June 26, 2001: Pirates rally for 12-inning win over Brewers; manager Lloyd McClendon ‘steals’ first base after ejection

As the 2001 season progressed, first-year Pittsburgh Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon’s sources of frustration multiplied: injured pitchers, underperforming free agents, and the National League’s worst record. It all erupted in the seventh inning of a tie game with the Milwaukee Brewers on June 26 at PNC Park. Ejected for arguing an out call at first base, McClendon pulled the base from the ground and carried it into Pittsburgh’s dugout. The Pirates rallied in extra innings after McClendon’s national-newsworthy outburst and seized a 7-6, 12-inning win on rookie Rob Mackowiak’s walk-off single.

Pittsburgh promoted McClendon – a Little League World Series star as a youth,1 part of a future Hall of Famer’s trade as a minor-leaguer,2 and a postseason record-setter in the majors3 – from hitting coach to manager after the 2000 season, their eighth consecutive losing campaign.4 At 42, McClendon was the big leagues’ youngest manager, and his new job coincided with the franchise’s move from Three Rivers Stadium to PNC Park, hoped to be the harbinger of a brighter future.5

But McClendon’s first Pirates team veered off course from the beginning. Starting pitchers Kris Benson and Francisco Córdova had season-ending elbow injuries in spring training, and a rib strain sidelined starter Jason Schmidt for a month and a half.6 Free agent right fielder Derek Bell’s batting average lagged well below .200; another signee, pitcher Terry Mulholland, went on the disabled list first with a sprained knee, then again with a broken finger.7 General manager Cam Bonifay was fired on June 11.8 Even after beating the Brewers on June 25 to open their three-game series, the Pirates were 26-47, 17½ games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central Division.

McClendon was ejected only once in his first 73 games as a manager,9 but unfavorable calls had triggered two arguments with crew chief Rick Reed’s umpires during a series in Milwaukee in May.10 When the Brewers came to Pittsburgh in June, Reed’s team – which included Laz Diaz, Tim Tschida, and Mark Wegner – was again the assigned arbiters, and McClendon’s frustrations manifested in the bottom of the first inning of the series’ second game. Shortstop Abraham Nuñez hit a chopper to second and Reed, umpiring at first base, called him out on a close play.11 First base coach Tommy Sandt argued the call, and McClendon left the dugout to join Sandt before dropping his protest.12

Jimmy Anderson, one of only two members of Pittsburgh’s projected starting rotation to have taken a regular turn since Opening Day,13 had posted a 5.70 ERA in six starts since pitching eight scoreless innings to beat Milwaukee on May 19. After Anderson’s most recent outing, a June 21 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, McClendon had publicly criticized the 25-year-old lefty.14 Against the Brewers, who were fourth in the NL Central, 5½ games back of the Cubs, Anderson began the night with three scoreless innings, including perfect frames in the second and third.

Two fly balls to open the fourth made it nine outs in a row for Anderson, but Richie Sexson walked on a full count. Jeromy Burnitz drove him in with a double, and the Brewers led, 1-0.

Right-hander Paul Rigdon, on the disabled list since June 9 with an elbow injury, was making his first appearance since rejoining the Brewers’ roster.15 Like Anderson, he started off with three scoreless innings.

His outing deteriorated rapidly after Brian Giles singled with one out in the fourth. Aramis Ramírez’s single and John Vander Wal’s walk loaded the bases.

“Once I went to the stretch, I started rushing a bit,” Rigdon lamented.16

Kevin Young’s double brought all three Pirates home, and a full-count walk to the .153-hitting Bell and a four-pitch walk to Anderson reloaded the bases. Nuñez’s groundout scored Young for a 4-1 Pittsburgh lead.17

An inning later, the Pirates threatened a rout when Jason Kendall’s leadoff single, Ramírez’s one-out double, and Vander Wal’s intentional walk loaded the bases against reliever Mike Buddie. But Buddie – making his first big-league appearance of 2001 after beginning the season in the minors18 – struck out Young and Bell to strand the runners.

Buddie’s escape gave the Brewers room to rally. Geoff Jenkins opened the sixth with a single. Sexson hit a dribbler in front of home; Kendall threw it over Young’s head at first for an error.19

Burnitz’s single to right drove in Jenkins. Sexson tried to take third, but Bell gunned him down on a close play. Brewers’ manager Davey Lopes argued the call with third base umpire Diaz.20

Shortstop Jose Hernández followed with a two-run opposite field homer to right, his 14th of the season, tying the game, 4-4.

It was still tied when Pittsburgh’s Kendall led off the bottom of the seventh. Facing David Weathers, he hit a grounder up the middle. Hernández ranged behind second, gathered it in, and threw to first on the move. The ball arrived in Sexson’s mitt just as Kendall reached the bag. Reed gave the out signal.21

Kendall started to argue, and Sandt intervened. McClendon left the third-base dugout, sprinted across the field, and took over arguing for his first-base coach. Within seconds, Reed had ejected McClendon.22

McClendon tossed his cap toward second base and continued to press his case, bare-headed, occasionally gesturing with a finger pointed into the air. Done with the argument, he kicked the dirt, pointed to the skies once more – and then ripped first base from its mooring and carted it off the field. The crowd of 24,120 stood and cheered.23

“[Reed] wasn’t seeing the calls at first base, so I figured I might as well take it with me,” McClendon said afterwards.24

Upon reaching the dugout, he threw the base down the runway, handed the lineup card to bench coach Bill Virdon,25 and departed for the clubhouse. A member of PNC Park’s grounds crew brought out a replacement first base.26

The ejection was a fiery sideshow in a late-innings bullpen standoff. Buddie, Weathers, and Pittsburgh native Curt Leskanic pitched two scoreless frames apiece for Milwaukee from the fifth through 10th innings.

Pittsburgh’s Scott Sauerbeck threw a perfect seventh but encountered trouble in the eighth. Jenkins’ single and Sexson’s opposite-field double off the right-field wall put two Brewers in scoring position with no outs.27 Sauerbeck won a lefty-lefty battle when Burnitz chased a high two-strike pitch,28 then intentionally walked Hernández before giving way to righty Josías Manzanillo.

Ronnie Belliard grounded weakly to third baseman Ramírez, who threw home to force out Jenkins.29 Up next was .138-hitting catcher Henry Blanco, batting for the second game in a row with the score tied, the bases loaded, and two outs.30 He had popped up in the fifth inning of the previous night’s loss, and he struck out on three pitches against Manzanillo, who threw two more scoreless innings to preserve the tie.

The bullpens finally cracked in the 11th. Virdon brought in closer Mike Williams. With one out, Tyler Houston, who had pinch-hit in the ninth and remained in the game at third, drove a two-ball pitch over the fence in left-center to put the Brewers ahead. Two pitches later, 38-year-old Devon White made it back-to-back homers with the 203rd home run of his 17-season career. Milwaukee took the 6-4 lead to the bottom of the inning.

Leskanic led the Brewers with 11 saves, but Lopes had pinch-hit for him after a 29-pitch outing. Lefty Ray King, on his way to a team-high 82 appearances, came in to close out the game. Second baseman Pat Meares and Kendall were retired routinely, and Pittsburgh’s last hope was Giles.

King threw an outside slider for a strike. The next pitch was a fastball away, and Giles hit it to left for an opposite-field single.31

Ramírez had celebrated his 23rd birthday a day earlier. King threw two balls, then hung a slider. Ramírez drove it into the bleachers in left for his 14th homer of the season.32 It was a 6-6 game.

The Pirates’ sixth pitcher of the night, Omar Olivares, had a 6.47 ERA but threw a scoreless 12th. King was back for the bottom half of the inning.

Young led off with a double, his third hit of the game; Bell’s groundout advanced him to third. Milwaukee brought the infield in.33

Mackowiak,34 who had received two intentional walks since assuming left field in an eighth-inning double switch, pulled a 1-and-2 pitch into right to drive in Young with the game-ending run.

Exiled to the Pirates’ clubhouse for the rally, McClendon became a good-natured focal point in sports media and beyond. Footage of his “stolen base” even crossed over to ABC’s Good Morning America.35

“I didn’t see it as theatrics,” McClendon said. “I was (ticked) off and did what I had to do. I have every right to go out and stand up for my players.”36

“We love him because he fights for us,” Young added.37

Less than 24 hours after his ejection and base removal, McClendon maintained a sense of humor about it.

“If it guarantees us a win, I’ll steal second base tonight,” he said before the next night’s game against the Brewers.38

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Bruce Slutsky and copy-edited by Mike Eisenbath. SABR members Gary Belleville and Kurt Blumenau provided insightful comments on an earlier version of this article, and Andy Terrick assisted the author in obtaining Pittsburgh Tribune-Review coverage of the 2001 Pirates.

Photo credit: Lloyd McClendon, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for pertinent information, including the box score and play-by-play.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT200106260.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2001/B06260PIT2001.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhnoCkp2QUo

Notes

1 At age 12 in 1971, McClendon led Gary, Indiana, to the Little League World Series Championship game by slugging five consecutive home runs in a three-game span. Gary lost to Taiwan in the championship game. “Far East Wins LL Title, 12-3,” New York Daily News, August 29, 1971: 143; Gene Collier, “The Legend of Lloyd Continues: McClendon’s Little League Feats Were Bonds-Esque,” Kenosha (Wisconsin) News, August 24, 2004: B1.

2 In December 1982, the Cincinnati Reds traded McClendon, coming off an 18-homer season at Class A; pitcher Charlie Puleo; and outfielder Jason Felice to the New York Mets for Tom Seaver. Peter King, “Seaver Is No Longer Homesick,” Cincinnati Enquirer, December 17, 1982: B-1.

3 McClendon went 8-for-11 with two doubles, a home run, and four walks as the Pirates’ platoon right fielder in their 1992 National League Championship Series loss to the Atlanta Braves. Roger Farrell, “Sitting Is OK with McClendon,” Newark (New Jersey) Star-Ledger, October 14, 1992: 67. Through 2025 his .727 average and .750 on-base percentage remained single-season postseason records for batters with at least 40 plate appearances or nine or more walks and hits.

4 McClendon replaced Gene Lamont, whose contract was not renewed after his fourth season managing the Pirates. Chuck Finder, “Bucs Pick McClendon: Pirates’ Hitting Coach Gets Top Job; First Black to Lead Pro Team in City,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 24, 2000: A-1.

5 Paul Meyer, “Pirates Hope New Ballpark Fosters a Winning Attitude: Players Excited About Playing in Front of Big Crowds at PNC Park,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 8, 2001: Special Section, 12.

6 Robert Dvorchak, “Season in the Gutter,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 14, 2001: D3. Schmidt’s first start was on May 11, the Pirates’ 34th game of the season. Robert Dvorchak, “Schmidt Sparkles in Return: Teams with 2 Relievers for 3-0 Win over Brewers,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 12, 2001: C-1.

7 Robert Dvorchak, “Pirates Report,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 11, 2001: C-6.

8 Paul Meyer, “Bonifay Tossed Out as Pirates Try Again to Rebuild,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 12, 2001: A-1.

9 Ted Barrett ejected McClendon for arguing an interference call against the St. Louis Cardinals on May 8. Robert Dvorchak, “Six-Run 1st Inning Sinks Pirates, 8-2: McClendon Ejected in Cardinals’ Victory,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 9, 2001: D-1.

10 On May 12, home plate umpire Reed had ruled that Pittsburgh’s Pat Meares had missed a bunt attempt, negating a hit-by-pitch. Two days later, the umpiring crew reversed its initial fair call on an apparent Meares home run. Robert Dvorchak, “Trip Ends on Foul Note: Pirates Can’t Catch Any Breaks in 11-8 Loss,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 15, 2001: D-1.

11 Joe Rutter, “‘Mac the Thief’ Gains National Attention,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 28, 2001: D1. Nuñez was starting at shortstop because rookie Jack Wilson was sidelined with a hamstring injury. Robert Dvorchak, “Pirates Report,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 26, 2001: D-3.

12 Robert Dvorchak, “Stolen Goods: Pirates Rally in 11th, Snatch Victory in 12th,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 27, 2001: D-1.

13 Opening Day starter Todd Ritchie was the other.

14 Robert Dvorchak, “Rain, Poor Starting Pitching Sink Pirates,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 22, 2001: B-1.

15 Drew Olson, “King Konged: Brewers in Pitts,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 27, 2001: 1C.

16 Drew Olson, “Game Report,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 27, 2001: 5C.

17 In his next start, on July 1 against the Houston Astros, Rigdon left the game in the third inning with an elbow injury. It was the final appearance of his major-league career. Drew Olson, “Staff Infection Takes a Bad Turn,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 2, 2001: 1C.

18 Drew Olson, “Kolb Gets Ticket Back to Minors,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 22, 2001: 5C.

19 Dvorchak, “Stolen Goods.”

20 Dvorchak, “Stolen Goods.”

21 “McClendon Ejected, Takes First Base,” YouTube video (MLB.com), 2:02, accessed June 19, 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhnoCkp2QUo.

22 “McClendon Ejected, Takes First Base.”

23 “McClendon Ejected, Takes First Base.”

24 Dvorchak, “Stolen Goods.”

25 Virdon, 71, had managed the Pirates, New York Yankees, Houston Astros, and Montreal Expos for a total of 13 seasons in the 1970s and 1980s.

26 “McClendon Ejected, Takes First Base,”

27 Olson, “King Konged.”

28 Olson, “King Konged.”

29 Olson, “King Konged.”

30 The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel speculated Lopes could have used utilityman Angel Echevarria to bat for Blanco, but Echevarria was away from the team because of a personal matter. Olson, “King Konged.”

31 King afterwards said it “may have been the stupidest pitch of my career … a fastball away to a guy who is looking for a pitch outside.” Olson, “King Konged.”

32 Olson, “King Konged.”

33 Dvorchak, “Stolen Goods.”

34 The Pirates had promoted Mackowiak from Triple A on May 18 when Bell went on the disabled list with a sore knee, and the 53rd-round pick in the 1996 June amateur draft had remained in the majors after Bell’s return. Paul Meyer, “Notebook,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 19, 2001: C-6. Mackowiak had turned 25 on June 20, six days before this game. He went on to appear in 853 major-league games in eight seasons with four clubs. On May 28, 2004 – hours after the birth of his first child – Mackowiak hit a walk-off grand slam in the first game of a doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs, then hit a game-tying ninth inning homer in the second game.

35 Rutter, “‘Mac the Thief’ Gains National Attention.” Newspaper coverage of McClendon’s ejection noted that in 1990, Cincinnati Reds manager Lou Piniella had pulled up first base and thrown it after getting ejected in a game against the Cubs. (McClendon was in the Cubs’ organization at the time of Piniella’s “base throw” but assigned to Triple A.) Robert Dvorchak, “Pirates Awed by McClendon’s Steal,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 28, 2001: D-3; Alan Solomon, “Boy’s Condition Serious After Foul Hits Him in Head,” Chicago Tribune, August 3, 1990: 4,9; Hal McCoy, “Piniella Steals Show in 8-1 Win,” Dayton Daily News, August 22, 1990: 1B.

36 Rutter, “‘Mac the Thief’ Gains National Attention.”

37 Rutter, “‘Mac the Thief’ Gains National Attention.”

38 Rutter, “‘Mac the Thief’ Gains National Attention.” The Pirates went on to win that game and the next for a four-game sweep of the Brewers. Major League Baseball fined McClendon $1,000.00 for his “stolen base.” Associated Press, “McClendon Might Auction Stolen Base,” Indiana (Pennsylvania) Gazette, July 8, 2001: C-1. Pittsburgh finished 62-100 in 2001, which tied the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for the worst record in the majors. The sweep in Pittsburgh started a 9-31 plunge for Milwaukee, which came in fourth in the NL Central at 68-94. McClendon managed in Pittsburgh until getting fired in July 2005 with a 336-446 overall record. In eight seasons piloting the Pirates, Seattle Mariners, and Detroit Tigers, he was ejected from 28 games, including ejections by both Reed and Tschida in 2002.