Sunday, August 17, 2014

8/17: Hank Takes Two, Elbie & Maurice, Maz, Bobby Bo, Charlie Brown, Garrett Jones, Last Hero and More...

Hank Takes Two, Elbie & Maurice, Maz, Bobby Bo, Charlie Brown, Garrett Jones, Last Hero and More...
  • 1892 - IF John “Red” Rawlings was born in Bloomfield, Iowa. He spent the final seasons (1923-26) of his 12-year career as a Bucco, hitting .272 mainly as a bench guy. Rawlings later managed for eight years in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League for the Grand Rapids Chicks (1946-'50), Peoria Redwings (1951) and Rockford Peaches (1953-'54). He led his teams to six playoff appearances, including a Championship with the 1947 Chicks.  
  • 1907 - Pittsburgh defeated the Boston Doves at the South End Grounds by a 5-1 score. The Pittsburg Press wrote that CF Tommy Leach “...broke the hearts of the (Boston) locals with a great spear in the third inning of (Ginger) Beaumont’s rap with the bases full. He gathered the ball in his mitt with his arm extended while going at full speed...it seemed impossible to get the ball, and it cost the Bostons four runs.” It was the Doves 16th straight loss, but they got over their broken heart to take the next three games of the series, scoring 26 runs against the Bucs. 

Tommy Leach 1909 American Tobacco Company series
  • 1915 - Rube Benton pitched the Bucs to a 3-2 win over Chicago, but both the Cubs and Giants protested the win. According to the SABR Biography Project “Cincinnati placed him on waivers in early August. The New York Giants verbally claimed him for the $3,000 waiver price, but shortly thereafter the Pittsburgh Pirates offered $4,000. The Reds accepted the Pirates' offer, prompting the Giants to file a grievance. Benton, meanwhile, reported to the Pirates and tossed a six-hitter to defeat the Cubs. One week later, the NL's Board of Directors awarded Benton to the Giants. It ruled, however, that the Pirates had acted in good faith; rather than forfeiting the August 17 game, the Board ordered that it be stricken from the record books and replayed in September. The day after the decision, Rube pitched his first game for the Giants - against the Pirates, of all teams! - and gave up 12 hits in four innings of a 9-7 loss.” 
  • 1929 - The Bucs scored three times in the first inning when Paul Waner doubled in Dick Bartell and Lloyd Waner, then came home on a two-out knock by Adam Comorosky, providing just enough firepower to hold off Boston at Braves Field 3-2. Larry French got the win and Steve Swetonic the save, but 2B George Grantham actually made the key save. With Braves on first and third with no one out, he snared a liner and flipped it to SS Bartell, who stepped on second for out #2 and tagged the Brave runner steaming in from first as part of a hit-and-run, for a triple play. 
  • 1943 - Pittsburgh won a twin bill from Boston‚ 8-0 and 4-3. Elbie Fletcher and Maurice Van Robays each had five hits on the day and drove in seven runs while banging out a homer, triple and four doubles in tandem. Hank Gornicki was the winner in both games at Braves Field. He tossed a six hit complete game in the opener and shut Boston down again for 1-2/3 frames in the nitecap. But what goes around...on August 22nd the Brooklyn Dodgers beat Gornicki twice in the same day. 

Hank Gornicki 1941 UK Baseball Fan from Out Of the Park
  • 1948: The Pirates beat the Reds 4-3 at Forbes Field when Ralph Kiner took Ewell Blackwell deep with two outs in the ninth inning for the win. Kiner finished the day 3-for-5. Vic Lombardi tossed a complete game for the Bucs while also going 3-for-4 with an RBI at the plate. 1957 - RHP Bill Landrum was born in Columbia, South Carolina. Landrum closed for the Bucs from 1989-91, saving 56 games and putting up a 13-10/2.32 line. 
  •  1960 - Clem Labine‚ picked up the day before after being released by Detroit‚ tossed 3-2/3 innings of hitless ball with six K to save a 5-3 win for Harvey Haddix over the Phils at Forbes Field. Don Hoak’s three RBI paced the Bucco batters. 1971 - Bill Mazeroski recorded his 2‚000th career hit against Wade Blasingame in a 6-5 loss to Houston at TRS. 
  • 1990 - In a battle of division leaders, the Bucs swept the Cincinnati Reds at at Riverfront Stadium by 7-1 and 4-3 tallies. In the opener, Wally Backman doubled twice and drove in two runs; Spanky LaValliere also doubled and had two RBI. Bobby Bonilla cranked a homer and scored three times as Mike York got the win in his MLB debut with help from Bob Patterson. In the nitecap, the Bucs rode three solo shots by Jay Bell, Bobby Bo and Jeff King and a two out single by Bell in the eighth that plated John Cangelosi to victory. John Smiley was credited with the victory and Stan Belinda worked the last two frames for the save. 
  • 2003 - The Pirates drew 24,092 to PNC Park for Charlie Brown bobblehead night, and the fans were treated to a 5-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Tike Redmond, Jack Wilson and Reggie Sanders homered for the Bucs as Josh Fogg claimed the win. 

Chuck Wins One!
  • 2004 - The Bucs dispatched Arizona 7-1 at Bank One Ballpark to win for the eighth time in their last nine decisions. Ty Wiggington and Craig Wilson homered as Jose Castillo banged out a pair of doubles. Ryan Vogelsong tossed seven innings of one run, six hit ball for the win. 
  • 2009 - Garrett Jones homered in Pittsburgh's 9–5 victory over Milwaukee at PNC Park for his 13th home run in the 40 games since his June 30th call up. He’s the first rookie in eight years to hit 13+ home runs in his first 40 games of a season, joining Albert Pujols and Adam Dunn, who did it 2001. Adam LaRoche and Ronny Cedeno also went long as the Bucs won for only the second time in the past 14 games. 
  • 2012 - James McDonald and four relievers held St. Louis to four hits at Busch Stadium to claim a 2-1 victory over the Redbirds. The two Buc runs scored in the fourth and both were unearned - one scored on a wild pitch, the other on a passed ball with a fielding error in between. 
  • 2013 - The film “Baseball’s Last Hero: 21 Clemente Stories” premiered at the Strand Theater in Zelienople. The movie was written by West View native Richard Rossi. It had its initial showing in Hollywood, but Rossi edited the film into its final version for this viewing.

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