8/10: Miller Deal; Cutch Show; Maz Way; Roberto's Bucket; Cub Kindness; SABR Day; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Anthony, Bob, John, Willie, Truck & Elmer

• 1877 - IF Truck Eagan was born in San Francisco. He had a nine game MLB career, taking the field during his last four as a Bucco in 1901, going 1-for-12. Truck did have a long shelf life, though, playing minor league ball from 1898-1911, mostly in the PCL and California League. He was named to the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame. 

Elmer Jacobs as a Cub - photo Baseball Photo Page

• 1892 - RHP Elmer Jacobs was born in Salem, Missouri. He pitched well for the Bucs from 1916-18 with a 3.03 ERA, but went just 12-30 before he was traded after one start in 1918 to the Phils for Erskine Mayer. Jacobs with his signature curveball worked six more seasons in MLB, with scattered minor league stops, and he ended up with 50 lifetime wins. He spent much of his minor league time in the Pacific Coast League, playing for four teams over nine seasons and was selected into the PCL Hall of Fame in 2005. 
• 1897 - Pirate owner John Galbreath was born in Derby, Ohio. A building contractor with an interest in horse racing who ran the Darby Dan Farm in Ohio, he was the Bucco owner for 40 years. In 1946, Galbreath, along with Bing Crosby, Tom Johnson, and Frank McKinney, bought the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team won three World Series during his ownership: 1960, 1971, and 1979. He passed the presidency on to his son, Dan Galbreath, in 1970. It was said that Galbreath hung on as owner (1946-85) until a new one who would keep the franchise in Pittsburgh could be found. 
• 1906 - SS Willie Wells was born in Austin, Texas. “El Diablo” spent a long career in black/Latin baseball playing from 1924-53 and is, along with Pop Lloyd, considered the top shortstop produced by the Negro Leagues. Per Seamheads, he made two brief stops in Homestead with the Grays in 1932 and 1937, getting into 14 games in what were split seasons for him, playing for three clubs in ‘32 and two in ’37. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1997. 
• 1922 - Pittsburgh bombed the Phils 14-4, ripping 16 hits at Shibe Park. It was the fifth game in a row in which every Pirate position player in the lineup collected a hit. Carson Bigbee led the hit parade, going 5-for-6 and scoring three times with an RBI. Hal Carlson got the win. 

Bob Porterfield - 1959 Topps

• 1923 - RHP Bob Porterfield was born in Newport, Virginia. He finished his 12-year career in Pittsburgh, tossing from 1958-59 and going 5-8-6/3.63. He was a starter-turned-reliever for the Bucs, making 73 appearances with all but six coming from the bullpen. In his pre-Pirates days (he spent 12 years in the show), he was The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year (1953) and an All-Star (1954) with the Washington Senators. When Bob retired, he became a welder and he was later chosen to the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. 
• 1952 - In a doubleheader at Forbes Field that was swept by the Cubs, Chicago manager Phil Cavarretta made a couple of friends in Pittsburgh with a sportsmanlike move. Les Biederman of the Pittsburgh Press noted “Cavarretta, who was tossed out of the first game, authored the most magnificent gesture of the season. Catchers Ed Fitz Gerald and Joe Garagiola had already pinch hit when (catcher) Clyde McCullough broke the nail on his middle finger. McCollough had the finger hastily taped and was ready to return when Cavarretta told the Pirates to let Fitz Gerald catch.” 
• 1958 - The Pirates squeaked out a pair of wins, 3-2 and 4-3, in a twinbill against the Reds to sweep the four-game series at Forbes Field. The Bucs tallied twice in the seventh on Bill Mazeroski’s homer to tie and then won the lid lifter in the 10th when Dick Stuart’s sac fly plated Roman Mejias. Don Gross, the fifth Pirate pitcher, got the W. In the second game, Vern Law couldn’t hang on to a 3-1 lead in the eighth, leaving with a no decision as Roy Face finished for the win. Frank Thomas’ force out in the eighth brought home Ducky Schofield with the deciding run. Bucco outfielders saved the day in the nightcap, throwing out four runners. Bill Virdon tossed out a pair of runners trying for third in the seventh; Bob Skinner and Roman Mejias also had gun-outs. 
• 1962 - Big Bob Veale gave a glimpse of the future when he set the still-existent International League standard for whiffs in nine innings by fanning 22 hitters while tossing for AAA Columbus at the Buffalo War Memorial. Bob struck out the Bison side in the first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and ninth innings, and led the IL with 208 K that season. He was called up to the big team in September for good. 

Roberto Clemente - 2020 Topps Archives

• 1964 - Coaches drill “don’t step into the bucket” into batters' minds at an early age, yet one of baseball’s greatest hitters, Roberto Clemente, incorporated the move often. He explained why he used the bucket step in an AP story written by Ed Schuyler, Jr. ("Clemente Unorthodox?" Well, He Gets Results") and released on this day. It had been an early flaw corrected by Puerto Rican League Santurce manager Buster Clarkson ("He put a bat behind my left foot and made sure I didn’t drag my foot") but Clemente later resurrected it as a work-around for back injuries he later suffered. “In 1956 I was doing good until I hurt my back. Since then I step to the side with my left foot faster so I don't have to twist my body so much.” The Great Ones adapt. 
• 1971 - The Pirates traded prospects P Ed Acosta and OF Johnny Jeter to the San Diego Padres for P Bob Miller to bolster their stretch run/playoff bullpen. Miller pitched well for the Bucs in 1971-72, compiling a 6-4-6 slate and 2.19 ERA. Jeter ended up a journeyman outfielder whose career ended after the 1974 season while Acosta pitched three years for the Padres. 
• 1971 - This is a big day for Pirates fans who can’t satisfy themselves with counting numbers like wins, ERA, batting average and RBI. SABR - The Society for American Baseball Research - was born in Cooperstown, New York. It was the brainchild of L. Robert Davids, who gathered together 15 other baseball researchers at the National Baseball Hall of Fame to form the organization. 
• 1977 - The Pirates edged the Cubs, 2-1, in 18 innings at TRS. Ed Ott drove in Phil Garner with the winning run on a sac fly; the other Buc run was scored by Dave Parker following a Bill Robinson knock. Larry Demery picked up the win. The two bullpens were brilliant, going 21-2/3 innings, giving up one run on seven hits. For Pittsburgh, Grant Jackson tossed five innings of scoreless relief and Goose Gossage put up four zeroes. 

Andy Van Slyke - 1992 Topps Kids

• 1992 - The Bucs were their own worst enemies, stranding 21 runners, but persevered to take their 11th game in a row with a 4-2, 16-inning win over the NY Mets at Shea Stadium. Pittsburgh scored three times in the final frame on four singles and a walk; Jeff King’s single plated the game winner. Andy Van Slyke homered and later scored the winning run while Steve Cooke got the win. During that span, the Bucs went from tied for first to a 3-1/2 game lead and kept the pedal to the metal by finishing the last two months of the season with a 40-16 slate to run away with the division, although the Braves would frustrate them in the NLCS. 
• 1993 - LHP Anthony Banda was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. The Brewers drafted him in the 10th round of the 2012 draft from San Jacinto College, and the reliever made his debut with the D-Backs in 2017 (they originally drafted him in 2011 but couldn’t get him to sign). The Bucs claimed him off waivers from the New York Mets in August, 2021 and within a few days, he was moved from Indy to Pittsburgh. He had made 23 MLB outings prior to the claim, slashing 5-3-1/6.14, and the Pirates were his sixth organization. 
• 2001 - The Avenue of the Pirates was renamed Mazeroski Way. The cul-de-sac runs from General Robinson to the RF gate and was dedicated by Mayor Tom Murphy and owner Kevin McClatchy. Apparently the dedication ceremony didn’t inspire the Pirates very much as the club then dropped a 3-2 decision to the San Diego Padres in front of 36,588 fans. 
• 2004 - The Bucs defeated the Giants, 8-7 at PNC Park, scoring three times in the eighth and then walking off with the win in the ninth. The Bucs tied it in the eighth (it was the third time they had rallied from behind during the contest) when Tike Redman doubled home a pair and took the lead when Humberto Cota brought him home. San Francisco tied it in the ninth when Michael Tucker cracked a two-out long ball off Jose Mesa. With two down and the bases empty, Jack Wilson singled off a glove and came all the way around on Rob Mackowiak’s drive off the right field wall. The Giants’ Barry Bonds set a MLB record during the game when he reached 30 HRs for the 13th straight season, connecting off John Grabow in the sixth. 

Dewey - 2007 Upper Deck

• 2007 - The Pirates erased a 6-2 deficit with a six-run eighth inning to defeat the Giants 8-7 at AT&T Park. The first four Bucs singled in the eighth, and they banged six hits total during the frame, with Freddy Sanchez’s two-out, two-run single being the difference. Matt Morris made the no-decision start against the team that had traded him away 10 days before. The Giants used eight pitchers in the game, including five in the eighth inning. John Grabow got the win and Matt Capps pitched the final frame to record his 10th save while Ryan Doumit fell a homer shy of the cycle. 
• 2011 - Andrew McCutchen put on a show against the Giants with just one hit, as the Bucs won 9-2 at AT&T Park. Cutch homered, walked three times, was HBP, scored four runs, drove in two and stole a pair of bases. Jeff Karstens went six innings for the win, striking out nine.