10/14: WS Gems By Rook, Bert, Nellie; Bravo Split in NLCS; Gus Bell-Cal Abrams; '60' Youth Movement; Cutch Honored; Cam Busy; HBD Miguel; Kris, Duaner, Ryan, Midre, Scoops, Tom, Ken, Fireman, Oscar, Ona & Norm

• 1863 - LHP (as speculated by SABR; his pitching side is not known for sure) Norm Baker was born in Philadelphia. He got his first taste of the pros with the Alleghenys in 1883, going 0-2/3.32 in a three game tryout and getting released before he put in 10 days on the roster to qualify for a contract. (His ERA wasn’t very indicative of his pitching; he gave up seven earned runs but 16 tallies overall and yielded 24 hits and 11 walks in 19 IP). Baker went on to pitch for the American Association’s Louisville and Baltimore franchises, although he was best known for irritating teammates (he was described as a “contrarian” who argued for the sake of arguing) and a man who never let a contract stand in his way - he switched among amateur, independent and minor-league clubs as freely as the law allowed and then some. He was injured in 1889 in a train accident and tried to come back, but his arm never recovered. Baker umped and managed briefly afterwards, then went on to have a career as a music store salesman - he was a pretty good musician - presumably keeping a lid on his contrarian nature as the customer is always...well, ya know. 
• 1886 - IF Ona Dodd was born in Springtown, Texas. The TCU alum got into five games for the Bucs in 1912 after being selected from Waco, went 0-for-9, and that ended his MLB journey. He played in the Texas League afterward through 1918. Dodd was the second player from Texas Christian to reach the show, and the only one of the 40+ Horned Frog MLB players to play for Pittsburgh.
• 1896 - CF Oscar Charleston was born in Indianapolis. The Hall of Famer played for the Homestead Grays from 1930-31, and from 1932-37 was the player/manager for the Pittsburgh Crawfords during their heyday. He consistently hit .340+ for the Crawfords, with a .363 BA in 1932. That club, with brother Hall of Famers Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, and Judy Johnson on the roster along with “Charlie,” is considered among the best Negro League teams ever fielded. 

Oscar Charleston - 1990 Eclipse Stars of the Negro League

• 1909 - The Pirates scored three times in the first inning, but the Detroit Tigers came back to take a 5-4 win at Bennett Park to force a seventh game in the World Series. The Cats used a balanced attack, banging out 10 hits, five of which were doubles, to give George Mullin the win and send Vic Willis to defeat. The Pirates scored three first-inning runs, keyed by a Hans Wagner double, and almost pulled it out in the ninth. Leadoff singles and a misplayed bunt brought the Bucs within a run with runners on the corners and no outs, but Pittsburgh couldn’t cash in. Bill Abstein was tossed out at home on George Gibson’s bouncer to first and Ed Abbaticchio banged into a game-ending DP to kill the golden goose. It was also the first series to go the full seven-game limit (with the caveat that the World Series only began officially in 1905). 
• 1913 - RHP Hugh “Fireman” Casey was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Casey was a nine-year vet (he lost a couple of years to the war) who spent most of his time with the Dodgers; he played with the Bucs for most of his final campaign in 1949, going 4-1-5/4.66 before being released to the Yankees for his final four outings. He had started as a fireballer, but an arm injury made him go to a curve and a new pitch, the splitter (although most opponents considered it a spitter, not splitter). Hugh was also noted for once getting into a brawl with author Ernest Hemingway in Cuba where the Dodgers were training. He got his nickname because he was an early baseball fireman, doing what a reliever should - putting out fires. Hugh came to a sad end, committing suicide in 1951 after losing a paternity suit and being sued for back taxes due from his bar/restaurant. 
• 1915 - LHP Ken Heintzelman was born in Peruque, Missouri. He pitched for Pittsburgh from 1937-42, was off during the war years, and then returned for 1946-47. In eight years, the southpaw made 154 appearances with 86 starts and went 37-43 with a 4.14 ERA. His son Tom, went on to play MLB ball with the Cardinals and Giants as an infielder between 1973 and 1978. 
• 1934 - RHP Tom Cheney was born in Morgan, Georgia. Cheney put in eight seasons of MLB ball, working for the Bucs in 1960 and a bit in ‘61 (2-2/4.67 overall) before going to the Senators for Tom Sturdivant. Tom had control issues throughout his career but terrific stuff, and holds the record for most K in a game with 21 in a 16-inning, 228-pitch win for Washington in 1962. Still, he only won 19 games in 71 starts over those eight years. He appeared to have turned the corner in 1962-63, but in August of the ‘63 campaign blew out his elbow and only got into 18 more MLB games before he was done. 

Tom Cheney - 1961 Topps

• 1946 - OF/1B Al “Scoops” Oliver was born in Portsmouth, Ohio. He played 10 of his 18 big league years (1968-77) in Pittsburgh with a line of .296/135/717 and three All-Star berths. Scoops was a key member of the early ‘70s clubs that won a World Series and five pennants in six seasons. He holds the distinction of hitting the last home run at Forbes Field while also driving in the first run ever scored at Three Rivers Stadium. Al was dubbed “Scoops” as a minor league player at Gastonia because of his glove work at first. And his leather was excellent no matter where they put Oliver; how many first basemen can you think of who played 840 MLB games in center field? 
• 1952 - 22-year-old Pirate OF Gus Bell was traded to the Giants for outfielders Gail Henley and Cal Abrams, along with C Joe Rossi. Bell spent the next 13 years in the show, nine with the Reds and four as an All-Star, belting double figure homers for the next eight seasons with a high of 30 long balls in 1953. Abrams hit well in his two Bucco years (.273/15 HR) before being traded to Baltimore, but Henley got just 30 MLB at-bats and Rossi was a wash-out. 
• 1968 - The Pirates, in the midst of a youth movement, shed some years when they lost OF Manny Mota, 1B Donn Clendenon and 3B Maury Wills to the Montreal Expos along with pitchers Dave Roberts, Al McBean and Ron Slocum to the San Diego Padres during the expansion draft. 
• 1969 - The Pittsburgh Press reported that the Pirates were a little flummoxed as to what to do with their peach-fuzz trio of Al Oliver, Richie Hebner and Bob Robertson. The consensus: keep Scoops at first base, move Big Red to third and deal The Gravedigger, who was used in a platoon role during the past season. Fortunately, when the season started, all three were still here thanks to Oliver’s versatility - he played first base and both outfield corners full-time (151 games, 609 PAs), allowing Robby to stay at first and Hebner to man the hot corner as platoon guys, with both getting 450+ dish visits. It kept that core together - Richie was 22 while the other pair were 23, and the trio remained intact as Pirates teammates through the 1976 season and five flags. 

Gravedigger, Scoops & Bob Robertson were the building blocks - 1969 Topps Rookies

• 1971 - Nellie Briles tossed a two-hit, two-walk shutout at the Baltimore Orioles, and the 4-0 win put the Pirates up three games to two in the World Series. The Birds never got a runner to second as two Orioles reached with two outs and the Bucs turned a pair of DP on the other set as Nellie faced just 29 hitters. Every Pirate batter reached base during the game, with Bob Robertson hitting a solo shot at Three Rivers Stadium in front of 51,377 Pittsburgh fans. 
• 1971 - OF Midre Cummings was born in Christiansted, St. Croix, in the US Virgin Islands. A first round pick of the Twins in the 1990 draft, he came to Pittsburgh as part of the John Smiley deal. Between 1993-97, he barely got over 500 at bats for the Bucs, hitting .217. After the Pirates let him go, he played until 2005 and turned his bat around, never hitting under .263, although he remained a bench guy, playing fewer than 100 games in any given season. 
• 1978 - OF Ryan Church was born in Santa Barbara, California. Church was signed to a one-year/$1.5M FA contract by the Bucs in 2010 in the hope that he would provide at least a platoon, if not starting, bat for the outfield. But Church had suffered a second concussion while playing in 2009 and never recovered his old mojo as a hitter, batting .182 and being sent to Arizona at the deadline. He played out the year there, hitting better (.265), but it was his final bow in the show after seven MLB seasons after the D-Backs non-tendered him following the campaign. 
• 1979 - Staring at elimination, Pittsburgh had Billy Mazeroski throw out the first pitch. That Maz mojo apparently did the trick as Jim Rooker and game-winner Bert Blyleven combined to toss a six-hitter against the Orioles at TRS to keep the Bucs alive with a 7-1 victory. Rook went five frames, leaving with the Birds ahead, 1-0, before Blyleven and the Buc bats took over. Tim Foli tripled and had three RBI, Bill Madlock went 4-for-4, and Dave Parker and Phil Graner had a pair of knocks. The Pirates’ win left Baltimore ahead in the World Series win column three games to two. It’s also the last World Series game played in Pittsburgh; it’s been quite the Fall Classic drought ever since. 

Jim Rooker - 1979 Topps

• 1979 - RHP Duaner Sanchez was born in Cotuí, Dominican Republic. The Pirates got him from the D-Backs in July, 2002, for Mike Fetter, and Sanchez was tagged for 15 runs in 8-1/3 IP during his nine outings as a Bucco. He was released in 2003 and the Dodgers claimed him, with Duaner putting together a solid three-year run with LA and the Mets as a set-up man after that. His career took a hard hit in 2006, when a cab he was riding in was sideswiped by a drunk driver, separating his shoulder and pretty much ending his major league days. He put in a full year with the Mets in 2008, albeit with a 4.32 ERA (it was 2.60 before his injury) and after a quick stop at San Diego, he spent 2009-11 in the Dominican, Mexican and indie leagues before retiring from pro ball. 
• 1984 - LHP Kris Johnson was born in West Covina, California. Johnson was a #1 pick (40th overall) of the Bosox out of Wichita State in 2006. They released him in 2011 and the Bucs signed him. He got into four Pirates games (one start) in 2013, slashing 0-2/6.10, and was traded to the Twins after the season to get Duke Welker back. He carved out a solid six-year run beginning in 2015 (60-43/2.81) with Hiroshima in the Japanese League before retiring in 2021. 
• 1991 - The Pirates Zane Smith was the victor as the Bucs took a 1-0 win over the Braves at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium and a 3-2 lead in the NLCS. Tom Glavine was the loser, touched up only in the fifth when Chico Lind singled home Steve Buechele. The Braves lost a run when David Justice missed third base while heading home after a two-out, fourth-inning single in a decision that was controversial with its replay inconclusive, allowing the original call to stand. 
• 1992 - Pittsburgh lost the seventh game of the NLCS to the Braves at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, 3-2, when Sid Bream scored in the ninth, barely beating Barry Bond's off-line throw and Spanky LaValliere’s lunging tag to begin a two-decade long Bucco Dark Age. Pittsburgh carried a two-run lead into the last frame when a Chico Lind error and two walks proved fatal. Francisco Cabrera, whose two-out pinch-hit single tallied Bream, was a backup catcher who had only 11 plate appearances during the regular season. Karma quickly caught up; the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Bravos four games to two in the World Series, taking all four of their victories by one run with three of those wins claimed during their last at bat for their first of back-to-back titles. 

Miguel Del Pozo - 2020 photo/Pirates

• 1992 - LHP Miguel Del Pozo was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He bounced around and had TJ surgery in 2016, landing with Pirates in 2020 as a minor league FA. Del Pozo had been beaten up some in his rookie year with the Angels, and it continued during his season in Pittsburgh. He was called up in 2020 and still had big problems finding the strike zone. Miguel walked eight in 3-2/3 IP and posted an ERA of 17.18; he declared for FA after the season and signed with the Tigers. He was DFA’ed after the 2022 season and elected free agency. Miguel signed with Detroit, but was released after TJ surgery and is a free agent now. 
• 1994 - The players may have been on strike, But GM Cam Bonifay was still trying to beef up the edges of the club. LHP Randy Tomlin was DFA’ed (he declared for free agency but never landed another MLB gig) to make room for IF Nelson Liriano, who was claimed from the Colorado Rockies. Earlier in the week, Cam picked up C Mark Parent on waivers from the Chicago Cubs and added a pair of outfielders, Jacob Brumfield and Micah Franklin, in deals with the Cincinnati Reds. 
• 2015 - Andrew McCutchen was selected as Pittsburgh’s Male Athlete of the Year in a voter's poll for the City Paper’s “Best Of” issue. Charlie Deitch wrote a feature on Cutch, saying “...the reason (for the award) seems like a simple one: He's really good at playing baseball. But it's more than that...this guy really loves the game; he says it with his words and his actions.”