1/28 From 1970: Fraze, Jeff, Julian & Roberto Sign, Highpockets HoF, Dapper Dave, Cutch The Man; RIP Chet, HBD Key, Lyle & Chris

• 1971 - Roberto Clemente signed his 17th Bucco contract; its guesstimated value was $125K. Injuries held the Great One to a career-low 108 games, but he made the most of them, batting .352 and earning both an All-Star spot & a Golden Glove award while coming in fifth in the MVP balloting. 
• 1972 - LHP Chris Peters was born in Fort Thomas, Kentucky. He graduated from Peters Township HS in McMurray, was drafted by the Pirates in 1993 and toiled five years (1996-2000) for the Bucs, going 17-21/4.57 as a long man/spot starter. His career was short circuited by shoulder surgery in 1999, and 2001 was his last season in MLB, with the Expos. Chris still lives and works in the area, coached at Point Park for a spell and has tossed BP for the Bucs at PNC. 
• 1973 - The Hall of Fame Special Veterans Committee selected 1B George Kelly to the Hall of Fame. Highpockets had a very brief stint in Pittsburgh - as a young player in 1917, the NY Giants waived him because of a weak stick. The Bucs picked him up to back up Honus Wagner, who by that time was playing first, but in eight games, Kelly went 2-for-24 and was released; the Giants took him back. Highpockets was a slick fielder who played 16 MLB seasons (11 with NY) who put up a lifetime .297 BA. He was inducted on August 6th. He got his nickname (he was also called Long George) because of his stork-legged 6’4” frame.
• 1973 - Press sports editor Chet Smith passed away at the age of 74. He attended Dartmouth and moved from their sports staff to the Pittsburgh Dispatch in 1916 and later to the Gazette Times. He jumped to the Cleveland Press as a college beat guy, returning to Pittsburgh as the Press’ sports editor in 1931, a post he held until he retired in 1966. He was best known for his “Village Smithy” column. Chet was president of the BBWAA in 1950 and won several awards, including being named the Pennsylvania Sports Writer of the Year. 

Lyle Overbay - 2011 photo Jared Wickeham/Getty

• 1977 - 1B Lyle Overbay was born in Centralia, Washington. Overbay was a 34-year-old, 10-year vet when he signed with the Pirates in late 2010 for $5M, with the team hoping that it had added a little more punch to the lineup. It ended up a forlorn hope - after batting .227 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs in 103 games, he was DFA’ed in August. He played through 2014 before retiring. 
• 1979 - Dave “The Cobra” Parker, a couple of days removed from signing his $5M contract, was feted as the Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year at the Hilton ballroom. He was the first Pirate to take home the award since 1971 when Willie Stargell, Roberto Clemente and Danny Murtaugh were named co-winners, breaking a football awardee streak of six seasons. The Cobra had a monster year, with a .334/30/117 slash despite breaking his jaw. 
• 1997 - 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes was born in Tomball, Texas. The son of MLB vet Charlie, he was the 32nd pick of the Pirates in 2015. He was picked as the best hot corner gloveman in the minors for three years in a row while steadily improving his batwork. Ke’Bryan, then considered to be the top prospect in the Pirates organization, got the call on August, 2020. He had quite an debut, with a homer double, three runs scored and an RBI, and broke camp as the starter in 2021. Key battled injuries and hit just .257 in 96 games while showing off a spectacular glove. Key played through hip/back injuries in 2022, hitting just .244 but was a Golden Glove finalist. He rallied in ‘23, batting .271 and earning his Golden Glove, ending Nolan Arenado's streak of 10 straight GGs. In ‘24, he only made it into the lineup for 96 games and hit .233, hampered all year by a bad back. It was more of the same in ‘25, and he was traded to the Reds at the deadline. 

Julian Tavarez - 2004 photo Ezra Shaw/Getty

• 2003 - The Pirates began addressing their pitching by signing RHP’s Jeff D'Amico and Julian Tavarez as free agents. D’Amico’s MLB deal was for $750K when he broke camp as the Bucs #5 starter, slashing 9-16/4.77 in 29 starts, leading the NL in losses. He moved on to Cleveland in 2004, got into seven more games and that dropped the curtain on his MLB career. Tavarez signed a minor league deal after shoulder issues as a Marlin. Converted to bullpen duty, he posted a streak of 14-1/3 consecutive scoreless innings and rang up a career-high 11 saves, with a line of 3-3-11/3.66 for the big club. Julian made $750K in the show, and the Pirates gambled that they could get him to re-up for the following campaign. They couldn’t - he signed with the Cards and made $4.2M over the next two years. JT pitched well there as St. Louis won back-to-back flags. 
• 2024 - Andrew McCutchen was named Pittsburgh Magazine’s 2023 Man of the Year. The mag said Cutch was chosen because of “...his devotion to the city, for his athletic feats on the field, for his philanthropic deeds and for reigniting excitement for the Pirates among fans and players upon his return...” 
• 2025 - Adam Frazier proved that you can come home again when he signed a one-year/$1.1525 contract with the Bucs. Fraze, 33, who spent his first 5-1/2 years as a Bucco with a .283 BA and an All-Star selection, was traded to the San Diego Padres at the 2021 deadline and has been with four teams since leaving PNC Park. He’s primarily played 2B with corner OF also part of his MLB resume, but he’s had a taste of every position, including DH, other than pitcher/catcher. Recently signed FA RHP Elvis Alvarado was DFA'ed to open a 40-man roster spot and was claimed by the Athletics. It wasn’t an especially long reunion; he was traded back to KC and is now a FA.