Former Pirates All-Star outfielder Bob Skinner dies at age of 94

Bob Skinner (Google Images)

Former Major League Baseball All-Star outfielder Bob Skinner of La Jolla, California passed away on Monday at the age of 94. Skinner played 12 Major League seasons from 1954 to 1966. He was with the Pittsburgh Pirates for nine seasons from 1954 to 1963, before playing two seasons with the Cincinnati Reds from 1963 to 1964, and three seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1964 to 1966.

Skinner batted .277 with 103 home runs and 531 runs batted in. During 1381 games, 4318 at bats and 4874 plate appearances, he scored 642 runs and had 1198 hits, 197 doubles, 58 triple, 67 stolen bases, 1820 total bases, 33 sacrifice bunts, 20 sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of ,351 and a slugging percentage of .421.

Skinner’s All-Star seasons came with the Pirates in 1958 and 1960. In 1958, Skinner batted .321 with 13 home runs and 70 runs batted in. That season, he had career highs in runs scored (93), hits (170), doubles (33), triples (nine), stolen bases (12), total bases (260), sacrifice flies (five), and batting average (.321). In 1960, Skinner batted .273 with 15 home runs. He had career highs in doubles (33), sacrifice bunts (five), and runs batted in (86).

Skinner also won two World Series. The first with the Pirates in 1960 and the second with the Cardinals in 1964. He batted .375 in 12 postseason plate appearances. With the Cardinals, Skinner was teammates to Hall of Famers Lou Brock and Bob Gibson.

Prior to playing in the Major Leagues, Skinner had two years of military service with the United States Marine Corps from 1951 to 1953. According to Bill Hartlep of triblive.com, Skinner served in the Korean War, was a Corporal, and earned a national defense service medal.

After his playing career, Skinner was a Major League Baseball manager. He was with the Philadelphia Phillies for two seasons (1968 and 1969), and managed one game with the San Diego Padres in 1977. Skinner had a record of 93 wins and 123 losses.