4/18 TRS-PNC Park Era: Pie Honored, Craig's Big Day, Bucs Like Ike, Kris Lays 'Em Down & More

• 1972 - Pie Traynor’s number 20 was retired at TRS posthumously on Opening Day in front of 47,489. The Bucs could have used Pie, losing 6-4 to the Chicago Cubs despite Richie Hebner’s homer and Manny Sanguillen’s double and triple.

Pie Traynor 1926 Exhibits

• 1987 - Mike Schmidt hit his 500th career home run‚ a three-run shot off Don Robinson in the top of the 9th inning, to give the Phillies an 8-6 win at TRS. Schmidt became the 15th MLB player to reach the 500-HR mark. And though the Pittsburgh-Philly rivalry was pretty bitter during that era, the fans give him a warm ovation.
• 2004 - Kris Benson tied a MLB record with 4 sac bunts as the Bucs topped the Mets 8-1. He became the seventh player to accomplish the feat‚ and only the second since 1920. For all of that effort, none of the four runners Benson advanced scored. Craig Wilson did the heavy lifting, going 3-for-5 with a homer, two runs and two RBI.
• 2009 - In the first Saturday afternoon game in Pittsburgh since 2005, Craig Monroe hit two three-run home runs in consecutive innings to give the Pirates their first back-to-back victories of the season by a 10-0 count over the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park. Ian Snell went seven innings and gave up three hits for the win.

Craig Monroe (image via Fox Sports)

• 2011 - Seven Pirates had two hits as the Bucs spread the attack around in drubbing the Reds 9-3 at GABP. Kevin Correia went the distance, scattering four hits. Six different Pirates scored and six contributed RBI in a true team effort at the dish.
• 2014 - The Brewer’s Martin Maldonado drilled a sixth inning bullet to 3B Pedro Alvarez, hitting it so hard that the cover came undone. He beat El Toro’s floating knuckleball to first, and the play eventually led to a two-out run in a 5-3 Pirates loss to Milwaukee at PNC Park. It kept a couple of urban myths alive - the Pirates dismal luck against the Brew Crew held true and it was the kind of freak thing that always seemed to happen when losing pitcher Charlie Morton was on the bump.

Ike Davis 2014 Topps Update

• 2014 - 1B Ike Davis was traded by the New York Mets to the Pirates for a PTBNL (LHP Blake Taylor) and RHP Zack Thornton. He hit .235 and was released at the end of the season, signing a deal with the Oakland Athletics.