11/8: Wally, T (For Two Sport) Rex & RoY Jay...

Wally, T (For Two Sport) Rex & RoY Jay...

• 1920 - 1B Wally Westlake was born in Gridley, California. He played 4-1/2 seasons for the Pirates (1947-51) and hit .281 with 97 HR in that span as an everyday player. Wally was an All-Star in 1951, a year he split between the Pirates and the Cardinals.

Wally Westlake 1947 Exhibits series

• 1937 - PH Rex Johnston was born in Colton, California. Rex only played briefly for the Bucs, going hitless in seven at-bats in 1964. In 1960, the former two-sport Southern Cal star played as a kick returner for the Steelers (he was behind John Henry Johnson & Tom “The Bomb” Tracy in the backfield) during the minor league off-season and thus became the only athlete to date who suited up for both the Bucs and the Steelers. He was also a teammate of Philly Hall of Fame GM Pat Gillick, who was a lefty pitcher when USC won the 1958 College World Series.
• 2004 - Jason Bay, who hit .282 with 26 HRs and 82 RBI, became the first Pirate (and Canadian) player to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award. Although he didn't begin his year until May while recovering from shoulder surgery, Jay led all NL rookies in slugging percentage (.550), extra base hits (54) and total bases (226).

Jason Bay 2006 Allen & Ginter's series

MiLB Free Agents - A Trip Down Bucco Memory Lane

Minor league free agent season is upon us, one of GW's favorite times of year. Not only do we get to see who the Bucs will pick from to stockpile at Indy - is there possibly another Mike Martinez in this class? - but a lot of guys who came through the system are still looking for that green pasture, some who even pre-date Frank Coonelly and company. (guys in italics actually appeared for the Pirates):

RHP: Tim Alderson, John Axford, Jeff Bennett, Chris Bootcheck, Jake Brigham, Matt Capps, Mike Colla, Emanuel DeLeon, Jeanmar Gomez, Kenn Kasparek, Logan Kensing, Josh Kinney, Brad Lincoln, Kyle McPherson, Daniel McCutchen, Evan Meek, Quinton Miller, Wirfin Obispo, Ryan Reid, Virgil Vasquez, Josh Wall.

LHP: Brian Burres, Dana Eveland, Rudy Owens, Raphael Perez, Jhonathan Ramos, Daniel Schlereth, Donnie Veal, Adam Wilk.

C: Nevin Ashley, Dusty Brown, Luke Carlin, Francisco Diaz, Robinzon Diaz, Hector Gimenez, Ralph Henriquez, Brian Jeroloman, Steve Lerud, Lucas May, Carlos Paulino, Rudy Pena, Miguel Perez, Omir Santos, Ali Solis.

1B: Jamie Romak, Stefan Welch.

2B: Robert Andino, Ray Chang, Blake Davis, Ivan DeJesus Jr, Tommy Field, Benji Gonzalez, Greg Picart.

SS: Dean Anna, Brian Bixler, Brian Bocock, Chase d'Arnaud, Argenis Diaz, Brent Lillibridge, Ray Olmedo.

3B: Jarek Cunningham, Jared Goedert, Andy LaRoche

OF: Brandon Boggs, Miles Durham, Quincy Latimore, Austin McClune, Anthony Norman, Andy Vasquez.

Matt Eddy of Baseball America has the full list of minor league free agents at this link.

11/7: Ed Mensor, Bill Brubaker, Don't Boo Stu, Todd Ritchie, Kris Benson...

Ed Mensor, Bill Brubaker, Don't Boo Stu, Todd Ritchie, Kris Benson...

• 1885 - OF Ed Mensor was born in Woodville, Oregon. He played three years for Pittsburgh (1912-14) and hit .221 from the bench. Baseball players weren’t exactly noted for politically correctness back in the day; the 5’6” Mensor’s nickname was “The Midget.” 

Ed Mensor - 1913 Brain News Service photo via Library of Congress

• 1910 - 3B Bill Brubaker was born in Cleveland. He played nine years for the Bucs, from 1932-40, and batted .264 as a Pirate, earning most of his starts in 1936-37. After a couple of years in the service, he ended his career in 1943 with the Boston Braves. 
• 1932 -1B Dick Stuart was born in San Francisco. “Dr. Strangeglove” played in Pittsburgh from 1958-62, hitting .273 with 117 bombs as a Bucco, and was a 1961 All-Star after losing 35 baseballs. The slugger’s inability to field was legendary; he was once hit in the back when Roberto Clemente threw behind a runner, and received an ovation for spearing a hot dog wrapper blowing past him at Forbes Field. He led the league in errors a record seven years in a row (1958-64), drove a car with the license plate "E3" and his 29 errors at first base in 1963 remain the major-league record for the position. But oddly enough, he was the first first baseman to record three assists in one inning; go figure. Stu also mashed 66 home runs for the Lincoln club of the Class A Western League in 1956, so his glove wasn’t the main reason he got a paycheck.

Dick Stuart - 1959 Home Run Derby series

• 1971 - RHP Todd Ritchie was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. Ritchie went 35-32/4.29 for the Bucs from 1999-2001, winning 15 games in ‘99. In 2001’s off season, he was traded to the White Sox for Kip Wells, Josh Fogg and Sean Lowe.
• 1974 - RHP Kris Benson was born in Kennesaw, Georgia. The first overall selection of the 1996 draft, the Clemson grad pitched for the Pirates from 1999-2004 (missing 2001 after TJ surgery) with a line of 43-49/4.26. His off-the-field antics with wife Anna were sports page fodder throughout his career.

Kris Benson - 2001 Fleer Tradition series

11/6: Tommy Thevenow, Branch Rickey, Candy Man, Adam LaRoche...

Tommy Thevenow, Branch Rickey, Candy Man, Adam LaRoche...

• 1930 - SS Dick Bartell was traded away by the Pirates to the Philadelphia Phillies for SS Tommy Thevenow and P Claude Willoughby. Thevenow spent six season with the Bucs and hit .251 while Willoughby went 0-2 for Pittsburgh in his final MLB season. Bartell played 14 more seasons and ended up with a .281 lifetime BA. But the seemingly one-sided swap of SS’s worked out OK - Thevenow hurt his leg in 1931, and in 1932 was replaced by Hall-of-Famer Arky Vaughan. A Tommy Thevenow factoid: he didn't homer in his final 3,347 at-bats, the most consecutive at bats without a home run in MLB history. 

Tommy Thevenow from The Sporting News Conlon Collection

• 1950 - Branch Rickey signed a five-year contract with the Pirates to become the team executive vice president/GM, replacing Roy Hamey. His son, Branch Jr., assumed the post of Pittsburgh's VP and farm system director. 
• 1953 - LHP John Candelaria was born in New York. The Bucs selected the LaSalle Academy (Brooklyn) star in the second round of the 1972 draft. In 12 years (1975-85, 1993) with the Pirates, his line was 124-87-16/3.17, with a 1-1, 3.91 ERA mark in his four post-season starts. The Candy Man earned one All-Star nod in his 19 year MLB career.
•  1979 - 1B Adam LaRoche was born in Orange County, California. He played for the Bucs from 2007-09, hitting .265 with 58 HR. During his last Pirate season, he got to play with his brother Andy and also became the first player in major league history to have a home run taken away through the use of video replay. 

Andy (back turned) & Adam LaRoche - Gene Pukar Associated Press

11/5: Lefty, Manny-for-Chuck, Syd, Hot Rod, John Russell Hired, Frankie Wins Comeback Award...

Lefty, Manny-for-Chuck, Syd, Hot Rod, John Russell Hired, Frankie Wins Comeback Award...

• 1908 - LHP Ralph “Lefty” Birkofer was born in Cincinnati. Lefty worked for the Bucs from 1933-36 and went 31-26-2/4.04, splitting time between starting and the pen. 

Ralph "Lefty" Birkofer via Out of the Park Developments

• 1976 - The Pirates sent catcher Manny Sanguillen and $100,000 to Oakland to land manager Chuck Tanner. It was the second player-for-skipper deal in MLB history (excluding player/managers), the first occurring in 1967 when the Mets sent RHP Bill Denehy and cash to the Washington Senators in exchange for manager Gil Hodges. 
• 1985 - The Pirates hired Syd Thrift as their GM, replacing Harding Peterson. Syd only lasted until 1988 after a contentious relationship with the owners, but laid the groundwork for the powerhouse early-ninety clubs. Thrift traded for Doug Drabek, Bobby Bonilla, Andy Van Slyke and Mike LaValliere, then hired Jim Leyland to stir the pot. 

Syd Thrift - Associated Press photo

• 1992 - Rod Scurry, one of the main figures of the infamous Coke trials in Pittsburgh during the eighties, died of a heart attack in Reno, Nevada. He was 36 years old. Scurry pitched for the Bucs from 1980-85, going 17-28-34 with a 3.15 ERA. 
• 2007 - The Pirates named third base coach John Russell as manager, replacing Jim Tracy. The Bucs' new skipper was the 2006 International League Manager of the Year at Scranton, but was never given much to work with in Pittsburgh. In 2010, he was fired as the Pirates manager after a 105 loss season and an overall record of 186-299, replaced by Clint Hurdle. 

John Russell - Jared Wickersham.Getty Images photo

• 2013 - LHP Francisco Liriano was named the Baseball Writer’s “Comeback Player of the Year,” the second time he took that 2013 honor, having earlier won the same recognition from The Sporting News after a 16-8, 3.02 ERA, 9.1K/game campaign.

Qualifiers For Russ, Frankie

The Pirates made qualifying offers of $15.3M to their top two FA's, Russ Martin and Frankie Liriano, the first time that the club has ever made qualifying offers since the this version of free agent roulette began in 2012.

First, a quick QO primer: teams can offer their free agents the average salary of the top 125 contracts in baseball ($15.3M this year); their FA's have a week to accept the salary for one year or try the market. So far, all have elected to enter the marketplace. If they refuse, their original team gets a sandwich pick between the first and second round of the draft if their FA signs elsewhere.

The cost of signing a guy who rejected his QO is a first round pick (the first 11 spots are protected to give struggling teams an advantage in the market; those clubs lose a second round pick). And that pick sometimes counts: while QO's have been offered 22 times prior to this season and never been accepted, the addendum that's often forgotten is that five of those players ended up returning to their original team largely due to that draft pick being a deal-buster and others like Kyle Lohse and Kendrys Morales were hung out to dry by the process.

In Russ' case, the QO was a no-brainer. He's looking at up to $15M per yseason on a multi year deal on the market; he's not only an elite catcher, but coming out in a year that's thin for catching. If the Pirates don't get him to ink a deal, and it sure looks like they won't, at least they'll get a sandwich pick as a parting gift.

Francisco is an entirely different situation. His QO is, like Martin's, about the right value. But he's had injury an consistency problems that may make teams leery of singing him over a long term, the loss of a draft pick may scare away a couple more clubs, and so Frankie may be looking at a limited market. The Bucs have three potential outcomes with Liriano.

He accepts, in which case the team has a guy who slots into the upper rather than back end of their rotation at roughly market value for one year, which should fill in the gap before Jameson Taillon and company arrive. He doesn't accept and signs elsewhere, in which case the Pirates get a sandwich pick. Or he turns down the QO to check out the market, and returns to the Bucco fold with a contract that could be configured in several ways. Liriano could easily choose any of the three routes as a solid but not elite player; the Lohse syndrome could come into play for a Liriano-type talent.

It will be interesting, at least in Francisco's case, but the Pirates chose wisely to make him an offer; the FO set up what is pretty much a win-win situation in his situation.

11/4: Wee Tommy, Dick Groat, John Grabow, Benito Outpolls Mike Dunne...

Wee Tommy, Dick Groat, John Grabow, Benito Outpolls Mike Dunne...

• 1877 - 3B/OF “Wee Tommy” Leach was born in French Creek, NY. The 5'6" Leach hit 63 career homers; 49 were inside-the-park, which is still a NL record. Leach joins Willie Stargell, Ralph Kiner and Pedro Alvarez as the only Pirates to lead the league in long balls. During Leach's years in Pittsburgh (1900-12), the Pirates won the NL flag four times and were World Series champions once, while his 1903 triple is the first World Series hit. Wee Tommy is still in the top 100 all-time in stolen bases (361) and runs scored (1,355), and for the Pirates, he ranks ninth in games played (1,548), at-bats (5,909), runs (1,007) & singles (1,229), sixth in stolen bases (246) and seventh in triples (137).

Tommy Leach - undated from the Library of Congress, George Grantham collection

• 1930 - SS Dick Groat was born in Wilkinsburg. The Swissvale Golden Flash HS star was a two sport ace, twice an All-America at Duke in basketball. He was selected as the Helms National Player of the Year in 1952 after averaging 25.2 points per game and played one season in the NBA. But he made a more permanent mark in baseball. As a Bucco bonus baby, he never played in the minors. He was the NL-MVP during the 1960 World Series campaign, and during his Pirate era (1952-62, with two years out for the service), he hit .286 and was a three-time All-Star. A Pitt basketball announcer, in 2011 Groat was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame, becoming the first man ever inducted into both the college basketball and college baseball halls of fame. 

Dick Groat - Fleer 2000 Greats of the Game series from the Daniel Wilson collection

• 1978 - LHP John Grabow was born in Arcadia, California. Grabow, a third round draft pick in 1997, pitched from 2003-09 for the Bucs until traded to the Cubs. In 390 Pirate appearances, he went 20-15-6/4.09. 
• 1987 - Padres catcher Benito Santiago was the unanimous selection as the NL Rookie of the Year‚ while Pirate RHP Mike Dunne (13-6, 3.03 ERA) finished second. Santiago closed out his career as a Bucco, playing six games in 2005 before being released.

11/3: Harry Staley, Diz Outpolls Big Poison, Deacon Wins the Cy, DC Shenanigans, Aki...

Harry Staley, Diz Outpolls Big Poison, Deacon Wins the Cy, DC Shenanigans, Aki...

• 1866 - RHP Harry Staley was born in Jacksonville, Illinois. Staley pitched in Pittsburgh from 1888-91, tossing for the Alleghenys, Burghers and Pirates. His overall Steel City record was 51-58 with a 3.21 ERA.

A dapper Harry Staley from the 1889 Police Gazette (via ootp Developments)

• 1934 - Dizzy Dean‚ with a 30-7 record‚ was selected as the NL MVP, with the Pirates Paul Waner finishing a distant second despite a .362/14/90 slash.
• 1960 - The Deacon, Vern Law, who finished 20-9 with 18 complete games and a 3.08 ERA, was voted the Cy Young Award winner by easily outpolling Warren Spahn.

Vernon Law - 1961 Nu Card Baseball Scoop series

• 1971 - PA senators Hugh Scott and Richard Schweiker, winners of a bet made on the 1971 Fall Classic between them and Maryland senators Charles Mathias Jr. and J. Glenn Beall, Jr., rode elephants in front of the Capitol as the losers led the pachyderms while carrying shovels to clean the street.
• 2009 - The Pirates sent RHP Jesse Chavez to Tampa Bay for 2B Akinori Iwamura, who at $4.85M became the Pirates highest paid player. Iwamura was gimpy, out of shape and benched in June with a .172 average. He was replaced rather handily by Neil Walker, released in mid-September, and after 10 games with Oakland, he was out of MLB. 

Aki Iwamura - Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

11/2: American Association Founded, Bobby Bragan Hired, Orlando Merced B-Day...

American Association Founded, Bobby Bragan Hired, Orlando Merced B-Day...

• 1881 - The American Association was founded. The members were the Brooklyn Atlantics, Cincinnati Red Stockings, Louisville Cardinals, Philadelphia Atlantics, Pittsburgh Alleghenys, and St. Louis Brown Stockings. The AA was considered a major league organization, though the Alleghenys bolted to the NL after the 1886 campaign and the league folded after the 1891 season.

Exposition Park, home of the Alleghenys - undated photo from Historical Society of Western PA

• 1955 - Bobby Bragan was named the new Bucco field manager‚ replacing Fred Haney. The fiery Bragan didn’t last long, getting the ax in early August of 1957 after compiling a 102-155 record. His spot was taken by Danny Murtaugh.
• 1966 - OF/1B Orlando Merced was born in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. Merced played from 1990-96 for the Bucs with a .283 BA, coming in second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1991.

Orland Merced 1992 Score Impact Players series

11/1: Ham Hyatt, Larry French, Miguel Dilone, Gary Redus...

Ham Hyatt, Larry French, Miguel Dilone, Gary Redus...

• 1884 - PH Robert Hamilton “Ham” Hyatt was born in Buncombe County, NC. Nominally a 1B/OF but used mainly as a pinch-hitter, Hyatt played for the Bucs from 1910-11, went to the minors for a year and returned from 1912-14, hitting .267 for Pittsburgh.
• 1907 - LHP Larry French was born in Visalia, California. He started his 14 year career in Pittsburgh (1929-34) and had a line of 87-83/3.50, winning 15 or more games four times as a Pirate. French won 197 games before he hung ‘em up and was an All-Star for the Cubs in 1940. He’s still remembered for his 1933 “Soap Game.” With an 8-0 lead in the ninth, Larry ducked out of the Forbes Field bullpen to get to the showers first. The pesky Boston Braves tied the game, and the unrinsed hurler was summoned from the bullpen with soap still dripping down his face. It didn’t hurt his performance; he tossed 1-⅔ IP perfectly and got the win in ten innings.

Larry French via The Baseball Hobbyist

• 1954 - OF Miguel Dilone was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic. He played parts of five seasons for Pittsburgh, from 1974-77 and again in 1983, but mustered just 75 PA and a .145 BA over that span and was used primarily as a pinch runner, finishing his with 267 swiped sacks, 23 as a Pirate. Dilone carved out a 12 year MLB career and had a .265 lifetime BA while playing for seven teams.
• 1956 - 1B/OF Gary Redus was born in Tanner, Alabama. Redus played off the bench for five years (1988-92) with three division winning teams as a Pirate, hitting .255 in 398 Buc games. His biggest day as a Buc was on August 25th, 1989 when he hit for the cycle in a 12–3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

Gary Redus - 1989 Donruss series