6/19 From 1970: Ted Resigns; Todd PoW; Bucs-Yanks Reunion; Pierogi Boiled; Game Tales; HBD Doug & Willis

• 1972 - Roberto Clemente’s two-run homer off Mike Strahler in the eighth inning of a 13-3 romp over the Dodgers at TRS moved him into second on the Pirates franchise list for RBI with 1,274, just past Pie Traynor. He would finish his career with 1,305 runs batted in, now third on the all-time Pirate roster behind Honus Wagner and Willie Stargell. The Great One finished with three hits as did Al Oliver w/a homer; Vic Davalillo led the parade with four raps. Dock Ellis was rattled for 11 hits, but lasted until the eighth when Bob Miller came in to bring it home. 
• 1974 - IF Doug Mientkiewicz was born in Toledo, Ohio. Doug had a 12-year MLB career and spent 2008 in Pittsburgh playing 1B, 3B and RF while batting .277. He retired the following year after playing for the Dodgers and coached briefly for them in the minors. He now works in the Twins organization. 

Doug Mientkiewicz- 2008 Topps Heritage

• 1975 - RHP Willis Roberts was born in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic. The reliever put in five MLB seasons, mainly as an Oriole, and his last year of 2004 was spent as a Pirate. In nine games, he put up a 5.25 ERA after signing on as a free agent; he mostly worked out of AAA Nashville. Willis retired in August and spent three more years tossing in Mexico, Venezuela and Italy before heading into the sunset after the 2007 campaign. 
• 1975 - Jerry Reuss gave himself a birthday gift by shutting out the Cards 5-0 at TRS, tossing a complete game six-hitter with seven K. Homers by Willie Stargell, Dave Parker and Bill Robinson gave the southpaw all the run support he needed. 
• 1993 - GM Ted Simmons resigned after suffering a heart attack on June 8th. He was succeeded by Cam Bonifay. Ted got back in the saddle after recovering and has worked in a variety of positions for several clubs since, mainly in scouting, and was voted into the Hall of Fame for his career as a player. 
• 1995 - Steve Pegues bopped his first pair of MLB homers to lead the Bucs to an 8-2 win over the San Francisco Giants at TRS. Carlos Garcia and Don Slaught each added a pair of hits while Denny Neagle ran his record to 7-3 with eight strong innings. Pegues finished the year with six long balls during his last season of MLB ball. He played for three more minor-league years for four teams before leaving the pro ranks. 
• 2001 - RHP Todd Ritchie won the NL Pitcher of the Week award. He beat Detroit and the White Sox, giving up a run on nine hits with 11 K and four walks over 17 IP. It was quite a turnaround; he was the first player in franchise history to start the year 0-8, finally snapping his losing streak by stopping the Tigers. Todd straightened up and finished the year with an 11-15 slate. 

Todd Ritchie - 2001 Upper Deck Vintage

• 2010 - 38,008 fans showed up at PNC Park to take part in the 1960 World Series team reunion. The old champs provided some inspiration for the new crew, who broke a 12-game losing streak by beating the Cleveland Indians 6-4. Lastings Milledge was a homer short of the cycle and had four RBI while Andrew McCutchen had a pair of hits, drew three walks and scored four runs. Jeff Karstens got the win and Octavio Dotel the save with four other twirlers between them. 
• 2010 - The Pirates fired racing pierogi Andrew Kurtz after he criticized John Russell and Neal Huntington’s secret contract extensions on his Facebook page. The 24-year-old, who was reinstated by Pittsburgh after much media ado, was offered a position by the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League to become one of its racing hot dogs; like lefty relievers, speedy snacks have a long shelf life. 
• 2014 - The Bucs scored three times in the fifth on a balk and two-out singles by Starling Marte and Andrew McCutchen, but it took them 12 innings to subdue the Reds 4-3 at PNC Park. A single, balk, intentional walk and hit batter loaded the bases for Russ Martin with two outs, and he drew a walk-off walk for the win. Justin Wilson, the sixth Pirate pitcher of the day, got the win. 
• 2019 - The Pirates fell behind the Detroit Tigers by a 7-1 count in the top of the third, but they kept on playing at PNC Park. Trevor Williams tightened up to work five frames before Richard Rodriguez, the eventual winner, Frankie Liriano and Felipe Vazquez with the save followed with zeros, allowing the Buc bats space to battle back. Corey Dickerson hit a two-out, two-run double to ignite the comeback, Starling Marte banged a two-run homer to make it close and Bryan Reynolds, who had three hits, three RBI’s and three runs scored, launched a three-run bomb in the sixth that proved the game-winner in an 8-7 Pirates victory. It was the first time since 2008 against the Cards that Pittsburgh had overcome a six-run deficit.