3/14: Kenny Lofton Signs; Roberto's Rough Start; RIP Harold; HBD Matt, Butch, Earl, Bunker & Denny

• 1850 - IF Denny Mack (McGee) was born in Mauch Chunk (now Jim Thorpe) Pennsylvania. Mack spent eight years in the big leagues (National Association, National League and American Association) as a bench player, getting into more than 60 games just once in his career. His final campaign was in 1883 with the Alleghenys, where he was used in the infield, batting .196. He managed in the minors for four years afterward before passing away early at the age of 38. 
• 1869 - RHP Billy “Bunker” Rhines was born in Ridgway, Elk County. He tossed for the Bucs at the end of his career in 1898-99, going 16-20 with a 3.95 ERA after twice leading the NL in ERA as a Cincinnati Red. Bunker did have one league leading stat as a Bucco in 1898 - he tossed 258 frames without allowing a homer. The nickname “Bunker” may be a corruption of Rhines' alma mater, Bucknell, although that is uncertain.

Earl Smith - 1956 photo Jay Publishing

• 1928 - OF Earl Smith was born in Sunnyside, Washington. Smith had a brief career in the show with the Bucs, going 1-for-16 in April 1955 before being sent back to the minors, never to return. But he is the answer to a trivia question. Smith was the last player to wear #21 on the Pittsburgh Pirates' roster before Roberto Clemente. The Great One was a rookie that year and began the season wearing #13, but he claimed #21 (the number of letters in his full name, Roberto Clemente Walker) when Smith was sent down. 
• 1956 - Coach Harold “Butch” Wynegar was born in York, Pennsylvania. Butch had a 13-year career as a catcher with two All-Star selections and The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award in 1976. He began coaching in 1974 with stops in the Rangers, Brewers and Yankees systems and big-league jobs as Texas 1999 bullpen coach and Milwaukee’s hitting coach under Ned Yost from 2003-06. He joined the Pirates organization in 2015 as Indy’s hitting instructor; he’s moved on with Bradenton and is now coaching in the NYY system. His nickname dates back to his infancy when his grandma looked in the crib and declared that young Harold “looked like a Butch” per Douglas Looney of Sports Illustrated. 
• 1969 - After recovering from a right shoulder injury, Roberto Clemente banged his left wing chasing a foul pop during a spring game, which prompted a trip back home to Puerto Rico to visit his own doctor. He started the year 0-for-12, but roared back to finish with a .345 BA, second to Pete Rose’s .348 in a race that went down to the last day. Roberto was hitting .363 in August, but a cranky back kept him on the bench for much of September and likely cost him the crown. 
• 1978 - IF Matt Kata was born in Avon Lake, Ohio. After spending four seasons on-and-off the Arizona, Philly and Texas rosters, Kata was signed by the Bucs in June 2007. He played some infield, outfield and pinch hit, batting .250 in 88 ABs, and was released at the end of the year, signing with the Rox. The Pirates got him back in early 2008, and he spent the year at Indy before moving on to Houston. His 2009 season with the ‘Stros was his last MLB campaign and he retired after two more AAA years at age 33. 

Matt Kata - 2007 photo George Gojkovich/Getty

• 1986 - Harold Arlin passed away at age 90 in Bakersfield, California. On August 5th, 1921, Arlin announced the first MLB game ever broadcast on radio for KDKA, an 8-5 Bucco win over the Phils at Forbes Field, providing a template that was copied throughout baseball. He was heard across the nation and did games through 1925, when he retired from radio and took a day job in Mansfield, Ohio. He returned to the format for a last hurrah in 1972 at Bob Prince’s invitation, doing play-by-play with The Gunner as his grandson, Steve Arlin, was on the hill for the San Diego Padres against the Pirates at TRS. Harold also did college football, boxing and tennis matches, was the first to do celebrity interviews and also the first to announce the results of a presidential election over the airwaves. 
• 2003 - OF Kenny Lofton agreed to a one-year/$1.025M deal with the Pirates. Kenny took over in center, bumping Brian Giles to left and Reggie Sanders to right. They formed a sweet swinging if somewhat grizzled trio (Lofton was age 35, Sanders 36, & Giles the baby at 32) with some punch. But Lofton didn’t last out the year as he was traded to the Cubs on July 23rd with Aramis Ramirez for not much in return in Dave Littlefield’s most infamous salary dump. Kenny hit .277 with 18 swiped sacks and nine long balls in his abbreviated Bucco tour of duty. At last check, he was the CEO of a movie production company, Film Pool.