The 50 Greatest Pirates Every Fan Should Know by Lew Freedman

Author:Lew Freedman
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781935628743
Publisher: Blue River Press
Published: 2013-03-11T04:00:00+00:00

“ You have to have your team score some runs for you. ”

— Roy Face

21

ROY FACE

It is so terribly difficult to truly measure Roy Face’s career because he was a relief pitcher when they weren’t valued so highly, pitched late in games when there was no such thing as a “closer,” and didn’t win enough games for the Pirates to make the team’s all-time top-10 list.

Yet there is no denying his contributions to the Pirates were special. Not only did Face appear in a team record 802 games as a pitcher, he recorded one of the best single seasons of any pitcher in baseball history when he finished 18-1 in 1959.

Face spent 16 years in the majors, all but the last few with Pittsburgh. His career record was 104-95 and he accumulated 193 saves, three times leading the National League in that category. The kind of work Face did for the Pirates in the 1950s and 1960s is the kind that is prized much more highly in importance in the 2000s than it was then. He also handled far more innings in relief than is common in the modern era when pitchers may only appear for an inning or less at a time.

In size Face more resembled the Pirates’ star pitchers of the late 1800s or early 1900s. He was 5-foot-8 and weighed 155 pounds. It helped that he did not have to rely on a fastball to get batters out, but had a forkball which was pretty much his alone for success over the years.

“He may be just 5-8, but when he comes marching out of that bullpen to the mound, I’ll bet he looks 8-5 to the batters,” said Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh.

Elroy Leon Face was born in Stephentown, New York in 1928, but still lives in the Pittsburgh area where he is well-remembered and appreciated for his contributions to the Pirates as they rebuilt in the 1950s and captured the 1960 World Series. He has remained active in Pittsburgh Pirate charities, especially golf tournaments, and has been known for his willingness to sign autographs for fans. Face was already 25 when he broke in with the Pirates in 1953 and went 6-8 as a rookie.

That was an inauspicious start for someone who did not reappear in the majors until 1955, but who also became a six-time All-Star (this was during the period when there were two All-Star games each season and Face was chosen for both three times). Face first displayed signs of the durability that would be the hallmark of his career in 1956 when he broke the team record for most appearances in a season with 68. That led the National League. Face equaled that mark in 1960, also leading the league.

Face’s relief pitching really began taking off during the 1958 season and continued all of the way through the 1959 campaign when he recorded one of the most amazing seasons of all time. Face had a five-game winning streak going when 1958 ended and won his first 17 games of the 1959 season.

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