- 1963 - SS Shawon Dunston was born in Brooklyn, New York. Dunston was the Numero Uno selection in the June 1982 amateur draft and a 13-year vet when on August 31st, 1997, the Cubs sent him to Pirates, who lost two shortstops to injuries, Kevin Elster and Kevin Polcovich. He hit two long balls in his first game with the Bucs during that “Freak Show” season and did his part, hitting .394 with five homers and 16 RBI’s in 18 games though the club fell 3-½ games short of the flag. After his short stint, Dunston signed on with the Indians. He retired in 2002 and is now part of the Giants organization.
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| Shawon Dunston - 1998 Fleer Tradition |
- 1982 - The Pirates traded SS Vance Law and RHP Ernie Camacho to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for pitchers Ross Baumgarten and Butch Edge. Law, who was at the beginning of his career, played nine more MLB seasons, once as an All-Star, and Camacho pitched for eight more years. Baumgarten and Edge never panned out for the Bucs. Baumgarten got 10 starts, went 0-5/6.55, and was released the following spring to end his MLB stay while Edge, who had pitched for Toronto in 1979 during his only big league campaign, never escaped from the minors.
- 1986 - The Pittsburgh Associates, a coalition of 13 public and private investors, formally purchased the Pirates from the Galbreath family for $21.8M in a deal that had been essentially hammered out in the previous fall. The Associates were led by Mayor Richard S. Caliguiri along with Westinghouse, Alcoa, PPG, USS, PNC, Mellon, CMU and Ryan Homes. Private investors included Chicago real estate developer Harvey Walken, contractor Frank Schneider, businessman Frank Fuhrer and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette publisher William Block. It assured that the club would stay in Pittsburgh while a new long-term buyer could be found to keep the club in the city and out of the clutches of circling vultures like Denver, Portland and New Orleans.
- 1991 - RHP Esteban Loaiza was signed as an undrafted FA by the Bucs as a 19-year-old pitching for the Mexico City Reds. He worked his first four seasons, from 1995-98, with Pittsburgh (27-28-1/4.63) and had a 14-year career in MLB with a pair of All-Star selections and 126 wins. He apparently had problems keeping up with the Joneses after his retirement; he was arrested in San Diego in 2018 for transporting 20 kilos of cocaine and heroin. The Bucs also sent IF Tommy Shields to the O’s for IF Tony Beasley. Shields had a couple of brief MLB visits, while Beasley spent his time in the Pirates minors, eventually managing for the Bucs farm system and topping out with a four-year run as a coach for John Russell. He’s also coached for the Nats and now is with the Rangers.
- 1996 - MLB approved revenue sharing at its meeting in Phoenix by a 26-1-1 verdict after years of sometimes acrimonious debate. As the owner of a small revenue club, Kevin McClatchy welcomed it with open arms, estimating that the policy could boost the Bucs’ financial position by $4M when implemented and could double that amount in the coming years. The interim plan became part of the CBA and was tinkered with a bit in 2002, when it took its current form.
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| Rajai had a long MLB shelf life - 2003 Topps Total |
- 2006 - The Pirates cut four players that loomed large in their plans from camp - LHP Tom Gorzelanny, LHP Sean Burnett, CF Rajai Davis and 1B Brad Eldred. Of the four, none ever became the building blocks they were touted to be, and only Gorzo became a regular, joining the team in August and pitching here until 2009, when he was dealt to the Cubs for Josh Harrison. Davis also played in ‘06, but was shipped to the Giants in 2007 for Matt Morris. Burney and Brad both spent the year in the minors before making later brief stops in Pittsburgh before moving on.
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