7/15 From 1975: Big Broom; Cutch Streak; King Kong; Hans T206; ASG's; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Anthony

• 1975 - The NL whipped the AL 6-3 in the All Star game at County Stadium. Jerry Reuss pitched the first three frames, putting up zeroes on three hits with two strikeouts. Al Oliver doubled and scored in his lone at bat while Manny Sanguillen was planted on the bench. The contest was Hank Aaron's 21st and final All-Star Game, a fitting venue for his farewell in the former home of the Milwaukee Braves. 
• 1982 - Dave Parker came through early and came through late to carry the Pirates and John Candelaria to a 5-1 win over Houston in the Astrodome. His first-inning single chased home two Buccos (one on an error) and his three-run, 430’ blast to center in the ninth off reliever Frank LaCorte iced the game. In between, the Candy Man and Don Sutton were hooked up in a dandy little duel, with Rod Scurry covering the final 2-⅔ frames without allowing a hit for the save. 
• 1984 - RHP Anthony Claggett was born in Hemet, California. 2009 was his big season, starting with the Yankees and ending with the Pirates after he was DFA’ed in late September, getting into one game and giving up a run on two hits in his inning. During the off season, Claggett was cut by Pittsburgh when Octavio Dotel was signed. He played indy ball, in Australia and Japan from 2012-14. Since then, Claggett has been a coach at the collegiate level for College of the Desert, Riverside and San Jose State. He’s now the pitching coach at New Mexico State. 

Tony Pena - 1986 Donruss NL All Star

• 1986 - The junior circuit squeezed out a 3-2 win over the NL in the Midsummer Classic held at the Astrodome. C Tony Pena came on as a ninth inning pinch runner and was singled to third by ex-Buc/current Red Dave Parker as the tying run with an out, but the next hitter banged into a game-ending DP. P Rick Rhoden was also selected, but didn’t get to climb the bump. This was the last All-Star Game to be played indoors until 2011 when Chase Field was the host. 
• 1994 - The Pirates erased an eight-run deficit and came back to beat Houston 11-8 at TRS after the Astros had scored seven times in the first inning. Carlos Garcia banged a homer and plated four RBI while John “The Rock” Wehner and P Ravelo Manzanillo both delivered two-run hits. Relievers Rich Robertson, Manzanillo (win) and Mike Dyer (save) tossed seven innings of shutout ball in the win. 
• 1995 - Jeff King hit two home runs with five RBI to power the Pirates past the Cardinals, 9-2, at TRS. The Pirates jumped ahead early by a 6-0 count after two, fueled by long balls from King, Mark Parent and Jay Bell. Denny Neagle went the distance, pitching his third of five complete games during his 1995 All-Star season. 
• 1998 - Rookie sensation Kerry Wood helped draw 28,655 fans to TRS (half-price day helped, too) but Francisco Cordova, who last won on May 31st, stole the show by spinning a four-hit shutout with eight K in a 3-0 Bucco win over the Cubs. Cordova got all the help he needed from Kevin Young, who bombed a two-run homer and Ricardo Rincon, who nailed down the save. 
• 2000 - A 1909 Honus Wagner T-206 baseball card was auctioned on eBay for a record $1.265M on this day; the same card was resold for $2.8M in 2007. Another version, the “Jumbo” (a miscut that was 1/16” longer than the usual size) topped the chart in 2016, going for $3.12M. It’s still among the top five baseball cards in value. 

The Holy Grail

• 2003 - The AL scored three times in the eighth inning at US Cellular Field to claim a 7-6 All Star win over the NL in the 70th Anniversary matchup. Reliever Mike Williams was the Pirates only selection for the second straight year, and he didn’t get into either game. The match was the first to award home-field advantage in the World Series to the winning league, a rule that stemmed from a 7–7 tie the previous year that led fans to question whether the game meant anything. The rule remained in effect through 2016. 
• 2008 - The AL continued its domination over the NL with a 4-3 All Star squeaker at Yankee Stadium that took 15 innings to complete. It was a final tribute to the storied “House That Ruth Built” that would close its gates after the season. OF Nate McLouth was the Pirate rep, and he went 1-for-4 during the contest. It was the longest MLB All-Star Game in time (4 hours and 50 minutes) and the 15 innings played tied the mark for the most frames with the 1967 contest. 
• 2012 - Andrew McCutchen homered in his fourth straight game and collected three hits, but it was in vain as the Bucs fell to Milwaukee 4-1 at Miller Field. 
• 2014 - The AL whipped the NL 5-3 in the ASG at Target Field in Minnesota. It was Derek Jeter’s 14th and final ASG appearance. All the Bucco All-Stars played: Andrew McCutchen went 1-for-3 as the starting center fielder, Josh Harrison was a sub in left and went 0-for-2, while LHP Tony Watson came in to face one batter, Jose Abreu, and got him to fly out to Josh. Manager Clint Hurdle was there too, as a coach for the NL skipper, the Card’s Mike Matheny. 

Redbeard kept on truckin' - 2018 Topps Now: Road To Opening Day

• 2018 - The Pirates completed a five game brooming of the Milwaukee Brewers in dramatic fashion, twice rallying in the final at bats to pull out a 7-6 win. They were down 5-2 going into the eighth when a two-out single by Starling Marte scored Corey Dickerson to cut the lead to 5-3. The Bucs were cooking in the ninth, loading the bases with no outs, but a DP, though bringing home a run, left them on the brink of defeat. David Freese tied it with a two-strike triple to right to send the game into bonus baseball time. In the 10th, a couple of walks by Tanner Anderson, just called up from Indy, led to a run. The Pirates were down to their last out with a runner on first when Colin Moran singled to keep the pulse pumping. Then, in the midst of a sudden summer storm, Josh Bell banged a ball over Lorenzo Cain’s head in center; the double scored Polanco while Moran, chugging around the circuit, scored the winner as a throw that would have easily beat him skipped off the mound and through the catcher's wickets. It gave the Pirates six straight wins and 8-of-9 going into the All-Star break; it was the Brew Crew’s sixth straight loss and the series sweep dropped them out of first place in the division. It was also Anderson’s first MLB win.