3/15: Hit Man, Scrap Iron, Cookie Deals; Bibby, Snell Sign; HBD Nellie, Steve, Whitey, Jimmie, Bill & Red

• 1876 - OF Bill Hallman was born in Philadelphia. He played four MLB seasons, two with the Pirates (1906-07). Bill hit .233 and those years ended his big league days, though he had a long minor league career that spanned from 1894-1914 before he hung up the spikes. Be careful not to confuse him with his uncle Bill Hallman, an infielder who was born in Pittsburgh and played for 14 seasons, mostly with Philadelphia clubs. 
• 1902 - OF Fred “Red” Bennett was born in Atkins, Arkansas. He played in 39 MLB games, 32 of them with the Pirates in 1931, batting .281 for the Buccos. He was part of a lawsuit after the Pirates had offered Wichita Falls, his minor league club, $10,000 for his contract in 1929 only to see it sold to the Cardinals for half the price with Bennett reassigned to the minors. Commissioner Landis voided the deal, his radar set off because St. Louis’ owner, Phil Ball, also owned the Wichita Falls club. The Cards sued Kenesaw Mountain and in April of 1931, lost their case. Red became a Pirate and Landis’ unilateral power granted under “the best interests of the game” clause, cited in the decision, became a powerful weapon in the Commissioner’s Office arsenal. 

Jimmie Crutchfield - 1991 Ron Lewis Negro League Postcard

• 1910 - OF Jimmie Crutchfield was born in Ardmore, Missouri. He played for the Pittsburgh Crawfords from 1931-36 (w/a brief stay with the Homestead Grays in 1932 before returning to the Crawfords), earning three All-Star berths. Per BR Bullpen, James Riley, author and director of the Negro League Museum, wrote that Crutchfield was often compared to Lloyd Waner in skill set for being a small ball expert with speed and defensive skills but not much power. Additionally, they both played center field in Pittsburgh in the same era. He retired in 1945, losing a couple of years to the service during WW2, and closed out his days working for the Post Office. 
• 1919 - IF Bill “Whitey” Wietelmann was born in Zanesville, Ohio. He played for Boston for eight years before closing out his career with the Bucs in 1947, batting .234, just about his MLB norm, and playing all four spots in the dirt. He came over as part of the lopsided Bob Elliott trade. His post-playing days were spent managing San Diego in the PCL and coaching with the Reds & Padres. His nickname was dubbed by his first skipper, Casey Stengel. 
• 1928 - Nellie King was born in Shenandoah, near Pottsville. As a righty, he had a four-year (1954-57) MLB career, all spent in Pittsburgh, going 7-5-6/3.58. He later was Bob Prince’s announcing sidekick from 1967-75 on KDKA and moved on to work at Duquesne University as their long-time Sports Information Director. Nellie returned to the Pirates' broadcast booth as a guest commentator for the final game at TRS on October 1st, 2000. 
• 1934 - The Pirates sent minor league OF Stan Keyes to the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League to complete a PTBNL/cash deal agreed to in September for IF Cookie Lavagetto. The 21-year-old Lavagetto hit .249 in three Pirates campaigns, never being able to crack the starting lineup. He was sent to Brooklyn in 1937, where he started for five straight seasons and earned four All Star berths before losing four years to the Navy during WW2. He came back to play two final years, finishing with a Dodger BA of .275, before embarking on a long coaching/managing career. 

Cookie Lavagetto - photo Leslie Jones/Boston Public Library

• 1977 - IF Phil Garner, P Chris Batton and IF Tommy Helms were traded to the Bucs by Oakland in exchange for OF Tony Armas, P Doug Bair, P Dave Giusti, P Rick Langford, P Doc Medich and 1B Mitchell Page. "Scrap Iron" (a moniker earned through his scrappy, hard-nosed approach to the game) was a mainstay of the 1979 World Series infield. But he came at a high price - Armas, Bair, Langford and Medich had solid post-Pirate careers, with just Giusti at the end of his string. 
• 1982 - RHP Steve Jackson was born in Sumter, South Carolina. The Yankee product via Clemson tossed two MLB seasons, both for the Bucs, in 2009-10 with a 2-4/4.31 slash. In 2011, he tossed in the minors for the Dodgers, Reds and Bucs in his last professional season. 
• 1978 - The Pirates signed free agent RHP Jim Bibby. In five years with the Bucs, the big righty went 50-32 with a 3.53 ERA. Originally inked to be a closer, he instead became a key member of the 1979 World Series rotation and was an All-Star in 1980. He missed all of 1982 with a shoulder injury that in effect ended his career. He put up a 6.69 ERA in 1983 and was let go; he pitched eight more times afterward before hanging up the spikes. 
• 1979 - The Pirates sent minor leaguers George Hill and Martin Rivas along with cash to the Red Sox to get back OF Mike Easler, who had been sold to Boston during the off season. Good thing the FO had a change of heart. Easler ended up a .302 hitter with the Bucs between 1979-83 and was a key bench/platoon player for the 1979 World Series club, also earning an All-Star bid in the shortened 1981 season. The “Hit Man” (so named because of his sweet gap-to-gap swing and .293 lifetime BA) went back to Boston after the ‘83 season for P John Tudor. 

Mike Easler - 1981 Topps

• 2008 - Five days after unilaterally renewing his contract, the Pirates signed RHP Ian Snell to a three-year deal worth $8M with options for 2011-12. The 26-year old, who was arbitration eligible after the 2009 season, had a 24-26 record after two years in the show. He was dismal in 2008 and was sent to Class AAA at his request. Snell was traded to Seattle in 2009 at the deadline for a boatload of prospects, the best being Ronny Cedeno.