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- The Pirates concluded the season on another hot streak, winning ten of their final twelve games. The club also had winning streaks of ten and seven games during the season, but the inability to maintain that winning play is what dropped the Bucs to their fourth place finish, ten games behind the Dodgers. The Pirates took it out on the Cubs and Astros, taking the season series 13 games to 5, but faltered against tougher competition. The Bucs had losing records against the Dodgers, Reds, and Giants. The Cardinals also had the Pirates' number taking six of the eighteen games between the clubs.
- At a glance, Pittsburgh first baseman Donn Clendenon seems to have enjoyed a fine season - .289 average, 13 home runs, 81 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. But two stats jump off the page. Clendenon established a new National League record for strikeouts with 153 whiffs, breaking the mark set by Philadelphia's Richie Allen last season. Clendenon also committed 36 errors at first base, leading all major league first basemen with that mark of futility. In fact, Clendenon's total were more than double of the next first baseman on the list, Boston's Lee Thomas (17).
- Gene Alley finished the season with a flourish - batting .326 in the final month to raise his average to .292. Alley batted .211 last season, but seems to be getting acclimated to life as a major league regular....The Pirate pitching staff finished with a 2.97 team ERA, second only to the Dodgers...Manager Harry Walker is more optimistic than usual about 1966. He doesn't think the Pirates need too much to be a factor right from the start. Walker is looking around for a better bench and lefthanded relief help in addition to starting pitching. "Sometimes pitching comes fast," he mused. "I think we might have some hidden starters in Tommie Sisk and maybe Steve Blass from Columbus. Vern Law will be strong again after a winter's rest. Bob Veale has a tremendous future. Don Cardwell is sound. Don Schwall showed me he has a good arm. Maybe we have the nucleus right on our own staff."
