# 1977 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1977 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 96th season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; their 91st in the National League. The Pirates finished second in the National League East with a record of 96–66. This was the first season where the player's last names appeared on the back of the jerseys.

## Offseason

* November 5, 1976: Manny Sanguillén was traded by the Pirates to the Oakland Athletics for manager Chuck Tanner.
* December 10, 1976: Richie Zisk and Silvio Martínez were traded by the Pirates to the Chicago White Sox for Goose Gossage and Terry Forster.
* March 15, 1977: Rick Langford, Tony Armas, Doug Bair, Dave Giusti, Doc Medich, and Mitchell Page were traded by the Pirates to the Oakland Athletics for Phil Garner, Tommy Helms, and Chris Batton.

## Regular season

* May 11: Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner appointed himself manager of the team before a game against the Pirates. After losing the game 2–1, Turner stepped down.
* June 30: Willie Stargell hits his 400th career home run versus the Philadelphia Phillies.

### Season standings

vteNL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 101 | 61 | .623 | — | 60‍–‍21 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 96 | 66 | .593 | 5 | 58‍–‍23 | 38‍–‍43 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 83 | 79 | .512 | 18 | 52‍–‍31 | 31‍–‍48 |
| Chicago Cubs | 81 | 81 | .500 | 20 | 46‍–‍35 | 35‍–‍46 |
| Montreal Expos | 75 | 87 | .463 | 26 | 38‍–‍43 | 37‍–‍44 |
| New York Mets | 64 | 98 | .395 | 37 | 35‍–‍44 | 29‍–‍54 |

### Record vs. opponents

1977 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 5–7 | 4–14 | 9–9 | 5–13 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 2–10 | 3–9 | 11–7 | 8–10 | 1–11 |
| Chicago | 7–5 | — | 7–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 7–11 |
| Cincinnati | 14–4 | 5–7 | — | 5–13 | 10–8 | 7–5 | 10–2 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 5–7 |
| Houston | 9–9 | 6–6 | 13–5 | — | 9–9 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 5–7 |
| Los Angeles | 13–5 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 9–9 | — | 7–5 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 12–6 | 14–4 | 6–6 |
| Montreal | 6–6 | 8–10 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | 10–8 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 12–6 |
| New York | 5–7 | 9–9 | 2–10 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 8–10 | — | 5–13 | 4–14 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 8–10 |
| Philadelphia | 10-2 | 12–6 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 13–5 | — | 8–10 | 9–3 | 9–3 | 11–7 |
| Pittsburgh | 9–3 | 11–7 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 11–7 | 14–4 | 10–8 | — | 10–2 | 2–10 | 9–9 |
| San Diego | 7–11 | 5–7 | 7–11 | 10–8 | 6–12 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 2–10 | — | 8–10 | 8–4 |
| San Francisco | 10–8 | 3–9 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 4–14 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 10–2 | 10–8 | — | 7–5 |
| St. Louis | 11–1 | 11–7 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 6–12 | 10–8 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — |

### Game log

1977 Game Log: 95–66 (Home: 57–23; Away: 38–43) :
April: 10–7 (Home: 5–4; Away: 5–3)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 7Cardinals6–12DennyReuss (0–1)—35,1860–1
2April 9Cardinals2–8ForschKison (0–1)—6,7190–2
3April 10Cardinals7–8CarrollRooker (0–1)Urrea5,2230–3
4April 12Expos2–1Gossage (1–0)McEnaney—4,0421–3
5April 13Expos3–0Kison (1–1)Rogers—4,5862–3
6April 15@ Cardinals7–0Rooker (1–1)Falcone—41,2263–3
7April 16@ Cardinals3–1Candelaria (1–0)RasmussenGossage (1)12,5134–3
8April 17@ Cardinals3–4DennyReuss (0–2)Urrea28,5744–4
9April 18@ Expos5–6 (14)AtkinsonJones (0–1)—10,9114–5
10April 19@ Expos0–6StanhouseDemery (0–1)—10,0624–6
11April 20@ Expos8–6Rooker (2–1)HannahsTekulve (1)12,6075–6
12April 22@ Mets4–3Tekulve (1–0)Myrick—19,4956–6
13April 23@ Mets6–5Gossage (2–0)Sadecki—9,0407–6
14April 26Phillies5–0Candelaria (2–0)ChristensonGossage (2)6,7268–6
15April 27Phillies7–3Kison (2–1)Twitchell—7,0549–6
16April 29Astros3–11BannisterReuss (0–3)—7,1869–7
17April 30Astros10–0Rooker (3–1)Konieczny—6,54010–7 :
May: 16–10 (Home: 10–3; Away: 6–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
18May 1Astros4–3 (10)Gossage (3–0)Forsch—25,37111–7
19May 2@ Braves11–1Kison (3–1)Capra—9,14812–7
20May 3@ Braves8–7 (11)Tekulve (2–0)NiekroJackson (1)7,97713–7
21May 4@ Braves8–0Demery (1–1)LaCorte—3,89014–7
22May 6Reds6–3Candelaria (3–0)BillinghamGossage (3)16,25815–7
23May 7Reds12–10Forster (1–0)ZachryTekulve (2)16,79916–7
24May 8Reds6–4Jones (1–1)NormanGossage (4)27,00317–7
25May 10Braves3–0Rooker (4–1)CapraTekulve (3)18–7
26May 10Braves2–1Demery (2–1)CollinsGossage (5)5,71319–7
27May 11Braves2–1Candelaria (4–0)NiekroGossage (6)6,81620–7
28May 12Braves1–6LeonKison (3–2)—10,16120–8
29May 13@ Astros0–3LemongelloReuss (0–4)Forsch10,51220–9
30May 14@ Astros6–2Demery (3–1)AndujarGossage (7)25,15221–9
31May 15@ Astros3–1Tekulve (3–0)Richard—9,34022–9
32May 17@ Reds3–0Candelaria (5–0)BillinghamGossage (8)30,57523–9
33May 18@ Reds3–8NormanReuss (0–5)Borbon28,01123–10
34May 19Dodgers6–5 (10)Gossage (4–0)Hough—17,98824–10
35May 20Dodgers1–6HootonDemery (3–2)—34,94324–11
36May 21Dodgers3–4JohnRooker (4–2)—32,67424–12
37May 22Dodgers11–4Candelaria (6–0)Sutton—30,58325–12
38May 24Mets5–2Reuss (1–5)MatlackForster (1)9,30926–12
39May 27@ Cubs2–4BonhamCandelaria (6–1)Sutter14,59326–13
40May 28@ Cubs3–6ReuschelRooker (4–3)Sutter34,77926–14
41May 29@ Cubs2–3HernandezGossage (4–1)Sutter39,51726–15
42May 30@ Phillies4–6CarltonKison (3–3)—32,25326–16
43May 31@ Phillies5–6ReedTekulve (3–1)—23,73126–17 :
June: 12–17 (Home: 7–6; Away: 5–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
44June 1@ Phillies3–0 (8)Candelaria (7–1)Christenson—28,23427–17
45June 3Cubs5–0Rooker (5–3)Burris—20,15228–17
46June 4Cubs3–4KrukowReuss (1–6)Sutter26,20228–18
47June 5Cubs5–4Jones (2–1)BonhamGossage (9)51,58029–18
48June 6Giants1–3 (12)LavelleGossage (4–2)—6,63529–19
49June 7Giants6–7BarrDemery (3–3)Moffitt6,79529–20
50June 8Giants2–3CurtisRooker (5–4)Lavelle6,99529–21
51June 10Padres10–7 (11)GossageFingers—10,49929–21
52June 11Padres1–4ShirleyCandelaria (7–2)Fingers11,26229–22
53June 12Padres6–1Reuss (2–6)Jones—30–22
54June 12Padres7–4Kison (4–3)SawyerGossage (10)21,64031–22
55June 14@ Dodgers2–3WallGossage (4–3)—36,12231–23
56June 15@ Dodgers1–10RhodenJones (2–2)—32,43631–24
57June 16@ Dodgers2–3 (11)HoughGossage (4–4)—34,35031–25
58June 17@ Giants3–4HeaverloReuss (2–7)Lavelle4,78931–26
59June 18@ Giants5–7 (12)MoffittForster (1–1)—10,23131–27
60June 19@ Giants0–8KnepperRooker (5–5)—31–28
61June 19@ Giants6–8HeaverloJackson (0–1)Moffitt23,07831–29
62June 20@ Padres5–3Tekulve (4–1)ShirleyGossage (11)26,03032–29
63June 21@ Padres9–2Candelaria (8–2)Tomlin—14,26533–29
64June 22@ Padres3–1Reuss (3–7)GriffinGossage (12)14,62434–29
65June 24Expos6–5 (10)Gossage (5–4)Kerrigan—27,65035–29
66June 25Expos10–2Kison (5–3)Brown—7,72136–29
67June 26Expos7–4Tekulve (5–1)RogersGossage (13)37–29
68June 26Expos3–6McEnaneyGossage (5–5)—20,58337–30
69June 27@ Cardinals1–6FalconeReuss (3–8)—18,23937–31
70June 28@ Cardinals1–6SchultzForster (1–2)—37–32
71June 28@ Cardinals3–13UnderwoodJackson (0–2)—33,99737–33
72June 29@ Cardinals9–1Kison (6–3)Rasmussen—15,24838–33
73June 30@ Phillies1–8CarltonJones (2–3)—36,16238–34 :
July: 20–10 (Home: 15–1; Away: 5–9)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
74July 1@ Phillies6–7 (14)GarberJackson (0–3)—34,64038–35
75July 2@ Phillies3–4BrusstarReuss (3–9)Reed41,82838–36
76July 3@ Phillies7–11ChristensonKison (6–4)—28,55538–37
77July 4Cardinals5–2Rooker (6–5)UnderwoodGossage (14)39–37
78July 4Cardinals4–3Tekulve (6–1)Eastwick—22,81040–37
79July 5Cardinals3–7ForschCandelaria (8–3)—10,83740–38
80July 6Cardinals11–8Tekulve (7–1)Hrabosky—13,13741–38
81July 8Phillies8–7Gossage (6–5)Brusstar—25,20042–38
82July 9Phillies9–8 (12)Forster (2–2)Garber—19,14443–38
83July 10Phillies5–1Reuss (4–9)Lonborg—44–38
84July 10Phillies12–10Jackson (1–3)ReedGossage (15)39,04245–38
85July 11@ Expos2–4BahnsenJones (2–4)—19,76345–39
86July 12@ Expos5–4 (12)Gossage (7–5)Atkinson—14,78146–39
87July 13@ Expos6–1Candelaria (9–3)Rogers—22,79947–39
88July 15@ Mets7–1Rooker (7–5)Zachry—48–39
89July 15@ Mets1–6EspinosaReuss (4–10)—20,21948–40
90July 16@ Mets3–5SwanGossage (7–6)Apodaca24,44548–41
91July 17@ Mets3–1Candelaria (10–3)MatlackGossage (16)49–41
92July 17@ Mets3–9KoosmanForster (2–3)—19,49249–42
93July 21Reds6–2Reuss (5–10)Norman—21,71350–42
94July 22Reds8–7 (12)Jackson (2–3)Billingham—38,88851–42
95July 23Reds5–4Rooker (8–5)CapillaJackson (2)28,62552–42
96July 24Braves7–6 (13)Tekulve (8–1)Hargan—22,12353–42
97July 25Braves6–3Reuss (6–10)Niekro—8,75254–42
98July 26Astros3–2Candelaria (11–3)RichardGossage (17)11,88255–42
99July 27Astros3–2 (11)Tekulve (9–1)McLaughlin—11,25356–42
100July 28Astros9–4Rooker (9–5)Larson—16,40057–42
101July 29@ Braves3–5NiekroKison (6–5)—9,50557–43
102July 30@ Braves10–6Forster (3–3)Collins—19,00658–43
103July 31@ Braves3–8SolomonCandelaria (11–4)Hanna12,46758–44 :
August: 18–12 (Home: 10–5; Away: 8–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
104August 1@ Astros3–4 (11)LemongelloGossage (7–7)—11,76958–45
105August 2@ Astros6–3 (10)Jackson (3–3)Larson—15,80559–45
106August 3@ Astros0–3NiekroKison (6–6)—14,74559–46
107August 5@ Reds12–1Reuss (7–10)Norman—60–46
108August 5@ Reds10–6Jackson (4–3)Capilla—50,08561–46
109August 6@ Reds3–8SeaverForster (3–4)—44,26761–47
110August 7@ Reds0–6SotoRooker (9–6)—40,02861–48
111August 8Cubs7–6Jackson (5–3)Reuschel—25,80262–48
112August 9Cubs1–4BurrisReuss (7–11)Hernandez28,34162–49
113August 10Cubs2–1 (18)Demery (4–3)Broberg—32,83163–49
114August 11Mets9–1Jones (3–4)Zachry—9,26064–49
115August 12Mets3–2Rooker (10–6)Koosman—65–49
116August 12Mets6–5 (12)Demery (5–3)Siebert—18,99466–49
117August 13Mets2–0Reuss (8–11)Matlack—32,21267–49
118August 14Mets6–3Candelaria (12–4)EspinosaTekulve (4)17,94568–49
119August 16@ Cubs5–6 (15)HernandezDemery (5–4)—24,03968–50
120August 17@ Cubs2–4ReuschelRooker (10–7)—29,78668–51
121August 18@ Cubs7–6Reuss (9–11)BurrisTekulve (5)24,02769–51
122August 19Giants6–1Candelaria (13–4)Knepper—16,83170–51
123August 20Giants1–5HalickiJones (3–5)—15,94770–52
124August 21Giants4–5LavelleGossage (7–8)Moffitt32,23270–53
125August 22Padres0–1ShirleyRooker (10–8)Fingers7,37570–54
126August 23Padres7–6Gossage (8–8)Fingers—8,10571–54
127August 24Dodgers1–2 (10)JohnGossage (8–9)Garman20,01871–55
128August 25Dodgers2–1Candelaria (14–4)RauDemery (1)17,16472–55
129August 26@ Padres3–1Kison (7–6)OwchinkoGossage (18)18,69673–55
130August 27@ Padres4–0Reuss (10–11)Jones—14,73274–55
131August 28@ Padres10–1Rooker (11–8)Shirley—10,37175–55
132August 30@ Giants3–1Candelaria (15–4)Montefusco—12,69976–55
133August 31@ Giants3–6BarrKison (7–7)—4,26776–56 :
September: 17–10 (Home: 8–4; Away: 9–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
134September 2@ Dodgers2–10HootonReuss (10–12)—39,27676–57
135September 3@ Dodgers4–6SuttonRooker (11–9)Garman44,50576–58
136September 4@ Dodgers2–8JohnJones (3–6)—36,68676–59
137September 5Phillies3–1Candelaria (16–4)LerchGossage (19)77–59
138September 5Phillies1–11CarltonKison (7–8)—40,42377–60
139September 6Phillies5–4 (11)Gossage (9–9)Garber—15,13678–60
140September 7Cardinals5–4Forster (4–4)DennyTekulve (6)7,21979–60
141September 8Cardinals9–5Demery (6–4)EastwickGossage (20)4,84880–60
142September 9Expos1–2DuesJones (3–7)Stanhouse7,62880–61
143September 10Expos2–4TwitchellCandelaria (16–5)Kerrigan7,69780–62
144September 11Expos10–4Kison (8–8)Holdsworth—9,47081–62
145September 12@ Phillies2–6ChristensonReuss (10–13)—42,14581–63
146September 13@ Phillies2–0Rooker (12–9)KaatGossage (21)42,63882–63
147September 15@ Cardinals4–3Candelaria (17–5)RasmussenGossage (22)83–63
148September 15@ Cardinals7–10SuttonDemery (6–5)Eastwick9,08183–64
149September 16@ Expos0–5SchatzederKison (8–9)Stanhouse7,02683–65
150September 17@ Expos6–3Whitson (1–0)LandrethGossage (23)12,67484–65
151September 18@ Expos7–5 (11)Tekulve (10–1)Rogers—25,09785–65
152September 20@ Mets4–2Candelaria (18–5)Espinosa—3,37286–65
153September 21@ Mets4–0Kison (9–9)KoosmanGossage (24)5,04487–65
154September 23@ Cubs2–0Rooker (13–9)HernandezGossage (25)3,75788–65
155September 24@ Cubs7–3Forster (5–4)BrobergJackson (3)14,97089–65
156September 25@ Cubs4–0Candelaria (19–5)Reuschel—17,81590–65
157September 27Mets1–7EspinosaKison (9–10)—3,37990–66
158September 28Mets3–2Rooker (14–9)SwanGossage (26)2,67391–66
159September 29Mets5–2Forster (6–4)MedichTekulve (7)2,50492–66
160September 30Cubs3–1Candelaria (20–5)Reuschel—8,50793–66 :
October: 2–0 (Home: 2–0; Away: 0–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
161October 2Cubs5–1Jones (4–7)BurrisJackson (4)94–66
162October 2Cubs3–2Gossage (10–9)Lamp—20,41895–66 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss Bold = Pirates team member :

### Notable transactions

* June 7, 1977: Wayne Tolleson was drafted by the Pirates in the 12th round of the 1977 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign.
* June 15, 1977: Ed Kirkpatrick was traded by the Pirates to the Texas Rangers for Jim Fregosi.
* July 27, 1977: The Pirates traded a player to be named later to the Seattle Mariners for Dave Pagan. The Pirates completed the deal by sending Rick Honeycutt to the Mariners on August 22.
* August 18, 1977: Doug Frobel was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent.

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Duffy Dyer | 94 | 270 | 65 | .241 | 3 | 19 |
| 1B | Bill Robinson | 137 | 507 | 154 | .304 | 26 | 104 |
| 2B | Rennie Stennett | 116 | 453 | 152 | .336 | 5 | 51 |
| SS | Frank Taveras | 147 | 544 | 137 | .252 | 1 | 29 |
| 3B | Phil Garner | 153 | 585 | 152 | .260 | 17 | 77 |
| LF | Al Oliver | 154 | 568 | 175 | .308 | 19 | 82 |
| CF | Omar Moreno | 150 | 492 | 118 | .240 | 7 | 34 |
| RF | Dave Parker | 159 | 637 | 215 | .338 | 21 | 88 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Ed Ott | 104 | 311 | 82 | .264 | 7 | 38 |
| Willie Stargell | 63 | 186 | 51 | .274 | 13 | 35 |
| Fernando González | 80 | 181 | 50 | .276 | 4 | 27 |
| Ken Macha | 35 | 95 | 26 | .274 | 0 | 11 |
| Mario Mendoza | 70 | 81 | 16 | .198 | 0 | 4 |
| Bobby Tolan | 49 | 74 | 15 | .203 | 2 | 9 |
| Jim Fregosi | 36 | 56 | 16 | .286 | 3 | 16 |
| Jerry Hairston | 51 | 52 | 10 | .192 | 2 | 6 |
| Miguel Diloné | 29 | 44 | 6 | .136 | 0 | 0 |
| Dale Berra | 17 | 40 | 7 | .175 | 0 | 3 |
| Ed Kirkpatrick | 21 | 28 | 4 | .143 | 1 | 4 |
| Mike Easler | 10 | 18 | 8 | .444 | 1 | 5 |
| Tommy Helms | 15 | 12 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Edwards | 7 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| John Candelaria | 33 | 230.2 | 20 | 5 | 2.34 | 133 |
| Jerry Reuss | 33 | 208.0 | 10 | 13 | 4.11 | 116 |
| Jim Rooker | 30 | 204.1 | 14 | 9 | 3.08 | 89 |
| Bruce Kison | 33 | 193.0 | 9 | 10 | 4.90 | 122 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Odell Jones | 34 | 108.0 | 3 | 7 | 5.08 | 66 |
| Larry Demery | 39 | 90.1 | 6 | 5 | 5.08 | 35 |
| Terry Forster | 33 | 87.1 | 6 | 4 | 4.43 | 58 |
| Ed Whitson | 5 | 15.2 | 1 | 0 | 3.45 | 10 |
| Tim Jones | 3 | 10.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 5 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Goose Gossage | 72 | 11 | 9 | 26 | 1.62 | 151 |
| Kent Tekulve | 72 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 3.06 | 59 |
| Grant Jackson | 49 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3.86 | 41 |
| Al Holland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.71 | 1 |
| Dave Pagan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 4 |
| Mario Mendoza | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 0 |

## Awards and honors

1977 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
* Dave Parker, outfield, starter
* John Candelaria, reserve
* Goose Gossage, reserve

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Columbus Clippers | International League | Tim Murtaugh and Johnny Lipon |
| AA | Shreveport Captains | Texas League | Johnny Lipon and Tim Murtaugh |
| A | Salem Pirates | Carolina League | Steve Demeter |
| A | Charleston Patriots | Western Carolinas League | Jim Mahoney |
| A-Short Season | Niagara Falls Pirates | New York–Penn League | Luther Quinn |
| Rookie | GCL Pirates | Gulf Coast League | Woody Huyke |