4/3 Happenings: Mota, Patterson, Wilson Deal; Walk Inked; Memorable Openers

• 1963 - OF Manny Mota was traded by the Houston Colt .45's to the Pirates for Howie Goss and cash. Mota spent six years as a Pirate, hitting .297 as a fourth OF’er/pinch hitter. He went on to a 13 year career with LA (he spent 20 seasons in MLB) as a pinch hitter deluxe, and when he was finished hitting, his 34 consecutive seasons as a Dodgers coach was the longest in team history and the second-longest streak in MLB history behind Nick Altrock. Howie played one season for Houston, hit .209, and never got back to the bigs. The unsuspecting Goss had to get in touch with his family who had left Florida just prior to the deal and were driving to Pittsburgh. The Florida Highway Patrol found them and directed the Goss clan westward to Texas.

Manny Mota 1965 Topps

• 1984 - After being released by the Braves, the Pirates signed RHP Bob Walk. Walk ended up spending 10 seasons as a Bucco back-ender, going 82-61 with a 3.83 ERA and putting up a 2-1 record during the Bucs three NLCS series from 1990-92.
• 1986 - RJ Reynolds became the second Bucco to lead off the Home Opener with a home run (Billy Cox was the first in 1947) and added a double, but it wasn’t enough as Doc Gooden and the Mets dropped the Pirates 4-2 at TRS. Rick Reuschel took the loss.
• 1986 - The Pirates sent OF Marvell Wynne to the San Diego Padres for RHP Bob Patterson. It was a win-win deal. Patterson eventually was effective as a reliever for the Bucs (he came to the club as a starter) over six seasons, and Wynne played fairly regularly for SD for the next four seasons.

Bob Patterson 1987 Donruss

• 1990 - The Bucs traded OF’er Billy Hatcher, whom they had picked up at the 1989 deadline for Glenn Wilson, to the Reds for a pair of minor leaguers. Hatcher helped the Reds sink the Bucs in the 1990 NLCS, hitting .333, and played six more MLB seasons as mainly a platoon outfielder. Wilson was solid for Pittsburgh, too, playing as a bench guy and part-time starter while batting .274 in his time (1989-90, 1993) as a Pirate.
• 2003 - The Pirates completed a season opening three game sweep of Cincinnati at The Great American Ballpark with a 7-5 win. Former Red Reggie Sanders went deep twice for Pittsburgh, going 4-for-5 and adding five RBI. Sanders went 7-for-10 in the series as the Pirates jumped out to their first 3-0 start to a season since 1993.
• 2011 - The Pirates plated a pair of runs in the ninth to down the Cubs at Wrigley Field 5-4. A walk to Garrett Jones, a single by Neil Walker and a Lyle Overbay bunt against Carlos Marmol left runners at second and third in the ninth for Pedro Alvarez, who rolled a ball softly to the left side hole. He beat it out for a hit as both Bucs scored, giving El Toro three RBI on the day. Jeff Karstens got the win in relief of Ross Ohlendorf, with Joel Hanrahan picking up the save.

El Toro 2011 Topps Stadium Lights

• 2016 - In the kick-off of the major league season shown on ESPN, the Pirates defeated the Cardinals 4-1 in front of a sellout crowd of 39,500 fans at PNC Park. Frankie Liriano struck out 10 batters in six scoreless frames and also drove in the game’s first run with a single off losing hurler Adam Wainwright. Josh Harrison managed to hit into a rare RBI double play when with runners on first and third and no outs, his fly plated a run although the runner at first was cut down trying to get to second (basepath gaffes like that were common during the season, costing 3B/baserunning coach Rick Sofield his job in October). Though the year started off on a high note for the Cisco Kid, he would be traded to Toronto at the deadline after posting a 6-11/5.46 slash during the campaign.

4/3: HBD Guy, Larry, Alex & Dewey; Reds Sweep, Walk Signed, More...

• 1856 - Manager and 1B Guy Hecker was born in Youngsville, in Warren County. He was the Alleghenys player-manager in 1890, and it wasn’t a great year for Guy’s resume - he hit .226 as the first baseman and the team finished 23-113, decimated by Player League roster raids. Guy was quite a player, though. During his career he played for Louisville Eclipse prior to the Alleghenys and is considered by some baseball historians to be the best combination pitcher and hitter to play in the 19th century. Hecker remains as one of the only two pitchers in MLB history to hit three home runs in one game, along with Jim Tobin, and the only pitcher to win a batting title (in 1886). In addition, he is the only pitcher in baseball history to get six hits in a nine-inning game. He could toss it, too - Hecker was the second pitcher ever in the American Association to pitch a no hitter and led that league in Ks in 1884.

Guy Hecker (image via John Thorn's "Our Game")

• 1919 - Manager Larry Shepherd was born in Lakeland Ohio. He managed in the Pirate system from 1953 to 1966, spanning the Sally to the International Leagues, and won three pennants along the road. He returned to the Bucs after a year off in 1968 to replace Harry the Hat Walker at the helm, and in almost two seasons put together a 164-155 record. Shepherd was replaced by Alex Grammas with a week to go in the '69 season despite an 84-73 slate.
• 1926 - Coach Alex Grammas was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Grammas served as a coach for the Pirates from 1965-69 and was the Bucs’ interim manager for five games in 1969 after Larry Shepard was fired. When Danny Murtaugh took over for 1970, Grammas caught on with Sparky Anderson at Cincinnati, and would eventually end up with a gig as the Milwaukee Brewers’ head man.
• 1978 - 2B Bobby Hill was born in San Jose. Part of the return from the A-Ram salary dump, he played in Pittsburgh from 2003-05. He hit .262 over that span and lost the second base job to Jose Castillo in 2005 after being the starter the year before.
• 1981 - C Ryan Doumit was born in Moses Lake, Washington. Dewey caught ‘n’ stuff for the Pirates from 2005-11, with Bucco career numbers of .271, 67 HR and 266 RBI. Unfortunately, in those seven years he never stayed healthy long enough to get into 125+ games during any single season, and he only got into 100+ games twice for Pittsburgh.

Ryan Doumit 2009 Bowman

• 1984 - After being released by the Braves, the Pirates signed RHP Bob Walk. Walk ended up spending 10 seasons as a Bucco back-ender, going 82-61 with a 3.83 ERA and putting up a 2-1 record during the Bucs three NLCS series from 1990-92.
• 1986 - The Pirates sent OF Marvell Wynne to the San Diego Padres for RHP Bob Patterson. It was a win-win. Patterson eventually was effective as a reliever for the Bucs (he came to the club as a starter) over six seasons, and Wynne played fairly regularly for SD for the next four seasons.
• 1990 - The Bucs traded OF’er Billy Hatcher, whom they had picked up at the 1989 deadline for Glenn Wilson, to the Reds for a pair of minor leaguers. Hatcher helped the Reds sink the Bucs in the 1990 NLCS, hitting .333, and played six more MLB seasons as mainly a platoon outfielder.

Billy Hatcher 1990 Upper Deck

• 2003 - The Pirates completed a season opening three game sweep of Cincinnati at The Great American Ballpark with a 7-5 win. Former Red Reggie Sanders went deep twice for Pittsburgh, going 4-for-5 and adding five RBI. Sanders went 7-for-10 in the series as the Pirates jumped out to their first 3-0 start to a season since 1993.
• 2011 - The Pirates plated a pair of runs in the ninth to down the Cubs at Wrigley Field 5-4. A walk to Garrett Jones, a single by Neil Walker and a Lyle Overbay bunt against Carlos Marmol left runners at second and third in the ninth for Pedro Alvarez, who rolled a ball softly to the left side hole. He beat it out for a hit as both Bucs scored, giving El Toro three RBI on the day. Jeff Karstens got the win in relief of Ross Ohlendorf, with Joel Hanrahan picking up the save.

4/3: Dewey, Hill, Grammas, Shepherd, Hecker B-Days; Wynne-for-Patterson; Reds Swept & 9th Inning Thunder...

• 1856 - Manager and 1B Guy Hecker was born in Youngsville, in Warren County. He was the Alleghenys player-manager in 1890, and it wasn’t a great year for Guy’s resume - he hit .226 as the first baseman and the team finished 23-113, decimated by Player League roster raids. Guy was quite a player, though. During his career he played for Louisville Eclipse prior to the Alleghenys and is considered by some baseball historians to be the best combination pitcher and hitter to play in the 19th century. Hecker remains as one of the only two pitchers in MLB history to hit three home runs in one game, along with Jim Tobin, and the only pitcher to win a batting title (in 1886). In addition, he is the only pitcher in baseball history to get six hits in a nine-inning game. He could toss it, too - Hecker was the second pitcher ever in the American Association to pitch a no hitter and led that league in Ks in 1884. 
• 1919 - Manager Larry Shepard was born in Lakeland Ohio. He managed in the Pirate system from 1953 to 1966, spanning the Sally to the International Leagues, and won three pennants along the road. He returned to the Bucs after a year off in 1968 to replace Harry the Hat Walker at the helm, and in almost two seasons put together a 164-155 record. Shepard was replaced by Alex Grammas with a week to go in the '69 season despite an 84-73 slate. 

Larry Shepard via Out of the Park Development

• 1926 - Coach Alex Grammas was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Grammas served as a coach for the Pirates from 1965-69 and was the Bucs’ interim manager for five games in 1969 after Larry Shepard was fired. When Danny Murtaugh took over for 1970, Grammas caught on with Sparky Anderson at Cincinnati, and would eventually end up with a gig as the Milwaukee Brewers’ head man. 
• 1978 - 2B Bobby Hill was born in San Jose. Part of the return from the A-Ram salary dump, he played in Pittsburgh from 2003-05. He hit .262 over that span and lost the second base job to Jose Castillo in 2005 after being the starter the year before. 
• 1981 - C Ryan Doumit was born in Moses Lake, Washington. Dewey caught ‘n’ stuff for the Pirates from 2005-11, with Bucco career numbers of .271, 67 HR and 266 RBI. Unfortunately, in those seven years he never stayed healthy long enough to get into 125+ games during any single season, and he only got into 100+ games twice for Pittsburgh. 

Ryan Doumit 2009 Bowman series

• 1986 - The Pirates sent OF Marvell Wynne to the San Diego Padres for RHP Bob Patterson. It was a win-win. Patterson eventually was effective as a reliever for the Bucs (he came to the club as a starter) over six seasons, and Wynne played fairly regularly for SD for the next four seasons. 
• 2003 - The Pirates completed a season opening three game sweep of Cincinnati at The Great American Ballpark with a 7-5 win. Former Red Reggie Sanders went deep twice for Pittsburgh, going 4-for-5 and adding five RBI. Sanders went 7-for-10 in the series as the Pirates jumped out to their first 3-0 start to a season since 1993. 
• 2011 - The Pirates plated a pair of runs in the ninth to down the Cubs at Wrigley Field 5-4. A walk to Garrett Jones, a single by Neil Walker and a Lyle Overbay bunt against Carlos Marmol left runners at second and third in the ninth for Pedro Alvarez, who rolled a ball softly to the left side. He beat it out for a hit as both Bucs scored, giving El Toro three RBI on the day. Jeff Karstens got the win in relief of Ross Ohlendorf, with Joel Hanrahan picking up the save.

4/3: Larry Shepherd, Alex Grammas, Dewey, Broom the Reds, Come From Behind...

Larry Shepherd, Alex Grammas, Dewey, Broom the Reds, Come From Behind...

1919 - Larry Shepherd was born in Lakeland Ohio. He managed in the Pirate system from 1953 to 1966, spanning the Sally to the International Leagues, and won three pennants along the road. He returned to the Bucs after a year away in 1968 to replace Harry the Hat Walker at the helm, and in almost two seasons put together a 164-155 record. Shepherd was replaced by Alex Grammas with a week to go in the '69 season despite an 84-73 slate.
1926 - Coach Alex Grammas was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Grammas served as a coach for the Pirates from 1965 through 1969 and was the Bucs’ interim manager for five games in 1969 after Larry Shepard was fired. When Danny Murtaugh took over for 1970, Grammas caught on with Sparky Anderson at Cincinnati, and would eventually end up with a gig as the Milwaukee Brewers’ head man.

 Alex Grammas from Mainline Autographs collection

1981 - C Ryan Doumit was born in Moses Lake, Washington. Dewey caught ‘n’ stuff for the Pirates from 2005-11, with Bucco career numbers of .271, 67 HR and 266 RBI. Unfortunately, in those seven years he never stayed healthy long enough to get into 125+ games during any single season, and he only got into 100+ games twice for Pittsburgh.
2003: The Pirates completed a season opening three game sweep of Cincinnati at The Great American Ballpark with a 7-5 win. Former Red Reggie Sanders went deep twice for Pittsburgh, going 4-for-5 and adding five RBI. Sanders went 7-for-10 in the series as the Pirates jumped out to their first 3-0 start to a season since 1993.
2011 - The Pirates plated a pair of runs in the ninth to down the Cubs at Wrigley Field 5-4. A walk to Garrett Jones, a single by Neil Walker and a Lyle Overbay bunt against Carlos Marmol left runners at second and third in the ninth for Pedro Alvarez, who rolled a ball softly to the left side. He beat it out for a hit as both Bucs scored, giving El Toro three RBI on the day. Jeff Karstens got the win in relief of Ross Ohlendorf, with Joel Hanrahan picking up the save.

Bucs v Cubs, Notebook

The Bucs and Cubs go at it again tonight, with Wandy Rodriguez taking on Edwin Jackson. Last year, Wandy was 13-12/3.72 with the Bucs and 'Stros while Jackson was 10-11/4.03 as a Nat. The game begins at 7:05 and will be on both TV (Root Sports) and radio (The Fan 93.7).

We'll post the lineups and game notes this afternoon.

• The Giants claimed RHP Hunter Strickland off waivers from the Bucs and optioned him to San Jose. So the Pirates swapped him and 1B Clint Robinson (who was claimed by Toronto) out for Jonathan Sanchez and Brandon Inge on the 40-man roster.
• IF Brandon Inge will begin his rehab from a cracked shoulder blade at Indy, which starts its schedule Thursday. 
• John Sickels of Minor League Ball rates Tyler Glasnow and Phil Irwin among his Sleeper Prospects.
• Will Carroll tweeted that "(Gerrit) Cole's being matched up with #5 starter for Pittsburgh, which says he won't be around long." That may be, but we still don't expect him in Pittsburgh before June. On the other hand, the Pirates have already made a couple of moves that make us suspect they're all in (for what, we're not quite sure) this year.
• The Pirates have the fifth biggest pool amount of $8,884,600 for this year's draft, largely because they have two first round picks. If you need refreshed, the team can spent that amount in any combination during the first ten rounds (11 picks for the Pirates). Each round has a value, and if you don't sign a guy, his round's value is subtracted from the pool. 
• Jeff Oliver of the Tribune Review interviewed Jay Lustig, who was a minority owner of the Bucs until last season. Lustig appreciates how Bob Nutting put the franchise on a solid financial footing, and says “People say he is a cheap owner, but nothing is further from the truth. He allocates the money properly. He wants to make enough money to keep us from going into the red. He is running the business rationally." Reading between the lines, Lustig seems to suggest the only way to get a winner in Pittsburgh is to sell the team to Daddy Warbucks. Maybe he's right.
• Larry Shepherd was born in Lakeland OH on this day in 1919. He managed in the Pirate system from 1953 to 1966, spanning the Sally to the International League, and won three league titles along the road. He returned to the Bucs after a year away in 1968 to replace Harry the Hat Walker at the helm, and in almost two seasons put together a 164-155 record. That was back ion the day when the FO actually had expectations of the team, and Shepherd was replaced by Alex Grammas with a week to go in the '69 season despite an 84-73 slate.