6/3 From 1980: Nate to Braves; BB, Farrell, Peterson, JJ, Preister #1's; Mo 4-4; Squeakers & Game Stories

• 1985 - Barry Bonds was drafted by the Pirates in the first round (6th pick overall) of the 1985 draft and signed two days later for a $125,000 bonus. He was the Bucco prize in the Cracker Jack box; the only others to reach the MLB from that year were OF Tommy Gregg and pitchers Brett Gideon & Bill Sampen. And if you’re wondering, BJ Surhoff, Will “The Thrill” Clark, Bobby Witt, Barry Larkin and Kurt Brown were taken ahead of him. Pirate coach Joey Cora was taken #23 overall in that same draft by the Padres. 

Barry Bonds - 1986 Fleer

• 1987 - Bucco second baseman Jim Morrison had a career-high three doubles, drove in two runs and tied his personal best of four hits (4-for-4) in Pittsburgh’s 4-1 win over the Braves in front of just 5,368 fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Bob Kipper started and got the win. 
• 1988 - The Pirates put up runs in the eighth and ninth frames to edge the Montreal Expos 2-1 at TRS. John Smiley tossed a one-hit complete game with eight K, but the lone knock was a two-out triple that RJ Reynolds couldn’t come up with followed by a balk. The Bucs tied it in the eighth on a Jose Lind solo shot. Mike Lavalliere doubled with an out in the ninth; John Cangelosi ran for him and scored after Mike Diaz’s pinch-hit, walk off knock. 
• 1991 - JC catcher Jon Farrell was the Pirates first selection (#24) in the draft; he got as far as AA ball. The only noteworthy selections of the day was seventh-round pick 2B Tony Womack, who spent 13 years in MLB, five as a Buc, for whom he hit .278 while stealing 122 bases. P Matt Ruebel, a third rounder, pitched a couple of years for the Pirates ( 1996-97: 4-5-1/5.54 in 70 games) and 19th rounder P Marc Pisciotta tossed in three MLB campaigns. Some late prep picks made the grade, although not with Pittsburgh. 39th-round pick RHP Dustin Hermanson worked 12 big-league campaigns, 56th-rounder RHP Paul Brower lasted nine seasons and 57th-round selection RHP Paul Wilson hurled for seven years, but none of the trio signed with the Pirates, going to other clubs in the 1994 draft. 
• 1992 - The Bucs took an early 6-2 lead thanks to a four-run third inning and held on to drop the LA Dodgers at TRS by a 6-5 score. Jeff King brought home three runs and Jerry Gleaton claimed his only Pirate victory, saved by Stan Belinda. With the win, the Pirates reclaimed first place in the NL East from the Cardinals and then held the top spot for the rest of the year, spending just eight days without the lead or a share of it. 

Jeff King - 1991 Donruss

• 1993 - Pittsburgh pretty much missed the mark in this draft. They selected HS OF’er Charles Peterson first (#22/$420K bonus), who never made it to the show, followed by second round OF Jermaine Allensworth (#34/$194K bonus); he played 2-1/2 years for the Bucs, hitting .272 as a reserve. RHP Kane Davis was the only other big league contributor beyond a cup of coffee; his top season was 2001 for Colorado, when he made 57 appearances and went 2-4 with a 4.35 ERA. 
• 1997 - The Pirates drafted HS OF/1B JJ Davis as their top pick (#8) and signed him to a $1.675M bonus (Davis was a three sport star and had a football scholarship in hand from USC). He played 67 MLB games, with 106 at-bats and a .179 BA. In a bit of goes around, comes around, Paul Meyers of the Post Gazette wrote that RHP Jason Grilli was on the Pirates “hot list” of potential picks, but he went off the board before they could get him as the #4 overall selection of the Giants. They found bullpen arms later on, selecting LHPs John Grabow in the third round and Mike “Gonzo” Gonzalez in the 30th.
• 2004 - The Pirates lost a 4-2 match to the Cards at PNC Park, but not before manager Lloyd McClendon gave the fans their money’s worth. With two away in the top of the ninth, Mike Gonzalez buzzed ol’ Bucco Tony Womack. Tony LaRussa barked at Gonzo from the bench, and Lloyd took exception, charging out of the dugout after LaRussa. Two umps had to hold Lloyd back after LaRussa stepped out to meet him. Both skippers were suspended for two games and hit with undisclosed fines. Fun fact: After the smoke cleared, the cool and calm Craig Wilson gifted his manager with “The Anger Workbook” and “Getting the Best of Your Anger,” along with a Zen rock garden, per Jerry DiPaolo of the Tribune Review. 
• 2009 - The Bucs traded OF Nate McLouth to Atlanta for OF Gorkys Hernandez, LHP Jeff Locke and RHP Charlie Morton, clearing an everyday spot for Andrew McCutchen who was called up from the minors that day. Hernandez was later flipped (he’s been involved in several moves) for Gaby Sanchez while Morton (who was sent to the Phillies in 2016 & now with the Astros) and Locke (he became a Marlin in 2017 and is now a FA) filled rotation spots. McLouth was a flop for the Braves and during a brief return to Pittsburgh but revived his career with Baltimore. He then signed with Washington, but a shoulder injury cost him the year and 2014 was his last season. 

Nate was bumped by Cutch in 2009 - Topps Toppstown

• 2011 - It took Pittsburgh 12 innings, but they eked out a 2-1 win over the Phillies at PNC Park. Jose Tabata drove in the first run on a sac fly and the second during a two-out lightning strike. With the bases empty in the 12th and two away, Xavier Paul singled, stole second, and came in on JT’s grounder through the right side. Danny Moskos got the win, his first MLB victory. He was one of five Pirate pitchers that scattered six hits to Philadelphia hitters. June 3, 2019 - Pittsburgh drafted a couple of high school kids 1-2, RHP Quinn Priester (#18 - $3.4M) and OF Sammy Siani (#37), and then picked a couple of college bats next on the first night: OF Matt Gorski of Indiana (#57 - $1M) and 3B Jared Triolo of Houston (#82 -$870,700).