August 5, 1969: Pirates’ Willie Stargell hits a home run completely out of Dodger Stadium

“On a muggy, overcast night in Chavez Ravine,” the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-3, a game highlighted by Willie Stargell’s home run in the seventh inning that was the first ever hit out of Dodger Stadium. “It appeared to be Apollo 12,” one observer noted as the baseball landed in the parking lot behind the right-field pavilion.1

The Pirates scored the first run of the game in the top of the second inning off Dodgers starting pitcher Don Drysdale. Roberto Clemente was safe on an error by shortstop Maury Wills and went to second base on a passed ball by the Dodgers catcher, Tom Haller. After Al Oliver was hit by a pitch and Manny Sanguillen was safe on a bunt to load the bases, Gene Alley drove in Clemente from third base on a single to left field. With the bases still loaded, Bill Mazeroski struck out and the next batter, Steve Blass, flied out to Andy Kosco in left field. Oliver tagged up from third base and appeared to have scored the second run of the inning. However, he was ruled out on a successful appeal by the Dodgers who claimed he left third base early.2

Pittsburgh jumped ahead 2-0 in the top of the third inning. Matty Alou singled to center field, took second and third on successive infield outs, and scored when Clemente singled to left field.

Sanguillen gave the Pirates a 3-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning when he hit a home run into the left-field seats, his third homer of the season.3

After being held to two singles though five innings by Pirates starting pitcher Blass, the Dodgers tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. The second batter of the inning, Wills, singled to center field and Willie Davis followed with a single to left. Len Gabrielson reached when he hit into a force play at second. Wills and Gabrielson scored when Kosco hit a 400-foot home run over the center-field wall, his 16th homer of the season. Blass commented after the game, “It was a very hittable pitch. I would have been surprised if he hadn’t hit it out.”4

The top of the seventh inning was the scene for Stargell’s memorable home run. Alan Foster had relieved Drysdale, who left the game for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the sixth inning. With one out, Foster threw a curveball that Stargell hammered over the right-field pavilion, his 18th home run of the season that “brought the crowd up gasping. …” Stargell wasn’t visibly impressed after the game. He said, “… I had no idea it was going to go that far. I wasn’t trying to hit one. Every time I try, I can’t do it.”5

One writer estimated the distance of the home run to be between 480 and 500 feet6 and another wrote that it traveled as much as 525 feet.7 The ball easily cleared the 50-foot-high ceiling of the pavilion, which has a back fence that is 450 feet from home plate.8 Another writer declared that the ball was still rising as it cleared the pavilion.9 Quipped a visiting writer, “Willie Stargell’s muscles have now joined Jack Benny’s violin, Bob Hope’s nose and Raquel Welch’s anatomy as all-time great conversation stimulators here in the neon capital of the Western world.”10

The Pirates waited until the ninth inning to blow the game open. They exploded for seven runs, all charged to former Pirates pitcher Pete Mikkelsen, who had relieved Foster to start the inning. Blass opened with a single and moved to third base on a single by Alou. Blass and Alou both scored when Richie Hebner’s groundball bounced off first baseman Tom Hutton’s glove for an error.11

After Stargell struck out, Clemente singled to left field and Hebner scored when Kosco bobbled the ball and overthrew home plate. Clemente reached third base and scored when the next batter, Oliver, doubled to the right-field corner. Oliver came home on Sanguillen’s single to center field. Gene Alley grounded out, then Sanguillen scored on Mazeroski’s homer down the left-field line.12 As one visiting writer wrote, “The Pirates did win, 11-3, but their big stretch drive was as anticlimactic as stitches after open heart surgery.”13

Blass held the Dodgers scoreless in the bottom of the ninth to finish his complete-game win, his 11th victory of the season in 18 decisions. “I’ve been struggling to find my slider all year,” said Blass after the game. “I still have some rough edges, but I’m slowly getting back into the groove.”14 It was his second complete-game win of the week over the Dodgers.15

Stargell, surrounded by reporters after the game, said, “They don’t pay you any more for distance. If I hit one that barely goes out and we win, that’s the real thrill. They don’t mean anything if you don’t win.” Asked if this was his best home run, Stargell said “No, the best home run I ever hit was the one over the roof at Forbes Field this year off (Mets pitcher Tom) Seaver.”16

“If Stargell during recent years had been playing anywhere but Forbes Field,” said Pirates manager Larry Shepard, “he might have challenged the home run records of Babe Ruth and Roger Maris.” Hitting well at Dodger Stadium was not uncommon to Stargell, who slugged three homers there in a game in 1965.17

Among Clemente’s two hits in the game was the 2,500th of his 15-year career.18 “I can’t remember my first major league hit,” Clemente said. “I can’t even remember hits I had a few weeks ago. But I’m happy to be hitting again and helping the team.”19

This was the first game in two months in which all of the Pirates regulars played. Stargell had missed some playing time with a swollen thumb20 and Mazeroski, for the first time in a month, was a regular in the lineup. “I’m just up from York,” kidded the delighted second baseman, who was struggling through an injury-marred campaign. “That one sure felt good. I’m like a kid with a new toy.” This game was the first since June 10 in which the Pirates’ starting lineup was intact.21

Drysdale acknowledged that he was pitching with pain in his shoulder. He said, “The pain is still there, but it’s something I’m going to have to learn to pitch with.”22

“Funny,” said Walter Alston, the Dodgers manager, “but Foster had great stuff tonight. I thought he was throwing the ball better than he had in some time.”23 He blamed the two Dodgers errors in the ninth for erasing any chance LA had of catching the Pirates in the game.24

The teams combined for 14 runs, 22 hits, and three errors in a game that lasted 2 hours 11 minutes. Attendance at Dodger Stadium on this Tuesday evening was 22,604.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN196908050.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1969/B08050LAN1969.htm

Notes

1 Ross Newhan, “Apollo 12? Stargell’s Blast Flattens Dodgers,” Los Angeles Times, August 6, 1969: 39, 42.

2 Charlie Feeney, “‘Coasted’ Pirates Use Homers to Top Dodgers,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 6, 1969: 18.

3 Feeney.

4 Phil Musick, “Stargell Leads Pirates Bombing,” Pittsburgh Press, August 6, 1969: 68-69.

5 Musick.

6 Newhan.

7 Feeney.

8 Newhan.

9 Musick.

10 Musick.

11 Feeney. On July 30, Blass had beaten the Dodgers, 4-2, at Forbes Field.

12 Feeney.

13 Musick.

14 Musick.

15 Newhan.

16 Musick.

17 United Press International, “Can LA Forget Stargell’s Shot?” Pomona (California) Progress Bulletin, August 6, 1969: 41.

18 Feeney.

19 United Press International.

20 Feeney.

21 Musick.

22 Newhan.

23 Newhan.

24 United Press International.