Dave Giusti, who earned fame as a Pirates reliever, died Sunday at the age of 86:

The right-hander went 100-93 with a 3.60 ERA in 668 career appearances for five clubs from 1962-77. He began his career as a starter in Houston but had his greatest success with the Pirates, who acquired him from St. Louis in October 1969 and then moved him to the bullpen full-time.

Giusti led the National League with 30 saves in 1971, then added 10 2/3 scoreless innings in the playoffs as the Pirates beat the Giants in the NLCS and then the Baltimore Orioles in seven games in the World Series.

ESPN.com

My thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Giusti’s best season came in 1968 at the age of 28 when a 3.19 ERA in 251 innings led to 4.2 rWAR. It was his third 200 IP season, and his low walk rate rose after that. His top seasons as a reliever came in 1972-1973 where he pitched 173 1/3 innings, recorded 42 saves with a 2.18 ERA, allowing just 148 hits, twelve of them home runs. The two years were good for a total of 4.9 rWAR.