Bucs '70s star Rennie Stennett dies
Rennie Stennett, who set a Major League record that still stands by going 7-for-7 in a nine-inning game and played nine of his 11 seasons as a second baseman for the Pirates, died Tuesday after a battle with cancer. He was 72.
Stennett played for the Pirates from 1971-79, including for the World Series champions in '79. He did not play in the '71 postseason as Pittsburgh won the World Series that year.
¡°We are saddened by the loss of such a beloved member of the Pirates family. Rennie was a great player on the field, and an even better person off of it,¡± Pirates president Travis Williams said. ¡°A member of our World Series championships in both 1971 and 1979 who remained a very active and cherished member of our Alumni Association, Rennie symbolized what it meant to be a Pittsburgh Pirate."
Stennett was the leadoff batter when the Pirates fielded MLB's first all-Black and Latino starting lineup in 1971. And he had hits in all seven of his at-bats in a 22-0 win against the Cubs at Wrigley Field in 1971. His first hit was off Chicago starter Rick Reuschel; his seventh was against Paul Reuschel, Rick's brother.
Stennett was a sure-handed infielder with good contact skills. He hit .336 in 1977 but an injury caused him to fall short of the required plate appearances to win National League batting title.
¡°Rennie was proud to be a member of the first all-minority lineup in Major League Baseball history when he took the field with his teammates 50 years ago on September 1, 1971,¡± Williams said. ¡°And who could ever forget when he famously went 7-for-7 against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on September 16, 1975, becoming the first, and still, only player in the modern-era to accomplish the feat in a nine-inning game.
¡°Rennie¡¯s legacy will live on here with the Pirates and through his family he loved dearly. Our sincere condolences to his daughter Renee [Lujo], her husband Rolando and their sons Rolando Jr. and Rylan, Rennie¡¯s son Rennie Jr., his daughter Nevaeh and son Camden, as well as Rennie¡¯s son Roberto. We join them and all his loved ones in their grief. Rennie will be missed."