7/6 From 1950 Through the 1980’s: B-to-B-to-B; Dock's Dozen; Game Stories; HBD JT, Willie, Omar & Mike

• 1954 - 1B Jason Thompson was born in Hollywood. He played for the Pirates for five years (1981-85) and hit .253 with 93 HR, with a particularly sharp eye that led to a .376 OBP. Thompson was an All-Star in 1982, batting .284/31/101, and spent 11 years in MLB before knee injuries took their final toll. In his early career while with the Tigers, Thompson earned the nickname "Roof Top" due to his knack of hitting balls to the top of Tiger Stadium’s right field roof. JT now operates the Jason Thompson Baseball Academy in Auburn Hills, Michigan. 

Willie Randolph - 1975 SSPC

• 1954 - Willie Randolph was born in Holly Hill, South Carolina. The Pirates selected him in the seventh round of the 1972 draft straight out of high school. He made his major league debut in 1975 at age 21, getting in 30 games and batting .164. He was traded in that off-season w/Ken Brett and Dock Ellis to the Yankees for Doc Medich, not because of his rookie showing but because the Pirates had a 24-year-old 2B ahead of him, Rennie Stennett. All Willie did after that deal was play 17 more years, win two World Series rings with the Yankees, appear in six All-Star games, bang out 2,210 hits (.276 lifetime BA, .373 OBP) and gain a rep as a solid glove and great pivot man. After he hung up the spikes, he managed and coached, then gigged as an ESPN talking head. 
• 1955 - Jerry Lynch, Frank Thomas and Dale Long hit back-to-back-to-back homers in the sixth inning against the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Carl Erskine during a 10-5 loss of a doubleheader lidlifter at Forbes Field. The Bucs didn’t homer in the nitecap, but won 4-1 behind Vern Law. The game was knotted in the eighth when the Pirates scored three times, keyed by Gene Freese’s triple and Law’s two-out double. 
• 1967 - RHP Omar Olivares was born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. Omar closed out his eight-team, 12-year big league run as a Pirate in 2001 with a 6-9-1/6.55 line, dealt for as a starter but ending up in the pen by early June. The 33-year-old had a good run at the beginning of his career and in the late nineties, but he finished his career with back-to-back 6+ ERA campaigns. 
• 1971 - Dock Ellis won his 12th straight game to run his record to 14-3, the most wins by a Pirates pitcher before the All-Star break, when he whipped the Reds 5-2 at TRS. Roberto Clemente had two hits and a walk, scoring twice, Al Oliver added a pair of raps, touching the dish once and chasing home a pair, while Manny Sanguillen added two RBI. Dock went seven innings with Mudcat Grant and Dave Giusti finishing up. 

Dock - 1971 Pirates Picture pack

• 1977 - OF and coach Mike Ryan was born in Indiana, PA. Ryan played parts of five MLB seasons and he made a stop at AAA Indianapolis in 2007. In 2013, Ryan was named the manager of the West Virginia Power in the Sally League and after a couple of seasons there, he was chosen as skipper for the Pirates' High-A club, the Bradenton Marauders. Two seasons later in 2016, Mike was named as the boss man for the AA Altoona Curve, replacing Joey Cora who joined the big team’s coaching staff. 
• 1980 - Eight Cub pitchers held the Pirates scoreless for 14-1/3 innings (and had a 12-⅔ IP string of hitless frames!) at TRS but Pittsburgh took home a 5-4, 20-inning victory. Cliff Johnson's two-out homer in the ninth off Bert Blyleven tied it for Chicago‚ but Omar Moreno's single hours later (it was a 5-1/2 hour affair, the longest contest in TRS history) was the game winner. Jim Bibby (11-1) earned the win with three scoreless innings‚ but lost a probable start in the All Star game because of his unexpected relief outing. The Chicago pen was brilliant, but the Pirates guys were stout, too - four Bucco hurlers (Kent Tekulve, Rick Rhoden, Grant Jackson & Bibby) tossed 10 scoreless frames even though they danced through some raindrops. 
• 1983 - The AL broke out of a two-decade long slumber and pummeled the NL 13-3 at Comiskey Park in the All Star game, keyed by Fred Lynn’s grand slam, the first ever in AS competition. 3B Bill Madlock, the only Bucco AS, went 0-for-1. 
• 1985 - The Pirates blew a three-run lead at TRS, allowing the Padres to tie the game in the ninth inning, but came back in their half to take an 8-7 decision. Steve Kemp homered (he lost another hit when Tony Gwynn threw him out from right for the always embarrassing 9-3 putout) and the Bucs added a triple and five doubles during the contest, but Pittsburgh needed three consecutive two-out singles against Craig Lefferts, with the game-winner from Marvell Wynne, to walk off the victory.