Sunday, December 22, 2013

12/22: Connie Mack, Matty Alou, Lee Mazzilli, Teke, Todd Ritchie, Dewey, Garrett Jones...

Connie Mack, Matty Alou, Lee Mazzilli, Teke, Todd Ritchie, Dewey, Garrett Jones...

1862 - Cornelius “Connie” Mack was born in East Brookfield, Massachusetts. Mack was a back up catcher for the Pirates from 1891-96, hitting a modest .242. Mack's last three seasons in the NL were as a player-manager with Pittsburgh from 1894 to 1896, leading to a 50 year gig as manager of the Philadelphia Athletics (1901–1950), where he won five World Series and became a Hall-of-Fame skipper.
1938 - CF Matty Alou was born in Bajos de Haina, Dominican Republic. Obtained from the Giants for the 1966 season, he became a hitting machine under Harry “The Hat” Walker’s tutelage. In his time in Pittsburgh, he won a batting title and hit .300+ for four straight years. Mateo was traded to the Cards for the 1971 campaign after hitting .327 as a Pirate.
1982 - OF Lee Mazzilli was traded by the New York Yankees to the Pirates for minor leaguers Don Aubin, John Holland, Jose Rivera and RHP Tim Burke. Burke had an eight year career as a reliever with 100+ saves while Mazzilli played 3-½ years (1982-85) for Pittsburgh, appearing in the outfield and first base while putting up a .244 Bucco BA.

 Topps 1985 series

1983 - Kent Tekulve re-signed with the Pirates for three years/$900K per season. In 1983, Teke had 18 saves and a 1.64 ERA for Pittsburgh.
1998 - RHP Todd Ritchie signed as a free agent with the Pirates. Ritchie won a career-high 15 games in 1999, and was the Pirates’ Opening Day starter in 2001. In his three Pirate seasons, he went 35-32/4.29 for the Bucs before he was dealt to the White sox for Kip Wells, Josh Fogg and Sean Lowe after the 2001 campaign.
2008 - C Ryan Doumit signed a three year, $11.5M extension that bought out his arbitration years, with a team option for 2012/13 worth $15.5 M. The Pirates didn’t pick up the option seasons, and Dewey signed with Minnesota.
2008 - The Bucs signed FA 1B/OF Garrett Jones to a minor-league deal. He was on the big club by mid-season and never looked back, playing for Pittsburgh through 2013 before joining the Miami Marlins.

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