Remembering Vada Pinson: So Smooth and Centered

When people recall the Cincinnati superstars of the 1960s, names like Frank Robinson, Pete Rose, Tony Perez (and even Johnny Bench by the decade's end) come easily to mind. The Reds' "lost" superstar during that period was Vada Pinson, the sleek centerfielder who consistently hit well in the heart of Cincinnati's lineup, played nearly every day without injury or rest, and provided Gold Glove defense in the outfield.

The Reds signed Pinson out of high school in Oakland, California (the same high school that earlier produced Frank Robinson and Curt Flood). After 2 outstanding minor league seasons, Pinson led the majors in runs (131) and doubles (47) as a rookie in 1959. For that season, he batted .316 (fourth in the National League) with 205 hits (second to Hank Aaron), 20 home runs and 84 RBIs. He finished second to Willie McCovey for National League Rookie of the Year in 1959.

Pinson's batting average slipped to .287 in 1960, and his 37 doubles, 10 fewer than the year before, were still the best in the majors. In 1961, Pinson hit a career high .343 to help the Reds win the National League pennant. He led the major leagues with 208 hits and won the Gold Glove for his work in center field.

Pinson drove in 100 or more runs in each of the next two years, leading the majors in hits (204) and triples (14) in 1963 while batting .313. (He would lead the majors in triples one more time, with 13 in 1967.) Between 1959 and 1967, Vada Pinson never played fewer than 154 games in a season.

Though still respectable, Pinson's hitting statistics declined steadily at the end of the 1960s, and he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals prior to the 1969 season for outfielder Bobby Tolan and pitcher Wayne Granger, 2 players who proved to be integral to the Reds' pennant-winning season of 1970.

Playing in St. Louis only 1 season, Pinson hit .255 with 10 home runs and 70 RBIs, and was traded to the Cleveland Indians for outfielder Jose Cardenal. Pinson's power made something of a comeback for the Indians, as he hit .286 with 24 home runs and 82 RBIs in his inaugural American League season. But he never again approached that kind of performance during the rest of his career, which consisted of 2 seasons each with Cleveland, the California Angels, and the Kansas City Royals. He retired in 1976 after an 18-year career that saw Pinson amass over 2700 hits on a .286 career batting average.