It was announced early this morning that Dick Groat has passed away at 92 years old. He was just recently elected to the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame.
Groat played a total of 14 seasons in the majors, spending his first nine seasons with the Pirates. He debuted in 1952, then spent the next two season serving in the military, before returning for the 1955 season.
Groat is best known for winning the 1960 MVP award, helping the Pirates to their third World Series title. He won the batting title that year with a .325 average.
He was an All-Star during the 1959-60 and 1962-64 seasons. He finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting, and he received MVP votes in four seasons, including a second place finish in 1963.
Groat hit .290 over his nine seasons in Pittsburgh, with 554 runs, 226 doubles, 40 triples, 30 homers and 454 RBIs in 1,258 games. He finished up his career as a .286 hitter in 1,929 games, with 829 runs, 352 doubles, 67 triples, 39 homers and 707 RBIs. He finished with a career 36.8 WAR.
You can read a longer bio for him on our history site.
The Pirates issued a press release:
