MLB history: Celebrating Pi Day throughout the game

In honor of Pi Day, let us take a look at the instances of that famous number throughout MLB history.

With today being March 14, we are celebrating the unofficial holiday of Pi Day. It is a day where math lovers and those who enjoy numbers celebrate the most famous irrational number, marking 3.14 with pies and pizza. It is a truly fun day.

Over the course of MLB history, there is reason to celebrate Pi Day as well. From players named Pi or Pie, to those players who had achieved the number 314 or 3.14 over the course of their careers, today is a day where their careers can be celebrated as well. It is a day where that number can truly shine.

As we sit back and enjoy our pizza and pie, and maybe watch a few old Three Stooges clips where pies are being thrown about, let us take the time to look back through the years, and remember those players that can regard today as a special day as well. Let us remember their accomplishments, either for a season or over their entire careers, because today is about anything related to the numbers 3, 1, and 4.

Let us begin by looking back at those players in MLB history with that gloriously irrational name.

Players named Pi (or Pie)

Three players in MLB history have been named either Pi or Pie. That number is sort of fitting.

The first of those three was Pi Schwert. A little used catcher for the New York Yankees, Schwert appeared in 12 games over two seasons. He did show a bit of pop in his brief time in the majors, as three of his five hits were doubles, and drove in six runs. However, Schwert also struck out nine times in 27 plate appearances. He went back to the minors for a few seasons before going into politics, where he was elected to Congress in 1938. Schwert served until his passing just three years later.

Next came Pie Traynor, who easily had the best career of the three players. He had a distinguished 17 year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, appearing in the first two All Star Games and finishing in the top ten of the MVP vote six times. He produced a lifetime .320/.364/.435 batting line with 371 doubles and 164 triples, but was best known for his defense. Traynor was considered the best third baseman of the early part of the 1900s, a stellar defensive player who still ranks in the top 30 in putouts, assists, and double plays at the position. For his efforts, Traynor was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1948.

After Traynor took his last at bat in 1937, the game had to wait another 70 years for another Pie to appear. This time, it was Felix Pie, a former top prospect for the Chicago Cubs. Although he spent six seasons in the majors with Chicago, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh, Pie never established himself. He ended his time in the majors with a .246/.295/.369 batting line over 1082 plate appearances, hitting 17 homers and stealing 21 bases. Pie has spent the last few years in international leagues, playing in Korea, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic.

Honorable mention to Sandy Piez, who spent 37 games with the New York Giants in 1914, primarily serving as a pinch runner.

Finding Pi in hitting statistics

Just like pitching, 314, or in the case of hitters, .314, can be a significant number as well.

Over the course of MLB history, with a minimum of 100 plate appearances, 146 players have had a batting average of .314 in a season. The first to do so was Dickie Flowers, who hit .314 in 1871, the first year in MLB history. Playing for the Troy Haymakers in the National Association, he reached that mark in 109 plate appearances. He only had 17 more major league plate appearances afterwards, all coming the following year. The last players to have a batting average of Pi were Alex Pressley and Josh Reddick, both of whom hit .314 in 2017.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

Two players had a career batting average of .314 with a minimum of 1000 plate appearances – Bibb Falk and Cecil Travis. A left handed hitting outfielder, Falk played for 12 years, possessing decent pop as he hit exactly 300 doubles. Falk gained renoun as the head coach at the University of Texas, winning 20 Southwest Conference championships in his 28 year career.

Travis, an infielder, was a similar player, with solid doubles power as well. He lost three seasons of his prime due to World War Two, and losing part of his foot due to frostbite. Unable to find his balance in the batter’s box, Travis was not the same player when he returned, derailing what could have been a Hall of Fame career.

Reggie Smith is the only player in MLB history to hit exactly 314 homers over his career. He was considered more of a doubles hitter, as he led the league twice in that category, but was still a respectable power threat. Smith had eight seasons where he hit 20 or more homers, including two years where he eclipsed the 30 home run mark. In part time duty in 1981, Smith also had a .314 slugging percentage.

Finally, two players in MLB history had 314 steals – Andre Dawson and Rafael Furcal. Dawson is better remembered as a power hitting outfielder, as he had 13 seasons with 20 or more homers. However, before his knees were ruined due to the artificial turf in Montreal, he possessed incredible speed as well. Dawson stole over 20 bases in seven consecutive seasons, and reached the 30 steal mark three times. The Hall of Famer is also one of only eight players in MLB history to hit 300 homers and steal 300 bases in their careers.

Furcal, on the other hand, was a known speedster. The 2000 NL Rookie of the Year, he had nine seasons of 20 or more steals, and reached the 40 stolen base plateau twice. Although he never led the league in steals, Furcal placed in the top five twice. His career was ruined by injury, as he only appeared in at least 100 games twice from 2008 through 2014.

Pi Day can be celebrated throughout MLB history as well, and not just with a shaving cream pie to the face. Although, that may be a fun way to celebrate as well.