- 1950 - After traveling a twisted trail (he was signed out of high school by the Tigers, granted free agency by the league with a handful of other Detroit farmhands due to some contractual hanky-panky, then signed with the Pirates for $20,000 to become their first “bonus baby” to reach Forbes Field) Bill MacDonald made his first major league start. It was a good one as he shut out the Phillies‚ 6-0, twirling a complete game three-hitter against the future NL champs. “Whalin’ Willie” (his bread-and-butter was the fastball) went 8-10/4.29 for the last-place Bucs, making 32 outings (twenty starts) with two shutouts and six complete games to his credit. His major drawback was a wild streak; he averaged over five walks per nine. MacDonald then missed the 1951–52 seasons when he was in the service during the Korean War years, and when he returned in 1953, he had lost it. Bill pitched poorly in four more games (12.27 ERA), was sent to the PCL and retired after the 1954 campaign.
 |
| Bill McDonald 1951 Bowman |
- 1952 - It took 13 frames, but Johnny Merson’s double scored Gus Bell with the game winner to end an eight-game losing streak as the Bucs topped the Cubs 6-5 at Forbes Field. The Pirates scored four times in the opening inning, but Bob Friend couldn’t hold on. Ted Wilks spun the last 5-⅔ frames without yielding a run to end the drought.
- 1955 - 3B Sid Gordon was sold to the New York Giants for “considerably over the $10,000 waiver price,” thought to be in the $25K range. Despite hitting .306 in 1954, the 36-year-old Gordon was a seldom-used backup third baseman (he lost his job to Gene Freese) and pinch hitter, providing not a lot of value as their highest-paid player at $27,500. The Pittsburgh Press said he was “...understandably happy and excited when called into Branch Rickey’s office to get the glad news...” The NY nine didn’t do much to extend his career; he got into 66 games and hit .243, ending his career.
- 1958 - IF Nelson Norman was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. In six MLB years, Nelson got into 198 games; three were for Pittsburgh in 1982 when he went 0-for-3. But he had some Bucco history. The Pirates originally signed him in 1975 as a 16-year-old. He went to Texas a couple of years later as part of the Bert Blyleven deal. The Rangers acquired Mario Mendoza in 1981, bumping Nelson out of a job, and after the season, the Rangers traded Norman back to the Pirates for Víctor Cruz. He played mostly for Portland (AAA), Lynn (AA) and Hawaii (AAA) through 1984, finishing out his career in the minors for Baltimore and Montreal in ‘87. He’s coached for several organizations since retiring and is now a scout/head of Dominican Operations for the O’s.
 |
| Jerry Lynch 1965 Topps |
- 1963 - The Bucs sent OF Bob Skinner to the Reds for Jerry Lynch, who started his career in Pittsburgh. Lynch spent his last four years as a Pirate and set the MLB pinch hit home run record of 18 (since surpassed by Matt Stairs) in a Bucco uniform. Skinner spent nine seasons with Pittsburgh, compiling a .280 BA, and lasted five more years in the show.
- 1965 - The Pirates came to Milwaukee in the throes of an eight game losing streak and left with a three-game sweep of the Braves at County Stadium, taking a 10-1 victory in the series finale with the match iced by an Andre Rogers grand slam. Roberto Clemente and Bill Mazeroski each had three hits to back Bob Veale’s complete game, four-hit performance. The combination of the Pirates and some unseasonably cool weather didn’t do much to line the owners’ pockets - the set drew just 7,394 fans for the three contests, with the biggest crowd being 2,679 for the Friday night series opener. Of course, the fact that the Braves announced their move to Atlanta just a week or two prior probably didn’t help spin the gates, either. After the relo, Milwaukee went without MLB ball until 1970 when the Brewers (nee Seattle Pilots) arrived.
- 1978 - Reliever Mike Gonzalez was born in Corpus Christi. He was drafted by the Pirates and pitched his first four seasons (2003-06) in Pittsburgh. Gonzo became a rare LH closer in 2006, earning 24 saves before being sent to Atlanta in the off season as part of the Adam LaRoche deal. He last pitched in the majors in 2013 for the Brewers.
 |
| Gonzo 2002 Donruss |
- 1984 - Bucco lefty John Candelaria struck out 12 batters in eight innings of work as the Pirates beat Cincinnati, 7-2, at Three Rivers Stadium. It was Candelaria’s fourth win of the year. The Pirates took the lead with six runs in the fifth inning and never looked back. Catcher Tony Pena went 3-for-4 with a triple.
- 1989 - John Smiley struck out nine batters and tossed a complete game in a 5-2 victory over Zane Smith and the Braves in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Glenn Wilson had two hits, including a two-run homer, to lead the attack. The win was Smiley’s fifth in a row en route to winning 12 games for the Bucs that year. The 24-year-old’s 1989 campaign would see him set personal full-time bests in ERA (2.81) and WHIP (1.086).
- 1998 - Jason Kendall had a big if somewhat painful day at Pro Players Stadium against Florida in Pittsburgh’s 10-4. He went 3-for-3 with three RBI. After his first inning single knocked in a run, he was rewarded with a pair of HBPs; he responded by doubling and singling to plate two more runs and touch the dish once with his following pair of swings. Turner Ward also drove in three runs and Tony Womack scored three times. Jon Lieber got the win and Ricardo Rincon the save.
 |
| Ryan Doumit 2010 Topps Bronze |
- 2010 - Ryan Doumit had a day as the Bucs walked off with a 3-2, 10-inning win over Atlanta in front of 23,045 fans at PNC Park. The Pirates left the bases loaded in the seventh to keep them up 2-1 before former Bucco Eric Hinske homered off Evan Meek to tie the game in the eighth. The game went on quietly when with two outs in the 10th, Dewey jumped on Takashi Saito’s first pitch and knocked it over the RF wall. The blast gave Octavio Dotel the win in a match started by Zach Duke. Doumit’s three hits led the parade; Aki Iwamura and Andrew McCutchen added a pair of knocks apiece.
- 2016 - In one of PNC Park’s scarier moments, witnessed by 34,529 stunned fans, Pirates pitcher Ryan Vogelsong was hit in the face with an 0-2 fastball by the Rockies Jordan Lyles in the second inning and was carted off the field with facial fractures. Ryan was temporarily blinded in one eye after the beaning, but his vision slowly recovered to nearly normal. He had surgery and against the odds returned to the mound on August 4th and pitched well (six innings, one run, three hits) in his return. The Bucs, btw, won the match against Colorado by a 6-3 score and Lyles was introduced to instant karma - he lost the game and then was sent to the minors the next day.
No comments:
Post a Comment