12/8 From 1940 Through The 1980’s: Blyleven, Lombardi & Chambers Deals; Temporary Loss; MiLB Changes

• 1947 - The Pirates traded IF Billy Cox, IF Gene Mauch and P Preacher Roe to the Brooklyn Dodgers for P Hal Gregg, P Vic Lombardi and OF Dixie Walker in a swap that Buccos GM Roy Hamey called the worst deal he ever made. None of the former Dodgers lasted past 1950 in Pittsburgh, while Cox and Roe would become mainstays in Brooklyn. 37-year-old Dixie was the key to the deal (he had made it clear that he and Jackie Robinson could not coexist), and the Pirates got two years and a .306 BA from him before he retired. The rumor mill at the time had Wally Westlake as the Dodger’s main target, but the outfielder remained a Pirate until 1951. He played for six teams during his career, but never did suit up for Brooklyn. 

Vic Lombardi - 1951 Bowman

• 1948 - The Bucs sent IF Frankie Gustine and RHP Cal McLish to the Chicago Cubs for LHP Cliff Chambers and C Clyde McCullough. Gustine was a three-time All Star for Pittsburgh at the end of his career; he would later open an Oakland restaurant on Forbes Avenue a few steps from Forbes Field. McLish would go on to win 92 games in the next 11 years, including 19 for Cleveland in 1959. The Pirates unloaded Chambers the following year, while McCullough spent four years in Pittsburgh, batting .258. 
• 1950 - The Pirates played musical chairs with their PCL partners when the San Francisco Seals moved, along with former Bucco GM Fred Hamey, to the Yankees organization, and the Hollywood Stars joined Pittsburgh. The Stars had a working agreement with the Dodgers but like the Seals based their arrangement on a person - in this case, new Bucco GM Branch Rickey - rather than a franchise. The independent league was a quality supplier of players, with the Seals sending Pittsburgh Gus Suhr, Paul Waner and Dino Restelli while Hollywood would provide the Buccos with Gene Freese, Dale Long, Bill Mazeroski, Dick Stuart, Gus Bell, Bobby Bragan, Bob Purkey and Lee Walls. 
• 1977 - The Pirates were part of a Rube Goldberg four-team deal: The Bucs sent OF Al Oliver and SS Nelson Norman to the Texas Rangers. The Atlanta Braves sent 1B Willie Montanez to the New York Mets. The Texas Rangers sent P Tommy Boggs, P Adrian Devine and OF Eddie Miller to the Atlanta Braves, OF Ken Henderson and OF Tom Grieve to the New York Mets, and P Bert Blyleven to the Pirates. The New York Mets sent P Jon Matlack to the Texas Rangers and 1B/OF John Milner to Pittsburgh. From Pittsburgh’s standpoint, they traded Oliver and Norman for Blyleven and Milner. While the trades were byzantine to pull off, Oliver-to-the-Rangers had been on the front burner of the hot stove rumors, stoked after Texas had inked Richie Zisk and Doc Medich in free agency and began showing public interest in Scoops. 
• 1978 - The Pirates pulled their AAA affiliation from nearby Columbus to the left coast, signing a deal with the Portland Beavers. Pittsburgh would spend the next nine years with a western-based AAA team, leaving Portland for Hawaii and then playing at Vancouver, throwing logistics to the wind. They’ve been with Indy since 2005, which provides a much more strategically (and sensibly) located site. 

Vincente Palacios - 1992 Pinnacle

• 1986 - RHP Vicente Palacios (who they had signed just four days before and were hoping to sneak through) & OF Cecil Espy were lost in the Rule 5 draft to Milwaukee and Texas respectively, though both would rejoin the flock. The Brewers returned Palacios after he failed to make their 25-man roster and he popped on-and-off the Pirates roster through the 1992 campaign, going 12-8-6/4.03 in 76 games, filling every role from starter to closer. Espy was gone a while longer, but the Bucs re-signed him as a free agent after his Rangers’ ride, and he hit .254 between 1991-92 off the bench.