The Best Lineup on Paper: The 50th Anniversary of Pirates History
The 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates were a team full of talent, and it showed when they claimed the 1971 World Series Championship. With guys like Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, and Steve Blass in the prime years of their careers, no matter who you had in the lineup night in and night out, you were bound to have a strong lineup. So, on September 1st, 1971, manager Danny Murtaugh was filling out the lineup card like he had all summer long. He was trying to construct the best lineup he could as the 82-56 Pirates took on the 57-78 Philadelphia Phillies. He wrote down the names of the eight best guys he had to back up star pitcher Dock Ellis on the mound. He didn't realize it at the time, but those nine names on that lineup card would end up making Major League Baseball history.
On that day, the Pittsburgh Pirates would field the first all-minority lineup in MLB history. No one really realized it at the start of the game until Dave Cash pointed out the fact to Al Oliver in the third inning of the game. He was quoted as saying "Hey Scoop, we have got all brothers out there." Even Murtaugh jas no clue he was making history when asked about it after the game. He simply told reporters " I wrote down the names of the best nine guys we had that day. When it comes to making out the lineup, I'm color blind and my athletes know that." 24 years after the debut of Jackie Robinson it was a big step for the game of baseball in terms of diversity and opening the game to all. Today we look back at the nine men who made up that lineup, what they did that day, and how they impacted baseball.
Leading off: 2B Rennie Stennett
Stennett was in his first season with the Pirates and was one of the best contact hitters on that Pirates team. He entered the day hitting .345 and had solidified himself as Pittsburgh's leadoff hitter. He continued to get on base at a high rate on this day when he went 2-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Stennett might have been just 22 years old at the time, but that 1971 season kick-started a long Pirates career. He spent nine of his 11 seasons in a Pirates uniform and was a career .278 hitter with the Pirates. That 1971 season was one of only two seasons where Stennett hit .300 or better, but he consistently kept his average around the .280 mark. Stennett would never be selected to an All-Star game and retired from baseball following the 1981 season.
Batting Second CF Gene Clines
Much like Stennett, Clines was also in the early days of his Pirates career, playing his second season in the Black and Gold in 1971. Cline's also had two hits in this game, going 2-5 with two runs scored and a double. He was also known for tearing the cover off the ball and entered the day with a .318 batting average. He had just started earning more playing time in the Pirates outfield, playing a career-high 97 games during that 1971 season. He would finish the year hitting a solid .308 and followed it up with a .336 mark the next season. However, after that Clines once again eclipsed the .300 mark, and was one the .280 mark once. Clines played five seasons with the Pirates and hit .287 before leaving the team after the 1974 season. He played for the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, and New York Mets after the Pirates and retired after the 1979 season.
Batting Third RF Roberto Clemente
The middle of the Pirates order was the leadership of the Pirates during that 1971 season. While not nearly as vocal as some guys, Roberto Clemente was the best all-around player on that 1971 team. On this day, he finished the way many of his fellow teammates, going 2-4 with a walk and two RBI. Even though it was towards the end of his career, Clemente still showed he could swing it at 37 years old, hitting .341 that season with 13 home runs and 86 RBI over 132 games played. He was selected to his 11th career All-Star Game that season and won his second World Championship with the Pirates. Clemente tragically died in the plane crash just a year later but played all 18 years of his MLB career in Pittsburgh. He was enshrined in the MLB Hall of Fame in 1973 and is considered as not only one of the best Pirates of all time but one of the best baseball players to ever live.
Batting Fourth LF Willie Stargell
Perhaps the strongest hitter on the Pittsburgh Pirates that season and one of the strongest Pirates ever was Willie Stargell. And, in true Stargell fashion, he was a powerhouse in the middle of the lineup on this day. He went 2-3 with a double a run scored and two RBI as he helped lead the Pirates to victory. Stargell continued the trend of plus .300 hitters in the Pirates lineup at the time, hitting .308 entering this game. That 1971 season would be Stargell's biggest home run season yet, as he led the National League with 48 bombs and was named to his fourth All-Star Game. Like Clemente, Stargell also spent his entire career in Pittsburgh, spanning 21 Big League seasons. He would hit .282 with 475 home runs and 1540 RBI in 2360 games with the Pirates. He would be elected in the MLB Hall of Fame as part of the class of 1988 solidifying his place in baseball history.
Batting Fifth C Manny Sanguillen
After a few seasons where he got snubbed for the NL All-Star team, Manny Sanguillen finally had his breakout season in 1971. He earned his first NL All-Star Game appearance hitting .319 with seven home runs and 81 RBI in 138 games with the Pirates. Sanguillen came into this game as one of the hottest Pirates hitters coming into this game. He was hitting .333 and continued his role at the plate, going 2-4 with a home run and two RBI. He wasn't a guy who was typically known for his power, but he was able to hit his sixth home run of the season to get the scoring started for the Pirates. 1971 was the first of three All-Star seasons for the Pirates, as he spent 12 seasons with the Pirates. He was involved in the trade that brought Chuck Tanner to Pittsburgh and helped bring two World Series Championship to Pittsburgh.
Batting Sixth 3B Dave Cash
The Pirate's everyday third baseman in 1971 was Richie Hebner, but he was nursing an injury. So, on this day it was Dave Cash who got the call going 1-3 with an RBI and a run scored and a walk. Cash was playing in his first full season with the Pirates in 1971 when he appeared in 123 games in a Pirates uniform. He ended up hitting .289 with two home runs and 34 RBI over 532 at-bats. Cash spent the first five years of his career in Pittsburgh and was a .285 hitter with eight home runs and 127 RBI. He did appear in three straight All-Star games, but those were after his days in Pittsburgh from 1974 to 1976 with the Philadelphia Phillies. He retired from baseball after the 1980 season after playing 12 seasons in professional baseball.
Batting Seventh 1B Al Oliver
Al Oliver was just beginning his Pirates career in the early 70s and saw time both in the infield and in the outfield. He was right on pace with his career numbers that season, hitting .276 entering the game and he finished the game 2-4 with two singles. Oliver would go right along with his career numbers that season, hitting .282 with 14 home runs and 64 RBI. It was two seasons later in 1973 when he would break out with his first of seven all-star seasons. He helped the Pirates to two World Series championships and played 10 seasons with the Pirates hitting .296 with 135 home runs and 717 RBI. He played a total of 18 Big League seasons for seven different teams and was a seven-time All-Star and a three-time Silver Slugger. Unfortunately, he missed the Hall of Fame after retiring from the MLB in 1985.
Batting Eighth Shortstop Jackie Hernandez
Jackie Hernandez was at the end of his career and signed with the Pirates as a bench player in 1971. He appeared in 88 games for the Pirates that season and hit .206 with three home runs and 26 RBI. He may not have hit a lot, but if there was one thing he was good at, it was fielding. He was giving a night off to Gene Alley and was the only player in the starting eight to not get a hit. He went 0-2 in the game with a walk and an RBI in the win. Hernandez's stay in Pittsburgh didn't last very long, as he was here from 1971 to 1973. He retired following the 1973 season as a career .208 hitter with the one World Series Championship under his belt.
Batting Ninth Pitcher Doc Ellis
Doc Ellis rounded out the starting lineup that day and went 0-1 in his only plate appearance. However, it was a short night on the mound for Ellis, as he lasted just 1.1 innings allowing five runs, three earned, on two hits while walking four and striking two. While that night wasn't his night, 1971 was one of Ellis's best MLB seasons. He made the only All-Star game of his career and went 19-9 with a 3.06 ERA. Ellis never made another All-Star game but was a part of two different All-Star teams in Pittsburgh. He played 12 seasons in the Big Leagues for four different teams but spent nine of those seasons with Pittsburgh, going 96-80 with a 3.16 ERA in over 1400 innings of work.
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