6/3: Nate-Jeff; Earl/Adam-Burwell, Karger-Chappie; Renegade POTW; Buster, Smiley Gems, Bombs Away, Roof Shot, Piet Poundin', Game Tales; Lloyd-LaRussa, Clemente Busy, Josh Lore, Whackin' Waner; HBD Brandon & Nelson; Bonds & Drafts

• 1906 - In a deal that didn’t pan out very well, the Pirates sent rookie LHP Ed “Loose” Karger to the St Louis Cardinals for veteran RH hurler Chappie McFarland. Karger pitched well for some bad St. Louis teams and tossed in the show through 1911, going 48-67 with a 2.79 ERA while working for four teams. (Some say Loose’s nickname represented his carefree character; others say it described his fluid delivery) Chappie was waived in August by the Pirates after six outings and pitched once more in the majors as a Brooklyn Dodger in 1906. 
• 1927 - Paul “Big Poison'' Waner homered off the Phils’ Claude Willoughby (Glenn Wright and George Grantham also went deep), in a 11-1 romp at Forbes Field. Waner’s long ball ignited the start of his NL record 14-game streak with an extra base hit (12 doubles, five triples, three homers) that continued through June 19th; he was held to a pair of singles on the 20th. 
• 1928 - The Pirates sent RHP Erv Brame and OF Adam Comorosky to Indianapolis of the American Association for RHP Bill Burwell. Burwell ended up an afterthought as a hurler, getting into just four games, but proved his value later on to Pittsburgh as an organization/big league coach & skipper for six years (he developed Vern Law and managed in 1947). Comorosky returned to Pittsburgh in 1929 and hit .295 over a five-year period before closing out his career with two more campaigns at Cincinnati while Brame was done as a MLB hurler. 
• 1932 - Behind 5-2, the Pirates scored three times in the bottom of the eighth and then got an inside-the-park homer from Tony Piet in the 11th to defeat the Cubs, 6-5, at Forbes Field. Piet had four knocks and four RBI to prime the attack, with Pie Traynor adding three hits. The Bucs had three triples during the game, two of which got away from Chicago player-manager Rogers Hornsby, who then benched himself. Steve Swetonic went the distance for the win despite giving up 14 hits. It was the first “Knothole Gang” game ever held at Forbes Field, as the team stuffed the right field stands with local youngsters bringing the attendance up to...3,000. 

Josh Gibson - 2021 Adam Korengold/jgmvp-21 custom card 

• 1937 - Homestead Gray C Josh Gibson hit perhaps his most storied homer, reported by The Sporting News to have traveled 580’, catching the back rim at Yankee Stadium in a game against the NY Black Yankees. If accurate, which is a point of considerable debate (no StatCast back then), it would be the longest home run ever hit. Mickey Mantle’s 565’ blast in 1953 off Washington’s Chuck Stobbs at Griffith Stadium is considered the biggest blast. It was literally measured by a tape measure, leading to “tape measure homer” being added to baseball’s lexicon. 
• 1961 - Roberto Clemente had a busy day during a 5-1 win over the Phils at Forbes Field. He opened the scoring with a first-inning homer, threw out a runner in the fourth and then was ejected in the eighth for beefing about a close call at first, firing his helmet over the dugout as he left the field. Don Hoak also went long and Smoky Burgess had three hits to back Bobby Shantz and ElRoy Face, who combined on a five-hitter against the Philadelphians. 
• 1962 - During the nitecap of a double header, Bob Skinner hit a RF roof shot at Forbes Field, the second of his career, off Houston’s Ken Johnson during a 10-3 loss. The Bucs also lost the opener, 10-6, giving the Colt .45s their first DH sweep in franchise history. The opening contest featured an oddity. Roberto Clemente tagged from third on a short fly to right; the throw home flew past Houston catcher Hal Smith but went straight to pitcher Bob Tiefenauer, who was backing up the play, The ball stuck in Tiefenauer’s webbing, so the quick-thinking hurler flipped the ball and mitt to Smith in time for him to tag out The Great One. 
• 1964 - IF Nelson Liriano was born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. The veteran infielder saw a lot of part-time action for the Bucs in 1995-96, getting in 219 games and hitting .277 after being claimed off waivers from Colorado. His greatest career footnote may be from the 1989 season when with Toronto, he broke up two no-hitters in the ninth inning within a six-day span, spoiling bids by first Nolan Ryan and then Kirk McCaskill. Nelson became a minor league manager and coach when he left the game, mainly with the KC organization. 

Roberto Clemente - 1969 MLB photo stamp

• 1969 - The Pirates were dropped, 7-3, by the Cincinnati Reds at Forbes Field, but it was a red-letter day for Roberto Clemente. The Great One drilled a game-tying three-run homer in the sixth (the Bucs quickly lost the lead in the following inning) for Roberto’s 2,417th career hit, moving him into third place on the all-time Pirate hit list ahead of Max Carey and Pie Traynor. Clemente would later pass Paul “Big Poison” Waner (2,868) and then vaulted past Honus Wagner (2,970) to claim the franchise top spot with 3,000 hits in 1972. 
• 1979 - The Bucs hit five home runs, two by Bill Robinson with four RBI, (Omar Moreno, Dave Parker and Lee Lacy hit the others) as the Pirates whipped the Padres, 7-0, at TRS. But the big story was Bruce Kison, an emergency starter who got the nod shortly before the game when Don Robinson couldn’t go. In fact, the start time was delayed 10 minutes so he could warm up. He got loose pretty quickly; he carried a no-hitter into the eighth when with two outs, Barry Evans, a .197 hitter, bounced a ball inside the third base line. Phil Garner, who was playing off the bag, took a couple of steps over, went for the backhand grab and had it tick off his mitt into left for a soft two-bagger. It was ruled a hit. Kison didn’t agree; he walked off the mound after the inning and shook his fist in frustration at the scorer, Dan Donovan, who was perched in the press box. The controversial (to Buster, anyway) grounder was the only hit he surrendered. 
• 1985 - Barry Bonds was drafted by the Pirates in the first round (6th pick overall) of the 1985 draft and signed shortly thereafter for a $125,000 bonus. He was the Bucco prize in the Cracker Jack box; the only Pirates picks to reach the MLB from that year were OF Tommy Gregg and pitchers Brett Gideon & Bill Sampen. And if you’re wondering, BJ Surhoff, Will “The Thrill” Clark, Bobby Witt, Barry Larkin and Kurt Brown were taken ahead of Bonds. Ex-Pirates coach Joey Cora was taken #23 overall in that same draft by the San Diego Padres. 
• 1987 - Bucco second baseman Jim Morrison had a career-high three doubles, drove in two runs and tied his personal best of four hits (4-for-4) in Pittsburgh’s 4-1 win over the Braves in front of just 5,368 fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Bob Kipper started and got the win. 

John Smiley - 1988 Score

• 1988 - The Pirates put up runs in the eighth and ninth frames to edge the Montreal Expos, 2-1, at TRS. John Smiley tossed a one-hit complete game with eight K, but the lone knock was a two-out triple that RJ Reynolds couldn’t corral, followed by a balk. The Bucs knotted the score in the eighth inning on a Jose Lind solo shot. Mike Lavalliere doubled with an out in the ninth; John Cangelosi ran for him and scored on Mike Diaz’s pinch-hit, walk-off knock. In other news, the Bucs swapped shortstops - Rafe Belliard came off the DL and for the second time, Al Pedrique was sent down to AAA Buffalo to clear a spot, leaving second-year infielder Felix Fermin as the backup. They switched bullpen arms, too, bringing up LHP Dave Rucker and sending down RHP Scott Medvin. 
• 1991 - JC catcher Jon Farrell was the Pirates first selection (#24) in the draft; he got as far as AA ball. The only noteworthy selections of the day was seventh-round pick 2B Tony Womack, who spent 13 years in MLB, five as a Buc, for whom he hit .278 while stealing 122 bases. LHP Matt Ruebel, a third rounder, pitched a couple of years for the Pirates (1996-97: 4-5-1/5.54 in 70 games) and 19th rounder RHP Marc Pisciotta tossed in three MLB campaigns. Some late prep picks made the grade, although not with Pittsburgh. 39th-round pick RHP Dustin Hermanson worked 12 big-league campaigns, 56th-rounder RHP Paul Brower lasted nine seasons and 57th-round selection RHP Paul Wilson hurled for seven years, but none of the trio signed with the Pirates. 
• 1992 - The Bucs took an early 6-2 lead thanks to a four-run third inning and held on to drop the Los Angeles Dodgers at TRS by a 6-5 score. Jeff King brought home three runs and Jerry Gleaton claimed his only Pirate victory, saved by Stan Belinda. With the win, the Pirates reclaimed first place in the National League East from the Cardinals and then held the top spot for the rest of the year, spending just eight days without the lead or a share of it. 
• 1993 - Pittsburgh didn’t write home about this draft. They selected HS OF’er Charles Peterson first (#22/$420K bonus), who never made it to the show, followed by second round OF Jermaine Allensworth (#34/$194K bonus), who played 2-1/2 years for the Bucs, hitting .272 as a reserve. RHP Kane Davis was the only other big league contributor beyond a cup of coffee; his top season was 2001 for Colorado, when he made 57 appearances and went 2-4/4.35.

Brandon Waddell - 2018 MLB Pipeline

• 1994 - LHP Brandon Waddell was born in Houston, Texas. A College World Series hero for Virginia, the Pirates drafted him in the fifth round of the 2015 draft. The lefty toiled in the minors until 2020, looking like an ace at Altoona but not quite getting over the AAA hump. He persevered and got his call up in August of 2020 and worked his first MLB game on the 14th, picking up his first big league K. He’s been playing in Korea since 2022, with a quick stop in the Chinese League. 
• 1997 - The Pirates drafted HS OF/1B JJ Davis as their top pick (#8) and signed him to a $1.675M bonus (Davis was a three-sport star and had a football scholarship in hand from USC). He played 67 MLB games, with 106 at-bats and a .179 BA. In a bit of what goes around, comes around, Paul Meyers of the Post Gazette wrote that RHP Jason Grilli was on the Pirates “hot list” of potential picks, but he went off the board before they could get him as the #4 overall selection of the Giants. They found a couple of sturdy bullpen arms later on, selecting LHPs John Grabow in the third round and Mike “Gonzo” Gonzalez in the 30th. 
• 1998 - Sometimes ya do play the whole city. 19-year-old rookie Aramis Ramirez was 0-for-24 when he stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs at TRS when a funny thing happened - the 17,691 rooters stood and gave the struggling rookie some love with an ovation. The vibe had its effect; A-Ram lined a two-run double off Greg McMichaels for his first hit to give the Bucs breathing room in a 3-0 win over the Mets. It wasn’t the only first; Jason Christiansen picked up his first MLB save, finishing off Jon Lieber’s win. The Pirates also announced that they signed their top pick (15th overall), LHP Clint Johnston, to a $1M contract. 
• 2004 - The Pirates lost a 4-2 match to the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park, but not before manager Lloyd McClendon gave the fans their money’s worth. With two away in the top of the ninth inning, Mike Gonzalez buzzed former Bucco Tony Womack. Tony LaRussa barked at Gonzo from the bench, and Lloyd took exception to the chirping, charging out of the dugout after LaRussa. Two umps had to hold Lloyd back after LaRussa stepped out to meet him. Both skippers were suspended for two games and hit with undisclosed fines. The aftermath: After the smoke cleared, the cool and calm Craig Wilson gifted his manager with “The Anger Workbook” and “Getting the Best of Your Anger,” along with a Zen rock garden, per Jerry DiPaolo of the Tribune Review. 

Lloyd McClendon - 2004 Topps

• 2009 - The Bucs traded OF Nate McLouth to Atlanta for OF Gorkys Hernandez, LHP Jeff Locke and RHP Charlie Morton, clearing an everyday spot for Andrew McCutchen, who was called up from the minors that day. Hernandez was later flipped (he’s made several moves and is now playing in the Latin Leagues) for Gaby Sanchez while Morton (who was sent to the Phillies in 2016 & now with the Braves) and Locke (he became a Marlin in 2017 and is now retired after a labrum injury) filled rotation spots. McLouth was a flop for the Braves and during a brief return to Pittsburgh but revived his career with Baltimore. He then signed with Washington, but a shoulder injury cost him the year and 2014 was his last season. 
• 2011 - It took Pittsburgh 12 innings, but they eked out a 2-1 win over the Phillies at PNC Park. Jose Tabata drove in the first run on a sac fly and the second with a two-out walk off rap. With the bases empty in the 12th and two away, Xavier Paul singled, stole second, and came in on JT’s grounder through the right side. Danny Moskos got the win, his first MLB victory. He was one of five Pirate pitchers that scattered six hits to Philadelphia hitters. 
• 2019 - Pittsburgh drafted a couple of high school kids 1-2, RHP Quinn Priester (#18 - $3.4M) and OF Sammy Siani (#37 - $2.15M), and then picked a pair of college bats next to balance the checklist on the first night: OF Matt Gorski of Indiana (#57 - $1M) and 3B Jared Triolo of Houston (#82 - $870,700). The next selection was a return to the prep ranks with OF Matt Fraizer (#95 - $525,000), taken in the third round. All are still in the Pirates system. 
• 2022 - Righty closer David Bednar, 27, was named the National League Reliever of the Month for May. In 12 outings, he posted a 2-1-7/1.65 line, holding opponents to a .170 BA and whiffing 21 batters with two walks in 16-1/3 IP. The Mars HS grad joined the Pirates in 2021 as part of the Joe Musgrove deal with the San Diego Padres. He was one of the underdog makes good tales of the MLB - Bednar was a 35th round draft pick in 2016 from Easton’s Lafayette College. A former Pirates product, RHP Clay Holmes, won the Junior Circuit award.