6/15 Player Swaps: Digger, Ducky, Elbie, Balloons Floated & Minor Moves

• 1939 - The Pirates picked up 1B Elbie Fletcher from the Boston Bees for IF Bill Schuster and cash. Fletcher played seven seasons for Pittsburgh (he lost three campaigns because of WW2) and hit .279 with 60 HR and 464 RBI for the Bucs. Broadway Bill Schuster was a sub who hit .234 over a five-year career, also missing three wartime years. 
• 1943 - The Pirates traded RHP Dutch Dietz to the Phillies for RHP Johnny Podgajny. For the 31-year-old Dietz, it was his last MLB season after 3-1/2 seasons as a Bucco (13-15-4/3.51). Podgajny slashed 0-4/4.72 in 15 appearances for Pittsburgh, then was traded in the off-season with OF Johnny Wyrostek to the Cards for Preacher Roe. Johnny became a minor league arm after that, surfacing for six big-league outings in 1956 with the Indians. 
• 1949 - The Pirates dabbled in what was basically a three-way deal. They began the day by buying Hank Sauer’s brother Ed, an outfielder, from the St. Louis Cards; before the sun set, they had sent him to the Boston Braves for C Phil Masi. Masi was solid, playing in 48 games and hitting .274, but he was sold in the off season to the Chicago White Sox. 
• 1951 - The Pirates received RHP Ted Wilks, IF Dick Cole, C Joe Garagiola, OF Bill Howerton and LHP Howie Pollet from St. Louis for LHP Cliff Chambers and OF/3B Wally Westlake. Pollet and Chambers ended up as washes as far as hill success went, but Westlake played six more seasons with five teams before retiring with a lifetime .272 BA. Wilks pitched creditably out of the pen for the Bucs from 1951-52 (8-10-16/3.19), Garagiola hit .262 for Pittsburgh from 1951-53 and Howerton batted .279 as a Pirate with 1952 being his last campaign. 

Joe Garagiola - 1953 Bowman

• 1954 - Les Beiderman of the Pittsburgh Press wrote that trade talks between the Bucs and Cards fizzled. The Redbirds wanted RHP Max Surkont and dangled $50,000 and a couple of minor leaguers; the Pirates Branch Rickey asked for Solly Hemus as the return, and no deal was struck. Max was 9-18/4.41 in 29 starts for Pittsburgh while IF Hemus hit .304 as a backup. 
• 1958 - SS Johnny O’Brien and 3B Gene Freese were traded to the Cards for IF Dick “Ducky” Schofield, who would play a key role in the Bucs 1960 NL championship as a sub for the injured Dick Groat during the stretch run. Ducky, a lifetime .227 hitter, had a .333 BA for the 1960 Buccos and hit .248 in his eight Pittsburgh seasons. Freese had a 12-year career and rejoined the Pirates from 1964-65. It was the first time Johnny and his twin brother Eddie played for different teams and was Eddie’s last campaign; Johnny was gone a year later. 
• 1961 - Pittsburgh sent OF Gino Cimoli to the Milwaukee Braves for IF Johnny Logan. Cimoli was a bench player for the Braves, went on to start for KC in 1962-63 and was back on the pine for his last two years. Logan’s All-Star days were behind him and he spent his final three seasons with the Bucs as a reserve infielder batting .249 in 152 games. 
• 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. 

Digger O'Dell - 1967 Topps

• 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 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 were Al Oliver & Jerry Reuss). 
• 1982 - The Pirates traded 39-year-old OF Bill Robinson to the Phillies for OF Wayne Nordhagen. Wayne was a mover: He had been sent to Philly by the Blues Jays, then traded to the Pirates by the Phils. He played one game for the Bucs before the club shipped him back to the Jays on the 25th as the PTBNL for an earlier deal for Dick Davis, who was the player Philly had sent to Toronto on the 15th before being traded to the Pirates a week later. Robby and Nordhagen had one more MLB campaign left and it was the last season for Davis.