Well aware of the abundance of talent in the Pittsburgh system, Murtaugh asked to reclaim the managing job after Larry Shepard was fired in the last week of the season. Once medically cleared, he became skipper of the Pirates once again. (Only hours after this re-hiring on October 9, Don Hoak, his third baseman on the 1960 World Series champion Pirates and a manager in the Pirates' farm system in 1969, died of a heart attack after believing he was a leading contender to manage the parent club.) His first two clubs won the 1970–71 National League East Division titles. Although the squad fell in that season's National League Championship Series to the Cincinnati Reds, Murtaugh's 1971 Pirates defeated the San Francisco Giants in the NLCS and then captured the 1971 World Series with a memorable comeback from a two-games-to-none deficit against the favored Baltimore Orioles. That World Series was marked by the brilliant performance of future Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente, who batted .414 with 12 hits to lead his team to the championship.