- 1889 - The Alleghenys defeated the Cleveland Spiders 8-4 at Recreation Park despite giving up a two-run infield homer to Jay Faatz, whose grounder to 3B Jim White bounced off his foot and went into the “free seats” - temporary stands - and couldn’t be dug out in time to stop Faatz from circling the bases. Fred Carroll, Ned Hanlon and Doggie Miller each had three knocks to spearhead a 16 hit Buc attack to give Harry Staley the win. Miller homered over the left field wall, and the Pittsburg Press wrote “The crowd went wild as little George trotted over the circuit and lifted his cap at the plate. An enthusiast threw a silver dollar at him, which (Miller) accepted with a smile.”
- 1921 - OF Tom Saffell was born in Etowah, Tennessee. He played for the Bucs from 1949-51, then after three seasons in the minors, returned in 1955. The speedy OF’er hit .239 for the Bucs. He was a minor celeb, though, as he was the pitcher for the 1960 TV show “Home Run Derby.” That show was said to inspire the ASG’s home run derby, and is also part of ESPN’s Classic series.
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| Tom Saffell 1952 Topps |
- 1927 - The Pirates pushed across two runs in the bottom of the eighth to edge the Brooklyn Dodgers 6-5 at Forbes Field to remain tied with the Cubs for the NL lead. They were almost derailed by a former mate, Max Carey, who had three hits, three runs, and three stolen bases. But the Waner brothers came through in the clutch. Lloyd had three hits and scored twice, both times driven home by Paul. Little Poison took over the league lead in hits with 82 while Lee Meadows went the distance for the win.
- 1928 - NY Giant future Hall of Famer Carl “King” Hubbell made his MLB debut against the Pirates at the Polo Grounds. He pitched a scoreless first inning‚ but the Bucs scored five times in the second to knock him out of the game, winning 7-5 behind Burleigh Grimes. Paul Waner had three hits and two RBI to lead a balanced Bucco attack.
- 1946 - RHP John Lamb was born in Sharon, Connecticut. He worked three years for Pittsburgh (1970-71, 1973) and slashed at 0-2 with five saves and a 4.07 ERA out of the bullpen. He was part of the Bucs triple entree of Moose, Veale and Lamb in ‘70-71.
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| John Lamb (via Hudson Valley Sports Report) |
- 1950 - Ray Mueller went 2-for-2 with two walks, a homer, two runs and two RBI, Wally Westlake hit a home run and Bob Dillinger collected three hits as the Bucs beat Boston 8-4 at Braves Field. Mel Queen got the win and Murry Dickson tossed three frames for the save.
- 2008 - OF Xavier Nady and RHP Damaso Marte were traded to the New York Yankees for RHPs Jeff Karstens, Daniel McCutchen & Ross Ohlendorf along with OF Jose Tabata. During their Bucco careers, Karstens tossed for five years (23-35/4.31), McCutchen made 109 appearances in four seasons (8-11/4.77) and Ohlie tossed for four years (13-27, 4.61). Tabata was the key prospect; the Pirates locked him up to a long term deal guaranteed for five years/$14.5M. Although he hit .275 for Pittsburgh over six years, injuries and lack of power were his undoing and he was shipped to the Dodgers.
- 2011 - The day of the Jerry Meals game in Atlanta, heralding the end of the Bucco's improbable pennant run. The ump blew a call at home in the 19th inning, giving the Braves a 4-3 win and starting a downward spiral of epic proportions for Pittsburgh. At 6 hours and 39 minutes, it was the longest game in club history. The Pirates filed a protest (at 2:30 in the morning) but the judgment call was upheld, even though the League Office admitted it was wrong. To add a little salt to the wound, Meals is a local guy from Butler!
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| Jerry Meals says... (image Root Sports) |
- 2012 - Starling Marte homered to left center against Houston’s Dallas Keuchel on the first MLB pitch he saw (Keuchel has since rebounded nicely). Pittsburgh won 5-3 at Minute Maid Park as AJ Burnett took home the victory.
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