Lefty swinging RF Dave “The Cobra” Parker was one of the best outfielders the Pirates ever had. He made 4 All Star teams and he won 3 Gold Gloves in his 11 years with the Pirates. He saved his best for the 1978 season when he won the N.L. MVP Award by playing in 148 games in which he was 194 of 581 (.334 avg, .979 OPS) with 102 runs scored, 30 homers, 117 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Parker played in 1,301 games in his 11 years with the Pirates in which he was 1,479 of 4,848 (.305 avg, .848 OPS) with 728 runs scored, 166 homers, 758 RBIs and 123 stolen bases. Parker is #5 all-time in homers (166) and he’s #7 in doubles (296) in Pirates’ history. Parker was part of the “We Are Family” era of the Pirates which was the version I remember the best as those were good times.

Lefty starting pitcher John Candelaria was known as the “Candy Man” in Pittsburgh. He was a darn good pitcher for them too. He pitched in 345 games (271 starts) in his 12 years for the Pirates and he was 124-87 with 16 saves, a 3.17 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. His best year for the Pirates was 1977 when he worked in 33 games (all starts) in which he was 20-5 with a 2.34 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. He finished 5th in the voting for the Cy Young Award in 1977. Candelaria is #7 all-time in Pirates’ history in games started (271) and he is also #5 in strikeouts (1,159). The “Candy Man” will always have his place in Pirates’ history as he was on the “We Are Family” Pirates team that won a World Series.

Willie “Pops” Stargell played all 21 of his years in the major leagues for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played in 2,360 games in his career with the Pirates and he was 2,232 of 7,927 (.282 avg, .889 OPS) with 1,195 runs scored, 475 homers and 1,540 RBIs. Stargell is #7 all-time in hits for the Pirates, #5 in runs scored and he is the teams’ all time leader in both home runs and RBIs. Stargell tied with Keith Hernandez of the Cardinals for the MVP Award of the N.L. in 1979 at the age of 39 years old. He played in 126 games in 1979 for the Pirates in which he was 129 for 424 (.281 avg, .904 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 32 homers and 82 RBIs. Stargell led the N.L. in homers in both 1971 (48) and 1973 (44). He was a 7-time All-Star for the Pirates and he is in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. where he will always live despite dying on April 9th, 2001.