2/13: Brandon, AVS, Moose, Cobra, Teke & Dave Sign, Cool Papa HoF; RIP Nellie, HBD Curtis, Stretch, Pete, Rocky, Oadis, Herman, Harl, Crazy & Bill

• 1864 - C/OF Bill Farmer was born in Philadelphia (Baseball Reference cites his DOB as 2/27 and sources seem split as to whether he came from Philly or Dublin, Ireland, so roll the dice and take yer chances). Either way, he got into five MLB games, two with the 1888 Alleghenys, going 0-for-4. He had spent some of 1887 in the Central PA League and likely showed enough to get a look from Pittsburgh. It was a tough lineup for a catcher to crack as Fred Carroll was still playing and Doggie Miller had the top job locked down. Bill finished his big-league days with a short stay with the Philadelphia Athletics and retired a couple of seasons later after playing for St. Paul of the Western Association. 
• 1866 - LHP Frederick “Crazy” Schmit (often misspelled Schmidt) was born in Chicago. The lefty was unleashed on baseball first by the Pittsburgh Alleghenys in 1890, when Crazy went 1-9/5.83 in his rookie campaign. He tossed for five MLB seasons with a 7-36/5.45 line and 185 career walks to 93 K. One of Crazy’s idiosyncrasies was to warm up with a ball soaked in water so that when he got to the mound, a game ball would feel like a feather. He was also credited with being the first to keep an actual book on hitters out of necessity; it was said his memory was too poor to keep the info stored in his head so he wrote it down. One oft-told story has Crazy pitching against Cap Anson by the book. Schmit pulled his notes from his back pocket, looked up Anson, followed his finger and muttered “walk,” then tossed him four wide ones. His nickname was due to his eccentricities like the wet warm up ball, his book on batters and also Schmit’s overblown sense of his abilities as a pitcher. He also answered to “Germany.” 
• 1883 - OF Harl Maggert was born in Cromwell, Indiana. He got his first taste of the majors when he played two games for the Bucs as a 24-year-old in 1907, going 0-for-6, though he did walk twice and scored. He wouldn’t get another shot until five years later in 1912 with the Philadelphia Athletics, doing considerably better by batting .256 in 74 games, but it wasn’t enough to earn any more big league time. From 1913-20, he played in the PCL when he got embroiled in a fixing scandal; he was acquitted in court but expelled by the league. That ended his pro career although he squeezed out a few more seasons with outlaw league teams. His son Harl (who wasn’t a junior, different middle names) got in a year of MLB ball, too, hitting .281 in 1938 for the Boston Bees. 

Harl Maggert (Oakland Seals) - 1911 Obak

• 1901 - OF Herman Layne was born in Gallipolis, Ohio. His big league time totaled 11 games for the Bucs in 1927, spent mainly as a pinch hitter/runner, going 0-for-6 with a walk and three runs scored. Herman did cobble together a 13-year pro career, playing mostly for Toronto of the International League along with Louisville & Indianapolis of the American Association. He was a star in the minors, hitting .327 with 2,097 hits and 315 stolen bases in 1,696 games.The WVU grad hit over .300 for 11 consecutive years and played on five pennant winners. 
• 1915 - RHP Oadis Swigart was born in Archie, Mississippi. Oad spent his brief MLB career as a Pirate, going 1-3/4.44 from 1939-40. His ball playing days were short-circuited by Uncle Sam. The 26-year-old was with the Pirates for spring training in 1941 but was called into the Army on May 1st as the first Bucco player to be drafted. He wasn’t released from active duty until the 1946 season when he was 31, and he failed to make it out of camp. 
• 1919 - IF Bobby “Rocky” Rhawn was born in Catawissa, Pennsylvania, along the Susquehanna River. He spent parts of three seasons in the show, with his final year of 1949 being especially hectic as he went from the NY Giants to the Pirates (three games, 1-for-7) and then to the White Sox. The Bucs got him and RHP Ray Poat from the Giants for veteran RHP Kirby Higbe, then released Rhawn to Chicago 10 days later. 1949 was the last year of MLB ball for Poat and Rhawn, who played at the AAA level for seven campaigns; Higbe lasted into July of 1950. 
• 1921 - IF Pete Castiglione was born in Greenwich, Connecticut. He played seven years (1947-53) for the Bucs, mainly as a reserve, and hit .258 for Pittsburgh. Pete actually signed with the Pirates in 1940, but he joined the Navy in 1943 while in the minors and served two years in the Pacific. He participated in campaigns at the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, Palau Islands, Philippine Islands and Okinawa, and was stationed at Wakayama, Japan, at the end of the war, so his claim to fame may not have been so much at Forbes Field but in the Pacific theater. 

Al Grunwald - 1956 James Elder postcard

• 1930 - LHP Al “Stretch” (he was 6’4”) Grunwald was born in LA. He was a guy that flitted between positions. Grunwald was a first baseman in the minors for his first five years, then converted to pitcher. He tossed for the Pirates during the 1955 season (three games, 4.70 ERA) and then with the Kansas City Athletics in 1959. Grunwald put in 14 pro seasons between 1947-62 with stints in Mexico and Japan, returning to 1B during his final two seasons. He posted lines of 41-31/3.96 ERA in 160 appearances and a .295 BA/111 home runs in 1,392 games during that time. 
• 1974 - RHP Dave Giusti signed a one-year deal worth $100K after coming off an All-Star (9-2-20/2.37) campaign. The 34-year-old closer inked his deal the same day that his eventual heir, Kent Tekulve, signed on the dotted line for what would be his first MLB campaign. It was a good day for the FO; they also inked Dave Parker and Bob Moose, both to undisclosed sums. 
• 1974 - OF James "Cool Papa" Bell was named to the Hall of Fame by the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues. He played for both the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords and was inducted on August 12th. Cool Papa joined the Homestead Grays in 1943, and they won league championships in Bell's first two seasons. They were foiled going for the trifecta, losing in the 1945 World Series to the Cleveland Buckeyes. Per Biography.com, he got his moniker when he began as a pitcher for the St. Louis Stars in the Negro National League. He was dubbed “Cool” by his teammates after he struck out the legendary Oscar Charleston; Bell's manager added the “Papa” to complete the sobriquet. 
• 1987 - RHP Curtis Partch was born in Merced, California. Curtis tossed for the Reds for parts of two campaigns and the Pirates signed him to a minor league, bullpen depth deal in 2016. He was a strikeout-per-inning guy at Indianapolis, but when called up in June, he gave up three runs in 2/3 IP and was released. He played indie league ball in 2017 and that stint ended his pro career. 

Curtis Partch - 2016 camp photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates

• 1988 - OF Andy Van Slyke agreed to an $825,000 contract with bonuses that could bring it to $900,000, remaining the highest paid player on the roster. AVS got almost all the loot that he requested in arb ($850K), with the Pirates counter offer at $750K. Van Slyke had an ‘87 line of .293/21 HR/82 RBI/34 stolen bases, and he’d have another very good season with the bat in 1988. He broke out, hitting .288 and joining the 25 HR/30 SB club with 101 runs & 100 RBI while earning spots for the first time on the All Star, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger squads 
• 2005 - Former Buc hurler and Pirate alumni leader Nellie Briles died from a heart attack at age 61 while golfing in Orlando, Florida, at an Alumni Association outing. He tossed from 1971-73 for the Bucs, notably winning game five of the ‘71 series by twirling a two-hit shutout to give the Pirates a 3-2 series lead. During that time he laid down roots in Pittsburgh, making his home in Greensburg after his retirement. The Bucs hired him as part of their corporate staff in 1986, mainly involving him in alumni affairs, after he had put in a broadcasting stint. “He wasn’t a homegrown Pirate but became part of the Pirate fabric,” said teammate Steve Blass, “...and he was tireless whenever he represented the Pittsburgh Pirates.” He was buried at St. Clair Cemetery in Westmoreland County. 
• 2013 - The Bucs signed 36-year-old IF Brandon Inge to a one-year/$1.25M free agent contract. 50 games and a .181 BA later, he was released on August 1st, ending his 13-year MLB career. Brandon retired to his 400-acre farm in his hometown of Lynchburg with his family.

2/12: Jarrod, John, The Hammer & Rennie Sign, Jack Wins Arb, North Shore Names; HBD Argenis, Todd, Chris, Stan, Cam, Joe, Woody, Dutch, Big Train, Whitey & Ray

• 1888 - 1B Ray Miller (no, not the pitching coach) was born in Pittsburgh. The local kid spent 1917 in the majors, playing his last six big league games as a Pirate. He hit .148 and was sent to the American Association’s Kansas City Blues as part of the Roy Sanders/Fritz Mollwitz off season deal. Ray, who got his start in the Pennsylvania-Ohio League with the Uniontown Coal Barons and then the McKeesport Tubers, played until 1925 and put in a 13-year minor league career. 
• 1893 - 1B Earl “Whitey” Sheely was born in Bushnell, Illinois. He spent one season of his nine-year MLB career, 1929, as the starting first baseman for the Bucs, batting .293 in 139 games. Earl was a nice hitter, finishing with a career .300 BA and a pair of 100-RBI years after he retired following the 1931 campaign. He served as a scout for the Boston Red Sox, coach at St. Mary' s College and he was a manager for the Sacramento Solons and GM of the Seattle Rainiers in the Pacific Coast League. Sheely was inducted into the PCL Hall of Fame after spending his entire 15-year minor league stint on the left shore in either the PCL or Northwest League, hitting .324 lifetime with 2,319 raps. Earl’s son Bud was also in the show, catching for three seasons for the White Sox. 
• 1912 - RHP Tom “Country/”Big Train” Parker Jr. was born in Alexandria, Louisiana (birth year uncertain). Big Train tossed for 10 years in the Negro Leagues (and also played some OF), but the Homestead Grays were his home. He worked for them for six seasons (1935-39, 1948; 23-19/4.88) and overall, it’s thought that Country answered the bell for 21 campaigns counting unaffiliated, Canadian and Latin teams even with spending some time in the Army. Parker was 6’1”, 235 pounds, a likely but unverified cause for the “Big Train” moniker. 
• 1912 - RHP Lloyd “Dutch” Dietz was born in Cincinnati. Dutch tossed from 1940-43 for the Bucs. He went 13-15-4/3.51, and worked pretty regularly in 1941-42, highlighted by 1941’s 7-2/2.33 slash. He was traded to the Phils in ‘43, then to the Dodgers. Dietz entered the military service with the Army Medical Corps in 1944, and was stationed in Texas where he pitched for the Fort Sam Houston Rangers. After his return to civilian life in 1946, he played four more minor league seasons before hanging up the spikes in 1949 as a 37-year-old. Dutch was a common nickname for German players as an anglicization of “Deutsch.” 

Woody Main - 1953 Topps

• 1922 - RHP Forrest “Woody” Main was born in Delano, California. He pitched off and on for the Bucs in 1948, 1950, and 1952-53 after being claimed from the Yankees. Main was in the Bronx Bomber’s system with the minor-league Kansas City Blues, and when KC’s manager Billy Meyer was named skipper of the 1948 Pirates, he selected Main in that winter’s Rule 5 draft. Woody, who worked out of the bullpen, went 4-13-3 with a 5.14 ERA as a Pirate. 
• 1926 - C Joe Garagiola was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and spent the middle of his MLB career (1951-53) with Pittsburgh. Joe hit .262 over that span, but is best known as an announcer, a profession he began after his playing days ended in 1955. Garagiola grew up just a few doors down from his childhood friend Yogi Berra and later said, "Not only was I not the best catcher in the Major Leagues, I wasn't even the best catcher on my street!" 
• 1952 - GM Cam Bonifay was born in St. Petersburg. After a brief minor league career, Cam toiled as a Cardinal & then Reds bird dog before becoming the Scouting Director for the Pirates in 1990. He was named assistant GM in 1991 and got the top job in 1993 when Ted Simmons was felled by a heart attack. He held the position until 2001 when owner Kevin McClatchy replaced him with Dave Littlefield. Despite criticism for signing underperforming players to big contracts, he was named The Sporting News’ Executive of the Year in 1997 for building the “Freak Show” team with a payroll of just $9M. Since his Pittsburgh departure, he has worked for Tampa Bay, St. Louis and Cincinnati, where he’s a pro scouting special assistant. His son Josh was a minor league catcher in the Pirates system and is now the farm director for the Texas Rangers. 
• 1965 - RHP Stan Fansler was born in Elkins, West Virginia. The youngster was the Bucs second round draft pick (34th overall) in 1983. By 1985, he was pitching for the Pirates, going 0-3 but with a respectable 3.75 ERA in five September starts. He gave up less than a hit per inning but had some control issues. And therein lies a cautionary tale. Instead of Fansler making the team out of camp the following season, GM Sid Thrift, without consulting the Pirates coaches, sent him to the minors to change his delivery and sharpen his control. The result was that Stan’s money maker went haywire from the mechanical tweaking and he subsequently underwent a pair of arm surgeries. He never pitched above Class AA afterward and retired to become a pitching coach in 1993 before giving up the pro game entirely when he married four years later. 

Stan Fansler - 1987 Topps

• 1969 - The Bucs sealed one of their top Latino deals when Pirates scout C. Herbert Raybourn inked 17-year-old 2B Rennie Stennett of Colon, Panama, to a contract. Rennie debuted in 1971 and played nine seasons with Pittsburgh, hitting .278. His Pirates red letter day was when he went 7-for-7 against the Cubs, a record-setter (he got three more hits the next day for 10 in back-to-back games, also a record), in 1975. His career was derailed in 1977 when he broke his leg sliding. Rennie never recovered fully and 1981 was his last season. 
• 1969 - The new North Shore playground for the Pirates and Steelers was officially dubbed “Pittsburgh Three Rivers Stadium” by a unanimous vote of the Stadium Authority board, overriding consideration to name the field for either David Lawrence (he became the namesake for the Convention Center) or Roberto Clemente (who got the Sixth Street Bridge). The board also approved 3M’s Tartan Turf rather than Monsanto’s AstroTurf for the field covering; the hardballers and gridders each had recommended it for TRS after testing both rugs. 
• 1980 - John Milner signed a one-year deal for an undisclosed amount to avoid arb and the Bucs were close to settling three more contentious contracts when Kent Tekulve, Omar Moreno and Ed Ott all withdrew their names from the scheduled arbitration hearings list. All four played for the Bucs in 1980 before Ott (‘80 postseason) and Milner (August ‘81) were traded. 
• 1981 - C Chris Snyder was born in Houston. He came to the Pirates at the 2010 deadline from Arizona as part of the DJ Carrasco deal. The Pirates plan was for him to become Ryan Doumit’s veteran caddy, but in 2011 an awkward slide caused him to miss most of the year with a bad back. His balky vertebra helped trigger the season of the catcher - the Pirates were forced to use eight players at the position after Snyder and Dewey were both injured. In his time with the Bucs, he hit .214 and the Pirates unsurprisingly declined his 2012 option. After a couple of seasons in a backup role for Houston and the O’s, Snyder retired in 2014. 

The Toddfather - March 2021 photo/Pirates

• 1986 - 3B/1B Todd Frazier was born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. He was the 34th overall pick in the 1st round of the 2007 draft by the Reds out of Rutgers. He went on to debut with Cincy in 2011, where he became a two-time All-Star, and later moved on to play with the White Sox, Yankees, Mets (twice) and Rangers. The Toddfather signed as an NRI with the Pirates for the 2021 campaign. He didn’t make the team out of camp, but was called up in late April. Frazier got into 13 games, hit .086, and was DFA’ed when the Bucs claimed Ben Gamel. He did not go quietly into the good night, but grumped at the local baseball media as he went out the door. Frazier played a handful of Frontier League games, joined the 2021 US Olympic team and then announced his retirement before the 2022 campaign. 
• 1987 - SS Argenis Diaz was born in Guatire, Venezuela. He and Hunter Strickland came over from the Red Sox in 2009 for Adam LaRoche and Diaz got his only big league time in 2010 as a 23-year-old with the Buccos, hitting .243 in 22 games. Argenis, with a reputation as an excellent defensive guy, has bounced around among several organizations as AAA depth since while a regular in Venezuelan League winter play, and after a couple of years of minor league ball coached at Indy in 2020 and is now the owner/coach of 5pro Baseball Instruction. 
• 1993 - The Bucs signed RHP John Ericks, who was the Cards top draft pick in 1988, to a FA deal. After a couple of seasons on the farm, the 6’7” Ericks worked 57 games for the Bucs between 1995-97, going 8-14-14 with a 4.78 ERA. The Pirates liked the Fighting Illini as a starter, but after shoulder surgery, he was switched to the pen (and was penciled in as the closer in ‘97). He worked 10 games in ‘97 before going under the knife. He never recovered entirely after the second surgery and those appearances in ‘97 would be the last of his pro career. 
• 2004 - Jack Wilson won his arbitration hearing and the fourth-year shortstop was awarded a salary of $1.85M, a hefty bump over the $335K he had earned in his last year of pre-arb. He had hit .256 and provided steady play in the field while getting into 150 games, and the arbitrators picked his number over the $1.4M offered by the Bucs. Jack was the first Pirate to go to arbitration since 1993 and the first to win against the club since Jose Lind in 1992. 
• 2020 - With a void in CF after the trade of Starling Marte, the Pirates signed 10-year vet Jarrod Dyson to a one-year/$2M contract, pending his physical, which he passed the next day. The 35-year-old played for Kansas City, Seattle, and Arizona, featuring good defense and fleet feet but an indifferent bat - in 2019, he slashed .230/.313/.320 (66 OPS+) but with 30 swiped bases and 13 DRS (Defensive Runs Saved). Dyson hit .157 and in August was sent to the White Sox for future considerations. He hasn’t played since 2021 stops in KC and Toronto.

2/11 Through the 1990s: Cecil, Pops & Groat Sign, Bell & Brett Lose Arb, Priddy - Crandall, Vic - Burleigh, Starg Hired, Jay Dapper; RIP Kiki, HBD Trey, Hoot & Leon

• 1912 - C Leon Ruffin was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. Leon spent three seasons (1931-33) of his 14-year Negro/Mexican League career with the Pittsburgh Crawfords, with the first campaign serving as a backup, the next as a starter, and the final year as trade bait, being shipped to Newark in May. That was a recurrent theme in his ball playing days; he served four different tours of duty with the Jersey nine, including his one All-Star year. Leon was a defensive specialist behind the dish with a rifle arm who made up for his quiet bat by mastering small ball, becoming an expert bunter and hit & run guy, a unique skill set for a backstop. 
• 1924 - OF Hal “Hoot” (his middle name was Housten) Rice was born in Morganette, West Virginia. After several seasons with the St. Louis Cards serving as Stan Musial’s backup, he joined the Bucs for the 1953-54 seasons and started in left field for Pittsburgh after the Ralph Kiner trade. He hit .311 in that year’s audition, but was batting under .200 in June of 1954 and was shipped to the Chicago Cubs in what was his last MLB campaign. Rice gave up three years of baseball during WW2, winning a Purple Heart as a tank commander. 
• 1928 - Pittsburgh sent RHP Vic Aldridge, who was fishing for a raise from owner Barney Dreyfuss, to the NY Giants for RHP Burleigh Grimes. Old Stubblebeard won 42 games in 1928-29 for the Pirates before being sent to the Braves after reaching a contract impasse. He returned in 1934 for his third Pittsburgh stint to finish his MLB career as a Pirate, the team he started with in 1916. The Hall of Famer won 48 of his 270 career victories as a Buc. Aldridge held out until late May, then put up a mediocre line (4-7/4.83) for Boston and was sent to Brooklyn in August. He refused to report to the Dodgers, opting to retire instead. 
• 1950 - 51-year-old RF Hazen “Kiki” Cuyler passed away from a heart attack in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Kiki spent the first seven seasons of an 18-year Hall of Fame career as a Pirate, but left on salty terms. He and manager Donie Bush banged heads battling over attitudes; his contract was also weighing heavily on the Bucco purse strings, and the two issues created a perfect storm that got him benched and traded. After his playing days, Kiki managed in the minors and coached for the Cubs & BoSox. He also ran a still-existent restaurant, Ki Cuyler’s Bar & Grill, in his hometown of Harrisville, Michigan. 

Dick Groat - Helmar This Great Game/1960s

• 1960 - Dick Groat signed his contract after several meetings with GM Joe Brown, whose first offer was a 25% cut, surprising as Groat was an All-Star who batted .275 in ‘59. The ultimate figure wasn’t released, but the Post-Gazette guessed he had been “nicked” while the Press believed he signed for the same $27,500 salary he had last season. Whatever the number ended up as, it was a good deal for the Bucs - the Swissvale native was named the National League’s MVP, was an All-Star again after leading the NL with a .325 BA and posted a 5.8 WAR in 1960. 
• 1965 - The Pirates traded youngsters 1B/OF Bob Burda & RHP Bob Priddy to the San Francisco Giants for veteran backstop Del Crandall. Burda played for six MLB seasons, primarily off the bench, hitting .227 in 381 games while Priddy tossed for seven more seasons for five clubs as a long man/spot starter with a slash of 22-36/4.01. Crandall was about at the end of the road at age 35, and hit .214 in 60 games. He was released at the end of the season and played through 1966 with the Indians to end a 16-year career. 
• 1974 - Willie Stargell eclipsed Roberto Clemente to become the Pirates highest paid player to date when he inked a one-year/$165K deal. Captain Willie was worth the dinero - he was the MVP runner-up after hitting .299 with 44 homers and 119 RBI in ‘73 and slashed .301/25/96 in ‘74. 
• 1974 - OF Trey Beamon was born in Dallas. The Bucs took him out of high school in the second round of the 1992 draft, and he was named the organization’s top prospect in 1995. But Trey never made much of a dent in MLB, spending 24 games with the Bucs in 1996 (.216 BA) before being traded to the Padres as part of the Mark Smith package. He got into a few dozen games with San Diego and was shipped to the Tigers, and that 1998 season would be his last in the bigs. He appeared in 98 games and hit .253 in Motown without a long ball. He played in the minors and indie leagues until 2006. 
• 1974 - 48 players filed to settle their contracts through the newly instituted arbitration system, but the only Pirate player to argue his case at a hearing was pitcher Ken Brett, who asked for $45,000 while the Bucs countered with $35,000. Brett lost but bore no grudge; he went on to have his only All-Star season in ‘74 and re-upped with the Pirates in 1975. 

Cecil Espy - 1992 Fleer Ultra

• 1991 - OF Cecil Espy signed with the Bucs as a NRI free agent for an undisclosed amount. He spent two seasons in Pittsburgh as a reserve outfielder, hitting .254, with much of 1991 spent on the farm at Buffalo. He was a first round pick of the White Sox in 1980 (eighth overall) but was an everyday player for just one year during his eight big league seasons before his last MLB campaign of 1993. He played in the minors afterward and retired after spending 1996 in the Mexican League. Utilityman Lloyd McClendon signed before his contract reached an arb judge. He had asked for $295K, the Bucs countered with $170K, and Lloyd won the bidding battle by settling for $260K. 
• 1992 - The Bucs won their arb case against SS Jay Bell, who had to accept an $875K paycheck rather than the $1.45M he was after. Bell turned down a reported settlement of $1.175M a few days prior, calling it a “great offer” but deciding to go through the process. The infielder felt his .270 BA, 16 homers and 96 runs scored would help carry the day; the Pirates countered that his batting stats were pretty much league average, and that his 24 errors were tops among NL shortstops. 
• 1994 - SS Jay Bell took home the Dapper Dan Sportsmen of the Year award at the annual dinner at the Hilton Hotel after hitting .310 and scoring 102 runs during the 1993 season. It was a very good year for Jay - he also was named an All-Star for the first time, won a Golden Glove award for his fielding, and started it off by signing a five-year/$20.1M deal in April. Bell played for the Bucs from 1989-96, and returned in 2013 as the hitting coach before joining the Reds as their bench coach the following year. He later managed in the Yankee and Angel systems. 
• 1997 - Willie Stargell came back home when he was named a special assistant to GM Cam Bonifay and later became an advisor to owner and CEO Kevin McClatchy. He had a general portfolio in the FO, but was most active in player evaluation, both prospects and big leaguers. Unfortunately, he was beset with health issues and passed away in 2001 as PNC Park opened.

2/11 From 2000: Yasmani, Tony, Brian, Eric, Doug & Danny Sign, Manny Latino HoF, Garth, Scouts Scoops, Boom TRS; RIP Chuck

• 2001 - Three Rivers Stadium, the home of the Pirates since 1970, was imploded before a full complement of TV cameras and thousands of onlookers. Roberto Clemente's 3,000th hit, Mike Schmidt's 500th home run, the 1994 All Star game and a couple of World Series championships were part of the sometimes unappreciated park's 30-year baseball legacy. 
• 2003 - New GM Dave Littlefield cleaned house in his scouting department by firing Mickey White, Brandon Bonifay, Ken Parker and George Zuraw, who were all top guns under former GM Cam Bonifay. It didn’t take a fortune-teller to predict their time was short; Littlefield had raided the Marlin staff for three scouts earlier and brought in a fourth Fish, Doug Strange, a former Bucco, to replace them. The Florida scouts were in a state of flux as the team was in the process of being sold to Jeffrey Loria and Littlefield swooped in to give them a new home. 
• 2006 - Jackie Bowen was hired for a second stint in Bucco scouting, becoming an assistant to Dave Littlefield before moving up to national scouting supervisor after working from 1985-90 as a Bucco area scouting supervisor. He progressed from there to work for the Reds, Giants and Mets before returning home. And home it was as Jackie was the grandson of super scout Rex Bowen and was raised in the City’s South Hills, graduating from Mt. Lebanon HS and Pitt. 
• 2007 - The Pirates inked eight-year veteran righty Danny Kolb (Gary’s cousin) to a minor league deal. He pitched three games for the Pirates in June, each with a one inning-two hits-one earned run line, and he spent the rest of the season with AAA Indianapolis before being released, pitching briefly for the New York Mets in 2008 before taking his final MLB bow. 

Eyechart - 2008 Topps Heritage

• 2008 - IF Doug Mientkiewicz (aka “Eye Chart” thanks to his last name) signed on as a free agent for $750K. The 34-year-old utility guy had a fairly solid year, hitting .277 in 125 games, then moved on to LA in 2009 to close out his 12-year career. He managed in the Tigers minor league system after stints with the Dodgers and Twins, and now operates a chartered boating business in the Florida Keys while helping out with some local amateur coaching.
• 2011 - Manager Chuck Tanner died at the age of 82 in New Castle. Captain Sunshine led the club from 1977-85 (the Bucs traded Manny Sanguillen to the A’s for Chuck’s services), winning the World Series in 1979 with the “We Are Family” gang and spending 10 more years as skipper for the White Sox, Athletics and Braves. The Coke Trials and consecutive last-place finishes in 1984-85 pushed him out of town, but he came back in 2007 as a Special Assistant to the GM. 
• 2011 - C Manny Sanguillen was part of the second class to be inducted into the Latino Hall of Fame, located in La Romana, Dominican Republic. He was joined by Fernando Valenzuela, Luis Tiant, Edgar Martinez, Dennis Martinez, Andres Galarraga and Rico Carty. Beisbol is a big deal in the DR; the ceremony was conducted by Dominican president Dr. Leonel Fernandez Reyna. 
• 2016 - The Pirates signed veteran LHP Eric O’Flaherty, 31, to a minor league deal with a camp invite that was worth $1.75M if he made the roster. He had been a strong bullpen piece until a 2013 elbow injury laid him low. The lefty didn’t make the Bucco 25-man list, but he did break camp with a MLB deal after the Pirates sold him to Atlanta in late March. O’Flaherty had enjoyed his best years there, going 13-7/1.99 in 295 games for the Bravos between 2009-13, but the reunion tour was less successful - in two seasons, he got into 61 games with a line of 1-4/7.28, was released in July of 2017, and retired before the 2018 campaign. 

Garth suits up - 2020 Pirates photo

• 2019 - The Bucco pitchers and catchers reported to camp with a surprise addition: singer Garth Brooks, who became a Bucco fan as a boy in Oklahoma, also showed up to shag some flies and take a couple of swings. Brooks spent a week in camp to mark the 20th anniversary of his Teammates for Kids Foundation, which has raised millions of dollars for children's charities while pairing children with pro athletes. Garth played high school ball and the Pirates were the fourth camp he visited over the years to play some ball and promote his charity. 
• 2021 - Pittsburgh filled a couple of bench holes by signing FA’s C Tony Wolter and OF Brian Goodwin to minor league/NRI deals. Wolters, 28, started for the Rockies in 2019-20 and hit .230. A lefty batter with a .238 lifetime BA in five MLB campaigns, he signed for $1.4M, but didn’t make the cut - he was released at the end of camp and was claimed by the Cubs; he announced his retirement this year. Goodwin, 30, played five big league seasons with a .250 career BA and was another left-handed swinger. He had played all three OF spots and was with the Angels and Nats in 2020, hitting a combined .215 for the two clubs. His contract was worth $1.6M w/$900K in possible bonuses. He lasted until May as a AAA insurance policy, was released and went to the White Sox. He started ‘22 in the Mexican League and then played ball in China and the indie leagues before hanging up his mitt. Tony’s now a minor league coach in the Rockies organization. 
• 2024 - While the rest of the nation was watching the Super Bowl, Ben Cherington and Yasmani Grandal were talking contract as the White Sox backstop agreed to a one-year/$2.5M plus incentives deal with the Bucs. The Pirates were rumored to be after Gary Sanchez to provide a veteran mentor for a young crew of catchers, but Milwaukee had the same idea and signed him for $7M, leaving Yasmani as the Bucs Plan B. For the 35-year-old, Pittsburgh was his fifth team as he entered his 13th year in the show. He caught 72 games with a line of .228 BA/9 HR/27 RBI and was Paul Skene’s caddy, but lost his job to mid-year pickup Joey Bart, spent 2025 with Boston’s AAA club and is now a free agent.

2/10 Through the 1950s: Lloyd, Jimmy & Otto Sign, Jim Joins, No Seer, Wet One Done; HBD Larry, Digger, Jake, Cotton, Bill & Jim

• 1857 - UT Jim Keenan was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He spent 10 years in the show playing for five teams with an 1882 stop with the Alleghenys, hitting .219 as a catcher and outfielder (he played every position but 2B during his career). Jim was one of the better catchers of the 1880s, spent mostly with Cincinnati. He caught barehanded (ouch!) and is also noted as being one of the few players of that rambunctious era to kick the booze habit during his playing days. Keenan caught the first Pittsburgh Alleghenys game (by extension, the first game in Pirates franchise history), a 10-9 win over his future mates, the Red Stockings, played on May 2nd, 1882 at Cincinnati's Bank Street Grounds. 
• 1893 - RHP Bill Evans was born in Reidsville, NC. He spent his three-year MLB stint with the Bucs (1916-17, 1919) as a fringe hurler, going 2-13 with a 3.85 ERA. Evans went into the military and missed all of the 1918 campaign. He worked seven games for Pittsburgh in 1919, then spent the next decade in the minors. Evans died in Burlington, North Carolina at age 53. 
• 1894 - 2B James “Cotton” (because of his light blond hair) Tierney was born in Kansas City, KS. He started his pro career in Pittsburgh (1920-23), mainly as a second baseman but also seeing time in the outfield and at the hot corner. He hit .315 for Pittsburgh and was the main piece in the 1923 trade for P Lee Meadows. Cotton was remembered when in 2005, his great-great-nephew Jeff Euston created the website Cot's Baseball Contracts, named after his MLB uncle. 
• 1900 - SS “Country Jake” Stephens was born in Pleasantville (or nearby York), Pennsylvania. Jake played in the Negro leagues for 17 years, with stops with the Homestead Grays (1929-31) and Pittsburgh Crawfords (1932). The SS wasn’t much of a batsman with a .240 career BA - the curve befuddled him - but he was a fast and acrobatic fielder with a rifle arm. As loaded with bats as the legendary local clubs were, carrying a glove at shortstop was a natural fit. His leather earned him spots in Pittsburgh and York Sports Halls of Fame. 

Greenfield Jimmy - photo Chicago Daily News/History Museum

• 1916 - Local boys Otto Knabe from Carrick and Greenfield Jimmy Smith had their contracts purchased from the Baltimore Terrapins of the Federal League. Otto was on the downside of his career, suiting up as mainly a player/manager, and after a couple of dozen games, he was traded to the Cubs. Greenfield Jimmy was a utility guy; the colorful infielder got into 33 games for the Pirates in 1916. Smith finished out his MLB days in 1922, playing for seven teams during an eight-year big league run, before returning home to Greenfield. 
• 1920 - The spitball, shineball, and emeryball were outlawed by the AL/NL Joint Rules Committee. Seventeen pitchers who were known to use the pitch, including off-and-on Pirate Burleigh Grimes, were grandfathered out of the ban so they could continue to toss a wet one. Grimes, who finished in 1934 with Pittsburgh, was the last man to legally throw a spitter. 
• 1932 - RHP Billy “Digger” O’Dell was born in Whitmire, South Carolina. He closed out his 13-year career (twice an All-Star) with the Pirates in 1966-67, going 8-8-4/4.44. Digger retired and left baseball, coaching Legion ball and earning a spot in the South Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. He got his nickname from the radio/TV show “The Life of Riley” that featured a character named Digby “Digger” O’Dell. 
• 1939 - RHP Bob Klinger exhibited his flipper to Pittsburgh Press beat writer Les Biederman and told him that “You are now looking at the arm that belongs to the fellow who is going to win 20 games...this year.” Klinger had gone 12-5/2.99 in 1938 with a gimpy arm, then underwent off season treatment for neuritis. He did get 33 starts, but finished 14-17/4.36 and 0-1 as a prognosticator. Apparently his arm remained chronically cranky. The Pirates switched him to spot starter/reliever in 1940, and he didn’t rejoin the rotation full-time again until 1943. He was in the Navy from 1944-45, then went to the Boston Red Sox at age 38 and was their closer from 1946-47 as part of the Bosox 1946 World Series club. 

Bob Klinger - 1939 Play Ball

• 1940 - CF Lloyd Waner signed his 14th Pittsburgh contract, coming off what was oddly the Hall-of-Famers only All-Star season when he hit .313. The amount of the deal wasn’t disclosed, though his 1938 salary was estimated to be $12,500 and this payday likely fell into the same range. The soon-to-be 34-year-old was nearing the end of the road; he lasted until the end of WW2 (1945 was his last campaign) but never was an everyday outfielder again, averaging 70 games per year in his last six seasons with five different clubs, including a swan song with the Pirates. 
• 1947 - RHP Jim Bagby Jr. was purchased from the Boston Red Sox for a little more than the $10,000 waiver fee. Bagby had been a two-time All-Star for Cleveland in 1942-43, but the 30-year-old was on his last legs in Pittsburgh, going 5-4/4.67 in ‘47 in 38 games (six starts), which proved to be his final season after 10 years in MLB. His father blazed a similar path, ending his big league days as a Bucco in 1923 after a nine-year tour of duty. 
• 1954 - LHP Larry McWilliams was born in Wichita, Kansas. The sixth overall pick of the 1974 draft by the Braves, he worked for the Pirates from 1982-86. Larry had three strong years as a starter, then faded and was shipped back to his original club, the Braves. His line with the Bucs was 43-44-2 with a 3.86 ERA. Per Wikipedia, he was nicknamed Spaghetti by Tony Pena. "That's what I call him. Take a look at his legs. They look like spaghetti...” his battery mate said.

2/10 From 1970: Melky, Lee, Trench & Kaat Sign, Ramon Deal, Jason Dapper, Judy HoF; HBD Jeanmar, Duke, Luis, Justin, Cesar & Ruben

• 1971 - The Pirates made one of their better deals when they sent minor league lefty Danilo Rivas to the Mexico City Reds for LHP Ramon Hernandez, who was recommended by Jose Pagan after playing winter ball against him. The southpaw was a bullpen anchor from 1971-76, going 23-12-39 with a 2.51 ERA in 263 outings before being sold to the Red Sox in 1976. The trade was a homecoming of sorts; the Pirates’ super scout Howie Haak had originally signed Hernandez as an 18-year-old out of Ponce De Leon, Puerto Rico, in 1959 to launch his MLB journey. The swap started Danilo on a five-year run in Mexico before retiring in 1974. 
• 1975 - 3B Judy Johnson was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Negro League Committee. Playing in the 1920s and 1930s, Johnson was a defensive whiz who batted .309 over a 17-year career, including stints with the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords. He was inducted on August 18th. His nickname came from his first Negro league club, the Hilldale Daisies, because he resembled Chicago American Giants’ player Judy Gans. 
• 1978 - OF Ruben Mateo was born in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic. Mateo was highly touted, but after breaking his leg in 2000, he never regained his edge and became a AAAA player, suiting up for four teams in six MLB campaigns. He made a 19-game stop in Pittsburgh, hitting .242 in 2004 before being sold to the Royals; it would be his last big league stop at the tender age of 26. He spent the next dozen years playing in the minors, Korea, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and mainly in the Mexican League before retiring after the 2015 season. 
• 1980 - SS Cesar Izturis was born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. He spent 13 seasons in the big leagues, with a stop in Pittsburgh in 2007. He hit .276 after the Pirates bought his rights from the Cubs in mid-July but was released after the year (Jack Wilson was the #1 guy with Brian Bixler in the pipeline) and signed with St. Louis. He had three strong seasons left in him with the Cards and Orioles before becoming a bench guy in 2011; 2013 would be his last MLB campaign. 

Cesar Izturis - 2008 Topps

• 1980 - Coach Justin Meccage was born in Billings, Montana. After a brief minor league career and a couple of college coaching stops, he was hired by the Bucs as the pitching coach for the Bradenton Marauders (2013-2014), was promoted to Altoona (2015-2016), became the minor league pitching coordinator in 2017, was named assistant pitching coach as Ray Searage’s right hand man for the big team for 2018, was a pitching instructor under Derek Shelton regime and is now with the Giants. An eye for under-the-hood pitching tweaks runs in the family - Meccage's father Bob was a college pitching coach, as is his brother Jeremy now. 
• 1984 - SS Luis Cruz was born in Navojoa, Mexico. He was signed as a minor league free agent by Pittsburgh in 2008 and spent most of his two-year stay in the minors, seeing action in 27 games for the Bucs and hitting .214. He did have an auspicious start to his career, smacking a single in his first MLB at-bat off Aaron Harang. Luis played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees before going international in 2014, playing four seasons in Japan before returning home to suit up in the Mexican League. 
• 1984 - 45-year-old Jim Kaat was given an invitation to camp by the Pirates (and that’s all it was; he’d get a contract if he made the team). He had tossed 24 games for the Cards in ‘83 w/no record but a 3.89 ERA (4.40 FIP) and was released in July. Ironically, the Bucs signed Lee Tunnell and Trench Davis to contracts on the same day; Kaat was tossing in the majors before either was born. But it was the end of the road for the 25-year veteran, who retired when he didn’t make the final cut and then joined Pete Rose’s staff in Cincy as the Reds’ pitching coach. He coached a bit more, wrote a book, and had a long broadcasting career that won seven Emmys to go with a couple of foot-in-mouth moments before earning a spot in the Hall of Fame in 2022. 

Duke Welker - 2014 photo Elsa/Getty

• 1986 - RHP Duke Welker was born in Kirkland, Washington. A second round pick in the 2007 draft, the 6’7” pitcher was a hot prospect who never panned out. He got into two games with the Bucs in 2013, then was involved in a bizzaro trade. He was sent to the Minnesota Twins as part of the deal that had brought 1B Justin Morneau to Pittsburgh. The two teams changed their minds a few weeks later, and in November, Welker was sent back to the Bucs in return for P Kris Johnson. But fate trumped his return as Duke had TJ surgery in 2014. The Bucs released him, and he was signed and cut by the Giants in 2016. He’s now a medical sales rep. 
• 1988 - RHP Jeanmar Gomez was born in Caracas, Venezuela. The long man went 5-2-1 with a 3.28 ERA in 78 outings for Pittsburgh from 2013-14 after coming over from the Indians. Gomez became a free agent in the 2014 off season and signed with the Phillies. Jeanmar last pitched big league ball for the Texas Rangers in 2019, the last of his five MLB stops.
• 2001 - C Jason Kendall was honored as the Dapper Dan 2000 Sportsman of the Year. He rehabbed a gruesome ankle injury and came back to hit .320, score 112 runs and steal 22 bases, then made a long-term commitment to the Pirates by signing a six-year/$60M contract extension. He was the first Pirate to win the award since Jim Leyland in 1990. 
• 2019 - The Pirates signed OF Melky Cabrera, 34, to a minor league NRI deal (he made the team) for $1.15M guaranteed w/$850,000K possible in bonuses. He was recruited to be a platoon mate for Lonnie Chisenhall while regular RF Gregory Polanco was mending, then stepping into a bench role as the fourth fly chaser. But injuries kept him front and center; he got into 133 games, batting a solid .280 before being released at the end of the season. It was his last MLB campaign, and the Melkman retired early in 2022 with 15 years/nine teams on his MLB resume.

Weekly Report: Backend Signings, NRI's, WBC Bucs, FA's Finding & Looking...

The boys gather as spring is just about to be sprung...

Pirates Stuff:

• The Pirates signed RHP Mike Clevinger to a minor league/NRI contract. The nine-year vet (Cleveland, San Diego & the White Sox; 60-44/3.55) had neck surgery in 2024, missing most of the year, and was ineffective out of the pen last year, making eight outings before being sent to the minors. The Pirates are expected to try to resurrect him back into a backend starting role. 
• RHP Jose Urquidy signed a one-year/$1.5M deal with Bucs. He was a solid arm for Houston from 2019-22 but virtually lost the past three seasons with shoulder woes and eventual TJ surgery. 
• Camp unofficially started last Monday when the Pirates sent two truckloads of baseball gear to Bradenton. The first workout for P/C's is Feb. 11 with the full-camp opening on Feb. 16. WBC P/C's begin  their spring on Feb. 9 while position players will report on Feb. 11.  Alex Stumpf of MLB.com has the spring scoop.
• The Bucs extended camp invites to C Derek Berg, 1B Nick Cimillo, RHP Michael Darrell-Hicks, LHP Nick Dombkowski, UT Mitch Jebb and IF Alika Williams. All are Bucco minor league guys, with Darrell-Hicks & Williams having MLB time. Michael was injured for most of the '25 campaign with one big-league outing in Pgh. and Alika was released in mid-January & apparently re-signed to a NRI deal.

Spencer joins the WBC crowd as 14 guys from the org will rep the team.

• 1B Spencer Horwitz said he'll play in the WBC tournament (Israel) and ditto for IF Nick Gonzales, who is suiting up for Mexico. RHP Kyle Nicolas joined the gang; he'll be playing for Italy. Recently signed RHO Jose Urquidy will toss for Mexico. Other roster guys already announced as rostered for the tournament are: Oneil Cruz, Dennis Santana, Paul Skenes & Gregory Soto. And finally, catching coach Jordan Comadena will be Team USA's bullpen catcher. 
• Minor league WBC players: RHP Pietro Albanez, international signing (Brazil); RHP Emannuel Chapman, 7-2/3.72, Altoona (Cuba); RHP Po-Yu Chen, 4-11/5.73 Altoona (Taipei); RHP Alessandro Ercolini, 1-8/4.04 Altoona (Italy) and RHP Antwone Kelly, 3-3/3.02, Greensboro-Altoona (Netherlands). NRI's in the tourney are P's Joe LaSorsa (Italy) & Oddanier Mosquido (Venzuela). 
• Baseball America picked the Bucs farm system as MLB's #1 going into 2026 (story behind a paywall).
• Baseball Prospectus Top 101 Prospects continued the trend by including SS Konnor Griffin (#1), RHP Bubba Chandler (#14), OF Edward Florentino (#21) and RHP Seth Hernandez (#67)

MLB Stuff:

• Some ol' Bucs are still in the FA marketplace as MLB camps are just around the corner - Starling Marte, Tommy Pham, Elias Diaz, Jose Quintana and Cutch are still hunting for landing spots. 
• What's Paul Skenes worth? Two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal won his third-year arb case for $32M, the largest salary ever won in arb. The Tigers counter at the hearing was $19M, a low-ball figure that didn't help their cause, a mistake the Bucs hopefully won't (but prob will) make. Skubal earned $2.65M and $10.15M in his first two arb years; Paul will be arb-eligible next season.
• Rick Renick, who was the Pirates' third base coach from 1997-2000 under Gene Lamont, passed away last week. After spending five years in the MLB, Rick embarked on a 20-year career as a manager and coach,
• Utilityman Marco Luciano, who was on the waiver windmill this offseason, finally found a home. The Giants, Pirates, Orioles and Yankees have all waived him since December. But he cleared the wire after the Yankees release, and they assigned him to AAA so now he at least has a camp to report to next week.

It took IKF a while,  but he found a new nest in Boston...

• Last year's hot corner replacement, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and the Boston Red Sox agreed on a one-year/$6M contract. They also claimed IF Tsung-Che Cheng off waivers from the Nats as his long strange trip continues.
• Lefty reliever Josh Fleming, whose last MLB gig was the Pirates in 2024 (1-1-1/4.02) signed a minor league/NRI deal with Toronto.
• OF Miguel Andujar signed with the San Diego Padres, inking a one-year/$4M contract  He played 39 games for the Pirates in 2022-23, with a slash of .250/4/27/100 OPS+ in 190 PAs.
• 1B Carlos Santana signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks, his ninth team, agreeing on a one-year/$2M million. Carlos played here semi-regularly in 2023 (94 starts), hitting .235 with 12 HR.
• RHP Vince Velasquez, whose last MLB gig was with the Pirates in 2023 (4-4/3.86) inked a minor league deal with the Cubs.
• The Cardinals have signed 1B Bligh Madris to a minor league deal. Bligh was a Pirates product who got into 39 games in 2022 with the Bucs (.178/one HR) and has since been with the Houston and Detroit.
• Southpaw reliever Anthony Banda, who tossed for the Bucs in 2021-22 (2-2/4.70) was DFA'ed by the Dodgers. He was with them for their last two World Series crowns, posting a slash of 8-3-2/3.14 in 2024-25.
• RHP Kyle Keller, who last pitched in MLB in 2021 for the Bucs (seven outings, 1-1/6.48) took his game to Japan and after four years there got a minor league/NRI deal with the Boston Red Sox.

2/9: Josias & Walker Sign; Ross & Kip Win Arb, Phil Goes & Cobra Going, Oscar & Satch HoF, Dapper Jim, Woe Is Roe; HBD Aki, Buddy, Jim, Lee Roy, Wally, Hi, Harry & Sumner

• 1867 - LHP Sumner Bowman was born in Millersburg, Pennsylvania. His big league career was brief, with 18 outings from 1890-91, spending part of the ‘90 campaign with the Alleghenys while posting a 2-5/6.62 line in nine appearances (seven starts, six complete games). Bowman was also an outfielder who hit .278 for Pittsburgh. But the Penn grad’s true calling was the law (and no, not as an umpire!). Bowman's baseball career ended following his law school graduation from Dickinson in 1892, and he went on to practice law for seventeen years in New York City. Sumner also served as a government mouthpiece as a Deputy Attorney General for the state of New York for four years and during World War I, he held a position in the Judge Advocate General's Department. 
• 1869 - Harry Pulliam, early Pirate exec, was born in Scottsburg, Kentucky. Originally a newspaper writer covering the Cubs for the Louisville Commercial, he was considered one of the leading authorities on the game. Pulliam met the owner of the Louisville Colonels, Barney Dreyfuss, who hired him away from the Commercial. Barney appointed him to the position of club secretary, then quickly moved him to club president while Pulliam adroitly negotiated an ownership position in the team. He followed Dreyfuss when he purchased the Pittsburgh Pirates, remaining the team president, and convinced Hans Wagner to join the club, later talking him and his teammates from bolting to the American League during the 1900 player raids. Pulliam was unanimously elected president of the National League in 1902. He acted as president, secretary and treasurer of the league from 1902 until 1907, when the stress, workload, and occasional head bumping with owners who thought he favored Pittsburgh in his decisions caught up to him; he committed suicide. Harry was buried in Louisville on August 2nd, and for the first time in history, both NL and AL games were postponed in tribute. 
• 1870 - OF Arthur “Hi” Ladd was born in Willimantic, Connecticut. He spent two games as a big leaguer, going 0-for-1 in 1898 for the Alleghenys with another outing for the Boston Beaneaters. Those games were the highlight of a 20-year pro career, with Ladd spending a decade playing for Bridgeport, 60 miles southwest of his hometown, before retiring at age 41. Hi may have picked the wrong sport - he’s the great-great-grandfather of long-time NHL winger Andrew Ladd. 
• 1895 - OF Wally Hood was born in Whittier, California. Hood spent parts of three seasons in MLB, getting two games and two PAs with the Pirates in 1920. Hood had an interesting career, serving in WW1 before playing ball, then appearing in the baseball film Warming Up, the first sound feature released by Paramount Pictures, with further uncredited roles in Rhubarb, The Stratton Story and Alibi Ike. He also umpired for a decade in the PCL while his son, Wally Hood Jr, suited up with the Yankees in 1949, albeit for just two games. Hood passed on in Hollywood at the age of 70 from emphysema. 

Wally Hood - photo via Find-A-Grave

• 1904 - RHP Lee Roy Mahaffey was born in Belton, South Carolina. He got his start as a Pirate, getting into six games (1-0/5.14) in 1926-27 before being dealt as part of the Larry French swap. After some seasoning, he came back with the Philly Athletics in 1930 and put in seven more MLB seasons. Per SABR, Roy had a passel of nicknames - “Workhorse” because he was willing to take the ball at any time, “Speed” due to the velocity of his heater and hard curve, and most commonly, “Popeye,” as he was a strapping lad who had developed swole pipes as a bricklayer in the offseason. 
• 1944 - C Jim Campanis was born in New York. Jim spent bits of six seasons in the show (he got into just 113 games in that time) making his final appearances with the Pirates in 1973, going 1-for-6 in six games. He was Dodger GM Al Campanis’ son, and dad traded him to KC in 1968; from there, Jim joined the Bucs as part of the 1970 deal that included Bob Johnson and Jackie Hernandez for Freddie Patek, Bruce Dal Canton and Jerry May. Jim’s son, Junior, played in the minors and wrote the book “Born Into Baseball” describing the family ties. 
• 1946 - Talk about your off season mishaps! Bucco LHP Preacher Roe’s 148 strikeouts in 1945 led the NL and he was selected for the All-Star Game. But while coaching high school basketball after the season, Roe suffered a concussion (some say he actually fractured his skull) in a fight with a referee. His pitching fell off a cliff, dropping from 27 wins in 1944-45 to seven in 1946-47, and his ERA almost doubled. He was traded to Brooklyn, where he lasted seven seasons, winning 93 games while earning four All-Star berths. Some credit the bounceback to his full return to health, while others thought it due to his new pitch - the spitter. 
• 1950 - The Chicago White Sox purchased C Phil Masi from the Pirates. Masi only spent half a year with the Bucs after a swap with Boston for Ed Sauer, then he was sold to his hometown White Sox. Pittsburgh may have thought that at 33, his better days were behind him (vet Clyde McCullough started and 25-year-old Joe Garagiola was next in line, ahead of Masi), but he still showed some life as he hit .276 in 206 games during the next two years while the Sox staff’s ERA went from sixth to second in the AL. Phil broke in a pretty good replacement, Sherm Lollar, in 1953 before retiring, staying in Chicago as a printer until his death in 1990. 

Buddy Solomon - 1982 Topps

• 1951 - RHP Eddie “Buddy” Solomon Jr. was born in Perry, Georgia. The 10-year vet worked the end of his career (1980-82) in Pittsburgh, splitting time between the pen and the rotation. He went 17-15-1 with a 3.58 ERA for the Pirates before being dealt to the White Sox in 1982, where he concluded his MLB run. He died two years later at age 34 in a car wreck. His nickname was bestowed on him by his family who called him Buddy Jay. 
• 1954 - The Pirates signed C Walker Cooper as a free agent. Walker, 39, was an eight-time All-Star who had a couple of down years. He got into just 14 games with the Bucs (3-for-15, one start) and was released in May. The Bucs were too quick to the trigger as Walker’s tank had more than fumes left - as a backup, he played through 1957 for the Cubs and Cards, hitting .285 over that span with 108 games behind the dish before hanging up the mask. 
• 1971 - RHP Satchel Paige became the first Negro League star to be nominated to the Hall of Fame. Satch pitched for both the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords, and was formally confirmed June 10th, then inducted on August 9th. He finally broke through the MLB color line in 1948 at the age of 41 and tossed six big-league seasons, with a pair of All-Star berths and a World Series title with the 1948 Cleveland Indians, to pad his Negro League resume. 
• 1976 - The Hall of Fame Special Committee on the Negro Leagues selected OF Oscar Charleston for enshrinement. In 1932, Charleston became player-manager of the Pittsburgh Crawfords with a roster that included Hall of Famers Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, and Judy Johnson. The team went 99-36, and Charleston himself batted .363 in what was one of the best Negro League teams ever assembled. He managed the Crawfords through 1937 and was also a player with the Homestead Grays. Oscar was inducted into the Hall on August 9th. 
• 1979 - 2B Akinori Iwamura was born in Uwajima, Japan. He didn’t leave much of a legacy, hitting .182 in 54 games during part of 2010 before being released. Iwamura finished the year with Oakland, played in Japan afterward for four more seasons and is now managing there. But Aki did trigger one move that helped the Pirates for years: his sub-par performance (conditioning and a bad wheel were major factors) opened the door for catcher turned third baseman turned second baseman Neil Walker. Beginning with that season, Walker held down the position for six years, hitting .272 and earning a 2014 Silver Slugger award before being dealt to the Mets in the 2015 off season. 

Aki - 2010 Topps Heritage

• 1982 - GM Pete Peterson made it clear that the chasm between the Pirates and Dave Parker was insurmountable and announced that the Pirates were actively looking to trade the right fielder (Pete was careful to emphasize that “we won’t give Parker away”) after a disgruntled employee TV interview. As much as the both sides were willing to divorce, The Cobra remained a Bucco until his contract ran out at the end of the 1983 campaign. He only played 73 games with wrist and thumb injuries in ‘82, making him unmovable, then started off slowly in ‘83 before going on a second half tear that carried him into free agency and a two-year/$2M deal with his hometown Cincinnati Reds. 
• 1990 - LHP Bob Kipper won his arbitration hearing, taking home $535K after posting a 3-4-4/2.93 line in 1989 to best the Buc offer of $380K. Then Mike Lavalliere and the Bucs settled on a contract a day before they were slated to have their arb hearing. Spanky wanted $720K, and the Pirates offered $550K: Lavalliere had a good year hitting (.316 BA) but only played in 68 games due to injury. That led to him to concede to the Pirates bid; he signed for $575K. 
• 1991 - Jim Leyland was presented with the Dapper Dan Sportsmen of the Year award. Leyland led the 1990 Pirates to a 95-67 record and its first NL Eastern Division title in 11 years. He was named the NL Manager of the Year by both the Baseball Writers and The Sporting News. Jimmy hung around for 11 years with the Bucs (1986-96), winning 851 games and three division titles before moving on to Florida, Colorado, Detroit and Team USA. 
• 2000 - Pittsburgh signed RHP Josias Manzanillo, 32, as a minor league free agent. He gave the Pirates a pair of credible seasons with a 5-4-2/3.38 line before elbow surgery in 2002. Josias was released in August, moving on to Cincy and then Florida, but was never again effective, tossing his last MLB frame in 2004. 
• 2011 - RHP Ross Ohlendorf was an arbitration winner after being awarded a salary of $2.025M by a three-judge panel. He went 1-11/4.07 in 2010 while earning a $439K paycheck. Ohlie had rejected the Pirates $1.4M off-season offer to trigger the hearing, pitching his league-average ERA and stat line for the past two seasons (3.98 ERA/103 ERA+ in 50 starts, with 11 wins in ‘09) to the salary board to balance out his 2010 win-loss record.

 

2/8: Frankie, Bo, & Walkie Sign, Long Game Dealin', Josh, Buck, Danny & Joe Dapper, Pirates Charities Founded; RIP Ray B & Ray K, HBD Tree, Felix, Bob, Monty, Cookie & Whitey

• 1886 - SS Roy “Slippery/Whitey” Ellam was born in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Roy first got a shot in the show in 1909 with the Reds as a 23-year-old; he had to wait until 1918 to get a second look with the Pirates. He got an audition after the Pirates had swung a deal with Indianapolis of the American Association for him, getting 105 PAs, but he had more walks (17) than hits (10) and batted just .130. After the season, Ellam returned to his long-time base of operations, the Southern Association, and played out his 19-year pro career as an infielder and player-manager, retiring in 1930 to become a hometown contractor. 
• 1918 - LHP Arthur “Cookie” Cuccurullo was born in Asbury Park, New Jersey. He was called up in 1943 after posting a 20-win season for the Eastern League Albany Senators. Cookie spent his three-year MLB career as a Pirate with a line of 3-5-5/4.55 in 62 games, nine of which were starts. Cuccurullo was one of many ballplayers who filled in during the war years and returned to the minors afterward when players returned from the service; 1945 was his final MLB campaign. 
• 1922 - 2B Romanus “Monty” Basgall was born in Pfeifer, Kansas. Monty started with Dodgers, flew off to the Army Air Corps and was signed by the Bucs upon his return from the service. He was a yo-yo player for the Bucs from 1948-51, hitting just .215 as he went back and forth from the minors to the show. He was in the Pirate system until 1958, ending his pro career as a player/manager at Waco, Beaumont and Lincoln. He went on to become a scout and coach for the Dodgers. His nickname was thanks to his middle name of Montgomery. 
• 1934 - The Pirates were looking for infield help, per the Pittsburgh Press’ beat guy Volney Walsh, and Brooklyn had a surplus of what they wanted, but the Dodgers' insistence on LHP Larry French as the return squelched the deal. And it was no wonder that da Bums were focused on Larry; the lefty posted a 51-42-6/3.00 slash from 1931-33 and was in the early stages of an 11-year double-digit wins string. But he wasn’t untouchable; after winning 12 games with a 3.58 ERA in ‘34, the Bucs shipped the southpaw, along with Freddie Lindstrom, to the Chicago Cubs for Guy Bush, Babe Herman and Jim Weaver. Bush and Weaver together won 48 games in three years (Guy lasted for two campaigns and Jim three) as Pirates; French earned 51 victories during the same span for the Cubs and won 95 times in his seven year stay in the Windy City. 
• 1943 - 1B/OF Bob Oliver was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Bucs signed him out of American River College in 1963 and he got a brief (0-for-2 in three games) September call-up in ‘65. Pittsburgh shipped him to the Twins after the 1967 campaign for Ronnie Kline to launch Bob on a seven-year run in the Junior Circuit beginning in 1969. Oliver worked as a baseball instructor at his academy and other schools before passing away in 2020. His son Darren followed his footsteps to the show, pitching for 20 MLB seasons and now is a Texas Ranger exec. 

Bob Oliver - 1966 Topps

• 1959 - Manager Danny Murtaugh and GM Joe Brown were honored at the annual Dapper Dan dinner. Murtaugh was the top awardee, recognized for publicizing Pittsburgh sports (he beat out the Steelers’ QB Bobby Layne) and Brown was honored for his contributions to Pittsburgh sports while players Bob Friend, Bill Mazeroski (who missed due to his dad’s death), Roy Face and Frank Thomas were also given awards for outstanding performances in 1958. In a sidebar to the main event, old Bucco hurler Wilbur Cooper was inducted into the Pittsburgh Sports Hall of Fame, with former teammate Pie Traynor being his presenter. 
• 1965 - RHP Ray “The Frenchman” Kremer passed away at the age of 71 in Pinole, California, from heart problems. Ray spent his entire 10-year career as a Pirate, starting out as a 31-year-old rookie in 1924. A bout of rheumatism during a tryout with the Giants in 1916 seems to have erased him from the MLB radar. He went on to toss 2,100+ innings and post 100+ wins in the Pacific Coast League in the late 1910s and early 1920s, and the Bucs wisely gave him a second shot after a 357 IP, 25-16/3.08 Oakland campaign by purchasing his contract from the Oaks. He made up quickly for lost time as he won double-digit games while working 200+ innings for eight straight seasons, ending his big league days in 1933 at age 40 with a line of 143-85-9/3.76. Kremer twice won 20 games and led the National League in ERA in both 1926 and 1927. After two years with the Oakland Oaks, he retired and returned to his hometown in California to become a mailman. 
• 1965 - Another pitching legend passed away OTD, Hall of Famer RHP Ray Brown, who tossed for 13 years for the Homestead Grays. Noted for his variety of off speed offerings, he helped the Negro National League Grays to eight division/two World Championships in nine years, played in three All Star games and slashed 4-2/1.32 in his seven World Championship outings. Brown also helped himself with a .273 regular season BA for the Grays (he played some outfield when he wasn’t on the hill) and .281 average during the championship rounds. Ray traveled baseball’s circuit, also tossing in the Mexican, Puerto Rican, Canadian and Cuban leagues. 
• 1972 - C Josh Gibson and 1B Walter “Buck” Leonard were selected to become members of the Hall of Fame by the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues. Gibson, the “Black Babe Ruth,” played for the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords. His statue is at Nationals Park, where the Grays often played, and Ammon Field in the Hill District was renamed to honor him. The Grays’ Leonard batted behind him and became known as the “Black Lou Gehrig.” Dubbed by the media as the “Thunder Twins,” they were inducted into the Hall on August 7th. 
• 1985 - OF Felix Pie was born in La Romana, Dominican Republic. After starting out with the Chicago Cubs, Pie had back-to-back solid campaigns for the Baltimore Orioles in 2009-10 but fell victim to a ruptured back. The Bucs signed him as a depth player in 2013. He was called up in late August and fizzled, batting .138, then took his game to Korea the following season. From 2014 on, Felix played in a variety of Asian, Latin and indie leagues before retiring in 2023. 

Felix Pie - 2013 photo Jason Watson/Getty

• 1988 - RHP Bob Walk avoided arb and signed a one-year/$450K deal. Walkie had put together a line of 8-2/3.31 in 1987 and settled between his asked-for $497,500 and the Buc offer of $375,000. It was a good deal as Walkie put together his only All Star campaign in ‘88, slashing 12-10/2.71 in 212-2/3 IP. 
• 1990 - Bobby Bonilla, in his second year of arbitration, became the first Pirate to take his case to an arb hearing since 1983. Bonilla took it on the chin and had to settle for $1.25M after seeking $1.7M; he pulled down $730 K during the season. The arbitrator found his four-year stat line to be middling in a comparison with 14 other players who had similar service/playing time. But Bo would end up OK financially; he’d get $2.4M in 1991 and then spent the next eight years knocking down between $5.1-$6.3M per campaign plus a juicy annuity. 
• 1998 - IF Jared Triolo was born in Nashua, New Hampshire. Jared was a second-round pick in the 2019 draft out of the University of Houston. A good glove man who’s versatile - he plays SS, 3B, 2B and OF - Jared hit well in the upper levels (.282 Altoona ‘22; .293 Indy ‘23) and was called up to the show in June, 2023, to replace injured 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes. He got himself dealt into the big-league mix by playing three infield positions (1B, 2B, 3B) and batting .298. Jared saw a lot of action at second base (+6 DRS) and the hot corner (+2 DRS) in ‘24, winning a Golden Glove as a utility player though his .216 BA/71 OPS+ needs work. Tree started 63 games on the left side of the infield in 2025, but his .227 batting average still left his future role undecided. 
• 2007 - Pirates Charities completed its first project when the East Liberty Boys & Girls Club opened the Pirates Community Baseball Center, a redo of some unused space that was converted to a baseball/softball training facility. The project cost $300K, with PC putting up $165,000 and the Roberto Clemente Foundation $65,000. The Pirates had donated to various charities under prior ownership, but Bob Nutting was the first to create a formal philanthropic framework. 
• 2013 - LHP Francisco Liriano was signed as a free agent. The Cisco Kid had agreed to a two-year contract worth $12.75M on December 12th, 2012, but broke his arm before the physical, voiding the deal. A new two-year agreement was reached with lots of incentives based on starts that would allow him to reach the original contract figures. Frankie came back May 11th, finishing 16-8 with a 3.02 ERA and was the NL Comeback Player of the Year. He followed that with a 7-10 slate in 2014 with a 3.38 ERA, netting a three-year contract during the off season. Frankie was shipped to Toronto at the 2016 deadline for Drew Hutchison, who was DFA’ed at the end of the 2017 campaign. Hutch spent 2019 in the minors, working for three orgs and was in AAA ball in ’23 while the Cisco Kid tossed for the Bucs in ‘19, his last season. He retired in 2022.