8/21 Happenings: HBD Chief & Murry, Dock Sounds Off, Joey Bats & Rick Reuschel Deals, JT's Extension

• 1883 - John Owen “Chief” Wilson was born at his family's ranch in Bertram, Texas. Chief, by the way, wasn’t a Native American; his moniker was given by manager Fred Clarke, who thought the clean cut Wilson looked like a "Chief of the Texas Rangers." He set the organized baseball record of 36 triples in 1912. Chief was a Pirate for six years (1908-13), driving in a league-leading 107 runs in 1911 and hitting .274 as a Bucco. He was the starting RF for the 1909 World Championship club.

Chief Wilson 1911 (photo Bain News Service/Library of Congress)

• 1916 - RHP Murry Dickson was born in Tracy, Missouri. He tossed five years (1949-53) for some sad Pirate teams, leading the league in losses in 1952-53. But he also won 34 games in 1951-52 for Buc squads that tasted victory just 106 times, so he was responsible for nearly ⅓ of the Pirate wins during that span. He was an All-Star in 1953, with a Pittsburgh final line of 66-85/3.83.
• 1971 - Dock Ellis was featured on the cover of The Sporting News for the story “Sound Off.” That’s the year Ellis told the media that NL All-Star Team manager Sparky Anderson would "never start two brothers against each other" as Vida Blue was starting for the AL. Anderson surprised Ellis (or played into his hand) by naming him the starter. Dock was the losing pitcher in the game, giving up a titanic shot to Reggie Jackson.
• 1987 - Vet Rick Reuschel was sent to the Giants for two pitchers, Jeff Robinson and Scott Medvin. Reuschel had two strong years on the Bay, winning 36 games and earning an All-Star berth. Robinson lasted three years in Pittsburgh as a fairly solid reliever/spot starter while Medvin put in one season for the Bucs.
• 2008 - Jose Bautista was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for a PTBNL, who ended up being C Robinzon Diaz. Bautista bloomed as a slugger in Toronto and while no one saw it coming at the time, it ended up among the worst deals in Bucco history. A side note: the Pirates were trying to pry C Brian Jeroloman loose for Jose, not Diaz. Jeroloman, a prospect that never reached MLB, did eventually end up a Bucco, tho, when he was sold to the club in 2013 just before the season started. He was traded away in May to the Nationals. The FO had its eye on Jeroloman for spell before that - they claimed him off waivers in 2011, but DFA’ed him three days later.

Jose Bautista 2008 Topps

• 2011 - The Pirates announced a six-year extension of Jose Tabata’s contract. It guaranteed him $15M and included three club option years. JT’s advisers quit, believing the terms were too team friendly; they were wrong. JT logged lots of minor league innings from 2012-15 before being traded to the LA Dodgers at the 2015 deadline; they released him in 2016.