12/16: Daniels - Shantz, Todd - Mueller, Santiago Deal, Luke, GI Jones, Pete & Candy Sign, Hot Stove, '02 Rule 5 Losses, Shelty's Staff, Club News; HBD BDLC, Jeff, Rick, Steamboat Bill & Fred

• 1876 - OF Fred Crolius was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. He went straight from college to the Boston Beaneaters in 1902 and got into nine games as a Pirate in 1902, batting .263. His pro career was short-lived; the Bucs sent him back down and Fred was banned from the majors in 1906 after a messy contract dispute with Toronto. But he had a Plan B. Fred was also a star halfback for Dartmouth, and in 1901 he played football for the Homestead Library & Athletic Club (the Carnegie Steel squad), then the following season was a halfback on the Pittsburgh Stars, a member of the first National Football League (and suspected of being financed by baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates). Fred also coached college football clubs - in 1899, he was the head coach for the Bowdoin College gridders and in 1902, Crolius was the boss man of the WUP (Western University of Pennsylvania, now Pitt) eleven. He then headed east toward Philly and coached Villanova football from 1904-11 and the Wildcat baseball team from 1905-11. 
• 1886 - LHP William "Steamboat Bill" Otey was born in Dayton, Ohio. He was the ace of the Norfolk Tars of the Virginia League, winning 69 games from 1906-09, but the results didn’t carry over to the bigs. Otey hurled for the Pirates in 1907 (0-1/4.41 in three games) and the Washington Senators in 1910-11, going a combined 1-5/5.01 in 24 games. He finished his career with the Dayton Veterans of the Central League, retiring at age 27 following the 1914 season. We’re uncertain as to the origin of his nickname, but we are willing to venture a guess it was associated with the 1911 hit tune “Steamboat Bill,” later to become a movie. 
• 1938 - The Boston Bees traded catcher Ray Mueller to the Pirates for C Al Todd and OF Johnny Dickshot. Todd had a couple of good seasons left, while Dickshot wouldn’t hit his prime until his last two campaigns in 1944-45 for the White Sox. “Iron Man” Mueller (he picked up his nickname in the early forties after catching 233 consecutive games for the Reds) played 90 games in two years with Pittsburgh as a reserve catcher, hitting .269. Factoid: Mueller was from Pittsburg - Pittsburg, Kansas, a coal mining hub that was named after our fair town. 

Ray Mueller - undated George Burke photo

• 1956 - Coach Rick Sofield was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He was a #1 draft pick and outfielder for the Twins, worked in the minors (he was the Pirates' minor league field coordinator in 2002) and managed in college. Sofield was brought back to the Pirate fold by long-time bud Clint Hurdle, managing at West Virginia for a season before joining the big league staff in 2013. After a barrage of ill-advised windmills at third base and several team basepath gaffes - he also coached the runners - Sofield was released after the 2016 campaign. Rick, at last check, was the skipper of the Hilton Head Prep School nine in South Carolina. 
• 1959 - Joe Brown told Jack Herndon of the Post Gazette that he had tried to swing a deal for a power-hitting outfielder with no luck after making offers for Roger Maris, Al Kaline, Harmon Killebrew and Rocky Colavito. Brown said all the proposals were straight player deals (the players offered were unnamed), and that the Bucs didn’t sweeten the pot with cash. Of the big boppers he coveted, two were moved - Colavito went from Cleveland to Detroit and Maris from KC to the NYY, while Killebrew and Kaline stayed at home. 
• 1960 - The Bucs sent UT Harry Bright, 1B RC Stevens and RHP Bennie Daniels to the expansion Washington Senators (now the Texas Rangers) for veteran curveballer LHP Bobby Shantz. GM Joe Brown told Post Gazette writer Jack Hernon that “Shantz gives the Pirates the finest bullpen in baseball...along with Roy Face, Clem Labine and Fred Green.” Shantz, 35, lasted a year in Pittsburgh before being lost to the Houston Colt .45s in the 1961 expansion draft. He slashed 6-3-2/3.22 in 43 games with the Pirates and continued to toss fairly effectively afterward, lasting until the end of the 1964 season. Shantz won 24 games in 1952 as a starter for the Philadelphia Athletics and was voted the AL MVP, but arm injuries drove him from the rotation to the bullpen. Daniels was a useful swingman in Washington for several seasons, Bright had one strong campaign in 1962 for the Sens (.273, 17 HR, 67 RBI) before retiring in 1965, while Stevens hit .129 and was released in June, marking the end of his MLB career. 
• 1969 - The Niagara Falls Pirates were granted a franchise in the New York-Penn League. The short season club remained a Bucco farm until 1977, with guys like Dale Berra, Miguel Dilone, Mike Edwards, Al Holland, Omar Moreno, Ed Ott and Rod Scurry passing through. It lasted until 1988 as a Tigers and White Sox affiliate before the team moved to Jamestown. 

Jeff Granger - 1997 Fleer

• 1971 - LHP Jeff Granger was born in San Pedro, California. Granger had a powerful two-sport arm: he was a quarterback for Texas A&M and was also a pretty fair pitcher, breaking Roger Clemens Southwest Conference strikeout record. The first-round pick of KC in 1993 had four fairly quick stops in the majors, spending three years with the Royals (18 appearances) and getting his final nine calls as a Bucco in 1997 (0-1/18.00), walking eight and giving up three long balls in five frames. The Pirates sent him down and he spent the next three seasons struggling in the minor leagues, pitching for five clubs in four organizations and retiring after a stint playing with the indie Long Island Ducks. 
• 1986 - It was good news, bad news for Bucco finances after its first year under the private-public partnership owner model. The good news is that they cut their $9.3M losses in 1985 by a quarter; the bad news was that they still leaked $7M, of which $3M was dead money lost via trades and player releases. Pittsburgh Associates president Mac Prine said “The general consensus is that they (the board members) were very satisfied with the progress made...” 
• 1992 - After burning his bridges with the Bucs in 1985 and being sent to California, John Candelaria signed a free agent deal worth $760K with the team he started out with as a 21-year-old. The reunion didn’t work out very well. It started poorly when he was busted for a DUI while in camp and continued along that path as he was ineffective from the pen during the campaign, slashing 0-3-1/8.24. Candy Man was finally released in July, ending his 19-year MLB career. The lefty finished his 12 years as a Bucco with a line of 124-87-16/3.17/117 ERA+, posting a no-hitter, a 20-win campaign and earning one All-Star berth in Pittsburgh. 
• 1996 - OF Byran De La Cruz was born in Santo Domingo Este, Dominican Republic. He was signed as an international FA in 2013 by Houston, was traded to Miami in 2021 and then dealt to the Pirates in 2024 for Bradenton UT Garrett Forrester and DSL RHP Jun-Seok Shim. In his time in Florida, DLC produced at a .250 BA/20 HR rate as a corner outfielder and although his defensive skills weren’t Golden Glove stuff, he checked the box for a middle-of-the-order bat for the Pirates. He joined the team the day after the trade and was slotted into right field. His audition didn't go well; he hit .200 with three HRs in 44 games and was let go, signing a split contract with the Atlanta Braves.

Pete Schourek - Vincent Laforet/Getty

• 1998 - The Pirates signed free agent LHP Pete Schourek to a two-year/$4M contract after he went 8-9/4.43 for Houston and Boston in hopes that he would replace Jon Lieber in the rotation. He was the Cy Young runner-up to Greg Maddux in 1995 after going 18-7 for the Reds, but various injuries limited his effectiveness, and he never won more than eight games after that breakout ‘95 season. It didn’t get better; he went 4-7/5.34 for the Bucs and was released at the start of the 2000 season, with Pittsburgh eating $2M of his deal. He won four more games for Boston and ended his 11-year MLB career after the 2001 season. 
• 2002 - The Rule 5 Draft took RHP DJ Carrasco (KC), C Ronny Paulino (also by the Royals) and RHP Chris Spurling (Atlanta) from the Pirates, who claimed RHP Matt Roney from the Rox and sold him to the Detroit Tigers on the same day. Carrasco tossed for eight MLB seasons (including a 2010 reunion with the Buccos), Spurling for four campaigns and Paulino was returned to the club in the spring, going on to catch for eight years in the show, the first four with Pittsburgh (2005-08/.278). They also released LHP Jimmy Anderson after failing to trade him. Anderson got 20 more appearances with three different teams in 2003-04 to finish his career. 
• 2004 - The Pirates acquired C Benito Santiago and cash (KC paid all but $750K of the $2.2M due Santiago) from the Royals for RHP Leo Nunez (Juan Oviedo). The 30-year-old Oviedo served a 2012 suspension after pitching for seven seasons because of name fraud; he went by Nunez to make it appear he was younger. Santiago, 40, got in six games before his release and never played again. 
• 2008 - The Pirates signed 1B/OF Garrett Jones as a minor league free agent. The Bucs picked up the 27-year-old after his release from Rochester, Minnesota’s AAA team, and he spent the first half of 2009 at Indy before bursting on the scene. After his July 1st call up, he hit .293 with 21 HR, 10 in the month of July alone, and became the first Buc to hit seven home runs in his first 12 games since Dino Restelli in 1949. Then he finished his Corsair stay with flair in 2013 when he became the second player and first Pirate to hit a homer into the Allegheny River on the fly. Jones was with Pittsburgh for five years (2009-13), batting .256 and whacking exactly 100 long balls before leaving for Miami, then closing out his career in 2015 with the New York Yankees. 

Luke Maile - 2020 photo Archie Campbell/UPI

• 2019 - The Pirates and C Luke Maile agreed to a split, one-year contract worth $900K at the MLB level and $325K for time spent in the minors. Maile was a good glove, bad bat (.198 career BA) backstop who played with both the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays. A frontrunner to break camp with the club, he never got to show his stuff here; finger surgery cost him the 2020 campaign and then he signed with the Milwaukee Brewers as a FA. He spent ‘22 with the Cleveland Guardians, signed with the Cincinnati Reds, and is now again a free agent. 
• 2021 - Derek Shelton officially named his revamped coaching staff: Andy Haines was hired as the hitting coach; he had served in the same capacity for Milwaukee. Mike Rabelo, who had been with the club since 2020, took over as the 3B coach while also serving as the major league field coordinator. Radley Haddad joined the gang as the game planning/strategy coach after spending the last five seasons with the New York Yankees. First base coach Tarrik Brock, bench coach Don Kelly, pitching coach Oscar Marin, assistant hitting coach Christian Marrero, bullpen coach Justin Meccage, coach Glenn Sherlock, bullpen catcher/coaching assistant Jordan Comadena and major league assistants Jeremy Bleich and Tim McKeithan all returned, seeming to leave Shelty with as many aides as players.

Notes: Spencer Horwitz For Luis Ortiz, Kennedy & Hartle, Maybe More Rotation Moves, Fulmer, Solak & Alvarado Signed, Team News

And the meetings result in...

Pirates Stuff:

• They pulled the trigger. Pittsburgh sent RHP Luis Ortiz and a pair of young LHPs to the Cleveland Guardians for 1B Spencer Horwitz. The 27-year-old Horwitz is a left-handed hitter who batted .265/.357/.433 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs in 97 games for the Toronto Blue Jays last season. He was more than a rental with six years of contract control (four arb years) and an option remaining. The downside - he's only made 425 MLB PAs and is a platoon guy, batting just .195 v LHP. Ortiz was 12-13/3.93 in 59 appearances (34 starts) in three seasons here with a 7-6/3.22 slash in ‘24. The two farm hands were Top 20 Pirates prospects. Michael Kennedy, 20, was a 2022 4th-round prep pick who averaged 10.2 Ks/nine innings in 18 games between Bradenton and Greensboro last season. Josh Hartle, 21, was a 3rd-round pick out of Wake Forest last year. And per Post-Gazette Pirates beatmen Noah Hiles and Andrew Destin, RHPs Mitch Keller (11-12/4.25) and Jared Jones (6-8/4.14) are also available if the right bat comes along (per sources, so caveat emptor). The consensus is that the FO is listening to but not actively seeking deals for the pair. 

• Pittsburgh signed 25-year-old minor league RHP Elvis Alvarado to a split contract. He had a solid '24 season at Miami's AAA Jacksonville club and then in the Dominican Winter League. Alvarado was placed on the 40-man roster after the deal became official following his physical.
• The Bucs acquired INF/OF Enmanuel Valdez, 26, from the Red Sox in exchange for RHP Joe Vogatsky. Manny has played 125 MLB games for Boston, almost exclusively at 2B, and hit .235. Valdez bats LH and is a platoon hitter with much stronger splits against RHP (.255/.109) and comes with an option remaining. He was placed on the 40-man roster. Vogatsky, 23, a reliever, is a 19th round 2024 pick from JMU.
• Also inked was OF/2B Nick Solak, 29. He has a .252/21/93 slash in five MLB seasons (255 games), but has been mainly a AAA insurance policy the past three seasons. Solak hit .311 at Tacoma, Seattle's AAA club, last year.
• The Pirates agreed to a minor-league contract with RHP Carson Fulmer, 31, that includes an invite to spring training. Fulmer has been in seven organizations; this is his third shot with the Bucs, having been here for two stops in 2020, leaving via waiver during 2021's spring camp. In eight big league seasons and 114 games, he's slashed 7-15/5.38, although last year he tossed to a 4.15 ERA in 86-2/3 IP for the Los Angeles Angels.
• Pittsburgh passed on the major league part of the Rule 5 Draft Wednesday, and the league passed on them as no one from the organization was claimed. They took five guys in the minor league portion of the draft and lost three. 
• Staying home, Miguel Perez has been hired as the bullpen coach. Perez, 41, was the skipper for AAA Indy during the past three seasons, climbing the organizational ladder after several coaching stops in the system and managing gigs at Altoona, Greensboro, Charleston (W VA Power) and Bristol.

Oneil Cruz - 2024 Topps Mystical

• Oneil Cruz debuted in the Dominican Winter League on Tuesday.
• The team is optimistic that RHP Hunter Stratton, recovering from August knee surgery, could be ready for camp if his rehab continues to go well. 
• Paul Skenes was awarded $2.15M from MLB pre-arb bonus pool, meant to reward strong performers who haven't hit their contractual arb stage yet. Skenes' amount was second only to Bobby Witt, who was awarded $3M. Oneil Cruz made nearly $500K in bonus bucks while Luis Ortiz pulled in just about $250K.
• The Pirates hired Michael Voltmer to be the VP of Professional Evaluation & Strategy. where he'll lead the Pirates pro scouting department. Voltmer spent nine years in the LA Dodgers organization where he was Director of Baseball Strategy & Information, assisting the MLB staff with game prep and strategies.
• The Bucs drew the No. 6 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft; the Nats won the top spot. The draft will take place in on July 13-15, in Atlanta, as part of MLB All-Star Week. 
• The team announced its 2025 promotion schedule for PNC Park. 

Other Stuff:

• The Braves signed OF/DH Bryan De La Cruz to a a split contract.
• The Rangers DFA'ed RHP Roansy Contreras. He's gone from the Pirates to the Angels to the Rangers to destination unknown...

12/15: Bunning - Fryman, Brain - Willis, Olivares, Francis, Leppert & Rizzo Deals, Matt, Jeff & Vic Signed, Hanny Goes, C Crowd, Rule 5 Sweep, Staff Hires, TV Deal; HBD Joey, Art, Jim, Bucky, Joe & JJ

• 1882 - C Jay “JJ” Clarke was born in Anderdon Township (now Amherstburg) Ontario. Jay had a long career, starting in organized ball in 1902 and retiring in 1927, with some time off for duty in the Marine Corps during WW1. He played parts of nine years in the big leagues, making his last MLB stop in Pittsburgh in 1920. He got into three games, went 0-for-7 and was sent to the farm in late April. His moment in the sun came in 1908 when he caught a perfect game tossed by Addie Joss of the Cleveland Naps. Fun fact: According to lore, Clarke hit eight homers in eight at-bats in a 51-3 romp for the Texas League Corsicana Oil City squad over the Texarkana Casket Makers. Spoiler alert: the field he played on wasn’t meant for pro games but was used as a Sunday blue-law work-around, and the fence in right was estimated to be no more than 200’ from home, a lefty’s delight. Jay died on June 15th, 1949, 47 years to the day that he hit his eight home runs. He was posthumously inducted into the Canadian Baseball HoF in 1996. 
• 1884 - 1B Jim (also known as “Joe,” his middle name) Nealon was born in Sacramento. He’s one of the sadder Buccos “coulda-been” stories. Nealon played from 1906-07 for the Pirates, and in his rookie season tied for the NL RBI lead (83) while hitting .255. Jim hit .257 the next season, then contracted tuberculosis. He went back home to California, played a couple of years of minor league ball and died of typhoid pneumonia in San Francisco in 1910 at the age of 25. 
• 1905 - In one of their better deals, made official OTD after being agreed to the previous day, the Bucs picked up Hall-of-Famer RHP Vic Willis from the Boston Beaneaters for journeymen UT Dave Brain, IF/OF Del Howard, and RHP Vive Lindaman. Willis won 20+ games in each of his four years (1906-09) in Pittsburgh, with a slash of 89–46-3/2.08, and was part of the 1909 World Series championship club. The “Delaware Peach” (he went to Delaware College) was a workhorse throughout his career, completing 388 of his 471 starts. Brain started two years for Boston, then faded and retired after the 1908 campaign. Howard ended up a part-time guy, lasting through the 1909 season. Lindaman won 35 games in three years, then was let go after 15 outings in 1909. 
• 1906 - IF Wallace “Bucky” (a childhood nickname) Williams was born in Baltimore and moved to Pittsburgh at the age of six months. After stints with the Pittsburgh Keystone Juniors and Monarchs, he played for the Pittsburgh Crawfords (1927–32; 1937-39) and the Homestead Grays in 1936. Bucky also played for his employer as part of the Edgar Thomson Steel team (he was a ladle liner) after his pro career; his sandlot squad once defeated the Grays in an exhibition game. He went to Holy Rosary and Crescent Elementary before leaving school for work, and rests now in Calvary Cemetery. He was named an honorary member of the Negro League Hall of Fame before passing on at the age of 102. 

Johnny Rizzo - 1938-39 Sporting News

• 1937 - The Bucs sent OF Bud Hafey, 1B Bernard Cobb, C Tom Padden and cash to the St. Louis Cardinals for OF Johnny Rizzo. Hafey and Padden each spent time in the minors before getting one last MLB campaign while Cobb never advanced past the farm. Rizzo had a great year in ‘38, swatting 23 HR and batting .301 w/111 RBI, then set the franchise record for RBI in a game when he chased home nine runs in 1939 against his ol’ mates, the Cardinals. He hit .283 in his two years plus with the Bucs before he was shipped to Philly for Vince DiMaggio in early 1940. 
• 1944 - Pirate manager Jim Leyland was born in Perrysburg, Ohio. Leyland was the fiery, chain-smoking manager of the Bucs from 1986 to 1996. He won two Manager of the Year awards (1990 and 1992) and finished as runner-up in 1988 and 1991. Under Leyland, the Pirates went to the NLCS three straight seasons (1990-92) but lost all three, with the latter two going the full seven games against the Atlanta Braves. He did win a title in 1997 as the skipper of the Florida Marlins and also managed the Colorado Rockies and Detroit Tigers. Leyland lives in Mt. Lebanon, helping the Tigers as a local scout, and joined the Hall of Fame in 2023. 
• 1946 - IF Art Howe was born in Pittsburgh. A star pitcher and quarterback at Shaler HS, he went to Wyoming to play football but flipped full-time to baseball after an injury. He went undrafted, returned home to Pittsburgh, got a job with Westinghouse and played semi-pro baseball on weekends in the Federation League. But the 24-year-old had a good day at a Pirates ‘71 tryout camp and the duly impressed hometown club inked him the next day. He began his big league career with Pittsburgh in 1974-75 as a utility infielder, batting .195 before being traded to the Astros, where he became a regular for six seasons beginning in 1977. He played for MLB 11 years with a .260 BA, managed for 11 more years, winning a pair of American League West titles with the Oakland A’s (he also skippered the Houston Astros and New York Mets), and worked scouting & coaching gigs for several clubs before retiring for good in 2008. 
• 1952 - Bonus baby Vic Janowicz was officially signed to a $25,000 contract agreed to earlier in the month with the Pirates, and he had to be carried on the MLB roster for two years because of the bonus amount. Janowicz was a Heisman-winning running back at Ohio State in 1950, but Pittsburgh saw his future in baseball. Vic hit .252 as a catcher in 1953, but dropped to .151 at 3B the following year, for a combined line of .214 with two HR and 10 RBI in 215 PA. He then left the team and jumped to pro football’s Washington Redskins, where he started at halfback. It looked like a great career move as he was second in the NFL in scoring in 1955 before a car accident ended his sports calling. 

Hank Foiles - 1958 Topps

• 1959 - The Pirates began to clear their logjam at catcher by selling Hank Foiles to the KC Athletics for an undisclosed amount. That left them with Smoky Burgess, Hal Smith, Danny Kravitz and Bob Oldis behind the dish. Burgess and Smith shouldered the load; Oldis started three games and Kravitz none in 1960, and in fact Kravitz would be traded to Kansas City on June 1st for...Hank Foiles. It wasn’t a lengthy reunion; Foiles was traded to the Indians the next day. 
• 1961 - Though none of the players had signed a contract for 1962 yet, the Pirates did have the John Hancock of all seven of Danny Murtaugh’s coaches - Frank Oceak, Ron Northey, Sam Narron, Bill Burwell, Lenny Levy, George Sisler and Virgil Trucks - who agreed to return for another campaign. 
• 1962 - The Pirates shipped 30-year-old backup C Don Leppert to Washington for minor league righty Ron Honeycutt. It ended up a pretty minor deal; Leppert got into 123 games over two years for the Senators but hit only .207 while Honeycutt never advanced past Class AA.
• 1964 - The Bucs sent RHP Earl Francis and OF Ted Savage to the St. Louis Cardinals in return for OF’s Ron Cox and Jack Damaska (from Beaver Falls HS). Francis sputtered through his last big league season while Savage was the only player that had any MLB impact, serving as a bench bat through the 1971 season. Neither of the players the Pirates received made it to the majors. 
• 1964 - ABC and MLB announced a two-year/$12M package for the rights to the Saturday Afternoon Game of the Week, with the pot being evenly divided among the clubs. The network loosened the blackout rule; it had previously been anywhere within a 50-mile radius of a big league city, but now would be limited to the hometowns of the two teams playing. Most teams were at least publicly ho-hum about competing with the televised games; the Pirates announced that they wouldn’t change any Saturday TV conflicts. It also marked the first time that TV money was split even-steven among the clubs. 

Don Money - 1965 Topps

• 1967 - Pittsburgh traded for RHP Jim Bunning, sending the Phillies pitchers Woodie Fryman, Bill Laxton and Harold Clem along with IF Don Money, who was the Phils regular 3B until Mike Schmidt arrived, then moving on to become an All-Star with Milwaukee. The popular Money had also been targeted by the White Sox, but the Pirates wanted RHP Joel Horlen in exchange, who Chi-town wasn’t about to surrender. Fryman lasted 18 years in the show and was twice named an All-Star. Bunning, who the Pirates hoped would put them over the top in 1968, stayed in Pittsburgh for 1-1/2 seasons, slashing at 14-23/3.84. 
• 1971 - Bill Virdon made his only new hire as Bucco manager by promoting Charleston Charlies skipper Joe Morgan to his staff as an infield/batting coach. He kept four of Danny Murtaugh’s assistants - Frank Oceak, Don Leppert, Don Osborn and Dave Ricketts - for his own gang.
• 1994 - 3B Jeff King turned down a chance to become a restricted free agent and instead opted to sign a one-year guaranteed deal with the Bucs for $2.16M, a 10% pay cut. He accepted that he was coming off a sub-par year (.263/5 HR/42 RBI) and told Paul Meyer of the Post Gazette that “I was happy they (the Pirates) wanted me...I like it here and I wanted to stay.” 
• 1996 - C Joey Bart was born in Buford, Georgia. With Endy Rodriguez out for the year and concerns about Yasmani Grandal’s foot injury, the Pirates picked up Bart, who had been DFA’ed, from the Giants in exchange for RHP Austin Strickland, 2023's 8th round pick from Kentucky. In four years yo-yo’ing between the Giants and AAA Sacramento, Bart got into 162 MLB games and hit .219. He had a .274 BA in the PCL, the slash lines of a Quad-A poster boy and a far cry from the days of being touted as Buster Posey’s replacement when he was selected second overall in the 2018 draft out of Georgia Tech. Bart was out of options & went on the MLB roster, with the domino effect of Indy RHP Colin Selby being DFA'ed and C Jason Delay placed on the 15-day IL. Joey had a resurgence when he arrived, slashing .265/13/45 in 80 Pirates games to tentatively claim the top spot behind the dish, pushing ahead of vet receiver Yasmani Grandal. 

Joey Bart - 2024 Topps Update

• 2002 - Well-traveled Matt Stairs (he played for three teams just in 2002) signed a one year/$900K contract with the Bucs, pending a physical (the official signing date was 12/18), and was penciled in as Craig Wilson’s platoon mate in right field. He had a strong season, hitting .292 with 20 HR despite just 305 AB, earning himself a three year/$3.55M contract with KC the following campaign. He retired after the 2011 season and entered the record books: Stairs played for more major-league teams (12) than any position player in big league history (technically, he was rostered on 13 teams but for just 12 franchises, as he played for the Montreal Expos aka Washington Nationals). A trio of guys with Pittsburgh stops have joined or passed him - P’s Ron Villone, Octavio Dotel and Rich Hill all played for a dozen or more squads. RHP Edwin Jackson holds the record for the number of teams that he suited up for, repping 14 clubs in 17 campaigns. 
• 2003 - The Pirates lost five players in the Rule 5 draft - 1B Chris Shelton, OF Rich Thompson, LHP Frank Brooks, RHP Jeff Bennett and 3B/OF Jose Bautista (they traded RHP Kris Benson to get him back in July, 2004). Oddly, the Pirates had three openings on the 40-man roster, but GM Dave Littlefield told local media that the need to add free agents to the lineup for next season and thus have some openings was more important than keeping players the club believed would not make an immediate impact. The rest of baseball begged to differ as the five Pirate farmhands went in the first six picks of the draft. Littlefield also removed pitchers Duaner Sanchez and Matt Guerrier from the 40-man roster (and lost them both on waivers to the Dodgers and Twins) to protect Mike Gonzalez and John Grabow. 
• 2021 - Indy’s pitching coach Joel Hanrahan announced that "After five years coaching with the Pirates I have decided to move on and look for other opportunities," catching on with the Nats as a farm coach. Hanny was Pittsburgh’s ‘21 Danny Murtaugh coach of the year, given out to the top assistant in the Buccos' minor league system. He spent four years (2009-12) as a two-time All Star back-ender in Pittsburgh, posting a slash of 10-8-82/2.59 with 265 punchouts in 229-1/3 innings of work, appearing in 283 games before being traded to the Boston Red Sox for his eventual replacement, Mark Melancon. 
• 2023 - The Kansas City Royals sent OF Edward Olivares to the Pirates for 21-year-old Bradenton IF Deivis Nadal. Olivares, 27, made the roster out of camp and was considered a good stick, meh mitt guy with a .261 BA over parts of four MLB seasons. He sported good speed and a strong arm, and was hoped to be Jack Suwinski's platoon partner in right field as both had considerable batting splits. Olivares became expendable after hitting .214 in 55 games and posting a negative WAR. He went to Indy and was released at season’s end, and is now with the Mets.

12/14: Lieber - Brown, Chief - Kunz, Slagle - Reitz, Matt, Lyle & Wil Sign, Roberto DD-MoY, Scott, Kingery & Flynn Join, Jason, Harvey & Emil Go, Money Matters, HBD Fraze, Jeff, Jerry, Lefty, Willie, Charlie & Ren

• 1861 - OF James “Ren” (Renwick was his middle name) Wylie was born in Elizabeth. His moment of baseball glory happened on August 20th, 1882 when the 20-year-old center fielder from Geneva College played in his only MLB game, going 0-for-3 for the Alleghenys. He went on to bigger and better things, becoming a successful banker, realtor and two-time Pennsylvania State Representative. 
• 1896 - C Charlie Hargreaves was born in Trenton, New Jersey. He caught for Pittsburgh at the end of his career from 1928-30, and was a solid two-way guy for the first two seasons before fading in 1930, putting up a .273 BA over that period. Charlie rejoined the organization briefly, managing the Bucs’ Class C Keokuk Pirates squad of the Central Association in 1949. 
• 1898 - 2B Henry “Heinie” Reitz was traded by the Washington Senators to the Pirates for OF/3B Jack O'Brien, IF Dick Padden and OF Jimmy “Rabbit” Slagle. It wasn’t a very good deal for Pittsburgh; Reitz played 35 games and was traded at the end of the 1899 season. O’Brien was a journeyman, Padden had three solid seasons remaining, and rookie Slagle went on to have a 10-year career, mainly with the Cubs, and a lifetime .268 BA. “Heinie” was a popular nickname for German baseball players, particularly those named Henry, or Heinrich in German. 
• 1909 - Pittsburgh purchased 1B John Flynn from St. Paul of the American Association for $4,000. He was solid in 1910, batting .274 in 96 games, but fizzled the following campaign and was sent back to the Paulies in August. They flipped him to Washington in 1912 where he played his last 20 MLB games. John then played or managed in the minors through 1926. 
• 1911 - Pirate owner Barney Dreyfuss proposed that each team in the World Series turn over one-fourth of its share of the gate to the league, to be divided as a bonus among the other top-finishing teams. It marked the beginning of changes that ultimately gave players of the top four teams in each league a share of the World Series money. Dreyfuss had put his money where his mouth was earlier when he added his owner’s cut of the 1903 World Series gate receipts to the players' share, so the Pirates earned a larger payout than the winning Boston team that year. 

• 1918 - RHP Willie Pope was born in Birmingham and raised in Library, just outside South Park. A 6’4” hurler known as “Wee Willie,” Pope began his career as a pitcher with the Pittsburgh Crawfords in 1946 but was mostly known for playing with the Grays during the 1947-48 seasons. During the 1947 campaign, the righty notched a 6-7 record, but pitched a no-hitter against the New York Cubans. In the 1948 season, he was a major contributor to the Grays team that won the last Negro National League Pennant and won the Negro Leagues World Series against the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League. He played a couple of years in the minors while his brother Dave played for Cleveland and Baltimore. Willie remained home after his career, working in the City Controller's Office, being a player in Pittsburgh ward politics and serving as a local black baseball historian. He passed away in 2010 at the age of 91. 
• 1922 - In what looked like a big deal at the time, the Bucs sent RHPs Chief Yellow Horse & Bill Hughes, minor leaguers Harry Brown & Claude Rohwer, and $7,500 to Sacramento of the Pacific Coast League for RHP Earl Kunz, a “...real phenom...” per the Pittsburgh Press. The Chief and Hughes never pitched big league ball again, Brown and Rowher proved to be career farm hands, and the 23-year-old Kunz went 1-2/5.52 during 1923 in his only major league campaign. 
• 1923 - LHP Paul “Lefty” LaPalme was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. Lefty began his career in Pittsburgh (1951-54) and was a starter in the last two seasons, with a Pirate line of 14-33-2/4.99. The knuckleballer was traded to the Saint Louis Cardinals in 1955, returned to his original role as a bullpen arm and tossed for three teams before retiring after the 1957 season. 
• 1927 - The Pirates traded four-year man LHP Emil Yde and three-year vet C Roy Spencer to Indianapolis; the Bucs were to receive a PTBNL (or two) who never made the record books. Yde had won 41 games in his first three Pirates campaigns, but fell apart in ‘27, giving up 35 runs (32 earned) in 29-1/3IP. He had a last hurrah in 1929 with the Tigers, going 7-3/5.30, ending his MLB career. Spencer hung around for nine more seasons, getting regular time in the early thirties with Washington and Cleveland, before hangin’ up his mask. 

Jerry May - 1968 Topps

• 1943 - C Jerry May was born in Staunton, Virginia. May was mainly a backup catcher from 1964-70 (he started in ‘67-68) for the Bucs, hitting .237 in his seven year Pittsburgh stint. He was signed by Syd Thrift out of high school and tossed several no-hitters as an American Legion pitcher; the Bucs converted him to catcher and he was behind the dish for Dock Ellis’ infamous 1970 no-hitter. May was bumped out of the starting role by Manny Sanguillen. Jerry was a good tactician and glove guy throughout his 10 year MLB career, throwing out 43% of the base runners who tried to steal a sack on him, good for 11th on the all-time list. He led NL catchers in 1970 with a 50% caught stealing percentage. 
• 1961 - RHP Jeff Mark Robinson was born in Ventura, California. He finished out his six-year career with a few weeks in the Bucco rotation after being claimed off waivers from Texas in June of 1992, getting seven starts (eight outings) with a 3-1/4.46 line and then being waived again in July. It was his last MLB campaign, and Robinson went on to become the pitching director, coach and instructor with the Natural Baseball Academy in Kansas. He just missed the three-year Pirates stint of fellow Golden State hurler Jeff Robinson (1987-89), saving all sorts of confusion of sportswriters, scorecard keepers and fans. The two were best identified by their middle initial - Jeff M was the starter and Jeff D the reliever. 
• 1961 - Baseball players may be rolling in long green now, but for many decades, even the stars had a postseason job. ElRoy Face earned a Post-Gazette sports column mention on this date by selling Christmas trees grown on his Indiana farm at the corner of Bouquet Street and Forbes Avenue in Oakland, a block from the ballyard where he plied his summer trade. He was a carpenter during the off season and it became his full-time job after he retired from baseball. 
• 1963 - The Pirates sent LHP Harvey Haddix to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for SS Dick Yencha and cash. The Kitten, then 38 and a reliever, spent the last two years of his career in Baltimore, going 8-7-11/2.63 before retiring because of arm problems, while Yencha never made it past AA. Haddix later followed his rookie mentor Harry Brecheen (as St. Louis teammates, veteran Brecheen was “the Cat” and his protege, the young Haddix, was “the Kitten”) as a pitching coach, working with the Mets, Reds, Red Sox, Indians, and Pirates before passing away in 1994. 

Post-Gazette 12/15/1966

• 1966 - NL MVP Roberto Clemente won his second Dapper Dan Man of the Year award (he won his first in 1961) in a romp, leaving the runner up, his skipper Harry “The Hat” Walker, in the dust by a 59-19 count. Clemente was the eighth Pirate in the past dozen years to claim the honor; teammate Vern Law was the 1965 awardee to give the Bucs back-to-back winners. 
• 1991 - 2B Adam Frazier was born in Athens, Georgia. He was selected from Mississippi State in the sixth round (179th overall) of the 2013 draft and was signed for the slot value of $240,600. Fraze was known for his 24/7 stick and it earned him a call up in 2016, slashing .283/.346/.420 during his six Bucco campaigns. He’s played a half dozen positions, but he claimed Josh Harrison's second base spot with a solid 2019 (.278 BA, +6 DRS) campaign. After an All-Star breakout in ‘21, he was traded to San Diego; the Padres flipped him to Seattle, from there he went to Baltimore and then to KC. Fraze is currently a free agent. 
• 1993 - The State legislature cut the City’s amusement tax from 10% to 5%; one state senator said that the Pirates had informed him that without the lower rate that they could be forced to leave the City in two years. GM Mark Sauer told the Post Gazette that the team wouldn’t be cutting ticket prices (neither did the Steelers) and then ran down a financial wish list featuring revenue sharing and a salary cap from the MLB to go with a new stadium and lease for the team. Pirates ownership got three-out-of-its-four wishes granted eventually; good luck on the cap. 
• 1995 - Pittsburgh signed 35-year-old free agent CF Mike Kingery to a two year/$1.5M agreement, planning to use him as a platoon bat & glove guy off the bench player after fanning on efforts to land their top target, Lance Johnson, who inked a deal with the Mets. It didn’t quite work out; Kingery, who had been a .272 lifetime hitter before the contract, hit .246 in 117 games and was released after the season. He opened Solid Foundation Baseball School the year after he retired, and makes appearances with the Kingery Family, a gospel/bluegrass group. 

Mike Kingery - 1996 Fleer Ultra (reverse)

• 1998 - RHP Jon Lieber was traded to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for OF Brant Brown. Lieber tossed for nine more years in the show, winning 20 games for the Cubs in 2001 while Brown was one and done in Pittsburgh. After his breakout campaign, workhorse Lieber had TJ surgery in ‘02 and only reached the 30-start, 200 IP mark once more in his career. Brown’s slide downhill was just as dramatic. He hit .232 for the Bucs, then started the next year with the Florida Marlins after being traded for Bruce Aven. The Fish sent him back to the Cubs in June, where he couldn’t crack the Mendoza line, to end his MLB days. 
• 1998 - The Pirates selected LHP Scott Sauerbeck from the New York Mets in the Rule 5 draft. Sauerbeck stuck with the Pirates until 2003, going 19-15-5/3.53 in his 4-1/2 year Bucco stint before he was traded to the Boston Red Sox. Sauerbeck missed 2004 after surgery, and after a fairly ineffective campaign in 2006, the LOOGY’s major league career ended. 
• 1999 - “Wil Cordero, a good hitter who has had difficulty staying healthy and out of trouble, signed a $9M, three-year contract yesterday with the Pittsburgh Pirates, his fourth team in four years...” per the Associated Press. But Cordero proved to be a good pick up, as the left fielder banged 16 HR with 51 RBI before he was traded in late July to the Indians for Alex Ramirez (who wasn’t such a great addition - he hit .209 and was out of baseball the following year) and Enrique Wilson, a reserve infielder who hit .262 in 1-1/2 Pirates seasons. Cordero had one more strong year left in him as a Montreal Expo in 2003. 
• 2001 - The Giants did what the Bucs couldn’t afford to do by signing RHP Jason Schmidt to a four-year/$31M contract (it became official on the 18th) after the Pirates had flipped him to the G-Men at the deadline of his 2001 walk year for Ryan Vogelsong. Jason wasn’t done mastering the art of the deal; he signed a three-year/$47M agreement with the Dodgers in 2006 after the SF contract expired. He earned about $92M in his career, with $8M from his five Bucco years. 
• 2010 - The Pirates agreed to terms with 1B Lyle Overbay on a one-year/$5M contract; he was waived in August after hitting .227. The Bucs also signed 32-year old OF Matt Diaz to a two-year deal worth up to $5M with bonuses. He was sent back to the Atlanta Braves, his prior club, at the deadline for RHP Eliecer Cardenas after hitting .259 with no homers. Following 2012 thumb surgery, Matt announced his retirement after the ‘13 season.

12/13: Marte - Mack, Ritchie - Fogg/Wells, Brown - Avens, Bell/King - Joker, Vince, Eddie & Steve Sign, Rickert-y, Cobra Settles, SportsNet Pgh, Mitchell Report; HBD Carson, Josh, Jeff, Dale, Dave, Joe J, Joe C, Bill & Buckshot

• 1899 - RHP William “Buckshot” May was born in Bakersfield, California. The 24-year old appeared in his only MLB game as a Pirate, tossing a no-run, two-hit, one-strikeout frame in a 10-7 loss to the Boston Braves at Forbes Field in 1924. May never was given another chance (it was said that he got into a contract dispute with Barney Dreyfuss, and that spittin’ match with the boss put a brake on his career) though he did work 13 solid minor-league campaigns, winning 20 games three times. At age 35 in 1935, Buckshot left the mound for the rigs, retiring to a drilling supervisor job in the oil industry. 
• 1904 - 1B Willis “Bill” Windle was born in Galena, Kansas. Windle attended Missouri where he starred in football and baseball, but his MLB career consisted of just three games played for the Bucs between 1928-29 with Bill going 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored. He played in the minors until 1933 before retiring to Corpus Christi where he became a successful apartment owner and a model citizen, with ties to the Boy Scouts, Kiwanis and different civic boards. 
• 1935 - OF Joe Christopher was born in Frederiksted, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. He played for Pittsburgh from 1959-61 sparingly, hitting .244 before being lost in the expansion draft to the NY Mets; his highlight was scoring twice in the 1960 World Series as a pinch runner. Christopher is thought to be the first player from the Virgin Islands to play in the majors. Joe should remember his first start. He was called up to replace an injured Roberto Clemente and made his big league debut playing right field during Harvey Haddix’s 12-inning perfect game. 
• 1941 - Coach Joe Jones was born in Lebanon, Tennessee. He played and then managed in the White Sox minor league system from 1963-79 before leaving for the Royals. At KC, he coached a bit at the MLB level but was primarily a farm manager/field coordinator. Gene Lamont brought him to Pittsburgh in 1997 as his first base coach, a post he held until June of 2000 when he and 3B coach Jack Lind were let go in a housecleaning move. Joe returned to KC in ‘01. 

Dave Hamilton - 1979 Topps

• 1947 - LHP Dave Hamilton was born in Seattle. He tossed for nine big-league seasons, splitting 1978 between the Pirates and Cards, the club the Bucs bought the lefty from in May. Dave pitched well enough, going 0-2-1/3.42 and then signed up with Oakland after the season, returning to the squad he had won three World Series titles with in 1972-74. He retired as an Athletic in 1980 and went on to coach high school ball and work as a project manager. 
• 1949 - The Pirates purchased 1B/OF Marv Rickert from the Boston Braves for an undisclosed amount, but not thought to be much more than the $10,000 waiver fee. He was Beantown’s leading hitter in ‘49 with a .292 BA, but it was by far the 29-year-old platoon player’s (he was a LH hitter) best year, and after going 3-for-20 in the ‘Burgh, he was sold to the White Sox in May. He batted .237 in Chicago, and that ended his MLB career after six seasons and five teams. 
• 1956 - Dale Berra was born in Ridgewood, NJ. The SS, the first round pick of the 1975 draft (20th overall), spent eight years in Pittsburgh (1977-84) and started the last three, but his bat (.238 as a Pirate) never came around and to boot, he testified that he was a coke user during the 1985 trial. Berra still makes the highlight tapes thanks to a 1985 baserunning blooper with Bobby Meacham while with the Yankees. With Meacham at second and Berra at first, Ricky Henderson drilled a ball into the corner. Meacham slipped rounding the bases, so he and Berra came home at virtually the same time. That little stagger allowed Ozzie Guillen’s relay to beat the pair to the dish and Carlton Fisk tagged them both out - a double turned into a double play! 
• 1960 - RHP Jeffrey Daniel Robinson was born in Santa Ana, California. He tossed for the Bucs from 1987-89. His first two seasons were strictly out of the pen, followed by 19 starts in 51 appearances in ‘89. Overall, Robinson went 20-19-17 for Pittsburgh with a 3.78 ERA. He went to the New York Yankees in the Don Slaught deal, but couldn’t replicate his Pittsburgh success. Robinson tossed for three teams from 1990-92 and then was out of baseball. He barely preceded starter Jeff M. Robinson, a Bucco in 1992, who was a brother Californian and whose birthday fell just one day later. 

Josh Fogg - 2002 Fleer Changing Places

• 1976 - RHP Josh Fogg was born in Lynn, Massachusetts. He pitched for Pittsburgh from 2002-05 with a slash of 39-42/4.79 after coming over from the Chicago White Sox as part of the Todd Ritchie deal. Josh finished seventh in the Rookie of the Year vote in 2002 and won double figure games for three straight seasons, but was released after going 6-11/5.05 during the 2005 campaign. Fogg pitched four more years before stepping off the slab in 2009 as a Colorado Rockie. And blow out the candles - he was traded to the Bucs on his birthday in 2001. 
• 1988 - The suits and Dave Parker settled a 2-1/2 year battle over the Cobra’s 1979 contract. The Pirates believed his drug involvement voided $5.3M in deferred payments; Parker disagreed. A few weeks from trial, the two sides settled with Parker getting a lump sum payment of an undisclosed amount that was reportedly less than the original total due, confirmed a week later when the team said its 1988 operating profit was impacted favorably by the settlement. 
• 1991 - Negotiating into the wee hours of the morning, the Pirates re-signed free agent 3B Steve Buechele to a four-year/$11M deal that included a $1M signing bonus; Buechele had sought a deal for $13M, but his agent admitted that the market wasn’t ready to support that figure. The agreement was announced a few hours later after the Bucs DFA’ed OF Cecil Espy to clear a 40-man roster spot for Buechele. Steve lasted into July before he was sent to the Cubs for Danny Jackson. GM Larry Doughty said that was near the end of the signings for next year; finalizing C Mike Lavalliere’s contract and bringing back RHP Bob Walk were the only items left on the Pittsburgh agenda. They were both re-signed and remained with the Buccos into 1993. 
• 1993 - RHP Carson Fulmer was born in Lakeland, Florida. The Chicago White Sox made the Vanderbilt ace the #8 overall pick in the 2015 draft, but he didn’t meet their expectations. In parts of five years as a starter and reliever, he tossed for CWS and the Tigers, posting a line of 6-9/6.57. The Pirates claimed him off waivers in late August of 2020 from Detroit, presumably to provide starting depth as they were shopping pitchers at the deadline. But none were moved and Carson became a man without a spot; he was waived in early September and claimed by the Orioles without appearing in a game for Pittsburgh. He was reclaimed by the Bucs two weeks later, released again, and spent 2021 with the Reds. The Dodgers took him in the minor league Rule 5 draft for 2022 and left after the season, then he made his outings for the Angels in 2023-24 and declared for free agency after he was outrighted; as of now, he’s still on the market. 

Joe Randa - 1997 Skybox Circa (reverse)

• 1996 - SS Jay Bell and 3B Jeff King were traded to the Royals for 3B Joe Randa (called "The Joker" after the grinning Batman villain; Joe had a permanent smile on his face), LHP Jeff Wallace, LHP Jeff Granger and RHP Jeff Martin in a salary dump, or maybe in an effort by the clubs to set a record for Jeffs (or just “J” first names in general) packaged in one deal. The trade cleared about $5M in salary, and also sent away the last starters from the playoff teams of the early 1990’s. In all, the Bucs traded away eight players worth $16.5M who were on the roster in August as Kevin McClatchy planned to operate the 1997 club with a payroll of $15M. On the same day, MLB projected that the Pirates would get $4.9M in revenue sharing for 1996 and $5.5M in ‘97. 
• 1999 - The Pirates sent OF Brant Brown to Florida for OF Bruce Avens. Brant hit .232 in his year as a Bucco and it would get worse in 2000, his final MLB season. Aven hit .250 for the Pirates and was flipped to the Dodgers at the deadline, enjoying a couple of solid seasons in LA. 
• 2001 - The Pirates flipped RHP Todd Ritchie and C Lee Evans to the White Sox for RHPs Kip Wells, Sean Lowe, and Josh Fogg. Ritchie struggled for Chicago and then was injured the following year, effectively ending his career. Fogg and Wells were mainstays in the Pirate rotation for three years but never blossomed beyond journeyman status; neither made it through the 2006 season for the Bucs. Lowe worked for three teams in 2002-03 before ending his MLB journey. 
• 2005 - The Bucs acquired LHP Damaso Marte from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for INF/OF Rob Mackowiak. It was the lefty’s second go-around with Pittsburgh, and after an injury to Matt Capps in 2006, Marte became the closer. He was traded to the New York Yankees with Xavier Nady at the deadline for José Tábata, Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens, and Dan McCutchen. Mack was strong for the White Sox from 2006-07 (.285 BA), but after being traded back into the NL at the 2007 deadline he faded badly, and his career ended after the 2008 campaign. 

Damaso Marte - 2006 Topps

• 2007 - The Mitchell Report, a 20-month investigation led by former US Senator George Mitchell into performance-enhancing drugs’ MLB inroads, was released. The report covered the use of PEDs by players with recommendations on how to handle the epidemic. Mitchell named names - 89 MLB players were alleged to be users, including 11 ex-Pirates (Kevin Young and Denny Neagle were the Bucs’ big names; every team had at least one player implicated in the report). The findings stiffened the MLB’s spine, and they, hand-in-hand with the MLB Players Association, jointly implemented a testing program with stiff penalties for violations in both the major and minor leagues. 
• 2013 - RHP Edinson Volquez was officially signed as a free agent after passing his physical to a one-year/$5M contract. He was quite the bargain, going 13-7/3.04 during the season. He signed a two-year/$20M guaranteed deal with the KC Royals after refurbishing his value, then skipped to Miami on a one-year/$9M deal. He underwent TJ surgery in 2017 and was on the comeback trail with Texas, getting 18 outings from 2019-20 that marked the close of his MLB career. 
• 2022 - The Pirates officially signed RHP Vince Velasquez, 30, to a one-year/$3.15M deal, finalizing a deal reached a week before during the winter meetings. He spent last year with the White Sox, going 3-3/4.78 in 32 appearances (nine starts). The Pirates were his fifth organization in eight MLB campaigns, six with the Phils, with VV posting an MLB line of 34-47/4.93. The Pirates plugged Velasquez into the rotation, and he started out solidly, going 4-4/3.86. Those eight outings were all they’d get from Velasquez, who had UCL surgery in early June and was lost for the remainder of the year. He wasn’t re-signed during the off season (recovery time for his surgery was estimated at around a year, so he’d be a mid-season add) and is now a free agent. 
• 2023 - The Pirates became joint owners of SportsNet Pittsburgh with the Penguins, and planned to broadcast at the start of the new year with the Bucs guaranteed at least 150 on-air games. SNP had previously carried their games under the name AT&T SportsNet before Fenway Sports Group bought the regional sports network from Warner Bros. Discovery in late August. As with AT&T, the games will be available through cable, satellite and streaming services.

12/12 Through the 1960s: Adams - Kremer, Arky To Brooklyn, 1913 Megadeal, Don, Freddie & French Join, Deac Signs, Jack Goes; HBD Bill, Clyde, Hank, Diamond Joe, Tully & Phenomenal

• 1864 - LHP John “Phenomenal” Smith (John Gammon was his birth name) was born in Philadelphia. He made a couple of brief stops in Pittsburgh in 1884 & 1890, compiling a 1-4 record. He was actually born John Francis Gammon, but got his nickname when he struck out 16 batters in a no-hit game in 1885 while pitching for minor league Newark, with no batter hitting the ball out of the infield. Only two runners reached base, one on a walk and one on a dropped third strike – and Smith picked both of them off. Phenomenal played eight years of big league ball, then had a long minor league career as a player/manager until 1905, mostly manning the pasture rather than the hill. 
• 1874 - RHP Tom “Tully” Sparks was born in Etna, Georgia. Out of Beloit College, Sparks spent 12 years in the show, with 1899 being his sole Bucco campaign. He was used as a swingman in Pittsburgh and went 8-6/3.86 in 28 outings/170 innings. Tully tossed in the MLB until 1910, mostly with the Philadelphia A’s, as a good pitcher on so-so teams, and closed out his pro career in 1913. 
• 1876 - OF “Diamond Joe” Rickert was born in London, Ohio. Joe played long and hard in the minors, toiling on baseball’s farm circuit from 1896-1915. Pittsburgh noticed him in 1898 when he was a 21-year-old with the nearby New Castle Quakers of the Interstate League and gave him a look, with Joe going 1-for-6 in two games. He didn’t impress the Bucs nor the Boston Beaneaters in a later 1901 audition of 16 games. Diamond Joe did put his years of baseball knowledge to use, managing the New Orleans Pelicans and the University of Tulane. 
• 1899 - The Pirates sold OF’er Jack McCarthy to the Chicago Orphans for $2,000. McCarthy hit .276 for Cincy in his first two campaigns and .286 as a Pirate from 1898-99. After being sold, he put in eight more big league seasons, finishing his 12-year, six-team career with a .287 BA. 

Ed Konetchy - Helmar Oasis

• 1913 - The Pirates traded LHP Hank Robinson, OF’ers Chief Wilson & Cozy Dolan and IF’ers Art Butler & Dots Miller to the St Louis Cardinals for RHP Bob Harmon, 1B Ed Konetchy and 3B Mike Mowrey. The Cards got two or three good seasons out of their new acquisitions, but the Bucs weren’t so lucky. Harmon was a keeper, tossing for four seasons and going 39-52/2.60. But Konetchy and Mowrey both had so-so 1914 seasons for the Pirates, then skipped to the outlaw Federal League’s Pittsburgh Rebels in 1915 and signed with different clubs in 1916. The deal was especially frustrating for the Bucs; they had been trying to get Konetchy for years, and it was said that manager Fred Clarke even dangled an aging Hans Wagner as bait to get him, but Ed ended up a one-and-done. The trigger was that Konetchy wanted a three-year, $7,500/season contract even after a sub-par .249 campaign (he did hit .285 in his remaining seven MLB years) and Barney Dreyfuss balked at those terms, leading to Konetchy's Federal League leap. 
• 1914 - C Hank Camelli (Comolli) was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Hank spent 1943-46 with the Bucs and during that time he got into 108 games, hitting .229. He finished his big-league time with the Boston Braves and then followed up with a spot of minor-league coaching. 
• 1917 - C Clyde Kluttz was born in Rockwell, North Carolina. Clyde spent 1947-48 with the Pirates with a .258 BA, hitting well in his first season and not so well in the next. He had a nine-year career in the show, afterward becoming a longtime scout with the Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees. He was later director of player development of the Baltimore Orioles, serving the Birds from 1976 until he passed away three years later. 
• 1921 - OF Bill Howerton was born in Lompoc, California. He spent four years in the majors, joining the Pirates in 1951 as part of a big swap with the Cards. Bill hit .279 as a Bucco, leaving the club in May of 1952 to join the NY Giants. He closed out his big league career there and then spent a couple of seasons in the Pacific Coast League until retiring to become a trucker. 

Ray Kremer - 1933 Goudey Big League

• 1923 - The Pirates traded IF Spencer Adams, along with pitchers Earl Kunz and George Boehler plus $20K, to the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League in exchange for RHP Remy “Ray” Kremer. Kremer had been a PCL ace for several years, and the Cubs and Bucs were in a battle for his services, even though he would be 31 for the 1924 campaign. The start was bumpy as the player and team disputed if the sale cost went to the seller only or should be shared. But after that was settled, Kremer became a Pirate lifer, pitching from 1924-33 with a 143-85-9/3.76 line. The workhorse went 200+ IP and won double-digit games (hitting 20 wins twice) for eight straight years (1921-34) while finishing as the National League’s ERA leader twice. The Frenchman went 2-2 with a 3.12 ERA in 1925 & 1927 World Series games and was the hero in ‘25, winning games six and seven, the former as a starter and then claiming the finale with 4-1/3 scoreless IP from the pen. He spent much of 1933-34 with Oakland before retiring; then he became a mailman. Fun fact: Kremer spent eight years in the PCL (1916-23) before getting his MLB shot because he was considered by the east coast/heartland-based big league clubs to be a warm weather pitcher (he often had problems with rheumatism, making California a better clime for him). As for his nicknames, the newspapers called him the “Frenchman” because of his ancestry, and he also went by “Wiz”/”Bush Wiz” due to his long and impressive minor-league career. 
• 1928 - The Pirates bought LHP Larry French, 20, from Portland of the Pacific Coast League despite so-so numbers (31-36/4.65 in three minor league years) on the advice of scout Joe Devine. Joe’s eye was good - from 1929-34, the knuckleballer put up a line of 87-83-9/3.50 for Pittsburgh and won 197 games in a 14-year MLB career. French, like a lot of players, joined the Navy in 1942. Unlike most, he became a career swabbie, retiring in 1969 with the rank of Captain. 
• 1932 - Giant CF Freddie Lindstrom ended up a Bucco in a three-way deal. New York sent CF Chick Fullis to the Phillies, Pittsburgh sent RHP Glenn Spencer to the Giants and OF Gus Dugas to Philadelphia, who shipped OF Kiddo Davis to New York. Lindstrom hit .302 in two seasons at Pittsburgh, playing with the Waners. For the cost of two reserves, the Bucs got two years of a Hall-of-Famer. 
• 1934 - The Pirates sent RHP Leon Chagnon to the New York Giants for 21-year-old RHP Jack Salveson. Salveson never developed and was flipped to the White Sox after five so-so outings; following the ‘35 campaign, he reappeared in the majors for two more seasons during the war years. Chagnon had worked five years for the Bucs (19-14-2/4.61), but 1935 would be his last MLB hurrah. 

Pete Coscarart - 1940 Play Ball

• 1941 - The Bucs traded SS Arky Vaughan to the Brooklyn Dodgers for IF Pete Coscarart, RHP Luke Hamlin, C Babe Phelps and OF/1B Jimmy Wasdell. Only reserve infielder Coscarart stuck with the team past 1942. In 10 seasons, Hall of Famer Vaughan hit .324 for Pittsburgh. He later had a couple of strong seasons for Brooklyn, then left the team and worked his ranch for three years because of, according to baseball lore, a dispute with manager Leo Durocher (although his family said he ran the spread because his brother Glenn was drafted and there was no one else to do the job.) Both probably weighed in the decision, and he didn’t return to baseball until 1947 - the year Durocher was suspended by the Commissioner for loafing with gamblers. 
• 1950 - The Korean War put a stop to a Branch Rickey fishing expedition after he had placed 10 players on waivers, including RHP Murry Dickson, C Clyde McCullough, SS Stan Rojek and 3B Bob Dillinger. The UPI article said that “All were players generally past their peak and whom Rickey had placed on the waiver lists with the idea of getting ‘nibbles’ for deals...” but with the draft threatening to cut into his youth movement, he opted to keep some warm albeit creaky bodies available. It was a good decision by The Mahatma - Dickson won 20 times and McCullough played 92 games in ‘51. 
• 1959 - Vern Law became the first Bucco to sign a 1960 contract, agreeing to a deal that jumped his salary from $22,000 to an estimated $30K. Law had a breakout campaign in 1959, slashing 18-9/2.98 in 33 starts, then posted 20 victories in 1960 while winning the Cy Young and an All-Star spot. 
• 1961 - The Pirates shipped minor league OF/1B Tom Burgess to the Los Angeles Angels for C Don Leppert. Leppert spent two seasons as a backup in Pittsburgh, while the persistent Burgess, whose only prior MLB action was in 1954 with the Cards (he signed with them as an 18-year-old in 1946), got to swing it off the bench for the Angelinos in 1962-’63. Sadly, he didn’t bat his way above the Mendoza Line either season and hung ‘em up after a final year in the minors.

12/12 From 1970: Veras - McGehee, Tudor - Hendricks & Helm - Howe, Morton Deal, Rowdy, Frankie, Jason & Ramon Signed; Capp Goes; HBD Yerry & Jose

• 1975 - Houston sent veteran IF Tommy Helms to the Pirates for a PTBNL (IF Art Howe). Helms was at the end of his days here, while Howe went on to have a solid career with the Astros and Cards, playing for 11 years with a .260 career BA. Afterward, Art scouted, coached and managed the Astros (1989–93), Oakland Athletics (1996–2002), and New York Mets (2003–04). 
• 1984 - The Bucs traded LHP John Tudor and C/OF Brian Harper to the St. Louis Cardinals for UT Steve Barnard and OF George Hendrick. Tudor won 21 games with the Cards while tossing 10 shutouts the next season and won two World Series games. Harper was a late bloomer, but did break out in 1988 with the Twins. In his six years with Minnesota, he hit .306 with 111 homers and won a Fall Classic in 1991. “Jogging George” hit .230 and lasted until August, when he was sent to the California Angels. Barnard never made it out of A ball. 
• 1985 - Jim Leyland completed his staff with the hires of Bill Virdon (hitting coach), Mick Kelleher (1B coach) and Rich Donnelly (bullpen coach). They joined Gene Lamont (3B coach) and Ron Schueler (pitching coach) as members of Leyland’s first Pirates dugout brain trust. 
• 1991 - Jim Leyland and Bobby Bonilla got into a verbal spat when the skipper said he didn’t believe Bo, who went to the New York Mets, was ever planning to re-sign with the Pirates. That prompted an exchange of “cheap shot” charges between the pair, with Bobby Bo’s defense being that the Pirates front office never negotiated in good faith. A little bit me, a little bit you... 
• 1992 - UT Jose Osuna was born in Trujillo, Venezuela. He made his MLB debut with the Buccos in 2017, and in his four years bouncing around, he hit .241 w/24 HR in 660 ABs. The Pirates worked third base and the corner outfield into his resume while he hit .264 w/10 HR in 2019. He faded off the bench in 2020 and moved on to Japan. After a solid ‘21 campaign, Joey O signed a guaranteed three-year deal with Japanese League champs, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. 

Jose Osuna - 2017 Pirates image

• 1997 - RHP Yerry De Los Santos was born in Samana, Dominican Republic. A Pirates Latino signee who started out in 2015 in the Dominican Summer League, the reliever steadily climbed the Pittsburgh minor league ladder. He had a strong 2021 campaign (3-2-2/1.52, AAA + AA) in the upper levels, then continued to be impressive (2-0/1.72) during the opening weeks of 2022 at Indy, getting his call to the show in mid-May. He slashed 0-3-3-/4.91, wearing down at the end - he gave up just seven runs in his first 22 outings, but seven more in his final four appearances, leading to a season-ending trip to the IL with a shoulder sprain. He pitched a split season in ‘23 between the Bucs and Indy, was removed from the 40-man roster at the end of the year despite a 1-1/3.33 slash in 22 outings and was signed by the New York Yankees as a free agent. 
• 2004 - Pittsburgh was on the verge of a deal with Colorado for C Charles Johnson, but it fell through when Johnson wanted an extra year added to his contract. The Bucs shifted gears and four days later, they traded for Benito Santiago instead. He caught six games before he was released, not that Johnson would have been much of an upgrade - 2005 was his last MLB season, too. He lasted just 19 games with Tampa Bay, hitting .196. The club ended up using Humberto Cota, Ryan Doumit and David Ross during the campaign with Ronny Paulino on the horizon. 
• 2006 - The Pirates had a class of eight arb-eligible players and tendered them all. They were IF’s Freddy Sanchez & Jose Castillo, OF’s Xavier Nady & Jody Gerut, and hurlers Mike Gonzalez, John Grabow & Shawn Chacon along with C Humberto Cota. Six stuck with the team through the spring and into the campaign; Gonzo was traded in January and Gerut was cut during camp. 
• 2008 - The Pirates signed 32-year-old IF Ramon Vazquez during the winter meetings to a two-year deal worth $4M after he had hit .290 for the Rangers. Alas, he batted .230 in 2009, then was released the following April, ending his nine-year MLB career while the Pirates ate $2M in salary. 
• 2009 - The Bucs non-tendered RHP Matt Capps, allowing the closer to walk as an uncompensated free agent. He signed a one-year deal with Washington for $3.5M and became an All-Star. Capps then went to the Twins and closed, but shoulder inflammation derailed him there in 2012, and a year later he had surgery, ending his career. He’s now a radio/TV broadcaster for the Pirates. 

Casey McGehee - 2012 Topps

• 2011 - The Milwaukee Brewers traded 3B Casey McGehee to Pittsburgh for RHP Jose Veras with the dominoes falling after the Brew Crew signed FA Aramis Ramirez. Veras put together a workmanlike campaign for Milwaukee while McGehee hit .230 and was swapped to the NYY for RHP Chad Qualls at the deadline. Casey went on to trip the light fantastic afterward, playing ball in the bigs, AAA and Japan in 2017, returning to the Nippon League in 2018 to end his career. 
• 2012 - The Pirates signed free agent reliever Jason Grilli to a two-year/$6.75M contract. Grilli, who found a home in Pittsburgh after being taken from AAA Lehigh in 2011, was supposed to have turned down a larger deal with the Jays to remain a Bucco. Good move; he became the closer in 2013 after Joel Hanrahan was dealt, saved 33 games and made his only All-Star outing. The wheels fell off next season and he was flipped to the Angels at the deadline. His four-year Bucco line was 3-11-47/3.01 with 44 holds and 222 punch outs in 161-2/3 innings. 
• 2014 - The Pirates officially announced Francisco Liriano’s three-year/$39M contract, the biggest FA contract in franchise history, after Frankie passed his physical. The financial terms of the deal were: $2M signing bonus, $11M in '15, $13M in '16, $13M in '17, plus sundry bonuses. The free agent had been 2014’s opening-day pitcher for the Bucs, winning 23 games in 2013-14 for the Bucs. He went 41-36/3.67 during his four campaigns with Pittsburgh with 659 K in 623+ IP before being moved to Toronto. He tossed in the playoffs for the Jays and then worked the postseason in 2017 with the Astros, taking home a WS ring, before moving to Detroit in 2018 and returning to the Buccos the following campaign. Frankie then signed with Philly, but ended up opting out of the 2020 season. He agreed to an NRI with the Blue Jays in 2021, was released and opted for free agency but couldn’t find any other offers, ending his big league days on the hill. 

Frankie Liriano - 2015 Topps Opening Day

• 2015 - Pittsburgh sent RHP Charlie Morton to the Phils for minor league RHP David Whitehead. Charlie was one of the league’s better ground ball pitchers (55.3% in his career), earning him the nickname “Ground Chuck,” but was often hurt and underperformed as a Bucco, though he possessed some great stuff. In seven seasons with Pittsburgh, he went 41-62/4.39 and never made 30 starts in any single campaign. The move was made to free up some money for the 2016 season; Morton was due $8M in 2016. It worked out well for Charlie - in 2017, he went 14-7 for Houston and beat the Yankees in the ALCS and the Dodgers in the WS, and followed with strong campaigns in 2018 & ‘19 (w/Tampa Bay) before moving on to Atlanta. Whitehead tossed to a 7.52 ERA at Altoona and Bristol, and the Bucs released him. Philly reclaimed him, but let him go in 2017. 
• 2023 - The Pirates and 28-year-old 1B/DH Rowdy Tellez agreed to a one-year/$3.2M deal, with bonuses that could bring its value up to $4M that became official three days later. The Milwaukee Brewers non-tendered him after he hit .215 w/13 HR in 2023 after a career year for the Brewers in 2022, when he hit 35 homers w/89 RBIs in 153 games (.219 BA). There was hope for a bounceback; he suffered a forearm injury/broken finger during the dog days that cost him time and affected his hitting. He followed John Nogowski (2021), Yoshi Tsutsugo (2021-22) and Ji-Man Choi/Carlos Santana/Alfonso Rivas (2023) as plug-ins for the Buccos black hole at first base (20 different Pirates played multiple games at 1B between 2021-23) that was created after Josh Bell was traded. After an ice-cold start (his BA was below .200 into June), Rowdy rallied to post a .243/13/56 slashline but was released at year’s end as the Bucco search for a full-time 1B continued. 
• 2023 - The Pirates confirmed that C Endy Rodriguez had UCL surgery on his elbow and would be lost for the season, joining RHP Johan Oviedo, who earlier had year-ending TJ surgery. Endy was the Pirates starting catcher from late July to the end of the ‘23 campaign, and hurt himself while playing winter ball. Young gun SS Oneil Cruz missed all but nine games in 2023 while RHP JT Brubaker missed the entire season; it’s tough to retool when your building blocks keep breaking.