Willie Stargell
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Wilver Dornel "Willie" Stargell (March 6, 1940 – April 9, 2001), nicknamed "Pops" in the later years of his career, was a professional baseball player who played his entire Major League career (1962-1982) with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an outfielder and first baseman.
Stargell was born in Earlsboro, Oklahoma, but later moved to California where he attended Encinal High School. Over his 21-year career with the Pirates, he batted .282, with 2,232 hits, 423 doubles, 475 home runs and 1540 runs batted in, helping his team capture six National League East division titles, two National League pennants and two World Series (1971, 1979).
In 1973 Stargell achieved the rare feat of simultaneously leading the league in both doubles and homers, with more than 40 of each: the last player to chalk up this 40-40 accomplishment was Hank Greenberg in 1940.
In 1979 Stargell earned the NLCS, World Series, and National League MVP (the latter being shared with Keith Hernandez), the only player to have won all three in a single year. He shared the Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsmen of the Year" award with NFL quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who also played at Three Rivers Stadium, for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Beloved in Pittsburgh for his style of play and affable manner, Stargell was known throughout baseball for hitting monstrous home runs, including 7 of the 16 balls ever hit completely out of Forbes Field and several of the upper-tier home runs at its successor, Three Rivers Stadium. At one time, he held the record for the longest homer in nearly half of the National League parks.
After retirement, Stargell spent several years as a coach for the Atlanta Braves. In 1988, Stargell was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. In 1999, he ranked Number 81 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. He died in Wilmington, North Carolina at the age of 61, on the day a larger-than-life statue of him was unveiled at the Pirates' new stadium, PNC Park.
Other “Stargellesque” Home Runs
In addition to Forbes Field and Three Rivers Stadium, Stargell also hit some of the longest home runs at several other parks:
- Stargell hit two of the (currently) only four home runs ever hit completely out of Dodger Stadium. The first came on August 5, 1969 off Alan Foster; the second on May 8, 1973 off Andy Messersmith.
- In 1978, against Steve Rogers of the Montreal Expos, Stargell hit a home run into the upper deck of Olympic Stadium, the only fair ball ever hit there.
- Stargell also hit the longest home run ever hit at Veterans Stadium. The spot where the ball landed was marked with a yellow star with a black "S" inside a white circle. After Stargell's death, the white circle was painted black and remained there until the stadium's 2004 demolition.
Own quotation
- "The (umpire) says 'play' ball, not 'work' ball."
- "Trying to hit Sandy Koufax was like trying to drink coffee with a fork."
- "Now I know why they boo Richie (controversial star Dick Allen) all the time. When he hits a home run, there's no souvenir." - After Allen, also well known for mammoth home runs, once hit a ball over the left-field roof of Philadelphia's Connie Mack Stadium.
- Baseball Hall of Fame Inductee (1988)
- Co-National League MVP (shared with Keith Hernandez, 1979)
- 7-time Top 10 MVP (1971-75, 1978-79)
- 7-time All-Star (1964-66, 1971-73, 1978)
- National League Championship Series MVP (1979)
- World Series MVP (1979)
- Led National League in Slugging Percentage (1973)
- Twice led National League in OPS (1973-74)
- Led National League in Doubles (1973)
- Twice led National League in Home Runs (1971 and 1973)
- Led National League in RBI (1973)
- Twice led National League in Extra-Base Hits (1971 and 1973)
- Hit for the cycle (1964)
See also
- List of major league players with 2,000 hits
- Hitting for the cycle
- MLB players who have hit 30 or more home runs before the All-Star break
External links
- [Baseball Hall of Fame]
- [Baseball-Reference.com] - career statistics and analysis
- Stargell rated among the [Top 10 Leftie Homerun Hitters]
- [The Deadball Era]
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