9/6 From 1960 Through the 1970’s: Groat Out; Wood to Bucs; Quail Canned; Game Stories; HBD Pat & Derrek

• 1960 - All-Star SS Dick Groat broke his wrist after being hit by a Lew Burdette pitch. The Pirate captain‚ second in the batting race‚ was sidelined until the final weekend of the season. Dick “Ducky” Schofield‚ his replacement‚ had three hits as the Bucs rallied for a 5-3 win. Ducky, a reserve infielder with a career .227 BA, hit .333 for the Pirates in 1960 and kept them rolling toward the title without skipping a beat. 

Ducky to the rescue - Topps 1960

• 1963 - Bob Veale picked up his first MLB shutout, downing the St. Louis Cards 5-0 at Forbes Field. Veale gave up just six hits and was backed by Bill Virdon and Ducky Schofield with three hits apiece. The big blow that opened up a 2-0 game was Willie Stargell’s two-run, eighth-inning rap. It was only Big Bob’s third start of the year; he had spent until mid-August working out of the bullpen. He also finished his career as a reliever because of arm woes, but in between managed to toss 20 shutouts in seven full seasons as a Bucco starter. 
• 1964 - The Red Sox sold RHP Wilbur Wood to the Pirates. The knuckleballer went 1-3/3.28 with the Bucs out of the bullpen in 1964-65. Pittsburgh sent Wood to the White Sox in the 1966 off season after he spent the year with AAA Columbus for Juan Pizarro. Wood saved 55 games in four years for Chicago, then was converted to starter where he won 106 games from 1971-75 and earned three All-Star berths. 
• 1965 - The Pirates swept Cincinnati, 3-1 and 4-2, at Crosley Field to close within four games of first-place Los Angeles. Seventh-inning doubles decided both games: Gene Alley's in the opener, driving in Bill Mazeroski with the go-ahead run, and Willie Stargell's bases-loaded, bases-clearing two-bagger in the nitecap. Roberto Clemente threw out Red runners in both ends of the double dip. Bob Veale went the distance to win the first game, striking out 12, and Al McBean tossed six innings in relief to take the second match. 
• 1968 - The Pirates won their fourth game in a row and Steve Blass claimed his fifth straight victory with a 2-1 win over the Mets at Forbes Field. Steverino scattered four hits over nine innings - his one mistake being a Jerry Grote homer - with seven whiffs to run his slate to 14-5. Freddie Patek manufactured the Bucs first tally when he led off in the first.The Cricket laid down a two-strike bunt single, stole second, tagged to third and came home on a sac fly. The game winner was a bit more traditional as Roberto Clemente’s solo shot in the fourth gave Blass all the pad he’d need. And if any old timer tells you he saw the game, take it with a grain of salt - there were only 4,085 fans in the yard. 

Pat had more Pirates trading cards than at bats - 1999 Pacific Revolution

• 1968 - IF Pat Meares was born in Salina, Kansas. He played for the Bucs from 1999-2001, hitting .238, was injured from 2002-03, carried on the DL for the last two years of his contract and never played again. It was an awkward situation; a foul off his hand was originally misdiagnosed as a sprain but ended up as severe ligament damage. He underwent surgery but the strength didn’t return. Meares said he would rehab and play through it but wouldn’t submit to the knife again, as the Pirates requested. Charges, grievances and general bad blood marked the relationship; Meares wanted released to play for another team, but the Pirates refused as they would then lose any chance of collecting insurance they held on him (they did eventually settle on the policy for an undisclosed sum). So he ended up DL’ed and on the payroll for his final two seasons with his $15M in dead money a roadblock for the financially struggling Buccos. 
• 1973 - The Pirates fired manager Bill Virdon after a 67-69 start and brought back Danny Murtaugh for his fourth (and last) stint at the helm. The Irishman went 13-13, but won the division twice and was runner-up in the next three years, winning 272 games. 
• 1974 - Dock Ellis allowed one run on three hits while tossing a complete game in a 2-1 win against the Expos at TRS. Each team scored a run in the first inning (Rennie Stennett led off with a triple and was chased home by Richie Hebner’s sac fly) and the Bucs plated the game-winner in the second when Ed Kirkpatrick led off the inning with a home run, followed by a lot of zeros. 
• 1975 - In a game that went back-and-forth between the Pirates and the Expos at Parc Jarry, the Bucs poured it on at the end by scoring seven times in the 11th inning to seal a 12-5 win. The big blow in the opening nine was Willie Stargell’s three-run blast off Steve Rogers. In the 11th, the Pirates strung together three doubles, three singles, two walks and two Expo errors to plate seven times with Al Oliver and Bill Robinson banging out two-run hits. Manny Sanguillen had three hits and Richie Zisk chipped in two knocks and two walks. Pops had two hits and four RBI; Robinson also had a pair of raps and chased home three runners. Ken Brett got the win. 
• 1975 - 1B Derrek Lee was born in Sacramento, California. Lee was at the end of a 15-year career when the Bucs pried him from Baltimore for Aaron Baker in 2011 for the stretch run; the Pirates were just 4-½ games out of first and alive for the wild card at the deadline, then promptly did a faceplant. Derrek started on fire by hitting two homers in his first game, then broke his wrist. He did come back for 28 games in all, hitting .337. He didn’t actually retire at the end of the season, but said he was looking for the “perfect situation.” It never came: Lee spurned both Pittsburgh and the Yankees, then retired. 

Derrek Lee - 2011 Just Fair Custom Card

• 1977 - Dale Berra stepped to the plate with two on and nobody out in the 11th and was supposed to bunt. But the Phils had the wheel play on and rather than hit into it, the Bucs had young Dale swing away. It paid off as his single to left was the walkoff bingo, scoring Al Oliver for a 5-4 Bucco win at TRS. Oliver had two hits, including a homer, with a walk. Goose Gossage tossed two innings for the win, set up by Kent Tekulve and Grant Jackson who put up zeroes in relief of Jerry Reuss. 
• 1978 - The Pirates concluded a remarkable streak by winning their 21st game in 23 outings by a 4-1 score over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. It was their 11th straight victory, primed by Don Robinson’s five-hit, nine-K effort. The red hot finish wasn’t enough, though, as the club finished the season in second, 1-1/2 games behind the Phillies. 
• 1978 - LHP Frank Brooks was born in Brooklyn. The Pirates picked him up from the Phils in 2003 as part of the Mike Williams deal. He worked through AA and AAA and got the call in 2004, going 0-1, 4.76. His line was blown up by two bad outings of the 11 he made; in the other nine appearances he gave up just two runs. But he was waived, got in one more game the following year with Atlanta and finished out his pro career in the indie leagues.