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 But the punishment was withdrawn later in the year and he played out his final MLB season.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.

2/17: Nate, Stu & Dale Sign, Arb Cases - Bonds Loses Two, RJ Wins, Demon - Turkey, Choo Choo Camp, Rumor Mill, Groat Honored, Pace Of Play - 1909, Ike Likes Hans; HBD Dave, Whammy, Ed, Eddie & Rivington

• 1890 - IF Rivington Bisland was born in New York City. He got his first big league game with the Pirates in 1912, going 0-for-1 as a September pinch hitter after hitting .287 for Springfield of the Central League. Bisland was taken in the Rule 5 draft by the St. Louis Browns in 1913 and then got another shot with the Cleveland Naps the following season after reneging on an oral agreement with the Pittsburgh Rebels. That was it for him. In 31 games, he hit .118, and after being released in June spent the next two years with the Atlanta Crackers, where the club paid him $350 per month, well over the league limit, to keep him from jumping to the Rebs. He retired after the overpay was discovered rather than face the league’s music (a suspension), played a year of semi-pro ball and then went on to be a fairly successful boxing promoter. (Thx to Diamonds in the Dusk.) 
• 1901 - C Eddie Phillips was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. Phillips caught for parts of six MLB campaigns and got his most work as a Pirate in 1931. He started behind the plate for 100 games, batting .232, and was traded to Kansas City as part of the Bill Swift deal the next season. He retired after the 1943 season following 17 years of pro ball and became a minor league manager. 
• 1905 - LHP Ed Brandt was born in Spokane, Washington. In his final two MLB seasons (1937-38), he tossed for Pittsburgh and went 16-14-2/3.23. He was mostly a good pitcher on bad big league teams. In 11 MLB years, Ed’s record was 121-146/3.86; he started 278 games and finished 150 of them. After his 1939 retirement, Brandt ran a hometown hunting lodge and tavern. He was killed on November 1st, 1944, when he was struck by a car at age 39. 
• 1909 - With an early “pace-of-play” reg, the NL made it mandatory that a relief pitcher face one batter with a five-pitch warm up limit. The rule countered managers who would yank a pitcher, bring in another (slowly) to kill a little time, and then pull him if they didn't like the hitting matchup or after the main guy got good and loose. It eventually became Rule #6.2.2. 

Mike Donlin - 1912 T207

• 1912 - The Pirates switched outfielders, sending Vin Campbell to the Boston Braves for Mike Donlin. Both players were solid hitters but neither were one trick ponies. Campbell was a successful businessman (Vin eventually settled on the automotive business, selling tires in Pittsburgh for 20 years before opening a chain of New York City shops) while Donlin was a vaudevillian (he carried around an old theater program with him as a good luck talisman), movie actor and all-around bon vivant. Both left baseball for periods of time to hold out for bigger salaries knowing they could pay the bills with their side jobs. Donlin hit .316 in 77 games for the 1912 Pirates while Campbell hit .296 and led the league in at-bats for the Braves that season. After the season, the 34-year-old Donlin was waived and claimed by the Phillies but refused to report and retired. He came back in 1914 after sitting out a season to play for the Giants, but his bat deserted him and 35 games later, his career was finished. Donlin was nicknamed “Turkey Mike” due to his red neck and distinctive strut; it’s said many fans even imitated his unique way of walking. It wasn't a moniker that Mike particularly cared for; go figure. Campbell, who was expendable in Pittsburgh after the emergence of Max Carey, was also out of baseball for a year and then played out his string in the Federal League, hitting .315 in 1914-15. His nickname was “Demon,” a carryover from his college football days at Vanderbilt where he was a member of the Heisman All-Southern Team. 
• 1932 - The Pirates hopped the train, chugging from the Pennsylvania Station to Paso Robles, California, to start spring camp. From camp’s end until the season started, the Buccos barnstormed in San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Fort Worth, Dallas and Memphis before stopping in St. Louis for Opening Day. That was followed by a trip to Cincy before finally reaching home to meet the Cards for the Home Opener on April 20th, two months and 6,884 miles later. 
• 1932 - As the camp train chugged along, so did the rumor mill. A report from New York had the Giants offering 1B Sam Leslie, SS Eddie “Doc” Marshall and OF Freddy Leach for the 29-year-old Paul Waner, who the G-Men hoped to pair up in the outfield with Mel Ott. Alas for the Big Apple, their low ball offer fell through as Big Poison remained a Bucco through 1940. Leslie had a nice career starting and off the bench for NY and Brooklyn (he compiled a .304 lifetime BA) before hangin’ ‘em up in 1938, while 1932 was the last MLB campaign for Marshall and Leach. 

Whammy Douglas - 1958 Topps

• 1935 - RHP Charles “Whammy” Douglas was born in Carrboro, North Carolina. Whammy only got 11 starts in MLB, all in 1957 with the Bucs, going 3-3/3.26. He was sent back to AAA Columbus for the ‘58 campaign, posting a 16-10/3.35 line and was traded to the Reds in 1959. His promising career was dead-ended by elbow and shoulder problems. One physical impairment that didn’t bother him, though, was the fact that he was blind in his right eye after a childhood accident. Branch Rickey pressed him on the handicap, and Douglas replied that “You have one hitter. He’s got one bat. And I have one ball.” As for his moniker, Douglas recalled “I was striking everyone out, so they just started calling me ‘Whammy.’” The first to dub him as such was Burlington Times-News writer Bill Hunter and the nickname followed Douglas around baseball. 
• 1941 - OF Dave Wissman was born in Greenfield, Massachusetts. The Bucs signed him out of the University of Bridgeport in 1961, and he got his only big league shot in 1964, playing in 16 games for the Pirates and hitting .148. Wissman played AAA ball for Pittsburgh and the Detroit Tigers over the next three seasons and hung up the spikes after the 1967 campaign. 
• 1954 - A week before Honus Wagner’s 80th birthday, President Dwight Eisenhower sent Hans a letter that read in part "Realization that you now count your years at the four score mark reminds me, with something of a shock, that it was fifty years ago that I used to follow your batting average with the keenest of interest." The Flying Dutchman was one of Ike’s childhood sports heroes when DDE was growing up in Abilene, Kansas. Eisenhower was a high school and local semi-pro ballplayer and as a youth had declared his ambition “to be a real major league ballplayer, a real professional like Honus Wagner.” 
• 1957 - The Pirates inked a couple middle-of-the-order first basemen in Dale Long and Dick Stuart. Neither helped the Buc cause in '57 as Long played just seven games before he and his $19,500 salary was traded to the Chicago Cubs in May (he hit .298 w/21 homers for them) while Big Stu banged out 45 long balls across three minor league levels and debuted in '58. 

Barry Bonds - No Arb Love / 1990 Donruss

• 1990 - The Pirates split a pair of arb decisions. They won the big case, beating Barry Bonds, who was asking for $1.6 M but had to settle for the Buccos offer of $890K. Billy Hatcher won his decision, being awarded $690K rather the Pittsburgh tender of $525K, giving him a bigger salary than fourth OF RJ Reynolds, who also went to arbitration but lost, accepting a $535K payday despite hitting .270 to Hatcher’s .213. The FO was 3-3 in arb cases, winning Bonds, Reynold’s and Bobby Bonilla’s challenges but dropping Hatcher’s, Bob Kipper’s and Rafe Belliard’s bids. They lost the last two hearings, with Doug Drabek ($1.1M) and John Smiley ($840K) coming out on top. 
• 1991 - Barry Bonds lost to the Pirates in arb, being awarded $2.3M after his MVP campaign (.301 BA, 33 HR, 114 RBI, 170 OPS+) after pleading his case for $3.25M. Over the next two years, he hit .301/59 HR/219 RBI/181 OPS+ before heading west to greener pastures in San Francisco. 
• 2009 - CF Nate McLouth signed a three-year/$15.75M contract with an option that bought out his arbitration years. It guaranteed his salary but not his home; he was traded to Atlanta in June to open a starting spot for Andrew McCutchen. He returned to the Bucs briefly in 2012, then played in Baltimore and Washington before taking his final bow after the 2014 season. 
• 2016 - Dick Groat was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 80th annual Dapper Dan Dinner. In 1960, Groat hit .325, was named National League MVP for the World Series winners and earned three All-Star berths as a Bucco shortstop. The former Duke star is in both the Baseball and Football College Halls of Fame and was inducted into the Pirates franchise HoF in 2023.

Weekly Report: Ozuno Inked, Early Camp Notes, RIP Baron, Jake & Bello On Staff - & Even AJ For A Week, Ol' Bucs Finding Camps...

Camp fire lit...

Pirates Stuff:

• The Pirates signed DH Marcell Ozuna to a one-year/ $12M ($10.5M base + $1.5M buyout guarantee for '27) with a mutual option for next season. The 35-year-old is a three-time All-Star who spent the past six campaigns with the Atlanta Braves. His 2025 slash was .232 BA/21 HRs/68 RBIs for the Bravos. Marcell was purely a DH last year, suddenly a crowded spot on the Bucco roster.

Baron of the Bullpen - 1966 Topps

• A Pirates great is gone - the Baron of the Bullpen, Elroy Face, passed away at the age of 97. 
• Ass't pitching coach Thomas Whitsett has resigned for personal reasons; he was hired from the Astros org in December but hadn't reported for camp. The Pirates said that Indy pitching coach Cibney Bello, who spent two years w/Indy after eight years coaching in the Twins system, will replace him.
• Jared Greenspan of MLB.com takes a crack at naming the Pirates pre-camp Opening Day roster .
• Ol' Bucco C Jake Stallings, who retired after the 2025 campaign, is back, working in the baseball ops department.

Camp Stuff:

• RHP Khristian Curtis was a late invite to camp. The 23-year-old starter was 8-5/3.98 at High A Greensboro last year and got a quick peek at Altoona, pitching two scoreless innings with three K. 
• AJ Burnett came to camp on Sunday for a four-or-five day gig as coach w/o portfolio to mentor the young guys after Don Kelly asked Batman to drop some knowledge on a pretty young group of arms.

Jared Jones On Track - 2025 photo SportsNet Pgh

• Don Kelly said RHP Jared Jones is on track at camp with his UCL surgery rehab schedule. The Bucs have no plans to rush him back into service and expect a late May/early June return to the hill for JJ.
• Termarr Johnson is taking grounders at third after spending his Pirates minor league career mainly at second with some shortstop action thrown in, so we'll see how that in-house move develops.
• Greg Brown & SportsNet Pgh released the broadcast schedule for '26 spring training games.

MLB Stuff:

• The Brewers signed RHP Peter Strzelecki to a minor league deal. He spent most of last year at Indy with the Bucs and was toasted (2-2/9.90) with a lot of control issues that put him in a hole on the hill. Pete has been solid in the bigs overall - in three seasons & 77 outings, he's posted a line of 5-6-1/3.44.
• The Mariners announced that they’ve signed 1B/OF Connor Joe, who had a reunion stop with the Pirates last year.
• Lefty reliever Anthony Banda, who was with the Bucs in 2023 (where he had a rough go) before joining the Dodgers, was sold by LA to the  Minnesota Twins for international bonus pool money.

Miguel Andujar - 2023 Topps Heritage

• The San Diego Padres signed 3B/OF Miguel Andujar to a one-year/$4M deal with $2M in possible bonuses and a 2027 option. He was with the Bucs in 2022-23 and some thought he was a fit again.
• RHP Miles Mikolas, who the Pirates got in the 2013 offseason and traded away a few weeks later without ever suiting up, signed with the Nats after resurrecting his cred in Japan and tossing for the Cards.
• RHP Shelby Miller has agreed to a two-year/$2.5M deal with Cubs that could also include 2027 incentive bonuses. He was with the Bucs in '21 at Indy and 10 MLB outings while on the injury comeback trail.

2/16 Through the 1980s: Elroy & Bob Sign, Robby Nixes Swap, Hans # Retired, Boycott; HBD Jorge, Luis, Jerry, Ray, Skip & John

• 1873 - C John Sullivan was born in Chicago. John had a 14-game showing with the Tigers in 1905 and then settled in with the minor league Kansas City Blues; he got one more call to the majors sandwiched inside that KC stint by the Bucs, catching for three frames in 1908. He gave up a stolen base, committed an error and went 0-for-1 before returning to KC, and he retired from pro ball in 1910 at age 37 after 11 years behind the plate. 
• 1889 - RHP James “Skip” Dowd was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Dowd, out of Holy Cross, got into one game for the Pirates in 1910, his only big league outing, and gave up four runs in two innings. In his defense they were all unearned, leaving him with a spotless career ERA. Aside from getting his name on a major league scorecard, he can also claim that he worked against HoF hurler Mordecai "Three Fingers" Brown. He tossed in the minors for five campaigns (1911-15) afterwards. Skip is the grandfather of Emmy-winning actress Ann Dowd. 
• 1912 - RHP Ray Harrell was born in Alexandria, Louisiana. He tossed for the Bucs in 1940, getting into three games (3-1/3 IP) with an ERA of 8.10 as a waiver pickup from the Phils before being sent to the AA Portland club. Ray spent a total of six years in the show, returning in 1945 to take a final bow with the wartime New York Giants after working the intervening seasons in the Pacific Coast League. He retired in 1950 after an 18-year pro career. 

The Flying Dutchman heads for the rockin' chair (AP 2/17/1952)

• 1952 - Carnegie’s Honus Wagner’s #33 (actually, it was his second number as a coach - 14 was first - chosen as players didn't sport numbers during Hans’ playing career) was retired after he bid farewell as a Pittsburgh coach at the age of 77 following 39 years with the team. The Bucs also honored him by giving him a lifetime pension at full pay. Hans’ number was the first the Pirates retired; other Buccos to later join him in the honor were Billy Meyer (1), Ralph Kiner (4), Willie Stargell (8), Bill Mazeroski (9), Pie Traynor (20), Roberto Clemente (21) and Danny Murtaugh (40). The Flying Dutchman finished his career with a .329 average and won eight NL batting titles, ranking among the Pirates' top 10 in 11 offensive categories. He was a coach with the Pirates between 1933 and 1951. Honus was also part of the first Hall-of-Fame class ever selected, along with Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson and Babe Ruth.
• 1952 - Jerry Hairston was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He was sold to the Pirates by the White Sox in June, 1977, and in 51 games he hit .192, mostly as a pinch hitter. Jerry played parts of 14 MLB seasons entirely with the White Sox except for his brief Bucco stint. Hairston has a strong legacy link - his dad Sam, brother Johnny and son Jerry were all big league players. 
• 1954 - The Pirates signed young righties Bob Friend, 23, and ElRoy Face, 26 to contracts. Friend was a season away from becoming a rotation anchor and ElRoy was also nearing his era as the Baron of the Bullpen. The pair pitched for 15 seasons as Pirates, with Friend appearing in 568 contests (477 starts) while Face made over 800 outings. They combined for 291 wins, 195 saves and nearly 4,800 innings as a workhorse mound duo through the 50’s & 60’s. 
• 1969 - The new Pirates four-field Pirates City complex in Bradenton was open for business and awaiting baptism by some early bird campers, but the anticipation was temporarily delayed as the owners and players banged heads over pension monies. MLB spring training report date was scheduled for the next day, but 400 players or so boycotted the camps for the next 10 days before the owners gave up some ground and accepted many of the MLBPA demands. 

Luis Figueroa - 1978 Custom Topps (Villa Custom)

• 1974 - IF Luis Figueroa was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. After playing for the Puerto Rican national team, he was signed by the Bucs in 1997 and played four games with the club in 2001, going 0-for-2. Luis was waived and claimed by the Mets. In 2006-07, he got in 14 games for the Blue Jays and Giants, his only other outings as an MLB player. But he had a long career, playing 16 years of pro ball with campaigns in Puerto Rico, both in the winter league and with their international squad, and then served as a fielding coach in the Yankee org. 
• 1980 - The Pirates announced that five-and-10-year veteran OF’er Bill Robinson was traded in principle to Houston for pitcher Joaquin Andujar, but the deal hit a bump a couple of days later when the Astros wouldn’t rework Robinson’s contract and he vetoed the trade. It’s hard to project how the swap would have worked out. Robinson had a strong 1980 campaign and then faded while Andujar wouldn’t hit his prime until 1982, winning 61 games and two All-Star berths between then and 1985 as a St. Louis Cardinal, who got him early in 1981 for Tony Scott. 
• 1988 - RHP Jorge Rondon was born in Calabozo, Venezuela. Jorge has spent small parts of three seasons in MLB, with two of his 16 big league outings coming with the Pirates in 2016 after a solid stint at AAA Indianapolis. It didn’t work out so well, with a 17.18 ERA/2.727 WHIP in 3-2/3 IP. He was DFA’ed five days after his call-up and signed with the Chisox, then took his services to Japan for the 2017 campaign. He now pitches in Venezuela

2/16 From 1990: Tyler, Ron & Leo Sign, Bo Loses Arb, Deal Hatchin', Sandt Back, David Diatribe, Wheaties Champs; HBD Marco

• 1991 - OF Bobby Bonilla lost his arbitration hearing, settling for the Pirates $2.4M offer rather than his $3.475 request. He and his agent had earlier turned down a Bucco package for four years/$15.5M; their meter began running at $19M. Bobby Bo, whose asking price was the highest ever presented in an arb session, was philosophical about it. He told the Post Gazette’s Paul Meyer “Who am I to cry? I’m getting $2.4M. That’s more than anybody I grew up with is making.” 
• 1992 - LHP Marco Gonzales was born in Fort Collins, Colorado. A first round pick (#19 overall) of the Cards in 2013 out of Gonzaga, the Bucs traded with Atlanta for him in December of 2023, after the Bravos had acquired him from Seattle just two days before. The Braves sent Pittsburgh cash ($9.25M - Gonzales was due $12M in ‘24 with a $15M team option/no buyout in 2025) and will get a PTBNL in return. He had a weak 2023 (5.22 ERA in 10 starts), but was dealing with a nerve issue that eventually required surgery. In the five prior seasons as a Mariner, Marco averaged 175 IP with a 46-30 record/3.94 ERA, and the Bucs were banking on his recovery and a return to workhorse status to help fill out a paper thin rotation. He wasn’t much help - an elbow injury led to surgery, limiting him to just seven outings and his release. He’s now in the Padres system. 
• 1996 - General Mills put out a Wheaties cereal box commemorating Negro League stars Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and Cool Papa Bell to celebrate the league's 75th anniversary. All three legendary figures played for Pittsburgh and/or Homestead at some point in their Hall of Fame careers. 

Wheatie Champs Josh, Satch & Cool Papa - 1996

• 1999 - Paul Meyer of the Post Gazette published a rumor that the Pirates were ready to send Al Martin and Tony Womack to Arizona for Bernard Gilkey and a prospect if they could work out some financial wrinkles in Gilkey’s contract (mainly big deferred money), while also looking into signing free agent Pat Meares to solidify the infield. They did land Meares, but the Gilkey deal eventually fell through, and probably a good thing it did - he had a very nice 1999, but still never got more than 241 plate appearances/94 games as age caught up to the 33-year-old. The Bucs eventually sent Womack to the Diamondbacks (his salary and Meare’s basically were a wash) for hurlers Jason Boyd and Paul Weichard in a good deal for the Snakes, which got five years/.269 BA out of Tony and a World Series title during his run in the desert. 
• 2000 - The Pirates signed RHP Leo Nunez out of the Dominican Republic. He never twirled for the Bucs, being traded to Kansas City in 2004 and made the news in 2011 when he admitted to being Juan Carlos Oviedo, not Leo Nunez, using a fake ID to shave a year off his age. He pitched through 2011, served a lengthy suspension to start 2012 and then blew out his elbow during rehab, requiring TJ surgery. Juan/Leo returned to the show in 2014 in a final MLB hurrah with Tampa Bay, then finishing his career in the Dominican Winter League in 2017. 
• 2000 - Tommy Sandt, a popular field coach during Jim Leyland’s tenure from 1987-96 who left the team with Leyland, rejoined the club as a minor league roving instructor. The reunion didn’t last very long; Sandt stayed through the 2002 campaign and then left again after a housecleaning to coach in the San Diego Padres organization. He passed away in 2020. 

Tommy Sandt - 2002 Pirates Promo

• 2002 - RHP Ron Villone signed a one-year/$900K FA contract with the Bucs, making Pittsburgh one of his 12 MLB stops during a 15-year career. He went 4-6 with a 5.81 ERA for the Pirates and was released at the end of the year, but hung around through the 2009 season before retiring. Villone became a pitching coach in the Cubs’ organization in 2012, moving on to the Angels in 2024. 
• 2018 - In one of the Pirates more memorable camp outbursts (maybe only second to Jim Leyland’s f-bomb scold of Barry Bonds in 1991), David Freese threw some darts at the “environment” in Pittsburgh. He tossed out zingers like “This is a different organization, where if you get drafted, you look at a guy like Jameson Taillon. It sucks that if you pan out, you have your future written for you in an organization like this. You either fold and sign a team friendly deal, or you’re bounced,” and "You look at the Steelers, Penguins and you’ve got the Pirates. If I’m kind of handling this situation, I’d be losing sleep trying to compete with those other two teams. To have all three teams in a city like Pittsburgh be on top of each league, that would be incredible." He explained that he thought the FO and his teammates had the desire to win, but had to move beyond analytics and focus more on culture to provide that winning environment for the Pirates. "You’ve got to have urgency. You’ve got to have accountability...I’ve been here for two years, and we just kind of lacked in that department a little bit. We’ve got to pick that up.” 
• 2021 - Pittsburgh signed former first round pick LHP Tyler Anderson to an MLB deal worth $2.5M, pending his physical (the deal became official the next day). The lefty back-ender was 4-3/4.37 for the Giants in 2020 after starting his career in Colorado. In his four years as a Rox, he slashed 18-24/4.69. After a workmanlike start for the Pirates (5-8/4.35), Tyler was sent to Seattle, then the Dodgers and now is a free agent. To make room on the 40-man roster, Rule 5 pick RHP Jose Soriano, who was recovering from TJ surgery, went on the 60-day injured list; the Rule 5 pick was released after the year and returned to the Angels.

2/15: Ricky, Zane & Doug Sign, Tony Loses Arb, Vic To Cards, Kiner Bait, Goin' To NO, Lockout; HBD Rob, Russ, Don, Barry, Al & Charlie

• 1867 - 3B “Princeton” Charlie (for the town, not the school) Reilly was born in Princeton, New Jersey. Charlie spent eight years in the show and was the Bucs starting hot corner guy in 1891, after jumping from the Columbus nine along with pitcher Mark Baldwin to join the Pirates. It didn’t end up a marriage made in heaven; he batted .219 and was released after the year. He then picked it up some with his stick (his average was .265 over the second half of his career) and spent four years with the Philadelphia Phillies. Charlie had a 20-year pro run, including playing during the initial year of the Pacific Coast League, and retired after the 1905 campaign at the age of 38. 
• 1892 - LHP Al Braithwood was born in Braceville, Illinois. Not much is known about Al as it appears he mostly hurled for semi-pro clubs, but his big league time was spent as a Pittsburgh Rebel in 1915. He was pretty sharp, too, tossing three perfect frames in two relief outings with a pair of whiffs, and compiling those three frames while only facing eight batters (we’re assuming he got a DP/caught stealing to his credit after inheriting a runner.) 
• 1910 - The Pirates sold RHP Vic Willis to the Cardinals. Vic was a 20+ game winner for the Bucs every season during his four-year stint, going 89-46-3/2.08 from 1906-09. But the 34-year-old Willis was approaching 4,000 innings of career work and running on fumes. He won nine games for St. Louis while working a personal low of 212 IP, and 1910 was his big league swan song. 
• 1953 - The Pirates and Reds continued talking turkey regarding a possible Ralph Kiner trade, as the Bucs were eager to dump his $75,000 contract. The Reds, according to Les Biederman's Pittsburgh Press report, were dangling 1B Joe Adcock, IF Alex Grammas and 2B Grady Hattan along with a pair of TBD pitchers. Pirates GM Branch Rickey wanted either 1B Ted Kluszewski or SS Roy McMillan in the deal, a pair that Cincinnati GM Gabe Paul considered untouchable. Though Big Klu would join the Bucs on the downside in 1958 and Grammas would eventually coach in Pittsburgh, no agreement was reached. Kiner was moved in June when he was sent, along with Joe Garagiola, George Metkovich and Howie Pollet, to the Chicago Cubs for Bob Addis, Toby Atwell, George Freese, Gene Hermanski, Bob Schultz, Preston Ward and $150,000. 

Ralph On The Market - 1953 Topps Living Set Reprint

• 1956 - Integration in baseball was a decade old, but the road to progress was still a rocky ride. The Pirates and the Kansas City A's canceled a pair of exhibition games in Birmingham, Alabama, because of a city ordinance barring integrated play. The two teams moved their scheduled March 31st/April 1st spring games to more player-friendly New Orleans. 
• 1963 - RHP Barry Jones was born in Centerville, Indiana. He began his career in Pittsburgh after being selected in the third round of the 1984 draft. From 1986-88, Jones went on to post a 6-9-6/3.81 slash line with the Bucs before being traded to the White Sox for Dave LaPoint. After an eight-year career, he moved to Murrysville and spent several months helping to build PNC Park as a project manager for the concrete contractor. 
• 1980 - IF Don Kelly was born in Butler. Kelly went to Mt Lebanon HS and Point Park College before signing with the Bucs and making his debut in 2007, getting into 25 games and hitting .148. From 2009 onward, he played with the Tigers before joining the Marlins system briefly. In 2017, Don hung up the uni and became a Pro Scout/Assistant to Player Development for the Tigers. Kelly then moved along to Houston and came home to join Derek Shelton's staff in 2020 as his bench coach and in 2025 was given the team’s reins. He married Carrie Walker in 2007; his brother-in-law is Neil and his now-departed father-in-law was former big league pitcher Tom. 
• 1983 - C Russ Martin was born in East York, Ontario, Canada. The free agent pickup was with the Pirates from 2013-14, hitting .256 and rated highly behind the dish in all the defensive metrics and intangibles. Toronto signed him to a five-year, $82M FA contract during the 2014 off season after Russ had a career year at the plate. He last caught in 2019 as a LA Dodger. Russ was honored in 2024 when he was chosen to join the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. 

Rob Scahill - 2016 photo Joe Guzy/Pirates

• 1987 - RHP Rob Scahill was born in Winfield, Illinois. The reliever was traded to the Bucs from the Rockies after the 2014 season for Shane Carle and got into 43 games with a 2-4/3.26 line in 2015-16. He then worked for the Brewers and the White Sox, with his last MLB outing in 2018. 
• 1990 - The owners refused to open spring training camps without a new Basic Agreement with the Players' Association, beginning a lockout that lasted 32 days and delayed the start of the regular season by one week. The beef was over an owner's plan to cap payroll at 48% of the league revenues; the MLBPA and Donald Fehr wanted no part of a hard cap. They eventually settled on “Super Two” arb, a raise in the minimum salary and adding an extra player to the active roster as the capped payroll plan was sentenced to death by committee. 
• 1992 - On the Saturday before a scheduled Monday arb hearing, RHP Doug Drabek and the Pirates agreed on a $4.5M contract, after first rejecting a four-year, $18.5M deal. DD had been seeking $4.9M and the Bucs counter was $3.685M, so Doug won this round after making $3.335M in 1991. The righty had won the Cy Young in 1990, went 15-14/3.07 in 1991 and would go 15-11/2.77 in 1992, so his consistent top-of-the-rotation work was well worth the price to the Pirates. 
• 1996 - The Pirates brought back LHP Zane Smith after he had left the fold for the greener pastures Boston with a one-year/$400K deal that became official a couple of days later. The lefty had been a Bucco from 1990-94 (47-41/3.35) with a couple of nice seasons during that span, The 35-year-old went to Boston, returned in ‘96, slashed 4-6/5.08 and was released in July; for his last MLB rodeo. 

Zane Smith - 1996 Leaf Autograph

• 1997 - The Pirates signed 31-year-old 1B Ricky Jordan to an NRI contract. Jordan was a career .282 hitter during an eight-year career mostly spent with the Phils, but suffered shoulder injuries in recent campaigns and was brought in as depth insurance for starter Kevin Young. He spent the season in AA Carolina and though he hit .314, it was his last season of pro ball. 
• 2017 - In the only Pirates arb hearing of the off season, LHP Tony Watson and the FO took their dispute before a three-man hearing panel. The Pirates offered Tony $5.6M; Watson countered w/$6M. On the following day, it was announced that the Bucs had won the decision, but it was still a nice bump for Watson, who earned $3.45M in 2016. It proved too rich for the Bucs’ taste; they traded Tony to the Dodgers at the deadline for prospects SS/3B Oneil Cruz & RHP Angel German, giving the closer’s job to Felipe Rivero. Watson worked for three teams after Pittsburgh and retired before the 2022 season. Angel never got past AA while Cruz was a Pirates’ keeper. He made his debut in 2022, was injured for most of ‘23 and is now the Bucs' anointed in CF after spending much of the 2024 campaign at short; the flip was made in late August and he’s been patrolling center ever since.

2/14 Through the 1950s: Barr 1st Franchise Move, NCBBL Forms w/Keystones; HBD Will, Frank, Earl, Jack, Admiral, Harry & Morgan

• 1867 - C Morgan Murphy was born in East Providence, Rhode Island. Murphy lasted for 11 seasons in the show, mostly as a reserve catcher. He spent five games of that career with Pittsburgh, going 2-for-16 after a trade with the Browns and was released after a month, with Philadelphia claiming him. Murphy was best known as a sign-stealer supreme, and was busted with the Phils in 1900 for running a telegraph wire underground from the third base box to the outfield wall, where he sat with binoculars to watch the catcher. He would then buzz a simple code to the coach who would feel the vibes through his feet. Tricky, but not tricky enough; it was found out during a game when an opponent tripped over a bit of exposed wire while rounding third. Prior to that, Murphy would sit behind an ad sign and reposition one of its letters to tip the batter. 
• 1873 - P Harry Jordan was born in Titusville (or maybe Pittsburgh; there’s some disagreement among biographers). Pirates manager Connie Mack pulled him out of the New England League to help his short-handed staff finish the 1894 season and then from the Iron and Oil League the following year, again to plug a pitching gap as the campaign neared the tape. Harry went 1-2/4.15 in his three career MLB starts, not a bad slash for a semi-pro hurler. 
• 1880 - C Claude “Admiral” Berry was born in Losantville, Indiana. He had a fairly undistinguished MLB career from 1904-07, playing three years and getting into 21 games. But when the Federal League started in 1914, the 35-year-old was apparently well rested - he signed on with the Pittsburgh Rebels and caught 221 games in the league’s two seasons, batting just .219 but throwing out 214-of-445 would-be base stealers, a 48% CS rate. In 1904, while playing for the Chicago White Sox, Claude became the first major league catcher to wear a protective cup. He also caught Frank Allen’s no-hitter against St. Louis in 1915. The Admiral closed out his career with a couple of years of AA ball. His family said that Berry got his nickname because he was a flashy dresser, with his outfits sporting enough bling to compete with an admiral’s dress uniform. 

Fed C's - 1914 photo/Pgh Press (Admiral's on the R)

• 1884 - Utilityman Jack Lewis was born in Pittsburgh’s South Side. He had an 18 game audition with the Red Sox in 1911, then got back in the groove with the Filipinos/Rebels of the Federal League, playing five positions and batting .245 from 1913-15 to earn a spot on the Fed All-Star team in 1913 when it was still an indie league. Jack did play a lot of ball in his day; his career in the bushes began in 1901 and he didn’t quit playing until after the 1921 season. He didn’t retire voluntarily, either - he hung ‘em up after being banged up in a car accident. 
• 1884 - In the first transaction in franchise history, the Alleghenys sold RHP Bob Barr to the Washington Nationals for $100 after he slashed 6-18/4.38 in his rookie campaign. Bob would pitch four more scattered seasons and win 43 more games, notching 28 of those victories for Rochester in 1890, its only season in the American Association (they were a replacement team during the Player’s League era and were relegated back to minor league status when the PL folded). 
• 1887 - Per Wikipedia, the National Colored Base Ball League, the first attempt at a professional Negro League, was organized at a meeting in Baltimore. Eight clubs were represented, including the original Pittsburgh Keystones. The league quickly folded (the Keystones finished 3-4), but set a foundation that would eventually allow the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays to enter the baseball scene. The Keystones went semi-pro, then were revived professionally from 1921-22 to play in the Negro National League. Their home field was Central Park (also known as Keystone Park or Chauncey Street Park), located in the Hill at the corner of Chauncey Street and Humber Way. The park was planned by black architect Louis Bellinger, who would later design Greenlee Field for the Pittsburgh Crawfords. 

Earl Smith - 1925 photo/Pgh Press

• 1897 - C Earl Smith was born in Sheridan, Arizona. Smith spent five of his 12 big league years in Pittsburgh from 1924-28, hitting .315 over that span. He was a member of the 1925 World Series-winning club (he hit .350 v Washington) and the 1927 Series team that lost to the Yankees. Smith was suspended briefly in 1925 for brawling with a fan in Boston; not only did it cost him time, but he was laid up briefly afterwards when a second fan clunked him with a chair! 
• 1901 - C Frank Duncan was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He played for 19 years in the Negro and Latin leagues, mostly with the KC Monarchs. He spent 1932 with both the Homestead Grays (they used seven catchers that year) and Pittsburgh Crawfords (they went through five w/Duncan serving as Josh Gibson’s main backup), batting a combined .242. He retired in 1943 after a stretch of semi-pro ball, lost some time to WW2, then managed for three years, umpired a bit and then settled in to run a Kansas City tavern. 
• 1952 - LHP Will McEnaney was born in Springfield, Ohio. After some strong work for the Reds, he failed to impress at his next stop in Montreal and was sent to the Bucs in 1978 for RHP Tim Jones. McEnaney lasted until June, but gave up 11 runs in 8-2/3 IP for a 10.38 ERA and was sent to AAA Columbus. After compiling a 6.24 ERA there, he was released. He was bedeviled by drinking and drug problems after a divorce, the death of his mother, and a serious car wreck at the end of the year. The crash was his final straw; Will straightened up after that and tossed solidly one more year for St. Louis in ‘79 before bowing out of baseball.