3/25: Jay Bell Swap; Vanimal Joins Up; Polanco & Freese Sign; Maz Out; Wilson In; HBD Lee & Jimmy

• 1882 - RF Jimmy Sebring was born in Liberty, PA, near Williamsport. He played for Pittsburgh from 1902-04, hitting .261, and in 1903 became the first MLB player to homer in a World Series game when he legged out an inside-the-park four-bagger against Cy Young while hitting .333 against Boston in that first WS. The talented OF’er (he was an early “can’t miss” prospect) had a rift with the team over a couple of different incidents and was traded. He then played with a series of outlaw teams, sidetracking his promising career. Sebring was on the comeback trail when he passed away from kidney disease in 1910 at the age of 27. 
• 1953 - The Pirates signed IF Gene Freese to a minor league contract. The 19-year-old from Wheeling made it the hard way; he was one of 21 to survive a local try-out at Forbes Field, then was culled from a pack of about 70 players who were worked out at minor league camp. He was assigned to Class D Brunswick and jumped quickly to Class B Burlington, then in ‘54 started out at AA New Orleans. From there, he went to Hollywood of the Pacific Coast League and debuted with Pittsburgh later in 1955 as a 21-year-old. Gene used that as a launching pad to an 11-year MLB career, spending six of those seasons with the Bucs. 

Lee Mazzilli - 1986 Topps

• 1955 - OF Lee Mazzilli was born in New York City. Mazzilli spent four of his 14 seasons as a Pirate, playing fairly regularly for his first two years (1983-’86) and hitting .244 overall. In 1986, the Mets were rumored to have offered Ray Knight (who was nearing the end of his career) for Mazzilli, but the Pirates turned them down. The Bucs released Lee in July when he was hitting just .226 and he joined NY for free while Knight batted .298 with one more solid ‘87 campaign still left in him. 
• 1965 - Camp isn’t all fun and games. Bill Mazeroski broke a bone in his right foot on this day and was out of the Bucco lineup until May. He came back to hit .271 and earned another Golden Glove for his trophy case. It was the only time between 1964-67 that he didn’t appear in every game, and Maz still played in 130 contests after his foot healed. 
• 1989 - The Pirates sent SS Felix Fermin and UT Denny Gonzalez to Cleveland for SS Jay Bell to complete a PTBNL deal from November 28th, 1988. Bell manned the SS spot for eight years and earned an All-Star berth in 1993 for the Bucs. He returned to the team in 2013 as their batting coach before moving on to the Reds. Fermin played eight more years in the AL, starting several years for the Indians. Gonzalez got into eight more MLB games after the deal and closed out his career with stints in Japan and Mexico. 
• 2001 - Manager Lloyd McClendon officially announced that 23-year-old Jack Wilson was going to start the season at shortstop, bumping veteran Pat Meares to second base. Solid choice; Wilson held the job until he was traded in 2009, hitting .269 and winning an All-Star berth in 2004. Jumping Jack Flash was sent to Pittsburgh in 2000 by the Cards for LHP Jason Christiansen. For Meares, it was the end of the road - a nagging hand injury led to a battle royale with the club over treatment, and he got into just 86 games during the campaign, his last as a MLB’er, playing out his $15M contract on the DL through 2003. 

Jack Wilson - 2001 Fleer Legacy

• 2009 - Pirates Latin American scouts Rene Gayo and Rene Ellis signed a skinny 17-year-old kid who they envisioned as making the jump from pitcher to outfielder for $175,000. The vision became reality - the beanpole was Gregory Polanco and he’s been on patrol in Pittsburgh’s pasture since 2014. Although the promise has yet to catch up with the performance, he did a little better at the negotiating table in 2017, signing a five-year/$35M contract with two team option years worth $26M. He was injured during an awkward late season slide late in 2018 and returned before he was 100% in 2019, playing in only 42 games. 2020 was a lost year performance-wise (.153 BA) so this looks like his make-or-break campaign. 
• 2014 - RHP Vance Worley was purchased from the Minnesota Twins. After going 1-5 with a 7.21 ERA in 2013, Vanimal started out at Indianapolis and following some tinkering with his arm angle, he was called up to start on June 15th to replace injured Francisco Liriano. He finished the campaign with an 8-4 record and 2.85 ERA. After a 4-6/4.02 line in 2015, he was released and went to Baltimore. He’s now a FA, having not pitched in a MLB organization since 2018.