10/19 From 1970: Parade Day; Coach Kerrigan; HBD Jordan, John, JA, James, Jose & Rajai

• 1979 - The World Champion Pirates had their moment of glory in downtown’s Market Square when 29 members of the team & their families were cheered by 15-35,000 fans (take your pick; crowd estimates were all over the place); by any measure, the noontime celebration was packed. Tom Hritz of the Post Gazette wrote that “Market Square was so crowded you couldn’t get an X-ray through it.” Sister Sledge’s “We are Fam-a-lee” blared over the loudspeakers on the sunny day as Milo Hamilton and Lanny Frattare MC’ed the event. The local politicos got first crack at the mic, causing disgruntled chants of “We want the Bucs” that were finally answered when Tim Foli led off the Pirates lineup. The biggest cheer was for Willie Stargell, who wore a stetson with a gold star and told the fans that “You are as responsible for winning the World Series as we are.” The afternoon’s comic relief was provided by a hot air balloon that refused to fly, alternating between dropping on the fans and snagging buildings until it finally tore and deflated. 

• 1980 - 3B/OF Jose Bautista was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He played for the Bucs from 2004-08, and hit .241 with 43 HR in that span before being traded to Toronto in 2008 for Robinzon Diaz. Joey Bats blossomed after becoming a Blue Jay, leading the AL in home runs and RBI twice before becoming a 37-year-old nomad in 2018, ending his MLB stay with Philly. He played for the Dominican Republic’s Olympic team in 2020, helping the club to earn the bronze medal. Diaz didn’t leave much of a mark. He didn’t crack the majors again after his Pittsburgh stop, and last played in 2016-17 in the Dominican Winter League. 
• 1980 - OF Rajai Davis was born in Norwich, Connecticut. Raj was a late round pick in 2001 by the Bucs. He showed speed and a pretty good stick in the minors, but was always one step behind guys like Chris Duffy, Nyjer Morgan and Nate McLouth. He got parts of two years with the Pirates, seeing action in 44 games and hitting .242 before being traded for Giants’ P Matt Morris in 2007 in a last-straw deal that greased the skids for Dave Littlefield. Davis played for eight teams over 14 big-league years through 2019 with a .262 lifetime BA and 415 stolen bases. Morris was released by the Bucs in late April of 2008 after going 3-8/7.02 to end his big league days. 
• 1982 - RHP James Anthony “JA” Happ was born in Peru, Illinois. JA debuted with the Phils in 2007 and has been in the majors ever since. He played a key role in the Pirates’ 2015 playoff run when the Bucs sent RHP Adrian Sampson to Seattle for Happ, who went 7-2/1.85 down the stretch to help Pittsburgh to a wildcard finish. The Pirates let him walk after the campaign and he’s now got 15 years in the show, tossing for eight teams to date. 
• 1984 - RHP James McDonald was born in Long Beach, California. The righty came to Pittsburgh in 2010 as part of the Octavio Dotel deal, and was an up-and-down member of the rotation until 2013, going 27-24/4.21 in his four Pirate years. J-Mac had a breakout campaign in 2012 until after the All-Star break when the wheels fell off, and he never recovered. He was injured before the 2014 season and hasn’t tossed since. 

James McDonald - August/2011 Program

• 1987 - RHP John Holdzkom was born in Pasadena, California. After extreme control issues cost him his gig in the Mets system, Holdzkom was pitching indy ball when scout Mal Fichman signed him to a contract with the Pirates in 2014. Big John zipped through the minors and got a September call-up, striking out the side in his first outing and finishing the year with a line of 1-0/2.00 with 14 K in nine innings. He was sent back to the minor leagues to start the 2015 season, where nagging injuries and inconsistency with control, mixed with him being on the gray side at age 28, kept him on the farm. He had a rough offseason; his brother Lincoln died in a car crash in December and he was DFA’ed in April of 2016. The White Sox signed him to a minor league deal but released him after six games and he’s been on the outside since then, finally ending his exile by signing up to pitch in New Zealand during the 2018-19 season. 
• 1990 - RHP Jordan Lyles was born in Hartsville, South Carolina. Lyles, picked 38th overall in the 2008 draft by the Astro’s, worked his way up to their top pitching prospect and a spot in the 2010 Futures game. But his eight-year career didn’t exactly follow the script; he slashed 31-52/5.28 for four clubs, starting out as a rotation arm and being bumped to the bullpen. The Pirates signed him to a one-year/$2.05M free agent deal at the 2018 winter meeting after he had looked sharp from the pen the prior year for San Diego and Milwaukee. He got off to a hot start then cooled off; he was sent to Milwaukee and was re-energized late in the year. Lyles is now with the Rangers. 
• 2008 - Joe Kerrigan was named the Pirates pitching coach, replacing Jeff Andrews, who only lasted a season after being promoted from the Bucco minor league system. Joe had 18 years experience at the job with four other organizations and wanted the pitchers to work inside and throw strikes, a familiar recipe. But like Andrews ahead of him, he lasted just a year before he was cashiered along with John Russell and his staff after the 99-loss 2009 campaign.