The Pirates announced today that former major league catcher Ed Ott passed away today at the age of 72. “We are saddened by the loss of such a beloved member of the Pirates family,” said Pirates President Travis Williams in a statement. “Ed spent seven of his eight years in the Major Leagues with the Pirates and was a valued member of our World Series Championship team in 1979. It was great to see him last summer when he was in Pittsburgh to support former teammate Kent Tekulve at our Hall of Fame induction ceremony.”
Born in Muncy, Pennsylvania in 1951, Ott was part of both the football and wrestling teams at his local high school although he did not play baseball there on account of the school not having a baseball team. Instead, Ott participated in American Legion Baseball during the summers as a third baseman before being drafted in the 23rd round of the 1970 draft by the Pirates, at which point the club converted him from the infield to the outfield. Ott spent three seasons as an outfielder in the Pirates’ minor league system before the club once again asked him to change positions, this time moving him behind the plate.
While Ott had previously made his major league debut in 1974 as a bench bat with a brief two-game cameo in right field, he’d spend the next six seasons of his career as a catcher for the Pirates. After making just 10 trips to the plate across his first two big league seasons combined, Ott impressed in a 27 game stint as an emergency catcher behind injured backstops Manny Sanguillén and Duffy Dyer. While his playing time remained limited, Ott made the most of the opportunity by slashing .308/.349/.359, an above average slash for the era. That winter, the Pirates shipped Sanguillén to the A’s as compensation for hiring away manager Chuck Tanner, a deal that opened the door for Ott to take on primary catcing duties in the 1977 season.
In his first season as a major league regular, Ott performed well with a respectable .264/.334/.395 slash line in 347 trips to the plate across 104 games while spending 712 2/3 innings behind the plate. That combination of reliability behind the plate and roughly league average offense continued for the rest of Ott’s time with the Pirates, as he slashed .268/.316/.383 across the next three seasons while appearing in at least 112 games during each season. Ott is most famous for his role as a key piece on Pittsburgh’s 1979 team, which won 98 games before sweeping the Reds in the NLCS and being crowned World Series champions after beating the Orioles in a seven-game set. It’s the fifth and most recent championship in franchise history. Ott went 7-for-25 during that postseason, knocking in three runs during the World Series and scoring the game-winning run against Baltimore in Game 2.
Ott’s time in Pittsburgh came to an end following the 1980 season when he was traded to the then-California Angels alongside southpaw Mickey Mahler in exchange for All Star first baseman Jason Thompson. Ott appeared in 75 games for the Angels in 1981, though he batted just .217 with .545 OPS before undergoing surgery on his rotator cuff that winter, causing him to miss the 1982 campaign. Ott spent the next two seasons in the Angels’ minor league system before retiring in 1984. Following his playing career, Ott went on to serve as a minor league manager in the Pirates organization and a big league coach with the Astros and Tigers.
We at MLBTR join the rest of the baseball world in sending our condolences to Ott’s family, friends, loved ones, and former teammates and colleagues around the league.
I’ll never forget every member of that ’79 Pirates team, it’s what got me hooked on baseball.
RIP Mr. Ott, and thoughts & prayers to his loved ones.
RIP to him and also UL Washington, two former Pirates gone today
Did not know that UL passed as well. Remember him being in Pgh at the end of his career. RIP UL …..
Roberto – I didn’t know either, hadn’t heard that name in decades.
And yet I still remember the toothpick!
Rest in peace UL …. thoughts and prayers to family and friends.
Larry Demery a former Pirate also passed away. I was hoping MLB Trade Rumors would report Demery’s death to honor him.
I missed about Larry too. I don’t think local Pittsburgh media mentioned it at all.
The Pirates had a press release. I sent to MLB Trade Rumors also.
And another Pittsburgh icon , football , Andy Russel
I heard about Andy.
I read about Larry’s passing on the team’s website yesterday
Players from my younger years are passing at a high rate lately so to everyone who posts here, my advice, don’t take life for granted as you never know when it might come to an end
RIP, Larry, Ed and U.L
Condolences to your respective families
Wasn’t Demery the guy with the funky short-arm delivery? I have occasionally wondered why his career ended so young.
RIP to him as well.
Jose DeLeon is another recent Pirate loss; he did get a MLBTR article.
Not much on Demery and his arm injuries. He was not a bad pitcher.
Larry and his brother, who also made the majors, are from my hometown and are a source of local pride.
My dad went to school with them and played baseball with them.
Wikipedia has two different dates for Demery’s death. And Baseball-Reference still lists him as alive.
RIP Ed…..
RIP Eddie. You were fun to watch ad a key piece in the We are Family Bucs of 1979. Prayers for peace and strength for your family and friends.
Sad. I had the chance to meet Ed at a Pirates fantasy camp 20 years ago. He sure had some interesting stories about the 1979 run. RIP.
A great Yankee. Rip
“I’ll never forget”..It’s hard to believe I have such vivid memories of Barry Bonds, Dave Parker, Kent Tekulve and Willie Stargell on that ’79 team, yet can barely remember Ed Ott. I guess people remember what was most important to them. Anyways, R.I.P, Mr. Ott.
Barry Bonds did not play in 1979. He predominantly played in the 90’s with the Pirates.
“Barry Bonds did not play”…You got me there. I clearly conflated some yrs because Barry Bonds was actually a Pirate from ’86-’92. I have been watching MLB for 52 years and clearly, my memory isn’t quite as good as it used to be.
It’s ok. Loved the Pirates NL East battles in the 70’s and the championship run in ‘79. Like you, it is forever etched in my memory
Funny you bring up Bonds, however. I’ve been following an instagram Bonds appreciation account and have to say his is still the sweetest swing I’ve ever seen, and I go back to the 60’s.
I’ll never understand the obsession with home run titles that undoubtedly led to taking PEDs.
Loved the Pirates teams of the 70’s, and equally enjoyed Leyland’s teams
Condolences to Ed Orr. I can remember his batting and catching styles like yesterday, too
72. Jeez. Gone too soon
*Ott. Apologies. Big, clumsy fingers
Been watching ball for 55 or so myself , hazy moments happen lol
Barry best hitter , maybe player ( Ohtani ?) ever saw.
@tiredolddude Bonds’ swing was as smooth as Griffey’s. But Bonds’ was shorter/quicker to the ball and more powerful. Nobody could turn on inside heat like Bonds. Wouldn’t be surprised if nobody ever will.
Yea but Pirates had Parker and Madlock! Both better pure hitters than Bonds.
Their 79 team had an incredible number of player
Parker, Stargell, Garner, Madlock, Foli, Ott, Milner, Candalaria, Blylevin, Tekulve just to name a few
Their manager Chuck Tanner, despite having lost his mother during the WS led the team to a championship
Disagree completely
Watched Madlock and agree that he had very quick hands and was a dangerous hitter
Parker on the other hand benefits a great deal from revisionist love. You could full him on curve balls in the dirt. Good player, good arm. But he couldn’t carry Bonds’s shoes.
5 titles between the 2! Almost 6, Madlock lost another last day of season.?
He came here with the rep of being a locker room cancer but playing under Tanner made him a great, huge addition. Good fielder at 3rd, too
Different type of player and swing than Bonds.
I dunno. Bonds, Griffey were generational players
Madlock would be the next group down. Tremendous player
Madlock is a name that always brings back many memories.
Growing up I was a Cubbie fan ( Williams , santo , Hundley, Hickman , cardenal , etc) and my favourite player of all time was my countryman Ferguson Jenkins. Fergie was traded for Madlock , a day I will never forget. Btw Fergie is more of a HOF human being than a baseball HOFer. Amazing human being
They would have won that 1979 world series if they had Bonds.
Uh, they did win that ‘79 series, Dream
But still hurts that those early 90’s teams couldn’t get past the NLCS
I thought the west winners who were well east of the Mississippi were better. Pirates did well to win division and put up a strong fight in playoffs. The 20 years after that were brutal. Fans don’t deserve that level of awful management. Actually they do because so many hate Huntington Cherington who are actually capable gms.
Dream-The Reds were a great team during the 1970’s but 1979 was the last year that Bench,Perez,Rose,and Morgan were all together.The Pirates owed them from previous playoff years,and were the better team in 1979 as they swept the Reds.
You may be thinking of the Braves against the Pirates in 91 and 92.
The Pirates had a fine team in 88 and 90 also.
The losing started big time in 1993.
You’re a bit off here, Dream
The Big Red Machine era was over by ‘79. It was the Pirates year, beating the O’s in the WS
You mention “next 20 years”
Really, the next decade or so
Loved watching the Bonds/Bonilla and especially Van Slyke era. Shame they never got to a WS
You bring up a good point about GMs here and it’s funny how one can quickly go from goat to hero and vice versa very quickly
To a great degree, Huntington is remembered for decimating the minor league system at the end of his tenure He’s called a buffoon. And yet, he engineered some great Pirates teams years before and pulled the switch on a number of great additions
You bring up past GMs
Larry Doughty was a wheeler dealer who put together Leyland’s finest teams but unless I’m wrong, took a lot of heat when those teams finally came to a screeching halt, free agents signed elsewhere and breaking up the band became the idea. He was fired despite having a winning team. And Ted Simmons paid for more guys leaving a season later and the start of a long string of bad teams here
And was it Harding Peterson who put together the 79 team? Getting Madlock, Garner, Foli…. and yet, after that team won it was downhill for a number of years, with the drug trials era looming
Point is, there are few exemplary GMs when you look at the full body of work under their administration. So many factors play in
In a modern era sense, I don’t think Huntington was a bad GM nor do I think Cherington is.
Cam Bonifay? Dave Littlefield? Not so much
Let’s not forget Syd Thrift who traded fan favorite Tony Pena to the Cardinals for Andy Van Slyke and Mike Dunne
I was joking. I know they won in 79. Was talking about the 90 reds.
I have good news today. I saw Davis catch today and huge improvement from last season. He went and got outside the organization instruction this winter. Looks a lot more comfortable. Framing has improved significantly. Picks have improved. He’s good enough to catch if needed. Hopefully improves good enough to be a passable backup. Starter we will see but do you really want that bat catching majority of games? Will have to see more and especially his pop times and throwing accuracy. His bat might be so good you can put him a ss cf who cares. I think he can catch though even if it’s bat first below average framing and low caught stealing.
90 2000s had awful gms and ownership. Reckless spending. Some of the scrubs they overpaid for. You have to be a complete idiot to get in financial trouble owning a baseball team.
The biggest fake news the agenda Pittsburgh media has fans believing is the Pirates drafted players to save money. Fans should wish that was true. But unfortunately they paid just as much as everyone else. They actually thought those players were good.
They should build a statue of Huntington. That’s how awful the previous gms were. Between the Bay and Archer trade NH was best trader in baseball. Best signer of lower cost free agents. Fans should celebrate the Archer trade. It got NH fired and a better gm. Not like NH was going to develop those pitchers anyways. I wasn’t a Archer fan but they didn’t use him right and it’s hard to predict injuries.
My favorite Pirate ever, TheMan3. Good call
Depends on the man, no? Some guys could catch and still produce over a protracted period. For this year at least, he should be the go-to catcher
When Endy gets back, then you split some time
What are your impressions of Skenes? Cruz? Others?
Agree about Huntington 100% Dream. He didn’t suddenly become an idiot but took a very bad gamble to try for a wild card slot
My thought on the trade was it wasn’t worth sending 3 top prospects for a guy who might win 5 games down the stretch. And having seen enough of Archer, well, he wasn’t the guy I’d have made the gamble with.
I hated the Archer trade. I thought he was a low 4 era innings eater. Some in Pirates thought by using his 2 seamer more. Working lower in zone. Out of AL East. He would do better. They had him for pretty low price for 2019 2020 and even a 2021 option they didn’t use but if healthy they would have. So 4 playoff pushes. That isn’t cheap to aquire. Look what teams only pay for 2 months. Pirates were probably aware of Meadows mental health. Was no longer looking like a 5 tool CF. Glasnow was in bullpen. They couldn’t figure out hos control problems. They just drafted Baz and he had starter reliever questions. Either way he had lots of development ahead of him. It wasn’t a huge awful over pay. Just not a trade win and it had awful results. Combine that with Morton Cole and the guy who became instantly better when they traded to Milwaukee it got NH fired. A huge sample size all at once of failed development.
Hayes looks like the best version you have seen of him. Hitting ball hard. Reynolds looks like Reynolds. Jack like Jack. Cruz shows no signs of ankle issues. Looks patient at plate. Doesn’t look over matched vs LHP. Peguero plus defender at 2b. Can handle SS. Gonzales can handle 2b. Bat looks good. Triolo looks like last year and will probably be utility player even if he is the best 2b because he is best option of the 3 at 3b 1b by far. Both the other 2 need to prove they can keep the k’s down. But either one should be ok at 2b. It’s not a strong position right now in mlb. Joe looks like Joe. Cutch Palacios still out but be back soon enough. New CF minor league deal Cel something don’t want to butcher his name. Good glove and bat got off to hot start. See how it goes. Olivares I haven’t noticed anything really but I loved the trade for him so won’t be surprised he is in RF a lot. Delay Sanchez solid enough back ups. Guiteriz nice minor depth. Grandal frames good enough. Might or even probably be catcher 1. Fans won’t like it but it’s the right decision and probably happens.
Minor league contract relievers look good. Minor league prospect relievers not as much. Bullpen could be should be one of the better ones. Perez looks ready for regular season starts. Best free agent available this year and we got him. Hill cost 8 million last year. Perez cost 8 million this year. Inflation and pitching market he cost much less than Hill. His floor is Hill. His ceiling is pitching in the All Star game. It amazes me how stupid baseball front offices are. All they have to do is send a intern over here and see what I am saying and they would have the best front office in baseball. Gonzales not impressive yet but he isn’t supposed to be. You hope he gives you a era under 5 and anything else is bonus. A+ trade. 3 million for a veteran mlb starter. Can’t go wrong. He hit 89mph so the surgeons attached his arm at least. Still early. He can end up being solid. Contreras sitting 95 96. Last year 92. So he can be a 5th starter. If he does any of these 3 things better command, better rpm on fastball or breaking ball he can be a 4 or 3. Orriz mph up as well 96 97 even seen a 98. Look great today. Struck out the side maybe if I remember. 96 97 will play. All the starter prospects look great. Like future mid rotation or better or setup closer if the 3rd pitch won’t play. Ashcraft Bubba look ready to take another step forward. Solometo looked fine. Skenes still looks like the best pitching prospect anyone has ever seen or 2nd best for some. If I left anyone out just ask me.
Love the analysis. Thanks
Seems like they sent Bubba and Solometo down early but at least they’re keeping Jones and Skenes around a bit longer.
Yeah, I understand your points now that you’d made about Perez. Hope he pans out all season
Ortiz has been a nice surprise and I admit, I didn’t expect Roansy to regain his fastball.
2nd base will be interesting. Will they keep all these guys? Seems they have a logjam there, in RF and at catcher now
Any indication that Suwinski has made adjustments in his swing?
Thanks for your insights. Much appreciated
I’m all about prospects. Only veterans I looked at closely were the starters who lost their velocity last year and Davis to see if his winter instruction work paid off. Haven’t noticed anything about Jack but haven’t seen him much and wasn’t paying attention. Heard him say he worked on consistency this winter. And that’s his biggest problem. His slumps are too often and the worst slumps you can have. If he can limit them he would be a much better hitter overall. If he doesn’t hit LHP he likely hopefully won’t face it as much moving forward.
I dunno how the bench will play out. A back up catcher is certain. I been pushing for that backup to be Davis. The news or rumor of sending him to AAA would be awful for PR. Pirates are awful at PR so who knows. Joe has a spot. Triolo has a spot. I think Joe plays a lot of 1b but can play outfield. Can Cutch play outfield and stay healthy? I think the last spot comes down to RF. Olivares or Palacios makes team. Bae would be perfect but he can’t field or hit. Still bad reads and routes in CF. So that leaves the 2b job loser back to minors. Unless Olivares Palacios stink and they are willing to use Joe Cutch out there and have Triolo play more 1b. My guess they want Peguero Gonzales playing everyday so one goes to AAA. Could start season with 1 less reliever to sort things out if they need more time. Teams much prefer having 13 pitchers though.
Had a great Strato card in 79. Rip Ed.
UL gone to the sky with a toothpick no doubt.
Mlbfan, vivid memories of Barry Bonds on the ’79 Pirates?? Nope, faulty memories perhaps. 1986 maybe, but not ’79. I’m less surprised you don’t recall Ed Ott now.
“Vivid memories of Barry”..Did that make you feel superior, you blowhard? Some of us didn’t start watching last week like you, so we do forget and conflate from time to time.
RIP Mr. Ott. You wore a halo as a Angel
His wrestling background made him great at blocking the plate back when that was allowed.
I remember him being the lefty half of a platoon with Steve Nicosia on that 79 team. And how happy I was as a HS kid when they won the Series.
Thanks for the great memories and RIP.
Yup my strato team was heavily platooned in 89 , Os had a guy named Roenicke with crazy spilts too. Weaver loved platooning
79
Son of Mel Ott, no?
No. Mel died 2 years prior to Ed being born. Not related as far as is known.
A solid player that I liked quite a bit. My condolences to his family
RIP
RIP. Another one from my childhood moving on to the Field of Dreams.
You said it, sascoach.
I remember Ed Ott well. Really sad to hear this.
RIP Ed.
Remember seeing his Topps baseball card and the back of the card said Ed had the shortest name in MLB history.
So sorry to hear about this I grew up in Hughesville, Pa not far from Muncy where Ed is from. As a child my little brother was a huge Pirates fan and my grandparents lived in Pittsburgh so we drove there and went to the Phillies – Pirates game and Ed Ott was coming up to bat and my little brother said come on Ed Ott hit a home run and he did! One of my families favorite baseball stories RIP Ed Ott!
A low point in Ott’s career was August 12, 1977.
In a game against the Mets at Three Rivers Stadium, he slid into second base trying to break up a double play. He slammed into second baseman Felix Millan like a NFL linebacker, knocking Millan to the ground with his face in the dirt.
Millan got up and punched Ott in the face. Ott responded by picking up the much smaller Millan and body-slamming him to the ground.
The benches cleared, Ott was ejected, and Millan was carried off on a stretcher with a broken clavicle and dislocated shoulder, injuries that ended his season and MLB career. He then played three seasons in Japan before retiring.
Obviously an unfortunate incident that didn’t mean Ott was a bad guy.
He was a bad guy he ended a good guys career by sliding with intent to injure. Bush leaguer!!!
That was an ugly incident. Millan actually punched Ott in the jaw with baseball in hand, then Ott slammed him down, ending Millan’s career. Being a Mets fan, I always despised Ott after that.
I also thought it ended Milan’s career, but he went to have three good years playing in Japan before retiring.
Red Hot Ed Ott.
RIP Ed. No bs
RIP, had the privilege to meet him as a child at a tigers game with my church youth group. We went on the field and did some drills and played catch with the Christian players and coaches. He told us he had the record for shortest full name in MLB history haha, will never forget it!
Seunghwan Oh
RIP.
We’re losing a lot of that generation now. The “We Are Family” Pirates looked like a fun team. Bring a part of it had to have been special, even by MLB standards.
Every time I hear that song it reminds me of the’79 Buc-O’s. Great team. RIP
1977 Rookie All Star Team:
C PIT Ed Ott
1B BAL Eddie Murray
2B TEX Bump Wills
3B OAK Wayne Gross
SS SDP Bill Almond
UT TOR Bob Bailor
LF MON Warren Cromartie
LF DET Steve Kemp
CF SEA Ruppert Jones
CF MON Andre Dawson
OF SDP Gene Richards
DH OAK Mitchell Paige
SP NYY Ron Guidry*
SP DET Dave Rozema
SP SFG Bob Knepper*
SP HOU Mark Lemongello
SP SDP Bob Shirley*
RP STL Buddy Schultz*
RP MIL Bob McClure*
RP PHI Warren Brusstar
RP SEA Enrique Romo
RP CHC Willie Hernandez*
Lot of interesting names on that list and a few specific to the Pirates. Romo was a productive closer for awhile. Paige had been a Pirates farmhand. Ott, of course
And perhaps the worst Pirates contract of the late 90’s, Steve Kemp
The franchise that once had past their primes like George Hendrick and Derek “Houseboat” Bell, also had this guy
You left out the disaster that was Amos Otis in a Bucs’ uniform. Spot on with Hendrick and Bell, though. Those two are on the Mt. Rushmore of terrible Pirates who were good elsewhere. A strong case could be made for any of Kemp, Overbay or Jeromy Burnitz to be there as well.
It’s absolutely silly how many entries Bob McClure has in the Career Brewers record books. (Not saying anything bad about McClure, he had his uses, it just makes me giggle.)
That 77 OF is super fun.
79 Series was a very early World Series for me, I remember Ed Ott. I’m sorry to hear that he passed.
As a Mets fan, I of course always remembered the Millan fight. But I also remember thinking as a kid, “Hey, this guy only has five letters in his name!”
Two of my favorite 2B of the 70s careers’ effectively ended in 1977. Ed Ott, after Felix Millan took exception to an Ed Ott late hard slide and took a swing at Ott with the ball in his hand, pile drove Felix Millan into the turf shattering his shoulder and ending his career. Later that season Rennie Stennett, who never learned to slide, was having his best season. He shattered his right leg leaping into the bag on an extra base hit. He was lost the remainder of the season and possibly cost the Pirates the NL East. Stennett was never the same.
I always hated Jason Thompson as a kid, compounded by the fact that they traded Ott for him. I get that Pena was the future at that point, but man, Thompson always had an inopportune strikeout or ready-made double play grounder up his sleeve at the worst time. I’ll go to my grave holding onto the belief that the Pirates could have won the division in 1983 if Thompson would have been half what he was the prior season.
Yes, he was a frustrating player. Always expected him to become a 30+ homer guy but it never came. That was a strange season. No longer anything resembling The Lumber Company, they were scrappy. Always liked Mike “Hit Man” Easler. Had to look it up but Madlock and Parker were still Pirates
Was tough as nails old school C. RIP
He could get his entire name on a vanity license plate in any state.