1/19: Stew, Kip & Craig Sign; LaRoche Trade; RIP Stan the Man; HBD Chris, Scott & Ed

• 1872 - SS Ed Spurney was born in Cleveland. The 19-year-old was one of several players given a shot at shortstop in 1891, going 2-for-7 in three games, but the team picked up Frank Shugart to play the spot in mid-year and he held the position into the 1893 season. Spurney’s problem wasn’t his youth but his arm, which he had injured earlier in the year and then aggravated during his Bucco audition. Ed’s story ended well, though - he enrolled in Michigan’s law school in the fall and became an attorney. Fun fact: When he was in the minors in 1890, he used to sleepwalk down hotel hallways so often that teammates would surround his bed with bats to wake him up when he began one of his sandland sojourns. 

Scott Little 1989 Topps

• 1963 - OF Scott Little was born in East St. Louis, Illinois. Scott came to Bucs in 1987 from the Mets as part of the Bill Almon-Al Pedrique deal. He spent most of the time in the minors, going 1-for-4 in three games for the Bucs in 1989. In 1991, after three injury-nagged farm campaigns, the Bucs transitioned the 28-year-old into coaching and he’s been a minor league skipper/coach for the Pirates, Dodgers, Nats, Rangers and Rockies since. 
• 1973 - Utilityman Chris Stynes was born in Queens. He joined the Bucs in 2004 as a $750K free agent, but hit just .219 and was released in August, ending his MLB days. Stynes had a pretty good run, tho, playing 10 years with a career .275 BA while filling in at every position but pitcher, catcher and first base. 
• 2004 - P Kip Wells and 1B/OF Craig Wilson avoided arb by signing contracts with big pay raises - Wilson jumped from $327K in 2003 to $1.15M in 2004, while Wells leapfrogged his previous $375K salary and inked a $2.575M deal. Both remained Pirates until 2006 when they were dealt at the deadline when Wells went to Texas for Jesse Chavez and Wilson to the Yankees for Shawn Chacon. 

Going, Going, Gonzo...2007 Fleer

• 2007 - The Bucs traded LHP Mike Gonzalez and SS Brent Lillibridge to the Atlanta Braves for 1B Adam LaRoche and minor league 1B/OF Jamie Romak. Gonzo ended up injury-bitten, Lillibridge became a utility player for six seasons, Romak had a couple of cups of coffee in the show and LaRoche held a starting job at first for several clubs after putting up a slash of .265/58/213 in three Bucco seasons. He retired in 2016 after a White Sox edict limited his teenage son’s access to the clubhouse, walking away from $13M due him for the campaign. 
• 2013 - Hall of Famer Stan the Man Musial of the Cards, who was born in Donora and is on the short list of all-time local stars, died at the age of 92. His 24 All-Star Game selections are more than anyone except Hank Aaron. When he retired after the 1963 season, Musial had an NL record 3,630 hits – 1,815 at home and 1,815 on the road – and a .331 batting average. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1969 on his first appearance on the ballot. Ben Cosgrove of Sports Illustrated noted that his nickname was dubbed by not St. Louis, but Brooklyn, fans. “The story goes that at Ebbets Field on June 23, 1946, Dodgers fans took to chanting "Here comes the man" when Musial, who routinely destroyed Dodger pitching, stepped to the plate. Longtime St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer Bob Broeg heard the chant, stuck it (Stan the Man) into his next column, and the most fitting nickname in baseball history was born.” 
• 2016 - C Chris Stewart’s two-year/$3M contract extension became official. Stew’s deal was for $1.35M in 2016 and $1.4M in 2017, with a $1.5M option/$250K buyout for 2018, making a guaranteed $3M deal for the veteran catcher. Stew made it through the first two campaigns and then was bought out in 2018 after an injury-filled 2017 season.