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Roberto Clemente made five hits and drove home four runs on the same day that he criticized “a few” Pittsburgh Pirates for not hustling on the field. “They know who they are,” Clemente said.1 The Pirates were muddling along with a 72-74 won-lost mark, stuck in seventh place. During an interview with a San Juan, […]

When Roberto Clemente watched a Ferguson Jenkins pitch on the inside corner of the plate pass for a strike on September 13, 1972, young teammate Fernando Gonzalez didn’t understand. The pitch was in Clemente’s wheelhouse, and when Gonzalez questioned his mentor about why he held up on such a pitch, Clemente, an 18-year veteran, told […]

In their first visit to newly opened Three Rivers Stadium, the Chicago Cubs trounced the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-2, in the second game of a Labor Day 1970 doubleheader to secure the split. Leading a quartet of stars was Fergie Jenkins, who spanked a home run and held the Pirates to five hits for his major-league-most […]

Pirates are swashbuckling types, commanding submission from those they conquer. On April 16, 1971, however, their baseball namesake from Western Pennsylvania suffered a reversal of this paradigm in an effort that proved as ineffective as a clipper with no sails – 14 strikeouts against ace Tom Seaver in 1971’s first matchup between the defending National […]

Willie Stargell’s path to the top of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ home-run charts began from the bench in 1963, his first full major-league season. Filling in for first baseman Donn Clendenon, Stargell hit his first big-league homer, a three-run shot off Chicago Cubs fireman Lindy McDaniel, in a five-run, game-tying eighth-inning rally on May 8 at […]

Three years after announcing his retirement, Bill Virdon returned to active service in July 1968, when injuries and military obligations left the Pittsburgh Pirates shorthanded. Though brief, Virdon’s reactivation produced one memorable moment: a game-tying two-run ninth-inning home run off star reliever Ted Abernathy in Pittsburgh’s 12-inning, 7-6 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Forbes […]

Pittsburgh’s Roberto Clemente was no stranger to baseball’s big stage when he was selected for the National League’s starting lineup in the 1961 All-Star Game. He had previously participated as a substitute outfielder with one at-bat in the 1960 All-Star classic and was a key contributor to the Pirates’ dramatic win over the New York […]

The 1971 World Series pitted the best teams from each league, the NL’s Pittsburgh Pirates (97-65) against the AL’s Baltimore Orioles (101-57). The first game of the fall classic provided excitement for the 53,229 fans who packed Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium. This was “the third-largest [crowd] to ever see a baseball game at the Stadium.”1 In […]

New York City had long been a bastion of National League baseball. The New York Giants (since 1883) and the Brooklyn Dodgers (since 1884) were longtime successful teams whose individual stars and long rivalry riveted generations of baseball fans in and out of New York City. However, in the mid-1950s, Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley conceived […]

Over the course of his career, there were 14 games in which Roberto Clemente earned two outfield assists in the game. The Pirates lost the first 12 games. On September 14, 1971, he recorded two assists in a game the team won. In 1972, which proved to be his last season, Clemente added another game […]

The third time’s the charm. After going 0-2 in his first two starts for the 1969 New York Mets, Jerry Koosman reminded fans why he nearly won the previous year’s National League Rookie of the Year voting.1 On April 23, 1969, the sophomore southpaw scored his first “W” of the season with a five-hit, 2-0 […]

Roberto Clemente on Opening Day of the 1960 season. (Courtesy of Dennis Morgan/Pittsburgh Courier Archives.)   An MVP, a Cy Young, two future Hall of Famers and a world championship, the Pittsburgh Pirates presaged all these honors by battering the Cincinnati Reds, 13-0, in their 1960 home opener. Pirates shortstop Dick Groat scored three runs […]

By the end of the 1960s, it seemed that the Major League Baseball All-Star Game had turned into an annual exhibition of National League dominance. The senior circuit had won 11 of 13 games during the decade (two games were played in 1960, 1961 and 1962; one game was tied when it was called because […]

So slender he often swam in his uniform, Lino Donoso was a popular southpaw with a durability that belied his appearance. He pitched year-round for much of a two-decade career that began on the island of his birth, Cuba, included one season in the Negro National League and parts of two with the Pittsburgh Pirates. […]

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has produced 257 major-league baseball players, including Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda, Roberto Alomar, and Ivan Rodriguez. Although the list of Puerto Rican-born players is long and impressive, no other player from the islands has hit more home runs than Carlos Delgado. During a 17-year career with the […]

Bobby Bragan was a backup catcher whose pinch-hit double in Game Six of the 1947 World Series was his final moment of glory as a major-league player. However, Bragan left an enviable legacy as a manager and executive at the major and minor-league levels. He managed three major-league clubs, developed the farm system of the […]

On September 16, 1975, the Pittsburgh Pirates were wrapping up a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. They held a six-game lead over Philadelphia in the National League East Division and the season was growing old. With only 12 games remaining on the Pirates’ schedule, time was indeed running out on the […]

It may surprise you to learn that by 1960 just two players born in the Dominican Republic had played in the majors: Ozzie Virgil and Felipe Alou debuted in 1956 and 1958, respectively. In 1960 they were joined by Julian Javier in the season’s second month. On July 3, 1960, Rudy Hernández became the first […]

Shortstop Jackie Hernandez glided behind second base, smoothly picked up Merv Rettenmund’s ground ball and with one easy motion flipped it across the diamond to first baseman Bob Robertson for the final out of the 1971 World Series. “[The] catcher is running toward the camera at full speed, his upraised arms spread wide. His body […]

The son of a longtime major leaguer and the younger brother of another, Roberto Alomar was immersed in the world of baseball from an early age. Roberto’s father, Sandy Alomar, spent 15 years as a major-league infielder, and Roberto and his brother, also Sandy, spent most summers in major-league locker rooms. It was during these […]

On a comfortable 72-degree evening on July 17, 1965, at Milwaukee’s County Stadium, Bob Sadowski held an equally comfortable 4-1 lead going into the top of the eighth. He also was throwing a no-hitter against his hometown Pittsburgh Pirates with a lineup featuring three future Hall of Famers including the great Roberto Clemente. Another of […]

Max Macon was the top pitching prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals’ farm system before he blew out his arm in his first spring training appearance. The left-hander, so skinny he could “close one eye and look like a needle,” was the rare pitcher who hit well enough to make a comeback as a position […]

Baseball is thankfully free of artificial boundaries of time which confine other sports. This freedom helps to shape the unique magical charm that is an evening at the ballpark. Fans never know whether it will be a two-hour squeaker or whether they may be enchanted until past sunrise by the first-ever wild 12-hour 46-inning slugfest. […]