Pittsburgh Pirates Black History Month Tribute: The First All-Minority Lineup in MLB History

Baseball has a deep and rich background in Black History, and the Pittsburgh Pirates have one of the best stories in the rich history of the sport.

February is Black History Month. Clearly, the sport of baseball has one of richest histories in black history. Everything from Josh Gibson in the Negro Legaues hitting nearly 1000 home runs to Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball. The Pittsburgh Pirates have one of the deepest histories in terms of black history month.

Today, I wanted to revisit a very special line-up the Pittsburgh Pirates assembled in 1971. A line-up that would go down in history as the very first all-minority line-up in Major League Baseball history. So, without further ado, let’s get into the lead off hitter.

Center field: Gene Clines

Like Rennie Stennett, Gene Clines was a rookie during the 1971 campaign. Clines was your typical speedy center fielder who would hit for a high average. Through 300 plate appearances in 1971, Clines hit .308/.366/.339 with just a single home run, but 15 stolen bases.

The righty batter returned to the Bucs in ‘72 as the team’s fourth outfielder and did pretty well, having a .334/.369/.421 line and a dozen stolen bases. But that’s about as far as Gene’s success went. For the next two seasons, Clines hit .245/.317/.291 through his final 654 plate appearances in a Pirates’ uniform.

Clines was traded to the New York Mets following the conclusion of the ’74 season, and went on to play in New York for ‘75, the Texas Rangers during ‘76, and finished out his career with three seasons with the Chicago Cubs from ‘77-’79. Clines final career line consists of a .277/.329/.341 slash, an 88 OPS+, and 4.5 career bWAR.

After his playing career ended, Clines spent 15 seasons as a MLB coach.

Right field: Roberto Clemente

Roberto Clemente needs no introduction here. Whether you are a Pirate fan or not, you know who the legendary right fielder is. Despite his advancing age in 1971, being 36 years young and already having numbers to put him in the Hall, Clemente was still one of the most productive members of the team. In his 553 plate appearances in ‘71, Clemente batted .341/.370/.502 with 13 home runs. His 148 wRC+ ranked 12th in the National League, which tied with an over a decade younger Reggie Jackson.

Usually when guys get older their defense sees a down turn. Not Clemente. He still had the rocket arm, having 11 outfield assists, this being the 14th time he had double digits in assists in his career, and a 1.8 dWAR.

Clemente was still a very productive batter in 1972 (.835 OPS, 138 OPS+, 4.8 bWAR). Sadly, as all baseball fans know, Clemente died in a tragic plane crash on New Years Eve while delivering survival supplies to Nicaragua, which was recently hit by an earthquake at the time.

His last hit ever was his 3000th hit, and is still the only batter in Major League History to end at exactly 3000. He is also the only player to ever have the five year wait period waived before being elected into the Hall of Fame.

Left field: Willie Stargell

Just like with Clemente, you already know who Willie “Pops” Stargell is. At this point in the hulking lefty’s career, Stargell was becoming one of the most feared sluggers in all of baseball. From his breakout 1964 season to 1970, Pops had a .278/.345/.510 line, and blasted a grand total of 185 long balls through 3,729 plate appearances. His 136 wRC+ in this eight season span ranked 19th in the Majors, and was tied with Yankee legend Joe Torre.

Stargell’s 1971 season cemented himself as an extremely feared hitter in the Majors when he blasted 48 home runs, and hit for a .295/.398/.628 line through 606 plate appearances. Not only did he lead the league in long balls, but placed second in wRC+ (186). The only other man who passed Stargell in wRC+ that season? The legendary Hank Aaron. However, Stargell still led the league in fWAR at 8.2, passing the next guy by almost one whole win (Greg Nettles who finished with 7.4 fWAR).

While Stragell wasn’t nearly the great fielder as Clemente was, Stargell still finished 1971 with a solid 8 outfield assists from left field.

Stargell would continue his reign over pitchers up until his late-30’s. From ‘72 up until his age 39 season in ‘79, Stargell blasted 217 more home runs, and hit .289/.376/.550. No other batter, not Reggie Jackson, not Joe Morgan, posted a higher wRC+ (154) than Stargell through this outstanding eight season run.

Stargell’s tragic passing at just 61 years old happened to be on the day of PNC Park’s first game and the unveiling of his statue outside the ballpark.

Catcher: Manny Sanguillen

While the big stars of the 1971 Pirates team were Stargell, Clemente, Dock Ellis, and Steve Blass, Manny Sanguillen kind of flew under the radar as one of the best catchers in baseball at the time. Sanguillen followed up back-to-back seasons with a batting average above .300, and catching over 40% of the runners trying to steal on him with another strong campaign in 1971.

In 559 plate appearances Sanguillen had his best offensive season hitting .319/.345/.426 and launching seven balls out of the park. His 116 OPS+ was the highest of his career to that point and he led the entire MLB in defense. According to FanGraphs, his 18.1 defensive rating was above that of Johnny Bench, and the late Thurman Munson. He also caught exactly 50% of the runners trying to take an extra base on him.

Sanguillen would play the next five seasons with the Bucs batting .296/.331/.403 with 37 long balls and a 107 OPS+, and continuing to post strong fielding numbers. After a brief one year stint with the Oakland A’s, Sanguillen would return to the Bucs in 1978, and primarily served as a first baseman and pinch hitter up until his last season in 1980. Sanguilen went down in history as one of the Pirates’ best catchers ever, and his career 27.3 fWAR is only passed by Jason Kendall (31.2) as the all time Pirates’ catcher fWAR leader.

You can still often times find Manny during Pirates’ home games at his restaurant in PNC Park called Manny’s BBQ.

Third base: Dave Cash

Dave Cash had spent the two previous seasons with the Pirates as a second baseman. But because of the previously mentioned Stennet, Cash was seeing more reps at third base during 1971. Cash didn’t put up really impressive numbers at all during ‘71. Through 479 plate appearances, Cash hit only .289/.349/.354 with a 98 OPS+. Cash spent the next two seasons as solely a second baseman, and putting up similar overall offensive numbers, but showing decent glove work.

After the 1973 season, Cash was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Ken Brett. In Philly, Cash saw much more success, now seeing regular playing time. From ‘74-’76, Cash hit .296/.348/.371 line, stole 43 bases, and had a 4.1 dWAR. He also made the All-Star game every season he was in Philly.

After his Phillies tenure, Cash signed with the Montreal Expos, and put up numbers that more represented his Pirates’ days than his Philly days (.677 OPS, 88 OPS+). After the ‘79 season, Cash was traded to the San Diego Padres, and played his last season in 1980.

First base: Al Oliver

Despite Al Oliver primarily playing center field, where he was fondly known as ‘Scoop’ by Pirate fans, in 1971, the lefty just happened to get the occasional nod at first base this day. Entering 1971, Oliver had posted solid, but not great numbers the two seasons prior (.757 OPS, 108 OPS+). This trend continued into 1971 when Oliver finished the year batting .282/.317/.446 with 14 home runs and a 113 OPS+.

However, Oliver improved as his career went on. After taking over regular center field duties for the Pirates in 1972, Oliver would hit for a much better looking .305/.340/.464 line with a 124 OPS+ for the rest of his Pirate tenure. He also received calls to the ‘72, ‘75 and ‘76 All-Star games.

After the 1977 season, Oliver was traded to the Texas Rangers in a complicated four team swap including the Pirates, Rangers, New York Mets, and Atlanta Braves. Like in Pittsburgh, as his career progressed, his numbers only got better. During his tenure as a Ranger, Oliver blasted the ball for a .319/.358/.466 line and 131 OPS+. Oliver would have the best season of his career in 1982 after being traded to the Montreal Expos. In Canada, Oliver hit for career highs in batting average (.331), OBP (.392), slugging (.514), home runs (22), and OPS+ (150).

After ‘82, Oliver started to regress, and hit for a .757 OPS in ‘83. Oliver would finish out his career with two sub par seasons in ‘84 and ‘85. This also included being traded from the Expos to the Giants, from the Giants to the Phillies, from the Phillies to the Dodgers, and finally from the Dodgers, back up to Canada, this time with the Blue Jays in 1985.

Shortstop: Jackie Hernandez

Jackie Hernandez’s career up until this point was not anything worth mentioning. By 1971, he was a 30-year-old infielder whose batting numbers (.521 OPS, 48 OPS+) made most pitchers look like Willie Stargell, and didn’t have the glove to justify getting regular reps. Regardless, Hernandez can still say he played in some great all time line-ups including the likes of Clemente, Stargell, and Harmon Killebrew.

1971 was pretty much the same for Hernandez who hit for a .557 OPS and 57 OPS+ through 255 plate appearances. However, in 1971 he saw his role grow late in the season due to an injury to Gene Alley. Jackie played two more seasons in a Bucs’ uniform, and hit .205/.244/.273 in 264 plate appearances. After the 1973 season, Hernandez called it quits, finishing with a career .208/.256/.270 line and nine home runs.

While Hernandez’s career, numbers wise, may have not been much to right home about, he was part of one of the most historic and important starting lineups in MLB history. And, despite legendary Baltimore Orioles’ manager Earl Weaver famously proclaiming “the Pirates can’t win the pennant with Hernandez at shortstop,” Hernandez helped the Pirates defeat the Orioles in the World Series to do just that.

Starting pitcher: Dock Ellis

Dock Ellis might go down in history as one of the most interesting pitchers in MLB history. Aside from his standout personality, Ellis will forever be remembered for his no hitter on June 12th, 1970. What was so special about it? Well Ellis did it while tripping on LSD. Yes, this then 25-year-old Ellis pitched a no-hitter, one of the hardest feats in baseball, while tripping on acid.

Regardless of his interesting no hitter, Ellis was a very talented pitcher, having a 3.22 ERA/3.09 FIP in the previous 3 seasons. Ellis had one of the best seasons of his career in 1971. In 226.2 innings pitched, Ellis threw for a 3.06 ERA, 2.96 FIP, and 1.19 WHIP. Ellis walked just 2.5 batters per 9, and gave up only 15 home runs. His success that season led to Ellis starting the All-Star game for the National League in 1971. Ellis continued his dominance throughout the rest of his Pirates tenure, having a 3.15 ERA, 2.94 FIP, and very low walk (2.3/9) and home run (.5/9) rates from ‘72 to ‘75.

After his time in Pittsburgh, Ellis was traded to the New York Yankees after the ‘75 season, and performed fairly well. If pitching a no-hitter while high wasn’t interesting enough, Ellis was traded three times twice in his career. First in 1976. After pitching three extremely brilliant games in New York, he was traded to the Oakland A’s where he reunited with Manny Sanguillen. However, the Ellis/Sanguillen tandem didn’t last long, nor was as effective as it was in Pittsburgh, as Ellis gave up 5 home runs and 28 earned runs in 26 innings. He was subsequently traded to the Texas Rangers where he looked like he re-found his grove. Ellis continued his career into 1978, but was giving up many more home runs than he did before.

During 1979, Ellis was traded three different times again. This time from the Rangers to the Mets, and back to the Pirates where he was reunited with Sanguillen for a third time in his career. Ellis pitched his last game in a Pirates uniform in 1979.

Ellis sadly passed away at 63 years old on March 11th, 2008.

How the game went

This team of nine players won the game over the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 10 to 7. The game got off to an interesting start for the Pirates, as they went through three different pitchers through the first 3 innings of a game. Only a game Dock Ellis would start, against the hated Phillies to boot, would end up being that way.  Luke Walker would pitch the final 6 innings of the game, and gave up only 2 hits and one earned run.

The Pirates scored their runs on a Manny Sanguillen home run, and RBI contributions from Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Dave Cash, Al Oliver, Rennie Stennet, and. the forgotten man, Jackie Hernandez. Not only is this line-up significant, but many would go on to help the Pirates win the 1971 World Series

Today, two of the players in this line-up are in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Not only is this a significant mark in Pirates history, but also one in baseball history, and one that should go down as a groundbreaking mark in Black History throughout all of sports.