Pirates’ Top 5 center fielders: Berry's take

No one loves a good debate quite like baseball fans, and with that in mind, we asked each of our beat reporters to rank the top five players by position in the history of their franchise, based on their career while playing for that club. These rankings are for fun and debate purposes only … if you don’t agree with the order, participate in the Twitter poll to vote for your favorite at this position.

Here is Adam Berry’s ranking of the top 5 center fielders in Pirates history. Next week: right field.

• Pirates All-Time Around the Horn Team: C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | LF

1. Andrew McCutchen, 2009-17
Key fact: Five-time All-Star and 2013 National League Most Valuable Player ranked among top five in NL MVP voting each year for four straight years

The next player on this list, not McCutchen, is the Pirates’ all-time leader in Wins Above Replacement among center fielders. But this isn’t just recency bias. Max Carey spent 17 years in Pittsburgh, while McCutchen managed to leap into the pantheon of Pirates greats in only nine seasons.

McCutchen ranks 14th in franchise history with 40.4 WAR despite putting together a pair of mere-mortal seasons before he was traded to the Giants. At his peak, he was undoubtedly one of the game’s best all-around players -- a legitimate difference-maker at the plate, on the bases and in center field.

McCutchen won a Gold Glove Award in 2012, when he also took home the first of his four consecutive Silver Slugger Awards. He finished third in NL MVP voting in ’12, won the award as he led the Bucs back to the postseason in ’13, then finished third in ’14 and fifth in ’15. He was the face of the franchise throughout the last decade and their leader during the club’s three best seasons since the early ‘90s.

McCutchen ranks fourth in franchise history with 203 homers, putting him behind only Willie Stargell, Ralph Kiner and Roberto Clemente. Only eight players have recorded more doubles for the Pirates than his 292, and seven of them -- all but Dave Parker -- are in the Hall of Fame. He’s 11th on Pittsburgh’s all-time RBI list, 12th in runs, seventh in walks and 16th in steals.

There’s an argument to be made that McCutchen was the Pirates’ best player since Barry Bonds and their most beloved star since Stargell. He was a model citizen in the community, someone who eagerly embraced everything that came along with playing for Clemente’s team. He was also a fan favorite, the 2015 Clemente Award winner, one of baseball’s most recognizable stars in the 2010s -- and a heck of a player, to boot.

2. Max Carey, 1910-26
Key fact: Pirates’ all-time leader in stolen bases ranks seventh in franchise history in WAR

Carey was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1961 after being voted in by the Veteran’s Committee. He hit .458 in the 1925 World Series, which the Pirates won in seven games. He stole 688 bases for Pittsburgh, more than even Honus Wagner. His 52.7 WAR -- compiled over a long career -- ranks behind only Wagner, Clemente, Paul Waner, Arky Vaughan, Stargell and Babe Adams.

Yet Carey, due to the era in which he played, might be the least recognized name on this list these days.

Nicknamed “Scoops,” Carey led the NL in steals 10 times, in walks twice and in triples twice. He hit for average, got on base and showed some power, with a career slash line of .287/.363/.391 for the Pirates during the deadball era. He ranks ninth in Major League history with 738 career steals, having stolen more than 50 bases in six different seasons and peaking at 63 in 1916. He recorded 339 outfield assists, including 220 from center field.

After a 20-year playing career, which he finished in Brooklyn, Carey totaled 2,665 hits and 1,545 runs with 419 doubles, 159 triples and 1,040 walks. He went on to coach for the Pirates in 1930 and manage two years for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1932-33.

3. Andy Van Slyke, 1987-94
Key fact: Five-time Gold Glove Award winner, three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner ranks third in WAR among Pirates center fielders

Van Slyke wasn’t the best player on those early 1990s Pirates teams. He wasn’t even the best outfielder, as he was flanked by Barry Bonds. But he was a terrific all-around player during his time in Pittsburgh, ranking 21st all time among Pirates players with 31 WAR in eight seasons.

Acquired from the Cardinals alongside Mike LaValliere and Mike Dunne in exchange for Tony Pena on April 1, 1987, Van Slyke went on to hit .283/.353/.458 with 117 homers, 203 doubles, 564 RBIs and 134 steals for the Pirates. He was particularly excellent as the Pirates won three straight division titles from 1990-92, batting .293 with a 137 OPS+ while winning three straight Gold Glove Awards.

Van Slyke finished fourth in the NL MVP voting in 1992 behind Bonds, Terry Pendleton and Gary Sheffield. That year, he hit .324/.381/.505 with 14 homers and 89 RBIs, stole 12 bases and racked up 11 outfield assists with his strong throwing arm.

4. Lloyd Waner, 1927-45
Key fact: Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1967, voted in by the Veteran’s Committee

“Little Poison,” the brother of fellow Hall of Famer Paul Waner, was appropriately nicknamed as he was listed at 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds. He was an excellent singles hitter who was nearly impossible to strike out.

He wasn’t the power threat that Paul was, but Lloyd showed his ability to hit right away. In his rookie year in 1927, he recorded 223 hits, scored 133 runs and walked more times (37) than he struck out (23). He finished sixth in the NL MVP voting, with Paul winning the award.

In his 18-year career, Lloyd struck out more than 13 times in only three seasons. He never totaled more than 23 strikeouts in a year. In his first 12 seasons with the Pirates, Lloyd batted .300 or better in 10 of them. He ranks fourth among Pirates center fielders with 27.6 WAR.

Overall, Lloyd totaled 2,459 hits and scored 1,201 runs in his career while batting .316 with a .353 on-base percentage. He also led NL center fielders in putouts three times (1929, ’31 and ’32) and fielding percentage three times (’35, ’37 and ’38).

5. Al Oliver, 1968-77
Key fact: Three-time All-Star batted .296 and played for five NL East championship teams in Pittsburgh

Oliver was part of the Pirates’ 1971 World Series championship team and a part of history as the first baseman in the Majors’ first all-minority lineup on Sept. 1, 1971. But Oliver’s best individual years on the field with the Pirates actually came after that as part of the Pittsburgh Lumber Company lineup.

From 1972-77, Oliver hit .305/.340/.464 while averaging 15 homers, 32 doubles, 83 RBIs and 84 runs per season. He earned three All-Star nods during that stretch and consistently received at least a few down-ballot NL MVP votes, twice finishing seventh in the baseball writers’ voting.

Nicknamed “Scoop” – not to be confused with Carey, who was “Scoops” -- Oliver went on to make four more All-Star teams after leaving Pittsburgh. He also won the 1982 NL batting title with the Expos. As a Pirate, he ranks fifth among center fielders with 27.3 WAR.

Honorable mention

Ginger Beaumont (1899-1906) isn’t exactly a household name, but he hit .321 with 200 steals for the Pirates and won the batting title in 1902. … Bill Virdon (1956-68) won a Gold Glove Award in 1962, two years after starting all seven World Series games in center field as the Pirates beat the Yankees. … Omar Moreno (1975-82) is a beloved member of the 1979 World Series championship “Fam-a-lee” who ranks third in franchise history with 412 stolen bases.