Pittsburgh Pirates Notes, Quotes
by Sports Xchange
--CF Nate McLouth finished the season with 46 doubles to tie for the National League lead with Houston's Lance Berkman. McLouth also led the Pirates with 26 home runs, 94 RBIs, 113 runs and 23 stolen bases in his first full season as a starter in the major leagues.
--C Ryan Doumit finished the season with 15 home runs in his first full year as a starter in the major leagues, the most by a Pirates catcher since Mark Parent also hit 15 in 1995. The club record is 17 by Jim Pagliaroni in 1965.
--2B Freddy Sanchez did not commit an error in the final 83 games of the season after making seven miscues in his first 48 games. Sanchez also hit .346 after the All-Star break after batting .226 in the first half.
--INF/OF Doug Mientkiewicz and OF Jason Michaels are the most likely of the Pirates' four potential free agents to return next seasons, as management has interest in re-signing both to one-year contracts. INFs Chris Gomez and Luis Rivas are not likely to be pursued, as rookie INF Luis Cruz made a good impression during a September call-up and is likely to be a backup next season.
BY THE NUMBERS: .407 -- C Ryan Doumit's batting average with runners in scoring position this season, tops among all National League players with at least 100 plate appearances in those situations.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "It's tough to get excited about this season on a personal level when you look at our record. It's tough to lose year in and year out but I truly believe we have the pieces in place to eventually have a good team." -- C Ryan Doumit, on hitting .318 with 15 home runs and 69 RBIs in 116 games in his first full season as a major league starter for a club that exceeded 90 losses for a fourth consecutive season.
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