1975 Pittsburgh Pirates season

1975 Pittsburgh Pirates
1975 NL East Champions
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1887)
Eastern Division (since 1969)
Location
Three Rivers Stadium (since 1970)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1] (since 1907)
Results
Record	92–69 (.571)
Divisional place	1st
Other information
Owner(s)	John W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Bing Crosby, Thomas Johnson (minority shareholders)
General manager(s)	Joe L. Brown
Manager(s)	Danny Murtaugh
Local television	KDKA-TV Bob Prince, Nellie King
Local radio	KDKA Bob Prince, Nellie King
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The 1975 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 94th in the history of the franchise and their 89th in the National League. The Pirates' 92-69 record was good enough to win their fifth National League East title in six seasons by 6¹⁄₂ games over their cross-state rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies. The Pirates, however, lost the National League Championship Series to the Cincinnati Reds, three games to none.

Offseason

• October 22, 1974: Gene Clines was traded by the Pirates to the New York Mets for Duffy Dyer.^[2]
• January 6, 1975: Nelson Norman was signed as an amateur free agent by the Pirates.^[3]
• February 20, 1975: Albert Williams was signed as an amateur free agent by the Pirates.^[4]

Regular season

Season standings

NL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Pittsburgh Pirates	92	69	0.571	—	52–28	40–41
Philadelphia Phillies	86	76	0.531	6½	51–30	35–46
New York Mets	82	80	0.506	10½	42–39	40–41
St. Louis Cardinals	82	80	0.506	10½	45–36	37–44
Chicago Cubs	75	87	0.463	17½	42–39	33–48
Montreal Expos	75	87	0.463	17½	39–42	36–45

Record vs. opponents

1975 National League Records Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	5–7	3–15	12–6	8–10	8–4	4–8	5–7	4–8	7–11	8–9	3–9
Chicago	7–5	—	1–11	7–5	5–7	9–9	7–11	12–6	6–12	5–7	5–7	11–7
Cincinnati	15–3	11–1	—	13–5	8–10	8–4	8–4	7–5	6–6	11–7	13–5	8–4
Houston	6–12	5–7	5–13	—	6–12	8–4	4–8	6–6	6–5	9–9	5–13	4–8–1
Los Angeles	10–8	7–5	10–8	12–6	—	5–7	6–6	7–5	5–7	11–7	10–8	5–7
Montreal	4–8	9–9	4–8	4–8	7–5	—	10–8	7–11	7–11	7–5	5–7	11–7
New York	8–4	11–7	4–8	8–4	6–6	8–10	—	7–11	5–13	8–4	8–4	9–9
Philadelphia	7-5	6–12	5–7	6–6	5–7	11–7	11–7	—	11–7	7–5	7–5	10–8
Pittsburgh	8–4	12–6	6–6	5–6	7–5	11–7	13–5	7–11	—	8–4	5–7	10–8
San Diego	11–7	7–5	7–11	9–9	7–11	5–7	4–8	5–7	4–8	—	8–10	4–8
San Francisco	9–8	7–5	5–13	13–5	8–10	7–5	4–8	5–7	7–5	10–8	—	5–7
St. Louis	9–3	7–11	4–8	8–4–1	7–5	7–11	9–9	8–10	8–10	8–4	7–5	—

Notable transactions

• April 2, 1975: Sam McDowell was signed as a free agent by the Pirates.^[5]
• June 3, 1975: Ernie Camacho was drafted by the Pirates in the 12th round of the 1975 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign.^[6]
• June 26, 1975: Sam McDowell was released by the Pirates.^[5]
• July 30, 1975: Paul Popovich was released by the Pirates.^[7]

Roster

1975 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers 30 Ken Brett 45 John Candelaria 44 Larry Demery 17 Dock Ellis 31 Dave Giusti 36 Ramón Hernández 51 Odell Jones 25 Bruce Kison 48 Sam McDowell 29,48 Jim Minshall 38 Bob Moose 41 Jerry Reuss 19 Jim Rooker 27 Kent Tekulve		Catchers  5 Duffy Dyer 32 Ed Ott 35 Manny Sanguillén Infielders  3 Richie Hebner 14 Art Howe 23 Ed Kirkpatrick 11 Mario Mendoza 24 Paul Popovich 18 Willie Randolph 12 Craig Reynolds  7 Bob Robertson  8 Willie Stargell  6 Rennie Stennett 10 Frank Taveras		Outfielders 15 Miguel Diloné 24 Omar Moreno 16 Al Oliver 39 Dave Parker 28 Bill Robinson 22 Richie Zisk		Manager 40 Danny Murtaugh Coaches 43 Don Leppert 42 Don Osborn  2 José Pagán  4 Bob Skinner

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Sanguillén, MannyManny Sanguillén	133	481	158	.328	9	58
1B	Stargell, WillieWillie Stargell	124	461	136	.295	22	90
2B	Stennett, RennieRennie Stennett	148	616	176	.286	7	62
3B	Hebner, RichieRichie Hebner	128	472	116	.246	15	57
SS	Taveras, FrankFrank Taveras	134	378	80	.212	0	23
LF	Zisk, RichieRichie Zisk	147	504	146	.290	20	75
CF	Oliver, AlAl Oliver	155	628	176	.280	18	84
RF	Parker, DaveDave Parker	148	558	172	.308	25	101

^[8]

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Robinson, BillBill Robinson	92	200	56	.280	6	33
Dyer, DuffyDuffy Dyer	48	132	30	.227	3	16
Reynolds, CraigCraig Reynolds	31	76	17	.224	0	4
Randolph, WillieWillie Randolph	30	61	10	.164	0	3
Popovich, PaulPaul Popovich	25	40	8	.200	0	1
Diloné, MiguelMiguel Diloné	18	6	0	.000	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Reuss, JerryJerry Reuss	32	237.1	18	11	2.54	131
Rooker, JimJim Rooker	28	196.2	13	11	2.97	102
Kison, BruceBruce Kison	33	192	12	11	3.23	89
Ellis, DockDock Ellis	27	140	8	9	3.79	69
Candelaria, JohnJohn Candelaria	18	120.2	8	6	2.76	95
Brett, KenKen Brett	23	118	9	5	3.36	47

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Demery, LarryLarry Demery	45	114.2	7	5	2.90	59
Moose, BobBob Moose	23	67.2	2	2	3.72	34

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Giusti, DaveDave Giusti	61	5	4	17	2.95	38
Hernández, RamónRamón Hernández	46	7	2	5	2.95	43
McDowell, SamSam McDowell	14	2	1	0	2.86	29
Jones, OdellOdell Jones	2	0	0	0	0.00	2
Minshall, JimJim Minshall	1	0	0	0	0.00	2

National League Championship Series

The Cincinnati Reds defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3 games to 0.

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	Pittsburgh – 3, Cincinnati – 8	October 4	Riverfront Stadium	54,633
2	Pittsburgh – 1, Cincinnati – 6	October 5	Riverfront Stadium	54,752
3	Cincinnati – 5, Pittsburgh – 3	October 7	Three Rivers Stadium	46,355

Awards and honors

1975 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Charleston Charlies	International League	Steve Demeter
AA	Shreveport Captains	Texas League	Tim Murtaugh
A	Salem Pirates	Carolina League	Johnny Lipon
A	Charleston Pirates	Western Carolinas League	Mike Ryan
A-Short Season	Niagara Falls Pirates	New York–Penn League	Glenn Ezell
Rookie	GCL Pirates	Gulf Coast League	Woody Huyke

Notes

1. From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Shore in 1907.
2. Duffy Dyer at Baseball Reference
3. Nelson Norman at Baseball Reference
4. Albert Williams at Baseball Reference
5. Sam McDowell at Baseball Reference
6. Ernie Camacho at Baseball Reference
7. Paul Popovich at Baseball Reference
8. http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/PIT/1975.shtml

References

• 1975 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Reference
• 1975 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Almanac
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.