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| Pittsburgh's Rennie Stennett connects with a pitch from the Chicago Cubs' Paul Reuschel on his seventh at-bat Sept. 16, 1975. Stennett was bidding for his seventh hit of the day. (YouTube screen grabs) |
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| Stennett is headed for second on his way to a triple. |
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| Stennett accepts congratulations from Pirates third-base coach Bob Skinner after tying a major league record with seven hits in seven at-bats in Pittsburg's 22-0 walloping of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. |
By Phil Ellenbecker
"The Lumber Company" had its buzz saws blazing, and baring the sharpest teeth was Rennie Stennett.
The Pittsburgh second baseman tied a major league record by going 7-for-7 as the Pirates lived up to their 1970s nickname, denoting their appetite for swinging the bat, by boring through the Chicago Cubs 22-0 on Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 16, 1975, at Wrigley Field.
Stennett, a Panama native who grew up in the same neighborhood as fellow second baseman Rod Carew, a Hall of Famer, became the first player in 93 years to get seven hits in a nine-inning game. He equaled the record set by Wilbert Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles in 1892. And he did it in eight innings, leaving for a pinch runner after his final time up.
Johnny Burnett of Cleveland has the mark for most hits in an extra-inning game with nine in 1932.
From his leadoff spot in the batting order, Stennett led a 24-hit Pittsburgh attack with a triple, two doubles and four singles, scoring five runs and driving in two, backing up a three-hit shutout by John Candelaria and two relievers.
The fifth-year Pirate did it by slapping the ball over the park. He had four opposite-field hits to right -- two singles, a double and the triple. His two other singles went to center. His other double went to left -- the only thing he pulled.
Stennett wasn't even guaranteed to play, but there was no stopping him once manager Danny Murtaugh inserted him into the starting lineup. And his first at-bat indicated the direction he was headed, according to his Society for American Baseball Research biography.
“I got to the ballpark and I wasn’t supposed to play that day. I had twisted my ankle and it was badly swollen,” said Stennett, who had played both ends of a doubleheader the day before but sat down after the seventh inning of the second game. “But I taped up the ankle and I played. The first time up I hit a ball between (Cubs) first baseman Andre Thornton and the bag, and in my mind that told me that day I was gonna do good because as a right-handed hitter, when I’m hitting the ball to the right side, I know I’m hitting good.
"That was a shot, and it triggered something. I felt all I had to do was make contact and I was going to get a hit.”
He kept making contact, and finding holes. Stennett told team trainer Tony Bartirome to tell Murtaugh to remove him from the game because of his ankle. But Murtaugh refused until Stennett made an out.
“I wanted to rest him,” Murtaugh said, “but he kept getting hits.”
Here's an at bat-by-at bat rundown of Stennett's record-setting day:
First inning: Stennett scorched a double down the right-field line leading off the game against Rick Reuschel, triggering a nine-run inning. He scored on Richie Hebner's single. Later in the inning he singled to right off new pitcher Tom Detore to score Frank Taveras, then scored his second run of the inning on Willie Stargell's single, making the score 9-0.
Third inning: He singled to center leading off the inning with one out off Detore and scored on a homer deep onto Sheffield Avenue in right by Hebner, which opened an 11-0 lead.
Fifth inning: Leading off against Detore, he doubled to the gap in right and crossed the plate on Al Oliver's single, starting a six-run inning. He capped it with a two-out single to right off Oscar Zamora that drove in Manny Sanguillen, a fellow Panama native whom Stennett had pitched to in sandlot ball. That inflated the margin to 18-0. Dave Parker had the big blow in the inning with a three-run homer.
With his two hits in an inning twice in a game, Stennett tied a record shared by Max Carey, Sherman Lollar and Johnny Hodapp, according to an SABR Games Project article.
Seventh inning: Guess who led off this inning? Stennett singled to center off Buddy Schultz and scored on Parker's single as the Pirates padded the lead to the final margin.
Eighth inning: With two out, Stennett tripled to right off Paul Reuschel, Rick's brother, as the ball skipped by a charging Champ Summers. He then gave way to pinch runner and future New York Yankees fixture Willie Randolph, a rookie at the time.
Stennett came within one of tying the modern record for runs scored in a game, set on eight occasions. Guy Hecker has the all-time record with seven, set with Louisville of the American Association in 1886.
The 22-0 final was the largest-ever margin of victory by shutout, topping 21-0 blowouts by the 1901 Tigers and 1939 Yankees.
Beyond Stennett, the Pirates fully lived up their "Lumber Company" moniker. Stargell was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Taveras, a relative lightweight at No. 8 in the Bucs' batting order with a .212 average on the year, was 3-for-3 with three runs and three RBIs. Parker went 2-for-4 with five RBIs and three runs scored, including his 24th homer of the year. Hebner had his 15th homer while going 2-for-7 with three runs and RBIs each. Sanguillen and Richie Zisk also had two hits.
Ironically, one of the most lethal members of the "Lumber Company," line-drive machine Oliver -- a .303 lifetime hitter -- was largely silent on this day, going 1-for-4.
The Pirates mounted their assault on the Cubs largely by stinging them to death with singles. Stennett with his double and triple had their only extra-base hits besides the homers by Parker and Hebner.
Every Pittsburgh starter in the lineup — including Candelaria — hit safely, scored at least once and drove in at least one run.
And Candelaria didn't need all that much help, from himself or his teammates, as he improved to 8-5.
Candelaria, a rookie who'd won a starting rotation spot just before the All-Star break, held the Cubs to three hits over seven innings and allowed only one Cubs base runner to reach scoring position. He retired them in order in four innings. He didn't walk a batter while striking out five.
When Candelaria reaggravated a back injury, Ken Brett and Ramon Hernandez finished up with one inning apiece of scoreless 1-2-3 relief.
Meanwhile, the Pirates continually roughed up Cubs pitching until Paul Reuschel shut them out the final two innings.
In contrast, younger brother Rick, who had a 3.49 ERA coming in and was a three-time All-Star in the 1970s, was shelled for eight runs, all earned, six hits and two walks in getting only one batter out in the first inning as he fell to 10-16.
Jose Cardenal in the second and Andre Thornton and Dave Rosello in the fifth singled for Chicago's only hits.
The Pirates became known as "The Lumber Company" in 1971, when they led the National League in runs scored and won the World Series title. During that year on Sept. 1, Stennett was part of the first all-black starting lineup in baseball history.
By 1975 the Bucs weren't quite so fearsome with the bat but still finished third in the league in runs scored and batting average. From 1972 to 1976 they finished third in the league in runs scored four times and fourth the other year.
With the help of a 3.42 ERA, second-best in the league to Los Angeles' 3.26, Pittsburgh won the NL East in '75 with a 92-69 record, 6 1/2 games over Philadelphia. Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" swept the Pirates 3-0 in the NL Championship Series en route to the first of two straight world titles.
Although they were no match for the Pirates this day, the Cubs did tie Pittsburgh for third-most runs scored in the NL in '75. But they were also last in the league in ERA at 3.81 and finished fifth in the East at 75-87, 17 1/2 behind Pittsburgh.
Stennett raised his average from .278 to .287 with his 7-for-7 outburst, and he stayed on a tear the next two games. The next night, he got three more hits at Philadelphia to set a new mark for most hits (10) in consecutive nine-inning games. The next evening, he collected two more hits, giving him 12 hits in three consecutive nine-inning games, tying a record.
Stennett, who'd hit .291 the year before, finished 1975 with a .286 average and career highs of 89 runs scored and 62 RBIs. He was also drawing respect with his aggressive style of play.
“There hasn’t been a player in baseball, not even Pete Rose, who has hustled more than Stennett," Pirates general manager Joe Brown told The Sporting News.
Stennett took that gung-ho attitude into the batter's box, which fit right in with the Pirates' free-wheeling approach to hitting.
“I am a .300 hitter,” Stennett said. “I’ll always be aggressive at the plate. That’s my style. Maybe I’m not flashy. Mainly, I swing, and I’ve been getting an awful lot of hits on first pitches."
Or, as Cincinnati catcher Johnny Bench put it, “He hits everything we throw him."
Stennett tailed off to .257 in 1976, but was working on his best season in 1977 when he was lost for the year to injury, and he was never the same after that. On Aug. 21 he fractured a bone in his right fibula and dislocated his right ankle sliding into second base against the Giants. He was hitting .336 at the time, which ended up placing him second in the NL behind Parker's .338.
His ankle continued to bother him in 1978 and he lost his starting position to Phil Garner. He was largely a nonfactor in the Pirates' world championship run of 1979, totaling only one at-bat in the postseason.
Stennett opted for free agency, a five-year, $3 million contract and San Francisco for the 1980 season, but never got untracked with the Giants, running into problems with manager Dave Bristol. He was released in April 1982. Save for an aborted comeback attempt with the Pirates in 1989, he finished up his career in the Mexican League in 1982 and the Triple A American Association in 1983, retiring at age 32.
For his 11-year major league career, Stennett batted .274, with 41 home runs, 1,239 hits and 432 RBIs. After 1977, he never hit higher than .244.
But nobody ever hit higher in a day than Stennett's 7-for-7 on Sept. 16, 1975.
Stennett biography: https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/95f220e9
Hits records: https://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/hits.shtml
Runs scored records: https://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_runs1.shtml
"The Lumber Company": http://baseballegg.com/2012/09/04/pittsburghs-lumber-company-paced-team-to-success-in-1970s/
Additional background came from various sources on the Retrosheet and Society for American Baseball Research's Biography Project and Games Project websites, as well as baseballreference.com.
"The Lumber Company" had its buzz saws blazing, and baring the sharpest teeth was Rennie Stennett.
The Pittsburgh second baseman tied a major league record by going 7-for-7 as the Pirates lived up to their 1970s nickname, denoting their appetite for swinging the bat, by boring through the Chicago Cubs 22-0 on Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 16, 1975, at Wrigley Field.
Stennett, a Panama native who grew up in the same neighborhood as fellow second baseman Rod Carew, a Hall of Famer, became the first player in 93 years to get seven hits in a nine-inning game. He equaled the record set by Wilbert Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles in 1892. And he did it in eight innings, leaving for a pinch runner after his final time up.
Johnny Burnett of Cleveland has the mark for most hits in an extra-inning game with nine in 1932.
From his leadoff spot in the batting order, Stennett led a 24-hit Pittsburgh attack with a triple, two doubles and four singles, scoring five runs and driving in two, backing up a three-hit shutout by John Candelaria and two relievers.
The fifth-year Pirate did it by slapping the ball over the park. He had four opposite-field hits to right -- two singles, a double and the triple. His two other singles went to center. His other double went to left -- the only thing he pulled.
Stennett wasn't even guaranteed to play, but there was no stopping him once manager Danny Murtaugh inserted him into the starting lineup. And his first at-bat indicated the direction he was headed, according to his Society for American Baseball Research biography.
“I got to the ballpark and I wasn’t supposed to play that day. I had twisted my ankle and it was badly swollen,” said Stennett, who had played both ends of a doubleheader the day before but sat down after the seventh inning of the second game. “But I taped up the ankle and I played. The first time up I hit a ball between (Cubs) first baseman Andre Thornton and the bag, and in my mind that told me that day I was gonna do good because as a right-handed hitter, when I’m hitting the ball to the right side, I know I’m hitting good.
"That was a shot, and it triggered something. I felt all I had to do was make contact and I was going to get a hit.”
He kept making contact, and finding holes. Stennett told team trainer Tony Bartirome to tell Murtaugh to remove him from the game because of his ankle. But Murtaugh refused until Stennett made an out.
“I wanted to rest him,” Murtaugh said, “but he kept getting hits.”
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| Rennie Stennett tied the major league record for hits in a nine-inning game by going 7-for-7 in the Pittsburgh Pirates' 22-0 rout of the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 16, 1975, at Wrigley Field. Stennett had a triple, two doubles and four singles, scoring five runs and driving in two. |
First inning: Stennett scorched a double down the right-field line leading off the game against Rick Reuschel, triggering a nine-run inning. He scored on Richie Hebner's single. Later in the inning he singled to right off new pitcher Tom Detore to score Frank Taveras, then scored his second run of the inning on Willie Stargell's single, making the score 9-0.
Third inning: He singled to center leading off the inning with one out off Detore and scored on a homer deep onto Sheffield Avenue in right by Hebner, which opened an 11-0 lead.
Fifth inning: Leading off against Detore, he doubled to the gap in right and crossed the plate on Al Oliver's single, starting a six-run inning. He capped it with a two-out single to right off Oscar Zamora that drove in Manny Sanguillen, a fellow Panama native whom Stennett had pitched to in sandlot ball. That inflated the margin to 18-0. Dave Parker had the big blow in the inning with a three-run homer.
With his two hits in an inning twice in a game, Stennett tied a record shared by Max Carey, Sherman Lollar and Johnny Hodapp, according to an SABR Games Project article.
Seventh inning: Guess who led off this inning? Stennett singled to center off Buddy Schultz and scored on Parker's single as the Pirates padded the lead to the final margin.
Eighth inning: With two out, Stennett tripled to right off Paul Reuschel, Rick's brother, as the ball skipped by a charging Champ Summers. He then gave way to pinch runner and future New York Yankees fixture Willie Randolph, a rookie at the time.
Stennett came within one of tying the modern record for runs scored in a game, set on eight occasions. Guy Hecker has the all-time record with seven, set with Louisville of the American Association in 1886.
The 22-0 final was the largest-ever margin of victory by shutout, topping 21-0 blowouts by the 1901 Tigers and 1939 Yankees.
Beyond Stennett, the Pirates fully lived up their "Lumber Company" moniker. Stargell was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Taveras, a relative lightweight at No. 8 in the Bucs' batting order with a .212 average on the year, was 3-for-3 with three runs and three RBIs. Parker went 2-for-4 with five RBIs and three runs scored, including his 24th homer of the year. Hebner had his 15th homer while going 2-for-7 with three runs and RBIs each. Sanguillen and Richie Zisk also had two hits.
Ironically, one of the most lethal members of the "Lumber Company," line-drive machine Oliver -- a .303 lifetime hitter -- was largely silent on this day, going 1-for-4.
The Pirates mounted their assault on the Cubs largely by stinging them to death with singles. Stennett with his double and triple had their only extra-base hits besides the homers by Parker and Hebner.
Every Pittsburgh starter in the lineup — including Candelaria — hit safely, scored at least once and drove in at least one run.
 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates rookie pitcher John Candelaria had plenty of support but didn't really need it as he shut out the Chicago Cubs on three hits over seven innings of a 22-0 victory Sept. 16, 1975. Candelaria left the game after reaggravating a back injury. |
Candelaria, a rookie who'd won a starting rotation spot just before the All-Star break, held the Cubs to three hits over seven innings and allowed only one Cubs base runner to reach scoring position. He retired them in order in four innings. He didn't walk a batter while striking out five.
When Candelaria reaggravated a back injury, Ken Brett and Ramon Hernandez finished up with one inning apiece of scoreless 1-2-3 relief.
Meanwhile, the Pirates continually roughed up Cubs pitching until Paul Reuschel shut them out the final two innings.
In contrast, younger brother Rick, who had a 3.49 ERA coming in and was a three-time All-Star in the 1970s, was shelled for eight runs, all earned, six hits and two walks in getting only one batter out in the first inning as he fell to 10-16.
Jose Cardenal in the second and Andre Thornton and Dave Rosello in the fifth singled for Chicago's only hits.
The Pirates became known as "The Lumber Company" in 1971, when they led the National League in runs scored and won the World Series title. During that year on Sept. 1, Stennett was part of the first all-black starting lineup in baseball history.
By 1975 the Bucs weren't quite so fearsome with the bat but still finished third in the league in runs scored and batting average. From 1972 to 1976 they finished third in the league in runs scored four times and fourth the other year.
With the help of a 3.42 ERA, second-best in the league to Los Angeles' 3.26, Pittsburgh won the NL East in '75 with a 92-69 record, 6 1/2 games over Philadelphia. Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" swept the Pirates 3-0 in the NL Championship Series en route to the first of two straight world titles.
Although they were no match for the Pirates this day, the Cubs did tie Pittsburgh for third-most runs scored in the NL in '75. But they were also last in the league in ERA at 3.81 and finished fifth in the East at 75-87, 17 1/2 behind Pittsburgh.
Stennett raised his average from .278 to .287 with his 7-for-7 outburst, and he stayed on a tear the next two games. The next night, he got three more hits at Philadelphia to set a new mark for most hits (10) in consecutive nine-inning games. The next evening, he collected two more hits, giving him 12 hits in three consecutive nine-inning games, tying a record.
Stennett, who'd hit .291 the year before, finished 1975 with a .286 average and career highs of 89 runs scored and 62 RBIs. He was also drawing respect with his aggressive style of play.
“There hasn’t been a player in baseball, not even Pete Rose, who has hustled more than Stennett," Pirates general manager Joe Brown told The Sporting News.
Stennett took that gung-ho attitude into the batter's box, which fit right in with the Pirates' free-wheeling approach to hitting.
“I am a .300 hitter,” Stennett said. “I’ll always be aggressive at the plate. That’s my style. Maybe I’m not flashy. Mainly, I swing, and I’ve been getting an awful lot of hits on first pitches."
Or, as Cincinnati catcher Johnny Bench put it, “He hits everything we throw him."
Stennett tailed off to .257 in 1976, but was working on his best season in 1977 when he was lost for the year to injury, and he was never the same after that. On Aug. 21 he fractured a bone in his right fibula and dislocated his right ankle sliding into second base against the Giants. He was hitting .336 at the time, which ended up placing him second in the NL behind Parker's .338.
His ankle continued to bother him in 1978 and he lost his starting position to Phil Garner. He was largely a nonfactor in the Pirates' world championship run of 1979, totaling only one at-bat in the postseason.
Stennett opted for free agency, a five-year, $3 million contract and San Francisco for the 1980 season, but never got untracked with the Giants, running into problems with manager Dave Bristol. He was released in April 1982. Save for an aborted comeback attempt with the Pirates in 1989, he finished up his career in the Mexican League in 1982 and the Triple A American Association in 1983, retiring at age 32.
For his 11-year major league career, Stennett batted .274, with 41 home runs, 1,239 hits and 432 RBIs. After 1977, he never hit higher than .244.
But nobody ever hit higher in a day than Stennett's 7-for-7 on Sept. 16, 1975.
Sources:
Play-by-play: https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1975/B09160CHN1975.htm and https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/september-16-1975-rennie-stennett-leads-pirates-rout-record-seven-hitsStennett biography: https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/95f220e9
Hits records: https://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/hits.shtml
Runs scored records: https://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_runs1.shtml
"The Lumber Company": http://baseballegg.com/2012/09/04/pittsburghs-lumber-company-paced-team-to-success-in-1970s/
Additional background came from various sources on the Retrosheet and Society for American Baseball Research's Biography Project and Games Project websites, as well as baseballreference.com.
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