3/31 Through the 1970s: Vince D Dealt; Robby Released; Mexican Stop; RIP Billy; HBD Frank, Skeeter, Tom, Chick & Fred

• 1886 - OF Fred Kommers was born in Chicago. He debuted with the Bucs in 1913, hitting .233 in 40 games. He jumped to the Federal League the following season, and though he hit better as a Fed than he did in the NL, it didn’t do much to advance his baseball career - it would be his last major league campaign. 
• 1887 - RHP Chester “Chick” Brandom was born in Coldwater, Kansas. Chick tossed from 1908-09 for the Bucs, getting into 16 games and going 2-0-3 with a 0.94 ERA. The Bucs were loaded back then, and he was sent back to the minors despite that shiny albeit small performance sample. But he may have a greater claim than his Bucco stint. A 1908 picture of Chick shows him delivering a knuckleball and if the date is right, that would make him the first known practitioner of that pitch, predating guys like Eddie Cicotte (caveat emptor; the original knuckleballer is still being debated). 

Tommy Sheehan - 7/5/1925 Pittsburgh Press

• 1894 - RHP Tom Sheehan was born in Grand Ridge, Illinois. Tom pitched the final two years of a MLB career that began in 1915 with the Pirates between 1925-26, posting a slash of 1-3-2/4.08. He embarked on a long march as a baseball lifer after his playing days. Sheehan coached for the Reds and Braves, then spent many years as a minor league manager/scout in the Giants system. In 1960, at age 66, he succeeded the fired Bill Rigney as the Giants skipper, becoming the oldest person to make his debut as a big-league manager. That gig didn’t work out, and after the campaign he was once again assigned to scouting. 
• 1895 - OF Carson “Skeeter” Bigbee was born in Lebanon, Oregon. He played 11 years for Pittsburgh, his only MLB club, from 1916-26, and hit .287 lifetime. His best seasons were 1921-22, when he batted .323 and .350. He banged out 419 hits over that span, scored 213 runs and led the NL in singles both years. Bigbee stole 182 bases in his career, which earned him his “Skeeter” nickname. Bigbee was part of the 1926 “ABC Affair” when he, Babe Adams and Max Carey beefed about team suit Fred Clarke being in the dugout during games and overruling manager Bill McKechnie. All three players were on the downside of their careers and got their walking papers as a result. 
• 1940 - The Pirates and Philadelphia Athletics played the first MLB exhibition game south of the border when they met in Hermosilla, Mexico at Casa del Pueblo Stadium. The A’s won by an 8-7 count at a match that featured soldiers stationed at the gates & on the rooftops, bands playing throughout the game, and fans on the field. After a little post-game shopping, the two teams hopped a train and rode the rails to their next match in Phoenix. 

Vince DiMaggio - photo via The Sporting News

• 1945 - The Pirates traded OF Vince DiMaggio, a two-time All-Star, to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Al “Lefty” Gerheauser. Both players were nearing the end of their big league days; DiMaggio hung up the spikes after the ‘46 season and Gerheauser won just seven more games in three years as the Pirates converted him from a starter to the pen. 
• 1957 - Ex-manager Billy Meyer died at age 64 of kidney and heart problems in Knoxville, having never fully recovered from a stroke suffered two years earlier. He had a long minor league playing career with a brief taste of the bigs and was a long time farm skipper before he got the call to manage the Bucs in 1948. He piloted the team to fourth place finish that season (Meyer won The Sporting News Manager of the Year award for that 83-win feat), but was stuck with a roster of Ralph Kiner and Rickey-Dinks, compiling a 317-452 record over five years. He resigned as field general after the 112-loss 1952 campaign and spent the next three campaigns as a minor league rover/scout for Pittsburgh before his stroke. His #1 was retired by the Pirates in 1954, more as a matter of respect and affection for Billy than accomplishment. March 31, 
• 1960 - Former Pirates President Frank Coonelly was born in Philadelphia. The Penn State grad was hired in 2007 as CEO to replace Kevin McClatchy and helped engineer the Bucs into respectability with three straight playoff appearances. But he couldn’t keep the train rollin’ and was let go at the end of the 2019 season, replaced by Travis Williams. Coonelly had previously served as senior VP in the commissioner’s office, where he was in charge of arbitration hearings and draft bonuses, among other items. He was a lawyer in private practice before that, and is now on several boards and the speakers circuit. 

Bob Robertson - 1975 Topps

• 1977 - After nine years as a Bucco, the Pirates released 1B Bob Robertson, who had been reduced to part-time status following 1974 knee surgery and then hurt his back in camp. He filed a grievance with the MLBPA to get his full year’s salary because he was let go while injured; it was settled when the Bucs paid him the entire $50K due for 1977. In 1971, the Mount Savage Strongboy became the first player to hit TRS’s upper deck in left center, then enjoyed a monster postseason, but he slumped badly after that campaign before his knees gave out. He retired after being released by Toronto in June of 1979.

3/31 From 1980: Solly, KY Sign; Bielecki, Tenace Go; Opening Wins; GABP & PNC Open; '22 CBA Changes

• 1984 - C Gene Tenace ended his 15-year career when he was released by the Pirates in spring training after batting .177 for the Bucs in 1983 as a 36-year old. Tenace featured a great eye at the dish - his career BA was just .241, but he had a .388 OBP and drew nearly 1,000 walks. Even in his last season with the Bucs, he had more walks than hits. 

Mike Bielecki - 2017 Topps Heritage Rediscover

• 1988 - The Chicago Cubs traded minor league LHP Mike Curtis to the Pirates for RHP Mike Bielecki. Bielecki turned into a workmanlike journeyman pitcher, working 14 years in MLB (he had one big season for the Cubs, going 18-7/3.14 in 1989) while Curtis never got out of AAA, ending his career in the indie leagues. 
• 1997 - The Pirates lured FA 1B Kevin Young back to Pittsburgh from KC with a $400K contract. He would sign two more deals with the Bucs worth $28M covering the following six seasons before retiring after the 2003 campaign. The 1B hit .259 over 11 years with the Pirates and is back with the club as a special instructor. The team also signed undrafted Puerto Rican middle infielder Luis Figeroa, who got a cup of coffee with the Bucs in 2001, Toronto in 2006 and San Francisco in 2007. He played in 18 MLB games overall, batting .125. 
• 2001 - PNC Park hosted its first MLB game when the Pirates and Mets opened it up with an exhibition match. The game was a sellout that NY won, 4-3. The Mets won the next day’s spring game too, 3-2, notable mainly because Aramis Ramirez hit the first HR in the park’s history. 
• 2003 - Pittsburgh helped the Reds christen Great American Ballpark. President George Bush tossed out the first ball in front of 42,000+ fans, but Cincy played second banana during the yard’s opening act. The Bucs spoiled the inauguration, winning 10-1 behind homers from Reggie Sanders, Kenny Lofton and Jason Kendall, all launched during a six-run second inning. Kris Benson got the win. 

Kris Benson - 2003 Topps Total

• 2006 - RHP Salomon Torres agreed to a two-year contract extension worth $6.5M pending a physical, extending his current deal through 2008. He worked in 94 games in 2006 (3-6-12/3.28), but after a subpar 2007 campaign, he was shipped to Milwaukee for Marino Salas and minor leaguer Kevin Roberts. Torres considered retirement over relocation, but decided to join the Brewers for the season before hanging up his mitt after posting a final 7-5-28/3.49 slash. Salas’ only MLB work came in 2008 for the Bucs (13 games, 1-0/8.47) while Roberts never climbed past Class AA Altoona.
• 2008 - In an Opening Day shootout at Turner Field, the Bucs beat the Braves, 12-11, in 12 innings before 45,269 tomahawk choppers. Damaso Marte and Matt Capps blew a 9-4 ninth inning lead, capped by a fly ball dropping between LF Jason Bay and CF Nate McLouth with two outs that tied the score. Pittsburgh reclaimed the lead in the top of the 12th on a Xavier Nady three-run bomb, but Atlanta almost tied it again with two runs in their half before Franquelis Osario nailed down the win, his first MLB victory. The X-Man had four hits while McLouth, Freddy Sanchez and Ryan Doumit had three to prime a 17-hit attack. 
• 2014 - Neil Walker blasted a 10th-inning, 3-2 changeup from Carlos Villanueva deep over the Clemente Wall to give the Bucs and Bryan Morris a 1-0 Opening Day win over the Cubs at PNC Park. The Kid’s longball was only the fourth 1-0 walk off homer in Bucco history: Bob Bailey (1965) Bill Virdon (1958), and 1958 Ted Kluszweski (1958) had the others. Francisco Liriano and Jeff Samardzija started the game, leaving it for the bullpens to decide. It also marked the first use of expanded replay, which had been rolled out in the Arizona Fall League, when Cubs manager Rick Renteria challenged a double play in the top of the fifth inning. It was to no avail as the original call on the field of out at first was confirmed. 

Neil Walker 2014 Topps

• 2022 - MLB and the MLBPA formally announced the rule changes they had agreed upon in principle a week earlier as adjuncts to the new CBA. A current pace-of-play rule, the ghost runner on second base in extra innings, was retained. Unpopular as a concept, the auto runner did shorten games and preserve pitchers to serve its purpose. Changes included the “Shohei Ohtani” rule, allowing a P/DH to remain in the lineup as DH even if removed as a hurler, a return to nine inning doubleheader games, and an active roster expansion to 28 players through May 1st to make up for short spring camps.

3/30 From 1970: Bucs Win Opener; New Look Bucs; Meadows Signs; Ross, Ricardo Join; Bell Sails; HBD Jake, Dan & Mike

• 1979 - LHP Mike Johnston was born in Philadelphia. A 20th round pick in the 1998 draft, he made his big league debut on April 7th, 2004, along with fellow farmhand Jose Castillo, against the Phils; Mike got his first whiff and Jose his first hit. Johnston made it until June with the big club, being sent down after going 0-3/4.37. He made one more appearance in 2005 and that was his last MLB outing. He tore his labrum in 2006 at Indianapolis, missed 2007-08 and was released by the White Sox in 2009. Mike gave indie ball a final shot at age 33 in 2012 to close his career. 
• 1985 - LHP Dan Runzler was born in Santa Monica, California. He signed with the Bucs for the 2017 season and was a September call up, getting in eight games with no decisions and a 4.50 ERA after spending the summer at Indy. That was his last MLB duty; he’s been with Tampa, Boston and in the indie leagues since. 

Jake Marisnick - 7/11/22 image from  MLB.TV

• 1991 - OF Jake Marisnick was born in Riverside, California. The nine-year vet had played for five teams and the Pirates became his sixth when they signed him after he was released late in 2022 camp by the Rangers. Marisnick’s rep was as a good glove, weak bat (.228 lifetime BA) guy who could play all three pasture positions and slotted as the Bucs fourth outfielder after injuries to Anthony Alford and Greg Allen. But he was hurt here, played in 31 games and was waived in early August. He's now in the White Sox system. 
• 1997 - The Pirates purchased LHP Ricardo Rincon from the Mexico City Reds. In 1997-98, he went 4-10-18/3.17 for the Bucs and was then traded to Cleveland for Brian Giles in one of Pittsburgh’s better baseball deals. He’ll be remembered here for combining with Francisco Cordoba on a 10-inning 1997 no-hitter. Ricardo played on the Mexican WBC teams in 2006 and 2009, last pitching in MLB in 2008, then retiring from the Mexican League in 2012. 
• 2002 - “Operation Shutdown” OF Derek Bell, who had already packed his bags and left camp, was officially released after clearing waivers. The Pirates ate $4.5M in guaranteed money, after Bell told the media that he would sail into the sunset on his yacht rather than be forced to compete for a starting spot. In the first year of his deal, he was nagged by injuries and hit .173 in 46 games, which to many seemed a good enough reason to open the competition. His voyage as a ballplayer was scuttled after he hoisted his anchor: he never appeared in another MLB game. As Mark Madden of the Post Gazette wrote “Derek Bell becomes the ultimate Pirate: Lives on a boat and steals money.” 

Brian Meadows - 2005 Fleer Heritage

• 2002 - RHP Brian Meadows signed as a minor league free agent with the Pirates. He was called up mid-season and lasted four years with the club, converting from a starter to a reliever who made 133 appearances in his last two seasons with Pittsburgh. Meadows went 8-12-2 with a 4.20 ERA from 2002-05. He lasted one more year with Tampa Bay before retiring. 
• 2005 - The Bucs bought C David Ross from the Dodgers. Ross got into 40 games (35 behind the dish) and hit .222. It was fairly early in his 15-year career and he was just 28, but that still made him the graybeard of the backstop brigade, behind 26-year-old Humberto Cota & a pair of 24-year-old up-and-comers, Ryan Doumit and Ronny Paulino. Ross was sent to San Diego at the deadline for SS JJ Furmaniak to help break the logjam. 
• 2018 - In their earliest-ever season opener (and it started even sooner the next year), the Pirates see-sawed to a 13-10 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park. Ivan Nova twice worked out of bases-loaded, no-out jams, but relievers Michael Feliz and Felipe Rivero were bashed for four runs each, Feliz in 2/3-IP and Rivero failing to get an out in the ninth, blowing a 10-6 lead and sending the game into extra innings. Josh Smoker and game-winner Steven Brault held off Motown until Gregory Polanco bashed a three-run homer in the 13th, set up by two-out singles by Adam Frazier and Josh Harrison. Frazier, Polanco and Josh Bell each had three hits; Harrison, Starling Marte and Fran Cervelli collected a pair of raps. El Coffee had four RBI while Bell and Cervy each knocked home three. Harrison and Polanco scored three times apiece. It was, unsurprisingly, the longest Opener in Bucco history, lasting five hours and 27 minutes. 

Gregory was the Opening Day hero - 2018 Topps Now

• 2021 - Derek Shelton picked his first full-season roster. The only real surprise was camp standout Dave Bednar, a righty reliever who came to Pittsburgh as part of the Joe Musgrove trade package. He joined a boatload of new faces - P Tyler Anderson, P Trevor Cahill, P Wil Crowe, OF Dustin Fowler, P Luis Oviedo, C Michael Perez & P Duane Underwood Jr.. Among those who didn’t make the cut were a mix of FA vets and prospects: IF Wilmer Difo, 3B Todd Frazier, P Carson Fulmer, OF Brian Goodwin, P Geoff Hartlieb, P Clay Holmes, P Chasen Shreve, SS Cole Tucker, P Steven Wright & C Tony Wolters.

3/30 Through the 1960s: Omar Signs; RIP Deacon; HBD Ripper, Happy, Hal, Ed, Dutch, George & Tom

• 1857 - IF/manager Tom Burns was born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. After spending the first 12 years of his career playing for Chicago clubs, he spent his final campaign as a player/manager of the Pirates in 1892. Though the team was considered a contender with two future Hall of Famers on the roster in Joe Kelley and Jake Beckley, it started slowly and after putting up a 25–30 record, Burns was axed in favor of Al Buckenberger, who led them to a 53-41 slate. Tom then moved on to manage in the minors, spent a couple of seasons as the skipper of the Chicago Orphans and finished his baseball career in 1901 as a farm club boss. 
• 1866 - OF George Van Haltren was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He played for the Pirates in 1892-93, hitting .325, but was deemed expendable because of a deep Pittsburgh outfield. A borderline HoF player, Van Haltren was sold to the New York Giants, where he spent the next decade posting a .321 BA. He began his career as a pitcher, and in 1888 tossed a rain-shortened no-hitter against the Allies. 

George Van Haltren - 1909 Sunday Oregonian/Harry Murphy

• 1879 - Utilityman Arthur “Dutch” Meiers was born in St. Louis. A two-sport star at Princeton, Dutch spent just one year in the show, playing behind Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke in 1906. He hit a respectable .256 and got into 82 games. He earned his spot during the previous off-season when Meier showed his stuff by joining the team for exhibition and barnstorming games. After his Pittsburgh stint, he played for a variety of semi-pro clubs and served as baseball coach for his alma mater. And maybe even for his old team - it's speculated that Meier may have played a few more times with the Pirates on an as-needed basis since he appears in team pictures as late as the 1912 season. 
• 1897 - IF Ed Sicking was born in St. Bernard, Ohio. Ed spent four years in the show as a backup infielder for four different clubs, then spent six years with Indianapolis of the American Association. He opened the 1927 campaign with the Bucs, got into six games, went one-for-seven, and was sent back to Indy in early May. Though he didn’t leave much of a mark in MLB, Sicking was a pro ball lifer, spending 17 years fielding hot shots (12 seasons in the AA) before retiring in 1933 at age 36 from Class B Keokuk. 
• 1899 - IF Hal Rhyne was born in Paso Robles, California. He began his career in Pittsburgh (1926-27), coming over with Paul Waner from the San Francisco Seals, and hit .258. He was a .250 batter in his seven MLB years and a minor league mainstay, spending 20 years on various farm clubs. Rhyne came to the majors with a reputation as a hitter. The back of a 1926 photo carries a caption that claimed his “magnetic eyes” made a ball look twice as large as normal. He might have been better off with a magnetic bat instead, although he did finish with a .291 career BA on the farm, playing until he was 41. 

Happy Evans - photo via SABR

• 1899 - IF Bill “Happy/Gray Ghost” Evans was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He played semi-pro and indie league black ball from 1924 until the late 30s, with his longest stop being with the Homestead Grays from 1930-33. Happy played everywhere, mainly at short, second and the outfield, and was a solid stick guy with one of the strongest arms in baseball. He spent his last pro campaign in 1937 with Homestead’s crosstown rivals, the Pittsburgh Crawfords. He was called the Gray Ghost because of his speed & defense and Happy due to his disposition. Evans is still in the news today, or at least his bloodline is - he’s the great-great uncle of Meghan Markle, Prince Harry’s better half. 
• 1904 - 1B Jim “Ripper” Collins was born in Altoona. He made his name as a hard-hitting prankster of the Gas House Gang and spent his last MLB campaign as a Pirate in 1941 after taking a two-year hiatus in the PCL at Los Angeles. The Bucs brought him in to share some of Elbie Fletcher’s workload at first, but at age 37 Collins’ best days were behind him and he batted just .211 in 49 games, mostly pinch-hitting. He stayed with the organization as a player/manager at Class A Albany. Cort Vitty of SABR, citing The Sporting News, wrote “The nickname Ripper developed during an on-field incident that occurred when Jimmy was a young player. A ball rocketed off his bat and struck a nail protruding from the outfield fence; it caused the cover to partially tear. When asked who hit the ball, the retrieving outfielder saw the ball hanging and said, ‘It was the ripper.’” 
• 1952 - Deacon Phillippe, 79, passed away peacefully in his Avalon home, watching TV. The righty tossed 12 seasons (1900-11) for the Bucs with a 168-92-11/2.50 line, winning 20 games six times and never suffering through a losing season. He won three World Series games against Boston in 1903, beating Cy Young in the opener and tossing five complete games. Toward the end of his career, he worked six shutout innings in the 1909 Series against Detroit. In 1969, Pirates fans voted him as Pittsburgh's top all-time right-handed pitcher. After he retired, he became a Allegheny County Courts bailiff after several other jobs. The Rural Springs native was posthumously selected as a member of the Virginia Hall of Fame in 1982. 

Omar Moreno - 1983 Topps

• 1969 - Panamanian OF Omar Moreno was signed by scout Howie Haak as a 16-year-old amateur free agent to launch a 12-year MLB career. Moreno, who was with the Pirates from 1975-82, posting a .255 BA, led the 1979 World Series club in runs and hits. The speedster, aptly nicknamed The Antelope, set the single-season Pirates record for stolen bases with 96 in 1980, and his 412 steals with the team ranks third overall behind Max Carey and Honus Wagner. Omar still works as a special assignment coach and spring instructor for the Bucs.

3/29: Smith Deal; DJ Signs; Jared Goes; Varsho's Day; Jimmy Makes Cut; Tracy Moves; KBL Squabble; HBD Big Bob, Danny, Sean, Mike, Bob, Sir Richard & Hank

• 1865 - RHP Hank Gastright was born in Covington, Kentucky. He had been a workhorse for the Columbus Colts for the first three years of his career, had a rough campaign with Washington and then in 1893 had a bounceback year of sorts, starting out with Pittsburgh. The Pirates didn’t use him much as he went 3-1/6.25 in nine games into July, when he was released and claimed by Boston, where he pitched a little better but with lots more luck, going 12-4/5.13; his combined 15-5 record was the best winning percentage in the National League that year. He had one more campaign left in him and tossed a farewell game in 1896 for his hometown Cincinnati Reds. Trivia: Gastright threw a no-hitter in 1890 for Columbus but it’s not considered an official no-no. It missed the books because the game was called after eight innings due to darkness. 
• 1873 - OF/1B Duff “Sir Richard” Cooley was born in Leavenworth, Kansas. He played 13 MLB seasons, spending 1900 with the Pirates after being purchased from Philadelphia. Although a .294 career hitter, he had his worst year at the dish as a Buc and batted .201, leading to his August release. He found work until 1905, when a broken leg ended his big league stay. He was with Detroit at the time, and was replaced in center by a young guy named Ty Cobb. As for his nickname, it was said he had a haughty manner and so was dubbed as part of the gentry. 
• 1894 - LHP Bob Steele was born in Cassburn, Ontario. Steele hurled for the Bucs from 1917-18, when they had some fairly poor clubs. Steele suited up for Pittsburgh in the second half of 1917 after a deal with the Cards for 3B Doug Baird, continuing through the first half of 1918. He did fairly well without flashy results, going 7-14-2/2.87 as a starter who occasionally worked from the pen. Bob was sold to the Giants later in the 1918 campaign and tossed his last MLB season for them in 1919, retiring after finishing out the year with Indianapolis of the American Association. He did make the record books (albeit Canadien) when he tossed a no-hitter for the Moose Jaw Robin Hoods against the Calgary Bronchos (sic) in the Class D Western Canadian League in 1913. 

Moose Jaw's Bob Steele - 1913

• 1961 - OF Mike Kingery was born in St. James, Minnesota. Mike closed out his 10-year, six team MLB career with the Bucs in 1996, signing on as a $750K free agent at the age of 35. He became their part-time center fielder, hitting .246 before retiring to Minnesota to raise his family, gig with the Kingery Family Singers and begin the Solid Foundation Baseball School. 
• 1962 - Pirates owner Bob Nutting was born in Wheeling, West Virginia. He’s CEO of Ogden Newspapers Inc. and former mountain resort owner along with being the Chairman of the Board and principal owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He had been repping the Nutting interests in the Bucs since 2002, when his dad Ogden was a shareholder of the Kevin McClatchy team. Educated at Williams College (surprisingly, he majored in History, not Finance/Econ), he’s married with three kids and often the target of frustrated Pirates fans who believe he should loosen the purse strings. Get used to his bottom line ways; he’s turned down at least three local bids to sell the club. 
• 1971 - RHP Sean Lowe was born in Dallas, Texas. Lowe had been a White Sox long man/spot starter for three seasons when he arrived in Pittsburgh in 2002 with Kip Wells and Josh Fogg as part of the Todd Ritchie deal. After going 4-2/5.35, he was released in September. He finished the campaign with Colorado, tossed for KC in 2003 and that gig ended his seven-year stint in MLB. 
• 1975 - RHP Danny Kolb was born in Sterling, Illinois. The Pirates signed the eight-year vet to a minor league deal in 2007; the 32-year-old didn’t break camp with the club, but was called up in June, got into three games, gave up three runs on six hits in three innings and was DFA’ed back to the minors. He refused to report, became a FA, and left for Boston. The Red Sox released him early in 2008, making Pittsburgh his last MLB stop. His cousin Gary Kolb played for the 1968-69 Pirates. 

Sean Lowe - 2002 Upper Deck 40-Man

• 1991 - In a depth swap, the Pirates traded outfielders, sending Steve Carter to the Chicago Cubs for Gary Varsho. Carter, who had a couple of short Pittsburgh stays, never appeared in MLB again. Varsho hit .249 in two years as a bench bat for the Bucs, was waived, claimed by the Cincinnati Reds for the ‘93 season, and then returned to the Pittsburgh coop in 1994. 
• 1994 - After being released the day before, Gary Varsho signed a $243,750 contract for a second go-around with the club, which he had played for in 1991-92 before joining the Reds. In his three years with the club, Gary batted .251 as a pinch hitter and extra outfielder. He returned one more time to serve as John Russell’s bench coach in 2008 before being let go in 2010, shortly before JR was shown the door. He came back to the fold in 2016 as a Bucco scout. 
• 1994 - The Pirates and KBL settled a beef that had led to the Buccos suing for breach of contract, risking the possibility of no TV coverage for the season. Before the hearing was to start, Judge Michael Musmanno told the lawyers to make another effort to hammer out an agreement, and five hours later, they shook hands on a deal. KBL was given production & advertising rights while the Pirates TV footprint shrank with 25 fewer games broadcast than the season before. 
• 1997 - The Pirates traded OF Trey Beamon and C Angelo Encarnacion to the San Diego Padres for 1B/OF Mark Smith and minor-league RHP Hal Garrett. It was a wash; Beaman had a couple of decent seasons from the pine while Smith hit .285 with nine homers off the bench for the Bucs in 1997 but faded in 1998. Smith’s highlight came in 1997 when he drilled a homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Pirates a 3-0 win over the Houston Astros at TRS, ending the first extra-inning, combined no-hitter (Francisco Cordoba, Ricardo Rincon) in MLB history. 

Mark Smith - 1998 Pacific Invincible

• 1999 - RHP DJ Carrasco, 33, signed a one-year/$950K free agent deal with the Pirates, where he was workmanlike, posting a 2-2/3.88 slash. That performance earned him a deadline ticket to Arizona with OF Ryan Church and IF Bobby Crosby for SS Pedro Ciriaco, C Chris Snyder and cash. 
• 2000 - The Pirates picked lefty Jimmy Anderson to break camp as their fifth starter and cut veteran LHP Pete Schourek, eating the final $2M of his contract. Schourek wasn’t taken by surprise; he was coming off a poor, injury-ridden 1999 and had been on the trade market for a couple of weeks. The Pirates suits thought Anderson had more upside, but a couple of the team leaders weren’t sold. Kevin Young said “A lot of the veteran players are disturbed...We don’t want people rewarded for mediocrity.” Brian Giles added that “He (Schourek) busts his butt. With Jimmy, you don’t know that...Jimmy needs to learn how to work and make himself better. From what we’ve seen, we haven’t seen him make that commitment.” As it ended up, Anderson’s career lasted through 2004 though he never posted an ERA south of 5.10 after his ‘99 rookie campaign while Schourek tossed through 2001 for Boston, winning four games pitching to an ERA of 4.97. The Pirates searched fruitlessly for a fifth starter who would finish the season with an ERA under five until 2011, when Kevin Correia put up a 4.72 mark. 
• 2006 - It was a busy day at Jim Tracy’s first camp. First, the rumor mill was leaking out a potential UT Craig Wilson-for-RHP Joel Pineiro swap with Seattle, which eventually fell through (Piniero made twice the money that Wilson did, and went on to post an 8-13/6.36 with the Mariners during the season, so the Bucs dodged that double barrel). The need for a starting pitcher was highlighted when Kip Wells, John Van Benshoten and Bryan Bullington all went on the DL this day. Additionally, a handful of non-pitching guys were sent to the minors, including Jose Bautista, Ronny Paulino and Mike Edwards. 

Jim Tracy - photo via All Star Collectibles

• 2017 - In a surprise move, the Pirates released RHP Jared Hughes, whom they had tendered months earlier and signed to a $2.175M contract. Hughes had been with the MLB club since 2011 and was a member of the organization since 2006 when he was a fourth round draft pick. The release date had to do with a combination of declining performance and dollars; by letting him go before the season started, the Pirates were on the hook for just $695K. Hughes later signed as an FA with the Milwaukee Brewers for $950K. He followed that campaign by signing for two-years w/an option with the Reds before retiring in early 2021 with 10 MLB years under his belt.

3/28: Omar, Heaton, Buddy, McEnany, Davis Deals; East-West Game; Spring No-No; The Rematch; RIP Cum; HBD Shark, Bryan, Steve, Bill & Chief

• 1898 - RHP Moses “Chief” Yellow Horse, a full-blooded Pawnee, was born in (where else?) Pawnee, Oklahoma (caveat emptor: some sources cite 1/28 as his BD; we’re sticking with the SABR date). His MLB years were 1921-22 and spent in Pittsburgh, where he went 8-4 with a 3.93 ERA, but suffered three different arm injuries that ended his career. He was one of the first, if not the pioneer, Native American to play MLB ball. He could do little wrong in the Steel City and was a fan favorite during his stay here. But Yellow Horse was all business once he stepped on the bump; he once drilled Ty Cobb between the eyes in an exhibition game for being too yappy at the dish. 
• 1929 - RHP Bill MacDonald was born in Alameda, California. Bill tossed for the Bucs in 1950 and again briefly in 1953, compiling an 8-11-1/4.66 mark. He had a promising debut campaign for Pittsburgh, but after missing 1951-52 while in the service, Mac never regained his form. He tossed for two more seasons in the Pacific Coast League and then retired from baseball. 

Bill MacDonald - 1951 Bowman

• 1946 - Cumberland “Cum” Posey, who owned the Homestead Grays from 1911-46, died in Mercy Hospital from cancer. He was a part-time player until 1929, and managed until 1937. Posey was a big-time owner, and his teams played regularly in Forbes Field and Washington DC’s Griffith Stadium. The Grays won eight Negro League pennants and three World Series titles under his reign. 
• 1961 - In a repeat performance, the Pirates bounced the Yankees in their first meeting since the World Series by a 9-2 score at Fort Myers’ Terry Park during a spring game played in front of an overflow crowd of 5,351 fans. Bob Friend tuned up by going the distance, scattering eight hits and fanning seven. Dick Stuart and Roberto Clemente homered while Maz led the nine-hit attack with a pair of knocks. But the Bronx Bombers proved better suited for the long run - they won the AL and then beat the Reds in the ‘61 Fall Classic in five games while the Bucs stumbled to a 75-win, sixth-place campaign. 
• 1966 - It was only a spring game, but Bob Veale and Luke Walker spun a no-hitter against the LA Dodgers at Fort Myers’ Terry Park, the Bucco spring home, winning 5-0. The big lefty did most of the heavy lifting, going seven innings with seven whiffs, a walk and error while Walker added two clean frames to seal the deal. Gene Alley’s four knocks and Roberto Clemente’s three raps led the attack. 
• 1969 - The Pirates traded RHP Tommie Sisk and C Chris Cannizzaro to the San Diego Padres in exchange for OF Ron Davis and IF Bobby Klaus. Sisk was on the backside of his career while Davis and Klaus never became big-time performers, but Cannizzaro became an All-Star in 1969 for the expansion Padres (albeit with a .220 BA) and had a 12-year career that lasted through the 1974 season. 

Ron Davis - 1969 Topps

• 1970 - The one-time East-West Major League Baseball Classic was held at Dodger Stadium to commemorate Dr. Martin L King. Played before 31,694 fans, the Pirates were represented by Willie Stargell and Roberto Clemente; other players with Pittsburgh links were Grant Jackson, Maury Wills and Jim Fregosi (the teams were integrated, per MLK’s philosophy) while Mudcat Grant played and sang the National Anthem. The East won, 5-1, (Roberto doubled, scored and chased home a run) while the game raised $30,000 for the Southern Christian Leadership Council. A small army of current Hall of Famers coached while 15 future members of the Hall played. 
• 1975 - RHP Steve Sparks was born in Mobile, Alabama. Sparks was drafted by the Bucs in the 28th round of the 1998 draft from the U of South Alabama and tossed three times for the Pirates in 2000 during a brief mid-summer visit. He had no decisions and a 6.75 ERA in his only MLB season. Steve played two seasons after that in the upper minors, hanging ‘em up in 2002 at the age of 27. 
• 1978 - The Bucs, who had been on the lookout for some lefty bullpen help, picked up Will McEnaney from the Expos in exchange for RHP Tim Jones. They should have kept on looking. In six outings, Mac tossed 8-2/3 innings to a 10.38 ERA, and in June he was sent to AAA Columbus. He posted a 6.24 ERA there and was released at the end of the year. Jones never pitched for Montreal, and spent the year at AAA Denver for his last season of pro baseball. 
• 1980 - RHP Eddie “Buddy” Solomon Jr. was traded by the Atlanta Braves to the Pirates for a PTBNL, minor league RHP Greg Field. Solomon worked 1980-82 for Pittsburgh, going 17-15-1/3.58 before being traded at the deadline to Chicago for 3B Jim Morrison. Field never advanced past AAA ball while Buddy died young in a car accident in Macon at age 34 in 1986. 

Buddy Solomon - 1982 Donruss

• 1985 - RHP Mark Melancon was born in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Melancon came to Pittsburgh in 2013 from the Red Sox as a versatile backender, working both as set-up man and closer, and earned a spot on the ‘13 All-Star team. Mark the Shark took the closer’s job full time in early 2014, saving 33 games in 37 chances. In nearly four Pirates seasons, he picked up 10 wins, 130 saves and 41 holds while posting a 1.80 ERA (2.27 FIP) in 267 appearances. He won The Sporting News & Trevor Hoffman NL reliever of the year awards in 2015. The Shark was traded to Washington at the 2016 deadline and since played with the Giants, Braves and Padres; he’s now with the D-Backs. He earned his nickname in New Zealand; he swam amidst some sharks, and one of his buds named a shark Melancon in his honor. It led to the Bucs’ Shark Tank bullpen. 
• 1987 - RHP Bryan Morris was born in Tullahoma, Tennessee. Acquired in the Jason Bay trade, he was part of the Bucco bullpen from 2012-14, going 13-8/2.61 before being dealt to Miami. Morris was otherworldly in his first season, posting an 0.66 ERA (although his 3.03 FIP was more down to earth) and finished his Fish tenure with a 2.30 ERA. He moved to San Francisco in 2017 and retired later that season to become the pitching coach for his old high school team. 
• 1989 - LHP Neal Heaton was traded by the Montreal Expos to the Pirates for RHP Brett Gideon. Heaton worked four years for the Jimmy Leyland playoff teams of the early nineties and made the All-Star team in 1990. He was out of the MLB after the 1993 season and is a pitching instructor for the private All Pro Sports Academy in Bellport, NY. Gideon got into five games for the Expos in 1989-90 to end his MLB days, retired after the 1992 campaign and is now a sales rep.

Neal Heaton - 1990 Upper Deck

• 2001 - The Pirates staff was beset by injuries, and the Bucco FO made a conditional deal with Oakland for RHP Omar Olivares, who had just been beaten out as the A’s fifth man. The 33-year-old Olivares joined his eighth team and got a dozen starts for the Pirates, going 2-7/7.12, before being sent to the pen where he posted an improved 4-2-1/5.63 line in his last MLB campaign, finishing up with a final slash of 6-9-1/5.71.

3/27: Guerrier, Cangy Deals; Demery, Blass Let Go; OF Shift; Pitching Pits; HBD Eric, Clay, Montana, Dave, Gary & Bill

• 1895 - RHP Bill Burwell was born in Jarbalo, Kansas. Burwell pitched just one year for the Pirates, going 1-0/5.23 in 1928, but later served as a Pirate coach and scout (1947–1948; 1958–1962). Burwell was the acting manager of the Pirates for the final game of the 1947 season after player-manager Billy Herman resigned and he beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-0. He was the pitching coach for the 1960 WS champs, and before that was a minor league assistant who helped develop Vern Law by teaching The Deacon how to change speeds and throw a changeup. 

Bill Burwell - photo via SABR

• 1953 - C Gary Alexander was born in Los Angeles. He had back-to-back strong seasons in 1977-78 while playing for three teams but a low BA and high K rate marked him as bench material by the time he arrived in Pittsburgh in 1981. He hit .213 as an OF/1B/PH for the Bucs in his last MLB season. Alexander was released by the Pirates in 1982 and finished out his pro career in Mexico. 
• 1956 - 1B Dave Hostetler was born in Pasadena, California. He closed out his five-year MLB run with six games played for the Pirates in 1988 after reviving his career with a two-year tour of duty in Japan. Hostetler went two-for-eight, and in May was sent to AAA Buffalo, ending his time in the show. After retirement, he stayed in sports as a regional manager for Riddell. 
• 1975 - The Pirates officially released RHP Steve Blass, who went from Game Seven World Series winner to a pitcher who had no idea where the ball was going once it left his hand, a condition that to this day is known as “Steve Blass disease.” Blass is now a Pirate ambassador and former long-time member of the broadcast team for Root Sports (now AT&T SportsNet). In other camp news, a position shuffle saw Willie Stargell moved from LF to 1B, Richie Zisk crossed the pasture into Pops’ old spot and Dave Parker was slotted into right. Bob Robertson ended up with the short stick; Willie’s shift (and Robby’s aching knees) reduced Big Red to just 152 PAs during the regular season. 

Larry Demery - 1978 Topps

• 1978 - RHP Larry Demery’s efforts to get a fresh start outside of Pittsburgh bore fruit when the Toronto Blue Jays claimed him off waivers for $20K. In four years with the Pirates, he slashed 29-23-7/3.72 but was coming off a poor ‘77 campaign (6-5-1/5.08) and felt that being swingman instead of a starter (139 appearances w/46 starts) affected his mound performance. The Pirates were trying to pass him through waivers so they could send him to Columbus to work out a sore shoulder. They had the right game plan; the Jays returned him four days later because of that shoulder. Larry spent three more years in the minors and was out of pro ball after the 1980 season. 
• 1987 - OF John Cangelosi was traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Pirates for RHP Jim Winn, a first round pick (14th overall) of the Bucs in 1981. Cangelosi became a useful bench piece for the Bucs, spending four Bucco seasons and posting a .243 BA, while Winn worked two more MLB years. Cangy retired in 1999 and now operates a sports training facility in Illinois. 
• 1992 - RHP Montana DuRapau was born in Deltona, Florida. He was a 32nd round draft pick in 2014, from Bethune-Cookman College. He had a nice career in the minors, but proved his own worst enemy by getting banged twice for drug abuse, the last in 2018. He cleaned up his act, had a lights-out start at Indy, and when the Pirates went through a rash of injuries/poor performances from their bullpen, was called up in May, 2019, as a 27-year-old rookie. He got his name in the franchise highlights as the starting pitcher in the Pirates first-ever “opener” game on May 18th, a 7-2 Bucco win against San Diego. It was a rude initiation overall, though - Montana went 0-1/9.35 in 14 outings. He went to Oakland in 2021 as a AAA pitcher and retired after the year. 

Montana DuRapau - 2020 Topps Update

• 1993 - RHP Clay Holmes was born in Dothan, Alabama. A ninth round pick of the Bucs out of high school in 2011, his career was delayed by 2014 TJ surgery. Clay finally got the call, albeit for a cup of coffee, in April of 2018, getting into one game as a mop-up man, giving up a run in two innings on two hits & two walks with a whiff before being sent back down. He continued to yo-yo between Indy and Pittsburgh until 2021, when he was sent to the Yankees for Diego Castillo and Hoy Park. He pitched lights out in the Big Apple (5-2/1.61, 11 K per nine IP in 25 outings) and is still with the Bronx Bombers as a back-end reliever, although his recurrent control issues still pop up. 
• 1993 - LHP Eric Stout was born in Glen Allyn, Illinois. He was drafted by the KC Royals in 2014 out of Butler U, and had a cup of coffee with them in 2018. He then bounced around five different organizations (he made two more MLB appearances with the Cubs) with a couple of Indie league stints before joining the Pirates, who bought him from the Cubbies. Stout went to Indy and was called up in July, returned, and called back again in September. He got a save in 18 outings, but pitched to a 5.79 ERA with a K-per-inning but also seven walks per game. 
• 2001 - The papers speculated that the Pirates, whose FO was given the green light to increase the payroll after injuries to Kris Benson, Francisco Cordova and Jason Schmidt created the need for another pitcher, were after Brett Tomko of Seattle. But nothing ever became of the attempt to bolster the staff except dealing for Omar Olivares (6-9-1/6.55), who started 12 games before he was sent to the pen, and the free agent signing of Ramon Martinez, who got four starts while posting an 0-2/8.62 line to end his MLB career. Todd Ritchie and Jimmy Anderson carried the load, with 10 other pitchers joining the rotation. Ritchie, with 11 victories, was the Bucs only double-digit game winner. 

Omar Olivares - 2002 Topps Series 2

• 2002 - The Pirates sent out-of-options LHP Damaso Marte and minor league IF Edwin “Ruddy” Yan to the White Sox for RHP Matt Guerrier. The Bucs would get Marte back a few years later (he spent four campaigns as a Bucco) while Guerrier never tossed for the Pirates, spending two seasons at AAA Nashville before embarking on an 11-year, 555-outing MLB career. Yan spent the last eight years of his career (2008-15) working in the Dominican/US indie leagues after spending his first eight pro seasons in the minors.

Notes: Cuts, Team & League News

Rug-cutting time...

Notes:

• OF Travis Swaggerty (Canaan Smith-Njigba & Connor Joe remain), RHPs Luis Ortiz & Yohan Ramirez and IFs Chris Owings (who had an opt-out but decided to report) & Tucupira Marcano were assigned to Indy. Sent to to minor league camp were IF Andres Alvarez, C Carter Bins, RHPs Cody Bolton & Carmen Mlodzinski, OFs Miguel Andujar & Chavez Young (who helped his cause with a strong WBC) and LHPs Daniel Zamora & Angel Perdomo. 
• C Henry Plawecki won't break camp with the team; the team informed him he wasn't going to make the active roster and the NRI has an opt out clause that he's triggered. That leaves Tyler Heinemann and Jason Delay, neither on the 40-man, as likely caddies for Austin Hedges. As for the young 'uns, Endy Rodriguez will open at Indy while Henry Davis will begin this season with Altoona, per GM Ben Cherington. He added not to read much into the level; they were split because the team wanted both of them to be full-time, starting backstops.
• MLB Pipeline thinks the Buc system is still solid, ranking the farm as the fifth strongest in MLB.
• Cutch returned Tuesday from some down time with a sore elbow and homered.

David Bednar - 2022 Topps Red T206

• RHP David Bednar reported back to camp with a silver medal from his WBC-USA jaunt. His slash was 1-0 /2.25 in four outings, allowing one run on three hits with five strikeouts and no walks.
• The Pirates are worth quite a few bucks, per Forbes.
• If you're wondering about the softball-looking jerseys some teams sported last year, the Bucs are jumping on the bandwagon. They will don Nike's City Connect alternate uniforms sometime this year; design details undisclosed.
• C Roberto Perez, who spent a year in Pittsburgh last season mostly on the IL, is the Giants reserve backstop.
• The Cubs assigned RHP Adrian Sampson to AAA Wichita. The former Buc prospect was vying for the fifth spot in the rotation. 
• The Rays' RHP Kyle Crick (2018-21 Pirates reliever) opted out of his deal after failing to land a roster spot in Tampa Bay.
• RHP Mark Appel, who shot down the Bucs after being their top pick of the 2012 draft (#8 overall) out of Stanford, was released by the Phils on Monday.
• Congrats to Japan on winning the WBC over the US, 3-2, in a classic finale. Shohei Ohtani struck out Angels' teammate Mike Trout swinging with a full-count slider to close it out.
• The pitching clock rules will remain in effect with a minor tweak or two per MLB, though they do say that they'll monitor its effect and adjust things further if needed. They did note that the bat boys and girls will have to hustle (some managers apparently had their lil' helpers drag out the proceedings) or find a new gig. 

3/26: Yates, Moose Deals; Young/Herges Giveaway; Masumi Retires; Craig On the Block; Koufax Human; HBD Erik, Josh, Jack & Morrie

• 1850 - P Morrie Critchley was born in New London, Connecticut. He honed his art as a semi-pro player before tossing as a 32-year-old rookie for the Alleghenys in 1882. Morrie did pretty well, spinning a seven-hit whitewash as he tamed Cincinnati 2-0 at the Bank Street Grounds to become the MLB’s first 30-year-old or over hurler to pitch a shutout in his first game. Despite that victory, he was released 10 days later; it seems the Allegheny directors had “strong reason to believe he was throwing games” per Major League Player Profiles, with their shackles raised after an exhibition contest where he was shellacked. Even with that stain, he was taken by the St Louis Brown Stockings six weeks later. He threw four complete games for them, but the results weren’t as shiny as he went 0-4/4.24, and that stint ended his big league career. Morrie remained in Pittsburgh, umpired briefly and then ran a local bar/hotel until he died at the age of 59. 

Jack McCarthy - 1904 photo Chicago Daily News

• 01869 - LF Jack McCarthy was born in Hardwick, Massachusetts. McCarthy started for the Pirates in 1898-99 and hit a robust .298. But the Pirates landed Fred Clarke, also a LF, when they absorbed the old Louisville team and sold McCarthy to the Chicago Orphans. He played until 1907 and had a lifetime .287 BA. He managed in the minors for a while after retiring, then finished his days as a Chicago courthouse employee. Fun fact: On April 26th, 1905, as a Cub playing against his old Bucco mates, McCarthy became the first MLB outfielder to throw out three runners at home.
• 1963 - The LA Dodgers' Sandy Koufax surrendered two homers and was touched for six runs while whiffing nine Buccos in seven innings during a spring tune-up. It was not an omen - in 40 starts that season, Koufax gave up six runs in an outing once, slashing 25-5/1.88, winning the Cy Young Award and earning a World Series ring. The Bucs did get to the Hall-of-Fame lefty better than most during that campaign, going 1-1/3.18 against him in three starts 
• 1981 - IF Josh Wilson was born in Pittsburgh and played prep ball at Mt. Lebanon High along with Don Kelly. As a Blue Devil, he won the 1998 PIAA Championship and was the PA Player of the Year. He was only with the hometown organization briefly at Indy in 2008 but played in eight big-league campaigns for nine teams (with three stops at Arizona). Wilson earned the nickname “Paperboy” not so much because he delivered (his lifetime BA was just .229) but as a nod to his youthful appearance. Josh was the son of one of the area’s top baseball icons - his dad, Mike, was a long-time coach with stops at Mt Lebanon HS, Pitt & Duquesne, and also was a player, coach, & manager in the semi-pro Greater Pittsburgh Federation Baseball League for more than 20 years. 2017 was Josh’s last hurrah as a player and he’s a scout for the Detroit Tigers now. 

Josh Wilson - 1998 Post Gazette profile

• 1983 - RHP Eric Hacker was born in Duncanville, Texas. The Pirates got the reliever from the New York Yankees for Romulo Sanchez in 2009. He spent most of his time at AAA Indianapolis, getting a September call up and making his MLB debut on September 22nd. He toed the slab for three Bucco outings, giving up two runs on four hits in three frames. Eric got a couple more cups of coffee in the show and then headed across the pond, pitching in Korea from 2013-18. 
• 1988 - C Mackey Sasser and RHP Tim Drummond were traded to the NY Mets for minor leaguer Scott Henion and 1B Randy “Moose” Milligan, a 26-year-old selected as The Sporting News’ 1987 Minor League Player of the Year. Milligan hit .220 for the Bucs before having some solid seasons at Baltimore while Sasser caught the next six seasons for the Mets, batting .286 for NY over that span. Drummond worked 43 more games in the bigs, with a 3-5-2/4.35 line. 
• 2003 - The Pirates released RHP Matt Herges, for whom they had traded RHP Chris Young to the Expos in December. SD claimed Herges, gifting the NL with two big league pitchers from Pittsburgh’s GM Dave Littlefield. Herges appeared in 567 games and pitched until 2009 while Young, despite a boatload of injuries, started 221 career games and tossed into 2017. Princeton-educated Young then became an administrator for MLB and in 2020 was hired as the Texas Rangers GM 
• 2006 - The day’s hot topic was a deal brewing between Atlanta and Pittsburgh featuring a straight 1B/OF Craig Wilson-for-RHP John Thompson exchange, with the Bravos also showing an interest in expanding the talks to include Salomon Torres. It eventually led nowhere, which was an overall win for Pittsburgh. The Pirates starters were terrible in 2006, but Thompson’s 2-7/4.82 campaign for the Braves wouldn’t have helped to right that ship. Wilson hit .267 with 13 HR off the bench and was sent to the Yankees for Shawn Chacon at the deadline while Torres was a bullpen ironman, getting the ball 94 times to tie the Buc record and going 3-6-12/3.28 over the year. 

Craig Wilson - 2006 Upper Deck First Pitch

• 2008 - The Pirates traded minor league RHP Todd Redmond to the Atlanta Braves for reliever Tyler Yates. Fastballer Yates went 6-5 in two seasons with Pirates, pitching to a 5.08 ERA before arm surgery derailed his career. Redmond finally got a shot at Toronto in 2013 and was effective in 2014 after being converted to the pen. He got beat up in 2015 at Toronto and spent most of the year in AAA. 2016 was his last pro season when he was released by Baltimore in April. 
• 2008 - RHP Masumi Kuwata, the first Japanese player ever signed by the Pirates and a legend in his homeland, retired. Kuwata, who was a week shy of 40-years-old, had a 1.80 ERA in five innings in the spring but hadn’t pitched since March 18th and chose to retire when it became clear that he wouldn’t make the Pirates' opening-day roster. Per Japanese tradition, Kuwata walked to the McKechnie Field mound about an hour after the Tigers-Pirates exhibition game ended and without stepping on the white-painted pitching rubber, placed a ball on it. He made his major league debut at Yankee Stadium on June 9th, 2005 and was 0-1/9.43 in 19 games before his final MLB appearance on August 13th. Kuwata was the oldest player to make his first major league appearance since 41-year-old Diomedes Olivo, also for the Pirates, in 1960.

3/25: Worley, Bell Arrive; Polanco, Freese, Browning Sign; Wilson Starts; Maz Out; LaRussa; HBD Lee & Jimmy

• 1882 - RF Jimmy Sebring was born in Liberty, PA, near Williamsport. He played for Pittsburgh from 1902-04, hitting .261, and in 1903 became the first MLB player to homer in a World Series game when he legged out an inside-the-park four-bagger against Cy Young while hitting .333 against Boston in that first WS. The talented OF’er (he was an early “can’t miss” prospect) had a rift with the team over a couple of different incidents and was traded. He then played with a series of outlaw teams, sidetracking his promising career. Sebring was on the comeback trail when he passed away from kidney disease in 1910 at the age of 27. 
• 1891 - OF Pete Browning signed with Pittsburgh for $3,500-to-$4,000. One of the great batsmen of the era, he joined after leaving his longtime team, the Louisville Colonels, in 1890 and jumping to Cleveland of the Players League. His signing was one of several, starting with Lou Bierbauer, that helped the Pittsburgh nickname of “Pirates” become a thing. Although he batted .291 for Pittsburgh, at midseason he ended up with Cincinnati. Browning played for four different clubs from 1892-94 to close out his MLB career, posting a lifetime .341 BA over 13 campaigns. Pete was known as the Louisville Slugger - he was from Louisville - and is thought to be the namesake of the famous Hillerich and Bradsby bat model, which he used during his career. 

Gene Freese - 1956 Topps

• 1953 - The Pirates signed IF Gene Freese to a minor league contract. The 19-year-old from Wheeling made it the hard way; he was one of 21 to survive a local try-out at Forbes Field, then was culled from a pack of about 70 players who were auditioned at minor league camp. He was assigned to Class D Brunswick and jumped quickly to Class B Burlington, then in ‘54 started out at AA New Orleans. From there, he went to Hollywood of the Pacific Coast League and debuted with Pittsburgh later in 1955 as a 21-year-old. Gene used that as a launching pad to an 11-year MLB career, spending six of those seasons with the Bucs, including a year (‘55) playing with big bro George. 
• 1955 - OF Lee Mazzilli was born in New York City. Mazzilli spent four of his 14 seasons as a Pirate, playing fairly regularly for his first two years (1983-’86) while hitting .244 overall. In 1986, the Mets were rumored to have offered Ray Knight (who was nearing the end of his career) for Mazzilli, but the Pirates turned them down. The Bucs released Lee in July when he was hitting .226 and he joined New York for free while Knight batted .298 with one more solid season yet in the tank. 
• 1965 - Camp isn’t all fun and games. Bill Mazeroski broke a bone in his right foot on this day and was out of the Bucco lineup until mid-May. He came back to hit .271 and earn another Golden Glove for his trophy case. It was the only time between 1964-67 that he didn’t appear in every game, and Maz still played in 130 contests after his foot healed while helping to turn 113 DPs. 
• 1974 - The Press carried a small clip announcing that the Bucs sent Charleston prospects OF Dave Arrington and IF Alferdo Zavala to the Cubs Wichita farm club for 29-year-old middle infielder Tony LaRussa in a AAA deal. LaRussa was about to change lanes in his career, playing farm ball through 1977, taking the skipper’s job at Knoxville the next year and beginning a 35-year MLB managing career in 1979 at Chicago after starting the season at Iowa. 

Pittsburgh Press 3/25/1974

• 1989 - The Pirates sent SS Felix Fermin and UT Denny Gonzalez to Cleveland for SS Jay Bell to complete a PTBNL deal from November 28th, 1988. Bell manned the SS spot for eight years, helped capture three NL East titles and earned an All-Star berth in 1993 for the Bucs. He returned in 2013 as their batting coach before moving on to a minor league managing career. Fermin played eight more years in the AL, starting several years for the Indians. Gonzalez got into eight more MLB games after the deal and closed out his career with stints in Japan and Mexico. 
• 2001 - Manager Lloyd McClendon officially announced that 23-year-old Jack Wilson was going to start the season at shortstop, bumping veteran Pat Meares to second base. Solid choice; Wilson became a fan favorite and held the job until he was traded in 2009, hitting .269 while winning an All-Star berth in 2004. Jumping Jack Flash was sent to Pittsburgh in 2000 by the Cards for LHP Jason Christiansen. For Meares, it was the end of the big league road - a nagging hand injury led to a battle royale with the club over treatment, and he got into just 86 games during the campaign, his last as a MLB’er, as he played out his $15M contract rostered on the DL through 2003. 
• 2009 - Pirates Latin American scouts Rene Gayo and Rene Ellis signed a skinny 17-year-old kid who they envisioned as making the jump from pitcher to outfielder for $175,000. The vision became reality - the beanpole was Gregory Polanco and he went on patrol in Pittsburgh’s pasture in 2014. His promise never caught up with his performance, but he did a little better at the negotiating table in 2017, signing a five-year/$35M contract with two team option years worth $26M. He was injured during an awkward late season slide late in 2018 and returned before he was 100% in 2019, playing in only 42 games. 2020 was a lost year performance-wise (.153 BA) and El Coffee was released the following year; now he’s playing in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants. They also signed RHP Joely Rodriguez. He never tossed for the Pirates but was traded as a prospect for Antonio Bastardo in 2014. Joely has pitched five MLB seasons (he’s with Boston now) while Bastardo was suspended for PED usage in 2018, with his Pirates stop his last MLB posting. 

Vance Worley - 2015 Topps Heritage

• 2014 - RHP Vance Worley was purchased from the Minnesota Twins. After going 1-5/7.21 ERA in 2013, Vanimal started out at Indy, and following some tinkering with his arm angle, he was called up to start on June 15th to replace injured Francisco Liriano. He finished the campaign with an 8-4 record and 2.85 ERA. After a 4-6/4.02 line in 2015, he was released and went to Baltimore and then Miami. He’s since played in the Mets minors and indie ball, and is now a FA. He made a comeback appearance in the 2023 WBC, pitching for Great Britain.