We remember Willie Stargell (1940-2001)

We remember game 7 of the 1979 World Series.   Willie Stargell hit a 2-run homer to turn the game around.   Eventually, the Pirates went on to win the game and the Series.

Willie Stargell was born on this day in 1940.   He broke with the Pirates in 1962 and became one of the great power hitters of our generation:   .282 average, 475 HR, 1,540 RBI plus the 1979 NL MVP.    Stargell was in the top 3 for NL MVP in 1971, 1972 and 1973.

Stargell was a great team leader.   He was inducted into The Hall of Fame in 1988.   

Stargell died in 2001 and this tell the story of his baseball career:   

In a sport forever enslaved by its statistical minutiae, Stargell’s impact on the Pirates was far greater than the production that made him only the 17th player in baseball history to be elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. His numbers were dwarfed by his humanity.    

Yes, there was a lot more to Stargell than numbers!