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

PITTSBURGH - JUNE 21: Manny Sanguillen #35 of the World Series Champion 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates salutes the crowd after being introduced before the game against the Baltimore Orioles on June 21, 2011 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH - JUNE 21: Manny Sanguillen #35 of the World Series Champion 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates salutes the crowd after being introduced before the game against the Baltimore Orioles on June 21, 2011 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 11
Next
MIAMI, FL – AUGUST 10: Brandon Crawford #35 of the San Francisco Giants shakes hands with former Major Leaguer Rennie Stennett before the start of the game against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park on August 10, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL – AUGUST 10: Brandon Crawford #35 of the San Francisco Giants shakes hands with former Major Leaguer Rennie Stennett before the start of the game against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park on August 10, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images) /

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.