- 1884 - RHP Frederick Mitchell “Mysterious” Walker (his moniker came from pitching under a fake name for the San Francisco Seals) was born in Utica, Nebraska. He didn’t play much or well in Pittsburgh: in 1914, Walker pitched for the Rebels of the outlaw Federal League and appeared in 35 games, tossing a career-high 169-1/3 innings with a record of 4–16 and a 4.33 ERA. He made more of a name for himself locally in football. He was Carnegie Tech’s head coach from 1912-13 and in 1914 served as an assistant football coach at W & J College.
- 1893 - The Pirates traded C Duke Farrell and $1,500 to the Washington Nationals for LHP Frank “Lefty” Killen in a win-win deal for both clubs. Farrell banged heads with manager Al Buckenberger and after leaving Pittsburgh played 13 more years as one of baseball’s better hitting catchers, retiring in 1905 with a career .277 BA. Duke, just recovering from a broken leg, appeared against his old mates for Boston in the 1903 World Series as a pinch hitter. Killen tossed six seasons for the Bucs with an 112-82/3.71 line and set the team record for wins with 36 in 1893, one of two 30-win seasons he spun for Pittsburgh.
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| Lefty Killen - 1896 Team Photo Snip |
- 1915 - RHP Bill Brandt was born in Aurora, Indiana. Brandt spent his brief career (1941-43) as a Pirate, going 5-3 with a 3.57 ERA while getting just 80-2/3 IP over that time (he was a call-up for the first two campaigns, getting his only full season in 1943). He was effective as a minor leaguer, but after serving his country from 1944-45, Brandt never pitched above AAA ball again, topping out at Hollywood in the PCL.
- 1944 - Pirate C Manny Sanguillen was born in Colon, Panama. In 12 years with the Bucs, he batted .299 and was on three All-Star teams, which was quite a feat during the Johnny Bench era. Manny hit .282 in two World Series and five NLCS bouts. Noted for never seeing a pitch he didn’t like, the free swinger’s lifetime batting average of .296 is in the Top Ten for catchers in MLB history. Like many Buccos, he was dubbed by Bob Prince; his nickname was "The Road Runner" because of his surprising speed as a catcher. Manny is still a well known figure with a ballyard eatery and serves as a camp instructor during the spring.
- 1945 - SS/OF & scout Pablo Cruz was born in San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic. Pablo never played for the MLB Bucs, although he spent all 14 years of his pro career (1965-’78) in the Pirates farm system. He was a good stick, so-so glove SS who had the bad luck to play during the Gene Alley era and then lost out to younger prospect Frank Taveras in the seventies. After his playing days, Cruz became a full-time scout for the Pirates and lassoed a corral full of Latino talent like Moisés Alou, Tony Peña, Aramis Ramírez, Félix Fermín, José Guillén, José Lind, Orlando Merced, José de León, Cecilio Guante, José Castillo, Ronny Paulino and Rafe Belliard. He scouted for several teams after the Bucs, and his son, Ismael, also became a Pirates bird dog for a spell.
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| Wally Westlake - 1949 Eureka Sports Stamp |
- 1950 - A visit by scout Ted McGrew to the Phillies camp launched a rumor that the Bucs were sniffing for a deal, reportedly with Philadelphia, said to be asking for OF Wally Westlake and C Ed Fitz Gerald in exchange for C Ed Seminick and 1B Dick Sisler. Pittsburgh was thought to have interest in Seminick, but considered Westlake too valuable to include, killing the potential deal. Wally played through the 1950 season and hit .285 with 95 RBI, then was dealt to the Cards in June of 1951 in a six-man swap for pitching rather than catching.
- 1963 - SS Shawon Dunston was born in Brooklyn, New York. Dunston was the Numero Uno selection in the June 1982 amateur draft and a 13-year vet when on August 31st, 1997, the Cubs sent him to Pirates, who lost two shortstops to injuries, Kevin Elster and Kevin Polcovich. He hit two long balls in his first game with the Bucs during that “Freak Show” season and did his part, hitting .394 with five homers and 16 RBI’s in 18 games though the club fell 3-1/2 games short of the flag. After his short stint, Dunston signed on with the Indians. He retired in 2002 and is now part of the Giants organization.
- 1982 - The Pirates traded SS Vance Law and RHP Ernie Camacho to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for pitchers Ross Baumgarten and Butch Edge. Law played nine more MLB seasons, once as an All-Star, and Camacho pitched for eight more years. Baumgarten and Edge never panned out for the Bucs. Baumgarten got 10 starts, went 0-5/6.55, and was released the following spring to end his MLB stay while Edge, who had pitched for Toronto in 1979 during his only big league campaign, never escaped from the minors.
- 1986 - The Pittsburgh Associates, a coalition of 13 public and private investors, formally purchased the Pirates from the Galbreath family for $21.8M in a deal that had been essentially hammered out in the previous fall. The Associates were led by Mayor Richard S. Caliguiri along with Westinghouse, Alcoa, PPG, USS, PNC, Mellon, CMU and Ryan Homes. Private investors included Chicago real estate developer Harvey Walken, contractor Frank Schneider, businessman Frank Fuhrer and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette publisher William Block. It assured that the club would stay in Pittsburgh while a new long-term buyer could be found to avoid the clutches of circling vultures like Denver, Portland and New Orleans.
- 1991 - RHP Esteban Loaiza was signed as an undrafted FA by the Bucs as a 19-year-old pitcher for the Mexico City Reds. He worked from 1995-98 with Pittsburgh (27-28-1/4.63) and had a 14-year career in MLB with a pair of All-Star selections and 126 wins. Loaiza was arrested in San Diego in 2018 for transporting 20 kilos of cocaine and heroin and was sentenced to three years with the proviso that he be deported to Mexico after his release. On the same day, the Bucs sent IF Tommy Shields to the O’s for IF Tony Beasley. Shields had a couple of brief MLB visits, while Beasley spent his time in the Pirates minors, eventually managing for the Bucs farm system and topping out with a four-year run as a coach for John Russell. He’s also coached for the Nats and now is with the Rangers.
- 1996 - MLB approved revenue sharing at its meeting in Phoenix by a 26-1-1 verdict after years of sometimes acrimonious debate. As the owner of a small revenue club, Kevin McClatchy welcomed it with open arms, estimating that the policy could boost the Bucs’ financial position by $4M when implemented and could double that amount in the coming years. The interim plan became part of the CBA and was tinkered with a bit in 2002, when for all intents and purposes, it took its current form.
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| Gorzo - 2006 Topps |
- 2006 - The Pirates cut four players that loomed large in their plans for the coming season - LHP Tom Gorzelanny, LHP Sean Burnett, CF Rajai Davis and 1B Brad Eldred. Of the four, none ever became the building blocks they were touted to be, and only Gorzo became a regular, joining the team in August and pitching here until 2009, when he was dealt to the Cubs for Josh Harrison. Davis also played in ‘06, but was shipped to the Giants in 2007 for Matt Morris. Burney and Brad both spent the year in the minors, making brief stops in Pittsburgh before moving on.
- 2021 - The Pirates announced that they signed ex-BoSox 36-year-old RHP Steven Wright to an NRI contract as a depth option. The former Boston knuckleballer didn't pitch in 2020 and had 26 outings in 2018-19 while serving two suspensions to go along with elbow and knee issues which were supposed to be behind him. GM Ben Cherington knew Wright from their Red Sox days, and the flutterer had been an All Star in 2016, so he risked a roll of the low-risk dice. Wright didn’t make it out of Indy, where he posted a 6.68 ERA in 18 starts and was released in August; he’s currently a free agent.
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