Willie Stargell
Wilver Dornel Stargell (March 6, 1940 - April 9, 2001), best know as Willie Stargell, and also knicknamed "Pops", was a Major League Baseball first baseman and left-handed batter who played his entire career with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1962-82).
Stargell was born in Earlsboro, Oklahoma. With the Pirates, he batted .282, with 475 home runs and 1511 runs batted in, helping his team to win six NL East Division pennants, two NLCS and two World Series (1971, 1979).
In 1979 Stargell enjoyed the All Star game, NLCS, WS and NL MVP awards, and also shared the Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsmen of the Year" award with NFL quarterback Terry Bradshaw.
Stargell's claim to fame was his ability to hit monstrous home runs. For example, nine batters blasted one home run out of Pittsburgh's Forbes Field. Stargell did it seven times. At one time, he held the record for the longest homer in nearly half of the National League parks.
Stargell finished his 21-year career batting .282 with 475 home runs, 1540 RBI, 1195 runs, 2232 hits, 423 doubles, 55 triples, 17 stolen bases, a .360 on base percentage, and .529 slugging average in 2360 games.
Willie Stargell was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988. He died in Wilmington, North Carolina at the age of 61.
Own quotation
- "The (umpire) says 'play' ball, not 'work' ball, you know, and trying to hit Sandy Koufax was like trying to drink coffee with a fork."
Highlights
- National League MVP (tied 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)
- 2-time led league in home runs (1971, 1973)
- Led league in RBI (1973)
- Led league in doubles (1973)
- 2-time led league in extra base hits (1971, 1973)
- Led league in slugging average (1973)
- 2-time led league in OPS (1973-74)
- Hit for the cycle (1964)
