1992 Pittsburgh Pirates season

1992 Pittsburgh Pirates 1992 NL East Champions
Major league affiliations
National League (since 1887) Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
Three Rivers Stadium (since 1970) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (since 1882)
1992 information
Owner(s)	Pittsburgh Associates
General manager(s)	Ted Simmons
Manager(s)	Jim Leyland
Local television	KDKA-TV Jim Rooker Kent Derdivanis Lanny Frattare Steve Blass KBL Jim Rooker Kent Derdivanis Lanny Frattare Steve Blass
Local radio	KDKA Jim Rooker Kent Derdivanis Lanny Frattare Steve Blass
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The 1992 Pittsburgh Pirates season saw the Pirates finish first in the National League East with a record of 96 wins and 66 losses. It was the third consecutive division title for the team. The Pirates once again fell short in the postseason, losing a riveting seven-game National League Championship Series to the Atlanta Braves. As of September 15, 2012 it is the team's most recent winning season.

Offseason

• November 11, 1991: Al Martin was signed as a free agent by the Pirates.
• January 3, 1992: Mike LaValliere was signed as a free agent by the Pirates.
• March 10, 1992: Neal Heaton was traded by the Pirates to the Kansas City Royals for Kirk Gibson.
• March 11, 1992: Dennis Lamp was signed as a free agent by the Pirates.
• March 17, 1992: John Smiley was traded by the Pirates to the Minnesota Twins for Denny Neagle and Midre Cummings.

Regular season

Season standings

NL East	W	L	Pct.	GB
Pittsburgh Pirates	96	66	.593	--
Montreal Expos	87	75	.537	9
St. Louis Cardinals	83	79	.512	13
Chicago Cubs	78	84	.481	18
New York Mets	72	90	.444	24
Philadelphia Phillies	70	92	.432	26

Notable transactions

• May 5, 1992: Kirk Gibson was released by the Pirates.
• June 10, 1992: Jeff Robinson was selected off waivers by the Pirates from the Texas Rangers.
• June 11, 1992: Dennis Lamp was released by the Pirates.
• June 19, 1992: Danny Cox was signed as a free agent by the Pirates.
• July 4, 1992: Tony Mitchell (minors) was traded by the Pirates to the Cleveland Indians for Alex Cole.
• July 25, 1992: Jeff Robinson was released by the Pirates.
• July 31, 1992: Pitcher Tim Wakefield called up from AAA Buffalo.

Draft picks

• June 1, 1992: Jason Kendall was drafted by the Pirates in the 1st round (23rd pick) of the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft. Player signed June 16, 1992.
• June 1, 1992: Chance Sanford was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 27th round of the 1992 amateur draft. Player signed June 4, 1992.

Roster

1992 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers 53 Miguel Batista 50 Stan Belinda 61 Victor Cole 26 Steve Cooke 57 Danny Cox 15 Doug Drabek 49 Jerry Don Gleaton 34 Danny Jackson 26 Dennis Lamp 48 Roger Mason 64 Paul Miller 66 Blas Minor 32 Denny Neagle 58 Vicente Palacios 38 Bob Patterson 26 Jeff Robinson 41 Zane Smith 29 Randy Tomlin 43 Paul Wagner 49 Tim Wakefield 17 Bob Walk		Catchers 12 Mike LaValliere 14 Tom Prince 11 Don Slaught Infielders  3 Jay Bell 22 Steve Buechele 51 Carlos García  7 Jeff King 13 José Lind  6 Orlando Merced  2 Gary Redus 22 John Wehner 36 Kevin Young		Outfielders 24 Barry Bonds 35 Dave Clark  5 Alex Cole 56 Cecil Espy 25 Kirk Gibson 28 Al Martin 23 Lloyd McClendon 25 Will Pennyfeather 18 Andy Van Slyke 42 Gary Varsho		Manager 10 Jim Leyland Coaches 44 Terry Collins (bullpen) 45 Rich Donnelly (third base) 39 Milt May (hitting) 31 Ray Miller (pitching) 37 Tommy Sandt (first base)

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	Mike LaValliere	95	293	75	.256	2	29
1B	Orlando Merced	134	405	100	.247	6	60
2B	José Lind	135	468	110	.235	0	39
3B	Steve Buechele	80	285	71	.249	8	43
SS	Jay Bell	159	632	167	.264	9	55
LF	Barry Bonds	140	473	147	.311	34	103
CF	Andy Van Slyke	154	614	199	.324	14	89
RF	Alex Cole	64	205	57	.278	0	10

Other batters

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Jeff King	130	480	111	.231	14	65
Don Slaught	87	255	88	.345	4	37
Cecil Espy	112	194	50	.258	1	20
Al Martin	12	12	2	.167	0	2

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Doug Drabek	34	256.2	15	11	2.77	177
Jeff Robinson	8	36.1	3	1	4.46	14

Other pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Relief pitchers

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Stan Belinda	59	6	4	18	3.15	57
Paul Miller	6	1	0	0	2.38	5

National League Championship Series

Main article: 1992 National League Championship Series

Game 1

October 6: Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pittsburgh	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	5	1
Atlanta	0	1	0	2	1	0	1	0	X	5	8	0
W: John Smoltz (1-0) L: Doug Drabek (0-1) S: None
HR: PIT – José Lind (1) ATL – Jeff Blauser (1)
Pitchers: PIT – Drabek (4⅔), Patterson (1⅓), Neagle (1), Cox (1) ATL – Smoltz (8), Stanton (1)
Attendance: 51,971  Time: 3:20

Game 2

October 7: Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pittsburgh	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1	0	5	7	0
Atlanta	0	4	0	0	4	0	5	0	X	13	14	0
W: Steve Avery (1-0) L: Danny Jackson (0-1) S: None
HR: PIT – none ATL – Ron Gant (1)
Pitchers: PIT – Jackson (1⅔), Mason (1/3), Walk (2⅔), Tomlin (1⅓), Neagle (2/3), Patterson (1/3), Belinda (1) ATL – Avery (6⅓), Freeman (1/3), Stanton (1/3), Wohlers (1), Reardon (1)
Attendance: 51,975  Time: 3:20

Game 3

October 9: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Atlanta	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	2	5	0
Pittsburgh	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	X	3	8	1
W: Tim Wakefield (1-0) L: Tom Glavine (0-1) S: None
HR: ATL – Sid Bream (1), Ron Gant (2) PIT – Don Slaught (1)
Pitchers: ATL – Glavine (6⅓), Stanton (2/3), Wohlers (1) PIT – Wakefield (9)
Attendance: 56,610  Time: 2:37

Game 4

October 10: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Atlanta	0	2	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	6	11	1
Pittsburgh	0	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	4	6	1
W: John Smoltz (2-0) L: Doug Drabek (0-2) S: Jeff Reardon (1)
HR: ATL – none PIT – none
Pitchers: ATL – Smoltz (6⅓), Stanton (1⅔), Reardon (1) PIT – Drabek (4⅓), Tomlin (1⅓), Cox (1/3), Mason (3)
Attendance: 57,164  Time: 3:10

Game 5

October 11: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Atlanta	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	3	0
Pittsburgh	4	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	X	7	13	0
W: Bob Walk (1-0) L: Steve Avery (1-1) S: none
HR: ATL – none PIT – none
Pitchers: ATL – Avery (1/3), P. Smith (3⅔), Leibrandt (1⅔), Freeman (1⅓), Mercker (1) PIT – Walk (9)
Attendance: 52,929  Time: 2:52

Game 6

October 13: Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pittsburgh	0	8	0	0	4	1	0	0	0	13	13	1
Atlanta	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	2	4	9	1
W: Tim Wakefield (2-0) L: Tom Glavine (0-2) S: none
HR: PIT – Barry Bonds (1), Jay Bell (1), Lloyd McClendon (1) ATL – David Justice (1,2)
Pitchers: PIT – Wakefield (9) ATL – Glavine (1+), Leibrandt (3), Freeman (2), Mercker (2) Wohlers (1)
Attendance: 51,975  Time: 2:50

Game 7

October 14: Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pittsburgh	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	7	1
Atlanta	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	7	0
W: Jeff Reardon (1-0) L: Doug Drabek (0-3) S: none
HR: PIT – none ATL – none
Pitchers: PIT – Drabek (8), Belinda (2/3) ATL – Smoltz (6), Stanton (2/3), P. Smith (0), Avery (1⅓), Reardon (1)
Attendance: 51,975  Time: 3:22

Awards and honors

• Barry Bonds, OF, National League Most Valuable Player Award
• Jim Leyland, National League Manager of the Year Award
• Randy Tomlin, National League Pitcher of the Month, June
• Tim Wakefield, National League Rookie Pitcher of the Year

1992 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

• Andy Van Slyke, CF, Starter
• Barry Bonds, LF, Starter

Farm system

See also: Minor league baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Buffalo Bisons	American Association	Marc Bombard
AA	Carolina Mudcats	Southern League	Don Werner
A	Salem Buccaneers	Carolina League	John Wockenfuss
A	Augusta Pirates	South Atlantic League	Scott Little
Short-Season A	Welland Pirates	New York-Penn League	Trent Jewett
Rookie	GCL Pirates	Gulf Coast League	Woody Huyke

External links

• Remembrances of Tim Wakefield almost getting the Pirates to the World Series

References

• 1992 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at Baseball Reference
• 1992 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-17-6. 

Preceded by Pittsburgh Pirates 1991

NL East Championship Season 1992

Succeeded by Philadelphia Phillies 1993