3/25: Felix-For-Jay; Vanimal Joins; El Coffee, Gene, Pete Sign; Jumpin' Jack Starts; Maz Breaks Foot; LaRussa Deal; HBD Lee & Jimmy

• 1882 - RF Jimmy Sebring was born in Liberty, PA, near Williamsport. He played for Pittsburgh from 1902-04, hitting .261, and in 1903 became the first MLB player to homer in a World Series game when he legged out an inside-the-park four-bagger against Cy Young while hitting .333 against Boston in that first WS. The talented OF’er (he was an early “can’t miss” prospect) had a rift with the team over a couple of different incidents and was traded. He then played with a series of outlaw teams, sidetracking his promising career. Sebring was on the comeback trail when he passed away from kidney disease in 1910 at the age of 27. 
• 1891 - OF Pete Browning signed with Pittsburgh for $3,500-to-$4,000. One of the great batsmen of the era, he joined after leaving his longtime team, the Louisville Colonels, in 1890 and jumping to Cleveland of the Players League. His signing was one of several, starting with Lou Bierbauer, that helped the Pittsburgh nickname of “Pirates” become a thing. Although he batted .291 for Pittsburgh, at midseason he ended up with Cincinnati. Browning played for four different clubs from 1892-94 to close out his MLB career, posting a lifetime .341 BA over 13 campaigns. Pete was known as the Louisville Slugger - he was from Louisville - and baseball lore credits him as the namesake of the famous Hillerich & Bradsby bat model, which he used during his career. 
• 1953 - The Pirates signed IF Gene Freese to a minor league contract. The 19-year-old from Wheeling made it the hard way; he was one of 21 to survive a local try-out at Forbes Field, then was culled from a pack of about 70 players who were auditioned at minor league camp. He was assigned to Class D Brunswick and jumped quickly to Class B Burlington, then in ‘54 started out at AA New Orleans. From there, he went to Hollywood of the Pacific Coast League and debuted with Pittsburgh later in 1955 as a 21-year-old. Gene used that as a launching pad to an 11-year MLB career, spending six of those seasons with the Bucs, including a year (‘55) playing with big bro George. 

Gene Freese - 1956 Topps

• 1955 - OF Lee Mazzilli was born in New York City. Mazzilli spent four of his 14 seasons as a Pirate, playing fairly regularly for his first two years (1983-’86) while hitting .244 overall. In 1986, the Mets were rumored to have offered Ray Knight (who was nearing the end of his career) for Mazzilli, but the Pirates turned them down. The Bucs released Lee in July when he was hitting .226 and he joined New York for free while Knight batted .298 with one more solid season yet in the tank. 
• 1965 - Camp isn’t all fun and games. Bill Mazeroski broke a bone in his right foot on this day and was out of the Bucco lineup until mid-May. He came back to hit .271 and earn another Golden Glove for his trophy case. It was the only time between 1964-67 that he didn’t appear in every game, and Maz still played in 130 contests after his foot healed while helping to turn 113 DPs. 
• 1974 - The Press carried a small clip announcing that the Bucs sent Charleston prospects OF Dave Arrington and IF Alferdo Zavala to the Cubs Wichita farm club for 29-year-old middle infielder Tony LaRussa in a AAA deal. LaRussa was approaching his time to change career lanes, playing farm ball through 1977, taking the skipper’s job at Knoxville the next year and then beginning a 35-year MLB managing career in 1979 at Chicago after starting the season at Iowa. 
• 1989 - The Pirates sent SS Felix Fermin and UT Denny Gonzalez to Cleveland for SS Jay Bell to complete a PTBNL deal from November 28th, 1988. Bell manned shortstop for eight years, helped capture three NL East titles and earned an All-Star berth in 1993 for the Bucs. He returned in 2013 as their batting coach before moving on to a minor league managing career. Fermin played eight more years in the AL, starting several years for the Indians. Gonzalez got into eight more MLB games after the deal and closed out his career with stints in Japan and Mexico. 

Jack Wilson - 2001 Fleer Legacy

• 2001 - Manager Lloyd McClendon officially announced that 23-year-old Jack Wilson was going to start the season at shortstop, bumping veteran Pat Meares to second base. Solid choice; Wilson became a fan favorite and held the job until he was traded in 2009, hitting .269 while winning an All-Star berth in 2004. Jumping Jack Flash was sent to Pittsburgh in 2000 by the Cards for LHP Jason Christiansen. For Meares, it was the end of the big league road - a nagging hand injury led to a battle royale with the club over treatment, and he got into just 86 games during the campaign, his last as a MLB’er, as he played out his $15M contract rostered on the DL through 2003. 
• 2009 - Pirates Latin American scouts Rene Gayo and Rene Ellis signed a skinny 17-year-old kid who they envisioned as making the jump from pitcher to outfielder for $175,000. The vision became reality - the beanpole was Gregory Polanco and he went on patrol in Pittsburgh’s pasture in 2014. His promise never caught up with his performance, but he did a little better at the negotiating table in 2017, signing a five-year/$35M contract with two team option years worth $26M. He was injured during an awkward late season slide late in 2018 and returned before he was 100% in 2019, playing in only 42 games. 2020 was a lost year performance-wise (.153 BA) and El Coffee was released the following year; now he’s playing in Japan. They also signed RHP Joely Rodriguez. He never tossed for the Pirates but was traded as a prospect for Antonio Bastardo in 2014. Joely has pitched six MLB seasons (he’s now a FA) while Bastardo was suspended for PED usage in 2018, with Pittsburgh becoming his last MLB posting. 
• 2014 - RHP Vance Worley was purchased from the Minnesota Twins. After going 1-5/7.21 ERA in 2013, Vanimal started out at Indy, and following some tinkering with his arm angle, he was called up to start on June 15th to replace injured Francisco Liriano. He finished the campaign with an 8-4 record and 2.85 ERA. After a 4-6/4.02 line in 2015, he was released and went to Baltimore and then Miami. He’s since played in the Mets minors, indie ball, and made his last appearance in the 2023 WBC, pitching for Great Britain. He’s an FA this season.