# 1934 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1934 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 53rd season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 48th in the National League. The Pirates finished fifth in the league standings with a record of 74–76.

## Regular season

The roster featured seven future Hall of Famers: player-manager Pie Traynor, pitcher Waite Hoyt, pitcher Burleigh Grimes, shortstop Arky Vaughan, outfielder Freddie Lindstrom, center fielder Lloyd Waner, and right fielder Paul Waner.

### Season standings

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 95 | 58 | .621 | — | 48‍–‍29 | 47‍–‍29 |
| New York Giants | 93 | 60 | .608 | 2 | 49‍–‍26 | 44‍–‍34 |
| Chicago Cubs | 86 | 65 | .570 | 8 | 47‍–‍30 | 39‍–‍35 |
| Boston Braves | 78 | 73 | .517 | 16 | 40‍–‍35 | 38‍–‍38 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 74 | 76 | .493 | 19½ | 45‍–‍32 | 29‍–‍44 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 71 | 81 | .467 | 23½ | 43‍–‍33 | 28‍–‍48 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 56 | 93 | .376 | 37 | 35‍–‍36 | 21‍–‍57 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 52 | 99 | .344 | 42 | 30‍–‍47 | 22‍–‍52 |

### Record vs. opponents

1934 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BOS | BR | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL |
| Boston | — | 16–6–1 | 12–10 | 15–7 | 7–15 | 14–8 | 9–11 | 5–16 |
| Brooklyn | 6–16–1 | — | 8–12 | 13–9 | 8–14 | 13–9 | 16–6 | 7–15 |
| Chicago | 10–12 | 12–8 | — | 14–8 | 11–10 | 13–9 | 14–8–1 | 12–10 |
| Cincinnati | 7–15 | 9–13 | 8–14 | — | 6–16 | 9–10 | 7–15 | 6–16–1 |
| New York | 15–7 | 14–8 | 10–11 | 16–6 | — | 15–7 | 14–8 | 9–13 |
| Philadelphia | 8–14 | 9–13 | 9–13 | 10–9 | 7–15 | — | 7–13 | 6–16 |
| Pittsburgh | 11–9 | 6–16 | 8–14–1 | 15–7 | 8–14 | 13–7 | — | 13–9 |
| St. Louis | 16–5 | 15–7 | 10–12 | 16–6–1 | 13–9 | 16–6 | 9–13 | — |

### Game log

1934 Game Log: 74–76 (Home: 45–32; Away: 29–44) :
April: 5–5 (Home: 2–3; Away: 3–2)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 17@ Cardinals1–7DeanMeine (0–1)——0–1
2April 18@ Cardinals7–6French (1–0)GrimesChagnon (1)—1–1
3April 19@ Cardinals14–4Birkofer (1–0)Hallahan——2–1
4April 21@ Reds3–8StoutSwift (0–1)Shaute—2–2
5April 22@ Reds5–4Smith (1–0)Shaute——3–2
6April 24Cardinals5–4Chagnon (1–0)Haines—15,0004–2
7April 26Cardinals1–10HallahanBirkofer (1–1)——4–3
8April 28Reds4–7FreySwift (0–2)Derringer—4–4
9April 29Reds9–5Lucas (1–0)Shaute—20,0005–4
10April 30Cubs6–8 (12)BushFrench (1–1)——5–5 :
May: 15–11 (Home: 10–2; Away: 5–9)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
11May 1Cubs4–1Birkofer (2–1)Root——6–5
12May 2Cubs4–2Meine (1–1)Warneke——7–5
13May 3Giants3–5BellSmith (1–1)——7–6
14May 4Giants4–3Lucas (2–0)Hubbell——8–6
15May 5Giants6–3Birkofer (3–1)Fitzsimmons——9–6
16May 6Dodgers8–5Meine (2–1)LeonardHoyt (1)12,00010–6
17May 7Dodgers7–6 (10)Chagnon (2–0)Leonard——11–6
18May 8Dodgers5–2Swift (1–2)Mungo——12–6
19May 9Phillies2–6DavisLucas (2–1)——12–7
20May 11Phillies6–4 (10)Hoyt (1–0)Collins——13–7
21May 12Phillies11–6Chagnon (3–0)HolleyHoyt (2)—14–7
22May 13Braves9–2Smith (2–1)Brandt—14,00015–7
23May 17@ Dodgers1–2 (10)MungoSwift (1–3)——15–8
24May 18@ Dodgers8–3Birkofer (4–1)PerkinsFrench (1)—16–8
25May 19@ Dodgers5–8HerringLucas (2–2)——16–9
26May 20@ Phillies4–16DavisSmith (2–2)Hansen—16–10
27May 21@ Phillies11–4French (2–1)Pearce——17–10
28May 22@ Phillies13–4 (7)Birkofer (5–1)Darrow——18–10
29May 23@ Braves1–6FrankhouseMeine (2–2)——18–11
30May 24@ Braves7–3Swift (2–3)Brandt——19–11
31May 27@ Giants7–3Lucas (3–2)Smith—35,00020–11
32May 28@ Giants2–3 (11)LuqueFrench (2–2)——20–12
33May 28@ Giants0–1HubbellBirkofer (5–2)——20–13
34May 30@ Cubs2–7WarnekeMeine (2–3)——20–14
35May 30@ Cubs4–5 (11)RootFrench (2–3)—40,00020–15
36May 31@ Cubs5–11BushSwift (2–4)——20–16 :
June: 14–13 (Home: 11–11; Away: 3–2)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
37June 1Cardinals4–3Hoyt (2–0)Hallahan——21–16
38June 2Cardinals4–13DeanLucas (3–3)——21–17
39June 2Cardinals6–3French (3–3)Winford——22–17
40June 3Cardinals4–2Meine (3–3)CarletonHoyt (3)—23–17
41June 6@ Reds3–1Swift (3–4)Derringer——24–17
42June 6@ Reds5–1Birkofer (6–2)Frey——25–17
43June 7@ Reds2–1Lucas (4–3)Kleinhans——26–17
44June 8@ Cardinals2–6CarletonFrench (3–4)——26–18
45June 10@ Cardinals2–3DeanFrench (3–5)——26–19
46June 12Dodgers7–9SmytheHoyt (2–1)——26–20
47June 13Dodgers15–2Swift (4–4)Herring——27–20
48June 14Dodgers2–3 (10)MungoBirkofer (6–3)——27–21
49June 15Dodgers4–6ZacharyLucas (4–4)——27–22
50June 16Giants2–5HubbellBirkofer (6–4)——27–23
51June 17Giants3–9BellMeine (3–4)Luque10,00027–24
52June 19Giants3–5SchumacherFrench (3–6)Hubbell—27–25
53June 20Braves6–5Chagnon (4–0)Smith——28–25
54June 21Braves1–4FrankhouseBirkofer (6–5)——28–26
55June 21Braves7–8MangumFrench (3–7)Smith—28–27
56June 22Braves7–6Birkofer (7–5)Mangum——29–27
57June 23Braves4–0French (4–7)Brandt——30–27
58June 24Phillies11–5Hoyt (3–1)Lohrman——31–27
59June 25Phillies7–1Swift (5–4)Grabowski——32–27
60June 26Phillies4–5CollinsBirkofer (7–6)——32–28
61June 26Phillies4–2 (6)Lucas (5–4)Holley——33–28
62June 27Phillies4–1French (5–7)Davis——34–28
63June 29Cubs8–8 (8)——34–28
64June 30Cubs4–6LeeBirkofer (7–7)——34–29 :
July: 11–19 (Home: 5–2; Away: 6–17)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
65July 1Cubs5–4Hoyt (4–1)Tinning——35–29
66July 3Reds10–0Lucas (6–4)Kleinhans——36–29
67July 4Reds5–1French (6–7)Johnson——37–29
68July 4Reds3–4DerringerSwift (5–5)——37–30
69July 6@ Cubs1–9BushHoyt (4–2)—27,00037–31
70July 7@ Cubs2–4WarnekeLucas (6–5)——37–32
71July 8@ Cubs11–4Birkofer (8–7)Lee——38–32
72July 8@ Cubs3–12WeaverSwift (5–6)—47,13838–33
73July 11@ Giants2–3SchumacherHoyt (4–3)——38–34
74July 12@ Giants3–1French (7–7)Parmelee——39–34
75July 12@ Giants1–11HubbellBirkofer (8–8)——39–35
76July 13@ Giants6–7FitzsimmonsLucas (6–6)Smith—39–36
77July 14@ Braves4–3 (12)Swift (6–6)Smith——40–36
78July 15@ Braves5–0Hoyt (5–3)Rhem——41–36
79July 15@ Braves0–4BrandtMeine (3–5)——41–37
80July 18@ Braves1–3FrankhouseFrench (7–8)——41–38
81July 18@ Braves5–7BettsHolley (0–1)Brandt—41–39
82July 19@ Dodgers2–4LeonardSwift (6–7)——41–40
83July 21@ Dodgers7–8CarrollLucas (6–7)——41–41
84July 22@ Dodgers2–3BabichFrench (7–9)——41–42
85July 22@ Dodgers10–13BengeHolley (0–2)Leonard15,00041–43
86July 23@ Phillies2–3MooreSwift (6–8)——41–44
87July 24@ Phillies0–9JohnsonLucas (6–8)——41–45
88July 26@ Phillies3–0French (8–9)Collins——42–45
89July 26@ Phillies3–5DavisSmith (2–3)——42–46
90July 27Cardinals4–0Swift (7–8)Haines——43–46
91July 28Cardinals5–4Hoyt (6–3)Dean——44–46
92July 29Cardinals5–9CarletonSwift (7–9)Dean—44–47
93July 31@ Reds4–6KleinhansFrench (8–10)——44–48
94July 31@ Reds7–5 (11)Hoyt (7–3)Freitas—5,50045–48 :
August: 14–16 (Home: 11–13; Away: 3–3)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
95August 1@ Reds6–7DerringerChagnon (4–1)Johnson—45–49
96August 2@ Reds13–3Lucas (7–8)Frey——46–49
97August 3@ Cardinals3–9DeanHoyt (7–4)——46–50
98August 4@ Cardinals4–6CarletonFrench (8–11)Dean—46–51
99August 5@ Cardinals6–4French (9–11)Dean——47–51
100August 5@ Cardinals7–2Hoyt (8–4)Hallahan——48–51
101August 7Cubs4–1Meine (4–5)Lee——49–51
102August 8Cubs4–7MaloneHolley (0–3)Warneke—49–52
103August 8Cubs3–14BushSwift (7–10)——49–53
104August 10Reds8–7Meine (5–5)Derringer——50–53
105August 11Reds3–4JohnsonFrench (9–12)Freitas—50–54
106August 11Reds8–3Lucas (8–8)Kleinhans——51–54
107August 12Reds9–6Hoyt (9–4)Derringer——52–54
108August 14Giants3–2Hoyt (10–4)Hubbell——53–54
109August 15Giants4–5FitzsimmonsFrench (9–13)Smith—53–55
110August 15Giants4–3Hoyt (11–4)Bell—18,00054–55
111August 17Giants3–7ParmeleeLucas (8–9)Smith—54–56
112August 17Giants3–8HubbellMeine (5–6)——54–57
113August 18Dodgers2–6ClarkGrimes (0–1)——54–58
114August 19Dodgers1–2BengeHoyt (11–5)—3,00054–59
115August 20Dodgers6–2Swift (8–10)Babich——55–59
116August 21Dodgers5–9MungoFrench (9–14)Zachary—55–60
117August 23Phillies6–5Meine (6–6)Davis——56–60
118August 25Phillies4–1Hoyt (12–5)Hansen——57–60
119August 25Phillies8–12MooreSwift (8–11)Collins—57–61
120August 26Braves5–8MangumSmith (2–4)Cantwell—57–62
121August 27Braves8–5Birkofer (9–8)SmithHoyt (4)—58–62
122August 28Braves3–5BrandtGrimes (0–2)——58–63
123August 29Braves0–11BettsFrench (9–15)——58–64
124August 29Braves7–0Hoyt (13–5)Mangum——59–64 :
September: 15–12 (Home: 6–1; Away: 9–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
125September 2@ Reds1–2DerringerBirkofer (9–9)——59–65
126September 2@ Reds11–4Swift (9–11)Freitas—10,14760–65
127September 3Cardinals12–2French (10–15)Dean——61–65
128September 3Cardinals6–5Meine (7–6)Dean——62–65
129September 5@ Braves8–2Swift (10–11)Cantwell——63–65
130September 6@ Braves4–1Birkofer (10–9)Brandt——64–65
131September 9@ Giants1–0French (11–15)Fitzsimmons—20,00065–65
132September 10@ Giants9–7Grimes (1–2)SchumacherBirkofer (1)—66–65
133September 11@ Giants1–3ParmeleeSwift (10–12)——66–66
134September 12@ Giants2–3HubbellBirkofer (10–10)——66–67
135September 15@ Phillies6–1French (12–15)Davis——67–67
136September 15@ Phillies4–1Hoyt (14–5)Hansen——68–67
137September 18@ Dodgers4–9LeonardSwift (10–13)——68–68
138September 19@ Dodgers1–4MungoBirkofer (10–11)——68–69
139September 19@ Dodgers4–8BabichFrench (12–16)——68–70
140September 20@ Dodgers1–2MunnsHoyt (14–6)——68–71
141September 21Reds9–3Lucas (9–9)Richmond——69–71
142September 21Reds16–3Swift (11–13)Johnson——70–71
143September 22Cubs2–1Birkofer (11–11)Lee——71–71
144September 22Cubs11–7Smith (3–4)TinningHoyt (5)—72–71
145September 23Cubs2–3WeaverBlanton (0–1)——72–72
146September 25@ Cardinals2–3DeanFrench (12–17)——72–73
147September 26@ Cardinals3–0Hoyt (15–6)Dean——73–73
148September 27@ Cubs2–4LeeBirkofer (11–12)——73–74
149September 29@ Cubs6–3Lucas (10–9)Weaver——74–74
150September 30@ Cubs2–8WarnekeFrench (12–18)——74–75
151September 30@ Cubs5–7BushStruss (0–1)—10,00074–76 :
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 | Earl Grace | 95 | 289 | 78 | .270 | 4 | 24 |
| 1B | Gus Suhr | 151 | 573 | 162 | .283 | 13 | 103 |
| 2B | Cookie Lavagetto | 87 | 304 | 67 | .220 | 3 | 46 |
| 3B | Pie Traynor | 119 | 444 | 137 | .309 | 1 | 61 |
| SS | Arky Vaughan | 149 | 558 | 186 | .333 | 12 | 94 |
| OF | Paul Waner | 146 | 599 | 217 | .362 | 14 | 90 |
| OF | Lloyd Waner | 140 | 611 | 173 | .283 | 1 | 48 |
| OF | Freddie Lindstrom | 97 | 383 | 111 | .290 | 4 | 49 |

#### 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 |
| Tommy Thevenow | 122 | 446 | 121 | .271 | 0 | 54 |
| Woody Jensen | 88 | 283 | 82 | .290 | 0 | 27 |
| Tom Padden | 82 | 237 | 76 | .321 | 0 | 22 |
| Wally Roettger | 47 | 106 | 26 | .245 | 0 | 11 |
| Pat Veltman | 12 | 28 | 3 | .107 | 0 | 2 |
| Pep Young | 19 | 17 | 4 | .235 | 0 | 2 |
| Bill Brubaker | 3 | 6 | 2 | .333 | 0 | 1 |
| Hal Finney | 5 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 |

### 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 |
| Larry French | 49 | 263.2 | 12 | 18 | 3.58 | 103 |
| Bill Swift | 37 | 212.2 | 11 | 13 | 3.98 | 81 |
| Red Lucas | 29 | 172.2 | 10 | 9 | 4.38 | 44 |
| Cy Blanton | 1 | 8.0 | 0 | 1 | 3.38 | 5 |
| Steamboat Struss | 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 |
| Ralph Birkofer | 41 | 204.0 | 11 | 12 | 4.10 | 71 |
| Waite Hoyt | 48 | 190.2 | 15 | 6 | 2.93 | 105 |
| Heinie Meine | 26 | 106.1 | 7 | 6 | 4.32 | 22 |
| Hal Smith | 20 | 50.0 | 3 | 4 | 7.20 | 15 |
| Burleigh Grimes | 8 | 27.1 | 1 | 2 | 7.24 | 9 |
| Ed Holley | 5 | 9.1 | 0 | 3 | 15.43 | 2 |

#### 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 |
| Leon Chagnon | 33 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4.81 | 19 |
| Bill Harris | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.63 | 8 |
| Lloyd Johnson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| A | Little Rock Travelers | Southern Association | Doc Prothro |
| C | Springfield Pirates | Middle Atlantic League | Al DeVormer and Rube Bressler |
| D | McKeesport Tubers | Pennsylvania State Association | Leo Mackey |