1979 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates had 98 wins and 64 losses and captured the National League East Division title by two games over the Montreal Expos. The Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds to win their ninth National League title, and the Baltimore Orioles to win their fifth World Series title - and also their last playoff series victory to date. The wildly popular disco hit "We Are Family" by Sister Sledge was used as the team's theme song that season.

Offseason

• October 23, 1978: Will McEnaney was released by the Pirates.^[1]
• December 4, 1978: Ken Macha was drafted from the Pirates by the Montreal Expos in the 1978 rule 5 draft.^[2]
• December 5, 1978: Odell Jones, Rafael Vásquez, and Mario Mendoza were traded by the Pirates to the Seattle Mariners for Enrique Romo, Rick Jones and Tom McMillan.^[3]

Regular season

Season standings

Opening Day lineup

1. SS Frank Taveras
2. CF Omar Moreno
3. RF Dave Parker
4. 1B Willie Stargell
5. LF Bill Robinson
6. 2B Rennie Stennett
7. C Ed Ott
8. 3B Phil Garner
9. P Bert Blyleven

Notable transactions

• April 7, 1979: Jerry Reuss was traded by the Pirates to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Rick Rhoden.^[4]
• May 8, 1979: Joe Coleman was signed as a free agent by the Pirates.^[5]
• June 5, 1979: 1979 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Mike Bielecki was drafted by the Pirates in the 1st round (8th pick). Player signed June 13, 1979.^[6]
  • Mike Sharperson was drafted by the Pirates in the 41st round, but did not sign.^[7]
• June 28, 1979: Ed Whitson, Fred Breining, and Al Holland were traded by the Pirates to the San Francisco Giants for Bill Madlock, Lenny Randle and Dave Roberts.^[8]
• September 21, 1979: Dock Ellis was purchased by the Pirates from the New York Mets.^[9]

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Note: Pitchers' batting stats not included

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Postseason

National League Championship Series

Game 1

October 2, Riverfront Stadium

Game 2

October 3, Riverfront Stadium

Game 3

October 5, Three Rivers Stadium

World Series

The Pirates became one of only six teams in the 20th century to have won a World Series after trailing three games to one. Two of those teams were the Pirates, in 1925 and 1979. The others were the 1903 Boston Red Sox (in a best-of-nine series), 1958 New York Yankees, 1968 Detroit Tigers, and 1985 Kansas City Royals. Five Pirates had 10 or more hits in this series, a World Series record.

Chuck Tanner's mother died the morning of Game 5 (this was mentioned during the telecast by announcer Howard Cosell). 1960 World Series hero Bill Mazeroski threw out the first ball in Game 5. The Pittsburgh Pirates were the last team in the 20th Century to win Game 7 of the World Series on the road. U.S. President Jimmy Carter made an appearance in Game 7, he threw out the first ball, and after the game made a visit to the victorious Pittsburgh locker room.

Willie Stargell at 39 was the oldest player to win MVP honors for both the National League and the World Series.^{[citation needed]} In the World Series, he hit .400 with a record seven extra-base hits and matched Reggie Jackson's record of 25 total bases, set in 1977. Stargell, pitcher Bruce Kison, and catcher Manny Sanguillén were the only players left over from the 1971 World Series, when the Pirates faced the Orioles. Orioles' pitcher Jim Palmer, Mark Belanger, and manager Earl Weaver were the only ones who were still with the team that faced the Pirates in 1971.

As was the case when the same two teams played in the 1971 World Series, a game in Baltimore was rained out. Game 1 of this series was postponed, while Game 2 of the 1971 series had to be moved back a day. In this Series, it was the American League team's "turn" to play by National League rules, meaning that there was no designated hitter and the Orioles' pitchers would have to bat. While this resulted in pitcher Tim Stoddard getting his first major league hit and RBI in Game 4. Overall, it hurt the Orioles because Lee May, their designated hitter for much of the season and a key part of their offense, was only able to bat three times in the whole series. The Pirates wore four different uniform combinations during the series: gold cap, black jersey and gold pants for Games 1 & 5, black cap, gold jersey and black pants for Games 2, 6 & 7, black cap and solid white pinstriped uniform for Game 3 and a black cap and solid gold uniform for Game 4.

Game 1

October 10, 1979 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. Attendance: 53,735

Game 2

October 11, 1979 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. Attendance: 53,739

Game 3

October 12, 1979 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Attendance: 50,848

Game 4

October 13, 1979 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Attendance: 50,883

Game 5

October 14, 1979 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Attendance: 50,920

Game 6

October 16, 1979 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. Attendance: 53,739

Game 7

October 17, 1979 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. Attendance: 53,733

Composite Box

1979 World Series (4-3): Pittsburgh Pirates (N.L.) over Baltimore Orioles (A.L.)

Awards and honors

• Willie Stargell, Associated Press Athlete of the Year
• Willie Stargell, OF, Babe Ruth Award
• Willie Stargell, OF, National League Most Valuable Player Award
• Willie Stargell, OF, World Series Most Valuable Player Award

All-Stars

1979 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

• Dave Parker, OF, starter

League leaders

• Omar Moreno, National League stolen base leader, 77^[10]
• Dave Parker, led NL in extra-base hits
• Dave Parker, led NL in sacrifice flies

Other team leaders

• Runs scored - Omar Moreno (110)
• Stolen bases - Omar Moreno (77)
• Walks - Dave Parker (67)

Farm system

Notes

References

• 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at Baseball Reference
• 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.