1979 Pittsburgh Pirates season

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1979 Pittsburgh Pirates
1979 NL East Champions
1979 NL Champions
1979 World Series Champions
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record 98–64 (.605)
Divisional place 1st
Other information
Owner(s) John W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Thomas Johnson (minority shareholder)
General manager(s) Harding "Pete" Peterson
Manager(s) Chuck Tanner
Local television KDKA-TV
Milo Hamilton, Lanny Frattare, Nelson Briles
Local radio KDKA
Milo Hamilton, Lanny Frattare
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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

Regular season

Season standings

NL East		 W L Pct. GB Home Road
Pittsburgh Pirates 98 64 0.605 — 48–33 50–31
Montreal Expos 95 65 0.594 2 56–25 39–40
St. Louis Cardinals 86 76 0.531 12 42–39 44–37
Philadelphia Phillies 84 78 0.519 14 43–38 41–40
Chicago Cubs 80 82 0.494 18 45–36 35–46
New York Mets 63 99 0.389 35 28–53 35–46

Record vs. opponents

1979 National League Records

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta — 4–8 6–12 7–11 12–6 1–9 4–8 7–5 4–8 6–12 11–7 4–8
Chicago 8–4 — 7–5 6–6 5–7 6–12 8–10 9–9 6–12 9–3 8–4 8–10
Cincinnati 12–6 5–7 — 8–10 11–7 6–6 8–4 8–4 8–4 10–7 6–12 8–4
Houston 11–7 6–6 10–8 — 10–8 7–5 9–3 5–7 4–8 14–4 7–11 6–6
Los Angeles 6–12 7–5 7–11 8–10 — 6–6 9–3 3–9 4–8 9–9 14–4 6–6
Montreal 9–1 12–6 6–6 5–7 6–6 — 15–3 11–7 7–11 7–5 7–5 10–8
New York 8–4 10–8 4–8 3–9 3–9 3–15 — 5–13 8–10–1 4–8 8–4 7–11
Philadelphia 5-7 9–9 4–8 7–5 9–3 7–11 13–5 — 8–10 9–3 6–6 7–11–1
Pittsburgh 8–4 12–6 4–8 8–4 8–4 11–7 10–8–1 10–8 — 7–5 9–3 11–7
San Diego 12–6 3–9 7–10 4–14 9–9 5–7 8–4 3–9 5–7 — 8–10 4–8
San Francisco 7–11 4–8 12–6 11–7 4–14 5–7 4–8 6–6 3–9 10–8 — 5–7
St. Louis 8–4 10–8 4–8 6–6 6–6 8–10 11–7 11–7–1 7–11 8–4 7–5 —


Game log

1979 Game Log (98–64)[5]
April: 7–11 (Home: 5–6 ; Away: 2–5)
May: 16–10 (Home: 7–4 ; Away: 9–6)
June: 14–13 (Home: 7–9 ; Away: 7–4)
July: 20–11 (Home: 8–5 ; Away: 12–6)
August: 21–9 (Home: 12–4 ; Away: 9–5)
September: 20–10 (Home: 9–5 ; Away: 11–5 )
Legend:           = Win           = Loss           = Tie           = Postponement
Bold = Pirates team member

Roster

1979 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 Manager

Coaches

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

Player stats

Batting
Pitching

Postseason

Postseason game log

1979 Postseason Game Log (7–3)
1979 NL Championship Series: vs. Cincinnati Reds: Pirates win 3–0[12]
1979 World Series: vs. Baltimore Orioles: Pirates win 4–3[13]
Legend:           = Win           = Loss           = Postponement
Bold = Pirates team member

National League Championship Series

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Main article: 1979 National League Championship Series

Game 1

October 2, Riverfront Stadium

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R H E
Pittsburgh 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 10 0
Cincinnati 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 0
W: Grant Jackson (1-0)  L: Tom Hume (0-1)   SV: Don Robinson (1)
HRs: PIT – Phil Garner (1)   Willie Stargell (1)   CIN – George Foster (1)

Game 2

October 3, Riverfront Stadium

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Pittsburgh 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 11 0
Cincinnati 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 8 0
W: Don Robinson (1-0)  L: Doug Bair (0-1)   SV: None
HRs: PIT – None   CIN – None

Game 3

October 5, Three Rivers Stadium

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Cincinnati 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 8 1
Pittsburgh 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 1 X 7 7 0
W: Bert Blyleven (1-0)  L: Mike LaCoss (0-1)   SV: None
HRs: CIN – Johnny Bench (1)   PIT – Willie Stargell (2)   Bill Madlock (1)

World Series

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Main article: 1979 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, infielder Rennie Stennett, 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

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Pittsburgh 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 4 11 3
Baltimore 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 6 3
W: Mike Flanagan (1-0)   L: Bruce Kison (0-1)
HR: PIT – Willie Stargell (1); BAL – Doug Decinces (1)

Game 2

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

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Pittsburgh 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 11 2
Baltimore 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 6 1
W: Don Robinson (1-0)   L: Don Stanhouse (0-1)  S: Kent Tekulve (1)
HR: PIT – none; BAL – Eddie Murray (1)

Game 3

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

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Baltimore 0 0 2 5 0 0 1 0 0 8 13 0
Pittsburgh 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 9 2
W: Scott McGregor (1-0)   L: John Candelaria (0-1)
HR: BAL – Benny Ayala (1); PIT – none

Game 4

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

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Baltimore 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 6 0 9 12 0
Pittsburgh 0 4 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 6 17 1
W: Tim Stoddard (1-0)   L: Kent Tekulve (0-1)
HR: BAL – none; PIT – Willie Stargell (2)

Game 5

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

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Baltimore 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 6 2
Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 3 x 7 13 1
W: Bert Blyleven (1-0)   L: Mike Flanagan (1-1)
HR: BAL – none; PIT – none

Game 6

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

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 4 10 0
Baltimore 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 1
W: John Candelaria (1-1)   L: Jim Palmer (0-1)  S: Kent Tekulve (2)
HR: PIT – none; BAL – none

Game 7

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

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 4 10 0
Baltimore 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 2
W: Grant Jackson (1-0)   L: Scott McGregor (1-1)  S: Kent Tekulve (3)
HR: PIT – Willie Stargell (3); BAL – Rich Dauer (1)

Composite Box

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

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Pittsburgh Pirates 1 8 0 1 1 8 4 6 3 32 81 9
Baltimore Orioles 5 1 6 5 1 1 1 6 0 26 54 9
Total Attendance: 367,597   Average Attendance: 52,514
Winning Player’s Share: – $28,264,   Losing Player’s Share – $22,114 * Includes Playoffs and World Series

Awards and honors

All-Stars

1979 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

League leaders

  • Omar Moreno, National League stolen base leader, 77[14]
  • 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

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See also: Minor league baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Portland Beavers Pacific Coast League Johnny Lipon
AA Buffalo Bisons Eastern League Steve Demeter
A Salem Pirates Carolina League Jim Mahoney
A Shelby Pirates Western Carolinas League Tom Zimmer
Rookie GCL Pirates Gulf Coast League Woody Huyke

Notes

  1. ↑ From 1882-1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Shore in 1907.
  2. ↑ Will McEnaney page at Baseball-Reference
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Enrique Romo page at Baseball Reference
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  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Stolen Bases Single Season National League Leaders by Baseball Almanac

References

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