1/16 From 1971: JHK, Jose & Ollie Signed; Lamb Yo Yo; Interleague Stuff

• 1974 - In a bit of a shell game, the Pirates sold RHP John Lamb to the White Sox, only to buy him back two months later. Lamb had three years with Pittsburgh (1970-71, 1973), going 0-2-5/4.07 in 47 appearances. They would be his last in MLB; the Bucs stashed him away at AAA Charleston as insurance and 1974 ended up his last pro season. 

John Lamb - photo Pirates promo

• 1996 - Interleague play was approved by MLB for the next season and was later given an imprimatur from the MLBPA. It was meant to showcase rivalry games; three decades in, the Pirates are still looking for their natural rival; Detroit is their MLB-designated blood foe. 
• 2003 - To add some skin to the All-Star game, the owners voted unanimously to give the winner home field advantage for the World Series, later approved by the MLBPA. It was eventually scrapped; 2016 was the last Mid-Summer Classic to determine the World Series home field. Good thing, too, for the NL - the Junior Circuit had won 11 of the 14 games played under that format. 
• 2006 - LHP Ollie Perez signed a $1.9M contract in his first arbitration year after coming off a 7-5/5.85 campaign. The Bucs had high hopes for a bounce back from the southpaw who had gone 12-10/2.98 with 239K in 2004, but the 24-year-old posted a 2-10/6.55 line during the season and the Pirates sent him to the Mets at the 2006 deadline as part of the Xavier Nady package. 
• 2011 - The Pirates signed RHP Jose Veras to a minor league deal worth $1M if he made the big club. He did, going 2-4-1/3.80 with 79K in 71 IP. Jose was one-and-done with the Bucs; in the off season, he was flipped to the Brewers for 3B Casey McGehee. Veras had three seasons left in the tank, slashing 9-10-23/3.64 and averaging almost 10 whiffs per game. McGehee hit .230 with eight homers for the Bucs while playing on a gimpy knee and was sent to the Yankees at the deadline for RHP Chad Qualls.  

Jung Ho Kang - photo Pirates promo

• 2015 - The Pirates officially signed Korean SS Jung-Ho Kang to a four-year, $11M contract ($2.5M, $2.5M, $2.75M & $3M with a $250K/$5.5M option for 2019). He could earn up to $750K/year in at-bat bonuses, with a guaranteed annual stipend for family travel and an interpreter. Pittsburgh also paid his club a posting fee of $5,002,015 for negotiating rights, making the deal the most expensive the Pirates ever paid out for an international signee. Kang, 27, hit .356 with 40 home runs and 117 RBIs in 501 PAs for the Nexen Heroes of the Korean Baseball Organization in 2014. His slash was .287/.355/.461 in his first MLB campaign, cut short by a late-season leg injury. He was strong again in 2016 but suffered through another injury-shortened year. That was followed by a missed campaign in 2017 due to legal issues in Korea that cost him his US work permit after to a DUI conviction. JHK finally got back in good graces in 2018, but missed considerable time with a wrist injury. Kang was non-tendered, then re-signed by Pittsburgh for the 2019 wars before being released after the campaign.