7/19 Through the 1960s: Gems, Arky Cycle, Small Ball, Hans Debut, Game Days, HBD Vincente, Nick, Earl, Clint, Jeff, Jasper, Jim & Bill

1865 - RHP Bill Hart was born in Louisville. He played for Pittsburgh in 1895 and again in 1898, going 19-26-2/4.77 from the bump. He also played some OF during his eight-year career, but was strictly a hurler for the Bucs. Bill hit .237, marking him as a journeyman both on the rubber and at the dish. Hart was twice traded by the Pirates and they landed a pair of very good players in exchange, IF Bones Ely in 1896 and then OF Ginger Beaumont after the ‘98 campaign.

1865 - 3B Jim Donnelly was born in New Haven, Connecticut. The son of immigrants, Jim played pro ball at some level from the time he was 18 in 1884 until 1902 when he was 36. He spent parts of 11 seasons in the show, split into two eras: 1884-91, when he was a regular for a while, and then after a four-year run in the minors, he returned as purely a big league bench guy from 1896-98. Jim spent part of that second stay with the Pirates in 1897, hitting just .193 before being shipped to the New York Giants in mid-season. He arrived in town with Steve Brodie from Baltimore as the O’s trade return for Jake Stenzel. Neither Donnelly nor Brodie made it to 1898 with the Bucs while Stenzel played on for three more seasons, batting .309 over that span. 

1873 - OF/1B Harry “Jasper” Davis was born in Philadelphia, with some sources citing the 18th as his birthdate. Jasper played early in his 22-year MLB stint for the Bucs, from 1896-98. He came to Pittsburgh in 1896 in a deal for Jake Beckley, and the 22-year-old hit .190 to finish the campaign before blooming in ‘97, batting .305 and then .293 in 1898. He was sent to the Louisville Colonels, and from there, he bounced around, landing with the Athletics in 1901 after taking a year off to work on the railroad. Harry played 16 of his next 17 seasons in Philadelphia (he had a hiatus in 1912 with Cleveland as a player/manager), batting .279 before retiring in 1917 at the age of 43. From 1912 on, his ballfield action was limited as he served as a player/coach for Connie Mack for most of that period. Fun fact: Jasper had a four-year run of leading MLB in long balls from 1904-07, yet hit just 75 homers between 1895-1917. He never launched more than 12 four-baggers in a single season, and in fact finished with double-figure dingers only twice. His nickname was given by his Girard College days schoolmates for reasons unknown.

1887 - Honus Wagner made his National League debut with the Louisville Colonels, owned by Barney Dreyfuss. He got a hit and stole a base in a 12-2 win over the Brooklyn Grays. In 1900, Dreyfuss bought the Pittsburgh franchise and maneuvered most of the Louisville club onto the roster, including the Flying Dutchman, in a pretty astute bit of FO wheelin’-and-dealin’.

Hans - Ars Longa Pioneer Portraits

1888 - C Ed “Jeff” Sweeney was born in Chicago. The defensive specialist spent eight years with the NY Highlanders/Yankees, two more in the minors, time in the Navy during WW1 and then finished his nine-year MLB run with the Pirates in 1919, getting into 17 games and hitting .095 before being sent to the PCL. He spent one more year in pro ball before calling it a career.

1889 - RHP Francis Clinton “Clint” Rogge was born in Memphis, Michigan.The long-time minor league twirler (he beat the bushes from 1909-23) got his first big league ( Federal League) taste during the 1915 campaign when he was part of the Pittsburgh Rebels’ rotation. He held up fairly well against Fed batters, slashing 17-11/2.55 in 31 starts, compiling five shutouts and 254-1/3 IP. After that campaign, he started a long run with the Indianapolis Indians of the now minor-league American Association, getting one brief return to the show in 1921 with the Reds. 

1891 - LHP Earl Hamilton was born in Gibson, Illinois. The little southpaw spent six of his 14 big league seasons (1918-23) as a Pirate, putting up a line of 55-55-7/3.35 as both a starter and a long man. He won 115 MLB games overall, tossing for four clubs. Earl had a couple moments in the sun - he spun a no-hitter for the St. Louis Browns in 1912 and went 16 scoreless frames for the Bucs in a 1920 start, only to run out of gas and drop the decision in the 17th inning.

1893 - From Charlton’s Baseball Chronology: “Pittsburgh used 19 hits – all singles – to win in Cleveland, 10-6. Pittsburgh was further aided by the defense of LF Elmer Smith, whose use of green glasses to fend off the sun greatly helped him in his fielding.” Lefty Killen went the route for the win and every Pirate had a hit, with six collecting multiple knocks. It was a noteworthy contest in that the game may be the first time that an outfielder fought the daytime sun with shades.

Mike Lynch - 1904 Pgh Press photo

1904 - The Pirates rallied for a pair of runs in the ninth inning off Giants ace Christy Mathewson to take a 2-1 victory at the Polo Grounds. Shut out on five hits going into the final frame, Honus Wagner tripled to left to ignite Pittsburgh, and an out later Jimmy Sebring banged out another three-bagger, ripping a shot off the first base bag that rolled into the corner. Pinch hitter Claude Ritchey followed with an RBI knock, and Mike Lynch made it stand up in the bottom half, tossing a complete game four-hitter against New York. The heated series featured manager John “Mugsy” McGraw and Mathewson getting into a jawing match with the hometown crowd the day before, a verbal (and profane) sparring session that lasted until they got back to their hotel. The Pittsburgh Press had a couple of juicy lines regarding the affair: “McGraw is not liked here...Some day he will carry things too far, and some husky Pittsburger will thump him” and then threw some shade at Christy: “ Matty... has to buy a cap a size larger after every victory…”

1905 - Pittsburgh pulled to within five games of New York by overcoming a 5-2 deficit at the Polo Grounds to rally past the Giants 8-5. It was Pittsburgh’s third straight win against the defending champions. Umpire Bill Klem was the target of a barrage of tossed garbage from the New York fans after ejecting Dan McGann and “Turkey Mike” Donlin from the game. They yapped their way into Klem’s bad graces as the Pittsburgh Press game story explained: “Umpire baiting was plentiful, with Taylor (the pitcher), McGann and Donlin the chief offenders of this style of play.” Sam Leever got the win, coming in as a second-inning reliever, while the offense was led by Otis Clymer’s three hits. The Bucs pounded out 15 knocks as five Pirates had multi-hit outings.

1935 - C Nick Koback was born in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1953, at the age of 17, Koback signed with Pittsburgh as a bonus baby out of Hartford HS. Per bonus baby rules of the era, he made his MLB debut before playing in the minors and was the youngest player in the league As you might imagine, teenage Nick wasn’t quite ready for showtime. He got some quick sips of coffee with the Bucs from 1953-55 and went 4-for-33 (.121). It was his only big league time with most of his career spent in the farm leagues and Mexico. He earned a reputation of a good hitter - of Titleists, not baseballs (his minor league lifetime BA was .243), and he became a golf pro after he left baseball. 

1935 - The Pirates scored three times in the bottom of the ninth to overcome a 5-3 deficit and walkoff the Boston Braves before a sparse crowd at Forbes Field. Paul Waner doubled and scored on Arky Vaughan’s game-tying homer before Pep Young hit a wind-twisted three-bagger and touched home with the game-winner on Tommy Thevenow’s single. The bats were hot for both sides, with each club posting 13 hits and every Pittsburgh starter reaching base, including opening pitcher Red Lucas. Gus Suhr had three raps to lead the Bucs while Waner, Vaughan and Woody Jensen had a pair each. Guy Bush worked the last frame for the win. For Boston, it was their 12th straight defeat. The Bucs went on to sweep the four-game set and finished 20-2 v the Braves during the season.

Arky Vaughan - 2016 Panini National Treasures

1939 - Arky Vaughan led the Pirates 19-hit parade at the Polo Grounds, going 5-for-5 while hitting for his second career cycle as Pittsburgh banged the New York Giants 10-3. Arky scored four times with two RBI and Chuck Klein extended his hitting streak to 18 games. Elby Fletcher slammed a long ball among three hits; Ray Berres added three knocks, and Fern Bell chased three teammates home with the well-supported Mace Brown going the distance for the win. Vaughan’s cycle was the first posted by a Pirate since 1933 - and that one belonged to Arky, too.

1950 - Frank E. McKinney resigned as president of the Pirates. He sold his interests in the club to partners John Galbreath and Tom Johnson, with Galbreath assuming the presidency. Vice President Bing Crosby retained his minority interest. That group had bought the Bucs in 1946 from Barney Dreyfuss’ family and ran it until 1985 when the Pittsburgh Associates took over.

1950 - The Pirates purchased 3B Bob “Duke” Dillinger from the Philadelphia Athletics for $35,000. The 31-year-old slap-hitter played 70 games from 1950-51 for the Bucs, batting .279. An All-Star (1949) and league hits leader (1948) for the St Louis Browns, Bob had also claimed the American League stolen base crown from 1947-49, but his wheels were wearing thin and he only swiped six sacks as a Bucco. The Pirates sold him to the Chicago White Sox in 1951, and that was his last hurrah after six MLB seasons. Two things conspired against Dillinger - he got to the show late, spending three years in the service, and he later developed an early case of “Steve Sax” disease, often unable to make the throw across the infield, and he wasn’t very much of a fielder even before the yips hit. He spent his final four years in the PCL with Sacramento.

1952 - It wasn’t, as usual, a very good day for Pittsburgh as the Brooklyn Dodgers spanked them at Forbes Field by a 9-1 score. But it was another good day, also as usual, for Ralph Kiner. The Pirates slugger homered for the fourth time in four games and the seventh time in his past dozen outings. He would keep on and claim the home run title for a seventh straight year with 37 bombs and make his fifth consecutive All-Star appearance, all while playing for a horrible Bucco club that won just 42 games all year and finished 54-1/2 games behind the Dodgers.

Vern Law - 2020 Topps Archives

1955 - Vern Law pitched 18 innings against the Milwaukee Braves in front of 7,900+ Forbes Field fans. And he didn’t even get the win; Bob Friend worked the 19th frame to get credit for the 4-3 victory. Law left after giving up two runs - one was unearned - on nine hits with two walks and 12 whiffs. Friend came in and gave up a score, but the Bucs came back with a pair of tallies on Gene Freese’s single, Dale Long’s double that chased home Freese, and the game-winning knock by Frank Thomas. It wasn’t even Law’s day to pitch - he took the hill on just two days' rest; he got the call to the slab when the scheduled hurler, Joe Gibbon, became ill before the game.

1963 - RHP Vincente Palacios was born in Manlio Fabio Altamirano, Mexico. He tossed five years (1987-88, 1990-92) for the Bucs as a spot starter and long man while a member of the Jimmy Leyland teams, slashing 12-8-6/4.03. His career was hampered by a pair of shoulder surgeries, and after his Pirate days, he yo-yoed between MLB and the Mexican League.

1967 - The Pirates Dennis Ribant and the Giants Mike McCormack hooked up in a taut Forbes Field pitchers duel that wasn’t decided until the 11th frame. Pittsburgh scored in the first inning on a passed ball and the G-Men got a homer from Tom Haller in the second frame; it was a long line of zeroes after that. Ribant scattered nine hits while his teammates left the bases loaded three times after plating that first run. The fourth try proved the charm when Jerry May led off the 11th with a triple and a pair of intentional walks jammed the sacks again. Frank Linzy took McCormack’s spot to face Gene Alley, who singled home the game winner. The 2-1 win put the Pirates one game over .500 and that’s about how they finished; the club was 81-81 at the end.

1968 - Rookie Bob Moose tossed a four-hitter as the Bucs dropped the Braves 2-0 at Atlanta Stadium. Moose also issued four walks but was never in trouble; no Brave reached third base during the 20-year-old’s third whitewash of the season. The Bravos’ Ron Reed was tough, too, as he scattered eight hits, allowing Donn Clendenon (who had two knocks) to score on a Bill Mazeroski single and later yielded an insurance run when Willie Stargell went deep.

7/19 From 1970: Sellout Walkoff, Adam Slam, Batfest, Rafe Rakes, 8 Straight, Gems, Games Days, ASGs, Rumors, HBD Ernesto, Phil & Brian

1972 - RHP Brian Smith was born in Salisbury, North Carolina. The Pirates picked Smith up as a 26-year-old Rule 5 player in 1999 from the Toronto Blue Jays, and after shoulder surgery, he had a strong comeback campaign at AA Altoona in 2000. He got a three-game cup of coffee with the Bucs in September (0-0/10.58), was released, re-signed and spent two more seasons toiling in the Pirates system. Smith then pitched in 2003 with the Colorado Rockies organization and in the indie Atlantic League before hangin’ ‘em up and retiring from baseball at age 30.

1974 - Ken Brett worked 8-1/3 frames while leading the Pirates to a 2-0 shutout victory against the Braves at Atlanta Stadium. The Pirates scored first in the fifth inning when Frank Taveras led off with a triple and scored on Brett’s sacrifice fly, and the Buccaneers added an insurance marker in the ninth frame on Bob Robertson’s two-out double that plated Ed Kirkpatrick. The five-hit win upped Brett’s record to 12-6 while Dave Giusti picked up his fifth save. 

1977 - The National outslugged the AL 7-5 at Yankee Stadium during the All-Star game. Dave Parker went 1-for-3, while Bucco closer Goose Gossage made it interesting by giving up a two-run homer in the ninth. John Candelaria was also on the squad, but didn’t see any action.

1982 - LHP Phil Coke was born in Sonora, California. Phil was a Bucco target early in his career as a Yankee in 2008, but remained in pinstripes when a medical question went unresolved. After bouncing around the league for nine years, he ended up back with New York, and they sold him to the Pirates in 2016. The 33-year-old tossed four scoreless innings in three outings, but walked four to go with three hits, and that ended his MLB days. He toiled in Japan the following year and then in Mexico in 2018 to finish his playing days atop the hill.

1983 - The Pirates won their eighth in a row in workmanlike fashion over the Dodgers at TRS, 4-1. Brian Harper went 2-for-3 with a homer to lead the attack while John Candelaria notched the win with relief help from Rod Scurry. The streak ended later that night when Alejandro Pena and the LA bullpen edged the Bucs 3-2 in 11 innings in the nitecap of a twilight twin bill.

Candy - Press photo 7/20/1984 by John Kaplan

1984 - John Candelaria pitched a three-hitter and connected off Tim Lollar for his first and only MLB home run to do it all for the Pirates in a 5-1 win against the San Diego Padres at TRS. Tony Pena and Dale Berra also homered for the Bucs. The 7-8-9 hitters (Berra, Marvell Wynne and Candy) went 5-for-10 with two homers, a double, a triple, three runs scored and four RBI.

1985 - RHP Ernesto Frieri was born in Arjona, Colombia. He was the Angels closer who hit on hard times and in June, 2014, Frieri was traded to Pittsburgh for another change-of-scenery candidate, Jason Grilli. Frieri gave up 12 runs in 10-2/3 innings for the Pirates and was DFA’ed & outrighted to AAA Indianapolis in August, then released three weeks later. Frieri then bounced around, making a couple of big league stops, and his last season was spent in Mexico in 2018.

1988 - Rafael Belliard enjoyed the last day of an eight-game hitting streak that started on July 8th. In true Raffy style, his first eight hits were infield singles. He went 13-for-31 during that span, with two grounder-through-the-infield knocks, a bloop, a liner, and his only extra base hit, a triple, following his eight leg hits. It didn’t help a whole lot; he still hit just .213 during the season. The Bucs split a doubleheader with San Diego, and Raffy’s string ended in the second game. The Pirates had their own streak of nine straight wins snapped in the first-game.

1997 - The Pirates jumped out to an 8-0 lead at Veterans Stadium and kept the pedal to the metal, pounding the Philadelphia Phillies 13-3. All eight Bucco position players hit safely, and seven had multiple hits. All eight also plated and six of them had RBIs. Three was the day’s magic number: that’s how many hits Jason Kendall had, how many runs Kevin Young and Dale Sveum chased home, and how often Turner Ward crossed home plate. Steve Cooke cruised for six frames on the way to his eighth win.

2001 - The Pirates overcame a 2-0 deficit by scoring three times in the sixth and seventh innings, ending a five game losing streak by defeating the Cubs 3-2 at PNC Park. The key blow was a two-out, two-run single by Aramis Ramirez off a 1-2 pitch from Julian Taveras. It came with the bases loaded in the sixth following an intentional walk to John Vander Wal to set up A-Ram.

Adam Hyzdu - 2002 Topps Total

2002 - Adam Hyzdu went 3-for-5 with a grand slam, four RBI and three runs to lead the Bucs to a 12-9 slugfest win over St. Louis at PNC Park. After the Cardinals tied the game with five runs in the seventh, Rob Mackowiak countered with a two-run pinch hit homer in the Pirates half. Brian Giles and Pokey Reese also had three hits to help Scott Sauerbeck win his third game.

2005 - The sad sack Pirates were swept by the Astros 9-3 and 6-4 in a PNC Park twin bill, but it was a coming out day for 24-year-old rookie C Ryan Doumit, who slugged his first two MLB homers in the lidlifter. Dewey spent seven campaigns toiling with Pittsburgh, though he never developed into a big bopper despite that promising start, swatting just 67 long flies as a Bucco.

2006 - As the deadline approached, the Pirates had several irons in the fire per Dejan Kovacevic of the Post Gazette. They were one of four teams lined up for 26-year-old Rox prospect 1B Ryan Shealy; no specific details were leaked, but the Bucs matched up with Colorado, which was thought to be looking for bullpen help. The reliever payback was on target, although not Bucco arms: Shealy went to KC for Jeremy Affeldt and Denny Bautista. The Yankees, who missed out on signing Roberto Hernandez as a FA in the offseason, were in talks to get him to the Bronx; the Pirates were looking to perhaps shuffle some of Jeremy Burnitz’s contract to the Big Apple. Right city; wrong team - the Bucs couldn’t unload Burnitz, but Hernandez, with Ollie Perez, was enough to reel in Xavier Nady from the Mets. Finally, it was rumored that they were dangling Sean Casey on the market. That was one rumor that bore fruit; The Mayor went to Motown for the Tigers RHP Brian Rogers.

2007 - The Pirates purchased SS Cesar Izturis from the Chicago Cubs, firing up the rumor mill concerning Jack Wilson’s future in Pittsburgh where he was reportedly barely holding off Brian Bixler. As it ended up, it was Izturis who left at the end of the year when Pittsburgh didn’t renew his contract. Jack also outlasted BB and made it to 2009 before the Buccos’ FO sent the 32-year-old to Seattle to usher in the Ronnie Cedeno era. He retired after the 2012 campaign, worn down by injuries and age. He now coaches for a variety of developmental leagues.

2011 - The Bucs shut out the Reds for the second straight game, beating Mike Leake 1-0 at PNC Park to claim sole possession of first place in the NL Central for the last time. James McDonald, with help from Joe Beimel, Chris Resop and Joel Hanrahan, got the win when a soft roller to short by Cutch in the first inning cashed in Josh Harrison, who was on third after Neil Walker doubled. Charlie Morton and Joel Hanrahan teamed up for a 2-0 victory the game before.

Charlie Morton - 2013 Topps Update

2014 - It took 11 innings, but the Bucs finally topped the Colorado Rockies 3-2 at PNC Park on Jordy Mercer’s walkoff double. Charlie Morton and Brett Anderson were hooked up in a duel, both lasting seven innings with the Rox up, 2-1. The Bucs tied it in the eighth when Gaby Sanchez’s double plated Neil Walker and the bullpen took over. Ernesto Frieri, Mark Melancon, Justin Wilson and Jared Hughes needed just 33 pitches to cover the last four frames. Hughes got the win, but had the baseball gods on his side when with runners on the corners, a one-hop bullet back to the box found his mitt and Jared turned the grab into an inning-ending & eventual game-winning double play. 

2016 - Josh Harrison scored on a throwing error in the ninth inning to post his sixth career walkoff hit as the Pirates beat the Brewers 3-2 at PNC Park. Harrison led off the ninth with a triple to center field off Milwaukee’s Tyler Thornburg. Second baseman Scooter Gennett’s relay throw skipped into the Pittsburgh dugout as J-Hay slid into third, sending him home for the club’s second walkoff of the year. Mark Melancon got the blown save/win combo after giving up a run in the ninth (he was dinged by a two-out, two-strike rap by Hernan Perez). The Shark had followed Tony Watson, Neftali Feliz and starter Jameson Taillon on the bump.

2022 - Giancarlo Stanton (MVP) and Byron Buxton went long back-to-back in the fourth inning at Dodger Stadium to propel the AL to a 3-2 win in the Midsummer Classic. Closer David Bednar was the Bucs only rep, and he worked the ninth inning, giving up a walk amid three bouncers. The night before, Juan Sota won the Home Run Derby, topping Julio Rodriguez.

2024 - In front of 39,530, PNC Park’s largest regular season crowd since 2015, the Bucs fell behind the Phils 3-0 before they ever got to bat. Martin Perez gave up three more runs before leaving in the fourth, but the Bucs kept on keepin’ on. Andrew McCutchen (two hits, two walks, three runs), Oneil Cruz (three hits, two doubles, two runs, three RBI), Rowdy Tellez (he set the Pirates mark and tied MLB’s record with three sac flies) and Bryan Reynolds (three hits, two runs) did their things. But they still went into the ninth inning down 7-6 despite the run support and a stellar bullpen that gave up one score in 5-1/3 IP. Connor Joe opened with a single and Cutch walked; Shelty sent Michael Taylor in to run for Joe. And with good reason; MAT and Andrew pulled off a double steal. Taylor scored on Cruz’s infield chopper, then Nick Gonzales lined a single through the 3B-SS hole for the walkoff winner. It was the first time Pittsburgh had the lead all night. Carmen Mlodzinski, the Corsair’s sixth twirler of the match, picked up his second dub of the year. It was the club’s fifth straight win and put them above .500 for the first time since late April.

7/18 Through the 1950s: Kiner #100, Grays Under FF Lights, Three Amigos, Bonus Ball, Game Days, Carey Rumors, HBD Windy, Al, Hippity, Mayor & Bill

1894 - C Bill Haeffner was born in Philadelphia. Bill had a three-year major league career, spread out over 14 years. He got a cup of coffee with Philadelphia in 1915 and with the New York Giants in 1928 while seeing his biggest chunk of playing time with Pittsburgh in 1920, batting .194 in 54 games. What he did in between is a mystery; Baseball Reference and the other chroniclers don’t have any record of him playing in the minors/indies, so we assume he played semi-pro. We do know that Haeffner served as the head baseball coach at La Salle U. 

1894 - Wilbur “Mayor” Fisher was born in Green Bottom, West Virginia. His MLB career consisted of one at bat for the Bucs in 1916 as a 21-year-old. He played for Marshall University as a P/OF and the last pro listing for him was in 1917 as a member of the Petersburg Goobers of the Virginia League. Like many area breadwinners, he worked in the coal mines after playing ball. 

1905 - The Bucs collected eight hits, including a home run by George Gibson, in a 2-1 victory over New York and Christy Mathewson at the Polo Grounds. The game was halted for a time by umpire Jim Johnstone after a Giants fan tossed a bottle at Pirate RF Otis Clymer while he was chasing a ball. Clymer had already made one great play in the pasture and apparently the home crowd didn’t want another. Charlie Case and Mike Lynch tossed a five-hitter for the win. 

1914 - The frustrated Pirates were probably tired of Forbes Field after splitting a twin bill with Brooklyn, winning the opener 3-0 and losing the evening game 6-5 in 10 innings. The first game of the series on the day before went 21 frames, and that followed the Pirates losing a pair to the NY Giants the day before. So the Bucs and Big Apple nines played five games in a span of three days that lasted for 58 innings, the equivalent of three double headers. It was a frustrating stretch: Pittsburgh lost four of the matches, two in extra innings and another by a run, with the only Bucco victory being Bob Harmon’s complete-game, six-hit shutout OTD. The contests were part of a 19-of-20 games homestand (they had one road game in Chicago) that finished 7-13, though they did end the season 39-36 in their Oakland yard. The Bucs finished seventh with a 69-win season. 

Max Carey - 2014 photo Paul Thompson/Baseball Mag

1914 - The Pittsburgh Press reported that a Brooklyn paper, the Eagle, was floating around a possible deal for young Bucco center fielder Max Carey. The 24-year-old was hitting just .212 for a club that was going nowhere and Superba skipper Wilbert Robinson was looking for another man to add to the pasture. But Barney Dreyfuss and Manager Fred Clarke resisted the offer, and Carey wore a Pirates uniform until 1926 while on the way to 2,665 hits, 688 stolen sacks and the Hall of Fame. Ironically, after 17 years as a Corsair, Carey did end up in Brooklyn (by now, the Robins), where he played out his final 3-1/2 MLB seasons. 

1916 - OF Johnny “Hippity” Hopp was born in Hastings, Nebraska. He played three years in Pittsburgh (1948-50) with a .291/24/244 line as a Bucco. During his 14 year big league career, Hopp played in five different World Series with the Cards and Yankees and was an All-Star in 1946. Hippity had a kind of odd stay with the Pirates. In 1949, he was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Marv Rackley, but three weeks later, the trade was voided (Branch Rickey claimed Rackley had a bum arm, though he disagreed) and the two players were returned to their original teams. As a Bucco in 1950, Hopp had a streak of eight straight hits before the New York Yankees got him back by purchasing his contract at the beginning of September. Besides answering to “Hippity,” he was also known as “Cotney” (as in cottony) due to his prematurely white hair. Johnny was a coach through the fifties for Detroit and St Louis before getting a day job and teaching at baseball camps. 

1918 - RHP Al Lyons was born in St. Joseph, Missouri. He put in four big league years with a stop with the Pirates. In August of 1947, Pittsburgh purchased his contract from the New York Yankees for and he appeared in thirteen games, going 1-2/7.31 over 28-1/3 IP, and hitting his only MLB homer as a Bucco. The Yankees won the pennant and World Series that year while the Pirates finished in last place, but the Bronx Bombers remembered their ol’ bud and voted Lyons 1/2 World Series share ($2,915). After the season, the Pirates sent him to Boston as part of the Johnny Hopp/Danny Murtaugh deal. He got into a handful of games for the Braves and then spent several seasons in the PCL, where he became an OF/P, hitting 99 homers and winning 47 games over seven seasons. He retired after the 1956 campaign and served for years as a Mets scout. 

1925 - LHP John “Windy” McCall was born in San Francisco. He worked part of seven years in the majors with a brief stop at Pittsburgh in 1950, getting no decisions and tossing to a 9.25 ERA in two outings while pitching injured; a line drive hit him in the hand and he was bruised so badly that he couldn't grip the ball. He was sent to Indianapolis to recover and was later sold to the Giants. He was a Marine during WW2 who served in the Pacific Theater, delaying his entry into pro ball. McCall played in the majors until 1957 and closed out in the PCL after the 1959 campaign. Windy got his nickname from Ted Williams; McCall said “I guess they think I talk too much.”

Adam Comorosky - Conlon Collection

1930 - George Grantham and Adam Comorosky each homered and combined with Pie Traynor to go 9-for-14 with nine RBI and seven runs scored to power the attack as the Pirates defeated Boston at Braves Field, 12-4. Glenn Spencer went the distance on the bump for the win. 

1930 - While the Pirates were away, the Homestead Grays played. And it was a historic game, as the Grays squeaked out an extra-inning 5-4 win against the storied Kansas City Monarchs in the first night game ever played at Forbes Field (KC was credited w/hosting the first night baseball game earlier in the year) in front of 6,000 fans. Homestead fell behind 4-0, but put up a pair in the fifth and then rallied to tie the game in the ninth before Buck Ewing’s infield hit scored George Scales with the game winner in the 12th. Leadoff men Jake Stephens and Vic Harris provided the juice, collecting five hits and scoring four runs. 34-year-old George Britt went the distance, as did the Monarch’s Chet Brewer, who would spend almost 20 years as a Pirates scout after his playing days. The illumination was provided by 35 sky-high “projectors” with three lights each; apparently the only issues were with the electrical cables laid along the park railings and foul pops behind the plate. The teams played a day-night doubleheader the next day. Bucco owner Barney Dreyfuss was at the game and told Ralph Davis of the Pittsburgh Press “It is interesting, and provides entertainment for many people who cannot get away from work for afternoon contests...(but) I don’t think night baseball will ever replace the daylight brand in popularity.” It would take the Pirates another decade (6/5/1940) before their first home night game. 

1948 - It was a bad day at the office for the Pirates as they dropped a twin bill to the Boston Braves by 10-2 and 3-1 scores at Forbes Field. But it was a record setting afternoon for Ralph Kiner, who hit a solo shot in the ninth in the nitecap for his 100th career homer in 385 games, a pace that wasn’t surpassed until Ryan Howard did it in 325 games in 2007. 

Ralph Kiner - 1998 SI Legends of the Game

1951 - Ralph Kiner drove in seven runs and hit three HRs, including his 10th grand slam, in a 13-12 slugfest win over the Dodgers at Ebbets Field. His final bomb, a solo shot in the eighth, tied the contest. In Kiner's final at bat in the ninth, he almost did it again as Carl Furillo hauled in his long drive near the centerfield gate. Ralph set the franchise record by notching his fourth game with three homers, later to be tied by Willie Stargell. Joe Garagiola and Gus Bell (he went 4-for-5) also went long to help Junior Walsh to victory. 

1956 - Dick Groat’s two-run double in the 10th inning snapped a six-game losing streak for the Bucs, leading the club to a 4-2 win at Busch Stadium. The Pirates ran themselves out of chances to win in regulation by losing overly rambunctious runners at second, third and home during the match. It ended a streak for Bob Friend, too - the two runs for the Redbirds ended his scoreless skein against them at 32 innings. On the bright side, the complete game four-hitter was his 12th victory of the year, even if it was one that took him a while to earn - his 11th win was on June 16th. 

1957 - Ernie Banks and future Bucco skipper Chuck Tanner of the Cubs hit inside-the-park homers at Forbes Field during a come-from-behind rally that the Pirates eventually claimed 6-5 when Pittsburgh scored four runs off three Chicago pitchers in the ninth inning. Dick Groat’s two-run triple tied the game and he crossed the plate with the game winner following Bill Mazeroski’s walkoff single. Luis Arroyo was credited with the victory in relief of Bob Purkey.

7/18 From 1960: On Top, Charlie Gems, King Slam, 11 Straight, Roberto-Gibby, Game Days, The Hat Axed, ASG, Skenes Signed

1964 - The Milwaukee Braves got blown out at County Stadium, losing 8-2 to the Pirates, paced by Bob Bailey and Roberto Clemente’s three hits to back Bob Veale’s seven-hitter. Despite the loss, Braves legend Warren Spahn reached a career milestone. Seven of Pittsburgh's 15 hits came against the southpaw, who lasted just 3-2/3 frames, but he managed to complete his 5,000th MLB inning, putting him in an elite group; he still ranks eighth all-time in IP (sixth since post-1900) and joined a club with just a dozen other 5K workhorse members. The Hall-of-Famer usually fared pretty well against the Buccos; he defeated them 49 times over his two-decade career.

1967 - Harry “The Hat” Walker was fired as manager amidst reports of team dissension when the Bucs started out 42-42, despite winning 182 games and finishing third in back-to-back seasons. Old standby Danny Murtaugh returned to the bench in his stead until the year’s end.

1969 - Roberto Clemente ruined Bob Gibson’s day as the Bucs defeated the Cards at Forbes Field, when Arriba’s two-run homer and productive bouncer plated three of the Pirates' runs in a 4-1 victory. He remained a burr in Gibby’s side; his three-run homer at St. Louis did Gibson in 3-0 the week before, the first two long flies he had ever hit off the ace. Dock Ellis was the recipient of Arriba’s largesse as the Docktor scattered seven hits in a complete game victory.

1971 - The Bucs won their 11th straight game when they swept a DH from the Dodgers, 3-2 and 7-1, at TRS. The Pirates took the opener when Gene Alley opened the ninth with a triple and plated on Gene Clines' tapper. Dave Giusti got the blown save/win in relief of Bruce Kison.  Luke Walker had a no-hitter going into the ninth inning during the second game, losing the no-no on a homer by Joe Ferguson. Richie Hebner and Milt May went long for the Buccos.

Dave Giusti - photo via Mainline Autographs

1973 - Willie Stargell went 4-for-4 with a double and a homer, Rennie Stennett went deep and Bob Robertson doubled in a run as the Pirates defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 at Three Rivers Stadium. Dock Ellis won the mound battle against Tommy John, with Dave Giusti coming on for the save. The two men of the hour, Willie and Giusti, got their league letters notifying them that they had made the All-Star team. The Bucs pranked Giusti; he had been bypassed for AS honors the past couple of seasons despite strong credentials, and his teammates hid his notification and then razzed him about missing the boat again until they finally disclosed the good news.

1986 - Rick Reuschel made the 400th start of his big league career a winner, allowing three runs in seven innings to earn a 12-7 decision over the San Diego Padres at Three Rivers Stadium. UL Washington led the way for the Pirates, going 3-for-4 with four RBI, Jim Morrison collected three hits with three RBI and Sid Bream had three knocks and scored twice. The game was a laugher at 10-0 in the fifth; the Friars scored four times in the ninth off Barry Jones to save some face. Big Daddy would finish his 19-year career with 529 starts and 214 victories.

1987 - Pittsburgh rallied for a pair of eighth inning runs to drop LA 4-2 at Dodger Stadium. Doug Drabek won his first game since April 19th and got beaned in the process while SS Felix Fermin, called up 10 days before and batting .316, fouled a bunt off his thumb and was lost for two months. The Dodgers jumped ahead 2-0 on a first inning, two-run shot by Pedro Guerrero before Fermin’s two-run single tied it in the second. It was zeroes until the eighth, with the main excitement being DD’s beaning in the seventh by Orel Hershiser. It wasn’t a payback pitch; Drabek was served an inside curve and ducked right into it. As Bob Hertzel of the Press wrote, Doug was “...probably the first player in baseball history to be hit in the head with a knee-high breaking ball.” He shook it off, although Barry Jones came on to work the last two innings for the save as the Pirates plated a pair in the next frame on three singles, a walk and passed ball. Bobby Bonilla led the batsmen with three hits and scored twice. Pittsburgh was its own worst enemy during the match, stranding 10 runners, hitting into a double play and going 0-for-2 in steal attempts.  

Jim Leyland - 1989 Veryfine Juice

1989 - After a 17-4 loss to the San Diego Padres at Jack Murphy Stadium, Jim Leyland held a closed door team meeting and per the Pittsburgh Press’ Bob Hertzel, “...informed his team that it was, in no particular order, selfish, dumb, unprepared, a disgrace and probably unkind to animals.” Despite this being a team family trip, he also called for an afternoon practice before the next game, spoiling any last minute outings with the clan. The Pirates didn’t seem to take much umbrage at the wake up call, nor did it seem to have much effect - they were 13 games under .500 before the chat, lost 9-1 the next night and then finished the year that same 13 games under. But Leyland was playing the long game, and was doing the groundwork as the Pirates went on to win the next three division titles between 1990-92, claiming at least 95 victories per season.

1990 - Jeff King hit his first career grand slam and added five RBI to lead the Pirates to an 11-2 win over San Francisco at Three Rivers Stadium. Sid Bream and Chico Lind also chipped in with long balls. Doug Drabek allowed two runs in eight innings while improving to 11-4.

1998- Turner Ward and Kevin Young homered back-to-back in the first inning as the Pirates raced to a 4-0 lead v Montreal at Olympic Stadium. Ward’s blast was a two-run shot, KY followed with his solo shot and Aramis Ramirez later singled home another tally to give Jon Lieber lots of elbow room before the Expos even got to bat - and that was with Tony Womack getting picked off first. It was more than enough support as Lieber went the distance, spinning a 90-pitch five-hitter as the Pirates defeated the Expos 5-2.

2000 - The Bucs snapped a six-game losing streak with an 8-6 win over Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium. The Pirates scored five times in the first two innings, but the Dodgers came back with a six-spot in the third frame. The Bucs finally prevailed thanks to three RBIs each from Jason Kendall and Wil Cordero, both of whom also homered. Five Pirate relievers combined to toss seven innings of scoreless three-hit ball to cement the win, which went to Jose Manzanillo.

Wil Cordero - 2000 MLB Showdown

2009 - Charlie Morton went seven innings of three-hit ball to stop the San Francisco Giants 2-0 at PNC Park. Matt Capps made the finish exciting, putting runners on second and third with an out in the ninth frame, but came back to get a whiff and grounder to preserve the win. Ryan Doumit scored and had an RBI to provide a spark to the otherwise listless attack.

2011 - The Pirates took a 2-0 decision at PNC Park against Cincinnati as Charlie Morton tossed a three-hitter against the Reds. The Bucs played small ball in the fourth inning for the win. Chase d’Arnaud and Neil Walker led off with singles, with The Kid taking second behind the play when the throw targeted d’Arnaud hustling into third. Andrew McCutchen’s tapper drove in Chase with one run, Matt Diaz’s sac fly scored Walker, and that was it for either squad’s lumber.

2012 - The Pirates spent their final day tied for the top of the NL Central after taking a 9-6 decision from Colorado at Coors Field as Garrett Jones, Pedro Alvarez, Casey McGehee and Rod Barajas homered for the Bucs. Pittsburgh collapsed like a house of cards after that, going 28-43 the rest of the way to finish with 79 wins and their 20th straight losing campaign.

2023 - The Pirates signed first round and first overall draft selection Paul Skenes, RHP from Louisiana State. His bonus of $9,200,000 broke the signing record set in 2020 by IF Spencer Torkelson, who inked his $8,416,300 deal with the Detroit Tigers. Still, it was under the $9,721,000 slot value of the selection, leaving the Pirates with plenty of room for a couple of yet-unsigned Top 10 picks and a pair of high school players who were taken in the later rounds. The money didn’t help - so far, with Skene’s exception, it’s been a fairly nondescript class.

7/17 Through the 1970s: Dock's 13, Roberto Rocks, 1,000 For Ralph, Duelin', Hans Day, Lotta Wins, Gotta Score..., Game Days, Cobra ASG-MVP, HBD Jerry, Chummy & Jim

1866 - RHP Jim Handiboe was born in Columbus, Ohio. Jim’s big league stay consisted of a season with the American Association Alleghenys in 1886, where the 20-year-old put up a 7-7/3.32 slash, going the distance 12 times. That gave him an OPS+ of 100, making him the poster boy for a league-average pitcher. Apparently the team thought he needed a little more seasoning; Jim toiled in various whistle stops until 1901, retiring at age 34. 

1873 - RHP George “Chummy” Gray was born in Rockland, Maine. His tale is that of a AAAA pitcher getting his moment in the sun. After back-to-back 20 win seasons, Gray tossed a no-hitter with one walk for Buffalo in 1899. He got his reward when the Pirates brought him up for the last month of the season. Gray went 3-3/3.43 in nine games, completing six of his seven starts. Chummy then rattled around the minor leagues for a few more years, but never again returned to the majors, eventually hanging up the spikes after the 1901 season. He passed away in 1913 at age 40 in Rockland of TB.

1888 - The Pittsburgh Alleghenys lost, 2-0, to the Philadelphia Quakers, dropping a three-game set at Exposition Park by 1-0, 1-0, and 2-0 counts. The middle game was the most frustrating when a ninth-inning hit-and-run single followed by an unpopular safe call at third led to the game’s only run. The Pittsburgh Press described it this way: “ …the umpiring...looked to be decidedly against the locals in the ninth inning. Twice it looked like Andrews (Quaker CF Ed Andrews who scored the game winner) was out. The first time on strikes (and)...again in deciding him safe at third when Billy Kuehne (Alleghenys’ 3B) had touched him fully two feet from the base. It looked as though another serious mistake had been made in favor of the visitors by the tenth man...There is little wonder that the indignation of the crowd knew no bounds but let it be said to its credit no act of violence was done.” For his part, the ump was indignant at the fans’ reaction and said he called the game in good faith while Philly manager Harry Wright claimed the “locals had no business to kick.” The Alleghenys batsmen then shook their lethargy, going on to win 11-of-13 while averaging 5-1/2 runs per game, although they were whitewashed 20 times during the year.

1890 - For the first time, two eventual 300-game winners were opponents as Tim Keefe of the Giants faced Pittsburgh's Jim 'Pud' Galvin in a Players League (which was considered a major league) match-up. New York easily beat the Burghers, 8-2. O’Keefe did his part, tossing a four-hitter (The Pittsburgh Press wrote “the wonder is that the Pittsburgs were allowed to score at all.”) while Pud was rattled for a dozen knocks. They met again in 1892, and after that, the next time two 300-winners battled was in 2005 when Greg Maddux met Roger Clemens.

Pud Galvin - 2005 Pioneers Of Baseball

1907 - “The veteran Vic Willis was on the slab...and he tied knots in the home bunch from first to last. He allowed but two hits, one a scratch...” per the Pittsburgh Press, and he led the Bucs to a 2-0 win over Christy Mathewson and the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds. Matty only allowed four hits, with the Pirates not lighting up the scoreboard until the eighth inning with an unearned run. The insurance marker came in the ninth frame when Ed Abbaticchio bounced a drive off the wall; it caromed into a dirt pile by the fence and it took two Giants to eventually dig it out. By the time the excavated ball was quarried and made it back to the infield, Abby had rounded the bases.

1908 - It was Honus Wagner Day at Exposition Park, and before the game, players from both teams lined up to honor him. He was speechified, then gifted with a $700 gold watch and an Elk’s pin with a diamond worth four bills. The tribute was originally scheduled for the 16th, but Hans asked that it be moved so it wouldn’t conflict with the annual orphan’s picnic. The Boston Doves won the game 4-0 behind ex-Pirate Tommy McCarthy’s five-hitter. It could have been worse - the Doves tacked on six more runs in the eighth, but the game was called because of darkness before the Pirates could bat, nullifying the six-pack. Hans finished the game equally in the dark by going hitless. 

1914 - In one of the great pitching duels of early baseball, Babe Adams lost to the Giants Rube Marquard, 3-1, in 21 innings at Forbes Field. Babe surrendered 12 hits without a walk; it’s the longest outing without a free pass in MLB history. New York’s Larry Doyle's inside-the-park home run was Babe’s downfall. The key play was when Honus Wagner was called out for interference in the sixth inning. He slid into third and headed home when the ball disappeared from view; it ended up tucked in his uniform. Wagner was, per the Pittsburgh Press “...trying to hide a ball and score off the trick...” and ump Lord Byron rang him up for the subterfuge. As the Press reported “...the decision caused a mighty howl, which was participated in by many of the players and by Manager Fred Clarke, who applied a flow of profanity to the umpire, which was anything but pleasing to the disgusted spectators. Clarke’s language on this occasion...will not win ball games.” The Pirates appealed Byron’s call of Hans' suspected hidden ball trick (he apparently pleaded that the ball got caught up in his flannels) to the league with no luck.

1930 - OF/PH Jerry Lynch was born in Bay City, Michigan. Lynch started (1954-56) and ended (1963-66) his career in Pittsburgh, spending the seven middle years with the Cincinnati Reds. He hit .263/45/188 as a reserve Pirate outfielder and primo pinch hitter. Lynch had 116 pinch hits during his 13-year big league tour with 18 HR, and is still high on the hit lists for PH.

Jerry Lynch - 1964 Topps

1936 - 1936 NL MVP Carl Hubbell of the NY Giants started a 24-game winning streak with a 6-0, five-hit win against the Pirates at Forbes Field, the longest victory run in MLB history.  He was finally stopped by the Brooklyn Dodgers on May 31st, 1937. In his 28 outings during the span, he had 24 wins, two saves and just two no-decisions with 19 complete games in 24 starts.

1939 - Newly acquired Bucco outfielder Chuck Klein made his first appearance back in Philadelphia since leaving the city where he spent 10 years as a player. He celebrated the homecoming by jacking a pair of homers to lift the Bucs to a 7-4 win at Shibe Park. The Bucs released Klein in August and he returned to his old club, retiring in 1944 as a Phil.

1952 - Ralph Kiner hit a two-run shot in the ninth frame to walk-off the Phils at Forbes Field, giving the Bucs a 4-2 victory and sweep of a twin bill. He also joined the 1,000 hit club; he would end his career with 1,451 knocks. The blast off Karl Drews made a winner out of Ted Wilks, who tossed a scoreless inning in relief of Woody Main. Clem Koshorek and Pete Castiglione joined Ralph by banging a pair of hits. The Pirates took the opener, 2-1, behind Cal Hogue’s four-hitter. Catfish Metkovich singled home rookie Dick Groat in the third frame to knot the score, and Groat drove in Clyde McCullough two innings later with the game winner. It was a rare twin win day as doubleheaders weren’t the clubs’ strong suit; they swept just three in 23 double dip tries.

1966 - The Pirates swept a twin bill from San Francisco at Forbes Field, 7-4 and 7-1, to vault over the Giants into first place behind the pitching of Steve Blass and Tommie Sisk. Matty Alou and Donn Clendenon collected four hits during the DH, with Clendenon homering. In a wild race, the Bucs would finish third with a 92-70 slate, three games behind the Dodgers.

1970 - Roberto Clemente led the Bucs to a 4-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Forbes Field with three hits, falling a double short of the cycle. He tripled and scored the tying run in the sixth, homered for the eventual game winner in the eighth, and threw out Tommy Helms at the plate in the ninth. Dave Giusti, the Bucs third pitcher, ran his record to 8-0 with Roberto’s help.

Roberto Clemente - 1970 Topps Super

1971 - A deserted Forbes Field was lit up by a fire under the right field stands. It was the second blaze and left such severe structural damage that its demolition, already scheduled by its new owners, Pitt, began almost immediately. Now the former ballyard’s footprint is the site of Posvar Hall, with home plate still showcased in the building and a bit of the brick & ivy wall still remains standing.

1971 - Dock Ellis won his 13th straight game without a defeat over the Padres at Three Rivers Stadium, 9-2, with Bob Robertson’s three-run homer providing all the scoring the Docktor would need. Manny Sanguillen had four knocks and Roberto Clemente added three more raps to aid the cause. Dock’s next outing would be a no decision before the Dodgers ended his streak. 

1978 - The Pirates bullpen imploded in the ninth inning at TRS, allowing San Diego to score three runs to tie the game at six as they rallied from a fourth-inning 6-1 deficit. The Padres tacked on another run in the 10th frame to take the lead, but the Bucs weren’t quite done. With Rollie Fingers on the hill, Bill Robinson reached on an error and Willie Stargell singled through a shift before Rennie Stennett’s rap tied the game. Ken Macha, who ran for Willie, and Stennett tagged and moved up a base after Ed Ott’s line out to left. San Diego decided to not walk Manny Sanguillen with lefty John Milner on deck, and The Roadrunner made it a bad choice by banging a ball off the left field wall for a long single and walkoff win, with the dub credited to Kent Tekulve.

1979 - The National League won its eighth straight All-Star Game, 7-6, at the Kingdome in Seattle. Pittsburgh’s only representative, Dave Parker, threw out runners at home & third and was named the game's MVP. The Cobra went 1-for-3 with an RBI and was intentionally walked once. Future Bucco Lee Mazzilli tied the game in the eighth inning with a pinch-hit home run and then put the Senior Circuit ahead in the ninth frame by drawing a bases-loaded walk to finish as the MVP runner-up to Parker. This ASG was the only one ever played in the Kingdome; by the time the Midsummer Classic returned to Seattle in 2001, the Mariners were playing in a new yard, Safeco Park.

7/17 From 1980: Record Rally, Alex Trips, 5 For KY, Streakin', Game Days, Loaiza-TVP, Felipe & ASG, Termarr #1, Youth Served, HBD Brian

1982 - RHP Brian Rogers was born in Dallas, Texas. He joined the Pirates in 2006 after a trade with the Detroit Tigers for Sean Casey, was sent to AA Portland, and was called up at the end of August. He didn’t fare very well, and was sent back to the minors the following campaign, getting just three more not-so-successful outings with the big club and finishing his career with a Bucco slash of 0-0/9.28 in 13 games. Rogers was released in mid-June of 2008 and got short minor-league stints with the Tigers and New York Mets to end his pro career at age 25. He went to work for a resort in Hawaii, got his degree and is now a manager.

1983 - The Pirates whipped the San Diego Padres at Jack Murphy Stadium by a 5-4 score, concluding their best-ever west coast trip by taking 9-of-10 games. The Buccaneers ran their winning streak to eight games to reach .500 on the season. The Corsair attack was powered by Jason Thompson, who had three hits, including a homer, and three RBI. Dave Parker and Dale Berra also chipped in three knocks to key a 13-hit outing. Lee Tunnell took the win and Kent Tekulve picked up the save. Pittsburgh kept on keepin’ on against the left coasters; right after the trip, LA, SF and SD came calling to TRS and the Bucs took 8-of-11.

1988 - The Pirates ran their winning streak to nine games when they held off the Giants, 5-4, at Three Rivers Stadium. Pittsburgh jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning on a Mike Dunne RBI grounder and a two-out, two-run knock by Darnell Coles. San Francisco used a pair of homers to tie it up before the Bucs regained the lead in the eighth frame on Barry Bonds’ long ball, stroked with two outs and two strikes, to take a 5-3 edge. Jim Gott finished it up, though with some drama - a pair of walks (one intentional) sandwiched around a double narrowed the gap to one run, then he survived Harry Spilman’s long drive to center that Andy Van Slyke had just enough room to corral to save the win for Jeff Robinson. The streaky club lost the next day, took three in a row, then dropped 15-of-23 on the way to a roller-coaster 85-75 campaign. 

1998 - The Bucs traded RHP Esteban Loaiza to the Texas Rangers for RHP Todd Van Poppel and 2B Warren Morris. The Pirates plugged Van Poppel into the rotation to replace Loaiza while Morris was considered the key as a lefty-hitting, power-bat second baseman. It didn’t work out quite as planned. TVP lasted 10 weeks for Pittsburgh while Morris was released after the 2001 season. Loaiza pitched for another 10 seasons (albeit with seven teams), topped by a 21-9/2.90 campaign with the White Sox in 2003 when he was an All-Star and Cy Young runner up. TVP pitched through 2004 while Morris played for six more organizations, with his only MLB stops at Detroit in 2003 plus an ‘02 cup of coffee with Minnesota, before playing his last pro game in 2005.

Estaban Loaiza - 1998 Donruss

1998 - After trading scheduled starter Esteban Loaiza before the game, the Bucs called on reliever Mike Williams to make the bullpen start, hoping for two or three frames. He lasted five strong innings, giving up a run, and Jason Christiansen picked up the final 12 outs in the Bucs’ 5-1 win over Montreal at Olympic Stadium. The Bucs offense wasn’t very exciting in grinding out five runs, but Aramis Ramirez and Expo pitcher Javier Vazquez ignited a couple of bench-clearing dances, the first caused by a basepath bump by Vazquez when he tried to swat the ball out of Ramirez’s glove on a tag play followed by A-Ram taking a pitch off the shoulder and charging the mound with bad intentions. Both hotheads were ejected after the HBP festivities (and would later earn five-day suspensions), but Elmer Dessens started off the Expo half of the frame by coming in high and tight on Rondell White, ringing the bell for round three. The rest of the night was all baseball, with Lou Collier collecting three raps to lead an 11-hit attack. The suddenly battlin’ Bucs went on a rampage afterward, winning 7-of-9 games before settling back into the doldrums.

1999 - In a wild 13-10 win over the Cleveland Indians at Three Rivers Stadium, Kevin Young homered twice to drive in five runs and Al Martin also went yard two times to plate three more; both had three hits, as did Adrian Brown. The teams combined to bang out 32 hits and together burned through 13 pitchers during the game, played in front of 43,299 fans, many from Ohio for the weekend. The Bucs led throughout the contest, though the Tribe cut the lead to a single run in the sixth and two in the eighth, to net Kris Benson the win, saved by Mike Williams.

2003 - The Brewers and Bucs exchanged grand slams in a 7-5 Milwaukee win at PNC Park. Ex-Bucco John Vander Wal clocked a first-inning salami off Kris Benson; Craig Wilson pounded a pinch-hit grannie in the fifth off Wayne Franklin, but to no avail as it was already 7-0 Brew Crew at that point.

2007 - LHP Daniel Moskos, the Pirates first round draft pick and fourth overall, agreed to a deal including a $2.5M signing bonus. The Clemson junior was selected as a back-end bullpen option for the Pirates bullpen, although he made 10 starts for the Tigers as a junior. He got his only MLB action in 2007, slashing 1-1/2.96 in 312 Pittsburgh outings but with a 1.56 WHIP and just four K’s per nine innings. The Bucs waived him in June of 2012, and Moskos then pitched through 2018, working for various farm clubs and in Mexico and the indie leagues.

Alex Presley - 2011 Bowman Chrome

2009 - It took 14 innings, but the Bucs ended a streak of seven losses in eight games going into the All-Star break with a 2-1 win over the Giants at PNC Park to resume the season. Garrett Jones homered off Bob Lowry at PNC Park for the walkoff winner; he also brought home the first run with a long ball off of Tim Lincecum. The pitching duel, begun by Paul Maholm and Lincecum, featured 13 pitchers between the two clubs, with Evan Meek getting the win. 

2011 - Alex Presley had three hits and three RBI as the Pirates won a 7-5 decision in 11 innings at Minute Maid Park. Chris Leroux won his first (and only) MLB game and Chris Resop earned his first big league save as the Bucs burned seven pitchers in a game Kevin Correia started. KC only lasted five frames, but had a key hit when he banged a two-out, two-run double after the ‘Stros intentionally walked Eric Fryer to get to him (to shake some salt into the wound; Fryer came around to plate on Kevin’s two-bagger). A couple of future Bucs toed the rubber for the Astros - starter Wandy Rodriguez and eventual loser Mark Melancon (two unearned runs did him in).

2013 - The International League won the AAA All-Star Game, 4-3, over the Pacific Coast League. The big bop was delivered by Pirates C prospect Tony Sanchez of the Indy Indians who banged a three-run homer in the second inning and won the game MVP. He got a late call to the big club that season, hitting .233 in 22 games. Tony got into 29 more games with the Pirates over the next two seasons, was released and then bounced around among various organizations in the minors as a depth player through 2019, getting one last MLB at bat for the Bravos in 2017.

2016 - Starling Marte went boom against ex-Bucco Ollie Perez in the 18th inning to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 win over Washington at Nationals Park; he had chased home Adam Frazier in the sixth with the Pirates first run. The Pirates took a 1-0 lead into the ninth frame in a duel between Chad Kuhl and Max Scherzer, but Daniel Murphy homered off Mark Melancon with two outs and two strikes to pave the way for some bonus baseball. The Bucs took a shot at ending it in the 16th inning when Josh Harrison doubled, but not-so-fleet catcher Eric Kratz (who caught all 18 innings) was cut down at home. The two clubs shuffled through 17 pitchers (Pittsburgh used nine) with Jon Niese getting the win after three innings atop the mound to earn his final MLB victory.

Starling Marte - 2016 Topps

2018 - Closer Felipe Rivero got his first All-Star nod (some thought the honor was a year overdue) as the only Pirates ASG rep at Nationals Park, the yard where his career started. The American League prevailed over the senior Circuit in 10 innings by an 8-6 score that saw a record 10 homers belted between the clubs, but they couldn’t dent Felipe. In his inning of work, he fanned a pair, walked one and gave up a single on a routine fly that was lost in the lights.

2021 - MLB teams were not-too-surprisingly 314-0 when leading by six or more runs after eight innings this season, but Jake Stallings and the Pirates put an end to that streak when The Cheetah’s two-out, first-pitch grand slam that hugged the left field line carried Pittsburgh to a 9-7 win over the Mets at PNC Park. Down 6-0 going into the eighth in front of a season-high 27,229 fans, John Nogowski’s double and a grounder made it 6-2 before Wilmer Difo dropped a three-run bomb midway up the Clemente seats to turn it into a one-run game. The Mets rallied to tack on a ninth-inning insurance tally before a hit batter, walk and infield rap filled the sacks with two away for the Bucs, setting the stage for Stallings. Despite giving up the late run, Clay Holmes got the win. Fun fact: It was the third Bucco walk-off grannie at PNC Park, joining those swatted by Rob Mackowiak (2004) & Brian Giles (2001), and the 10th in Pirates history. Not-so-fun fact: The Pirates reversed roles on New York by jumping to a 6-0 lead in the next day’s game only to lose via a two-run, ninth-inning homer, 7-6. It was the first time in National League history that opposing teams lost 6-0 leads in consecutive games.

2022 - The draft began in Los Angeles and the Pirates selected SS Termarr Johnson, 18, from Mays HS in Atlanta as the fourth overall pick of the draft. Termarr (throws right, bats left) was projected as perhaps the best hitter in the draft, but on the smallish side at 5-8 and projected as a second baseman, although the Bucs started him out at short. He had a college commitment to Arizona State, but a $7,219,000 check countered that. With comp pick #36, they chose soph RHP Thomas Harrington, 21, from Campbell University; he was more reasonably priced at $2,050,000. In the second round with pick #44, they claimed Florida redshirt sophomore LHP Hunter Barco, 21, who had TJ surgery in May and before that was considered a Top 15 draftee. Hunter made his organizational debut in July, 2023, in the Florida Complex League after signing for $1,520,000.

2023 - The long-promised youth rebuild arrived at PNC Park. Six players who were in the minors in June - RHP Quinn Priester, C Endy Rodriguez, 2B Nick Gonzales, SS Liover Peguero, 3B Jared Triolo and RF Henry Davis - all started. And it was a rough start, matching the weather and a delayed opening pitch. Priester retired the first nine Cleveland Guardians, then had the wheels come off. The bullpen added gas to the fire, the five rookies in the batting order went 2-for-17 with a walk, and the young guns absorbed an 11-0 beatdown. Rome wasn’t built in a day...