4/3 From 1985: Wilson, Patterson Deals; Home Openers, Reds Swept; ESPN Game; El Toro; Littlefield Extended; Belle Bucks

• 1986 - RJ Reynolds became the second Bucco to lead off the Home Opener with a home run (Billy Cox was the first in 1947) and added a double, but it wasn’t enough as Doc Gooden and the Mets dropped the Pirates, 4-2, at TRS. Rick Reuschel took the loss. 
• 1986 - The Pirates sent OF Marvell Wynne to the San Diego Padres for RHP Bob Patterson. It was a win-win deal. Patterson eventually was effective as a reliever for the Bucs (he came to the club as a starter) over six seasons, and Wynne played fairly regularly for SD for the next four seasons. He was replaced in Pittsburgh by Barry Bonds and a year later, Andy Van Slyke. 

Bob Patterson - 1987 Donruss

• 1990 - The Bucs shipped OF’er Billy Hatcher, whom they had picked up at the 1989 deadline, to Cincinnati for Glenn Wilson, IF Jeff Richardson, who got into six games as a Pirate in 1991, and RHP Mike Roesler, who appeared in five 1990 games. Hatcher, to add a little salt to the wound, helped the Reds sink the Bucs in the 1990 NLCS by hitting .333 and played six more MLB seasons as mainly a platoon outfielder. For Hatcher, the trade wasn’t the main event of the day. He was in the delivery room with his pregnant wife when he learned the news, and didn’t even ask what team he was traded to. Hatcher found out later, after his daughter Chelsea was born, when Cincy GM Bob Quinn called to welcome him aboard. 
• 1997 - Per the Associated Press, for the first time in major league history, the salary of one player was more than that of a team. The Chicago White Sox paid Albert Belle $10M for the season, which was $928,333 more than the entire Pirate “Freak Show” payroll. The Pirates won 79 games that year while the White Sox won 80 and neither made the postseason, so pick your poison. 
• 2000 - The Pirates had a sold-out house for the Home Opener, the final one for TRS, but Mother Nature didn’t cooperate. The team canceled the game against the Astros because of rain, causing the fans to litter the field with various ballpark debris. Then, to make matters worse, the crowd left to a massive traffic jam - the police who had directed the flow into the park were gone and not scheduled to return until the game was over, so people trying to get back home were left to their own devices in navigating an escape route until the officers could regroup. The game was played the next night in a gray drizzle, and a smattering of fans were treated to a loss. 

Reggie Sanders - 2003 Topps

• 2003 - The Pirates completed a season-opening three-game sweep of Cincinnati at The Great American Ballpark with a 7-5 win. Former Red Reggie Sanders went deep twice for Pittsburgh, going 4-for-5 and adding five RBI. Sanders went 7-for-10 in the series as the Pirates jumped out to their first 3-0 start to a season since 1993. It wasn’t much of an omen - Pittsburgh finished the campaign with 75 wins, 13 games off the Cubs’ division-winning pace. 
• 2006 - GM Dave Littlefield received a one-year extension on his contract, carrying him through the 2008 season. Hired in 2001, he put together a 314-407 (.436) record, but owner Kevin McClatchy cited the forward progress the team had made under Littlefield’s tenure. It didn’t help as he was canned after the 2007 campaign. Brian Graham (Player Development director) replaced him as the interim GM before Neal Huntington was hired three weeks later. Graham was let go shortly thereafter, along with manager Jim Tracy and suits Ed Creech (Scouting director) and Jon Mercurio (Baseball Operations director). 
• 2011 - The Pirates plated a pair of runs in the ninth to down the Cubs at Wrigley Field, 5-4. A walk to Garrett Jones, a single by Neil Walker and a Lyle Overbay bunt against Carlos Marmol left runners at second and third in the ninth for Pedro Alvarez, who rolled a ball softly to the left side hole. He beat it out for a hit as both Bucs scored, giving El Toro three RBI on the day. Jeff Karstens got the win in relief of Ross Ohlendorf, with Joel Hanrahan picking up the save.

Pedro Alvarez - 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen

• 2016 - In the kickoff of the major league season shown on ESPN, the Pirates defeated the Cardinals, 4-1, in front of a sellout crowd of 39,500 fans at PNC Park. Frankie Liriano struck out 10 batters in six scoreless frames and also drove in the game’s first run with a single off losing hurler Adam Wainwright. Josh Harrison managed to hit into a sac fly/double play combo when with runners on first and third and no outs, his fly plated a run although the runner at first was cut down trying to get to second. Though the year started off on a high note for the Cisco Kid, he would be traded to Toronto at the deadline after posting a 6-11/5.46 slash during the campaign, returning to Pittsburgh for a bullpen role in 2019.