The Pittsburgh Pirates, believe it or not, were one of MLB’s top teams in the 1970s.
They have a rich history, but the seventies were perhaps their best decade.
Advertisement
Willie Stargell, a slugging first baseman/outfielder, was behind that success.
Later, in the eighties, the team drafted one of the most talented players in recent memory: Barry Bonds.
He had a stint in the city in the late eighties and early nineties.
Both put up incredible numbers.
Who was the better Pirate, though?
Advertisement
The Case For Stargell
Stargell was a Pirate for life.
His playing career extended from 1962 to 1982, and he completed his brilliant MLB stint with a .282 average, 2,232 hits, 1,194 runs, 423 doubles, 475 home runs, and 1,540 RBI.
He had a 147 OPS+ (OPS adjusted to ballpark).
He led all major leaguers in home runs in the seventies, with 296, and was a true star in Pittsburgh.
Advertisement
Stargell’s Pirates won two World Series, in 1971 and 1979.
In 1979, he was the first (and only) player to win the MVP in the regular season and both the National League Championship Series and the World Series, too.
He has been a Hall of Famer since 1988 and has his number eight retired in Pittsburgh.
With his tape-measure home runs, he brought joy to an entire city.
Advertisement
He retired with seven All-Star Games and two NL home run crowns.
Dead since 2001, Stargell is remembered as a hero in Pittsburgh.
The Case For Bonds
By now, many people are familiarized with Bonds’ career: he won seven MVP awards, broke two of MLB’s most revered records (762 career homers, 73 in one season), and had to deal with steroid accusations that have kept him off the Hall of Fame for now.
As a hitter, he did the bulk of his damage with the San Francisco Giants.
Advertisement
But between 1986 and 1992, he played with the team that drafted him: the Pirates.
On the field, he was quite successful there, winning two of his seven MVPs and establishing himself as one of the game’s premier power-speed threats.
During his stint with the Pirates, Bonds hit .275/.380/.503 with 176 home runs, 251 stolen bases, and a 147 OPS+ (the same as Stargell).
“Barry Bonds is a tremendous talent. I would assume that he’s going to have Hall of Fame credentials by the time he’s done.” – #Pittsburgh#Pirates manager Jim Leyland in 1990. Bobby Bonilla & Andy Van Slyke also comment on Barry’s 1st MVP season. #LetsGoBucspic.twitter.com/dTO1zVzFA5
He also won three Gold Gloves and three Silver Slugger awards.
Advertisement
But Bonds wasn’t well-liked even among his own fans, and the media hated him.
He and the Pirates fought over his contract and he ended up leaving as a free agent.
Prior to that, he played in three Championship Series, but wasn’t very good and couldn’t lead his Pirates to the World Series.
The Verdict
There is absolutely no question that Bonds had the better MLB career.
Advertisement
Forget about all the off-the-field drama: what he did on a baseball field was the stuff of legends, and no one (perhaps only Babe Ruth in the early 1920s) was as dominant as he was in the first half of the 2000s decade.
But Stargell was, by far, the better Pirate.
There is no question.
Bonds’ stint with the Pirates was statistically great, but he didn’t earn the same respect as Stargell did during his time there.
Stargell won World Series there, one of them virtually by himself.
Advertisement
Again, Bonds was the better player, but Stargell was the better Pirate of the two.
Ben Verlander says whether or not it’s time to panic or to be patient for the Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays’ Alek Manoah.
KAMLOOPS, B.C. — J.R. Avon scored the game-winning goal 10:54 into overtime and the Peterborough Petes beat the Kamloops Blazers 5-4 on Thursday, earning a semifinal berth at the Memorial Cup.
Connor Lockhart, Brennan Othmann, Samuel Mayer and Brian Zanetti had the others for Ontario Hockey League champion Peterborough. Michael Simpson made 43 saves.
var adServerUrl = “”;
var $el = $( “#video_container-402781” );
var permalink = $el.closest(‘.snet-single-article’).data(‘permalink’);
Advertisement
/*
if ( “1” == true && ‘undefined’ !== typeof window.getIndexAds ) {
var so = {preroll:{1:{1:{siteID:191888},2:{siteID:191889}}}};
adServerUrl = window.getIndexAds( ‘http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6328638340112&cmsid=384’, so, permalink);
} else {
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6328638340112&cmsid=384”;
}
*/
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6328638340112&cmsid=384”;
var adServerUrl_result = adServerUrl.includes(“cust_params”);
var queryString=”;
if(adServerUrl_result){
var gettheDUFI = localStorage.getItem(“theRED_loc”)
Logan Stankoven, Olen Zellweger, Harrison Brunicke and Logan Bairos replied for host Kamloops. Dylan Ernst stopped 25 shots.
The Petes will next meet the Western Hockey League champion Seattle Thunderbirds in Friday’s semifinal for a chance to face the Quebec Remparts in the final on Sunday.
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Remparts earned a berth into the final after opening the tournament with wins over Kamloops and Seattle.
Quebec later fell to Peterborough — which staved off elimination and forced Thursday’s tiebreaker with the victory — 4-2 on Tuesday in both teams’ final round-robin game.
Advertisement
Lockhart opened the scoring 7:52 into the first period. Chase Lefebvre sent the puck across the end boards to Jax Dubois, who found Lockhart with a slick pass into the slot and he beat Ernst five-hole.
Stankoven evened it up 11:20 into the frame, sending the Sandman Centre crowd into a frenzy. Connor Levis took a point shot and the rebound came out to the Blazers captain, who scored his second of the tournament.
Zellweger put Kamloops ahead 12:45 into the frame on the power play. The CHL Defenceman of the Year nominee saved the puck from getting out of the Petes’ zone, moved into the slot and wired one past Simpson for his first.
With 2:27 remaining in the first, Brunicke piled it on for the Blazers. Peterborough’s Konnor Smith attempted to clear it from the end boards but the puck ended up with Brunicke at the point, where he got around a defender and beat Simpson just over his right shoulder with little room to spare.
Bairos gave Kamloops a 4-1 edge 4:23 into the middle frame. He fired a point shot that ricocheted off Simpson’s blocker, then over him and in.
Advertisement
Just over three minutes later, the Petes began to swing the momentum back in their favour.
Othmann stripped Bairos of the puck as the Blazers defenceman tried to skate out of his own zone. Othmann then turned around and roofed it past Ernst as he fell to one knee.
Mayer made it a one-goal game on the power play with 2:23 left in the second. He took a pass from Lockhart and fired in a one-timer from the point.
Zanetti knotted the contest just over a minute later. He tipped in a pass from Tucker Robertson while streaking toward the net and beat Ernst five-hole.
Both sides struggled to capitalize on prime scoring opportunities leading to a scoreless third period and extra time to settle the winner.
Advertisement
Following a dazzling effort by Zellweger that just missed, Owen Beck took the puck up ice for Peterborough and dropped it off for Avon, who put it past Ernst to seal the win.
WE MEET AGAIN
Kamloops defeated Peterborough 10-2 when the two last met on Sunday. But with 7:05 remaining in that game, Othmann laid a hit on Blazers defenceman Kyle Masters, who fell awkwardly into the boards.
Masters had to be stretchered off the ice and was taken to Royal Inland Hospital. Head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston said Monday that the blue liner was out for the tournament with a lower-body injury.