4/16: Openers, Game Tales - Orlando, Jay, Jose & Roberto, Browne-Bowman, Mr. Swat Debuts, Dazzy; HBD Big Poison, Bash, Keone. Babe & Piggy

• 1867 - Utilityman Frank “Piggy” Ward was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He made his first big league appearance at age 16 and played in 221 games over six years in the majors; six of them were with Pittsburgh in 1891 when he went 6-for-18 with three runs scored. Piggy set a record (since tied) in June of 1893 - he reached base a record 17 times (errors & force-outs not counted) in 17 consecutive plate appearances, with eight hits, eight walks and one hit by a pitch. To top it off, his three-day spree started as an Oriole and ended as a Red. Ward's overall pro career ran from 1883 to 1906, and he didn’t last many moons beyond it. A fall off a telephone pole he was working on in 1909 left him paralyzed and he finally passed away in 1912.
• 1903 - The Pirates started the season off right, defeating the Reds, 7-1, behind a Deacon Phillippe two-hitter. Playing before 12‚000 fans at Cincinnati’s Palace of the Fans, it was the first of four straight wins over Cincy to open a season that would eventually take the Bucs to the first World Series against the Boston Americans. The team arrived with an entourage of 50 Pittsburgh rooters who came for the games and the action - one fan was said to have offered $1,000 wager on the game; there was no report on whether he found a Cincinnati taker. 
• 1903 - Hall-of-Fame RF Paul "Big Poison" Waner was born in Harrah, Oklahoma. He had a 20-year big league career, with the first 15 spent in Pittsburgh. As a Pirate, Waner compiled a line of .340/.407/.490. He was also the elder half of a legendary Bucco brother act, spending 14 years in the pasture with his baby bro “Little Poison” Lloyd, who was also Cooperstown-bound; they became the second pair of bros, behind George and Harry Wright, to enter the Hall. 
• 1908 - C Ernest “Babe” Phelps was born in Odenton, Maryland. Babe, a 10-year vet, joined former teammate Al Lopez with the Pirates in 1942 as part of the Arky Vaughan deal with Brooklyn and shared the backstop duties with Lopez, hitting .284 in 95 games. Babe was dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for yet another Babe, veteran first sacker Babe Dahlgren, at the end of the year, but the 34-year-old Phelps never reported to his new club, instead retiring to end his MLB career. Babe batted .310 in the show with a .362 OBP & .472 slugging %, joining the NL All-Star Team from 1938-1940. He passed away in 1992 after being inducted into the Dodgers Hall of Fame (he played seven seasons for Brooklyn and was a fan favorite), the Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame and the Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame. And yes, our Babe did get his nickname from that slightly more noted Babe: Phelps was 6’2”, 235 pounds, and bore a passing resemblance to the Bambino, who he would become tight with later in his career. Cort Vitty of SABR wryly noted that “Later in his career, as his physique matured, Phelps would also be referred to as ‘Blimp.’" 

Babe Phelps - 1944 The Sporting News

• 1912 - The Bucs booked the rare 5-3-7 DP at Redland Field, with LF Max “Scoops” Carey sneaking behind second base after a sac bunt to finish a twin killing after the lead runner took a wide turn. The Pirates claimed an 8-2 decision for their first victory after four defeats while handing Cincy its first loss. Marty O’Toole got the win, giving up five hits although walking seven; three DPs helped keep him out of trouble. Carey, Honus Wagner and George Gibson each had two hits. 
• 1915 - The Pirates gave 24-year-old rookie Dazzy Vance his first and only Pittsburgh start; he lost 4-2 to the Cincinnati Reds, facing 14 batters and walking five of them. They quickly sold him to the Yankees, who also gave up on him. But Dazzy was a classic late bloomer: when he was 31 and after arm surgery, he hit his stride with Brooklyn, winning double-digit games 10-of-11 years. Vance tossed until he was 44 on the road to 190 victories and a spot in the Hall of Fame. 
• 1929 - The Chicago Cubs drew their largest Opening Day crowd to date, an estimated 46,000 fans, but they didn’t help as the Cubbies lost to the Buccos, 4-3, at Wrigley Field. Burleigh Grimes went the distance for the win while Pie Traynor banged out three hits and scored twice. 
• 1935 - The Reds lobbied to have their Home Opener moved up to this day (the two teams were the only NL clubs not scheduled to open on the 16th), and the league office agreed. In a classic case of being careful what you wish for, Pittsburgh clocked Cincinnati, 12-6, in front of 27,400 at Crosley Field. Sam Byrd homered for the Bucs and Waite Hoyt picked up the win. The game was played on a cold, raw day that the Pittsburgh Press said was “...better suited for football than baseball.” The next day, the two teams caught a train and met again at Forbes Field for the Pirates Home Opener, and the Reds returned the favor, taking a 7-4 decision. 

Joe Bowman - 1937 photo Mears/TSN

• 1937 - The Pirates traded 1B/RF Earl Browne to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for LHP Joe Bowman. Bowman worked five years for the Bucs with a 33-38/4.35 record, splitting his time between starting and the pen while Browne’s last big league season was 1938. Bowman swung a good stick, too, batting .281 for the Pirates as an often-called-upon pinch hitter with 322 PA. 
• 1946 - 23-year-old Ralph Kiner made his MLB debut on Opening Day at St. Louis’ Sportsman Park, a 6-4 Bucco win. Ralph played center field (he was in the middle 75 times in ‘46 and then never again played the position, spending the rest of his big league days in left field) and went 1-for-4 with a walk. Mr. Swat hit .247 with a league-leading 23 long balls as a rookie. The future Hall-of-Famer led the NL in homers for a record seven straight seasons and Kiner’s 301 dingers during his eight-year Pirates career ranks second in club annals, behind Willie Stargell. 
• 1953 - The Pirates beat the Phils in a 14-12 barnburner on Opening Day at Forbes Field. The Phillies scored nine runs in the top of the fifth and the Pirates came back with six in the bottom half to tie the NL record for runs in an inning. The Bucs added five more in the sixth to pull ahead. It was a team effort; all nine members of Pittsburgh’s starting lineup had at least one hit. Cal Abrams led the pack with three knocks while Danny O’Connell had three RBI. The last of five Bucco pitchers, Murry Dickson, got the win by working four scoreless frames to stop the bleeding.
• 1958 - The Bucs opened the season by edging the defending World Series champs, the Milwaukee Braves, 4-3, at County Stadium. It took 14 innings before RC Stevens’ single chased home Dick Groat with the eventual winning tally. The game was started by Warren Spahn and Bob Friend, with the Bucs holding a 3-2 lead after scoring in the ninth frame, but the Braves tied it against ElRoy Face in their half. Rookies Ron Blackburn and Curt Raydon tossed zeroes over the final four frames, with Blackburn getting the win and Raydon the save. 

The Great One - 1962 Jay Publishing

• 1962 - Roberto Clemente's three-run homer in the fifth propelled the Bucs to a 6-5 win over Chicago at Wrigley Field, redeeming himself for a first-inning error that allowed a run to plate. Diomedes Olivo was credited with the win over the Cubs in relief of starter Bob Veale. Bill Virdon had three knocks while Dick Groat, Dick Stuart and Don Hoak each chipped in a pair of hits. 
• 1985 - Jose DeLeon tied the Bucco record for most strikeouts thrown in a game by a right-handed pitcher (Bob Moose set the mark in 1969) as he whiffed 14 Mets at TRS. He gave up four hits without a run or walk in eight innings of work. The effort fell short, though, as the Pirates went down, 1-0, victims of a Ron Darling/Jesse Orosco one-hitter. John Candelaria took the loss in relief. 
• 1993 - RHP Keone Kela was born in Los Angeles. The Texas closer joined the Bucs at the 2018 deadline, coming east in return for minor league LHP Taylor Hearn and PTBNL. He quickly stepped in as the Pirates eighth inning arm, going 0-1/2.93 in 16 appearances before being shut down in mid-September with a case of dead arm. KK continued to be hounded, first by Covid 19 and then arm woes, in 2020 before moving on to San Diego the following season. After a brief stop with the Dodgers in ‘22, then signed in Japan and is now tossing in Mexico. 
• 1993 - RHP Tyler “Bash” Bashlor was born in Springfield, Georgia. After two years with the New York Mets (0-6/5.33, 48 games), he was sold to Pirates in early August and called up to the big club two weeks later. Bash featured a mid-nineties fastball and control problems. He was released in April, 2021, spent ‘22 in the Minnesota Twins system as his last pro gig. 
• 1996 - Orlando Merced and Jay Bell both hit grand slams (the two grannies tied an MLB single-game record that not too surprisingly is shared by many) at Busch Stadium to lead the Bucs to a 13-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Pittsburgh banged out 20 knocks, led by Jeff King with four raps while Merced, Carlos Garcia, Al Martin and Keith Osik added three hits apiece. Zane Smith coasted to the victory and Jon Lieber mopped up the final three frames for a stress-free save.

4/15 Through 1964: Openers - Boots & DPs, Game Tales, Greenberg & Chief Debut, Allies 1st; HBD Mike, Wild Bill, Chaney, King, Abby & Bill

• 1871 - 3B Bill Grey (also spelled Gray) was born in Philadelphia. A utility player who yo-yoed between the majors and minors, he was picked up by the Pirates for the 1898 season as part of the Pink Hawley deal after hitting .357 for the Western League Indianapolis Hoosiers. He played one campaign here as the full-time third baseman (the only time he played one position for an entire year in the majors), getting 528 ABs but hitting just .229, and was dealt again, netting Ginger Beaumont. The Pirates were his last MLB stop; after two more minor-league seasons, he retired to his hometown. 
• 1876 - The Pittsburgh Alleghenys fielded what’s often thought to be the city's first professional baseball team against the local Xanthas at North Side’s Union Park, winning 7-3. (The Alleghenys had paid players but were an independent club). They played in front of 2,000 fans despite an hour’s delay to doctor the field after some rain. The next year, the Alleghenys franchise joined the minor league International Association, but the team and league disbanded after the season. 
• 1877 - Ed Abbaticchio, considered by many to be the first Italian American to play MLB, was born in Latrobe. “Batty” was also one of the first to play both pro baseball and football, starring on the gridiron for Latrobe, arguably the first pro football team. The middle infielder played 3-1/2 of his nine big league seasons (1907-10) for Pittsburgh, hitting .253, and was a reserve for the 1909 World Series champs at age 32, a year away from his last MLB season. 
• 1886 - RHP Leonard “King” Cole was born in Toledo, Iowa. The jolly old soul spent six years in MLB, tossing 12 times for the Bucs in 1912 with a 2-2/6.43 line. The Pirates got him from the Cubs on May 30th with Solly Hofman for Tommy Leach and Lefty Leifield. He spent 1913 at Columbus and was then drafted by the Yankees. Cole had an interesting career, pitching the first Cubbie no-hitter in 1910 (seven innings, shortened by curfew) while winning 20 games, serving up Babe Ruth’s first hit while a Yankee hurler in 1914 (a double), and becoming a Ring Lardner hero in his Alibi Ike series of short stories. The King passed away not long after that, dying from TB in 1915 at age 29. He got his nickname from the Cub faithful, likely after the nursery rhyme character. 

King Cole - 1912 photo/Charles Conlon

• 1894 - OF Chaney White was born in Longview, Texas. Chaney played for 18 seasons in the Negro Leagues with one local stop, hitting .312 for the 1930 Homestead Grays. Chaney broke up Chet Brewer and Smokey Joe Williams’ legendary pitching duel when he doubled off the third base sack to plate Oscar Charleston with the game’s only run to defeat Brewer in the 12th frame. 
• 1908 - Opening Day at St. Louis’ Robison Field was a damp one (it was rescheduled from the day before, a rain out) and it showed as the Pirates and Cards combined for 10 errors. Still, it was a 0-0 duel between Pittsburgh’s Howie Camnitz and the Redbirds Johnny Lush going into the ninth when each team scored (who woulda guessed?) an unearned run. In the 10th inning, the Bucs turned a bopped batter and a botched forceout try into a pair of runs and Camitz took care of the rest to claim a 3-1 win. It was a big confidence booster for a young club; the Pirates were without Hans Wagner, who said he was retiring, but an offer two days later that doubled his salary lured him back. 
• 1921 - Pirate pitcher Moses “Chief” Yellow Horse made his major league debut against the Reds. Yellow Horse, a Pawnee, was believed by many baseball historians to be the first full-blooded American Indian to play in the big leagues. He worked the last two innings and “did not permit a single safe swat” per the Pittsburgh Press to save a win for Earl Hamilton as the Bucs beat the Reds, 3-1, at Redland Field. The Pirates won it in the eighth, filling the bases on a knock, error and swinging bunt single, and all three runners plated when Max Carey’s two-out bloop dropped. Yellow Horse spent both of his MLB seasons (1921-22) as a Pirate, and his nickname was said to have been bestowed on him by Rabbit Maranville. 
• 1926 - RHP William “Wild Bill” Pierro was born in Brooklyn (the date is debatable; Bill was deserted as an infant and raised by foster parents, the Pierros). A lanky kid, Pierro was a hot shot Bucco prospect and made it to the show in July of 1950. He featured a blazing fastball with a sidearm curve and fanned 275 batters in Class B Waco in 1949 after punching out 300 hitters in Bartlesville the previous season while compiling a 51-31/2.60 line in four minor-league seasons. He got into 12 games and made three starts for the Pirates, slashing 0-2/10.55. He lived up to his nickname, walking 28 batters in 29 IP, including six in one memorable frame. He butted heads with Branch Rickey over a variety of issues, not exactly helping his own cause, and was slated to work at the minor league complex on his control after 1951 camp broke. He was still with the big team on his 25th birthday when he was rushed to Pittsburgh’s Presbyterian Hospital with encephalitis and was in a coma for several weeks. Bill eventually recovered, but his days as an athlete were finished. He went back home to Brooklyn. 

Bill Pierro- May 1950 Post Gazette photo

• 1947 - In his Pirate debut, Hank Greenberg’s sixth-inning double chased home Billy Cox to give the Bucs' a 1-0 victory over the Cubs and Hank Borowy. Rip Sewell got the win by scattering five hits at Wrigley Field. The slugger was brought in from the Tigers after a contract impasse and Greenberg wasted no time cashing in for Pittsburgh, along with tutoring young slugger Ralph Kiner.
• 1958 - The Pirates beat the Braves, 4-3, in a 14-inning contest, tying the longest Opening Day game ever played in the NL, a record they would tie again in 1969. Bill Virdon chased home Hank Foiles with the game winner at Milwaukee’s County Stadium. Ron Blackburn got the win and Curt Raydon picked up the save. Roberto Clemente, Dick Groat and Bob Skinner each had three hits; Bill Virdon and RC Stevens chipped in a pair, too, as the Bucs stranded 13 runners. 
• 1960 - OF/1B Mike Diaz was born in San Francisco. He played in Pittsburgh from 1986-88, hitting .250 with 28 HR in 524 AB. Diaz was dubbed “Rambo” by Bob Walk while with the Bucs because of his resemblance to Sly Stallone, and the club even promoted a popular poster of him under that nom de guerre. He had a second career in Japan lasting for four seasons beginning in 1989. 
• 1961 - The Dodgers and Pirates tied a league record by turning nine DPs (Los Angeles 5‚ Pittsburgh 4, with Dick Groat starting three of the double dips) in a 4-1 Buc win at Memorial Coliseum. It was only the second time (July 3rd, 1929, Cubs-Reds) that nine DPs have been turned in a nine-inning National League game, with eight the result of grounders. Bob Friend was the recipient of the twin killings. Bill Virdon smacked two homers, the first to lead off the game, and Don Hoak banged a bases-loaded, two-out double to chase home the Pirate tallies. The contest had a lot of moving pieces for the 46,667 fans; it started late when the lights failed, the Tiger snapped over a call at third and was ejected, and Dick Stuart went after Charley Neal in the LA dugout.

4/15 From 1965: Game Tales Bill & Rook, Bombs Away, Bay Day, Leyland #600, Krebs-Young, Cards Curse; HBD Dauri, Adeiny & Jeromy

• 1966 - Bob Gibson and the Redbird bats dominated the Bucs in a 9-2 win at Forbes Field. It was the 18th straight for the Cards in Pittsburgh, tying the major league record set by the Dodgers against the Phillies in 1945-46 for consecutive road wins against one club. But the worm finally turned as the Pirates took the series by winning the next two games of the series. 
• 1969 - RF Jeromy Burnitz was born in Westminster Hills, California. After back-to-back solid seasons, the Pirates signed the 37-year-old, 13-year veteran to a $6M free agent deal for 2006. He hit .230 with 16 HR and Pittsburgh bought out the ‘07 team option year of his deal for $700K. Jeromy retired before that campaign opened, unable to catch on with anyone else. 
• 1977 - The Pirates spoiled the St. Louis Home Opener by beating the Redbirds, 7-0, at Busch Stadium. Jim Rooker pitched a complete game for the Bucs, giving up three hits and striking out five. Dave Parker, Duffy Dyer and Rennie Stennett all homered for the Bucs. Parker, Stennett and Frank Taveras each had two knocks as part of an 11-hit attack; the efficient Bucs stranded just four runners. 
• 1978 - The Pirates snapped a five-game losing streak by whipping the Cubs, 13-10, at chilly Wrigley Field (the game was played with the temp in the lower 40s), scoring nine times in the fourth inning and hanging on. The key blow in their big frame was a Bill Robinson grand slam, his second long ball of the day. He drove in a career-best six runs to generate much of the Pittsburgh attack. The two clubs were as cold as the weather; they combined to commit six errors, issued 13 walks, plunked a pair of hitters and added a wild pitch. Jim Rooker, the starter, got the win although he gave up six runs (but just two earned) in five frames with Bruce Kison and Grant Jackson bringing it home. Dave Parker and Robinson each had three hits to pace the revved-up offense. 

Bill Robinson - 1978 Topps

• 1989 - SS Adeiny Hechavarria was born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. The light-hitting veteran infielder was picked up in an August, 2018, minor league deal with Tampa Bay. Hechy batted .233 in 15 games, and was sold to the Yankees. He’s a free agent now, having spent two seasons in Japan after being released by Atlanta following the 2020 campaign. He then rejoined Atlanta’s org after his Asian tour before spending time in Mexico and in the KC system. 
• 1993 - Dennis Moeller won his first MLB game and manager Jim Leyland won his 600th as the Bucs swept the Padres, 5-4, in 13 frames at Jack Murphy Stadium. The hero was Tom Prince; the catcher was scheduled to be lifted for a pinch hitter in the ninth, but trotted back from the bullpen when the two Bucs ahead of him reached and he was called on to bunt. He did successfully, setting up the tying run, and then later doubled home Carlos Garcia with the game winner. The victory capped the Bucs first four-game sweep of the Friars at SD since 1983. 
• 1996 - RHP Dauri Moreta was born in Comendador, Dominican Republic. He came to Pittsburgh in 2022 in a straight-up deal for SS Kevin Newman, having put up a line of 0-2-1/5.40 while averaging a whiff per inning, fitting the usual reliever Pirates model. The Bucs used him as a mid-inning bridge to the backend of the bullpen. “Big Bank” featured a fastball-slider combo and he showed enough to lock down a ‘24 spot until elbow surgery made him hors de combat. 
• 1997 - The Pirates have taken some painful losses, but this game featured a painful win over San Diego at TRS. The Padres tied the game, 2-2, in the ninth inning on a Greg Vaughan homer off John Ericks, but the Bucs came back to load the bases with an out in their half. Tony Womack fell behind 0-2, fouled off a couple, and then was bopped in the noggin to force home Jose Guillen with the winning run. Ericks was credited with the win in relief (and a blown save, too) as starter Jon Lieber went into the eighth frame before Ricardo Rincon took over. 

Tony Womack - 1997 Pacific Gem

• 2006 - It was set up to be a big day for Jason Bay at PNC Park - it was not only his bobblehead night, but before the game, he was honored with the Tip O’Neill award as Canada’s best baseball player for the second straight year. The Cubs decided the best way to recognize Bay was to pitch around him; he was walked three times and HBP once, never posting an official at bat. The Pirates foiled the strategy (though it was effective) by first scoring on a walk, steal, and two-out error then adding another tally on a Craig Wilson three-bagger/Joe Randa sac fly. It was just enough to eke out a 2-1 victory, as Zach Duke went seven strong innings for the win, giving up just a run. John Grabow, Ramon Hernandez & Mike Gonzalez, who earned the save, closed out the final two frames. 
• 2009 - The Pirates acquired IF/OF Delwyn Young from the Dodgers for PTBNL RHPs Eric Krebs and Harvey Garcia. Young played 234 games for the Pirates during the 2009-10 seasons, hitting .255 with 14 HR and 71 RBI in his last MLB stint. Neither Krebs nor Garcia made much of a dent for LA, although Garcia had a cup of coffee with Florida in 2007, appearing in eight games. 
• 2015 - Francisco Liriano returned from paternity leave and tossed a gem, but the Bucs lost a 1-0 decision to the Detroit Tigers at PNC Park. Frankie struck out seven and gave up four hits in six frames, but one of the knocks was a solo homer by former Bucco Rajai Davis that proved the game winner. Alfredo Simon and Joakim Soria only managed three K between them, but surrendered just two hits without a walk to stifle the Pirates, who had just one runner reach second. 
• 2017 - The Bucs spotted the Chicago Cubs four runs in the first inning and were down, 6-2, heading into the sixth. But it’s not the start but the finish that counts - they shook the slumber from the lumber and roared back to take an 8-7 win at Wrigley Field. Fran Cervelli, Starling Marte and Josh Harrison homered to keep the Bucs around and Andrew McCutchen capped a five-run seventh frame with a two-out, three-run blast. Tony Watson kept it interesting by giving up a ninth inning dinger (Kris Bryant’s second long ball of the day) and walking the tying run aboard, but he put it to bed with a swinging whiff. Trevor Williams, in relief of Tyler Glasnow, was credited with the win and Watson the save. It was the middle match of a three-game Bucco sweep of the Cubbies.

4/14 Through the 1970s: Game Tales, Bunning & McBean Gems, Tobin Joins, Maz Alpha-Omega, Pup Parade, Feds Open, WGN Debut; HBD Kyle, Wild Bill & George

• 1880 - OF George Merritt was born in Paterson, NJ. He spent from 1901-03 with the Pirates as an outfielder and part-time hurler (he played 15 games in three years, with four off the hill), slashing 3-0/4.50 from the hill and hitting .213 as a bench stick. That was the extent of his MLB days. During his 1903 campaign, he left Pittsburgh and joined the hometown Jersey City Skeeters, playing with them until 1910 before finally hanging up the glove in 1915. 
• 1884 - RHP Wild Bill Luhrsen was born in Buckley, Illinois. His MLB career consisted of five games (three starts) for the 1913 Pirates when the 29-year-old rookie went 3-1/2.48, with his only loss to Christy Mathewson. The Pirates bought his rights from Albany of the Sally League during the season after a rash of injuries chewed up the staff and then was sent to Columbus after the pitching returned. Wild Bill retired in 1916 and worked the semi-pro and indie circuits. 
• 1914 - The Pittsburgh Feds and the Brooklyn Tip-Tops played the first game of the short-lived Federal League. The contest was front page news in the papers, a band led a parade from town to Exposition Park, and Mayor William Magee tossed out the first pitch. Tom Seaton of the Tip Tops outdid Carrick native Elmer Knetzer of the Feds, 1-0, in 10 innings. The game was played in front of an estimated 10,000 fans. The team became the Pittsburgh Rebels after Rebel Oakes took over the hot seat from Doc Gessler early in the year, and like their National League counterparts, they came in seventh with a 64-86 finish. Alpha/Omega: Knetzer tossed out not only the opening pitch of the club, but also of the Federal League itself. He also delivered the last ball of the Rebel franchise/FL on October 2nd, 1915, in a 3-0 loss to the Chicago Whales, a game that gave Chi-town first place over the Rebels. The Fed folded after the season. 
• 1920 - The Pirates opened the season on a winning note with help from the Cards, who committed four errors leading to three unearned runs and a 5-4 Pittsburgh win in 10 innings at Robison Field. For all the miscues, the Redbirds made a thriller out of it, scoring with two outs in the ninth and putting runners at second and third before Babe Adams could coax the final out. The Bucs bounced back with a two-out run in the 10th frame when pinch hitter Fred Nicholson singled home George Cutshaw; the tally was again unearned, set up when St. Louis hurler Marv Goodwin threw away a bunt. Pittsburgh managed just seven hits, with Carson Bigbee (single, double) and Charlie Grimm (single, triple) each with a pair. Earl Hamilton saved the victory for Adams. 

Babe Adams - 1920 photo via RMY Auctions

• 1925 - Chicago’s WGN Radio broadcast its first ever regular season Cubs’ baseball game (Quin Ryan announced the contest from the grandstand roof) as Chicago’s Grover Alexander defeated the Pirates and Emil Yde on Opening Day, 8-2. Six of the runs against Yde were unearned thanks to three Bucco boots. Old Pete not only won, but helped himself with a single, double, and home run. 
• 1937 - The Bucs bought RHP Jim “Abba Dabba” Tobin from the Yankees, who had him stashed on the Pacific Coast League Oakland Oaks roster. Tobin tossed three seasons for Pittsburgh, going 29-24-1/3.71 before being sent to Boston. He pitched in MLB through 1945 and tossed a no-hitter for Beantown in 1944. He was also a good stick; he hit .230 during his career, .275 during his Pirates stay, and was called on regularly as a pinch hitter. Abba Dabba is the only modern-era pitcher to hit three homers in one game, as he did for the Braves in 1942 (Guy Hecker, who would later manage the Alleghenys, was the only other pitcher to equal him, back in 1886). Tobin called it a day as an MLB player after the 1950 campaign. As for his nickname, the Detroit Athletic Company explained “Tobin liked to do imitations of a vaudeville magician. As part of the act, Tobin would pause in the middle of a magic trick and declare, ‘Abba Dabba, are you ready?’” 
• 1952 - In a sure sign that the Pirates expected a long year, the team brought seven rookies north with them: IF Dick Hall, OF Bobby Del Greco, P Ronnie Kline, P Jim Waugh, OF Brandy Davis, P Ed Wolfe and OF Lee Walls. IF Tony Bartirome was called up a couple of days later, and the youthfulness of the club became apparent as the year went on - the Bucs finished last with 42 wins. 
• 1960 - The Pirates showed that they would be a NL force to reckon with during their Home Opener by pounding the Reds, 13-0, in front of 34,064 fans. Vern Law pitched the complete game, seven-hit shutout while Roberto Clemente and Billy Maz combined to chase home nine runs. One of the Great One’s RBI was a 445’ sac fly that Vada Pinson corralled just short of the batting cage parked in center field. Fun fact from This Date In Baseball: Bill Mazeroski hit the first homer of the season at Forbes Field to open the floodgates today. He also hit the last long ball of the ballyard’s year when he went deep to beat the Yankees in Game Seven of the World Series on October 13th. 

Vern Law - 1960 Fleer

• 1963 - Al McBean tossed Pittsburgh to a 1-0 victory over the Reds at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field on Easter for their fourth straight victory. The Bucs pushed their only run across in the fourth when Bill Virdon beat out a two-out bleeder to second that scored Bob Skinner, set up thanks to a walk and pair of infield singles off Joey Jay, with only one other runner reaching third. Cincy had 10 hits, with a walk and error thrown in by the Pirates, but stranded 12 runners, twice leaving the bases loaded and three times leaving runners at second and third. But Alvin buckled down at the end, retiring the final seven batters without a ball leaving the infield to ice the win. 
• 1968 - Jim Bunning earned his first win with Pittsburgh, 3-0, at Los Angeles. It was his 40th career shutout and included his 1‚000th NL strikeout‚ making him the first pitcher since Cy Young with 1‚000 punch outs in each league. His whitewash was saved when Roberto Clemente brought back an almost two-run homer by Ron Fairly, leaping above the RF wall to snag the shot. 
• 1976 - RHP Kyle Farnsworth was born in Wichita, Kansas. Kyle spent 16 years and tossed 893 games in the MLB; a few weeks and nine outings were on the Pirates dime in 2013. The veteran was picked up off waivers from Tampa Bay and the 38-year-old did his job, giving up one run in 8-1/3 IP during their playoff run. Kyle’s last year in the show was 2014; he tossed in Mexico for a couple of years afterward while multitasking by playing semi-pro football in Florida.

4/14 From 1980: Game Tales Bombs Away, Fort & Nate; Cutch #300, B-Rey Signs, '79 Rings, CBS 1st; HBD Chris & JVB, Indy No-No

• 1980 - The Pirates got their World Series rings at the Home Opener at TRS. The rainy day (the game was delayed three times) drew 44,088 to the yard. The Bucs were cruising in the ninth when Teke, the eventual game winner, was touched up for a couple of runs to tie the match; it was untied an inning later when Bill Robinson took Bruce Sutter yard for a walk-off 5-4 Bucco win. 
• 1980 - RHP John Van Benschoten was born in San Diego. As a top draft pick in 2001 (eighth overall), the internal debate whether was to have JVB pitch (he was Kent State’s closer) or hit (he led the NCAA in HRs). The Pirates thought he had a better shot physically at pitching, and that proved to be a bad decision. In three stops at Pittsburgh (2004, 2007-08) he went 2-13/9.20 while beleaguered by an assortment of arm problems. He never tossed in the majors again. 
• 1984 - RHP Chris Leroux was born in Montreal. The reliever pitched for the Bucs from 2010-13, getting fairly regular work between 2010-11. He was injured much of 2012 and released early in the 2013 campaign, which he finished out in Japan. His Pirate line was 1-2/5.56, with his last MLB posting with the Yankees in 2014. He retired in 2017 after playing on the Canadian WBC team. 
• 1990 - The Pirates and Cubs became the first MLB teams to be aired nationally by CBS Sports, which had outbid ABC and NBC for exclusive game rights with an offer of $1.8B over four years. Their Three Rivers match was the network’s first “Saturday Game of the Week” and marked the debut of the announcing team of Brent Musberger and Tim McCarver. The Pirates didn’t provide much bang for the buck as Mike Harkey tossed a five-hitter and topped Doug Drabek, 4-1. 

Bob Walk - 1991 Leaf

• 1991 - Bob Walk hit the only home run of his career, a two-out solo shot off Chicago’s Danny Jackson, in the second inning at Wrigley Field. Walk started the game but wasn’t around for the decision in Pittsburgh’s 6-4 loss to the Cubs as Stan Belinda gave up two runs in the bottom of the eighth to take the defeat. Jeff King went 3-for-4 while Bobby Bo also added a solo shot. 
• 2006 - It was bad enough that the Pirates wasted three home runs (Nate McLouth, Craig Wilson and Jay Bay) and fell, 11-6, to the Cubs at PNC Park in front of 34,264 fans on a Saturday night. To add injury to insult, newly acquired (it was his ninth outing as a Bucco) Sean Casey fractured his back in two places after a first base collision and didn’t return to action until May 29th. Starter Victor Santos took the loss as the bullpen behind him also floundered. 
• 2008 - The Bucs took a down-to-the-wire, 6-4, win at Dodger Stadium when Nate McLouth hammered a three-run, two-out homer in the ninth off Dodger All-Star closer Takashi Saito. Matt Capps saved the win for Tyler Yates in a game started by Zach Duke. Jose Bautista banged a two-run homer to open the scoring; both Bucco long balls were swatted with two outs. 
• 2013 - The Pirates fell behind the Cincinnati Reds, 5-0, before scoring 10 runs in the seventh and eighth innings to rally for a 10-6 win behind Mike McKenry’s two long balls, the first multi-homer day of his career. The PNC fans wouldn’t sit down until The Fort tipped his cap during a curtain call. Appropriately, the Pirates were dressed in throwback seventies “Lumber Company” uniforms. 
• 2014 - The Bucs and Reds combined for a GABP record 10 homers in just six innings before the game was suspended by weather with the score 7-7 as the Pirates became the third MLB team to hit three back-to-back sets of HR. Neil Walker and Gaby Sanchez hit that cycle twice in the second and sixth frames to tie a team mark from 1954 set by Toby Atwell and Jerry Lynch. Starling Marte and Travis Snider banged the other pair of consecutive dingers. The Reds were no slouches themselves, hitting four homers, three of them two-run shots and all of them with two outs. Pittsburgh won the game the next day, 8-7, on Russ Martin’s two-out knock that scored Andrew McCutchen. 

Corey Dickerson - 2018 AT&T Sportsnet

• 2018 - It wasn’t a thing of beauty, but Pittsburgh slipped past Miami, 1-0, at Marlin Park. Jameson Taillon and Trevor Richards started in a game that saw just 11 combined hits, and it hinged on two plays. In the fourth inning, Miami’s Justin Bour was on third when Lewis Brinson hit a gentle roller to shortstop, with Jordy Mercer playing at DP depth looking for a twin-killing. But instead of steaming home with the conceded run, Bour froze at third and died there. In the ninth, Starling Marte singled with an out and went to third on a hit-and-run. Corey Dickerson surprised everyone by bunting, and it could have been a disaster, as he popped the ball up. But good fortune carried it far enough to drop between the pitcher and second baseman, allowing Marte to score the game’s only run. It wasn’t a safety squeeze but Dickerson’s own brainstorm, even though he hadn’t laid down a bunt in a game since 2014. George Kontos got the win with Felipe Vazquez picking up the save. 
• 2022 - The Bucs avoided an arb hearing with Super-Two All-Star CF Bryan Reynolds, 27, by agreeing to a contract that covered 2022-23 with a value of $13.5M ($6.75M per season). He would still be under two more years of team control after that via arb, with the two sides reportedly exploring a longer term deal now that the settlement allowed for some breathing room (They did reach that long-term deal a year later for eight seasons/$106.75M). Reynolds joined the club in 2018 as part of the package that sent Andrew McCutchen to the SF Giants. B-Rey homered later on this day in the game against the Nats to help Roansy Contreras, in relief, to his first MLB win, 9-4. 
• 2022 - RHPs Chase De Jong, Austin Brice and Yerry De Los Santos with C Jason Delay behind the dish combined to hurl a no-hitter against St. Paul at CHS Field, as the Class AAA Indianapolis Indians rode the no-no to a 5-0 win. It was a pretty strong crew of arms - DeJong had six years in the show with four teams, Brice also had six MLB seasons under his belt with three clubs, and all four were called up to Pittsburgh during the season. Austin & Chase are now free agents, Yerry is in the Yankees organization and Jason is now with the big league Pirates. 
• 2024 - Andrew McCutchen drilled a ball into the left field stands of Philly’s Citizens Bank Park, adding a feather to his cap with his 300th long ball. Cutch had been stuck at 299 dingers since August 22 when an injury put a stop to his year, and it was weight off his shoulders to get off the schneid (it was HR #1 of the year) as he was off to his typically slow April start. Though he would have rather cranked it out of PNC Park, he was comfortable doing it in Philadelphia, where he had spent 2019-21 as a player, becoming the 19th player in MLB history with 300 home runs, 200 steals, and 2000 hits. As for the game itself, Andrew’s ninth-inning bomb was a cherry on top as the Pirates won, 9-2, behind a strong outing by Mitch Keller and a Jack Suwinski grand slam.

Notes: Bad Week At the Ballyard; Kell Hits #700; Banged Up Bucs; Team & Ol' Mateys In the News

Quite a start...

Pirates Stuff:

• The Pirates called up IF Tsung-Che Cheng, the team’s MLB Pipeline's #17/Baseball America's #19  prospect after IF Jared Triolo was placed on the 10-day IL (lumbar spine strain). Tsung-Che is a versatile good glove guy in the Triolo mold who has to prove his stick will play in MLB. But it sure looks like Cheng has leap-frogged Liover Peguero at shortstop, which is still an unsettled spot now manned by Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
• CF Oneil Cruz sat out Wednesday's game; he had been hit in the hand the previous night and it was 40 degrees at gametime, so Shelty opted to give him the contest, followed by a travel day, off to recover. The down time lasted until Sunday when he returned to the lineup.
• Joey Bart left Friday's game with a sore back, likely brought on by a collision with 1B Endy Rodriguez while pursuing a pop up. He was out of the lineup the next day and Henry Davis was called up from Indy and added to the taxi squad. Henry was quickly activated and RHP Chase Shugart optioned back to Indy. It's been a notable week for Joey; his drive to the track on Wednesday not only won a game for the Bucs, but was his first MLB walk-off hit after six seasons and 829 PAs.
• OF Bryon Reynolds is beginning to throw after spending the start of the year as a DH because of a shoulder injury that allows him to swing but not toss. No timeline was given for his return to two-way player.

Bryan Reynolds - 2024 Topps Golden Mirror

• IF Jared Triolo, on the DL with a back sprain, is expected to resume baseball activities in the next few days. When he recovers, he's expected to get a rehab stint before returning.
• RHP Colin Holderman, who's on the 15-day IL with a knee injury, has began throwing off flat surfaces.
• IF Nick Yorke, off to a 5-for-15 start with three doubles at Indy, was put on the 7-day IL with a sore shoulder. He returned to action Friday - and homered.
• Thomas Harrington's four-inning save on Monday was the Bucs first one in 25 years, since Jason Christiansen did it against the Expos in 1998. It was also his first save as a professional at any level. It didn't help his cause, though - he was optioned back to Indy a couple of days later after posting an 0-1/10.13 line. A little more seasoning seems like the smart play; Harrington only had eight AAA outings before he was called up this month. Kyle Nicolas was recalled, so it appears Carmen Mlodzinski has claimed a rotation spot for now.
• As of 4/13, the Pirates were last in MLB in BA (.184) and tied for 27th in runs scored (50).
• IF Maikol Escotto of A+ Greenboro was named the Sally League Player of the Week after going 6-for-9 with a homer.
• After starting a fan furor over removing a Roberto Clemente sign in RF, the Pirates started another brushfire when it was discovered the the "Bucco Bricks" that were removed from the Stadium walkway were being recycled with no chance for the original donors, many of whom dedicated the bricks to family, to claim as a keepsake. The Bucs replied that the bricks will be replaced in some other ballyard format (they fibbed; the bricks were recycled). The problem isn't moving things around  or updating the physical plant but the lack of communication which creates PR mountains out of molehills. BTW, they did put the Clemente Memorial marker back in its original RF corner spot.

Game Stuff:

• Carmen Mlodzinski did better in his second outing, holding the Cards to a run on five hits with six K in five frames. Thomas Harrington covered the final four frames as the Bucs rolled, 8-4. Joey Bart homered and tripled while Cutch and Isiah Kiner-Falefa had two hits/two RBI each.
• Paul Skenes made his '25 home debut and sadly, pitched like a normal human. He gave up a career-high five runs and the Bucs went down to Sonny Gray and the Cards, 5-3.

Mitch Keller - 2025 Pirates

• Mitch Keller became the fastest pitcher in club history to reach 700 strikeouts by innings (718-1/3 IP) on Wednesday. Kells went 7-1/3 scoreless frames, giving up four hits while walking one and fanning six. The Pirates were no-hit until the seventh. The Cards lost a run in the eighth when KeBryan Hayes made a heads-up tag at home after Joey Bart and Endy Rodriguez collided with each other and Tommy Pham threw out a runner at home in the 10th. Both teams broke the ice in the 12th; for the Bucs, Pham's two-out single scored Hayes to keep Pittsburgh alive. In the 13th, Isiah Kiner-Falefa came across when Joey Bart lifted a fly to the track over the shallow Card outfield, and the Pirates prevailed, 2-1, to win their first series of the year.
• The guys were off Thursday and traveled to Cincy for a weekend set. Bailey Falter opened and gave up five runs in five innings (two unearned on a bad Endy Rodriguez throw). The Bucs showed life in the fifth when Tommy Pham doubled in Jack Suwinski ahead of an Adam Frazier homer but 5-3 is how it ended; the Pirates had just four hits.
• Andrew Heaney had one blip in his outing - two bopped batters led to a Cincy grand slam - and the Pirates bats and gloves remained icier than the Pittsburgh weather in a 5-2 loss.
• The Reds caught up to Mlodzinski the second time around on Sunday and chased him after 4-1/3 IP as the Pirates were swept by a 4-0 score; the team scored fives runs on 10 hits in the three-game set. Pittsburgh (5-11) returns home tomorrow to open a seven-game stand against Washington and Cleveland.

MLB Stuff:

• The Milwaukee Brewers got RHP Quinn Priester from the Boston Red Sox for OF Yophery Rodriguez, a Competitive Balance Round A Selection and a PTBNL. The Brew Crew slotted him right into their injury-bitten rotation. The BoSox had acquired Quinn from the Bucs last year for IF Nick Yorke. Milwaukee also called up LHP Jose Quintana; they signed Q four or five weeks ago and sent him to the minors to knock off some rust.
• RHP Cody Bolton, who pitched for the Pirates in 2023 and then was sold to Seattle in the off season, was DFA'ed by the Mariners and sold to the Guardians. 

Josh Palacios - 2025 photo via Indy Indians

• OF Josh Palacios, who was recently DFA'ed, opted for free agency and signed with the White Sox. He was called up Thursday. 
• C Yasmani Grandal signed a minor-league deal with Boston. He was the Bucs #1 guy last year (.228 BA/9 HR) until he got bumped from the top spot by Joey Bart.
• Mark Mathias, a jack-of-all-trades guy who played a bit for the Pirates in 2023 (.231/22 games) has signed with the indie Long Island Ducks.
• LHP Angel Perdomo, who tossed for the Bucs in '23 (3-2/3.72 in 30 outings) was DFA'ed by the Athletics; he's coming back from 2024 TJ surgery.
• Octavio Dotel, 51, died when a night club roof in the Dominican Republic collapsed. Dotel pitched for the Pirates in 2010 (2-2-21/4.28 in 41 outings), before being dealt to LA at the deadline for James McDonald and Andrew Lambo. Former Nats IF Tony Blanco also died in the incident; his 19-year-old son, Tony Jr,. is a OF prospect at Bradenton.

4/13 Through 1974: Game Tales Al, Deac, Balks & Babe, Stuffy Signed, Curt Breaks Line, Mets Baptized; HBD Ricardo, Doug, Claude, Mike & Abel

• 1870 - 1B Abel Lizotte was born in Lewiston, Maine. His major league career consisted of seven games played as a Bucco in 1896 with Abel proving to be not very threatening with the stick, going 3-for-29. Lizotte was a 17-year man in the bushes, wielding the lumber a lot better on the farm with a .292 lifetime BA while playing for 10 different clubs. He also managed in the minors. 
• 1883 - C Mike Simon was born in Hayden, Indiana. He was with the Bucs from 1909-13, mainly as a reserve, and hit .244. He jumped to the outlaw Federal League in 1914 and finished his big league career there, playing two more seasons. Mike then spent his final two years in the minors. 
• 1889 - RHP Claude Hendrix was born in Olathe, Kansas. He pitched for the Bucs from 1911-13, posting a 42-30/2.71 slash. He jumped to the Federal League in 1914 where he won 45 games in two years for the Chicago Whales. When the Fed folded, he stayed in the Windy City with the Cubs and won 57 more games with them over five seasons. He got caught up in the backwash of a gambling investigation and his career ended in 1920. He passed away at age 54. 
• 1914 - The Bucs dropped their Opener, 2-1, at St. Louis’ Robinson Park as Babe Adams lost his duel to Dan Griner of the Browns, whose pitching, according to the Pittsburgh Press, was “of the airtight variety.” Redbird manager Miller Huggins, despite the win, liked the Pittsburgh lineup, saying that “Fred Clarke has a sweet baseball club this year.” Huggins was a better skipper than prognosticator as the Pirates finished in seventh with a 69-85 record. 
• 1916 - Babe Adams tossed a one-hit, 4-0, gem against the Cards. The only hit was a generously ruled knock that clanged off 2B Joe Schultz's mitt. Adams won only one more game that season and was sent to the minors in August. The Pirates brought him back again in 1918 after he sat out a season, and he stuck through 1926, winning 48 games between 1919-21. Babe’s last game was on August 11th, 1926 when he was released after leading a player revolt, asking that former manager and current FO suit Fred Clarke, who had been openly critical of manager Bill McKechnie, be banned from the bench in what became known as the “ABC (Adams, Skeeter Bigbee & Max Carey were the ringleaders) Affair.” He would never play another major league game, though at age 44 his better days were in the rearview mirror. Babe worked 19 years for the Bucs, winning 194 games with a 2.76 ERA and he won three World Series games in 1909. 

Babe Adams - 1915 Cracker Jack

• 1925 - 1B Stuffy McInnis was released by the Boston Braves and signed by the Bucs. He hit .368 in 59 games and played in Pittsburgh’s World Series win over Washington. He was a bench guy the following year, hitting .299 before retiring after 1927. McInnis gained his nickname as a youngster in Boston, where his spectacular fielding brought shouts of "that's the stuff, kid.” 
• 1954 - Seven years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier, second baseman Curt Roberts made his major league debut during the season Opener at Forbes Field and became the first African American to play for the Pirates (although Carlos Bernier, who came up in 1953 and was considered Latino rather than black, was the first black Buc). The former Kansas City Monarch tripled off Robin Roberts in the first inning as the Bucs beat the Phillies, 4-2, by scoring four times in the eighth frame. It was the first time the Pirates had ever opened the season at Forbes Field, drawing 32,294 fans. It was their 11th straight home opener win, a streak that would end the following year. There was a little pre-game merriment as three-year-old Leslie Blair, Honus Wagner’s granddaughter, was slated to throw out the first pitch, but was struck by stage fright and never let loose the horsehide, causing the umps to begin the game without its traditional opening. 
• 1962 - The Mets played their first Home Opener against the Bucs with only 12,447 fans at the Polo Grounds on a cold, drizzly day. It was Friday the 13th to boot, and the date cursed the home team. The Pirates scored the winning run on two eighth-inning wild pitches thrown by Ray Diavault, scoring Dick Groat, who had opened with a walk, to defeat New York, 4-3. The Pirates had eight hits, with five coming from the 6-7-8 hitters (Smoky Burgess, Don Hoak & Bill Mazeroski), who accounted for two runs and three RBI from the bottom of the order. Tom Sturdivant went seven innings for the win with ElRoy Face nailing down the save. 
• 1963 - The Pirates clobbered the Reds, 12-4, at Crosley Field, but the big story was on the bump. The league decided to clamp down on balks and a record seven were called in the game, including a MLB record of four on Bob Friend (the mark lasted a month until the Braves’ Bob Shaw was caught five times), who was nonplussed by the calls. He admitted that he never adhered to the full stop rule because it had never been called before. An MLB record 924 balks were rung up during the season after umpires were instructed to enforce the rule as written. As for the game, Ducky Schofield, Bob Skinner and Billy Maz each had three hits; Roberto Clemente and Friend had two knocks each. Pete Rose collected his first MLB hit during the game, a triple, after an 0-for-11 start. 

Doug Strange - 1998 Pacific Aurora

• 1964 - IF Doug Strange was born in Greenville, South Carolina. He ended his nine-year MLB run off the bench in Pittsburgh, batting .173 in 90 games. He spent a couple of seasons as minor-league depth, then joined the Marlins as a scout for a couple of more years before coming over to Pittsburgh’s Baseball Operations section in 2002. He’s now a Special Assistant to the GM.
• 1966 - Vern Law won his 10th straight game by a 6-0 count over the Braves at Atlanta Stadium. The Deacon gave up four hits, no walks and fanned four, never allowing a runner to advance beyond first base. Willie Stargell had a homer and three RBI while Donn Clendenon added a two-run blow to key the attack. Law then missed a month with a pulled rib muscle, lost his next outing in May (ironically against the same club, Atlanta) and finished 12-8/4.05 on the campaign. He only had fumes left in his tank, and a groin injury led to his retirement in August of ‘67. 
• 1968 - Al McBean went the distance to claim a 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants and Gaylord Perry at Candlestick Park. McBean did it all; he tossed a three-hitter and even singled in the winning run with two outs in the seventh inning. The key play was The Great One gunning down Willie Mays at third with no outs in the seventh to keep the lid on a potential rally by the G-Men. Per BR Bullpen, Mays could recall being caught going from corner-to-corner just once in his career, and it was on this day. "Roberto Clemente threw me out on a bang-bang play at third. I should have remembered what a tremendous arm he had..." later explained the sadder-but-wiser Say Hey Kid. 
• 1970 - LHP Ricardo Rincon was born in Cuitlahuac, Mexico. Rincon, who signed as a veteran of the Mexican leagues, pitched for the Pirates from 1997-98. He went 4-10-50/3.17 with 135 K in 125 IP. Rincon was part of a combined no-hitter on July 12th, 1997 when Francisco Cordova threw nine innings of hitless ball and RR pitched a clean 10th. He was traded for Brian Giles in 1998.

4/13 From 1975: Openers Zach & Cobra, Game Tales Redbeard & Milner, BB-TSN, #8,000, TCI; RIP Don, HBD Steve

• 1976 - The Bucs promised the fans another Lumber Company and came through in the home opener for the 40,937 faithful at TRS with a 14-4 win over St. Louis, hammering out 13 hits to go with 12 walks. Dave “The Cobra” Parker homered and collected five RBI, Al “Scoops” Oliver posted three hits and three RBI while Manny Sanguillen had the only three-walk game of his career and plated three times. Victor Jerry Reuss had a no-hitter going into the sixth and went the distance. 
• 1979 - John Milner homered twice for the fifth time in his career, including a game-winning, two-run shot in the seventh inning that broke a 5-5 draw, to carry the Pirates to a 7-6 victory over the Cards at Three Rivers Stadium. The Hammer had four RBI on the night to spark the attack; Redbird SS Garry Templeton helped the cause with a two-out, third-inning error that led to four unearned Buc runs, a pair scoring thanks to the boot and two more on Milner’s first long ball. Jim Bibby won in relief of starter Bruce Kison, while Grant Jackson picked up the save. 
• 1983 - 1B/OF Steve Pearce was born in Lakeland, Florida. An eighth-round pick in the 2005 draft, he spent bits and pieces of five seasons (2007-11) in Pittsburgh, hitting .232, and was a magnet for nagging injuries. He carved out an MLB role in the American League, playing for Baltimore, Tampa Bay, Toronto and Boston before announcing a soft retirement after the 2019 season. Steve hung ’em up for good the following year after 13 campaigns/.254 BA (108 OPS+). 
• 1986 - AT&T SportsNet first hit the air as the Pirates Cable Network, operated by TCI. Its first telecast was on that date, airing a game between the Pirates and Cubs from TRS, an 8-0 Bucco win announced by Mike Lange. The PCN rebranded on April 24th as the KBL Entertainment Network to reflect that other sports besides baseball (mainly the Penguins) were to be included by the network. KBL’s first regular broadcast was against the Mets in early June. In 1994, it became Prime Sports KBL, then two years later Fox Sports Pittsburgh, followed by Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh and once more as FSN Pittsburgh. That whole Fox thing lasted until 2011, when it became Root Sports. In 2017, it flipped to its current network, AT&T SportsNet. With cable stations dropping like flies, this could be the last hurrah for them; hello, MLB Baseball broadcasts. 

TSN 4/13/1987

• 1987 - Barry Bonds was featured on the cover of The Sporting News for the story “Blossoming Buc.” Although he was still a couple of seasons away from breaking out into elite status, he went on to hit .261 with 25 homers, 99 runs, 59 RBI and 32 stolen sacks during the 1987 campaign. 
• 1988 - The Pirates took over first place for the first time since 1983 with a convincing 7-0 win over the Phils at TRS. Brian Fisher took a five-hitter into the eighth, with Jim Gott coming on to coax the final four outs while Chico Lind and Spanky LaValliere had five hits between and scored five of the Bucco runs. Sadly, it was a long season, and the Bucs finished in second with 85 wins but far off the pace of the Mets 100-win campaign. Al Pedrique will remember the day as the one when an unidentified lady fan leap over the railing in the eighth and told Al “You’re a good looking guy and I’d like to shake you hand” and that’s what they did, leading to some joshing post-game by his teammates that he didn’t end up with a smooch. Fisher said “Al’s not married and in that situation...you’ve got to get a little peck at least.” Another unwritten baseball rule... 
• 1996 - Carlos Garcia took Montreal lefty Jeff Fassero deep for the 8,000th home run in Pirates history during a 9-3 Buc win at TRS. His fourth-inning blast opened the floodgates - Jeff King, Jay Bell, and Mark Johnson all went yard after him to start the chase for 9,000 dingers. Garcia had three hits and Paul Wagner worked seven innings of five-hit shutout ball for the win. 
• 2006 - OF Jody Gerut informed the team that he was going to have knee surgery two weeks after he had been sent to the minors. The Pirates got him in August of 2005 from the Cubs for Matt Lawton, and he took just 18 at bats during that campaign because of his cranky knee. Both sides agreed he had tendinitis, but the Pirates didn’t believe surgery was necessary. It was a potentially costly decision for Jody - since the Bucs didn’t approve the procedure, he went on the restricted list, making him ineligible to collect his $875K salary or payments towards the surgical fees while also putting a stop to his service accrual time (they did reach an agreement of sorts after the MLBPA filed a grievance). It was the end of his Pirates days, too. He did eventually have surgery, missed all of 2006 and then was released in camp in 2007. He played for the Brewers and Padres from 2008-10, averaging 225 at bats per season and hitting .259 before retiring. 

Jody Gerut - 2005 Topps

• 2009 - Zach Duke pitched a four-hit, complete game shutout at PNC Park as the Pirates defeated Houston, 7–0, in the Home Opener. Both the Bucs and the Astros wore Pittsburgh Police hats in honor of three officers who were shot and killed on April 4th. The pre-game ceremonies honored the trio, including a flyover by four Apache helicopters, as well as recognizing former pitcher and current broadcaster Steve Blass for his 50th season with the team. Adam LaRoche had three hits, including a homer, and Freddy Sanchez banged out three doubles. 
• 2010 - The Pirates flashed some leather to beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-5, at AT&T Park. Paul Maholm hit the ground to snag Aubrey Huff’s ball and in one motion shoveled it and his glove to 1B Jeff Clement while doing a backflip. The save of the game came in the bottom of the ninth when Garrett Jones, at 1B after a double switch, made a diving grab of Pablo Sandoval's liner to end the game after Octavio Dotel had already surrendered two ninth-inning runs. Jones had Kung Fu Panda’s number; he also threw him out at the plate from RF earlier in the game. Every win was hard fought; the Bucs only had 57 of them that campaign, and it cost skipper John Russell his job. 
• 2015 - Josh Harrison became the third Pirate (RJ Reynolds & Billy Cox were the others) to hit a leadoff homer to kick off the Home Opener and it set the tone in the Bucs 5-4 win over Detroit at PNC Park. Pedro Alvarez and Corey Hart also went long in the victory. Gerrit Cole got the victory and Mark Melancon finished up, although the Shark staged a drama when he was touched for three ninth-inning tallies with the tying run aboard and nobody out before finally nailing it down. 
• 2019 - Pat Corbin was doing it all for Washington at National Stadium. He struck out 11 and his only major mistake over seven innings was a solo shot given up to Josh Bell. The lefty also stroked a two-run, two-out knock off Trevor Williams and he left the DC nine with a 2-1 lead after seven innings. Starling Marte stroked a two-run single in the eighth against the beleaguered Nats pen, but the short-lived lead was erased when Anthony Rendon homered off Kela Keone, his second long fly of the night. The game went into the 10th when Colin Moran came off the pine and banged a three-run blast (the Bucs first game-winning, extra-inning, pinch hit dinger since 1998) to put the Pirates up 6-3. Felipe Vazquez nailed it down to give Nick Burdi his first MLB victory. 

Colin Moran - 2019 Topps Archives

• 2021 - It took four hours and was as ugly as a game gets, but the Bucs defeated the Padres at PNC Park by an 8-4 count. Pirate pitchers walked 13 batters and bopped three more (it was the first time since 1948 that a team had 16 BB+HBP in a nine-inning game and won) but three GIDPs and 15 stranded Friars kept the damage to a minimum. The Bucco batsmen banged out 12 hits, had eight more reach by walks/plunks and went 7-for-15 w/RISP against an unlikely team: the Padres had allowed just 25 runs in its first 11 games. Jake Stallings collected three hits, a walk and three RBI while Chris Stratton was credited with the win. 
• 2023 - Don Leppert passed away at the age of 91. Don only caught for the Bucs for two seasons (1961-62; 67 games/.266 BA), but returned in 1966 with AAA Columbus and then coached in the organization from 1967-76, first as a Class A manager and then with the big league club. He served as the first base coach on the Pirates’ 1971 World Series champs and was there when Roberto Clemente collected hit #3,000, tucking the ball in his back pocket for safekeeping. 
• 2023 - The Pirates defeated the Cardinals, 5-0, at Busch Stadium with several notable performances. First, Vince Velasquez went six scoreless frames for first time since 2021 to give the Bucs their first shutout in St. Louis since 2013. It was a good night for duets - Connor Joe & Rodolfo Castro hit back-to-back homers, Carlos Santana banged two doubles/two RBIs and Ji Hwan Bae made two grand larceny grabs in center, one coming on a dive for a flare and the other a run-saving, wall-kissing fence crasher. One painful pairing was losing Oneil Cruz and then JT Brubaker to surgery during a three-day period earlier in the week. Still, it was the seventh win in the last 10 games for Pittsburgh, leaving them just 1/2 game behind the Brewers in the division.

4/12 Through the 1950s: Opener Onslaught, Little Poison Debuts, Page Signs, Scout Ike; RIP Cannonball, HBD Tommie, Woodie, Bob, Moose, Joe, Bill & Vic

• 1876 - Vic "Delaware Peach" Willis was born in Cecil County, Maryland. The Hall of Fame righty spent four seasons in Pittsburgh (1906-09), posting an 89-46/2.08 line and was part of the 1909 team that won the World Series against the Tigers, the first championship team from Pittsburgh. He won 249 games over a 13-year career. After retiring in 1910, Willis ran the Washington House, a hotel in his hometown of Newark, Delaware. The “Delaware Peach” was raised in Newark and went to Delaware College, hence his nickname recognizing his heritage. 
• 1879 - 1B Bill Clancy was born in Redfield, New York. His MLB career consisted of one season (1905) with the Pirates, hitting .229. He was a highly touted minor-league player, and the Pirates grabbed him to replace the traded Kitty Bransfield at first. Clancy started off hot, but a broken finger in June cooled his stick and a couple of ill-advised drinking sessions earned him his release. But he did have a legacy - it’s thought that long-time Bucco catcher George Gibson was signed after a recommendation from Clancy. He was sometimes known as “William the Chicken-Hearted” because he turned down some MLB offers and chose to stay in the minors, a sign to the sporting press that he was afraid of the better competition. But fairly equal pay, a guarantee to play every day and his popularity among the farm fans motivated him to sign where he was comfortable rather than a case of stage fright keeping him from the brighter MLB lights. 
• 1908 - RHP Antonio “Joe” (his middle name) Vitelli was born in McKees Rocks. Joe got into five games as a Bucco during the 1944-45 war years and did OK for a guy who didn’t sniff the majors until he was 36, posting a 2.57 ERA (he did give up six runs in seven IP, but four were unearned). Joe earned his spot - he came back from the service and was originally used as a Buc BP pitcher; from there, he got his shot on the roster. Vitelli was a semi-pro gridder for the powerhouse Rox Rangers, and after his playing days coached local football/baseball squads, while working for Allegheny County as a rec leader in charge of youth sports clinics. 
• 1911 - The Bucs thumped the Reds, 14-0, at the Palace of the Fans on Opening Day; it remained the most one-sided OD shutout in MLB history until eclipsed by the Dodgers in 2016, when the Blue took the Padres behind the woodshed for a 15-0 victory. In the Pittsburgh romp over Cincy, Babe Adams tossed a four-hitter with six whiffs while Bobby Byrne went 5-for-5 and finished a homer shy of the cycle. Dots Miller added four knocks and Honus Wagner chipped in with three raps. The Pirates banged out five triples during the day. Despite the start, it was a fairly spirited series during the year - even though Pittsburgh finished 16 games above .500, they were just 12-10 against Cincinnati. 

Bobby Byrne - 1911 American Tobacco

• 1926 - OF Walt “Moose” Moryn was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. Moose - he was 6’2”, 205 pounds - spent eight years in the majors as a slugging outfielder, although oddly enough remembered the most for snaring a two-out, ninth-inning sinking liner to save Don Cardwell’s 1960 no-hitter while a Cub. The one-time All-Star was sold to Pittsburgh for cash and a minor leaguer in June of 1961 and closed out his career that season, hitting .200 in 40 games, mostly as a pinch-hitter. He went on to manage a sporting goods department and later ran a saloon/liquor store in Cicero, Illinois, before retiring. 
• 1927 - Scout Bob Zuk was born in Detroit, Michigan. Zuk, who was the Parks baseball director for the City of Oakland, started as a part-time sleuth for the White Sox. The Bucs hired him full-time in 1957 and he turned up a gem, signing Willie Stargell (for $1,500!) after George Powles, a HS coach, recommended he take a look. He also brought Freddie Patek into the fold before leaving the Pirates and beginning the nomadic life of a bird dog, sniffing around for nine other clubs during his 46-year career. Among the players he signed during his career were Reggie Jackson, Gary Carter, Ellis Valentine, Darrell Evans and George Hendrick. 
• 1927 - Hall-of-Famer Lloyd Waner made his Pirate debut in left field for the Pittsburgh Pirates with his brother Paul, who was in right field, during the Bucs' 2–1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Redland Field. Little Poison collected his first hit and scored the winning run, driven in by his big bro, to back Ray Kremer’s six-hitter. Lloyd would go on to play 1,993 games in 17 years as a Bucco. 
• 1937 - Ed “Cannonball” Morris passed away in Pittsburgh. The lefty only worked five years for the Alleghenys but won 122 games over a four-year span (1885-88) while working in 220 outings and nearly 2,000 innings. Cannonball had two more seasons left in him but his workhorse days were done as his arm was shot at age 26. A Brooklyn native, he stayed in Pittsburgh after his baseball days as a North Side bar owner and a deputy warden. Ed was buried in Union Dale Cemetery. 

Woodie Fryman - 1967 Topps

• 1940 - LHP Woodie (short for Woodrow) Fryman was born in Ewing, Kentucky. He started his career in Pittsburgh in 1966-67, going 15-17-2/3.91. He was part of the Jim Bunning deal in 1968 and went on to have a breakout All-Star campaign with the Phils. Woodie pitched for 18 years and for six teams (primarily Montreal and Philadelphia) with a pair of All Star selections before hangin’ the spikes up at age 43 and retiring to his Kentucky tobacco farm. Fryman entered the Montreal Expos' Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. 
• 1954 - The Pirates signed LHP Joe Page, 35, who was on the comeback trail after injuries cut short his Yankees tenure in 1950. He spent the spring mainly as a BP pitcher, and convinced the Bucco brass that his sore wing was healthy enough to fly right again (a hip injury suffered in 1950 with the Bromx Bombers contributed to his arm injury the next season in the minors). Page had taken a three-year MLB break and a two-year pitching hiatus, developing a sinker in an effort to get back to the hill. But his feel-good tale didn’t have a fairytale ending - in 11 Bucco appearances, the Fireman, now a mop-up man, tossed to an 11.17 ERA/2.379 WHIP and was released on June 1. 
• 1942 - RHP Tommie Sisk was born in Ardmore, Oklahoma. The righty tossed seven seasons for Pittsburgh (1962-68) as a swingman after spending just two years in the minors and went 37-35 with a 3.69 ERA. His best effort was against the Mets on September 20, 1965 when he tossed a two-hitter. He threw for two more years in the league before retiring in 1970. 
• 1958 - On a recommendation from former GM Branch Rickey’s bud President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Pirates signed RHP Preston Bruce, the son of the White House doorkeeper, and assigned him to Salem in the short-season Class D Appalachian League. DDE was a better general than scout; Bruce put up a 15.60 ERA and his pro career ended the following season.

4/12 From 1960: Openers, Game Tales, Trips & Duels, Jim & Chuck's First, AFC Opened; HBD Dennis, DJ, Jeff & Jerry

• 1964 - C Jerry Goff was born in San Rafael, California. The journeyman spent the middle of his six-year MLB career (1993-94) as a Pirate, batting .210 in 22 games, doing most of his Bucco backstopping at AAA Buffalo. Jerry’s now a fireman in California. Sports chops run deep in the Goff genes - his son, Jared, was drafted first overall in the 2016 NFL draft and is a QB for the Detroit Lions. 
• 1965 - Bob Bailey hit a lead-off, walk off homer to give Bob Veale a 1-0 win in 10 innings over the Giants’ Juan Marichal at Forbes Field in the Bucco Opener. The two twirlers were spectacular, going the distance while combining to surrender just eight hits and a walk while whiffing 19 batters; Big Bob gave up three singles and fanned 10. The 28,189 fans witnessed the first time in club history that the Pirates won a walk-off Home Opener by a score of 1-0. 
• 1966 - The Pirates helped christen Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium by beating the Braves, 3-2, in 13 innings before a crowd of 50,671 on Opening Day. The game-winning blow was a two-run dinger by Willie Stargell off Tony Cloninger to give Don Schwall the win behind starter Bob Veale and fireman ElRoy Face. The Baron in the ninth and Schwall in the 11th had to work their way out of bases-loaded jams to secure the victory. All five runs were driven in by homers; Jim Pagliaroni went long for the Pirates and Joe Torre hit a pair of solo shots for Atlanta. 
• 1976 - LHP Jeff Wallace was born in Wheeling, West Virginia. He tossed for the Bucs in 1997 and 1999-2000 after sitting out a year due to injury. His slash with the Bucs was 3-0/4.67, and control was his stumbling block - as a Pirate, he walked 80 batters in 86-2/3 IP. Wallace worked 90 games with the Pirates without picking up a loss, the most outings without a defeat in team history. He spent 2001 with the Tampa Bay Rays in his last MLB gig and retired the following year after a stint in Boston’s minor league system, returning home to Wheeling. 

Jeff Wallace - 1998 Bowman

• 1977 - It took four tries, but new Bucco skipper Chuck Tanner finally claimed his first win at the Pittsburgh helm when the Pirates took a 2-1 win from the Expos at TRS. Duffy Dyer’s fifth-inning single scored Phil Garner to give Jerry Reuss a 1-0 lead, but two old Buccos, Dave Cash and Tim Foli, singled to chase home the tying run in the seventh. Kent Tekulve and Goose Gossage took over after that to keep Montreal off the board, and Rennie Stennett’s one-out double in the bottom of the ninth plated Dave Parker with the walk-off game winner. It was a sadly typical April crowd for the Buccos; the afternoon contest drew just 4,042 fans although game-time temperatures were in the 80’s. 
• 1977 - RHP DJ Carrasco was born in Safford, Arizona. He worked part of the 2010 campaign for Pittsburgh after signing on as a free agent and was solid, going 2-2/3.88 in 45 outings before being flipped to Arizona. The Bucco stint was a homecoming of sorts as DJ had spent four seasons in the Pirates system before being lost to the KC Royals in the 2002 Rule 5 Draft. He tossed his last MLB game in 2012 for the Mets, closing out a nine-year career. 
• 1983 - In the eighth inning of the Home Opener, Bill Madlock took a long lead off first with 1B Keith Hernandez playing well behind him. Bruce Sutter checked the runner and spun off the mound to chase him back - and beat him to the bag for an unassisted pickoff! The Bucs lost to the Cards, 4-3, in 10 innings. Pittsburgh had the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the 10th, but Madlock hit a comebacker 1-2-3 double play and Gene Tenace flew out to turn out the lights. They blew another shot in the sixth with the bases juiced and one out when Tony Pena banged into a 4-6-3 DP. 
• 1985 - In their first night Home Opener, the Bucs prevailed over the Cards, 6-4, at TRS. A crowd of 47,335, the largest baseball gathering since 1980, watched Maz (in a tux!) throw out the first pitch and Jason Thompson mash a two-run homer. Starter John Candelaria saved Don Robinson’s win of a game started by Larry McWilliams. Doug Frobel and Tony Pena had a pair of hits each. 
• 1986 - The Pirates beat the Cubs at TRS, 3-1, behind Rick Rhoden, whose effort gave Jim Leyland his first MLB win as skipper. Matt Keough was also sharp; the game wasn’t decided until the eighth when Johnny Ray banged a two-out, three-run shot off Lee Smith. The milestone was witnessed by just 5,623 fans thanks to both chilly weather and a chilly reception to the drug trials. 

Dave Otto - 1993 photo via Autograph Warehouse

• 1993 - Dave Otto won his first start as a Buc (he was a minor league draft pick claimed from the Indians) by a 4-2 count over San Diego at Jack Murphy Stadium. He gave up two runs and four hits over six innings after being staked to an early 3-0 lead, keyed by a Kevin Young triple. Dave also got his first MLB hit and RBI to help himself. He started off strongly while place-holding the injured Zane Smith’s rotation spot, but ended the year 3-4/5.03 in his only Pirates campaign. 
• 1996 - RHP Dennis Santana was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. He started with the LA Dodgers in 2018, then moved on to the Texas Rangers, where he had his best year in 2021 with a line of 2-4/3.63. Santana had a nice FIP of 3.15 the next year, but in the real world, his ERA was 5.22 and he went to the New York Mets. He was mostly a depth guy there and moved on to the Yankees in 2024 where he slashed 2-0-2/6.26 and was DFA’ed. Pittsburgh’s bullpen was in flux and they snapped him up. He made a 180 here, going 1-1-1/2.44 in 39 outings w/10K per nine innings and has earned his way into the late-inning bullpen rotation in 2025. 
• 2002 - Cubbie Sammy Sosa set the PNC Park long-distance record with a three-run, 484’ home run in the sixth inning off Dave Williams to break a tie and key a 7-3 Chicago victory. The box score told the game’s tale; the Pirates managed just five hits while the Cubs cranked out three homers. 
• 2009 - With runners on the move from first and second base, the Reds' Edwin Encarnacion's liner to Pirates' SS Jack Wilson was turned into a triple play (Wilson-Freddy Sanchez-Adam LaRoche), the Bucs' first since 1993. Pittsburgh still lost at Great American Ball Park by a 2-0 score on Aaron Harang’s three-hitter w/nine whiffs, the first MLB shutout of the year. The game’s only runs came in early on a first-inning, two-out homer by Brandon Phillips off Ian Snell.