6/28 Happenings: Mad Dog Deal; Ump Save; HBD Mike, Kevin, Orlando, Michael & Frank

• 1865 - IF Frank Scheibeck was born in Detroit. He spent parts of eight seasons in the show and sported the Bucco colors for 23 games in 1894, batting .353. Frank played pro ball through 1906 and after his playing days, he went on to umpire. He later held hometown day jobs as a real estate salesman and as an auto plant assembler. 
• 1880 - P Mike Lynch was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The righty pitched four seasons (1904-07) for the Pirates, picking up 32 wins and working over 400 innings in his first two years. He was still effective in his final two years with the team, but the Bucs had juiced up their staff and he became the odd man out, going to the Giants during the second half of ‘07 and then retiring to go into business. His career Pittsburgh line was 40-26/3.01. 

Orlando McFarlane 1962 Topps Rookie

• 1938 - C Orlando McFarlane was born in Oriente, Cuba. Signed by the Bucs as an infielder in 1958, he was converted to catcher and got a cup of coffee with the Pirates in 1962, playing a bit more in 1964 and hitting .208 in his 45-game Bucco career. He was lost in the Rule 5 draft and played three more years with Detroit and the California Angels, but he battled nagging injuries while his impressive minor league bat never carried over to the show. Orlando played 10 years in the bushes with more stops in the Cuban, Mexican, Dominican and Puerto Rican leagues. 
• 1970 - SS Kevin Polcovich was born in Auburn, New York. He spent his MLB career of two years (1997-98) with the Pirates, hitting .234. The University of Florida player was drafted in the 30th round by the Bucs in 1992, getting his call when Kevin Elster was injured, and would become a key member of the 1997 “Freak Show” that against all odds stayed in the divisional race until late September despite a $9M payroll. After he left the game, Kevin did some scouting and established the Icrush Bat Company, a manufacturer of maple bats. 
• 1979 - The Pirates traded pitchers Ed Whitson‚ Al Holland‚ and Fred Breining to the Giants for P Dave Roberts and infielders Bill Madlock and Lenny Randle. Mad Dog solidified the Bucco infield at third and spent six seasons with Pittsburgh, winning batting titles in 1981 (.341) and 1983 (.323). Roberts was workmanlike for the Bucs in ‘79-80, though at 35 he was near the end of his journey; 1981 was his last season. Randle wasn’t here long enough to find his way to the North Shore before he was sold to the Yankees. Whitson pitched through 1991, winning 126 games and saving eight more while Holland worked out of various bullpens for 11 more seasons. Breining had a shorter career, lasting five years as a multi-role hurler. 

Bill Madlock 1980 Topps

• 1993 - RHP Michael Feliz was born in Azua, Dominican Republic. Houston signed him in 2010 and he debuted in 2015. He averaged better than 13 K/nine innings with the ‘Stros from 2016-17 and was part of the Gerrit Cole package sent to the Pirates. He started as the seventh inning guy and was bumped up a notch when George Kontos was released, but hit on hard times and was removed from that role while he worked his way back. 
• 2017 - Walking on the Roberto Clemente Bridge after lunch on his way to work the Pirates-Rays game at PNC Park, umpire John Tumpane saw a woman scaling the span’s railing; she told him she wanted a better view of the river. Sensing that she was suicidal and ready to plunge into the Allegheny River below, Tumpane grabbed one arm, passer-by Chris Dazen grabbed the other and a Tampa Bay staffer heading to the yard, Mike Weinman, joined in to keep her hogtied until emergency workers came to the rescue. John modestly said "I just happened to be there."