Pittsburgh Pirates: Unveiling the 25-man All-Streak Team
By Matt Shetler
Bench
Jul 22, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche (25) hits a solo homer during the fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Adam LaRoche
Many Pirates fans may hate the fact that LaRoche gets a spot on this team, but the facts are he earned it.
Despite his notorious slow starts, LaRoche was pretty productive wearing a Pirates jersey hitting a combined 58 homers and driving in 213 runs in two-plus seasons in Pittsburgh.
A lot of people expected him to carry the offense, but he simply wasn’t that type of player. But what he did do was give you a consistent 20 and 80 every season. As the Pirates still look for a first baseman, it’s hard not to argue that LaRoche was the best one they had during the past 20-plus seasons.
Xavier Nady
Nady came over in one of the first trades Neal Huntington made and had a nice run in Pittsburgh in which he hit .278 with 20 homers and 72 RBI in his only full season as a Pirate in 2007.
In portions of three years as a Bucco he combined to hit .301 with 36 dingers and 152 runs driven in.
Jose Castillo
Castillo never quite lived up to his potential, but did enough in four seasons to get a spot on this team. By this point you can tell the pickings are pretty slim to fill out this roster. During his four years, Castillo hit .256 with 33 homers and 181 RBI with the Pirates.
His best season came in 2006 where he hit 14 homers and drove in 65.
Jose Guillen
Speaking of not living up to the hype, that would sum up Guillen after debuting in 1997.
While the Bucs gave up on him quickly and dealt him in 1999, he did drive in 70 and 84 runs during his two full seasons in Pittsburgh.
Tony Womack
Womack had a five-year run in Pittsburgh where he did exactly that- run.
He hit .278 during that span and drove in only 103 runs, but he swiped 122 bases, including leading the league in steals from 1997-99.
It wasn’t enough to keep him in Pittsburgh though as in typical Pirates fashion at the time; he was given away to the Arizona Diamondbacks where he won a World Series.
Carlos Garcia
Garcia remains in the Pirates organization as the manager of the Double-A Altoona Curve and while he got a brief look from 1990-92, he took his spot as a regular in 1993.
He wasn’t anything special, batting .278 with 30 homers and 174 RBI during his seven-year Pirates career, but gets a spot on this roster because quite frankly there wasn’t any better options to choose from.