1953 - OF Dick Davis was born in Long Beach, California. He closed out his six-year career in 1982 with Pittsburgh, the third team he played for that season, hitting .182 in 39 games. The Pirates acquired Davis from Toronto in exchange for C Wayne Nordhagen in late June.
1960 - Although the Pirates lost 4-2 to the Braves, a St. Louis defeat clinched the pennant for Pittsburgh (The NY Yankees clinched their title on the same day). The City celebrated by holding a giant midnight torchlight parade in the Golden Triangle. It was the first time since 1927 that the Pirates were headed for the World Series, and it was front page news in the City, with the ensuing Fall Classic and its seventh game still celebrated to this day in Pittsburgh.
1969 - Tony Womack was born in Danville, Virginia. Womack was drafted by the Pirates in 1991 (seventh round) and became their everyday second baseman in 1997. Tony led the NL in stolen bases that year with 60 and did it again in 1998 with 58 swipes. The speedster played his first five seasons (1993-94; 1996-98) with the Bucs, hitting .278 and earning an All-Star berth. After the 1998 campaign, he was traded to the D-Backs for Jason Boyd and Paul Reichard (it was a salary dump - there was no heir apparent; Warren Morris took over the spot) and he played a key role in Arizona’s 2001 World Series title. He lasted 13 seasons in the show, posting a .272 BA with 363 stolen bases.
1974 - Trying to sweep the Cards and hang on to their slim 1/2 game lead, the Bucs instead squandered a wild one at Busch Stadium by a 13-12 count. The Pirates scored five times in the first, keyed by a three-run shot by Manny Sanguillen. The Cards came back with a six-run third; starter Ken Brett yelled at manager Danny Murtaugh when he was yanked during the frame, and again after the contest. The game settled down, and went into the 11th inning tied at 10. The Pirates scored twice; the Cards rallied for three runs to take the game, scoring off September call-ups Juan Jimenez and Jim Minshall. The fielders didn’t help much; Rennie Stennett’s error allowed the tying run to score, and the infield played Bake McBride’s bunt into a hit. The loss stung, but Pittsburgh would eventually take the pennant, although losing the NLCS to the LA Dodgers.
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| Candy Man - 1977 Hostess |
1977 - Behind Dave Parker and John Candelaria, the Pirates won their seventh straight game by a 4-0 tally over Rick Reuschel and the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Parker had two hits, including a homer, scored twice and drove in a run while Al Oliver added two hits/two RBIs. Candy Man took his shutout into the eighth before Goose Gossage came in to get the final five outs. The Bucs lost the next day, then went on to close out the year with five more dubs to finish 12-of-13. They finished the season with 91 victories but still fell 6-1/2 games short of the Phillies.
1984 - RHP Mike Crotta was born in Fort Lauderdale. He was drafted in the 17th round of the 2006 draft by the Bucs out of Florida Atlantic. He got his only MLB taste in 2011, going 0-1 for the Pirates and giving up 11 runs in 10-2/3 IP, appearing in 15 outings. He pitched in Japan from 2014-15 and tossed his last pro campaign in 2016 for the Tigers organization.
1987 - RHP Vance Worley was born in Sacramento. Vanimal hit the show running in 2011, as he was elected to Baseball America’s All-Rookie Team and finished third in the NL Rookie of the Year voting, behind winner Craig Kimbrel and Freddie Freeman. Alas, bone chips derailed his 2012 campaign, and he was moved to Minnesota, where mechanical problems caused by the injury led to some very forgettable outings. The Bucs bought him in the 2013 off season, called him up in June of 2014, and he went 8-4/2.25. He started 2015 in the pen, claimed a spot in the rotation when Charlie Morton was hurt, and went back to relief upon Morton’s return, finishing with a 4-6/4.02 slash. He was released after the 2015 season & claimed by the Orioles. Vance spent 2021 primarily in the Mets organization, then tossed for the indie Kane County Cougars as a last hurrah.
1990 - It was a good day at TRS. First, Doug Drabek, who had fallen into an early 3-0 hole on the scoreboard, righted himself against the Cubs to win 5-3 for his 21st victory of the season (he would go on to win 22 games and the Cy Young). And Doug did more than just pitch his squad to victory - he doubled, singled and scored twice to help fuel a pair of Pirates rallies. Next, the crowd of 21,644 pushed the attendance at the yard to 1,870,640, setting a new single-season record while on the way to Pittsburgh’s first 2M+ home gate. Finally, it nudged the magic number for the title to six; the Bucs would eventually win the East by four games over the New York Mets, claiming Pgh’s first divisional pennant since 1979.
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| Doug Drabek - 1990 Homers |
2001 - Craig Wilson collected hits in each of the final three innings of Pittsburgh's last game and got hits in each of the first three frames against Chicago, giving him knocks in six consecutive innings against six different pitchers, an MLB mark. Two days before, the rookie tied the record for most pinch-hit homers in a season with his seventh. The Bucs won 13-1, but the Cubbie pitchers repped some rizz - they fanned 10 Pirates, giving them 1,250 Ks for the year for a new MLB mark.
2002 - RHP Wilber Dotel was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He was signed by the Bucs in 2020 and began in the Florida rookie league in 2021, working his way to Indy and a 40-man spot by ‘26. The Pirates called him up in April as a bulk inning guy after he spent the last three seasons in the rotation, though getting a brief bullpen look at camp. He’s toolsy but like many Pittsburgh hurlers has had control issues. The club is crossing its fingers that Wilber can make the transition; he’s blocked for the time being by Carmen Mlodzinski & Jared Jones from the fifth starter’s role. He got his call up on April 19, 2026, plugged in as a middle man, a thin position in the pen. Wilber made three outings and was sent back down to start, but the Pirates recalled him for the pen again in May out of need and he then yo-yo’ed between levels, filling multiple roles and holes for the big league staff that went through 31 pitchers.
2002 - Mike Williams capped the Bucco single season save record when he earned his 46th save against the Mets at PNC Park with a 1-2-3 ninth, closing out a 4-3 win for Ron Villone. He had broken the mark in mid-August when he blew past Jim Gott’s 1988 mark of 34 saves. The righty’s ERA wasn’t super at 2.93 (w/a FIP of 3.91) and he K’ed just six guys per nine, but he only blew four saves during the year. Williams’ mark would last until 2015, when Mark “The Shark” Melancon topped it by posting 51 saves, the current Pirates record.
2007 - 37-year-old Neal Huntington was officially named as the Pirates new GM, replacing Dave Littlefield, although the news had been leaked earlier in the week. He spent six years with the Expos and a decade with the Indians in various executive positions prior to coming to Pittsburgh, primarily in the player development area. Huntington, per the Associated Press’ Alan Robinson, was among the newer breed of executives who rely heavily on statistics and number-crunching before making decisions and was expected to provide some data-driven direction to the club. His debut was successful as the Pirates snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 6-5 win over Arizona. The Bucs also took the next game from the Snakes before ending the season on a four-game losing snap. He lasted through the 2019 season, when he was replaced by Ben Cherington.
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