Willie Stargell Biography

Willie Stargell played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1962 to 1982, spending his entire career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Stargell hit 296 home runs during the 1970s, the most of any player in that decade. He batted .282 with 2,232 hits, 475 home runs, 1,540 runs batted in, and 1,194 runs scored over his career. Stargell was selected as an All-Star seven times and led the National League in home runs on two occasions. He hit 18 home runs that cleared the 86-foot-high right-field stands at Forbes Field during his career. Stargell made his MLB debut in 1962 at the age of 22, beginning his professional career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Before the 1968 season, a personal trainer worked with Stargell to improve his fitness, though he had a poor season that year.