10/9: Murtaugh Returns; Hans Title; RIP Tiger; HBD Bob, Starling, Derek, Cricket, Felix, JJ, Ray, Al, Arnie & Jack

• 1865 - RHP Paul “Al” Maul was born in Philadelphia. He worked two years for the Alleghenys (1888-89), one season (1890) for the Pittsburgh Burghers, and spent 1891 as a Bucco. He went 2-8/6.24 with the Alleghenys & Pirates and 16-12/3.79 in the Players League. Al spent 10 more campaigns in the big leagues after leaving the Bucs, primarily as a Washington Senator. Maul coached at Lehigh and then spent a decade as a Philadelphia A’s scout. Although he had a cranky arm throughout his career, his cheerful, upbeat demeanor earned him the nickname “Smiling Jack.” Fun fact: he came up as an outfielder before moving to the hill and hit .241 over his career. 
• 1892 - LHP Arnie Stone was born in North Creek, New York. His MLB days were in 1923-24 when he toiled for the Pirates, posting a line of 4-3/3.77 in 35 games (two starts). The 31-year-old Stone tossed for two more years in the minors before retiring back to New York. 

Jack Tising - 1936 Conlon Collection/Getty

• 1903 - LHP Jack Tising was born in High Point, Missouri. Jack was a minor-league lifer who got his shot in the bigs with the Bucs in April/May of 1936, getting 10 appearances (six starts) and posting a 1-3/4.21 line as a 32-year-old. But the spitballer pitched from 1924-46 in the minors (he took off 1929-31, retiring for a spell before the itch returned) and won 167 games, appearing over 600 times before retiring at the age of 42. 
• 1911 - In a 10-inning, 6-5 loss to the Chicago Cubs at the West Side Grounds, Honus Wagner collected a pair of hits to finish the season with a .334 BA to win his eighth NL batting title. No one would wear that many crowns again until Tony Gwynn equaled Hans’ mark in 1997. 
• 1944 - SS Freddie Patek was born in Seguin, Texas. Known as “The Cricket” - he was 5’5” and chirpy - Freddie played his first three seasons (1968-70; .244 BA) in Pittsburgh and then spent nine more years in the AL, mostly with KC. He was a speedy, glove-first shortstop who was blocked in Pittsburgh by Gene Alley. He played on three pennant-winning Royals squads, was an All-Star three times and led the league with 53 stolen bases in 1977. 
• 1947 - RHP Bob Moose was born in Export. He went to Franklin Regional HS, where he threw three no-hitters and was drafted by the hometown Bucs in 1965 during the 18th round. The righty added one more in the MLB, tossing a no-no against the Mets on September 20th, 1969. In a decade with the Pirates - he first twirled in the show at 19 - he slashed 76-71-19/3.50. He died tragically in an auto accident while heading to a party celebrating his birthday in 1976. Sparky Anderson, when hearing the news, summed it up aptly: “How sad. Only 29. How sad.” 
• 1959 - RHP Ray Krawczyk was born in Sewickley. The local kid was raised in California but the hometown nine reclaimed him by drafting Ray in the first round (4th overall) of the 1981 MLB June Draft (Secondary Phase) from Oral Roberts University. He got a handful of outings with the Bucs from 1984-86, appearing in 24 games and going 0-3/8.65. He got a couple of more shots with California and Milwaukee, but he was out of baseball following the 1989 season. He’s now based out of Orange County and pushes a training device he invented, the Throw Trac. 

Felix Fermin - 1989 Upper Deck

• 1963 - SS Felix Fermin was born in Mao, Dominican Republic. He played for the Pirates, the team that first signed him, from 1987-88, hitting .265 in 66 games. He was traded to Cleveland and spent the next five years as their starting shortstop, ending his 10 year career with stops at Seattle and then Chicago with the Cubs. His nickname was "El Gato", after Felix the Cat because of his cat-like reactions on defense. After his playing days ended, he went on to manage in the Dominican and Mexican Leagues.
• 1969 - Danny Murtaugh was hired for the third time as Bucco bench boss. He replaced Alex Grammas, who took Larry Shepherd's spot. For 19 of the next 22 years, Grammas coached third base and infield for Sparky Anderson’s staff, with a three-year term as manager of the Milwaukee Brewers. As for the Whistling Irishman, he would manage the Pirates between 1970-71, retire for health reasons, then take the helm again from 1973-76. 
• 1969 - Don Hoak died on the same day that Danny Murtaugh was named manager, a job the Tiger thought he deserved. His widow, singer Jill Corey, claimed that Hoak died of a broken heart because the Pirates had passed him over for skipper, although he actually suffered a fatal heart attack chasing after a relative’s stolen car. He was a Tiger to the end. 
• 1982 - C Jason Jaramillo was born in Racine, Wisconsin. He came to the Pirates in the 2008 offseason after a deal for Ronny Paulino, but in three years (2009-11) hit .235 and was non-tendered by the Bucs in 2012. He signed a series of minor league deals (four teams in the next two years) but retired after the 2013 season. He’s now part of Forceout, a family company that makes a protective glove to wear under a fielder’s mitt. 
• 1986 - 33-year-old LHP Derek Holland was born in Newark, Ohio. Holland, an 11-year veteran known as “Dutch Oven,” was added as an NRI on a minor-league deal and broke camp as part of the rotation. He was a free spirit (and sometimes loose cannon) who brought some experience to a fairly young staff. Holland began 2020 as part of the rotation but his performance landed him in the pen, where he was much more solid (8.20 ERA starting; 4.40 relieving and a line of 1-3/6.86 overall). 

Starling Marte - 2020 Pirates image

• 1988 - OF Starling Marte was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He signed as an international free agent in 2007. Starling joined the big club in 2012, the first Pirates Dominican Academy graduate to reach the majors, and won a regular OF spot in 2013. He homered on the first pitch he saw in the show off Houston’s Dallas Keuchel, the first Pirate to do so since Walter Mueller in 1922. Marte won a Gold Glove (he had 33 OF assists in 2015-16) and was named to the All-Star team in 2016. He took a big hit in 2017 when he was suspended for 80 games because of steroid use. He hit .275, but his power numbers took a nosedive. He rebounded in 2018 with a 20 HR/30 SB campaign, joining Barry Bonds and Andy Van Slyke in that club, followed by a strong 2019 campaign before he was traded to Colorado for prospects in the offseason.