- 1980 - RHP Joe Blanton was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The Pirates bought the veteran reliever from Kansas City at the 2015 deadline and he went 5-0, 1.57, in his time with the Bucs, turning that strong 21-game stretch run into a $4M free agent contract with the Dodgers.
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| Joe Blanton 2015 (photo Getty Images) |
- 1981 - SS Tim Foli was traded to the California Angels for Brian Harper. Foli was on the downside of his career while Harper spent three years in Pittsburgh as a utilityman, hitting .243. Crazy Horse (he was a fiery 100%'er) Foli returned in 1985 in a trade with the Yankees, but hit just .189 and was released in June.
- 1990 - Sid Bream, who overcame three knee operations to help the Pirates capture the NL East championship, was named the winner of the 26th annual Hutch Award. The award goes to a player who overcomes adversity to go on to further accomplishments, named in honor of Fred Hutchinson. Bream hit .270 and drove in 67 runs after sitting out most of the 1989 campaign. It was his last bow as a Buc, as Bream had signed with the Atlanta Braves as an off-season FA the week before.
- 1991 - The Pirates signed 3B Steve Buechele, a free agent they had traded for late in the season, to a four year/$11M contract. He played 111 games/.248 BA in Pittsburgh before being sent to the Cubs in a 1992 deadline deal for LHP Danny Jackson, who in turn was lost to the Marlins in the following off season during the expansion draft.
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| Bo 2003 Topps Total |
- 2002 - Pittsburgh brought back RHP Brian Boehringer, 33, inking the reliever to a two-year with an option and $3.8M guaranteed. Boehringer was coming off a 4-4-1, 3.39 campaign and appearing in 70 games, but he didn’t have to worry about that option being exercised. BB went 6-5, 5.42 in 2003-04 and was bought out, ending his MLB career.
- 2004 - The Bucs swapped out LHP Arthur Rhodes to the Indians for OF Matt Lawton less than a month after they had acquired him. Cleveland sent the Pirates an undisclosed amount to help offset Lawton’s $7.2M salary; the Bucs returned the favor in 2006 when they promised to chip in on Rhode’s guaranteed $4.8M payday. Lawton hit .284 with 10 HR and 44 RBIs before being flipped for Jody Gerut at the 2005 trading deadline.
- 2006 - Pittsburgh signed hometown utility guy Don Kelley, born in Butler and a Mt. Lebanon HS grad, to a minor league deal. But sometimes you just can’t go home again. He got into just 25 games with the Bucs during the 2007 campaign, and hit .148 during his only local stint.
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| Don Kelley 2007 Fleer Ultra |
- 2013 - RHP Charlie Morton signed a contract extension for three years plus an option. He received $4M for 2014 (his last arb year), $8M in 2015 & 2016 plus a club option for 2017 of $9.5M and a $1M buyout, with $500K in possible bonuses. Morton went 15-21/4.21 the next two seasons, was traded to Philly, got hurt and inked a deal with the Astros.
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