The Team That Changed Baseball: Roberto Clemente and the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates
by Bruce Markusen
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Book Summary Information
Author: Bruce MarkusenEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-05-15
ISBN: 1594160309
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Westholme Publishing
Book Reviews of The Team That Changed Baseball: Roberto Clemente and the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates
Book Review: An important team in baseball history
Summary: 5 Stars
The 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates were "a product of an aggressive search for winning talent of any color and the willingness to play that talent at any position--even if it meant a lineup of blacks, whites, Asians, Latinos or any combination," according to author Bruce Markusen.
The 1971 Pirates, in fact, fielded the first all-black lineup on Sept. 1. The lineup was not a token lineup or an attempt to be the first team to do so. The Pirates were in the midst of a tight pennant race. The lineup that day consisted of: Rennie Stennett, 2B; Gene Clines, CF; Roberto Clemente, RF; Willie Stargell, LF; Manny Sanguillen, C; Dave Cash, 3B; Al Oliver, 1B; Jackie Hernandez, SS; and Dock Ellis, P.
Manager Danny Murtaugh said, "Once a Pirate puts on a uniform, I don't notice the color of his skin. When it comes to making out the lineup, I'm colorblind and my players know that."
Nearly 25 years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, major league teams still had unwritten quotas about the number of black players they carried on their roster. The Pirates showed that being colorblind was not only the right philosophical approach, but also a winning one.
According to Markusen, there was no racism and little or no dissension on the 1971 Pirates. The teammates were very close and there was a healthy clubhouse atmosphere.
Markusen chronicles the 1971 season in a month-by-month approach, which grows tedious after a while. But, he manages to hit the highlights without a game-by-game description.
Even though I remember the 1971 World Series, I had forgotten all the surprising moves Murtaugh made as the Pirates upset the powerful Baltimore Orioles. Murtaugh's gut feelings concerning starting pitchers and lineup choices paid off as the Bucs came back from being down two games to none. The Orioles were hurt by nine errors in the first five games.
Markusen concludes with interesting thumbnail sketches of what happened to each of the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates.
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