6/15 From 1960: Four Depth Deals & One Big Miss; '60 Bucs Honored; Rained Out-At the Dome; Kitten Purrs; Game Tales; HBD Jake, Josh & Erik

• 1960 - The Pirates ran San Francisco out of Candlestick Park behind Harvey Haddix by a 14-6 tally. The Kitten went the distance, giving up four earned runs, and pulled double duty with four hits (two two-baggers), three runs scored and two RBI. Dick Groat also had four knocks while The Tiger, Dick Hoak (four runs chased home), and C Hal Smith chipped in with three raps each. The Bucs banged out 19 hits, nine of which went for extra bases, although they all stayed in the yard. The win put the Buccos three games up in the division, and they eventually took the title with a seven game edge. 
• 1961 - Pittsburgh sent OF Gino Cimoli to the Milwaukee Braves for IF Johnny Logan. Cimoli was a bench player for the Braves, then went on to start for KC in 1962-63. Logan’s All-Star days were behind him and he spent his final three seasons with the Bucs as a reserve infielder batting .249. 

Johnny Logan - 1962 Topps

• 1962 - Hank Aaron hit a grand slam in the seventh and Roberto Clemente answered with a grand salami of his own an inning later as a furious Pirates rally was just enough to overcome the Milwaukee Braves, 9-8, at Forbes Field. The Braves held an 8-2 lead going into the eighth. Arriba’s slam made a game of it, then with two outs, five straight Bucco hitters reached with Bill Virdon’s single tying the game and Dick Groat’s knock chasing home the game winner. Seven Pirates starters had hits and scored/ drove in runs (or both). Jack Lamabe got the win for tossing a scoreless eighth and ElRoy Face earned the save. 
• 1966 - The Atlanta Braves traded LHP Billy O'Dell to the Pirates for RHP Don Schwall in a twilight time deal. 33-year-old Digger O’Dell was effective in ‘66, making 37 appearances with a 2.78 ERA, but he faltered during the next season, his last in the majors. Schwall, 30, went 3-3 in eight starts for Atlanta, and pitched one game in 1967 to end his career. 
• 1971 - The Bucs scored twice in the ninth to beat Houston 3-0 at the Astrodome behind Steve Blass’ six hitter. But Roberto Clemente’s catch was the highlight reel. Ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the eighth with one on and one out, Clemente first robbed Cesar Cedeno with a sliding, shoestring catch. The next grab off Bob Watson was even better when he leaped and pulled in his liner from over the wall with his back to the plate, crashing into the fence at full throttle. He landed dazed; CF Al Oliver had to take the ball from him. Per BR Bullpen, UPI’s Darrell Mack caught Watson’s reaction: "I never saw one like that...he hit it (the wall) wide open. He never slowed up. I don’t see how he could keep the ball in his glove. The thing that makes him so great is that he does it all in a jam. He’s one of the best clutch players in the game.” The fans in Houston gave him two ovations; one after the catch and once again in the ninth when he batted. As for the game, Al Oliver’s seventh inning homer broke up a scoreless duel between Blass and Larry Dierker; Richie Hebner and Manny Sanguillen knocked home the insurance markers. 

• 1976 - The Bucs were in effect rained out of a game at the Houston Astrodome. Though the field was fine and the teams took their pre-game warmups, flooding after 10” of rain prevented the umps from reaching the yard. Both teams’ players and Houstons’ staffers shared their clubhouse buffet on the field, with several brunchers wearing flip-flops. A couple of dozen fans made it to the game, and they were treated to a cafeteria meal for their loyalty. It was the only time in Houston and MLB history that a game under a dome was called off because of bad weather. The only other previous cancellation at the dome was for Dr. King's death, and other roofed places have banged games because of building issues, but never lost a match to rain. 
• 1977 - The Pirates shipped utilityman Ed Kirkpatrick to the Rangers for infielder Jim Fregosi. Spanky finished his 16-year MLB career in 1978 after a four-year Bucco stint (.236 BA) while Fregosi hung it up after 18 years, spending his last two campaigns in Pittsburgh before being released to take over the California Angels manager’s job in June of ‘78. They also bought OF Jerry Hairston from the White Sox, releasing utilityman Tommy Helms to clear a roster spot. Hairston hit .192 and was then sold to Durango of the Mexican League. After four years playing down south, he returned to the White Sox and played off-and-on until 1989.  
• 1977 - After a bitter front office/media feud, the Mets sent Tom Seaver to the Cincinnati Reds for Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson, Dan Norman and Pat Zachry. It was rumored that the Pirates were interested in dealing for Tom Terrific, but New York’s FO asked for a package featuring Bruce Kison with prospects including 20-year-old Dale Berra, who was a first-round draft pick in 1975 (Other names bandied about: Al Oliver & Jerry Reuss). 
• 1980 - C Erik Kratz was born in Telford, Pennsylvania. The journeyman made his second appearance as a Bucco in 2016; he caught nine games in 2010 as a rookie. Defensively, he did a fine job, throwing out 50% (8-of-16) wanna-be base larcenists, but hit just .111. Pittsburgh was one of nine teams the backstop played for (he was on three squads multiple times) in 10 MLB seasons until he announced his retirement in 2020. 

Erik Kratz - 2016 photo/Pirates

• 1982 - The Pirates traded 39-year-old OF Bill Robinson to the Phillies for OF Wayne Nordhagen. It was a hectic day or two for Wayne: He was sent to Philly by the Blues Jays, then traded to the Pirates by the Phils. He was back in Toronto quickly enough. He played one game for the Pirates before the club shipped him back to the Jays on June 25th as the PTBNL for an earlier deal for Dick Davis, who was the player Philly had sent to Toronto on the 15th to plant the trade tree. Both Robby and Nordhagen had one more MLB campaign left and were done after the 1983 season. 
• 1987 - RHP Josh Lindblom was born in Lafayette, Indiana. He pitched regularly for the Dodgers and Phils from 2011-12 as part of a trek that included stops at five MLB teams, seven minor league towns and two Korean nines. The Pirates liked him; they claimed him off waivers in 2014 only to release him to the Lotte Giants of the KBO, then signed him again when he returned after two years. He spent most of his time at Indianapolis, getting into four 2017 Pirates contests and giving up nine runs in 10 plus innings. He went back to Lotte, then twirled for the Doosan Bears before signing a stateside deal in 2020 with Milwaukee. 
• 1987 - IF Jake Elmore was born in Dothan, Alabama. Jake played for six teams in six years - Arizona (they drafted him in 2008), Houston, Cincy, Tampa Bay, Milwaukee and for the Bucs in 2019. Jake played every position in the field at one point or another, even pitching and catching, but his lifetime .215 BA (he hit .213 as a Pirate while filling in at four spots) has kept him around as just a depth/role player. He’s with Philly now as a minor league coach. 

Jake Elmore - 2020 photo Dennis Poroy/Getty

• 1987 - In a 3-1 win over the Cardinals, Jim Morrison set an MLB record by getting caught stealing home twice in the same inning. He was first caught in a rundown and Terry Pendleton dropped the throw to third, with Morrison being credited with a CS and Pendleton an error. Mo tried to steal again - some guys never learn - and was caught cleanly the second time. He was picked up by Mike Diaz, who went deep, while Andy Van Slyke and Spanky LaValliere doubled home runs to back Mike Dunne’s complete game three-hitter. 
• 1992 - Jeff King was also caught stealing twice in the same inning. The first time he was given 1B after being picked off but then collided with Phillies P Terry Mulholland during the rundown. Mulholland was called for interference, and King was charged with a caught stealing. He was nailed later in the frame trying to steal third. (Jeff lost his dubious honor a few days later when the league determined that the interference call nullified the first CS). The Bucs lost, 4-1. The day opened as a hybrid twin bill when Team USA defeated Nicaragua, 4-1, in a warm up contest before the ‘92 Olympics. 
• 2000 - Kris Benson continued to turn heads by tossing his first MLB shutout, a six-hit, 2-0 win against Atlanta at TRS. In his prior 10 starts, Benson slashed 5-2/2.08 and looked poised for a breakout, but starting in mid-July, he went 2-6/5.01 and never won more than 11 games in any single season of his nine-year career. The Bucs bled out their two runs, scoring on a pair of two-out infield hustle hits, one by Benson and the other by Pat Meares. 
• 2008 - The Bucs squandered a 4-2 lead in the ninth, allowing the Orioles to score twice, but came back in the 10th to claim a 5-4 win at Camden Yards. Jason Bay walked to start the extra frame and scored on Adam LaRoche’s single. Matt Capps, the Pirates fourth hurler who had blown the save by giving up a two-run, two-out homer to Bip Roberts, struck out a pair in the 10th to earn both a blown save and a win. 

Cutch - 2010 Topps Chrome

• 2010 - The Pirates lost to the Chicago White Sox, 6-4, at PNC Park, but don’t blame Andrew McCutchen. He had his seventh three-or-more hits game, with a walk, a run scored and an RBI, while stealing three bases for the second time in his brief career. In one sequence, Chicago’s Matt Thornton threw to first 14 times to keep Cutch close - and he still swiped second. Brad Lincoln lost his second straight start since being called up from the minors, and for the Bucs, it was their ninth consecutive defeat. 
• 2010 - No Red/Blue split: The Pennsylvania House passed a bill honoring the Pirates 1960 championship team as part of the club’s 50th anniversary celebration. It was approved by a 197-0 vote and was sponsored by 64 members in a rare bipartisan display.