# 1927 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1927 Pittsburgh Pirates season was a season in American baseball. That year, the Pirates won the National League pennant, which was their second in three years and their last until 1960. The team included five future Hall of Famers: Paul Waner, Lloyd Waner, Pie Traynor, Kiki Cuyler, and 20-year-old rookie Joe Cronin (who played just 12 games).
In the World Series, however, Pittsburgh was no match for the New York Yankees. They were swept in four games.

## Regular season

Paul Waner had one of his best seasons en route to being voted NL MVP. His .380 batting average and 131 RBI paced the entire circuit. Younger brother Lloyd and Traynor finished third and fifth in the batting race, respectively. Pitcher Ray Kremer won the ERA title with a 2.47 ERA on his way to a 19–8 record.

### Season standings

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 94 | 60 | .610 | — | 48‍–‍31 | 46‍–‍29 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 92 | 61 | .601 | 1½ | 55‍–‍25 | 37‍–‍36 |
| New York Giants | 92 | 62 | .597 | 2 | 49‍–‍25 | 43‍–‍37 |
| Chicago Cubs | 85 | 68 | .556 | 8½ | 50‍–‍28 | 35‍–‍40 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 75 | 78 | .490 | 18½ | 45‍–‍35 | 30‍–‍43 |
| Brooklyn Robins | 65 | 88 | .425 | 28½ | 34‍–‍39 | 31‍–‍49 |
| Boston Braves | 60 | 94 | .390 | 34 | 32‍–‍41 | 28‍–‍53 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 51 | 103 | .331 | 43 | 34‍–‍43 | 17‍–‍60 |

### Record vs. opponents

1927 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BOS | BR | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL |
| Boston | — | 12–10 | 7–15 | 4–18 | 7–15 | 14–8 | 9–13–1 | 7–15 |
| Brooklyn | 10–12 | — | 7–15 | 11–10 | 10–12–1 | 11–11 | 8–14 | 8–14 |
| Chicago | 15–7 | 15–7 | — | 14–8 | 10–12 | 13–9 | 9–13 | 9–12 |
| Cincinnati | 18–4 | 10–11 | 8–14 | — | 7–15 | 16–6 | 8–14 | 8–14 |
| New York | 15–7 | 12–10–1 | 12–10 | 15–7 | — | 15–7 | 11–11 | 12–10 |
| Philadelphia | 8–14 | 11–11 | 9–13 | 6–16 | 7–15 | — | 7–15–1 | 3–19 |
| Pittsburgh | 13–9–1 | 14–8 | 13–9 | 14–8 | 11–11 | 15–7–1 | — | 14–8 |
| St. Louis | 15–7 | 14–8 | 12–9 | 14–8 | 10–12 | 19–3 | 8–14 | — |

### Game log

1927 Game Log: 94–60 (Home: 48–31; Away: 46–29) :
April: 8–6 (Home: 2–3; Away: 6–3)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 12@ Reds2–1Kremer (1–0)Donohue—37,7581–0
2April 14@ Reds6–2Meadows (1–0)Mays—4,0002–0
3April 15@ Reds10–6Mahaffey (1–0)RixeyMorrison (1)—3–0
4April 16@ Cubs2–5BushHill (0–1)—13,0003–1
5April 17@ Cubs8–3Kremer (2–0)RootMorrison (2)45,0004–1
6April 18@ Cubs9–1Meadows (2–0)Kaufmann——5–1
7April 21Reds3–2Kremer (3–0)Rixey—33,4396–1
8April 22Reds3–1Meadows (3–0)Luque—4,0007–1
9April 23Reds4–6DonohueHill (0–2)—15,0007–2
10April 24@ Cardinals1–2AlexanderAldridge (0–1)——7–3
11April 25@ Cardinals0–1HainesKremer (3–1)——7–4
12April 26@ Cardinals9–5Meadows (4–0)Sherdel——8–4
13April 28Cubs4–16RootBush (0–1)——8–5
14April 30Cubs4–5RoyMorrison (0–1)——8–6 :
May: 18–6 (Home: 6–3; Away: 12–3)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
15May 1@ Cubs7–6Kremer (4–1)RootMorrison (3)37,0009–6
16May 3Cardinals11–10Kremer (5–1)Bell—3,00010–6
17May 4Cardinals3–8HainesCvengros (0–1)—5,50010–7
18May 5Cardinals2–4AlexanderAldridge (0–2)—5,00010–8
19May 7@ Phillies5–6PruettKremer (5–2)—18,00010–9
20May 11@ Braves4–4 (8)——10–9
21May 12@ Braves8–7Morrison (1–1)Mogridge——11–9
22May 14@ Robins6–1Kremer (6–2)Elliott——12–9
23May 15@ Robins9–6Morrison (2–1)Ehrhardt—22,00013–9
24May 16@ Robins5–9PettyYde (0–1)——13–10
25May 17@ Robins1–2VanceHill (0–3)——13–11
26May 18@ Giants13–6Aldridge (1–2)Henry——14–11
27May 20@ Giants8–3 (12)Meadows (5–0)Greenfield—15,00015–11
28May 21@ Giants6–3Hill (1–3)McQuillan—25,00016–11
29May 22@ Giants9–4Aldridge (2–2)Grimes—40,00017–11
30May 23@ Reds8–5Morrison (3–1)May——18–11
31May 24@ Reds11–1Meadows (6–0)Donohue—2,50019–11
32May 25@ Reds2–0Hill (2–3)Mays——20–11
33May 26Cardinals2–1Aldridge (3–2)Haines—5,00021–11
34May 27Cardinals8–7 (10)Bush (1–1)McGraw—6,00022–11
35May 28Cardinals6–4Meadows (7–0)Ring—18,00023–11
36May 29@ Cubs8–5Hill (3–3)Osborn—30,00024–11
37May 30Cubs6–7 (10)KaufmannNichols (0–1)—25,00024–12
38May 30Cubs6–5 (10)Aldridge (4–2)Blake—40,00025–12
39May 31Cubs10–9Hill (4–3)Osborn——26–12 :
June: 13–12 (Home: 10–8; Away: 3–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
40June 1Phillies4–7PruettMeadows (7–1)Carlson—26–13
41June 2Phillies7–3Hill (5–3)Ferguson——27–13
42June 3Phillies11–1Aldridge (5–2)Ulrich——28–13
43June 6Phillies7–5Hill (6–3)Scott——29–13
44June 7Giants9–6Meadows (8–1)Grimes—15,00030–13
45June 8Giants7–8GreenfieldAldridge (5–3)Clarkson15,00030–14
46June 9Giants1–12FitzsimmonsBush (1–2)——30–15
47June 10Giants13–4Hill (7–3)Clarkson——31–15
48June 11Robins10–11PettyNichols (0–2)Vance—31–16
49June 12@ Robins10–11PlittNichols (0–3)—20,00031–17
50June 13Robins4–3Kremer (7–2)BarnesHill (1)—32–17
51June 15Braves7–4Hill (8–3)Robertson——33–17
52June 16Braves6–0Meadows (9–1)Greenfield—5,00034–17
53June 17Braves7–8MogridgeDawson (0–1)Smith—34–18
54June 18Braves7–4Kremer (8–2)Smith——35–18
55June 19@ Cubs7–14RootHill (8–4)——35–19
56June 20@ Cubs4–0Meadows (10–1)Carlson—25,00036–19
57June 21Reds6–7 (10)MaysMorrison (3–2)——36–20
58June 22Reds11–9Hill (9–4)LucasAldridge (1)—37–20
59June 24Cubs2–4RootMeadows (10–2)——37–21
60June 25Cubs4–6CarlsonAldridge (5–4)—30,00037–22
61June 26@ Cardinals9–3Hill (10–4)Haines——38–22
62June 27@ Cardinals5–7RhemDawson (0–2)—3,50038–23
63June 28@ Cardinals9–8Cvengros (1–1)KeenHill (2)9,00039–23
64June 29@ Cardinals9–10HainesKremer (8–3)Reinhart5,00039–24 :
July: 18–14 (Home: 9–4; Away: 9–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
65July 1Reds5–1Hill (11–4)Luque——40–24
66July 2Reds7–6Cvengros (2–1)Nehf—8,00041–24
67July 3@ Reds4–5LucasDawson (0–3)——41–25
68July 4Cardinals7–2Meadows (11–2)Alexander——42–25
69July 4Cardinals6–4Hill (12–4)Ring——43–25
70July 5Cardinals14–2Aldridge (6–4)Reinhart——44–25
71July 7Cubs1–2 (8)CarlsonDawson (0–4)——44–26
72July 8Cubs0–1RootMeadows (11–3)——44–27
73July 9Cubs4–0Aldridge (7–4)Brillheart—23,00045–27
74July 12@ Robins2–1Hill (13–4)Vance——46–27
75July 13@ Robins1–2 (11)ClarkMeadows (11–4)—6,00046–28
76July 14@ Robins6–5Aldridge (8–4)Barnes——47–28
77July 15@ Robins5–2Dawson (1–4)Elliott—5,00048–28
78July 16@ Phillies10–11DecaturYde (0–2)——48–29
79July 16@ Phillies9–11ScottKremer (8–4)——48–30
80July 18@ Phillies9–7Yde (1–2)Kaufmann——49–30
81July 18@ Phillies6–5Meadows (12–4)FergusonHill (3)—50–30
82July 20@ Phillies3–4MitchellDawson (1–5)——50–31
83July 20@ Phillies6–5Hill (14–4)Sweetland——51–31
84July 21@ Braves1–2GreenfieldKremer (8–5)——51–32
85July 21@ Braves2–5SmithMiljus (0–1)——51–33
86July 22@ Braves5–2Meadows (13–4)Edwards——52–33
87July 23@ Braves2–6GreenfieldYde (1–3)——52–34
88July 23@ Braves4–3 (6)Aldridge (9–4)Wertz——53–34
89July 24@ Giants11–6Hill (15–4)Barnes——54–34
90July 24@ Giants3–9GrimesDawson (1–6)—50,00054–35
91July 25@ Giants0–1BentonKremer (8–6)——54–36
92July 26Robins6–5Meadows (14–4)Elliott——55–36
93July 27Robins2–1Aldridge (10–4)Vance——56–36
94July 28Robins5–7DoakHill (15–5)Clark—56–37
95July 29Robins4–3Dawson (2–6)Plitt——57–37
96July 30Braves2–3 (10)GenewichMeadows (14–5)——57–38 :
August: 14–12 (Home: 4–5; Away: 10–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
97August 1Braves1–4 (11)GenewichAldridge (10–5)——57–39
98August 2Braves2–5GreenfieldHill (15–6)——57–40
99August 3Phillies9–6Dawson (3–6)Mitchell—6,50058–40
100August 4Phillies8–5Miljus (1–1)Pruett——59–40
101August 4Phillies7–3Kremer (9–6)Ulrich——60–40
102August 5Phillies7–9FergusonAldridge (10–6)Ulrich3,50060–41
103August 6Giants2–9FitzsimmonsHill (15–7)——60–42
104August 9Giants7–6Hill (16–7)Fitzsimmons——61–42
105August 10Giants3–8BentonDawson (3–7)Henry10,00061–43
106August 11@ Cardinals1–2AlexanderAldridge (10–7)——61–44
107August 12@ Cardinals1–2 (11)HainesHill (16–8)—23,94561–45
108August 13@ Cardinals6–2Meadows (15–5)Rhem——62–45
109August 14@ Cardinals5–1Kremer (10–6)Sherdel—20,00063–45
110August 16@ Giants4–8HenryAldridge (10–8)—25,00063–46
111August 17@ Giants4–1Hill (17–8)Fitzsimmons——64–46
112August 19@ Giants9–3Meadows (16–5)Benton——65–46
113August 19@ Giants2–5GrimesKremer (10–7)—30,00065–47
114August 20@ Robins10–7Miljus (2–1)Clark—7,00066–47
115August 21@ Robins2–1Hill (18–8)Doak—20,00067–47
116August 25@ Braves1–5GreenfieldMeadows (16–6)——67–48
117August 25@ Braves8–1Kremer (11–7)Smith——68–48
118August 26@ Braves4–6RobertsonMiljus (2–2)——68–49
119August 29@ Phillies2–2 (6)——68–49
120August 30@ Phillies2–3 (10)PruettKremer (11–8)——68–50
121August 30@ Phillies12–6Miljus (3–2)Decatur——69–50
122August 31@ Phillies3–2 (13)Hill (19–8)Ulrich——70–50
123August 31@ Phillies7–2Miljus (4–2)ScottCvengros (1)—71–50 :
September: 22–9 (Home: 17–8; Away: 5–1)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
124September 1Cubs4–3Meadows (17–6)Carlson—18,00072–50
125September 2Cardinals5–3Kremer (12–8)Alexander——73–50
126September 3Cardinals14–0Hill (20–8)Haines——74–50
127September 4@ Reds8–4Aldridge (11–8)Luque——75–50
128September 5Reds6–8RixeyMiljus (4–3)——75–51
129September 5Reds3–4DonohueMeadows (17–7)——75–52
130September 6Reds5–0Kremer (13–8)May——76–52
131September 7Reds5–6LucasHill (20–9)——76–53
132September 9Phillies3–2Aldridge (12–8)Pruett——77–53
133September 10Phillies4–0Kremer (14–8)Ulrich——78–53
134September 12Phillies3–2Hill (21–9)Scott——79–53
135September 13Braves6–1Meadows (18–7)Greenfield——80–53
136September 13Braves5–4Aldridge (13–8)GenewichKremer (1)30,00081–53
137September 14Braves6–2Kremer (15–8)Greenfield——82–53
138September 14Braves3–0Miljus (5–3)Robertson——83–53
139September 15Braves2–1Hill (22–9)Smith——84–53
140September 16Braves4–3Meadows (19–7)Wertz——85–53
141September 17Robins2–1Aldridge (14–8)Petty——86–53
142September 17Robins6–0Kremer (16–8)Elliott—27,00087–53
143September 19Robins0–3VanceHill (22–10)——87–54
144September 20Robins0–3DoakMeadows (19–8)——87–55
145September 21Robins4–2Miljus (6–3)McWeeny—6,00088–55
146September 22Giants5–2Kremer (17–8)Benton——89–55
147September 22Giants1–7FitzsimmonsAldridge (14–9)—40,00089–56
148September 23Giants5–6PlittHill (22–11)Benton18,00089–57
149September 24Giants1–3FitzsimmonsMeadows (19–9)—40,00089–58
150September 25@ Cubs2–1Aldridge (15–9)Bush——90–58
151September 25@ Cubs6–1Kremer (18–8)Root——91–58
152September 26@ Cubs1–0 (6)Miljus (7–3)Nehf—5,00092–58
153September 27@ Cubs2–1Kremer (19–8)Carlson—3,00093–58
154September 30@ Reds1–2LucasAldridge (15–10)—2,01193–59 :
October: 1–1 (Home: 0–0; Away: 1–1)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
155October 1@ Reds9–6Miljus (8–3)Donohue——94–59
156October 2@ Reds0–1AppletonMeadows (19–10)——94–60 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie Bold = Pirates team member :

### Detailed records

National League :
| Opponent | W | L | WP | RS | RA |
| Boston Braves | 13 | 9 | 0.591 | 97 | 80 |
| Brooklyn Robins | 14 | 8 | 0.636 | 100 | 86 |
| Chicago Cubs | 13 | 9 | 0.591 | 101 | 95 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 14 | 8 | 0.636 | 119 | 83 |
| New York Giants | 11 | 11 | 0.500 | 123 | 120 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 15 | 7 | 0.682 | 144 | 107 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | | | | | |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 14 | 8 | 0.636 | 133 | 88 |
| Total | 94 | 60 | 0.610 | 817 | 659 |
| Season Total | 94 | 60 | 0.610 | 817 | 659 |
| Month | Games | Won | Lost | Win % | RS | RA |
| April | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0.571 | 65 | 56 |
| May | 24 | 18 | 6 | 0.750 | 164 | 123 |
| June | 25 | 13 | 12 | 0.520 | 176 | 155 |
| July | 32 | 18 | 14 | 0.563 | 152 | 129 |
| August | 26 | 14 | 12 | 0.538 | 129 | 114 |
| September | 31 | 22 | 9 | 0.710 | 122 | 75 |
| October | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.500 | 9 | 7 |
| Total | 154 | 94 | 60 | 0.610 | 817 | 659 |
| | Games | Won | Lost | Win % | RS | RA |
| Home | 79 | 48 | 31 | 0.608 | 406 | 345 |
| Away | 75 | 46 | 29 | 0.613 | 405 | 308 |
| Total | 154 | 94 | 60 | 0.610 | 817 | 659 |

### Notable transactions

* May 9, 1927: Don Songer was purchased from the Pirates by the New York Giants.

### 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 | Johnny Gooch | 101 | 291 | 75 | .258 | 2 | 48 |
| 1B | Joe Harris | 129 | 411 | 134 | .326 | 5 | 73 |
| 2B | George Grantham | 151 | 531 | 162 | .305 | 8 | 66 |
| SS | Glenn Wright | 143 | 570 | 160 | .281 | 9 | 105 |
| 3B | Pie Traynor | 149 | 573 | 196 | .342 | 5 | 106 |
| OF | Lloyd Waner | 150 | 629 | 223 | .355 | 2 | 27 |
| OF | Paul Waner | 155 | 623 | 237 | .380 | 9 | 131 |
| OF | Clyde Barnhart | 108 | 360 | 115 | .319 | 3 | 54 |

#### 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 |
| Kiki Cuyler | 85 | 285 | 88 | .309 | 3 | 31 |
| Earl Smith | 66 | 189 | 51 | .270 | 5 | 25 |
| Hal Rhyne | 62 | 168 | 46 | .274 | 0 | 17 |
| Roy Spencer | 38 | 92 | 26 | .283 | 0 | 13 |
| Adam Comorosky | 18 | 61 | 14 | .230 | 0 | 4 |
| Heinie Groh | 14 | 35 | 10 | .286 | 0 | 3 |
| Joe Cronin | 12 | 22 | 5 | .227 | 0 | 3 |
| Fred Brickell | 32 | 21 | 6 | .286 | 1 | 4 |
| Ed Sicking | 6 | 7 | 1 | .143 | 0 | 3 |
| Herman Layne | 11 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Dick Bartell | 1 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 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 |
| Lee Meadows | 40 | 299.1 | 19 | 10 | 3.40 | 84 |
| Carmen Hill | 43 | 277.2 | 22 | 11 | 3.24 | 95 |
| Vic Aldridge | 35 | 239.1 | 15 | 10 | 4.25 | 86 |
| Ray Kremer | 35 | 226.0 | 19 | 8 | 2.47 | 63 |

#### 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 |
| Joe Dawson | 20 | 80.2 | 3 | 7 | 4.46 | 17 |
| Johnny Miljus | 19 | 75.2 | 8 | 3 | 1.90 | 24 |
| Mike Cvengros | 23 | 53.1 | 2 | 1 | 3.35 | 21 |
| Emil Yde | 9 | 27.2 | 1 | 3 | 9.71 | 9 |
| Roy Mahaffey | 2 | 9.1 | 1 | 0 | 7.71 | 4 |
| Joe Bush | 5 | 6.2 | 1 | 2 | 13.50 | 1 |

#### 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 |
| Johnny Morrison | 23 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4.19 | 21 |
| Chet Nichols | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5.86 | 9 |
| Don Songer | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.57 | 1 |
| Red Peery | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |

## Awards and honors
### League top five finishers

Carmen Hill
* #3 in NL in wins (22)
Ray Kremer
* NL leader in ERA (2.47)
Lee Meadows
* NL leader in complete games (25)
Pie Traynor
* #5 in NL in batting average (.342)
Lloyd Waner
* NL leader in runs scored (133)
* #3 in NL in batting average (.355)
Paul Waner
* NL leader in batting average (.380)
* NL leader in RBI (131)
* NL leader in triples (18)
* #2 in NL in on-base percentage (.437)
* #2 in NL in doubles (42)
* #4 in NL in runs scored (114)
* #4 in NL in slugging percentage (.549)

## 1927 World Series
### Game 1

October 5, 1927, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York (A) | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 1 |
| Pittsburgh (N) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 2 |
| W: Waite Hoyt (1–0) L: Ray Kremer (0–1), S: Wilcy Moore (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 2

October 6, 1927, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| New York (A) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 0 |
| Pittsburgh (N) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| W: George Pipgras (1–0) L: Vic Aldridge (0–1) |||||||||||||

### Game 3

October 7, 1927, at Yankee Stadium in New York City
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Pittsburgh (N) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| New York (A) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | x | 8 | 9 | 0 |
| W: Herb Pennock (1–0) L: Lee Meadows (0–1) |||||||||||||
| HR: NYY – Babe Ruth (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 4

October 8, 1927, at Yankee Stadium in New York City
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Pittsburgh (N) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 1 |
| New York (A) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 2 |
| W: Wilcy Moore (1–0) L: John Miljus (0–1) |||||||||||||
| HR: NYY – Babe Ruth (2) |||||||||||||