The Pittsburgh Pirates group introduced on Thursday that Dick Groat, a mythical participant for the staff, has passed on to the great beyond at the age of 92.
Groat used to be born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, however grew up in Swissvale, a suburb of Pittsburgh. After graduating from highschool, he went directly to play 9 of his 14 MLB seasons with the Pirates.
In 1952, Groat used to be signed via the Pirates immediately out of Duke University and ended up completing 3rd in Rookie of the (*92*) vote casting in his debut season. He overlooked the next two years because of serving within the army, however upon his go back to the sport, he performed 8 consecutive seasons for the Pirates, together with six All-Star groups and successful the MVP award in 1960.
During the 1960 season, Groat gained the batting name with an excellent .325 batting moderate, and he additionally performed a the most important position because the two-hole hitter for the Pirates staff that went directly to surprise the closely liked New York Yankees in seven video games right through the World Series. Although the sequence is famously identified for Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off house run in Game 7, Groat contributed in Game 1 with a 2-for-4 efficiency, together with an RBI double within the Pirates’ victory.
Just a couple of months earlier than his passing, the Pirates known Groat’s achievements via inducting him into their staff Hall of Fame.
The proprietor of the Pirates, Bob Nutting, launched a observation announcing: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of such a beloved member of the Pirates family and Pittsburgh community. The National League MVP and World Series Champion in 1960, Dick remained a very active and cherished member of our Alumni Association. He was a great player and an even better person. Our thoughts go out to his three daughters, eleven grandchildren and the entire Groat family. His was a life well lived. He will be missed.”
Besides taking part in for the Pirates, Groat additionally spent 3 seasons with the Cardinals, portions of 2 with the Phillies, and performed 34 video games with the Giants. He used to be an All-Star and completed 2d in MVP vote casting with the Cardinals in 1963, main the majors in doubles with a complete of 43 whilst hitting .319. In 1964, he used to be once more an All-Star and used to be a middle-order hitter at the World Series champion Cardinals staff. Throughout his profession, Groat performed just about 2,000 MLB video games, reaching a .286 batting moderate with an 89 OPS+. He accrued 2,138 hits, together with 352 doubles, and used to be widely known for his outstanding hit-and-run technique, infrequently ever putting out.
In addition to his baseball profession, Groat used to be a two-time All-American basketball participant for Duke University, and his No. 10 is retired via the varsity. He may be a member of the school basketball Hall of Fame. Furthermore, a lifelong Pittsburgh resident, Groat labored as a colour commentator at the radio for Pittsburgh Panthers school basketball video games for 40 years, most effective retiring from the activity after the 2019 season.
Dick Groat is survived via his 3 daughters, Tracey, Carol Ann, and Allison, in addition to via his 11 grandchildren.