10/22 From 1970: Cutch AS; Clint MoY; Clines Traded; Scrap Iron on SI; HBD Bix & Alen

• 1974 - The Pirates traded OF Gene Clines to the New York Mets for C Duffy Dyer. Dyer was a Pirate reserve for four years, mostly playing behind Manny Sanguillen. Clines didn’t do much for the Mets, but still had a couple of decent seasons left in him before hanging up the spikes after the 1979 season. Afterward, he coached for the Astros, Cubs and Dodgers organizations, and is currently a special assistant with the Giants.

• 1979 - Phil Garner was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated during SI’s WS coverage. He was a great choice, hitting .500 (12-for-24) in the October Classic, banging out four doubles, scoring four runs and driving home five.
• 1982 - Utility man Brian Bixler was born in Sandusky, Ohio. He was drafted by the Pirates in the second round of the 2004 MLB draft from Eastern Michigan U. Bix looked good in the minors and even made Team USA in 2007. He got 68 yo-yo games between 2008-09 to show his stuff, but hit just .189 for Pittsburgh. The Bucs traded him to Cleveland; then the Tribe sold him back to the Pirates and 11 minor-league games later Pittsburgh sold him to the Nats. BB played a bit for Washington and the ‘Stros, then hung ‘em up after the 2014 season after playing in the Padre system.
• 1992 - Utilityman Alen Hanson was born in La Romana, Dominican Republic. A prize IF prospect (his development allowed the Bucs to let Dilson Herrera go in a trade), his bat and glove never quite matched the hype. In two call-ups with the Pirates in 2016-17, he was seldom used and produced little (92 PAs, .205 BA). Out of options, the Pirates waived him in June of 2017 and he was claimed by the White Sox. Alen hit .231 for them, playing five positions plus DH while swiping nine bases in 11 tries. He joined the Giants in 2018, playing four spots and batting .252 in a career-high 110 games, but it didn’t carry over - he got into just 18 games for Toronto in 2019, hitting .163.
• 2013 - The Sporting News named Clint Hurdle NL Manager of the Year after he led the Pirates to playoffs after breaking a 20-year string of losing seasons with a 90 win campaign. The Bucs won the NL Wild Card Game against the Reds before dropping a five game series against the NL Central champs St Louis in the 2013 NLDS.

Cutch - 2014 Topps Allen & Ginter Pastimes

• 2014 - CF Andrew McCutchen was the only Pirate named to The Sporting News NL All-Star team. 3B Josh Harrison & 2B Neil Walker were runner-ups, while C Russ Martin and LHP Tony Watson were also in the zip code, finishing third at their positions.