Barry Bonds, Manny Sanguillen top moments with Pirates

This story was excerpted from Alex Stumpf’s Pirates Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

It’s without question that all three hold a special place in Pirates history. Leyland – now a Cooperstown inductee – took the team from the lows of the mid-1980s and led them to three division titles. Bonds won a pair of National League MVP Awards with the Pirates. Sanguillen was part of two championship teams and has been one of the most recognizable and public Pirates alumni these past few decades, still often being seen outside of Manny’s BBQ at PNC Park to sign autographs, take photos and flash million dollar smiles.

“Never in my dreams did I think I would be a Hall of Famer,” Sanguillen said outside that BBQ shortly after he got the news that he was going into the team’s Hall of Fame. “… I want to thank everybody here in Pittsburgh, everybody out there, for giving me the opportunity to do what I should do.”

Before the two hitters get inducted, let’s take a look back at some of their greatest hits and performances with the Pirates, and relive why they belong in Bucs history:

Bonds: Aug. 12, 1991 – Trying to hold off second-place St. Louis for the NL East crown, Bonds clinched a big series win with a two-homer performance where he also stole a base, the second homer being a two-run blast in the 11th off future Hall of Famer Lee Smith to clinch a 4-3 Pirates win. The 0.805 change in win probability is the most impactful swing of any game’s chances of winning in Bonds’ career.

Sanguillen: Oct. 16, 1971 – Sanguillen’s most iconic moment from the 1971 World Series has to be him and Steve Blass celebrating as the final out was recorded, but the catcher had a big series at the dish too, batting .379 with a pair of stolen bases. That includes his three-hit performance in Game 6, part of a 15-hit postseason that ranks fourth all-time in Pirates history.

Bonds: Oct. 13, 1992 – Trailing 3-2 in the NL Championship Series, Bonds opened the scoring in a win-or-go-home Game 6 with a solo shot off future Hall of Famer Tom Glavine. Bonds would pick up another hit later in an eight-run inning, and behind a Tim Wakefield complete game, the Pirates would go on to force a Game 7.

Sanguillen: Oct. 11, 1979 – Sanguillen was in the twilight of his career by 1979, but he had one more big hit left in him. Pinch-hitting for Don Robinson in Game 2, Sanguillen dropped a two-out base hit to right to score Ed Ott, who just beat Eddie Murray’s relay throw home for the winning run.

Bonds: Sept. 18, 1992 – Bonds is the only player in Pirates history to have a 30-steal, 30-homer campaign, doing so in both of his MVP campaigns. He hit more home runs in the latter campaign though, crushing 34 round-trippers, including this one off of Phillies lefty Terry Mulholland to rejoin the 30-30 club.

Sanguillen: Oct. 4, 1980 – In the penultimate game of his Major League career, Sanguillen again came off the bench (this time for pitcher Pascual Perez) and delivered a base hit to left. That hit was the 1,500th of his career, making him just one of 33 catchers to reach that mark, and topped in Pirates history by only Jason Kendall.

Sanguillen: Sept. 1, 1971 – Perhaps I’m cheating a bit here by including a second game, but it’s always worth remembering that Sanguillen was also behind the plate as the Pirates fielded the first All-Minority lineup in baseball history. He also had himself a ballgame, homering as part of a two-hit, two-run, two-RBI performance, as the Bucs would beat the Phillies, 10-7.