Former major league right-hander Dave Giusti He has passed away, the Pirates announced this morning. He was 86 years old.
“We are saddened by the loss of such a beloved member of the Pirates family,” said Pirates chairman Bob Nutting in a statement this morning. “He was a key member of our 1971 World Series winning team and spent seven of his 15 major league seasons with the Pirates before finally making his home in Pittsburgh. Our condolences to his wife, Ginny, daughters, Laura and Cynthia, and the entire Giusti family.”
Giusti made his major league debut in 1962 – his age 22 campaign – with the Houston Colt .45s and posted a 5.62 earned run average over his first 73 2/3 innings. He didn’t make it to the majors in ’63 and only logged 25 2/3 MLB innings in ’64. In 1965, he established himself as a member of the Houston pitching staff, throwing 131 1/3 innings with a 4.32 ERA. That was ways higher than the league average of 3.50 at the time (77 ERA+, 125 ERA-), but it began a four-season run that saw Giusti log a regular career as a starter in Houston. From 1965-68, he pitched a combined 814 innings with a 3.90 ERA.
Houston traded Giusti to the Cardinals in the 1968-69 offseason. The Cardinals lost him to the Padres in the October 1968 expansion draft, but reacquired him two months later. He spent one season with the Cards (3.61 ERA, 99 2/3 innings) before being traded to the Pirates, with whom he would make his only All-Star team, complete three separate top-10 finishes in National League Cy Young voting, and win a World Series.
Giusti was almost the starting pitcher in his final seasons in Houston, but he started with Pittsburgh in 1970 and only three times in his seven seasons in black and gold. Giusti shifted just short of the seam for relief at a time when doing so was as rare as it is in today’s game. He saved 26 games for the Pirates in 1970, pitching 103 innings with a 3.61 ERA along the way.
Over the next few years, Giusti was a key playmaking arm for the Bucs. He saved a career-high 30 games in 1971, posting a 2.93 ERA in 86 regular-season frames before pitching 10 1/3 shutout innings during the playoffs as the Pirates went on to win the World Series. In all, Giusti pitched 618 regular season innings with the Pirates from 1970-76, accumulating 133 saves and a 2.94 earned run average along the way.
The Pirates traded Giusti to the A’s in the 1976-77 offseason – part of a nine-player trade that included notable names such as Phil Garner, Rick Langford again Tony Armas. Giusti pitched 85 2/3 innings between the A’s and Cubs, working to a 3.89 ERA in the 15th and final season of his major league career.
Giusti retired with a career record of 100-93, 145 saves, a 3.60 ERA and 1103 strikeouts in 1716 2/3 innings pitched. He won a World Series with the Pirates in ’71, made the All-Star team in ’73, received MVP votes in ’70 (sixth) and ’71 (14), and received Cy Young votes in ’70 (fourth), ’73 (seventh) and ’74 (ninth).
Giusti fans will want to check out Jason Mackey’s tribute to him in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where teammates Milt May and Steve Blass discuss the right-hander’s transition to the bullpen, the effectiveness of his signature palmball, and the never-give-in mindset that has led him to the top level of the game. We at MLBTR extend our condolences to Giusti’s family, friends, former teammates and the many fans who have gathered throughout his long and successful major league career.
