Bob Skinner, a World Series-winning player and coach, died on Monday in San Diego.
Skinner played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball before moving into a coaching role. He won two World Series titles with the Pirates — one as a player in 1960 and another as a coach in 1979 — and one while playing with the Cardinals in 1964.
“As a member of the 1960 World Series championship team, Bob was an important part of one of the most beloved teams in our storied history and helped deliver a moment that will forever be woven into the fabric of our city,” Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said, according to MLB.com. “Bob was a talented player, a proud Pirate and a respected member of the baseball community. On behalf of the entire Pirates organization, we extend our deepest condolences to Bob’s family, friends and all those who knew and loved him.”
Skinner hit .277 during the course of his career, made the National League All-Star team in 1958 and twice more in 1960, when the league held two All-Star games during a season.
Skinner started his baseball journey in 1951 and but had to step away from America’s pastime when he was drafted into the U.S. Marines during the Korean War, spending two years serving at the San Diego Recruiting Depot and even playing for the base team.
He went back to the Pirates during spring training in 1954 and debuted in the majors on April 13 of that year.
Skinner spent the next eight seasons — nine in total — with the Pirates before being traded to the Reds in 1963. He then moved to the Cardinals in 1964.
One of Skinner’s best seasons came in 1960 when he collected a career-high 86 RBIs, helping a Pirates team that would go on to win the World Series.
After he hung up his cleats at the end of the 1966 season, he moved into coaching and managing, working as the Phillies skipper in 1968-69 and then again as an interim manager for one game with the Padres in 1977. He also spent stints coaching with the Angels, Pirates and Braves.
Most recently, Skinner was a special assignment scout for the Astros in 2009.
His son Joel told MLB.com that his father had a “ridiculously long” baseball life.
“He touched a lot of people in baseball,” Joel Skinner said.
