2/24: Doug Drabek Signs, Wagner Day, Bucs Sue To Void TRS Lease, Greenberg Film Premiers; HBD Robert, Bronson, Steamboat, Earl, John Henry, Wilbur & Hans

• 1874 - Hall of Famer (he was part of the first class, with Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, et al) Honus Wagner was born in Chartiers, now a part of Carnegie. Considered by many to be the greatest SS to ever play, he spent 18 years (1900-17) with Pittsburgh and played on a pair of World Series teams, winning in 1909. The Flying Dutchman won eight NL batting titles with a lifetime .328 BA. He drove in 100+ runs nine times and scored 100+ runs seven times. Wagner also served as a Pirate coach from 1933-51 and very briefly was a player/manager. 
• 1892 - LHP Wilbur Cooper was born in Bearsville, West Virginia. Cooper tossed for 13 years in Pittsburgh (1912-24), winning 202 games, the most in Pirate history, with a 2.74 ERA and 263 complete games to his credit. He and Carl Mays are the only two 20th century pitchers who won 200+ games while working over 3,000 innings with a sub-3.00 ERA that aren’t in the Hall of Fame. 
• 1898 - 2B John Henry Russell was born in Dolcito, Alabama. He played second and short for the Pittsburgh Crawfords in 1932-33, batting between Cool Papa Bell and Oscar Charleston while earning a 1933 All-Star bid. Russell was considered one of the Negro League’s premier defenders and earned his keep at the dish, hitting .276 for Pittsburgh per Seamheads. Russell finished his career the following season at age 36 with the Cleveland Red Sox. 
• 1907 - C Earl Grace was born in Barlow, Kentucky. He was a reserve catcher for the Bucs from 1931-35 with a .275 BA, coming over from the Chicago Cubs for C Rollie Hemsley. Earl handled a glove as well as he handled a bat (.263 lifetime BA). In 1932, he finished the season with just one error in 413 chances to establish a then-National League record with a .998 fielding average. Grace spent 15 seasons in pro ball, retiring in 1940 and becoming a Phoenix-based real estate broker who did some spare scouting for the Yankees. Trivia: Earl was traded three times in his career; all three deals were for another catcher. 

Earl Grace - 1934 Batter Up

• 1909 - RHP Clarence “Steamboat” Struss was born in Riverdale, Illinois. In 1934, the Pirates brought Steamboat up from Little Rock, where he was the Southern Association’s strikeout leader. The 25-year-old “smokeball” artist got the start for the last game of the season and gave up six runs (five earned) in seven innings. Struss held the Cubs to seven hits, but six walks and a wild pitch that plated the winning run did him in (Bucco beatman Volney Walsh of the Press, who called him “Steamer,” recapped the game with a terse “He was too wild.”). Struss helped his own cause by smoking a two-run double. He pitched in the minors until 1941 in the Cub and White Sox systems but never got a second invite to the bigs. He picked up his nickname while playing in the bush leagues. 
• 1955 - Mayor Dave Lawrence declared it “Honus Wagner Day” in Pittsburgh to celebrate his 81st birthday and Hans held court at his house. Friends, politicos, old teammates and writers filled his living room, as did a barrage of birthday cards. It also was the last push needed to close the remaining $7,000 funding gap to complete a statue honoring him. The final funds rolled in and the Dutchman attended the dedication of his Frank Vittor statue outside of Forbes Field in Schenley Park on April 30th before passing away in December. His bronze has since followed the Pirates around, moving from Forbes Field to Three Rivers Stadium and now displayed outside PNC Park. 
• 1977 - RHP Bronson Arroyo was born in Key West Florida. A third round pick of the Bucs in 1995, Bronson debuted with the Pirates in 2000 and worked three seasons for Pittsburgh, splitting the time between starting and the pen while slashing 9-14/5.41. He’s put in more than a decade of MLB work since then, mainly with the Reds, before being derailed by TJ surgery in July of 2014. The 40-year-old came back to pitch a final season for the Reds in 2017, retiring after the year with 16 campaigns spent with four clubs on his big league resume. 

Bronson Arroyo - 2002 Topps Total

• 1981 - How close were the Bucs to leaving? The Pirates, bleeding money, filed suit in the Allegheny County Courthouse for the annulment of its lease at Three Rivers Stadium after receiving relocation overtures from New Orleans, Washington & Tampa. The case was resolved when the Galbreath family sold the team in 1985 to a public-private partnership after threatening bankruptcy. 
• 1988 - The Pirates signed RHP Doug Drabek ($160K) and LHP John Smiley ($100K) to contracts, with both Drabek and Smiley in their final year of pre-arb. Both eventually made up for lost income in spades by earning multi-million dollar deals further down the road in their careers. 
• 1993 - RHP Robert Stephenson was born in Martinez, California. He was the Reds first round pick in 2011 as a prep pitcher and debuted as a starter in 2016. Spotty as a rotation arm, he was converted to the bullpen in 2019. After a steady season as a set-up man, he was traded to Colorado and had another solid campaign in 2021. He got off to a rough start for the Rox the following season and was waived in August. The Pirates claimed him, and in 13 games he slashed 0-1/3.38. In June of ‘23, he was traded to Tampa Bay and as an FA after the campaign (his slash was 3-4-1/3.10 with 13 K/9 IP between the two clubs), he inked a three-year/$33M deal with the Angels. Three months later, he proved the player value of a multi-year pact when he underwent TJ surgery and missed the ‘24 campaign. He toed the rubber a dozen times for the Halos in ‘25 and is ready to roll again. 
• 2000 - “The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg” had its local premiere at the Carnegie Museum of Art as part of the Pittsburgh Jewish Film Festival. The 1998 documentary featured archival shots, interviews and songs of Hammerin’ Hank’s era. Greenberg caught a lot of grief by being baseball's first Jewish superstar, and he was considered by many Jews to be their equivalent of Jackie Robinson. The film was well received; it won a dozen various awards between 1998-2001.

Weekly Report: RIP Maz; Marcell Here & Jack Gone; Spring Games Begin & Camp Notes

Camp's off & running...

Pirates Stuff:

• Losing the Baron last week hurt; this week, the pain doubled when Bill Mazeroski passed away at the age of 89. Known for his 1960 World Series homer and almost flawless defensive work, he left behind a huge legacy. Known for his 1960 World Series homer and almost flawless defensive work, he left behind a huge legacy. Maz collected over 2,000 hits in his 17-year career (all as a Pirate), wore a pair of World Series title rings, earned ten All-Star nods, garnered eight Gold Glove awards, his #9 was retired, a statue was erected in his honor and a PNC lane was named after him. He was elected to both the Pirates and National Halls of Fame.

LECOM Park 2-22-2026 photo/Pirates

• Seemed curious when the Bucs kept OF Jack Suwinski on the 40-man and got more curious when they DFA'ed him. Actually, it's not that curious - the Marcell Ozuna signing became official Monday and Jack wasn't left with much of a big league path with the Pirates, so he was moved to clear a 40-man spot. There wasn't much chance that Suwinski would make it through the waiver process, and he didn't - the Los Angeles Dodgers claimed him.
• The 2026 WBC opens on Thursday, March 5. The Pirates are sending eight MLB players led by Paul Skenes and 14 guys in all, with RHP Antwone Kelly the most touted of the farm guys, to the tourney this year.

Camp Stuff:

• On Saturday, the Bucs visited the O's to open the Grapefruit League campaign, then spent a split Sunday with a home match v Tampa Bay and a road trip to take on the Phillies. The Bucs beat the Birds, 8-2, on Saturday. Wilber Dotel got the dub while Ryan O'Hearn and Endy Rodriguez homered.
• The pregame for the Sunday home opener featured a tribute to Maz, SportsNet Pgh ran a series of programs that featured #9 after the Buc-Rays game ended while MLB Network replayed Game #7 of the '60 Series. It was a good day as the Pirates swept the split set against Tampa Bay (7-4) and Philly (4-3). In the home opener, Mitch Keller broke out a new-grip changeup, Bryan Reynolds went 3-for-3 and Nick Cimillo homered. All the offense v Philly came about thanks to one swing by Esmerlyn Valdez that resulted in a sixth-inning grand slam. There was a cost; injury-bitten 3B prospect Jack Brannigan took a bad hop off his face and left the game; the Pirates will release an update after he's examined by the team medicos. The Pirates are off to a quick 3-0 Grapefruit League start. 

Esmerlyn Valdez 10/2025 photo/MLB Pipeline

• If you've been wondering, Paul Skenes will make his first spring start v the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday.
• Not much live action to judge by yet, but Konnor Griffin is flashing power and scorching the baseball. If he keeps on, it'll be interesting to see where the Pirates roster him, considering he's only played 21 AA games.
• Another good sign - rehabbing Jared Jones graduated on Friday from throwing bullpens to live BP.
• Steve Blass and Gene Lamont were roaming around camp as the youthful Bucs got to jaw with some of the old guard.

MLB Stuff: 

• IF Adam Frazier signed a minor league/NRI deal with the Angels. It's Fraze's fifth team during his 10-year MLB career.
• C Elias Diaz inked a minor league/NRI contract with the KC Royals; he spent last season with the Padres.

2/23 Through the 1960s: Pud Signs, Bill Honored; RIP Bill, HBD Bo, Mike, Hedi, T-Bone, Ray & Barney

• 1865 - Pirate owner Barney Dreyfuss was born in Freiburg, Baden (Germany). He is often credited with the creation of the modern baseball World Series. Dreyfuss also built one of baseball's first modern steel and concrete baseball parks, Forbes Field, in 1909. During his period of ownership (1900-1932), the Pirates won six NL pennants, with World Series titles in 1909 and 1925; only the New York Giants won more NL championships during the same period. He’s in the Hall of Fame as one of the founding fathers that helped steer MLB through its early growing pains. 
• 1888 - RHP James "Pud" Galvin signed with Pittsburgh for $3,000, including $1,000 in advance. The club offered the ace $3,500 with no front money, but Galvin needed the quick infusion to carry him through the off season. “Gentleman Jeems” ended up in the Hall of Fame as MLB’s first 300-game winner (he claimed 365 victories) but he was a much better pitcher than financial planner. 
• 1908 - RHP Ray Brown was born in Alger, Ohio. He tossed for the Homestead Grays from 1932-45,winning 102 NNL games, and to cement the relationship, he even was married to owner Cum Posey’s daughter Ethel. Brown threw a one-hitter in the 1944 Negro League World Series to lead the Grays to the title and pitched a perfect seven-inning game in 1945. In 1938, the Pittsburgh Courier listed Brown as one of five Negro leagues stars who would be certain major leaguers if the color line didn’t exist, along with Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard and Satchel Paige. It was pretty good prognosticating - all five were voted into the Hall of Fame, with Brown’s election occurring in 2006.

Bill Regan - photo via Find-A-Grave

• 1928 - 2B Bill Regan of Brookline was honored by a local testimonial at the Roosevelt Hotel before he left town for camp. Bill was in the middle of a five-year run with the Red Sox, but was remembered by his local buds (he first made his name as a member of the semi-pro JJ Coyne’s ball club from Oakland) with Honus Wagner leading the speakers list, along with the president of City Council, James Malone, and Duquesne football coach Elmer Layden. Regan did come home again and joined the Pittsburgh nine for his final campaign in 1931. 
• 1958 - Coach John “T-Bone” Shelby was born in Lexington, Kentucky. A former big league CF turned coach, he followed manager Jim Tracy to Pittsburgh in 2006, where he was the club's first base coach from 2006-07. He went on to coach in the Baltimore, Milwaukee and Colorado organizations. As for his nickname, he told Andrew Gruman of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that “I grew up being called T. I told my teammates in rookie ball to call me T and some clown on the team started calling me T-Bone and I hated it. It stuck because I hated it and now I love it.” 
• 1959 - 1B Hediberto “Eddie/Hedi” Vargas was born in Guanica, Puerto Rico. The Bucs signed him in 1977 and he got cups of coffee with the big team in 1982 and again in 1984. Eddie hit .256 but without much power and he couldn’t dislodge Jason Thompson or win a bench spot. He was released in 1985, playing in Mexico & the minors before leaving the game after the 1989 campaign. 
• 1961 - RHP Mike Smith was born in Jackson, Mississippi. Mike had gotten tastes of the show by working 17 games in four seasons for the Reds & Expos and got his longest exposure as a Bucco in 1989, working 16 times and covering 24 IP. His counting numbers were OK at 0-1/3.75, but his peripherals told a different tale and that season was his last MLB campaign. He closed out his mound career by tossing five years (1996-2000) of indie league ball. 

Mike Smith - 1990 Topps

• 1963 - OF Bobby “Bo” Bonilla was born in the Bronx. The switch hitter spent six years in Pittsburgh (1986-91) with a line of .284/114 HR/500 RBI and was a four-time All Star for the Pirates before leaving in 1991 as an FA, signing a huge deal with the NY Mets. From 1992-94, Bo was the highest-paid player in the league, earning over $6M per season. When he was released with a year left on the deal, the Mets settled the contract by sending him $1.2M every season - for the next 25 years! Bobby played in 16 MLB campaigns with eight teams, retiring at 38 after the 2001 season w/a lifetime .279 BA, 287 HR, 1,084 runs scored and 1,173 RBI. 
• 1969 - RHP Bill Swift passed away in Bartow, Florida at the age of 60. He tossed eight seasons (1932-39) for the Bucs, with a 91-79-18/3.57 record. Swift was a workhorse, going 200+ innings and picking up double-digit wins in his first five seasons, topping out with 16 wins in 1936. He was the poster child for pitch-to-contact hurlers, punching out just 3.4 batters/nine innings during his Pittsburgh career, but giving up less than two walks per game and a homer just once every 18 frames. He worked for 11 years in the big leagues for four different squads, and was 3-0-1 as a reliever for the 100-win Brooklyn Dodgers of 1941, the National League champs, in just nine outings.

2/23 From 1970: Spanky & El Tiante Sign, Al - JVW Swap, Lind Loses Arb, Russ Out, After Raul, Rock On TV; RIP Vic, HBD Jaff & Jason

• 1974 - RHP Jason Boyd was born in St. Clair, Illinois. He began with the Bucs in 1999 and ended it with them in 2004 after outings in Philly, Cleveland, and San Diego. Jason didn’t help himself much - he had a 1-0/4.91 line for the Bucs, broke his hand later in the season after punching the rubber when he was pulled from a minor-league game and had gotten into a couple of 2003 off-season fights. He spent 2005 in the Texas system before ending his pro ball tenure. 
• 1978 - Vic Harris, longtime OF/manager for the Homestead Grays, passed away at age 72 in San Fernando, California. Vic was born in Florida and moved to Pittsburgh, attending Schenley HS in Oakland. As a player, Harris started with the ‘22 Keystones and spent 18 years with Homestead after his 1925 debut, hitting .304. In nine years as player/manager (with eight league titles) beginning in 1936, he led the Grays to a 406-281 record, per Seamheads. He even got in a season with his cross-town rivals, the Pittsburgh Crawfords, hitting .339 in 1934. 
• 1981 - RHP Luis Tiant signed a minor league deal with the Bucs for a guaranteed $125K. He tossed in Class AAA Portland until August, when the 40-year-old El Tiante was called up, going 2-5 with a 3.92 ERA down the stretch. He was released at the end of the season and tossed in Mexico in ‘82, where he was purchased from the Plataneros de Tabasco in August by California. He appeared in six games for the Halos to end his MLB career after 19 seasons and 229 wins. 

El Tiante - 1982 Topps

• 1988 - C Mike Lavalliere, coming off a season that saw him hit .300, throw out 45% of the attempted base thieves running against him and win a Gold Glove, signed for $215K. Despite the strong campaign, Spanky’s negotiating leverage wasn’t very strong - he was still a year away from arbitration. His patience was rewarded when his salary more than doubled for the next year. 
• 1990 - OF’er Jaff Decker was born in Phoenix. A first-round pick of the Padres in 2008 out of high school, he put in a couple of stop-gap stints in Pittsburgh in 2014-15, getting in 28 games and hitting .214, but with a strong .371 OBP. He then hopscotched organizations and retired after the 2018 season. Jaff got his unique first name thanks to a slip of the pen; he was supposed to be named after his uncle Jeff, but the name was misspelled by a nurse and Jaff it became. 
• 1991 - 2B Jose Lind lost his arb case, seeking $950K but instead awarded the Pirates offer of $575K. Chico was considered one of the best glove men at his position, but hit just .257 and slumped badly at the end of the year. The paycheck was an improvement over the $250K he earned in 1990, and he would come back in 1992 to win his next arb battle to even the count. LHP Randy Tomlin ($120K) and RHP Vicente Palacios ($125K) also signed new deals for the season. 
• 2000 - The Bucs dealt Al Martin to the San Diego Padres for OF John Vander Wal and pitchers Jim Sak and Geraldo Padua. The Mariners had also been making a pitch for Martin since the winter meetings and finally got their guy when the Padres sent him to Seattle in July at the deadline. Martin played three more years as a platoon guy (career .289 BA v RHP, .218 v LHP) while Van der Wal lasted the better part of two seasons for the Bucs (.290 BA) before being traded to the Giants and playing through 2004. Sak and Padua never made it to the show. 

Raul Mondesi - 2004 Topps

• 2004 - The Pirates, whose FO tried to pry OF Raul Mondesi from the Yankees the year before, reeled him in with a one-year/$1.75M free agent deal. Mondesi was off to a good start, hitting .283 w/two homers and 14 RBI, when he left the team in May to return to the Dominican Republic to fight a lawsuit; he never came back. The Pirates terminated him a couple of weeks later, citing breach of contract. His game plan to switch employers worked as he signed with the Angels at the end of the month, where he tore a quad and was released from that contract for not showing up for rehab. He finished his 13-year MLB career with a 41-game stint with the Braves in 2005. He went into Dominican politics afterward, and in 2017 was sentenced to eight years in prison and fined $1.3M for mishandling of public funds while he was the mayor of San Cristóbal. 
• 2005 - John Wehner made the move from hitting instructor at Altoona to road-crew color man for Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh. He took over for Steve Blass, who decided that he was just going to work home games. The Rock only got to make a couple of cameo spring auditions after applying late in the process, but he aced them to join Lanny Frattare, Greg Brown and Bob Walk in the broadcast booth. He still serves as an AT&T SportsNet analyst on both radio and TV. 
• 2013 - C Russell Martin withdrew from the Canadian team roster of the World Baseball Classic because he wasn’t allowed to play shortstop. Both the Pirates and the Canadian team were uncomfortable with the switch, while Martin, who had signed a two-year/$17M deal with the Pirates, told MLB.com that “...I simply didn’t want to catch,” citing concern about the pre-season tournament wear and tear. He had caught in 2009 for the Canadian WBC nine.

2/22: Kell, Orlando & Steve Sign, Doug Wins Arb, Corey - Huddy Swap, Doc Joins, FL Camp, Pgh In DC; RIP Howie, HBD Kyle, Brett, Tom, Frankie, Bill Roy & Ben

• 1892 - Pirate suit Bill Benswanger was born in New York City. His family moved to Pittsburgh when he was five and he attended Central HS, located in the Hill. Bill married owner Barney Dreyfuss’ daughter Eleanor, and in 1931 he became the team’s treasurer. Dreyfuss passed away the following year and passed the Pirates torch onto Benswanger who became president, a position he held until 1946. Baseball wasn’t exactly in his blood (Actually, music was - Ben was an accomplished pianist, was active as a backstage presence for the PSO and served as president of the Pittsburgh Musicians Club & the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society.) He told Vince Johnson of the Post Gazette “I literally got dumped into baseball. I didn’t know a thing about it. I was there just because I was the only man in the family.” But Bill was a quick learner and ran the club creditably before the Dreyfuss family sold it to Frank McKinney’s group for an estimated $2,225,000. 
• 1900 - C Roy Spencer was born in Scranton, NC. He played his first three campaigns in Pittsburgh (1925-27) on two World Series clubs as a reserve, appearing in the ‘27 Classic. In three years, he hit .307 for the Pirates. After leaving the Steel City, he honed his game by spending a year with Indianapolis of the American Association. Spencer then played for another decade with four other teams, beginning in 1929 with Washington and ending in 1938 at Brooklyn. 
• 1911 - C Bill Baker was born in Paw Creek, NC. The backup played four seasons (1941-43, 1946) with Pittsburgh, missing a couple of years while in the Navy during WW2, and hit .247. Baker went into umpiring after his career and worked his way up to an NL arbitrator for a season before his knees finally gave out, an occupational hazard for an old catcher. 
• 1915 - The Pirates bought 1B Doc Johnston from Cleveland for $7,500. It was thought that Doc was brought in to challenge Honus Wagner for the first base slot, with owner Barney Dreyfuss telling the Pittsburgh Press that “No man is certain of his job with the Pirates. Every place is open this spring…” Hans was 41 and it was assumed that he would slide over to cover Ed Konetchy’s spot at first after Konetchy skipped to the Pittsburgh Burghers of the Federal League. When the season started, Doc was indeed at first, but not at Wagner’s expense - the Dutchman held onto his shortstop job, playing 131 games at the position. Doc started in Pittsburgh for two years and then was moved as part of the Burleigh Grimes deal after the 1916 campaign. 

Frankie Zak - photo via Find-A-Grave

• 1922 - SS Frankie Zak was born in Passaic, New Jersey. He played three years, all in Pittsburgh (1944-46), as a reserve infielder and pinch runner with a .266 lifetime BA. Even though he only got 160 at bats in 1944, he was named a replacement All-Star. The game was held at Forbes Field, and with wartime travel restrictions creating logistic problems, the NL took the easy road by selecting him (Frankie did hit .300 that season). Red Patterson in the New York Herald-Tribune explained “Frank Zak was substituted at the last moment for (Pirate) Pete Coscarart, who was supposed to replace Eddie Miller (of the Reds) but went fishing before he could be notified.” A local sports scribe cracked "He (Zak) got a break. He thought he'd have to pay his way in." The poor guy couldn’t even get a memento of his unexpected day in the sun; he was named to the team too late to have his name included in the All-Star program. 
• 1947 - For the first time since 1918, the Pirates held spring training in Florida with the pitchers reporting OTD and the full squad checking in on the 27th. Billy Herman’s club worked out in Miami Beach, with the players getting $5 per diem in spending money, which the Post Gazette estimated as enough “for a couple of hamburgers...and a cup of coffee.” 
• 1948 - RHP Tom Griffin was born in Los Angeles. He was a first round pick of the Astros (4th overall) in 1966 and spent 14 years in the show as a swingman. He debuted as a Bucco in 1982 after a deal with the Giants for Doe Boyland. Griffin got into six games, went 1-3/8.87, and hung up his spikes at age 34 after the Pirates released him in May to clear a spot for IF Ken Reitz. Tom’s career game was tossed against the Bucs in May of 1974, when he threw a one-hitter to take home a 2-1 win for Houston. To add salt to the wound, Milt May, who the Bucs had sent to the Astros for Jerry Reuss in October, tripled home the game winner. 
• 1970 - RHP Steve Blass signed an agreement estimated to be for $28,000 after going 16-10/4.46 in 1969. With that signing, GM Joe Brown wrapped up his pitching staff contractually for the spring, having inked lefty Big Bob Veale to a deal two days prior to Steverino’s pact. 

Steve Blass - 1970 Topps

• 1980 - President Jimmy Carter hosted both the Steelers and Pirates in a single ceremony at the White House to celebrate their respective championship wins in Super Bowl XIV and the 1979 World Series. More than one cynical observer believed that the ceremony had more to do with the upcoming Pennsylvania primary than trophies. Championship showcases, thought to be initiated by JFK, were made into an annual rite by Carter’s successor, Ronald Reagan. 
• 1985 - The Pirates signed Orlando Merced as an amateur free agent out of high school at the age of 17. The Puerto Rican spent seven seasons with the Bucs, playing outfield and first, batting .283 from 1990-96 before being traded as part of the Jose Silva/Abraham Nunez deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Bucs also signed Luis Clemente, Roberto’s son, and that played into the Merced signing as he and Luis were friends, and the Clemente clan had recommended Orlando to the Pittsburgh scouts. Luis lasted seven games in the Gulf Coast Rookie League before deciding to join his brother in continuing Roberto’s work. 
• 1990 - RHP Doug Drabek won his arbitration case against the Pirates, collecting $1.1M for 1990 after going 14-12/2.80 in 1989; the Pirates had offered him $750 K after he had made $335K for the past season. The Bucs got a bargain even with the loss; DD went on to have a Cy Young season, putting up a 22-6/2.76 slash in 1990. The Pirates dealt with nine arb cases in ‘90: they settled just one before the hearing date and went 3-5 in those eight contested sessions. 
• 1994 - C Brett Sullivan was born in Stockton, California. Drafted out of the U of the Pacific in 2015 by Tampa Bay, he went to San Diego, where he was a Padre reserve from 2023-24. Brett joined the Bucs at Indy as a depth guy in June ‘25. He got into three MLB games, went 1-for-6 and became a FA at the end of the year, signing on with the Colorado organization. 

Howie Haak (center-white shirt) & Friends - 1961 photo Mears/TSN

• 1999 - Howie Haak, known as the “King of the Caribbean” by baseball people and “Big Daddy” by young Latino ballplayers, died of a stroke at age 87. Haak toiled for the Pirates from 1950-88, when he resigned after a spat with GM Syd Thrift, and beat the bushes for the Houston Astros for several years afterward. In 1984, Haak was selected as the first recipient of the Scout of the Year award, voted on by his peers. He was involved with signing scores of players for the Bucs, including Manny Sanguillen, Omar Moreno & Rennie Stennett of Panama; Tony Pena, Jose DeLeon, Frank Taveras & Cecilio Guante of the Dominican Republic, Ramon Hernandez & Junior Ortiz of Puerto Rico, Joe Christopher & Al McBean of the Virgin Islands, Roman Mejias & Orlando McFarlane of Cuba and Tony Armas of Venezuela. He also reeled in some US players, like Dick Stuart, Dale Berra, Steve Nicosia, Joe Gibbon, Red Witt, John Candelaria and Bob Veale. 
• 1999 - RHP Kyle Nicolas was born in Massillon, Ohio. A second-round pick of Miami in the 2020 draft out of Ball State, Kyle was traded to the Bucs in 2022 as part of the Jake Stallings deal. Mainly a starter who averaged double-digit whiffs per game, the Bucs flipped him to the Indy pen late in 2023, liked the results, and called him up for a September audition; he was a big strikeout, big walk guy. Kyle began 2024 at Indy, was called up, and remained a wild child. In 51 outings (54-2/3IP), he posted a 2-2/3.95 line with nine K’s but with five walks per game. He slipped to 1-2/4.74 in 31 2025 outings, still walking four guys per game. 
• 2018 - The Pirates swung a deal with Tampa Bay to land All-Star OF’er Corey Dickerson, 28, who was being DFA’ed as part of the Rays contract housekeeping. Pittsburgh acquired Dickerson for RHP Daniel Hudson, highly touted young 2B Tristan Gray and $1M cash. His 2017 line was .282/27/62. Corey was added to replace Andrew McCutchen, who had been traded to the Giants earlier in the off season, taking over in left field as Starling Marte shifted to center. Marte did well, posting a 118 OPS+, the same metric as the departed Cutch’s, in 2018. Huddy tossed for the Los Angeles Dodgers, won a ring and retired after the '24 campaign. while Gray left Tampa and is in the Minnesota Twins system after three brief MLB stops. Corey was shipped to Philly at the 2019 deadline and has played for five other nines since. He retired in 2024 to become the baseball manager of Jackson Academy, a private school in his home state of Mississippi. 
• 2024 - RHP Mitch Keller, 27, and the Bucs agreed on a five-year/$77M extension with a $2M signing bonus but no options that runs through 2028 (it became official the next day). The salary escalated in steps from $15M in 2025 to $20M in ‘28. He was named an NL All-Star for the first time in 2023 after slashing 13-9/4.21 and working a career-high 32 starts/194-1/3 IP while setting the franchise record for Ks in a season by a righty with 210. Mitch’s deal was the largest contract for a pitcher in team history, and the $15.4M average annual value of the deal was also the highest AAV for the franchise. Shelty announced later in the day that Keller would be the Opening Day pitcher on March 28th against the Marlins in Miami; he was 2023’s Opening Day pitcher, too.

2/21: Michael, JR & Hank Sign, Jose Wins Arb, Jim's First Camp, Bucs' Docs To The Rescue, Walk On Air, Groat Hoop HoF'er, First CBA; HBD Tyler, Joel, Ted & Jouett

• 1867 - RHP Jouett Meekin was born in New Albany, Indiana. Meekin was in his 10th year of big league ball when he joined the Pirates in 1900 at age 33; two starts and 21 runs later (half were unearned) he had tossed his last pitch in MLB. It was an inglorious end to a stellar career; between 1894-98, he had won 111 games for the New York Giants, even while pitching through a torn muscle in 1895. He left pro ball in 1902 and became a fireman. 
• 1936 - OF Ted Savage was born in Venice, Illinois. Ted played for eight teams in a nine-year major league career, including a stop in Pittsburgh in 1963, where he batted just .195. That wasn’t all that far off his .233 lifetime BA, but he made the most of his second, post-baseball days. Savage earned a Ph.D. in urban studies from St. Louis University, working at the school before catching on with the Cards as a community relations administrator before retiring. He kept his hand in the game afterward as a promoter and fundraiser for MLB’s RBI program. 
• 1947 - The Pirates finally got Hank Greenberg to sign on the dotted line. The Pirates thought they had him signed a couple of weeks earlier, but Hank instead announced that he was considering retirement. After a couple of meetings with co-owner John Galbreath before camp, Hammerin’ Hank reconsidered and inked a deal. Greenberg said he wasn’t holding out but looking for family time; both sides agreed salary wasn’t an issue in their discussions. The Pirates didn’t give a contract figure, just admitting that it was more than his $55G deal with Detroit (the general consensus was that Hank was paid $85,000). 
• 1961 - C Joel Skinner was born in La Jolla, California. Joel was Pirates OF Bob Skinner’s son, and the Bucs drafted him in the later rounds of the 1979 draft. Though he only played two years in the Bucco system, he was part of a pair of landmarks. The Pirates lost him in the short-lived free agent compensation draft to the Yankees as the first player ever claimed under that system (oddly enough, it was because the Phillies had signed NY’s Ed Farmer, but the compensation pool was formed by players from the entire league, not just the team involved.) He also was an interim manager for Cleveland, so he and his dad, a former Phil’s skipper, formed just the second father-son manager team in MLB history (George and Dick Sisler were the first such family field general duo). 

1988 Gen Next - Joel Skinner between Vance Law & Dale Berra (Press photo/Edwin Morgan)

• 1968 - Marvin Miller negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in history between the players and the team owners. The CBA ran from January 1st, 1968 to December 31st, 1969. The minimum MLB player's salary was raised to $10‚000, meal money during the season went up to $15 a day‚ and players got $40 a week for sundry training-camp expenses. 
• 1986 - Jim Leyland opened his first Bradenton camp as Bucco skipper after replacing Chuck Tanner. The Pirates rep had been tarnished since their ‘79 title both on the field and via prominent mention in the drug trials. Leyland took a whupping in his first MLB turn at the wheel - Barry Bonds was a rookie with another key newbie, Bobby Bonilla, joining the team later in the year, and the reconstruction was just beginning; the Corsairs won just 64 games that year. But players like Doug Drabek, Andy Van Slyke, Jay Bell, Spanky Lavalliere & co. were added to the mix and the Pirates went to three straight NLCS under Leyland from 1990-’92, who took his first steps toward the HoF. 
• 1988 - LHP Tyler Lyons was born in Lubbock, Texas. The five-year vet was effective as a bridge man in 2015-17 for the Cards, but had a dismal 2018 and was released. Lyons signed a minor league deal with the Pirates in 2019 and opened the season with AAA Indianapolis. He was called up on May 4th. In three games for the Bucs, he surrendered five runs on six hits and three walks with five punchouts in four innings. Pittsburgh DFA’ed him on May 8th, reassigning him to Indy and finally releasing him in mid-August. He then joined the NYY's org, serving mainly as a AAA insurance policy until he hung up the spikes in 2021. 
• 1992 - In the final day of arbitration hearings, 2B Jose Lind came up roses when he was awarded $2M; the Pirates offer had been just $1M. Chico had hit a middling .265 in 1991 and didn’t exactly live up to his new paycheck, following his arb win with a .235 BA/55 OPS+ season. The Bucs shipped him to Kansas City in the off season, where he stayed for three years before playing his last game in 1995 with the California Angels after being released in July by the Royals. 
• 1994 - Former Bucco righty Bob Walk joined Lanny Frattare, Greg Brown and Steve Blass on the Pirates TV broadcast team after his final hurrah with the Pittsburgh pitching staff. Coach Rich Donnelly threw some good natured jabs at Walkie (“He’s been second guessing Jim’s decisions for eight years; now he can get paid for it” and “Maybe now he’ll get a complete game”) but Walk was a popular choice both among the team and fan base and has survived through the KBL, Fox Sports, FSN Pittsburgh, Root Sports and AT&T SportsNet eras. 

John Russell - 2009 Topps Heritage

• 2009 - The Pirates picked up manager John Russell’s contract option for the season. The sophomore skipper went 67-95 after taking Jim Tracy’s spot. "JR met or exceeded expectations in his first year as the Pirates' manager," GM Neal Huntington explained. JR skippered through the 2010 campaign, suffering through a dismal-105 loss year, and was replaced by Clint Hurdle. 
• 2011 - Seven new members of the College Baseball Hall of Fame were announced, including Duke’s Dick Groat, who became the first player ever inducted into both the college basketball hall (2007) as a two-time All-America who played pro ball and the baseball hall (inducted in July). Groat won a batting championship, World Series and MVP while with the Pirates, and in his 26-game NBA career with the Fort Wayne Pistons, he averaged 11.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists before joining the Bucs full-time. After baseball, he moved on to operate Champion Lakes GC and became a Pitt basketball broadcaster. He passed on at 92 in 2023, the year he was named to the Pirates Hall of Fame. 
• 2018 - The Pirates signed OF’er Michael Saunders, a 2016 All-Star for the Blue Jays who went through a tough 2017 campaign (.202 between Toronto & Philadelphia), to a minor league deal with an invite to camp to compete for a vacancy in left. It ended up one of the quickest in-and-outs in Bucco history as the following day the Pirates traded with Tampa Bay to bring in All-Star LF’er Corey Dickerson, making the newcomer the default starter and triggering a request by Saunders to be released to seek a job in greener pastures. It was granted and he inked an agreement with the Kansas City Royals on the 23rd. The maneuvering proved moot as Michael never played MLB ball again, retiring in 2019 to take a coaching job in the Atlanta Braves organization. He moved on to the Mariners and then took a baseball academy position in 2026. 
• 2023 - Ernie Withers, a former president of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, was shagging flies in the outfield as a guest at Pirates City when he keeled over, the victim of a cardiac arrest. He picked a good spot to drop - Pittsburgh team medical director Dr. Pat DeMeo was there with team physician Dr. Todd Franco, sports medicine director Todd Tomcyzk, trainers Matt McNamee & Casey Lee and equipment manager Scott Bonnett. They revived Withers, who recovered fully, even throwing out a first pitch a week later. Ernie afterward paid it forward by forming a non-profit, the Defibrillate Manatee Foundation, to provide local organizations with AED (defibrillator) devices, the tool used to resuscitate him. He returned the next spring to donate one to the club.

2/20 Through 1974: Big Bob Signs, IA & UA Formed; RIP Bill, HBD Tony, Elroy, Frankie, Jack, Tom & Harry

• 1862 - 3B Harry Raymond was born in Utica. After four seasons with the Louisville Colonels, Raymond came to Pittsburgh briefly in 1892, getting into 12 games and batting .082. He finished the year and his big league career with Washington, going 1-for-18. He did soldier on, playing seven more minor league campaigns before calling it quits in 1899 at age 37. Raymond was a league jumper who hopped from Louisville to Lincoln in 1891 and was given a lifetime suspension by the American Association and National League for the flip, as both had an agreement limiting player movement. But the punishment was withdrawn later in the year and he played out his final MLB season. 
• 1873 - Utilityman Tom O’Brien was born in Verona. O’Brien played just two seasons and four positions for his hometown club (1898, 1900), hitting .274 for Pittsburgh before his untimely death during a Cuban barnstorming tour in 1901. The lore around his death is that it was brought on by drinking a bucket of seawater during the voyage as a seasickness cure, but he actually had typhoid that developed into pneumonia, and he passed away at age 27. 
• 1875 - C Jack Rafter was born in Troy, New York. Jack’s big league line was 0-for-3 in one game for the 1904 Pirates but he had a career-long New York baseball connection. Jack played at Fordham and spent 13 years in the minors, staying near his Empire State home base with tours of duty at Troy, Syracuse and Albany forming the bulk of his pro baseball resume. 

Pud Galvin - Hall of Fame Sticker

• 1877 - The International Association (international because it included a pair of Canadian clubs) was formed in Pittsburgh with the Alleghenys as one of the charter teams. Some baseball historians consider it to be the first minor league; others think the league had higher aspirations and was conceived to rival the major National League. It was fairly short-lived, folding after the 1880 season. It really didn’t have much of a schedule; Alleghenys’ ace Pud Galvin tossed 18 of the 19 IA games played that first year. Pittsburgh finished second at 13-6, 1-1/2 games behind the London (Ontario) Tecumsehs. 
• 1884 - The now you see it, now you don’t, Union Association was organized. It only lasted a season and had two local reps: the Pittsburgh Stogies, which absorbed the Chicago Browns before folding (they were resurrected in 1913 as a Federal League team, the Rebels) and the mid-state Altoona Mountain City nine. Whether it was major league or not depends on your baseball historian of choice; some archivists accept it as big time, but most say nay. 
• 1920 - All-Star infielder and restaurant owner Frankie Gustine was born in Hoopeston, Illinois. He played 10 years (1939-48) for the Bucs, hitting .268 as a Pirate and earning three All-Star slots. Gustine later became the head coach at Point Park College from 1968-74 and operated a popular, photo-packed bar/restaurant on Forbes Avenue in Oakland a few steps away from Forbes Field that became Hemingway’s Cafe in 1982. 

Frank Gustine - 1949 Bowman

• 1928 - The Baron of the Bullpen, ElRoy Face, was born in Stephentown, NY. He pitched fifteen years (1953, 1955-68) for the Bucs, posting a 100-93-188/3.36 slash. Face was the first major leaguer to save 20 games more than once, leading the league three times and finishing second three times; in 1959 he set the still-standing major league record for winning percentage (.947) at 18-1, winning 22 games in a row over two seasons (1958-59). He held the National League record for career games pitched (846) from 1967-86, and the league record for career saves (193) for two decades, from 1962-82. Face still holds the NL record for career wins in relief (96), and he held the league mark for career innings pitched in relief (1,211-1/3) until 1983. His nickname was bestowed by Post Gazette beat writer Jack Hernon in 1959, borrowing it from Joe Reichler of the Associated Press who wrote in his 1950 preseason profile of the St. Louis Cardinals: "For relief they have Ted Wilks, the league's bullpen baron...” 1963 - Bill Hinchman passed away in Columbus at the age of 79. He finished his 10-year MLB career with the Bucs from 1915-20 (he hit .284/129 OPS+ in that span), was a Pirates coach in 1923 and scouted for Pittsburgh from 1921-58. As a bird dog, he signed Rip Sewell, Clyde Barnhart, Claude Passeau, Cookie Lavagetto & Billy Cox and was involved in the player evaluation chain of Hall-of-Famers Arky Vaughan & Lloyd Waner. 
• 1965 - RHP Tony Menendez was born in Havana, Cuba. Tony was a first round draft pick of the White Sox out of high school in 1984 and had a three-year MLB career with three teams between 1992-94 that lasted 23 appearances. He got 14 of those outings as a 1993 Bucco. He did pretty well, with no decisions but a 3.00 ERA in 21 IP, mostly as a September call-up from AAA Buffalo. Tony signed with the Giants the following year, got a brief look in the majors and retired as a Bay farmhand after the 1995 campaign. He’s now got his irons in the media fire. 
• 1971 - Bob Veale signed his contract, valued at almost $30,000, and GM Joe Brown immediately deducted $300 from it in $100/day fines for the big lefty being late for camp. Veale had stirred Brown’s ire earlier by calling for an extension and not returning his contract to the Pirates. Veale was penciled to head to the pen after a 10-15/3.92 line in 1970 and went 6-0 as a reliever, but with a sky-high 6.99 ERA at age 36, Father Time was catching up to Big Bob. The following year, he was sold to the Red Sox, where he finished out his career in 1974.

2/20 From 1975: Heandog, Matt & Pat Sign, Smiley Wins Arb, IF Snit, Big Camp, Booth Filled, $ Slash; RIP Joe & Possum

• 1979 - In a move called “unprecedented” by Buc GM Harding Peterson, the Pirates cut sixth-level reserved seat ticket prices by a buck (from $4.25 to $3.25) and announced Monday through Thursday group discounts in an effort to boost attendance, which had dropped below a million (965,000) in 1978 for the first time since Three Rivers Stadium opened in 1971. It helped some as 1.4M fans spun the turnstiles during the season; of course, performance had a little to do with it, too, as the Bucs won the NL and World Series. In TRS’ 30-year history, the Pirates drew under 1M fans five times and went over the 2M mark twice (1990-91). 
• 1988 - Jim “The Possum” Woods, Bob Prince’s sidekick in the booth from 1958-69, passed away from cancer in Oviedo, Florida. He broadcast MLB from 1953-82, announcing for not only the Pirates but the Yankees, NY Giants, NBC, Cardinals, Athletics, Red Sox and the USA Network. 
• 1990 - LHP John Smiley won his arb hearing, cashing in his requested $840K rather than the Bucco offer of $630K. It wasn’t a surprising result; even GM Larry Doughty admitted Smiley had a strong case to increase his $230K pay of 1989, slashing 12-8/2.81 while working 205 innings with eight complete games. Smiley had a so-so 1990 campaign (9-10) after breaking his finger in a cab door accident, but came back in ‘91 to win 20 games and earn an All Star berth in his last Pirates campaign before being traded to the Twins for OF Midre Cummings. 
• 1997 - The Pirates brought 70 players to spring training; the sportswriters thought it may be a record for bodies in an MLB camp. The crowded clubhouse was no problem, said GM Cam Bonifay, who planned to beef up the “B” game schedule to get the boys in action. Probably not quite as pragmatic was equipment manager Roger Wilson, who had to get uniforms for all those players. Bonifay explained that he wanted the organization to get a look at some of the youngsters, and also wanted them exposed to the MLB routine. He said after the first cut, expected a week into camp, they’d finish up evaluating the prospects and get to work at filling the holes in the roster, eventually cobbling together the Freak Show club. 

Pat Meares - 1999 Topps

• 1999 - The Pirates signed free agent SS Pat Meares to a $1.5M contract. In April, they extended the deal through the 2003 season for $15M. He broke his hand early in 1999, had surgery, and was done playing MLB baseball by 2002 after a prolonged soap opera clash with management over the injury, having gotten into 240 games for the Bucs and hitting just .238. 
• 2007 - SS Jack Wilson and his DP partner, 2B Jose Castillo, locked themselves in manager Jim Tracy’s office while he was out supervising practice to discuss mano-a-mano Wilson’s withering review of Castillo (poorly conditioned, not prepared mentally and overall “lazy” in the field) delivered three weeks prior during the Pirates Fest. They came out of tete-a-tete 20 minutes later none the worse for wear, though without comment other than Castillo saying he was ready to play, physically and mentally. But ultimately the suits agreed with Jumping Jack’s assessment. Freddy Sanchez took over from Castillo at second base and had an All-Star season while hitting .304; Jose found himself relegated to utility duty and was released at the end of the year, getting auditions in four different organizations with his last MLB outing in 2008 with the Astros. 
• 2016 - The Pirates agreed to a minor league deal with former Angels’ OF Matt Joyce, 31, an eight-year vet with an All Star game under his belt. It was a good signing; Joyce made the club and while he hit just .242, he posted an OBP of .403, a slugging % of .463 and swatted 13 homers in 231 at bats to finish with an OPS+ of 132. He earned $1M as a Buc and turned the campaign into a two-year/$11M deal with Oakland in the off season. He appeared with eight clubs, the last being the Phillies, before he announced his retirement ahead of the 2022 campaign. 

Matt Joyce - 2016 Topps Update

• 2019 - LHP Joe Gibbon passed away at the age of 83 in Newton, Mississippi. Joe tossed for the Pirates for eight years (1960-65; 1969-70) and slashed 44-46-16/3.61 in 248 outings (107 starts), beginning his Pirates career as a member of the ‘60 World Series winners and finishing it as part of the ‘70 NLCS team. He was a rookie who went 4-2 for the ‘60 Bucs and whose World Series check for $8,400 was more than his salary of $7,500. He was also an All-American hoopster for Mississippi who finished second in the country in scoring during his senior year and was drafted by the Boston Celtics. Gibbon’s overall athletic chops gained him entry into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1979, the Ole Miss Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988, and in 2009, he was honored as a member of the Ole Miss Men’s All-Century Basketball Team. He was also referred to as “Old Hickory” in recognition of his hometown of Hickory, Mississippi. 
• 2024 - SportsNet Pittsburgh announced its broadcast team: The booth kept vets Greg Brown (in his 31st year) and Joe Block (nine years) for play-by-play duties with returning color analysts Bob Walk (Walkie also had 31 years under his belt), John Wehner, Kevin Young, Matt Capps and Neil Walker. Hannah Mears was named field reporter while Dan Potash and Hailey Hunter shared assorted host and field duties. Rob King was the studio host with Mike McKenry as his analyst and Steven Brault, Jordy Mercer & Alex Presley joining as commentators. 
• 2025 - The Pirates and LHP Andrew Heaney, 33, agreed on a one-year/$5.25M deal plus bonuses; the pact was made official two days later. Heaney was an 11-year vet (the Bucs were his sixth club) and seemed like a solid rotation add; his line the past two years for Texas was 15-20/4.22 in 59 starts (66 outings). But Heandog put up a 5-10/5.39 and was traded to the Dodgers; he retired after the ‘25 campaign. RHP Brett de Geus was DFA'ed to clear 40-man space.

2/19: Todd & Randy Sign, AJ Swap, Old Camp Tales, Roberto Signs w/Dodgers; HBD Carmen, Stewie, The Poet, Dana, Chris & Home Run Joe

• 1876 - Utilityman “Home Run Joe” Marshall was born in Audubon, Minnesota. A noted slugger in the lower levels - he once bashed 25 long balls, a huge number in the dead ball era - his power never translated into the show. He got a brief look in Pittsburgh in 1903, getting into 10 games and hitting .261 with a double and two triples, but no dingers, then another lengthier chance with the St. Louis Cards in 1906, but again w/no homers. Joe did play 17 pro seasons before retiring in 1913 and remained a utilityman by working a variety of jobs afterward - ump, clerk, & miner were all on his resume - until he passed away at age 55. 
• 1944 - RHP Chris Zachary was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. Chris closed out his nine-year, five-team MLB stay in 1973 with the Pirates, arriving in a trade with the Detroit Tigers for C Charlie Sands. He went 0-1-1/3.00 in six outings from the pen after spending most of the year at AAA Charleston as a starter. Following the season, he was swapped to the Phils for 1B Pete Koegel, played a year of AAA ball and retired. Chris went on to run a horse farm and became a member of the Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame before passing away in 2003. 
• 1954 - 19-year-old Roberto Clemente signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers for one year at $5,000 with a $10,000 signing bonus. The Dodgers got his John Doe on a contract in competition with the New York Yankees, New York Giants and Milwaukee Braves, which made a larger offer but didn’t dangle it until after Clemente had already signed on with Brooklyn. It was a pyrrhic victory as the Bucs claimed Roberto in November’s 1954 Rule 5 Draft. He was unprotected because he was a bonus baby (any player signed to a bonus over $6,000) who wasn’t carried on the Brooklyn MLB roster during the year as the rules of the time required, and so had to be offered in the draft. Clemente was the first player taken in the lottery and cost the Pirates $4,000 to claim. 
• 1967 - Ex-Pirates scout Dana Brown was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The Pirates hired the former minor league OF away from Philadelphia in 1993; he moved on to Expos/Nats in 2002 as scouting director and left to become a special assistant to the GM with Toronto in 2009. He then was Atlanta’s VP for scouting from 2019-22 and became the Houston Astros’ GM in 2023. As a Bucco bird dog, he was responsible for signing Ian Snell and Chris Young. 

The Poet...

• 1971 - RHP Miguel “The Poet” Batista was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The outfielder-turned-pitcher began his 18-year, 12-team career by tossing a pair of innings for the Bucs in 1992. After his modest Pittsburgh beginnings, he chilled his heels in the minors until 1996 before becoming a MLB fixture from 1998 through his last game with Atlanta in 2012. His nickname came about because of his love of literature. He even published a book of poetry, a lifelong interest of his, titled "Feelings in Black and White” in 2002. 
• 1982 - C Chris Stewart was born in Fontana, California. He joined the Pirates via trade in 2014 and hit .294 as Russ Martin’s caddy (he batted .250 in four Bucco seasons) while providing solid defense. Stew signed a two-year contract with a club option in 2016 as the backup to Francisco Cervelli. He knew that drill; Stewie had played behind Cervelli and Martin as a Yankee, too. After several visits to the DL, he became a free agent when the Pirates refused to exercise his option and Stew signed with the Braves in 2018; he retired in 2019. 
• 1983 - The Pirates opened camp for pitchers and catchers. The big story early on was whether old San Diego ace Randy Jones, late of the Mets, still had some diesel left in his tank (he didn’t). In a slow developing saga that lasted throughout training camp, Enrique Romo was absent, with his story being that one of his kids had chicken pox. The truth was Ricky was still seething over a fine and suspension handed out by Chuck Tanner the season before, and though there was some give-and-take, Romo reneged on the two years and $700-800K left on his contract and retired at the end of March at age 34, never to appear in another MLB contest. 
• 1999 - RHP Carmen Mlodzinski was born in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. He was taken in the first round (#31) of the 2020 draft out of South Carolina. Mlodzinski missed that season due to the Covid cancellation of the minor league schedule, then started for two years with strong K but weak ERA numbers and then was converted to the bullpen in 2023 at Indy. It paid off - he was called to Pittsburgh in June after a rash of injuries and was on the mound before he could unpack his bags. He finished the campaign with a big-league slash of 3-3-1/2.25 despite time on the IL. He worked through a couple of injuries in ‘24, posting a 5-5/3.91 line in 50 outings with four opener starts and followed with a 5-8/3.55 slash in 34 appearances (12 starts) in ‘25. He’s in camp now looking to reverse his roles; he’s working to join the rotation as a full-time starter. 

Carmen Mlodzinski - 2025 SportsNet Pgh.

• 2004 - The Pirates signed 1B Randall Simon to an $800,000 FA contract months after trading him to the Cubs following his sausage-swatting incident in Milwaukee, with thoughts of making him a platoon first sacker with Craig Wilson. Instead, he spent 26 days on the DL with a bad hammy, hit .194 upon his return and was released in August. Simon got brief looks with Tampa and the Phils, ending his MLB days in 2006. He also played in Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands WBC team (he was born in Curacao) and the indie leagues through 2010. 
• 2012 - The Pirates officially had RHP AJ Burnett drop in their laps (the deal was made public a couple of days earlier). The Yankees sent him to Pittsburgh for farm hands RHP Diego Moreno and OF Exicardo Cayones and agreed to pay $20M of the $33M remaining on the last two years of his contract. AJ went 26-21 with a 3.41 ERA in Pittsburgh before joining the Phils for an injury-plagued 2014 season. He returned to the Bucco fold in 2015 (9-7/3.18 ERA) for his farewell campaign, agreeing to a team-friendly $8.5M deal after refusing to exercise a $14.75M Philly option. Batman made his latest Bucco appearance in camp in 2026, working as a mentor for the young guns. Moreno pitched briefly for the Yankees and Rays followed by stops in Japan, Mexico and the Atlantic leagues and is now tossing in Venezuela. Cayones never made it out of the bush leagues.
• 2021 - The Bucs signed 3B Todd Frazier, 35, to an NRI deal worth $1.5M if he made the team. The 10-year vet was a two-time All-Star with five 20+ HR seasons but was coming off a subpar 2020 campaign; the Bucs hoped he had enough left in the tank to back up the corner infield spots and add an experienced voice to a young locker room. It became official the next day after the Toddfather passed his physical. His stay was a roller coaster ride - he opted out of his contract in camp, re-signed, got three weeks in the show and was released (he hit .086), taking a couple of pot shots at the local media while on the way out. He signed with an indie league and then won a spot on the silver-medal winning US Olympic team. The Toddfather retired in 2022 and slid into broadcasting.

2/18: Jason, John, AVS, Randy & Sid Sign, Walkie Retires To Booth, The King Flings; HBD Buster, Bob, Maxie, Manny, Cal, Luis & Sherry

• 1891 - LHP Sherrod “Sherry” Smith was born in Monticello, Georgia. He got his career off to an inglorious start in Pittsburgh, giving up seven runs in 4-2/3 IP in his three 1911-12 outings. But after a couple years of minor league seasoning and a change of scenery, he blossomed to win 114 games in the next 12 years for the Brooklyn Robins and Cleveland Indians. In 1980 Smith was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and a decade later he was honored with a state historical marker ("Mansfield's Famous Southpaw") near his home. 
• 1927 - LHP Luis Arroyo was born in Penuelas, Puerto Rico. “Tite” (a Latino nickname for Enrique, his middle name) was a screwballer who got a lot of ground outs. He tossed for the Bucs between 1956-57, with 12 starts in 72 appearances and a 6-14-2/4.69 ERA. After a year in AAA, he was converted full time to relief and spent his last four seasons in Yankee pinstripes, winning a World Series game and earning an All-Star nod in 1961. 
• 1929 - C Cal Neeman was born in Valmeyer, Illinois. Neeman came off the bench for most of his seven-year career (he made the The Sporting News’ All Rookie squad in 1957 as a Cub but never started more than 57 games in a season after that year), and appeared in 24 games for the 1962 Buccos, hitting .180 after earning a spot on the club in camp. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for utility player Bob Burda after the season. After Neeman retired in 1963, he returned to college and worked a variety of jobs, including HS baseball coach. 
• 1938 - OF Manny Mota was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The pinch hitter supreme spent six seasons (1963-68) with Pittsburgh as a spare outfielder early in his career, hitting .297 during his Pirates tour of duty. It wasn’t until 1974 that the Dodgers used him solely as a bench bat and he came through in spades, posting 150 career pinch hits. 

Dal Maxvill - 1974 Topps

• 1939 - IF Dal Maxvill was born in Granite City, Illinois. Dal joined the Bucs toward the tail end of his MLB days for parts of 1973-74, hitting .188 before being released. “Maxie” finished his 14-year career with Oakland after the Pirates let him go, playing his last game in 1975. Dal coached and was the Card’s GM afterward, retiring from baseball for good when he was fired from that job during a messy transition following Gus Busch’s death. 
• 1939 - RHP Bob Miller was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Miller spent 18 years in the show, tossing for the Bucs in 1971-72 (6-4-6/2.19) and pitching in two NLCS sets and a World Series. He later managed in the Padres organization and was pitching coach for the Blue Jays and Giants. Miller pitched in an era that featured three Bob Millers, all tossing in the majors starting in the late 1950s, and in fact was teammates with one of them in 1962 with the Mets. 
• 1950 - RHP Bruce Kison was born in Pasco, Washington. The righty pitched nine years (1971-79) for the Bucs and his career bookended Pittsburgh World series titles; he was 4-1 in the postseason, including a memorable 6-1/3 shutout innings tossed against the Orioles in game #4 of the 1971 Fall Classic. He was part of the rotation for three years, but was used mostly as a spot starter and long guy, putting up a Pirate pitching line of 81-63-6/3.49. 
• 1967 - Eddie Feigner, headliner fastpitch softball hurler of the King and his Court traveling show, appeared in a charity softball game at Dodger Stadium and struck out six MLB players in a row, including Roberto Clemente, reportedly serving a 100+ MPH underhand heater to his big league foes. 
• 1988 - With a day to spare, 1B Sid Bream avoided an arb hearing and agreed with the Bucs on a one-year/$360K deal with All-Star, Golden Glove and MVP bonuses. Bream had asked for $485K and the Pirates had countered with $300K after a .275/13 HR campaign in 1987; Sid reluctantly accepted the deal (he thought he deserved to be close to $400K) rather than go through a hearing. RHP Randy Kramer also signed; he would make his MLB debut in September. 

Sid Bream - 1988 Fleer

• 1989 - All-Star outfielder Andy Van Slyke dropped his demand to be paid if there was an owners' lockout when the CBA expired in 1990 (it was a valid concern: there was a shutdown, but it was settled in mid-March) and signed a three-year/$5.5M contract with the Pirates, avoiding a looming arbitration hearing. Van Slyke's contract included a $600K signing bonus and salaries of $1.95M in 1989 and 1991 with $1M in 1990 plus $270,000 per season available in incentive bonuses. Before this deal expired, Slick would agree to a three-year extension in 1991 worth $12.65M, making him the Pirates' highest paid player. 
• 1992 - The Pirates and pitcher John Smiley, who had slashed 20-8/3.08 while earning an All-Star berth during the 1991 campaign, agreed on a $3.44M deal plus incentives hours before they were due to face off at an arbitration hearing. The two sides met in the middle; Smiley had asked for $4.1M and Pittsburgh had countered with $2.7M. It was a hefty $2M raise (the lefty earned $1.4M in ‘91) that quickly turned into a ticket out of town: a month later, Smiley was traded to the Minnesota Twins for Denny Neagle and Midre Cummings. 
• 1994 - The Pirates opened camp minus one familiar face when Bob Walk retired after 14 MLB seasons (10 with the Bucs). He had turned down an earlier bullpen deal with the Buccos, looking for a more lucrative starting job offer that never came as an FA. But the Whirly Bird landed on his feet, making a quick transition to the broadcast team four days later, and he’s still there. 
• 1998 - RHP Jason Schmidt signed a three-year/$4.5M contract that would carry him to his final arb year after posting a 10-9/4.60 line in 1997. The first year was worth $600K, including his signing bonus, the second for $1.4M and the final season guaranteed the righty $2.5M with some performance sweeteners included. Schmidt went 26-30/4.30 over the life of the deal, signed a one-year deal in 2001 and was shipped to the San Francisco Giants at the deadline.