4/21 From 1975: Dunne Deal; Cobra Sued; Arriba Live Streamed; Rally Cap; Game Tales; HBD Brent, Ronny, Kip & Jack

• 1977 - RHP Kip Wells was born in Houston. The righty came to Pittsburgh in the 2001 off season as part of the Todd Ritchie deal with the White Sox and tossed for five Bucco campaigns (2002-06), winning 36 times. The Texan started off well with ERAs of 3.58 and 3.28 in 2002-03 but faded and was sent to the Rangers for Jesse Chavez. Kip played through 2009, went through a couple of years when he couldn’t land an MLB job, and closed out his career in 2012 as a Padre, retiring the next season. 
• 1978 · LHP Jack Taschner was born in Milwaukee. After working for the Giants and Phils, the reliever joined the Bucs as an NRI in 2010. He went north with the squad and made 17 outings, going 1-0/6.41 before being released in June. The Dodgers claimed him, and he finished the year (and his MLB career) with them. Jack became a cop in Appleton, Wisconsin after his playing days. 

Ronny Paulino - 2008 Topps Heritage

• 1981 - Ronny Paulino was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He was thought to be the Bucco catcher of the future and started behind the dish in 2006-07. That was enough time to prove he wasn’t the answer and after the 2008 season he was dealt to the Phils for Jason Jaramillo. Paulino spent four years as a Pirate and hit .278, bumping around the league for four more seasons. He finished his career in the Mexican and Dominican leagues after the 2019-20 season. 
• 1986 - The Pirates filed a lawsuit in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court against Dave Parker to cut his deferred contract money. It sought to relieve the club of the $5,312,475 still owed to the OF’er, with the Bucco claim based on his drug testimony which they alleged triggered a clause that forfeited the back pay. He was the only player they sued after the fact, probably due to a combination of Parker playing for another team, not being very popular among the fans, and the Pirates sinking financial condition. A confidential settlement was reached between the club and The Cobra in 1988 before the trial. 
• 1987 - 3B Brent Morel was born in Bakersfield, California. Brent got six years in the show, primarily as a depth piece. He finished his MLB career in Pittsburgh, getting into 26 games during 2014-15 and hitting .196. Brent spent his last two pro years in Japan, retiring after the 2017 campaign. 
• 1989 - In a deal of hopefuls, the Pirates traded former first round pick OF/1B Mark Merchant along with pitchers Mike Dunne & Mike Walker to the Seattle Mariners for SS Rey Quinones and UT Bill Wilkinson. The change of scenery didn’t help and all five players quickly faded from the MLB landscape. 

Ray Quinones - 1989 Upper Deck

• 1991 - The Pirates became the first MLB team to ever come back from a five-run deficit in an extra inning to rally for victory. After the Cubs scored five times, thanks mostly to a grand slam by Andre Dawson, the Pirates plated six runners in the 11th inning at TRS to claim a 13-12 victory, with Don Slaught's double the game winner. Nine Bucs batted in that frame, collecting two doubles, three singles, three walks and a sac fly as they small-balled their way to a big inning. Bob Patterson was charged with giving up three runs in an inning of work, but was credited with the win. The loss was pinned on former Pirate Mike Bielecki. The extra-inning comeback was just the second of two late rallies; the Bucs were losing, 7-2, going into the eighth. An Orlando Merced triple and Bobby Bo homer cut the lead to one and then the Bucs tied it in the ninth on a two-out Gary Varsho double. It was a true team win: nine Pirates chipped in with RBI and eight players scored. 
• 1992 - The Bucs scored five times in the first inning and held on to beat the Expos, 8-7, at Olympic Stadium. Andy Van Slyke put the Bucs ahead in the first with a two-run triple and finished with three RBI. Barry Bonds went deep in the third inning to make it 6-2 Pittsburgh. Vicente Palacios picked up the win in relief with two scoreless frames while Roger Mason earned the save. 
• 2002 - The Pirates won their sixth straight game and 7-of-8 by a 9-3 count over the Phils at PNC Park to run their record to 12-5. The Bucs had a 2-1/2 game lead in the division after the triumph, but by mid-May, they were below .500 and finished with 72 victories, 24-1/2 games out of the top spot. The Buccos ran up a five-spot in the second to ice the game, keyed by a two-out, bases-loaded triple by Jason Kendall. Abraham Nunez led the parade with three hits, including a double, two steals and three runs scored to plow the road for Kip Wells. 
• 2014 - The Bucs blew an early lead, but an Andrew McCutchen homer in the eighth tied it and Neil Walker’s two-out RBI bloop to right later in the frame was the game winner as the Pirates outlasted Cincinnati, 6-5, at PNC Park. Jared Hughes stranded a pair of Reds in the ninth to earn the win. Ike Davis hit his second grand slam of the year and both were against the Reds, one as a Buc and one as a Met. He became the first player in MLB history to hit two grand slams with two different teams before the end of April and the third player to hit two grand slams against the same opponent for two different teams. 

The Kid walks it off - 1989 Topps Heritage

• 2020 - The Roberto Clemente Museum shared its exhibits and some tales on a live stream for the first time on its Instagram account. Opened in 2007 and located at the old #25 Engine House on Penn Avenue in Lawrenceville, the museum had offered only scheduled tours, but director/curator Duane Rieder decided to provide Bucco fans with a web boost during the coronavirus shutdown of baseball.