# 1958 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1958 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 77th season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 72nd in the National League. The Pirates finished second in the league standings with a record of 84–70, a 22-game improvement over 1957. They ended the year in the first division for the first time since 1948 and recorded their highest league standing since the 1944 edition also finished in second place. Manager Danny Murtaugh, in his first full season at the Pirates' helm, was voted Major League Manager of the Year by The Sporting News.

## Offseason

* December 2, 1957: Ellis Burton was drafted from the Pirates by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1957 minor league draft.
* December 28, 1957: Dee Fondy was traded by the Pirates to the Cincinnati Redlegs for Ted Kluszewski.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Milwaukee Braves | 92 | 62 | .597 | — | 48‍–‍29 | 44‍–‍33 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 84 | 70 | .545 | 8 | 49‍–‍28 | 35‍–‍42 |
| San Francisco Giants | 80 | 74 | .519 | 12 | 44‍–‍33 | 36‍–‍41 |
| Cincinnati Redlegs | 76 | 78 | .494 | 16 | 40‍–‍37 | 36‍–‍41 |
| Chicago Cubs | 72 | 82 | .468 | 20 | 35‍–‍42 | 37‍–‍40 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 72 | 82 | .468 | 20 | 39‍–‍38 | 33‍–‍44 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 71 | 83 | .461 | 21 | 39‍–‍38 | 32‍–‍45 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 69 | 85 | .448 | 23 | 35‍–‍42 | 34‍–‍43 |

### Record vs. opponents

1958 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | CHC | CIN | LAD | MIL | PHI | PIT | SFG | STL |
| Chicago | — | 10–12 | 11–11 | 10–12 | 13–9 | 9–13 | 12–10 | 7–15 |
| Cincinnati | 12–10 | — | 11–11 | 5–17 | 15–7 | 10–12 | 11–11 | 12–10 |
| Los Angeles | 11–11 | 11–11 | — | 14–8 | 10–12 | 8–14 | 6–16 | 11–11 |
| Milwaukee | 12–10 | 17–5 | 8–14 | — | 13–9 | 11–11 | 16–6 | 15–7 |
| Philadelphia | 9–13 | 7–15 | 12–10 | 9–13 | — | 12–10 | 8–14 | 12–10 |
| Pittsburgh | 13–9 | 12–10 | 14–8 | 11–11 | 10–12 | — | 12–10 | 12–10 |
| San Francisco | 10–12 | 11–11 | 16–6 | 6–16 | 14–8 | 10–12 | — | 13–9 |
| St. Louis | 15–7 | 10–12 | 11–11 | 7–15 | 10–12 | 10–12 | 9–13 | — |

### Game log

1958 Game Log: 84–70 (Home: 49–28; Away: 35–42) :
April: 7–5 (Home: 1–3; Away: 6–2)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 15@ Braves4–3 (14)Blackburn (1–0)ConleyRaydon (1)43,3391–0
2April 17@ Braves1–6BurdetteLaw (0–1)—12,8541–1
3April 18Redlegs1–4PurkeyKline (0–1)Jeffcoat34,0321–2
4April 19Redlegs6–9HaddixSmith (0–1)Jeffcoat12,1711–3
5April 20Redlegs4–3Friend (1–0)Schmidt—15,1422–3
6April 22Braves2–5BuhlKline (0–2)—6,9912–4
7April 23@ Phillies1–8SanfordBlackburn (1–1)—7,6682–5
8April 24@ Phillies7–4Friend (2–0)SimmonsFace (1)7,4563–5
9April 25@ Redlegs4–3Law (1–1)HaddixFace (2)7,7444–5
10April 26@ Redlegs8–4Gross (1–0)Rabe—3,2915–5
11April 29@ Dodgers7–1Friend (3–0)Erskine—19,7786–5
12April 30@ Dodgers3–1Kline (1–2)Drysdale—13,8907–5 :
May: 15–15 (Home: 11–7; Away: 4–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
13May 1@ Dodgers8–3Law (2–1)NewcombeBlackburn (1)16,5038–5
14May 2@ Dodgers5–9PodresPerez (0–1)Labine22,9408–6
15May 3@ Dodgers3–1Friend (4–0)KippFace (3)16,2889–6
16May 4@ Giants6–2Kline (2–2)AntonelliFace (4)10–6
17May 4@ Giants3–4 (10)WorthingtonFace (0–1)—22,72110–7
18May 5@ Giants11–10Law (3–1)GomezGross (1)5,50611–7
19May 6@ Giants0–7McCormickDaniels (0–1)—10,84911–8
20May 7@ Giants6–8WorthingtonFriend (4–1)Grissom8,05211–9
21May 9Phillies1–0 (12)Kline (3–2)Roberts—21,30412–9
22May 10Phillies14–4Law (4–1)Semproch—11,80713–9
23May 11Phillies10–4Friend (5–1)Sanford—14–9
24May 11Phillies1–0 (11)Porterfield (1–0)Simmons—20,54415–9
25May 13Redlegs6–3Kline (4–2)LawrenceGross (2)24,12316–9
26May 14Redlegs5–4Law (5–1)Rabe—24,10217–9
27May 15Redlegs4–9KlippsteinFriend (5–2)Jeffcoat12,02217–10
28May 16@ Phillies2–6SimmonsPorterfield (1–1)—12,40117–11
29May 17@ Phillies3–4RobertsDaniels (0–2)—6,26217–12
30May 18@ Phillies4–6SanfordKline (4–3)Farrell17–13
31May 18@ Phillies2–6SemprochLaw (5–2)—19,06817–14
32May 20Cubs12–3Friend (6–2)Drott—15,84818–14
33May 21Cubs1–5PhillipsPorterfield (1–2)—5,39318–15
34May 23Cardinals3–2Kline (5–3)MizellGross (3)29,36919–15
35May 24Cardinals6–1Friend (7–2)Jackson—13,33020–15
36May 25Giants2–5GomezLaw (5–3)—20–16
37May 25Giants1–6MonzantRaydon (0–1)—35,79720–17
38May 27Dodgers5–3Kline (6–3)DrysdaleBlackburn (2)15,70521–17
39May 28Dodgers1–7KoufaxFriend (7–3)—14,32021–18
40May 30Braves4–7McMahonFace (0–2)Trowbridge21–19
41May 30Braves12–6Gross (2–0)Robinson—32,42822–19
42May 31Braves3–8SpahnKline (6–4)—17,59622–20 :
June: 12–17 (Home: 7–9; Away: 5–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
43June 1Braves5–1 (8)Friend (8–3)Conley—17,48523–20
44June 2@ Redlegs2–8NuxhallSmith (0–2)—2,82723–21
45June 3@ Cardinals4–8JacksonRaydon (0–2)—11,46523–22
46June 4@ Cardinals3–6BrosnanKline (6–5)Muffett12,26423–23
47June 5@ Cardinals3–4MizellFriend (8–4)—7,57023–24
48June 6@ Cubs1–6DrottLaw (5–4)—4,56723–25
49June 7@ Cubs8–6 (10)Face (1–2)NicholsSmith (1)14,48724–25
50June 8@ Cubs0–4DrabowskyKline (6–6)—15,67024–26
51June 10@ Giants5–4Friend (9–4)Monzant—16,62125–26
52June 11@ Giants14–6Law (6–4)GomezFace (5)7,91226–26
53June 12@ Giants2–1Raydon (1–2)Giel—9,27327–26
54June 13@ Dodgers4–5LabineKline (6–7)—27,74827–27
55June 14@ Dodgers2–4PodresFriend (9–5)—35,34527–28
56June 15@ Dodgers12–1Law (7–4)Newcombe—30,75228–28
57June 17Giants6–1Raydon (2–2)AntonelliFace (6)27,76329–28
58June 18Giants1–2 (10)GielFriend (9–6)Grissom21,51229–29
59June 19Giants6–5Kline (7–7)WorthingtonGross (4)8,47430–29
60June 20Dodgers2–1Witt (1–0)Koufax—21,61431–29
61June 21Dodgers11–7Face (2–2)Roebuck—6,63332–29
62June 22Dodgers1–4KippFriend (9–7)Klippstein32–30
63June 22Dodgers2–3 (10)KoufaxPorterfield (1–3)—30,10932–31
64June 23Cardinals5–7BrosnanGross (2–1)Jackson13,52932–32
65June 24Cardinals1–2PaineKline (7–8)—15,89932–33
66June 25Cardinals1–3MizellWitt (1–1)—15,37532–34
67June 26Cardinals2–6McDanielLaw (7–5)Jackson5,04832–35
68June 27Cubs1–3DrabowskyFriend (9–8)Henry17,02632–36
69June 28Cubs7–3Raydon (3–2)DrottPorterfield (1)8,41333–36
70June 29Cubs4–3Face (3–2)Phillips—34–36
71June 29Cubs3–8BriggsGross (2–2)Henry28,96834–37 :
July: 15–12 (Home: 8–3; Away: 7–9)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
72July 1Phillies2–4SemprochFriend (9–9)—17,99034–38
73July 3@ Redlegs2–0Witt (2–1)NuxhallFace (7)11,70735–38
74July 4@ Redlegs3–4KellnerKline (7–9)—35–39
75July 4@ Redlegs3–8PurkeyLaw (7–6)—15,99935–40
76July 5@ Braves4–2Friend (10–9)BurdetteFace (8)23,83336–40
77July 6@ Braves0–2JayRaydon (3–3)—26,28836–41
78July 10@ Cubs7–8PhillipsLaw (7–7)Henry35,00036–42
79July 11@ Cubs7–2Kline (8–9)Drabowsky—8,07037–42
80July 12@ Cardinals0–2MizellFriend (10–10)—12,95637–43
81July 13@ Cardinals10–8Blackburn (2–1)JacksonLaw (1)27,84438–43
82July 13@ Cardinals8–6Law (8–7)Stobbs—27,84439–43
83July 15@ Dodgers6–2Kline (9–9)DrysdaleGross (5)20,82740–43
84July 16@ Dodgers7–4Friend (11–10)KippFace (9)19,70641–43
85July 17@ Dodgers3–5WilliamsWitt (2–2)Labine18,67741–44
86July 18@ Giants4–5MillerLaw (8–8)Grissom22,77041–45
87July 19@ Giants4–5MonzantPorterfield (1–4)Antonelli19,68541–46
88July 20@ Giants3–7GielFriend (11–11)Gomez22,81441–47
89July 23Dodgers11–3Kline (10–9)Williams—42–47
90July 23Dodgers6–3Friend (12–11)LabineFace (10)18,93843–47
91July 24Dodgers5–3Witt (3–2)WilliamsFace (11)7,43744–47
92July 25Giants10–0Raydon (4–3)Miller—30,54545–47
93July 26Giants0–1AntonelliLaw (8–9)Grissom15,54945–48
94July 27Giants2–1 (14)Gross (3–2)Monzant—46–48
95July 27Giants4–3Porterfield (2–4)Giel—31,71847–48
96July 29Cubs6–4Friend (13–11)BriggsFace (12)20,32548–48
97July 30Cubs7–1 (8)Witt (4–2)PhillipsPorterfield (2)20,86949–48
98July 31Cubs4–5 (8)HobbieGross (3–3)Henry13,06049–49 :
August: 21–12 (Home: 10–0; Away: 11–12)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
99August 1Cardinals2–0Kline (11–9)Mabe—27,86250–49
100August 2Cardinals1–0Law (9–9)Jones—15,02851–49
101August 3Cardinals2–0Friend (14–11)Maglie—52–49
102August 3Cardinals2–1Witt (5–2)Mizell—53–49
103August 4@ Braves4–3Raydon (5–3)PizarroFace (13)24,09654–49
104August 5@ Braves1–6BurdetteKline (11–10)—25,54554–50
105August 6@ Braves1–2WilleyLaw (9–10)—28,76054–51
106August 7@ Braves2–3SpahnFriend (14–12)—24,52554–52
107August 8Redlegs1–0Witt (6–2)Nuxhall—26,04055–52
108August 9Redlegs5–2Raydon (6–3)KellnerFace (14)13,12256–52
109August 10Redlegs3–2 (10)Gross (4–3)Jeffcoat—57–52
110August 10Redlegs4–3Face (4–2)Lawrence—26,42658–52
111August 11Braves6–4Friend (15–12)SpahnFace (15)38,93859–52
112August 12Braves10–0Witt (7–2)Rush—36,86760–52
113August 13@ Phillies10–9Smith (1–2)MeyerLaw (2)19,13261–52
114August 15@ Redlegs1–6PurkeyKline (11–11)—11,27761–53
115August 16@ Redlegs13–4Friend (16–12)LawrencePorterfield (3)9,56462–53
116August 17@ Redlegs3–4AckerPorterfield (2–5)—62–54
117August 17@ Redlegs5–7NuxhallGross (4–4)Newcombe17,41662–55
118August 19@ Cubs4–3Raydon (7–3)PhillipsPorterfield (4)12,92963–55
119August 20@ Cubs4–2Kline (12–11)HillmanFace (16)64–55
120August 20@ Cubs1–5 (5)DrottFriend (16–13)—20,97464–56
121August 21@ Cubs3–5DrabowskyLaw (9–11)Hobbie10,02764–57
122August 22@ Cubs8–2Witt (8–2)SolisLaw (3)8,50765–57
123August 23@ Cubs6–1Porterfield (3–5)Phillips—16,09766–57
124August 24@ Cardinals8–4Friend (17–13)MizellFace (17)67–57
125August 24@ Cardinals8–12BrosnanGross (4–5)Wight25,63067–58
126August 25@ Cardinals1–7JacksonKline (12–12)—9,46467–59
127August 26@ Cardinals5–3Gross (5–5)JonesFace (18)13,27168–59
128August 27@ Cardinals14–1Law (10–11)Chittum—10,46769–59
129August 29@ Braves3–2Friend (18–13)SpahnGross (6)35,64270–59
130August 30@ Braves1–9BurdetteRaydon (7–4)—28,64870–60
131August 31@ Braves0–2WilleyKline (12–13)—32,87070–61 :
September: 14–9 (Home: 12–6; Away: 2–3)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
132September 1Phillies5–2Law (11–11)Sanford—71–61
133September 1Phillies0–9SimmonsPorterfield (3–6)—25,43871–62
134September 2Phillies3–2Friend (19–13)Cardwell—9,91172–62
135September 3@ Redlegs4–7SchmidtGross (5–6)Pena7,91772–63
136September 5Braves1–0 (10)Witt (9–2)Willey—30,31973–63
137September 6Braves7–6Smith (2–2)RobinsonFace (19)23,39274–63
138September 7Braves1–3SpahnKline (12–14)—74–64
139September 7Braves4–1Law (12–11)BurdetteFace (20)36,56775–64
140September 8Redlegs4–1Raydon (8–4)AckerGross (7)11,57776–64
141September 9Giants2–1Face (5–2)Jones—32,25077–64
142September 10Giants6–4 (10)Friend (20–13)Grissom—20,26078–64
143September 12Dodgers3–7CraigKline (12–15)—21,26778–65
144September 13Dodgers9–4Law (13–11)MaurielloPorterfield (5)14,25979–65
145September 14Cubs5–4Porterfield (4–6)HillmanBlackburn (3)80–65
146September 14Cubs6–2Friend (21–13)Phillips—23,16081–65
147September 16Cardinals3–1Kline (13–15)Mabe—25,97782–65
148September 19@ Phillies4–2Friend (22–13)Cardwell—8,49883–65
149September 20@ Phillies4–3Law (14–11)RobertsSmith (2)4,21784–65
150September 22@ Phillies2–3 (14)MeyerKline (13–16)—84–66
151September 22@ Phillies0–1SanfordDaniels (0–3)—5,60584–67
152September 26Phillies2–3RobertsFriend (22–14)—12,00084–68
153September 27Phillies3–7CardwellLaw (14–12)—9,10484–69
154September 28Phillies4–6 (10)MeyerGross (5–7)—33,10984–70 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss Bold = Pirates team member :

### Notable transactions

* June 15, 1958: Johnny O'Brien and Gene Freese were traded by the Pirates to the St. Louis Cardinals for Dick Schofield and cash.

### Roster
## Player stats

* = Indicates team leader

### 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 | Hank Foiles | 104 | 264 | 54 | .205 | 8 | 50 |
| 1B | Ted Kluszewski | 100 | 301 | 88 | .292 | 4 | 37 |
| 2B | Bill Mazeroski | 152 | 567 | 156 | .275 | 19 | 68 |
| 3B | Frank Thomas | 149 | 562 | 158 | .281 | 35 | 109 |
| SS | Dick Groat | 151 | 584 | 175 | .300 | 3 | 66 |
| LF | Bob Skinner | 144 | 529 | 170 | .321 | 13 | 70 |
| CF | Bill Virdon | 144 | 604 | 161 | .267 | 9 | 46 |
| RF | Roberto Clemente | 140 | 519 | 150 | .289 | 6 | 50 |

#### 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 |
| Dick Stuart | 67 | 254 | 68 | .268 | 16 | 48 |
| Román Mejías | 76 | 157 | 42 | .268 | 5 | 19 |
| Bill Hall | 51 | 116 | 33 | .284 | 1 | 15 |
| Danny Kravitz | 45 | 100 | 24 | .240 | 1 | 5 |
| R.C. Stevens | 59 | 90 | 24 | .267 | 7 | 18 |
| John Powers | 57 | 82 | 15 | .183 | 2 | 2 |
| Gene Baker | 29 | 56 | 14 | .250 | 0 | 7 |
| Dick Schofield | 26 | 27 | 4 | .148 | 0 | 2 |
| Harry Bright | 15 | 24 | 6 | .250 | 1 | 3 |
| Gene Freese | 17 | 18 | 3 | .167 | 1 | 2 |
| Hardy Peterson | 2 | 6 | 2 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Smith | 6 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Pendleton | 3 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
| Johnny O'Brien | 3 | 1 | 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 |
| Bob Friend | 38 | 274.0 | 22 | 14 | 3.68 | 135 |
| Ron Kline | 32 | 237.1 | 13 | 16 | 3.53 | 109 |
| Vern Law | 35 | 202.1 | 14 | 12 | 3.96 | 56 |
| Red Witt | 18 | 106.0 | 9 | 2 | 1.61 | 81 |

#### 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 |
| Curt Raydon | 31 | 134.1 | 8 | 4 | 3.62 | 85 |
| Bob Porterfield | 37 | 87.2 | 4 | 6 | 3.29 | 39 |
| Bennie Daniels | 8 | 27.2 | 0 | 3 | 5.53 | 7 |

#### 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 |
| Roy Face | 57 | 5 | 2 | 20 | 2.89 | 47 |
| Don Gross | 40 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 3.98 | 59 |
| Ron Blackburn | 38 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3.39 | 31 |
| Bob Smith | 35 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4.43 | 24 |
| George Perez | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5.40 | 2 |
| Don Williams | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 3 |
| Eddie O'Brien | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 1 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Columbus Jets | International League | Clyde King |
| AAA | Salt Lake City Bees | Pacific Coast League | Larry Shepard |
| A | Lincoln Chiefs | Western League | Monty Basgall |
| B | Tri-City Braves | Northwest League | Ray Hathaway |
| C | Douglas Copper Kings | Arizona–Mexico League | Bob Clear |
| C | San Jose Pirates/Las Vegas Wranglers | California League | Jack Paepke |
| C | Grand Forks Chiefs | Northern League | James Adlam |
| D | Salem Rebels | Appalachian League | Lamar Dorton |
| D | Clinton Pirates | Midwest League | Stan Wentzel and Wally Millies |
| D | San Angelo Pirates | Sophomore League | Al Kubski |