Thursday, October 24, 2013

10/23-24: The Irishman, Lloyd McClendon, Bill Kuehne, The Antelope, Junior, Rafe, Maz...

The Irishman, Lloyd McClendon, Bill Kuehne, The Antelope, Junior, Rafe, Maz...

  • October 23, 1958 - The Associated Press named Danny Murtaugh as its major league manager of year. After his first full year, the team improved by 22 games and finished 14 game over .500. 
  • October 23, 2000 - The Pirates hired deposed manager Gene Lamont’s batting coach, Lloyd McClendon, as their the new skipper even though he had no prior experience as a manager. McClendon spent his last five MLB seasons in a Bucco uniform. 
  • October 24, 1858 - 3B Bill Kuehne was born in Leipzig, Germany. He played every position but pitcher and catcher, hitting .240 in Pittsburgh (Alleghenys 1885-89, Burghers 1890). His best years were with the Alleghenys, hitting .299 in 1887 and leading the NL with 138 games played in 1888. Kuehne was fleet afoot, averaging 15+ triples per season. 
  • October 24, 1952 - Pirate CF Omar Moreno was born in Puerto Armuelles, Panama. “The Antelope” played eight years in Pittsburgh (1975-82) and led the league in stolen bases twice, swiping 487 sacks as a Buc. He hit .333 against the Orioles in the 1979 World Series. 
  • October 24, 1959 - C Adalberto “Junior” Ortiz was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico. Junior caught for the Bucs from 1982-83, spent a year with the Mets, and came back again between 1985-89. In seven seasons, the reserve hit .264 as a Pirate. 
  • October 24, 1961 - SS Rafael Belliard was born in Pueblo Nuevo, Dominican Republic. He played his first nine seasons (1982-90) in Pittsburgh as a good glove shortstop, hitting .218 during that time but ranking first in the NL in fielding percentage in 1988. Belliard went on to play the second half of his career in Atlanta, and was part of the ‘91-92 teams that eliminated the Bucs in the NLCS. 
  • October 24, 1972 - Bill Mazeroski retired from the Pirates after 17 seasons. He only played 34 games and hit .188 in his final campaign as a bench infielder.

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