3/22: Dann Joins Up; '22 Arbs Settled & Late Cuts; Spring Basebrawl; Ump Boycott; HBD Ike, Beast, Jason, Ramon, Moose & Goldie

• 1902 - Coach Goldie (his given first name was Golden) Holt was born in Enloe, Texas. Holt played 23 years of minor league ball, serving as a player/manager for six of those seasons. He finally reached the majors as a Pirates coach under manager Billy Meyer from 1948–50, then scouted and managed in the farm system for the Dodgers from 1951–58. He switched to the Cubs' organization as a member of its College of Coaches experiment from 1961–65 (a disastrous rotating coach gimmick conjured up by owner Phil Wrigley), then returned to the Dodgers as a scout through the early 1980s, where he was credited with teaching Charlie Hough how to throw a knuckleball. 

Moose Solters Day - 1951 photo/Post Gazette

• 1906 - OF Julius “Moose” Solters was born in Pittsburgh. He never played for the Pirates but was one of the better local ballplayers with one of baseball’s sadder stories. Moose (he was 6’1”, 190 lbs), the son of a Hungarian immigrant who worked at J&L Steel, went to Fifth Avenue HS. Solters played nine years in the AL for four clubs, slashing .289/89/559 and put up five double-digit homer seasons along with four 100+ RBI campaigns. In 1941, he was hit by a ball during pregame fielding drills after he had turned to wave to his in-laws in the stands. Solters suffered headaches and double vision afterward, effectively ending his baseball career, and slowly began losing his vision. He returned to his native Beltzhoover and ran a bar. Solters was also a key figure, along with Frankie Gustine, in planning and fundraising for Frank Vittor’s 1955 Honus Wagner statue. He passed away in 1975 and is buried in Hazelwood’s Calvary Cemetery. 
• 1968 - RHP Ramon Martinez was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. His 14-year career, spent primarily with the Dodgers, ended as a Pirate in 2001 with four largely forgettable outings before retiring. He won 135 games over that span but was bested for family honors by his little brother, Pedro. Ramon is now pitching coach/Latino advisor for the Orioles. 
• 1974 - RHP Jason Phillips was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Jason was drafted out of Hughesville HS in Lycoming county by Pittsburgh in 1992 in the 14th round and had 17 MLB outings over parts of three seasons. He made his debut with the Pirates in 1999 with six appearances and an 11.57 ERA. The Bucs released him in 2001 and he subsequently got a couple of stints with the Indians. He ended his pro career in 2004 after a couple of years of work in Japan. 

Michael Morse - 2015 Topps Update

• 1982 - 1B Michael Morse was born in Fort Lauderdale. “The Beast” (he’s 6’5”, 245 lbs) was a third round selection of the White Sox out of high school in 2000 and the Pirates picked him up in 2015 in a trade with the Dodgers. The Pirates were the 11-year vet’s seventh team, counting LA, who flipped him before he ever played a game for them. He hit .275 in 2015 and after one outing in 2016, he was released in April. He lost most of the 2017 season with the Giants due to a freak concussion after he and Jeff Samardzija accidentally banged heads during a May brawl. The following season, he hung up the spikes and took a broadcasting gig. 
• 1987 - The Bucs purchased C Dann Bilardello from the Montreal Expos, and after a minor league stint at AAA Buffalo, he was sold back to Montreal in July. The Bucs then brought him back as a free agent signing in 1989 and he hit .225 as a bench guy. He was released after the year, signed again, and then released for good after the 1990 campaign when he hit just .054, spending both years mainly in AAA. In all, Dann appeared in 52 games for Pittsburgh, batting .171. 
• 1987 - 1B Ike Davis was born in Edina, Minnesota. The Bucs were hoping that Ike, who they got from the Mets in mid-April for a couple of prospects, could plug the hole at first in 2014, but 10 homers/.235 BA in 94 starts with 397 plate appearances didn’t cut it. The Pirates sold his contract to Oakland after the season and announced that Pedro Alvarez would be their 1B in 2015. After stints with the A's and Yankees, Ike spent 2017 pitching (he was a standout reliever at Arizona State) in the Dodger system, but that was too little, too late, and he retired. 

Ike Davis - 2014 Topps Update

• 1989 - It was only spring training, but when the Phils Don Carman served up some chin music to Bobby Bonilla, the two teams erupted into a bit of basebrawl (Carman had a history with the Bucs, having bopped several in recent seasons). It was mostly a dance and debate; as Benny DiStefano said “I was looking for a fight but I couldn’t find one.” Still, plate ump Bob Davidson found reason to toss Philadelphia’s Dickie Thon (Bob Dernier had been ousted earlier for griping about a strike three call) and a boatload of Bucs - Bobby Bo, Barry Bonds, RJ Reynolds and skipper Jim Leyland. As fate would have it, the instigator, Carman, escaped the thumb. Though a couple of Killer B’s shy, the Bucs won the match, 7-6, behind Gary Redus’ three-run, seventh-inning homer. 
• 1990 - The umpires announced a boycott, upset that they weren’t consulted over MLB schedule changes made after the lockout even though the new CBA wasn’t hammered out until March 19th. They got over it quickly enough and returned to work on April 1st while pay, schedule consultation, and other related issues were being addressed through binding arbitration. 
• 2022 - After having settled earlier with arb-eligibles SS Kevin Newman ($1.95M) and OF Ben Gamel ($1.8M), the Bucs had split results with the two remaining members of the class at the deadline. RHP Chris Stratton signed on the dotted line for $2.7M, but building block and Super Two CF Bryan Reynolds didn’t strike a deal and filed for an arbitration hearing (he signed for two years/$13.5 M in April). They quietly signed all 34 of the pre-arb players two days later. 

Ben Gamel - 2021 Topps 70 Years

• 2022 - The Pirates began their camp cutdown by optioning OF Travis Swaggerty to AAA Indy. Other top prospects joined him before the week was over: SS Oneil Cruz (he was widely considered a service time casualty), C/OF Endy Rodriguez, C Henry Davis, 2B Nick Gonzales & Ji-Hwan Bae, OF Matt Fraizer, IF Jared Triolo & Rudolfo Castro and Ps Roansy Contreras, Adrian Florencio, Carmen Mlodzinski, Cody Bolton, Kyle Nicolas, Mike Burrows, Quinn Priester, and Tahnaj Thomas.