6/12 Through 1984: Dock No-No, Lefty No-Hits Locals, Harvey Honored, Trips Hits Galore, Hit Man Cycle, Game Days, Strike, HoF Opens HBD Willie, Dutch & Sol

1868 - IF King Solomon “Sol” White was born in Bellaire, Ohio. An educated and gentlemanly guy, his multi-faceted career in black baseball was launched in Pittsburgh. White began his career in 1887 with the Pittsburgh Keystones of the National Colored League, with a return stop in 1892. Sol spread himself around the circuit - there were 18 clubs he played/managed for. In 1902, White and white sportswriter H. Walter Schlichter founded the Philadelphia Giants. For the next eight years White co-owned, managed and played for his team, one of the era's best. Sol then managed the Brooklyn Royal Giants and the New York Lincoln Giants. Following a period of semi-retirement, he led the Columbus Buckeyes, the Cleveland Browns and the Newark Stars, retiring after the 1926 season. White was also a sportswriter, author of a definitive history of black baseball in 1907, and elected to the Hall of Fame in 2006.

1884 - 2B Otto “Dutch” Knabe was born in Carrick. He got a cup of coffee with the hometown Buccos in 1905 and then returned to the fold in 1916, the last season of his 12-year career. The Bucs sent him to the Chicago Cubs in June, where he finished out as a player/coach. In between, though, he and SS Mickey Doolan formed one of the slickest and competitive DP combos in the league with Philadelphia. He then played/managed in the minors through 1922, ran a pool hall/gambling den (it was reported that he was going to bet on the “Black Sox” in the 1919 World Series, was tipped that the fix was in and switched his money to the Reds) and later operated a bar in Philadelphia. His moniker was common during his era -  “Dutch” was a play on Deutsch, or German.

1904 - LHP Willie Foster was born in Lorman, Mississippi. One of the top southpaws of his era (and perhaps any other), he pitched for the Homestead Grays in 1931 (9-2/2.34) and with the Pittsburgh Crawfords in 1936 (4-3/4.30) on his way to the Hall of Fame. Willie later became an associate dean and coached at Alcorn State, where the Foster Baseball Field at McGowan Stadium, home for Braves baseball, is named in his honor. He passed away in 1978.

1928 - The Pirates set a record, later tied, by having seven batters collect three hits or more in a game when they beat the Phillies 15-4 at the Baker Bowl. Ray Kremer, the Bucco pitcher, led the parade with four knocks. Pittsburgh had 25 hits, with every starting player chipping in. Paul & Lloyd Waner, Sparky Adams, Glenn Wright (five RBI), Pie Traynor and Fred Brickell had three knocks while Clyde Barnhart had a pair with four RBI.

Ray Kremer - Post game clip 6/13/1928 Post-Gazette

1933 - The Homestead Grays’ 38-year-old Lefty Williams tossed a no-hitter against the local Hazelwood Jehovic club at Greenlee Field, claiming a 3-0 victory over the cross-river foes. The club wasn’t as fortunate on the back end of a split twi-light twin bill as Hall-of-Famer Ray Brown (who also played CF) dropped an 8-6 decision to their Negro league foes, the Baltimore Black Sox, despite three hits from SS Leroy Mornay, who would skip to cross-town rivals, the Crawfords, the following season; he played for 14 teams during his career. That was vividly in contrast with Lefty - he pitched for Homestead from 1921-35, with the only gap being six games he worked for Detroit in a split season.

1939 - The Baseball Hall of Fame opened to the public in the greatest gathering of old-timey baseball starpower ever assembled. The Hall named its first five inductees in 1936 (Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Honus Wagner and Christy Mathewson) and the next wave voted in (Grover Alexander, Eddie Collins, Nap Lajoie, Connie Mack, George Sisler, Tris Speaker & others) prior to the building’s dedication. The Flying Dutchman, in the first HOF vote, tied for second with the Bambino, behind the Georgia Peach, Cobb.

1946 -  The Pirates traded OF Johnny Barrett to the Boston Braves for OF Chuck Workman. Both had started out in the 40’s as World War 2 MLB fill-ins. The guys finished out the campaign with their new clubs, but the return of the wartime players led the duo to spend the rest of their careers in the minor leagues.

1959 - To celebrate his 12 perfect innings against the Braves, the Pirates held Harvey Haddix Night at Forbes Field. The leadoff hitter singled on the third pitch to ruin the vibe, and it was an omen of things to come: the Kitten was chased after four innings and the Pirates lost a see-saw contest 9-6 to the Cards in front of 27,970 fans. However, the pregame gifts set up tea time at the Haddix household - NL President Warren Giles presented Harvey with a silver set with 12 goblets (one for each perfect inning, inscribed with the batters that were retired) and Bucco owner John Galbreath also gave him a $1,000 silver set.

Kitten gifted - Pgh Press photo 6/13/1959

1970 - During the first game of a twin bill at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, Dock Ellis walked eight batters but no-hit the Padres 2-0 to become the fourth Pirate pitcher to toss a no-no. He later famously claimed he was high on LSD while pitching that day. Pops Stargell provided the muscle with a pair of solo shots. The Friars took the nitecap, 5-2.

1980 - Mike Easler, the aptly named Hit Man, hit for the cycle as the Bucs won 10-6 over the Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium. John Milner and Dale Berra homered while Phil Garner drilled a pair of doubles to make a winner of Jim Bibby, with help from Enrique Romo, who tossed the final four innings for the save. For Easler, it was a breakout campaign - in six prior years, he had never gotten over 62 PAs in any one season. Finally playing regularly led to a 1980 line of .338 with 21 HR and a 167 OPS+. From 1980 until his final season, 1987, he hit .295 with 115 homers, a 120 OPS+ and averaged 130 games/486 PAs per year.

1981 - The players went out on strike over free agent compensation. It was the first work stoppage in MLB since the 1972 strike that resulted in regular season games being canceled (86 in all that year - the owners refused to pay the players for the games they were on strike, so they chopped the unplayed matches). The strike forced the cancellation of 713 games before the two sides reached an agreement on July 31st. The season started on August 10th, with championships determined by the hybrid “split season” title format. Ironically enough, the game staffers at TRS agreed on their contract the same day that the players walked.

1982 - Don’t overlook the bottom of the order. The Bucs 6-7-8-9 hitters (Tony Pena, Lee Lacy, Dale Berra, Manny Sarmiento) went 8-for-16, scored seven runs, chased home five more, walked three times, stole two bases, and hit a sac fly in a 9-2 romp over the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium. Berra provided the muscle with a homer and double while Sarmiento backed up his six-hit, complete game outing with his stick, going 2-for-3.

6/12 From 1985: Jamo Back, 1-0 Slugfest, Kracklin' KY, Clark Ball, Game Days, Win #10,000, Baz Drafted, Groat Day, HBD George

1985 - RHP George Kontos was born in Lincolnwood, Illinois. The Pirates picked up the veteran reliever off the waiver wire from San Francisco, where he had spent six campaigns, in August of 2017. He was nearly a Bucco a decade earlier, though - he and Phil Coke were supposed to go to Pittsburgh in 2008 in the original configuration of the Xavier Nady deal. Kontos won an eighth inning set-up spot by going 1-1-1/1.84 in 15 outings but wasn’t nearly as effective in 2018 as he slashed 2-3-1/5.03. The Bucs let him go in late May; he finished the year with stints with New York and Cleveland, spent 2019 in the minors/indie ball and retired in 2020.

1994 - Dave Clark gave Jon Lieber all the support he needed (and he didn’t need much; Jon gave up just five hits and a run in eight innings) against the Florida Marlins, going 4-for-4 with a homer, two doubles, four RBI, a tally and an assist. Clark drove in Al Martin twice and was the only Buc with multiple or extra base hits. The 5-1 victory at TRS capped a four-game sweep of the Fish and five-game Bucco winning streak, drawing 34,728 faithful to the ballpark on a Sunday afternoon.

1999 - Ed Sprague, Kevin Young and Jason Kendall homered, Al Martin had four hits and the Bucs banged out five doubles among their 17 hits to edge the KC Royals 9-8 at TRS. Sprague singled home Adrian Brown in the ninth to earn a walkoff win for Jason Christiansen.

2000 - Kevin Young was off to a hot start and so were the Bucs - KY doubled in the first, homered in the second and had six RBI after two innings as the Pirates piled up an 8-3 lead over the Braves at TRS. But Atlanta didn’t mail it in; they cut the margin to 8-6 after five frames. Then the Bravos scored twice in the eighth and twice more in the ninth to hand Jason Christiansen his sixth straight loss by a 10-8 count. It was a harbinger for the season - Atlanta won the Eastern Division while the Pirates came in last in the Central Division.

Abraham Nunez - 2001 Upper Deck Victory

2001 - The Pirates put up nine runs in the fourth inning to run away with a 13-3 win over the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Abraham Nunez had a bases-loaded triple, Rob Mackowiak banged a two-run homer and John Vander Wal added a two-run single in the big frame. Brian Giles homered and doubled for four RBI to match Nunez’s game total as the Bucs hammered seven extra-base hits among their 15 knocks against five Motown hurlers.

2013 - The Pirates/Alleghenys collected their 10,000th franchise win when they beat the Giants 12-8 at PNC Park. 236 wins were collected as the Alleghenys of the American Association and 9,764 dubs were notched in the National League (the NL dubs are the only victories the team officially recognizes). The top of the Pirate order (Starling Marte, Jordy Mercer, Andrew McCutchen, Gaby Sanchez) powered the win against San Francisco, going 13-for-19 and scoring eight runs while driving in four mateys. It marked the fourth time in the last 59 seasons that the top four hitters in the Bucs starting lineup each had at least three hits (it last happened in 2004), and Marte became the first Pirates leadoff hitter since 1916 with a four-hit, four-run, two-steal day. 

2015 - The Pirates took 13 innings, prolonged by an 86-minute rain delay, to defeat the Phils 1-0 at PNC Park. Despite the score, it wasn’t much of a pitching duel - the teams were a combined 1-for-19 with RISP and stranded 30 runners; the Phils had multiple men aboard in six of the innings and the Bucs in five. Both sides used seven pitchers, with Antonio Bastardo getting his first Pirate win thanks to Starling Marte’s walkoff single that scored Chris Stewart.

Shane Baz - 2017 Bowman First Card

2017 - The Pirates drafted Texas prep RHP Shane Baz first (#12, $4.1M) of Concordia Lutheran HS in the draft. They raided the high schools on the first day, also selecting RHP Steven Jennings (#42 - $1.9M/DeKalb HS, Tennessee), and OF Calvin Mitchell (#50 - $1,357,300/Rancho Bernardo HS, California, with a commitment to San Diego State). Baz was later traded to Tampa Bay as part of the Chris Archer deal (he broke into the rotation in ‘24 after TJ surgery) while Mitchell got a call to the show by the Bucs in 2022, hit .222 over parts of two seasons and is now playing in the Giants system. Jennings was with the Bucs through 2022 and is currently in the Texas organization.

2017 - Jameson Taillon returned to the bump five weeks after undergoing surgery for testicular cancer and worked five scoreless innings of five-hit, five-K ball to earn the win in the Pirates 7-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies at PNC Park in front of a welcome-back crowd of 16,320 rooters. The Bucco attack behind Jamo was balanced; Josh Harrison was the offensive leader with two hits, including a homer, two runs scored and two RBI.

2018 - The City of Pittsburgh declared “Dick Groat Day.” They held a ceremony for the Swissvale HS/Duke multi-sports star in Council Chambers and presented him with a resolution that, in part, reads that he “may be the greatest athlete to come out of Pittsburgh.” Groat was a five-time MLB All-Star who played nine seasons with the Pirates and the NL-MVP in 1960. He batted .290 during nine seasons with the Pirates and as a college ballplayer, led Duke to the College World Series as a senior. Dick also played for the NBA's Fort Wayne Pistons in 1952, was the Helms National Player of the Year in 1951 as a Blue Devil and is in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame - not too shabby for a 5’11” guard/shortstop.

6/11 Through 1964: 7-RBI Frank, Stans, Deac Zippos, Clarke 5-er, Yde Leads, Lloyd Gets Dizzy, Game Days, MLB Push, HBD Dave, Frank & Len

1901 - The Pirate faithful saved the day for the Bucs in a 4-0 win at Exposition Park over Christy Mathewson and the NY Giants. Thunderstorms were predicted for the area, and by the start of the fifth a deluge began, with the Giants pleading for a rain-out. But umpire Hank O’Day  followed a league directive that games not be called until the fans in the uncovered parts of the park deserted their seats, as the NL figured if the paying customers could brave the elements, so could the players. He pointed to the mass of Pirate rooters packing the bleachers (they drew 7,000, a huge showing, for the highly anticipated Matty/Schoolmaster Sam Leever match, of which 4,000 seats were in the open) and said play on - and no stalling shenanigans either, he warned. The G-Men went down in order, and with the game safely in hand the soggy crowd headed for shelter as the game was called, ending in the Buccos favor. Wee Tommy Leach had three RBIs and scored the other run while Leever gave up two hits in his short outing.

1903 - Deacon Phillippe tossed his third straight whitewash, a three-hitter, to defeat Brooklyn 9-0 at Exposition Park for the Pirates ninth consecutive win. The Pittsburgh Press wrote “Deacon Phillippe was the artist and he has never been in finer form.” Phillippe posted 2.43 ERA and won 25 games that season, but only ended up with one more shutout. Eddie Phelps spanked three hits and Claude Ritchey added a pair against the Superbas.

1909 - Player/Manager Fred Clarke banged out five hits to lead the Pirates to an 8-1 win over the Brooklyn Superbas at Forbes Field for Pittsburgh’s 11th straight victory. Clarke had a double, triple, a pair of stolen bases and three runs scored. Lefty Leifield claimed the win.

1913 - Len Levy was born in Squirrel Hill. The Allderdice grad did about everything you could do for the Pirates without playing. He was a batboy, a Forbes Field ticket-taker, a minor league player, bullpen catcher, PR man, scout and coach in both the Pirates system and for the big league Bucs; he’s the guy that you saw in the first base box as Maz galloped by after his Series-winning homer in 1960. Older yinzers will remember him from his later days when he ran an Oakland car lot, Forbes Field Auto, that was popular with the players. After he retired, he was inducted into the W PA Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Len died at age 79 in 1993.

Len Levy - 1977 TCMA 60's Pirates

1918 - Pittsburgh’s Roy Sanders and Boston's Bunny Hearn battled for each other for 16 innings before the Bucs won 3-2 on a bases-loaded squeeze play by Howdy Caton. Sanders allowed just one hit over the last eight innings at Braves Field after Boston had taken an early 2-0 lead in the second, tossing 14 consecutive goose eggs. The Braves had plenty of chances early on, with 11 hits but they stranded 13 runners during the contest.

1925 - Emil Yde did it all. The multi-tasking lefty scattered nine hits and went 3-for-4 with a double and triple, three runs and three RBI to carry the Pirates to an 11-3 win over the Boston Braves at Forbes Field. He did have some help with the lumber - Johnny Rawlings had three hits while Max Carey, Kiki Cuyler and Johnny Gooch each collected a pair of knocks.

1927 - The Brooklyn Robins crashed Big Poison’s party to take an 11-10 win at Forbes Field by scoring four runs in the ninth. Waner had just been married the day before, and the Pirates held a “Paul Waner Day'' for him, where he was gifted with a car and then celebrated with three hits. He was joined in the hit parade by LF Clyde Barnhart, who also collected three knocks to run his multi-hit streak to 10 games. That string was snapped the next day when he could only manage a double against Brooklyn in another run-and-gun 11-10 loss.

1929 - OF/3B Frank Thomas was born in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. The local kid spent half of his 16 year career as a Pirate (1951-58) before being traded to the Reds, starting an eight-team journey during the second half of his MLB days. His Bucco line was .275/.363/.562 and he was a three time All-Star. Frank was as noted for his contract fights as he was for his 286 career homers. When he retired, he settled in Ross Township with his wife Dolores and eight kids, participating in old-timer games and fantasy camps. He passed away in 2023 at the age of 93.

Little Poison - 1933 Goudey Big League

1933 - The Bucs had lost 8-of-11 and that trend looked like it would go on as they went into the ninth at Sportsman Park down 7-1 to St. Louis. But the Pirates were game to the finish, sending 14 batters to the plate (10 of the first 11 batters reached), resulting in seven hits, three walks, and three gifts: an error, a passed ball, and a wild pitch. When the smoke cleared, they had tallied 10 times, with Little Poison Waner driving in four runs on two singles and the final three runs charged to reliever Dizzy Dean; all unearned, as the Cards fell, 11-7. The Redbirds were equally frustrated in the second game of the twin bill - they collected eight hits off Larry French, but stranded 11 runners as they were dropped, 3-0. Tony Piet scored twice. The sweep tightened up a National League horse race as just 1-1/2 games separated the New York Giants, St. Louis Cards and Pittsburgh.

1938 - Bill Swift went the distance in a 4-3 win over the Phillies at Forbes Field. Not only did he go wire-to-wire to claim the win, he provided the muscle behind the victory when he bopped a two-out, three-run homer in the second, sending a curve ball over the wall in left center. It was his third and final MLB long fly - though a hurler, he posted a .227 BA for the Bucs over eight seasons to go with his 91-79-18/3.57 slash from the bump. 

1948 - Dave Cash was born in Utica, New York. Drafted in 1966, he played his first five seasons in Pittsburgh (1969-73) and replaced Bill Mazeroski at second base in 1970; he in turn was bumped off the position by Rennie Stennett. Cash hit .285 as a Bucco and was in the league for a dozen campaigns, having three All-Star seasons with Philly. Dave coached/managed for the Oriole organization and is now retired and living in Tampa. Dave Parker said that Cash had a locker room nickname, explaining that “...he was so cool, we nicknamed him ‘A.C.’”

Frank Thomas - 1958 Topps

1958 - Birthday boy Frank Thomas hit two homers, one a grand slam, and drove in seven runs as the Pirates pounded the Giants 14-6 at Seals Stadium. Bill Mazeroski also went long and had three hits with three runs chased home; Roberto Clemente and Bill Virdon added three raps as the Pirates rolled up 18 hits. Vern Law got the win with ElRoy Face finishing up.

1962 - Dick Stuart hit two homers with five RBI (he actually drove in all six runs; one scored on a DP ball) to lead the Bucs to a 6-1 victory at Wrigley Field against the Cubs and Don Cardwell. Big Stu knew it was his day from the start - his first homer was a 250’ flare that hopped into the Chicago bullpen (then on the field in foul territory) and lodged under a bench; Billy Williams couldn’t find it until Stuart, with Bill Virdon ahead of him, crossed the plate. Cardwell said afterwards that he was hoping one of the boys in the pen would have casually dropped a warm up ball for Williams to play, but alas, no Chi-town improvisers thought that fast. It was Stuart’s first inside-the-park circuit; he would repeat the deed one more time in his career. Stu’s second dinger was a legit three-run bomb to left in the sixth. Joe Gibbon went seven frames for the win.

1964 - Pirates owner John Galbreath came out in support of unifying the leagues under one roof and run by the MLB commissioner while eliminating separate league control of umpire crews, PR, legal, and other administrative functions. It took awhile, but in 2000, the National League and American League merged into a single entity known as Major League Baseball. The most obvious result to the fans was the umpiring consolidation, but as we’ve seen over the intervening years, the business clout of a single entity has proven to be potent.

6/11 From 1965: Cole Home Debut, PNC Run Record, Cutch Marks, Game Days, TSN Coverboy Cobra, Cam Canned, Nick, Carmen & Jared Drafted, HBD Brock

1969 - The ‘Stros were cruising with a 6-3 lead going into the sixth at the Astrodome when the Bucs erupted. They cut the lead to a run via some small ball and then came the blast; Roberto Clemente launched a grand slam. It was his only hit, but he scored three times with an intentional walk, HBP and stolen base while adding an outfield assist to his basket. The Bucs banged out 15 hits in the 13-8 victory with Freddie Patek and Matty Alou chipping in three each. Houston helped - they committed four errors, leading to three unearned runs. Steve Blass got the win with Bruce DalCanton and Chuck Hartenstein mopping up.

1977 - Dave Parker was featured as the cover story of The Sporting News in an article titled “Wham.” He was a National League whammy during the campaign, leading the league with a .338 BA, 215 hits and 44 doubles to go with 21 HR, 88 RBI and 107 runs scored to earn his first All-Star berth with six more appearances to follow, three with the Pirates.

1982 - Lee Lacy, playing in place of an injured Dave Parker, lined a Larry Christenson curveball over the wall in right center with one away in the ninth to give the Bucs a 1-0 victory over the Phils at Veterans Stadium. Teke Tekulve tossed three frames of one-hit ball for the win in support of John Candelaria’s strong six-inning start as the pair combined for the Pirates first shutout of the campaign. Christenson went the distance, striking out 11 Bucs.

1985 - The Pirates romped over the Cards 13-2 at TRS. All 12 Bucs with an at-bat had hits (five had multi-hit days) and 11 scored and/or drove in a run. Joe Orsulak led the parade with three hits while Tony Pena and Bill Madlock homered. Rick Reuschel went seven innings for the win; he added two raps and three RBI to the cause, with Al Holland closing the book. 

Brock Holt - 2013 Topps

1988 - OF/IF Brock Holt was born in Fort Worth, Texas. Taken in the ninth round of the 2009 draft by the Bucs, he played some in 2012 for Pittsburgh, hitting .292, before being sent to Boston as part of the Mark Melancon trade. He soon became a valued plug-in guy for the BoSox, hitting .270 and playing every position but pitcher & catcher during his seven years in Beantown. Brock’s last couple of seasons were nomadic and he last played in 2021.

1990 - After the Bucs batted in the third inning at Busch Stadium, it was 6-0 in their favor. By the time the Cards finished in the seventh frame, it was 6-6. That woke up the Pirates; they answered in the eighth with a Chico Lind leadoff double. He scored on Jeff King’s single, and JK became an insurance run after Jay Bell’s second triple of the match. And they needed it; the Redbirds led off their half with three straight singles to pull within a run before eventual winner Bill Landrum settled in to close the gate the rest of the way for an 8-7 victory. The top of the order - King, Bell and Andy Van Slyke - banged six hits (three triples and a double), drew five walks, scored six times and drove in five runs. Barry Bonds added three more raps during a 14-hit attack.

2000 - The Bucs scored three runs in the first, five in the 10th and not much in between, but it was a strong enough mix to down the Kansas City Royals 10-6 at Kauffman Stadium. Warren Morris and Adrian Brown combined for eight hits, three RBI and six runs at the top of the lineup while Brian Giles was the big gun at crunch time, driving in three clutch runs with a game-tying double in the ninth and then banging a two-run homer in the 10th.

2001 - Kevin McClatchy fired GM Cam Bonifay after seven losing seasons featuring several costly and questionable free agent signings, replacing him with interim GM Roy Smith. Dave Littlefield was named the full-time replacement a month later. Littlefield couldn’t get the Bucs’ motor running either (he was generally forced to make moves for financial rather than baseball reasons) and was swapped out for Neal Huntington in September, 2007. 

A-Ram - 2003 Topps Series One

2003 - Aramis Ramirez extended his hitting streak to 22 games by going 3-for-5 against the Blue Jays at the SkyDome in an 8-5 loss and bringing his batting average up to .309; it had been sitting at a sickly .218 on May 14th the day before he began his run. Toronto’s Mark Hendrickson and Aquilino Perez teamed up to end A-Ram’s string the next day.

2005 - The Pirates exploded for 20 hits to beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 18-2, pushing across the most runs scored by the club at PNC Park (it was tied in a 2019 game but has yet to be topped) as the Bucs scored three times in the opening frame and never looked back. Jose Castillo homered and knocked in a team-high five runs. Daryle Ward had four RBI and Ryan Doumit had three hits and three RBI. Seven Buccos had two or more hits. Ollie Perez struck out 10 batters in seven innings for the win.

2013 - First overall pick of the 2011 draft, RHP Gerrit Cole, made his MLB debut at PNC Park and earned an 8-2 win over the San Francisco Giants in front of 30,614 fans; some 10,000 were walk-ups who rolled to the North Shore just to see Cole Train in action. Gerrit pitched to contact, giving up two runs on seven hits with two K in 6-1/3 innings, using up just 81 pitches and registering 99 on the radar gun a couple of times during the evening. Pedro Alvarez went 3-for-3 with a homer, two runs scored and three RBI to spark the Bucco attack.

Gerrit Cole - 2013 Panini Hometown Hero

2020 - On the first night of the five-round draft, the Pirates chose SS Nick Gonzales with their first pick (7th overall - New Mexico State), a guy who sported a good stick but was switched to 2B. He signed for $5.4M, slot value, and after a not-so-impressive 35-game run in ‘23, he incorporated his lessons and claimed the position late in ‘24 after starting at Indy. He’s now at the hot corner. They next landed righty Carmen Mlodzinski with their competitive balance pick (#31, South Carolina) and agreed to a $2M bonus, $300K under slot. He was sharp out of the pen in ’23, but the ride was bumpier in ‘24; he’s yo-yoing between the pen and rotation now. The next day, the Bucs took RHP Jared Jones, a Texas commit, in the second round (#44: La Mirada HS CA) and inked him to a $2.2M deal, roughly $500K over slot. It was worth it; he slotted into the ‘24 rotation and joined Mitch Keller and Paul Skenes to form a young core, although elbow surgery scrubbed his ‘25 campaign; he returned at the end of May, 2026. They closed the action by taking three more righties - Nick Garcia (#79, Chapman U; $1.2M, $400K over slot), Jack Hartman (#108, Appalachian State), and Logan Hofmann (#138, Northwestern State). They all signed by July 2nd. Garcia and Hartman were traded for Connor Joe and Ji-Man Choi while Hofman stumbled, pitched in the Frontier League, tossed in Germany (he won the league’s Best Pitcher award in 2025) and then flipped from player to teacher - he’s now the pitching coach for the Saskatoon Berries Baseball Academy. 

2023 - Andrew McCutchen had a list of milestones to check off during his second tour with the Bucs and he nailed a big one on this day, lining a leadoff single to left for his 2,000th career hit to become just one of five active players in the 2K club. The crowd of 26,770 at PNC Park gave him an ovation and congratulatory messages flashed across the scoreboard. It was a deja vu moment; Cutch’s first hit was on June 4th, 2009, also against the Mets at PNC Park as the Bucs’ first batter. Mitch Keller had a strong outing to run his record to 8-2 with David Bednar picking up save #14 in a 2-1 victory. In the fourth, Jack Suwinski hit a solo shot, then Tucupita Marcano singled home Ji Hwan Bae, who had doubled. Keller & Company made the two runs hold up.

2025 - In his 12th season in Pittsburgh, Andrew McCutchen hit his 241st home run as a Pirate (325 overall) against Miami at PNC Park, jumping ahead of Roberto Clemente for third place in team history. Cutch now trails just Ralph Kiner (301) and Willie Stargell (475) among Bucco bombers. The dinger broke up a tight game, with the three-run shot giving the Buccos a 4-0, fifth-inning lead. Bailey Falter lasted into the sixth of an eventual 5-2 victory with David Bednar earning the save. Cutch had three hits and Ke’Bryan Hayes a pair to account for five of the Pirates seven knocks.

6/10 Through 1974: Kiles-Gibbon, B-2-B-2-B, Burner Byrne, Ump-Mania, Game Days, Satch HoF; HBD Pokey, Hank, Specs, Danny, Vic & Jap

1882 - IF William “Jap” Barbeau was born in New York City. Barbeau spent four years in the show, and only one of those seasons was he a full-time guy. That was for the Pirates in 1909, but after he hit .220, he was sent to St. Louis late in the season as part of the Bobby Byrne deal. He played MLB ball for part of 1910 and was done, although he did carve out a 14-year pro career. He got his nickname because he was short - 5’5” - and per Alfred Spink in his 1910 book The National Game, “owing to his swarthy appearance,” leading a Columbus writer to pin the “Jap” tag on Barbeau as a minor-league rookie in 1905.

1890 - OF Jocko Fields of the Pittsburgh Burghers hit the first home run at Exposition Park (the third incarnation of the yard) in a 10-4 win over the aptly named Chicago Pirates. Fred Carroll banged out four hits and Ed “Cannonball” Morris went the distance for the win. The Burghers were part of the Players League and were manned primarily by guys who had previously played for the Alleghenys & jumped leagues, such as Fields, Carroll and Morris.

1891 - It was early in a tough year for Pittsburgh. Although the pitching was solid, the hitting ranked either seventh or eighth in the counting stats, the club went through a pair of managers and finished last in the National League with a 50-88 record. But today at the Polo Grounds, all was well - Pud Gavin cruised as the Bucs scored eight times in the first frame to run away with a 14-6 win. The Pirates banged out 15 hits and Ump Tim Hurst put on a show of his own. The Commercial Gazette wrote “...he seems to have a great penchant for calling strikes balls and balls strikes. He also seems to have a mania for getting in the way of the fielders. Some of his decisions on the bases were enough to take the hair off the heads of all good rooters.” The squad needed some help - this was only their second victory during a 16-game swoon.

1905 - Vic Harris was born in Pensacola, Florida. His family moved to Pittsburgh in 1914, and OF Vic spent 23 years playing for the Homestead Grays, hitting .299. He was also a player-manager for the Grays, winners of nine consecutive Negro National League pennants from 1937-1945 (he was off during the war years of 1943-44 when Candy Jim Taylor took over).

Vic Harris - Helmar Big League Brew Famous Athletes

1905 - RHP “Deacon Danny” MacFayden was born in Truro, Massachusetts. He spent 17 years in the majors, mostly with the Boston Red Sox and Bees, and his last full campaign was in 1940 with the Pirates when he went 5-4/3.55 and then was released at the age of 35. After his pitching days, Danny became the baseball coach at Bowdoin College from 1946 to 1970. Per Wikipedia, Danny’s serious demeanor won him the nickname "Deacon Danny" while New York World-Telegram sports writer Dan Daniel, a critic of his play, called him "Dismal Danny." 

1911 - The Bucs ran Brooklyn in circles at Forbes Field. Bobby Byrne stole 2B, 3B, and home in the sixth inning, swiping third base while the Superbas argued the original call at second. The Pirates pulled off a pair of double steals (they stole six bases, all in the sixth inning) and an uncredited triple steal that was instead ruled an error on the throw. When the dust settled, Pittsburgh had a 9-0 win over Brooklyn. But it was an all-around fine game by the Pirates. Beat man Ralph Davis of the Pittsburgh Press wrote “The Pirates played like real champions...they fielded like fiends, ran wild on the bases and hit when hits meant runs.” Fred Clarke and Newt Hunter each had three hits while pitcher Babe Adams added a pair of knocks while posting 10 whiffs.

1920 - RHP Johnny “Specs” Podgajny was born in Chester, Pennsylvania. Podgajny put five years in the big leagues, and was a regular from 1941-43, mostly with Philadelphia (he was a teammate of Danny Murtaugh) who served with the Pirates in ‘43. He went 0-4/4.57 in 15 games with five starts and then was out of MLB except for a brief 1946 stint with the Indians. He ended his 12-year pro career after the 1950 campaign. “Specs,” of course, wore glasses.

1929 - C Hank Foiles was born in Richmond, Virginia. He played for the Pirates from 1956-59, starting two seasons. Foiles was an All-Star in 1957, hitting .270 and throwing out 38% of the base stealers trying his arm, but his bat didn’t hold up over time, as his four-year Bucco BA was just .230. Hank put together an 11-year big league career, playing for six clubs. He was a touted multi-sport guy as a preppie and in college - he was an All-Southern Conference gridder - and is enshrined in the Virginia, Hampton Roads and Granby HS Sports Hall of Fames. Foiles passed away on May 21, 2024, less than three weeks before his 95th birthday.

Bill Swift - 1936 National Chicle Pastel

1935 - Paul Waner, Arky Vaughan and Pep Young hit back-to-back-to-back HRs in the eighth inning off Benny Frey during the Pirates 14-1 win against the Reds at Forbes Field, the middle win of a five-game victory run. Gus Suhr also went yard and Bill Swift earned a complete game victory. Every Bucco had a hit and either scored or drove in a run; six did both, including Swift. The batfest wasn’t witnessed by many rooters; only 1,186 fans showed for the contest.

1969 - The Bucs traded RHP Ron Kline, 37, to the Giants in return for LHP Joe Gibbon, who was 34. Kline had spent his first six years in Pittsburgh (1952, two years military, 1955-59) and returned for 1968-69, slashing 66-91-14/3.77 as a multi-role twirler for the Buccos. Gibbon had a similar resume; his first six seasons (1960-65) were spent as a Pirate followed by a second stint in 1969-70; his local line was 44-46-18/3.61.

1971 - The Baseball Hall of Fame's new Special Committee on the Negro Leagues formally selected Satchel Paige for induction on August 9th. Paige made stops with the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords during his storied career that carried him through the Negro Leagues, the Dominican League, countless barnstorming nines and finally MLB.

1973 - IF Calvin "Pokey" Reese was born in Columbia, SC. A first round pick of the Reds in 1991 out of high school, he played second for the Bucs in 2003-04, hitting .254 but losing most of the second season to injury. His nickname didn't have anything to do with his pace (he stole 144 bases in his career), but there are two nana tales: Reese was born with a hernia that caused his navel to poke out, so his grandma called young Calvin "Pokey." The second story has it that Reese got his moniker because he was a chubby baby and his grandmother called him Porky, which came out “Pokey” with her southern drawl.

6/10 From 1975: Charlie Sharp, Dewey Damage, Go Mo, Q-Ball, Pops Pop, Game Days, Danny POTW; RIP Gunner, HBD Carlos

1977 - It took 11 innings, but the Bucs defeated the San Diego Padres 10-7 at TRS. Willie Stargell hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning - Pops timed his only hit of the night well - to score Dave Parker and Al Oliver for the walkoff win. Bill Robinson had three knocks and three RBI while Rich “Goose” Gossage got the win. He came on during the eighth inning and pitched four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out four.

1978 - 1B Carlos Rivera was born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Rivera was drafted in the 10th round by the Bucs in 1996 out of high school. He got the call to Pittsburgh and saw action in the 2003-04 seasons, hitting .218 off the bench. After his last season with the Bucs, Rivera took his game south, playing in AAA, Mexico and Puerto Rico through 2015. 

1985 - The Gunner, Bob Prince, died of pneumonia and cancer at the age of 68. The long time Pirate broadcaster last called a game May 20th, when a rain delay sent him to the hospital and he never recovered. He served a 28-year stint as the voice of the Pirates on KDKA, famed for his “Gunnerisms” and hometown boosterism. Prince was posthumously awarded the Ford C. Frick Award by the Baseball Hall of Fame for broadcasters in 1986.

1989 - Rey Quinones was the unlikely hero as the Pirates walked off the New York Mets at TRS 6-5 after Q’s two-out blast in the ninth snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Rey also got the Bucs within a run the inning before when he was chased home by Barry Bonds to cut the Mets’ lead to a run (he returned the favor by driving in Bonds in the final frame). Bob Kipper got the win as he, Jeff Robinson and Neal Heaton put up zeroes in relief of Randy Kramer. It was a dramatic weekend of ball - it also took overtime to finally win the Friday game played the night before in ten innings, 4-3.

Rey Quinones -  1989 Donruss

1992 - RHP Jeff Robinson was selected off waivers by the Bucs from the Rangers. He was the second Jeff Robinson to join the Leyland-era Pirates; the original came from the Giants and tossed from 1987-89 with the middle name of Daniel; today’s pickup went by Jeffrey Mark. He replaced Dennis Lamp in the bullpen, but only lasted until July 25th, when he was released after posting a line of 3-1/4.46. It was the 30-year-old’s last major league stop.

1996 - RHP Danny Darwin was named the National League Pitcher of the Week. THe spun two dubs for the Bucs, tossing 16 scoreless innings & giving up just 10 hits with no walks and six whiffs. Before catching fire, Darwin hadn’t won a game since April 22nd and was 2-6.

2000 - The Kansas City Royals edged the Pirates 2-1 in 12 innings. But don’t blame 2B Warren Morris; he went 5-for-6 during the match, and had four more raps the next day. The Bucs banged out 13 hits, but they were all singles and they stranded 13 runners. Pittsburgh didn’t get on the scoreboard until there were two outs in the ninth inning to prolong the drama at Kauffman Stadium.

2001 - The Bucs were 3-of-21 on the road and looked like they were going to take another one on the chin when they entered the eighth down 8-4 (it was an 8-1 deficit after three innings) to the Twins at Hubert Humphrey Metrodome. They showed some fight, loading the bases to start the frame, but only cashed in once after Pat Meares’ bullet to third became the second out instead of the game-tying shot. But they kept comin’ - three hits, sandwiched between a pair of walks, gave Pittsburgh an 11-8 edge, keyed by Brian Giles two-out, two-run triple. Mike Williams tossed a zero in the Twinkies half and struck out the side in the ninth as the Pirates finally took home a road win. They worked hard for the victory; Jason Schmidt didn’t make it through the second inning and left the game behind by seven runs, but Dave Williams, Scott Sauerbeck and the soon-to-be-traded Williams (the trio gave up no runs on five hits in 7-1/3 IP with eight whiffs) kept Minnesota at bay. It was the second time in three weeks that the team rallied from a seven-run hole but didn’t help in the long run; the club still lost 100 games.

Brian Giles - 2001 Upper Deck Vintage

2008 - Ryan Doumit had a big day, going 4-for-4 with two homers and two doubles, but Washington came out on top by playing late long ball at TRS to claim an 8-7 win. Paul Maholm gave up four Nat homers (three in the seventh inning alone) and Matt Capps blew his first save when he served up a two-out, two-run, first-pitch homer to Lastings Milledge in the ninth. It was a brutal defeat; the Bucs had just put up a pair in the eighth to regain the lead before Milledge’s dagger.

2015 - The Bucs shut out the Brewers at PNC Park by a 2-0 score. The runs resulted from a Starling Marte knock and Pedro Alvarez blast that traveled 438’ and cleared the right field stands. But the story of the night was Charlie Morton, who went 7-1/3 IP, giving up three hits, three walks and K’ing six. Charlie set a couple of personal bests during the night. He won five in a row for the first time in his career and started a season off 4-0 for the first time.

2017 - The Bucs were losing by a 6-4 count at PNC Park going into the seventh when Jordy Mercer banged a two-run triple and John Jaso’s pinch-hit, ground-rule double plated Jordy with the game winner in a 7-6 decision over Miami. Andrew McCutchen added a pair of doubles among his three hits, giving him 500 career extra-base raps, along with two RBIs and a run scored to help give the Pirates fourth pitcher, Daniel Hudson, the win with Felipe Vazquez notching the save. The lineup’s 5-through-8 hitters (Josh Bell, Cutch, Elias Diaz, Mercer) went 11-for-16 with five ribbies and five runs scored as Pittsburgh posted 16 hits against five Fish twirlers.

6/9 Through 1954: Same Page, Elbie En Fuego, Fast Start, 56 Goose Eggs, Game Days; HBD Cobra, Julio, Quail, Roy & Charles

1860 - Charles Power was born in Johnstown. He was a minor league pitcher who developed a bum arm and turned briefly to umpiring. He became the sports editor of the Pittsburgh Dispatch in 1893, then was a boss for area minor leagues. He ran the Steel and Oil League in 1895, a local collection of eight teams that Hans Wagner passed through, and then stayed on when it became the Interstate League the following year until 1900. His last executive hurrah was in 1907 when he presided over the short-lived Class D Western Pennsylvania League. 

1902 - GM Roy Hamey was born in Havana, Illinois. Hamey replaced Ray Kennedy as Bucco GM following the 1946 campaign after serving as Business Manager of the Yankees. He hired Billy Meyer (a Yankee farm manager) as the Bucs' skipper and dealt for vets like Tiny Bonham, Bob Chesnes and Hank Greenberg, but the team was a second-division club for most of his tenure, and he was swapped out for Branch Rickey after the 1950 season. Hamey ran the Phillies for five years after that without much more success, and then returned to New York after the 1960 World Series, and in his three years there, the Bronx Bombers averaged 103 wins. His last gig was as interim Chief Executive of the Seattle Pilots in 1969, running operations until Bud Selig bought the team.

1903 - The Pirates streak of putting up 56 straight scoreless frames came to end when Kaiser Wilhelm gave up a fourth inning run to the Phils in a 7-3 Bucco win at Expo Park. The run of goose eggs started with two shutout frames by Ed Doheny to mercifully end a 10-2 drubbing at the hands of the Giants. Then came a streak of six straight whitewashes (a pair each spun by Sam Leever & Deacon Phillippe and one by Doheny & Wilhelm). The streak launched the team onto a 15-game winning skein, an NL title and a meeting with Boston in the World Series. The Pirates 1903 stretch still holds the MLB mark for consecutive shutouts and scoreless innings pitched, surviving a 1974 challenge that saw the Orioles tossed five straight shutouts and 54 zippo frames.

1905 - It was a wild opening frame, as attested by the Pittsburgh Press headline "Pirates Win Slugging Bee: Two Twirlers Driven Off the Rubber After One Inning." The Giants scored five runs in the top of the first off Sam Leever and the Pirates came back with six runs off Iron Man Joe McGinnity in the bottom of the frame. Deacon Phillippe of the Pirates and Christy Mathewson of NY replaced the twirlers in the second inning. It was all Pittsburgh after that, with the Bucs rolling over New York, 12-6, at Exposition Park. Fred Clarke, Ginger Beaumont, Honus Wagner, Del Howard and Tommy Leach each collected a pair of hits, while Phillippe pitched “cleverly” per the Press. To add insult to injury, the Giants were pelted with fruit as they rode along Market Street after getting into an ill-advised name-calling exchange with some Pittsburgh fans after the game.

Deacon Phillippe to the rescue - 1905 Fan Craze game card

1906 - The Phillies had an eighth inning 1-0 lead over the Pirates at the Baker Bowl. As a storm approached, the Pirates rallied in the ninth to forge ahead, and the Phils decided to give away outs‚ bean batters, toss wild pitches (the Pirates caught on and swung at them, trying to strike out on purpose) and argue almost every call in the hope of umpire Bill Klem would call the game because of the weather. Klem did cut the festivities short, all right: after seven runs crossed the plate, he declared a forfeit because of Philadelphia’s antics. The ploy almost worked as planned, though - the rain fell shortly after the game was banged.

1914 - Honus Wagner was credited (incorrectly) with his 3,000th hit off Philadelphia's Erskine Mayer in a 3-1 loss to the Phillies at the Baker Bowl. Wagner's hit, a double, came in the ninth inning. Wagner joined Cap Anson as the only members of the 3000-hit club. Hans told the Pittsburgh Press “Well, I’m glad that’s over. Sometimes I think too much newspaper talk hurts a fellow, that it acts as sort of a jinx.” It didn’t end up much of a hoodoo for the Flying Dutchman - in his 21-year career, Hans posted 3,420 hits, 643 doubles, 1,732 RBI, 1,739 runs scored, 723 stolen bases and a .328 BA. (Caveat emptor: This date was the one originally credited for the milestone hit and is still sometimes cited, but a recount by baseball archivists now date the deed to June 28th, 1914, when Hans singled off of the Reds Pete Schneider. We post both dates in the blog.)

1931 - Bill Virdon was born in Hazel Park, Michigan. The Quail came over from the Cards in 1956 and patrolled center field for 11 years (1956-66) in Pittsburgh, including the 1960 World Series season. Virdon won Rookie of the Year in 1952, the World Series in 1960 and a Gold Glove in 1962. He later coached and managed the Bucs (and later the Yankees, Astros and Expos). Bill also lent a hand at Pirates spring training until he passed away in 2021.

1931 - While defeating the local North Side Civics (a team that The Chief, Art Rooney, once played for), 16-2, four Homestead Grays' hit home runs - Oscar Charleston, Ted Page, Vic Harris (he had four hits) and Ambrose Reid; the Post Gazette wrote “extra base hits rained off the bats of the Homestead Grays.” 23-year-old righty Roy Williams barely broke a sweat during the win at Saltworks Field.

Bud Hafey - 1979 Diamond Greats

1935 - The Pirates traded 21-year-old RHP Jack Salveson to the Chicago White Sox for 22-year-old OF Bud Hafey. In this case, youth was not all that well served. Hafey played in 97 games over two years for the Bucs, batting .222, and spent one final campaign (1939) in the show with 12 more seasons served in the minors. Salveson only appeared five times as a Buc; overall, he slashed 9-9-4/3.99 after five seasons and 87 MLB outings.

1939 - IF Julio Gotay was born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. He spent two seasons with the Pirates in 1963-64 and barely got a big league taste, getting just seven games under his belt (though he did hit .500) with most of his days spent in AAA Columbus. Julio spent parts of 10 seasons in the majors, mainly with the Astros and Cards, but primarily as an insurance policy infielder; only once in his career did he collect more than 250 at-bats.

1940 - The Pirates won for the fifth time in six games when they took the back end of a twin bill from Philadelphia by an 11-5 score at Forbes Field after losing the lidlifter, 6-1. Elbie Fletcher went 3-for-4 with a double and five RBI while Paul Waner matched him, also going 3-for-4 with a double, with two RBI and three runs. Mace Brown was the beneficiary of the batting boom. The good times didn’t last very long; the Bucs then lost 6-of-8.

1946 - The boys in blue really got under the skin of New York Giants manager Mel Ott. He was ejected from both games of a twin bill at Forbes Field for arguing calls (two different umpires tossed him), an MLB first. Ott should have read the riot act to his hitters instead, who were shut down by 2-1 and 5-1 scores by Bucco hurlers Fritz Ostermueller and Johnny Lanning.

Keep the Faith - Press Letter 1949

1949 - Peas in a pod: The Phillies beat the Pirates at Shibe Park, 4-3, in 18 innings. The intrastate rivals both had 16 hits in 68 at bats and committed three errors along with 21 assists. On the same day, The Press published a letter and sidebar from Sheriff Walter Monaghan urging a Pirates “Confidence Night” for the fans to rally in support of the team. He wrote “...as badly as most of us feel everytime we look at the standings, we should remember that the entire Pirates roster...must feel a whole lot worse.” The Pirates were 17-31 at the time and in last place; they finished 71-83, 26 games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers.

1951 - Dave Parker was born in Calhoun City, Mississippi. The Cobra manned right field for 11 years (1973-83) for the Bucs while compiling a line of .305/166/758, earning four All-Star appearances and three Golden Glove awards. He was the 1978 National League MVP and the first professional athlete to earn one million dollars per year (not straight up but including deferred payments) after signing a five-year, $5 million contract in January 1979. Fun fact: Parker wore a gold necklace with a Star of David pendant although he wasn’t Jewish. When asked why, his explanation was simple: "My name is David, and I'm a star." The Buccos seconded that emotion by naming the Cobra to the Pirates Hall of Fame inaugural class.

1953 - The refusal of the National League owners to allow the Pirates to take down Forbes Field’s Kiner Korner after the trade of Ralph Kiner played into the Pirates’ hands in their 7-4 win over the Cards. Eddie Pellagrini belted a three-run pinch HR over the short porch in the eighth, after Dick Hall had earlier lofted a solo shot in the fourth into the same spot.