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1991 NLCS: The Braves-Pirates Rivalry Begins

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For two straight years, the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates battled in the National League Championship Series. Over the 1991-92 stretch, both teams enjoyed the role of favorite and both teams enjoyed homefield advantage under the rotation system that at the time. These playoff battles had two other things in common—both times they went all seven games and both times it was Atlanta pouring champagne at the end.

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Atlanta came into the 1991 NLCS in what most people would consider a “just happy to be here” mode. They had completed a stunning worst-to-first transformation to reach the postseason. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, was the team that had gotten playoff-tested in a 1990 NLCS loss to the Cincinnati Reds. The ‘91 Pirates came into the playoffs as the best team in baseball and nothing less than winning their first World Series since 1979 would suffice.

You can read more about the regular season paths the Braves and Pirates took to win their respective divisions and who their most important contributors were at the links below. These article will focus specifically on the games of the 1991 NLCS.

READ MORE ABOUT THE 1991 ATLANTA BRAVES
READ MORE ABOUT THE 1991 PITTSBURGH PIRATES

The series opened in old Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh with a pitching matchup of the last two Cy Young Award winners. The Pirates’ Doug Drabek had won the award in 1990. Tom Glavine for the Braves won it in 1991 (though this wouldn’t be officially known until November).

Pittsburgh quickly jumped on Glavine. Andy Van Slyke hit a solo home run in the first inning and delivered an RBI double in the third as the Pirates took a 3-0 lead. Drabek contributed to his own cause in the sixth with an RBI double, while also shutting down the Atlanta lineup. The Braves didn’t score until the ninth when a meaningless home run from David Justice helped the avoid a shutout. Pittsburgh took the opener 5-1.

A pair of lefties matched up in Game 2, Steve Avery for Atlanta and Zane Smith for Pittsburgh. The Braves blew a second-inning opportunity when three consecutive singles loaded the bases with none out. Rafael Belliard, batting in the 8-hole grounded into a force-out at home. Avery struck out and Smith escaped the jam. Over the home half of the second and the top of the third, each team had a man get on first and then steal both second and third base—Barry Bonds for the Pirates, Ron Gant for the Braves. Again, no one scored.

It wasn’t until the sixth that Atlanta broke through. Justice led off with a single and then scored ona two-out double from Mark Lemke. Avery kept the 1-0 lead to the bottom of the ninth, when Pittsburgh got a leadoff double from Barry Bonilla. Avery was able to get Bonds and prevent him from advancing the runner. Atlanta manager Bobby Cox summoned Alejandro Pena to get the final two outs. Pena made it interesting by uncorking a wild pitch that put Bonilla on third with one out. But Steve Buechele harmlessly tapped back to Pena for the second out and Curt Wilkerson struck out to end the game.

After a day off to travel south, the series resumed for Game 3 with a late afternoon start on Saturday. Atlanta’s young John Smoltz took the mound against Pittsburgh’s 20-game winner, John Smiley. The Pirates struck with first-inning home run from Orlando Merced. Smiley got the first two batters out in the bottom of the first, but then everything started to go the Braves’ way. Gant, Justice and Brian Hunter hit consecutive doubles, Greg Olson homered and in the blink of an eye it was 4-1. It was 6-1 after three innings, Smoltz worked into the seventh and the final was 10-3.

The Braves now seemed to hold the edge, with a favorable pitching matchup for Sunday night’s Game 4, as they had veteran lefty Charlie Liebrandt set to face the Pirates’ Randy Tomlin. And Atlanta jumped on Tomlin quickly when Lonnie Smith led off the first inning with a double and scored on consecutive productive outs. Three more singles by Justice, Hunter and Olson produced another run and a 2-zip lead.

But just as Smoltz settled in during Game 3, Tomlin got under control in Game 4 and Atlanta would not score—or even seriously threaten to score—again. Pittsburgh chipped away with single runs in the second and fifth innings to tie the game. In the 10th inning, Van Slyke drew a walk to start the inning against reliever Kent Mercker. After a steal of second and a walk, Cox went to the pen for Mark Wohlers. It didn’t work. Mike Lavalliere, a pinch-hitter delivered an RBI single that stood up for a 3-2 win.

The crucial Game 5 went down on late Monday afternoon, with Glavine going for Atlanta, while Pittsburgh used Zane Smith on short rest. Smith again was brilliant. He again got very little run support, but unlike Game 2 against he at least got a little bit. A fifth-inning walk, followed by singles from Don Slaught and Jose Lind gave the Pirates their only run.

In the meantime, Smith worked out of a couple jams early. The Braves loaded the bases with one out in the second, but Smith struck out Belliard and Glavine. In the fourth inning, Bonds threw out Justice at the plate. The 1-0 lead stood to the ninth inning when Atlanta again threatened, this time against reliever Roger Mason. There were runners on first and second with one out. Mason got Lemke to ground out. Hopes for Braves run rose when Jeff Blauser hit a line drive to right field. But it found Bonilla’s glove and this 1-0 game went Pittsburgh’s way.

The Pirates were the favored team to begin with, they had the series lead at 3-2 and they had two home games in their back pocket. They had Drabek and Smiley lined up to pitch .It seemed like a World Series trip was all but a formality. But Atlanta’s young pitching was about to make its strongest statement yet.

Avery faced Drabek in Game 6 and both pitchers were locked in. The Braves threatened in the first when Lonnie Smith reached third with one out, but Drabek got MVP third baseman Terry Pendleton to pop out. The game stayed scoreless to the seventh, with neither team threatening. In the top of the seventh, Gant reached third with one out and tried to score on a ground ball to short. Jay Bell came home with the ball and cut Gant down to keep the scoreless tie intact.

Gant was again in the midst of the action in the ninth, working a one-out walk and stealing second with two outs. Greg Olson doubled and there was finally a run on the board. With a 1-0 lead, Cox curiously opted to pinch-hit for Avery, who had allowed just three singles. Pena came on to close.

The decision might have backfired—pinch-hitter Gary Varsho immediately singled and was bunted to second for Pittsburgh’s first real scoring threat of the night. With two outs, he took third on a wild pitch. But Pena struck out Van Slyke and we were going to a Game 7.

It was Smoltz-Smiley for the decisive game, but this one proved to be somewhat anticlimatic. After so much great pitching on both sides, Smiley just didn’t have it. He allowed a two-run blast to Hunter in the first, was unable to finish the inning and Atlanta had a quick 3-0 lead. It looked like Pittsburgh would respond when their own half of the frame started with consecutive base hits. But Smoltz promptly ripped through Van Slyke, Bonillia and Bonds to kill the threat. Pittsburgh never got close again. Hunter drove in another run in the fifth. Smoltz went the distance with a six-hitter, and when he got Jose Lind to ground out to second to end the game, the party in Atlanta could begin.

In almost any other NLCS, Smoltz’s efforts might have gotten him the series MVP. But there was no denying Avery, who pitched what Pirate manager Jim Leyland called “the two games of his life”, in Games 2 & 6. Avery won 1991 NLCS MVP honors. Drabek and Zane Smith had each pitched extremely well in defeat for Pittsburgh. None of the big-name players on either side hit well, so the failure that stands out the most is the fact that in Smiley’s two starts, he pitched just 2.2 innings and gave up eight runs.

Atlanta went on to play another tense battle in the World Series against the Minnesota Twins, again going seven games. This time they ended up on the wrong end of a 1-0 pitcher’s duel, losing one of the great Game 7s ever played.

READ MORE ABOUT THE 1991 WORLD SERIES

Neither franchise was going anywhere. Both would be back in this same place in 1992.

1991 Pittsburgh Pirates: Dominance & Disappointment

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The Pirates were coming off a breakout year in 1990. The five-year rebuilding program under manager Jim Leyland bore fruit with an NL East title. The 1991 Pittsburgh Pirates showed it was no fluke, running away with the East and reaching the NLCS for the second time in what would be a three-year run.

A young Barry Bonds was the key to the National League’s best offense. Bonds posted a .410 OBP to lead the league and his 116 RBI was only one off the NL’s best. He also hit 25 home runs, stole 43 bases and scored 95 runs. The left fielder was the best young player in baseball.

Bobby Bonilla, on the other side of the outfield provided plenty of help. Bonilla finished with a stat line of .391 OBP/.492 slugging percentage, drove in 100 runs and scored 102 more. Andy Van Slyke rounded out a terrific outfield with a .355/.466 stat line.

Doug Drabek had won the Cy Young Award in 1990 and pitched well again in ‘91, with a 3.07 ERA, but his record fell off to 15-14. John Smiley picked up the slack. The lefty was one of four 20-game winners in MLB this year.

Zane Smith added 16 more wins, while Randy Tomlin and Bob Walk were each consistent starters at the bottom of the rotation. Bill Landrum and Stan Belinda shared closer duties in a bullpen that Leyland got the most out of. It was enough for the Pirates’ staff ERA to rank second in the National League.

Pittsburgh took control of the NL East (prior to 1994 both leagues were split into just an East and West with winners advancing directly to the LCS) from the outset. When they beat the New York Mets 10-1 on April 27, it gave the Pirates sole possession of first place. They never relinquished it.

By Memorial Day they were 26-15, with the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs joining the Mets in the rearview mirror. The Pirates continued to play well through the early summer and reached the All-Star break with a record of 48-31. The Cubs fell by the wayside quickly and the Cardinals slipped to five back. The Mets wouldn’t go quite as easily, with a hot streak just prior to the break keeping them within 2 ½ of the lead.

Pittsburgh went to Cincinnati to open the second half. The Reds were the defending World Series champions and had ousted the Pirates from the 1990 NLCS. This year wasn’t going as well for them and Pittsburgh ripped off a four-game sweep.

An early August road trip went poorly, with nine losses in eleven games, but the Mets went into a tailspin at the same time. New York stayed in a downward spiral and never recovered. Pittsburgh did, although they still had St. Louis lurking. The Pirates hosted the Cardinals for a key four-games series that started on August 9.

Smiley struggled in Friday night’s opener, losing 5-1 and Pittsburgh’s lead was down to four games. The Cardinals came out Saturday and immediately put up two runs in the first inning. This time the Pirates bounced back.

Van Slyke’s three-run blast in the second turned the momentum and Neal Heaton came out of the bullpen to deliver 4 1/3 innings of quality long relief. The result was an 11-5 win. It was more of the same on Sunday as Pittsburgh spotted the visitors a 3-zip lead in the fourth, then scored four times in the sixth. Bonds, light-hitting second baseman Jose Lind and first baseman Orlando Merced all had two hits in the 6-4 win.

The wraparound game on Monday was the knockout blow. Zane Smith and St. Louis’ Jose DeLeon locked up in a good game that went to extra innings tied 2-2. The Cards looked ready to salvage a split and keep the race interesting when they got an 11th-inning solo home run. Bonds did the one better—a two-run blast in the bottom of the inning for a 4-3 win that extended the division lead to seven games.

Pittsburgh coasted him from there. On a Sunday afternoon, with a full two weeks of the season still to go, the Pirates clinched. Drabek beat the lowly Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 with a complete game. Pittsburgh finished the regular season at 98-64, the best record in baseball. They were going back to October and unlike 1990, they weren’t just happy to be there.

But the disappointments of October not only continued, they started to escalate. Pittsburgh was a solid favorite in the NLCS over the Cinderella story that was the Atlanta Braves, who had gone worst-to-first in the West. Little did anyone know, Atlanta was starting a dynasty that would last to 2005. Even though the Pirates held a 3-2 series lead, they lost the final two at home. A year later, in an NLCS rematch, they had the lead on Atlanta in Game 7 before the Braves rallied and won.

The early 1990s Pittsburgh Pirates never did reach a World Series. The franchise still awaits its first trip to the Fall Classic since the championship season of 1979. But they were consistently the best in the NL East in this period and by a lot.

The 1990 Pittsburgh Pirates Return To Postseason Play

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The early 1990s were boom times for baseball in the city of Pittsburgh. They saw three straight division championship teams and the 1990 Pittsburgh Pirates were the team to start the run.

Three years earlier Jim Leyland took over the managerial reins of a franchise in a mess that had not been relevant since it’s 1979 World Series title. In spite of not having a shutdown reliever, Leyland adroitly handled his bullpen, helped manage the pitching staff to the third-best ERA in the National League and was a landslide winner for NL Manager of the Year.

Leyland wasn’t the only landslide winner of a major award. Doug Drabek went 22-6 and finished with a 2.76 ERA. He ran away with the Cy Young Award, getting 23 of a possible 24 first-place votes. Barry Bonds did the same in the MVP balloting, capping off a year where the 25-year-old finished with a .406 on-base percentage, led the National League in slugging at .565, hit 33 home runs, drove in 114 runs and score 104 more and stole 52 bases.

The one stray MVP vote mysteriously not cast for Bonds still went to a Pirate—fellow corner outfielder Bobby Bonilla, who posted a .518 slugging percentage, hit 32 home run, had 120 RBI and scored 112 runs.

These three stars—Bonds, Bonilla and Drabek—combined with the star in the dugout—were the headliners. Other productive players included first baseman Sid Bream, centerfielder Andy Van Slyke and a quality bench that had at least four players that hit well enough to be starters and were moved in and out of the lineup by Leyland.

Pittsburgh got the season off to an auspicious beginning when they bashed the New York Mets—the perennial power in the NL East from 1984-90–12-3 in Shea Stadium. The Pirates later went to Wrigley Field and swept the Chicago Cubs, the division’s defending champs (prior to 1994 the NL Central did not exist and the Pirates, Cubs and Cardinals made their home in the East).

By the All-Star break Pittsburgh was 49-32 and held a half-game lead on New York and were 3 ½ games ahead of the Montreal Expos (today’s Washington Nationals). In early August, the Pirates traded a package of three players for starting pitcher Zane Smith. Even though one of the players was Moises Alou, who went on to a pretty nice career, Smith was a game-changer in this race. He made ten starts for the Pirates and finished with 1.30 ERA.

Pittsburgh still held that half-game lead on New York when Labor Day arrived and Montreal had fallen by the wayside. The Pirates and Mets were looking ahead to a September where they would play each other eight times—including the final three games in old Three Rivers Stadium.

The first meeting came in Pittsburgh, starting with a twi-night doubleheader (an old concept where the twinbill began around 5 PM) on September 5. Smith continued his magic, outdueling Frank Viola and winning 1-0 on Bonds’ game-winning RBI in the ninth. Jeff King homered twice in the nightcap to lead a win and the Pirates completed a sweep with a 7-1 win the following night.

Pittsburgh was 3 ½ games ahead, but they lost twice on their return trip to New York a week later, including a loss where Drabek was knocked around. The Pirates were also swept by Montreal and the margin was cut back to a half-game.

The season looked destined to end in a head-to-head clash, but Pittsburgh stayed consistent while New York struggled. The Pirates won series over the Cubs and Cardinals. The Mets were swept by the Expos, who continued to play spoiler. Pittsburgh built a four-game lead with four to play and had a chance to clinch on a Sunday afternoon before the final showdown with the Mets even began. Drabek capped off his career year with a three-hit shutout and the champagne could flow.

Pittsburgh went on to meet Cincinnati in the NLCS and took the first game on the road, winning 4-3 after spotting the Reds three runs in the first. The Pirates were in command with Drabek on the mound for Game 2 and three home games ahead of them. But Drabek lost a 2-1 duel to Tom Browning, Zane Smith’s magic ended in a 6-3 loss in Game 3 and Pittsburgh ultimately fell in six games. They were unable to overcome Bonds, Bonilla and Van Slyke going a combined 12-for-63 in the series.

The Pirates never did make the World Series, losing heartbreaking Game 7s to Atlanta each of the next two years. But 1990 still marked the year baseball came back to Pittsburgh.

The 1970 Pittsburgh Pirates: A Year Of Goodbyes & Hellos

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The 1970 Pittsburgh Pirates said goodbye to an institution, old Forbes Field, which they moved out of at the All-Star break. They said hello to an institution, bringing back manager Danny Murtaugh, who had been at the helm for their 1960 World Series title. And the 1970 Pittsburgh Pirates ultimately said hello to their first NL East title in an era of divisional play that had begun just a year earlier.

Murtaugh inherited a team that had gone 88-74 in 1969, though they finished twelve games behind the eventual World Series champion New York Mets. In 1970, the Pirates would be built around a balanced pitching staff and a lineup that didn’t wait around, but attacked.

Pittsburgh’s pitching staff was third in the National League in ERA without a true ace. Dock Ellis was the best of the regular rotation and the 25-year-old went 13-10 with a 3.21 ERA. Bob Veale, the 34-year-old lefty went 10-15 with a 3.92 ERA. Steve Blass and 22-year-old Bob Moose were both close to the .500 mark with ERAs in the high 3s. Veale’s 202 innings were the biggest workload among the regular four starters, and this was an era when it wasn’t uncommon for top starters to end up between 250-300 IP.

What the Pirates had was depth. Their 43 saves look low by today’s standards, but in 1970 it was second-best in the National League. Luke Walker represented this staff the best—he made 19 starts, 23 relief appearances, won 15 games and finished with a 3.04 ERA. Dave Giusti saved 26 games and won nine. Bruce Dal Canto added nine more victories. Pittsburgh had the depth to survive the long haul.

Offensively, the Pirate strength was finishing fourth in the league in slugging percentage, but it wasn’t home run power driving that, where Pittsburgh was only seventh in a 12-team league. The Pirates did it with a sustained attack that second in batting average and fourth in doubles. What they didn’t do very well was be patient—the worst in the league at getting walks and that ultimately kept them at eighth in runs scored.

Pittsburgh was strong at the corners, both infield and outfield. The great Roberto Clemente was 35-years-old and still going strong in rightfield. Clemente finished with a .407 on-base percentage/.556 slugging percentage. In left field was 30-year-old Willie Stargell, who would eventually succeed Clemente as the heart and soul of the team. For now, Stargell was the heart and soul of the lineup, leading the Pirates in home runs (31) and RBI (85).

The corners of the infield were filled with young ‘uns. Bob Robertson, the 23-year-old first baseman, hit 27 home runs and drove in 82 runs. Richie Hebner, age 22 and playing third base, finished with a .362 OBP/.464 stat line.

Manny Sanguillen was a solid offensive threat at catcher, hitting .325, although the fact his OBP was just .344 shows he was a microcosm of the team’s offense, in all its strength and all its weakness. The rest of the team up the middle were liabilities at the plate.

Centerfielder Matty Alou’s OBP was just .329 and he lacked power. Shortstop Gene Alley couldn’t hit. And at this stage of his career, one-time World Series hero Bill Mazeroski couldn’t either. Mazeroski only hit .229 and the Pirates would have been better off giving more of his at-bats to young Dave Cash, who batted .314 in part-time duty.

Pittsburgh started well, taking three of four from New York over the course of the first two weeks and began 9-4. But they followed that with a 3-10 stretch that included being swept in Cincinnati, giving up 24 runs in three games to a powerful Reds lineup.

The Pirates stabilized after that, but still reached Memorial Day with a record of just 20-23. The rest of the NL East was also off to a slow start though, and the Pirates were only 3 1/2 games back of the Cubs, with the Mets and Cardinals nestled in between (the Phillies and Expos rounded out the six-team division).

The week of June 22-28 was the turning point of the season and appropriately it was the final week for Forbes Field. The homestand that ended on the 28th gave way to a lengthy road trip that would lead into the All-Star break and the subsequent opening of Three Rivers Stadium on July 16.

It was a stacked week, with eight games, beginning with a Monday doubleheader against St. Louis. After dropping the opener, the nightcap went scoreless into the tenth inning. Two of the weak links in the Pirate lineup came through—Alley singled, was bunted over and Alou drove him in.

After a 7-2 win on Tuesday, more walkoff heroics came on Wednesday. Pittsburgh trailed 3-2 in the ninth and tied the game with the aid of a wild pitch. They won it in the eleventh with the help of an error, setting up reserve Al Oliver’s game-winning single. Pittsburgh kept up the thrills in Thursday’s finale, trailing 2-0 in the ninth. Triples from Robertson and Cash keyed a three-run rally and a win.

Had enough of the late-inning drama? The Pirates hadn’t. The Cubs were in for the final weekend at Forbes and a great pitcher’s duel between Ellis and Fergie Jenkins was tied 1-1 in the ninth. Consecutive singles from Hebner, Clemente and Oliver won the game.

It was the dream sendoff week for the old ballpark and it culminated with a Sunday doubleheader sweep. In the seventh inning of the final game, Mazeroski doubled. It was the final hit of Pittsburgh’s 4-1 win. Appropriately enough, the man who had the most famous hit in this park—the walkoff home run that ended Game 7 of the 1960 World Series—also had its final hit in a week of walkoff wins.

Pittsburgh didn’t slow down when they went on the road. They went 10-4 into the All-Star break and took the lead in the NL East. They led New York by a game and a half at the break, with Chicago five games back. St. Louis fell from contention and the balance of the season would be a race between the Pirates, Cubs and Mets.

The last week of July was not kind to Pittsburgh, as they dropped five of seven and briefly slipped a half-game behind New York. Then the Pirates started August with a 7-1 stretch and by the middle of the month they were four games up. No one in the division played well for the next couple weeks—Pittsburgh went 3-10, but still arrived at Labor Day with a two-game lead on Chicago and plus 2 ½ on New York.

Chicago came to Three Rivers the Tuesday after Labor Day and took two of three, with Veale and Blass both getting their eras pinned back. By week’s end, the Pittsburgh lead was down to a half-game, with all three teams stacked within a game.

The following weekend brought a four-game set in New York’s old Shea Stadium. The Friday opener was scoreless into the seventh when Robertson hit a two-run blast that was the big blow in a three-run rally. The Mets cut the lead to 3-2, but Giusti was able to save it for Blass.

Saturday’s 2-1 win captured everything that was best about this pitching staff—Walker went five solid innings and bullpen-by-committee, at a time when such was hardly the norm, got the final twelve outs. New York took the opener of the Sunday doubleheader and the nightcap went to extra innings tied 5-5. Stargell homered to lead off the tenth, it triggered a four-run outburst and the Pirates moved 3 ½ games ahead of the Mets, while the Cubs were still within two.

There was a week and a half left, and a four-game split with lowly Montreal was modestly disappointing, but both Chicago and New York were starting to fade. Pittsburgh entered the last weekend of the season with a 2 ½ game lead on both teams, but the Mets would get a head-to-head shot in Three Rivers, while the Cubs played a bad Phillies team.

Alou and Sanguillen each had three hits on Friday and led the way to a 4-3 win. The Cubs lost and the lead was 3 1/2. Saturday afternoon saw Blass pitch his way in and out of trouble—he gave up twelve hits and didn’t make it out of the seventh inning, but kept the game tied 3-3. In the bottom of the seventh, an error set up the winning run for the Pirates. Another loss by the Cubs clinched a tie for first and Pittsburgh still had four games left to play.

Ellis got the ball for Sunday’s home finale and similar to Blass, kept working his way out of trouble. Ellis gave up ten hits as he worked into the eighth inning, but allowed only one run and Giusti relieved him with a 2-1 lead. The closer got the final four outs without incident and it was time to celebrate on the confluence of the Three Rivers. Pittsburgh’s final record of 89-73 was only one game better than the previous year, but sipping champagne makes it feel like a world of difference.

Cincinnati won 102 games and was easily the best team in the National League, as “The Big Red Machine” made its first postseason appearance. Pittsburgh’s pitching staff was up to the job in the best-of-five National League Championship Series, but they couldn’t get the key hit. Three games in a row were tight…and all three went against the Pirates. The season was over. 

It was still a championship year in Pittsburgh and it was the beginning of something special. They would win the NL East five times in the six years from 1970-75, and in 1971 they would bring home the World Series trophy.

The 1969 Pittsburgh Pirates Get Undone By A Bizarre June

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The 1969 Pittsburgh Pirates entered the season on a modest downward path and ended the year with a manager being fired. But in spite of those bleak bookends, the franchise made progress on the field and set the stage for an outstanding run in the decade to come.

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After winning the 1960 World Series on Bill Mazeroski’s historic ninth-inning walkoff in Game 7, the Pirates hadn’t won another pennant (although through 1968 only the first-place team made the postseason and advanced directly to the World Series) and after 90-win seasons in 1965-66, began to decline. Pittsburgh was .500 in 1967 and slightly under, at 80-82 in 1968. Manager Larry Shepard, now in his second year, needed to get things turned around.

1969 was a threshold year in baseball. Expansion put the National League at 12 teams and for the first time, MLB split into divisions. The two-divisional alignment had the Pirates in the NL East. The principal rival at the beginning of the season was the St. Louis Cardinals who had won it all in 1967 and taken the NL pennant in 1968. The Chicago Cubs and New York Mets would prove to be more than a handful in ’69 as well.

The Pirates strength in 1969 was a potent offense, the second-best in the National League in runs scored. And it was a young offense. Al Oliver was 22-years-old at first base, and finished with a stat line of .333 on-base percentage/.445 slugging percentage. Richie Hebner, age 21 on the opposite side of the infield, was at .380/.420. Willie Stargell was entering his prime at age 29 and hit twenty-nine home runs with 92 RBI and his .556 slugging was fourth in the NL.

Mazeroski was in decline at second base and the Pirates didn’t get a lot of offense at shortstop, but young Freddie Patek was a stellar defender. Patek would eventually land in Kansas City and be a starter on teams that won the AL West each year from 1976-78.

Manny Sanguillen manned the catching spot and hit .303, while centerfielder Matty Alou had an OBP of .369 and drilled 41 doubles into the gaps of old Forbes Field, down near the campus of the University of Pittsburgh.

And there was a great veteran setting the tone in rightfielder. Roberto Clemente was now 34-years-old, but he could still field and hit. Clemente won a Gold Glove, had an OBP of .411 and with his .544 slugging percentage he was right behind Stargell in the National League’s top five. To top it off, Clemente’s .345 batting average was second only to Pete Rose in the NL batting race.

Scoring runs might not have been a problem, but preventing them was. The Pittsburgh staff finished just eighth in the National League in ERA. Steve Blass won 16 games and in two short years would be a World Series hero, but his ERA was up over 4. Bob Veale was respectable, but age 33, not anyone you would call a stopper. Dock Ellis was an up-and-comer at 24 and had a decent 3.58 ERA, but ended up 11-17. The great Jim Bunning managed a 10-9 record and 3.81 ERA, but at age 37 was past his prime.

Bob Moose, who split his time between the rotation and the bullpen, proved to the best pitcher on the team, going 14-3 with a 2.91 ERA. The rest of the bullpen was mediocre, with Luke Walker (3.64 ERA), Chuck Hartenstein (3.95 ERA) and Bruce Dal Canton (3.34 ERA).

It’s important to emphasize that these ERAs come in a pitching-dominated era when the mound had just been lowered to try and restored the pitcher-hitter balance in favor of the offense. Pittsburgh’s arms weren’t keeping up with the pace the rest of the league was setting.

The Pirates couldn’t have started the 1969 season much better—they swept the Cardinals on the road, then swept a two-game homestand with the Mets, including a shutout by Bunning. The Pirates swept two more from the Cubs at Forbes Field on their way to a 10-4 start.

Late in April, losing three of four in St. Louis started a backlash wherein Pittsburgh lost 12 of 17 and were six games out of the lead on May 18 (a date that always means a lot to me, because it was May 18-19 in 1999 that I moved to Pittsburgh for a great nine-year run. But I digress). The losing streak hit its peak in Los Angeles when the Pirates lost three straight to the Dodgers over a weekend series, with the Friday and Sunday losses being particularly galling.

On Friday night, the Pirates scored three times in the top of the ninth including a two-run single by Oliver and took a 3-2 lead. The bullpen gave it back with a two-run blast in the bottom of the ninth and a 4-3 loss. On Sunday, Stargell’s RBI double in the top of the ninth broke a 4-4 tie and gave Pittsburgh the lead. Reliever Pedro Ramos promptly gave it back with a solo home run and the Moose couldn’t stop a Dodger rally for the winning run later in the inning.

The Pirates reached the Memorial Day turn at 22-20, in second place in the NL East and six games back of the Cubs. Pittsburgh then played sluggish baseball, going 8-10, while Chicago surged forward and by the middle of June, the Pirates were staring at an 11-game deficit. Fortunately, the Cubs were coming to Forbes Field and the four-game set began a bizarre two-week stretch that essentially settled the fortunes of the 1969 Pittsburgh Pirates.

 

On a Monday evening, June 16, the Pirates won a 9-8 slugfest by coming behind in the eighth inning. A three-run rally was keyed by an Oliver home run, capping a 4-RBI night for the first baseman. Tuesday was a twilight doubleheader, starting at 6 PM. The opener was a pitcher’s duel and Veale outdueled Chicago’s great Ferguson Jenkins in a 1-0 win. In the nightcap, Pittsburgh was down 3-1 in the eighth. They tied it up, with Stargell delivering the key RBI single. In the ninth, a walkoff single by Hebner brought in the winning run.

The improbable sweep was capped on Wednesday night. Trailing 2-0 in the eighth, Clemente’s two-run blast tied the game and then light-hitting Jose Martinez came up with two-out RBI single in the tenth inning to win it. Pittsburgh was 34-30, and while they still had a seven-game deficit, they were back in the race.

One week later, the Pirates and Cubs got together at Wrigley Field for another four-game set, all under the lights in the all-daytime era of Chicago Cubs baseball. And what happened the previous week got turned completely on its head.

Pittsburgh took a 4-3 lead in the opener behind five combined hits from Mazeroski and Patek at the bottom of the order. A combination of three relievers gave up the lead in the ninth inning of a 5-4 loss. Tuesday was a 3-2 loss, as Bunning gave up an early three-run shot to Ron Santo and the Pirates could not rally.

A Jenkins-Veale rematch was on tap for Wednesday and this time the Veale was not the best in the city (a Godfather reference for those who didn’t get it). Jenkins threw a two-hitter in a 5-2 win.

The season slipping away, Stargell, Sanguillen and Clemente came out swinging on Thursday, each hitting a home run. Pittsburgh led 5-3 in the eighth with Ellis on the mound. Dock gave up a two-run shot to Santo to tie the game. Dal Canton surrendered another two-run shot in the tenth that ended a 7-5 loss.

The Pirates were back where they started when this run of eight games against the Cubs began—eleven games off the pace. In late June, Pittsburgh started a seven-game losing streak that finished whatever hopes of a comeback might be lingering.

They didn’t give up the season though. The Pirates chipped back near the .500 mark by the All-Star break at 47-48 and had a strong August against NL West opponents, ripping off a 13-2 stretch. It never got them back in the race, but it lifted the record to 68-56. The team then played just above .500 the rest of the way, finishing 88-74.

It was going to be a new era moving forward. Shepard was fired with five games left in the season in spite of the team’s improvement off the previous two years. The franchise would leave Forbes Field the following June and move into Three Rivers Stadium. They also had bigger winning ahead of them. Pittsburgh won the NL East in 1970, won the World Series in 1971 and were the NL East’s flagship team in the decade to come.

1979 NLCS: The Pirates Finally Get The Best Of The Reds

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The Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds were old “friends” when it came to hooking up in the National League Championship Series. They met in 1970, 1972 and 1975, with the Reds winning all three times. The Pirates finally got their revenge in the fourth meeting in the 1979 NLCS.

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You can read more about the paths the Pirates and Reds took their respective division titles and the seasons enjoyed by their key players at the links below. This article will focus strictly on the games of the 1979 NLCS.

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READ MORE ABOUT THE 1979 CINCINNATI REDS

The series opened in Cincinnati by virtue of the rotation system that determined homefield. The series that was then best-of-five would see two games in Cincy, with the balance of games being played in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh sent 25-year-old lefty John Candelaria to the mound to face Cincinnati veteran Tom Seaver, who had helped the New York Mets win a World Series in 1969 and an NL pennant in 1973.

Johnny Bench tripled for the Reds in the bottom of the second with one out, by Ray Knight and Dan Driessen failed to pick him up. It would be the Pirates who struck first in the top of the third, with a solo homer by Phil Garner, then a one-out triple from Omar Moreno, followed by a sac fly from Tim Foli. The Pirates had a 2-0 lead.

Cincinnati showed their own muscle in the fourth when Dave Concepion singled, and George Foster tied the game with a two-run homer. The pitching took over, the starters gave way to the bullpens and the game went to 11th inning still tied 2-2.

Foli led off the top of the 11th with a single off of Cincinnati’s Tom Hume, who had been in since the ninth. Dave Parker then singled. Willie Stargell then delivered the big blow, a home run to put Pittsburgh up 5-2.

Cincinnati tried to rally with two outs in their own half of the 11th. Concepion singled and Foster worked a walk. Pittsburgh summoned righthander Don Robinson to replace lefty Grant Jackson, with righty hitters Bench and Knight coming up. Bench walked, but Knight struck out to end the game.

The teams came right back the following afternoon and the tense games continued. Each team turned to a pitcher who had split time between the bullpen and rotation, Jim Bibby for Pittsburgh and Frank Pastore for Cincinnati. The Reds got on the board first, with Pastore helping himself, delivering a sac fly following hits by Driessen and Knight.

Pittsburgh tied the game in the fourth with consecutive singles by Foli, Parker and Stargell to start the inning. But Stargell was thrown out on the bases and an inning that might have been big, ended with the score still tied 1-1. The Pirates got the lead in the fifth when Garner singled to start the inning and Foli drilled a two-out double.

The Reds didn’t rally until the eighth, when they loaded the bases with two outs against Pirate closer Kent Tekulve. Knight flied to center. In the ninth though, the Reds broke through. With one out, Hector Cruz pinch-hit for Hume and singled. Dave Collins doubled him in to tie the game. Concepion and Foster missed chances to end it right here and for the second time in less than 24 hours, we were going extra innings.

Doug Bair was on for the Reds, and Moreno started the Pittsburgh tenth with a single. He was bunted over and Parker drove him in. The Reds went quietly in the 10th, with Knight again making the last out. The young third baseman was the replacement for Pete Rose, and while Knight had hit .318 in ’79, the NLCS just wasn’t going his way.

After a day off, the teams resumed play in Pittsburgh, but it was all over but the shouting. Moreno got it started quickly against Cincy starter Mike LaCoss, drawing a walk, stealing second and scoring a sac fly from Parker. The Pirates got another run in the second when Garner tripled and scored on a sac fly from Foli.

Stargell homered to start the third and Madlock went deep later in the inning. The barrage continued in the fourth when Pirate starter Bert Blyleven singled, as did Parker and Stargell pulled a two-out double down the right field line. It was 6-0, and other than a solo home run by Bench, the Reds went quietly in a 7-1 final.

The selection of NLCS MVP was easy—Stargell was 5-for-11, he drew three walks, hit two home runs and had six RBIs. That included the biggest hit of the series, the three-run blast that won Game 1. Honorable mention goes to Garner, who was 5-for-12, and Parker’s 4-for-12 showing, including the winning hit of Game 2.

Pittsburgh went on to face the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series, where they rallied from a 3-1 deficit in games to win a seven-game Series. Pittsburgh won the final two games on the road, the last team to achieve that.

1979 was the last hurrah for the Pirates and Reds. When the 1970s disappeared, so did each team from the October stage, with no playoff appearances in the 1980s. Ironically, the each came back in the same year—it was 1990 when they met in the NLCS, and Cincinnati ultimately won the World Series.

1979 World Series: The Pirates Rally To Beat The Orioles Again

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The cities of Pittsburgh and Baltimore have become renowned for their NFL rivalry in the 21st century. In the sports world of 1970s, it was baseball where these two blue-collar fan bases had it in for each other.

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They met twice in the Fall Classic. In 1971, the Pirates beat the Orioles in seven games. There was a rematch in the 1979 World Series, and one that followed a familiar script—the Pirates fell behind early in the Series and rallied to win a Game 7 on Baltimore’s home field.

You can read more about the road each team took to get this World Series and about the seasons each of the individual key players produced at the links below. This article’s focus is the games of the 1979 World Series.

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Baltimore held homefield advantage due to the rotation system that was in place through 2002. It was old Memorial Stadium, “the house on 33rd Street” as it’s still called to this day in Charm City. The Orioles sent Cy Young winner Mike Flanagan to the mound for Game 1, while the Pirates countered with Bruce Kison.

It didn’t take Baltimore long to get started. Al Bumbry blooped a single to lead off the home half of the first and Mark Belanger drew a walk. A ground ball out moved them both up, a walk filled the bases and an error on Pittsburgh second baseman Phil Garner plated two runs. Then a wild pitch scored a third run and Oriole third baseman Doug DeCinces homered. It was 5-0 before anyone was even settled in.

Kison didn’t survive the inning and one person who did settle in was reliever Jim Rooker. He pitched 3 2/3 innings of shutout ball, allowing just two hits. And the Pirates began to grind their way back.

Tim Foli and Dave Parker led off the fourth with singles and productive groundouts scored a run. In the sixth, Parker and Bill Robinson led off with singles. Flanagan got two outs and was poised to escape when three straight ground balls were hit toward DeCinces. He booted two, one got through for a clean single and the Pirates cut the lead to 5-3.

In the top of the eighth, Willie Stargell homered. Now it was a 5-4 game and Baltimore hadn’t remotely threatened since the first. They were just hanging on and ultimately, they barely survived. Parker singled with one out in the ninth, his fourth hit of the game. But Rick Dempsey gunned Parker down trying to steal.

Stargell popped out to end the game. It seems fair to question Pittsburgh manager Chuck Tanner on why Parker was running when his team’s best clutch hitter, one who had already authored several big moments in the stretch drive of the regular season and NLCS, to say nothing of having just homered in his previous at-bat was at the plate. Baltimore took the opener 5-4.

Jim Palmer had won three Cy Young Awards in his great career with the Orioles and though he was no longer that caliber of pitcher, he was still pretty good and he got the ball in Game 2. Bert Blyleven went for the Pirates.

Pittsburgh got to Palmer in the second with singles from Stargell, John Milner and Bill Madlock, along with a sac fly from Ed Ott, to get two runs. Baltimore’s Eddie Murray promptly cut that in half with home run to lead off the home half of the inning.

Murray then tied the game in the sixth, as he doubled in Ken Singleton, and subsequently moved up to third with one out. Parker then came up big defensively. Murray tried to tag on a line drive out off the bat of John Lowenstein, and Parker nailed Murray at the plate. The game remained tied 2-2.

It was still a 2-2 game in the ninth and both starting pitchers were out. Bill Robinson led off with a single for Pittsburgh. Oriole manager Earl Weaver summoned Don Stanhouse. The closer had trouble in the ALCS win over the California Angels and the trouble didn’t stop here.

Even though Dempsey threw out Robinson trying to steal, Stanhouse allowed a two-out single to Ott, walked Garner and then surrendered a base hit to Manny Sanguillen. The soft spot of the Pirate lineup had beaten the Oriole closer and Pittsburgh tied the series with a 3-2 win.

The action shifted to Pittsburgh for Friday night’s Game 3. There was no travel day, as the opening of the Series had been postponed by a day due to a rain. Scott McGregor had pitched the clinching game of the ALCS for Baltimore and he got the call, facing John Candelaria, who won the opener of the NLCS for Pittsburgh.

Weaver inserted Kiko Garcia into the lineup at shortstop for Mark Belanger. The latter was the best defensive shortstop of his time, but his bat was woeful. Weaver was clearly looking to kickstart an offense that had been quiet for 17 innings, and had required the Pirates beating themselves for even that five-run outburst in the first inning of Game 1.

Garcia didn’t waste time making his manager look good. He doubled to start the game, the first of his four hits. But the Orioles wasted a first-and-third with no outs opportunity. Pittsburgh scored in their own half of the inning when Moreno hit his own leadoff double and came around on productive outs.

Pittsburgh got two more runs in the third, as Garner followed singles by Stargell and Steve Nicosia by doubling both in. But Garner tried for a triple and got thrown out, so in spite of a later single by Candelaria, McGregor got off the hook with the score still 3-0.

The Orioles starting coming back in the third when Garcia walked and Bennie Ayala homered. Their own potential big inning got cut down when they got two more runners aboard, and Gary Roenicke singled, but Ken Singleton was nailed at the plate by Bill Robinson.

Baltimore tied the game an inning later when Rich Dauer doubled, Dempsey singled and Foli booted a grounder off the bat of McGregor. Then it got away from Candelaria. Garcia tripled in two more runs and chased the starter. Enrique Romo came on in relief, hit Bumbry with a pitch, gave up an RBI single to Singleton and an RBI groundout to DeCinces. Suddenly, the Pirates trailed 7-3.

Pittsburgh got a run back in the sixth when Stargell doubled and scored, but Dempsey did the same in the seventh and the Orioles won 8-4.

Game 4 was in the early part of Saturday afternoon, with Dennis Martinez pitching for Baltimore and Jim Bibby on the mound for Pittsburgh. The Pirates were feeling the heat and Stargell set a quick tone, homering to dead center in the second inning. That was followed by a base hit from Milner and consecutive ground-rule doubles from Madlock and Ott to make it 3-0.

Garner then singled, but Ed Ott was thrown out at the plate. Martinez didn’t survive the first inning, as Weaver went to Sammy Stewart. Moreno drove in another run with a single, but Stewart picked him off first base. The Pirates led 4-0, but had lost two runners on the bases.

Those missed chances didn’t take long to start appearing consequential. A Madlock error in the third gave Baltimore life, and it was followed by a Bumbry single and two-out doubles by Garcia and Singleton to cut the lead to 4-3. Madlock came to bat in the bottom of the inning with the bases loaded, one out and a chance to redeem himself. He grounded into a double play.

Pittsburgh scored twice in the fifth. Milner drilled an RBI double and there were runners on second and third with one out. Madlock was given an intentional walk, but Ott’s ensuing fly ball to left was too short to score even the fast Parker who was on third. The Pirates added another run in the sixth when Parker lashed a two-out double to score Foli. But 6-3 was still a game going into the late innings and there was no reason for it to be so.

Baltimore finally made Pittsburgh pay in full for their sins. Garcia and Singleton singled to start the eighth. DeCinces drew a one-out walk. Tanner called for his closer, Kent Tekulve. Weaver sent up pinch-hitter John Lowenstein, who had hit an extra-inning walkoff home run in the ALCS. This time Lowenstein ripped a two-run double to cut the lead to 6-5. After an intentional walk, Weaver sent up another pinch-hitter, Terry Crowley. He smacked a two-run double and Baltimore had the lead.

Weaver had emptied his bench so thoroughly, the pitcher Tim Stoddard had to bat for himself. No matter. Stoddard singled and another run came home. A Bumbry grounder scored yet another run and it was 9-6. Stoddard pitched the final two innings without incident.

Baltimore now had Flanagan ready to go for Game 5 and home games with Palmer and McGregor and reserve. It was a long road back for Pittsburgh. On Sunday morning, prior to the fifth game, Tanner’s mother passed away. Was it the extra jolt of motivation the Pirates needed, to win it for the skipper? Or was the comeback about to happen something that would have taken place anyway?

Who knows, but the trajectory of this Series was about to alter, and in more ways than just the Pirates starting to take over. The pitchers also began to take over.

Rooker got to start for Pittsburgh in lieu of Kison, whose turn was up, after the reliever had significantly outpitched the starter in Game 1. The game was scoreless until the fifth. The Orioles picked up a run when Roenicke doubled, DeCinces singled and Dauer’s double play grounder brought the run in the back door.

It was the sixth when Pittsburgh got to Flanagan. Foli drew a leadoff walk, Parker singled, both were bunted up and Stargell tied the game with a sac fly. Madlock then singled with two outs, a clutch hit that marks the moment the 1979 World Series really turned.

Blyleven had come on out of the pen in the sixth inning and shut down Baltimore the rest of the way. Pittsburgh got two runs in the seventh. With two outs, Foli tripled to score Garner and Parker then doubled. In the eighth, four singles and an intentional walk scored three more and Pittsburgh stayed alive, 7-1.

After five days of non-stop baseball, the teams got a chance to catch their breath on Monday, with the flights back to Baltimore. Candelaria matched up with Palmer for Game 6 and the result was a tense pitcher’s duel.

Palmer escaped a jam in the first with the Pirates put runners on second and third with no outs. The Oriole starter got Parker and Stargell no less to keep the game scoreless. But Candelaria returned the favor in the same inning when Baltimore had first and third and one out, and he induced Murray to hit into a double play.

No one threatened through six innings, when the Pirates finally got to Palmer in the seventh. Moreno singled with one out and Foli followed suit. Parker singled to right and Stargell picked up another run with a sac fly. Baltimore never threatened and Pittsburgh added two more runs in the eighth, with an RBI double from Garner, who moved up to third and scored on a sac fly from Moreno. With the 4-0 win, the Pirates had forced a seventh game.

McGregor and Bibby were on the mound. It was not an ideal situation for Pittsburgh—Bibby was on three days’ rest and even though that wasn’t incredibly uncommon in the world of 1979, it still wasn’t the norm and Bibby wasn’t one of Pittsburgh’s best. But the need to use Blyleven for four innings in the must-win Game 5 had thrown the Pirate rotation out of whack.

It didn’t matter. Baltimore got a run in the third when Dauer homered, but the Orioles couldn’t mount sustained threats. McGregor looked like he might make it stand up when he kept the 1-0 lead into the sixth. Bill Robinson hit a one-out single and Stargell came to the plate.

Stargell hit a fly ball to deep right. It looked like Singleton might have a play on it near the wall. He nearly did. The rightfielder leaped, but the ball cleared the fence. Pittsburgh had a 2-1 lead, and with these teams playing games whose style resembled the modern-day defensive football brawls of the Steelers and Ravens, that one-run margin seemed enormous.

It was 2-1 in the eighth, when Baltimore finally rallied. Lee May and Bumbry drew one-out walks. Tekulve was summoned. He got Crowley to ground out, and the runners moved up. Singleton was intentionally walked. The decision was to pitch to Murray. The 23-year-old had enjoyed a great year, was embarking on a Hall of Fame career and had been red-hot in the ALCS. But he was 4-for-25 in the World Series. And it was about to be 4-for-26. Murray hit one to deep right, but this one stayed playable for Parker.

Pittsburgh added two insurance runs in an incredibly sloppy ninth. Weaver used five pitchers, four of them facing just one batter. There were to hit batsmen, and with a 4-1 lead, it was all but over. Tekulve closed the door without incident.

It was a comeback that remains at least modestly historic. While coming back from 3-1 down wasn’t unprecedented, nor was winning the last two on the road, the 1979 World Series is the last time the latter feat has been achieved. The fact Pittsburgh beat three high-quality starting pitchers in the process only adds to how impressive the accomplishment was.

Stargell was World Series MVP, an easy choice. He finished 12-for-30 and drove in seven runs. His three home runs were the only homers for any Pirate player. One of them happened to win Game 7. So yes, even though Foli and Garner both peppered Oriole pitching consistently, Pops was an easy call.

Had the Orioles won, the choice likely would have been Garcia, who went 8-for-20 and whose insertion in the lineup in Game 3 had temporarily altered the Series. Although if the theoretical Baltimore win had come in Game 7 behind McGregor, the lefty might have been the pick.

Baltimore would be back—they won 100 games in 1980, competed to the final day of the 1982 regular season before being eliminated and finally won the World Series again in 1983. Pittsburgh wouldn’t be—they didn’t make postseason play again until 1990 and have not returned to the Fall Classic since that magical October when Pops Stargell lifted his team to a championship.

1975 Pittsburgh Pirates: The Last October For A Steel City Staple

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The Pittsburgh Pirates were one of the most successful organizations in the National League in the early part of the 1970s. They won the NL East each year from 1970-72 and took a World Series title in 1971. In 1974, the Pirates again won the NL East. The 1975 Pittsburgh Pirates continued the pattern of success their home city was enjoying across the board in sports—from the NFL’s Steelers to Pitt football.

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Manager Danny Murtaugh had become a Steel City staple. He had been the skipper in 1960 when the Pirates won a dramatic World Series on Bill Mazeroski’s tiebreaking home run over the New York Yankees in the ninth inning of Game 7.

Murtaugh stepped down after the 1964 season, then returned to manage the 1971 championship team before again stepping down. When his successor, Bill Virdon, was sub-.500 deep into the 1973 season, Murtaugh returned and immediately got the team back on top of the NL East a year later. 1975 was Murtaugh’s last ride into October baseball.

Power and pitching were what keyed the 1975 edition of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team led the National League in home runs and was second in slugging percentage. Willie Stargell, the 35-year-old first baseman hit 22 home runs. Catcher Manny Sanguillen slugged .491. Richie Zisk popped 20 home runs in left field, while centerfielder Al Oliver hit 18 home runs.

No one was better than Dave Parker. The rightfielder slugged .541, hit 25 home runs and had 101 RBIs. He finished third in the MVP voting, an award that ultimately went to Cincinnati Reds’ second baseman Joe Morgan. While Morgan had the better numbers, he also hit in the stacked lineup that was the Big Red Machine.

Pittsburgh had at least three dead offensive spots in their lineup, while Cincinnati had offensive depth.  Parker bore greater proportional responsibility for the Pirates, and there is at least a credible argument that he deserved the 1975 National League MVP.

Whatever runs were produced, the Pirate pitchers made the most of them. They finished second in the NL in ERA. Jerry Reuss was an 18-game winner with a 2.54 ERA. Jim Rooker, Bruce Kison, Dock Ellis and John Candelaria all had ERAs ranging from 2.76 to 3.23. No matter whose turn was up, the Pirates were going to have a good chance to win. Dave Giusti and Ramon Hernandez effectively handled the most important bullpen innings.

Pittsburgh had a stop-and-go start to the 1975 season and was 19-18 on Memorial Day, though no one in the NL East was able to get any separation. The Pirates went on a 35-15 stretch that saw them take first place for good and stretch their lead as high as 6 ½ games, but there were still some anxious moments before it was over.

On August 17, Pittsburgh was licking its wounds, having been swept four straight by Cincinnati—who was then in the NL West, a geographic idiocy not rectified until the realignment of 1994 that created a third division in each league and put both the Pirates and Reds in the NL Central.

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The Philadelphia Phillies, a team on the rise, had cut the margin to a half-game, and the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets were also in hot pursuit. Pittsburgh responded as a veteran team does—they won 14 of the next 19, including taking three of four from the powerful Reds, and pushed the lead back to 6 ½ games. By the time two September series showdowns with the Phillies took place, the NL East race was all but settled.

Pittsburgh finished the regular season with 92 wins and moved into their fifth National League Championship Series in six years.

The only franchise in the NL that could go toe-to-toe with Pittsburgh consistently in the first half of the 1970s was Cincinnati, and the Reds had their best team. While there were some NLCS games that were good individually, the series itself ended up as a sweep for the Reds.

1975 was the last postseason appearance for Murtaugh, as the Pirates would be overtaken by the Phillies each of the next three seasons and Chuck Tanner took the managerial reins. But the baseball good times were hardly over in Pittsburgh—another World Series run in 1979 wasn’t far around the corner.

1975 NLCS: The Big Red Machine Handles The Pirates Again

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The Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates were two teams that had already gotten familiar with each other in National League Championship Series play. The two teams met in 1970 and the Reds won in a sweep. They met in 1972 and the Reds won a thriller. Cincinnati and Pittsburgh got together one more time in the 1975 NLCS. And one more time, the Big Red Machine asserted themselves.

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The NLCS opened on a Saturday in Cincinnati’s old Riverfront Stadium. Each team had its rotation lined up, and the aces—Don Gullett for the Reds and Jerry Reuss for the Pirates—ready to go.

Pittsburgh drew first blood when rightfielder Dave Parker was hit by a pitch with two outs in the top of the second. Richie Hebner picked up the RBI with a double and then light-hitting shortstop Frank Taveras singled to make it 2-0.

Cincinnati got one back in the bottom of the inning with consecutive two-out singles and then Gullett helping his cause with an RBI base hit. It was just the beginning of what the Reds’ pitcher would do at the plate.

In the bottom of the third, Cincy’s MVP second baseman Joe Morgan drew a walk and then swiped both second and third. Johnny Bench was walked. Tony Perez singled in the tying run. Reuss got two outs and looked like he might escape with a 2-2 tie, but Ken Griffey slashed a two-run double and the Pirate starter took an early shower.

The fifth inning broke the game open. Three straight singles from Perez, George Foster and Dave Concepion loaded the bases with no one out. A productive ground ball out from Griffey made the score 5-2. Cesar Geronimo hit a sac fly to add another run. The coup de grace came from Gullett—the pitcher hit a two-run homer to make it 8-2, and the game ended with an 8-3 final.

Cincinnati came back on Sunday and didn’t take their foot off the gas. Pete Rose singled to lead off the home half of the first inning. Pittsburgh starter Jim Rooker was able to get Morgan and Bench, but Perez took it deep for a 2-0 lead.

Pittsburgh’s veteran first baseman Willie Stargell got a run back in the top of the fourth with an RBI double off Cincy pitcher Fred Norman, but the Reds came roaring right back in their own half of the fourth frame.

Three straight singles from Foster, Concepion and Griffey made the score 3-1 and had runners on first and second. The aggressive Reds then employed a double steal and both Concepion and Griffey were safe.

For the second straight game, a Cincinnati pitcher helped himself at the plate—Norman picked up a run with a sac fly and it was 4-1. And for the second straight game a Pittsburgh starter didn’t make it through five innings.

The Reds added some insurance when Griffey singled to lead off the sixth, stole both second and third and scored on a balk. Perez later delivered an RBI single in the same inning, and the 6-1 final put Cincinnati on the brink of a pennant.

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No team had rallied from on 0-2 deficit since LCS play was instituted as a best-of-five in 1969, but Pittsburgh would get the rest of the series at home in Three Rivers Stadium. They sent John Candelaria to the mound and the lefty did what he could to keep his team’s season alive.

The Reds were able to get a run in the second when the normally light-hitting Concepion went deep for a solo home run. It stayed 1-0 into the sixth when the Pirates got to Cincy starter Gary Nolan. A single from Hebner and a home run by Al Oliver made it 2-1.
Candelaria bailed his team out in the seventh. Bench reached on an error, and even the catcher got in on the basestealing display, taking his own turn at swiping both second and third. Candelaria came up with a big strikeout of Perez, got out of the inning and with the 2-1 lead intact, it looked like the Pirates might live to fit another day.

Fate was cruel in the eighth though. Candelaria got the first two batters out. Then, after having controlled the Big Red Machine’s lineup of future Hall of Famers all night long, he walked pinch-hitter Marv Rettenmund. It flipped the lineup to the top and Rose homered.

Cincinnati was three outs from a pennant, but they wouldn’t get them in the ninth. Stargell and Zisk both singled, and Pittsburgh would load the bases with two outs. Now it was their turn for a no-name pinch-hitter to drive opposing fans crazy. Duffy Dyer drew a game-tying walk and we were going extra innings.

Griffey got one more Reds rally going in the 10th, with a leadoff single. He moved up to second on a balk, and took third on a ground ball out by Geronimo. A sac fly from Ed Armbrister brought in the lead run. For all of the firepower the Reds had, they could move baserunners and execute in key spots, and it gave them the last lead they would need in the 1975 NLCS.

Consecutive hits from Rose and Morgan added an insurance run and reliever Pedro Borbon set the side down in the 10th. The 5-3 win gave the Cincinnati Reds their third National League pennant in six years.

There was no MVP award given in LCS play in 1975. Candidates would include Concepion, whose .455 batting average led Cincinnati regulars. Morgan stole four bases, the leading total on a team whose 11 steals defined this series. Gullett had virtually won Game 1 by himself with his arm and his bat.

All of those were good candidates, but I think the best candidate would be Perez. He hit .417, had four RBIs and his two-out, two-run shot early in Game 2 solidified all the momentum the Reds established at home early in the series.

The Big Red Machine was still seeking to get over the top in the World Series, and they had an epic battle awaiting with the Boston Red Sox. But after a 108-win regular season and a three-game sweep of the NLCS, there was no doubt just how far they were ahead of the rest of the National League.

1979 Pittsburgh Pirates: Don't Ever Take Sides Against The Family…Ever

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The Pittsburgh Pirates had been the NL East’s pre-eminent team in the early part of the 1970s. They won five division titles from 1970-75, and brought home the World Series trophy in 1971. While they stayed competitive from 1976-78, they also gave way to the Philadelphia Phillies, who won three successive NL East crowns in succession, while the Pirates finished second. The 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates get back on top—first in their division, then in the baseball world itself.

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Each of Pittsburgh’s second-place finishes the previous three years had been progressively better. They were a distant second in 1976, a competitive second in 1977 and chased the Phils to the season’s penultimate day in 1978.

In ’78, a slow start had left the Pirates with too big a margin to make up. As such, it was disappointing to start the 1979 season by losing 10 of their first 14 and to still be sub-.500 at Memorial Day, 6 ½ games out.

The Pirates had a balanced team though, finishing third in the NL in ERA and leading the league in runs scored. Dave Parker was a star in right, finishing with a .380 on-base percentage, hitting 25 home runs and driving in 94 runs. Bill Robinson hit 24 home runs in the left field spot. Tim Foli and Omar Moreno were solid at getting on base, and played good defense at shortstop and centerfield respectively. Phil Garner was inserted into the second base job and finished with a .359 OBP.

Pittsburgh’s pitching was well-balanced and suited for the long haul. Bert Blyleven, John Candelaria and Bruce Kison all finished between 12-14 wins, with ERAs between 3.19 and 3.60. Don Robinson and Jim Bibby could both start and come out of the bullpen.

Grant Jackson and Enrique Romo were solid relievers with ERAs just under 3.00. And manager Chuck Tanner could turn to Kent Tekulve and his submarine pitching style to close the door. Tekulve saved 31 games and finished with a 2.75 ERA.

But no one was better than the 35-year-old first baseman, Willie “Pops” Stargell. He hit 32 home runs, finished with a .352 OBP, provided incomparable leadership and his fingerprints were on virtually every big moment this team had, both in the regular season and October. Stargell shared the NL MVP award with St. Louis Cardinals’ first baseman Keith Hernandez.

Pittsburgh’s rallying cry would become nationally known—they adopted the Sister Sledge song “We Are Family” to underscore their togetherness, and in June the team began to find its footing, helped in no small part by the acquisition of third baseman Bill Madlock from San Francisco. Madlock finished with a .390 OBP and .469 slugging percentage, further juicing up the attack.

The Pirates were 46-39 by the All-Star break, though they were still in fourth place, trailing the Montreal Expos and Chicago Cubs, along with the Phils. To no one’s surprise, Chicago fell apart in the season’s second half. To everyone’s surprise, Philadelphia did as well. The race would come down to the Pirates and the Expos (today’s Washington Nationals).

Pittsburgh closed July by taking three of four in Montreal, then sealed Philadelphia’s fate with a stunning stretch in which the teams played eight times in early August, and the Pirates won all eight. Pittsburgh then went 8-2 on a West Coast trip and they rolled into Labor Day with a record 80-54 and a 3 ½ game lead.

Montreal was an up-and-coming team though, and even as the Pirates went 7-4 in early September, the Expos wiped the lead out and the teams were tied on September 17 when Pittsburgh went north of the border for a two-game series.

Don Robinson faced off with Montreal ace Steve Rogers in Monday night’s opener, and Robinson met the moment—a six-hit complete game delivered a 2-1 win. Tuesday’s game was tied 3-3 in the 11th inning, when Pops came through, blasting a two-run homer to dead center. Pittsburgh was now up two games.

But the Expos played better coming out of the series. The Pirates split their next six, Montreal capitalized and Pittsburgh trailed by a half-game when the teams began their final head-to-head series of the year, a four-game set that would open the regular season’s final week.

Monday was a doubleheader and Bill Robinson hit a big home run in a three-run sixth inning that keyed a 5-2 win. Pittsburgh was poised to sweep when they led the second game 6-3 in the eighth inning, but a blown save by Tekulve allowed Montreal to rally and reclaim first place with a 7-6 win.

Pittsburgh took over the next two nights, the biggest nights of the 1979 NL East race. Tuesday’s game was tied 3-3 in the fifth, when the Pirates unloaded and won 10-4. Then on Wednesday, they bashed Rogers for ten more runs, and took a 1 ½ game lead with four days left.

On Thursday, Pittsburgh lost a makeup game with St. Louis. Their record was 96-63, while Montreal was at 94-63. The potential for two days of Expo makeup games loomed if the weekend didn’t settle things. Both teams were at home, Pittsburgh with the Cubs and Montreal with the Phillies.

On Friday night, Parker hit a second-inning home run, kickstarting a four-run rally and the Pirates won 6-1. The Expos went to 11 innings, but lost to the Phils. Pittsburgh now had the lead in the loss column and controlled their own fate.

Just as quickly, fate reversed itself. Blyleven coughed up a 3-0 lead on Saturday, and the Pirates ultimately lost 7-6 in 13 innings. Montreal won 3-2, and the loss column was again even.

Pittsburgh at least knew that if they won on Sunday, Montreal would need to first take its own finale, then win two makeup games and then meet the Pirates in a one-game playoff. In a big game who better than Stargell to take over? Pops homered, Parker had three hits and the pitching combination of Kison and Tekulve delivered a 5-3 win. And the word from Montreal was good—Philadelphia sent their ace, lefty Steve Carlton to the mound and he shut out the Expos 2-0. The NL East race was over.

Rematches awaited the Pirates in both rounds of the postseason. They had lost the National League Championship Series to the Cincinnati Reds in 1970, 1972 and 1975. In this case, the fourth time was the charm—Pittsburgh won the best-of-five series in three straight, taking the first two in extra innings on the road. Stargell hit the game-winning shot of Game 1 and was named NLCS MVP.

The Pirates had beaten the Baltimore Orioles in the 1971 World Series, rallying after losing the first two games on the road. This time the comeback was even better. They trailed the Series 3-1 in games, and had to first beat AL Cy Young winner Mike Flanagan, and then win two in a row on the road.

That’s exactly what they did. Trailing 1-0 in the sixth inning of Game 7, Stargell hit a two-run homer. He was named Series MVP and the Pirates became the last team to win the final two games of a World Series on the road.

It would be twelve years before the Pirates returned to postseason play, and they haven’t won the World Series since. But that magical year of 1979 provided enough memories for a lot of Family reunions.

Steel City Supreme: The 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates & Steelers

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This is part of a series of sports history articles celebrating the best in 1979 sports. This piece asks the question of which geographic fan base had the best year in ’79
The city of Pittsburgh was already riding high in the early part of 1979. In January of that year the Steelers became the first NFL team to win three Super Bowls, defeating the Dallas Cowboys 35-31. The baseball Pirates had contended to the season’s penultimate day the previous fall and were one of the National League’s model franchises in the 1970s.

GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS
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Little did the good people of Pittsburgh know that even better times were still ahead and it would be the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers leading the way.
The Pirates, led by charismatic first baseman Willie Stargell, and inspired by the song “We Are Family”, chased down the Montreal Expos to win the old NL East, beat the Cincinnati Reds to win the National League Championship Series and then became the last team to date to win the final two games of the World Series on the road, in rallying to beat the Baltimore Orioles.
Western Pennsylvania is ultimately about football though, and a baseball championship, while heartening, takes a back seat to football. The Steelers went 12-4, defeated the Miami Dolphins and Houston Oilers in the AFC playoffs and then held off a feisty underdog in the Los Angeles Rams to win their fourth Super Bowl.
It wasn’t a bad year all the way around in Steel City sports. The NHL Penguins made the playoffs and reached the quarterfinals. Pitt broke in a freshman quarterback named Dan Marino, won ten games and capped it off with Christmas Day Fiesta Bowl win. But no one did for the city of Pittsburgh what the Pirates and Steelers did in that glorious year of 1979 that marked the city as “Titletown.”
Read more about the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates
Read more about the 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers