October 17, 1979
Boy do I remember this one - 11 days before my tenth birthday. My parents had let me stay up a little later beyond my bedtime. Just about the time my head hit the pillow - and remember, we didn't have VCRs in those days - Stargell nailed the two-run homer to put the Pirates ahead of the Orioles, 2-1, in game 7. Stargell was larger than life that fall (in more ways than one), the "old man" (Pops) who was a mature, 39-year old ballplayer on his last legs, having moved to first after years as an outfielder.
Stargell shone during the 1979 post-season. He won the regular season MVP (the only tie in history - with Keith Hernandez) LARGELY because of his leadership (a la 1988 Kirk Gibson) rather than his stats. But in the LCS, he was 5 for 11 with 2 doubles and 2 homers and 6 RBIs and 2 runs scored that accounted for 8 of the Pirates' 15 runs in the 3 game-series (the Reds only scored five runs themselves). In the World Series, he was 12 for 30, with 3 home runs, 4 doubles, and 7 RBIs with 7 runs scored. Stargell was MVP of both the LCS and the World Series AS WELL AS the regular season in 1979.
(For those who don't know, Stargell was the first minor league hitting coach for Chipper Jones).