Pie Traynor - Post-retirement and Legacy

Post-retirement and Legacy

After spending time as a scout for the Pirates, Traynor eventually took a job as a sports director for a Pittsburgh radio station in 1944. His radio broadcasts became popular with Pittsburgh sports fans and he remained at the job for 21 years. Traynor retired from broadcasting in 1965. In 1948, Traynor was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, being the first third baseman to be chosen by the Baseball Writers Association of America. In 1969, as part of the observance of the centennial of professional baseball, Traynor was named the third baseman on Major League Baseball's all-time team. In 1971, he threw out the first pitch of Game 3 of the 1971 World Series at Three Rivers Stadium. He died in 1972 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the age of 73 not long after the Pirates moved into Three Rivers Stadium and retired his uniform number 20. Traynor was buried in Homewood Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

In 1999, he ranked number 70 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Baseball historian Bill James ranked Traynor 15th all-time among third baseman in his Historical Baseball Abstract. One notable difference between modern players and players from Traynor's era, was the difference in baseball gloves. While modern players use webbed gloves, players during Traynor's era used gloves whose primary function was protection of the hands. Instead of using his glove to backhand balls hit to his right, Traynor often snared them with his bare throwing hand.