1959 Pittsburgh Pirates season
Major League Baseball season
The 1959 Major League Baseball season saw the Pittsburgh Pirates finish in fourth place in the National League at 78–76, nine games behind the NL and World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The Pirates set the record for most extra innings victories in a season, winning 19 of their 21 extra inning games.
Offseason
January 30, 1959: Whammy Douglas, Jim Pendleton, Frank Thomas, and John Powers were traded by the Pirates to the Cincinnati Reds for Smoky Burgess, Harvey Haddix and Don Hoak.
Prior to 1959 season: Dick Rand was traded by the Pirates to the St. Louis Cardinals for Tom Burgess.
Regular season
May 26, 1959: Harvey Haddix took a perfect game into the 13th inning of a game against the Milwaukee Braves. Haddix retired 36 consecutive batters in 12 innings, but lost the game 1–0. Braves pitcher Lew Burdette also pitched a shutout for 13 full innings, giving up 12 hits. NOTE: On September 4, 1991, MLB redefined no-hitters to no longer include games in which the first hit was surrendered in extra innings. Until then, Haddix had been credited with a perfect game.
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