3/29: Prospect Trade, Varsho Signed, HBD Bob & Mike

• 1894 - LHP Bob Steele was born in Cassburn, Ontario. Steele hurled for the Bucs from 1917-18, when they had some fairly poor clubs. He was 7-14, but his ERA was 2.87. Pittsburgh sold him to the Giants during the 1918 campaign, and 1919 was his last big league season. He did make the record books (albeit Canadien) when he tossed a no-hitter for the Moose Jaw Robin Hoods against the Calgary Bronchos (sic) in the Class D Western Canadian League in 1913.
• 1961 - OF Mike Kingery was born in St. James Minnesota. Mike closed out his 10-year MLB career with the Bucs in 1996, signing on as a $750K free agent at the age of 35. He became their part-time center fielder, hitting .246 before retiring to Minnesota to raise his family and begin the Solid Foundation Baseball School.

Gary Varsho 1993 Donruss

• 1994 - After being released the day before, Gary Varsho signed a $243,750 contract for a second go-around with the club, which he had played for in 1991-92 before joining the Reds. In his three years with the club, Gary batted .251 as a pinch hitter and extra outfielder. He returned one more time to serve as John Russell’s bench coach in 2008 before being let go in 2010, shortly before JR was shown the door.
• 1997 - The Pirates traded OF Trey Beamon and C Angelo Encarnacion to the San Diego Padres for 1B/OF Mark Smith and minor-league RHP Hal Garrett. It was a wash; Beaman had a couple of decent seasons from the pine while Smith hit .285 with nine homers off the bench for the Bucs in 1997 but faded in 1998. None of the players involved ever sniffed a starting role.

3/29: HBD Bob & Mike; Bucs Sign Varsho & Deal For Smith

• 1894 - LHP Bob Steele was born in Cassburn, Ontario. Steele hurled for the Bucs from 1917-18, when they had some fairly poor clubs. He was 7-14, but his ERA was 2.87. Pittsburgh sold him to the Giants during the 1918 campaign, and 1919 was his last big league season. He did make the record books (albeit Canadien) when he tossed a no-hitter for the Moose Jaw Robin Hoods against the Calgary Bronchos (sic) in the Class D Western Canadian League in 1913.
• 1961 - OF Mike Kingery was born in St. James Minnesota. Mike closed out his 10-year MLB career with the Bucs in 1996, signing on as a $750K free agent at the age of 35. He became their part-time center fielder, hitting .246 before retiring to Minnesota to raise his family and begin the Solid Foundation Baseball School.

Mike Kingery 1996 Fleer Ultra

• 1994 - After being released by the Bucs the day before, Gary Varsho signed a $243,750 contract for a second go-around with the club, which he had played for in 1991-92 before joining the Reds. In his three years with the club, Gary hit .251 as a pinch hitter and extra outfielder. He returned one more time to serve as John Russell’s bench coach in 2008 before being let go in 2010, shortly before JR was dismissed.
• 1997 - The Pirates traded OF Trey Beamon and C Angelo Encarnacion to the San Diego Padres for 1B/OF Mark Smith and minor-league RHP Hal Garrett. It was a wash; Beaman had a couple of decent seasons from the pine while Smith hit .285 with nine homers off the bench for the Bucs in 1997 but faded in 1998. None of the players involved ever sniffed a starting role.

3/29: Bob Steele, Mike Kingery B-Days

• 1894 - LHP Bob Steele was born in Cassburn, Ontario. Steele hurled for the Bucs from 1917-18, when they had some fairly poor clubs. He was 7-14, but his ERA was 2.87. Pittsburgh sold him to the Giants during the 1918 campaign, and 1919 was his last big league season. He did make the record books (albeit Canadien) when he tossed a no-hitter for the Moose Jaw Robin Hoods against the Calgary Bronchos (sic) in the Class D Western Canadian League in 1913. 

Bob Steele in 1913 as a Moose Jaw Robin Hood (photo via W. Canadian League)

• 1961 - OF Mike Kingery was born in St. James Minnesota. Mike closed out his 10-year MLB career with the Bucs in 1996, signing on as a $750K free agent at the age of 35. He became their part-time center fielder, hitting .246 before retiring to Minnesota to raise his family and begin the Solid Foundation Baseball School.

Mike Kingery - 1996 Fleer Ultra series

Bucs Win, Bryan Morris Earns Spot, Opening Day Ceremonies, Stats & Lotsa Notes...

Bucs Win, Bryan Morris Earns Spot, Opening Day Ceremonies, Stats & Notes...

• The Pirates beat the Phils in an exhibition match 3-0 last night. Charlie Morton went three scoreless frames, followed by six relievers tossing more shutout ball. The rematch is this afternoon at 1:05 PM, and will be the free game on MLB.TV if you're anchored to a device. It will also be aired by Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.
• After the game, manager Clint Hurdle told the media that Bryan Morris will make the 25-man roster. We'd be sweating out the next 48 hours if we were Vin Mazzaro or Jeanmar Gomez.
• Part of the Opening Day pre-game ado: Barry Bonds and Dick Groat will present Cutch with his MVP award, and Jim Leyland will present Clint Hurdle with his NL Manager of the Year trophy. Jack Wilson will present Cutch and Pedro Alvarez with their 2013 Silver Slugger hardware. Petrina McCutchen will sing the National Anthem and Scott Kiner, son of Pirates Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner, will throw out the first pitch. 
• Dave Cameron of Fangraphs examines the team-friendly deal that Starling Marte just signed.
• Pirate spring training stats are here if you're wondering who did what in camp.
• The fans are geeked for the season to start - the Bucs announced that their season ticket sales have jumped 40%, and that's without making a peep in the off season.
• Fangraphs has made its 2014 selections for NL playoffs and awards; they have the Bucs as the second wildcard and Gregory Polonca as a potential ROY.
• On the league front, the MLB and the Player's Association have come up with a stricter drug use policy. Here are its highlights.
• Matt Schwartz of The Hardball Times has a piece about the revenue growth drivers of MLB and how it's not trickling down to the players. It's long, but not written in sabermetric patois, so it's a good read for baseball insider fans.
• Ex-Bucs: St. Mary's ol' man river, Joe Biemel, made the Mariners roster.
• Bucco history: 1894 - LHP Bob Steele was born in Cassburn, Ontario. Steele hurled for the Bucs from 1917-18, when they had some fairly poor clubs. He was 7-14, but his ERA was 2.87.