3/14: Kenny & Matt Sign, Roberto Banged Up, Hans Threatens Retirement; RIP Harold & Ed, HBD Butch, Earl, Bunker & Denny

• 1850 - IF Denny Mack (McGee) was born in Mauch Chunk (now Jim Thorpe) Pennsylvania. Mack spent eight years in the big leagues (National Association, National League and American Association) as a bench player, getting into more than 60 games just once in his career. His final campaign was in 1883 with the Alleghenys, where he was used in the infield, batting .196. He managed in the minors for four years afterward before passing away young at the age of 38. 
• 1869 - RHP Billy “Bunker” Rhines was born in Ridgway, Elk County. He tossed for the Bucs at the end of his career in 1898-99, going 16-20/3.95 after twice leading the NL in ERA as a Red before his arm gave out and he was released in June. Bunker did have one league leading stat as a Bucco in 1898 - he tossed 258 frames without allowing a homer. The nickname “Bunker” may be a mispronunciation of Rhines' alma mater, Bucknell, although that is uncertain. 
• 1908 - Honus Wagner confirmed his retirement at the age of 34, citing arthritis and the need to rest his body. The Pittsburgh Press wrote that “Some hope is still expressed that the mighty Teuton will see...the error of his way and return to the game.” He did after sitting out spring training. Hans played in 151 games in 1908, matching his 1898 high when he was just 24, and led the NL in batting average for the sixth time at .354, hits (201), total bases (308), doubles (39), triples (19), RBIs (109), stolen bases (53), slugging % (.542), OBP (.415) and OPS (.957). The Flying Dutchman finished the year two homers short of winning the Triple Crown. Honus retired several times in a regular rite of spring, but didn’t actually hang up his spikes until after the 1917 campaign. In better news for the Buccos, 1B Harry Sawcina did sign, leaving Mooney Gibson as the only holdout. He eventually agreed to a deal and played in Pittsburgh through 1916. 

Earl Smith - 1925 Pgh. Press photo

• 1928 - OF Earl Smith was born in Sunnyside, Washington. Smith had a brief two-week career in the show, getting into five games for the Bucs and going 1-for-16 in April 1955 before being sent back to the minors, never to return. But he is the answer to a popular trivia question: Smith was the last player to wear #21 on the Pittsburgh Pirates' roster before Roberto Clemente. The Great One was a rookie that year and began the season wearing #13, but he claimed #21 (the number of letters in his full name, Roberto Clemente Walker) when Smith was sent down. 
• 1956 - Coach Harold “Butch” Wynegar was born in York, Pennsylvania. Butch had a 13-year career as a catcher with two All-Star selections and The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award in 1976. He began coaching in 1974 with stops in the Rangers, Brewers and Yankees systems and big-league jobs as Texas 1999 bullpen coach and Milwaukee’s hitting coach under Ned Yost from 2003-06 and then coached in the New York Yankee system. He joined the Pirates organization in 2015 as Indy’s hitting instructor; he moved on to Bradenton and left the coaching ranks after the 2018 campaign. His nickname dates back to his infancy when his grandma looked in the crib and declared that young Harold “looked like a Butch” per Douglas Looney of Sports Illustrated. 
• 1966 - Former Post-Gazette Bucco beat writer Ed Balinger passed away at the age of 97. “Bal” was born in Damascus, Ohio, graduated from Mt. Union College and made his way to the Pittsburgh Post (it merged with the PPG in 1927) in 1903 from the Canton Repository. He started covering the Pirates in 1909 and chronicled over 5,000 games before retiring in 1946, continuing to contribute stories until he suffered a stroke in 1951. Ed also served as sports editor and posted articles in several national publications; he also occasionally penned a cartoon for the paper. 
• 1969 - After recovering from a right shoulder injury, Roberto Clemente banged his left wing chasing a foul pop during a spring game, which prompted a trip back home to Puerto Rico to visit his own doctor. He started the year 0-for-12, but kept on to finish with a .345 BA, second to Pete Rose’s .348 in a race that went down to the last day. Roberto was hitting .363 in August, but a cranky back kept him on the bench for much of September and likely cost him the crown. 

Arriba - 1969 Topps

• 1978 - IF Matt Kata was born in Avon Lake, Ohio. After spending four seasons on-and-off the MLB rosters of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers, Kata was signed by the Bucs in June 2007. He played some infield, outfield and pinch hit, batting .250 in 88 ABs, and was released at the end of the year, signing with the Colorado Rockies. The Pirates got him back in early 2008, and he spent the year at Indy before moving on to the Houston Astros. His 2009 ‘Stros season was his last of five part-time campaigns and he retired after two more AAA years at age 33. 
• 1986 - Harold Arlin passed away at age 90 in Bakersfield, California. On August 5th, 1921, Arlin announced the first MLB game ever broadcast on radio for KDKA, an 8-5 Bucco win over the Phils at Forbes Field, providing a template that was copied throughout baseball. He was heard across the nation and did games through 1925, when he retired from radio and took a day job in Mansfield, Ohio. He returned to the format for a last hurrah in 1972 at Bob Prince’s invitation, doing play-by-play with The Gunner as his grandson, Steve Arlin, was on the hill for the San Diego Padres against the Pirates at TRS. Harold had a lot of feathers in his cap - he also broadcast college football, boxing and tennis matches, was the first to do celebrity interviews and the first to announce the results of a presidential election (1920 - Warren Harding/James Cox ) over the airwaves. 
• 2003 - OF Kenny Lofton agreed to a one-year/$1.025M deal with the Pirates. Kenny took over in center, bumping Brian Giles to left and Reggie Sanders to right. They formed a sweet swinging if somewhat grizzled trio (Lofton was age 35, Sanders 36, & Giles the baby at 32) with some punch. But Lofton didn’t last out the year as he was traded to the Cubs on July 23rd with Aramis Ramirez for not a heckuva lot in return in Dave Littlefield’s most infamous salary dump. Kenny hit .277 with 18 swiped sacks and nine long balls in his abbreviated Bucco tour of duty. After he left baseball, he spread his wings to become the CEO of a movie production company, Film Pool and headed an investment firm.

3/13: Billy Crystal At Bat..., Mo Cut, Latino OF, Roberto In Vegas HoF; HBD Manny, Jason, Gary, Al, Eddie & Chappie

• 1875 - RHP Charles “Chappie” McFarland was born in White Hall, Illinois. After four years with the Cardinals, he spent his final campaign of 1906 spinning for three clubs, including six outings with the Bucs. He went 1-3/2.55, with five starts after Pittsburgh sent Ed Karger to the Cards for his services in June; by August he was waived and finished his MLB days with Brooklyn by making one final start. Chappie had an MLB brother, Monte, who tossed for the Cubs. After McFarland's baseball career ended, he jumped into show biz by opening the first vaudeville theater in Houston, then becoming a movie theater manager. 
• 1918 - Utilityman Eddie Pellagrini was born in Boston. He lost four years to the service but still put in eight seasons in MLB, with his last two seasons served (1953-54) with the Bucs, hitting .237. After retiring, Pellagrini spent 32 years as the manager of the Boston College Eagles. He got his career off to a hot start when in 1946, Eddie hit a home run in his first MLB at bat with the Red Sox. 
• 1939 - OF Al Luplow was born in Saginaw, Michigan. He closed out his seven-year MLB career as a Buc in 1967 after coming over from the NY Mets, hitting .184 in 55 games. Al made one of baseball’s great grabs in 1963 when he went flying over a five-foot OF fence to steal a three-run homer from Boston's Dick Williams at Fenway Park, landing in the bullpen and climbing back over the wall with the ball raised in his hand. Ex-Pirates OF’er Jordan Luplow, who is now playing in Mexico after a six-team, seven-year MLB tour, is Al’s great-nephew. 

Gary Kolb - 1969 KDKA Promo Photo

• 1940 - All-purpose player Gary Kolb was born in Rock Falls, Illinois. Kolb played all three OF spots, 2B, 3B and catcher for the Bucs in 1968-69 (he played every position in the minors and all but pitcher and short in the majors). But while the glove was willing, the bat was weak and he hit just .186 as a Pirate, ending his seven-year, four-team MLB career. His cousin Danny, a righty reliever, also finished his nine-year run in the majors as a Bucco in 2007. 
• 1955 - Per Thomas van Hyning of SABR, Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rico), Carlos Bernier (Puerto Rico) and Roman Mejías (Cuba) became the first major-league all-black, All-Caribbean outfield when Pittsburgh visited the Phils at Clearwater during spring camp. Clemente went 3-for-4 while Bernier & Mejias each added a hit in a 10-inning, 4-3 win. Bernier is considered by many to be the first black Pirate (he played in 1953), but the team gave that nod to Curt Roberts, who joined the club a year later as Bernier was considered Puerto Rican, not black. 
• 1975 - Roberto Clemente and 13 others were inducted into Las Vegas’ Black Athletes Hall of Fame. James Brown hosted and Aretha Franklin provided the entertainment as Roberto (in memory), Roy Campanella and a dozen other athletes were honored at Caesar's Palace Convention Center. 
• 1988 - 1B Jason Rogers was born in East Point, Georgia. He was traded by the Milwaukee Brewers for OF Keon Broxton and RHP Trey Supak depth during the 2015 off season as the Pirates were looking to fill a void at first base. However, Jason was bumped from the mix when the Bucs later signed veteran free agents John Jaso and David Freese, then shot himself in the foot by going 2-for-25 in 2016. Rogers was released the following year and took his game to Japan, Mexico and the indie leagues, last playing in 2023. 

Manny Baneulos - 10/2022 photo Joe Sargent/Getty

• 1991 - LHP Manny Banuelos was born in Gomez Palacio, Mexico. The Yankees bought him from the Mexican League in 2008, and he was a Top 50 MLB Prospect, playing in the Futures Game and the Arizona League. Injuries bit him in 2012 and he missed 2013 with TJ surgery. Since then, he’s been with the Braves, White Sox, Yankees again, and is now tossing in Mexico. The Pirates claimed him from NY in 2022, and he debuted as a Buc in early July, giving up a granny to Aaron Judge. He worked 31 games for Pittsburgh with a 2-1/4.96 slash.
• 2002 - 2B Warren Morris went from College World Series hero at LSU in 1996 to starting for the Pirates and finishing in third place in the Rookie of the Year vote in 1999 to being cut - and going unclaimed - OTD. He became a Bucco as part of the Esteban Loaiza deal with Texas in 1998 and started the following year, but saw his batting line drop from .288/15 HR in 1999 to .204/2 HR in 2001, when he spent half the season at AAA Nashville. He got another shot to start in Detroit in 2003, but it was his last MLB hurrah, and he retired after the 2005 season. 
• 2008 - In a spring game against the Pirates, comedian and lifelong Yankee fan Billy Crystal led off as the DH after signing a one-day contract with New York. He made contact, fouling a fastball up the first base line, but was eventually struck out by Paul Maholm on six pitches. He joined Garth Brooks, Tom Selleck and Will Ferrell as celebrities who appeared in a MLB exhibition game.

3/12: Craig Camp Killer, '21 Arb Gang Signed (B-Rey & Mitch Left), '20 Spring's Sudden Stop, Klein HoF; RIP Frankie, HBD Deacon, Alika, Dave, Greg, Raul, Lefty, Reb, Denny & Phil

• 1865 - LHP Phil Knell was born in San Francisco. In a six-year career, he made a pair of stops in Pittsburgh. He started out as a 23-year-old rookie for the Alleghenys in 1888, going 1-2/3.76, and appeared in one outing for the Pirates in 1894 and getting whacked. But during 1890-91, he won 50 games for the Philadelphia Quakers and Columbus Colts. At 5’7” and 155 pounds, he didn’t cut an intimidating figure, but no one in the box ever dug in and got comfortable facing him. In those two seasons, the wild child bopped 82, walked 392 and tossed 39 wild pitches in 748-2/3 IP. Phil started 52 games for the Colts in 1891 and set the season record for hit batsmen with 54. 
• 1866 - 3B Denny Lyons was born in Cincinnati. He played four seasons for Pittsburgh (1893-94; 1896-97) and mustered a .299 BA during that span. He put together a 52-game hitting streak that was largely ignored - it seems that back in the day a walk was considered the same as a hit. Still, it was a pretty impressive on-base skein. Lyons played for 13 campaigns, quitting only after a fastball thrown by Amos Rusie broke two of his fingers that never fully healed. 
• 1899 - OF Ewell “Reb” Russell was born in Jackson, Mississippi. Russell started as a pitcher for the Chicago White Sox in 1912 and was a good one, but developed arm trouble in 1918 and was released. While in the minors, he converted to playing the outfield and became an accomplished hitter. Reb got back to the show with Pittsburgh in 1922-23, and in 511 at-bats hit .323 with 21 HR/113 RBI. His downfall was that though he hit like an outfielder, he played the outfield like he was a pitcher. Still, Russell returned to the minor league American Association and was a highly paid star in the AA through age 40. His eyes stayed as sharp as ever, and he even won the league batting title when he was 38-years-old with a .385 BA. Ewell was nicknamed “Reb” for his Mississippi roots. 
• 1907 - LHP Leroy “Lefty” Matlock was born in Moberly, Missouri. After a cup of coffee with the Homestead Grays in 1932, he closed out the second half of his Negro League career with the Pittsburgh Crawfords from 1933-38, winning 51 games in his first four years, posting a 26-game NNL winning streak and being named to three All-Star teams. He was suspended early in the 1937 season for playing on a Dominican League team and won just four more games in his final two campaigns for the Craws, closing out his career in various Latin leagues. 

Vern Law - Pirates Hall of Fame

• 1930 - RHP Vern “The Deacon” Law was born in Meridian, Indiana. The righty spent his 16-year career with Pittsburgh (1950–1951, 1954–1967), putting up a 162-147/3.77 line and winning the Cy Young Award (he was the first Pirates pitcher to earn the honor) in 1960 with a 20-9/3.05 mark for the World Series champs. Law hurt his ankle during some horseplay after clinching the pennant. A true trouper - the righty pitched through it during the Fall Classic, won twice and left Game #7 with a three run lead - he then tore muscles in his shoulder while compensating for the ankle. Both injuries lingered throughout his career, and his arm woes led him to briefly retire in '63. He had one more strong campaign afterward, going 17-9/2.15 in 1965 when he was named the Comeback Player of the Year. Law was also selected twice as an All-Star. "The Deacon" came by his nickname honestly as Law was a devout Mormon and a church deacon. 
• 1971- OF Raul Mondesi was born in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic. The Pirates signed the 33-year-old vet in 2004 and he had a good introductory month, batting .283 w/two homers & 14 RBI before going home to allegedly handle a personal issue. But he never came back to Pittsburgh, as the trip was a ploy to get out of his contract. It worked - he was released in May and signed with Anaheim 10 days later, hit .118 and was cut in August. In 2005, the Braves became his last stop in a 13-year career; he batted .211 and was released in May. Mondesi became mayor of San Cristobal after baseball but still couldn’t shake controversy. In 2017, a Dominican court handed him an eight-year sentence and fined him $1.25M for embezzling funds while in office. 
• 1971 - RHP Greg Hansell was born in Bellflower, California. He closed out a four-year, four-team MLB run in 1999 with the Pirates, posting a 1-3/3.89 line in 33 outings following a June call up from AAA Nashville. In December, Hansell was purchased by the Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese League. He tossed there through 2002, but big league comeback attempts in 2003 & ‘04 fell short. After serving minor league depth assignments, Greg retired after the 2004 campaign. 
• 1973 - Frankie “The Fordham Flash” Frisch passed away at the age of 74 as the result of a car crash. The Hall-of-Fame 2B played for the NY Giants & the St. Louis Gashouse Gang, serving as their player/manager from 1933-37 and winning the MVP in 1931. He was the Pirates skipper from 1940-46 with a 539-528 record, but never took a title, finishing higher than fourth just once in seven seasons. He went on to become a broadcaster and Chairman of the HoF Veterans Committee. 

Dave Williams - 2001 Donruss Studio

• 1979 - LHP Dave Williams was born in Anchorage, Alaska. He spent four seasons (2001-02, 2004-05) with the Bucs, going 17-26 with a 4.25 ERA while reuniting with high school teammate Ian Snell. Williams was traded to Cincinnati for Sean Casey after the 2005 season. He had surgery for a herniated disc in his neck in 2007 and never was sharp afterward, ending his pro career after the 2009 season following a 2008 stint in Japan and a year in the minors. 
• 1980 - OF Chuck Klein was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. Klein batted .320 over a 17-year career with the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and one season with the Pirates, 1939, when he hit .300 in his last stellar campaign. He was inducted on August 3rd. 
• 1999 - IF Alika Williams was born in San Diego. He was a first round (#37) pick of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2020 out of Arizona State. The Pirates sent reliever Robert Stephenson to the Rays for Alika in June, 2023. The good glove/weak bat Williams raked in Indy and was called up in July. In limited action, he kept to his rep (.211 BA) and again in ‘24 (.207 BA). Alika was DFA’ed in February, cleared waivers and is back in camp as a NRI where he’s a longshot to crack the infield mix. 
• 2019 - Free agent Craig Monroe hit three home runs as the Pirates won, 6-4, over his former club, the Minnesota Twins, at McKechnie Field. Monroe smacked eight home runs in camp, but that performance didn’t carry over to the games that counted. He hit .215 w/three HR during the season and was released on July 1st to end his nine-year, five-team big league career. 
• 2020 - The Pirates lost 7-5 to the Toronto Blue Jays at Bradenton in a Grapefruit League game, and it proved to be their last contest of the originally scheduled preseason. While the two clubs were playing, the MLB announced they were pulling the plug on spring training and delaying the start of the season by at least two weeks in response to the coronavirus threat. It trickled down to the minors; MiLB joined in, saying they were delaying the scheduled April 9th kickoff of the farm season to a yet undetermined date (it finally canceled minor league ball in 2020 in favor of “alternate camp” sites). The Bucs and Jays fudged a bit on the closure - the MLB said the shutdown was to begin at 4PM, but the clubs decided to finish the game in its entirety and played 16 minutes past the deadline. Camps resumed in late June and a shortened season began July 23rd. 
• 2021 - The Pirates agreed to contracts with all 30 of their pre-arb guys with no petulance from the crew. Notable players inked were Bryan Reynolds, Kevin Newman, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Edgar Santana, Mitch Keller, Cole Tucker, Geoff Hartlieb, Michael Feliz and Anthony Alford.

3/11: Paul, Trevor, Freeser, KY, Barry & Dennis Sign, Deacon Bonus, WBC Spectrum, Tim Slows Down; HBD Rich, Solly, Dock & Ed

• 1918 - C Ed Fernandes was born in Oakland, California. Ed had two tours of duty in MLB, the first as a 22-year-old rookie for the Pirates in 1940 after starting in the minors at 17. It didn’t end so well with Fernandes batting .121 in 28 games. He seasoned for a while, served in the Navy, popped up again with the Chicago White Sox in 1946, hit .250 in a brief stay, and then finished out his career on the farm, retiring after 18 years of pro ball at age 36. Ed managed in the minors for a spell before taking a day job with the Matson Ship line. 
• 1945 - One of the Bucs more colorful characters, RHP Dock Ellis, was born in Los Angeles. He pitched nine seasons (1968-75, 1979) for Pittsburgh, with a slash of 96-80/3.16, and tossed the infamous LSD no-hitter against San Diego in 1970. He was part of the early seventies juggernaut that was in four NLCS tilts and won a World Series. Ellis cleaned up his act after his 1980 retirement and remained sober for the rest of his days, devoting his post-baseball life to counseling drug addicts before he died of cirrhosis in 2008 at the age of 63. 
• 1956 - Vern Law picked up a little extra pocket money after an outstanding spring outing against the Kansas City Athletics at Terry Park. He tossed three no-hit innings and smacked a grand slam, earning a ten-spot from Fort Myers (then the Bucs’ spring home) barber Virgil Harris, who promised $5 to every Pirates batter to homer and every Pirates pitcher to go three or more scoreless innings in the home ballyard; the Deacon was two-for-two in bonus bingo. 
• 1972 - RHP Salomon Torres was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. After coaching for three years and then spending 2001 in foreign leagues, he staged a comeback and tossed for the Bucs between 2002-07 with a line of 26-28-29/3.63. In 2006, his 94 pitching appearances led the MLB and tied the Pirate record held by Kent Tekulve. His final year was 2008 with the Brewers, retiring afterward to spend time with his family. His lifetime MLB line was 44-58-57 with a 4.31 ERA, working for five teams through 12 seasons. 

Rich Hill - 2023 Topps 

• 1980 - LHP Rich Hill was born in Boston. The Bucs signed him as a 42-year-old in the 2022-23 offseason to a one-year/$8M deal, as he checked off the veteran lefty box on the FO’s wish list. Hill, who slashed 8-7/4.27 in 26 starts for Boston in ‘22, was entering his 19th MLB campaign with the Pirates becoming the 12th club he’s worked for, and was valued for his mentoring as well as his mound work. He was swapped to the Padres at the deadline after slashing 7-10/4.76 in 22 starts, released by San Diego in September and then spent time with Boston and Kansas City. He announced he was sitting out 2026, but never mentioned retirement, leaving his future open. 
• 1989 - Barry Bonds signed a $360K contract w/incentives after pulling down $215K in ‘88. He was looking for a $500-600K deal after hitting .283 w/24 homers, but was 43 service days shy of arbitration, so the Pirates had all the leverage. BB had a so-so 1989 season (.248/19 HR), then took off in 1990, winning the NL-MVP along with his first All Star, Silver Slugger and Golden Glove honors. 
• 1992 - 39-year-old RHP Dennis Lamp signed a minor league deal as a FA with the Pirates for the league minimum of $109K to close his six-team, 16-season MLB journey. After a knock-off-the-rust stint at Buffalo, he went 1-1/5.14 in 21 outings for the big club and was released in June to close his MLB book. 
• 2000 - 1B Kevin Young returned after an off season knee procedure, doubling and scoring in his spring debut. A key component in the middle of the Pirates order, he had a solid 2000 campaign in the first season of a four-year/$24M deal, capping a 1998-2000 run that rang up a slash of .276/.344/.481 along with 73 HR/302 RBI. But from 2001-03, his production nosedived - his line was just .236/.315/.397 with 32 HR/123 RBI over that period, and the end of the contract was also the end of his MLB career. Since 2022, KY has been a rotating color analyst on both the radio and TV broadcasts for the Pirates along with being a free-lance hitting consultant.
• 2006 - The Pirates got back WBC players Jason Bay and Yurendell DeCaster, a pair of guys who were on opposite ends of the Bucco totem pole in 2006. Bay, fresh from signing a four-year/$18.5M contract extension, went on to an All-Star campaign, batting .286 with 35 homers and 109 RBI. DeCaster, a utility infielder, started the year in the minors and was called up twice. He got into three games, whiffing twice, and was released at the end of the year. 

Jason Bay - 2006 Upper Deck Future Stars

• 2016 - The Pirates inked David Freese to a one year/$3M contract. An All-Star and World Series MVP for St. Louis, Freese came to the Bucs as a free agent after a two-year stint with the LA Angels. He was signed to cover for the early season loss of regular 3B Jung Ho Kang, who was rehabbing a leg injury, and to add a veteran bench presence when JHK returned. They liked his work. Freeser hit .270 w/13 dingers, playing both infield corners and even five innings at second base. In late August, the Pirates signed Freese to a two-year contract extension worth $11M with a club option for 2019 and he slashed .263/10 HR in 2017. He platooned at third the following year before being traded to the Dodgers at the deadline. David played through 2019 before retiring at age 36. 
• 2021 - The Pirates agreed to a $1.5M deal with 33-year-old free agent RHP Trevor Cahill, with another $1M available in bonus bucks (the agreement was officially announced the next day after the physical). The 12-year vet went 1-2/3.24 (4.19 FIP) for San Francisco in 2020 in 11 games (six starts) and in the prior two years, he started 17 games while making 48 outings for the Los Angeles Angels and Giants. Though it was assumed the Pirates brought him aboard to compete for a back end rotation spot, he also offered the fallback position as a long man/spot starter. Neither scenario worked out as he was put on the IL in July with calf injury after posting a 1-5/6.57 line and didn’t return. Trevor was in the Mets system in ‘22 and retired in 2025 after a comeback in the indie leagues. 
• 2022 - After 34 years behind the mic, PNC Park public-address announcer Tim DeBacco decided to give up his full-time gig, coasting out by doing early afternoon games and retiring from the mic after the campaign. He started in 1988 at TRS after winning an open audition. Tim kept occupied as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ organist and a real-life marketing/communications director. 
• 2025 - Paul Skenes reportedly agreed to an $875 K MLB salary ($115K more than base) with a minor league salary of $282,474 in the unlikely event that he ever sees the farm again. The Bucs announced on the next day that all 25 of their pre-arb class signed without a fuss. That group includes Skenes, Oneil Cruz, Jared Jones, Nick Gonzales, Jared Triolo, Endy Rodriguez, Henry Davis and Spence Horwitz. Alika Williams also inked a contract.

3/10: Reggie Signs, Heaton-Gibson, Lange/Blass, Ladies Day, New CBA; HBD Josh, Tike, John, Art, Jack, Judge, Gene, Chief & Dad

• 1862 - Utilityman Ed “Pops/Dad” Lytle was born in Racine, Wisconsin. Pops (he was 28 when he reached the majors) had a 16-game big league career in 1890, appearing in 15 of the contests with the Alleghenys and playing 2B/OF while hitting .145. He played 12 years of organized ball starting in 1889 that concluded in 1900 and likely seasoned himself in the indie and semi-pro leagues during his younger days on teams that didn’t make the record-keeping annals. 
• 1871 - OF John “Chief” Kelty was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. The 19-year-old Kelty played for the 1890 Alleghenys in his only big league stop, hitting .237 in 59 games as part of a posse of 12 players who roamed the pasture for Pittsburgh at one time or another during that 113-loss season. He dropped out of the record books (even his batting/throwing sides are undocumented) after playing in the minors in 1891, presumably returning to his hometown. 
• 1873 - IF Gene DeMontreville was born in St. Paul. Gene played two games for the Pirates in his 1894 rookie season, hitting .250 in eight at-bats, and then went on to have an 11-year MLB career along with a 36-game hitting streak between 1896-97 with Washington, the 10th longest batting run in baseball history. Gene posted a .303 lifetime BA and six .300+ campaigns. 
• 1880 - RHP Walter “Judge” Nagel was born in Santa Rosa, California. He began his big league career with the Pirates in 1911, signed by Barney Dreyfuss after a strong run in the Pacific Coast League, with three consecutive 20-win campaigns. He slashed 4-2/3.62 in eight games here. Judge was sold to the Red Sox in June, and that stop was the end of his MLB career. Judge may have missed the California sun, too - he played nine minor league campaigns; the first eight were with LA of the PCL, with the final season spent with San Jose in 1913. Nagle wrote a book afterward titled “Five Straight Errors On Ladies Day” about his baseball life. He got his “Judge” nickname by association as he grew up beside the Santa Rosa Courthouse, where his dad worked. 
• 1889 - RHP Harry “Jack” Mercer was born in Zanesville, Ohio. His major league career lasted one inning, tossed in 1910 as an August audition for the Pirates, allowing no runs on two walks and one strikeout. He was fairly well touted in the minors, but had control issues he couldn’t overcome, and after two years on the farm, his days in pro ball ended following the 1911 season. 

Pgh Press - 3/11/1894

• 1894 - The Pittsburgh Pirates announced that they would issue free season tickets for ladies, good for Tuesday and Friday games at Exposition Park, per the Pittsburgh Press. The New York Gothams introduced the ladies day concept in 1883 and Pittsburgh finally bought into the concept. 
• 1906 - RHP Art Herring was born in Altus, Oklahoma. Art closed out his 11-year career in 1947 with the Pirates after the Bucs bought his contract from the Brooklyn Dodgers during the ‘46 offseason. The 41-year-old Herring made 11 appearances out of the pen for the Pirates in 1947 with a 1-3-2/8.44 slash and was released in late June, retiring after the season. 
• 1963 - OF John Cangelosi was born in Brooklyn. The hustler hit .243 between 1987-90 for Pittsburgh, and in ‘87 became the first Pirate in 21 years to steal home. Cangelosi played 13 years for seven clubs; Pittsburgh was his longest stay with one team. He now operates Cangelosi Baseball, located inside the Bo Jackson's Elite Sports Dome, a Chicago-based sports training facility.
• 1977 - OF Julian “Tike” Redman was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He played five of his six MLB seasons (2000-01, 03-05) in Pittsburgh as a reserve outfielder, with a .281 BA. He had a decent stick, but ended up the odd man out when Nate McLouth and Chris Duffy were called to the show. He finished out his pro career in 2011 after playing in the Mexican and indie leagues. 
• 1987 - Mike Lange and Steve Blass were named announcers for the Bucco broadcasts on cable channel TCI following their 1986 debut. It was an unexpected return for the pair, as Ray Goss, Duquesne basketball announcer, and WPXI sportscaster Don Brinson were strong contenders to replace them and were in fact rumored to have the inside track. But a last minute compromise on contract terms saved the day for Lange and Blass, who broadcast 54 games for TCI in ‘87. 

Kirk Gibson - 1992 Topps

• 1992 - The Pittsburgh Pirates traded LHP Neal Heaton to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for OF Kirk Gibson in what ended up as a minor deal. Heaton, a 1990 All-Star, was released the following season while Gibson hit just .196 for the Bucs and was given his walking papers in early May. Kirk did have three decent seasons for Detroit and old skipper Sparky Anderson afterward, hitting .273 with 45 HR during that span before hanging up his spikes in 1996. 
• 1995 - Utilityman Josh VanMeter was born in Ossian, Indiana. He was a three-year MLB man, with his time split between Cincy and Arizona, before the D-Backs traded him to the Pirates for minor league RHP Listher Sosa in 2022. He had put up a .212 BA over that span, but played three infield positions and corner outfield, checking the Bucs versatility box. He kept that part of the bargain, playing six different positions (including pitcher) plus DH’ing as needed, but his dexterity wasn’t enough to overcome his .187 BA and he was released after the season. It was his last MLB gig and Josh retired in 2025. 
• 2003 - OF Reggie Sanders signed a one-year/$1M contract that had been announced pending his physical on February 19th, but because of a 40-man logjam, wasn’t made official until this date. Reggie earned every penny of the belated deal by hitting .285 with 31 HR/87 RBI, and the big campaign paid off for him as he left the following year and turned his slash into a two-year/$6M deal with St. Louis. Reggie remained productive over the final four years of his career (.263/56 HR) before hanging up his glove after an injury-shortened 2007 season. 
• 2022 - After a 99-day lockout, MLB and the MLBPA came to terms on a new five-year CBA after a series of contentious meetings. The deal increased the Competitive Balance levels and minimum salary figures, but ignored the cap/floor issue entirely as neither side had an appetite to rework it. They pushed most of the non-economic changes down the road, except for adopting the universal DH, and returned to traditional game standards for the season, with items like pitch clock, base size, defensive positioning, automatic ball/strike zone, etc. handed off to a MLB/MLBPA Rules Committee. The season was played in full, with a new 12-team playoff setup in effect that pushed the World Series to November 5th.

Weekly Report: Cutch To Texas, Grapefruit Results, Nicolas-for-Callihan, Minor News, MLB Moves

The battles heat up...

Pirates Stuff: 

• The Pirates traded RHP Kyle Nicolas to the Reds for IF/OF Tyler Callihan. Nicholas split '25 between Indy and the Bucs; he's projected as a middle man due mainly to control problems that kept him at arms length from a backend role. The multi-positional Callihan (primarily 2B & 3B were his spots) was called up to the Reds in late April, but broke his arm a couple of weeks later to end his season.
• The Pirates optioned injured duo 3B Jack Brannigan (broken nose) and RHP Ryan Harbin (lat issues) to Indy.

Jack Brannigan - 2023 Topps

• The Pirates Spring Breakout roster was announced. This year, the prospect showcase will feature a round robin format and will run between March 19-22. The Bucs open by hosting the Tigers on the 20th.
• The Pitsburgh farm system was ranked third by MLB Pipeline. Here's their list of the Top 30 Buc Prospects.
• It's a sad day for the Bucco Nation - Cutch left town tafter signing a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers.

Camp Stuff:

• The Bucs kept rolling with a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. Young 'uns Yordany De Los Santos and Javier Rivas went deep (back-to-back!) while Mike Clevinger was solid on the hill. In a Tuesday exhibition, the Pirates bopped Team Colombia, 7-1. Jose Urquidy was strong and Jake Mangum kept impressin'. Wednesday was an off day and on Thursday, the Cards beat the Bucs, 3-2. Alika William's two-run HR was all the damage Buc attack could manage. 
• Friday was asplit squad, two-fer day and not a very good one for the Steel Ciy squads. The Phils outslugged the Corsairs, 14-10, while Jays clocked the Pirates, 9-2. The big scores were mainly due to minor league arms getting lit up -  the starter against the Phils, Bubba Chandler gave up a run in three frames with five K but a still worrisome three walks whle Braxton Ashcraft yielded two runs on three hits with five K in his three-inning start v the Blue Jays, The Bucs banged five HRs during the day, with Ryan O'Hearn, De Los Santos and a trio of pups each popping one over the fence.

Thomas Herrington - 2025 Topps Cosmic

• Pittsburgh rebounded with a 5-3 win on Saturday v the Tigers. Thomas Harrington threw four shutout frames, giving up two hits and a walk while fanning a pair after serving up a thrifty 44 pitches. Pirates pitching wasn't very stellar on Sunday, but blasts by Billy Cook (three hits) and Nick Yorke (three-run shot) provided enough points for the Buccos to take a 9-7 victory from the BoSox.

WBC/MLB Stuff: 

• WBC: The USA won big over Brazil (15-5) and Britain (9-1) over the weekend to start their tourney run while Oneal Cruz impressed with a 450' bomb for the Domincan Republic in their opening dub. On March 9, Skenes will be on the hill against Team Mexico at Daikin Park. If Team USA advances, he'll be on schedule to pitch again in the quarterfinals as needed. He went three US exhibition innings v SF on Tuesday, giving up a run on a hit with four K.

Paul Skenes - 2026 Team USA image via MLB.com

• LHP Joey Wentz, who tossed here in 2024-25 (3-1/3.32) and finished the year with Atlanta, injured his knee as a result of a first-base collision in a spring game; the extent of the injury isn't known yet.
• Oscar Marin, the Bucs former pitching coach, has signed on with the Cincy Reds as their bullpen coach.
• The Dodgers outrighted OF Jack Suwinski to AAA Oklahoma City on Monday. LA had claimed him from the Bucs recently, then DFA'ed him. He went unclaimed, so they could flip him from the 40-man list to a non-rostered depth player, the same ploy the Bucs were hoping to pull off.

3/9: Little League Classic, Rick On the Block, Allies Return, Plan B; RIP Elbie, HBD Arky, Huddy, Benito, Terry, Ed, Jake, Ron, Joe, Billy & Tom

• 1872 - IF Tom Delahanty was born in Cleveland, Ohio. During his brief 19-game, three-year career, he made a quick one-game stop in Pittsburgh in 1896, going one-for-three, scoring and booting a ball at short. He finished the year with Toronto of the Eastern League, getting into one last MLB game with Louisville in ‘97. One of five Delahanty brothers who played in the majors, Tom spent the rest of his career bouncing around the minors through 1906, retiring eventually to Florida to run a general store and moonlight as a fishing guide. 
• 1893 - RF Billy Southworth was born in Harvard, Nebraska. He was a Buc from 1918-20, hitting .294, and then was traded as part of the package for Rabbit Maranville. Southworth reached the Hall of Fame thanks mainly to his managing chops; he won two World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals. He also skippered the Boston Braves, and overall won four flags and 1,044 games in 13 years. 
• 1897 - RHP Ralph Fenton “Joe” Dawson was born in Bow, Washington. After a brief taste of the show with the Indians in 1924, he pitched for the Bucs from 1927-29, mostly from the pen, and went 11-17-3 with a 4.15 ERA. Joe tossed a scoreless frame in the 1927 World Series and hit pretty well for a hurler with a .257 Pirates BA. He hung ‘em up in 1932 following a stint with the Kansas City Blues of the American Association, passing away in Texas at the age of 80. 
• 1900 - The Allegheny’s claimed Jack Chesbro, George Fox, Art Madison and John O'Brien from the Louisville Colonels. The four had been traded to the American Association team the month before for a dozen players, including Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke, Tommy Leach and Deacon Phillippe. At the time, Barney Dreyfuss owned the Colonels, who were due to be eliminated from the NL, and had a 50% silent interest in the Alleghenys back in the era when multi-ownership of franchises was allowed. So he came up with this scheme that in effect combined franchises. Chesbro was the keeper of the group with four good years as a Buc and then a strong career with the Yankees, winning 41 games for them in 1904; the other three didn’t make it to Opening Day. 

Arky Vaughan - 1939 Wheaties

• 1912 - Hall-of-Fame SS Floyd “Arky” (for his birth state) Vaughan was born in Clifty, Arkansas. Vaughan compiled a .318 BA during a 14-year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1932-41) and Brooklyn Dodgers. He was named to nine All-Star teams during that span. Arky hit at least .300 in all 10 of his seasons with the Pirates, walked 937 times during his career, struck out just 276 times and in 1941, he became the first player to hit two home runs in an All-Star game. Arky was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1985. 
• 1932 - RHP Ronnie Kline was born in Callery, Butler County. He spent eight of his 17 big league years (1952, 55-59, 68-69) hurling for the Bucs, going 66-91-14/3.77 for Pittsburgh as a starter, swingman and reliever as his career went on. Called the “Callery Hummer,” he became the mayor of Callery after he left the slab and lived there until he passed away at the age of 70. 
• 1932 - RHP Paul “Jake” Martin was born in Brownstown, near Charleroi. The 6’5”, 235 pounder was a local scholastic legend and signed a two-year bonus baby deal with the Bucs in 1955 on the advice of former Pirates hurler Ron Necciai, a Monongahela HS grad and Mon Valley neighbor. Fitting a common Bucco mold, Jake threw hard but was wild and his ride with the Pirates lasted for just seven appearances. He posted an 0-1 record with seven strikeouts, 17 walks and a 14.14 earned run average. He never had a chance to rebound. Jake injured his arm in August, was shut down and then sent to Cuba for winter league work. Somewhere during that span he tore the ligament in his elbow, ending his mound career. But Jake had no regrets over his short big league career. After he was long retired, he told writer Len Fiorito of Oldtyme Baseball that "I was with the team long enough to get on a baseball card and people still send me the card to sign." 
• 1944 - RHP Ed Acosta was born in Boquete, Panama. Acosta went through the Bucs upper levels in 1970 after coming over from Houston and started his MLB career with three late season appearances that weren’t very pretty (four runs in 2-2/3 IP). In August of 1971, he was traded with Johnny Jeter to the San Diego Padres for Bob Miller. He tossed for the Friars through ‘72, then spent two years as AAA depth and in Venezuela during the winter before calling it a day. 

Ed Acosta - 1971 Pirates Rookie Stars

• 1963 - LHP Terry Mulholland was born in Uniontown and went to Laurel Highland HS. Terry played for the hometown nine briefly, signing as a free agent and working 22 times in 2001 to a 3.72 ERA before being flipped to the Dodgers at the deadline for Mike Fetters. He was an MLB survivor - despite a 4.41 career ERA, he worked 20 years in the show, pitching until he was 43, while tossing for 11 teams and becoming one of the few pitchers to beat every major league club. 
• 1965 - C Benito Santiago was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He closed out his 20-year career in Pittsburgh after the KC Royals traded him to the Pirates for Leo Núñez (actually, Juan Carlos Oviedo, but that’s another story). The Pirates let Santiago go after 23 at-bats to clear playing time for David Ross, who they had bought from the Dodgers. They pivoted quickly on that, sending Ross to San Diego for JJ Furmaniak at the deadline to give Ryan Doumit & Humberto Cota a crack at the job. After the musical chairs played out, it marked the beginning of the playing careers of his trio of replacements but was the end of the road for Benito.
• 1986 - GM Syd Thrift was dangling 33-year-old RHP Rick Rhoden on the trade market and met with reps of the Phils, Braves and Padres, jawing for a possible swap per Charley Feeney of the Post Gazette. No deal came together that spring and Rick stayed with the team. Good thing, too - he earned his second All Star berth by posting a 15-12/2.84 slash to fatten his market value. Rhoden then went to the New York Yankees in late November after some contractual arm-wrasslin’ as part of the package that landed Doug Drabek for the Pirates. 
• 1987 - RHP Daniel “Huddy” Hudson was born in Lynchburg, Virginia. A solid starter in his earlier years, a pair of TJ surgeries limited him to 12 outings between 2012-14 and a transition to the bullpen. He made 134 appearances (7-5-9/4.50) in the two following seasons with Arizona, featuring a 96 MPH fastball, and in December, 2016, the Pirates signed him to a two-year/$11M free agent deal with $3M more available in possible bonuses as a back end arm. After a hot-and-cold campaign (2-7/4.38), he became part of the Corey Dickerson deal with Tampa in 2018. From there, he went to the Washington Nats and then to the Dodgers, retiring on top after Los Angeles won the 2024 World Series. 

Daniel Hudson 4/2017 photo/Pirates

• 1994 - 1B Elbie Fletcher passed away at age 77 in his hometown of Milton, Massachusetts. Elbie joined the Pirates in June of 1939 in a deal with the Boston Braves to replace long-time 1B Gus Suhr, who was traded a few weeks after Fletcher’s arrival. Fletcher manned the spot from then through the 1947 campaign, with a couple seasons lost to the Navy during WW2. He didn’t have much power but was an on-base machine (.403 OBP/128 OPS+ as a Bucco) and a slick fielder. He split his career between Boston and Pittsburgh, spending six years, including his rookie and final seasons, in Beantown. 
• 1998 - The City and County ended decades of debate when they announced plans (Plan B, to be exact) to build two stadiums on the North Shore at a cost of $461M, with construction to begin in the summer of ‘99. PNC Park & Heinz Field both had spring groundbreakings and stayed fairly close to the budget, costing taxpayers $497M, less than a 10% overrun of the estimated cost, which was awfully close to a bullseye for government estimators. Both fields opened for play in 2001. 
• 2017 - The Commissioner announced that the first MLB Little League Classic would be played between Cardinals and Pirates on August 20th at Williamsport’s BB&T Ballpark (formerly known as Bowman Field), the second-oldest minor league ballpark in the United States, opening in 1926. The regular season game, originally scheduled to be played at PNC Park, took place in tandem with the Little League World Series. The Pirates won the game 6-3; Josh Bell homered and chased home four runs to help Ivan Nova claim the win in front of 2,600 fans. They returned in 2019, losing to the Chicago Cubs, 7-1, and future teammate Jose Quintana.

3/8: Kris Signs, Mathias Deal, Nate's Back, Money Moves, Roberto On TV, Casey HoF, Stadia OK'ed, Feds Form; HBD Calvin, Tommy, Jim, Joel, Juan, Toby, Bill, Al, Iron Man & Coldwater Jim

• 1869 - RHP James “Coldwater Jim” Hughey was born in Wakeshma, Michigan. A journeyman, he pitched for the Pirates from 1896-97, going 12-18 with a 5.03 ERA. Coldwater (named for his first minor league outpost and eventually where he settled) is the last pitcher to lose 30 games, doing so for a historically terrible 1899 Cleveland Spider club that finished 20-134 (he did lead the club in ERA and wins). Because of poor attendance, the Spiders did some regular season barnstorming in an attempt to draw some warm bodies and played only 42 home games, resulting in them posting an untouchable record of 101 road losses! 
• 1912 - C Ray “Iron Man” Mueller was born in Pittsburg, Kansas. Iron Man played in Pittsburg (PA, not KS) from 1939-40 and again in 1950, hitting .251. He earned his nickname when he caught every game the Cincinnati Reds played (155) during the 1944 season. Mueller caught a NL-record 233 consecutive games in 1943–1944 and 1946, missing 1945 when he was in the Army. 
• 1913 - The Federal League was born as a six-team outlaw circuit with Pittsburgh (first called simply the “Feds” and later becoming the “Rebels”) among its clubs. It was a minor league during its first season, but became a third major league, along with the NL and AL, from 1914-15. It initiated a costly wage war by signing established players, but the league pockets weren’t deep enough to continue the battle. After 1915, six of the eight teams were bought or merged into the NL/AL, ending the last major league to compete against the established powers. 
• 1917 - C Bill Salkeld was born in Pocatello, Idaho. He began his career as a Pirate, batting .293 from 1945-47 as a spare catcher/pinch hitter and put in six big league campaigns with three teams. Salkeld retired from baseball in 1953 after spending some time in the minors and died young from cancer at the age of 50 in 1967. His grandson Roger, born four years after Bill passed away, was chosen by the Seattle Mariners in the first round of the 1989 MLB Draft, and pitched in 45 games for the Mariners and the Cincinnati Reds during the mid-nineties. 
• 1922 - OF Al Gionfriddo was born in Dysart, in Cambria County. He played four years (1944-47) as a spare OF’er and pinch hitter for the Bucs, batting .276, but made his mark after being traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. He played in the World Series that year and made a famous fence-kissing catch of a Joe DiMaggio blast to rob Jolting Joe of extra bases. As Red Barber famously called it on Mutual Radio: "...back goes Gionfriddo! Back, back, back, back, back, back...he makes a one-handed catch against the bullpen! Ohhh-hooo, Doctor!” ESPN’s Chris Berman adapted the "back-back-back" call as part of his web-gem package. 

Al Gionfriddo - photo via Mainline Autographs

• 1924 - C Maurice “Toby” Atwell was born in Leesburg, Virginia. A strong glove guy, Atwell was a part-time Bucco catcher from 1953-56, batting .250. His career ended the next season; he had injured his knee in the minors and never fully recovered. Toby also answered to “Buster,” after silent film star Buster Keaton, because he spoke so little, per ex-Bucco Nellie King. Lloyd Larsen of the Milwaukee Sentinel added that the Chicago Cubs called him “Three Word” because that’s all he said - “hello” when he arrived at camp and “good-bye” when the season ended. 
• 1949 - RHP Juan Jimenez was born in La Torre, Dominican Republic. Jimenez’s MLB career consisted of four September, 1974, Bucco outings, giving up four runs (three earned) in four IP with six hits and two walks as a mop-up man. He had earned the call after going 6-9/2.66 as a swingman at AAA Charleston. Juan spent the ‘75 campaign there before tucking the ball in his back pocket. 
• 1966 - The Hall of Fame Special Veterans Committee elected Casey Stengel to the Hall. He broke his hip in 1965, ending his managerial career, and the Committee waived his waiting period to make him immediately eligible for Cooperstown. (The electors, who weren’t sure The Ol’ Perfessor would last long enough to become eligible, needn't have worried - he lasted another decade, living to the ripe old age of 85). He was inducted July 25th. Stengel was a Pirate outfielder from 1918-19; his famous "sparrow under the hat" antic was performed as a Bucco. 
• 1967 - RHP Joel Johnston was born in West Chester, PA. He was a Penn State grad and highly touted KC prospect, breaking into Baseball America’s Top 100 (#59). After a poor showing with the Royals, he was traded to the Pirates in 1993 with LHP Dennis Moeller for 2B José Lind, and he rebounded with a line of 2-4-2/3.38 in 33 games. But he bombed the next year and was released in May, 1994. 
• 1968- RHP Jim Dougherty was born in Brentwood, New York. A late round Astros’ draft pick in 1990, he made 56 appearances for Houston in ‘95, then spent the next two seasons sipping cups of coffee with the ‘Stros and A’s. After spending ‘98 in the minors, he signed with the Pirates, made two not-very-effective April outings and was sent to AAA Nashville. Dougherty then tried two other organizations before closing out his career as a Bucco farmhand in 2002, splitting time between the Sounds and AA Altoona during that final pro campaign. 

Don Money - 1965 Topps Custom

• 1977 - The rumor mill was grinding out a possible Don Money deal (a player who Pittsburgh had traded out of the organization a decade before as part of the Jim Bunning package) with Milwaukee to fill a hole at the hot corner. OF Bill Robinson was holding the spot, but the Pirates were looking for a day-to-day vet to man third; they gave up on Richie Hebner after his .249/8 HR ‘76 campaign and let him sign with Philly. The Brew Crew had eyes for OF Miguel Dilone and a pitcher; Pete Peterson was said to be dangling hurlers Jim Rooker/Larry Demery and OF Tony Armas in some combo. An agreement never came together, and Money spent the remainder of his career in Milwaukee. But Pete did get his man - IF Phil Garner came over from Oakland in a huge trade a week later and Scrap Iron kept the position warm until relieved by Bill Madlock in 1979. 
• 1988 - OF Tommy Pham was born in Las Vegas. He was drafted by the Cards in 2006 and began his MLB days with them in 2014. Tommy played for nine teams in 10 campaigns (he was with the Redbirds twice) before signing with the Bucs in 2025 for one-year/$4.025M to fill a corner outfield hole. He sported a .258 career BA with not much of a batting split, and was penciled in to be an everyday guy. He got off to a slow start but picked up steam after switching to new contact lens to finish at .245 in 120 games; he’s now a free agent. 
• 1998 - The TV special “Clemente” aired nationally on Fox Sports. The 45-minute program was produced by Black Canyon, who put together the “When It Was A Game” series for HBO. The show consisted of old clips, file footage and interviews. It was well reviewed and timed to introduce one of the great players of this century to an audience that either never knew him or forgot his accomplishments. 
• 1998 - The City and County ended decades of debate when they announced plans to build two stadiums on the North Shore at a cost of $459M, with construction to begin in the summer of ‘99. PNC Park & Heinz Field both had spring groundbreakings and stayed fairly close to the budget, costing taxpayers $497M, less than a 10% overrun of the estimated cost, which was awfully close to a bullseye for government estimators. Both fields opened for play in 2001. 

Cal Mitchell - 2023 Topps

• 1999 - OF/DH Calvin Mitchell was born in San Diego, California. A second round pick of the Bucs in 2017 from Rancho Bernardo HS, Cal played all three outfield spots and his bat came around in 2021 as a 22-year-old, getting him some notice in the organization. He kept on at Indy the following season (.307/five HR/26 RBI/six SB) and the Pirates called him up to the big team in mid-May after reversing course and opting to play actual outfielders rather than recycled infielders in the pasture. Mitchell was penciled into the lineup the same day he arrived, and collected his first MLB hit and RBI during his debut. He hit .226 in 69 games, with talk of moving him to 1B. But Cal got into just two games in ‘23 and signed as a FA with the San Diego Padres after the season. He’s now playing in the Mexican League. 
• 2001 - Kris Benson signed a four-year contract worth a reported $13-14M that carried him through arbitration. Benson, 26, posted a 10-12/3.85 line in 2000. He missed all of 2001 after TJ surgery and never finished a season with an ERA under four in his remaining seven seasons. He played as a Pirate until the last year of the agreement, when he was sent to the New York Mets in the transaction that returned Jose Bautista to the Bucs after losing him in the 2003 Rule 5 draft. 
• 2007 - The Post Gazette featured a spring camp report wondering if Nate McLouth could hang on to win a bench spot after a disappointing campaign in 2006 (.233 BA). He did go north with the Bucs, joining a rotating cast in center consisting of himself, Chris Duffy, Rajai Davis and Nyjer Morgan, then took command of the pasture by putting together an All-Star season in 2008. It was Nate’s last hurrah here - he was sent to Atlanta in June of 2009 for RHP Charlie Morton, LHP Jeff Locke & OF Gorkys Hernandez to open a spot for rookie Andrew McCutchen. 
• 2023 - The Texas Rangers traded UT Mark Mathias to the Pirates for a PTBNL (RHP Ricky DeVito) after Mathias had been DFA’ed. Mathias, 28, was a third round pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2015 out of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and posted a .277/.365/.554 slash in 74 PA with the Rangers in 2022 after missing 2021 due to shoulder surgery. Selected for his versatility and potential offensive tools, he was called to Pittsburgh twice, appearing in 62 games. MM hit .231, was waived in July as the youngsters made their way up and is now playing for indie club Long Island.

3/7: Where's Freddy?, Olivo Joins Club, Peach Fuzz Forty, Spring Snapshots, Vic HoF, Maz Day, KBL Deal, New Rules; RIP Cool Papa & Pud, HBD Jason, Albert, Dick, Junior & Doc

• 1881 - RHP William “Doc” Scanlan was born in Syracuse. He started his career in Pittsburgh, tossing sparingly from 1903-04 before being sold to the Brooklyn Superbas. Doc was 1-4 with a 4.65 ERA here, but was steady on the slab for some bad Brooklyn teams over the next 6-1/2 years, winning 64 games with a 2.96 ERA and tossing over 1,200 innings. He made baseball history in 1905 when he became one of only a handful of National League hurlers in modern major league history to win two complete games in one day, beating St. Louis, 4-0 and 3-2, on October 3rd. Doc’s nickname was straightforward enough; he was a doctor while a player and quit baseball in his prime (he was 30) for his practice. 
• 1893 - Baseball began to take on its modern form. The NL eliminated the pitching box, a 6’ x 4’ area the pitcher could throw from, and replaced it with the pitcher's rubber, establishing both a set position for pitchers and today’s pitching distance of 60’ 6”. Also, bats had to be rounded - the semi-cricket style of one side being flat for ease of slapping/bunting was made illegal. 
• 1902 - James Pud Galvin, who had spent half of his 16 big league years pitching in Pittsburgh for the Alleghenys, Burghers and Pirates, passed away impoverished at the age of 45 of a stomach ailment. He left behind six kids and a wife in baseball’s pre-pension era; various local funders were held after his death to help the family. In his career, he tossed 6,003 innings and 646 complete games, behind only Cy Young. He was MLB's first 300-game winner in 1888 (he won 365 times), authored two no-hitters and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1965. His original ground-level memorial stone at Calvary Cemetery in Hazelwood was replaced in a ceremony as a result of SABR's 19th Century Baseball Grave Marker Project and is now a resting place befitting a HoF player. 
• 1919 - RHP James “Junior” Walsh was born in Newark. Junior made his pitching debut in 1946 for the Bucs, returning during 1948-51 and never posted an ERA lower than 5.05; during his five years in Pittsburgh, his line was 4-10-1/5.88. He spent most of his 14-year pro career in the Pirates organization, once leading the Western League in whiffs. But he missed the dish even more often than he missed bats - in his years as a pro, he fanned over 800 batters but walked 900+. 

Junior Walsh - photo via Find-A-Grave

• 1931 - C Dick Rand was born in South Gate, California. Rand got into 60 games for the Bucs in 1957, batting .219 and ending his MLB career after three years. He was part of the cattle call of catchers the Pirates rostered in 1957 after starter Jack Shepherd earned a masters degree and surprised the club by retiring to go to work for his alma mater, Stanford. Rand joined Hank Foiles, Danny Kravitz and Harding “Pete” Peterson, who would find more success in the front office (he eventually became the Pirates GM) than on the field, as Bucco backstops during the season. 
• 1958 - OF Albert Hall was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Hall spent his final MLB campaign in Pittsburgh after signing a minor league deal, closing out a yo-yo nine-year career (all but this stop as a Brave) with only two seasons spent entirely with the big club. He got into 20 September games in 1989 for the Bucs after playing with the AAA Buffalo club and hit .182. A noted base-stealer in the minors (he swiped 60+ sacks six times), Hall also was the first Atlanta Brave to hit for the cycle in late 1987; the last time a member of the Braves franchise, Bill Collins, had posted a cycle before then was in 1910 when the team was the Boston Doves. 
• 1960 - The Pirates purchased LHP Diomedes Olivo from Poza Rica of the Mexican League, also throwing in an unnamed minor league infielder. He spent most of the year at AAA Columbus, where he slashed 7-9/2.88 before getting into four late-season games with the big club. When Olivo made his debut on September 5th, 1960, at age 41, he was the oldest rookie to pitch except for Satchel Paige in the post-WW2 era. He had another solid season at Columbus in 1961 and came north in ‘62 to post a line of 5-1-7/2.77 in 62 outings. Diomedes and Dick Groat were shipped in the offseason to the Cards for Don Cardwell and Julio Gotay. Age was just a number to the Olivo clan - his baby brother Chi-Chi took his MLB bow in 1961 when he was 33 years old. 
• 1984 - It was a pretty chirpy day in camp, according to the Pittsburgh Press’ Bob Hertzel. First, John Candelaria called the Pirates “hypocrites” for not renegotiating his four-year contract, estimated to be worth $700K/year and running through 1986, after saying during the past season that the fans could “go to hell” and he wouldn’t mind a trade (and in fact, Joe Brown was talking to Toronto, Atlanta and Houston about possible deals). Later that week, he complained of a sore arm; that was legit and due to a bone chip in his elbow, which was a major stumbling block in contract and trade talk. Then Dave Parker chimed in from Cincy’s camp, complaining about his portrayal in the retired Willie Stargell’s “Out of Left Field” book; not even Pops was immune from the mud balls flying through the spring air. Chuck Tanner, as always, muffled all the noise and carried on. 

Candyman - 1984 Donruss

• 1991 - The Pirates went to Winter Haven to play a spring exhibition against the Red Sox, and it was speculated that the two teams would be swapping training facilities before the next camp opened. For the Bucs, based in Bradenton since 1969, it was a matter of growing impatient with the City-County feud over updating McKechnie Field, which dated back to 1923. But all’s well that ends well; Pittsburgh got its renovations in 1993 (those improvements were freshened up again in 2008), and have held preseason work there for the past 50 years. 
• 1991 - OF Cool Papa Bell, who spent five seasons with the Pittsburgh Crawfords and five more with the Homestead Grays (he hit .300+ in nine of those 10 campaigns; the outlier season saw him hit .291), died at age 87 in St. Louis of a heart attack. His speed was legendary; Josh Gibson made the famous observation that Bell was so fast he could flip the light switch and be in bed before the room got dark. Cool Papa played for 25 years and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1974. 
• 1994 - The Pirates got their first springtime look at Michael Jordan in Bradenton as he tried to transition from roundballer to hardballer. He didn’t have much luck, fanning once and bouncing three balls to the infield, reaching once on 2B Carlo Garcia’s error. The Pirates whipped the White Sox in Grapefruit League play, 3-2, as MJ’s teammates didn’t do much with the bats either. 
• 1995 - The Veterans Committee selected RHP Vic Willis for the Hall of Fame. Willis pitched from 1906-09 with Pittsburgh, going 89-46 with a 2.08 ERA. The workhorse curveballer was inducted on July 30th with 249 career victories on his resume and eight 20+ win seasons, including all four years with the Bucs. Vic also was one of eight pitchers who tossed over 300 innings in a season without giving up a homer when he threw 322 frames in the 1906 campaign w/o yielding a long ball. 
• 1995 - C Jason Delay was born in Plano, Texas. The Pirates drafted Delay out of Vanderbilt in the fourth round of the 2017 draft. He caught for Altoona/Indy/Arizona Fall League from 2019 on (missing the Covid year of 2020) and got his first MLB call when he was activated off the travel taxi squad in 2022, starting the first game of a twin bill the following day, going 0-for-2 with a walk, then being returned to Indy between games. Delay came back in July and knocked incumbent Michael Perez out of a job with his play, even though he only hit .213. He got a longer look in ‘23 and batted .251, but dropped to a third wheel in ‘24, getting just 15 PAs in seven games with a .200 BA. JD was traded to Atlanta in ‘25 and signed with the Boston org for the 2026 campaign. 

Jason Delay - 2024 Topps Heritage

• 1996 - The Pirates and Prime Time KBL signed a three-year contract, good for 61 games/$3M per year for broadcast rights in ‘96, with Lanny Frattare and Steve Blass being the primary booth duo. It was the first multi-year deal signed between the team and KBL, and both sides were looking to jazz up the presentation by moving the announcers into the stands occasionally and using handheld cameras to involve the crowd more in the TV presentation. 
• 2001 - The day after being elected to the Hall of Fame, Bradenton declared it “Bill Mazeroski Day” and Maz threw out the first pitch for the spring game at McKechnie Field. The Pirates added their two cents worth: They named a field at Pirate City after him, then Kevin McClatchy announced that the team was going to change the Avenue of the Pirates by PNC Park to Mazeroski Way, and that Maz would have a special day at the ballyard in August after his induction. 
• 2007 - The main topic of the springtime Pirates chatter was whether or not the Bucs should keep defending National League batting champ Freddy Sanchez at second base; both the media and the team had questions about his legs being able to take the physical beating dished out to middle infielders on plays at the bag. Freddy proved tough enough. He had spent 2006-05 splitting time at 3B-SS-2B, and then closed out his career as a second sacker. His legs held up fine, but later injuries to his arm and back eventually did put an end to his MLB days. 
• 2019 - In an annual rite of spring, the Bucs signed 31 pre-arb players for 2019. 30 of the players plus RHP Dario Agrazal, who was removed from the 40-man roster during the off-season but brought to camp as a NRI, were on the 40-man so the team was carrying just 10 guys with more than three years of service time on the roster. It would be a short window; eight players would become arb-eligible in 2020. But even that club was peach-fuzzed with 27 pre-arb players.

3/6: KY Strikes Gold, Yoslan Inked, Kip Surgery, Maz & Arky HoF, Global Raid, First DH; HBD Pops, Ed, Cervy, Clint, Rev, Bert & John

• 1863 - RF/1B John Coleman was born in Saratoga Springs, NY. He was an Allegheny during the 1886-88 & 1890 campaigns. He began his career as a pitcher, tossing 65 games as a Philadelphia Quakers rookie in 1883 with a line of 12-48/4.87. By 1885, Coleman had transitioned into a position player who occasionally tossed, which considering his early mound showing was a wise career move. John could handle the bat, putting up a .266 BA in his Pittsburgh days. 
• 1878 - RHP Bert Husting was born in Mayville, Wisconsin. A two-sport star at Wisconsin-Madison, he got a two game audition with the 1900 Pirates (eight IP, five runs, 10 hits, five walks) and then jumped to the American League’s Milwaukee Brewers the following year to get a chance to pitch near home. He lasted just for two more seasons, and then got on with his life’s work as a lawyer, eventually becoming FDR’s US Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. 
• 1904 - IF Walter “Rev” Cannady was born in Lake City, Florida. Cannady played 25 years of Negro League ball for 13 different teams, with several Homestead Grays stops(1923-24, 1929, 1932, 1944) and one with the Crawfords in 1932 (the Craws were still independent and barnstorming then). He saved the best for last; he batted .356 for Homestead in 1944. A player who was noted for versatility (mostly a middle infielder, Rev played all four infield positions and even pitched) and durability, he failed in his bid to make the Hall of Fame cut in 2006. 
• 1940 - 1B/OF Wilver Dornell Stargell was born in Earlsboro, Oklahoma. Pops played his entire 21-year MLB career (1962-1982) for the Pirates. (Steel City Trivia - Willie is the only Pittsburgh athlete other than Sid Crosby to spend 20 years with his club). Captain Willie hit .282, with 2,232 hits, 423 doubles, 475 HR and 1,540 RBI. His teams captured six National League East division titles, two NL pennants and two World Series (1971, 1979). In 1979, he became the only player to win the NL MVP, the NLCS MVP and the World Series MVP in one season. He was a seven-time All Star and led the NL in homers twice. The Pirates retired Stargell’s number (1982), built him a statue (2001) and enshrined him as part of the first class of the team Hall of Fame (2022). Willie was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988. He passed away on April 9, 2001 at the age of 61, just two days after the team dedicated his statue in front of PNC Park. 

Cap'n Willie - 2023 Donruss

• 1969 - Roberto Clemente, Bill Mazeroski and Jim Bunning confirmed that they had been contacted by the Global League, a third major league in the works that was reported to be backed by Howard Hughes (spoiler: it wasn’t). The tentative bids were for a four-year deal at $150,000 per season and a 2.5% equity stake in the league offered to 10 top MLB’ers. They wisely passed on the promises as the league itself ended up to be a house of cards, starting the year with rosters mainly of minor-leaguers, then folding in mid-May under a mountain of unpaid bills. 
• 1973 - In a spring exhibition game against the Bucs, the Twins’ Larry Hisle, in most (but not all) historians minds, became the first DH in MLB history. He did his best to sell the rule, too, hitting two HR and collecting seven RBI. It was the first year the rule was in effect, and five teams used a DH that day, which is why there’s still some debate over who took that first swing. 
• 1979 - SS Clint “Don’t Stop Believing” Barmes was born in Vincennes, Indiana. The slick fielding, stick-challenged (he hit .224 as a Bucco) infielder joined the Pirates in 2012 when he signed a two-year, $10.5M free agent contract. He returned in 2014 for $1.5M but was hurt much of the year, and during the off-season he signed with the San Diego Padres. He retired in 2016. 
• 1985 - SS Arky Vaughan was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. Vaughan batted .318 with a .406 OBP over a 14-year career with the Pirates (1932-41) and Brooklyn Dodgers, hitting .300 or better in 12 of those campaigns. He was inducted on July 28th. Earlier, in 1981, Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him among the elite in their book The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time. Twenty years later, in his 2001 New Historical Baseball Abstract, Bill James rated Vaughan as the second-best shortstop in MLB history, behind fellow Pirate and mentor Honus Wagner. 

Cervy - 2017 Topps

• 1986 - C Francisco Cervelli was born in Valencia, Venezuela. He joined the Bucs in November of 2014 from the Yankees in a swap for LHP Justin Wilson. Originally an infielder, they flipped him to catching, where he was considered one of the better defensive players with a solid bat, although injury prone, throughout his career. In his first year as a Buc, Cervy was healthy as a horse, playing 130 games and hitting .295. That wasn’t quite the tale in 2016, as he got behind the dish 95 times due to various injuries and hit .264. It was worse in the following campaign when Fran was again banged up and started just 75 games, batting .just 249. Fran got into 104 games in 2018, though still dinged a bit, and put up a 123 OPS+ with 12 HR and a line of .259/.378/.431, his best offensive showing as a Bucco. He was hurt through much of 2019, released, and moved on to Atlanta as a free agent in late August. Cervy then went to Miami, retiring following the 2020 campaign after suffering his seventh concussion, then coached for San Diego in 2022. 
• 1996 - OF Edward Olivares was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He was signed by Toronto as an international FA in 2014, debuted with San Diego in 2020 and came to Pittsburgh in 2023 in a trade with the KC Royals. He arrived with a career slash of .262/25/74 in 232 games and held off a solid cast of competitors (Billy McKinney, Josh Palacios) to break camp as the Bucs’ bench OF’er. He didn’t take advantage of the opportunity, batting .226, was released at year's end, signed with the Mets for six weeks and then opted to play in Japan. 
• 1999 - 1B Kevin Young signed the richest contract to date in Pirate history, a $24M, four-year deal based on anticipated revenues from the team's soon-to-be-built stadium. The deal called for a $500,000 signing bonus and salaries of $5.5M in 2000, $6M in 2001, $5.5M in 2002 and $6.5M in 2003. That agreement carried him to the end of his 12-year career, with all but one campaign spent as a Pirate. KY’s record deal didn’t last for long - Jason Kendall inked a six-year/$60M extension after the 2000 campaign. Young rejoined the team in 2015 as a special assistant of baseball operations and a part-time color man in the AT&T booth. 

Maz Made It! From 3/7/2001 Beaver County Times 

• 2001 - 2B Bill Mazeroski was voted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee after what seemed to be an interminable wait. He was inducted on August 5th, giving a tearful speech after discarding his notes, saying "I think you can flush these 12 pages down the drain." The Pirates retired his number, built him a statue, put him in the team Hall of Fame and every October 13th fans meet at the Forbes Field wall to celebrate his famed Game Seven longball, selected by ESPN as the “Greatest Home Run of All Time.” 
• 2006 - RHP Kip Wells had surgery to remove a blood clot from his right armpit, returning on June 19th. He was traded at the deadline to Texas, beginning a 10-team exodus that finally ended when he retired in 2013. From the surgery on, he pitched in 108 more MLB games, topping 100+ IP just once and went 14-34/5.66 over that span, while more clots were found in his hand in 2008. In the seven years before the clot was found, Kip had posted a 55-69/4.36 line. 
• 2007 - The Bucs signed Cuban righty Yoslan Herrera to a three year/$1.92M deal. He made it to the show in July, 2008, and in five starts, he went 1-1/9.82. The Pirates released him during the 2009 off-season after he split the year between Indy and Altoona, and he was out of baseball after another year. Herrera did rebound though, pitching for the Los Angeles Angels in 2014 before moving on to Japan, where he finished his career after the 2016 campaign.