What was the nickname of the 1978 National League MVP and a two-time batting champion, who started off in a minor league baseball team, based in Monroe, North Carolina?
Monroe Pirates The Monroe Pirates were a minor league baseball team, based in Monroe, North Carolina, in 1971. The team was the city's second team in the Western Carolinas League, after the Monroe Indians left for Sumter, South Carolina in 1970. The club was a class-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates and went on to produce the notable major league careers, of Dave Parker, Ed Ott, Tony Armas and Mario Mendoza.
Dick Groat Richard Morrow "Dick" Groat (born November 4, 1930) is a former two-sport athlete best known as a shortstop in Major League Baseball. He played for four National League teams, mainly the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals, and was named the league's Most Valuable Player in 1960 after winning the batting title with a .325 average for the champion Pirates. From 1956 to 1962 he teamed with second baseman Bill Mazeroski to give Pittsburgh one of the game's strongest middle infields; he led the NL in double plays a record five times, in putouts four times and in assists twice. At the end of his career he ranked ninth in major league history in games at shortstop (1,877) and fourth in double plays (1,237), and was among the NL career leaders in putouts (10th, 3,505), assists (8th, 5,811) and total chances (9th, 9,690). Also an excellent basketball player, he attended Duke University and is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He was twice an All-American at Duke and was voted as the Helms National Player of the Year in 1952 after averaging 25.2 points per game. He played one season as a guard in the National Basketball Association. In 2011 Groat was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame, becoming the first man ever inducted into both the college basketball and college baseball halls of fame. He is currently the color commentator for Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball radio broadcasts.