Tuesday, December 10, 2013

12/10: No More Wet One, Bob Priddy, Forbes Field History, Dale Sveum, Derek Bell, Catcher Swap, Bobby Crosby...

No More Wet One, Bob Priddy, Forbes Field History, Dale Sveum, Derek Bell, Catcher Swap, Bobby Crosby...

  • 1919 - The National League, spearheaded by the leadership of Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss, banned the spitball, which he believed was an unfair advantage against hitters. Old wet tossers were registered and spared through a grandfather clause. The AL initially resisted, then passed their own ban the following season. 
  • 1939 - RHP Bob Priddy was born in McKees Rocks. He only spent his first two seasons with the Pirates (1962, 1964; 2-2-1, 3.86 ERA, 37-⅓ IP), but had a nine-year career with the San Francisco Giants, Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox, California Angels and Atlanta Braves. 

Topps 1964 - the future of Pirate pitching, Bob Priddy & Tom Butters

  • 1958 - Pitt agreed to buy Forbes Field from the Pirates and lease it to them for five years, or until a new municipal stadium is built. It took a bit longer than five years; Three Rivers Stadium wouldn't open until 1971. 
  • 1999 - Dale Sveum was signed as a free agent. He played three seasons for the Pirates (1996-97, 1999), and also managed at Altoona from 2001-03, winning an Eastern League Manager of the Year award before landing big league jobs at Milwaukee and Chicago. 
  • 2000 - In a day they came to rue, the Pirates signed free agent OF Derek Bell of "Operation Shutdown" fame to a two year contract worth $9.75M. 
  • 2008 - The Pirates, in a swap of catchers, traded Ronny Paulino to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jason Jaramillo. 
  • 2009 - The Pirates signed FA IF Bobby Crosby to a $1M deal with another $500K possible in bonus money. He hit .224, was traded to Arizona and was out of baseball after 2010.

No comments: