3/9 From 1940: LL Classic; RIP Elbie; HBD Ed, Terry, Benito & Huddy

• 1944 - RHP Ed Acosta was born in Boquete, Panama. Acosta went through the Bucs upper levels in 1970 after coming over from Houston and started his MLB career with three late season appearances that weren’t very pretty (four runs in 2-⅔ IP). In August of 1971, he was traded with Johnny Jeter to the San Diego Padres for Bob Miller. He tossed for the Friars through ‘72, spent two years as AAA depth and called it a day. 

Ed Acosta 1971 Topps Pirate Rookie Stars

• 1963 - LHP Terry Mulholland was born in Uniontown and went to Laurel Highland HS. Terry played for the hometime nine just briefly, signing as a free agent and working 22 times in 2001 to a 3.72 ERA before being flipped to the Dodgers at the deadline for Mike Fetters. He was an MLB survivor - despite a 4.41 career ERA, he worked 20 years in the show (he lasted until he was 43) while tossing for 11 teams and became one of the few pitchers to beat every major league club during his run. 
• 1965 - C Benito Santiago was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He closed out his 20-year career in Pittsburgh after the KC Royals traded him to the Pirates for Leo Núñez (actually, Juan Carlos Oviedo, but that’s another story). The Pirates let Santiago go after 23 at-bats to clear playing time for David Ross, who they had bought from the Dodgers. They pivoted quickly on that, too, sending Ross to San Diego for JJ Furmaniak at the deadline to give Ryan Doumit & Humberto Cota a look at the job. After all the musical chairs played out, it marked the starting steps for several careers but the end of the road for Benito. 
• 1987 - RHP Daniel “Huddy” Hudson was born in Lynchburg, Virginia. A solid starter in his earlier years, a pair of TJ surgeries limited him to 12 outings between 2012-14 and a transition to the bullpen. He made 134 appearances (7-5-9, 4.50) in the two following seasons with Arizona, featuring a 96 MPH fastball, and in December, 2016, the Pirates signed him to a two-year/$11M free agent deal with $3M more available in possible bonuses as a bullpen back-ender. After a hot-and-cold campaign (2-7, 4.38), he lost his sheen and became part of the Corey Dickerson deal with Tampa in 2018. 

Elbie Fletcher 1941 Double Play

• 1994 - 1B Elbie Fletcher passed away at age 77 in his hometown of Milton, Massachusetts. Elbie joined the Pirates in June of 1939 in a deal with the Boston Braves to replace long-time 1B Gus Suhr, who was traded a few weeks after Fletcher’s arrival. Fletcher manned the spot from then through the 1947 campaign, with a couple seasons lost to the Navy during WW2. He didn’t have much power but was an on-base machine (.403 OBP/128 OPS+ as a Bucco) and a slick fielder. He split his career between Boston and Pittsburgh, spending six years, including his rookie and final seasons, in Beantown. 
• 2017 - The Commissioner announced that the first MLB Little League Classic would be played between Cardinals and Pirates on August 20th at Williamsport’s BB&T Ballpark (formerly known as Bowman Field), the second-oldest minor league ballpark in the United States, opening in 1926. The regular season game, originally scheduled to be played at PNC Park, took place in conjunction with the Little League World Series.