Gene Clines, member of 1st all-minority lineup, Pirates' 1971 World Series champs, dies

Gene Clines took great pride in making baseball history as a member of the first all-minority starting lineup and the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 1971 World Series champions, especially considering the company.

Clines was a backup in an outfield that featured Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell and seven-time All-Star Al Oliver in the early 1970s, when the Pirates reached the playoffs three times in his five seasons.

“We all came up at the same time and we all learned what it took to win and not be satisfied,” Clines told the Tribune-Review last summer. “There was an abundance of talent coming through the Pirates system at the same time, and then to be around guys like Stargell and Clemente, it just snowballed.”

Clines died Thursday morning at his home in Bradenton, Fla. He was 75. Clines played 10 seasons in the major leagues with the Pirates, New York Mets, Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs, followed by a three-decade career as a hitting, outfield and baserunning coach.

“Gene was a speedy outfielder who was a key member of our 1971 World Series team,” Pirates President Travis Williams said in a statement. “He made a tremendous impact on the game, not only as a player after his career with the Pirates, but also as a long-time coach in the big leagues.”

Drafted in the sixth round out of Richmond (Calif.) Ells High School in 1966, Clines batted .287/.345/.353 in five seasons for the Pirates as a backup outfielder and pinch hitter known for his fine defense and speed on the basepaths. His best seasons came with the Pirates, as he batted .308 with 12 doubles and 24 RBIs in 97 games in 1971, and hit a career-best .334 with 15 doubles and six triples in 107 games in 1972. Clines also stole 22 bases for the Pirates, including 15 in ’71.

Clines helped make history by starting in center field for the Pirates against the Philadelphia Phillies at Three Rivers Stadium on Sept. 1, 1971, when manager Danny Murtaugh started the first all-minority lineup in baseball history. Clines batted second, behind Rennie Stennett at second base and ahead of Clemente in right field, Stargell in left field, Manny Sanguillen at catcher, Dave Cash at third base, Oliver at first base, Jackie Hernandez at shortstop and Dock Ellis on the mound.

Clines, who went 2 for 5 and scored two runs in the 10-7 win, told the Tribune-Review last year that he was surprised to learn about the historic lineup that night through the chatter of a clubhouse attendant.

“He kept saying that the Homestead Grays are playing tonight, and I said, ‘What’s he talking about?’” Clines said, referring to one of Pittsburgh’s two Negro Leagues teams. “It didn’t dawn on me until the national anthem. I turned around and noticed we had nine minorities out there at the same time.”

It was one of the 255 games Clines started in his 452 games for the Pirates. He wasn’t happy with the part-time role, but teammates recalled Clines as a fiery competitor. Oliver, who called Clines a close friend, laughed in recalling how Clines would return to the dugout with his head down and a fast-paced step after a groundout. It helps explain why Pirates broadcaster Bob Prince dubbed Clines “Little Angry.”

“He was hot because he made an out. It was like steam was coming out of his head,” Oliver said. “Geno was a good ballplayer. Unfortunately, he was just with the wrong team. That’s what it came down to. He had great speed, was a good defensive outfielder. He was a good hitter – he’d have been a lot better hitter if he’d had a chance to play every day. … He always hustled. That was our trademark, and it was his trademark. He was definitely a Pirate.”

Clines exuded the confidence of that ’71 Pirates club, which went 97-65 to win the NL East Division. He hit a solo home run off San Francisco’s Jim Barr in the fifth inning of a 9-4 win in Game 2 to tie the NLCS, which the Pirates won in four games. Despite being heavy underdogs in the World Series against a slugging Orioles team that had a starting pitching staff of four 20-game winners – Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar and Pat Dobson – the Pirates won in seven games.

“We believed we could beat anybody,” Clines told the Trib. “We couldn’t have cared less. Four 20-game winners, it didn’t matter. But that made it even more rewarding because we were counted out right from the beginning and we were the only ones that believed in our ourselves.”

Steve Blass, the former Pirates right-hander and broadcaster who was the winning pitcher in Game 7, recalled a memorable play that Clines made to save a run in the fifth inning of the clinching 2-1 win in Game 7. In the bottom of the fifth inning, lefty Elrod Hendricks doubled to the right-center gap, past the outstretched arm of Clemente, the 12-time Gold Glove winner. Clines, who started in center instead of Oliver because of his defense, backed up the play by barehanding the ball and then threw it to second to prevent a triple. If not for Clines, Hendricks could have scored on the ensuing fly ball to center by Mark Belanger.

“He saved 90 feet in a 2-1 game,” Blass said. “Every time I talked to Geno, I said, ‘You should have received MVP votes for that play.’ He was one of those guys that didn’t make the fireworks and headlines but he had the versatility and speed to pinch-hit, run and play all three positions in the outfield. Inside that clubhouse, he was valued.”

Clines was traded to the New York Mets following the 1974 season for backup catcher Duffy Dyer. In 10 major league seasons, the speedy 5-foot-9, 170-pound Clines batted .277/.329/.341 with 85 doubles, 24 triples, five home runs, 187 RBIs and 71 stolen bases.

Clines retired in 1979 and became first base coach for the Cubs, then a roving minor league hitting instructor for the Houston Astros. He spent three seasons as hitting coach for both the Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers. Clines later served as hitting and outfield coach for the San Francisco Giants from 1995-2002, where he coached NL MVPs Jeff Kent (2000) and Barry Bonds (2001-02). He also worked in the Los Angeles Dodgers system as an outfield/baserunning coordinator as well as a hitting coordinator before being promoted to senior advisor of player development in 2010.

Clines returned to Pittsburgh last summer, when the Pirates honored the 1971 team before a July 17 game against the New York Mets at PNC Park in celebration of the 50th anniversary of their World Series championship. On Sept. 1, Clines participated in a panel on the first all-minority starting lineup with surviving teammates Dave Cash, Oliver and Manny Sanguillen at the Heinz History Center, sharing their memories of the history-making game.

“It was an honor to have Gene back in Pittsburgh this past September to recognize him and his teammates from our 1971 World Series Championship team who took the field as part of Major League Baseball’s first allminority lineup,” Williams said. “It was a joy to talk to him about his deep passion for baseball, his love for his teammates and his appreciation for the city of Pittsburgh. Our hearts go out to his wife Joanne, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”