Bob Skinner


Robert Ralph Skinner is an American former professional baseball outfielder / first baseman, manager, coach, and scout, who played in Major League Baseball for three National League teams. In all, Skinner spent over 50 years in the game. He played for two World Series championship teams, and was an All-Star in two seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Early life

Skinner was born on October 3, 1931, in La Jolla, California. He attended La Jolla High School, and played on its baseball team in the outfield. He had a.200 batting average as a junior and.302 batting average as a senior, and made an All-League team. Pittsburgh Pirate scout Tom Downey saw potential in Skinner because of the way he swung the bat. Downey got Skinner into semi-professional Sunday league baseball so he could further develop. Skinner's father, a Spanish and French language teacher, wanted Skinner to go to college so Skinner attended San Diego Junior College. He was pursued by a number of scouts after high school, but put them off because his father wanted Skinner to attend college. Skinner hit.411 on the school's baseball team. He left college after one year, and was signed by Downey to a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Professional career

The Pirates signed Skinner as an amateur free agent in 1950 or 1951. He had turned down offers from the Brooklyn Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox to sign with the Pirates. Skinner was a left-handed hitter who threw right-handed, was listed as tall and. He has also been reported at 6 ft 4½ in. He had the nickname "Sleepy" with the Pirates.

Minor leagues and military service

In 1951, Skinner played 98 games for the Class B Waco Pirates, with a.283 batting average, nine home runs, 58 runs batted in and 67 runs. He then played 29 games for the Class D Mayfield Clothiers, where he had a.472 batting average, six home runs, 50 hits, 40 runs scored, 29 RBIs and a 1.378 OPS.
His early minor-league career was interrupted by service in the United States Marine Corps, which lasted from November 5, 1951 through November 1, 1953. He did play organized baseball while serving in the Marines, hitting.402 and.379. According to his honorable discharge, he was a Corporal at the time of his separation and had earned the National Defense Service Medal. He was married the following February, just one week before starting training camp with the 1954 Pirates.
Skinner spent 1954 with the Pirates. In 1955, he was competing with Dale Long and Preston Ward for the first base position on the Pirates. Dale Coogan was to play first base for the Pirates' Double-A affiliate in the Southern Association, the New Orleans Pelicans; however, Coogan refused to report. Because the Pirates could not assign Long or Ward to the Pelicans without the risk of losing them to another team, the Pirates sent Skinner to New Orleans. Skinner played in 86 games for the Pelicans, with a.346 batting average, eight home runs, 62 RBIs, 62 runs and a.976 OPS. He had the second highest batting average in the Southern Association among players with over 300 at bats. Skinner's season ended after he broke his wrist on July 3.

Major league

Pittsburgh Pirates

Skinner played a full season for the Pirates in 1954. He started 116 games at first base that year. He hit.249 with eight home runs, 46 RBIs and 67 runs. After spending 1955 in Double-A baseball, Skinner returned to the Pirates in 1956 as a backup outfielder and first baseman, starting 30 games in the outfield and 19 at first base. He hit only.202 in 233 at bats. Dale Long was the Pirates starting first baseman in 1955, and remained so in 1956. Skinner was primarily considered a pinch hitter in 1956, and tied a 43-year old team record with three pinch hit home runs that season.
The Pirates moved Skinner to the outfield in 1957, where he started 83 games in left field while starting eight at first base. Skinner only began playing the outfield full time over the last two months of the season. Before that he had been hitting.296 primarily as a pinch hitter. On the season, he hit.305, raising his average over.100 points from the previous season, and was considered by many, including Pirates' manager Danny Murtaugh, the most improved player in the National League. Skinner had 13 home runs and led the Pirates with 10 stolen bases; one of only five players in the National League to have double figures in home runs and stolen bases. Murtaugh also believed Skinner improved defensively as an outfielder because of his exceptional speed and regular opportunity to play and gain more experience.
In 1958, Skinner started 141 games as the Pirates left fielder. He hit a career-high.321, with 13 home runs, 70 RBIs, 93 runs, 12 stolen bases and an.879 OPS. Skinner was selected to the National League All-Star Team for the first time, as the starting left fielder. He went 1-for-3 and had one RBI in the game, played in Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. He hit second in the NL's batting order, after leadoff hitter Wille Mays and before Stan Musial. Skinner was 15th in NL Most Valuable Player voting. He was fifth among all NL players in batting average and on-base percentage, sixth in offensive WAR and doubles, seventh in OPS, triples and runs, eighth in hits and tenth in total bases. The Pirates finished the season 84–70. In Skinner's three prior seasons with the Pirates, they had never won more than 66 games.
In mid-April 1959, he was injured trying to catch a Hank Aaron line drive, and it took him a few weeks to recover. Despite the slow beginning to the season, Skinner again started 141 games in left field, and hit.280, with 13 home runs, 61 RBIs and 78 runs. The Pirates finished the season 78–76, in fourth place.
In 1960, the Pirates won the World Series in seven games over the New York Yankees, and Skinner became an All-Star for the second season in his career. He started 140 games in left field, and hit.273 with 15 home runs, 83 RBIs, 83 runs and 11 stolen bases. Skinner started the July 11 All-Star Game in left field, batting second between Mays and future Hall of Fame third baseman Eddie Mathews. He was 1-for-4 with a run, RBI and a stolen base. He also started the July 13 All-Star Game, again batting second; this time between Mays and Aaron. He was 1-for-3 in the game.
Skinner was 1-for-3 in Game 1 of the 1960 World Series, batting third in the lineup. He had a single, RBI, stolen base, and run scored in the first inning of the Pirates 6–4 victory. In the second inning he caught a short fly ball and threw to second base for a double play against Yogi Berra. He was also hit by a Ryne Duren pitch in the game. Skinner jammed his thumb during the game sliding into third base, however, and did not play again until Game 7; being replaced in left field by Gino Cimoli for Games 2 through 6. He was 0-for-2 in Game 7, with a base on balls, run scored and a sacrifice bunt, in the Pirates 10–9 series winning victory.
In 1961, Skinner experienced a variety of maladies and injuries. He started only 96 games in left field, appearing in only 119 total games. He hit.268, with three home runs and 42 RBIs in only 381 at bats; his lowest production in all of these categories since 1956. Skinner put himself through a rigorous training and conditioning program after the season ended and through the winter, even giving up his off season job with a San Diego newspaper to focus on his training regime. He came into the 1962 season in the best shape of his career at 30-years old.
In 1962, Skinner played in 144 games, with nearly 600 plate appearances. He had a.302 batting average, and career-highs in home runs, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Skinner also had 75 RBIs, 87 runs and 10 stolen bases. The Pirates went from sixth place in 1961 to fourth place in 1962. He was third in the NL in on-base percentage, eighth in offensive WAR and OPS, and ninth in doubles. Skinner finished 22nd in NL Most Valuable Player voting.
On May 23, 1963, the Pirates traded Skinner to the Cincinnati Reds for 33-year old Jerry Lynch, known as one of the greatest pinch hitters in baseball history. Skinner and Lynch had started as rookies together on the 1954 Pirates. By 1963, Lynch was not a regular player, and was older, slower and a weaker fielder than Skinner. Skinner had started 30 games for the Pirates at the time of the trade, and was hitting.270 in 122 at bats, with five doubles and five triples, but no home runs. Lynch had started four games in the outfield for the Reds, and was hitting.250 in 32 at bats, including two pinch hit home runs. The Pirates were weak hitting as a team and in fifth place. General manager Joe L. Brown believed Skinner was underperforming as a hitter that season, and that Lynch might stimulate the Pirates' offensive production; while a new team might be a positive change for Skinner to become a more productive hitter again.

Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals

Skinner started 46 of the 72 games he played for the Reds in 1963, hitting.253 in 194 at bats, with three home runs, 17 RBIs and 25 runs. He played behind future Hall of Famer Frank Robinson and rookie Tommy Harper in the outfield. Skinner's production did not live up to Reds' manager Fred Hutchison's expectations. The following season, on June 13, 1964, after appearing in only 25 games for the Reds, Skinner was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for 25-year old minor league catcher Jim Saul and cash.
Skinner started 29 of the 55 games in which he appeared for the Cardinals in 1964, batting.271 in 118 at bats, with one home run, 16 RBIs and 10 runs. The Cardinals defeated the New York Yankees in the 1964 World Series. Skinner appeared as a pinch hitter four times during the series. He had two hits in three at bats, with one base on balls and one RBI.
He played two more seasons for the Cardinals before being released in October 1966, ending his MLB career. Starting 28 games in 1965, he hit.309 with five home runs, 26 RBIs, 25 runs and an.853 OPS. In 1966, he was used solely as a pinch hitter, batting.156 in 45 at bats.
Over his 12-year career, he batted.277 with 1,198 hits, including 197 doubles, 58 triples and 103 homers.