12/22 From 1960: Dewey-Todd & Teke Sign, JHK Posted To Pgh, Prez Dan Replaces Dad, The Tiger; HBD Matt, Jake & Jaku

• 1961 - Ex-marine and Bucco third sacker Don Hoak lived up to his “Tiger” nickname on this night. Three young smack-talkers cornered him in town and taunted him regarding the Pirates' fade from glory, leading to an exchange of some heated words. Allegedly, one member of the group waved a knife as the other pair began to shove Hoak. They picked the wrong guy to bully; the Post-Gazette wrote that “After a short tussle, the trio broke and ran...He (Hoak) tracked two of them down…” and turned them over to the police after making what he termed a “citizen’s arrest.” They were booked on a disorderly conduct complaint, as fortunately for them stupidity wasn’t a chargeable offense. 
• 1969 - 41-year-old Dan Galbreath took over as team president for his father, John, who at 71 had run the club for 23 seasons. Dan would christen Three Rivers Stadium and told the press that his theme would be “Win In the Seventies,” which he did, bracketing the decade with World Series titles in 1971 and ‘79. He remained prez until 1985, fending off relocation offers from other towns before the Pittsburgh Associates bought the ball club and anchored it here. 
• 1978 - RHP Chris Jakubauskas was born in Upland, California. Chris had a hard start; after college, he missed two seasons with TJ surgery and had to work through the indie leagues to earn his big-league bow with Seattle. From there, he ended up with the Pirates and he was called up by Pittsburgh in late April of 2010, making his Bucco debut the following night at Minute Maid Park. With two outs in the first, a Lance Berkman liner drilled him above the ear in one of the Pirates' scarier moments. Jaku never lost consciousness and escaped with a concussion & contusion, but it did end his Pirates stay when he was released in the offseason. He made it back to the show with the Baltimore Orioles in 2011, but then spent AAA time with four organizations, retiring in 2014. 

Chris Jakubauskas - 2010 photo Bob Levey/Getty

• 1983 - Free agent RHP Kent Tekulve re-signed with the Pirates for three years/$900K per season. In 1983, Teke recorded 18 saves and a 1.64 ERA after 76 outings for the Corsairs and the inking was a big deal for the Bucs. Tekulve had been a bullpen fixture since 1975 in Pittsburgh, and the Pirates had to fend off the deep pockets of California Angel owner Gene Autry to seal the deal. Tekulve picked a good year to hit the market so far as value was concerned; after the Yankees’ Goose Gossage, the sidewinder was the top reliever available. 
• 1989 - C Jacob Stallings was born in Lawrence, Kansas. Drafted in the seventh round of the 2012 draft out of North Carolina with a rep as a good glove, bad bat catcher, he’s picked it up with the stick, hitting .268 over parts of four seasons and has outlasted Elias Diaz on the roster. His dad Kevin was Pitt’s basketball coach for a short spell. Jake claimed the starting job in 2020, and after a Golden Glove year in 2021, the backstop was traded to Miami in the off season. After two years with the Fish, he signed with the Colorado Rockies and then the Baltimore Orioles. Jake was released in mid-’25, declared for free agency and has yet to find a landing spot for ‘26. 
• 1992 - OF/1B Matt Gorski was born in Fishers, Indiana. The Bucs picked him in the second round of the 2019 draft, and he worked through the levels showing good power but with a bushel full of K’s and an overall .246 BA. With injuries at first and spotty OF play, the Pirates gave him his first MLB call in late April 2025, and he homered in his first MLB at-bat, though still stuck in the power/K/low average mode while filling in primarily at first base with occasional OF spot starts and pinch-hitting. He was optioned back to Indy in mid-May when Spencer Horwitz was activated. Matt was injured, released in July and as a free agent, he signed a minor league deal with the LA Dodgers. 

Matt Gorski - 2025 image/Pirates

• 1998 - Third-year man RHP Todd Ritchie, 27, signed as a free agent with the Pirates for $225K. Ritchie won a career-high 15 games in 1999 with a 3.49 ERA in 26 starts and was the Pirates’ Opening Day starter in 2001, but it was downhill after the opening act. In his three Pirate seasons, he went 35-32/4.29 for the Bucs before he was dealt to the Chicago White Sox for Kip Wells, Josh Fogg and Sean Lowe after the 2001 campaign. He struggled in ‘02, was hurt in ‘03, and his ERA never dipped below five for any of his remaining campaigns for the Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays.
• 2008 - C Ryan Doumit signed a three year/$11.5M extension that bought out his arbitration years, with a team option for 2012/13 worth $15.5M. Doumit hit .271 during his time as a Pirate, but he was often injured and not very strong defensively. The Pirates didn’t pick up the option seasons, and Dewey signed with the Minnesota Twins in 2012 and retired from Atlanta after the 2014 season. 
• 2014 - The Nexen Heroes of the Korean Baseball Organization accepted the Pirates’ posting offer of $5,002,015 in exchange for negotiating rights for SS Jung-Ho Kang, giving the Bucs a 30-day window to sign him. It was a red letter signing. JHK was a five-time KBO All-Star and the league’s 2014 MVP after posting a .356/40/117 slash and Asian free-agency was a new market for Pittsburgh; it was the first time the Pirates had ever won a bid for an international player through the posting system. He was officially inked by the Pirates to a deal three weeks later.