8/15 From 1970: Cole Train Signed; Game Stories; HBD Ollie, Jarrod & Ramon

• 1970 - Jose Pagan homered twice while going 4-for-4 with five RBI as the Pirates beat the Padres, 9-3 at TRS. It was the third career two-homer game for Pagan, who homered just 52 times in 4,032 career plate appearances. Bill Mazeroski also went long and Bob Veale struck out 12 batters while tossing a complete game for the win. 

Jose Pagan - 1970 Topps

• 1974 - RHP Ramon Morel was born in Villa Gonzalez in the Dominican Republic. Ramon pitched for the Bucs from 1995-97, going 2-2/4.98. He pitched one last season for the Cubs before spending time in the minors, Japan and the Dominican League until he retired after the 2008 campaign. At last check, he’s now working for a Florida sports training academy. 
• 1981 - LHP Oliver Perez was born in Culiacan, Mexico. Part of the Jason Bay deal, he pitched from 2003-06 for the Bucs, with a breakout 2004 campaign, when he went 12-10 with a 2.98 ERA and 239 K in 196 IP, the third most whiffs in franchise history for a single season. Control and velocity problems ruined his effectiveness, and he reinvented himself later in his career as a LOOGY. He’s now in his 16th season and now working for the Cleveland Indians. 
• 1983 - Jose DeLeon spun a four-hitter, and backed by homers by Bill Madlock and Doug Frobel, defeated the NY Mets 4-2 at TRS. DeLeon took the game into the ninth, but after a one-out double and 139 pitches, the Mets had a lefty-righty combo due up and Chuck Tanner countered with Rod Scurry and Teke Tekulve to shut the door. The Bucs needed the muscle provided by the long balls; they only mustered five hits, but they were enough to stay 1-1/2 games behind the Phils in a tight pennant chase. 
• 1984 - CF Jarrod Dyson was born in McCombs, Mississippi. A rare 50th-round draft pick (#1,475 overall) that made a career in the MLB, he played seven years for the KC Royals, a season for Seattle and two campaigns with the D-Backs. The Bucs signed him to a one-year/$2M contract in 2020 to fill the gap in center left by the Starling Marte trade. The 35-year-old Dyson featured good defense and fleet feet but an indifferent bat in 2019, with his batting line at .230/.313/.320 (66 OPS+) but with 30 swiped bases and 13 Defensive Runs Saved on the plus side of the ledger. 
• 1993 - The Bucs parlayed a couple of small-ball moves perfectly in the 11th inning and were rewarded with a 4-3, walk-off win against the Braves at TRS. Dave Clark led off by falling behind 0-2, then held his ground as he watched four off speed pitches miss the mark. Jimmy Leyland put on a hit-and-run for Don Slaught, who banged a ball through the vacated second base hole, and when the center fielder took a tumble cutting it off, Rich Donnelly waved Clark home with the winner. Donnelly’s windmill failed him in the ninth inning when Jeff King was cut down at the plate; Rich didn’t exactly have greyhounds steaming around the corner. King was the hitting hero with two hits, including a big two-run triple, as Blas Minor picked up his seventh win. 

Gerrit Cole - 2012 Bowman Best Prospects

• 2011 - On the last day to sign draftees, the Pirates and #1 pick Gerrit Cole agreed to a record $8M minor-league deal. Cole turned down an $8.5M major league contract running through 2016. His agent, Scott Boras, said the pitcher projects to earn an additional $1.4 million under this deal. "It's essentially the largest signing bonus ever given an amateur player," Pirates GM Neal Huntington told ESPN. "Sometimes, it's more advantageous for a player to take a minor league contract with a bonus that can be spread over nine months than a major league contract that would be spread out over four years." Cole Train wasn’t the only deadline signee; 23 of 33 first round picks hadn’t come to terms yet, but all except prepster RHP Tyler Beede (Toronto #21) were in the fold at the day’s end.