7/29 From 1960: Ponce, Alderson Deals; Giles, Clines Rake; Gems & Game Tales; RIP Robby; HBD Mike & Tommy

• 1963 - OF Tommy Gregg was born in Boone, North Carolina. A seventh-round pick of the Pirates in the 1985 draft from Wake Forest, Gregg spent the first two years of his nine-season career with the Buccos in 1987-88. He hit .217 in limited time before being shipped to the Atlanta Braves as part of the Ken Oberkfell deal. Tommy spent several seasons as a bench player for the Bravos, and is now part of their minor-league coaching staff. 
• 1968 - Henry Aaron was caught red-faced thanks to some smoke and mirrors by the Buccos. On a hit-and-run, Gene Alley and Bill Mazeroski decoyed Hammerin’ Hank into believing Joe Torre had hit a grounder between them; the reality was he had lifted a fly to Roberto Clemente in right. When Aaron stopped at second to try to find the ball, it was too late; it was already on its way to first for the DP. It wasn’t one of his better days on the bases as he was also picked off first base in the Pirates 3-2 win at Forbes Field. Beside his Emmy performance, Maz also homered to help Bob Veale to the win. 
• 1968 - RHP Mike Williams was born in Radford, Virginia. In six seasons (1998-2003), he went 15-23 and saved 140 games for Pittsburgh with a 3.78 ERA. His mark of 46 saves in 2002 set a team standard now held by Mark Melancon (51), but fame is fleeting - his 12-year baseball career closed after the 2003 season following a trade to Philadelphia. 

Cecilio Guante - Donruss  1983

• 1983 - John Candelaria and Tom Seaver exchanged four-hitters at Shea Stadium, with the Candy Man prevailing 2-1. Two of the hits off Tom Terrific were solo shots by Mike Easler and Tony Pena; Candelaria gave up a run in the first and tossed goose eggs afterward. Cecilio Guante went seven-up, seven-down to save the game for Candy. 
• 1971 - Gene Clines was the hero of the Bucs 8-5 win over Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium. His three-run homer was the big blow in a six-run sixth inning, and the CF went 4-for-4 with four RBI and a pair of runs. Bob Robertson and Willie Stargell also went yard in the win that was cemented by 5-2/3 scoreless frames tossed by the bullpen. 
• 2000 - Brian Giles went 5-for-5 with a pair of doubles while Warren Morris and Emil Brown homered as the Bucs ran up a 10-2 count against the San Diego Padres at TRS. Francisco Cordova got the win as three Buc pitchers scattered six hits in front of a Saturday night crowd of 30,118. 
• 2007 - Bucco outfielder Bill Robinson passed away in Las Vegas. The local boy (he was from McKeesport and went to Elizabeth-Forward HS) spent eight years as a Pirate from 1975-82, hitting .276 with 109 homers. He played five positions as a Pirate (1B/3B, all three OF spots) and while a regular for only one year, he got into 100+ games six times in his eight seasons here. 
• 2009 - 2B Freddy Sanchez was traded to the San Francisco Giants for RHP Tim Alderson. The Bucs also traded RHP Ian Snell and SS Jack Wilson to the Mariners for RHP Aaron Pribanic, RHP Brett Lorin, 1B Nathan Adcock, SS Ronny Cedeno and 1B Jeff Clement. Snell was out of baseball by 2010 while Freddy & Jack were snake-bitten by injury. For the Bucs, the only contributor was Cedeno, and he wore out his welcome after 2011. 

Freddy Sanchez - 2009 Topps Allen & Ginter

• 2014 - The Pirates beat the San Francisco Giants 3-1 at AT&T Park behind Francisco Liriano’s 11 whiffs and homers by Travis Snider and Josh Harrison. It was the third straight game that Harrison and Snider went long. After an April-May slump that saw them fall nine games behind in the NL Central race and eight games below .500, the Bucs pulled within a game of first and even in the loss column while moving into the second wild card spot. 
• 2019 - The Bucs sent RHP Jordan Lyles to the Brewers for AA RHP Cody Ponce. Lyles, a FA signing from the off season, had a Jekyll and Hyde stay with Pittsburgh, posting a 4-1/1.97 mark in mid-May, then crashing to a 1-6/9.57 slash from that time forward. He went 7-1/2.45 with the Brew Crew to continue his roller coaster campaign, and is now with Texas. Ponce, a second-round draft pick, played for the US national team and is on the Pirates 40-man roster. He’s been up-and-down, with a handful of MLB outings in 2020-21.