Pirates' World Championship Team Player Dies

PITTSBURGH, PA — For the third time this year, a member of a Pirates World Series championship team has died.

The Bucs announced on Tuesday that Bob Skinner, an outfielder on the 1960 Pirates team that defeated the New York Yankees in the series, has passed away.

He was 94.

“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 owner Bob Nutting said in a statement.

“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.”

According to MLB.Com, in the first game of the famous seven-game 1960 World Series, Skinner's sacrifice bunt in game seven aided the Pirates' five-run rally in the eighth inning, which led to Bill Mazeroski's famed historic walk-off home run in the ninth inning.

Mazeroski died in February.

Skinner also was a Pirates' coach during the 1979 "We are Family" World Championship team.

He is the third World Series-winning Pirates player to die this year. In addition to Mazeroski, Dave Giusti, a relief pitcher for the Bucs' 1971 championship team, died in January.