“It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness that we mourn the passing of Pirates Hall of Famer Elroy Face, a beloved member of the Pirates family,” chairman Bob Nutting said in a statement. “I was fortunate to know Elroy personally, and I will always be proud that we had the opportunity to honor him with his induction into the Pirates Hall of Fame. Elroy was a pioneer of the modern relief pitcher – the ‘Baron of the Bullpen’ – and he played a pivotal role in our 1960 World Series championship, leading the league in appearances and recording three saves against the Yankees. Our thoughts are with his three children – Michelle, Valerie and Elroy Jr. – and his sister Jaqueline.”
A native of upstate New York, Face began his career in the Phillies organization in 1949. The 5’8” righty, a sidearmer whose specialty was the forkball, emerged as a favorite of Hall of Famer Branch Rickey, who acquired him when he was Dodgers’ GM during the 1950-51 offseason. Rickey took the same position with the Pirates the following year and added Face during the winter of 1952-53, at which point the pitcher was in Double-A.
Face pitched poorly as a rookie and was sent back to Double-A for the ’54 season. He returned to the majors the following year, where he worked in a swing role before making a full-time bullpen conversion in 1956. Face would lead the majors that season with 68 appearances, throwing 135 1/3 innings of 3.52 ERA ball. The Pirates mainly used him in the back games at a time when many teams did not have set closers. Face led the National League in games finished four of the five seasons between 1958 and 1962.
The save statistic did not come into use until 1969. Face was retroactively credited as the NL saves leader in three of those seasons, including high MLB marks in 1958 (20) and ’62 (28). He posted a sub-3.00 earned run average in four of those years, including a career-low 1.88 over 91 innings during the ’62 campaign.
Even if no saves existed at the time, Face’s achievements throughout his career were appreciated. He appeared on MVP ballots every season between 1958 and 1960. He was an All-Star every year between 1959 and 1961 and was technically selected for six All-Star Games, as the MLB had both a Midseason and Postseason All-Star Game for a short period during Face’s peak.
The 1960 season is etched in baseball history. Face pitched 114 2/3 innings of 2.90 ERA ball, finishing 61 games for a 95-59-1 team that won the pennant. The respective top regular season teams in each league at that time went to the World Series. Pittsburgh took on a Yankees club that had done just that Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris And White Ford in their firsts.
The Pirates would win one of the most iconic series in league history. Face got the save in each of their first three wins: Games 1, 4 and 5. He pitched the sixth through eighth innings of Game 7. That wasn’t his sharpest outing, as he gave up a go-ahead home run to Yogi Berrabut Pittsburgh would come back to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth. After the Yankees tied the score in the top of the ninth, Bill Mazeroski connected with what remains the only Game 7 walk-off home run in history.
That World Series was the only time Face would pitch in the postseason, but he remained in Pittsburgh for most of the 1960s. He added four sub-3.00 ERA seasons well into his 30s and had brief stops in Detroit and with the Expos to finish his career.
The Pirates have been around for over 140 seasons. Face remains the franchise’s all-time leader in pitching appearances (802), games completed (547) and saves (186). He pitched nearly 1,400 innings with a 3.48 ERA and recorded 877 strikeouts. Face racked up 100 wins – including an astonishing 18-1 record out of the bullpen in 1959 – and totaled just under 200 saves, adding another five during his final season in Montreal. Face was inducted into the Pirates Hall of Fame three years ago. MLBTR extends its condolences to his family, friends and loved ones.
Jason Mackey of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported the news.
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