Age: 39
17th
season with Pirates
Bats – Left, Throws
– Left
Height: 6’2” Weight: 225
Prior to 1979:
Born in
Oklahoma, Stargell lived for a time in Florida before moving to Alameda,
California. Strong and athletic, he played football at Encinal High School until
he suffered a serious knee injury. He played baseball with future major
leaguers Tommy Harper and Curt Motton and performed well enough to be signed by
the Pirates for $1500 in 1958. Assigned to San Angelo/Roswell of the Class D
Sophomore League in 1959 he endured harsh segregation in eastern New
Mexico and western Texas and batted .274 with 7 home runs and 87 RBIs while
appearing in 118 games. Initially a first baseman, he moved to the outfield at
his next minor league stop, Grand Forks of the Class C Northern League in 1960,
where he hit .260 with 11 home runs and 61 RBIs. Advancing to the Asheville
Tourists of the Class A South Atlantic League in 1961, he batted .289 with 8
home runs and 89 RBIs. With the Columbus Jets of the Class AAA International
League in 1962 Stargell hit .276 with 27 home runs and 82 RBIs to earn a
late-season promotion to the Pirates, where he appeared in ten games and batted
.290. He stuck with the Pirates in 1963 where he became part of the outfield
platoon and occasionally played at first base and hit a disappointing .243 with
11 home runs and 47 RBIs, while struggling against lefthanded pitchers. Stargell
was an All-Star for the first time in 1964 as he raised his batting average to .273
while clubbing 21 home runs and driving in 78 RBIs and splitting his time
almost evenly between left field and first base. Almost exclusively an
outfielder in 1965, he batted .272 with 27 home runs and 107 RBIs. His home run
total included a three-home run game at LA’s Dodger Stadium. The Pirates were
pennant contenders in 1966 and Stargell contributed 33 home runs and 102 RBIs
along with a .315 average. With his bad knees he lacked range in the spacious
Forbes Field outfield but he could not displace Donn Clendenon as the regular
first baseman. Following three All-Star seasons, Stargell’s performance dropped
off in 1967 to .271 with 20 home runs and 73 RBIs and .237 in 1968 with 24 home
runs and 67 RBIs. The two injury-plagued years, where he also struggled with
his weight, were followed by a 29-home run season in 1969 along with 92 RBIs
and a .307 average. Pittsburgh topped the NL East in 1970 and while Stargell’s
average dropped to .264, his power production remained strong with 31 home runs
and 85 RBIs. 1971 marked the first full season for the Pirates at Three Rivers
Stadium, a ballpark more conducive to Stargell’s power, and he batted .295 with
a league-leading 48 home runs along with 125 RBIs. He placed second in NL MVP
voting as the Pirates again topped their division and went on to win the World
Series. He followed up in 1972 with 33 home runs, 112 RBIs, and a .293 batting
average. Stargell also saw considerable action at first base, appearing in just
32 games in left field. He was exclusively a left fielder in 1973 while hitting
.299 and topping the National League with 43 doubles, 44 home runs, 119 RBIs,
and a .646 slugging percentage. He placed second in MVP balloting. Physically
imposing with a colorful personality, he became a popular figure in Pittsburgh,
and a team leader. In 1974 he batted .301 with 25 home runs and 96 RBIs while
the Pirates narrowly returned to the top in the NL East after missing in ’73.
Shifted to first base full-time in 1975, he was hindered by a broken rib and
still hit .295 with 22 home runs and 90 RBIs, while limited to 124 games. His
wife’s illness led to his having a mediocre year in 1976 in which his average
dropped to .257 with 20 home runs and 65 RBIs. Stargell’s 1977 season ended in
July after appearing in 63 games due to a pinched nerve in his left elbow. He
rebounded in 1978 by batting .295 with 28 home runs and 97 RBIs and finished
ninth in NL MVP voting. A paternal figure to many of his teammates at age 38,
he came to be known as “Pops”.
1979 Season Summary
Appeared in 126
games
1B – 113, PH –
16
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 480
At Bats – 424
Runs – 60
Hits – 119
Doubles – 19
Triples – 0
Home Runs – 32 [5]
RBI – 82 [17,
tied with Larry Parrish & Ellis Valentine]
Bases on Balls
– 47
Int. BB – 12 [9,
tied with Mike Schmidt]
Strikeouts – 105
[5, tied with George Foster]
Stolen Bases – 0
Caught Stealing
– 1
Average - .281
OBP - .352
Slugging Pct. -
.552 [Non-qualifying]
Total Bases – 234
GDP – 10
Hit by Pitches
– 3
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 6 [18,tied
with ten others]
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 18, RBI – 41, AVG – .306, SLG - .617
---
Most hits, game
– 3 on eight occasions
Longest hitting
streak – 9 games
HR at home – 16
HR on road – 16
Most home runs,
game – 2 (in 3 AB) vs. NY Mets 5/17, (in 4 AB) at St. Louis 7/4, (in 4 AB) at
San Francisco 9/1, (in 4 AB) vs Montreal 9/25
Multi-HR games
– 4
Most RBIs, game
– 3 vs. Houston 4/27 – 11 innings, vs. Houston 4/29, vs. NY Mets 5/17, vs.
Montreal 9/25
Pinch-hitting –
7 of 15 (.467) with 1 HR, 2 R, 1 BB & 6 RBI
Fielding
Chances – 999
Put Outs – 949
Assists – 47
Errors – 3
DP – 102
Pct. - .997
Postseason: 10
G (NLCS vs. Cincinnati – 3 G; World Series vs. Baltimore – 7 G)
PA – 46, AB – 41,
R – 9, H – 17, 2B – 6,3B – 0, HR – 5, RBI – 13, BB – 3, IBB – 1, SO – 8, SB – 0,
CS – 0, AVG - .415, OBP - .435, SLG - .927, TB – 38, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF
– 2 NLCS MVP & World Series MVP
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA (co-winner)
MLB Player of
the Year: Sporting News
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Willie Stargell,
Pitt.: 216 pts. - 10 of 24 first place votes, 64% share
Keith
Hernandez, StL.: 216 pts. – 4 first place votes, 64% share
Dave Winfield,
SD.: 155 pts. – 4 first place votes, 46% share
Larry Parrish,
Mon.: 128 pts. – 38% share
Ray Knight,
Cin.: 82 pts. – 2 first place votes, 24% share
(1 first place
vote apiece for Joe Niekro, Hou., who ranked sixth, Kent Tekulve, Pitt., who
ranked eighth, Gary Carter, Mon., who ranked 17th & Bill Madlock, SF/Pitt., who ranked
18th)
---
Pirates went 98-64
to finish first in the NL Eastern Division by 2 games over the Montreal Expos,
while leading the league in runs scored (775), slugging (.416) & total
bases (2353). The Pirates started slowly and were 6 games back in mid-June but
benefited from in-season trades for shortstop Tim Foli and third baseman Bill
Madlock in addition to Stargell’s leadership. Buoyed down the stretch by their
theme song, Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family”, they outdistanced the Expos,
clinching the NL East on the season’s final day. Won NLCS over the Cincinnati
Reds, 3 games to 0. Won World Series over the Baltimore Orioles, 4 games to 3,
recovering from a 3-games-to-1 deficit, with Stargell’s Game 7 home run effectively
capping the comeback.
Aftermath of ‘79:
A knee injury
limited Stargell to 67 games in 1980 as the Pirates slipped to third in the NL
East. He ended up batting .262 with 11 home runs and 38 RBIs. No longer an
every-day player, he remained with the club until 1982. For his major league
career, spent entirely with the Pirates, he batted .282 with 2232 hits that
included 423 doubles, 55 triples, and 475 home runs. He further scored 1194
runs and compiled 1540 RBIs. Appearing in 36 postseason games, Stargell batted
.278 with 7 home runs and 20 RBIs, having his best performances in the 1979 NLCS
and World Series. A seven-time All-Star, the Pirates retired Stargell’s #8 and he
was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988. His statue stands outside
PNC Park. Following his retirement, in addition to numerous charitable
activities, he became a coach for the Pirates and Braves. His health steadily
declined until his death in 2001 at the age of 61.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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