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.

Weekly Report: Quiet Time: Lowe Gets QO, Baddoo Claimed, Mattson Goes To Seattle, Top 40 Prospects, Salary Cap Pushed Back To '28

Time to pave the road for '27...

Pirates Stuff:

• The Pirates made a qualifying offer worth $23.15M to Brandon Lowe, who has until Nov. 17 to say yes or no. It's only good for a year, so we expect a nay, but it does get the Bucs a compensatory draft pick if he leaves. In more Lowe-down news, Brandon was selected as a Silver Slugger finalist; winners will be announced Nov. 17.
• The Pirates claimed OF Akil Baddoo from the Brewers; the 28-year-old lefty batter hit .252 for AAA Nashville last year after spending 2021-25 with the Tigers (.228 BA/88 OPS+).
• The Mariners claimed RHP Isaac Mattson off waivers. He had a 5.35 ERA in 38 2026 outings after a pretty solid campaign (3-3/2.45) in '25.

Wyatt Sanford - AFL All-Star 2026 MLB Pipeline

• MLB Pipeline picked their Top 40 Prospects by their long-term value. Number one was SS Konnor Griffin, with RHP Bubba Chandler at #14 and OF Esmerlyn Valdez checking in at #33.
• Slated to play at PNC Park on Aug. 6 and 7, the Savannah Bananas scheduled a third game v the Indianapolis Clowns for Sunday, Aug. 8. A lottery for tickets has already closed, but you can sign up to get on a waiting list if you're into Banana-rama.
• The Arizona Fall Stars Game played Sunday had one Pirates rep, IF Wyatt Sanford. He's batting .283 w/two HR for Glendale. Sanford got into the Arizona Fall Ball All-Star Game in the seventh inning; he went 0-for-2 with a flyout and K. The NL Prospects beat back the AL pups by a 6-4 final tally.

MLB Stuff:

• RHP Kyle Nicolas was DFA'ed by the Nats. In three years with the Bucs (2023-25) his line was 3-4/4.68, averaging nine K per nine innings but also issuing five walks in the same frame.
• Tampa Bay added OF Jack Suwinski to its 40-man roster. He hit .199 w/57 HR for the Bucs from 2022-25.

Jack Suwinski - 2025 Topps

• RHP Cody Ponce, who worked for the Bucs from 2020-21 before going to Japan, was flipped from Toronto's IR to its 40-man.
• The NYY tendered a qualifying offer to the Renegade, Dave Bednar.
• Lefty Josh Fleming, who worked 25 outings for Pittsburgh in 2024 (1-1-1/4.02), signed a minor league deal with the Cards.

CBA Stuff:

• MLB pushed back its salary cap ask until the 2028 season, saying it's messing with free agency too much to implement for '27. The league is proposing a $180.2M floor and $258.2M cap. The MLBPA released a statement saying they weren't impressed.

11/9: Bo Gold Tour, Willie #2, Sport v Biz, Sacman Signs, Moose Dealt, Ozzie PC, Viva l'Italia, HBD Andrew, Scott, Red, Jerry, Fred, Johnny, Nick, Blue Goose & Cyclone

1868 - RHP “Cyclone” Bill Phillips was born in Allenport in Washington County, between Charleroi and Brownsville. Phillips broke into the big leagues in 1890 at age 21, throwing 10 games for the Alleghenys with an 0-1/7.57 line (he was first a member of the Washington Nationals, but never got into a game and joined Pittsburgh when the DC club folded). He pitched for seven seasons in the majors, the last six with the Reds, and managed for a couple more. Bill died at age 72 in Charleroi and was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Fayette City. He picked up his “Cyclone” moniker while with the Nats; it was a popular honorific for young fireballers. He was also known as “Whoa Bill” which was said to be the result of Phillips’, who was a miner before he became a ballplayer, futile attempt to tame a bronco. Many sites list him as “Silver Bill,” but we think that’s a crossed wire as that was the nickname of 1B Bill Phillips who played a decade earlier, although it’s possibly a hand-me-down legacy to our Bill. Phillips not-so-fun factoid: the righty was the first pitcher to allow two grand slams in the same inning during an 18-5 loss to the Chicago Colts while tossing for the Alleghenys.

1885 - LHP Gene “Blue Goose” Moore was born in Lancaster, Texas. He tossed for parts of three MLB seasons with his first two years as a Pirate (1909-10; he didn’t make the World Series roster), posting a line of 2-1/4.66 in five outings. We can’t vouch 100% for his nickname, but he spent his entire 11-year minor league career in the Texas League, and while playing for Galveston (he spent five campaigns there) was known to frequent a tavern near the ballyard called The Blue Goose. His son, Gene Jr, had more success as a ballplayer and was an All-Star OF’er who played for six big league teams from 1931-45.

1886 - RHP Nick Maddox was born in Govanstown, Maryland (he has a couple of birthdays floating around, not uncommon for the old timers, and the 9th appears to be the consensus). Nick’s birth surname was Duffy, but as a youngster, he was raised by the Maddox family and went by that name during his career. He tossed for four years (1907-10) for Pittsburgh, his entire MLB career, with a 43-20/2.29 line. He threw a no-hitter as a rookie, won 23 games in 1908, and in 1909 claimed a World Series victory while earning the first Pirates victory at their brand-new Oakland playground, Forbes Field. Maddox won his first four starts, something no other Bucco would match until Gerrit Cole did the deed in 2013. After his career ended due to arm problems, Nick kept his home in the city, raising nine kids in Millvale while holding down a job as a maintenance man at the Fort Pitt Brewery. He passed away in 1954 from tuberculosis.

1897 - C Johnny Gooch was born in Smyrna, Tennessee. He caught eight years (1921-28) for the Pirates, hitting .286 in a part-time role and was a member of the 1925 and 1927 World Series clubs. Per Greg Tucker of the Rutherford County (TN) Historical Society, the fans liked Johnny in part because he had a “fun name.” When Johnny was introduced at the ballpark, the announcer would bellow “Johnny Gooooooch” and the fans would echo the “ooooo.” A lifelong friend of Pie Traynor, his minor league teammate, Gooch was a Pirate pitching coach and scout from 1937-42. Afterward, Johnny opened a factory making baseball bats in 1943 and was the exclusive supplier to the major leagues until 1947.

Johnny Gooch - 1939/Conlon series 1991

1906 - OF Fred Brickell was born in Saffordville, Kansas. Brickell played for Pittsburgh from 1926-30, hitting .312 as a reserve outfielder. Fred’s minor & major league career went from 1925-36 with Brickell elected into the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951. His son Fritz also played in the major leagues for the Dodgers and Angels from 1958 to 1961.

1909 - CF Jerry Benjamin was born in Montgomery, Alabama. He played in the Negro Leagues from 1931-48, spending the majority of his days with the Homestead Grays (1935-47) where he hit .300+ three times, played on eight pennant winning squads, four Negro League World Series clubs (the Grays won two titles) and was named an All Star three times. 

1916 - Manager Jimmy “Nixey” Callahan made the trip from Chicago to Pittsburgh to meet with owner Barney Dreyfuss and brainstorm over the coming campaign. Callahan was upbeat and told Pittsburgh Press beatman Ralph Davis that the team was set in the outfield and mound, with his middle infield the only soft spot with Hans Wagner moving to first base (although the only off-season move to improve it was to claim Greenfield Jimmy Smith off waivers), and to “emphatically” deny rumors that he was leaving to skipper another squad. Jimmy wasn’t a very good prognosticator - the Pirates started off 20-40 and he was fired. Hans Wagner briefly took the reins, followed by Hugo Bezdek, but it didn’t stop the bleeding. The Bucs finished 51-103 in 1917, in eighth (and last) place, 47 games behind the champion New York Giants. Nixey should have jumped if he had winter job offers; his seven-year managerial career (he spent five earlier seasons with the White Sox and started his Pittsburgh gig in 1916) ended when he was axed.

1931 - RHP George “Red” Witt was born in Long Beach, California. Red tossed for the Bucs from 1957-61, going 10-13/3.93 as a starter/long man, and worked three games in relief against the Yankees in the 1960 World Series without surrendering a run. Witt went 11-16 with a 4.32 ERA and 156 strikeouts in 66 career games after spending 1962 with Houston and the Los Angeles Angels. He looked like a breakout candidate after a strong 1958 season, but though he soldiered on for another four seasons, arm woes derailed his career.

Red Witt - 1960 Topps

1953 - The Supreme Court confirmed by a 7-2 decision (Toolson v New York Yankees) that baseball is a sport, not a business, and therefore wasn’t subject to the Sherman Antitrust Act in a case brought before it by a minor league player who litigated his demotion from AAA to AA.

1971 - Willie Stargell (.295/48/125) was MVP runner-up to Joe Torre, who led the NL in RBI (137) and batting (.363) while hitting 24 HR. Torre received 318 points to Stargell's 222. It was still a pretty good campaign for the Pirates slugger; Willie won a World Series and the MLB home run title. It started a frustrating three-year run when Pops finished second, third and second again in the MVP vote. He finally finished on top in 1979 - and just as a co-winner (W/Keith Hernandez) then!

1971 - LHP Scott Sauerbeck was born in Cincinnati. The lefty spent the first five years (1999-2003) of his MLB career with Pittsburgh after being selected as a Rule 5 pick from the Mets. He went 19-15-5/3.56 in his Pirates time. The southpaw retired in 2008 after seven big league campaigns.

1978 - Don Osborn was appointed to his fourth stint as Bucco pitching coach by Chuck Tanner. He replaced Larry Sherry, who had replaced him in 1977. But Don didn’t last long; Osborn was 70, and poor health forced him to resign a few weeks later (Harvey Haddix took over). He died in Torrance, California, during spring training in March 1979. He was first named pitching coach of the Pirates in 1963, and served in that role in 1963–64, 1970–72, and 1974–76 while also spending 15 years managing in the minors with a couple of more seasons as a scout. During most of that time, he worked under Danny Murtaugh, and Don earned a World Series ring in 1971.

1988 - 1B Randy Milligan was traded to the Orioles for a PTBNL (RHP Pete Blohm, who never got past AAA) as first base was getting a little jammed - Sid Bream held the fort in 1988, and the Pirates were considering moving Bobby Bonilla there after he added 20 pounds and committed 32 errors at third during the past season. But the anticipated shuffle ended up the same ol’ - Bream came back but had surgery on his knee, leaving first to Gary Redus, platooning with Benny Distefano and Jeff King while Bobby Bo started 156 games at the hot corner. 

Moose Milligan - 1989 Upper Deck

1991 - Bobby Bo turned down the Pirates four-year/$18.5M contract offer with a fifth, $5M option season added in, and began what the local media dubbed the “Bobby Bonilla Solid Gold Tour ‘91.” The following week, he started visiting other clubs, beginning with Philadelphia and New York, with later stops on the gravy train scheduled for St. Louis, the White Sox and Angels. He could have saved the plane fare - the second team he talked to, the Mets, inked him to a guaranteed package for five years/$29M in early December, bringing the Bronx-raised Bonilla back home as the highest paid player in pro sports at the time.

1991 - C Andrew Knapp was born in Roseville, California. He spent five years as the Phillies reserve backstop before signing with the Reds after the 2021 campaign. They released him late in camp and the Pirates, thin in catching after the Jake Stallings deal, picked him up. “Knapp Time” had a .218 career BA and a 19% throw-out rate from behind the dish, yet was penciled in as Roberto Perez's backup. In May, he was waived to Seattle. Knapp moved around several times since then, playing for four other organizations before retiring early in 2025.

1994 - After two years with the Cubs, veteran LHP Dan Plesac, 32, inked a two-year deal with the Pirates. The deal earned him $2.2M over its span as he tossed 131 games for the Bucs in 1995-96, with a 10-9-14/3.86 slash. He was part of a big, nine-player, 1996 postseason deal with Toronto that landed Craig Wilson and Abraham Nunez for the Pirates. Dan went on to pitch in 18 big league seasons and is now a color man for the White Sox and occasional host on the MLB Network.

2007 - The Italian nine defeated Team USA, 6-2, in the 2007 Baseball World Cup. Italy had not beaten the US for 21 years and had never before won against an American team with pro players. Pirate farmhands were complicit in the defeat - SS Brian Bixler committed a pair of errors (plus he was picked off) while Andy LaRoche mishandled a pick-off try while playing first, the pair combining to allow five unearned runs to the Italian club. Still, it was just a bump in the road as it was the USA’s only loss on their road to the crown. US mates RHP Jeff Karstens, 1B Steve Pearce and 2B Delwyn Young would also later suit up for the Pirates.

11/8: Jay Bay BBWAA ROTY, Starling Wins 2nd Gold Glove, JHK Signed, RIP Claude, HBD Mike, Nick, Rex, Wally & Bill

1870 - RHP Bill Hoffer was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Bill started out on fire, winning 78 games for the Orioles from 1895-97 before the bottom fell out. He worked for Pittsburgh from 1889-90, going 11-10/3.33, but was near the end of his career, pitching MLB ball again in 1901 as his swan song. He also played some outfield, but put up a measly .186 BA. Bill retired back to Iowa and became an engineer/conductor on the interurban railway between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City and was later named to the Des Moines Register Iowa Sports Hall of Fame.

1920 - OF Wally Westlake was born in Gridley, California. He played 4-1/2 seasons for the Pirates (1947-51) and hit .281 with 97 HR in that span as an everyday player. Wally was an All-Star in 1951, the season he split between the Pirates and Cardinals, and played through the 1956 season. Wally retired and returned to the coast as a labor foreman and avid outdoorsman.

1937 - PH Rex Johnston was born in Colton, California. Rex was signed for $40K but only played briefly for the Bucs, going hitless in seven at-bats in 1964. In 1960, the former two-sport Southern Cal star played as a kick returner for the Steelers (he was behind John Henry Johnson & Tom “The Bomb” Tracy in the backfield) during the minor league off-season and thus became the only athlete to date who suited up for both the Bucs and the Steelers. Rex retired after the 1966 season and went back home to California to run the family painting business. 

Rex Johnston - image via Steelers.com

1951 - Claude “Little All Right” Ritchey passed away; the hard-drinking player fell victim to cirrhosis of the liver at age 78. Ritchey manned the middle of the Pittsburgh infield for seven seasons (1900-06) at the turn of the century, a solid defender who hit .277 in 977 games. He was part of the big trade that sent most of the Louisville Colonels roster to the Pirates before being sent to Boston as part of the Ed Abbaticchio deal. He spent his retirement (1912 was his last comeback effort) in his hometown of Emlenton (Venango county), where he worked a variety of jobs, mainly in the oil industry. His nickname, per teammate and oftentimes roomie Hans Wagner, came about because "Claude was never a great hitter except in a pinch. But then is when you could bet on him. That is why the fans gave him the name of Little All Right.” 

1991 - RHP Nick Kingham was born in Houston, Texas. Kingham was drafted by the Pirates in the fourth round of the 2010 draft out of high school and was put on the 40-man in 2014. The next year, he was about to get the call when his arm gave out and he had TJ surgery. Pittsburgh petitioned the league for an extra option year and got it. Good thing, too - he made his MLB debut in 2018 and took a perfect game through 6-2/3 innings to earn his first win as a Bucco. The rest of the campaign didn’t go as smoothly, and he continued to have problems in 2019 (9.87 ERA), was sold to Toronto and released by the Jays in late August. He went to Korea in 2020 and didn’t have much luck there, either, as he was released in early July by the SK Wyverns. He picked up his game after that and has since tossed for the Hanwha Eagles. The Eagles released Nick after he was derailed by an arm injury, and after comeback tours in Mexico & China, he retired in 2023.

1999 - RHP Mike Burrows was born in Waterford, Connecticut. The Bucs drafted him in the 11th round of the 2018 draft as a prepster. By 2022, he was at Indy despite losing the 2020 Covid-cut season, spent time in the Arizona Fall league and was a member of the Futures squad. Then he had TJ surgery, losing 2023. Mike returned in 2024, pitched in Florida and was recalled back to Indy. From there, the Bucs brought him up for a brief September audition in the last series of the year against New York, and he made his MLB debut at Yankee Stadium v the Bronx Bombers. He worked three innings plus of a bullpen game to earn his first MLB victory in his only '24 appearance. Mike started ‘25 at Indy but was recalled to the big team in May and given a rotation role. His line was 2-4/3.94 in 23 outings/96 IP with 19 starts, averaging a strikeout per inning. In December, he was part of a deal that landed the Bucs Bradon Lowe, Mike Montgomery and Jake Mangum. His ‘26 line was 4-9/5.99 and Houston sent him to AAA.

Mike Burrows - 2025 image Sportsnet.Pgh

2004 - Jason Bay, who hit .282 with 26 HRs and 82 RBI, became the first Pirate (and Canadian) player to win the Baseball Writer’s NL Rookie of the Year Award (Johnny Ray won The Sporting News ROY award in 1982) after earlier claiming the Players Choice (MLBPA) and TSN RoY honors. Although he didn't begin his year until May while recovering from shoulder surgery, Jay led all NL rookies with a .550 slugging percentage, 54 extra base hits and 226 total bases. Bay had earlier taken home ROTY honors from TSN and the Players Association. He had a pretty good week; he married his college sweetie Kristen two days before winning the award. Bobby Crosby won the American League honors; he would become a Bucco in 2010 before being dealt at the deadline. 

2016 - Starling Marte became the ninth Pirate to win multiple Golden Gloves as he was selected for his second straight Rawlings GG award. He was the first Bucco since Andy Van Slyke (1988-92) and Barry Bonds (1990-92) to win consecutive Gold Gloves. Starling threw out 17 runners - 16 without the help of a relay man - topping his previous gun-out best of 16 assists. 

2018 - The Pirates signed 3B Jung Ho Kang to a one-year/$3M contract w/$2.5M available in bonuses. It was a restructuring of his option year, which was for $5.5M. The Bucs non-tendered JHK, who had just returned to the US for the 2018 campaign after sitting out due to DUI issues that kept him from leaving Korea, but he missed most of his rehab campaign with a wrist injury and ended up with just six Pittsburgh at bats in September. The Pirates were banking on him returning to form, teaming with Colin Moran as a third base platoon and adding some pop to the lineup in 2019. It didn’t happen; JHK hit just .169 and was released in August.

11/7 Through the 1970s: '72 MVP Race, Ross St. Friend, RIP Fred, HBD Kris, Todd, Dave, Andy, Stu, Bill, Ed & The Only

1857 - RHP Ed “The Only” Nolan was born in either Canada or Patterson, New Jersey; no one is quite sure. Nolan was a two-fisted drinker who made a brief stop with Allegheny in 1883. The following is per the Baseball Reference Bullpen page: He lost the seven games he pitched, and then, after he was fined $10 for misbehaving, went on a drinking spree and put it on the team's tab. He was fined an extra $100 and suspended for the rest of the season. One fan even sold a line of T-shirts featuring Nolan, Buttercup Dickerson and the 1883 Allegheny as “The Hardest Drinking Team of All Time." There are several theories regarding his nickname. One claimed it was because he would demand to be the only pitcher employed by the teams on which he played. Others believe that it was lifted from a burlesque actor named "The Only Leon." Another explanation is that "The Only" was a commonly used term during Nolan's time, applied to anyone who excelled at something, and so Nolan took the moniker to feed his ego. Guy Smith, who wrote “Heroes of Baseball,” followed that line of thought, writing that he got the nickname as a minor league pitcher after he started and won 11 straight games, six by shutout, for Indianapolis. And in a bit of irony, our mischievous lad Nolan became a cop after he returned to life after baseball.

1885 - SS/OF Ed Mensor was born in Woodville, Oregon. He played three years for Pittsburgh (1912-14) and hit .221 from the bench. Baseball players weren’t exactly noted for politically correctness back in the day; the 5’6” Mensor’s nickname was “The Midget.” Mensor mention: Ed was the first Jewish switch-hitter in major league history per the Jewish Baseball Museum. 

1904 - C Fred Carroll died in San Rafael, California at the age of 40 after a heart attack. He was one of the top hitting catchers of his era, with a .284 BA, and had his hand in all the Pittsburgh franchises, playing for the Allegheny, Burghers and Pirates for seven (1885-91) of his eight big-league years. He was a complete player - he also spent some time in the OF, corner IF and short while stealing 137 bases during his career and even umped a game in ‘87. Fred had nine hits during an 1886 twin bill and was the first Pittsburgh player to hit for the cycle (twice as an Allegheny) in 1887. He’ll always be a part of local baseball lore for allegedly burying his pet monkey and team mascot under home plate at old Recreation Park before a game. He left baseball early at age 26, partly because of a sub-par year at the dish with the Pirates (he hit .218) and partly because the Sacramento native wanted to return to the west coast.

1910 - 3B Bill Brubaker was born in Cleveland. He played nine years for the Bucs, from 1932-40, and batted .264 as a Pirate, earning most of his starts in 1936-37 (he was super in ‘36, hitting .289 w/101 RBI). After a couple of years in the service, he ended his career in 1943 with the Boston Braves. His grandson, Dennis Rasmussen, also played in the major leagues, putting together a 12-year career as a starting pitcher in the early 80s-to-mid 90s.

Bill Brubaker - 1951 Berger 'toon/Press

1932 - 1B Dick Stuart was born in San Francisco. “Dr. Strangeglove” played in Pittsburgh from 1958-62, hitting .273 with 117 bombs as a Bucco, and was a 1961 All-Star after losing 35 baseballs. The slugger’s inability to field was legendary; he was once hit in the back when Roberto Clemente threw behind a runner, and received an ovation for spearing a hot dog wrapper as it blew past him at Forbes Field. He led the league in errors a record seven years in a row (1958-64), drove a car with the vanity plate "E3" and his 29 muffs at first base in 1963 remain the MLB record for the position. He said “As long as you drive in more than you let in, you get to play.” Oddly enough, stick-first Stu was the first 1B to record three assists in one inning; go figure. Stuart also mashed 66 home runs for the Lincoln club of the Class A Western League in 1956, proving that his glove wasn’t the main reason he got a paycheck. The apt nickname for the poor-fielding 1B was adapted from the movie “Doctor Strangelove,” and at 6’4”, he was also known as Big Stu. Per Wikipedia, other less well known but equally unflattering nicknames included "Iron Glove" and "The Ancient Mariner," a literary-flipped-to-sports reference, harkening to the opening line of the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”: "It is an ancient mariner, And he stoppeth one of three."

1966 - OF Andy Tomberlin was born in Monroe, North Carolina. The strong-armed and fleet Tomberlin spent parts of six seasons as a big league bench outfielder after being converted from a pitcher, beginning in Pittsburgh in 1993, where he hit .286. Tomberlin spent most of his career in the bush leagues from 1986 through 2000, playing for eight different organizations. After his playing days ended, Andy scouted and coached in the minors for the Brewers and White Sox.

1967 - Bob Friend made the transition from Sennett to Ross Street seamlessly by winning his first political outing, running as the Republican candidate for County Controller. He defeated the incumbent, James Knox, in a horse race. Those ‘60 Pirates pitchers were quite the political powerhouse: Wilmer “Vinegar Bend” Mizell would become a North Carolina congressman, Ronnie Kline became the mayor of Callery, PA after he retired and Diomedes Olivo wasn’t elected to office but was appointed as Director of the Ministry of Sports by the Dominican President.

1967 - RHP Dave Wainhouse was born in Toronto, Ontario. The Montreal Expos selected Wainhouse with their first-round pick of the 1988 draft, making him the first Canadian-born player picked in the first round. He put in seven years as a middle reliever, spending 1996-97 with the Bucs, going 1-1/6.97 in 42 outings. He’s now affiliated with the Next Level baseball academy staff and is now a private pitching coach after a stint with the Seattle University Redhawks.

Todd Ritchie - 2001 MLB Showdown

1971 - RHP Todd Ritchie was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. Ritchie went 35-32/4.29 for the Bucs from 1999-2001, winning 15 games in ‘99, and threw the first pitch of the first regular season game played at PNC Park on April 9, 2001. During 2001’s off season, he was traded to the White Sox for Kip Wells, Josh Fogg and Sean Lowe. Derailed by a bum shoulder, he signed again with Pittsburgh in 2005, but retired during camp. Todd’s final comeback effort was in 2008 with the Rockies; he lasted through five minor-league starts before leaving the slab.

1972 - Willie Stargell came in third in the NL-MVP race, finishing behind winner Johnny Bench of the Reds and runner up Billy Williams of the Cubs. Bench had 263 vote count, Williams 211 and Pops 201. The Bucs had a gang of players finish in the Top 20 - Al Oliver (7th), Roberto Clemente (13th), Manny Sanguillen (17th), Steve Blass (18th) and Gene Clines (20th).

1973 - Some of baseball’s biggest names took their shot at throwing a strike at Willie Stargell’s Celebrity Bowling Tournament at the North Versailles Bowl, with the proceeds going to the Black Athletes Foundation to fight sickle cell anemia. Those attending included Henry Aaron, Reggie Jackson, Billy Williams, Brooks Robinson, Joe Morgan, Sparky Lyle, Jim Palmer, Satchel Paige and Joe Morgan, along with a small army of Pirates and Steelers (the Penguins were AWOL; they had a game that night); in all, over 50 athletes showed up for Pop’s event.

1974 - RHP Kris Benson was born in Kennesaw, Georgia. The first overall selection of the 1996 draft, the Clemson grad pitched for the Pirates from 1999-2004 (missing 2001 after TJ surgery) with a line of 43-49/4.26. His antics with wife Anna were sports page fodder throughout his career, culminating in a 2013 divorce. On the flip side, he and Anna also fronted many charitable causes and fundraised an estimated $750K during his nine-year big league career.