Paul Glee Waner, nicknamed "Big Poison", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four teams between 1926 and 1945, most notably playing his first 15 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The greatest Pirate outfielder up to his retirement, he won the 1927 NL Most Valuable Player Award in his second season, collecting a team record 237 hits that year. Waner set the team record for doubles in a season three times, including 1932, when he set the NL record for doubles in a season with 62. In the only postseason appearance of his career, he hit .333 in the Pirates' 1927 World Series loss against the New York Yankees. Waner won three National League (NL) batting titles, led the NL in hits twice and collected over 200 hits each season from 1926 to 1934.
1933 baseball card of Waner
Waner, circa 1927
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central Division. Founded as part of the American Association in 1881 under the name Pittsburgh Alleghenys, the club joined the National League in 1887 and was a member of the National League East from 1969 through 1993. The Pirates have won five World Series championships, nine National League pennants, nine National League East division titles and made three appearances in the Wild Card Game.
The 1909 Pirates in a poster celebrating their National League pennant. Frank Chance of Chicago and John McGraw of New York, two teams the Pirates beat for the pennant, are being made to walk the plank.
Pittsburgh clinching the division title in 1990.
Andrew McCutchen, 2012
PNC Park prior to a game in 2014