11/25: Carlos Signs, Decker/Mikolas - Dickerson, Simon Deal; HBD Octavio, Mike, Cholly, Jim Waugh, Ben, Big Jim Weaver, Frank & Jimmy Woulfe

• 1859 - OF Jimmy Woulfe was born in New Orleans. Woulfe was part of NOLA’s early wave of ballplayers, with six players from the Big Easy hitting the show ( then consisting of the National League and the American & Union Associations) in 1884. It was Jimmy’s only MLB campaign, split between Cincinnati and the Alleghenys, as he hit .113 for Pittsburgh and .126 overall. The record book is mum on him afterward; he returned to his home base and played for New Orlean’s oldest team, the RE Lee’s, the following season and then his stat sheet dried up completely. He did remain a hometown kid, passing away in the Crescent City in 1924. 
• 1877 - RHP Frank Moore was born in Portsmouth, Ohio. He got one appearance in the show, tossing three scoreless innings for the Pirates in 1905, giving up two hits and fanning one. Moore played in the minors through 1912, twice winning 20+ games, and was later a minor league manager. 
• 1903 - RHP Big Jim Weaver was born in Obion County, Tennessee. He spent the middle of his six-team, eight-year MLB career in Pittsburgh (1935-37) posting a 36-21/3.76 line while splitting his slab time between starting and the pen. Big Jim earned his nickname honestly: he was 6'6" and weighed 230 pounds. 
• 1922 - RHP Ben Wade was born in Morehead City, North Carolina. Ben closed out a five-year MLB stint in 1955 with the Pirates, getting into 11 games and going 0-1-1/3.21 after the Bucs sent pitcher Lefty LaPalme to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Wade. Ben also worked 16 seasons in the minor leagues. After his playing career ended at age 38 following his 1961 tour of duty with San Diego of the PCL, Wade spent 30 years as a scout and then director of scouting for the LA Dodgers. 

Jim Waugh - 1953 Topps

• 1933 - RHP Jim Waugh was born in Lancaster, Ohio. His big league days lasted just two seasons (1952-53), both with the Bucs, with a slash of 5-11/6.43. After getting his feet wet out of the pen, Waugh became the youngest pitcher at age 18 to win a game in the history of the Pittsburgh Pirates when he went the distance at Forbes Field in a 4-3 victory over the Cubs in August of 1952, in the first start of his MLB career. Unfortunately, he came to the show already with arm problems and that sore wing eventually derailed his career. 
• 1934 - RHP Lazaro “Cholly” Naranjo was born in Havana, Cuba. Branch Rickey had him on the radar from an exhibition game and plucked him from the Washington Senators organization in 1954. In 1956 he was called up with his eventual roomie, Bill Mazeroski, and put up a line of 1–2/4.46 in 34-1/3IP (17 outings, three starts). However, he had a sore arm in the minors that he kept quiet so that he wouldn’t hurt his chances at a MLB gig, and it caught up to him. With that and a beef regarding his contract, he didn’t break camp with the team in the spring and had a so-so year. He went to Cincy organization in 1959 and finished in the Cub system in 1961. His nickname came from his grandmother who called him “Cholito,” a Latino term of endearment. Fun fact: while a member of the Washington Senator’s system, he sat with President Eisenhower and his guests on Opening Day in 1954. Ike had tossed the ceremonial first pitch and stayed for the game, with Cholly’s job making sure the president and his party didn’t get bopped by a foul ball while occupying the railing seats. 
• 1941 - C Mike Ryan was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Mike closed out his 11-year MLB stay in 1974 with Pirates, getting into 17 games and going 3-for-30 (.100) after signing on as a FA during the off season. After his playing career, Ryan managed/coached in the Pirates & Phillies minor leagues from 1975-79, then coached for the Phillies for 16 seasons, from 1980 until 1995. 
• 1973 - RHP Octavio Dotel was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Dotel tossed for 15 years in the show and got his last gig as closer in 2010 at age 37 for the Pirates after signing a FA deal for $3.25M. He went 2-2-21/4.28 with 48 K in 40 IP and the Bucs flipped him to the Dodgers for James McDonald and Andrew Lambo. Dotel worked into the 2013 season and appeared in two World Series after leaving Pittsburgh. J-Mac showed early promise and won 27 games in four years before fading while Lambo couldn’t overcome a series of injuries. 

Andrew Lambo - 2014 Topps Finest

• 2002 - Detroit sent 1B Randall Simon to the Pirates for LHP Adrian Burnside and a player to be named later (RHP Roberto Novoa.) Novoa pitched three big league seasons; Burnside went to Japan to play. Simon ended up better at swatting sausages (his “Sausagegate” escapade in Milwaukee cost him a $432.10 Milwaukee city fine for disorderly conduct while MLB suspended him for three games and fined him $2,000) than baseballs, hitting .245/13 HR/ 65 RBI in 152 games as a Bucco between 2003-04. 
• 2013 - In a prospects depth deal, the Bucs acquired OF Jaff Decker and RHP Miles Mikolas from San Diego for 1B/OF Alex Dickerson. All three have since had cups of coffee in the show, with Dickerson on the verge of becoming an everyday player before he underwent back surgery in June of 2017; he’s now a free agent. Decker has gotten short calls to the show through 2017; his last stop was with the Nats in 2018. Miles went to Japan for the 2015 season and came back loaded for MLB bear in 2018, winning 18 games for St. Louis and nine more during the following campaign before undergoing arm surgery in 2020. He returned to duty in August of ‘21, and in 2022 worked over 200 IP. In ‘23, the two-time Card All-Star inked a two-year/$40M extension with the Redbirds through the 2025 campaign. 
• 2022 - 1B/DH Carlos Santana inked a one-year/$6.725M deal, pending his physical. The deal was made official a few days later on the 29th, and 1B Lewin Diaz was DFA’ed to clear Santana’s roster spot the next day. Carlos was a 13-year vet (10 years were spent with the Cleveland Indians) who hit .202 with 19 HR last year for Kansas City/Seattle, but whose peripherals were stronger than counting numbers. He was also a popular guy in the clubhouse, much to the benefit of the roomful of young Pirates. The 36-year-old switch-hitter joined a busy field of 1B/DH candidates and became the de facto starter (.235 BA/12 HR/53 RBI) before being dealt to Milwaukee just before the deadline for a minor leaguer. Despite hitting 11 HR in 52 games and being a Gold Glove finalist, the Brew Crew let him go and he signed with the Twins last year; now he’s a free agent.