9/9 From 1970: Garcia Gone; Finally!; 200+ Ollie; Ouch; #21; BB-IBB; SI Cutch; Game Tales; HBD Wil & Dan

• 1970 - RHP Dan Miceli was born in Newark. The reliever spent the first four years (1993-96) of his 14-season career in Pittsburgh, going 8-15-24/5.41 during that span. He was known for a power arm and shaky control throughout his MLB journey. In 2003, he gained entry into a club with just a handful of members - players that appeared for four different teams during the same season. 
• 1987 - The Bucs nipped the Cubs, 4-3, when an unlikely suspect, reliever Jeff Robinson, went yard on ace Chicago closer Lee Smith with two out in the ninth at Wrigley Field, smashing the first pitch into the bleachers. Coach Rick Donnelly told Paul Meyer of the Post Gazette that “Jeff Robinson and Lee Smith could stand out there the rest of their lives and not have that happen again.” Robinson agreed - “It was pretty much of a fluke,” he admitted. Jim Leyland told the media that he only let Robinson bat because he thought he had the best shot at retiring the Cubs in the ninth and getting the game to Jim Gott. Well, Robby did get the closer Gott on the mound, a little sooner than expected, and he struck out two for the save. RJ Reynolds provided the offense prior to Robinson, with two hits and two RBI. 

Jay Bell - 1991 Bowman

• 1991 - Jay Bell went 4-for-4 with a home run in Pittsburgh’s 12-10 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The Pirates trailed, 10-8, in the ninth inning before rookie Orlando Merced connected off Chicago’s Dave Smith for a three-run, pinch-hit homer to trigger Pittsburgh’s game-winning four-run frame. 
• 1992 - With the score tied in the bottom of the sixth with two on, one out and first base open, the Cubs intentionally walked Barry Bonds. It was his 28th IBB of the year, breaking the Bucs' single season record, set in 1968 by Roberto Clemente (Bonds finished up with 32 by year’s end). The stratagem backfired, though, when Jeff King hit the first pitch he saw from Ken Patterson over the left field wall for his second career grand slam. Gary Varsho and Jay Bell also went long as Pittsburgh prevailed 13-8 at TRS, with Danny Cox getting the blown save/win combo. 
• 1994 - RHP Wil Crowe was born in Kingston, Tennessee. He fought back from TJ surgery in college to become a second-round pick of the Nationals in 2017. Crowe debuted in 2020 and was traded in the off season to the Pirates as part of the Josh Bell deal. Despite a shaky start with Washington, he pitched solidly in the spring and went north with the big team and joined the regular rotation in late April. 
• 1999 - The Pirates gave up on 3B Freddy Garcia, trading the 27-year-old Rule 5 pick (1995) to the Atlanta Braves for RHP Greg Dukeman. Garcia, who had hit .221 in his four-year Bucco career, got three at bats with the Bravos to end his MLB career. Dukeman worked in the minors before hangin’ ‘em up after the 2003 campaign, never advancing past High Class A. 

Ollie Perez - 2004 Upper Deck SP Prospects

• 2004 - It was a good day for Ollie Perez, who ended the Astro’s 13-game winning streak with a 14-strikeout performance at PNC Park. He gave up three hits and an unearned run in eight frames to become the second Pirates pitcher - Bob Veale was the other - in history to crack the 200-K mark (Ed “Cannonball” Morris fanned 328 in 1886, but the team doesn’t recognize that as the Pittsburgh Alleghenys were in the American Association then) while winning his 10th game of the year, 3-1. The Bucs only had six hits themselves (Jose Castillo had three), but RBI by Jason Kendall, Tony Alvarez and Ty Wigginton were enough to carry the day, with Jose Mesa nailing it down in the ninth. It was the opener of a twilight twin bill; Houston avenged the defeat by romping 9-2 in the nightcap. Perez ended the year with 239 whiffs; the Pirates modern single-season record belongs to Veale, who fanned 276 batters in 1965. 
• 2007 - Sparked by a dazzling catch by Nyjer Morgan and an almost inside-the-park granny by Freddy Sanchez, the Bucs beat the Cubs 10-5 at PNC Park. The Bucs had an early 6-2 lead thanks to Steady Freddy’s bases-juiced triple (he was thrown out at home on a bang-bang call). The following inning, Aramis Ramirez spanked a ball the opposite way and Nyjer, who had played him to pull, made a diving catch at the corner of the Clemente Wall in right center to rob A-Ram, while barely avoiding right fielder Steve Pearce, who had to hurdle Morgan. Matt Morris went six innings for the win, followed by three relievers who held down the fort. 
• 2013 - The Pirates clinched their first winning season since 1992 with a 1-0 win over Yu Darvish and the Texas Rangers at the Ballpark in Arlington. Rookie Gerrit Cole went seven innings of three-hit ball, walking a pair and striking out nine, with Tony Watson and Mark Melancon pitching two innings of one-hit ball to seal the deal. The game was scoreless until two outs in the seventh when Marlon Byrd and Pedro Alvarez hit back-to-back doubles to produce the game’s only run. The win broke a four-game losing streak and moved the Pirates within a game of first place St. Louis. 
• 2013 - Andrew McCutchen was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated as part of Lee Jenkins story “The Bucs Start Here.” It didn’t take Dick Tracy to figure that out; Cutch won the MVP that year with a .317/.404/.508 slash. 

• 2016 - The Bucs were in a bad way, having lost four in a row and 12 of 14, and it looked like more of the same at Citizens Park against the Phils. Despite 11 K and stellar pitching by Ivan Nova, some sloppy fielding and an eighth inning wild spree by reliever Felipe Rivero had them in a 3-2 hole going into the ninth. Fran Cervelli led off with a walk against former Pirate Jeanmar Gomez, and Jordy Mercer, after fouling off a bunt, doubled him to third. Sean Rodriguez came off the bench, got a 2-2 fastball on the outer half and lined it over the RF wall to lead Pittsburgh to a 5-3 win. It was the first time in 140 games that the Pirates had rallied from a ninth inning deficit. It was also the first ninth-inning or later pinch hit dinger to give the Bucs a lead after trailing since Rob Mackowiak’s blast did in the Reds in 2003. 
• 2016 - It was a busy day for Bucco trainers. Gerrit Cole was shut down with elbow inflammation, Josh Harrison’s year was done after a groin injury, catcher Chris Stewart took a trip to see Dr. Andrews with a knee injury that would require off-season surgery and minor league C Elias Diaz, a 2017 roster candidate, was out with cellulitis. In addition, relievers Neftali Feliz (arm) and AJ Schugel were also hors d’ combat and inactive, requiring the Bucs to call up minor league C Jacob Stallings and P Zach Phillips, then deal for pitcher Wade LeBlanc to fill the roster, even with the original wave of September call-ups were already on hand. 
• 2020 - On MLB’s Roberto Clemente Day, all the Pittsburgh Pirates and every MLB Puerto Rican ballplayer wore #21 during their game. Joey Cora became the first Bucco Puerto Rican to wear the retired 21 since Clemente.