5/30 From 1970: Hot Jose, Kenny's 26-Gamer, Locke-Down, Top Tier; Zippos, Bangers, Game Tales; Mondesi Moves, SI Cobra, Moose Surgery; RIP Max; HBP Luis & Tony

• 1971 - Willie Stargell launched a Ken Holtzman pitch into the upper deck in right field, the third of four that he’d ship to the top tier at TRS in his career, to cap a 10-0 win over the Cubs. Roberto Clemente and Bob Robertson also went long. Bob Moose didn’t need much help; he fired a three-hitter and fanned seven. 
• 1974 - Bob Moose had surgery to remove a blood clot from his arm after it had swollen to double its size. The clot wasn’t thought to be baseball related, but it cost Moose the rest of the season as one of his ribs also had to be removed. He was having an outlier year anyway, with a 1-5 record and 7.57 ERA, easily the worst numbers of his career and related to his arm woes. Moose never again reached the 100 IP mark after averaging 213 IP and 30 starts in 1972-73 before meeting a tragic end in a car wreck after the 1976 campaign. 
• 1976 - OF Max Carey passed away in Miami. In 17 Pirates seasons, he hit .287 (a strong average for the deadball era; his OPS+ was 111) with 688 stolen bases and a reputation as the best center fielder in the game who was nicknamed “Scoop” for his ability to catch balls hit in front of him. Max won a NL-record 10 stolen base titles and ranks among the top ten all-time in outfield chances per game (6,937 total), seventh in assists (339), and third in double plays (87). After he retired following the 1929 campaign, Carey went on to be a Pirates coach in 1930, then was the skipper of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1932-33. After baseball, he was involved in Florida real estate, wrote a book & several sporting articles, was a horse racing commissioner, and dabbled in politics. Carey was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1961 by the Veterans Committee. 
• 1977 - Dave Parker was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the story “Battle Royale In the East.” The Buccos finished second in the National League East race with 96 wins, five games behind the Phils. The Cobra was an All-Star, played in a team-high 159 games w/21 HR and led the NL with a .338 BA. 

Tony Watson - 2017 Topps

• 1985 - LHP Tony Watson was born in Sioux City, Iowa. The ninth round pick of the 2007 draft was a converted starter that moved to the pen, and made his debut with the Bucs in 2010, evolving into a solid bridge man for the Pirates and then taking over the eighth inning role in spectacular fashion, posting a 1.63 ERA with a couple of saves, 34 holds and 9.4 K per nine innings to earn a spot on the 2014 All-Star team. The media coined the phrase "It's elementary, Watson" to describe his consistent excellence. Tony took over the closer’s role in the summer of 2016 and held it until he was traded to the Dodgers at the deadline in 2017 (he notched 30 saves as a Bucco) and was replaced by Felipe Rivero (Vazquez). He then spent three years with the Giants before returning to LA and closed out the year once again with San Francisco, retiring in 2022. 
• 1987 - The Pirates lost, 6-2, to the Cincinnati Reds at TRS, powered by red-hot Eric Davis’ third-inning grand slam off Dorn Taylor. But one notable move was made by Jimmy Leyland that would pay dividends over the upcoming years: it was the first time he played Andy Van Slyke in centerfield, bumping Barry Bonds to left. AVS had started the ‘87 season, his first as a Bucco, as the right fielder, but after today spent the remainder of his Pirates career as the outfield keystone (Baltimore played him in right for one game in 1995). 
• 1988 - Bucco bats banged at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium as the Pirates ran roughshod over the Braves and Pete Smith, 14-2. Pittsburgh drilled 18 hits - all 11 players that batted had at least a hit - and the top of the order (Barry Bonds, Jose Lind, Andy Van Slyke) scored seven times. Bobby Bonilla had three hits, including a homer, and Bonds also went deep to allow Doug Drabek (who tripled in two runs and scored) to coast to victory. But the Bravos paid the Bucs back in spades by winning the final pair of games by 11-1 and, holy deja vu, 14-2. 
• 1996 - RHP Luis Escobar was born in Cartagena, Columbia. He signed with the Pirates as an international free agent, and despite having played just 20 or so games combined at the AA & AAA levels, was briefly called to Pittsburgh in 2019. Luis, 23, threw goose eggs in his first three outings while dodging raindrops (he posted a 2.471 WHIP) before the Cards roughed him up, and after that he was returned to Indy. He’s now tossing in the Mexican League. 

Jason Kendall - 1998 Topps Tek

• 1998 - Jason Kendall hit a walk-off, bases-loaded single to cap a three-run ninth and give the Pirates an 8-7 win over the Montreal Expos at TRS. It was Kendall’s third hit of the day and his second RBI. Manny Martinez homered and Kevin Young banged out four hits. Three Pirate relievers tossed four goose eggs, with Jason Christiansen earning the victory. 
• 2003 - Kenny Lofton homered against the Cards in a 7-3 win by Jeff Suppan to keep his 26-game hitting streak alive, tying Danny O’Connell’s modern-day mark set in 1953. He would go 0-fer the next day against the Cards during a 4-3 Pirates victory, falling short of tying the club record set by Jimmy Williams in 1899. Brian Giles picked up the slack with a homer and three RBI to carry Kip Wells to victory. 
• 2004 - The Raul Mondesi saga officially ended when the outfielder signed a $1.75M deal with the Anaheim Angels. He left the Pirates on May 7th after signing as a free agent ($1.15M) to return home to deal with a lawsuit and family safety issues. He never came back; it was all a ploy to get out of the Pirates agreement and head for greener pastures. Pittsburgh could have opted to keep him on the restricted list until the cows came home (and in hindsight, should have; that way they might have gotten some compensation for his flip) but instead washed their hands of him when he failed to report on the team-mandated “drop dead” date of May 18th, terminating his contract the next day. 
• 2006 - The Bucs walloped the Milwaukee Brewers, 12-1, at PNC Park behind a pair of Jose Castillo homers. Jose added a single and double to chase home six runs while scoring three times. Freddy Sanchez also had four knocks and Jack Wilson added three more hits as the Pirates collected 17 raps, seven for extra bases, to help Victor Santos to victory. 

Jose Castillo - 2006 Topps Heritage

• 2013 - For the second time in three days, the Pirates defeated the Detroit Tigers, 1-0, in 11 innings. The Bucs used four pitchers - Mark Melancon got the win - and a Neil Walker homer to squeak by at Comerica Park on the 28th, then came home to PNC Park and won with Bryan Morris and five other pitchers, clinched by a Russell Martin walk-off single. This one was a stolen victory as the Tigers stranded 11 runners during the game. The victory was the club’s fourth 1-0 win in an 11-game span and their 16th win in the past 20 contests. 
• 2016 - The Pirates rolled over Miami at Marlins Park, 10-0. Gregory Polanco hit his first MLB grand slam, Sean Rodriguez added a two-run blast, and David Freese went 4-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored. The big story was lefty Jeff Locke, who pitched a complete game shutout, the first time he had gone the distance in 101 career starts. It was the Bucs first CG since 2014, when Vance Worley went wire-to-wire. Locke gave up three hits without a walk, and thanks to two DPs, faced the minimum number of batters until two were gone in the ninth when he was touched for a bloop single. It was a textbook example of pitching to contact; the Pirate southpaw had just one whiff.