Charles E. Knoblock/AP
PITTSBURGH — Rennie Stennett, the sure-handed second baseman who was part of the first all-Black starting lineup in major league history and later helped the Pittsburgh Pirates win the 1979 World Series, has died. He was 72.
The Pirates, citing information provided by the Stennett family, said he died Tuesday following a fight with cancer.
Stennett hit .274 with 41 home runs and 432 RBIs in 11 big-league seasons, nine of them with Pittsburgh. Though he was never named to an All-Star team, he received Most Valuable Player votes in both 1974 and in 1977, when he hit a career-best .336 before missing the final six weeks of the season due to an injury.