Willie Stargell
⭐ Hall of Fame 1988
Born: 3/6/1940 in Earlsboro, OK, USA
Died: 4/9/2001 in Wilmington, NC, USA
MLB Debut: 1962-09-16 | Final Game: 1982-10-03
Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 188 lbs
Full name: Wilver Dornel Stargell
Biography
Willie Stargell, born in 1940, was a legendary position player who had a profound impact on Major League Baseball during his career from 1962 to 1982. Known for his powerful hitting and charismatic personality, Stargell played his entire career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, becoming one of the franchise's most iconic figures. Over the course of 2,360 games, he accumulated 2,232 hits, 475 home runs, and 1,540 RBIs, finishing with a batting average of .282. His prowess at the plate, combined with a tenacious spirit, made him a key player in the National League during an era that saw the rise of offensive power.
Stargell's contributions were recognized through several accolades, including seven All-Star selections and significant postseason achievements, such as being named the NLCS MVP and the World Series MVP. He played a pivotal role in leading the Pirates to two World Series titles in the early 1970s, cementing his legacy as a clutch performer. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988, Stargell's influence extended beyond his statistics, as he became a beloved figure in baseball, known for his leadership and mentorship to younger players. His lasting impact on the game continues to be celebrated by fans and players alike.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2360 | 7927 | 1194 | 2232 | 423 | 55 | 475 | 1540 | 17 | 937 | 1936 | 0.282 | 0.360 | 0.529 | 0.889 | 42803.1 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | PIT | NL | 10 | 31 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 0.290 | 0.0 |
| 1963 | PIT | NL | 108 | 304 | 34 | 74 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 47 | 0 | 19 | 85 | 0.243 | 163.4 |
| 1964 | PIT | NL | 117 | 421 | 53 | 115 | 19 | 7 | 21 | 78 | 1 | 17 | 92 | 0.273 | 1059.6 |
| 1965 | PIT | NL | 144 | 533 | 68 | 145 | 25 | 8 | 27 | 107 | 1 | 39 | 127 | 0.272 | 1996.6 |
| 1966 | PIT | NL | 140 | 485 | 84 | 153 | 30 | 0 | 33 | 102 | 2 | 48 | 109 | 0.315 | 3693.3 |
| 1967 | PIT | NL | 134 | 462 | 54 | 125 | 18 | 6 | 20 | 73 | 1 | 67 | 103 | 0.271 | 2277.2 |
| 1968 | PIT | NL | 128 | 435 | 57 | 103 | 15 | 1 | 24 | 67 | 5 | 47 | 105 | 0.237 | 1372.5 |
| 1969 | PIT | NL | 145 | 522 | 89 | 160 | 31 | 6 | 29 | 92 | 1 | 61 | 120 | 0.307 | 3570.1 |
| 1970 | PIT | NL | 136 | 474 | 70 | 125 | 18 | 3 | 31 | 85 | 0 | 44 | 119 | 0.264 | 1508.8 |
| 1971 | PIT | NL | 141 | 511 | 104 | 151 | 26 | 0 | 48 | 125 | 0 | 83 | 154 | 0.295 | 5020.1 |
| 1972 | PIT | NL | 138 | 495 | 74 | 145 | 28 | 2 | 33 | 112 | 1 | 65 | 129 | 0.293 | 3616.3 |
| 1973 | PIT | NL | 148 | 522 | 106 | 156 | 43 | 3 | 44 | 119 | 0 | 80 | 129 | 0.299 | 4849.3 |
| 1974 | PIT | NL | 140 | 508 | 90 | 153 | 37 | 4 | 25 | 96 | 0 | 87 | 106 | 0.301 | 3768.4 |
| 1975 | PIT | NL | 124 | 461 | 71 | 136 | 32 | 2 | 22 | 90 | 0 | 58 | 109 | 0.295 | 2360.9 |
| 1976 | PIT | NL | 117 | 428 | 54 | 110 | 20 | 3 | 20 | 65 | 2 | 50 | 101 | 0.257 | 1320.7 |
| 1977 | PIT | NL | 63 | 186 | 29 | 51 | 12 | 0 | 13 | 35 | 0 | 31 | 55 | 0.274 | 974.2 |
| 1978 | PIT | NL | 122 | 390 | 60 | 115 | 18 | 2 | 28 | 97 | 3 | 50 | 93 | 0.295 | 2653.7 |
| 1979 | PIT | NL | 126 | 424 | 60 | 119 | 19 | 0 | 32 | 82 | 0 | 47 | 105 | 0.281 | 1958.0 |
| 1980 | PIT | NL | 67 | 202 | 28 | 53 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 38 | 0 | 26 | 52 | 0.262 | 629.4 |
| 1981 | PIT | NL | 38 | 60 | 2 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0.283 | -9.1 |
| 1982 | PIT | NL | 74 | 73 | 6 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 10 | 24 | 0.233 | 19.6 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | 133 | 18 | 37 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 20 | 17 | 34 | 0.278 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | WS | PIT | 7 | 30 | 7 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0.400 |
| 1979 | NLCS | PIT | 3 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0.455 |
| 1975 | NLCS | PIT | 3 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.182 |
| 1974 | NLCS | PIT | 4 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0.400 |
| 1972 | NLCS | PIT | 5 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0.062 |
| 1971 | NLCS | PIT | 4 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0.000 |
| 1971 | WS | PIT | 7 | 24 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 0.208 |
| 1970 | NLCS | PIT | 3 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 848 | 803 | 7293 | 384 | 67 | 701 |
| OF | 1296 | 1241 | 1985 | 102 | 84 | 12 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | PIT | OF | 9 | 7 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1963 | PIT | 1B | 16 | 16 | 148 | 9 | 5 | 18 |
| 1963 | PIT | OF | 65 | 55 | 78 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 1964 | PIT | 1B | 50 | 49 | 486 | 22 | 1 | 50 |
| 1964 | PIT | OF | 59 | 55 | 79 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
| 1965 | PIT | 1B | 7 | 6 | 60 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 1965 | PIT | OF | 137 | 130 | 208 | 12 | 8 | 3 |
| 1966 | PIT | 1B | 15 | 12 | 120 | 4 | 0 | 17 |
| 1966 | PIT | OF | 127 | 115 | 180 | 9 | 11 | 0 |
| 1967 | PIT | 1B | 37 | 33 | 307 | 15 | 1 | 25 |
| 1967 | PIT | OF | 98 | 92 | 140 | 12 | 10 | 1 |
| 1968 | PIT | 1B | 13 | 11 | 110 | 7 | 0 | 12 |
| 1968 | PIT | OF | 113 | 108 | 144 | 12 | 9 | 0 |
| 1969 | PIT | 1B | 23 | 21 | 174 | 10 | 2 | 20 |
| 1969 | PIT | OF | 116 | 112 | 159 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| 1970 | PIT | 1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1970 | PIT | OF | 125 | 122 | 184 | 16 | 5 | 1 |
| 1971 | PIT | OF | 138 | 137 | 237 | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| 1972 | PIT | 1B | 101 | 99 | 881 | 40 | 15 | 96 |
| 1972 | PIT | OF | 32 | 32 | 50 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1973 | PIT | OF | 142 | 141 | 261 | 14 | 7 | 1 |
| 1974 | PIT | 1B | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1974 | PIT | OF | 135 | 135 | 253 | 8 | 9 | 1 |
| 1975 | PIT | 1B | 122 | 122 | 1121 | 54 | 10 | 112 |
| 1976 | PIT | 1B | 111 | 110 | 1037 | 53 | 13 | 76 |
| 1977 | PIT | 1B | 55 | 49 | 449 | 27 | 7 | 26 |
| 1978 | PIT | 1B | 112 | 104 | 875 | 57 | 6 | 76 |
| 1979 | PIT | 1B | 113 | 105 | 949 | 47 | 3 | 102 |
| 1980 | PIT | 1B | 54 | 52 | 460 | 33 | 4 | 54 |
| 1981 | PIT | 1B | 9 | 9 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1982 | PIT | 1B | 8 | 4 | 43 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 847 |
| Left Field | 1229 |
| Center Field | 8 |
| Right Field | 69 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Babe Ruth Award | 1B |
| 1979 | Most Valuable Player | |
| 1979 | NLCS MVP | |
| 1979 | TSN Major League Player of the Year | |
| 1979 | World Series MVP | |
| 1978 | Hutch Award | |
| 1978 | TSN Comeback Player of the Year | |
| 1977 | Player of the Week | Week of 1977-05-06 |
| 1974 | Lou Gehrig Memorial Award | |
| 1974 | Roberto Clemente Award | |
| 1973 | Player of the Week | Week of 1973-08-10 |
| 1972 | TSN All-Star | 1B |
| 1971 | TSN All-Star | OF |
| 1966 | TSN All-Star | OF |
| 1965 | TSN All-Star | OF |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 1st | 216.0 | 336 | 4 |
| 1978 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 9th | 39.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1975 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 7th | 69.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1974 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 10th | 43.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1973 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 2nd | 250.0 | 336 | 10 |
| 1972 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 3rd | 201.0 | 336 | 2 |
| 1971 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 2nd | 222.0 | 336 | 3 |
| 1970 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 15th | 20.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1969 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 21th | 7.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1966 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 15th | 19.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1965 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 14th | 15.0 | 280 | 0 |