2/14 From 1900: Thompson Signs; McClatchy Sale; Dave Martin; JJ/USA; HBD Frank, Wil & Damaso

• 1901 - C Frank Duncan was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He played for 19 years in the Negro and Latin leagues, mostly with the KC Monarchs. He spent 1932 with both the Homestead Grays (they used seven catchers that year) and Pittsburgh Crawfords (they went through five w/Duncan serving as Josh Gibson’s main backup), batting a combined .242. He retired in 1943 after a stretch of semi-pro ball, lost some time to WW2, then managed for three years, umpired a bit and then settled in to run his KC tavern. 

Will McEnaney1978 (photo Sports Collectibles)

• 1952 - LHP Will McEnaney was born in Springfield, Ohio. After some strong work for the Reds, he failed to impress at Montreal and was sent to the Bucs in 1978 for RHP Tim Jones. McEnaney lasted until June, but gave up 11 runs in 8-⅔ IP for a 10.38 ERA and was sent to AAA Columbus. After compiling a 6.24 ERA there, he was released. He was bedeviled by drinking and drug problems after a divorce, the death of his mother, and a serious car wreck at the end of the year. The crash was his final straw; Will straightened up after that and tossed solidly one more year for St. Louis in ‘79 before bowing out of baseball. 
• 1975 - LHP Damaso Marte was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He pitched for the Bucs in 2001, coming over from the Yankees for Enrique Wilson and then traded to Matt Guerrier to the White Sox for Matt Guerrier after the season. He returned for 2006-08 after spending four years with Chicago in exchange for Rob Mackowiak. Damaso went a combined 7-8-5 with a 3.52 ERA and struck out 200 batters in 186-⅔ IP. In 2008, Marte and Xavier Nady were traded to the Yankees for four prospects: José Tábata, Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens, and Daniel McCutchen. 
• 1980 - Everyone remembers Lanny Frattare taking over for Milo Hamilton, but many forget the Dave Martin era following Milo’s departure, which the team announced on this date. That’s understandable as Martin only lasted a year as Lanny’s broadcast partner despite a resume that included stops with the Expos, A‘s, Indians and Red Sox. Lanny told Dave Finoli for The Pirates Encyclopedia that “Dave came to Pittsburgh with a number of misconceptions about the team and market and struggled...” Amen; it was Martin’s last MLB booth gig. 
• 1983 - Coming off a .284/31/101 campaign, the Pirates signed 1B Jason Thompson to a five-year/$5.5M deal with a $400K signing bonus, an option and several incentives from weight to MVP. The deal deferred $200K annually, a contract ploy used by the Bucs in the 80’s that eventually led to cash problems in the form of “dead money” for the club. Thompson never had another big year after the deal; he hit .252 with 47 HR from 1983-85, partially due to bad knees and partially due to a power outage against LHP, and was traded to Montreal. 

Jason Thompson 1983 Donruss

• 1996 - Kevin McClatchy and partners (and he needed to hustle to find one more warm body a few days before his offer was finalized after an investor bailed on him at the last minute) purchased the Pirates from the Pittsburgh Associates for $90M with the understanding that a baseball-only stadium be built within five years. The sale saved the franchise from being moved out of Pittsburgh by other potential buyers and greased the wheels for a new ballyard, but proved a mixed competitive blessing under the perpetually cash-strapped McClatchy, who eventually gave way to Bob Nutting. 
• 2018 - Pitt head baseball coach Joe Jordano was named to the staff of the 2018 Collegiate National Team, as announced by USA Baseball. Jordano was in his 21st season as the Pitt skipper and ranked among the top-25 active winnings Division I coaches. It was a big year for JJ - he also coached his 1,500th game and was inducted into the National Italian Hall of Fame. He resigned after the season with a school-high 588 wins and is now the head coach at IMG Academy in Bradenton.