Pittsburgh Pirates: Unveiling the 25-man All-Streak Team

Third Base- Aramis Ramirez

Sep 4, 2013; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez throws out Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Jose Tabata (not pictured) in the 1st inning at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

If you think about the low point during the 20-year drought, you have to think of the Aramis Ramirez trade.

Ramirez started his MLB career as a Pirate from 1998-2003 when he was dealt in the salary dump of all salary dumps to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for a handful of scrubs, most notably Bobby Hill.

He started to blossom in 2001, which amounted to his first full big league season, when he clubbed 34 homers and drove in 112 runs.

In total, Ramirez hit .263 with 76 homers and 239 runs batted in as a Pirate before becoming a star in Chicago. He is another guy that the Pirates were unable to replace for years until Pedro Alvarez took ahold of the third base job.

Shortstop- Jack Wilson

I was never much of a Wilson fan, but he was the best of the bunch during some very lean years for the Pirates.

He wasn’t much with the bat, although he had his moments, and the guy could surely pick it at shortstop.

With the stick, Wilson hit .269 with 60 homers and 389 RBI in nine seasons as a Pirate, but Wilson’s highlight reel defense could always be counted on.

The Pirates haven’t had a quality shortstop since Bell in the early 90s, but Wilson was probably the best of the bunch. He didn’t have much competition for this spot as the likes of Kevin Polcovich, Lou Collier, Abraham Nunez, Chance Sanford, Mike Benjamin, Pat Mears, J.J. Furmanik, Brian Bixler, Ronny Cedeno and Bobby Crosby all tried, but no one could match Wilson’s longevity during the streak.