4/8 Through 1984: Lee Spree, 14-Inning Opener, Takin' Two, TSN Roberto; RIP Lee, HBD Brian, Tom, Kirby, Reddy, Smilin' Pete & John

• 1850 - Middle infielder John Peters was born in New Orleans. He played the final three years of his 11 season MLB career (1882–84) with the Pittsburgh Alleghenys, batting .273. Peters was a pretty good all-around player; once he hit .351 (.278 lifetime BA) and led the NL in putouts twice. John was also the everyday shortstop for the NL pennant-winning 1876 Chicago White Stockings. 
• 1864 - LHP “Smilin’ Pete” Daniels was born in County Cavan, Ireland. After starting as a semi-pro ballplayer, Daniels played pro ball between 1887-1902 and managed to get two years/14 MLB games on his resume. He got four starts as a rookie in 1890 for the Alleghenys, slashing 1-2/7.07 after following his Louisville manager, Guy Hecker, to Pittsburgh. Chris Rainey of SABR wrote of his nickname “All it took was an affable personality and a beautiful set of teeth.” 
• 1875 - OF Romer “Reddy” (he was a redhead) Grey was born in Zanesville, Ohio. The long-time minor leaguer was “borrowed” on May 28th, 1903 from his Worchester Riddlers club by the Pirates due to the absence of several Bucco regulars. He played left field, went 1-for-3 with a walk, and then returned to Worcester’s roster, ending his MLB career. Reddy's brother was author Zane Grey, who also played minor league baseball, a couple of times on the same club as Reddy. Romer was also an author; an avid fisherman, he wrote "Adventures of a Deep Sea Angler" in 1930. Zane returned the favor, drawing on his brother for “The Redheaded Outfielder” by using lefty OF’er “Reddie Ray,” the fictionalized version of his bro, as one of the characters in his children’s tale. 

Kirby Higbe - 1948 Leaf

• 1915 - RHP Kirby Higbe was born in Columbia, South Carolina. He pitched for Pittsburgh at the tail end of his career as part of the rotation in 1947 and as a swingman in 1948, but began losing it by 1949. The Bucs traded the 34-year-old to the Giants that season, and after 1950, he hung 'em up. The righty put together a solid career - in a dozen seasons, he played for five teams, claimed 118 wins with a 3.69 ERA, was an All-Star twice and won a World Series with Brooklyn. 
• 1938 - RHP Tom Butters was born in Delaware, Ohio. He spent his four-year MLB career (1962-65) with Pittsburgh, compiling a modest 2-3/3.10 slash. The fireballer was signed at age 17 and spent six years in the minors trying to master the strike zone. He looked like he had earned his shot after the 1964 season (2-2/2.38) under Danny Murtaugh, but he was hurt in a car accident on the way to camp that caused him to retire three months later. Butters landed on his feet, though, and went on to have a successful 30-year career as a Duke athletic administrator before he passed away in 2016. 
• 1969 - The Pirates took a since-eclipsed NL opening-day record 14 innings to defeat St. Louis 6-2, tying their own 1958 benchmark. They scored four times in the 14th on five consecutive two-out singles, with Manny Sanguillen and Matty Alou each driving in a pair of runs. Bruce Dal Canton won and Chuck Hartenstein earned the save at Busch Stadium. Alou, along with Willie Stargell, collected three hits for the Buccos. Steve Blass and Bob Gibson were the Opening Day starters; Blass went seven innings while Gibson went nine frames with 10 K. 
• 1970 - IF Lee Handley died in Pittsburgh of a heart attack at age 56. Lee played 10 years in the show, with the middle eight seasons (1937-41, 1944-46, with a break for the service) spent as a Bucco. He hit .269 as a Pirate and was a starter for five of his eight campaigns here. Lee was tied for the NL lead in stolen bases in 1939, although his 17 swipes weren’t exactly Maury Wills-type numbers. The little guy (he was 5’7”) was plenty tough - he suffered a serious beaning in 1939 and was injured in a car crash after the 1941 season and bounced back from both. 

• 1972 - Roberto Clemente was featured on the cover of The Sporting News for the story “Mr. Big.” He went on to bat .312 and collected his 3,000th hit, winning All-Star honors for the 15th time in twelve seasons and earning a twelfth straight Gold Glove award in his final campaign. 
• 1973 - The Bucs took a pair from the Cards thanks to the longball, sweeping a TRS twinbill, 4-3 and 5-3, in front of 23,391 chilly (it was in the forties) fans. In the opener, the Bucs blew an early 2-0 lead before tying the game in the ninth when Gene Clines singled, went to third on Rennie Stennett’s knock by deking CF Jose Cruz with a stop-and-go turn at second, then plating on Manny Sanguillen’s fly. Pittsburgh won it in the 10th on Bob Robertson’s homer. Nellie Briles went the first nine innings for the win with Dave Giusti earning the save. In the nightcap, the Pirates used blasts by Willie Stargell, Milt May and Gene Alley to claim a victory for Dock Ellis. He finished one out shy of a complete game, as Ramon Hernandez was called on to get the final out against St. Louis. 
• 1981 - LHP Brian Burres was born in Oregon City, Oregon. Burres toiled for six years and 106 games in MLB, with his last big league hurrah taken in Pittsburgh from 2010-11, where he slashed 5-5/4.82. He tossed at various levels of pro ball from 2001-2016 before closing out his career as an indie league pitcher. 
• 1984 - Rod Scurry checked into a 30-day drug rehabilitation program to battle his cocaine demons, returning to action on May 13th. He finished the year 5-6-4/2.53 slash, and the Pirates sold him a year later to the Yankees for New York’s September run. The day's game resulted in better news. Behind Lee Lacy’s 4-for-4, three-RBI day, the Pirates swept a three-game set against LA, 5-2, at Dodger Stadium. Rick Rhoden chalked up the win and Cecilio Guante picked up the save.

4/8 From 1985: B-Rey #100, Jamo 1-Hitter, Starling Slam, Rallies, OT, A-Ram's 6-RBIs, Duels, TV & Game Days, Handy Art; HBD Carlos

• 1986 - 1B Carlos Santana was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The Pirates signed the 13-year vet (ten years were spent with Cleveland) FA for one-year/$6.725M after a down 2022 campaign (.202/19 HR), which featured stronger peripherals than counting numbers. He joined a posse of players the Pirates brought in to address 1B/DH/middle-of-the-order holes in the lineup and was slotted in the 2023 plans as a platoon partner (and mentor) with Ji-man Choi. Carlos was solid on the field and in the locker room, but like most veteran signings, was flipped at the deadline, going to Milwaukee for a teen prospect. “Slamtana” became a free agent in the off season and he’s now with the Arizona Diamondback, his fifth MLB stop since leaving the Pirates. 
• 1989 - The Pirates, who at the time were on national TV about as often as taxes get cut, not only were booked for seven outings on NBC during the season, but their game today against the Cubs at Wrigley was the season opener for the network. Alas, the Bucs struggled getting out of the gate, dropping five of their first six games, including this one, a 5-3 loss. The bottom of the order (Glenn Wilson, Rafe Belliard and Neal Heaton) rang up four of the Pirates five hits and scored/drove home all three Pittsburgh runs. Heaton took the defeat and former mate Mike Bielecki claimed the victory. 
• 1997 - The Pirates quieted the Padres, 2-0, behind Steve Cooke, Rich Loiselle‚ and John Ericks. They teamed up to toss a one-hitter, a single, while Pittsburgh had 11 raps but went 1-for-14 w/RISP against San Diego. Tony Womack was the Buc batting hero, driving in a pair of eighth-inning runs with a two-out triple to beat Sean Bergman at Qualcomm Stadium. Cooke was credited with the while and Ericks earned the save; he was a late-blooming swingman who was injured later in the season, had two shoulder surgeries and never pitched afterward. 
• 2001 - The Pirates whipped the Astros, 9-3, at Enron Field behind the smokin’ bat of 3B Aramis Ramirez, who slammed three HRs and drove in six runs. Joe Beimel was the winning pitcher, lasting just long enough to toss five innings before Billy Taylor and Jose Silva put the game to bed. 

Ron Villone - 2002 photo/AP

• 2002 - Lloyd McClendon’s Pirates ground out a 1-0 victory against the Reds in their home opener to hold on to first place. Ron Villone, Mike Fetters, and Mike Williams combined on a four-hit shutout, running the Bucs season winning streak to five and breaking a nine-game home opener losing streak. The run was set up by Reds pitcher Elmer Dessens. With Brian Giles on second base, Dessens balked Giles to third and he scored on Aramis Ramirez’s sacrifice fly. 
• 2003 - The Bucs honored Hall of Fame slugger Ralph Kiner by unveiling a commemorative sculpture at their home opener. The bronze artwork is a bit oddball, showing just Kiner's hands gripping a Louisville Slugger bat, located in the left field rotunda near the Willie Stargell statue. He was honored during the pre-game ceremonies and tossed out the first pitch, but the Buccos weren’t sharing his celebratory mood. Kip Wells walked seven, the fielding was brutal, and except for a late three-run homer by Jason Kendall that made it look deceptively close, the Brewers easily had their way with Pittsburgh, winning 5-3. To add insult to injury, only 24,000+ showed up on a chilly, gray day after the original opener had been pushed back due to inclement early-April weather. 
• 2011 - The Bucs outlasted the Rockies, 5-4, in a 14-inning, five-hour, 11-minute overnighter when Jose Tabata doubled with two outs to score Josh Rodriguez. Rockies' manager Jim Tracy decided to work on JT rather than walk him, even though Pirates pitcher Garrett Olson was on deck. The Buccos didn't have any position players left to pinch-hit, but the wily Clint Hurdle had Andrew McCutchen swinging in the on-deck circle (he was the leadoff hitter) and some suspect a con job was being pulled on Tracy. Still, the bullpen was the story of the game - six Pittsburgh pitchers tossed 11-1/3 frames of six-hit shutout ball as starter Ross Ohlendorf only lasted three innings. The game was played in front of 29,192 at PNC Park; most had hit the gates for home before Tabata’s walk-off and had to read about the dramatic finish in the morning paper. 
• 2012 - Down 4-1 to the Phillies in the seventh at PNC Park, the Bucs found their two-out mojo. The Bucs scored twice in the seventh with two away, tied it in the eighth on Matt Hague’s first MLB hit, a two-out knock, and won in the ninth on Cutch’s drive to center over Shane Victorino’s head with two gone, his third hit. Casey McGehee was the glue man, coming in late to go 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles, driving in one run and later touching home with the game winner. 

Starling Marte - 2016 Topps All-Star

• 2016 - Trailing 5-2 in the eighth frame with two away and the bases empty, the Bucs parlayed a walk, hit batter and infield single into a game-winning inning. Starling Marte followed the small ball by banging JJ Hoover’s hung slider into the stands for his first MLB grand slam to rally the Bucs to a 6-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Neftali Feliz and Mark Melancon shut the door after that to give Ryan Vogelsong his first win as a Pirate since 2005. 
• 2018 - Jameson Taillon tossed the first complete game of his young career, and it was a dandy one-hit shutout at PNC Park to defeat the Cincinnati Reds 5-0. He walked two, bopped one and whiffed seven while tossing 110 pitches. Only one Redleg reached second base, and that was due to defensive indifference with two down in the ninth. JT even drove in the game’s first run with two outs in the second before homers by Gregory Polanco and Corey Dickerson in the fifth frame gave him some breathing room. It was the Pirates first complete game since Ivan Nova’s in April of 2017 and the first one-hitter since AJ Burnett fired one in 2012. Frustratingly, the only hit he surrendered was to mound opponent Tyler Mahle. 
• 2019 - The Pirates were thumped, 10-0, by the Cubs at Wrigley Field, highlighted by an error-filled second inning that gifted six unearned Cubbie runs. It was the third Home Opener of the year for Pittsburgh and their third loss - the Reds had beaten them, 5-3, in the season Opener at GABP and the Cards spoiled the PNC Opener, 6-5. But once they got those bright-light games out of the way, they were otherwise fine on the field, putting together a 5-1 record for normal game dates. 
• 2024 - Bryan Reynolds closed the scoring for the Bucs with a sixth-inning blast in what ended up as a 7-4 win for Pittsburgh over the Tigers at PNC Park. The blow helped the Pirates continue a scorching start to the year, running their slate to 9-2, and it also added B-Rey as the 25th member of the team’s 100-homer club; he hit his first long ball as a Bucco rookie in April, 2019.

Weekly Report: Bucs On A Roll & Post a Home Sweep, Griffin Debuts, Yorke Walkoff, Cook Yo-Yos & Tri Is Out, Club & MLB News

Home at last...

Pirates Stuff:

• Konnor Griffin made his major league debut in the home opener. Didn't take long (five games at Indy) to arrive for the first Bucco big-league teen to play since Aramis Ramirez in 1998. OF/1B Billy Cook was optioned to Indy (and quickly called back) and IF Enmanuel Valdez was DFA'd off the 40-man roster.
• On Easter, the Pirates placed IF Jared Triolo on the 10-day IL with a right knee patellar tendon injury. It occured on Friday and it's expected that he'll be out of action for weeks while healing. Billy Cook was recalled.
• The Pirates were allocated the biggest MLB Draft bonus pool ever at $19,130,700. The draft takes place on July 11–13, in Philly.
• B-Rey moved into ninth place on the franchise HR list when his 140th bomb slipped him past Jay Bay.
• Pirate starters haven't given up a homer; that nine-game streak is the MLB's longest to start a season since 2018 and the franchise's longest since 1943, when the starters tossed 17! straight homerless matches. 
• Skenes had a 31-inning scoreless streak against the Reds come to an end on Wednesday afternoon, though he still claimed the W. 

Paul Skenes - Pirates graphic

• Paul Skenes & Bubba Chandler are both 23. This is the first time in 20 years the Pirates have used two starting pitchers 23 or younger in their first five games (2006: Paul Maholm, Zach Duke), per @SlangsOnSports   
• Seth Hernandez made his first pro start at Bradenton Saturday; he went three innings and K'ed 8 while giving up three hits and a run.
• The brick fiasco resolved: On Tuesday, the Pirates unveiled a display of 60 five-foot-high bronze panels on PNC Park’s facade at West General Robinson Street and Mazeroski Way. They displayed the fan messages written on commemorative Bucco Bricks that were landfilled during a PNC renovation. 
• Pirates Charities teamed up with the Laborer's District Council and will provide city youth ballfields with $600K of upgrades, from scoreboards to tarps to graders.
• If you'd like TRS's seats, the Wild Things EQT Park is selling some of them them to collector:s EQT Park sradium seats.

Game Stuff:

• Braxton Ashcraft did his part, giving up two runs in six frames, but the Buc sticks were lacking again in a 2-0 loss at Cincy on Monday. The bats boomed the next night - Oneil Cruz banged a pair of long flies and Ryan O'Hearn & Bryan Reynolds also hit bombs as the Bucs won, 8-3. Bubba Chandler went 4-1/3 frames and gave up no hits and an unearned run (ouch, outfield) while fanning six but also walked a half dozen. Yohan Ramirez came in with the bases loaded in the fifth and K'ed the two Reds he faced to save Bubba & get credit for the win. The Pirates took the series with a third-game 8-3 dub. Paul Skenes was back on track, giving up a run with five K's in five frames. It was tight to the end, though - the Bucs went into the ninth up by a 4-3 count, but B-Rey went deep and Nick Gonzales singled in a pair after Cruz's first-inning bomb gave the Buccos the early edge.
• Friday's Home Opener was the 25th anniversary of PNC Park and began with a big opening ceremony. Jason Kendall and Brian Giles double-teamed the first pitch while other pregame activities included a flyover of four Blackhawk helicopters, the River City Brass Band performing the National Anthem, a color guard, and a remembrance for Pirates players who were called to the Field of Dreams in the past year. And welcome to the 412 - first pitch was scheduled to begin at 4:12 PM, marking the fifth straight season that first pitch for the Pirates' Home Opener started at 4:12. Mitch Keller took the hill v the Baltimore Oriole's Kyle Bradish. The game was a sellout (38,986).

Took a week - Konnor Griffin debut 4-3-2026 photo/Pirates

• And the Bucs kept ho-ho-ho'ing in the Opener, jumping off to a 4-0 lead and hanging on for a 5-4 dub. Konnor Griffin doubled, walked, drove in/scored a run and played pretty spiffy SS. Five Bucs had RBI and five scored in a nicely balanced showing, with Mitch Keller claiming the W with six solid frames and Gregory Soto finished for the save, giving up a two-out homer in between striking out the side to add a little drama. 
• The Bucs & the Birds set an MLB mark with their seventh straight one-run interleague match as the Pirates took a 3-2 win in front of 29,949 fans (and that was with 18,000+ at PPG Paints Arena for the same-time Penguin game). Ol' Corsair Shane Baz went into the sixth, striking out five and leaving with a 2-1 lead over Carmen Mlodzinski, who started and lasted into the fifth. In the eight, a dribbled single by noted speedster Marcell Ozuna led to the tying run; Nick Yorke ran for him and plated with two down when Jake Magnum beat out a botched chopper. In the ninth, winner Dennis Santana 1-2-3'ed the O's then Bryan Reynolds and Yorke banged one-out two-baggers in the home half for the win. Nick's at bat was interesting; he looked like he took a third strike, but it was called a ball and the O's were out of challenges; he whacked the next pitch to deliver his first career walkoff knock.
• It was a dark and dreary Easter Day with temps in the 40's under gray skies. It didn't seem to bother Braxton Ashcraft much, who went six frames, giving up a run on four hits with eight K's after tossing 87 pitches. Nor did it bother Ryan O'Hearn,who homered, doubled and chased home four runs, nor Oneil Cruz, who hit his league-leading fourth homer...indeed, the whole club seemed to flourish in the PNC icebox, sweeping Baltimore, 8-2, for their fifth straight win. Next, San Diego rolls into town for three games. The Pirates haven't beat the Padres in Pittsburgh since 2023, losing six in a row.

MLB Stuff:

• The Cleveland Guardians optioned RHP Colin Holderman back to AAA after just two outings (two runs/three IP).
• RHP Cody Pence, who was with the Bucs in 2021-22 (1-7/5.86) before resurrecting his career in Korea and signing a three-year/$30M deal with Toronto, injured his ACL in his first start and will miss most, if not all, of the season.

Q - 2022 Topps

• The Rockies placed LHP Jose Quintana, 37, on the 15-day IL with a right hamstring strain. Q was a Buc in 2022 and every off season, fans wondered if the lefty was gonna get a call to rejoin the club...
• Boston put RHP Luis Oviedo on the IL with an elbow strain after his first Red Sox start of the year. As a Pirate, he had TJ surgery and missed the '24 season, then a lat injury the following year limited him to nine starts. During the off season, he was sent to Beantown as part of the Jhostynxon Garcia swap.
• Remember long-ago Buc IF prospect Tristan Gray? He's with the Twins now and finally had a day to share with the grandkids.

4/6 Through the 1980s: Owchinko Deal, Ambi Bo, MLK, Strike, Snow & #21 Retired Openers, Game Days, '89 Ouches; RIP Doggie, HBD Bert, Sonny & Smokey Joe

• 1885 - Hall of Fame RHP Smokey Joe Williams was born in Seguin, Texas. The fireballer pitched for the Homestead Grays from 1925-32. In a night game against the KC Monarchs, Williams allowed only one hit and struck out 27 batters as the Homestead Grays defeated the Monarchs and Chet Brewer (who had 19 K) 1-0 in twelve innings in what may have been the greatest pitching duel of all time. A 1952 Pittsburgh Courier newspaper poll of black baseball officials and sports writers named Williams the greatest pitcher in the history of the Negro Leagues. Smokey’s record was 9-2-1 barnstorming against white major-league teams with four shutouts, so his stuff played no matter what the level of competition. His nicknames were both based on his blazing fastball; Smokey Joe became his moniker during his Grays’ years, replacing Cyclone Joe. 
• 1909 - One of Pittsburgh’s most popular and colorful figures, George “Doggie” Miller, passed away in New Jersey. The C (he also played 2B, SS, 3B & OF) was the first player to spend 10 seasons with Pittsburgh, starting in 1884 as a 19-year-old for the Alleghenys, and he and Pud Galvin formed Pittsburgh’s first big-time battery. He hit .254 over his Steel City decade and was thus described by Alfred Spink in 1910’s The National Game: “Miller, a stocky little fellow (he was 5’6”) full of life and comedy, was a type of the old-time ballplayer - frolicsome, boisterous, playing the game for all there was in it every day and spending all his money merrily at night...The Pittsburgh fans considered him a marvel in every way.” He was also the only MLB player ever to be dubbed “Doggie” - he bred dogs - and also answered to “Calliope” for his foghorn voice which led to “Foghorn.” 
• 1929 - 3B Emanuel “Sonny” Senerchia was born in Newark. He only played one MLB season, appearing for the Pirates in 1952 and hitting .220 in 100 AB, but may have been the most interesting man to ever play in Forbes Field. Senerchia became an accomplished violinist as a boy, appearing at Carnegie Hall at the age of 10 and as an adult, he was a concert violinist for several symphonies. He also performed with Pearl Bailey, Jack Benny, and others as a jazz musician, playing clarinet, sax, flute and piano in various bands. Outside of music, Sonny became a teacher & baseball manager at Monmouth University and was also a race car driver, private pilot, and local TV & radio sports celeb. Sonny left this vale with his boots on - he died after a motorcycle accident at age 72. 
• 1951 - Rik Aalbert “Bert” Blyleven was born in Zeist, Netherlands. The Hall-of-Fame righty with the legendary hook pitched three seasons for the Pirates (1978-80) before being traded to the Indians after locking horns with Chuck Tanner. The Dutchman went 34-28/3.47 as a Buc with six shutouts and worked 697-2/3 frames. Oddly, his beef with Tanner was getting pulled too quickly, so he apparently didn’t think his 230+ innings/season was much of a load. He’s been a Twins TV analyst since 1996 and was elected into the Hall in 2011. 

Bert Blyleven - 1981 Fleer

• 1968 - The Pirates delayed their Season Opener against Houston at the Astrodome from Monday until Wednesday, even though that date was scheduled as the team’s travel day, to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, who had been assassinated on the 4th. Assistant player rep Donn Clendenon told GM Joe Brown of the players’ decision to not play until after MLK’s funeral; Brown informed the Astros, and the game was mutually moved back. Roberto Clemente told the media “We owe this gesture to his (Dr. King’s) memory and ideals.” 
• 1971 - It’s the little things that win ball games. The Pirates took a 4-2 win from the Phils at TRS’ first home opener in front of 39,712 fans, at the time the largest crowd to witness a Pittsburgh season debut. Dock Ellis won and laid down three sac bunts, one being a suicide squeeze to plate a score and another setting up an eventual run while the Phillies self-destructed with four errors that led to two unearned runs. Ellis went the distance, giving up eight hits and whiffing eight. 
• 1972 - It was supposed to be Opening Day and Bill Virdon’s managerial debut, but the player’s strike put the kibosh on those scheduled happenings. Bucco GM Joe Brown reached out to player rep Dave Giusti and opened Three Rivers Stadium for the locally based players to work out if they so desired. 18 players did show up, as did the MLBPA’s Marvin Miller (Dock Ellis was the only Pirate in the area not to show at TRS, as he poured out some sweat at the Pitt Field House). But the Pirates' good-will gesture was short-lived. On the same day, NL President Chub Feeney ordered all the parks off limits to the players until a contract was reached. It took a week to settle the beef over pension money, and that kerfuffle cost the league 86 games that were never made up. 
• 1973 -A record 51‚695 fans were on hand at the Season Opener at TRS as Roberto Clemente’s number 21 was retired after he was elected to the Hall of Fame a few days before. The Pirates then overcame Bob Gibson and a 5-0 deficit to beat St. Louis‚ 7-5‚ staging an eighth inning rally that saw the Bucs score five times after two were down, keyed by a Richie Hebner double and Gene Clines three-bagger. The Gravedigger had a big day, adding a homer (he missed the take sign, ooops) and three RBI while going 4-for-4 at the dish. Other honors for the Great One: PNC Park’s right field fence is now known as the Clemente Wall, and reaches 21’ high to commemorate his number while his statue sits outside the CF gates of the yard. The players wore round #21 patches on their uniforms for the ‘73 season to commemorate Clemente after sporting black ribbons during spring training. At the 2006 All Star Game in Pittsburgh, players on both squads wore yellow wristbands with the initials "RWC" in honor of Roberto Walker Clemente. MLB designated 9/15 as “Clemente Day.” Around town, The Great One has a street, bridge, and park named after him to go along with a museum, a Susan Wagner statue and a bushel basket of awards, plus worldwide recognition. 

#21 Retired - 1973 Topps

• 1981 - The Oakland Athletics sent a PTBNL and cash to the Pirates for RHP Bob Owchinko; four days later RHP Ernie Camacho was sent to Pittsburgh. Ernie spent most of the year at AAA Portland and went 0-1/4.98 in seven games for the Bucs. After simmering in the minors, he was traded to the White Sox in early 1981 and then pitched eight more big league campaigns, spending five years with the Tribe. Owchinko tossed for parts of five more years with a brief return to Pittsburgh in 1983, when he worked mainly AAA and faced two batters as a Bucco. 
• 1982 - The Bucs’ home opener at TRS against Montreal was canceled after an April blizzard rolled across the mid east. The Atlantic Coast was buried in an unseasonable snowfall, canceling several games, and though Pittsburgh avoided the worst, the Nor’easter pelted the town with 39 MPH winds and swirling snow. The weather was so unforgiving that the entire three game series was canceled, pushing back the Buccos Home Opener date all the way to April 16th. 
• 1988 - Bobby Bonilla went long from both sides of the dish in a 14-inning, 6-5, loss to the Phils at Veterans Stadium. It was the second time he’d done it, and only he and Dale Sveum had pulled off that feat for Pittsburgh before. Bonilla went 4-for-7 with five RBI while his teammates stranded 13 runners. 
• 1989 - In a three-day span, the Pirates lost closer Jim Gott (elbow) and first baseman Sid Bream (knee) for the season, while CF’er Andy Van Slyke pulled his rib cage, costing him a month and limiting his swing all year. A week later, catcher Mike LaValliere went down and missed much of the season, and the MASH unit Pirates finished the campaign in fifth place with just 74 wins.

4/6 From 1990: Andrew, Jake & AVS Sign, Duels, Jack, Giles & Game Days, MLB Central; HBD Alex

• 1991 -The Pirates and OF Andy Van Slyke reached agreement on a three-year contract extension for 1992-94 worth $12.65M, the fourth-richest pact in MLB at the time. The average of $4,216,667 per year fell behind only Roger Clemens, Dwight Gooden and Jose Canseco’s deals. AVS agreed to a $750K signing bonus and salaries the first two years of $4M and $4.6M, leaving $3.3M at risk in 1994, a potential lockout/strike year as the CBA expired at the end of 1993 (and there was an August strike that ended the season, so the front-loading paid off for Andy). 
• 1992 - Doug Drabek outdueled Montreal’s Dennis Martinez to carry the Pirates to a 2-0 win over the Expos at TRS in the Bucs Home Opener in front of 48,800 fans. Drabek helped his own cause with a two-out, RBI single in the second, and that run was later padded by Spanky LaValliere’s sac fly to eke out a victory, with Roger Mason working the final frame for the save. The Bucs began the day as the defending two-time NL East champs and would repeat again in ‘92. 
• 1993 - In his first Opening Day start, Tim Wakefield allowed three runs in seven innings to post a 9-3 decision against San Diego at Three Rivers Stadium before 44,103 rooters. The Pirates broke the game open with a four-run fifth inning, highlighted by Kevin Young’s bases-loaded, bases-clearing double; he ended the day with four RBI. John Candelaria registered the final four outs of the contest in what was the 39-year-old lefty’s final career save during 19 MLB campaigns. 

Tim Wakefield - 1993 Pinnacle

• 1993 - RHP Alex McRae was born in West Allis, Wisconsin. The Pirates drafted him out of Jacksonville University in the 10th round of the 2014 draft. He worked his way through the levels and was rewarded with a July call up from Indy as a bullpen insurance policy in 2018. He returned to Indy without getting into a game after a three-day stay, but saw action during his second promotion to the show, making his debut in August and giving up a run in three innings against the Cubs. He got some more work in 2019, but went 0-4/8.78 in 11 outings. He was outrighted after that campaign, selected free agency, and signed on with the Chicago White Sox. They released McRae after the ‘21 season and he pitched two years of indy ball; now he’s a free agent. 
• 2000 - The Pirates beat the Astros, 10-1, at TRS. Brian Giles went 5-for-5 with two homers, a triple, four RBI and three runs scored. Righty Francisco Cordova was every bit as hot as Giles; he didn’t give up a hit until after one was out in the eighth inning (a Mitch Meluskey double). 
• 2003 - Kris Benson, with late help from Scott Sauerbeck and Mike Williams, shut out the Phillies, 2-0, at Veterans Stadium on six hits and ended Jim Thome’s streak of 60 consecutive games on base, the longest since Mark McGwire reached base 62 games in a row in 1995-96. In a well-pitched game (Philadelphia’s Brett Myers K’ed 11), Brian Giles and Pokey Reese drove in the Bucco runs. Giles’ came on a potential double play ball that the Phils couldn’t turn because of Jason Kendall's take-out slide and Reese chased a run home on a broken-bat flare to right. 
• 2009 - Down by a pair of runs in the ninth at Busch Stadium, the Pirates rallied with two outs against Jason Motte to beat the Cards, 6-4. With two away and Freddy Sanchez aboard, Adam LaRoche singled and pinch-hitter Eric Hinske doubled home Steady Freddy. Brandon Moss got plunked to jam the sacks, and Jack Wilson put the cherry on top when he banged a three-run double to unjam them. Matt Capps got the save for John Grabow’s win in the season opener. 

Jack Wilson - 2009 Topps Ticket To Stardom

• 2013 - AJ Burnett lost a pitching duel to Clayton Kershaw, 1-0, at Dodger Stadium. Burnett gave up the only run in the third on an infield single, stolen base and two-out grounder through the SS hole. Four Buc pitchers combined for 11 K, but Kershaw and friends countered with a two-hitter. 
• 2015 - “MLB Central” debuted on MLB Network. Not only was it the network’s first original content morning show, but it was the first to be aired from the channel’s state-of-the-art set, Studio 21, named in honor of Roberto Clemente and his number 21, which was retired OTD in 1973. 
• 2021 - It was a pretty forgettable night for the rebuilding Bucs as they were taken behind the woodshed by the Reds at GABP for a 14-1 spanking, but Phil Evans pulled his weight even if his teammates took the evening off. His homer provided the only run the Pirates could muster, and the jack-of-all-trades, who started the game in right field after playing the hot corner the night before, capped it by pitching a 1-2-3 final frame, serving up just five pitches (and four were strikes!). 
• 2022 - The Bucs went outside the org for bench depth with the signings of C Andrew Knapp and OF Jake Marisnick. Knapp was a 30-year-old who spent five years with Philly, where he posted a .214 career BA; in ‘21, he hit .152 and struck out 38% of the time. The Bucs claimed him after both the Phils and Reds had released him, inking him to a one-year/$800K+incentives contract as Roberto Perez’s back-up. 31-year-old Marisnick's signing the next day filled the roster after injuries to Greg Allen and Anthony Alford; the nine-year, five-team vet was a good glove, soft bat (.228 lifetime BA) guy. He played all three pasture spots and filled the fourth outfielder role. He agreed to a one-year/$1.3M deal. Both deals became official the next day. To clear 40-man roster space, Allen was placed on the 60-day IL (hamstring) and RHP Adonis Medina was DFA’ed and sold to the Mets. Neither proved much help - Knapp was released in mid-May and Marsinick in early August.

4/5 Through 1984: Robby-Simpson, Bill & Big Poison Sign, Dave Dealt, Sweet Opener, '54 Cuts, Home Boys, No Sell; HBD Rennie, Wid & Chuck

• 1865 - Jack of all trades Chuck Lauer was born in Pittsburgh. He played for the Alleghenys twice, in 1884 when they were in the American Association and again in 1889 when the club was a NL team. Chuck caught, played outfield, first base and even pitched a little, but not all that well: he hit .133 as an Allegheny in 17 games with an 0-2/7.58 pitching line. He played minor league ball through 1892 and then presumably returned to his day job in the City’s stockyards. 
• 1877 - SS William “Wid” Conroy was born in Philadelphia. Conroy only played one year in Pittsburgh in 1902, hitting .244, but he started ahead of Honus Wagner at short. Actually, the Flying Dutchman began his career in the pasture; he was converted to part-time shortstop in 1901 by skipper Fred Clarke when Bones Ely had a forgettable year at the dish. Wid was the usual starter at short in 1902 with Wagner seeing some action too, but Conroy’s batting performance was the final straw for Clarke and he installed Wagner at the position full-time in 1903. Conroy then jumped leagues to join the New York Highlanders, playing ball through 1911 for them and the Washington Senators. The nickname “Wid,” short for “Widow,” dates to his youth. Sam Bernstein of SABR suggests that the name came about because Conroy watched over the younger members of his neighborhood sandlot group like a widowed mother watched over her brood. 
• 1920 - Press sportswriter Ralph Davis reported in his column that Ennis ”Rebel” Oakes, who a few years earlier managed the Pittsburgh Rebels in the Federal League, was looking to pry the Pirates away from owner Barney Dreyfuss and was ready to offer $1.2M for the franchise. However, Dreyfuss had already turned down a springtime offer for more money, and Oake’s bid fell on deaf ears. Barney kept the club until he met his Maker in 1932, and then passed the club on to the family. 

Waner Signs - 4/5/1929 photo/Post-Gazette

• 1929 - Paul Waner ended his holdout by signing a one-year deal with the Bucs after meeting for two hours with Buc owner Barney Dreyfuss at Fort Worth, where the Pirates were holding camp. The value of the agreement wasn’t disclosed, but earlier in negotiations, Waner had floated $18K as the amount he was seeking. Big Poison ended up a bargain no matter what the price - he hit .336 with 15 HR/100 RBIs and .424 OBP in over 700 plate appearances during the season. 
• 1949 - 2B Rennie Stennett was born in Colon, Panama. Stennett played nine seasons (1971-79) with the Bucs as a sweet-fielding second sacker, hitting .278 BA to back up the leather. He was involved in a lot of good stuff, appearing in the 1979 Series, starting for the first all-black lineup in MLB in 1971, and collecting a record seven knocks in a nine-inning game against the Cubs in 1975. Sadly, he broke his leg in 1977 and never had a strong season afterward, even though the Giants signed him to a five-year deal worth $3M in 1980. They released him after two years while still in the hole for $2M. He tried to make a comeback with Pittsburgh in 1989 but was cut during the spring. 
• 1954 - It was only a spring training game, but it had some notable local flavor to it. Mt Washington native and South Hills HS grad Bob Purkey tossed a six-hitter and Frank Thomas, who grew up in the shadow of Forbes Field in Oakland and was born at Magee Women’s Hospital, sent one over the wall as the hometown kids (Purkey was 24, Thomas 25) led the way to a 1-0 win over the KC Athletics in Mobile, Alabama. In other Pirates news of the day, the club cut 1B Dale Long, 3B Gene Freese and RHP ElRoy Face from camp, but they were part of the next wave of Bucco talent and were back for keeps in 1955. 
• 1975 - The Pirates got OF Bill Robinson from the Phils for RHP Wayne Simpson. Simpson appeared in 34 MLB games in 1975 & ‘77 while McKeesport’s Robinson spent eight years in Pittsburgh as a platoon OF’er, hitting .276 with 109 HR. His highlight season came in 1977 when he hit .304 with career highs of 26 home runs and 104 RBI playing outfield and the infield corners. 

Bill Robinson - 1980 Topps

• 1980 - The Pirates agreed to a two-year extension of jack-of-all-trades Bill Robinson’s contract through 1982. The financials weren’t disclosed, but Robinson, who as a five-and-ten year man had vetoed a trade to Houston in 1979, conceded an eight-team list of teams he would report to if swapped. It was also a good day in other ways for Robby - after he and the team were given their World Series rings in a ceremony before the game, his 10th inning homer gave the Bucs a 5-4 Opening Day win over the Chicago Cubs in a contest that was delayed four times for over two hours because of rain, played before a TRS crowd that started the damp day with 44,088 ticket holders. 
• 1981 - Pittsburgh traded Youngstown native and Class AA Buffalo LHP Dave Dravecky to the San Diego Padres for utilityman Bobby Mitchell. Mitchell never made it out of the minors while Dravecky eventually carved out an eight-year MLB career with a 64-57-10 slate, 3.13 ERA, and an All-Star nod in a pro tenure cut short by a cancerous tumor that eventually cost him his arm. 
• 1983 - John Candelaria gave up just four hits and struck out 10 in a 7-1 Opening Day win over the Cards at Busch Stadium. Lee Lacy led off with a homer and Jason Thompson put the cherry on top with a three-run blast in the ninth while Dale Berra & Lee Mazzilli went long in between. For Mazzilli, it was a strong intro to his new team as he went 2-for-2 with two walks in his first game as a Pirate. It was a welcome sign for The Candy Man, too, whose nerve damage to his arm had turned him from a workhorse into a guy with just one complete game in 1981-82. Still, he couldn't replicate his durability, never reaching 200 innings or posting more than three complete games in a season after 1980.

4/5 From 1985: El Coffee & Pablo Sign, GI Splashdown, Doug, Darnell & Game Days; RIP Larry, HBD JHK & Lastings

• 1985 - OF Lastings Milledge was born in Bradenton, Florida. A first-round pick of the Mets, he played for NY and then Washington before he was traded to the Pirates by the Nats in 2009 with RHP Joel Hanrahan for OF Nyjer Morgan and LHP Sean Burnett. From 2009-10 he hit a respectable .282 for Pittsburgh but was playing behind Jose Tabata in LF and Garrett Jones in RF, with Andrew McCutchen in the pipeline. He left for free agency, but all he got was a pit stop with the White Sox. Milledge then spent five seasons playing ball in Japan and Mexico, and after an indie league stint, he retired in 2017. 
• 1987 - IF Jung-Ho Kang was born in Gwangju, South Korea. After a winning posting bid of $5,002,015 for Kang from his Korean team, the Nexen Heroes, the Bucs signed the infielder to a four-year, $11M contract with an option year. He became the first KBO position player to make the jump to the MLB. Jung-Ho made the transition in style, hitting .287 with 15 HR while playing SS & 3B before he broke his leg in mid-September. He started 2016 late while recovering and then landed on the DL again with a shoulder injury, batting .255 with 21 dingers. His career was short-circuited by the debris left by a DUI conviction during the off season. Kang won a reprieve in 2018, missing a lot of time due to injuries, and was re-signed for 2019, reclaiming the third base spot in camp. During the year, his 10 homers couldn’t overcome a .169 BA and JHK was released in August, returning to Korea the following year. He hasn’t received league permission to play in the KBO and hasn’t taken the field since then. JHK expressed interest in a MLB comeback in 2025, but ended up running a baseball academy. 
• 1988 - Darrell Coles had himself a day, belting a three-run homer and RBI triple to help Mike Dunne to a 5-3 Opening Day win over the Phils at Veterans Stadium. His long ball was a two-out blast set up by a rare Mike Schmidt error that extended the frame. Barry Bonds added three hits including a solo shot and Bobby Bonilla scored twice ahead of Coles to back Dunne’s effort. He lasted an out into the sixth and Jeff Robinson finished it off from there. 

Darnell Coles - 1988 Topps

• 1989 - Doug Drabek and Randy Johnson served up a pitcher’s delight, with the Bucs pulling out a 3-0 win at Olympic Stadium as Drabek tossed a complete game two-hitter and Johnson a three-hitter. The Pirates only plated one earned run off the Big Unit, and that wasn’t until the eighth inning. But he hurt himself; while Johnson K’ed nine, he also walked seven and two of them scored. Doug took the opposite tack; he fanned just a trio but only yielded a pair of free passes. 
• 2004 - Kip Wells scattered five hits and struck out seven over six scoreless innings as the Pirates beat the Phillies, 2-1, on Opening Day at PNC Park. Chuck Tanner hurled the opening pitch, with another ceremonial toss made by Mr. Rogers’ widow, JoAnn, while the National Anthem was sung by the Ebenezer Church Choir. Game highlights were Jose Mesa earning his 250th career save and Craig Wilson going long. Some big bossman news was announced before the game as Kevin McClatchy extended the contracts of GM Dave Littlefield and manager Lloyd McClendon. The extensions bound Littlefield through 2007 and Lloyd’s agreement was guaranteed through 2005 with a club option. 
• 2010 - A trio of Buccaneers had big days to begin the 2010 campaign in front of 39,024 PNC Park faithful. Garrett Jones homered (one a splash-down in the Allegheny and the other an oppo field blast) in his first two at-bats against the Los Angeles Dodgers during an 11-5 win, becoming the sixth Pirate to hit two long balls on Opening Day. The Ryans had a big outing too, as Doumit and Church added three RBIs each, with Dewey chasing his runs home via a fifth-inning blast while Church plated his gang with a bases-loaded, pinch-hit double. Working his second career Opening Day, Zach Duke got the win though it took a bullpen parade of five relievers to come in and get the final 12 outs. 
• 2011 - Ex-Bucco manager Larry Shepard passed away in Lincoln, Nebraska, at age 92. A minor league pitcher during his playing days, he joined the Bucs in 1953 as a farm coach, topping out with a six-year run at AAA Columbus. He left to join the Phils in 1967 before returning to the Pirates as skipper from 1968-69 (he went 164-155, finishing 6th and 4th) before being replaced by Alex Grammas late in 1969. He was then the pitching coach for the Big Red Machine from 1970-78 and the Giants in 1979. After Shepard retired, he served as an unofficial pitching mentor for the Nebraska Cornhusker nine. 

Pablo Reyes - 2019 Topps Total

• 2012 - The Pirates signed Pablo Reyes, 18, of the Dominican as an amateur free agent for $90K. After two strong DSL campaigns, he was sent stateside in 2014 and continued to improve his game although often lost in the shuffle of more highly-projected prospects. The versatility dynamic worked to his advantage (he played five positions for the Bucs) as he made the 40-man roster, debuted in the majors in 2018, then left Florida as a member of the Opening Day roster in 2019 as a utility guy, batting .203 in 71 games. He was released in camp in 2020 and soon afterward given an 80-game suspension by MLB for PED usage. Pablo bounced back, spending two seasons with Milwaukee and currently playing in the Padre system, his fifth organization since leaving the Pirates. 
• 2012 - MLB Opening Day drew the largest crowd to date in PNC Park history, 39,585, as the Bucs Erik Bedard lost a classic pitching duel to the Phil’s Roy Halladay, 1-0. The Bucs threatened in the first, but Andrew McCutchen’s 6-4-3 DP short-circuited the frame. Neil Walker took the ball to the track twice, but both drives died at the fence as Halladay tossed a two-hitter. 
• 2016 - The Pirates officially announced they had signed RF Gregory Polanco to a contract extension that would carry him through arbitration and a year of free agency (2017-2021) worth $35M guaranteed with two team options that brought the potential total contract value up to $58M. The particulars: $3M signing bonus, $1M - '17, $3.5M - '18, $5.5M - '19, $8M - '20, $11M - '21. $12.5M option/$3M buyout - '22, $13.5M option/$1M buyout - '22. The 24-year-old Polanco’s first full MLB campaign was 2015 when he hit .256 with nine home runs, 52 RBIs, 35 doubles, six triples and 27 stolen bases in 153 games. He also ranked second among all NL outfielders with 13 assists, trailing only teammate Starling Marte’s 16 throw-outs. He showed flashes and hit bumps throughout his career, missing the end of 2018 with a bum shoulder that required surgery after he dislocated it during an awkward slide. Polanco came back in 2019, put up some lackluster numbers over three campaigns and was released in August of 2021. He’s in his fifth year of playing in Japan, mostly with the Chiba Lotte Marines.

4/4 Through the 1980s: Three-For-Sangy & Mota-Goss, JT & Easler Deals, Too Much Horsin' Around, Cash Back, Tony Cut, 1st Million, Shifty Move; HBD Jim, Les & Bill

• 1883 - OF Bill Hinchman was born in Philadelphia. He played for the Bucs from 1915-18 and again in 1920. Bill started the first two seasons on the strength of his stick, hitting over .300, but faded at the end, finishing his five-year Bucco stint with a .284 BA. Hinchman was a Pirates coach in 1923 and scouted for the club from 1921 to 1958, showing a pretty keen eye for prospects - he signed Lloyd Waner, Arky Vaughan, Rip Sewell, Cookie Lavagetto, and Billy Cox. 
• 1903 - LHP Les Bartholomew was born in Madison, Wisconsin. Les got into nine big league games, with six coming as a 25-year-old rookie with the Pirates in 1928. He earned no decisions, ran up a 7.15 ERA and was let go after the season. He tossed three more games for the White Sox in 1932 and hung up the spikes. He spent just five seasons in organized ball before retiring. 
• 1938 - A half dozen Pirate players “were feeling playful” per Post Gazette writer Edward Balinger and got into a wrestling match while aboard a train. The result was that Russ Bauers, a big righty slated to work Opening Day, wrenched his knee. He didn’t start a game again until April 25th and didn’t pick up his first win until June 1st. That was the year the Bucs lost six of their last seven games to finish two games out of first; the loss of their workhorse early in the campaign to horseplay may have been the difference between the flag and staying home. 
• 1942 - IF Jim Fregosi was born in San Francisco. Jim spent the last season and change of his 18-year career with the Bucs in 1977-78, batting .263 as a bench guy. Pittsburgh released him at the Angels' request; they wanted him to become their manager, and Fregosi segued from player to skipper. He managed four MLB teams over 15 years (Angels, Phillies, White Sox & Blue Jays) with some downtime as a Triple-A helmsman before retiring from baseball in 2000. 

Jim Fregosi - 1977 Topps

• 1954 - While the popularity of infield shifts took off until legislated back into zone coverage of sorts, it wasn’t a modern stratagem. The Post-Gazette noted that the KC Athletics pulled a “Kiner shift” on young Pirate slugger Frank Thomas with three infielders on the 3B side of second base during an exhibition. The shift was made famous in the forties when it was employed against Ted Williams and dates back to at least the twenties; its use became a hot topic in MLB circles. 
• 1954 - Instead of sitting on an unexpected small windfall, the Bucs got into the tax refund spirit, announcing a ticket reimbursement of 19 cents/per box seat, 16 cents/per reserved seat and a thin dime per general admission for pre-season ticket holders after a federal levy had been cut in half. And the team didn’t just paper-shuffle the money - instead of the returns being credited toward the purchase of future ducats; the Pirates paid their customers back in cold cash. 
• 1963 - OF Manny Mota was traded to the Pirates by the Houston Colt .45's for Howie Goss and $50,000. Mota spent six years as a Pirate, hitting .297 as a fourth OF’er/pinch hitter. He went on to a 13 year career with LA (he spent 20 seasons in MLB) as a pinch hitter deluxe, and when he was finished hitting, his 34 consecutive seasons as a Dodgers coach was the longest in team history and the second-longest streak in MLB history behind Nick Altrock. Howie played one season for Houston, hit .209, and never got back to the bigs. The caught-by-surprise Goss struggled to get in touch with his family who had left Florida just prior to the deal and were driving to Pittsburgh. The Florida Highway Patrol found them and redirected the Goss clan westward to Texas. 
• 1975 - The Pirates released minor league infielder Tony LaRussa after he hit .260 at Class AAA Charleston in 1974. He retired in 1977 and came back to haunt the Bucs as the manager of the St. Louis machine that ran roughshod over the NL Central during his tenure as skipper. 

Mike Easler - 1981 Donruss

• 1977 - OF Mike Easler was traded by the California Angels to the Pirates for RHP Randy Sealy in a minor league deal. The Hit Man spent six seasons with the Bucs, hitting .302 and earning an All-Star spot in 1981. The Pirates then sold him to the Red Sox after the 1978 campaign but traded a couple of minor leaguers to get him back before the 1979 season began. Persistent suitor Boston eventually got his services for the ‘84 season, sending John Tudor to Pittsburgh for Easler; apparently both clubs really liked the guy. Sealy, who had originally been drafted by the Pirates, spent seven years in the minors and finished his career pitching in Florida’s Senior Professional Baseball League. 
• 1978 - The Pirates sent OF Miguel Dilone, RHP Elias Sosa and IF Mike Edwards to the A’s for C Manny Sanguillen, who was traded to Oakland 17 months earlier for Chuck Tanner and cash. He spent three more seasons in Black & Gold, mainly as a bench player behind Ed Ott and Steve Nicosia as his heyday was in the rear view mirror. Dilone carved out a 12-year career, returning to the Bucs briefly in 1983. Sosa was also in the middle of a 12-year MLB run while Edwards played regularly for a couple of years for the A’s but was finished after the 1980 campaign. They also signed eight-year-vet OF Steve Brye a few days after Milwaukee released him; he hit .235 over the year as a bench piece and then was let go after the year, ending his big league days. 
• 1986 - 1B Jason Thompson was traded to Montreal for a pair of PTBNL minor leaguers, IF Ron Giddens and OF Ben Abner. It ended up a very minor deal as Thompson fared poorly for the Expos in his last MLB campaign and neither prospect reeled in by the Pirates made it to the show. 
• 1989 - The Pirates announced that for the first time in team history, the club sold more than a million season tickets before Opening Day. It didn’t signify much - they drew 1,374,141 fans; the year before, they peddled 910,000 season ducats but drew 1,866,713 rooters to TRS. Jimmy Leyland’s clubs did eventually win the hearts of Pirates fans, drawing over 2,000,000 for the first time in 1990 and ‘91.

4/4 From 1990: Capper Signs, Junior Deal, Sweep, Shutouts & Game Days, Posey Hoops HoF: HBD Mitch, John & Martin

• 1990 - After spending parts of seven seasons with the Pirates sandwiched around a year-and-a-half as a Met, C Junior Ortiz and minor league righty Orlando Lind (Chico’s bro) were sent to the Minnesota Twins for LHP Mike Pomerans. Junior’s problem was that he was blocked by the Mike Lavalliere/Don Slaught duo behind the dish and due $350K. He had some years left in the tank, staying in the AL and playing through 1994. Pomeranz advanced no further than A Ball and is now a sports broadcaster, while Lind topped out at the upper levels of the minors. 
• 1991 - LHP Martin Perez was born in Guanare, Venezuela. The Pirates signed the FA in December of 2023, agreeing to a one-year/$8M deal as the Bucs became the fourth team of his 12-year career, with two stops at Texas. Perez went 10-4/4.45 ERA in 141-2/3 IP over 35 outings (20 starts) for the Rangers in ‘23. The 12-year vet was an All-Star in 2022, slashing 12-8/2.89 with 196-1/3 innings and 32 starts. He joined LHP Marco Gonzales, obtained from Atlanta, in a rebuild of a thin starting staff which returned just RHP Mitch Keller as a rotation regular from 2023. After going 2-5/5.20, he was traded at the deadline to the Padres, signed with the White Sox in ‘25 and is with Atlanta now. 
• 1993 - C John Bormann was born in Danville, Virginia. A 24th round pick in the 2015 draft from the University of Texas at San Antonio, the Class A Bradenton Marauder catcher got a call to the show in 2017 for a game while regular catcher Fran Cervelli was laid up briefly with a sore foot. He got one at bat and whiffed. Still, he was excited to get a chance to live the big league dream. As Clint Hurdle said "Imagine, when he woke up today, he was going to go on a bus to Port Charlotte (and instead) ends up playing in a major league game.” It was his only MLB outing and he retired in 2019.
• 1996 - RHP Mitch Keller was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Keller was drafted by the Bucs in the second round of the 2014 draft out of Xavier HS and signed for a $1M bonus, foregoing his commitment to North Carolina. He rose to the top of the Pirates pitching prospects list and after the 2018 campaign was added to the 40-man roster. He made his MLB debut in 2019 against the Reds, getting banged around in the first inning and then retiring 10-of-11 before calling it a night. He finished the year 1-5, though he did show his stuff worked (sometimes) with 12 K per nine innings. Mitch got five more starts in 2020 and broke camp the following year as part of the rotation. He had a rough 2021 (5-11/6.17) but showed his former promise after an off season of tinkering. Kell went 5-12/3.94 in 2022, looking particularly sharp in the second half of the season. He continued to impress in camp and was chosen as the Pirates 2023’s Opening Day starter. He was workmanlike, posting a 13-9/4.21 slash and earned an All-Star nod, enough to land him a five-year/$77M extension and the Opening Day start in 2024. Kells continued his workhorse ways, putting together a line of 10-11/4.25 and leading the Pirates staff in innings pitched for the third consecutive season. He went 6-15/4.19 in ‘25, but got the call to work the Home Opener against the Birds in ‘26. 

Mitch Keller - 2024 Topps Now Road To Opening Day

• 2000 - The Bucs drew a record announced crowd of 54,399 as Jason Schmidt lost, 5-2, to the Astros for TRS’s final home opener. Sadly, the butts in the seats didn’t match the attendance figure by a longshot even with Christina Aguilera on hand to sing the Anthem. There were an estimated 15,000 live fans on hand; bad weather postponed the original Opener and the following night's drizzly, 40-degree weather curbed most folks’ enthusiasm for a repeat visit to Three Rivers. 
• 2007 - The Pirates swept the Astros in Houston for the first time since 1991, winning their third straight match by a 5-4 tally at Minute Maid Park behind Tom Gorzelanny. The lefty went five frames while Shawn Chacon, Matt Capps and Solly Torres with the save covered the final four frames. Jose Bautista banged out three hits including a double and drove in three RBI to lead the attack. 
• 2008 - Closer Matt Capps agreed to a $3.05M, two-year contract that ran through 2009 and covered his first year of arbitration. Capps wasn’t tendered when the deal ran out - he had 27 saves in 2009, but with a 5.80 ERA - and moved on to the Washington Nationals. He didn’t toss more than 50 innings in any season after 2010, and last pitched in the majors in 2012 for the Minnesota Twins as he was plagued by a series of shoulder injuries. The Mad Capper was selected to be part of a three-man rotating color crew (Kevin Young and Michael “The Fort” McKenry were to join him) for Bucco broadcasts in 2020, but that plan was pushed back a year due to the shortened season. 
• 2016 - Cumberland “Cum” Posey, the first black athlete at Penn State & Duquesne and a former player, manager, and owner of the Homestead Grays baseball team, was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He had been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006, and thus became the only member of both the professional basketball and baseball halls. Posey, who was born in Homestead in 1890, played two hoop seasons at Penn State, then with the Loendi Big Five, an all-black basketball team that won multiple Colored Basketball World Championships, and later at Duquesne under the name "Charles Cumbert," leading the Dukes in scoring for three seasons from 1916-18. After Duquesne, he focused on baseball and helped build the Grays into a powerhouse club that won 10 of 12 pennants from 1937–1948. 

Cum Posey - Helmar Oasis

• 2019 - The Pirates blanked the Reds, 2-0, at PNC Park. It was Jordan Lyles’ first start as a Bucco, and he put up five zeros on the board. Pittsburgh stranded 10 runners and didn’t score until the seventh, when back-to-back singles and a bleeder pushed across the first run and three eighth-inning raps produced a second to give Nick Kingham the win. It was rinse, lather and repeat the next day. Joe Musgrove tossed seven scoreless, three-hit innings before Sonny Gray gave up a run in the seventh on Jung Ho Kang’s two-out double; the Bucs added an insurance run in the eighth on a bunt single, sacrifice, and Adam Frazier’s double to clinch Big Joe’s win. Bucco pitching put up a 30-inning line of zeroes against the Reds, shutting them out in three straight games. 
• 2023 - Roansy Contreras, who had put together a solid if limited 2022 performance (5-5/3.79) and missed some of camp for the WBC, won his first 2023 start by a 4-1 score over the Red Sox at Fenway Park in front of 28,842 Beaneater fans. Contreras walked one, struck out two and pounded the strike zone, using only 78 pitches. Bryan Reynolds, still wrangling over a contract extension, helped Roansy and his agent by homering for the third straight game and fourth time in five matches, tying a Bucco “hot out of the blocks” mark with Willie Stargell and Reggie Sanders. CF Ji Hwan Bae hit his first big league dinger and made a highlight reel catch, leaping high and kissing the Green Monster to haul in a Bosox drive. Dauri Moreta, Jose Hernandez, Colin Holderman and David Bednar, who earned the save, gave up one hit and fanned three to close the book. Unfortunately for Contreras, the start wasn’t a sign of things to come - he finished the year 3-7-1/6.59, lost his rotation spot and was banished to the pen in June, then sent to the Florida Complex in early July for a mechanical overhaul. After being yo-yo’ed around, he’s now working in Japan. 
• 2024 - Martin Perez’s 33rd b-day gift was his first win with the Pirates as he and his mates won for the sixth time in seven games while opening the season on the road by taking a 7-4 decision from Washington at Nationals Park. Pittsburgh jumped out to a 4-0 lead before the Nats got to bat, and Perez took it into the seventh, leaving with a 7-2 lead. The Bucs banged out 11 hits and drew seven walks, with a Connor Joe homer, three hits by Michael Taylor and David Bednar’s first ‘24 save providing the highlights. The Renegade became the fifth different reliever to post a save during the young season.

4/3 Through 1984: Cole-Pendleton, Walk Signed; HBD Dewey, Bobby, Miguel, Alex, Dick, Larry & Guy

• 1856 - Manager and 1B Guy Hecker was born in Youngsville, in Warren County. He was the Alleghenys player-manager in 1890, and it wasn’t a great year for Guy’s resume - he hit .226 as the first baseman and the team finished 23-113, decimated by Player League roster raids. Guy compiled quite an overall resume, though. During his career he played for Louisville Eclipse prior to the Alleghenys and is considered by some baseball historians to be the best combination pitcher and hitter to play in the 19th century. The do-it-all Hecker remains as one of the only two pitchers in MLB history to hit three home runs in one game, along with Jim Tobin, and the only pitcher to win a batting title (.341 BA in 1886). In addition, he is the only pitcher in baseball history to get six hits in a nine-inning game. He could fling it, too - Hecker was the second pitcher ever in the American Association to pitch a no-hitter and led that league in Ks in 1884. 
• 1919 - Manager Larry Shepherd was born in Lakeland Ohio. He managed in the Pirate system from 1953 to 1966, spanning the Sally to the International Leagues, and won three pennants along the road. He returned to the Bucs after a year off in 1968 to replace Harry the Hat Walker at the helm, and in almost two seasons put together a 164-155 record. Shepherd was replaced by Alex Grammas with a week to go in the '69 season despite an 84-73 slate. He then became the pitching coach for Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine and coach/scout for San Francisco. 

Dick Conger - photo via Jewish Baseball Museum

• 1921 - RHP Dick Conger was born in Los Angeles. The Rule 5 selection from Detroit got a pair of Bucco appearances in 1941 and two more in 1942, split between starts and relief appearances. In his 12+ IP, he had no record but posted a sharp 1.46 ERA. Small samples have their flaws, though, and in 1943 he went 2-7/6.09 with Philadelphia. It was his last MLB go-around as he entered the service the following year and then tossed in the minors until 1950 after his discharge. 
• 1926 - Coach Alex Grammas was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Grammas, who played as a major league infielder for a decade, served as a coach for the Pirates from 1965-69 and was the Bucs’ interim manager for five games in 1969 after Larry Shepard was fired. When Danny Murtaugh took over for 1970, Grammas caught on with Sparky Anderson at Cincinnati, and would eventually end up with a gig as the Milwaukee Brewers’ head man from 1976-77. He was later a long-time Tiger coach who retired from baseball in 1991. Alex passed on in 2019. 
• 1957 - The Pirates swapped infielders, sending Dick Cole to the Milwaukee Braves for Jim Pendleton. Pendleton was a backup that got into 49 games in 1957-58, then was shipped to Cincy as part of the Smoky Burgess/Dick Hoak/Harvey Haddix deal. Cole played 15 games for Milwaukee and 1957. It was his last MLB season; he finished his days playing in AAA. 
• 1967 - LHP Miguel Garcia was born in Caracas, Venezuela. The Pirates got him from the Angels as part of the Johnny Ray deal. Miguel had brief big league visits from 1987-89 with the Bucs, going 0-2/7.71 in 13 outings, with ‘89 being his last stop in the show. After some time spent as a scout for the Marlins and Red Sox, he’s now Director of Latin American Operations for the Tigers. 

Bobby Hill - 2004 Upper Deck Vintage

• 1978 - 2B Bobby Hill was born in San Jose. Part of the return from the A-Ram salary dump, he played in Pittsburgh from 2003-05. He hit .262 over that span and lost the second base job to Jose Castillo in 2005 in his last MLB season. After nearly a decade spent as head coach of Mission College, he’s now the skipper for West Valley College. 
• 1981 - C Ryan Doumit was born in Moses Lake, Washington. Dewey was drafted by the Pirates in 1999 in the second round out of high school and caught ‘n’ stuff for the Pirates from 2005-11, with Bucco career numbers of .271, 67 HR and 266 RBI. Unfortunately, in those seven years he never stayed healthy and he only got into 100+ games twice for Pittsburgh. He retired after the 2014 season with 10 MLB campaigns, taking his final spin with Atlanta. 
• 1984 - After being released by the Atlanta Braves, the Pirates signed RHP Bob Walk, sending him to AAA Hawaii. The Whirly Bird (a nickname dubbed by his ‘80 Philly teammates because of his antics) ended up spending 10 seasons as a Bucco twirler, going 82-61-5 with a 3.83 ERA and putting up a 2-1 record during the Bucs three NLCS series from 1990-92. He then made the transition to the Pirates’ broadcast booth, where he’s been a fixture since his retirement.