2/7 Birthdays: HBD Joe, Clipper, Terin, Adrian & Humberto

• 1927 - Coach Joe Lonnett was born in Koppel, Beaver County. He graduated from Beaver Falls High School and lived in Brighton Township for 45 years before passing away in 2011. He was a catcher for four seasons with the Phillies from 1956-59 before joining the coaching ranks. A long time bud of Chuck Tanner, he came to Pittsburgh with him from the AL - he was with Tanner when he managed the Chicago White Sox (1971-75) and Oakland Athletics (1976) - and was a part of the Pirates staff from 1977-84, serving as the third base coach for the Bucs during the 1979 World Series Championship season.

Felipe Montemayor (photo via Baseball Happenings)

• 1928 - OF/1B Felipe “Clipper” Montemayor was born in Monterrey, Mexico. He played for Pittsburgh in 1953 and again in 1955, hitting .173 as one of the first Mexican MLB players. But he did have his day in the sun despite the stats. Montemayor had two career home runs, and they came in both ends of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals on May 1st, 1955. The Clipper had a long career (1948-68) although Pittsburgh was his only MLB stop - he started at age 20 and ended his playing days at 40, playing both in the US minors and the Mexican League.
• 1937 - LHP Juan “Terin” Pizarro was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. The lefty had an 18-year MLB stint and spent 1967 and part of ‘68 with the Pirates, then returned for his last campaign in 1974, slashing 10-12-9/3.55 as a bullpen guy and occasional starter for the Bucs. Juan was a partier who lived large. Per Rory Costello of SABR, “In his childhood, he got the nickname that stuck with him for life, ‘Terín,’ (because) the neighborhood kids likened him to the main character of the comic strip ‘Terry and the Pirates.’” Pizarro was selected into the Caribbean Confederation and the Puerto Rican Sports Hall of Fames with a lifetime line of 157-110/2.51 compiled during his Puerto Rican Winter League work (with an additional 38 wins in the Mexican League) to go along with his 131 major league victories and two All-Star selections.
• 1974 - OF Adrian Brown was born in McComb, Mississippi. A 48th round draft pick in 1992, he beat the odds by having a nine year MLB career, the first six (1997 - 2002) with the Pirates as a reserve. He hit .261 during his Pittsburgh stay. The switch-hitter had a breakout 2000 campaign when he hit .315 w/ four HRs, 64 runs, 28 RBI and 13 stolen bases in 104 games/340 PA. But he had a pair of DL trips that season with hammy issues, and it got worse when he had rotator cuff/labrum surgery out of camp in 2001, costing him virtually all of the season. He never again came close to matching those 2000 numbers.

Humberto Cota 2006 (photo Jamie Squire/Getty)

• 1979 - C Humberto Cota was born in San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico. Cota was the Pirate backup catcher for his entire MLB career of seven seasons (2001-07) with a .233 lifetime BA after coming over from Tampa Bay as part of the Jose Guillen deal. He became a free agent in 2008 and signed with the Rox but failed a drug test. Cota was suspended for 50 games and never got another call to the show.

2/6: HBD Glenn, Dale, Smoky, Richie & El Toro; RIP Ralph; DD Honors For Clint & Cutch; Sanchez Signed

• 1901 - SS Glenn Wright was born in Archie, Missouri. He played five years (1924-28) for Pittsburgh, hitting .294, and was considered one of the league’s elite shortstops until a shoulder injury suffered in 1929. Wright was a member of the 1925 and 1927 World Series clubs and was named a Sporting News All-Star in ‘25 while finishing fourth in the NL-MVP vote.

Glenn Wright 1926 W512 strip card

• 1926 - 1B Dale Long was born in Springfield, Missouri. Long played four seasons for the Pirates (1951, 1955-57), hitting 27 homers in 1956 and earning a spot on the All-Star team. He put his name in the record books that year by hitting eight home runs in eight consecutive games between May 19th and May 28th, still the MLB standard, tied but never topped. Long was one of the few lefties that caught (though not much) in the majors. The big guy had a choice of careers; he turned down an audition with the Green Bay Packers to focus on baseball.
• 1927 - C Smoky Burgess was born in Caroleen, NC. He spent six years (1959-64) as Pirate platoon catcher, hitting .296 as a Buc and was a key part of the 1960 World Series club. People sometimes forget what a nice player Smoky was. Burgess was a six-time All-Star who led NL catchers in fielding percentage three times, while his MLB record of 145 career pinch hits (a late career specialty) wasn’t broken until 1979 by Manny Mota. Smoky also called every pitch during Harvey Haddix’s legendary 12-inning perfecto against the Milwaukee Braves in 1959.
• 1949 - LF Richie Zisk was born in Brooklyn. A third round pick in the of the 1966 draft, he spent six years in Pittsburgh (1971-76), hitting .299 as a Buc before being traded to the Chicago White Sox as part of the Goose Gossage deal. He made post-season appearances with the 1974 and 1975 Pirates, batting .400 in the playoffs, and hit for the cycle against the Giants in 1974.

Richie Zisk (photo Icon Sportswire/Getty)

• 1987 - 3B Pedro Alvarez was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. El Toro, who played at Vandy, was drafted in the first round (second overall) of the 2008 MLB draft. A last minute signing, complicated by some posturing by the FO and Scott Boras along with a suit filed by the MLBPA, was resolved and he joined the club, ultimately receiving a $6.4M bonus. He’s developed into a middling average, high strikeout, middle-of-the-order boomer since his 2010 MLB debut. Pedro tied for the NL lead in homers in 2013 with 36, also netting an All-Star berth, but spent 2014 with a bad case of the yips at the hot corner, triggering a switch to first base in 2015. That didn’t work out, and he was non-tendered in the off season. El Toro played with the O’s last year and is a free agent now.
• 2013 - Two-time All-Star Andrew McCutchen was honored with the Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year Award. He hit .327/.400/.533 with 31 home runs in a breakout 2012 season. A total of 18 Pirates have received the Dapper Dan SOY honor, but McCutchen was only the second in the past 20 years and the first since Jason Kendall in 2000.
• 2013 - The Pirates signed free agent LHP Jonathan Sanchez to a minor league deal. He broke camp as the fifth starter but was released on May 8th after posting a 0-3/11.85 line. Known as “The Comeback Kid,” he may be all out of bounce backs. He hasn’t pitched in the majors since, although he has inked a couple of minor league contracts.

Jonathan Sanchez 2013 (photo J Meric/Getty)

• 2014 - Manager of the Year Clint Hurdle was honored as the Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year. Hurdle joined Andrew McCutchen, Ralph Kiner, Danny Murtaugh, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and Dave Parker as winners of the award. Cutch was the 2013 winner, and it was the first time Pirates had won back-to-back Dapper Dans since The Cobra in 1978 and Cap’n Willie in 1979.
• 2014 - Pirate Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner passed away at the age of 91. He was the game’s greatest home run hitter following World War II, elected to six All-Star Games and led or tied for the NL lead in home runs in his first seven seasons in baseball. Kiner finished with 369 HRs, 1,015 RBIs, 1,451 hits, a .279 BA, and walked 100 or more times in six of his 10 MLB seasons. After his ball playing days, Ralph closed out his career with a 52-year gig calling NY Mets’ games.

Notes: Outfield Shuffle, Josh & Jung-Ho News, National Analysis, Moves

February is starting off just s slowly as January was...

• Well, not exactly the news you want two weeks before camp opens: After suffering some (wait for it) discomfort, 1B/OF Josh Bell had surgery to remove a loose body from his left knee. Recovery time is estimated at 2-4 weeks. It's not the first time his knee has cost him time; he also was shut down in 2012 and 2014 because of it. His status for Opening Day is TBD.

Josh's knee is still giving him problems (2016 Bowman Scout's Top 100)

• Bill Brink of the Post-Gazette reported that Jung Ho Kang will undergo voluntary alcohol counseling/treatment after his third DUI. He ehas yet to be disciplined by the league for his escapade. It's also up in the air as to how the charge may affect his visa status.
• Starling Marte tweeted that he's going to be the Buccos CF in 2017 (the Twitter translation thingie came up with "The OF @Starlingmart confirms that it will play in the central Prairie for next season by the Pittsburgh Pirates."). After the horse escaped the barn, the Bucs belatedly announced that Gregory will move to left, Starling to center and Andrew to right, where there's less prairie to guard and a short wall that will protect his arm. The biggest transition, we think, won't be for Cutch but for El Coffee, who showed some route-running issues that will be magnified in LF.
• Anthony Castrovince of Sports on Earth thinks the Pirates will be better than anticipated this year despite their quiet winter, as he expects the starting rotation to be much improved.

A healthy year from Gerrit would be a big boost (2016 Donruss)

• On the other hand, Stephanie Apstein of Sports Illustrated thinks the Bucco off season has been "directionless."
• Joe Trezza of MLB.com takes his shot at naming the five best players from Western Pennsylvania.
• Big Mike Zagurski is back in the States. After two years of tossing in Japan, the lefty signed a minor league deal with Detroit.
• Zach Thornton, who tossed for the Buc system in 2013-14 and is now with the Mets organization will pitched for team Israel in the WBC.

2/5: HBD Tiger, Barney Passes On, Ted Hired, Steady Freddy Inked

• 1928 - 3B Don Hoak was born in the Potter County town of Roulette. The Tiger played four years for the Pirates (1959-62), hitting .281 and was renowned for his scrappy play on the diamond, living up to his resume as an ex-boxer and Marine. After his playing days ended, Hoak was a Pirates' broadcaster for two years and managed a couple of seasons in the Pirate farm system.

Don Hoak 1961 Topps

• 1932 - Longtime owner and one of baseball’s early pathfinders Barney Dreyfuss died at 66, leaving Pirate ownership to his widow Florence and his son-in-law Bill Benswanger. Not only was he influential in Pittsburgh, building a solid franchise and a signature park, but he was also a sturdy rudder for baseball as it sailed some stormy seas in its early decades. In Dan Bonk’s Story of Forbes Field, it was noted that “Between 1895 and 1932, Dreyfuss was in the middle of every important decision facing professional baseball including syndication, contraction, league conflicts, the Federal League, schedules, and of course, the scandal arising out of the 1919 World Series.”
• 1992 - The Pirates hired Ted Simmons as General Manager. He served in that position for only a year, retiring after suffering a heart attack in June 1993. He was under a lot of job-related stress, as ownership wanted to trim payroll, resulting in a decidedly antsy locker room as the players waited for the next head to roll during the salary purge.

Freddy Sanchez 2007 Bowman Heritage

• 2008 - 2B “Steady” Freddy Sanchez inked a two year, $11M contract with an option for $8M in 2010. He lasted half way through it in Pittsburgh as Freddy was traded at the 2009 deadline to the Giants for RHP Tim Alderson. Sanchez played only one full season for the G-Men, the 2010 World Series campaign, as knee and shoulder injuries eroded his career. Alderson never cashed in as a Pirate prospect and is in the Nats system at last look.

2/4: HBD Lefty, Possum & Sacman; Danny, Denny & Joe Join Up; George, Bo & Bronson Leave; Roberto DD MoY

• 1875 - OF Alfonzo “Lefty” Davis was born in Nashville. Between 1901-02, he went to the plate 675 times for the Pirates and hit .300 w/.399 OBP, scoring 139 runs in 146 games played while swiping 41 bases. Despite that production, he would only play two more big league seasons, spending most of his career toiling in the minors as both a player and manager.

Possum Whitted 1921 (photo Conlon Collection/Getty)

• 1890 - UT George “Possum” Whitted (he picked up his nicknamed because of his tales of backwoods possum hunting) was born in Durham, North Carolina. Possum played in Pittsburgh from 1919-21, hitting .286 while manning first, third and left field. He was at the back end of an 11-year career, and after one game for the Dodgers in 1922, his MLB days were done. His versatility was a big part of his longevity. Possum was the first rookie in history to start at every position except pitcher and catcher during a season, and over the course of his career started at least 39 times at every non-battery position.
• 1927 - The Bucs claimed veteran 1B/OF Joe Harris off waivers from Washington. He started in Pittsburgh, hitting .326 in 129 games and was batting .391 in June of 1928 when he was flipped to the Brooklyn Robins in what became the 37-year-old’s last MLB season.
• 1932 - The Pirates sold 31-year-old 2B George Grantham to the Reds. Grantham was the Bucco second sacker for the 1925 and 1927 World Series clubs and put up seven straight .300+ seasons for Pittsburgh, with a BA of .315 between 1925-31. The FO must have had a glimmer that his tank was running low; his .300 streak ended at Cincinnati (.294) while his Pirates replacement Tony Piet hit .282 and then .323 the following campaign. George became a sub for the Reds in 1933 and left the game following the next campaign.

Dan Plesac 1996 Fleer Ultra

• 1962 - LHP Dan “Sacman” Plesac was born in Gary, Indiana. He tossed for Pittsburgh from 1995-96, somewhere in the middle of his 18-year career in the show, and slashed 10-9-14/3.86. He was part of the deal that brought Jose Silva, Craig Wilson and Abraham Nunez to the Pirates from Toronto after the 1996 campaign.
• 1962 - Roberto Clemente was given the Dapper Dan Man of the Year Award after hitting .351 in 1961 to claim the NL batting title, his first of four crowns. Ex-Pittsburgh mayor and then Pennsylvania governor David Lawrence presented Clemente with his plaque. The Great One said on acceptance that “This award belongs to the fans and my teammates as much as it does to me."
• 1970 - The Bucs sent noted playboy and so-so hurler Bo Belinsky to the Reds for RHP Dennis Ribant. Belinsky went 0-3 in eight games as a Pirate with a 4.58 ERA, and 1970 was his last MLB year; Ribant lasted a season for Pittsburgh, with a 9-8 record and a 4.08 ERA as a swingman before moving on to the AL.

Danny Darwin 1996 (photo Mitchell Layton/Getty)

• 1996 - RHP Danny Darwin signed with the Pirates after a couple of dismal seasons at Boston, Toronto and Texas. He went 7-9 with a sparkling 3.02 ERA and was flipped at the deadline to Houston for reliever Rick Loiselle. Darwin was dubbed "Doctor Death" by Houston’s Nolan Ryan because Danny was always ready to rumble. He got into two famous bouts with teammates Orel Hershiser and Barry Bonds, though Bonds was just a hot verbal altercation.
• 2003 - The Red Sox claimed Bronson Arroyo off waivers from the Pirates. After three seasons and a 9-14/5.44 ERA for Pittsburgh, he’s quietly worked another decade in the show since then, winning 100+ games with a rep of an inning eater. After a stint with the Arizona D-Backs following an eight year run with the Cincinnati Reds, he returned to the Reds organization this season, taking a nearly three year big league hiatus due to TJ surgery and elbow issues.
  

2/3: RIP Tom, Billy & Martin HoF, Roberto & Willie Honored, Mike Signs Up, Angel Busted

• 1901 - Pirate utilityman Tom O’Brien, who was born in Verona, died from “consumption” (pneumonia) at the age of 27, complicated by drinking sea water, which he had been told would cure him. His untimely death left a void in the Buc lineup which ended up to be filled capably by rookie Kitty Bransfield.

Billy Herman (photo George Burke/George Brace Collection)

• 1975 - The Special Veterans Committee selected 2B Billy Herman (Cubs, Dodgers, Braves and Pirates) for the Hall of Fame. He spent his final season in 1947 as a Bucco player/manager, getting into 15 games and hitting .213. Herman was inducted on August 18th.
• 1977 - The Hall of Fame's Special Committee on the Negro Leagues selected Cuban star Martin Dihigo into the Hall, where he was inducted on August 8th. Dihigo, who at one time or another played every position on the field, was with the Homestead Grays from 1927-28 and is the only man who’s been selected to the Cuban, Mexican, and United States Baseball Halls of Fame.
• 1980 - Willie Stargell was given the Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year honor for 1979. Cap’n Willie was the World Series MVP and NL’s co-MVP (with the Cards’ Keith Hernandez) in ‘79. It was his second DD award - he shared the 1971 honor with Danny Murtaugh and Roberto Clemente.

Willie Stargell 1974 Topps/O-Pee-Chee

• 1982 - Minor league C Angel Rodriguez‚ 20, who played for the Pirates' Alexandria club (Carolina League), was suspended from organized baseball for one year for telling opposing Latino batters what pitches were coming, in Spanish. Rodriguez had been suspended by the Pirates during an August 19th game against Lynchburg, and baseball added its punishment after investigators had obtained written statements from eight umpires and several managers. He returned in 1984, but never got past the AAA level.
• 2001 - RHP Mike Lincoln joined the Pirates from the Twins after being released by Minnesota in the off season. The Bucs converted the starter to a bullpen role, and in three years in Pittsburgh (2001-03), he went 7-9-5 with a 3.50 ERA, closing briefly in 2003. He had a bruised shoulder in his last season, working just 36-⅓ IP, and was non-tendered after the campaign. Lincoln went to the Cards, but had TJ surgery during the 2004 season. It took four years for him to bounce back, but he did rally for three final campaigns with the Reds from 2008-10 before retiring.
• 2015 - The Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame inducted six new members, including Roberto Clemente. MLB'er Bernie Williams was also honored, along with several Latino League legends.

Roberto's roots recognized (1972 Kelloggs) 

2/2 Birthdays: HBD Big Bill, Fred, John, Manny, Pat, Ronny & Travis

• 1882 - 1B “Big Bill” Abstein was born in St. Louis. He was a Pirates backup in 1906 and returned as a starter in 1909, batting .258 for the Bucs and playing all seven games during Pittsburgh’s World Series win over Detroit. He closed out his brief career the following season with his hometown St Louis Browns. Bill was a two sport star; he also played soccer for a couple of St Louis clubs when he wasn’t swatting baseballs.

Bill Abstein 1909 Conlon Collection/Detroit Public Library

• 1927 - LHP Fred Waters was born in Benton, Mississippi. He came to Pittsburgh in the Danny O’Connell blockbuster and tossed from 1955-56, going 2-2, 2.89 mainly from the pen. Fred was injured in winter ball and never made it back to the bigs, although he did spend 13 years toiling in the minors. He became a long-time coach and manager, primarily in the Twins organization.
• 1954 - LHP John Tudor was born in Schenectady, New York. He went 12-11/3.27 in his only Bucco season, 1984, with the team scoring two or fewer runs in nine of his losses. That December, the Bucs traded him & Brian Harper to the Cardinals for George Hendrick & minor-leaguer Steve Barnard. Tudor said of the deal “I’ll miss the parrot” and then went on to win 21 games for the Redbirds to lead them to the NL title and World Series in 1985.
• 1956 - RHP Manny Sarmiento was born in Cagua, Venezuela. The Bucs purchased the five-year vet from the Red Sox and Manny tossed a pair of strong campaigns in 1982-83, going 12-9-5 with a 3.25 ERA as a starter and reliever. He blew out his elbow during camp in 1984 and though only 28 years old, he never pitched in the majors again.

Manny Sarmiento 1983 Donruss

• 1962 - LHP Pat Clements was born in McCloud, California. He was in Pittsburgh early in his career from 1985-86, going 0-6-4/3.12. He then became a piece of the 1986 deal that landed Doug Drabek for the Pirates. He worked through the 1992 season for NY, San Diego and Baltimore as a bridge reliever.
• 1983 - SS Ronny Cedeno was born in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. He manned the spot for Pittsburgh from 2009-11, hitting a streaky .254 but never showing any consistency in the field, flashing the good, the bad and the ugly with his leather. He last played for the Phils in 2013 and is now playing in the Mexican League.
• 1988 - OF Travis Snider was born in Kirkland, Washington. He came to the Bucs from Toronto in the 2012 Brad Lincoln deal. After sputtering for a couple of years, he had a solid 2014 season with 13 HR and a .264 BA, which earned him a ticket to the Boston Red Sox for a pair of minor league prospects. Snider returned to the Bucs in August, 2015, before being released during the off season and signing with KC. He’s now with the Texas organization.

Travis & Clint party (photo Charles LeClaire/USA Today)

2/2: NL Forms; Talkin' Turkey; Burleigh, Schoolboy, Heinie & Freddie Get HoF Call

• 1876 - The National League was formed in New York City, replacing the old National Association. The Pirates were not among the original group and the franchise didn’t join the NL until 1886 when the Alleghenys bolted from the American Association.
• 1951 - Eight Pirates rejected contracts offered by Bucco GM Branch Rickey - pitchers Cliff Chambers, Murry Dickson and Vic Lombardi; catchers Clyde McCullough and Ed FitzGerald, 1B Jack Phillips, IF Pete Castiglione and OF Wally Westbook. They all settled before the season except for Lombardi, who had his salary offer cut by the 25% maximum allowed by the league, and instead signed with Hollywood of Pacific Coast League. He never earned another MLB job.

Vic rolled the dice and crapped out (1951 Bowman)

• 1964 - P Burleigh Grimes was selected for the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee and was inducted on July 27th. The 270 game winner began, ended, and played some during the middle of his career with the Pirates. Also chosen was OF Heinie Manush, who spent his last two seasons (1938-39) in Pittsburgh, getting 25 at-bats.
• 1969 - RHP Waite "Schoolboy" Hoyt was voted into the Hall of Fame by the Special Veteran's Committee. He spent 4-1/2 of his pro seasons in Pittsburgh between 1933-37, going 35-31, topped by a 15-5 record in 1934. He was inducted on July 28th.
• 1976 - The Special Veterans Committee selected OF Freddie Lindstrom to the Hall of Fame. He played two of his 13 big league campaigns for Pittsburgh, hitting .302 and driving in 147 runs. He was inducted on August 9th.

Freddie Lindstrom 1933 DeLong

3/1: Forbes Field Dig Begins, HBD Jumbo & Johnny, Sickly Arriba, Pirating, Na Mas Havana, Lockout, MLB Broadcast Deal

• 1891 - After earlier spiriting 2B Lou Bierbauer away from Philadelphia, the Pittsburgh Alleghenys again raided the American Association by signing OF Pete Browning and P Scott Stratton away from the Louisville Colonels, further cementing its new nickname of "Pirates." The Alleghenys were never found guilty of wrongdoing in any of the deals, and they thumbed their noses at being called piratical by rebranding themselves as the Pirates for the 1891 season. The nickname was finally stitched on the team's uniforms in 1912.
• 1909 - Barney Dreyfuss began construction of a stadium near Schenley Park in Oakland, to be named Forbes Field after General John Forbes of French and Indian War fame. It opened remarkably quickly, on June 30th, and remained the Bucco’s playground for decades. The Pirates won three World Series there while sharing it with Pitt, the Steelers, the circus, rallies and events of all stripes before shutting down in 1970 and moving to TRS.

Jumbo - 1983 TCMA (reprint of 1944 Goudey)

• 1915 - RHP Nick “Jumbo” Strincevich was born in Gary, Indiana. Called “Jumbo” because he was 6’1”, Strincevich was selected to play on the 1945 All-Star team but due to wartime travel restrictions, the game was cancelled. He was a Buc from 1941-48, starting about half the games he appeared in, and compiled a Pittsburgh slash of 42-40-5/4.05.
• 1939 - The first Major League Broadcasting Agreement was signed just prior to the 1939 season. Prior to that, many MLB teams didn’t broadcast their games over the radio for fear of losing attendance. Afterward, all did, except for a couple of times that clubs didn’t get what they believed was a fair price for their rights. The first televised game was also aired this year, and in 1953 ABC began broadcasting a national game on Saturdays.
• 1953 - The Pirates opened their first and only spring camp in Havana. The Cuban government didn’t like the financial results of the experiment while the Pirates missed competing against other MLB teams based in Florida, so the original three-year deal ended up one and done by mutual agreement.

Johnny Ray 2013 Panini Hometown Heroes

• 1957 - 2B Johnny Ray was born in Chouteau, Oklahoma. He played seven years (1981-86) for the Bucs with a .286 BA before being moved to make room for Jose Lind. He was Rookie of the Year runner-up in 1982 to Steve Sax, playing in 162 games and hitting .318. Ray also won a Silver Slugger award in 1983.
• 1965 - Roberto Clemente didn’t report for spring training, suffering from malaria. He made it to camp a month later and muddled along until mid-May, rallying to win the NL batting title with a .329 BA. He did struggle all year with his power stroke, bopping just 21 doubles and 10 home runs with 65 RBI, his lowest totals since 1959.
• 1976 - The owners ordered a spring training lockout, which lasted 17 days. Unwilling to delay the start of the season, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn decreed training camps to open March 18th. Players agreed to open the 1976 season without a collective bargaining agreement in place, and no games were canceled. A new four-year CBA was hammered out in July that allowed for free agency, and it was ratified in August.

2/1: Cruz Signs & Lots of HBD: Stolmy, Jim B, Cecilio, Jim M, Bob, Jim K and Rosey

• 1884 - Pirate announcer Rosey Rowswell was born in Alton, Illinois (although raised in Tarentum). In 1936, he joined WWSW as a Pirate broadcaster and remained there until his death in 1955. His last on-air partner was Bob Prince from 1948-54, who called Rowswell his mentor. Rosey was an unabashed homer, and known for his home run call of “Open the window, Aunt Minnie, here she comes” followed by the sound of shattering glass. He also coined the term “Buccos” and “FOB” (when the bases were loaded, they were Full Of Buccos). Roswell died in Pittsburgh in 1955 at the age of 71 and was buried in Allegheny Cemetery.

1942 Opening Day ad in the Post-Gazette featuring Rosey Rowswell

• 1884 - RF Jim Kelly was born in Bloomfield, New Jersey. He didn’t have much a pro career, and spent two of his three MLB years in Pittsburgh, batting .227 as a part-time Pirate in 1914 and .294 as a starting outfielder for the Pittsburgh Rebels of the Federation League. He was a sly one - born Robert John Taggert, he used the name James Robert Kelly and trimmed six years off his age (he changed his B-Date to 1890) to muddy the fact that he was beginning his minor league career as a 27 year-old.
• 1931 - LHP Bob Smith was born in Woodsville, New Hampshire. The journeyman worked out of the Pirate bullpen from 1957-59, where he went 8-19-1 with a 3.74 ERA in 75 appearances. Smith’s everyday name played havoc with him. While with the Boston system, a similarly built lefty of the same name was often confused with him, and the Sox had to revert to using initials to differentiate the pair. In Pittsburgh, he suffered a more embarrassing fate - Smith’s 1958 Topps card, he claims, has the picture of Cardinal outfielder Bobby Gene Smith rather than his, and he has never autographed that particular card because of the mix-up.
• 1947 - RHP Jim McKee was born in Columbus, Ohio. Jim tossed briefly for the Pirates in 1972-73, going 1-1, 4.17 in 17 outings. He was a life-long Bucco, selected by Pittsburgh in the fourth round of the 1969 draft out of Otterbein College and closing out his career in 1974 at AAA Charleston.

Jim McKee 1973 (photo via Sports World)

• 1960 - P Cecilio Guante was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The righty was a bridge guy for Pittsburgh for five seasons (1982-86) and went 13-17-20/3.06 in that role before being traded to the Yankees as part of the Doug Drabek deal.
• 1961 - Pitching wizard Jim Benedict was born in Burbank, California. After tossing in the KC system, he managed and coached in the college ranks. In 1990, he joined the Rangers, then from 1994-2000 was the minor league pitching coordinator for the Expos and Dodgers. Jim became a scout and Special Assistant to the GM for the Yankees for five years. In 2007-2008, he scouted for the Indians. In late 2008, he joined the Pirates as Special Assistant to the GM. He helped turn around the pitching and in 2015 was hired away by the Miami Marlins as the VP of pitching.
• 1990 - RHP Stolmy Pimentel was born in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic. He was a Buc from 2013-14, coming over from the Red Sox and going 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA. The old Sox Prospects scouting report on him held true: “Excellent overall stuff, but struggles with the consistency of his mechanics.” He was released and has bounced around since then.

Juan Cruz 2012 Topps Update

• 2012 - 33-year-old RHP Juan Cruz agreed a $1.25M contract with the Pirates, earning a spot on the team as a non-roster invitee and finishing the campaign with a solid 1-1-3, 2.78 line. But his 4.19 FIP, 1.626 WHIP and five walks per nine painted a clearer picture of his performance and he was released in late August to end his last season in the majors.