The Team That Changed Baseball

Roberto Clemente and the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates

By: Bruce Markusen

Narrated by: Kevin Free

In 1947, major league baseball experienced its first measure of integration when the Brooklyn Dodgers brought Jackie Robinson to the National League. While Robinson's breakthrough opened the gates of opportunity for African Americans and other minority players, the process of integration proved slow and uneven. It was not until the 1960s that a handful of major league teams began to boast more than a few Black and Latino players. But the 1971 World Championship team enjoyed a full and complete level of integration, with half of its 25-man roster comprised of players of African American and Latino descent. That team was the Pittsburgh Pirates, managed by an old-time Irishman.

In The Team That Changed Baseball: Roberto Clemente and the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates, veteran baseball writer Bruce Markusen tells the story of one of the most likable and significant teams in the history of professional sports. In addition to the fact that they fielded the first all-minority lineup in major league history, the 1971 Pirates are noteworthy for the team's inspiring individual performances, including those of future Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, and Bill Mazeroski, and their remarkable World Series victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles. But perhaps their greatest legacy is the team's influence on the future of baseball, inspiring later championship teams such as the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics to open their doors fully to all talented players, regardless of race, particularly in the new era of free agency.

©2006 Bruce Markusen (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The 1971 Pirates of Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Bill Mazeroski, Dock Ellis, and Steve Blass are among my all-time favorite teams, and their spectacular World Series win over the Orioles of Earl Weaver, Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson, Jim Palmer, and Dave McNally is one of the great baseball upsets of the postwar era. Still, though I followed their season closely, I never fully understood their impact." (Allen Barra The New York Sun)

The first All Black and Brown Baseball Line-up.

Conventional wisdom says the Brooklyn Dodgers and Jackie Robinson changed baseball, but it really was the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates, who were the first team to play only people of color - Blacks and Brown in their line up and win a World Series upset against the Baltimore Orioles Danasty.

Heroes include Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Doc Ellis, Dave Cash, and Manny Sanguillen.

An amazingly inspirational story.

Roberto Clemente is a role model for us all. His story and the story of the 71 Pirates gives important lens, through which we can view the recent history of our nation's cultural development.

A great piece of history

This is worth the listen,even if you do not like baseball. Such a great story at a human level.

My Favorite Team

I loved this book. Bob Veale died today as I finish it. I’m glad this wasn’t one of those tell-all shockers. Tho the subject of race can’t be ignored, the first 30 minutes it’s piled on kinda thick. Important, and necessary, it’s just fatiguing. The author then strikes a good balance between that and the game. Good info on inside conversations and strategic planning. The narrator clearly is too young to know how to pronounce some of the names. I wish there was another 5 hours of ‘71 Bucs!

Disappointing

Would you be willing to try another book from Bruce Markusen? Why or why not?

Yes, although I was disappointed by the content of the book. The first chapter leads the reader to believe that there will be a lot of discussion of the issues of race and ethnicity in baseball in 1971, but that expectation is not fulfilled. By the middle of the book, the chapters are mostly standard baseball narratives--outlining how the team was doing on the field from week to week.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Kevin Free?

What a silly question. It should have been "Would you buy another book narrated by Kevin Free?" to which I'd answer, "No." The narration on this book was the worst I've ever heard. Names and even basic words were mispronounced (the most egregious of which was the pronunciation of "carom") and the emphasis of clauses of sentences was often bizarre.

“south paw hitter”

Even if you took away all of the mispronunciations and use of imaginary terms, i’d still say it was poorly done.