1975 National League Championship Series
Encyclopedia
Game 1
Saturday, October 4, 1975 at Riverfront StadiumCinergy Field
Riverfront Stadium , later known as Cinergy Field , was the home of the Cincinnati Reds National League baseball team and the Cincinnati Bengals National Football League team. Located on the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati, the stadium was best known as the home of "The Big Red Machine," as the...
in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
The Reds cuffed four Pirate hurlers for 11 hits in the opener, breezing to an 8–3 triumph. Even Reds pitcher Don Gullett got into the act, getting two hits, one a home run and driving in three runs.
Game 2
Sunday, October 5, 1975 at Riverfront StadiumCinergy Field
Riverfront Stadium , later known as Cinergy Field , was the home of the Cincinnati Reds National League baseball team and the Cincinnati Bengals National Football League team. Located on the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati, the stadium was best known as the home of "The Big Red Machine," as the...
in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
The Cincinnati regulars took batting practice in Game 2, banging out 12 hits as four more Pirate hurlers trudged to the mound. Tony Pérez
Tony Pérez
Atanasio Pérez Rigal , more commonly known as Tony Pérez, is a former Major League Baseball player. He was also known by the nickname "Big Dog," "Big Doggie," and "Doggie."...
was the big cannon in the Reds' artillery, getting three hits, one homer, as he drove in three runs. The final score was 6–1.
Game 3
Tuesday, October 7, 1975 at Three Rivers StadiumThree Rivers Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball franchise and National Football League franchise respectively.Built as a replacement to...
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
The only drama of the Series came in Game 3 played at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium.
The home team sent left-hander John Candelaria
John Candelaria
John Robert Candelaria . He attended The Caton School P.S. 249. Nicknamed "The Candy Man," is a former professional left-handed pitcher who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, California Angels, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, and Los Angeles...
to the hill to try to stem the Red tide and the 21-year-old rookie responded magnificently. He yielded a solo homer to Dave Concepción in the second inning, but going into the eighth had a 2–1 lead, the result of Al Oliver's two-run homer in the Pirate sixth inning. Candelearia struck out the first two batters in the eighth. That gave him a total of 14 for the game, a new playoff record. Concepción's circuit clout had been the only Reds hit to that point.
But, inexplicably, he lost his control and walked the weak-hitting Merv Rettenmund
Merv Rettenmund
Mervin Weldon Rettenmund is a former Major League Baseball player and coach. He played thirteen seasons with the Baltimore Orioles , the Cincinnati Reds , the San Diego Padres and the California Angels ....
, a pinch-hitter. Pete Rose
Pete Rose
Peter Edward Rose , nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989....
then blasted a home run to put the Reds ahead, 3–2. When Joe Morgan
Joe Morgan
Joe Leonard Morgan is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Oakland Athletics from 1963 to 1984. He won two World Series championships with the Reds in 1975 and 1976 and was also named the...
followed Rose's homer with a double, Candelaria left the game. The Pirates tied the game in the ninth when Reds relief pitcher Rawly Eastwick walked in the tying run with two out.
But it all served to merely delay the inevitable. The Reds got three hits and two runs off veteran Ramón Hernández, the third Pittsburgh hurler, in the top of the tenth and then held on to clinch their third pennant of the decade.
Composite box
1975 NLCS (3–0): Cincinnati RedsCincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
over Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - 1975 NLCS