- 1972 - The Pirates scored three times in the first and never looked back as they beat the Reds, 5-1, in the NLCS opener at TRS. Al Oliver had a homer, triple, two runs scored and three RBI to give Steve Blass all the offense he’d need. After the game, Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht discovered that being a politico didn’t cover all sins when he was arrested for disorderly conduct. It seems he didn’t like the way a City cop was directing stadium traffic, and after several warnings from the officer to refrain from his disparaging commentary, he found himself hauled into a paddy wagon.
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| John Candelaria - 1975 photo/Pirates promo |
- 1975 - John Candelaria fanned 14 Reds at TRS, but Pittsburgh lost the NLCS finale, 5-3, as Cincy swept the series three games to none. The Bucs got a two-run homer from Al Oliver, but Ramon Hernandez was touched up for a pair of runs in the 10th inning to take the loss. The Reds went on to beat the Boston Red Sox in seven games to win the World Series.
- 1985 - Chuck Tanner was fired by the Pirates, but wasn’t out of work for long as he was hired to manage the Atlanta Braves three days later. Chuck’s teams had spent five years around .500 after the ‘79 championship and suffered a black eye during the Coke Trials. Jim Leyland would later be named as the new skipper while Tanner went on to spend three years with the Bravos. He then served as a baseball operations assistant for the Milwaukee Brewers (1992-2002) before scouting for five years for the Cleveland Indians. Chuck closed out as a senior advisor to Pirates GM Neal Huntington beginning in 2007, a position he held until he passed away in 2011.
- 1992 - The Braves took a 2-0 lead in the NLCS with a 13-5 pounding of the Pirates at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The Bucs threw seven pitchers at Atlanta, which banged out 14 hits, including a Ron Gant grand slam. The Bravos had a pair of four-run innings and iced it in the seventh, when they scored five two-out tallies off Denny Neagle. Chico Lind had two RBI for the Buccos while Barry Bonds scored twice; Lloyd McClendon’s two hits led the Pirates pack.
- 1996 - Manager Gene LaMont put together his first Pirates staff when he added Pete Vukovich (pitching)/Lloyd McClendon (batting) as coaches, joining Spin Williams (bullpen & only holdover)/Jack Lind (first base) and the soon-to-be-hired Rich Renick (bench)/Joe Jones (first base). Lamont, who had been the White Sox skipper from 1992-95, had a tough act to follow when he took the reins from Jim Leyland after serving a season as his third base coach, and lasted through 2000 in Pittsburgh, when he was replaced by one of his coaches, McClendon.
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| Nick Mears - 2021 photo/Pirates |
- 1996 - RHP Nick Mears was born in Sacramento, California. Mears, an undrafted free agent, joined the Bucs in 2018 and was a fast riser, going through three MiLB levels before reaching Altoona at the end of 2019 and capping off the year with a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League. He was invited to camp and called up on August 8th, made one appearance, and was returned to the alternate minor league camp after the MLB staff got a chance to look him over. Nick rejoined the club later in the month, getting into four games total and fanning seven in five frames with a 5.40 ERA. Mears started at Indy in 2021, was recalled in late May, then joined the Pirates pen full time in late July, finishing with a line of 1-0/5.01 in 30 outings. He was injured for much of 2022.
- 2001 - Pirate prospect Chad Hermanson showed a brief flash when his three-run homer in the eighth inning off Carlos Zambrano scored the Wilson boys, Craig and Jack, to give Pittsburgh a season-closing 4-3 win over Chicago at Wrigley Field. Joe Beimel got the win with a save from Mike Fetters. The Bucs finished last in the Central with 62 wins and Chad was dealt to the Cubs the following year.
- 2013 - The Pirates were on the brink of eliminating the St. Louis Cardinals from the NLDC at PNC Park, but the Redbirds rode Michael Wacha’s arm to a 2-1 victory and winner-take-all game at Busch Stadium. The Cards drew first blood when Matt Holliday hit a two-run homer in the sixth off Charlie Morton. Pittsburgh halved the gap in the eighth when they got their first and only hit, a 438’ bomb by Pedro Alvarez, to make it a one-run contest. But both bullpens were in shutdown mode, and the score stood. 40,493 fans showed up for the third consecutive postseason game to set a park attendance record. The Cardinals set a playoff record as all three of their pitchers (Wacha, Carlos Martinez and Trevor Rosenthal, who got the save) were 23 or younger.
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| Petey - 2013 Topps Allen & Ginter |
- 2015 - The Bucs were one-and-done in the 2015 playoffs, losing the wild card game to the Chicago Cubs, 4-0. The Cubs scored early off Gerrit Cole as the top of the order, Dexter Fowler and Kyle Schwarber, went 5-for-6 against Cole Train, accounting for all four runs and each pounding a homer. The Pirates big opportunity came in the sixth when they loaded the bases with an out, but a bullet off Starling Marte’s bat, with an exit speed of 109 MPH, was an at ‘em ball to short, resulting in a rally-and-game-crushing DP. Jake Arrieta held the Bucs to four hits with 11 K in a complete game win. A PNC Park record 40,889 fans were at the game to watch the 98-win Pirates face off against the 97-win Cubs; the Cardinals won the division with 100 victories.
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