Harry & Howie, Judy, Diomedes...or Not?
- 1884 - RHP Harry Camnitz was born in McKinney, Kentucky. He worked once for the Pirates in 1909, going four innings and giving up a pair of runs, but that was long enough for him to became an early brother act with sib Howie, who won 109 games with the Bucs. Harry did have a strong minor league career, once winning 27 games for the McKeesport Tubers.
- 1899 - 3B William Julius "Judy" Johnson was born in Snow Hill, Maryland. The Hall-of-Famer spent the twenties as a stalwart of the legendary Hilldale Darby teams, then played and managed for the Homestead Grays in 1929-30. He also was with the Pittsburgh Crawfords, serving as team captain from 1932-1936. Judy retired after 17 seasons with a career .290 BA. The New York Times wrote "...as a third baseman, Johnson was often compared with Pie Traynor," and the paper recalled Philadelphia Athletics owner Connie Mack’s comment about Johnson: "If Judy were only white," Mack said, "he could name his own price."
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| Judy Johnson - undated photo from Negro Leagues Museum |
- 1983 - LHP Frankie Liriano was born in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic. One of the Pirates most notable reclamation projects, the southpaw went 23-18 with a 3.20 ERA from 2013-14 for the Bucs and won the 2013 "Comeback Player of the Year" award.
- 1989 - RHP Diomedes Mateo was born in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic. John Dreker in Pirates Prospects “This Date In Pirate History” noted that the Bucs were hoodwinked by Mateo, who they signed under the false pretense that he was a 16-year old player named Yoldi Sierra, not the 20-year old Mateo. The MLB found out, suspended Mateo for two seasons, and he was out of organized ball following the 2012 season.
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