The Hard Way
By Guy Junker

Ten different players have won a total of 24 National League batting titles while playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. No other team in league history can boast that many batting champions. On a list that includes Hall-of-Famers Arky Vaughan, Paul Waner, Roberto Clemente and Honus Wagner, the most obscure of the group is a slightly built Texan named Debs Garms. Mostly a part-time player for four different teams over a 12 year major league career, Garms had a nice .293 career batting average. But in 1940, the first of two years that he played with the Pirates, he had the best season of his life, winning the N.L. batting title with an average of .355.

The catch is, he only had 358 at-bats and just 385 plate appearances, which would not qualify him under today's standards. Since 1958 a player must have 3.1 plate appearances for every game his team plays, or 502 for a 162 game season. Back then, players were only required to appear in 100 games, which Garms barely did, playing in 103.

While the strange-but-true story of Debs Garms' may be the most unusual among Pirates batting champs, Freddy Sanchez is making a run at replacing him. Should Sanchez win the 25th batting title in team history, it will be the most amazing of the lot. Why? Let's start at the beginning.

First, Sanchez was born with a "club" foot and doctors told his parents that he might never be able to walk normally. Even making it to the major leagues is a great story. Second, the Pirates went out and spent $4 million on Joe Randa because they didn't have enough confidence in Sanchez as their everyday third baseman. In fact, had Randa not gotten hurt, the Sanchez batting title chase probably never materializes. Third, and most impressive, none of the previous Pirates batting champs played on a last place team. In fact, only four of the previous 24 Pirates winners played on teams with losing records.

Obviously it is much harder to hit in a last place lineup than a first place lineup. Honus Wagner, Paul Waner and Dick Groat all won batting titles while playing on Bucco teams that went to the World Series. They also couldn't be pitched around as easily as Sanchez this year. He was even walked intentionally to get to Jason Bay on occasion.

Consider that of the 106 N. L. batting title winners since 1900, 18 played on World Series teams. Only 29 played on losing teams. If Sanchez can do it, he will be just the sixth National Leaguer to win the batting title while playing on the team with the worst record in the league, and just the third to do it on the worst team in a 162 game season.

However the story of Freddy Sanchez plays out, it's been one of the few surrounding the Pirates that's been worth following in recent years. And it could still become one of the most interesting in Pirate history.

Guy Junker is co-host of the Junker & Crow Show on ESPN Radio 1250 weekdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.