10/25: Rooker Deal; Rickey Goes; HBD Schoolmaster, Nanny, Pete, Danny & JJ

• 1893 - RHP Vic “Hoosier Schoolmaster” Aldridge was born in Crane, Indiana. He only tossed three of his nine MLB seasons for the Bucs (1925-27), but bookended those campaigns with World Series appearances. Vic went 40-30-2/3.99 for the Pirates, starting 86 times, and went 2-1 in his four WS starts, claiming both his wins in 1925 against the Washington Senators’ Stan Coveleski. After his retirement from baseball, he was a big man back home, serving as a state senator in the General Assembly and selected to the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. And yes, he was a schoolmaster before he became a pitcher. 

Vic Aldridge 1925-27 (photo Conlon Collection/Detroit Public Library)

• 1918 - Utilityman Froilan “Nanny” Fernandez was born in Wilmington, California. Nanny played for Boston in 1942, went off to the service and put in a couple of more seasons with the Braves. A quiet bat got him sent back to the farm and eventually swapped into the Pirate system. Fernandez shifted to third base and made it back to the majors with Pittsburgh in 1950, playing 65 games as a backup to Stan Rojek (he played SS, 3B & OF) and batting .258. Fernandez was sent to Indianapolis in 1951 and then played from 1952-55 back on the coast in the PCL with Seattle and Sacramento. 
• 1939 - RHP Pete Mikkelsen was born on Staten Island. He tossed for Pittsburgh from 1966-67, with a line of 10-10-16, 3.46 from the pen in 103 outings. Pete played for five different clubs over a nine-year career that carried through 1972, despite suffering from a chronic back injury he received as a Pirate when a truck rear-ended his car in 1967. He’s also a card collector’s set-breaker. Mikkelsen got into a dispute with Topps, and they didn’t issue a card for him during the last four years of his career. 
• 1955 - Hall-of-Fame executive Branch Rickey stepped down as the Pirates' general manager, replaced by Joe L. Brown. During the Mahatma's five-year tenure, Pittsburgh’s “Rickey-Dinks” had three 100-loss seasons. Rickey was, however, credited with developing a solid farm system for the Pirates and stayed with the organization as an advisor. Brown filled some holes via the trade route that paid off with a strong ‘58 campaign and the world title in 1960. 

Danny Darwin 1996 Fleer Update

• 1955 - RHP Danny Darwin was born in Bonham, Texas. DD tossed for 21 years and one of his nine teams for a bit was Pittsburgh. He signed with the Pirates in 1996 at the age of 40, and they traded him to the Astros for a second tour of duty at mid-season for Rich Loiselle after he put up a solid line of 7-9, 3.02. Darwin was known as the "Bonham Bullet" as a nod to the hometown and was dubbed "Dr. Death" by Houston teammate Nolan Ryan because of his flyin’ fists. He retired after the 1998 season and is coaching as a member of the Reds organization. 
• 1972 - The Pirates traded RHP Gene Garber to the Royals for LHP Jim Rooker. Rooker pitched eight seasons for the Pirates, winning 82 games with a 3.29 ERA before becoming a Buc announcer. Garber tossed out of various bullpens until 1988, winning 96 games and saving 218 more. Over his 19 year career, he saved 20+ games five times, with a high of 30 in 1982 for Atlanta. 
• 1978 - OF Jerry “JJ” Davis was born in Glendora, California. A first round draft pick in 1997 (eighth overall), Davis made very little noise in the show, playing in just 53 games from 2002-04 for the Pirates and batting .163, mostly as a pinch hitter. He had the bad timing to come up right after the Jason Bay trade and then got into manager Lloyd McClendon’s doghouse, both limiting his opportunities to crack the lineup.