Pittsburgh Pirates
Skinner played a full season for the Pirates in 1954. He started 116 games at first base that year. He hit .249 with eight home runs,46 RBIs and 67 runs. [1] [16] After spending 1955 in Double-A baseball,Skinner returned to the Pirates in 1956 as a backup outfielder and first baseman,starting 30 games in the outfield and 19 at first base. He hit only .202 in 233 at bats. [1] [17] Dale Long was the Pirates starting first baseman in 1955,and remained so in 1956. [18] [17] Skinner was primarily considered a pinch hitter in 1956,and tied a 43-year old team record with three pinch hit home runs that season. [19]
The Pirates moved Skinner to the outfield in 1957,where he started 83 games in left field while starting eight at first base. [1] [20] Skinner only began playing the outfield full time over the last two months of the season. Before that he had been hitting .296 primarily as a pinch hitter. On the season,he hit .305,raising his average over .100 points from the previous season,and was considered by many,including Pirates' manager Danny Murtaugh,the most improved player in the National League. Skinner had 13 home runs and led the Pirates with 10 stolen bases;one of only five players in the National League to have double figures in home runs and stolen bases. Murtaugh also believed Skinner improved defensively as an outfielder because of his exceptional speed and regular opportunity to play and gain more experience. [19]
In 1958,Skinner started 141 games as the Pirates left fielder. He hit a career-high .321,with 13 home runs,70 RBIs,93 runs,12 stolen bases and an .879 OPS. [1] Skinner was selected to the National League All-Star Team for the first time,as the starting left fielder. He went 1-for-3 and had one RBI in the game,played in Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. He hit second in the NL's batting order,after leadoff hitter Wille Mays and before Stan Musial. [21] [22] Skinner was 15th in NL Most Valuable Player voting. [23] He was fifth among all NL players in batting average and on-base percentage (.387),sixth in offensive WAR (wins above replacement,4.7) and doubles (33),seventh in OPS,triples (9) and runs,eighth in hits (170) and tenth in total bases (260). [24] The Pirates finished the season 84–70. In Skinner's three prior seasons with the Pirates,they had never won more than 66 games. [25]
In mid-April 1959,he was injured trying to catch a Hank Aaron line drive,and it took him a few weeks to recover. [3] Despite the slow beginning to the season,Skinner again started 141 games in left field,and hit .280,with 13 home runs,61 RBIs and 78 runs. The Pirates finished the season 78–76,in fourth place. [1] [26]
In 1960,the Pirates won the World Series in seven games over the New York Yankees,and Skinner became an All-Star for the second season in his career. [27] [28] [29] He started 140 games in left field,and hit .273 with 15 home runs,83 RBIs,83 runs and 11 stolen bases. [1] Skinner started the July 11 All-Star Game in left field,batting second between Mays and future Hall of Fame third baseman Eddie Mathews. He was 1-for-4 with a run,RBI and a stolen base. [28] [30] He also started the July 13 All-Star Game,again batting second;this time between Mays and Aaron. He was 1-for-3 in the game. [29]
Skinner was 1-for-3 in Game 1 of the 1960 World Series,batting third in the lineup. He had a single,RBI,stolen base,and run scored in the first inning of the Pirates 6–4 victory. In the second inning he caught a short fly ball and threw to second base for a double play against Yogi Berra. He was also hit by a Ryne Duren pitch in the game. [31] [32] Skinner jammed his thumb during the game sliding into third base,however,and did not play again until Game 7;being replaced in left field by Gino Cimoli for Games 2 through 6. [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] He was 0-for-2 in Game 7,with a base on balls,run scored and a sacrifice bunt,in the Pirates 10–9 series winning victory. [38] [35] [33]
In 1961,Skinner experienced a variety of maladies and injuries. [39] He started only 96 games in left field,appearing in only 119 total games. He hit .268,with three home runs and 42 RBIs in only 381 at bats;his lowest production in all of these categories since 1956. [1] Skinner put himself through a rigorous training and conditioning program after the season ended and through the winter,even giving up his off season job with a San Diego newspaper to focus on his training regime. He came into the 1962 season in the best shape of his career at 30-years old. [39]
In 1962,Skinner played in 144 games,with nearly 600 plate appearances. He had a .302 batting average,and career-highs in home runs (20),on-base percentage (.395) and slugging percentage (.504). Skinner also had 75 RBIs,87 runs and 10 stolen bases. [1] The Pirates went from sixth place in 1961 (75–79) [40] to fourth place in 1962 (93–68). [41] He was third in the NL in on-base percentage,eighth in offensive WAR (4.7) and OPS (.899),and ninth in doubles (29). [42] Skinner finished 22nd in NL Most Valuable Player voting. [43]
On May 23,1963,the Pirates traded Skinner to the Cincinnati Reds for 33-year old Jerry Lynch,known as one of the greatest pinch hitters in baseball history. Skinner and Lynch had started as rookies together on the 1954 Pirates. By 1963,Lynch was not a regular player,and was older,slower and a weaker fielder than Skinner. Skinner had started 30 games for the Pirates at the time of the trade,and was hitting .270 in 122 at bats,with five doubles and five triples,but no home runs. Lynch had started four games in the outfield for the Reds,and was hitting .250 in 32 at bats,including two pinch hit home runs. The Pirates were weak hitting as a team and in fifth place. General manager Joe L. Brown believed Skinner was underperforming as a hitter that season,and that Lynch might stimulate the Pirates' offensive production;while a new team might be a positive change for Skinner to become a more productive hitter again. [44] [1] [45] [46]
Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals
Skinner started 46 of the 72 games he played for the Reds in 1963,hitting .253 in 194 at bats,with three home runs,17 RBIs and 25 runs. He played behind future Hall of Famer Frank Robinson [47] and rookie Tommy Harper in the outfield. [48] [49] Skinner's production did not live up to Reds' manager Fred Hutchison's expectations. [50] The following season,on June 13,1964,after appearing in only 25 games for the Reds (with only 12 starts),Skinner was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for 25-year old minor league catcher Jim Saul and cash. [5] [51]
Skinner started 29 of the 55 games in which he appeared for the Cardinals in 1964,batting .271 in 118 at bats,with one home run,16 RBIs and 10 runs. [52] The Cardinals defeated the New York Yankees in the 1964 World Series. [53] Skinner appeared as a pinch hitter four times during the series (Games 1,2,3 and 6). He had two hits in three at bats (including a ground rule double),with one base on balls and one RBI. [54] [55] [56] [57]
He played two more seasons for the Cardinals before being released in October 1966,ending his MLB career. [1] [5] Starting 28 games in 1965,he hit .309 with five home runs,26 RBIs,25 runs and an .853 OPS. [58] In 1966,he was used solely as a pinch hitter,batting .156 in 45 at bats. [59]
Over his 12-year career,he batted .277 with 1,198 hits,including 197 doubles,58 triples and 103 homers. [1]
