6/24 From 1950: Gonzales Signs; Pops, Hit Man Bombs; Clint 1,000; Cover Boy Roy; Game Tales; HBD Ken

• 1951 - 3B Ken Reitz was born in San Francisco. He ended his 11-year career on a quiet note with the Pirates in 1982, going 0-for-10 with four whiffs. Ken had been a Cardinal mainstay at the hot corner for eight years, earning an All-Star spot, Golden Glove and the nickname “Zamboni” for his ability to scoop up grounders. 
• 1963 - The baron of the Bullpen, ElRoy Face, was featured as the cover story of Sports Illustrated in an article titled “Baseball’s Best Reliever.” It might have jinxed the baron of the Bullpen - he went 3-9-16/3.23 that season after a strong 1962 campaign. 
• 1965 - Willie Stargell’s first career three-homer game (he had four lifetime) sparked the Bucs to a 13-3 romp over first-place Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium. Pops also lined a shot off the outfield railing for a double, just missing his fourth long fly of the day. Roberto Clemente added three knocks and the Bucs hit five dingers during the match, with Bob Bailey and Jim Pagliaroni also going yard, while Don Cardwell tossed a four hitter to earn the win over Don Drysdale. 

Willie Stargell - photo via Baseball Hall of Fame

• 1978 - What started out as a pitcher’s duel ended up wild and wooly in the 12th inning, but John Milner’s grand slam was enough for the Bucs to claim a 7-4 victory at Shea Stadium. Jim Bibby and Craig Swan left a 2-2 game to the bullpens, and they were steadfast until the final frame. Milner hit his granny against the team that he had played with for six seasons after taking a pitch that almost caught him in the chicklets. The high and tight didn’t bother him, he said, but tipped him that the Mets wanted to work him inside, and he took a low, tight heater yard on the next pitch. Ed Whitson inherited a big lead - Omar Moreno had singled in a run before Milner’s blast - but left after giving up a run in the NY half. Milner and Moreno were big time - John had four hits while Omar had a game-saving catch to go with eight other grabs in center and stole three bases. Dave Hamilton came in and surrendered another score while providing some drama, getting the last out with the bases filled with Mets. Even more drama was about to take place as a death threat was phoned in saying that Chuck Tanner “would not leave the stadium alive” and after the game, he got a police escort. Tanner said he attributed the threat to the tightness of the game. In fact, it was the eighth time the two clubs had met in ‘78 and five of the games went into extra innings. 
• 2001 - PNC Park proved a huge success when a Sunday crowd of 36,826 broke the million-fan mark after the ballyard’s 33rd game, the quickest pace to reach that figure in franchise history. However, it was the Same Ol’ Bucs, who went down 11-4 to the Expos. The loss left Pittsburgh at 25-47 and in the Central Division basement, 17-1/2 games behind the Cubs. 
• 2008 - For the first time since Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, the New York Yankees visited Pittsburgh. Bill Mazeroski threw out the first pitch at PNC Park, and it was deja vu all over again as the Bucs broke out the bats to win 12-5. Freddy Sanchez had three hits and three runs scored while Ryan Doumit and Adam LaRoche also had three knocks with a pair of RBI each. And about time: the Bucs were the last MLB team to earn a regular season win against the Yankees. Also true to form, they were clobbered 10-0 by the Bronx Bombers the following day. 
• 2016 - Clint Hurdle won his 1,000th victory as a skipper as the Bucs beat the Dodgers, 8-6, at PNC Park. Jameson Taillon started the game, and it took six Pirates twirlers to nail it down. Neftali Feliz earned the win while Mark Melancon converted his 17th straight save opportunity to close it out. Matt Joyce went 3-for-4 with a homer, double, & two RBI while Starling Marte had a pair of hits and Jung-Ho Kang went deep. It was also a red letter day for Adam Frazier, who made his big league debut and singled off LA reliever JP Howell for his first MLB hit. 

Clint Hurdle - 2016 photo Pgh Pirates

• 2017 - The Bucs used a wild streak to ice a 7-3 win over the St. Louis Cards at Busch Stadium. Ahead 5-1 in the sixth thanks to a homer & three RBI from Jordy Mercer and a solo shot by Josh Harrison, the Pirates had a runner on second with two outs. Eight hitter Chris Stewart was intentionally walked and pitcher Gerrit Cole was unintentionally lost on a 3-2 pitch from Lance Lynn. John Brebbia relieved and plunked Adam Frazier in the foot on an 0-2 pitch to force home one run and the Fat Lady started warming up after J-Hay was smacked above the hip to plate another as the Bucs scored three runs on one hit. The Pirate bullpen struggled a bit, but brought the win home for Cole, who tossed a six-inning five-hitter. 
• 2020 - The Pirates signed first round draft pick (#7 overall) SS Nick Gonzales, 21, of New Mexico State, where he worked his way from walk-on to first rounder. After passing his physical the day before, he received a bonus of $5,432,400, slot value for his draft spot. Gonzales hit .399 for NMS; his biggest unknown is whether he’d be able to stick at shortstop or not.