10/26: Starling TSN All-Star; Jay Bay TSN Rookie of the Year; Bonds, Drabek Move On; Syd Signs; HBD Diomedes, Wilfredo, Frankie, Marty, Gabby, Judy, Harry & Bill

• 1867 - RHP Bill Garfield was born in Sheffield, Ohio. The Oberlin product tossed his first big league season for the 1889 Pittsburgh Alleghenys, going 0-2/7.76 in 29 IP (two starts, four outings). He worked for the Cleveland Spiders the following year and then spent time in Bradford, Peoria and Sandusky in the minors before hangin’ up his mitt after the 1893 campaign. 
• 1884 - RHP Harry Camnitz was born in McKinney, Kentucky. He worked once for the Pirates in 1909, going four innings and giving up a pair of runs, but that was long enough for him to become an early brother act with teammate sib Howie, who won 109 games with the Bucs. Harry did have a strong minor league career, once winning 27 games for the McKeesport Tubers. 
• 1899 - 3B William Julius "Judy" Johnson was born in Snow Hill, Maryland (This is a consensus date; there are a couple of others floating around). The Hall-of-Famer spent the twenties as a stalwart of the legendary Philadelphia Hilldale Darby teams, then played and managed for the Homestead Grays in 1929-30. He was also with the Pittsburgh Crawfords, serving as team captain from 1932-1936. He retired after 17 seasons with a career .290 BA. The New York Times wrote that "...as a third baseman, Johnson was often compared with Pie Traynor," and the paper recalled Philadelphia Athletics owner Connie Mack’s comment about Johnson: "If Judy were only white," Mack said, "he could name his own price." He inherited his nickname early in his career from a Philly teammate he resembled, “Judy” Gans, who incidentally was from Washington, PA. 

Judy Johnson - Helmar Big League Brew

• 1919 - 3B Jack “Gabby”/”Scat” Cassini was born in Dearborn, Michigan. Jack put 12 years in the minors (he missed three full seasons after entering the Army Air Corp) as a speedy infielder with All-Star chops (he had a lifetime .304 BA on the farm) and six stolen-base titles, but his only stop in the show was in 1949 for the Pirates. He got into eight games w/o touching a bat or mitt; he was used solely as a pinch runner, and did pretty well, scoring three times. After the season, the Pirates sent him to Brooklyn for Danny O’Connell. His playing days were cut short when he was hit in the face by a pitch in 1954, suffering a broken cheekbone and blurred vision. That effectively ended his playing career, but he soldiered on for the next two decades as a scout and minor league skipper for four different organizations - the White Sox, Redlegs/Reds, Mets and Indians. 
• 1974 - RHP Marty McLeary was born in Kettering, Ohio. After getting a brief taste of the show with San Diego, McLeary got nine outings (two starts) with the Bucs in 2006-07, going 2-0/3.91, and that was the end of his MLB road. He tossed for five different organizations before retiring at age 35 after the 2010 campaign and is now a sales manager for medical devices in Nashville. 
• 1983 - LHP Frankie Liriano was born in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic. One of the Pirates most notable reclamation projects, the southpaw went 41-36 with a 3.67 ERA from 2013-16 for the Bucs and won the 2013 "Comeback Player of the Year" award. In the midst of a dismal 2016 campaign, Frankie was traded to Toronto at the deadline. From there, he ended up with the ‘Stros and a date at the 2017 World Series, moved on to the Tigers in 2018 and returned to the Bucs in 2019. It was his last MLB gig and he officially retired in 2022 after 14 seasons. 

Frankie - 2019 Pirates image

• 1987 - The Pirates announced that they and GM Syd Thrift had agreed to contract terms on October 1st, but Thrift didn’t sign a deal until today. He insisted on a clause that gave him more trade control, and that remained a bone of contention until Board President Mac Prine resigned a few days earlier. It was a two-year deal, salary undisclosed although it was thought to be in the neighborhood of $200K. Larry Doughty, the Reds scouting director, was also announced as the new Assistant to the General Manager. 
• 1989 - RHP Wilfredo Boscan was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela. Wil has been in baseball since 2007, spending 11 years in the minors as a starting pitcher while wintering in the Latino leagues six times, and got his only showtime as a Pirate in 2016 when he went 1-1/6.46 in six outings lasting 15-1/3 IP. Wil worked in the Mets minors in 2017, the Venezuelan Winter League that following offseason and in the Mexican League in 2019. He’s still tossing in both Latin leagues. 
• 1989 - LHP Diomedes Mateo was born in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic. The Bucs were hoodwinked by Mateo, who they signed in 2009 under the false pretense that he was a 16-year old player named Yoldi Sierra instead of a 20-year-old Diomedes. The MLB fact-checkers quickly found out the ruse and suspended Mateo for two seasons. The southpaw returned in 2011 but was out of pro ball after 2012 following Low A, Rookie League and Dominican Summer League stops. 
• 1992 - It was a dark day for Pirates fans as Barry Bonds and Doug Drabek both declared for free agency. Bonds was a two-time MVP (1990, 1992) and Drabek a Cy Young winner in 1990. Both found considerably greener pastures away from Pittsburgh: Barry signed a six-year/$43.75M deal with the Giants while Doug inked a four-year/$20M contract with the Astros. 

Jason Bay - 2004 RoY Pirates poster

• 2004 - The Sporting News selected LF Jason Bay as the Rookie of the Year. Bay hit .282 with 26 homers and 82 RBIs despite missing the first five weeks of the campaign because of shoulder surgery. He was the third Pirate to win the TSN award behind Jason Kendall (1996) and Johnny Ray (1982), but neither of them took home the big enchilada, the Baseball Writer’s RoY. Jason would become the first Buccaneer to lay claim to that honor two weeks later. 
• 2016 - LF Starling Marte was named to The Sporting News 2016 National League All-Star Team for the first time. Marte slashed .311/.362/456 with 34 doubles, five triples, nine HR, 71 runs, 46 RBIs, 47 stolen sacks and a 4.9 WAR. He was the only Pirates player to receive votes for AS consideration from the panel of baseball execs who selected the TSN lineup.