10/3 From 1970: Gene Hired, Leyland Signs, Cobra NL-POTM; Robby 3HR, Postseason; Moves, Jerry, Pops, Danny & Roberto; HBD Kevin, Goose, Alex, Manny & Wil

• 1970 - Dock Ellis and Gary Nolan bent but refused to break at TRS until the Reds put up three runs in the 10th inning to take a 3-0, opening NLCS victory from the Pirates. Tony Perez’s double brought in the first score and the insurance runs were chased home on Lee May’s two-out two-bagger. Pittsburgh stranded nine runners, but only one Bucco reached third, and that was with two outs. Matty Alou had a tough day trying to navigate the base paths as he was picked off in the first inning and then caught stealing in the ninth, rung up as the third out for both frames. 
• 1970 - OF Manny Martinez was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. He spent three seasons with four MLB teams, making a stop in Pittsburgh in 1998, batting .250 in 73 games. He was claimed by Montreal off waivers the following year. He then began his odyssey, playing AAA ball, followed by an indie league stint and trips to Korea, Mexico and the Dominican Leagues. Manny hung up the spikes in 2008 at age 37 after 19 seasons in pro ball. He went into coaching with the Mets organization afterward, and is now managing their Dominican Summer League club. 
• 1971 - 1B Bob Robertson hit three home runs, the first time ever done in a playoff game (he’s still tied for the most dingers in a postseason game), and added a double in a 9-4 NLCS win over the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park. He went 4-for-5 with five RBI and four runs scored to give Dock Ellis all the run support he’d need, although The Docktor lasted only five innings (his sore elbow made him a playoff nonentity). The Pirates launched a 15-hit barrage with Roberto Clemente and Dave Cash adding three knocks to square the set at a game each. 
• 1971 - OF Wil Cordero was born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. Cordero put in 14 big-league years, spending part of 2000 as a Bucco. He signed as a free agent, hit .282 w/16 HR and then was flipped at the deadline to the Cleveland Indians for OF Alex Ramirez and IF Enrique Wilson. 

Wil Cordero - 2000 MLB Showdown

• 1972 - Roberto Clemente made a ninth inning appearance in his 2,433rd game for the Bucs, tying Honus Wagner for the most regular season games played by a Pirate (Roberto played 26 additional games in the postseason, including five in '72; Hans only got into 15 playoff games) as Pittsburgh beat St. Louis, 6-2, at TRS. The Bucs had the game in hand thanks to a pair of two-run, two-RBI performances by Richie Hebner, who homered, and Al Oliver, with a double, to back the twirling of winning pitcher Bob Moose, Steve Blass and Ramon Hernandez. 
• 1974 - OF Alex Ramirez was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He came to Pittsburgh in a deadline deal with the Indians for Wil Cordero in 2000 and that was the end of his three-year MLB career. He hit .209 and took his game to Japan. He played in the Nippon League through 2013, becoming the first non-Japanese player to collect 2,000 hits, and “Rami-Chan” is now a Japanese citizen. 
• 1976 - The Pirates shut out the St. Louis Cardinals by identical 1-0 scores in a season-ending doubleheader at TRS that also marked the final contests (and Buc career wins #1,114 & 1,115) with Danny Murtaugh at the helm. Jim Rooker threw a seven-hitter in the opener and Jerry Reuss followed with a five-hitter in the nitecap to top John Denny & Pete Falcone, who both also went the distance. The Bucs' run in the opener came in on Dave Parker’s grounder with Omar Moreno on third in the sixth. The second game’s lone tally was more dramatic, with Tony Armas two-out, ninth-inning single scoring Miguel Dilone, who had walked and stole second. The Pirates wouldn’t win back-to-back 1-0 games again until September, 2014, when they blanked the Brewers and then the Braves. The sweep gave them 92 victories for the season, good enough for second place, nine games behind the Phils. The next twin bill the Bucs won by shutout wasn’t until May 29th, 2021 at PNC Park when they whitewashed the Rockies in a pair of seven-inning games. 
• 1978 - Dave Parker was named the NL Player of the Month to become the first back-to-back winner of the honor. The Cobra hit .412 with seven homers, 29 RBI and 29 runs scored and claimed the NL-MVP and batting crown, posting a slash line of .334/30/117 during the year. 

Dave Parker - 1978 Topps

• 1979 - Pittsburgh won the second game of the NLCS, 3-2, over the Reds in 10 innings at Riverfront Stadium. The Bucs nursed a 2-1 lead into the ninth, built on Tim Foli and Bill Madlock RBI. But back-to-back one-out doubles by Hector Cruz and Dave Collins off Kent Tekulve tied the match. The Pirates top of the order came right back. A leadoff single by Omar Moreno, a bunt by Foli and a game-winning knock by Dave Parker sent Doug Bair to defeat. Don Robinson got the win in relief of Teke as the Pirates went up 2-0 in the best-of-five series. 
• 1982 - In his last game, Willie Stargell was honored before the game along with another legendary baseball man, Bob Prince. Pops was penciled in to lead off at TRS by manager Chuck Tanner. Captain Willie singled off the glove of Expos’ pitcher Steve Rogers and was pulled by Tanner, who wanted Captain Willie to end his career with a knock and an ovation; he got both his wishes. It was Pops’ first start since August 9th; he collected fewer than 100 PAs during the season and hit just .233 with three homers during his final MLB lap. The Bucs lost to Montreal, 6-1, and the team ended the year with 84 wins, good for fourth place. 
• 1986 - Jim Leyland signed a deal with the Pirates called “unique” by Syd Thrift, guaranteed for a season at an estimated $100K with following team review periods to determine his status and salary. Leyland told Charley Feeney of the Post Gazette that “If I manage bad, it’s short-term; if I manage good, it’s long-term. I’m pleased with the ingredients of the contract.” 
• 1988 - IF Phil “Goose” Gosselin was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The Bucs sent minor league RHP Frank Duncan to Arizona for utilityman Gosselin, who was hoped to take the place of Sean Rodriguez off the bench in 2017, but spent most of his time at Indianapolis. In 28 Pirates games, he played 1B-2B-3B, but hit just .150, then was released in August and claimed by the Rangers. 2022 was Goose’s last MLB campaign, and he’s now part of the Phils baseball ops section. 

Goose Gosselin - 2017 photo/Pirates

• 1988 - Syd Thrift was busy on his final full shift as GM (he was fired the next day). The Bucs signed C Junior Ortiz to a 2-year, $475K contract. They also picked up LHP Bill Krueger from the LA Dodgers for minor league RHP Jim Neidlinger and inked minor league FA RHPs Dave Johnson and Bob Patterson. Ortiz caught about half the Pirates games in ‘89, then was traded to the Twins. Krueger was a late camp cut, Johnson was shortly released and Patterson missed most of the year with a bum arm, finally earning a full-time MLB gig with the Bucs in 1990. 
• 1990 - The Bucs’ Jerry Reuss gave up one earned run but was credited with a no decision in a 6-3 loss to the Mets. It was the 41-year-old lefty’s last MLB appearance after announcing his retirement, with Jim Leyland honoring Reuss’ career with a final outing (his only start of the season). Reuss joined the four decade club (1969-90) and finished with 220 wins without a 20-win season, a stat shared only with Milt Pappas and Frank Tanana among 200-game winners. 
• 1993 - IF/OF Kevin Kramer was born in Turlock, California. He was the Bucs second round draft selection in 2011 out of UCLA. After hitting .297 at Altoona in 2017 and .311 at Indianapolis in 2018, he was added to the 40-man roster and called up to the big club, hitting just .135. He didn’t do much better in 2019 with a BA of .167; both were 20-game auditions in September. After a good spring camp, Kramer lost the 2020 campaign to hip surgery. The Pirates traded him to Milwaukee and he was released in 2021. He then retired to run a solar power firm. 
• 1996 - The Pirates named Gene Lamont, who had served as the Chicago White Sox field boss from 1992-95, to replace Jim Leyland as skipper. He led the club from 1997-2000, putting up a 295-352 record, then coached for the Red Sox, Astros and Tigers. He’s currently a Special Assistant in Kansas City. 

Post Gazette headline - 10/3/1996

• 2010 - The Pirates finished the season with a 17-64 (.210) record on the road after suffering a 5-2 loss to the Florida Marlins at Sun Life Stadium, with the defeat going to Brian Burres. The Bucs' away-from-home record equaled the MLB low water mark set by the 1963 New York Mets. 
• 2013 - AJ Burnett was chased in a seven-run third inning that saw 11 Cardinals go to bat as St. Louis ran away with the opener of the NLDS at Busch Stadium by a 9-1 score. Adam Wainwright went seven innings and struck out nine for the Redbirds. The Pirates only mustered four hits, two by Andrew McCutchen, with Pedro Alvarez’s homer providing the lone Bucco tally. 
• 2019 - Following Clint Hurdle’s dismissal, the Pirates fired bench coach Tom Prince, 55, who had spent 26 years with the organization as a player, manager & coach, and pitching coach Ray Searage, 64, who had joined the team in 2010 and lasted throughout the Hurdle era. They were the two longest tenured coaches and it was thought that their removal was a conscious effort by the FO to break with the old ways and inject more forward-thinking, data-driven methodology into the clubhouse culture. The staff members retained by Derek Shelton after the final tune was played were hitting coach Rick Eckstein, third base/infield coach Joey Cora, assistant pitching coach Justin Meccage, who became the team’s bullpen coach, and Heberto Andrade, assistant bullpen and pitching coach. 
• 2022 - The Pirates opened their final home set of the year, hosting the Cards at PNC Park, and walked off with the win - literally. An Albert Pujols homer (#703) gave the Redbirds a 2-0 lead in the sixth. Pittsburgh bounced back; in the Bucs half, Jason Delay and Bryan Reynolds doubled to cut the margin in half, then Jack Suwinski tied it in the eighth with a solo blast. The first three batters drew free passes against St. Louis’ Giovanny Gallegos in the bottom of the ninth, and reliever Jo Jo Romero was waved in, just to walk Oneil Cruz on four pitches to force in Ke’Bryan Hayes for the most literal walk-off ever, well, walked off. The Bucs fifth pitcher, Yohan Ramirez, took the win with a 1-2-3 ninth, fanning two. Mitch Keller started and lasted six innings to end the night with a 3.91 ERA, a two-run+ improvement over 2021’s 6.17 mark. Oddly enough, he finished with a worse won-loss record (5-12) during this campaign than he did the year before (5-11).