8/24: HBD Jewel, Matty, Al & Kevin; Team Meetings; 10 In-A-Row; Pitcher In The 8 Hole; Game Stories

• 1889 - IF Jewel Ens was born in St. Louis. He played for the Pirates from 1922-25, hitting .290 as a seldom used bench player. Jewel came back to manage the club from 1929-31, and put up an overall 176-167 slate, finishing second once. Jewel, btw, isn't a moniker - it was his given first name. 
• 1890 - OF Ralph “Matty” Mattis was born in Roxborough, Pennsylvania. Matty spent seven years in the minors as a pretty good batter with a lifetime .303 BA, but his only major league shot was in 1914 with the Federal League Pittsburgh Rebels where he hit .247 in 36 games. The pasture was a crowded place to elbow into into that season; the Rebels carried, at one time or another, eight OF’ers including player/manager Rebel Oakes.

Al Bool 1930 (photo Conlon Collection/Getty)

• 1897 - C Al Bool was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. He played three years of big league ball with his busiest year being in 1930 with the Pirates. He got into 78 games and hit .259, then moved to Boston in the off-season. He played one more season and retired to become a Nebraska farmer. 
• 1921 - The Pirates, in front by 7-1/2 games with 35 to go, dropped a double dipper to the Giants at the Polo Grounds before 35,000. Art Nehf won the lid lifter, 10-2, to hand Babe Adams his first loss in 10 games while Phil Douglas took the nightcap, 7-0. Manager George Gibson called a team meeting after the losses, per the Pittsburgh Press, and “...club matters were discussed, but they were discussed in a way that hurt. Errors of omission and commission were probed down to the raw flesh…” It didn’t rally the boys; they would end up blowing the title to the Giants by four games, going 14-21 the rest of the season. 
• 1928 - The Pirates romped over the NY Giants 16-5 at Forbes Field. The middle of the Pittsburgh order - Paul Waner, George Grantham and Pie Traynor - pounded out seven hits, including a homer and three triples, drove in 11 runs and scored six more. Every Pirates position player had at least two hits as the Bucs banged out 19 knocks. 

Paul Waner 1928 Exhibits

• 1956 - The Cards defeated the Pirates‚ 6-2 at Busch Stadium in a game notable for its batting order. Manager Bobby Bragan batted the pitcher seventh, Maz eighth and Hank Foiles ninth. Mazeroski went 1-for-3 while Foiles hit a HR. The pitcher, Fred Waters, went 0-for-3. Bragan used the ploy next season, too, though it wouldn’t be repeated in Pittsburgh again until 2008 when John Russell hit Paul Maholm eighth, ahead of Jack Wilson. 
• 1959 - Bob Friend gave up 12 hits‚ but shut out SF‚ 6-0. He struck out eight and stranded a dozen G-Men at Forbes Field, backed offensively by a pair of Rocky Nelson homers. 
• 1978 - The Pirates won their 10th game in a row by dropping the Braves 5-1 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Bert Blyleven not only pitched his way to victory, but his two-out, bases loaded double in the seventh cleared the sacks to break a 0-0 tie. Pittsburgh dropped the next two games, then started a fresh 11 game winning streak. But in the end, the Pirates couldn’t catch up to the Phils, who won the division by 1-½ games over the 88-73 Buccos. The race went to the wire, with Philly clinching the crown with a 10-8 win over Pittsburgh in the campaign’s next-to-last game. 

Kevin Correia 2011 Topps Update

• 1980 - RHP Kevin Correia was born in San Diego. He signed as a FA with the Pirates and slashed 11-7/4.01 before the 2011 break and was named to the All-Star team for the first (and only) time of his career, but faded during the stretch. Correia became a long man/sixth starter in 2012 after Wandy Rodriguez was picked up at the deadline, although KC was on a five-game winning streak. He was the first Pirates' pitcher since Pascual Perez in 1981 to start a game one day after appearing in relief when he volunteered to take the hill rather than have the Pirates call up a minor-league starter. KC signed a two-year deal with the Minnesota Twins following the season after going 24-22/4.49 in his two Pirates campaigns and tossed his last game in 2015 for the Phillies. 
• 1984 - Jose DeLeon went into the seventh against the Reds pitching a no-hitter, but lost it and the game when ex-Buc Dave Parker singled in a run to give Cincy the lead and eventual 2-0 win at TRS behind a three-hitter by Jeff Russell. Parker had the only Red hit; Cincy scored thanks to a walk and two errors. 
• 1987 - Peter Gammon wrote in Sports Illustrated that GM Syd Thrift called a team meeting for his young and underachieving Pirate club (53-71) and asked the team to set goals. Reliever Jim Gott suggested aiming for 25 wins in the final 38 games. “Be realistic,” Thrift replied. It ended up that Gott was indeed a bit unrealistic - the team won 27 down the stretch, starting a seven game winning streak that night with a 5-4 win over the Reds. Gott earned the save. 

Call me a dreamer...Donruss 1987

• 1989 - The Pirates dropped the Houston Astros 3-2 in 14 frames at TRS. Doug Drabek tossed a nine-inning two hitter, but gave up two unearned runs on three Bucco errors. Doug Bair got the win when Jose Lind’s sac fly brought home Gary Redus. 
• 2007 - The Pirates’ Xavier Nady hit a two-out homer to tie the game in the ninth and then the Bucs erupted for five 15th-inning runs to take an 8-3 victory from the Astros at Minute Maid Park. Adam LaRoche’s three run shot in the 15th off Travis Driskill was the big blow. Shane Youman picked up the win after two innings of scoreless relief with four K against Houston. Six Pirates relievers tossed eight shutout frames, giving up just six hits and striking out eight.