10/6: Smiley's 20th; Jumpers; Triplin' Chief; Hit Men; HBD Hanny, Tom, Gene, Radhames, Eddie, Pat & Jeff

• 1866 - OF Eddie Burke was born in Northumberland, Pennsylvania. Eddie played eight years in the show, spending 1890 as an outfielder for the Alleghenys where he hit .210 in 31 games. Burke last played in the majors in 1897 for the Reds and then soldiered on through the 1901 campaign in the minor leagues. He passed away at the age of 41 in 1907 in Utica, NY. 
• 1893 - OF Pat Duncan was born in Coalton, Ohio. He started his seven-year career with the Pirates in 1915, going 1-for-5. By 1920, after seasoning in the bushes and Army, he had matured into a starting outfielder for the Reds, playing for them until 1924. A strong hitter, his main claim to fame was being the first MLB player to hit a homer to cleared the 12’ fence at his home yard, Redland Field (later Crosley Field). After his playing days, Duncan worked for the Ohio Highway Department and was regular at Reds old-timer affairs. 

Harry Smith (photo Detroit Public Library)

• 1901 - UT Wid Conroy and C Harry Smith jumped from the AL to Pittsburgh. Wid, a utility player, played for a season and hit .244 for the Pirates. He promptly hopped back to the junior circuit, joining the Yankees in 1903. Harry was part of the Pittsburgh catcher rotation for three years and hung around for another three years as a seldom used bench piece, hitting .202 as a Bucco. 
• 1908 - C Tom Padden was born in Manchester, New Hampshire. A part-time catcher for Pittsburgh, he appeared in 399 games from 1932-37 and compiled a .272 BA. He might be best known for coin rather than horsehide flinging. On February 26th, 1936, surrounded by a large crowd, he tossed a silver dollar about 475 feet over the Merrimack River and into a snow pile. He pulled the stunt to copy pitcher Walter “Big Train” Johnson, who did it a few days earlier across the Rappahannock to emulate the reported feat of George Washington. Tom retired to Manchester, where he coached local baseball and basketball teams. 
• 1912 - Owen “Chief” Wilson hit his 36th triple of the season, establishing a MLB record. Wilson tried to stretch the triple into an inside-the-park home run, but was thrown out the plate in a 16-6 Pirate win against Cincinnati at Redland Field. He wasn’t a gap guy; as noted by SABR’s bio of Wilson “Spacious Forbes Field may have been the best park ever for triples, and the Pirates led the NL in that category 30 of the 62 seasons they played there. Wilson did hit 24 of his 36 triples at home, but it is likely that many of these triples would have been home runs at other parks.” The Sporting Life pointed out that "Few of the smashes have struck in front of fielders. They have all been over the heads or between the fields, all juicy jams." 

Chief Wilson 1912 (photo Mears Collection/The Sporting News)

• 1929 - In the season finale, second place Pittsburgh beat league-leading Chicago 8-3 at Wrigley Field. The Bucs collected 12 hits, led by Lloyd Waner’s 3-for-3 day, and Larry French earned the victory. The Pirates, with 88 wins, still finished 10-½ games behind the Cubs, but set the MLB record by banging out double-digit hits in 102 games during the season. 
• 1946 - OF Gene Clines was born in San Pablo, California. A speedy center fielder with a good glove, he was a platoon outfielder for the Bucs from 1970-74, putting up a .287 BA. He played for the 1971 World Series champs and also the division winning teams of 1972 and 1974. Clines had a long career coaching and is a front office exec in the Dodger organization. 
• 1960 - RHP Jeff Zaske was born in Seattle. Jeff was a 27th round pick of the Pirates in the 1978 draft out of high school, and made just three big league appearances, all for the Bucs in 1984, pitching five shutout innings. He was noted for a 1980 incident when as a 19-year-old in camp, bored teammates egged him on to pitch Bill “Mad Dog” Madlock tight. He did, nicking him in the arm and earning a punch in the puss from Madlock (who later apologized). Zaske spent most of his time as a AAA pitcher until leaving the game after the 1988 campaign. 
• 1981 - RHP Joel Hanrahan was born in Des Moines, Iowa. A second round pick of the Dodgers, he was the Nat’s closer and hit a rocky patch, so in a mid-season change of scenery deal, he was traded to Pittsburgh in 2009. Pitching coach Joe Kerrigan pushed the right buttons and Hanny become the Pirates closer in 2011, earning two All-Star nods while collecting 76 saves from 2011-12 (his Pittsburgh line was 10-8-82, 2.59, w/265 K in 229-⅓ IP). After the 2012 season, he was shipped to Boston (the FO was dumping his salary as he was in his arbitration years) for Mark Melancon. That worked out; Jason Grilli held the fort until The Shark was ready to claim the closer role. A string of injuries derailed Hanny after that and Joel returned to the Bucco flock in 2017 as a pitching coach for West Virginia. 

Hanny 2009 Topps Heritage

• 1983 - RHP Radhames Liz was born in El Seibo, Dominican Republic. Liz tossed three years for the O’s then worked out of Korea for three more years. The Bucs signed him as a FA for $1M in the 2014 off season. He went 1-4, 4.21 for the Pirates in 2015, striking out 27 batters in 23-1/3 IP, but walking 12 and bopping three in the same span. He spent 2016 in Japan, 2017 pitching in the Dominican Winter League and then signed with the Brewers in ‘18 but was released in May. 
• 1991 - In the last game of the year, John Smiley tossed a five-hit shutout with help from the pen to beat the Expos 7-0 at TRS. It was Smiley’s 20th win of the year for the pennant winning Pirates. He was backed by three RBI from Jose Lind and another pair from Barry Bonds, who also scored twice.