Books and articles about Rennie Stennett

On September 16, 1975, Stennett became the only player in the 20th century to collect seven hits in a nine-inning game, going 7-for-7 in a 22-0 rout of the Cubs. Stennett was good enough to beat out Dave Cash and Willie Randolph for the Pirates' second base job. The strong-armed Panamanian was used frequently at shortstop and in the outfield in 1972 and 1973 before Pittsburgh traded Cash to make room at second base. Stennett responded by leading NL second basemen in both putouts and total chances per game (and did it again in 1976) while batting .291 with 84 runs. He just missed Ken Hubbs's record of 418 consecutive errorless chances, falling short by eight.

SHOPPING » Look for Rennie Stennett books at BN.com » Look for Rennie Stennett books at Amazon.com Your purchases keep BaseballLibrary.com online. Thank you!

RELATED LINKS Book Excerpts » Dale Berra from Growing Up Baseball by Harvey Frommer & Frederic J. Frommer Around the Web » Rennie Stennett from baseball-reference.com Jump directly to Library content from any website!

The contact hitter had his best season in 1977, finishing second to teammate Dave Parker in the batting race with a .336 mark while stealing 28 bases, both personal highs. He never hit above .250 thereafter, however, and was pushed out of the 2B job by Phil Garner. Stennett was signed by the Giants to a big free agent contract after the 1979 season, but was replaced by Joe Morgan in 1981. (WOR)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » September 1, 1971: The Pirates start what is believed to be the first all-black lineup (including several Latinos) in ML history, in a 10–7 win over the Phillies. The lineup: 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. Another black, Bob Veale, was one of three relievers in the game. » September 16, 1975: Rennie Stennett ties Wilbert Robinson's ML record, set June 10, 1892, by going 7-for-7 in a 9-inning game. The Pirates 2B collects two hits each in the first and 5th innings, and scores five of his club's runs in a 22–0 massacre of the Cubs, a major-league record for the biggest score in a shut out game in the 20th century. John Candelaria pockets the easy win, while Rick Reuschel is the loser. His brother Paul Reuschel, along with Tom Dettore, Oscar Zamora, and Buddy Schultz also pitch for Chicago. » July 29, 1977: Phil Niekro picks up his 10th win of the year, beating the Pirates 5–3 for the Braves. But he has to strike out four Bucs in the 6th inning to do it. He struck out Dave Parker and Bill Robinson, but after Al Oliver doubled, Rennie Stennett whiffed and reached 1st when the ball eluded the catcher. Omar Moreno then made the 4th K in the inning. » August 21, 1977: Pittsburgh's Rennie Stennett, batting .336 for the season, breaks his right leg sliding into 2B during a 5–4 loss to San Francisco. He will be out for the yerar, falling 12 plate appearances short of qualifying for the batting title, won by teammate Dave Parker at .338. Stennett will never again hit higher than .244. » September 4, 1978: The Pirates' Dorian Boyland has a 1-2 count in his first ML AB when the Mets make a pitching change. Rennie Stennett pinch-hits, taking the 3rd strike. The strikeout is charged to Boyland, watching the completion of his historic AB from the bench. The Pirates sweep the doubleheader from the Mets to move within a game of the 1st place Phils. The Bucs take the 1st game 7–4 and then win 7–0 behind Jim Bibby. » September 21, 1978: The Cubs tie an National League record by using 27 players during a 14-inning 3–2 loss to the Pirates. Pittsburgh's margin comes when Rennie Stennett walks in the 14th and pinch runner Matt Alexander steals 2nd. When C Doug Rader's throw goes into CF, Alexander heads for 3rd where the center fielder's throw hits him in the back, allowing him to score. The Pirates are now one 1/2 games behind the Phils. » December 12, 1979: The Giants sign reentry free agents 2B Rennie Stennett, C Milt May, and OF Jim Wohlford to contracts worth a total of $4.825 million.