- 1948 - One of the Bucs more colorful characters, RHP Dock Ellis, was born in Los Angeles. He pitched nine seasons (1968-75, 1979) for Pittsburgh, going 96-80/3.16, and tossed the infamous LSD no-hitter against San Diego in 1970. He was part of the early seventies juggernaut that was in four NLCS tilts and won a World Series. Ellis rehabbed after his 1980 retirement and remained sober the rest of his days. Dock then devoted his post-baseball life to counseling drug addicts in treatment centers, prisons and ballparks before he died of cirrhosis in 2008 at the age of 63.
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| Dock at work (Getty Images) |
- 1972 - RHP Salomon Torres was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. After coaching for three years and then spending 2001 in foreign leagues, he tossed for the Bucs between 2002-07 with a line of 26-28-29/3.63. In 2006, his 94 pitching appearances led the MLB and tied the Pirate record held by Kent Tekulve. His final year was 2008 with the Brewers, retiring afterward to spend time with his family. His final MLB line was 44-58-57 with a 4.31 ERA, working for five teams and 12 seasons.
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| Salomon Torres 2007 (Archie Carpenter/UPI) |
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