4/5 From 1985: Gregory, Pablo Signed; Game Tales - Eric, Kip, DD Gems, GI Jones, Cole Bangin'; RIP Larry; HBD Jung-Ho & Lastings

• 1985 - OF Lastings Milledge was born in Bradenton, Florida. A first-round pick of the Mets, he played for NY and then Washington before he was traded to the Pirates by the Nats in 2009 with RHP Joel Hanrahan for OF Nyjer Morgan and LHP Sean Burnett. From 2009-10 he hit a respectable .282 for Pittsburgh but was playing behind Jose Tabata in LF and Garrett Jones in RF, with Andrew McCutchen in the pipeline. He left for free agency, but all he got was a pit stop with the White Sox. Milledge then spent five seasons playing ball in Japan and Mexico, and after an indie league stint, he retired in 2017. 
• 1987 - IF Jung-Ho Kang was born in Gwangju, South Korea. After a winning posting bid of $5,002,015 for Kang from his Korean team, the Nexen Heroes, the Bucs signed the infielder to a four-year, $11M contract with an option year. He became the first KBO position player to make the jump to the MLB. Jung-Ho made the transition in style, hitting .287 with 15 HR while playing SS & 3B before he broke his leg in mid-September. He started 2016 late while recovering and then landed on the DL again with a shoulder injury, batting .255 with 21 dingers. His career was short-circuited by the debris left by a DUI conviction during the off season. Kang won a reprieve in 2018, missing a lot of time due to injuries, and was re-signed for 2019, reclaiming the third base spot in camp. During the year, his 10 homers couldn’t overcome a .169 BA and JHK was released in August, returning to Korea the following year. He still hasn’t received league permission to play in the KBO and hasn’t taken the field since then.
• 1988 - Darrell Coles had himself a day, belting a three-run homer and RBI triple to help Mike Dunne to a 5-3 Opening Day win over the Phils at Veterans Stadium. His long ball was a two-out blast set up by a rare Mike Schmidt error that extended the frame. Barry Bonds added three hits including a solo shot and Bobby Bonilla scored twice ahead of Coles to back Dunne’s effort. He lasted an out into the sixth and Jeff Robinson finished it off from there. 

Darnell Coles - 1988 Donruss

• 1989 - Doug Drabek and Randy Johnson hooked up in a pitcher’s delight, with the Bucs pulling out a 3-0 win at Olympic Stadium as Drabek tossed a complete game two-hitter and Johnson a three-hitter. The Pirates only plated one earned run off the Big Unit, and that wasn’t until the eighth inning. But he hurt himself; while Johnson K’ed nine, he also walked seven and two of them scored. DD took the opposite tack; he fanned just a trio but only yielded two free passes. 
• 2004 - Kip Wells scattered five hits and struck out seven over six scoreless innings as the Pirates beat the Phillies, 2-1, on Opening Day at PNC Park. Chuck Tanner hurled the opening pitch, with another ceremonial toss made by Mr. Rogers’ widow, JoAnn, while the National Anthem was sung by the Ebenezer Church Choir. Game highlights were Jose Mesa earning his 250th career save and Craig Wilson going long. Some big bossman news was announced before the game, with Kevin McClatchy extending the contracts of GM Dave Littlefield and manager Lloyd McClendon. The extensions bound Littlefield through 2007 and Lloyd's agreement was guaranteed through 2005 with a club option. 
• 2010 - A trio of Buccaneers had big days to begin the 2010 campaign in front of 39,024 PNC Park faithful. Garrett Jones homered (one a splash-down in the Allegheny and the other an oppo field blast) in his first two at-bats against the Los Angeles Dodgers during an 11-5 win, becoming the sixth Pirate to hit two long balls on Opening Day. The Ryan’s had a big outing too, as Doumit and Church added three RBIs each, with Dewey chasing his runs home via a fifth-inning blast while Church plated his gang with a bases-loaded, pinch-hit double. Working his second career Opening Day, Zach Duke got the win though it took a bullpen parade of five relievers to come in and get the final 12 outs. 
• 2011 - Ex-Bucco manager Larry Shepard passed away in Lincoln, Nebraska, at age 92. A minor league pitcher during his playing days, he joined the Bucs in 1953 as a farm coach, topping out with a six-year run at AAA Columbus. He left to join the Phils in 1967 before returning to the Pirates as skipper from 1968-69 (he went 164-155, finishing 6th and 4th) before being replaced by Alex Grammas late in 1969. He was then the pitching coach for the Big Red Machine from 1970-78 and the Giants in 1979. After Shepard retired, he served as an unofficial pitching mentor for the Nebraska Cornhusker nine. 

Pablo Reyes - 2019 Panini Prizm Kaleidoscope

• 2012 - The Pirates signed Pablo Reyes, 18, of the Dominican as an amateur free agent for $90K. After two strong DSL campaigns, he was sent stateside in 2014 and continued to improve his game although often lost in the shuffle of more highly-projected prospects. The versatility dynamic worked to his advantage (he played five positions for the Bucs) as he made the 40-man roster, debuted in the majors in 2018, then left Florida as a member of the Opening Day roster in 2019 as a utility guy, batting .203 in 71 games. He was released in camp in 2020 and soon afterward given an 80-game suspension by MLB for PED usage. Pablo bounced back, spending two seasons with Milwaukee and now playing for Boston while a regular in the Dominican Winter League. 
• 2012 - MLB Opening Day drew the largest crowd to date in PNC Park history, 39,585, as the Bucs Erik Bedard lost a classic pitching duel to the Phil’s Roy Halladay, 1-0. The Bucs threatened in the first, but Andrew McCutchen’s 6-4-3 DP short-circuited the frame. Neil Walker took the ball to the track twice, but both drives died at the fence as Halladay tossed a two-hitter. 
• 2016 - The Pirates officially announced they had signed RF Gregory Polanco to a contract extension that would carry him through arbitration and a year of free agency (2017-2021) worth $35M guaranteed with two team options that brought the potential total contract value up to $58M. The particulars: $3M signing bonus, $1M - '17, $3.5M - '18, $5.5M - '19, $8M - '20, $11M - '21. $12.5M option/$3M buyout - '22, $13.5M option/$1M buyout - '22. The 24-year-old Polanco’s first full MLB campaign was 2015 when he hit .256 with nine home runs, 52 RBIs, 35 doubles, six triples and 27 stolen bases in 153 games. He also ranked second among all NL outfielders with 13 assists, trailing only teammate Starling Marte’s 16 throw-outs. He’s shown flashes and hit bumps throughout his career, missing the end of 2018 with a bum shoulder that required surgery after he dislocated it during an awkward slide. Polanco came back in 2019, put up some lackluster numbers over three campaigns and was released in August of 2021. He's in his third year of playing in Japan and is now with the Chiba Lotte Marines.