Pittsburgh Pirates Black History Month Tribute: The First All-Minority Lineup in MLB History
By Noah Wright
Second baseman: Rennie Stennett
Back in 1971, Rennie Stennett was a young, wiry middle infielder for the Pirates. It was his rookie year, and he finished off 1971 batting for a strong .353/.377/.458 line through his first 165 Major League plate appearances.
This rookie season gave Stennett the nod as the Bucs’ starting second baseman for the next eight seasons. While he didn’t continue the big time batting numbers he showed in his rookie season, batting just .275/.306/.363 from ‘72 through ‘79, and having only one 100+ OPS+ season, he was a terrific fielder. Stennett recorded a 9.1 defensive WAR in these seven seasons, including four, 1+ dWAR seasons.
Stennett joined the San Francisco Giants for the last two seasons of his Major League career, and produced an OPS+ of just 64, and -0.7 bWAR. It goes without saying that Stennett’s best seasons came in Pittsburgh as a member of the Lumber Company.