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The Team That Changed Baseball: Roberto Clemente and the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates

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I must admit up front that I am a huge fan of the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates. They were the team that first captured my attention as a young boy and helped to make me a life-long baseball and Pittsburgh Pirate fan. Steve Blass, Roberto Clemente, Manny Sanguillen, and Willie Stargell became my baseball heroes, and forever shaped my idea of what ideal baseball players should be. The outstanding World Series of 1971 was the first I ever watched, and it is still the standard by which I judge all others. With that in mind, I brought high expectations to Bruce Markusen's new book about the team, and I am happy to say that he did not disappoint me.

Markusen recreates the arc of the Pirates' '71 season, from the deal making in the winter of 1970, to spring training, and on through the regular season with a chapter devoted to each month. Along the way he introduces the reader to many of the fascinating and quirky characters who made up the '71 Pirates squad. One of the most rewarding parts of his book is his blow by blow recreation of the extraordinary and historic 1971 World Series. He breaks it down with a chapter for the first two games in Baltimore, one for the next three in Pittsburgh, and a chapter apiece for games six and seven in Baltimore. Baseball fans, and particularly Pirates fans, will be enthralled by his vivid description of one of the all-time great Baseball Fall Classics. In addition to recreating the Pirates' season, Markusen also includes an interesting post script "Where are they now?" chapter that brings each player from the '71 team up to date.

While he recreates the exciting '71 season, Markusen returns repeatedly to the theme of his title - that the 1971 Pirates team changed the face of baseball with its color blind approach to picking talent. No previous team had such a diverse racial mix between White, Black, and Latino players. Pirates' management totally disregarded the unwritten practice that had been common through the `50s and `60s of having a quota for ethnic players on a team, in favor of picking the best talent available regardless of race. The Pirates' clubhouse was a loose place full of boiserous and friendly play rather than racial tension, and the Pirates' manager, Danny Murtaugh, saw only Pirate black and gold, not black and white, in his players, and was liked and respected by all. In a game played on September 1st, 1971, Murtaugh sent out a line-up made up completely of Black and Latino players in all nine positions, a first in Major League history. When asked after the game if he realized what he had done, Murtaugh replied, "Did I have nine blacks out there? I thought I had nine Pirates out there." Markusen argues convincingly that the success the Pirates had with their color blind strategy influence the rest of baseball to emulate it, and fundamentally changed the game.

One thing that should be noted; the subtitle, `Roberto Clemente and the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates' is a bit misleading. While there is plenty of mention of Clemente in the book, it is really a team story, and it doesn't dwell on him any more than many of the other players. This doesn't detract in any way from the book's quality. It is both fast moving and fun. As a history of one of the great modern teams that significantly impacted the game, most baseball fans should enjoy it. If you are a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, the only excuse not to read it is if you are functionally illiterate.

Theo Logos

This book is about the Pittsburgh Pirates first and Roberto next however it was hard not to have Clemente on my mind throughout the story. As a boy in the fifties my father would give me $1.00 for the bus ride and right-field seats to the Pirates at Forbes Field. I will never forget the 'basket catches' and deadly throws to third base if any player dared to try and steal third. The Pirates played at Three Rivers in 1971, not a great stadium for baseball (or for football for that matter), seeing 10-12 games that season. Bruce Markusen captured my experience in surprisingly more detail than I would of remembered. This is great read for anybody who loves baseball, how teamwork can make a difference, seeing a manager at his best at the end of his career and performance from some of the best athletes in the game.

Reviews of various team seasons have become popular over the past several years, and Bruce Markusen has provided us with a commendable effort of the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates. I am a fan of the Detroit Tigers, but respected this Pirates team enough to organize a Little League trip to Pittsburgh in August of 1972 to see this team play. The only reason I give this book four stars instead of five is because books of this sort are often heavy on what took place from inning to inning in several games. I found this true here, also. The author gets his title for the book from the diversity of players that made up the team's roster (black, white, and Latino). Since the 1971 Pirates other teams have thankfully adopted the belief that a position on the roster should be based strictly on ability. The 2006 Tigers of Jim Leyland emphasized out of Spring Training that he will select the best 25 players. Author Markusen also provides us with a "Where Are They Now" of each of the team members. The book is a quick read (213 pages). You don't have to be a Pirates' fan to enjoy the book, just an appreciation of baseball history.

Although Jackie Robinson broke major league baseball's color barrier in 1947, very few teams truly embraced diversity; most club owners and front offices imposed unwritten quotas, ensuring that their rosters would be predominantly white - and, of course - less talented. Minority players were generally treated like second-class citizens - especially during Spring Training in the segregated South - when they couldn't even stay in the same hotels or eat in the same restaurants as their white teammates.

Some of the more progressive teams helped foster a culture of racial equality and team unity; the St Louis Cardinals of the '60s went to the World Series three times in the decade with players from diverse backgrounds who generally felt the only "race issue" was the "pennant race". As the '70s began, one team - the Pittsburgh Pirates - took diversity to a whole new level: The starting lineup in an early September 1971 game featured nine players who were either of African American or Latino descent.

Unknowingly, Pittsburgh's color-blind manager, Danny Murtaugh showed the baseball world that winning ballgames simply results from having guys who can hit, pitch, and field better than the competition. In the '71 World Series, Roberto Clemente and the rest of the Pirates did just that, beating a very good Baltimore Orioles team in seven thrilling games.

Bruce Markusen provides an honest and compelling commentary on the state of major league baseball leading up to this particular Fall Classic - and how the Pittsburgh franchise helped move the game to a new, more progressive level.

It will keep Pirate fans interested, but it may not leave the same impression on other baseball fans. Somewhat superficial, for example it left out the fact Ellis was on acid when he pitched a no-hitter. It was a very G-rated edition of the season. It also failed to put the all-minority line-up in a complete historical perspective. The author could have mentioned the Homestead Grays that played at Forbes Field, but had to shower across the street at the YMCA.

If you are a Pirates fan and/or a fan of Roberto Clemente then this book is a must read. Interesting insight into the 1971 Pirates.

Fantastic read! I wanted to know more about this team. Clemente is one on my favorites. Also. my father-in-law was a Brig. Gen. & Commander of recruiting for the Air Force at that time. He was made an honorary member of the 1971 Pirates team and sat in the dug out during the series. He was presented with a Pirate game hat, game ball signed by every player on the Pittsburg team and and LP (remember 1971) of the event with him speaking at a dinner to the team. He game me the ball on my 30th birthday. What a treat.
Stoney Coppage

The 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates were "a product of an aggressive search for winning talent of any color and the willingness to play that talent at any position--even if it meant a lineup of blacks, whites, Asians, Latinos or any combination," according to author Bruce Markusen.

The 1971 Pirates, in fact, fielded the first all-black lineup on Sept. 1. The lineup was not a token lineup or an attempt to be the first team to do so. The Pirates were in the midst of a tight pennant race. The lineup that day consisted of: Rennie Stennett, 2B; Gene Clines, CF; Roberto Clemente, RF; Willie Stargell, LF; Manny Sanguillen, C; Dave Cash, 3B; Al Oliver, 1B; Jackie Hernandez, SS; and Dock Ellis, P.

Manager Danny Murtaugh said, "Once a Pirate puts on a uniform, I don't notice the color of his skin. When it comes to making out the lineup, I'm colorblind and my players know that."

Nearly 25 years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, major league teams still had unwritten quotas about the number of black players they carried on their roster. The Pirates showed that being colorblind was not only the right philosophical approach, but also a winning one.

According to Markusen, there was no racism and little or no dissension on the 1971 Pirates. The teammates were very close and there was a healthy clubhouse atmosphere.

Markusen chronicles the 1971 season in a month-by-month approach, which grows tedious after a while. But, he manages to hit the highlights without a game-by-game description.

Even though I remember the 1971 World Series, I had forgotten all the surprising moves Murtaugh made as the Pirates upset the powerful Baltimore Orioles. Murtaugh's gut feelings concerning starting pitchers and lineup choices paid off as the Bucs came back from being down two games to none. The Orioles were hurt by nine errors in the first five games.

Markusen concludes with interesting thumbnail sketches of what happened to each of the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates.

The subtitle of Bruce Markusen's The Team that Changed Baseball is "Roberto Clemente and the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates." I was born and raised in Pittsburgh and the '71 World Series is one I'll never forget. On top of all that, Roberto Clemente has always been a hero of mine, so I simply had to read this book.

One of the things that makes this title so special is the difference between media coverage of a World Series back then vs. one today. Every aspect of the game and players lives is covered today. It's hard to miss even the smallest detail. Back then you had the game itself and a couple of local sports columnists. No ESPN. No Internet. No DVR-ing all the pre-game hype on every single channel. Even though I read every article I could back in 1971, I learned a lot of new tidbits thanks to this great book.

Markusen does a fantastic job of taking you back to the entire 1971 season. His extensive interviews with many of the players and coaches make this book a treasure for any Pirates fan of the 1970's. Month-by-month regular season assessments of the team's performance, roster changes, etc., lead up to almost 40 pages of coverage dedicated to the '71 World Series...yet another one the Pirates were supposed to lose, this time, to the extremely talented Baltimore Orioles.

My favorite part of this book is the "Where Are They Now" chapter he closes with. It was fun to read what some of these guys are up to now, especially the ones I hadn't even thought about since the early '70's. Any baseball fan will enjoy this book, but if you're a Pirates fan and you followed the team in 1971, you definitely need to add The Team that Changed Baseball to your library.

Those that love baseball or the Pittsburgh Pirates will love this book. The author has written a very engaging and easy read concerning the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates.Therein lies my problem. This book is essentially a chronological history of one year of one baseball team. I was expecting far more regarding integration and racial and social conflicts than what was included. There are whole chapters devoid of any discussion of race, integration, and other aspects one would associate with these issues. When the author does discuss the issue of integration in baseball, the coverage remains very limited and leaves the reader asking far more questions. One would think there would be far more coverage and debate of this issue given the title of the book and the supposed focus of the effort. However, this work is essentially a view of one year in a professional baseball team. Those that love baseball will find it a very good work whereas those who were hoping for a deeper study of professional baseball's struggle with integration, may want to look elsewhere.