3/13: Quiet Day...Mo Goes; Crystal Lite; Roberto - Vegas HoF; Latino OF; HBD Manny, Jason, Gary, Al, Eddie & Chappie

• 1875 - RHP Charles “Chappie” McFarland was born in White Hall, Illinois. After four years with the Cardinals, he spent his final campaign of 1906 spinning for three clubs, including six outings with the Bucs. He went 1-3/2.55, with five starts after Pittsburgh sent Ed Karger to the Cards for his services in June; by August he was waived and finished his MLB days with Brooklyn by making one final start. Chappie had an MLB brother, Monte, who tossed for the Cubs. After McFarland's baseball career ended, he jumped into show biz by opening the first vaudeville theater in Houston, then becoming a movie theater manager. 
• 1918 - Utilityman Eddie Pellagrini was born in Boston. He lost four years to the service but still put in eight seasons in MLB, with his last two seasons served (1953-54) with the Bucs, hitting .237. After retiring, Pellagrini spent 32 years as the manager of the Boston College Eagles. He got his career off to a hot start when in 1946, Eddie hit a home run in his first MLB at bat with the Red Sox. 
• 1939 - OF Al Luplow was born in Saginaw, Michigan. He closed out his seven-year MLB career as a Buc in 1967 after the Pirates bought his contract from the New York Mets, hitting .184 in 55 games. Al made one of baseball’s great grabs in 1963 when he went flying over a five-foot fence in right to steal a three-run homer from Boston's Dick Williams at Fenway Park, landing in the bullpen and climbing back over the wall with the ball raised in his hand. Former Pirates OF’er Jordan Luplow, now with the Atlanta Braves, is Al’s great-nephew.

Gary Kolb - 1968 Topps

• 1940 - All-purpose player Gary Kolb was born in Rock Falls, Illinois. Kolb played all three OF spots, 2B, 3B and catcher for the Bucs in 1968-69 (he played every position in the minors and all but pitcher and short in the majors). But while the glove was willing, the bat was weak and he hit just .186 as a Pirate, ending his seven-year, four-team MLB career. His cousin Danny, a righty reliever, also finished his nine-year run in the majors as a Bucco in 2007. 
• 1955 - Per Thomas van Hyning of SABR, Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rico), Carlos Bernier (Puerto Rico) and Roman Mejías (Cuba) became the first major-league all-black, All-Caribbean outfield when Pittsburgh visited the Phils at Clearwater during spring camp. Clemente went 3-for-4 while Bernier & Mejias each added a hit in a 10-inning, 4-3 win. Bernier is considered by many to be the first black Pirate (he played in 1953), but the team gave that nod to Curt Roberts, who joined the club a year later as Bernier was considered Puerto Rican, not black. 
• 1975 - Roberto Clemente and 13 others were inducted into Las Vegas’ Black Athletes Hall of Fame. James Brown hosted and Aretha Franklin provided the entertainment as Roberto (in memory), Roy Campanella and a dozen other athletes were honored at Caesar's Palace Convention Center. 
• 1988 - 1B Jason Rogers was born in East Point, Georgia. He was traded by the Milwaukee Brewers for OF Keon Broxton and RHP Trey Supak depth during the 2015 off season as the Pirates were looking to fill a void at first base. However, Jason was bumped from the mix when the Bucs later signed veteran free agents John Jaso and David Freese, then shot himself in the foot by going 2-for-25 in 2016. Rogers was released the following year and took his game to Japan. 

Jason Rogers - 2017 photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates

• 1991 - LHP Manny Banuelos was born in Gomez Palacio, Mexico. The Yankees bought him from the Mexican League in 2008, and he was a Top 50 MLB Prospect, playing in the Futures Game and the Arizona League. Injuries bit him in 2012 and he missed 2013 with TJ surgery. Since then, he’s been with the Braves, White Sox, Yankees again, tossed in Mexico and is now in China. The Pirates claimed him from NY in 2022, and he debuted as a Buc in early July, giving up a grannie to Aaron Judge. He worked 31 games with a 2-1/4.96 slash. 
• 2002 - 2B Warren Morris went from College World Series hero at LSU in 1996 to starting for the Pirates and finishing in third place in the Rookie of the Year vote in 1999 to being cut - and going unclaimed - OTD. He became a Bucco as part of the Esteban Loaiza deal with Texas in 1998 and started the following year, but saw his batting line drop from .288/15 HR in 1999 to .204/2 HR in 2001, when he spent half the season at AAA Nashville. He got another shot to start in Detroit in 2003, but it was his last MLB hurrah, and he retired after the 2005 season. 
• 2008 - In a spring game against the Pirates, comedian and lifelong Yankee fan Billy Crystal led off as the DH after signing a one-day contract with New York. He made contact, fouling a fastball up the first base line, but was eventually struck out by Paul Maholm on six pitches. He joined Garth Brooks, Tom Selleck and Will Ferrell as celebrities who appeared in a MLB exhibition game.