3 | 3.22 | 54 |
| Woodie Fryman | 36 | 1812⁄3 | 12 | 9 | 3.81 | 105 |
| Steve Blass | 34 | 1552⁄3 | 11 | 7 | 3.87 | 76 |
| Vern Law | 31 | 1772⁄3 | 12 | 8 | 4.05 | 88 |
| Tommie Sisk | 34 | 150 | 10 | 5 | 4.14 | 60 |
| Luke Walker | 10 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 4.50 | 7 |
| Don Cardwell | 32 | 1012⁄3 | 6 | 6 | 4.60 | 60 |
| Jim Shellenback | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 1,4631⁄3 | 92 | 70 | 3.52 | 898 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Columbus Jets | International League | Larry Shepard |
| AA | Asheville Tourists | Southern League | Harding "Pete" Peterson |
| A | Raleigh Pirates | Carolina League | Joe Morgan |
| A | Clinton Pirates | Midwest League | Frank Oceak |
| A | Gastonia Pirates | Western Carolinas League | Bob Clear |
| Rookie | Salem Pirates | Appalachian League | George Detore |