8/13 From 1930 Through the 1960’s: Clemente Bangs Three; Game Stories; HBD Vinegar Bend, Mudcat, Jeff & Tom

• 1930 - LHP Wilmer “Vinegar Bend” Mizell was born in Vinegar Bend, Alabama (or thereabouts, anyway). The Pirates sent 2B Julian Javier to St Louis for Mizell in May of 1960, and in four months he won 13 games to help carry the Bucs to the 1960 championship. In parts of three seasons, Mizell’s Bucco line was 21-16/3.94. He was nearing the end of his career and the Pirates shipped him to the NY Mets in 1962, from where he retired at season’s end. He became a politician after baseball and went on to serve in local offices and as a three-term congressman from North Carolina. 

Vinegar Bend - 1961 Manny's Baseball Land

• 1930 - The Pirates won their fourth game in a row, scoring exactly eight runs in each contest, by dropping the Philadelphia Phillies 8-4 at Forbes Field. Paul Waner had three hits and a homer, while pitcher Ray Kremer also went yard. 
• 1935 - RHP Jim “Mudcat” Grant was born in Lacoochee, Florida. Mudcat made 50 appearances for Pittsburgh with a 7-4-7, 3.41 line but never tossed in the playoffs - he was acquired too late in 1971 (September) to be eligible for the roster and was sent to Oakland before the 1972 postseason began. His nickname was bestowed on him in the minors when a teammate dubbed him Mudcat, mistakenly believing that he hailed from Mississippi, the home of a large catfish known as a mudcat. At least that’s his story; another claims that his MLB roomie Lary Doby of the Indians pinned it on him when he claimed that Grant was as “ugly as a Mississippi mudcat.” Ouch. 
• 1950 - Pittsburgh took a twin bill from the Chicago Cubs by 7-4 and 2-0 scores at Forbes Field. The Bucs rode a six-run fifth inning to victory in the opener. Gus Bell had three hits, including two doubles, while Ralph Kiner (#200) and Danny O’Connell homered. Cliff Chambers went the distance for the win. Mel Queen was the story in the nitecap, tossing a complete game five hitter with 11 K. Johnny Hopp went 4-for-4 and was a homer shy of the cycle. 
• 1953 - The Pirates fell behind three times but overcame the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 at Forbes Field when Hal Rice’s eighth inning fly scored Cal Abrams with the game winner. Frank Thomas had a pair of solo homers to back Lefty LaPalme’s pitching. For the Bucs, it was a rare bright spot. The victory was their only win in a dozen game stretch. 
• 1957 - Bob Friend was dealing as he tossed a two-hit shutout against Phillies, winning 6-0 at Connie Mack Stadium. He was hooked up in a 2-0 duel with Warren Hacker through six innings before Bill Mazeroski chased Hacker with a two-run two-bagger in the seventh. Pittsburgh iced it in the eighth on a run-scoring error and Hank Foiles two-out RBI knock. Maz had a big day, with his two-run, second-inning homer with two gone giving Friend some early breathing room. The pitcher said after the game that he had fallen in love with his curve “...but now I’ve learned that the fastball is my best pitch.” 

 Bob Friend: Wag the ol' #1 - 1957 Topps

• 1958 - Though nicked by three-run pinch-hit homers off the bats of Rip Repulski and Bob Bowman‚ the Pirates nosed the Phils 10-9 at Connie Mack Stadium for their seventh straight victory. Roberto Clemente had two homers (his first ever multi-homer game), Maz added one more‚ and Ted Kluszewski doubled and tripled. 
• 1963 - LHP Jeff Ballard was born in Billings, Montana. After five years with the Orioles, he worked for Pittsburgh from 1993-94, getting into 43 games and going 5-2-2, 5.42 to close out his career. Ballard didn’t exactly end up on the street afterward. He had earned a degree in geophysics from Stanford University and plied his trade in Montana, spending his spare time as an organizer for the Billings American Legion baseball program. 
• 1964 - C Tom Prince was born in Kankakee, Illinois. Prince started his career in Pittsburgh (1987-93) as a backup catcher behind Mike LaValliere and Don Slaught. In 177 games for the Pirates, he hit .177. Despite his bat, he played for five teams and parts of 17 seasons in the show before hanging up his spikes in 2003. He was a Buc minor league manager since 2005 and in 2017 was promoted to the show as Clint Hurdle’s bench coach. 
• 1969 - Roberto Clemente hit three homers for the second time in his career to lead the Bucs to a 10-5 win over the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park. He had four hits, four RBI and four runs to back Jim Bunning’s win, saved by Bob Moose. And to keep his run of fours going, he used four different bats during the game. Roberto made a Pirates protest a moot point; manager Larry Shepherd had filed one early in the game after the umps reversed a call to give the Giants a run.