Monday, September 19, 2016

9/19 Happenings: HBD Stuffy & Robinzon, Jay's 8-RBI, Danny's 26-Gamer, #4 Retired & More...

  • 1882 - Rookie Guy Hecker of the American Association Louisville Eclipse (Colonels) tossed a no hitter against the Pittsburgh Alleghenys, winning 3-1 at Eclipse Park. He would join the Pirates in 1890, albeit for his final MLB season.
  • 1890 - 1B Stuffy McInnis was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Stuffy, a solid contact hitter and glove man, spent the tail end of his 17-year career as a Pirate in 1925-26. McInnis still had a sharp stick, hitting .337 over that span and .286 in four games of the 1925 World Series against the Washington Senators, retiring after the 1927 campaign. He picked up his nickname as a youngster playing in Boston, where his feats on the field brought shouts of "that's the stuff, kid."
  • 1953 - Danny O'Connell hit safely in his 26th game‚ a 4-1 loss to the NY Giants at the Polo Grounds. The streak ended the next day and was the second longest in Pirate history.
Danny O'Connell 1951 Bowman
  • 1983 - 1B/OF John Jaso was born in Chula Vista, CA. The Bucs signed the 32 year old to a two year, $8M deal after Jaso hit .286 and produced a .380 OBP/.839 OPS in 70 games with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2015. JJ was primarily a catcher and DH in the show until the 2015 campaign, when concussion woes necessitated a switch of positions. He was converted by Pittsburgh to a full-time first baseman to replace Pedro Alvarez after El Toro was non-tendered following the 2015 season.
  • 1983 - C Robinzon Diaz was born in Monte Plata, Dominican Republic. He was the return for the Jose Bautista deal with Toronto in a deal Neil Huntington would no doubt like to claim a mulligan. Diaz played briefly in 2008-09 for Pittsburgh, hitting .289 in 43 games but he couldn’t beat out Jason Jamarillo for the back-up spot due to defensive shortcomings. After bouncing around in AAA, he took a gig in the Mexican League this season.
Robinzon Diaz 2010 Topps
  • 1987 - Ralph Kiner’s number 4 was retired. The Mets won the game at TRS 5-4 in front of 20,933 fans in a match that he announced. The slugger was a Hall-of-Famer, and in his eight years as a Buc, he hit .280 with 301 HR and 801 RBI.
  • 1997 - The Pirates held a Roberto Clemente commemoration night, unveiling a video of his career highlights followed by his widow Vera tossing out the first pitch at TRS before playing the Cards. They lost 6-5 in front of 16,235.
  • 2003 - Jason Bay drove in eight runs in a 10-9 loss to the Cubs, hitting a pair of homers and a double in the first game of a DH split at PNC Park.

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