Rennie Stennett, one of the staples of the Pirates teams of the 70s and the 1979 World Series team, passed Tuesday morning after a hard-fought battle with cancer.
He was 72.
Born April 5, 1949, Stennett made his Pirates and major-league debut in 1971, playing 50 games for the eventual World Champs. He spent several years as a utility player before ultimately settling in at second base, where he would start 1,005 games over his 11-year career.
Stennett played nine years with the Pirates before wrapping up his career with two seasons with the Giants. He was a career .274 hitter, and record 1,274 hits, 41 home runs and 432 RBIs, with 500 runs scored.
Stennett is one of three players to collect seven hits in a game, and the only one to do so in a nine-inning game, which he did in a 22-0 Pirates victory over the Cubs on Sept. 16, 1975. He was also part of the first all-Black starting lineup in Major League Baseball history on Sept. 1, 1971.
He leaves behind three children and four grandchildren.
Pirates team president Travis Williams issued the following statement on behalf of the organization:
“We are saddened by the loss of such a beloved member of the Pirates family. Rennie was a great player on the field, and an even better person off of it. A member of our World Series Championships in both 1971 and 1979 who remained a very active and cherished member of our Alumni Association, Rennie symbolized what it meant to be a Pittsburgh Pirate.
“Our sincere condolences to his daughter Renee (Lujo), her husband Rolando and their sons Rolando Jr. and Rylan, Rennie’s son Rennie Jr., his daughter Nevaeh and son Camden, as well as Rennie’s son Roberto. We join them and all his loved ones in their grief. Rennie will be missed.”
