Pie

Pie Traynor

Harold "Pie" Traynor got his nickname when he was a child. He frequented a neighborhood grocery store and would often ask for pie. The owner of the store started calling him "Pie Face," which was later shortened to "Pie" by his friends.

A mild-mannered and scholarly player, Traynor was ejected from a game just once in his career. The game was in Brooklyn, and the umpire who gave him the heave-ho was Pete McLaughlin. A call went against him and he supposedly exclaimed, "I'm sick and tired of such decisions!" and then threw the ball, his hat, and his glove.

"So he wouldn't be arrested for indecent exposure," McLaughlin said later, "I bounced him."

Along with his offensive prowess, Traynor was considered the best fielding third basemen of his era. He led the National League in assists and double plays three times and in putouts seven times. He ranks fifth all-time among third basemen in putouts.

And he was tough, too. Often, when balls were hit to his right at the hot corner, instead of backhanding with his glove, he would snare them with his bare hand. Said teammate Charlie Grimm: "I've seen him field a hot grounder over at third base barehanded and get the runner at first."

And, in an age when most ballplayers weren't overly concerned with fitness, Traynor was an exception. In fact, he purposely did not learn to drive so that he would never have an excuse not to walk.

In 1999, The Sporting News ranked him no. 70 on its list of the 100 greatest players of the 20th century, and Major League Baseball nominated him as a finalist on its All-Century team.

"He was a mechanically perfect third baseman," said Branch Rickey at Traynor's Hall of Fame induction, "a man of intellectual worth on the field of play."

December

Who is this third sacker with the "delicious" nickname?

I was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, on Nov. 11, 1898. My parents had emigrated from Canada.

My given name is Harold, but I am much better known by this "delicious" nickname.

I made my major league debut with the Pirates in 1920. In 1922, I became the Pirates starting third baseman, hitting .282 with 81 RBIs.

I played my entire career with the Pirates, retiring as a player in 1937. During that time, we won two pennants (1925, 1927) and one World Series (1925).

In the 1925 World Series, I hit .347, including a home run off the great Walter Johnson as the Pirates beat the Senators in seven games.

Hitting a homer in the World Series was a big thrill, since I was not a home run hitter (just 58 during my career). But I did drive in more than 100 runs seven times in my career, second all-time among major league third basemen to Mike Schmidt, who did it nine times. My lifetime average was .320, and I struck out just 278 times.

I managed the Pirates for six seasons, from 1934 to 1939, then went into scouting and, after that, radio. In 1948, I was elected to the Hall of Fame, the first third baseman chosen by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

I died in Pittsburgh on March 19, 1972, at the age of 73. Not long before, the Pirates retired my uniform number 20.