# 1964 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1964 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 83rd in franchise history. The team finished tied for sixth in the National League with a record of 80–82, 13 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals.

## Offseason

* December 2, 1963: Byron Browne was drafted from the Pirates by the Chicago Cubs in the 1963 first-year draft.
* January 14, 1964: Dock Ellis was signed as an amateur free agent by the Pirates.
* Prior to 1964 season: John Lamb was signed as an amateur free agent by the Pirates.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 93 | 69 | .574 | — | 48‍–‍33 | 45‍–‍36 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 92 | 70 | .568 | 1 | 46‍–‍35 | 46‍–‍35 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 92 | 70 | .568 | 1 | 47‍–‍34 | 45‍–‍36 |
| San Francisco Giants | 90 | 72 | .556 | 3 | 44‍–‍37 | 46‍–‍35 |
| Milwaukee Braves | 88 | 74 | .543 | 5 | 45‍–‍36 | 43‍–‍38 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 80 | 82 | .494 | 13 | 42‍–‍39 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 80 | 82 | .494 | 13 | 41‍–‍40 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Chicago Cubs | 76 | 86 | .469 | 17 | 40‍–‍41 | 36‍–‍45 |
| Houston Colt .45s | 66 | 96 | .407 | 27 | 41‍–‍40 | 25‍–‍56 |
| New York Mets | 53 | 109 | .327 | 40 | 33‍–‍48 | 20‍–‍61 |

### Record vs. opponents

1964 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MIL | NYM | PHI | PIT | SF | STL |
| Chicago | — | 6–12 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 6–12 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 6–12 |
| Cincinnati | 12–6 | — | 12–6 | 14–4–1 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 10–8 |
| Houston | 7–11 | 6–12 | — | 7–11 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 5–13 | 5–13 | 7–11 | 8–10 |
| Los Angeles | 8–10 | 4–14–1 | 11–7 | — | 8–10 | 15–3–1 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 6–12 | 10–8 |
| Milwaukee | 10–8 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 10–8 | — | 14–4 | 10–8 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 8–10 |
| New York | 7–11 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 3–15–1 | 4–14 | — | 3–15 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 7–11 |
| Philadelphia | 12-6 | 9–9 | 13–5 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 15–3 | — | 10–8 | 10–8 | 5–13 |
| Pittsburgh | 9–9 | 10–8 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 12–6 | 8–10 | — | 8–10 | 6–12 |
| San Francisco | 9–9 | 11–7 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 8–10 | 10–8 | — | 9–9 |
| St. Louis | 12–6 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 9–9 | — |

### Game log

1964 Game Log: 80–82 (Home: 42–39; Away: 38–43) :
April: 7–6 (Home: 4–2; Away: 3–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 14Cubs4–8 (10)JacksonFace (0–1)McDaniel26,3770–1
2April 15Cubs5–4 (12)Face (1–1)Elston—7,0091–1
3April 17@ Mets4–3Friend (1–0)Bauta—50,3122–1
4April 18@ Mets9–5Schwall (1–0)BearnarthFace (1)31,4803–1
5April 19@ Mets0–6JacksonVeale (0–1)—30,1853–2
6April 21@ Cubs8–5Face (2–1)Norman—3,2224–2
7April 23@ Phillies5–6BaldschunFace (2–2)—12,8514–3
8April 24Mets9–4Friend (2–0)Jackson—7,9035–3
9April 25Mets5–4Veale (1–1)Fisher—5,4706–3
10April 26Mets4–3Bork (1–0)Bearnarth—7–3
11April 26Mets2–3StallardSchwall (1–1)Bauta13,5247–4
12April 28@ Braves5–9SmithSisk (0–1)Tiefenauer3,7827–5
13April 29@ Braves0–1CloningerVeale (1–2)—4,3377–6 :
May: 16–15 (Home: 6–8; Away: 10–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
14May 1@ Cardinals2–6CraigLaw (0–1)—14,7017–7
15May 2@ Cardinals5–4Sisk (1–1)SimmonsBork (1)12,5348–7
16May 3@ Cardinals12–8Schwall (2–1)SadeckiFace (2)11,0519–7
17May 4@ Reds4–2Gibbon (1–0)Jay—3,35510–7
18May 5@ Reds4–5DicksonLaw (0–2)—4,09610–8
19May 6Cardinals1–0Friend (3–0)Sadecki—8,65911–8
20May 7Cardinals2–4SimmonsVeale (1–3)Craig7,21911–9
21May 8Braves1–2CloningerGibbon (1–1)—11,50811–10
22May 9Braves10–0Law (1–2)Lemaster—6,53612–10
23May 10Braves5–11LemasterFriend (3–1)—12–11
24May 10Braves6–5McBean (1–0)Tiefenauer—16,43013–11
25May 11Reds6–7EllisSisk (1–2)Henry5,90213–12
26May 12Reds3–2Gibbon (2–1)MaloneyMcBean (1)5,81114–12
27May 15@ Dodgers0–6OrtegaFriend (3–2)—33,50714–13
28May 16@ Dodgers7–4Veale (2–3)WillhiteMcBean (2)21,99215–13
29May 17@ Dodgers2–3KoufaxLaw (1–3)Perranoski15–14
30May 17@ Dodgers8–3Gibbon (3–1)PodresPriddy (1)48,07716–14
31May 18@ Dodgers4–2Blass (1–0)Drysdale—23,62117–14
32May 19@ Colt .45s1–3BruceFriend (3–3)Woodeshick6,19917–15
33May 20@ Colt .45s4–3Veale (3–3)NottebartMcBean (3)5,71518–15
34May 21@ Colt .45s1–3FarrellLaw (1–4)Woodeshick5,88018–16
35May 22@ Giants3–8HerbelBlass (1–1)MacKenzie18,87318–17
36May 23@ Giants9–2Friend (4–3)Perry—20,11319–17
37May 24@ Giants3–0Veale (4–3)Sanford—20–17
38May 24@ Giants5–3Butters (1–0)ShawMcBean (4)40,44121–17
39May 26Phillies13–4Law (2–4)Short—12,18322–17
40May 27Phillies0–2MahaffeyFriend (4–4)—10,91422–18
41May 28Phillies6–5McBean (2–0)Baldschun—8,64923–18
42May 29Dodgers1–4MoellerBlass (1–2)—16,11423–19
43May 30Dodgers3–10DrysdaleLaw (2–5)—14,35923–20
44May 31Dodgers4–6KoufaxFriend (4–5)Perranoski9,35423–21 :
June: 15–11 (Home: 10–6; Away: 5–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
45June 2Giants3–1Veale (5–3)Hendley—9,35724–21
46June 3Giants0–3HerbelPriddy (0–1)—10,18424–22
47June 4Giants4–2Blass (2–2)Bolin—10,57425–22
48June 5Colt .45s4–3Priddy (1–1)Woodeshick—8,69326–22
49June 7Colt .45s3–6RaymondPriddy (1–2)—26–23
50June 7Colt .45s6–1Law (3–5)Bruce—13,14927–23
51June 9@ Phillies3–4MahaffeyGibbon (3–2)Roebuck27–24
52June 9@ Phillies4–0Blass (3–2)Culp—32,15528–24
53June 10@ Phillies1–4ShortFriend (4–6)—15,35228–25
54June 12@ Cubs1–7BuhlVeale (5–4)—7,57528–26
55June 13@ Cubs10–7Law (4–5)BurdetteMcBean (5)14,96029–26
56June 14@ Cubs2–5EllsworthBlass (3–3)—27,90129–27
57June 16Mets2–1Veale (6–4)Fisher—7,18730–27
58June 17Mets3–2Friend (5–6)Stallard—9,93131–27
59June 18Mets10–0Law (5–5)Jackson—7,11032–27
60June 20Cubs2–0Gibbon (4–2)BroglioMcBean (6)7,45533–27
61June 21Cubs1–2JacksonVeale (6–5)—33–28
62June 21Cubs2–7BurdetteBlass (3–4)McDaniel16,25033–29
63June 23@ Mets5–1Law (6–5)WilleyMcBean (7)25,76434–29
64June 24@ Mets3–1Friend (6–6)CiscoMcBean (8)10,65235–29
65June 25@ Mets8–1Gibbon (5–2)Fisher—12,83436–29
66June 26Reds8–3Veale (7–5)Jay—19,19737–29
67June 27Reds4–2McBean (3–0)Purkey—8,46038–29
68June 28Reds2–6TsitourisLaw (6–6)—38–30
69June 28Reds5–6MaloneyFriend (6–7)McCool21,78838–31
70June 29@ Dodgers6–7PerranoskiFace (2–3)—29,94638–32 :
July: 15–13 (Home: 7–6; Away: 8–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
71July 1@ Giants1–2MarichalVeale (7–6)—10,22138–33
72July 2@ Giants5–6HendleyBlass (3–5)Shaw11,16638–34
73July 3@ Colt .45s2–1Law (7–6)OwensMcBean (9)8,74039–34
74July 4@ Colt .45s1–3BruceFriend (6–8)—13,69239–35
75July 5@ Colt .45s7–1Gibbon (6–2)FarrellMcBean (10)11,04240–35
76July 8Reds9–1Veale (8–6)MaloneyMcBean (11)7,03141–35
77July 9Braves6–11SpahnLaw (7–7)Sadowski9,29541–36
78July 10Braves5–1Friend (7–8)Cloninger—13,14842–36
79July 11Braves8–9 (11)CloningerSisk (1–3)Olivo7,87442–37
80July 13Cardinals4–5 (12)TaylorSisk (1–4)—42–38
81July 13Cardinals5–12CuellarLaw (7–8)Washburn14,77342–39
82July 14Phillies4–3Veale (9–6)McLishMcBean (12)9,66443–39
83July 15Phillies3–0Friend (8–8)Bunning—11,63344–39
84July 16Phillies5–7MahaffeyGibbon (6–3)Baldschun12,16344–40
85July 18@ Braves8–2Veale (10–6)Spahn—17,19245–40
86July 19@ Braves2–6CloningerFriend (8–9)—45–41
87July 19@ Braves4–5LemasterBlass (3–6)Fischer23,98945–42
88July 21@ Cardinals8–4Gibbon (7–3)SadeckiBork (2)11,80546–42
89July 22@ Cardinals13–2Veale (11–6)Craig—11,08947–42
90July 23@ Cardinals8–5Blass (4–6)CuellarFace (3)7,89348–42
91July 24@ Reds0–2O'TooleFriend (8–10)—14,31748–43
92July 25@ Reds6–3Law (8–8)NuxhallMcBean (13)6,53449–43
93July 26@ Reds2–7JayGibbon (7–4)Ellis49–44
94July 26@ Reds5–1Veale (12–6)Tsitouris—14,81450–44
95July 29Colt .45s5–2Friend (9–10)Farrell—8,57251–44
96July 30Colt .45s1–0Law (9–8)Bruce—52–44
97July 30Colt .45s8–3Schwall (3–1)OwensMcBean (14)11,31453–44
98July 31Giants6–8ShawVeale (12–7)O'Dell28,07653–45 :
August: 13–19 (Home: 9–7; Away: 4–12)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
99August 1Giants6–1Gibbon (8–4)Herbel—15,88254–45
100August 2Giants1–2PregenzerFriend (9–11)O'Dell22,40254–46
101August 3Giants3–2McBean (4–0)O'Dell—12,46555–46
102August 4Dodgers1–5KoufaxVeale (12–8)Miller55–47
103August 4Dodgers7–10MoellerSchwall (3–2)Perranoski25,80755–48
104August 5Dodgers4–3McBean (5–0)Perranoski—11,07156–48
105August 6Dodgers4–1Friend (10–11)Miller—10,59957–48
106August 7Cubs3–7JacksonLaw (9–9)—57–49
107August 7Cubs3–4BroglioBlass (4–7)Shantz13,86257–50
108August 8Cubs5–2Veale (13–8)Burdette—6,84558–50
109August 9Cubs2–0Schwall (4–2)BuhlMcBean (15)11,30559–50
110August 11Mets2–3 (8)FisherFriend (10–12)—8,54259–51
111August 12Mets5–4Gibbon (9–4)RibantMcBean (16)6,67760–51
112August 14@ Cubs3–2McBean (6–0)Shantz—61–51
113August 14@ Cubs2–4BurdetteLaw (9–10)—12,63461–52
114August 15@ Cubs5–4McBean (7–0)McDaniel—23,00362–52
115August 16@ Cubs4–5ElstonMcBean (7–1)—62–53
116August 16@ Cubs7–4Blass (5–7)SlaughterFace (4)22,37663–53
117August 17@ Mets0–5RibantVeale (13–9)—12,35063–54
118August 18@ Mets3–7JacksonGibbon (9–5)—18,90563–55
119August 19@ Mets2–4StallardLaw (9–11)—19,19263–56
120August 20@ Phillies0–2MahaffeyFriend (10–13)—63–57
121August 20@ Phillies2–3WiseSchwall (4–3)Roebuck35,81463–58
122August 21@ Phillies0–2ShortVeale (13–10)—30,17063–59
123August 22@ Phillies9–4Bork (2–0)BennettMcBean (17)14,95564–59
124August 23@ Phillies3–9BunningGibbon (9–6)Boozer19,21364–60
125August 24@ Cardinals1–5GibsonFriend (10–14)—10,88164–61
126August 25@ Cardinals6–7 (13)TaylorMcBean (7–2)—8,66464–62
127August 26@ Cardinals2–4CuellarBork (2–1)—9,66264–63
128August 28Phillies4–2Face (3–3)Roebuck—20,37465–63
129August 29Phillies8–10MahaffeyFriend (10–15)Baldschun12,18665–64
130August 30Phillies10–2Veale (14–10)Short—14,08066–64 :
September: 13–14 (Home: 6–10; Away: 7–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
131September 1Dodgers5–2Friend (11–15)Ortega—6,64867–64
132September 2Dodgers5–8 (12)MillerLaw (9–12)—7,10967–65
133September 4Colt .45s10–2Veale (15–10)Bruce—6,13368–65
134September 5Colt .45s4–1Friend (12–15)Johnson—4,27269–65
135September 6Colt .45s1–0Law (10–12)Nottebart—4,88670–65
136September 7Giants4–6PerryGibbon (9–7)Duffalo70–66
137September 7Giants6–9PregenzerBork (2–2)Shaw14,94870–67
138September 9Reds4–1Veale (16–10)JayMcBean (18)5,24571–67
139September 10Reds0–3PurkeyFriend (12–16)—4,99371–68
140September 11@ Colt .45s3–0Law (11–12)Nottebart—4,04272–68
141September 12@ Colt .45s1–2LarsenButters (1–1)Woodeshick7,30872–69
142September 13@ Colt .45s3–0Cardwell (1–0)Farrell—3,37073–69
143September 14@ Dodgers7–2Veale (17–10)Reed—16,62574–69
144September 15@ Dodgers3–5MillerFriend (12–17)Miller14,92074–70
145September 16@ Dodgers7–5Law (12–12)OrtegaMcBean (19)15,04975–70
146September 18@ Giants4–3Veale (18–10)ShawMcBean (20)9,74176–70
147September 19@ Giants4–13MarichalFriend (12–18)—11,01276–71
148September 20@ Giants3–4 (11)DuffaloMcBean (7–3)—15,54876–72
149September 22Braves0–2LemasterVeale (18–11)—3,68076–73
150September 23Braves7–4Gibbon (10–7)Cloninger—2,77677–73
151September 24Cardinals2–4GibsonWood (0–1)—77–74
152September 24Cardinals0–4SadeckiButters (1–2)—2,84677–75
153September 25Cardinals3–5RichardsonCardwell (1–1)Schultz3,69477–76
154September 26Cardinals3–6SimmonsVeale (18–12)Schultz4,08577–77
155September 27Cardinals0–5CraigLaw (12–13)Schultz19,28777–78
156September 29@ Reds2–0Friend (13–18)McCool—10,85878–78
157September 30@ Reds1–0 (16)McBean (8–3)Tsitouris—8,18879–78 :
October: 1–4 (Home: 0–0; Away: 1–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
158October 1@ Reds4–5NuxhallBlass (5–8)Ellis7,08179–79
159October 2@ Braves2–3 (10)CloningerWood (0–2)—79–80
160October 2@ Braves5–4Butters (2–2)SchneiderMcBean (21)7,80080–80
161October 3@ Braves5–11UmbachCardwell (1–2)Spahn5,63680–81
162October 4@ Braves0–6SadowskiFrancis (0–1)Spahn10,07980–82 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss Bold = Pirates team member :

### Notable transactions

* June 13, 1964: Al Oliver was signed as an amateur free agent by the Pirates.
* September 6, 1964: Wilbur Wood was purchased by the Pirates from the Boston Red Sox.
* September 12, 1964: Smoky Burgess was selected off waivers from the Pirates by the Chicago White Sox.

### 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 |
| Julio Gotay | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.500 | 0 | 0 |
| Roberto Clemente | 155 | 622 | 211 | 0.339 | 12 | 87 |
| Vern Law | 36 | 61 | 19 | 0.311 | 1 | 3 |
| Jim Pagliaroni | 97 | 302 | 89 | 0.295 | 10 | 36 |
| Donn Clendenon | 133 | 457 | 129 | 0.282 | 12 | 64 |
| Bob Bailey | 143 | 530 | 149 | 0.281 | 11 | 51 |
| Manny Mota | 115 | 271 | 75 | 0.277 | 5 | 32 |
| Willie Stargell | 117 | 421 | 115 | 0.273 | 21 | 78 |
| Jerry Lynch | 114 | 297 | 81 | 0.273 | 16 | 66 |
| Bill Mazeroski | 162 | 601 | 161 | 0.268 | 10 | 64 |
| Don Schwall | 16 | 19 | 5 | 0.263 | 0 | 1 |
| Jerry May | 11 | 31 | 8 | 0.258 | 0 | 3 |
| Joe Gibbon | 29 | 47 | 12 | 0.255 | 0 | 1 |
| Dick Schofield | 121 | 398 | 98 | 0.246 | 3 | 36 |
| Smoky Burgess | 68 | 171 | 42 | 0.246 | 2 | 17 |
| Orlando McFarlane | 37 | 78 | 19 | 0.244 | 0 | 1 |
| Bill Virdon | 145 | 473 | 115 | 0.243 | 3 | 27 |
| Gene Freese | 99 | 289 | 65 | 0.225 | 9 | 40 |
| Gene Alley | 81 | 209 | 44 | 0.211 | 6 | 13 |
| Frank Bork | 33 | 5 | 1 | 0.200 | 0 | 2 |
| Tom Butters | 28 | 11 | 2 | 0.182 | 0 | 3 |
| Bob Veale | 41 | 96 | 15 | 0.156 | 0 | 2 |
| Dave Wissman | 16 | 27 | 4 | 0.148 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Cardwell | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0.143 | 0 | 0 |
| Al McBean | 58 | 12 | 1 | 0.083 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Friend | 35 | 71 | 5 | 0.070 | 0 | 2 |
| Steve Blass | 24 | 30 | 2 | 0.067 | 0 | 1 |
| Roy Face | 55 | 4 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Earl Francis | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Rex Johnston | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Priddy | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Tommie Sisk | 42 | 8 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Wilbur Wood | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| John Gelnar | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Fred Green | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 5,566 | 1,469 | 0.264 | 121 | 630 |

### 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 |
| Fred Green | 8 | 71⁄3 | 0 | 0 | 1.23 | 2 |
| Al McBean | 58 | 892⁄3 | 8 | 3 | 1.91 | 41 |
| Tom Butters | 28 | 641⁄3 | 2 | 2 | 2.38 | 58 |
| Bob Veale | 40 | 2792⁄3 | 18 | 12 | 2.74 | 250 |
| Don Cardwell | 4 | 191⁄3 | 1 | 2 | 2.79 | 10 |
| Bob Friend | 35 | 2401⁄3 | 13 | 18 | 3.33 | 128 |
| Vern Law | 35 | 192 | 12 | 13 | 3.61 | 93 |
| Wilbur Wood | 3 | 171⁄3 | 0 | 2 | 3.63 | 7 |
| Joe Gibbon | 28 | 1462⁄3 | 10 | 7 | 3.68 | 97 |
| Bob Priddy | 19 | 341⁄3 | 1 | 2 | 3.93 | 23 |
| Steve Blass | 24 | 1042⁄3 | 5 | 8 | 4.04 | 67 |
| Frank Bork | 33 | 42 | 2 | 2 | 4.07 | 31 |
| Don Schwall | 15 | 492⁄3 | 4 | 3 | 4.35 | 36 |
| John Gelnar | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 5.00 | 4 |
| Roy Face | 55 | 792⁄3 | 3 | 3 | 5.20 | 63 |
| Tommie Sisk | 42 | 611⁄3 | 1 | 4 | 6.16 | 35 |
| Earl Francis | 2 | 61⁄3 | 0 | 1 | 8.53 | 6 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 1,4432⁄3 | 80 | 82 | 3.52 | 951 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Columbus Jets | International League | Larry Shepard |
| AA | Asheville Tourists | Southern League | Ray Hathaway and Bob Clear |
| A | Reno Silver Sox | California League | Tom Saffell and Harvey Koepf |
| A | Kinston Eagles | Carolina League | Harding "Pete" Peterson |
| A | Batavia Pirates | New York–Penn League | Gene Baker |
| A | Gastonia Pirates | Western Carolinas League | Bob Clear and Ray Hathaway |
| Rookie | Salem Pirates | Appalachian League | George Detore |