The younger half of one of baseball's most famous brother combinations, Lloyd Waner joined the Pirates in 1927 and settled in centerfield, next to brother Paul in right. Paul was known as Big Poison and Lloyd as Little Poison. While Paul captured most of the headlines by winning the 1927 National League batting crown (.380), Lloyd finished third (.355). He set a ML rookie record with 223 hits - 198 of them singles, setting the modern ML record. His 133 runs scored led the league. The Waners led Pittsburgh to the 1927 NL pennant; Lloyd had six hits in 15 at-bats in his first and only World Series, which the Yankees took in four games. The 5'9" 150-lb Waner was a lefthanded line-drive hitter. He collected more than 200 hits in each of his first three seasons and led the NL in at-bats in 1928 and 1929 and in triples in 1929. Coming off a .353 season, he missed most of 1930 due to appendicitis but returned with a vengeance in 1931, leading the NL with 214 hits and 681 at-bats (.314). He batted .309 or better in 10 of his 13 seasons as a Pirate regular. Waner was also an accomplished centerfielder. His arm was not outstanding, but he led the league in putouts four times, using his excellent speed to cover the spacious Forbes Field outfield. Waner retired after playing 101 games for the Phillies in 1942, but in 1944 he had a change of heart and returned to the Dodgers, to whom he had been traded during spring training of 1943. Released by the Dodgers on June 14, 1944, he signed with the Pirates the next day and remained with them, mostly as a little-used pinch hitter, through 1945. He scouted for Pittsburgh until 1949 and for the Orioles in 1955. The Committee on Baseball Veterans elected him to the Hall of Fame in 1967. (AL)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»May 30, 1927:
Unassisted triple plays are a rarity, but SS Jimmy Cooney makes one for the Cubs against Pittsburgh in the opener of the Memorial Day doubleheader. He catches Paul Waner's line drive, steps on 2B to retire Lloyd Waner, and tags Clyde Barnhart going back to 1B. Paul Waner still collects three hits and two RBI, but the Cubs win 7–6 in 10 innings to snap the Pirates 11-game win streak. The Bucs win the nitecap, 6–5, in 10 innings as Lloyd Waner has seven hits for the day.
»November 28, 1927:
The Pirates trade OF Kiki Cuyler to the Cubs for 2B Sparky Adams and OF Pete Scott. Cuyler had become expendable after rookie Lloyd Waner became a starter, but will be a great addition to the Cubs. Adams will have two seasons in Pittsburgh before going to the Cards.
»August 26, 1930: Hack Wilson has four RBIs to lead the Cubs over the Pirates 7–5. Wilson cracks a 2-run single in the 5th, but then allows a Lloyd Waner liner to skip by him for an inside-the-park-HR, and vows to atone. He hits his 44th home run, off young Larry French, breaking Chuck Klein's one-year-old National League record.
»June 26, 1935: Lloyd Waner has a still-standing major-league record 18 putouts in CF in a doubleheader as the Pirates take a pair from the Braves at Boston. The Buccaneers win 2–1 and 5–1 behind Bush and Swift.
»May 8, 1940: The Waner brothers, Lloyd Waner and Paul Waner, lose their places in the Pittsburgh OF when new manager Frank Frisch acquires Vince DiMaggio for Johnny Rizzo, who hit 23 home runs as a rookie in 1938 with Cincinnati. Vince takes over CF, flanked by Maurice Van Robays and Bob Elliott, each playing their first full season. Yesterday the Bucs sold OF Fern Bell to Toronto.
»May 7, 1941:
The Pirates send veteran Lloyd Waner to the Braves, where he will be reunited with his brother, in exchange for P Nick Strincevich. Waner will play just a month in Boston before being swapped to the Reds for Johnny Hutchings.
»March 9, 1943: The Phillies get Babe Dahlgren from the Dodgers for vet Lloyd Waner and Al Glossop. It is the Babe's 4th team in less two years.
»January 29, 1967: Branch Rickey and Lloyd Waner are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by a unanimous vote of the Special Veterans Committee.