Paul Waner

Paul Glee Waner (April 16, 1903 – August 29, 1965), 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.

Waner played baseball at East Central State Teachers College (now known as East Central University) in Ada, Oklahoma; he pitched to a 23–4 record with a 1.70 earned run average in 1922.

Waner's father had wanted him to be a teacher, but Waner wanted to play pro baseball and dropped out of college as a result.

He signed with the team in Joplin, Missouri in the Class A Western League.

Then, Waner was sent to the Southwestern League (equivalent to Rookie League) in Muskogee before being sold again to the Class AA San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League in 1923, the manager of which was former Pirate, John "Dots" Miller.

He only pitched one game for the Seals, in 1924 before he was moved to the outfield.

With the Seals, Waner hit .378 over his three seasons, including .401 in their 1925 championship season.

In October 1925, the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League purchased Waner and teammate Hal Rhyne from the Seals for $100,000.

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.

On April 17, 1926, against the Cincinnati Reds, he collected his first major league hit.

On August 26, Waner collected six hits in six at-bats during a game against the Giants, and he accomplished this feat using six different bats from six different players.

He ended his first season with a .336 batting average and led the NL in triples with 22.

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.

In the only postseason appearance of his career, he hit .333 in the Pirates' 1927 World Series loss against the New York Yankees.

By Waner's second season with the Pirates he and younger brother Lloyd had become stars; combined, they accumulated 460 hits in the 1927 season.

The 1927 season was a standout year for Paul.

He played in a career-high 155 games (which led the league), and led the NL in hits (237), a team record, triples (18), batting average (.380) and RBIs (131).

He set the major league record for consecutive games with an extra-base hit, with 14 (June 3–19, 1927); since then this feat has also been accomplished by Chipper Jones in 2006.

Aided by the contributions of the Waner brothers, Pittsburgh advanced to the 1927 World Series.

In the only postseason appearance of his career, Paul Went 5-for-15 with 3 RBIs and a .333 batting average, but the Pirates were swept by the New York Yankees.

In recognition for his performance during the 1927 season, the National League awarded him the NL Most Valuable Player Award.

Waner hit .370 and led the NL in runs scored (142, a career high) and doubles (50) in 1928.

His 223 hits in 1928 were tied (with his younger brother Lloyd) for second most in team history.

He set a career high with 15 home runs in 1929.

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.

On June 19, 1942, Waner became the seventh member of the 3,000 hit club, with a single off Rip Sewell.

He led the NL in putouts four times and holds the career record for most putouts by a right fielder.

A career .333 hitter, he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1952.

When Waner's younger brother Lloyd was elected to the Hall of Fame, they became the second pair of brothers in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, after Harry and George Wright.

Paul and Lloyd also hold the record for the most hits recorded by brothers (5,611).

On July 21, 2007, Waner's No. 11 was retired by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Waner was born in Harrah in the Oklahoma Territory, four years before the region became a state.

He was the third child of five of Ora and Etta Waner.

His younger brother Lloyd Waner is also a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame; Ora had once been offered a contract by the Chicago White Stockings but declined it, instead settling a 400-acre farm.

Waner was born with the middle name of John but his middle name was changed from John to Glee after an uncle named Glee gave him a shotgun at the age of 6.

He stated that he learned batting from hitting corncobs on his father's farm, learning the way to follow the ball by seeing the movement of the cobs.

Waner had an astigmatism; he did not like wearing glasses on the field as it made the ball appear smaller and in focus, but without glasses the ball looked grapefruit sized.

With the larger apparent size of the baseball he was able to hit the center more often.

He also finished 12th in MVP voting as the Pirates finished in third place, 4.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals.

Waner's 191 triples are 10th all time, and his 605 doubles are 14th all time.