Pirates mourn the loss of Bob Veale, World Series winner and 2x All-Star

The Pittsburgh Pirates are mourning the loss of franchise legend Bob Veale, who died on Tuesday at 89 years old. Veale was a two-time All-Star in consecutive MLB seasons (1965 and 1966), and won the World Series with the club in 1971.

The Southpaw, who was born in Birmingham, Alabama, used to tantalize batters with his pitching arsenal in the big leagues. He played 10 seasons with the Buccos before getting released in 1972 and signing with the Red Sox. Veale ended up playing three seasons in Boston before hanging up his cleats in 1974.

"We mourn the passing of former pitcher Bob Veale. Veale was a member of our 1971 World Series team and is second all-time in Pirates history in strikeouts. Our thoughts are with the Veale family during this difficult time," the club said in a post on X/Twitter.

Veale was the NL strikeouts leader in 1964 when he recorded the National League-leading 250 strikeouts that season, becoming only the third pitcher in franchise history to win those honors. He compiled a decent stat line in the big leagues as well, finishing his MLB career with 120 wins and 95 losses, alongside an ERA of 3.07 and 1,703 strikeouts.

Bob Veale attended Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas on an athletic scholarship and was influential in playing both basketball and baseball. He passed up on an opportunity to play with the Harlem Globetrotters, choosing baseball instead as his career. After college, he ended up signing with the Bucs as an amateur free agent in 1958.

Pirates Chairman expresses his grief over club legend Bob Veale's death

In an official press statement via social media, Pirates Chairman Bob Nutting expressed his grief over Veale's death on Tuesday.

"Bob was an integral member of the Pirates who helped our team capture back-to-back division titles as well as the 1971 World Series. He was one of the most dominant left-handed pitchers in all of Major League Baseball during his remarkable big league career that he proudly spent a majority of as a member of the Pirates. He was a great man who will be missed," Nutting said.

After retiring from the big leagues in 1974, Bob Veale continued to stay close to the sport as he served as a scout and a minor league pitching coach with the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees.