6/16 Transitions - Birthdays, Signings: Dick Groat, Kevin Young, Arqie & More...

• 1890 - 1B Fritz Mollwitz was born in Koburg, Germany. The sweet fielding first baseman played from 1917-19 for the Pirates, hitting .245. He was near the end in Pittsburgh. The Bucs sold him to the Cards in August 1919, and that was his last MLB stop after a seven year career.
• 1913 - IF Pete Coscarart was born in Escondido, California. He spent the last five years of his career in Pittsburgh (1942-46) after an All-Star stint at Brooklyn. Coscarart backed efforts in 1946 to form a players union and voted to strike for its acceptance, and as a result, he found himself out of the major leagues. He sued MLB baseball in 2001 for royalties associated with the use of his name and image, lost the case and had his $10,000/year pension taken away from him by Bud Selig because of the suit.

Pete Coscarat 1945 Play Ball

• 1922 - RHP Max Surkont was born in Central Falls, Rhode Island. Max had been an effective pitcher for the Braves, but during his Buc years (1954-56) he sailed in rough waters, tossing for a team noted for its futility. He went 16-32/4.92 as a Pirate.
• 1952 - Dick Groat was signed out of Duke University as a bonus baby for $25,000 plus $5,000 annually for the next five years, according to interviews. At the time of his signing, the media speculated that it was more like $75,000, and the Pirates never officially announced a figure. The story told is that the Pirates offered Groat a contract the year before, but the All-America hoopster & baseballer told them that he wanted to play out his last season, and if the team came back with the same offer after that, he'd sign with them.
• 1969 - 1B Kevin Young was born in Alpena, Mississippi. Young played 11 of his 12 seasons for the Pirates (1992-95, 1997-2003), hitting .259 with 138 HR. He was the last Buc on the right side of the long losing slide. At the time of his retirement in 2003, he was the only player remaining who had played on the last winning Pirate team in 1992, during his rookie year.

Kevin Young 1998 Thunder

• 1987 - RHP Arquimedes Euclides Caminero (named after Archimedes and Euclid) was born in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic. The speed demon - he’s hit 100 on the radar gun - had his contract sold to the Pirates by the Miami Marlins in 2015. Arqimedes was effective that campaign, going 5-1, 3.76 with 73 K in 74-2/3 IP, but has run into rougher waters this season.