Friday, July 24, 2015

7/24: Roberto: Award Performances; Little Poison HoF; HBD Barry, Preston; Wandy Deal; Good Bat Day

  • 1899 - The Pirates swept a pair from Philadelphia‚ winning both games on ninth inning blasts by rookies. After the Phils scored five in the ninth in the opener‚ Jimmy Williams hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the frame to win‚ 9-8. In the nitecap‚ Ginger Beaumont tripled with the bases loaded to cap a 5-4 victory.
  • 1901 - The Pirates scored in every inning while defeating the Reds 11-2 at Exposition Park. Jesse Tannehill tossed a seven hitter for the win. Ginger Beaumont had four hits and Claude Ritchey tripled twice as the Bucs banged out 14 hits, four for triples. The Pittsburg Press opined that “The Reds as they are now made up should not be able to win from the Pirates in a hundred years.”
Ginger Beaumont 1906 Fan Craze series
  • 1927 - OF/1B Preston Ward was born in Columbia, Missouri. Ward came to Pittsburgh as part of the Kiner deal, and was a back-up/platoon guy from 1953-56, hitting .240 in 305 games. He spent nine years in MLB, mostly serving as a reserve for five teams.
  • 1931 - The Brooklyn Dodgers banged out 21 hits during the game (Babe Herman hit for the cycle) and scored three times in the ninth, but reliever Larry French put down the rally as the Bucs hung on for an 8-7 win at Forbes Field. The Pirates had 13 knocks, seven for extra bases, and jumped out to an early 8-1 lead behind Pie Traynor’s three RBI and Eddie Phillips’ homer.
  • 1956 - Honored at a Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce luncheon before the game, Roberto Clemente proved his plaudits were well deserved by leading the Bucs to a 6-2 win over the Chicago Cubs at Forbes Field. Roberto drove in four RBI on three shots to left center: a sacrifice fly, a triple off the wall, and a homer into Schenley Plaza. Ron Kline got the win with help from Howie Pollet.
  • 1964 - Barry Bonds was born in Riverside, California. The slugger, a first round pick in the 1985 draft, spent seven summers in Pittsburgh, putting up a line of .275/176/556 with two All-Star appearances before really busting out with San Francisco, where he became the all-time HR leader.
Barry Bonds 1992 Stadium Club Members Only series
  • 1967 - With his induction into the Hall of Fame, Lloyd Waner joined Paul as the first pair of brothers to be enshrined at Cooperstown. Little Poison played for 18 seasons, hitting .316 while amassing 2,459 hits.
  • 1969 - The Pirates beat the Padres in walkoff fashion at Forbes Field with a 4-3, 10-inning win. Carl Taylor’s double in the extra frame brought home Matty Alou for the game-winning run. Willie Stargell and Richie Hebner added solo shots. Dock Ellis went the distance for the win.
  • 1970 - 43,290 fans showed up for Roberto Clemente day at TRS. Pirate ownership buried him with gifts (cash gifts were, at Clemente’s request, donated to charities), and he put on a show of his own, cracking a pair of hits and making a couple of diving grabs in the field during an 11-0 thumping of the Houston Astros. Danny Murtaugh pulled him in the eighth inning so he could get a final ovation on the night (he also had cut his knee making a catch); several fans had made the trip from Puerto Rico to help honor their native son. Dock Ellis tossed a four-hitter behind a 15 hit attack.
Roberto & family on his day (photo Ed Morgan/Pittsburgh Press)
  • 1973 - The NL romped over the AL 7-1 at Royals Stadium in the All Star game. Dave Giusti pitched a clean seventh inning and Willie Stargell K’ed against Nolan Ryan in his only at bat.
  • 1979 - A baffling fourth inning call resulted in a 34 minute rhubarb during the Pirates-Reds game at TRS. With Buc runners on 1st and 3rd‚ a 3-1 pitch to Omar Moreno was called a ball‚ but Johnny Bench threw to 2B ahead of the runner from 1B‚ Lee Lacy‚ who was going on the pitch. Lacy was called out by ump Dick Stello even though the runner was entitled to second base after the walk. After questioning the out call, Lacy left the base and was tagged out again by Dave Concepcion‚ reigniting the argument. The Bucs protested the game, but NL president Chub Feeney upheld the call and the Pirates 6-5 loss was in the books.
  • 2004 - The whole Pirate attack chipped in during a 14-4 romp over the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park. The Buccos had 11 batters with at least a hit and banged out six doubles as 10 different players scored and eight Pirates drove in runs. Jason Bay had three hits and three RBI while Jose Castillo scored four times to lead the attack. The Bucs scored seven times in the sixth to take control.
Jason Bay 2005 (photo Getty Images)
  • 2008 - The Bucs won their fourth in a row by hammering the Padres at PNC Park by a 9-1 score. Nate McLouth, Jason Bay and Xavier Nady homered while Yoslan Herrera tossed six scoreless frames to claim the win, his first in the majors. For the X-Man, it was his last Bucco blast - he was traded to the Yankees two days later. The streak had begun with a sweep of the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park; during their short winning string, the Pirates hit 10 homers and outscored Houston and San Diego by a 34-13 count.
  • 2012 - Wandy Rodriguez was traded by the Houston Astros with cash to the Pirates for minor league prospects RHP Colton Cain, LHP Rudy Owens and OF Robbie Grossman as the Bucs looked to shore up their stretch run rotation. Wandy ended up injury prone, and made just 31 starts with 11 wins as a Pirate until he was released in late May of 2014.
  • 2013 - Francisco Liriano and Stephen Strasberg hooked up in a 1-0 battle, with the Pirates up, going into the ninth. Both starters turned the game over to the bullpens, and that’s when the fun started. The Bucs put up a three spot on Drew Storen, with Mike McKenry’s two run knock being the big blow, and Washington came back at Nationals Park to score a pair off Justin Wilson until Jason Grilli came to the rescue in a 4-2 Pirate win. The only score in the first eight frames came on a second inning homer by Pedro Alvarez.

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