- 1917 - C Clyde McCullough was born in Nashville. Clyde had a 16 year MLB career, catching for Pittsburgh on a semi-regular basis from 1949-52 and batting .258.
- 1918 - RHP Mel Queen Sr. was born in Maxwell in Fayette County, south of California. After starting out with the Yankees, he worked for Pittsburgh from 1947-48, then from 1950-52. Queen’s Bucco record was 19-36 with a 5.33 ERA. His son, Mel Jr., pitched for several seasons in MLB and went on to have a long and storied career as the Toronto Blue Jays’ pitching coach.
- 1985 - C Mike “The Fort” McKenry was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was a back-up catcher for the Bucs from 2011-13, and was a popular player with several clutch hits on his resume. Overall, though, he hit just .226 as a Pirate and returned to his original team, the Colorado Rockies, as a free agent in 2014.
- 1991 - In Pittsburgh’s most famous manager meltdown, Jim Leyland was caught on camera as he blasted Barry Bonds at camp following a media spat. The redacted version of Leyland’s message went something like “I’ve kissed your (bleep!) for three (bleeping!) years here and I’m sick of this. If you guys don’t want to be here then get the (bleep!) out!”
Topps series 1992
In addition to Leyland's run-in with him, I have heard whispers in various places that Andy Van Slyke actually decked Barroid at one point. I emphasize that I do not know that for a fact, but do you have any information that can either confirm or deny the alleged Van Slyke punch? I have always wondered if that actually happened.
ReplyDeleteAsk and ye shall receive: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Answer-Man-Andy-Van-Slyke-talks-slugging-Bonds-?urn=mlb,80289
ReplyDeleteCut and paste it, Will, if it doesn't hyperlink.
ReplyDelete