It’ll prove a trying feat for the Pirates to top this year’s trio.
The Pirates announced Tuesday evening that Barry Bonds, Jim Leyland and Manny Sanguillen will comprise the 2024 class of inductees into the franchise’s Hall of Fame.
“As an organization, we are proud to add three significant members to the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame,” owner Bob Nutting said in a statement. “ ... All three inductees are very deserving of this prestigious recognition.
“We look forward to celebrating their induction with our fans and sharing their stories with generations to come.”
They join a list of 23 other notable players and managers in Pirates history, which already includes the likes of Roberto Clemente, Honus Wagner and Willie Stargell. Bonds, Leyland and Sanguillen will be honored as part of an on-field ceremony prior to Aug. 24’s game against the Cincinnati Reds.
Before joining the Giants for the final 15 seasons of a 22-year career, Bonds enjoyed some stellar campaigns in Pittsburgh. MLB’s all-time home runs leader hit 176 of them with the Pirates, including 30 or more in two of his final three seasons playing on the North Shore.
In those campaigns, Bonds secured two of his record seven MVP awards. Bonds is the only two-time MVP award winner in Pirates history. He also won three Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers in Pittsburgh.
Bonds burst onto the scene in 1986, leading National League rookies with 16 home runs, 48 RBIs and 36 stolen bases. He did not win Rookie of the Year that season, however. It wasn’t until his fourth full season in 1990, when Bonds posted a .301/.406/.565 slash line, that he received his first hardware in the form of an MVP award.
Although Bonds hit four-baggers at a more prolific pace once he went to San Francisco, the slugging outfielder’s 176 home runs are fifth most in Pirates history. He also ranks sixth in stolen bases with 251.
Throughout Bonds’ Pittsburgh tenure, he was managed by Leyland, who on Dec. 3, 2023, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.
Before he won a World Series with the Florida Marlins in 1997, Leyland spent 11 seasons as the Pirates manager. Under his direction, the club won 851 games, a total that trails only fellow skippers Fred Clarke (1,422) and Danny Murtaugh (1,115) in franchise history.
From 1990 to 1992, the Pirates won the National League East and advanced to the championship series in three straight seasons while averaging 96 victories a year. Leyland was twice named Manager of the Year during that stretch.
The Pirates never made it to the World Series, however, and Leyland left Pittsburgh for the Marlins after the 1996 season. He compiled 1,769 career wins as an MLB manager for four franchises across as many decades.
Leyland, who hails from Perrysburg, Ohio, still lives part time in the Pittsburgh area. He threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Pirates’ home opener this season, when he was honored for his looming induction this July into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sanguillen, who, like Leyland, still makes occasional appearances on the North Shore, played pivotal roles on each of the Pirates’ last two World Series-winning teams. In Game 2 of the 1979 World Series, Sanguillen smacked a game-winning, pinch-hit RBI single en route to the Pirates winning in seven games.
In 1971, Sanguillen posted one of his best MLB seasons and finished eighth in MVP voting. He hit .319 with a career-high 81 RBIs in the regular season. In that year’s World Series, Sanguillen went 11 for 29, his .379 average second among qualifying Pirates hitters only to Clemente.
Of his 13 MLB seasons, Sanguillen played for the Pirates in 12 of them. The three-time All-Star hit better than .300 in four campaigns, and his career average with Pittsburgh is just shy of that mark at .299. Sanguillen ranks third all-time in games caught by a Pirates player.
To be honored by the franchise in such a capacity is a pleasure for Sanguillen.
"This feeling makes me happy and I like it,” Sanguillen said. “...I really thank everybody here in Pittsburgh and everybody out there for giving me opportunities.”
Andrew Destin: adestin@post-gazette.com and @AndrewDestin1 on X
First Published: May 21, 2024, 10:42 p.m.
Updated: May 22, 2024, 1:54 a.m.
