{"id":92577,"date":"2024-12-21T21:20:59","date_gmt":"2024-12-22T02:20:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=92577"},"modified":"2024-12-21T21:20:59","modified_gmt":"2024-12-22T02:20:59","slug":"pirates-world-series-malcontents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/12\/21\/pirates-world-series-malcontents\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Former Pirates Who Don\u2019t Deserve Hero\u2019s Welcome"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Whenever the Pittsburgh Pirates commemorate their World Series champion teams, fans cheer the return of their conquering heroes. Rightfully so. Many members of the Pirates\u2019 champion teams of 1960, 1971, and 1979 remained in the Pittsburgh area. They probably never have to pay for their dinner in any restaurant in town. How soon some fans forget, however, the ones who don\u2019t deserve welcomes with open arms. Three come to mind.<\/p>\n<h2>Not Every Pirates World Series Champion Deserves Welcome with Open Arms<\/h2>\n<h3>\u201cI Want My Innings\u201d<\/h3>\n<p>Pitcher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/blylebe01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bert Blyleven<\/a> joined the Pirates for the 1978 season after being acquired in a complicated four-team, 10-player trade. As a Pirate in 1979, the right-handed curveball specialist was 12-5 with a 3.60 ERA and 1.390 WHIP. He tossed a complete game in the clinching Game 3 of the National League Championship Series against the Cincinnati Reds. In the World Series, with the Pirates down three games to one, he won the crucial Game 5 against the Baltimore Orioles with four strong innings of relief. As you know, the Pirates roared back to win that Series.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/M08YxzFuBUM?si=MWnx3TodBhKyevBg\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Apparently, the 1979 postseason was the only time Blyleven was happy in Pittsburgh. On April 30, 1980, when the season was 15 games old, he walked out on the Pirates, telling Charley Feeney of the <em>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette<\/em> the reason was \u201cnon-support and lack of confidence from the manager,\u201d stemming from manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/managers\/tannech01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chuck Tanner<\/a>\u2019s penchant for turning the game over to the bullpen in the late innings, a common practice today.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBaseball is supposed to be fun,\u201d Blyleven continued. \u201cThe last year-and-a-half hasn\u2019t been fun, except for winning the World Series.\u201d Blyleven demanded a trade and said he\u2019d never pitch for Tanner again. As a result, the Pirates placed him on the disqualified list. Blyleven returned to the team on May 10. He couldn\u2019t be put on waivers while on the disqualified list, so he had to return so he could be traded. \u201cBut I think I made my point \u2013 I want my innings,\u201d he told Dan Donovan of <em>The Pittsburgh Press<\/em>. \u201cPersonal goals are something everybody wants or it wouldn\u2019t be baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>\u201cDid I Say Cryleven?\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Blyleven got his wish, but only after the 1980 season. Meanwhile, things weren\u2019t the same in 1980. He had his worst season as a Pirate, going 8-13 with a 3.82 ERA. Although Tanner said he wouldn\u2019t manage Blyleven any differently, he did give him more rope during Blyleven 2.0. Doing things Tanner\u2019s way, Blyleven had a 3.13 ERA and held opponents to a .182\/.256\/.355 slash line. After he returned, he had a 3.94 ERA and an opponents\u2019 slash line of .274\/.318\/.398.<\/p>\n<p>Tanner remained silent throughout the controversy. However, in 1981, when Blyleven falsely claimed to a Cleveland reporter that the Pirates pitched him every six or seven days, Tanner wouldn\u2019t let that stand. At a spring training press gathering, Tanner began by mentioning Blyleven, then asked \u201cDid I say Cryleven?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think Bert fits the team concept,\u201d Tanner said. \u201cHe told me last season he\u2019s interested in . . . starts, complete games, shutouts, strikeouts, earned run average . . . I don\u2019t like what he did to my ballclub.\u201d Neither should Pirates fans.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>\u201cStand Up and Call Me That\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hebneri01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Richie Hebner<\/a> was the No. 1 draft choice of the Pirates in the 1966 June Amateur Draft, back in the days when the draft wasn\u2019t a big deal, unlike today, and it was actually held in June, also unlike today. As a 23-year-old on the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/10\/21\/ohtani-judge-world-series-clemente-robinson\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">1971 World Series champion Pirates<\/a>, the left-handed batter hit .271\/.326\/.487, 17 HR, and 67 RBI. His home run in the eighth inning of the pivotal <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/12\/17\/pirates-pitchers-top-10-part-1\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Game 3 of the 1971 NLCS<\/a> made a winner of the Pirates and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/j\/johnsbo03.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bob Johnson<\/a>, 2-1, over the San Francisco Giants.<\/p>\n<p>Pirates manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/managers\/murtada01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Danny Murtaugh<\/a> retired after the 1971 World Series. His replacement was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/managers\/virdobi01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bill Virdon<\/a>, the center fielder of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/10\/08\/pirates-1960-world-series-forbes-field-wall\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">1960 World Series champion Pirates<\/a> and a loyal organization man long believed to be the manager in waiting. Where Murtaugh was an avuncular figure, the easy-going Virdon could be stern when warranted. Perhaps Hebner had trouble adjusting to a new managerial style. In any event, after the Pirates defeated the Giants, 14-5, on May 3, 1973, Virdon could be heard through a closed door hollering at third baseman Hebner over a perceived lack of effort on a ground ball.<\/p>\n<h3>\u201cYou Don\u2019t Have a Gut in Your Body\u201d<\/h3>\n<p>It got worse on Sunday, August 12, 1973. With the Pirates leading the Atlanta Braves, 5-2, going into the top of the ninth inning, Virdon replaced Hebner at third base with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/alleyge01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gene Alley<\/a>, a former All-Star shortstop finishing out his final season. Later, in Virdon&#8217;s office, Hebner asked why he was replaced. Virdon replied that he wanted a better third baseman in the game. (In 16 years as a third baseman, Hebner was charged with -58 Fielding Runs Above Average and 182 errors.) With media present in the clubhouse, Hebner called Virdon a \u201ctwo-word obscenity\u201d and stormed off to his rocking chair. (The two-word obscenity has never been revealed. The guess here is that it was &#8220;poopy-head.&#8221;)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStand up and call me that!\u201d screamed Virdon. Hebner sat silently as his 42-year-old manager challenged him twice more. Walking back to his office, Virdon hollered, \u201cI\u2019ve taken all I\u2019m going to take from you. You don\u2019t have a gut in your body. That\u2019s what\u2019s wrong with you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The incident was then followed the next day by a bizarre press conference where general manager Joe L. Brown announced that he had nothing to announce. Speculation was that Hebner would be suspended but Virdon had talked Brown out of it. Virdon\u2019s challenge was an adequate response, he thought. Later, Virdon was fired on September 6. Fans blamed Hebner, although Brown gave no reason other than, \u201cI reached a point where I thought we could not win in 1973 if things continued as they were.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>\u201cI\u2019m Disappointed in Hebner\u201d<\/h3>\n<p>Soon Hebner\u2019s game was slipping. Over 1975-76, he hit just .247\/.322\/.380, 23 HR, and 108 RBI. The Pittsburgh media thought his play was affected by hecklers in the stands. Then in December 1976, he signed a free-agent contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, who planned on moving him to first base. The Phillies were the Pirates\u2019 biggest rival. They won the National League East Division in 1976, ending the Pirates\u2019 dominance over the division. To make matters worse, he told Feeney he thought the Phillies would win the East again in 1977. In 1976, this was considered treason.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m disappointed in Hebner,\u201d Pirates GM <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/peterha01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hardy Peterson<\/a> told Feeney. Peterson had been promised a chance to match any offer Hebner received but never got a chance. \u201cHebner grew up in our organization,\u201d said Peterson. \u201cI didn\u2019t expect he would treat us this way.\u201d Hebner said, \u201cI just felt I needed a change\u201d and that the Phillies&#8217; offer wasn\u2019t much different from what the Pirates and other teams offered. He\u2019s telling a different story today.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sqQeU2m8MN8?si=OGnoP8ARpu1O7odj\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>&#8220;Chief Goldbrick&#8221;<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/madlobi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bill Madlock<\/a> was unhappy in San Francisco. The two-time batting champion hit .305 across 1977-78 for the Giants. But in 1979 he hit .261 there, called a team meeting held by manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/managers\/altobjo01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joe Altobelli<\/a> \u201ca waste of his time and ours,\u201d and famously tore up a lineup card and threw the pieces at Altobelli. Finally, he forced a trade to the eventual <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/05\/23\/pirates-1979-world-series\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">World Series champion Pirates<\/a> in June. The right-handed hitting third baseman hit .328\/.390\/.469 and stole 21 bases for the 1979 Pirates. Later, Madlock went on to win batting titles in 1981 and 1983 as a Pirate. He\u2019s the only four-time batting champion who\u2019s not in baseball\u2019s Hall of Fame. The following narrative might explain why.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Bill Madlock&#8217;s 1979 World Series ring. <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Pirates?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Pirates<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WeAreFamily?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#WeAreFamily<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AyNg6w88cH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/AyNg6w88cH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Bill Madlock &amp; Kent Tekulve (@MadlockTekulve) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MadlockTekulve\/status\/1870120797362368651?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 20, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Nicknamed \u201cMad Dog,\u201d Madlock was given a big contract by the Pirates, but by 1984 was unhappy again. He hit .253 for the Pirates in 1984 and .251 in 1985. He made unkind remarks about the team and resigned his team captaincy, explaining, \u201cYou can\u2019t lead someone who doesn\u2019t want to be led.\u201d <em>Post-Gazette<\/em> columnist Bruce Keidan wrote, \u201cWhen the Pirates stopped winning, Madlock stopped trying.\u201d He called Madlock \u201cindolent and out of shape\u201d and \u201ctheir chief goldbrick.\u201d Pirate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/almonbi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bill Almon<\/a> told Keidan, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t call him a positive influence in the clubhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>\u201cHe Kicked Them in the Stomach\u201d<\/h3>\n<p>Madlock complained to Bob Hertzel of the <em>Press<\/em> that he became unhappy in Pittsburgh because he was expected to carry the team. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/stargwi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Willie Stargell<\/a> had retired, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/parkeda01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dave Parker<\/a> had departed as a free agent. Madlock was the highest-paid player on the team. That\u2019s the way it goes, Bill. In any organization, the most pressure is on the higher-paid employees. They don\u2019t blame failures on the janitor or the receptionist.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, Brown, who returned to become the Pirates GM again, traded Madlock to the Los Angeles Dodgers in August 1985. Brown told Hertzel that Madlock had become a negative influence. \u201cIt\u2019s necessary to have people who believe in what we\u2019re doing,\u201d said Brown. (Soon enough the Dodgers would learn Madlock\u2019s M.O.: a honeymoon for a while, and once things don\u2019t go his way, Mad Dog goes into his \u201cdog act.\u201d)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/rookeji01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-12-21_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jim Rooker<\/a> was a pitcher turned broadcaster who started the crucial Game 5 of the 1979 World Series for the Pirates. He was a hard-nosed player who gave his all on the mound and pulled no punches in the booth either. Said Rooker to Hertzel, \u201cThe Pirates gave [Madlock] more of everything than any team did . . . more money, more freedom and it made me sick the way he kicked them in the stomach for it.\u201d It made Pirates fans sick, too.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Photo Credit: \u00a9 Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whenever the Pittsburgh Pirates commemorate their World Series champion teams, fans cheer the return of their conquering heroes. Rightfully so. Many members of the Pirates\u2019 champion teams of 1960, 1971, and 1979 remained in the Pittsburgh area. They probably never have to pay for their dinner in any restaurant in town. How soon some fans [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5010,"featured_media":92594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,4454,1071],"tags":[5463,5694,5120,5141,5263,28324,3199,5452],"class_list":["post-92577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pirates","category-baseball-history","category-mlb","tag-bert-blyleven","tag-bill-madlock","tag-bill-virdon","tag-bob-johnson","tag-chuck-tanner","tag-danny-murtaugh","tag-dave-parker","tag-willie-stargell"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5010"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92577"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92595,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92577\/revisions\/92595"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}