Weekly Report: Treading At .500, Brax & Valdez Out, ROH Back, Greensboro in Sally League Title Round

Nearing the tape...

Pirates Stuff:

• *sigh* The Bucs recalled RHP Antwone Kelly and placed RHP Braxton Ashcraft on the 15-day IL (right arm discomfort, retroactive to 9/7). Brax is getting evaluated; he reported arm pain after his start last Saturday (9/5). Then Esmerlyn Valdez left Friday's (9/11) game with left hamstring discomfort after running out a grounder; he suffered a hammy strain and was placed on the 10-day IL with Ronny Simon returning. The Bucs plan on shelving him for the rest of the season.

Ryan O'Hearn - Back in the saddle image/Pirates

• OF/1B Ryan O'Hearn (quad strain) began his rehab at Indy on Tuesday. It didn't take long to get back in the saddle - he was back on the Bucco roster on Friday. Ronny Simon was returned to Indy, but not for long - he was recalled when Valdez went down.
• The Bucs recalled LHP Brandon Eisert after RHP Isaac Mattson was placed on the 15-day IL with a right hip impingement (retro to 9/6).
• Konnor Griffin, at 20 years, 141 days old, became the youngest player to bat cleanup for the Pirates since 1901.
• Before the White Sox set, the Pirates hadn't won five straight series since 2015 nor been at .500 in September since 2018. Both streaks ended this week at Wrigley (they did get back to .500 on Sunday).
• The Greensboro Grasshoppers won their division playoffs by beating the Frederick Keys 2-games-to-1. They began the championship series for the Hi-A South Atlantic league crown yesterday in a best-of-three battle with the Winston Salem Dash, losing a batfest 15-8.
• Not exactly the Bucs, but the Washington Wild Things advanced to the Frontier League semis and a best-of-five series v Evansville.

Game Stuff:

• The Bucs gave Bubba Chandler five first-inning runs to work with v the White Sox on Tuesday and he was strong for six innings (four hits, two runs, eight K). It ended 9-3; Rafe Flores homered. The bats smoked - the team had 18 hits, with every starter having at least a knock (seven had multiple raps), & eight of the nine drove in and/or scored runs.
• The bullpen game was a chef's kiss, with the help of a couple of late inning bases-jammed DPs, and the Bucs topped the Sox by a 4-2 tally. Brandon Eisert earned the win and Mason Montgomery the save while Esmerlyn Valdez homered to get the Bucs back to .500.

Mason Montgomery - The Finisher image/Sportsnet.Pgh 7/26

• Jared Jones gave up one hit with two away in the seventh, Luke Weaver & Mason Montogomery finished the job and Oneil Cruz's homer/two RBI carried the day as the Bucs swept the Sox 2-0.
• Braxton Ashcraft was due but went on the IL, scrambling the rotation before the Cub opener start. No diff - the Pirates forgot how to hit (lefty pitching), pitch (Indy staff) and field (mental boots as well as physical) in his absence, dropping a 12-2 decision to Chi-town.
• The Pirates had a 3-2 lead; Don Kelly pulled Paul Skenes after seven innings and 82 pitches for Gregory Sota. He worked a frame, which was just long enough to lose it, 4-3 (with two outs and a Cub on second, he hit two batters and walked two more). Ryan O'Hearn's homer was all the Bucco offense, so there's that, too.

Brandon Lowe - image/Pirates 9/26 

• The Pirates held on to take game #3 by a 4-3 count. Bubba was wild and gave up the three runs in 5-1/3 IP, but three relievers shut the Cubs down and Brandon Lowe chased home a pair of runs as a sixth-inning pinch hitter that ended up decisive. 
• Pittsburgh comes home Tuesday against the Brew Crew before hosting KC on Friday in a pair of three-game sets. The Cards visit 9/22 and their three-gamer ends the regular season home sked.

MLB Stuff:

• C Christian Bethancourt cleared waivers and was assigned to Indy.
• The NC Dinos of the Korean League signed RHP Mike Clevinger, who opted out of his Pirates minor-league deal in early August. 
• LHP Aroldis Chapman picked up his 400th save last weekend. That's a rareified club that just nine guys belong to.

9/14 Through the 1960s: Friend's 21st, Sweep, Big Poison #200, Game Days, Bill Joins, Hamey GM, HBD Jerry Don, Frank, Fred, Don & Jake

1853 - 1B Jake Goodman was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Jake got his start with the Alleghenys in 1877 as part of the short-lived minor league International Association and then played for the Milwaukee Grays the following year. He dropped off the map for a while, likely playing minor or semi-pro ball, and popped back up as an Allie again for 10 games in 1882 (they were major-league then as part of the American Association), going 13-for-41 and last appearing in May. His story didn’t have a happy ending. While playing minor league ball in 1884, he was beaned and never recovered. He suffered from palsy afterward and died of a stroke in 1890 at the way-too-young age of 36. 

1916 - Hall of Famer Burleigh Grimes made his first MLB start for the Pirates, losing a 3-2 decision to the Brooklyn Superbas at Ebbets Field. He didn’t have a lot of help; LF Bill Hinchman lost a fly in the sixth and Honus Wagner muffed a DP ball (per BR Bullpen, Hans said “those damn big feet of mine have always been in my way."). The Bucs came back to tie it but lost in the ninth on a two-out double by the opposing pitcher, Larry Cheney. Grimes finished his rookie campaign 2-3 but went on to win 270 games during his 19-year career.

1925 - The Pirates snapped a losing stretch of 7-of-8 games with a 9-4 win over the Brooklyn Robins at Forbes Field. Glenn Wright and George Grantham both went 3-for-4 and combined for a double, triple, three runs and three RBI to back Vic Aldridge’s win. The victory not only ended a dismal string, but launched the eventual World Championship club on a nine-game winning streak.

1931 - RHP Don Williams was born in Floyd, Virginia. Don went to the U of Tennessee and signed with the Bucs in 1953 along with his twin Dewey, who never made it out of the minors. After losing the 1954-55 seasons to military service, he finally got a couple of sips of the big league with the Pirates in 1958-59, getting into eight games with no record and a 6.75 ERA. He was sold to the White Sox, pitched briefly again in the show for Kansas City and retired after the 1963 campaign to become a rancher and gym teacher in Floyd County.

1933 - LHP Fred Green was born in Titusville, New Jersey. He pitched four years for the Bucs (1959-61, 1964) with a line of 9-6-4/3.33. The multi-role reliever was a member of the 1960 championship club after signing in 1952 and coming through the Pirate farm system; his last MLB gig was also with the Pirates in ‘64. After retirement, he found time to stay in the game by occasionally pitching batting practice for the Pirates before passing away at age 62. His son Gary, an Allderdice HS grad, played shortstop for the San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, and Cincinnati Reds, then managed Pirates and Tigers farm teams for 11 years.

Fred Green - 1960 Topps

1936 - Paul Waner tied Rogers Hornsby's modern NL record by reaching 200 hits for the seventh time as the Bucs swept the Phils 11-4 and 6-5 at the Baker Bowl. Big Poison banged out his 200th knock in the opener and collected five hits during the twinbill. Bill Swift and Red Lucas earned complete game victories. Waner went on to set the mark with a 200+ hit season the following year (Ty Cobb posted 9). It lasted until Pete Rose topped it in 1977 (Charlie Hustle and Ichiro share the MLB record with 10 200-hit campaigns).

1938 - LHP Frank Carpin was born in Brooklyn. The Bucs took him from the Yankees via the 1964 minor league draft and Frank got into 39 games in 1965 for the Pirates with a slash of 3-1-3/3.18. The Astros then picked him up in the Rule 5 draft. He tossed 10 games for the ‘Stros, ended up in AAA and retired at the end of the year. At age 27, it was an easy decision - he had a degree from Notre Dame (he became a broker), four kids and bone spurs in his elbow.

1944 - The Pirates purchased catcher Bill Salkeld from San Diego of the Pacific Coast league. He was brought aboard to replace Al Lopez, but couldn’t win the spot even though he hit .293 in his three (1945-47) Bucco campaigns. As a rookie in ‘45, Salkeld batted .311 with 15 home runs in only 317 PA, but was mainly a platoon guy with a .213 lifetime BA against lefties. (Like most catchers, Bill was right-handed, but he batted lefty w/a .273 BA vs. RHP).

1946 - Roy Hamey, president of the minor league American Association, was named GM of the Pirates. He ran the ship until 1950 and was the first true general manager of the team, as the duties of the position had previously been handled by the team president. Roy picked up some veteran pieces for the squad but never put together a farm system to provide home-grown talent and was replaced by Branch Rickey, who did the opposite by tearing the MLB team apart but assembling a strong minor league pipeline. It took their successor, Joe Brown, to successfully fuse the two club-building approaches.

O'Brien twins - photo via Sports Collectibles

1957 - The Chicago Cubs split a doubleheader at Wrigley Field with the bonus baby O'Brien twins on the bump. In the opener, Eddie twirled a 3-1 complete game win, scattering six hits and fanning eight for his only big league decision. In the nitecap, Johnny pitched one inning in relief and was charged with the loss, his last MLB verdict (he was 1-3 lifetime). Both played from 1953-58 for the Bucs, but they were infielders first and pitchers as an afterthought.

1957 - LHP Jerry Don Gleaton was born in Brownwood, Texas. An All-American at the U of Texas, he was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the first round (18th pick overall) of the 1979 draft. The hard-tossing reliever spent the final year of his 12-season career as a Pirate with a 1-0/4.26 line. The first-rounder won just 15 games in those dozen years, bouncing around among six teams. He’s active in the Pro Athletes Outreach ministry and keeps his hand in the game by coaching.

1958 - The Bucs swept the Cubs in a Forbes Field twinbill by 5-4 and 6-2 tallies. Though the runner up Pirates wouldn’t get closer than five games of the NL-winning Milwaukee Braves, they did serve notice that they were no longer the sad sacks of the league, going 84-70 for their first winning campaign since 1948. They were led by two guys who would be team mainstays - 2B Bill Mazeroski, who hit his 19th homer, and RHP Bob Friend, who won his 21st game. Maz’s blast set the franchise record for Pirates second sackers and lasted until 2014 when Neil Walker banged 23 balls out of the yard. Friend won 22 games in ‘58, the first Pittsburgh pitcher to hit that mark since Carmen Hill in 1927; it wouldn't be matched again until 1990 by Doug Drabek in his Cy Young season (Bob came in third for the ‘58 Cy). It was Friend’s only 20-win year.

1968 - Roberto Clemente drilled a pair of homers off Tom Seaver (his only two career bombs off Tom Terrific) while driving in three runs and Bob Veale spun a six-hitter with 10 punch outs as the Bucs dropped the Mets 6-0 at Shea Stadium. It started a 9-of-11 run for the Pirates as they fought to finish above .500, but they stumbled at the tape and ended 80-82. Big Bob finished with a 2.05 ERA in 1968, but posted just a 13-14 slate in The Year of the Pitcher.

9/14 From 1970: Bucs Turn 3, Wags Gem, Bo Walkoff, Twin Slams, Rallies, Game Days, Mudcat-Angel, TSN Zisk, KY Scolding, Lotta Losses, HBD El Coffee

1970 - The Pirates traded with Oakland for Jim “Mudcat “Grant, sending them a PTBNL (Angel Mangual). Mudcat made 50 appearances for Pittsburgh in ‘70-71 with a 7-4-7/3.41 line. He worked as a broadcaster and executive for the Indians and as a broadcaster for the Athletics after he retired. Grant also became a black baseball historian and wrote the 2006 book “The Black Aces.” Angel played six seasons for the A’s as a reserve outfielder and finished with a year in Mexico.

1974 - Richie Zisk was featured on the cover of The Sporting News, touting the rookie outfielder’s story “Menacing Bat.” It certainly was; Zisk hit .313 with 17 HR and 100 RBI in his first full-time MLB season.

1982 - Richie Hebner and Bill Madlock stroked grand slams to lead the Pirates to a 15-5 win over the Cubs at TRS. Mad Dog drove six runs home while Johnny Ray went 3-for-3 and scored three times with a RBI. The last pair of Bucs to hit grand salamis in the same game were Arky Vaughan and Earl Grace for the 1933 Bucs during a 10-0 romp over the Phils.

1984 - Jose DeLeon looked like he was cruising for his 10th straight defeat, but the Pirates overcame an early 7-2 deficit to rally past the Cards 8-7 in 12 innings at Busch Stadium. Marvel Wynne and Johnny Ray fueled the comeback with three hits each; Ray’s leadoff homer off Bruce Sutter in the 12th was the game winner. After DeLeon and Lee Tunnell were roughed up, four Pirates relievers tossed eight innings of shutout ball. Don Robinson put up four of the goose eggs for the win, while Teke won a two-out race to first against Willie McGee while making a bare-handed grab of Jason Thompson’s flip with the tying run on third to earn the save.

1987 - Bob Walk watched the Expos’ Tim Raines pop a ball over the fence in left in a loss at TRS, then began a stretch of 117-1/3 innings/18 outings during which Walkie didn’t give up a homer. The streak ended June 24, 1988, when Hubie Brooks led off the ninth at Olympic Stadium with a long ball (Walk went the distance and took a 5-3 win as solace). 1988 was a special season for the Whirlybird, who posted a 12-10/2.71 line and appeared in his only All-Star Game.

Bob Walk - 1987 Topps

1988 - Bobby Bonilla barely dropped a long fly over the right field fence at TRS, and the first-row, three-run pop was the walkoff winner in a 12-inning 4-1 Bucco victory over the Montreal Expos at TRS. It was Bobby Bo’s first homer in a month and helped the Bucs keep pace with the Mets, although the clock was against them with NY’s magic number down to nine (the Bucs finished second, 15 games off New York’s pace). Chico Lind had four hits; his two-out double was the genesis of the Pirates extra inning rally. Mike Dunne started before Jeff Robinson, Scott Medved and winner Brian Fisher came on to retire 20 of the last 22 Expos.

1991 - OF Gregory Polanco was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He debuted on June 10th, 2014, against the Cubs and recorded his first MLB hit against Travis Wood. His first career home run four days later against the Miami Marlins in the 13th inning was the game winner. On June 18th, he became the first Pirate with a hit in each of his first eight games. Polanco developed into a .255, 20-HR right fielder when healthy before being released in 2021, landing with Toronto and now in Japan. He got his nickname of El Coffee as a Dominican teen baller; he reminded one of his coaches of an older player with that moniker.

1992 - In a game that saw the lead go back and forth, the Pirates prevailed barely by taking a 10-inning 5-4 victory from the Cards at Busch Stadium. A leadoff error and two singles put the Bucs up in the extra frame with Cecil Espy plating Alex Cole, but Lee Smith fanned a pair with the insurance run on third to keep it tight. The Redbirds came right back when a leadoff double and wild pitch put the tying run 90’ away with no outs. Roger Mason got an infield roller to freeze Bernard Gilkey at third, Denny Neagle fanned Ray Lankford and the third pitcher of the inning, Stan Belinda, served a liner to center that was gloved by Andy Van Slyke to finally nail down the win and earn his first save since early August. The Pirates had 14 hits on the day with five different Buccos banging out a pair of knocks but stranded 13 to make it a long day.

1993 - Paul Wagner tossed a rain-shortened 1-0 shutout against the Florida Marlins at Joe Robbie Stadium, scattering four hits and three walks throughout the game’s six innings. The match was decided on the game’s first pitch, a Chris Hammond fastball that Carlos Garcia knocked into the seats; it was the first modern-era leadoff homer by a Pirate that was the decider for a 1-0 dub. The Pirates prez Mark Sauer announced on the same day that they agreed to move into the new Central Division of the National League with Chicago, Cincinnati, Houston and St. Louis rather than remain in the East as their part of the 1994 realignment of the leagues from two to three divisions.

Kevin Young - 1997 Skybox Thunder

1997 - Kevin Young snapped in the locker room, scolding his teammates for a few minutes before Gene Lamont herded him into a private corner to calm him down. The Pirates had been right in the race before a 4-13 streak derailed them, and KY felt that an overall lack of attention was throwing the season away. Young’s lecture righted the ship temporarily, but even though the team won seven of the next nine games (Young put his money where his mouth was by homering in the next game), they never got closer to the lead than 3-1/2 games to finish five games behind the Astros with 79 wins and close the book on the Freak Show.

2007 - The Bucs scored three times in the eighth to defeat the Astros 4-3 at Minute Maid Park as Jose Bautista bombed a two-run homer and Ronnie Paulino’s two-out single brought in Steve Pearce with the game winner. But the play of the game was made by CF Nyjer Morgan, who took a circle route to run down Ty Wigginton’s two-out, bases-loaded blast in the third, kissing the wall as he made the grab to prevent Houston from running away and hiding early in the contest. Romulo Sanchez got the win with a Matt Capps save; the Bucs used six hurlers.

2011 - With a 3-2 loss to St. Louis, the Pirates extended their record streak of consecutive losing seasons to 19 straight years, adding to the longest in American professional sports history. And this was after leading the NL Central on July 20th! The streak would go on one more season until Clint Hurdle’s wild card team of 2013 won 94 games to bring it to an end.

2014 - The Pirates were sleepwalking against the Cubs, losing 3-0 in the fourth with Chicago runners at first and second with no outs and ready to run away with the contest. Matt Szczur hit a hot shot to third; Josh Harrison gloved it, stepped on the bag and fired a bullet to second, where Neil Walker made a strong turn and got the ball to Andrew Lambo at first for a triple play. Two innings later, the Pirates broke out of their stupor and surged ahead 6-3 on the way to a 7-3 victory at PNC Park. Walker hit his 20th homer, breaking the Pirate single season mark for 2B held by Bill Mazeroski (19), set in 1958. Triple play trivia: it was the first triple play turned by the Pirates since April 12th, 2009, at Cincy and the first ever turned by anyone at PNC Park. The last one in Pittsburgh was August 10th, 1993, v the Cardinals at Three Rivers Stadium. There hadn't been a 5-4-3 around-the-horn triple play by the Bucs since July 23rd, 1979 (also at TRS), scored Bill Madlock to Phil Garner to Willie Stargell. It was the first triple killing that the Cubs had hit into since May 14th, 2000, at Montreal. Walker, btw, would be involved in another triple play against St. Louis the next season.

9/13 Through 1974: Can Of Corn, Boss Roberto, Pops Flex, 4 For Ralph, Sweep, Nick Debut, Game Days, HBD Armando, Denny, Tom & Dan

1907 - Nick Maddox made his MLB debut, and according to the Pittsburgh Press headline, the “Pirates New Twirler Was An Enigma To The Cardinals” as he tossed a five-hit 4-0 shutout at Exposition Park. Maddox struck out 11 and walked a pair. He was backed by another rookie making his big league launch, 1B Harry “Swasy” Swacina, who drove in a pair of runs. Maddux had a pair of strong seasons with the Bucs, but his arm died and after four years, he was in the minors, then managed some before playing sandlot/semi-pro ball. 

1913 - OF Dan Wilson was born in St. Louis. Per BR Bullpen, Wilson debuted in 1937 with the Pittsburgh Crawfords as a right fielder and second baseman and hit .259. He was a bench player for Pittsburgh in 1938 and moved on to St. Louis where he earned the first of three Negro League All-Star berths. The 11-year vet played locally for one more year, suiting up for the Homestead Grays in 1946. After baseball, Wilson's life went downhill and he died homeless at the age of 73.

1922 - The Pirates swept a twinbill from the Braves, winning 8-1 and 6-1 behind Wilbur Cooper and Johnny Morrison. The wins got them within five games of the first place NY Giants and they cut the lead to 3-1/2 games a week later. Though the Bucs ended up a respectable 85-69, they finished third after fading badly by losing seven of their final eight contests.

1939 - RHP Tom Parsons was born in Lakeville, Connecticut. The 6’ 7” Parsons was signed by the Pirates in 1957 as a 17-year-old. He made his major league debut in 1963 as a September call-up after toiling on the farm for seven years. Parsons made one start, giving up four runs on seven hits in 4-1/3 IP, and began the next campaign back in the minors. That September he was sold to the Mets, where he played in '64-65 and earned his only save, as karma would have it against his old Buc mateys. Tom spent his last four pro seasons in the minors.  

1949 - For the third time in his career, Ralph Kiner hit four consecutive homers. His first pair came in a 7-3 win against the Cubs on Sunday, then after an off day, he added two more against the Phils in an 11-6 victory. Both games were played at Forbes Field. Ralph collected 10 RBI in the two games to lead the attack for Murry Dickson and Cliff Chambers victories.

Ralph Kiner - 1949 Play Ball

1950 - Giants' RHP Sal Maglie's consecutive scoreless inning streak ended at 45 frames after Gus Bell popped a 257’ fly that barely cleared the RF wall at the shoe-box shaped Polo Grounds for a cheap homer. All it hurt, though, was The Barber’s pride as the G-Men beat the Bucs 3-1.

1956 - ElRoy Face set a MLB record (later tied) when he appeared in his ninth consecutive game, giving up a run in a 5-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Forbes Field. He had gone 3-0-1 in the prior eight matches covering 15-1/3 innings. Danny Murtaugh finally relented and gave him the next game off, sending Dick Hall and Howie Pollet out to cover the last two frames.

1963 - Willie Stargell provided the muscle as the Pirates knocked off the SF Giants at Forbes Field 5-4 in 13 innings. The sparse crowd of 6,100 saw Pops bang a three-run blast in the third inning, only to have the G-Men rally to tie it with two outs and the bases empty in the ninth thanks to two walks and a Jesus Alou single against Joe Gibbon and Harvey Haddix. Captain Willie put the game in the win column with a walkoff triple (Surprisingly, he hit 55 three-baggers during his career and six in ‘63) in the 13th to score Ducky Schofield, who had walked. Bob Friend was the Pirates sixth pitcher and got the win with an inning’s work, his 17th victory of the campaign and his only outing that season from the bullpen (indeed, he wouldn’t appear in a relief role again until 1966).

1967 - Roberto Clemente told the media that the players were to blame for the Pirates dismal showing (they were 72-74 at the time), reiterating statements he had made in a June players-only meeting and recently to Puerto Rican radio/newspaper media. Then he put his money where his mouth was, banging out five hits, with a homer, double, four RBI and two runs scored, to lead his mates to an 11-3 victory over the Reds at Crosley Field. Matty Alou and Manny Sanguillen added three knocks each while Maury Wills tallied three times. Tommy Sisk got the win; even though he was tapped for 11 hits, the attack allowed him to go wire-to-wire.

Denny Neagle - 1996 Fleer Ultra

1968 - Denny Neagle was born in Gambrills, Maryland. The lefty spent four plus seasons (1992-96) with Pittsburgh, going 43-35 with a 4.02 ERA. An All-Star in 1995 with a 13-8 record, he was traded to Atlanta the following season as a cost-cutting measure and won 60 games between 1997-2000, mostly with the Braves. Neagle finished 124-92/4.24 during his 13-year career.

1970 - The infamous “can of corn” call was made by The Gunner, Bob Prince, after Willie Smith hit a routine fly to Matty Alou with the Bucs up 2-1, two outs and the bases empty in the ninth. He dropped it as the Wrigley wind was blowing in, and the Cubs went on to rally for the win. Despite cutting the Buc lead in the NL East to 1/2 game, the Pirates suffered no hangover effect from the tough loss. They finished out the rest of the month at 12-5 and took the title running away, finishing with a five game cushion over the Cubbies in the NL East.

1971 - OF Armando Rios was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. A member of LSU’s College World Series winners, he played four seasons for the Giants before coming to Pittsburgh at the 2001 deadline along with Ryan Vogelsong in exchange for Jason Schmidt and John Vander Wal. Rios was hurt at the time of the deal and played two games for Pittsburgh; in 2002 he hit .264 in 76 games with no pop and was released at the end of the year. He played one more season in the show and then went to the Latin leagues. He was one of the witnesses in the 2003 BALCO case and was associated with PED use, perhaps understandably after undergoing surgeries on his knee, elbow, and shoulder.

1972 - Roberto Clemente hit his last homer, a two-run, two-out blast off Fergie Jenkins at Wrigley Field in the seventh inning to lead the Bucs to a 6-4 win at Wrigley Field. It was his 10th long ball of the season and 240th career homer, fourth-most in Pittsburgh franchise history. Clemente also tripled and scored three times to support winner Nellie Briles.

9/13 From 1975: S-Rod Rocket, J-Hay Walkoff, Cutch #200, B-2-B-2-B, Walk v Doc, Rollin' 7, Game Days, CEO Frank, HBD Alfonso & Andy

1978 - The Pirates only got three hits against the Cards at TRS, but two of them were three-run homers by Willie Stargell & Bill Robinson and were more than enough to carry Bert Blyleven to a complete-game win at TRS by a 7-1 tally. The Pirates didn’t get very many good pitches to swing at; the Redbird hurlers walked 11 batters and tossed three wild pitches.

1983 - 3B Andy LaRoche was born in Fort Scott, Kansas. Part of the Jason Bay deal, the much ballyhooed prospect LaRoche came to Pittsburgh from LA at the 2008 trade deadline, joining brother Adam. He was a Pirate until 2010, but hit only .226 during that time. He played briefly for Oakland and Toronto after his Buc tour of duty and last played in the indie leagues in 2015-16.

1987 - The Pirates won their seventh in a row and 15-of-18 as they dropped the Philadelphia Phillies 6-1 at Veterans Stadium. Bobby Bonilla and Sid Bream had three knocks each to lead a 15-hit attack that eventually wore the Phils down. Brian Fisher tossed a complete game five-hitter with 10 K for the win. Despite catching fire late, Pittsburgh ended the year with just 80 wins.

1988 - Bob Walk hooked up with Doc Gooden in a dandy duel, with Walkie’s eight-inning five-hitter taking the marbles in a 1-0 win at Shea Stadium. The game’s only run came in the fourth when Andy Van Slyke singled, stole second and came home on Bobby Bonilla’s double. Jim Gott earned the save with some drama by loading the bases (single, hit batter, walk) with two out against Howard Johnson. Johnson had bested Gott earlier in the year with a two-out, ninth-inning homer off a fastball. This time, Gott made sure Johnson saw three sliders. As Bob Hertzel of the Pittsburgh Press wrote “Strike one, strike two, take a seat.”

Bob Walk - 1988 Score

1991 - It was a tough day for the Pirates; they left their hotel at 6AM to fly home from Philadelphia to attend equipment manager John “Hooly” Hallahan’s funeral, said their goodbyes, then turned around and flew back to the Vet. Not surprisingly, they quickly found themselves in a 5-1 hole after the game started and then lost skipper Jim Leyland early when he was given the thumb in the fourth inning arguing an iffy Philly catch. But they kept grinding, and thanks to a five-run sixth, the Pirates found themselves in a 6-6 tie in the ninth. Mitch Williams took the ball for the Phils and got two fast outs, then walked a pair to set up Steve Buechele, who knocked a 2-2 pitch into the corner for a two-bagger to make it 8-6. It was Buechele’s third hit of the day and gave him three RBI. Rosario Rodriguez set Philadelphia down in their half to save Stan Belinda’s win, Pittsburgh’s 32nd come-from-behind victory of the year.

1996 - 1B/OF Alfonso Rivas was born in Chula Vista, California. Rivas was part of the 2023 Rich Hill/Ji Man Choi trade with San Diego. He was a fourth-round pick of Oakland in 2016 out of Arizona before being traded to the Cubs and then signing with the Padres in 2023. Rivas is a good-glove guy with not much power who the Cubs released in the off season. He batted .245 in 310 ABs w/Chicago and the Friars with a .313 career BA in AAA ball. In 40 games with the Bucs, Alfonso hit .234 and he's now playing in Mexico.

2007 - The Pirates officially announced that Frank Coonelly was the team’s new CEO (a post usually held by the owner), replacing Kevin McClatchy, who had announced in July that he was stepping down. Coonelly, an attorney, previously served as a Senior Vice President in the Commissioner's Office, where he was in charge of various matters including arb hearings and draft bonuses. He ended the Pirates decades-long losing streak and made the playoffs three times before being replaced in 2019 by Travis Williams.

2010 - The Pirates lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to the Mets at Citi Field in 10 innings, wasting three leadoff doubles and stranding 10 runners. James McDonald went eight frames of five-hit ball, but the Mets finally plated off reliever Chan Ho Park to earn the walkoff win.

Petey - 2013 Panini America's Pastime

2013 - Pedro Alvarez, Russ Martin and Garrett Jones hit back-to-back-to-back homers in the fourth inning off the Cubs’ Jake Arrieta, but a pair of two-run Chicago blasts carried the day as the Pirates fell 5-4. It was the first time that the Bucs had hit three consecutive homers at PNC Park and had an improbable degree of difficulty as Pedro’s was a stand-up inside-the-park shot. (He later told Root Sports that it was the first he could remember since “...little league.”)

2015 - Josh Harrison drove in Pedro Florimon with one out in the bottom of the 11th inning for a walkoff win over the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park in front of 34,170 fans. Pittsburgh trailed 6-1 entering the bottom half of the fourth inning before producing their deepest-in-the-hole comeback win of the season. The key early blow was Travis Snider’s two-run double in the fourth and back-to-back RBI knocks by Andrew McCutchen and Jung Ho Kang in the seventh to tie the match. The victory went to the Pirates eighth pitcher of the game, Jared Hughes, and put the club 30 games above .500 with a record of 86-56.

2016 - Sean Rodriguez hit a pinch-hit, opposite-field three-run homer in the ninth inning to rally the Pirates to a 5-3 win over the Phillies in Citizens Bank Park. Ivan Nova started and struck out 11 batters over six innings but left with the score knotted and ended up with a no-decision. Felipe Vazquez gave up a solo shot in the eighth to put the Bucs down, but S-Rod’s blast turned his looming loss into a dub, with Tony Watson working a 1-2-3 final frame for the save.

2017 - Andrew McCutchen joined Willie Stargell (475), Ralph Kiner (301) and Roberto Clemente (240) as a member of the Pirates 200 home run club (Cutch has 248 long balls as a Bucco). The first-inning blast to center, Andrew’s 25th long ball, was the Bucco highlight at Miller Park as the Brewers romped 8-2.

2022 - Rookie RHP Luis Ortiz, 23, was called up from Indy to make his MLB debut as the 29th player in a twin bill against the Reds at Great American Ball Park. He showed pretty well, too, going 5-2/3 innings of one-hit, shutout ball, striking out five and walking three. The bullpen didn’t allow any knocks afterwards, and it was the Bucs first one-hitter at Cincy since Randy Kramer’s gem in 1989. Ortiz tossed six heaters that were clocked at 100 MPH+ to become the first Buc hurler to fire that many in a game since Gerritt Cole threw seven in 2013; he and Cole are the only Pirate hurlers of the Statcast era (2015 onward) to hit triple figures. The Pirates only managed three hits themselves, but Kevin Newman’s seventh-inning, two-out flare into left scored Rodolfo Castro, who had doubled, and it was just enough for the 1-0 sweep. Chase DeJong earned the win and Duane Underwood Jr. spun his first MLB save. The Bucs took the opener 6-1 behind the arm of Johan Oviedo, 24, and homers from Bryan Reynolds, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Cal Mitchell.

9/12: Robby Slam, Ralph 8-In-4, Duelin', Fido Woofs, Game Days, UA Forms, New Hats, Crowd Crush, Smoky Goes, Drug Trial, HBD Franquelis, Mike, Trench, Jon & George

1883 - The Union Association, a short lived baseball league, was formed in Pittsburgh. It had a bit of local flavor, as one of the original clubs was the Altoona Mountain City, which folded after 25 games, and later the Pittsburgh Stogies, a club that formed after the Chicago Browns franchise relocated to the Steel City and lasted for about three weeks before folding again.

1891 - The Pirates and hometown pitcher Mark “Fido” Baldwin had a contentious relationship during his three year (1890-92) Buc career. At one point, the team fined him $50, leading him to request his release. Instead, manager Ned Hanlon decided to work Fido like a dog; he started and won a pair of complete game victories on this date against the Brooklyn Bridegrooms at Eastern Park (Per the Pittsburgh Press: “The Pittsburg club covered itself in glory and bathed the Bridegrooms in humiliation and gloom…”) while earning 26 victories during the campaign. The Penn State grad retired the following season, came back for a game, and the Bucs released him. He finished the season with the NY Giants and then retired from MLB for good. Baldwin became a doctor working out of Passavant Hospital (then a North Side institution), and lived out his days in Homestead, where he was raised. He’s buried at Allegheny Cemetery.

1926 - 3B George Freese was born in Wheeling and attended both WVU and Pitt where he was a football & baseball star. George spent parts of three seasons in the show, with his most active campaign being in 1951 with the Bucs when he hit .257 and started 49 games at the hot corner. George played 17 years in the minors for six different organizations with a .301 lifetime BA.  After his playing days ended, Freese coached for the Cubs and managed for a dozen years in the minor leagues. The older brother of 3B Gene Freese (who actually started ahead of him for the ‘55 Pirates), George made his home in Portland after playing four years of minor league baseball for the Portland Beavers. In 2008 he was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame.

1933 - Pitching is the name of the game, and the Bucs had plenty against the Brooklyn Dodgers, sweeping a twin bill by 1-0 and 2-0 tallies at Forbes Field. Heinie Meine’s five-hitter topped Sloppy Thurston in the opener, with Meine scoring the game’s only run in the ninth, driven in by Pie Traynor. Lloyd Waner went 4-for-5 at the top of the order. Waite Hoyt tossed a four-hitter in the nitecap to best Dutch Leonard as Traynor and Tommy Thevenow drove in seventh and eighth inning scores to complete the sweep of the Brooklynites.

Waite Hoyt - 1933 Big League

1947 - Ralph Kiner hit two homers against Boston Braves’ pitcher Red Barrett in a 4-3 win at Forbes Field to set a record of eight home runs in four games. (Tony Lazzeri had hit seven round-trippers in four games in 1936.) Kiner had three of the four Bucco RBI while Rip Sewell went the distance for the win. The day before, Kiner had tied the MLB record for homers in a doubleheader with four, a record that’s since been eclipsed. Big Ralph had three long balls the day before, the second time in the campaign that he had five homers in back-to-back games.

1948 - The Pirates whipped the Cubs 7-3 at Wrigley Field as Rip Sewell won his 11th game and the Chicago staff generously donated 14 walks to the Bucco cause. Pittsburgh was within sniffing distance of first, sitting just 2-1/2 games behind league leading Boston. But that was as close as they were to get, fading badly down the stretch to lose out to the “Spahn, Sain, and pray for rain” Braves. They finished fourth with 83 wins, 8-1/2 games behind Boston.

1951 - Scout Jon Niederer was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania. He went to Duquesne University and began his baseball career as a ticket seller for the Pirates in 1973. Four years later, he became a scout, signing Stan Belinda while operating a series of “Little Pirates” camps. After leaving the Bucs in 1986, he bird-dogged for the Angels and Mariners before passing away in 2009.

1952 - The Pirates split a twilight doubleheader against the Boston Braves, winning the opener 8-1 behind a pair of Ralph Kiner home runs and Bob Friend’s seven-hitter to break an eight-game losing streak, then returning to form to absorb a 16-0 plastering in the late game. The Bucs set a new team low by suffering its 104th defeat (the old mark for damage done was 103, set in 1917) on their way to a 42-112 finish, and the match at Forbes Field drew just 2,608 fans. They also used Branch-Rickey inspired batting helmets for the first time during the regular season, plastic caps with a foam layer around the head band, both at-bat and in the field. All the Buccos but Joe Garagiola wore one; his helmet size was too big. The Post-Gazette noted the headgear with a terse “New Helmets But Same Bucs” headline. The Buc FO introduced the helmets during spring training and finally Branch Rickey ordered their use on this date. Coincidently, we’re sure, Rickey owned stock in the company that made the helmets, American Baseball Cap, that were designed by Ed Crick and Ralph Davis of Cleveland. The Pirates mellowed some after a couple of seasons, requiring them only for batting when the players bellyached about the weight in the field. It took awhile, but the headgear caught on and was mandated by the MLB in 1970.

Helmets Debut: 9-13-1952 Post-Gazette/AP

1960 - A crowd of 21,261 cheered the first-place Pirates 6-1 victory over the Giants and set a new Pittsburgh home attendance record of 1‚521‚251, edging the old mark set in 1948. The final attendance for 1960 was 1,705,828, which would be the high water mark until the 1988 Pirates drew 1,866,713 at TRS. The victory put the Bucs 7-1/2 games up on the NL field and cut their magic number to 11; they clinched the National League pennant two weeks later.

1960 - OF Trench Davis was born in Baltimore. He was signed in 1980 out of Southern HS by the Pirates as a 19-year old. He got on the radar as a stolen base machine with a .275 BA on the farm and had a cup of coffee with Pittsburgh in June. He played in 15 games for the Pirates in May 1986, batting just .130 (he hit 4-for-30 in his Pirates stint with one stolen base), and became a Bucco footnote when he was optioned back to the minors to make room for Barry Bonds. He signed with the Braves in 1987, spent most of the season in AAA with six MLB outings and played out his career in the Mexican League.

1963 - RHP Mike Roesler was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He had a couple of brief MLB stops, tossing five games for the Pirates in 1990 with a line of 1-0/3.00 to close out his MLB work. Roesler bounced around the Pirates and Kansas City Royals’ farm systems afterward before pitching in Taiwan before retiring in 1992. He was inducted into the Northeast Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006 for his sporting exploits at Fort Wayne’s Bishop Luer HS and later at Ball State. 

1964 - The Pirates waived and then sold C Smoky Burgess to the pennant-chasing Chicago White Sox for $50,000. He went 1-for-5 off the bench for the Sox that finished one game behind the Yankees in the 1964 AL race. Smoky found his final home in the Windy City; he played there until 1967, ending his career at the age of 40 with 18 MLB seasons to his credit.

Smoky Burgess - 1964 Topps

1969 - Doing it with their arms and sticks, pitchers Jerry Koosman and Don Cardwell not only pitched 1-0 wins but drove in the winning scores to lead the Mets to a DH sweep of the Bucs. Bob Moose and Dock Ellis took the hard luck losses at Forbes Field, with Moose throwing a five-hitter with 10K and Ellis a six-hitter with 11 whiffs. Though defeats, the games were the second and third in a row that Buc starters had fanned 10+ hitters; Bob Veale started the string the day before with 12 K in a 3-2 win over the Cardinals.

1979 - The Pirates whitewashed the St. Louis Cardinals 2-0 at TRS behind John Candelaria’s six-hit, 8-1/3 innings of shutout ball and Ed Ott’s bat. Bill Madlock singled, stole second and scored on Ott’s single in the second inning before Otter tripled in the fifth and touched home on Phil Garner’s knock to give the Pirates their two runs. Kent Tekulve nailed down his 27th save of the season by retiring the last two Cards and stranding Redbirds at second and third.

1981 - RHP Franquelis Osoria was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Osoria was waived by the Dodgers after the 2006 campaign and claimed by the Bucs. He worked his first year mainly in Indianapolis, but saw considerable time with the Bucs, going 0-2/4.76 ERA in 25 outings. He was with the big club for most of the 2008 season with a slash of 4-3/6.08 in 43 games. Frankie finished his career in the Dominican Winter League, pitching in his native land through the 2015  year. Like fellow Dominican Antonio Alfonseca, Osoria had an extra digit on his throwing hand, though it didn’t seem to give him much of an edge. 

1985 - The Bucs banged out three homers to rout the Cubs 10-2 at TRS. RJ Reynolds and Mike Brown connected off Dennis Eckersley, but the big blow was a two-out grand slam by Don Robinson off of Warren Brusstar in the eighth frame. Robinson became one of just five Pirates pitchers to clean the bases, and another MLB reliever wouldn’t hit a grand slam until 2021, when Daniel Camarena of San Diego did the deed. Robby picked up the save for Rick Rhoden, tossing two innings of one-hit ball with three whiffs. Though The Caveman hit well for a hurler (.238 in ‘85), that swing produced his only homer and RBIs of the year.

Don Robinson - 1985 Fleer

1985 - it was a bad day for the Buccos during the MLB drug trials. Dave Parker testified that he was given amphetamines by Willie Stargell and Bill Madlock, a charge first brought up by Dale Berra a couple of days prior, plus purchasing cocaine from Pittsburgher Shelby Greer. John Milner, later in the day, told the court that he bought coke off chef Curtis Strong in the Pirates locker room between 1980-84. For his part, manager Chuck Tanner said he “never suspected” the Pirates drug market. Peter Ueberroth later gave 21 players ID’ed during the trial wrist-slaps for their parts in the MLB dope dance.

1992 - It was a wild and wooly finish at Veterans Stadium, but the Bucs came out on top of the late-inning shootout by a 9-7 tally. Ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth, the Phils used four singles, a walk, error and passed ball to push the lead to 4-0. The Bucs took notes and in the seventh, they cobbled together three singles, a three-base error and a sac fly to tie the game. There was more weirdness in the eighth. The Pirates had runners on first and second with two away when Orlando Merced struck out swinging. But the ball got away from the catcher (wild pitch ruled), Orlando beat the throw to first, and Spanky LaValliere’s rap chased a pair home for Pittsburgh’s first lead. It didn’t last long; with two on via walks and two outs, Dave Hollins went deep off Stan Belinda and Philly was back up, 7-6. Mitch Williams came in to close it out for Philly, but Jay Bell’s triple, between three more singles, a balk and a walk, put the Buccaneers back on top, and Belinda returned the game to normalcy with a 1-2-3 ninth for the blown save/win exacta. 

2023 - The Pirates held a boatload of events to celebrate Roberto Clemente weekend, jumping the gun by starting on Tuesday with a six-day outdoor exhibit of Clemente images around PNC Park. Two days later, the annual gala was held at the Heinz History Center, Friday was the Pirates Roberto Clemente Day of Service, Saturday featured a discussion of the Great One’s life & impact with Roberto Jr. & Luis Clemente and it closed out Sunday (the Hispanic Heritage Day game) with a family walk starting at the Clemente Statue and winding along the Riverwalk, with proceeds benefiting the Roberto Clemente Foundation. The Pirates also gave out #21 caps and jerseys during the weekend games so the fans could celebrate Arriba’s legacy year-round.

9/11 Through the 1940s: Mr. Swat Stuff, Howie's 20th, 15 Scoreless, Game Days, Pie A Pirate, HBD Dave, Jackie, Glenn, Cool, Frank & Steve

1868 - OF Steve Brodie was born in Warrenton, Virginia. He had speed, a great glove and good bat, playing 13 years in the show. He was traded to Pittsburgh against his wishes (he enjoyed playing in Baltimore) and stayed from 1897-98, hitting .283 before being dealt back to the Orioles in mid-season. When he retired, he went on to a career as a college coach, served during WW1, and then returned to run Baltimore’s brand new Memorial Stadium.

1876 - RHP Frank Moore was born in Dover, Ohio. Frank got three scoreless innings to his credit in the show for the Pirates in 1905, and he earned the outing, beginning in the minors in 1902 and hangin’ in there through the 1912 campaign. In fact, his last two seasons at ages 33 & 34 were his best as he won 23 and 21 games for Portsmouth in the Ohio State League. He managed in the lower minors for a couple of seasons afterward before hangin’ up his mitt.

1901 - IF Elbert “Cool” Turner was born in New York. He was a multi-sport star at what is now West Virginia State University and played Negro League ball from 1921-32, with a stop in Homestead in 1929 where he was the Grays’ third baseman. He only hit .159 and moved on, playing for four more teams before he retired. Turner coached high school football in the off-season, and after his retirement became head baseball coach of the North Carolina Central University Eagles. He also umpired for seven years in the second Negro National League. By that time, his nickname had evolved from “Cool” into "Pops."  

1905 - RHP Glenn Spencer was born in Corning, NY. He was a Bucco in 1928, spent 1929 in the minors, then returned from 1930-32, going 23-29-8/4.48, mostly from the pen. Control was his Achilles Heel; he walked more batters than he K’ed in his five-year pro career which ended with the Giants during the 1933 campaign. He retired to become a salesman and served during WW2. 

Deacon Phillippe - 1906 Fan Craze

1906 - The Pirates and Reds played a 15-inning scoreless draw at Expo Park, the longest game to date at the venue. Deacon Phillippe started the game and Vic Willis finished, giving up 10 hits together while Bob Ewing of the Reds scattered eight knocks. The Reds golden opportunity was in the 13th inning when they loaded the bases with nobody out, but a pair of forces at home and a fly squelched that rally. The Bucs' big chance was foiled earlier when Tommy Sheehan bunted through an attempted squeeze play, leaving Dutch Meier hung out to dry. Meier was the only Pirate with more than a hit, collecting three knocks before ump Bill Klem called the game due to darkness.

1912 - Howie Camnitz tossed six scoreless innings in relief of Jack Ferry to earn his 20th win over Philadelphia at the Baker Bowl 10-3. Rosebud (he was a ginger) went 22-12-2/2.83 in 41 games (32 starts) to claim 20 wins for the third time in four seasons. Max Carey and Mike Simon led the attack with a combined seven hits and four RBI while “Turkey” Mike Donlin homered.

1920 - The Pirates bought Pie Traynor from Portsmouth for $10,000, then the highest price paid for the contract of a Virginia League player. The Boston Braves had stashed the infielder there on the handshake assumption that they would have first dibs on him, but even an appeal to AL President Ban Johnson didn’t help in lieu of a written agreement, and the Portsmouth owner was more than willing to let him go to the highest bidder. So instead of playing for his hometown Boston club - he was a native of Framingham, Massachusetts - Traynor spent his 17-year MLB career in Pittsburgh, eventually earning a spot in the Hall of Fame.

1940 - Jacinto “Jackie” Hernández was born in Central Tinguaro, Cuba. He had to slip into the USA; Cuba had cut its robust baseball program to the bone when Fidel Castro took over and Jackie made it stateside via Mexico to keep playing. He was ready to come home again, but his mom told him to stay right where he was at and chase his dream. The good glove, bad bat (.205 as a Pirate) SS played three seasons (1971-73) for Pittsburgh, and when the Bucs traded for him in 1970, manager Earl Weaver of the Baltimore Orioles said that “The Pirates will never win a pennant with Jackie Hernandez at shortstop.” Not only did they win the flag, but Jackie was the regular shortstop from late August forward in 1971 as Gene Alley, the starter, had a bad shoulder. As fate would decree, he put the final nail in the Oriole coffin during the Series; the last out of the Bucs seventh game victory was recorded 6-3, Hernandez to Bob Robertson. Jackie’s nine-year MLB run ended with Pittsburgh after the 1973 season, and he coached and played at different levels/leagues afterward. He was still helping the Bucs as an instructor at Pirate City until he passed away in 2019.  

Jackie Hernandez - 1971 NLCS Topps 1972

1944 - LHP Dave Roberts was born in Gallipolis, Ohio. In June, 1979 he was part of a big deal with the Giants, traded with Len Randle and Bill Madlock to the Pirates for Al Holland, Fred Breining, and Ed Whitson. He went 5-2-1/3.26 out of the pen for that club and after a cup of coffee with the team in 1980 was traded to Seattle. The vet was near the end; he worked briefly in 1981 before retiring after 13 years. He passed away in 2009 at age 64 from lung cancer. It’s thought that he suffered asbestos exposure during his younger years when he had to work in a boiler room to earn his daily bread while developing as a pro player.

1947 - Ralph Kiner blasted three successive homers and knocked home six runs in a 10-8 win over the Braves at Forbes Field in the nitecap of a DH. He also homered in game one, a 4-3 win that was decided in the 13th when pitcher Kirby Higbe took Johnny Sain deep to complete the first step of a Pittsburgh sweep of Boston. Kiner’s four homers in one day established a team record that wouldn’t be matched until 1984 by Jason Thompson. It also set a NL record of 10 multi-homer games in a season which stood until Sammy Sosa had 11 in 1998.

1948 - Out of the lineup because of a virus, Ralph Kiner came off the pine to whack an eighth-inning, pinch-hit grand slam to give the Pirates a 13-12 win over Chicago at Wrigley Field. Max West also homered and had three RBI as Mel Queen won with a save by Elmer Riddle.