Bucco Blast From The Past: Arky Vaughan

By Chad Carlson

It’s Tuesday, and that means it’s time for another edition of Bucco Blast From The Past!  This week, we keep things in the distant past, looking at the career of Arky Vaughan.

Joseph Floyd “Arky” Vaughan is an iconic example of a small-town kid who aspired to greatness, as a person and as a professional athlete.  Born in Clifty, Arkansas in 1912, he was a Major League shortstop for 16 years as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Brooklyn Dodgers.

Arky made his Major League debut in 1932 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, hitting .318 with 61 RBI in his rookie season.  Over the next ten years as a Battlin’ Bucco, he established himself as one of the best-hitting shortstops in the history of the game.  Vaughan hit over .300 in every season through 1941, and was at or near the top of the league in a number categories consistently, including runs scored, runs batted in, batting average, stolen bases, and walks.

As difficult as it was at the time (and still arguable today), his best season may have come in 1935, when he hit a career-high .385 with 19 homeruns and 99 RBI.  The Sporting News named him Player of the Year, and he was third in the National League MVP voting.  The season has been referred to as “the best ever by a shortstop other than Honus Wagner.” 

Arky was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1941, but was unable to maintain his high standards of play with his new team.  After sitting out a number of seasons, he returned to the club in 1947, when he would play in his only World Series, losing to the New York Yankees.  After leaving the Major Leagues in 1948, he played one more year of baseball, his finale being with the Pacific Coast League’s San Francisco Seals.

He retired with 1173 runs scored 96 homeruns, 926 RBI, 118 steals, a .318 batting average, and a .406 on-base percentage.  His .385 batting average in 1935 is a Pittsburgh team record and remained a 20^th century record for National League shortstops.

Unfortunately, Vaughan’s life was held unexpectedly short.  On August 30, 1952, he was fishing near Eagleville, California, when a strong storm sank his boat.  Arky, along with his friend, drowned in the storm.  He was 40 years old.

Vaughan was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.  Arky is the 26^th greatest non-pitcher in Major League history, according to win shares.  In his career with the Pirates (1932-1941), he finished with a .324 average, 84 homeruns and 764 RBI’s. 

In an organization that historically focuses on the famed careers of Stargell, Wagner, Waner, and Clemente, a small-town guy named Vaughan is often overlooked.  But given the numbers, along with the impact he had on the club, no one can deny that Arky Vaughan is one of the great Pirates’ players in the history of the franchise.

Be sure to check back next week for another edition of Bucco Blast From The Past!

And…

As Always…

Let’s Go Bucs!

Bucco Blast From The Past: Jack Wilson

By Chad Carlson

For this week’s edition of Bucco Blast From The Past, we look back at the career of Jack Wilson.

Also known as Jumpin’ Jack Flash, as he as annoyingly and consistently referred to by Greg Brown, Wilson was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1998 amateur draft.  He was later dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jason Christiansen in 2000, making his Major League debut with the Buccos a year later.

In his nearly eight years with the Pirates, Jack certainly was one of the more memorable and fan-friendly shortstops in recent memory.  After enduring moderately successful seasons in 2002 and 2003, Wilson had the best year of his career in 2004, setting personal career highs in almost every category.  He ended the year with a .308 batting average, collecting 201 hits in 157 games.  He became just the ninth shortstop in National League history to collect 200 hits in a season, the franchise’s first player since Dave Parker in 1977, and the team’s first shortstop since Honus Wagner in 1908. 

He tallied 12 triples (sharing the league lead), 41 doubles, 11 homeruns, and accumulated 49 RBI.  After hitting eighth in the batting order for most of his career, he became a fixture in the second slot. 

Wilson also won a lot of notoriety for his defensive accomplishments.  He led the National League shortstops in assists and total chances in 2004, and his 129 double players led all Major League shortstop and broke the club record of 128.  Jack was named to the 2004 All-Star Game and won the Silver Slugger at shortstop.  He was also the Pirates’ representative in the Roberto Clemente Award balloting.

After an injury-plagued 2005 season as the result of an appendectomy, Wilson attempted to regain his offensive swagger in the next few seasons, but to no avail.  While his defensive numbers were still impressive, his batting average and offensive production continued to steadily decline.  From the 2006-2009 seasons, Wilson was periodically mentioned in trade rumors, but nothing serious ever came of them…that is, until 2009.

After months of rumors and his open comments regarding his dissatisfaction with the organization’s penchant for trading their most notable players, Wilson was traded to the Seattle Mariners along with Ian Snell for Ronny Cedeno and Minor League players Jeff Clement, Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin, and Nathan Adcock.  The trade, taking place on July 29, 2009, was a shock to everyone, including Wilson himself:

“A shock.  I really don’t know what to feel.  I’m definitely going to miss it.  I definitely loved it there-aside from the record.  The city of Pittsburgh is a perfect place to raise my family.”

Wilson signed a two-year, $10 million contract with the Mariners in November 2009.  He was sidelined with a fractured right hand for the final two months of the 2010 season, playing in just 61 games total after battling a hamstring issue early on.  He has struggled at the plate over two years in Seattle, batting a combined .240 in 92 games.  He has spent the 2011 Spring Training season battling Brendan Ryan for the starting spot at second base.

Regardless of how his tenure ended here in Pittsburgh and what he goes on to do in Seattle or elsewhere, we Pirates’ fans will always remember Jumpin’ Jack Flash as one of the “good guys,” and one of the best defensive shortstops the city has seen in a long time.

Be sure to check back next Tuesday to see who’s featured in the latest edition of Bucco Blast From The Past!

And...

As Always...

Let's Go Bucs!