The 1979 National League Championship Series was played between the

National League West The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a re ...

champion

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

and the

National League East The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. The division was created when the National Leag ...

champion

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. It was the 11th

NLCS The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two National ...

in all. It was the fourth time in the 1970s that the Pirates and Reds had faced off for the pennant; Cincinnati had won all three previous meetings in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

and

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. The Pirates won the series in a three-game sweep in what would be the last postseason appearance for both franchises until 1990. As of 2022, this is the last time that the Pirates played in the World Series.

Summary

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Cincinnati Reds

Game summaries

Game 1

Both sides threw their aces in Game 1 as 14-game winner

John Candelaria John Robert Candelaria (born November 6, 1953) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. Nicknamed "The Candy Man", he played in MLB during the years 1975–1993 for eight teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates, California Angels, New York Mets, New ...

started for the Pirates, and

Tom Seaver George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cinc ...

started for the Reds. After

Omar Moreno ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...

grounded out to start the game, a 45-minute rain delay stalled the contest. When play resumed, Seaver retired Tim Foli and Dave Parker for an unusually long 1-2-3 inning. Pittsburgh struck first in the third inning when second baseman

Phil Garner Philip Mason Garner (born April 30, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder with the Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers and ...

led off with an opposite-field home run. After Candelaria struck out,

hit a sinking liner to right that

Dave Collins David S. Collins (born October 20, 1952) is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball from to . Collins is one of three players to have made it to the major leagues who played for the Rapid City Post 22 American Legion baseball program i ...

attempted a sliding shoestring catch on. The ball skidded off the wet

Riverfront Stadium Riverfront Stadium, also known as Cinergy Field from 1996 to 2002, was a multi-purpose stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States that was the home of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball from 1970 Major League Baseball season, 1970 throug ...

turf in front of Collins and rolled to the wall. The speedy Moreno ended up with a triple, but it could have easily been an inside-the-park homer if not for the hustle of Héctor Cruz in center. Foli then drove in Moreno with a sacrifice fly to give the Pirates a 2–0 lead. Seaver then walked Dave Parker and

Willie Stargell Wilver Dornell Stargell (March 6, 1940 – April 9, 2001), nicknamed "Pops" later in his career, was an American professional baseball left fielder and first baseman who spent all of his 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1962–1982) ...

, but John Milner popped out to end the inning. The Reds tied it in the bottom of the fourth when George Foster hit a two-run homer into left center with

Dave Concepción David Ismael Concepción Benitez (born June 17, 1948) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won four National Lea ...

aboard. Despite a sore shoulder, Candelaria gutted out seven painful innings before giving way to

Enrique Romo Enrique Romo Navarro (born July 15, 1947) is a Mexican former professional baseball relief pitcher who played for the Seattle Mariners (1977–78) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1979–82). Romo batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Santa Rosal ...

. The score stayed at 2–2 until the top of the 11th inning. Tim Foli and Parker singled off Reds reliever

Tom Hume Thomas Hubert Hume (born March 29, 1953) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies, from to . Hume was drafted by the Reds with the 16th pick ...

drilled a three-run homer to almost dead center to make it 5–2, Pirates. The Reds didn't go away silently, though. After Grant Jackson retired the first two batters in the bottom of the 11th,

singled and George Foster walked. Don Robinson came on to replace Jackson and walked

Johnny Bench John Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from through , with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. Bench was the leader of t ...

to load the bases. At that point,

Chuck Tanner Charles William Tanner (July 4, 1928February 11, 2011) was an American professional baseball player and manager. A left fielder and pinch hitter who appeared in 396 games in Major League Baseball between 1955 and 1962, he was known for his unwav ...

visited the mound, and

jokingly asked Robinson, "Why don't you move to first and I'll pitch?" The barb relaxed Robinson, who settled down and struck out

Ray Knight Charles Ray Knight (born December 28, 1952) is an American former Major League Baseball infielder best remembered for his time with the Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets. Originally drafted by the Reds in the tenth round of the 1970 Major League ...

for the final out.

Game 2

In another extra inning affair, the Pirates beat the Reds 3–2 to earn a road sweep and send the series to Pittsburgh needing just one win in three home games to make the

1979 World Series The 1979 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1979 season. The 76th edition of the World Series was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Pittsburgh Pirates (98–64) and ...

. The starting pitchers were

Jim Bibby James Blair Bibby (October 29, 1944 – February 16, 2010)Morris, Chri"Former Major League pitcher Jim Bibby dies at 65" ''The News & Advance'' (Lynchburg, Virginia), Wednesday, February 17, 2010 was an American Major League Baseball right-han ...

for the Pirates and

Frank Pastore Frank Enrico Pastore (; August 21, 1957 – December 17, 2012) was an American Major League Baseball player and radio host. He pitched for the Cincinnati Reds from 1979 until 1985 and for the Minnesota Twins in 1986, and was in the Texas R ...

for the Reds. Pastore helped himself with an RBI sacrifice fly to center in the bottom of the second that scored Dan Driessen. Driessen was aboard after singling and moving to third on a

single. In the top of the third, Tim Foli and Dave Parker led off with singles.

followed with a base hit to right, but he rounded first base too far and Reds right fielder

threw behind him. Stargell was caught in a rundown and retired. Foli, however, surprisingly stayed at third instead of trying to score while Stargell was in the rundown. John Milner was walked intentionally, loading the bases, and

Bill Madlock Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock, Jr. (born January 12, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from 1973 to 1987. Madlock is notable for being a four-time National League b ...

beat out a double-play grounder to score Foli with the tying run. The Pirates took the lead in the fifth when

sent a sinking liner towards

in right that Collins attempted a shoestring catch on, much like his attempt in Game 1. Collins appeared to have caught the ball, but umpire

Frank Pulli Frank Victor Pulli (March 22, 1935 – August 28, 2013) was a professional baseball umpire, working in the National League from 1972 until 1999. He umpired many postseason games, including four World Series. Pulli wore uniform number 14 during ...

ruled he trapped it, giving Garner a base hit. Garner moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Bibby and scored on a double by Foli. Bibby left after seven innings with discomfort in his neck, having held the Reds to four hits and the single run. The Reds mounted a threat in the eighth against the Pirate bullpen. Left-hander Grant Jackson retired lefty-hitting

Joe Morgan Joe Leonard Morgan (September 19, 1943 – October 11, 2020) was an American professional baseball second baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Colt .45s / Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, ...

for the first out, but

, managing by percentages, brought in

to face right-handed hitting

. The move backfired as Romo gave up back-to-back singles to Concepción and George Foster.

Kent Tekulve Kenton Charles Tekulve ( ; born March 5, 1947), nicknamed "Teke", is an American former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He also played f ...

relieved Romo to face

and, on his second pitch to Bench, wild-pitched the runners to second and third. Tekulve recovered to strike out Bench, intentionally walked Dan Driessen, and then retired

for the last out. Tekulve encountered trouble in the ninth. With one out, Héctor Cruz, batting for

, doubled. Collins then doubled in Cruz to tie the game. Tekulve was then replaced by lefty Dave Roberts, but Roberts walked Morgan. Tanner then brought in Game 1 saver Don Robinson, who struck out Concepción and retired Foster on a groundout to end the threat. The Pirates won it in the tenth when Moreno singled, went to second on a bunt by Foli and scored on Parker's single. Robinson retired the Reds in the tenth and the Pirates had a two games to none lead over the Reds. Robinson got the win and Doug Bair got the loss.

Game 3

The Pirates made it to their first

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

since

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events J ...

with a blowout win to complete a three-game sweep of the Reds. The starting pitchers were

Bert Blyleven Bert Blyleven (born Rik Aalbert Blijleven, April 6, 1951) is a Dutch-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1970 to 1992, primarily with the Minnesota Twins. Blyleven recorded 3,701 ...

for the Pirates, and

Mike LaCoss Michael James LaCoss (born May 30, 1956), is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. Baseball career Minor Leagues LaCoss was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the third round of the 1974 amateur draft. Cincinnati Reds LaCoss made ...

for the Reds. For the second time in three games, the start was delayed by rain. After allowing a hit in the first, the Pirates got on the board quickly when leadoff hitter

, a pain in the Reds' side all series, singled and stole second. Tim Foli then grounded to Concepcion, who tried to catch Moreno at third, but Moreno reached third safely and Foli to first. Dave Parker then hit a

sacrifice fly In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

for a 1–0 Pirates lead. In the second,

tripled and scored on Foli's sacrifice fly. LaCoss was then replaced by

Fred Norman Fredie Hubert Norman (born August 20, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won four divi ...

, who gave up

's second home run of the series and another homer to

in the third. Stargell doubled home two more runs in the fourth for a 6–0 Pirate lead and essentially clinched the NLCS MVP. The Reds got one run back in the sixth when

homered, but it was their last run of the year. The Pirates got that run back in the eighth when Garner scored on an error by

Cesar Geronimo Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * Ces ...

, the only

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

committed in the entire series. Blyleven went the distance and the Pirates had completed an unexpected sweep in advancing to the

. To date, this is the Pirates' most recent pennant.

Composite box

1979 NLCS (3–0):

over

References

External links

1979 NLCS at Baseball Reference
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