10/10 From 1970: O's Win Opener; Not-So-Good NLCS Day; Arriba, El Immortal Latino HoF; Danny TSN Cover Boy; RIP Lefty; HBD David, Cutch & Shelby

• 1970 - LHP Albert “Lefty” Leifield passed away at the age of 87 in Fairfax, Virginia. Leifield tossed for the Pirates from 1905-12. From 1906-11, he was a regular in the Pittsburgh rotation, winning 15 or more games each season and slashing 109-84-7/2.38 with 28 shutout victories. In 1909, he went 19-8 to help the Pirates win the NL pennant although he lost his only World Series outing that year; he was the last remaining member of that club. Lefty spent five more years in the majors after the Pirates traded him to the Cubs with several minor league stops, fighting a sore arm in his later years. Per SABR’s Lenny Jacobson, after his playing career, Leifield coached for the Browns, Red Sox, and Tigers, and managed in the minors for seven years. Lefty then worked in the St. Louis water department before spending his last years fishing, betting on horses, and taking in an occasional game at Busch Stadium. 

• 1970 - Danny Murtaugh was featured on the cover of The Sporting News for the story “Bucs’ Secret Weapon.” His ‘70 team made the transition from Forbes Field to TRS and won the NL East, only to be swept by the Reds in the NLCS. 
• 1972 - Cincinnati, facing elimination, took the Pirates behind the woodshed at Riverfront Stadium, winning 7-1 and forcing a winner-take-all showdown for the NLCS crown. Ross Grimsley tossed a two-hitter; both hits were by Roberto Clemente, including a solo homer. Dock Ellis went five frames and gave up three unearned runs on a pair of two-out errors, then the Redlegs teed off on relievers Bob Johnson and Luke Walker. 
• 1979 - The Orioles rocked Bruce Kison for five first-inning runs and then hung on to take the first game of the World Series, 5-4. Willie Stargell homered with a pair of RBI and Dave Parker banged out four knocks while Jim Rooker, Enrique Romo, Don Robinson and Grant Jackson pitched three-hit ball over the last 8-2/3 innings. Mike Flanagan gave up 11 hits, but went the distance for Baltimore’s win at Memorial Stadium. 
• 1986 - Andrew McCutchen was born in Fort Meade, Florida. Cutch, a five-time All-Star & MVP selected in the first round of the 2005 draft, was the face of the team after replacing Nate McLouth during the 2009 season until he was traded after the 2017 campaign. Andrew slashed .291/203 HR/725 RBI as a Bucco and won Baseball America’s Rookie of the Year, four Silver Sluggers, a Golden Glove, two Player’s Choice Outstanding Player of the Year and the Roberto Clemente award during that span. In 2018, he was traded to the Giants and then moved late in the season to the playoff-bound New York Yankees; he’s now with the Phils. 

Cutch - 2011 Donruss Elite Extra Edition

• 1990 - RHP Shelby Miller was born in Round Rock, Texas. A first round pick (19th overall) of the Cards in 2009 out of high school, he debuted in 2012. After a nice three-year run, injuries piled up on him and he underwent TJ surgery, making only 16 starts over the next five years (he opted out of the Covid-shortened 2020 season). The Cubs cut him loose in 2021 and the Pirates signed him in July as a long man option, calling him up from Indy in September. 
• 1990 - Pittsburgh stayed alive in the NLCS by edging the Reds, 3-2, at TRS to cut the Cincinnati margin to three games to two. Doug Drabek worked into the ninth, then Bob Patterson came on to get the last two outs to save the victory. Andy Van Slyke and Barry Bonds each had an RBI and a run scored against Tom Browning to lead Pittsburgh. 
• 1991 - Steve Avery and Alejandro Pena combined to stop the Bucs, 1-0, on four hits at TRS and even the NLCS at three games apiece. Mark Lemke’s two-out double up the third base line in the sixth scored David Justice, who had walked & then stole second, to send Zane Smith to a tough defeat. Bobby Bonilla doubled to lead off the ninth and took third on a wild pitch with one away, but Pena got Steve Buechele on a comebacker and caught Curtis Wilkerson looking on three pitches to save the game. 
• 1992 - John Smoltz won his second NLCS game, 6-4, at TRS to put the Bucs in a 3-1 hole as Doug Drabek took the loss. The Bucs managed just six hits, with Andy Van Slyke banging out a double and triple. Doug Drabek had a rough outing and Randy Tomlin was touched for a pair of runs in relief. 

David Bednar - 2021 image AT&T SportsNet

• 1994 - RHP Dave Bednar was born in Mars and went to Mars Area HS. He was a late-round pick of the Padres in the 2016 draft from Lafayette College and joined the hometown nine in 2021 as part of the Joe Musgrove package. He only worked 17 IP for San Diego, but was dominating in the spring for the Pirates and even with an option to burn made the Opening Day roster. The Pirates slowly slid him into high leverage situations and moved him into the closer’s role when Richard Rodriguez was traded. 
• 2010 - Pirates RF Roberto Clemente and Cuban/Negro Leagues Martin “El Immortal” Dihigo, who played for the Homestead Grays in 1927-28, were inducted into the inaugural class of the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame.