10/18 From 1960: Brett-for-Cash; World Series Aftermaths; All-Stars; Groat Day; Ray Comes, Perry Goes; Pitcher Pileup; DR Tour; HBD Garrett

• 1960 - Four Pirates were named to the United Press All-Star team: RHP Vern Law, SS Dick Groat, 2B Bill Mazeroski and RF Roberto Clemente. It capped a huge campaign for Groat, who won the batting title by hitting .325 and was the NL’s MVP. Law was a 20-game and Cy Young winner, Maz was a World Series hero and Roberto hit .314 with 16 HR in his breakout campaign. All four had been regular season All-Stars.

Roberto Clemente - 2021 Pirates image

• 1960 - Cause and effect: a little blowback from Maz’s home run took place when New York let go of manager Casey Stengel, supposedly because he had passed the newly mandated Yankee mandatory retirement age of 65. He was replaced by Ralph Houk. The Ol’ Perfesser, who amassed a 1149-696 (.623) record while capturing 10 AL pennants and seven World Series Championships in his 12 years at the NYY helm, said "Resigned, fired, quit, discharged, use whatever you damn please. I'll never make the mistake of being seventy again." His counterpart, Danny Murtaugh (The Whistling Irishman was just 42 years old), still had 11 seasons with a couple of service breaks and another WS title yet to be added to his Pirates resume. 
• 1967 - The Pirates began a five-game goodwill tour of the Dominican Republic against a team of barnstorming major leaguers, with clinics scheduled in between the matches. And it was purely goodwill - the players received expenses, but no salary, and all the game proceeds went to the Dominican Development Foundation, matched by the Pan-American Foundation, to fund building projects like schools in the DR. 
• 1973 - The Pirates shipped 2B Dave Cash to Philadelphia in exchange for LHP Ken Brett. Cash was being phased out for Rennie Stennett, but still had seven years and three All-Star games left in him. Brett went 22-14/3.32 for Pittsburgh in two seasons and made an All-Star team before an elbow injury slowed him down, and like Cash still had a long shelf life. He pitched seven more years after leaving the Pirates, although he wasn’t really effective again after 1976. 
• 1979 - Chuck Tanner returned to hometown New Castle 12 hours after the Pirates had won the World Series in Baltimore to bury his mom. She passed away before Game 5 with the Pirates down three games to one, and Chuck told his players in a quiet locker room before the contest that "My mother is a great Pirates fan. She knows we're in trouble, so she went upstairs to get some help." Tanner was quite close to his mom, but he insisted on managing through the series because he knew she would have wanted him to see it through. Judging by the results, that extra angel in the outfield sure proved handy. 

Post Gazette 10/18/1979

• 1979 - Congressman Doug Walgren ate high off the hog thanks to the Pirates World Series win. Maryland congresswoman Barbara Mikulski paid off her losing bet with crabs, sausage and pastries while Ohio rep Tom Luken brought in some Cincinnati chili dogs after being dunned for the Reds NLCS defeat. Walgren sported a Pirates cap all day, and his phone’s background music was “We Are Fam-A-Lee.” Senator Richard Schweiker also got in on the action and was served a regional delicacy, Maryland beaten biscuits, by Terp lawmaker Charles Mathias. 
• 1983 - LHP Garrett Olson was born in Fresno, California. He tossed for Pittsburgh briefly in 2011 after being claimed from Seattle and in 4-1/3 innings allowed just a run. It wasn’t enough to help his cause; he was sent down to Indy, where they stretched him back into a starter (he was in the rotation for Baltimore, his original club before being sent to the pen by the Mariners). Garrett got one more MLB appearance with the Mets in 2012, spent the following year in Korea and hung ‘em up at age 29. 
• 2001 - Bad news for Bucco pitchers continued to pile up as RHP Bobby Bradley, the Pirates #1 pick (8th overall) in the 1999 draft, had surgery for a torn elbow ligament. He joined MLB hurlers Kris Benson, Ryan Vogelsong and Francisco Cordova on the DL with reconstructive elbow surgeries. Bradley missed the 2002 season and never tossed in the majors while Benson returned in May, and though he lasted six more big league seasons, he never posted an ERA under 4.00. Vogelsong sat out 2002, then pitched four more years with Pittsburgh to a 5.87 ERA and Francisco never appeared in the major leagues again. 
• 2009 - IF coach Perry Hill and the Pirates couldn’t reach a contract deal, and the respected infield tutor left, reappearing in 2011 with Miami and currently with Seattle since 2019. On the same day, longtime Pirates minor league pitching coach Ray Searage was promoted to assistant pitching coach of the big team, working with main man Joe Kerrigan. He got the pitching coach job in 2010 when Clint Hurdle replaced John Russell and lasted through 2019, when he was given the heave-ho along with skipper Hurdle. 

Dick Groat - 2000 Fleer Greats of the Game

• 2019 - The Westmoreland County Commissioners declared it “Dick Groat Day.” They celebrated at Totteridge Golf Club in Hempfield, following the round with the proclamation presentation and then a feed of the Pitt-Syracuse football game to incorporate two of the 88-year-old’s faves, Pitt (Pitt-Greensburg was a prominent sponsor) and golf.