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 between the National League (NL) champion Pittsburgh Pirates (98–64) and the American League (AL) champion Baltimore Orioles (102–57). The Pirates won in seven games, becoming the fourth team in World Series history to come back from three games to one deficit to win the Series. This marked the second time in the 1970s the Pirates won a World Series Game 7 on the road against the Orioles, the previous time being in the 1971 World Series. The Pirates were famous for adopting Sister Sledge's hit song "We Are Family" as their theme song during the 1979 season.
Érik Joseph Bédard is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays. With Baltimore, Bédard was the staff ace, setting the franchise single-season strikeouts per nine innings record at 10.93 in 2007.
Dámaso Marte Saviñón is a Dominican former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played for the Seattle Mariners (1999), Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox (2002–2005), and New York Yankees (2008–2011).
Denny M. Bautista Germán is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. Bautista is 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall and weighs 190 pounds (86 kg). He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and San Francisco Giants from 2004 to 2010. From 2011 through 2013, he played for the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO League. He bats and throws right-handed. Bautista throws three pitches: a fastball, a curveball, and a changeup. He has struggled with control throughout his career.
Kenton Charles Tekulve, 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 for the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds. Pitching with an unusual submarine delivery, Tekulve was known as a workhorse relief pitcher who holds several records for number of games pitched and innings pitched.
Jason Michael Grilli is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Atlanta Braves, Toronto Blue Jays, and Texas Rangers. Taken as the fourth overall selection of the 1997 MLB draft by the San Francisco Giants, Grilli was one of the top starting pitcher prospects in all of Minor League Baseball, ranked 54th in 1998 and 44th in 1999. The Giants traded him to the Florida Marlins in 1999, for whom he debuted on May 11, 2000.
Grant Dwight Jackson was an American professional baseball pitcher who played eighteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Montreal Expos, and Kansas City Royals from 1965 to 1982. Jackson was a switch hitter who threw left-handed and served primarily as a relief pitcher.
Henricus "Rick" Nicolas van den Hurk is a Dutch former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Baltimore Orioles, and Pittsburgh Pirates, in the KBO League for the Samsung Lions and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Tokyo Yakult Swallows. In international play, he was a member of the Netherlands national baseball team.
Garrett Andrew Olson is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets and in the KBO League for the Doosan Bears.
Daryl Alan Patterson is a former right-handed baseball pitcher. He played professional baseball for 12 years from 1965 to 1975, including parts of five seasons in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers (1968–1971), Oakland Athletics (1971), St. Louis Cardinals (1971), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1974).
The 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 90th season for the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; their 85th in the National League. It involved the Pirates finishing first in the National League East with a record of 97 wins and 65 losses. They defeated the San Francisco Giants three games to one in the NLCS and beat the Baltimore Orioles four games to three in the World Series. The Pirates were managed by Danny Murtaugh, and played their first full season at Three Rivers Stadium, which had opened in July the year before.
The 2008 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 127th season of the franchise; the 122nd in the National League. This was their eighth season at PNC Park. It was the first under new president Frank Coonelly, general manager Neal Huntington, and manager John Russell. Unable to improve on their 68–94, last place finish during the 2007 season, the Pirates had not had a winning record or made it to the playoffs since 1992, and finished 67–95 for their 16th straight losing season. The season was the final of play-by-play announcer Lanny Frattare, whose 33-year tenure as Pirates' broadcaster was the longest in franchise history.
Christopher James Jakubauskas is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Baltimore Orioles.
Vincent Michael Mazzaro is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins, and San Francisco Giants.
Gerrit Alan Cole is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros. Cole played for the baseball team at Orange Lutheran High School and was selected by the Yankees in the first round of the 2008 MLB Draft. Cole opted not to sign and instead attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he played college baseball for the UCLA Bruins.
Daniel Robert Schlereth is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Detroit Tigers. He is currently the pitching coach for the South Florida Bulls.
Daniel Thomas McCutchen is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Texas Rangers.
Matthew Scott "Duke" Welker is a former professional baseball pitcher.
Mitch Thomas Keller is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Beau Grayson Sulser is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles. He has also played in the KBO League for the KT Wiz.
