10/28 From 1970: Huntington Done; Cutch, Shark AS; Leyland MOTY; FA Bo; Milo Era; RIP T-Bone; HBD Diego, Nate & Corban

• 1979 - Radio announcer Milo Hamilton, who replaced Bob Prince in the booth but not in the hearts of the Bucco faithful, told the media that he was leaving the Pirates after four years, as soon as his contract expired at the end of the year. He made the move official the next day by announcing a deal with the Cubs, for whom he had broadcast earlier in his career. He was let go there in 1984 after clashing with Harry Caray before finding a home in Houston. He broadcast from Space City through 2012 on the final leg of his road to a Ford Frick media award. 
• 1981 - OF Nate McLouth was born in Muskegon, Michigan. Drafted in the 25th round of the 2000 draft, he spent his first five big league years (2005-09) with the Bucs, hitting .256 and earning an All-Star spot in 2008. McLouth was traded to the Braves for Gorkys Hernandez, Charlie Morton and Jeff Locke after his AS season when his value was high and Andrew McCutchen was ready to step in to play center field. Nate finished his 10-year career with Washington in 2014. 

Nate McLouth - 2006 Fleer Tradition Rookie

• 1988 - Utility man Corban Joseph was born in Franklin, Tennessee. The younger brother of Caleb, he had cups of coffee with four different organizations before the Pirates claimed him late in the 2019 campaign from the Giants. He only hit .169 in his MLB stops, but had a .371 BA with 13 homers while spending most of the 2019 season in the PCL. He reverted to form to bat .182 in an August/September stint with the big club and was released in the offseason. 
• 1991 - Bobby Bonilla became a free agent. In his six years with Pittsburgh (1986-91), Bobby Bo slashed .284/.357/.481 w/114 HR, 500 RBI, four All-Star nods and was twice a top-three finisher for the MVP. He signed with the Mets for five years/$29M, making him the highest paid player in baseball at the time. He got deferred money from that deal and more from a buy-out of his second contract that pays him $1.19M annually until 2035. A couple of other Bucs, 3B Steve Buechele and P Bob Kipper, also declared for FA. Buechele returned to the fold while Kip signed with the Minnesota Twins. 
• 1992 - Jim Leyland was named the National League Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America, the second time he won the award. Leyland received 20 of 24 first-place ballots to outpoll rookie field general Felipe Alou of the Expos. Pittsburgh won 96 games and the division, only to be derailed by Atlanta in a seven game NLCS. Leyland would remain with the Bucs through the 1996 campaign, never winning more than 75 games after roster deconstruction began in the ‘92 offseason, then moved on to Florida, Colorado and Detroit. 

Diego Castillo - 2022 photo Joe Sargent/Getty

• 1997 - IF Diego Castillo was born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. A Yankee prospect, the Pirates picked him in 2021 as part of the Clay Holmes trade. He spent most of that year in AA, but his performance the following spring earned him a spot on the roster when camp broke. He got into 96 games for the Bucs, hitting .206 with 11 dingers in 262 ABs while playing every IF spot and RF. 
• 2015 - CF’er Andrew McCutchen and closer Mark Melancon were named to The Sporting News' National League all-star team. Cutch hit .292 with 23 HR and 96 RBI, making his fourth straight appearance on the list, while Mark the Shark, who set a Pirate record and led the majors with 51 saves while appearing in 78 games & posting a 2.23 ERA, was a first-time awardee. It was a big day for Melancon; he also took home the 2015 Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year award. 
• 2018 - Pirates scout Tom “T-Bone” Baker passed away at his Huntington, WV, home at age 75. Baker had served as a regional scout for the Pirates from 1990-2013 when health issues bumped him to part-time status; he also worked as a systems engineer until retiring from that gig in 1997. He and his dog “Scout,” who attended the games with him, knew every ballyard in the area inside and out as T-Bone played for Huntington HS and Marshall University. 

Neil Huntington - photo via Amherst College

• 2019 - The Pirates made it a clean front office sweep by dismissing GM Neal Huntington after earlier relieving manager Clint Hurdle and President Frank Coonely. Kevan Graves, one of the Pirates' assistant GMs, served as interim GM while the Pirates conducted a search for Huntington’s position, resulting in Ben Cherington’s hire two weeks later. The other newbies were President Travis Williams, from of all places the Penguins, who was officially named as Coonelly’s replacement starting on November 1st and Derek Shelton, who was chosen manager on the 27th.