2/18 From 1950: Schmidt, Smiley, AVS, Sid Sign; The King; HBD Bruce

• 1950 - RHP Bruce Kison was born in Pasco, Washington. The righty pitched nine years (1971-79) for the Bucs and his career bookended Pittsburgh World series titles; he was 4-1 in the postseason, including a memorable 6-1/3 shutout innings stint against the Orioles in game #4 of the 1971 Fall Classic. He was part of the rotation for three years, but was used mostly as a spot starter and long guy, putting up a Pirate pitching line of 81-63/3.49. 

Bruce Kison - 1975 Post Gazette Profile

• 1967 - Eddie Feigner, headliner fastpitch softball hurler of the King and his Court, appeared in a charity softball game at Dodger Stadium and struck out six MLB players in a row, including Roberto Clemente, reportedly tossing a 104 MPH underhand heater. 
• 1988 - 1B Sid Bream avoided an arb hearing and agreed with the Bucs on a one-year/$360K deal w/All-Star, Golden Glove and MVP bonuses. Bream had asked for $485K and the Pirates had countered with $300K after a .275/13 HR campaign in 1987. 
• 1989 - All-Star outfielder Andy Van Slyke dropped his demand to be paid if there was an owners' lockout when the CBA expired in 1990 (there was, but it was settled in mid-March) and signed a three-year/$5.5M contract with the Pirates, avoiding a looming arbitration hearing. Van Slyke's contract included a $600K signing bonus and salaries of $1.95M in 1989 and 1991 and $1M in 1990 with $270,000 per season available in incentive bonuses. Before the deal ran out, he signed a three-year extension in 1991 worth $12.65M, making him the Pirates' highest paid player. 
• 1992 - The Pirates and pitcher John Smiley, who had gone 20-8 and earned an All-Star berth during the 1991 campaign, agreed on a $3.44M + incentives deal hours before they were due to face off at an arbitration hearing. The two sides met in the middle; Smiley had asked for $4.1M and Pittsburgh had countered with $2.7M. It was a $2M raise and a ticket out of town: a month later, Smiley was traded to the Twins for Denny Neagle and Midre Cummings. 

John Smiley - 1992 Donruss

• 1998 - RHP Jason Schmidt signed a three-year contract that would carry him to his final arb year after posting a 10-9/4.60 line in 1997. The first year was worth $750K, including his signing bonus, the second for $1.4M and the final season guaranteed $2.4M with some performance sweeteners. Schmidt went 26-30/4.30 over the life of the deal, signed a one-year deal in 2001 and was shipped to San Francisco at the deadline.