11/14 Through the 1970s: Cobra '78 MVP, Pops Comback Player, Youth Served In '68, Stan Joins, HBD X-Man, Paul, Weepin' Willie, Jim, Fred, Sam & Otto

1864 - 1B/OF Otto Schomberg (Shambrick) was born in Milwaukee. Otto played three big league seasons, beginning with the Allegheny in 1886, hitting .272 in 72 games. After the campaign, the Alleghenys traded Schomberg with $400 to the St. Louis Maroons for Alex McKinnon. Schomberg was a one-trick pony; his fielding was subpar and he slumped in 1888 for Indianapolis. Added to the mix was an injury and a mild bout with malaria. After that, he was delegated to minor-league and semi pro clubs, even umpiring, but did pretty well for himself after baseball. He was a successful lumberman and parlayed profits from that business into other investments. Otto prospered and even dabbled in politcis as a delegate to the Republican convention.

1867 - IF Sam Gillen (Gilleland) was born in Allegheny City (North Side). He broke out as a 25-year-old at Macon of the Southern Association in 1893, batting .343, and got a brief look by the Pirates during that campaign, going 0-for-6 with some shaky glovework - his hit tool was his calling card - in three games. Sammy went back to the minors for three years and kept raking, getting a call from the Phils in 1897, hitting .259 with a .353 OBP. It wasn’t enough to impress, though, and in August he found himself back in the minors. He played on the farm through the 1899 campaign before hanging up the spikes. Sam died young in 1905 at age 37 and was buried in Union Dale Cemetery.  

1881 - C/1B Fred Carisch was born in Fountain City, Wisconsin. Playing between 1903-06, the reserve hit .229 for the Pirates. Fred became the center of a storm in 1923, when as a Tigers' coach and non-rostered, he was forced to catch when his team's final receiver was ejected. A protest was filed, but the opposing Cleveland Indians rallied to win in the 10th, making the point moot.

Fred Carish - 1904 Allegheny Card Company

1881 - OF Jim Wallace was born in Boston. He played seven MLB games for the Pirates in 1905 as a right fielder and batted .207 in his brief career, going 6-for-29. Jim never got another shot; he spent seven seasons in the minors after his Bucco stint and batted above .250 just once.

1898 - RHP Claude “Weeping Willie” Willoughby was born in Buffalo, Kansas. Willie closed out his seven year career in Pittsburgh, going 0-2/6.31, in nine outings. The Weeping Willie moniker was said to be caused by his doleful demeanor after reading the box score of his latest outing - he had an ERA of 4.99 or higher in his final six campaigns. Willoughby was also known as “Flunky” for reasons unknown.

1947 - The Bucs bought SS Stan Rojek, 29, from the Dodgers with plans to make him the starter in Pittsburgh; he was available as he was blocked by Pee Wee Reese in Brooklyn. Stan played 156 games and hit .290 in 1948, but his bat faded after that season. He became a backup in 1950 and was traded to the Cardinals in 1951. They also purchased 1B Big Ed Stevens from the Brooklyn Dodgers, who played here from 1948-50 and hit .253 as a Pirate.

1967 - RHP Paul Wagner was born in Milwaukee. A 12th round draft pick in 1989, he pitched for the Pirates for six campaigns from 1992-97, mainly as a starter, and went 26-40/4.58 during that span. Wagner came close to capturing a little magic - in 1995, he had a no-hitter broken up against the Colorado Rockies with two out in the ninth on an Andrés Galarraga single. He pitched through the 2003 season and now runs a training camp in Wisconsin, Paul Wagner Power Pitching.

Paul Wagner - 1996 Collectors Choice

1968 - The Pirates were in the midst of a youth movement that would set their core for years, allowing Donn Clendenon, Manny Mota, Maury Wills and Al McBean (all 30-years-old or more) to go in the expansion draft. Manager Larry Shepard, in a Pittsburgh Press chat with sports’ editor Les Biederman, had rave reviews about youngsters Richie Hebner (20), Bob Robertson (21) & Manny Sanguillen (24), while withholding judgment on 21-year-old Al Oliver. He was equally excited about the young starting pitchers - Steve Blass (26), Dock Ellis (23) and Bob Moose (20). Add to the mix Jerry May (24), Dave Cash (20) and Freddie Patek (23), and you had a crew who by 1971 took a World Championship and would fuel a strong competitive run throughout the 70’s as the “Lumber Company.”

1978 - RF Dave "The Cobra" Parker won the NL MVP, topping runner-up Steve Garvey of the LA Dodgers 320-194 in the vote parade. Parker had 30 HR with 117 RBI and led the league with a .334 batting average, a .585 slugging percentage, and 340 total bases. That was despite the fact that he missed two weeks after breaking his jaw in a home plate collision with the Mets' John Stearns and returned wearing a hockey (later flipped to football-style) facemask, thought to be the first time such a contraption was worn in an MLB game. It was a good day for collecting hardware; Willie Stargell won TSN’s Comeback Player of the Year Award with a batting line of .295/28 HR/97 RBI.

1978 - OF Xavier Nady was born in Salinas, California. Nady played for the Bucs from 2006-08, hitting .301 as a Pirate. He had been on Pittsburgh’s radar for awhile - GM Dave Littlefield tried to pry him from the Padres in 2003, and settled on Jason Bay instead when SD wouldn’t deal Nady. The Friars were equally high on him - Nady went straight to the majors without playing minor league ball in 2000, though the stay didn’t last long, as he was sent to the farm after one game. The Bucs finally landed him in 2006 from the Mets for Ollie Perez and Roberto Hernandez. He’s been known as “X” or the “X-Man” since his days in NY.

11/14 From 1980: Doug Wins Cy, Paul MLB All-Star, Jays Swap, Milner Stays, Steve Signs, AJ Back, RJ & Charlie Go, HBD Spence

1980 - In the final Free Agent Re-Entry Draft, the Bucs John Milner opted out of contract to test the waters, but the Pirates managed to bring him back via a new deal (they had kept a retainer on his rights). The Bucs claimed bidding rights on a dozen players including Dave Winfield and Don Sutton, and signed none. But they did eventually get 1B/OF Willie Montanez, who they had on their list as a potential replacement if they had lost Milner. Willie signed with the Expos, but joined the Pirates in August when they traded The Hammer to Montreal.

1988 - Charlie Muse publicly announced his retirement from the Pirates in a Pittsburgh Press piece written by Bob Hertzel. Muse, 71, a jack of all baseball trades known as “The Colonel” in Bucco circles, had worked for the Pirates since 1950 as a scout, ticket-office boss, Director of Operations for Three Rivers Stadium (1974-76) and finally as Travelling Secretary. Before that, he had managed Duquesne University’s nine, skippered in the minors, served in the Army twice, and was a driving force in the final design and in the players’ acceptance of the batting helmet. He retired to Florida, where he passed away in 2005.
 
1990 - RHP Doug Drabek, who posted a 22-6 record and a 2.76 ERA, was named the NL Cy Young winner and became the first Pirate since Vern Law in 1960 to take home the award. He received 23 of 24 first-place votes and 118 of a possible 120 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Left in the dust were Ramon Martinez of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who was second with the other first-place vote and 70 points, and Frank Viola of the New York Mets was third with 19 points. The Bucs waited until 2025 to claim their third Cy Young honoree, Paul Skenes, who won the NL award unanimously. 

1990 - After his walk year, OF RJ Reynolds was seeking a three-year/$4M deal to re-sign with Pittsburgh; the Pirates countered with a two-year/$1.5M offer, a pretty big gap. The impasse was resolved by a third option when RJ signed a $1.3M contract with Yokohama of the Japanese League. It worked out OK for Reynolds; he got his three seasons, albeit all in Japan, then spent his final 1994 campaign in Mexico before retiring at age 35.

RJ Reynolds - 1990 Leaf

1991 - 3B Steve Buechele, coming off a season hitting .262 w/22 HR & 85 RBI, rejected the Pirates contract offer for four-years/$10M after earning $775K during the ‘91 campaign. It was a career year for him, although most of his numbers were put up at Texas, as he hit .246 in 31 games as a Bucco after a deadline deal. But it worked out relatively well for him - he later signed for four-years/$11M. It didn’t prolong his Pittsburgh stay by much, though - he batted .249 in 80 games in 1992 and was shipped to the Cubs for LHP Danny Jackson in July.

1996 - The Pirates sent 2B Carlos Garcia, 1B/OF Orlando Merced and P Dan Plesac to the Toronto Blue Jays for P Jose Silva, IF Abraham Nunez, and OF Craig Wilson plus prospects SS Brandon Cromer, P Jose Pett and P Mike Halperin. Merced had four good seasons left, Plesac played through 2003 and Garcia, who was the Jays main target, ended up as an AL bench guy and lasted three more years in the show. Silva spent five years as a Buc, but his line during that span was 24-28-4/5.44, while Wilson (2001-06/.268 BA/94 HR) and Nunez (1997-2004/.238 BA) were in and out of the lineup during their Pittsburgh stays. The prospect players never advanced past the minor league level.

1997 - 1B/2B/OF Spencer Horwitz was born in Timonium, Maryland. A late round pick in the 2019 draft by Toronto out of Radford, he debuted with the Jays in 2023 and saw action in 97 games in ‘24, split between first and second base, with some experience in LF in the minors. The Blue Jays flipped him to Cleveland in the off season, and the Guardians sent him almost immediately to Pittsburgh for RHP Luis Ortiz and LHP prospects Michael Kennedy and Josh Hartle. Spencer suffered a wrist injury that required February surgery and didn’t join the club until May. The lefty swinger finished strong, with a .272/11/51 line and strong glovework at first, but had a worrisome split that suggested a potential platoon role. Spence was hurt again in ‘26 and got most of his swings v lefties, batting just .244 overall.

AJ Burnett - 2015 Topps

2014 - RHP AJ Burnett returned to the Pirate flock, signing a one-year contract valued at $8.5M after a dismal season (8-18/4.59) in Philadelphia. He told the media that “This is where I want to finish my career, playing for this team and for this city. I want to win a ring, and I want to do it in Pittsburgh.” Burnett left $4.25M on the table for the reunion by turning down a player option worth $12.75M with Philadelphia to become a FA, and had his agent negotiate solely with the Pirates. AJ had pitched in 2012-13 for the Bucs, winning 26 games with a 3.41 ERA before moving across the state. The 38-year-old finished with another solid season, going 9-7/3.18, though slowed down by a late year injury, and was named to his first All-Star team after 17 seasons.

2018 - The Pirates sent OF Jordan Luplow and IF Max Moroff to the Cleveland Indians for IF Erik González and RHP’s Tahnaj Thomas and Dante Mendoza. Luplow, 25, a third-round pick in 2014 and Minor League PoY in 2017, had a chance to break camp with the Bucs in 2019 with Gregory Polanco injured while Moroff, also 25 & a 16th-round high school pick in 2012, had been bypassed on the Pirates depth chart. Both had auditioned with the big club. J-Lo hit .194 in 64 games in 2017-18 while Maxie batted .193 in 84 games played from 2016-18. Gonzalez (.263 lifetime BA) was out of options and expected to stick as a utility man who had played six positions for the Tribe, while the two pitchers were 19-year-old lotto tickets. Gonzalez had a solid September in a year mostly lost to injury and became a semi-regular SS/3B in 2020, but a subpar 2021 saw him sent to Indy and then to the Miami organization; he spent 2025-26 in the Latin leagues. Luplow made six MLB stops as a strong platoon guy who is playing in Mexico while Moroff remained mainly in the minors as depth; he hasn’t played since suffering a bum shoulder in ‘21. RHP Tahnaj Thomas was converted to the pen and let go in 2023; he’s tossed in the affiliated American Association since ‘24. Mendoza is a free agent who hasn’t played since ‘23.

2024 - RHP Paul Skenes was named to the MLB All-Stars first team, continuing his rookie roll through the league. He was joined by Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers, with Corbin Burnes of the Baltimore Orioles and Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies on the second team. Skenes had already been named the Baseball Digest Rookie of the Year and was a finalist for a couple of more honors to be awarded a little later in the season. Another local, the Oakland Athletics Mason Miller, a Bethel Park graduate, was named to the second-team as a reliever. The awards were announced on the MLB Network.

11/13: Cutch '13 MVP, Starg '79 Co-MVP, Bucco Flicks, '81 FA List, Lookin' For A Home, HBD MDH, Devo, Jack R, Gene, Cork, Jack H, Ray & Pete

1862 - P “Steady” Pete Meegan (it’s believed that he batted lefty, but his throwing arm is uncertain) was born in San Francisco. He closed out his brief two-year MLB run in 1885 when he joined the Pittsburgh Alleghenys. He posted a 7-8/3.39 line in 18 games (16 starts) and was said to possess a feared curve. Pete was the child of Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine, and he’s part of Patriot QB Tom Brady’s family tree (he’s a distant cousin). He passed away in 1905 at the age of 42, felled by Bright’s Disease (nephritis). Although unconfirmed, we’re guessing the nickname came about thanks to his dependability, as he completed 36-of-38 big league games that he started.

1894 - RHP Ray Steineder was born in Salem, New Jersey. He worked two years in the show, mainly for the Pirates. He tossed 20 outings (two starts) with a 2-1/5.15 line from 1923-24 before being sold to the Phils in May and finishing out his big league days there. Ray knew his way around a batter’s box, going 10-for-25 (.400) in MLB. He did have a yo-yo history - after the Pirates brought him up after a 37-win campaign in the minors in 1920, he was a late cut and signed with an outlaw team in Oil City. That got him suspended and pushed back his debut season to 1923 when the suspension was lifted (and he got a late start to that year, holding out for $6K). When the Phils released him in 1924, he again signed with an outlaw club and again was suspended. He was reinstated the following year but never caught on in the majors again. 

1914 - RHP Jack Hallett was born in Toledo, Ohio. He tossed for the Bucs from 1942-43, and then after wartime service returned in 1946. Working mostly from the pen, Hallett went 6-10 with a 3.06 ERA for Pittsburgh. He was also a solid stick, hitting .238 with one home run in 80 lifetime at-bats, and a perfect fielder, handling all 60 of his career chances flawlessly. Jack carved out a 12-year career with twenty different clubs as a pro, even with his service stint, and tossed in the bigs for the White Sox and New York Giants along with the Buccos.

1915 - RHP Ted “Cork” Wilks was born in Fulton, New York. Ted pitched for the Bucs in parts of 1951-52, going 8-10-16/3.19 in 92 outings. He arrived in June of ‘51 as part of the Chambers-Westlake deal with the Cards, and 14 months later the 37-year-old was flipped to the Tribe as a piece of the Johnny Berardino trade. Converting to a reliever from starter after encountering arm woes early in his MLB career, his Cardinal teammates (he spent almost eight years with St. Louis) began calling Wilks “The Cork” because of the opponents’ rallies he stopped.

Ted "Cork" Wilks - 1952 Bowman

1947 - RHP Gene Garber was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He began his 19-year career with the Bucs as a 20th round pick in the 1965 draft, pitching sparingly from 1969-72 with an 0-3/5.61 line in just 20 visits to the rubber. Garber would go on to make 931 appearances with 1,510 IP, win 96 games and save 218 more with a career 3.34 ERA before he called it a career. The sidewinder retired after the 1988 season and went back home as a farmer.

1956 - The Pirates announced that they would consider moving out of town if a new stadium wasn’t built to replace Forbes Field, the second oldest yard in baseball after Shibe Park in Philly. Buc VP & co-owner Tom Johnson said in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette that “What we need is a municipal stadium in Pittsburgh we both (Pirates & Steelers) can use. If we don’t get one, there’s a chance the Pirates will have to leave this city.” The beef was triggered because the Steelers, rumored to have four different cities interested in transplanting the franchise, were itching to escape Forbes Field and move to the roomier Pitt Stadium, a move that required legislative action. Both got their wish, though it took some time. The political football of who would foot the bill was kicked around for years until Three Rivers Stadium opened in July of 1970.

1979 - For the first time in MLB history, two players shared the MVP. The NL co-winners were Willie Stargell, who hit .281 with 32 HRs, and the Cardinals’ 1B Keith Hernandez, who led the NL in runs scored (116), doubles (48), and batting average (.344). With that honor, the Pirates had taken (or shared) all four major MVP trophies for the season to post the first award sweep in MLB history. Willie took the honors for the NLCS, World Series, and National League regular season, while the Cobra, Dave Parker, won the All-Star Game MVP.

1981 - The Pirates selected 15 free agents in the draft who they could negotiate with: pitchers Joaquin Andujar, Bill Campbell, Larry Christenson, John Denny, Ed Farmer, Ron Guidry, Sid Monge, Frank Tanana & Rick Waits; outfielders Reggie Jackson, Rick Monday, Joe Rudi & Mike Vail; infielder Pete Mackanin and catcher Ed Ott. The big pool didn’t indicate a spending spree was in the offing - GM Pete Petersen told the Press beatman Dan Donovan that “If the price is right, we’ll sign some players. But it is our past experience that the price isn’t right.” That trend continued as they didn’t sign anyone (although Mackanin did join them, not as a player but as a coach/manager, from 2003-05). 

1987 - Umpire Jeremie Rehak of Murrysville was born. He went to Franklin Regional HS and played ball at Ohio University as a walk-on, with a career .272 BA. He went to the Harry Wendelstedt Umpiring School and began his pro arbitrator journey in the Gulf Coast (2011), Appalachian ('12), Florida Instructional ('12), Midwest ('13), California ('13), Eastern ('14-'15), and Arizona Instructional ('14) leagues before moving up to the International League (‘16). Rehak officiated MLB Spring Training in 2017-18 and began working as a vacation/injury replacement MLB ump starting in 2018. After 281 games in the show, he was hired as a full-time umpire for the 2021 season and worked in the postseason (although not the Series) for the past five years.

Chris Devenski - 2026 photo/MLB.com

1990 - RHP Chris Devenski was born in Cerritos, California. Chris was a 2011-25th round pick out of Cal State Fullerton by the White Sox. He made his debut in 2016, tossing for Houston and later five other clubs (career: 27-22-8/3.93 in 319 outings) before inking a FA deal with the Pirates in January 2026. Devenski had a tough start - he was smacked in the head with a liner in camp, put on the IL and then knocked off the rust at Indy, getting a call to the Bucs in late April. The got into three games, and on May 6 was diagnosed with an undisclosed illness that eventually led to a spot on the 60-day IL. Devo was then outrighted, elected free agency and went with the Mets. They DFA’ed him and he’s a FA again. 

1997 - LHP Michael Darrell-Hicks was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Signed by the Angels in 2021 out of Jacksonville/Western Kentucky, he made the LA roster in ‘24. After a half-dozen MLB outings in 2025, he was waived and the Bucs claimed him, sent him to Indy briefly and called him up in June. He worked two innings with a pair of Ks, returned to Indy and was shelled. He was DFA’ed in November, cleared the wire and was assigned back to AAA as a depth arm.

2010 - Beat ‘Em, Bucs! The Byham Theater hosted a sneak preview of a 50-year-old B&W movie, copied from TV for owner Bing Crosby, of NBC's telecast of the seventh game of the 1960 World Series. Dick Groat and Bob Costas were the event hosts of The MLB Network production, later aired on TV and then made available on DVD. The Post Gazette’s Bob Hoover reviewed the flick and wrote “Fans hailed the eight members of the '60 team invited for the showing, clapped rhythmically to start rallies, reacted loudly every time Roberto Clemente appeared on the screen and leapt to their feet for the two clutch home runs in the eighth (Hal Smith) and ninth (you know who) innings.”

2013 - Andrew McCutchen won the National League MVP easily over Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt, taking 28 of 30 votes. He became the Bucs first MVP since Barry Bonds in 1992, which was also the last time the franchise had posted a winning record until this season. It was a year without a dominant player as Cutch posted a passel of well-rounded numbers. He hit .317 with 21 HR, 84 RBI, 97 RS and 26 SB and was second in WAR at 8.1. Andrew had finished third in 2012.

2024 - The David Altrogge film “Clemente” made its sneak preview premiere as part of the Three Rivers Film Festival. The documentary was screened at the August Wilson Center after winning an award at the SXSW Film Festival. A post-showing party included Steve Blass, Roberto Clemente Jr. and Duane Rieder, the founder of the Clemente Museum and partner in sponsoring the film. Also among the party guests were the movie’s filmmaker, producers and cinematographer.

11/12: Paul Skenes '25 Cy Young, Cutch - 4th Silver Slugger, Justin-Cervy, Clint MOTY, Danny Back, Asian Tours, Twin Bill Blues, RIP Doc, HBD Ryan, Marcell, Charlie & Dave

1916 - The Pittsburgh Press’ Ernest Lanigan wrote “No one knows who invented doubleheaders, the gentleman who did so refusing to step up...and claim the dubious honor. Jimmy Callahan, the Pirates field boss, would like to meet the person responsible...” His Pirates were swamped by bargain baseball, playing 34 twin bills during 1916, almost 45% of the schedule, with just 14 at Forbes Field, posting a 27-39-2 slate when doubling down. “Barney’s Buccaneers” actually weren’t very good in any scheduling configuration - their record was only a smidge better at 38-50 in single games that year.

1951 - It was announced that five players who were part of a 15-game American-Japanese Goodwill Baseball Tour would spend two days in Korea with the troops during the week before heading home. One of the players selected was Pirates infielder George Strickland (P Bill Werle was also part of the US team). Bo was no stranger to military life, as he had served in the South Pacific with the Navy from 1944-46. The tour, led by Lefty O’Doul, was the first of six by the MLB between 1951-58 and helped find common ground between the two WW2 foes. O’Doul had led an earlier 1949 tour, at the request of General MacArthur, with the San Francisco Seals club of the Pacific Coast League.

1964 - LHP Dave Otto was born in Chicago. He worked parts of eight seasons in the show with a stop at Pittsburgh in 1993, going 3-4/5.03 in 28 outings. Dave was 6’-7”, two-sport star (hoops & baseball) at the U of Missouri and a member of the University’s Sports Hall of Fame. Since his retirement, he’s been a sports announcer in Chicago and instructor at a sports academy.

1967 - Doctor Charles Jorgensen passed away. “Doc” was the Pirates trainer for 30 years until he retired in 1958, working under nine field managers (Jewel Ens, George Gibson, Pie Traynor, Frankie Frisch, Billy Herman, Bill Meyer, Fred Haney, Bobby Bragan and Danny Murtaugh)  and four team presidents (Barney Dreyfuss, Bill Benswanger, Frank McKinney and John Galbreath) during his three-decade stint as the Bucs’ main medicine man.

Danny Murtaugh - 1970 photo/Getty Images

1970 - Danny Murtaugh, 53, announced that he would return to manage the team in 1971 after addressing some health issues and getting the OK from his family. He brought back his same staff - heir apparent Bill Virdon, Dave Ricketts, Frank Oceak, Don Leppert and Don Osborn. Murtaugh guided the club to the World Series title in 1971 before handing over the reins to The Quail in '72. The Irishman would be back to serve one last time from 1973-76.

1983 - RHP Charlie Morton was born in Flemington, New Jersey. The promising righty came to Pittsburgh in 2009 as part of Nate McLouth’s trade to Atlanta. Despite excellent stuff (he earned the nickname "Ground Chuck" for his ground ball deliveries), Morton was in-and-out of the rotation because of various injuries and spotty performances, going 41-62/4.39 over seven seasons. He was traded to the Phils, but was put out of action early in the campaign with a torn hamstring. Charlie found a boost going to the Astros in 2017, relying more with his hard stuff to become a rotation mainstay and then tossed like Mr. October of the slab set with Game Seven wins for Houston in the ALCS and WS. He moved on in 2019 and went 5-2 in the postseason with the Rays and Braves; he’s pitched 18 games in the playoffs with a line of 7-5/3.60. He made his final MLB start on September 28, 2025, against Pittsburgh for Atlanta to end his career.

1990 - DH Marcell Ozuna was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Marcell started his MLB journey with Miami in 2014, stopping at St. Louis & Atlanta before signing with the Pirates in February 2026 for one year/$10.5M with a mutual option for 2027. The Bucs were out to beef up the DH spot, and Ozuna’s 298 career HR’s/118 OPS+ checked that item on the FO’s to-do list. Sadly, that didn’t quite pan out. Ozuna hit .203 and was released in early August.

1997 - SS/CF Ryan Kreidler was born in Davis, California. A UCLA grad drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 draft by Detroit, he moved along in their minor league system (.238 BA) with three years of brief MLB call-ups, hitting .138. The versatile good glove guy fit right into Ben Cherington’s mold and was picked up on waivers in August, 2025; a week later was part of the big team. He didn’t hit the field in a brief stay, was sent back to Indy and released in the off season to be claimed by Minnesota.

Clint Hurdle - 2013 photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates

2013 - Clint Hurdle, who guided the Pirates to their first winning record in 21 years and to the NLDS, was named the NL Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Clint was the first Pirates manager to win the award since Jim Leyland in 1992 and he did it easily by winning on 25 of the 30 ballots cast, leaving the Dodgers’ Don Mattingly and the Braves' Fredi Gonzalez in the dust. New Brighton’s Terry Francona won the AL honor.

2014 - LHP Justin Wilson was traded to the New York Yankees for C Francisco Cervelli. It marked the third straight offseason that the Bucs took on a Yankee catcher, signing FA Russ Martin for the 2013-14 seasons and acquiring Chris Stewart for the 2014 campaign. Fran had a pair of strong campaigns, and the Bucs signed Cervy to a three-year, $31M extension in 2016 before releasing him to Atlanta in 2019. Wilson got a lot of work, too, appearing 527 times in 11 seasons with the Yankees (twice), Tigers, Cubs, Mets, Reds and Brewers. He was on ice for most of ‘22 with TJ surgery & a lat injury, returning to the Reds in ‘24 and last pitching for Boston in 2025.

2014 - MLB sent a squad overseas to open a 10-day, five-game Japanese All-Star series, the first since 2006. Mark Melancon represented the Pirates, along with ex-Bucs Jose Veras, Eric Katz and Justin Morneau. The team played five games in Osaka, Tokyo and Sapporo, with exhibitions in Koshien and Okinawa. For The Shark, it was just another goodwill trip in a long string of overseas MLB camps held in South Africa, Taiwan, China, New Zealand and Australia.

2015 - Andrew McCutchen became the first Bucco to win four Silver Slugger awards, breaking a logjam with Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla and Rick Rhoden, each of whom took home three trophies (Bonds & Rhoden consecutively). It was the fourth straight year Andrew took the honor, hitting .292 with 23 HRs and 96 RBI in 2015 after falling below the Mendoza Line by the end of April.

2025 - Paul Skenes won the NL's Cy Young after taking last year’s Rookie of the Year title, becoming the third Bucco pitcher (Vern Law in 1960 and Doug Drabek in 1990 were the others) to take home the honor. He was the top vote-getter on all 30 BBWAA ballots after posting a 10-10/1.97 line with 216 K in 187-2/3 IP (32 starts). The Junior Circuit winner was Detroit's Tarik Skubal, winning for the second straight season. Skenes and Skubal started the All-Star game, so the duo was repping hard all year and were both selected to the All-MLB Team.

11/11: Torres & Mesa OK Deals, Al Martin Signed, Jake Stenzel Swap, '97 Expansion Draft, HBD Pie, Rabbit, Art, Grilled Cheese, Kyle, JR, Roberto, Rey, Scott, Bob, Lee, George, Charlie & Joe

1853 - IF Joe Battin was born in West Bradford, in Chester County, although some cite Philadelphia as his birthplace. Contrary to his name, Joe was a good fielding, bad battin’ guy who spent 10 years in a variety of major leagues - the National Association, National League, American Association, and the Union Association. He was with Allegheny from 1882-84, batting .215 and serving briefly as a player/manager for a smidgen of the 1883 and ‘84 campaigns, going 8-18. His career highlight was being part of the 1874 tour of the UK and France taken by the Philadelphia Athletics & Boston Red Stockings. The Americans not only introduced the Europeans to baseball, but as turnabout is fair play, also found themselves booked for several cricket matches.

1870 - RHP Charlie Hastings was born in Ironton, Ohio. Working mostly as a fourth starter in the days when two or three were the norm, he put up a 11-14-1 record with a 4.51 ERA between 1896-98, appearing in 67 games (45 starts) for Pittsburgh. Charlie played through the 1904 season before spending a few seasons as an umpire. He then retired to Parkersburg, WV, where he collected bridge tolls for a living before passing away in 1934.

1891 - IF Walter “Rabbit” Maranville was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Hall of Famer spent four (1921-24) of his 23 big league seasons in Pittsburgh, hitting .283 during his stay. In 1922, he led the league with 746 PA and 672 AB, scoring 115 times. He was traded in 1924 with Charlie Grimm (and what a middle infield that would have been) to the Cubs for Vic Aldridge, George Grantham and Al Niehaus. There are a couple of tales regarding the origin of his nickname. One is that he earned it because of the size of his ears. He begged to differ with the rabbit ears account, claiming that the young sister of a friend came up with it after watching him bound around on the field like a bunny.

1896 - CF Jake Stenzel was traded along with bench players RHP Elmer Horton, OF Tom O'Brien and IF Harry Truby to the Baltimore Orioles for CF Steve Brodie and 3B Jim Donnelly. Stenzel, who had a .360 BA over five years with the Bucs, hit .353 with 116 RBI for the O’s in 1897. Brodie was released after 1-1/2 years in Pittsburgh (.283 BA) and Donnelly only lasted one season (.193 BA). Brodie was re-signed by Baltimore after the Bucs let him go and hit .308 for them through 1899, and in a bit of circle dancing was the replacement for Stenzel, who had been traded to the St. Louis Browns after his big 1897 season.

Jake Stenzel - photo via Find-A-Grave

1898 - Harold “Pie” Traynor was born in Framingham, Massachusetts. The Hall of Fame 3B played 17 seasons (1920-35, 1937) for the Pirates with a career .320 BA. He hit over .300 ten times, had over 100 RBI in a season seven times, and was considered the top third baseman of his era. The ensuing local generations may remember him for his “Studio Wrestling” promos, when he touted American Heating with his “Who Can? Ameri-Can!” line. Traynor became a scout for the Pirates when his career ended (he held that post for the rest of his life) and hosted a radio program six days a week for 20 years on KQV called "The Pie Traynor Club" where he talked baseball with local kids. Pie passed away in 1972 and is buried in Homewood Cemetery. There are several stories involving his nickname. A couple revolved around his love of pie when he was a kid, with another explaining that his round puss made him look "pie-faced." Dave Finoli, in his “Pittsburgh Pirates Encyclopedia” (second edition), adds another contender, writing that Traynor as a youth came home covered in dirt after a day at play, and was told by his dad that he was “...as dark as a pied pipe.” 

1906 - Announcer Art McKennan was born in Oakland. Starting out as a Forbes Field errand boy, he did odd jobs around the park, working his way up to bat boy and scoreboard runner. Art got a job in the real world and continued on as an usher. He couldn’t keep that gig, though - in 1930, he was diagnosed with polio. But it didn’t stop him. Art was the voice of the Pirates at Forbes Field from 1948 until it closed, and then at TRS until 1987 (he did Sunday games after that until 1993 following a fan backlash to his dismissal). He also had stints with the Penguins, Pitt football and Duquesne hoops along with a 30-year career in Pittsburgh’s Parks Department. He died in 1996 at the age of 89.  

1906 - Scout George Detore was born in Utica, New York. The infielder played in 33 games over two years for the Indians before getting into coaching and scouting. He served on Danny Murtaugh's MLB coaching staff during the 1959 season, taking the place of Jimmy Dykes when he left the Pirates to become the manager of the Detroit Tigers. Detore first joined Pittsburgh in 1950 as a minor league coach, then later as a New York based scout/scouting supervisor, serving in that role from 1955–58, 1960-63 and once again between 1969–86.

1923 - LHP Lee Howard was born on Staten Island. Lee had a brief MLB career consisting of five Bucs games (16 IP) tossed in 1946-47 with an 0-1/2.25 slash. Howard was signed by the Bucs in 1942, but a three-year stint in the Navy (he served in the Pacific Theater) delayed his big league arrival. He spent 1948-49 in the minors, but after giving up 10+ hits and nearly six walks per nine while compiling an ERA of 5.93, he hung up the spikes.

Bob Long - 1982 Topps Future Stars

1954 - RHP Bob Long was born in Jasper, Tennessee. Bob didn’t have much of a big league career, but he still did pretty well for himself as a 24th round draft pick in 1976 by working 12 pro seasons. He got a brief look with the Bucs in 1981 with a 1-2/5.95 line in five outings (three starts) and then had a solid year at Seattle in 1985, appearing in 28 games and posting a 3.76 ERA. He couldn’t break the AAA barrier after that and pitched through the 1987 campaign before retiring.

1956 - OF Scott Loucks was born in Anchorage, Alaska. Loucks finished his five-year, 73-game MLB career in Pittsburgh, going 2-for-7 with two walks in four 1985 contests after being signed as a free agent from the Houston organization. He spent most of his Pirates stint at AAA Hawaii. It was the last of his nine minor league campaigns, and he retired at the age of 28.

1963 - SS Rey Quinones was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. The sometimes volatile, sometimes sleep-walking Rey got parts of four MLB seasons under his belt, closing it out in 1989 with the Pirates, who took him & P Bill Wilkinson from Seattle in late April for P Mike Dunne, P Mike Walker, and OF Mark Merchant. Quinones hit .209 in 71 games and was released outright in late July, replaced by Jay Bell. The 25-year-old infielder never played in the major leagues again. 

1964 - RHP Roberto Hernandez was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He tossed for 17 seasons and appeared in over 1,000 games. He made a 2006 pit stop in the Steel City as an FA in his next-to-last campaign and was pretty strong for a 42-year-old, going 0-3-2/2.93 in 46 outings. The Bucs flipped him to the Mets at the deadline with Ollie Perez to pick up Xavier Nady.  

1976 - RHP Jason Grilli was born in Royal Oak, Michigan. After signing with Pittsburgh as a minor league FA in 2011 out of the Phil’s system, the vet known as “Grilled Cheese” reinvented himself as a back-end reliever, serving as Joel Hanrahan’s set-up man before taking the closer reins in 2013 and winning an All-Star berth. In 2014, he was sent to Angels after putting up a 3-11-47 record during his stint with the Bucs with a 3.01 ERA and 12.4 K per nine innings. He’s since been with Atlanta, Toronto & Texas, and retired in 2018. His moniker is based on his name, a fondness for the sandwiches and a bit because of his favorite pitch, the cheese (a fastball). At any rate, he adapted to the persona well with his twitter handle of @grilledcheese49, a ballpark grilled cheese sandwich named "The Closer" and several community events built around the gooey snack.

JR House - 2001 Topps Fusion

1979 - C JR (James Rodger) House was born in Charleston, West Virginia. A fifth round pick from Seabreeze HS in 1999, JR was in the Bucco system for six years, catching three games from 2003-04 and going 2-for-10. He went on to play in Houston and Baltimore, was a minor-league manager/coordinator for Arizona, became the Reds' third-base coach after the 2018 season and completed the circle when he returned to the D-Backs in that same role for the 2026 campaign. 

1987 - RHP Kyle McPherson was born in Creola, Alabama. Kyle, who was a 14th-round draft pick in 2007, was the Pirates Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2011, and made his MLB debut in 2012, going 0-2 but with a solid 2.73 ERA and 1.177 WHIP. He underwent TJ surgery the following season and never regained his form on the bump, being released by the Pirates after the 2014 season and by Tampa Bay in 2016, ending his big league career.

1991 - OF Al Martin was signed as a minor-league free agent after serving six years in the Atlanta system. He was called up from AAA Buffalo for a cup of coffee in 1992 and remained a Bucco through the 1999 season, batting .280 mainly as a left fielder during that time. Martin played for three more years for San Diego, Seattle and Tampa Bay, spent a season in Korea and called it quits.

1997 - The Pirates announced their 15-man protected list for the following week’s expansion draft by Tampa Bay and Arizona. The players taken off the board were P’s Francisco Cordova, Jon Lieber, Esteban Loaiza, Rich Loiselle, Ricardo Rincon, Jason Schmidt, Jose Silva & Jeff Wallace; C Jason Kendall; OFs Jose Guillen, Al Martin; IF Abraham Nunez, Tony Womack, Ron Wright & Kevin Young. The Bucs risked Joe Randa, Lou Collier & Marc Wilkins and a bevy of young outfielders. They ended up losing Randa and P Clint Sodowsky to the D-Backs, along with P Jason Johnson, who was claimed by the Devil Rays.

2004 - The Bucs came to terms with RHP Salomon Torres on a two-year deal worth $2.625M. Salomon tossed 172 games in those two campaigns, slashing 8-11-15/3.02 in 188 innings of work. The Pirates then got one more year out of Torres before they flipped him to Milwaukee after the 2007 season for pitchers Jose Ascanio and Kevin Hart. Jose Mesa was also getting his physical; he later signed a two-year deal worth $6M ($2M in ‘05, $4M on a club option for ‘06). He tossed in 2005 and the Pirates bought out his 2006 option for $500K. In FO action, Ass’t GM Roy Smith, who had been with Pittsburgh for 11 seasons and headed scouting/player development, switched coasts and joined the Dodgers.

11/10: '22 Shufflin', Choi Swap, Starling Gold, Lloyd Sesh, Rod & Jeff King Sign, IF Sniffin', 7-Player Deal w/Reds, Hill St., HBD Matt, Junior, Speed, Eddie, Fred, Little Globetrotter

1867 - C Billy “Little Globetrotter” Earle was born in Philadelphia. Billy was one of the better hitting catchers of his era (and capable at other positions) with a career .286 BA who spent brief parts of 1893-94 in Pittsburgh batting .287 as a replacement backstop when regulars Connie Mack, Joe Sugden & company went down. But he only got into 142 games in his five-year career. Earle was a spiritualist who it was claimed could hypnotize people. Other players were said to have feared his “voodoo,” “evil eye” and all-around rep as a jinx. Be that as it may, Billy never had any out-of-the ordinary encounters with his teammates but was probably kept at a distance due to a more mundane curse - he was addicted to morphine. He finally cleaned himself up with rehab in 1898, thanks to an intervention by John McGraw and financial support for treatment provided by his Cincinnati teammates per Baseball History Daily. He went on to play, manage and coach in the minors through 1911, living to the ripe old age of 78. He got his nickname as a member of Albert Spalding’s 1888 worldwide baseball tour.

1867 - IF Fred Roat was born in Oregon, Illinois. Fred spent a dozen seasons in the minors, with a pair of stops in the show. He got a cup of coffee with the Chicago Colts in 1892 after being part of the 1890 Alleghenys, batting .223 in 57 games. Fred retired after the 1899 campaign.

1888 - The Boston Red Stockings sold Jack Rowe and Deacon White to the Pittsburgh Alleghenys. Both players had solid resumes (White entered the HoF), but were on the downside of the hill and lasted just a year with the Alleghenys. White, 41, was a Hall-of-Famer who hit .253 in 55 games playing 3B/1B for Pittsburgh, while Rowe, 32, played 75 games at SS, batting .259. The move didn't come without some maneuvering - Rowe and White had become owners of the International League's Buffalo Bison franchise and refused to report to the Pirates so they could play on their own team. The principle that they really were pushing is that they believed they should share in whatever fee their old club received for their services. It was resolved when the pair joined the Pirates with fat salaries and a cut of the selling price that Pittsburgh had paid Boston. However, the trading and selling of ballplayers was an issue that wouldn’t go away and was a major contributor to the formation of the Players League in 1890.

1890 - OF/P Eddie Eayrs was born in Blackstone, Massachusetts. He got his start with the Bucs in 1913, getting two of his four games on the hill, giving up six runs (two earned) in eight IP while going 1-for-6 at the dish as a 22-year-old signed out of Brown. He didn’t return to the show until 1920-21 with Boston and Brooklyn, mainly patrolling the pasture. Eayrs did have a long pro career, playing outfield in the Eastern League until 1927, when he finally unlaced the spikes for good at age 36 after compiling a .309 lifetime BA on the farm.

Pop Schriver - undated Moller Collection/Detroit Public Library

1897 - The Pirates sent veterans OF Elmer “Mike” Smith and RHP Pink Hawley along with $1,500, to the Reds for five players - C/1B Pop Schriver, OF Jack McCarthy, P Billy Rhines, 3B Bill Gray and 2B Ace Stewart. Of the players the Bucs received, Stewart never played a game, McCarthy, Gray and Rhines lasted a season or two in Pittsburgh, and Pop stayed with the Pirates for three years, batting .260 as a part timer. Smith hit .342 for the Reds and Hawley went 27-11 in 1898 for the Reds. Neither followed up with particularly strong campaigns afterward and both retired after the 1901 season.

1914 - OF Claude “Speed” Whatley was born in Griffin, Georgia. Noted for his blazing speed (hence the nickname) and small-ball wizardry at the plate, he played for the Homestead Grays from 1939-43. Speed hit .300+ in two of his four Grays’ campaigns before leaving for the NY Black Yankees. He spent his last season with the Pittsburgh Crawfords in 1946. Well named: Speed defeated Olympic champ Jesse Owens in a promotional race before a game in the thirties (whether he was given a head start, generally part of Owen’s SOP, is unclear). 

1964 - IF Junior Noboa was born in Azua de Compostela, Dominican Republic. He got his final two at bats as a Bucco in 1994, going 0-for-2 before the strike to close out an eight-year MLB career. Junior spent one more year in the minors, served as batting coach for the Dominican National teams and now works in the Arizona Diamondbacks front office as VP of Latin Operations, helping land Miguel Montero, Gerardo Parra, Ender Inciarte, Carlos Gonzalez, and José Valverde.

1967 - The Pirates announced a $25-30,000 deal with Monsanto Corporation to cover the infield of the Bucs’ Eastern League affiliate York (Memorial Stadium) with artificial turf. The experiment would determine if Astroturf would be an acceptable alternative to grass for the proposed Three Rivers Stadium. The co-tenants of TRS, the Steelers, indicated that they would favor an artificial surface (they changed their minds, thx to player input, when Heinz Field was designed; ditto for the Bucs and PNC Park). It worked out OK at TRS, though not so much for the York Pirates - their franchise folded after the ‘69 season and Memorial Stadium was used by the local softball players who finally wore the turf out. 

1982 - C Matt Pagnozzi was born in Miami, Arizona. Pagnozzi got in pieces of five MLB campaigns, including a 2011 stop in Pittsburgh as one of eight catchers used by the Bucs. Matt hit .250 in his five games (the Pirates didn’t pick him up until mid-September). He packed up the tools of ignorance after the 2015 season and 13 campaigns in the majors, minors and Dominican.

Bo at 3B - 1988 Fleer

1988 - Per the Post Gazette’s Paul Meyer, the Pirates, looking to shore up the their infield, offered FA 2B Steve Sax a three-year deal, albeit he would move the 3B, that his agent called “competitive” (it was thought to be in the $1M/year range) and per the Press were talking not only to Sax but perhaps peeking at the Cubs SS Shawon Dunston. Sax was given a sweeter offer by the New York Yankees and opted to cast his fate in the Big Apple. Dunston was dangled but pulled back, staying with Chicago through 1995, although he did join the Buccos for 18 games in 1997. The Pirates went with youth as their Plan B; 23-year-old Jay Bell and 25-year-old Chico Lind manned the middle in ‘89 and Bobby Bonilla, 25, held down the hot corner.

1995 - 3B Jeff King, 30, passed up a chance to test the market and signed a two-year/$5M contract with the Pirates. He was worth every cent in 1996, hitting .271 with 30 homers and 111 RBI, then was sent to KC. Jeff played out his final three seasons as a Royal before retiring to his cattle ranch in Montana.

2000 - New manager Lloyd McClendon met with nine of his core players - Brian Giles, Kevin Young, Adrian Brown, John Vander Wal, Keith Osik, Todd Ritchie, Mike Williams, Jason Schmidt and Jose Silva - to lay out his agenda and try to get some buy-in from the players after a 93-loss season, three days after Jason Kendall, Giles and Young had met with GM Cam Bonifay to give their thoughts on righting the Bucco ship. But even with the kumbaya session, a fresh field boss and a new ballyard to romp in, it was the same ol’ Bucs. Despite the preseason rah-rah, they finished 62-100 in 2001. Lloyd survived; GM Cam Bonifay didn't.

2011 - The Pirates signed free agent C Rod Barajas to a one-year/$4M contract with a club option for 2013 ($3.5 million with no buyout). Hot Rod hit .206 and threw out just a half dozen baserunners all year. His option wasn’t exercised, ending his MLB road, and after a stint as San Diego’s interim manager among his rounds, he’s now a coach for Texas.

2015 - Starling Marte was named a Gold Glove Award winner for the first time. Marte led all NL left fielders in fielding percentage (.995), making just one error in 196 total chances. He also led all National League outfielders with 16 assists, the most by a Pirates OF’er since Jose Guillen (also 16) in 1998, with 15 coming without a relay man. Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole were also GG finalists, but lost out to AJ Pollock and Zack Greinke.

Marte & the boys "Guarding the Alleys" - 2015 Topps

2018 - Jameson Taillon was honored at the Rotary Club’s Chuck Tanner banquet with the Memorial Award while Lanny Frattare took the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his 33 years as “Voice of the Pirates.” Sandy Dengler was awarded the Sally O’Leary Distinguished Woman in Baseball trophy after spending 20 years with Tampa Bay (and she also served as the Buccos Bradenton complex coordinator before that). Bob Melvin of the Oakland A’s won the Manager of the Year, and Kent State’s Jeff Duncan was named the College Coach of the Year.

2022 - The Pirates acquired 1B Ji-Man Choi from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for 24-year-old Bradenton RHP Jack Hartman. The 31-year-old Choi had a career line of .239 BA/61 HR/225 RBI in 486 games while playing for the Angels, Yankees, Brewers and Rays. He had spent the last four+ seasons with the Rays, hitting .233 BA/11 HR/52 RBI in 113 games in 2022. The position was a black hole for Pittsburgh, who used 10 players to fill the spot in the past campaign. Ji-Man slumped badly in the last half of the year and was scheduled to have his elbow cleaned out later in the month. He hit .205 with six homers here before being traded with Rich Hill to San Diego at the ‘23 deadline and is now a free agent. Hartman was a fourth-round pick by the Buccos in 2020 who had TJ surgery late that year and returned to mound action in 2022. The 26-year-old Rays reliever spent ‘25 in Class AA, going 0-4-4/2.72 in 34 outings.

2022 - The Bucs made a bundle of moves: they reinstated OF Canaan Smith-Njigba, RHP Colin Holderman, RHP Yerry De Los Santos, RHP Blake Cederlind and RHP Max Kranick from the 60-day IL to the 40-man roster; it was MLB deadline date to return the long-term injured to the roster, it was MLB deadline date to return the long-term injured to the 40-man list, where they had been carried but uncounted during the season. Cederlind, RHP Peter Solomon, RHP Beau Sulser, C Jason Delay, LHP Eric Stout and C/1B Zack Collins were waived off the list, cleared and then were outrighted to Indy, with Stout and Collins opting to become free agents. More change was coming as the team was five days away from the league deadline to finalize their now-full 40-man roster before the Rule 5 draft.

2025 - The City dedicated a street in Homewood to early black baseball star Pete Hill, who hailed from the neighborhood and began his Hall-of Fame pro career with the Pittsburgh Keystones. The speedy OF/manager played for a dozen squads during his career (1899-1925) and posted a .327 lifetime BA.