3/10: Sanders Signs; Heaton-Gibson Swap; Lange & Blass Duo; HBD John, Tike, Jack, Art, Judge, Gene, Pops & Chief

• 1862 - Utilityman Ed “Pops/Dad” Lytle was born in Racine, Wisconsin. Pops (he was 28 when he reached the majors) had a 16-game big league career, all in 1890, and appeared in 15 of them with the Alleghenys, playing second and the outfield while hitting .145. He played 12 years of organized ball starting in 1889 and concluding in 1900; given his age, he likely seasoned himself in the indie and semi-pro leagues during his younger days. 

John Kelty - 1884 Sporting Life illustration

• 1871 - OF John “Chief” Kelty was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. 19-year-old Kelty played for the 1890 Alleghenys in his only big league stop, hitting .237 in 59 games as part of a posse of 12 players who roamed the pasture for Pittsburgh at one time or another during that 113-loss season. He dropped out of the record books after playing in the minors in 1891, presumably returning to his hometown, where he passed on in 1929. 
• 1873 - IF Eugene Napoleon DeMontreville (AKA Gene Demont) was born in St. Paul. Gene only played for the Pirates in his 1894 rookie season, hitting .250 in eight at-bats, but went on to have an 11-year MLB career and put together a 36-game hitting streak between 1896-97 with Washington, the 10th longest run in baseball history. Gene left the show with a .303 lifetime average and six .300+ campaigns. (PS - don’t take this birth date to the bank; many sources agree on this date but his SABR bio claims it was March 26, 1874, so caveat emptor). 
• 1880 - RHP Walter “Judge/Lucky” Nagel was born in Santa Rosa, California. He began his major league career with the Pirates in 1911, signed by Barney Dreyfuss after a strong run in the PCL, with three consecutive 20-win campaigns. He slashed 4-2/3.62 in eight games. Judge was sold to the Boston Red Sox in June. That stop was the end of his career; he developed a sore arm and retired. Nagle wrote a book afterward titled “Five Straight Errors On Ladies Day” about his life and his friendship with Ty Cobb. He got his “Judge” nickname because he grew up beside the Santa Rosa Courthouse, where his father worked. We weren’t so lucky trying to find the origin of “Lucky.” 
• 1889 - P Jack Mercer was born in Zanesville, Ohio. His major league career lasted one inning, tossed in 1910 for the Pirates, allowing no runs on two walks and one strikeout. He had control issues he couldn’t overcome, and after two years in the minors, he was done with organized ball following the 1911 season. 
• 1906 - RHP Art Herring was born in Altus, Oklahoma. Art closed out his 11-year career in 1947 with the Pirates after the Bucs bought his contract from the Brooklyn Dodgers during the ‘46 offseason. Herring made 11 appearances out of the pen for the Pirates in 1947 with a 1-3-2/8.44 slash and was released in late June, retiring after the season. 

John Cangelosi - 1988 Panini sticker

• 1963 - OF John Cangelosi was born in Brooklyn. The hustler hit .243 between 1987-90 for Pittsburgh, and in ‘87 became the first Pirate in 21 years to steal home. Cangelosi played 13 years for seven clubs; Pittsburgh was his longest stay with one team. He now operates Cangelosi Baseball, located inside the Bo Jackson's Elite Sports Dome, a Chicago-based sports training facility. 
• 1977 - OF Julian “Tike” Redman was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He played five of his six MLB seasons (2000-01, 03-05) in Pittsburgh as a reserve outfielder, with a .281 BA. He had a decent stick, but he lost out when Nate McLouth and Chris Duffy were called to the show. He finished out his career in 2011 in the Mexican League. 
• 1987 - Mike Lange and Steve Blass were named announcers for the Bucco broadcasts on cable channel TCI, returning after their 1986 debut. It was controversial, as Ray Goss, Duquesne basketball announcer, and WPXI sportscaster Don Brinson were strong contenders to replace them and were in fact rumored to have the inside track. But a last minute compromise on contract terms saved the day for Lange and Blass, who broadcast 54 games for TCI in ‘87. 
• 1992 - The Pittsburgh Pirates traded LHP Neal Heaton to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for OF Kirk Gibson. Heaton, a 1990 All-Star, was released the following season while Gibson hit just .196 for the Bucs and was given his walking papers in early May. Kirk did have three decent seasons for Detroit and old skipper Sparky Anderson afterward, hitting .273 with 45 HR during that span before hanging them up in 1996.

Kirk Gibson - 1992 Pinnacle

• 2003 - OF Reggie Sanders signed a one-year/$1M contract that had been announced pending physical on February 19th, but because of a 40-man logjam, wasn’t made official until this date. Reggie earned every penny of the belated deal by hitting .285 with 31 HR/87 RBI, and the big campaign paid off for him as he left the following year and turned his slash into a two-year/$6M deal with St. Louis. Reggie remained productive over the final four years of his career before retiring after an injury-shortened 2007 season.

Bucs Rollin', Bop Bravos 10-1

 Today's Game:

Steven Brault started on the hill against the Bravos, followed by Miguel Yajure (he and Brault worked two frames), Chris Stratton,  Edgar Santana, Sam Howard, Sean Poppen and Nick Mears. They'll be joined by Fraze at second at long last, E-Gon at short and Anthony Alford in center.

Well, the tossing couldn't get much better as the Bucs had a no-hit shutout with two gone in the ninth. Nick Mears gave up a dink single to right and eventually balked a run home (he walked two and bopped one to go with the balk; only a DP saved him from a spanking). But in the overall scheme it didn't make a whole lot of diff as Pittsburgh rock 'n' rolled again with a 10-1 over Atlanta.

Ke'Bryan picking up where he left off - 2016 Inception

The Pirates rattled off 17 hits, with Adam Frazier and Erik Gonzalez each collecting three raps. Ke'Bryan Hayes, Hunter Owen, Alford and Joe Hudson each added a pair of hits. Owen and Troy Stokes Jr. went long. Let the good times roll.

Notes:

• The Pirates used 17 position players; 12 reached base via hit or walk.
• Pittsburgh has taken its past two games by a combined 23-2 score, won three in a row and four-of-five. Sure beats last spring...

Tomorrow's Game: 

The Bucs take a trip to see the Bronx Bombers at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. Pitching will be Tyler Anderson,  Michael Feliz, Richard Rodriguez, David Bednar, Geoff Hartlieb, Blake Cederlind and Braeden Ogle. The game will be on KDKA 1020/PRN with a 6:35 starting time.

3/9: Rhoden Dangled; Happy Jack Back; LL Classic; RIP Elbie; HBD Arky, Huddy, Ronnie, Terry, Benito, Ed, Jake, Billy, Tom & Joe

• 1872 - IF Tom Delahanty was born in Cleveland, Ohio. During his brief 19-game, three-year career, he made a quick one-game stop in Pittsburgh in 1896, going one-for-three and scoring. He finished the year with Toronto of the Eastern League, getting into one last MLB game with Louisville in ‘97. One of five Delahanty brothers who played in the majors, Tom spent the rest of his career bouncing around the minors through 1906, retiring eventually to Florida to run a general store and moonlight as a fishing guide. 
• 1893 - RF Billy Southworth was born in Harvard, Nebraska. He was a Buc from 1918-20, hitting .294, and then was traded as part of the package for Rabbit Maranville. Southworth reached the Hall of Fame thanks mainly to his managing chops; he won two World Series with the Cardinals.

Joe Dawson - 1927 Pittsburgh Press

• 1897 - RHP Ralph Fenton “Joe” Dawson was born in Bow, Washington. After a brief taste of the show with the Indians in 1924, he pitched for the Bucs from 1927-29, mostly from the pen, and went 11-17-3 with a 4.15 ERA. Joe tossed a scoreless frame in the 1927 World Series and hit pretty well for a hurler with a .257 Pirates BA. He became a Texan after he hung ‘em up in 1932 following a stint with the Kansas City Blues of the American Association, passing away in Longview at the age of 80. 
• 1900 - The Allegheny’s claimed Jack Chesbro, George Fox, Art Madison and John O'Brien from the Louisville Colonels. The four had been traded to the American Association team the month before for a dozen players, including Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke, Tommy Leach and Deacon Phillippe. At the time, Barney Dreyfuss owned the Colonels, who were due to be eliminated from the NL, and had a 50% silent interest in the Alleghenys back when multi-ownership of franchises was allowed. So he came up with this scheme to in effect combine franchises. Chesbro had four good years with the Bucs and then a strong career with the Yankees, winning 41 games for them in 1904; the other three didn’t make it to Opening Day. 
• 1912 - Hall-of-Fame SS Floyd “Arky” (for his birth state) Vaughan was born in Clifty, Arkansas. Vaughan compiled a .318 BA during a 14-year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1932-41) and Brooklyn Dodgers. He was named to nine All-Star teams during that span. Arky hit at least .300 in all 10 of his seasons with the Pirates, walked 937 times during his career while striking out just 276 times and in 1941, he became the first player to hit two home runs in an All-Star game. Arky was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1985. 
• 1932 - RHP Ronnie Kline was born in Callery, Butler County. He spent eight of his 17 big league years (1952, 55-59, 68-69) hurling for the Bucs, going 66-91-14/3.77 for Pittsburgh as a starter, swingman and reliever as his career went on. Called the “Callery Hummer,” he became the mayor of Callery after he left the slab. He remained there until he passed away at the age of 70. 

Jake Martin - 1956 Topps

• 1932 - RHP Paul “Jake” Martin was born in Brownstown, near Charleroi. The 6’5”, 235 pounder was a Mon Valley League legend and signed a two-year “bonus baby” deal with the Bucs in 1955 on the advice of former Pirates hurler Ron Necciai, a Monongahela HS grad and Mon Valley neighbor. Jake threw hard but was wild and his ride with the Pirates lasted for just seven appearances. He posted an 0-1 record with seven strikeouts, 17 walks and a 14.14 earned run average. He never had a chance to rebound; he injured his arm in August, was shut down and then sent to Cuba for winter league work. Somewhere during that span he tore the ligament in his elbow, ending his career. But Jake had no regrets. After he was long retired, he told writer Len Fiorito of Oldtyme Baseball that "I was with the team long enough to get on a baseball card and people still send me the card to sign." 
• 1944 - RHP Ed Acosta was born in Boquete, Panama. Acosta went through the Bucs upper levels in 1970 after coming over from Houston and started his MLB career with three late season appearances that weren’t very pretty (four runs in 2-⅔ IP). In August of 1971, he was traded with Johnny Jeter to the San Diego Padres for Bob Miller. He tossed for the Friars through ‘72, spent two years as AAA depth and called it a day. 
• 1963 - LHP Terry Mulholland was born in Uniontown and went to Laurel Highland HS. Terry played for the hometown nine just briefly, signing as a free agent and working 22 times in 2001 to a 3.72 ERA before being flipped to the Dodgers at the deadline for Mike Fetters. He was an MLB survivor - despite a 4.41 career ERA, he worked 20 years in the show (he lasted until he was 43) while tossing for 11 teams and became one of the few pitchers to beat every major league club during his run. 
• 1965 - C Benito Santiago was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He closed out his 20-year career in Pittsburgh after the KC Royals traded him to the Pirates for Leo Núñez (actually, Juan Carlos Oviedo, but that’s another story). The Pirates let Santiago go after 23 at-bats to clear playing time for David Ross, who they had bought from the Dodgers. They pivoted quickly on that, too, sending Ross to San Diego for JJ Furmaniak at the deadline to give Ryan Doumit & Humberto Cota a crack at the job. After all the musical chairs played out, it marked the starting steps for several careers but the end of the road for Benito. 

Benito Santiago - 2005 Pirates Promo

• 1986 - GM Syd Thrift was dangling 33-year-old RHP Rick Rhoden on the trade market and met with reps of the Phils, Braves and Padres OTD to lay the groundwork for a possible deal, per Charley Feeney of the Post Gazette. No deal came together that spring and RR stayed with the team. Good thing, too - he earned his second All Star berth by posting a 15-12/2.84 slash to fatten his value on the market. Rhoden then went to the NY Yankees in late November as part of the package that landed Doug Drabek for the Pirates. 
• 1987 - RHP Daniel “Huddy” Hudson was born in Lynchburg, Virginia. A solid starter in his earlier years, a pair of TJ surgeries limited him to 12 outings between 2012-14 and a transition to the bullpen. He made 134 appearances (7-5-9/4.50) in the two following seasons with Arizona, featuring a 96 MPH fastball, and in December, 2016, the Pirates signed him to a two-year/$11M free agent deal with $3M more available in possible bonuses as a back end bullpen arm. After a hot-and-cold campaign (2-7/4.38), he lost his sheen and became part of the Corey Dickerson deal with Tampa in 2018. He’s now with the Washington Nats. 
• 1994 - 1B Elbie Fletcher passed away at age 77 in his hometown of Milton, Massachusetts. Elbie joined the Pirates in June of 1939 in a deal with the Boston Braves to replace long-time 1B Gus Suhr, who was traded a few weeks after Fletcher’s arrival. Fletcher manned the spot from then through the 1947 campaign, with a couple seasons lost to the Navy during WW2. He didn’t have much power but was an on-base machine (.403 OBP/128 OPS+ as a Bucco) and a slick fielder. He split his career between Boston and Pittsburgh, spending six years, including his rookie and final seasons, in Beantown. 
• 2017 - The Commissioner announced that the first MLB Little League Classic would be played between Cardinals and Pirates on August 20th at Williamsport’s BB&T Ballpark (formerly known as Bowman Field), the second-oldest minor league ballpark in the United States, opening in 1926. The regular season game, originally scheduled to be played at PNC Park, took place in conjunction with the Little League World Series. The Pirates won the game 6-3; Josh Bell homered and chased home four runs to help Ivan Nova claim the win.

3/8: Stadium Plans Announced; Kris Signs; CF Cage Match; Casey HoF; Arriba TV; Fed League Born; HBD Joel, Juan, Tony, Al, Bill, Coldwater Jim & Iron Man

• 1869 - RHP James “Coldwater Jim” Hughey was born in Wakeshma, Michigan. A journeyman, he pitched for the Pirates from 1896-97, going 12-18 with a 5.03 ERA. Coldwater (named for his first minor league outpost and eventually where he settled) is the last pitcher to lose 30 games, doing so for a historically terrible 1899 Cleveland Spider club that finished 20-134 (he did lead the club in ERA and wins). Because of poor attendance, the Spiders played only 42 home games, setting an untouchable record of 101 road losses! 
• 1912 - C Ray “Iron Man” Mueller was born in Pittsburg, Kansas. Iron Man played in Pittsburgh (PA, not KS) from 1939-40 and again in 1950, hitting .251. He earned his nickname when he caught every game the Cincinnati Reds played (155) during the 1944 season. Mueller caught a NL-record 233 consecutive games in 1943–1944 and 1946, missing 1945 when he was in the Army. 

Iron Man Mueller - undated photo/George Burke

• 1913 - The Federal League was born as a six-team outlaw circuit with Pittsburgh (called the “Feds” and later becoming the “Rebels”) among its clubs. It was a minor league during its first season, but became a third major league, along with the NL and AL, from 1914-15. It initiated a costly wage war by signing established players, but the league pockets weren’t deep enough to continue the battle. After 1915, six of the eight teams were bought or merged into the NL/AL, ending the last major league to compete against the established powers. 
• 1917 - C Bill Salkeld was born in Pocatello, Idaho. He began his career as a Pirate, batting .293 from 1945-47 as a spare catcher and pinch hitter. Salkeld retired from baseball in 1953 after spending some time in the minors and died young from cancer at the age of 50 in 1967. His grandson Roger, born four years after Bill passed away, was chosen by the Seattle Mariners in the first round of the 1989 MLB Draft, and pitched in 45 games for the Mariners and Cincinnati Reds during the mid-nineties. 
• 1922 - OF Al Gionfriddo was born in Dysart, in Cambria County. He played four years (1944-47) as a spare OF’er and pinch hitter for the Bucs, batting .276, but made his mark after being traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. He played in the World Series that year and made a famous fence-kissing catch of a Joe DiMaggio blast to rob Jolting Joe of extra bases. As Red Barber famously called it on Mutual Radio: "...back goes Gionfriddo! Back, back, back, back, back, back...he makes a one-handed catch against the bullpen! Ohhh-hooo, Doctor!” If the line sounds familiar, it’s because ESPN’s Chris Berman adapted it to his call. 
• 1924 - C Maurice “Toby” Atwell was born in Leesburg, Virginia. A strong defensive guy behind the plate, Atwell was a part-time Bucco catcher from 1953-56, batting .250. His career ended the next season; he had injured his knee in the minors and never fully recovered. Toby also answered to “Buster,” after silent film star Buster Keaton, because he spoke so little, per ex-Bucco Nellie King. Lloyd Larsen of the Milwaukee Sentinel added that the Cubs called him “Three Word” because that’s all he said - “hello” when he arrived at camp and “good bye” when the season ended. 

Toby Atwell - 1955 Bowman

• 1949 - RHP Juan Jimenez was born in La Torre, Dominican Republic. Jimenez’s MLB career consisted of four September, 1974 Bucco outings, giving up four runs (three earned) in four IP with six hits and two walks as a mop-up man. He had done good work during the season at AAA Charleston, going 6-9/2.66 as a swingman. Juan spent the ‘75 campaign there and then tucked the ball in his back pocket. 
• 1966 - The Hall of Fame Special Veterans Committee elected Casey Stengel to the Hall. He broke his hip in 1965, ending his managerial career, and the Committee waived his waiting period to make him immediately eligible for Cooperstown. (The electors, who weren’t sure The Ol’ Perfessor would last long enough to become eligible, needn't have worried - he lasted another decade, living to the ripe old age of 85). He was inducted July 25th. Stengel was a Pirate outfielder from 1918-19; his famous "sparrow under the hat" antic was as a Bucco. 
• 1967 - RHP Joel Johnston was born in West Chester, PA. He was a Penn State grad and highly touted KC prospect, breaking into Baseball America’s Top 100 (#59). After a poor showing with the Royals, he was traded to the Pirates in 1993 with P Dennis Moeller for José Lind, and he rebounded with a line of 2-4-2/3.38 in 33 games. But he bombed the next year and was released in May 1994. 
• 1998 - The TV special “Clemente” aired nationally on Fox Sports. The 45-minute program was produced by Black Canyon, who put together the “When It Was A Game” series for HBO.The show consisted of old clips, file footage and interviews. It was well reviewed and timed to introduce one of the great players of this century to an audience that either never knew him or forgot his accomplishments. 
• 1998 - The City and County announced Plans to build two stadia on the North Shore at a cost of $459M, with construction to begin in the summer of ‘99. PNC Park & Heinz Field both had spring groundbreakings and stayed fairly close to the budget, costing taxpayers $497M, less than a 10% overrun of the estimated cost, pretty much a bullseye for government estimators. 

Kris Benson - 2001 Upper Deck Vintage

• 2001 - Kris Benson signed a four-year contract worth a reported $13-14M that carried him through arbitration. Benson, 26, posted a 10-12/3.85 line in 2000. He missed all of 2001 after TJ surgery and never finished a season with an ERA under four in his remaining seven seasons. He played as a Pirate until the last year of the agreement, when he was sent to the Mets in the transaction that got Jose Bautista back after losing him in the 2003 Rule 5 draft. 
• 2007 - The Post Gazette featured a spring camp report wondering if Nate McLouth could hang on to win a bench spot after a disappointing campaign in 2006. He did go north with the Bucs, joining a rotating cast in center field consisting of himself, Chris Duffy, Rajai Davis and Nyjer Morgan, then took command of the pasture with an All-Star season in 2008. The job here was short-lived, though - he was sent to Atlanta in June of 2009 for Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke & Gorkys Hernandez to clear a spot for rookie Andrew McCutchen.

Bucs Batter Baltimore 13-1; Underwood for Apostel Trade w/Cubs, Fulmer DFA'ed

Today's Game:

Holy Moly - a nine-inning game on TV! JT Brubaker got the starting nod against the Orioles, while tagging up after him were Chase De Jong, Richard Rodriguez, Kyle Crick, Chasen Shreve, Clay Holmes and David Bednar. Adam Frazier got his first action of the year, albeit as DH, with Kevin Newman at SS, Brian Goodwin again in center and Dustin Fowler in left. The Bucs apparently enjoy being on the tube; they romped past Baltimore, 13-1.  

Brubaker and De Jong got the Bucs off to a good start, each spinning a pair of scoreless frames. Ric Rod gave up a run on two hits but with two K, and Crick worked out of a two-runners jam by fanning the side. Shreve and Holmes worked quiet innings, each stranding a Bird at first. Bednar closed it out with a K.

With the wind blowing in, there were no dingers, but the Pirates were quite efficient - they banged out 15 hits (four doubles) and stranded just seven runners. The biggest blow was Fowler's bases-loaded double, sending three Buccos home. The swatting was contagious today; a dozen Bucs had hits and 11 scored, drove in a run or both.

Kevin's hot but ouch... - 2019 Topps Gold Label

The only sour note was after Newman doubled in the fourth for his second hit of the day (he's been en fuego so far) but pulled into second with a tight hammy, so we'll see how that plays out.

Notes:

• Pittsburgh dealt with the Cubs for RHP Duane Underwood, Jr., 26, sending 1B Shendrik Apostel to the Windy City. RHP Carson Fulmer was DFA'ed to make room on the 40-man for Underwood. He spent parts of three seasons with the Cubs with a slash of 1-1/5.20 as a reliever (he's also potentially a starter) had been DFA'ed. Apostel, 20, spent the last two seasons in the Dominican League with a .252 BA and 11 HR in 265 ABs. Fulmer was caught up in a logjam of long men/spot starters in camp.
• Fraze, Ke'Bryan Hayes and Ji-Hwan Bae each collected a pair of hits today.
• The Bucs and O's played a backlot B game earlier in the day. Michael Feliz, James Marvel, Max Kranick and Blake Weiman did the slabwork. 

Tomorrow's Game:

The Bucs get a beach day on Monday. They pick up the gauntlet again Tuesday against Atlanta at Sarasota with Steven Brault leading the charge. The game is scheduled for 1:05 and will be broadcast on KDKA 1020.

3/7 Through the 1980’s: Diomedes Deal; Camp Churn; Slab Established; RIP Pud; HBD Al, Dick, Junior & Doc

• 1881 - RHP William “Doc” Scanlan was born in Syracuse. He started his career in Pittsburgh, tossing sparingly from 1903-04 before being sold to the Brooklyn Superbas. Doc was 1-4 with a 4.65 ERA here, but was steady for some bad Brooklyn teams over the next 6-½ years, winning 64 games with a 2.96 ERA and tossing over 1,200 IP. He made baseball history in 1905 when he became one of only a handful of NL hurlers in modern major league history to win two complete games in one day, beating St. Louis, 4-0 and 3-2 on October 3rd. Doc’s nickname was straightforward enough; he became a doctor after he hung up the spikes. 
• 1893 - Baseball began to take on its modern form. The NL eliminated the pitching box, a 6’ x 4’ area the pitcher could throw from, and replaced it with the pitcher's rubber, establishing both a set position for pitchers and today’s pitching distance of 60’ 6”. Also, bats had to be rounded - the semi-cricket style of one side being flat for ease of slapping/bunting was made illegal. 

Pud's New Stone - 2017 Calvary Cemetery

• 1902 - Pud Galvin, who had spent half of his 16 big league years pitching for the Alleghenys, Burghers and Pirates, passed away impoverished at the age of 45 of a stomach ailment, leaving behind six kids and a wife in baseballs pre-pension era; various local funders were held after his death to help the family. In his career, he tossed 6,003 IPs and 646 complete games, behind only Cy Young. He was MLB's first 300-game winner in 1888 (he won 365 times), authored two no-hitters and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1965. His original memorial stone at Calvary Cemetery in Pittsburgh was replaced as part of SABR's 19th Century Baseball Grave Marker Project and is now befitting a HoF player. 
• 1919 - RHP James “Junior” Walsh was born in Newark. Junior pitched in 1946, returning during 1948-51, for the Bucs and not very effectively; he never had an ERA lower than 5.05. In five years, his line was 4-10-1/5.88. He spent most of his 12-year pro career in the Pirates organization, once leading the Western League in whiffs but also walking nearly 1,000 batters (969) during his farm time. 
• 1931 - C Dick Rand was born in South Gate, California. Rand got into 60 games for the Bucs in 1957, batting .219 and ending his MLB career after three years. He was part of the cattle call of catchers the Pirates rostered in 1957 after starter Jack Shepherd earned a masters degree and surprised the club by retiring to go to work for his alma mater, Stanford. Rand joined Hank Foiles, Danny Kravitz and Harding “Pete” Peterson, who would find more success in the front office (he eventually became the Pirates GM) than on the field, as Bucco backstops during the season. 
• 1958 - OF Albert Hall was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Hall spent his final MLB campaign in Pittsburgh after signing a minor league deal, closing out a yo-yo nine-year career (all but this stop as a Brave) with only two seasons spent entirely with the big club. He got into 20 September games in 1989 for the Bucs after playing with the AAA Buffalo club and hit .182. A noted base-stealer in the minors, Hall also was the first Atlanta Brave to hit for the cycle in late 1987; the last time a member of the Braves franchise had banged out a cycle was 1910 when the team was the Boston Doves. 

Diomedes Olivo - 1962 photo Ted Russell/Getty

• 1960 - The Pirates purchased LHP Diomedes Olivo from Poza Rica of the Mexican League, also throwing in an unnamed minor league infielder. He spent most of the year at AAA Columbus, where he slashed 7-9/2.88 and got into four late-season games with the big club. When Olivo made his debut on September 5th, 1960, at age 41, he was the oldest rookie to pitch with the exception of Satchel Paige in the post-WW2 era. He had another solid season at Columbus in 1961 and came north in ‘62 to post a line of 5-1-7/2.77 in 62 outings. Diomedes and Dick Groat were shipped in the offseason to the Cards for Don Cardwell and Julio Gotay. He wasn’t the only late bloomer in the family - his baby brother Chi-Chi took his MLB bow in 1961 when he was 33. 
• 1984 - It was a pretty chirpy day in camp, according to the Pittsburgh Press’ Bob Hertzel. First, John Candelaria called the Pirates “hypocrites” for not renegotiating his four-year contract, estimated to be worth $700K/year and running through 1986, after saying during the past season that the fans could “go to hell” and he wouldn’t mind a trade (and in fact, Joe Brown was talking to Toronto, Atlanta and Houston about possible deals). Later that week, he complained of a sore arm; that was legit and due to a bone chip in his elbow, which was a major stumbling block in contract and trade talk. Then Dave Parker chimed from Cincy’s camp, complaining about his portrayal in the retired Wille Stargell’s “Out of Left Field” book; not even Pops was immune from the mudballs. Chuck Tanner, as always, blew off the noise and carried on.

3/7 From 1990: Spot For Freddy; Pre-Arb Army; Willis HoF; Maz Day; KBL Deal; Spring Swap; MJ v Bucs; RIP Cool Papa

• 1991 - The Pirates went to Winter Haven to play a spring exhibition against the Red Sox, and it was speculated that the two teams would be swapping training facilities before the next camp opened. For the Bucs, based in Bradenton since 1969, it was a matter of growing impatient with the City-County feud over updating McKechnie Field, which dated back to 1923. But all’s well that ends well; Pittsburgh got its renovations in 1993 (those improvements were freshened up again in 2008), and have held preseason work there for the past 50 years. 
• 1991 - OF Cool Papa Bell, who spent five seasons with the Pittsburgh Crawfords and five more with the Homestead Grays (he hit .300+ in nine of those 10 campaigns; the outlier season saw him hit .291), died at age 87 in St. Louis of a heart attack. His speed was legendary; Josh Gibson made the famous observation that Bell was so fast he could flip the light switch and be in bed before the room got dark. Cool Papa played for 25 years and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1974. 

Cool Papa - 1983 Donruss Hall of Fame Heroes

• 1994 - The Pirates got a springtime look at Michael Jordan in Bradenton as he tried to transition from roundballer to hardballer. He didn’t have much luck, fanning once and bouncing three balls to the infield, reaching once on 2B Carlo Garcia’s error. The Pirates whipped the White Sox 3-2 as MJ’s teammates didn’t do much with the bats, either. 
• 1995 - The Veterans Committee selected RHP Vic Willis for the Hall of Fame. Willis pitched from 1906-09 with Pittsburgh, going 89-46 with a 2.08 ERA. The workhorse curveballer was inducted on July 30th with 249 career victories on his resume. Vic also was one of eight pitchers who tossed over 300 innings in a season without giving up a homer when he threw 322 frames in the 1906 campaign without surrendering a long ball. 
• 1996 - The Pirates and Prime Time KBL signed a three-year contract, good for 61 games/$3M per year for broadcast rights in ‘96, with Lanny Frattare and Steve Blass being the primary booth duo. It was the first multi-year deal signed between the team and KBL, and both sides were looking to jazz up the presentation by moving the announcers into the stands occasionally and using handheld cameras to involve the crowd more in the TV presentation. 
• 2001 - When you’re hot, you’re hot. The day after being elected to the Hall of Fame, Bradenton declared it “Bill Mazeroski Day” and Maz threw out the first pitch for the spring game at McKechnie Field. The Pirates added their two cents worth: They named a field at Pirate City after him, then Kevin McClatchy announced that the team was going to change the Avenue of the Pirates by PNC Park to Mazeroski Way, and that Maz would have a special day at the ballyard in August, right after his induction. 

It rolled in for Maz - 2002 Fleer Greats of the Game

• 2007 - The main topic in the papers was whether or not the Bucs should keep defending NL batting champ Freddy Sanchez at second base; both the media and the team had questions about his legs being able to take the physical beating dished out to middle infielders on plays at the bag. Freddy proved tough enough. He spent 2006 much like 2005, splitting time at 3B-SS-2B, and then closed out the rest of his career as a second sacker. His legs held up fine; injuries to his arm and then to his back eventually did end his MLB days. 
• 2019 - In an annual rite of spring, the Bucs signed 31 pre-arb players for 2019. 30 of the players were on the 40-man roster plus Dario Agrazal, who was removed from the 40-man roster during the off-season but brought to camp as a NRI, so the team had just 10 guys with more than three years of service time on the active roster. It would be a short window; eight players would become arb-eligible in 2020. But even that club was peach-fuzzed as 27 pre-arb players were signed in camp.

Pirates Top Yankees 3-2

 Today's Game:

The early afternoon weather was forecast to be iffy, so the original matchup of Gerrit Cole and Mitch Keller was scratched (Mitch tossed live in the morning on the back fields to stay on schedule) and was instead turned into a Cody Ponce v Jameson Taillon duel. Carson Fulmer, Geoff Hartlieb, Nick Mears, Braeden Ogle and Shea Spitzbarth also toed the rubber. The Pirates debuted Dustin Fowler as DH and Anthony Alford's got his first game of the spring in center after being limited to DH duties.

Gregory is off to a healthy start - photo 2021 Pirates

The rain did come, leading to a lot of peeks out of the locker room to see if it would dry up, and hey, it did. The match started an hour or so late, and the Pirates won the seven-inning contest by a 3-2 tally. Gregory Polanco was the Bucs big man, going 3-for-3 with a homer and three RBI while Bryan Reynolds added a pair of hits. The Yankees scores came on a pair of solo shots off Ponce and Ogle.

Jameson Taillon tossed a pair of scoreless frames for the Evil Empire. Fulmer did the same for the Buccos, fanning three. Ogle and Mears each fanned a pair in their inning in the sun.

Notes:

• Gregory is hitting .455 with two homers and eight RBI in the early slog. He credited his fast start with his health and its carryover to his mental approach.
• Oneill Cruz got into the game late, and played SS as the Bucs continue to give him split time.
• Pittsburgh's three wins so far equal their 2020 Grapefruit League victory total.

Tomorrow's Game:

The Orioles come to Bradenton, with the game aired by AT&T SportsNet and 93.7 The Fan.  JT Brubaker gets the call for the Pirates.

3/6: Cutch, KY Contracts; Maz, Arky HoF; Yoslan Signs; Kip Surgery; 1st DH; HBD Pops, Fran, Clint, Rev, John & Bert

• 1863 - RF/1B John Coleman was born in Saratoga Springs, NY. He was an Allegheny during the 1886-88 & 1890 campaigns. For beginning his career as a pitcher (he tossed in 65 games as a Philadelphia Quakers rookie in 1883 with a line of 12-48/4.87 & by 1885 was pretty much a full-time position player), he did OK with the bat, putting up a .266 BA in his Pittsburgh days. 
• 1878 - RHP Bert Husting was born in Mayville, Wisconsin. A two-sport star at Wisconsin-Madison, he got a two game audition with the 1900 Pirates (eight IP, five runs, 10 hits, five walks) and then jumped to the AL the following year to get a chance to pitch near home. He lasted just two more seasons, and then got on with his life’s work as a lawyer, eventually becoming FDR’s US Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. 
• 1904 - IF Walter “Rev” Cannady was born in Lake City, Florida. Cannady played 25 years of Negro League ball for 13 different teams, making four stops in Homestead with the Grays (1923-24, 1929, 1932, 1944) and one with the Crawfords (1932 was a split season). He saved the best for last; he batted .356 for Homestead in 1944. A player noted for versatility (mostly a middle infielder, he played all four infield positions and even pitched) and durability, he failed to make the Hall of Fame cut in 2006. 

Willie Stargell - Cliff Spohn Fine Art America

• 1940 - 1B/OF Wilver Dornell Stargell was born in Earlsboro, Oklahoma. Pops played his entire 21-year MLB career (1962-1982) for the Pirates. Captain Willie hit .282, with 2,232 hits, 423 doubles, 475 HR and 1,540 RBI. His teams captured six NL East division titles, two NL pennants and two World Series (1971, 1979). The Pirates retired Stargell’s number (1982) and built him a statue (2001) while Willie was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988. 
• 1973 - In a spring exhibition game against the Bucs, the Twins’ Larry Hisle, in most (but not all) historians minds, became the first DH in MLB history. He did a good job, too, hitting two HR and collecting seven RBI. It was the first year the rule was in effect, and five teams used a DH that day, which is why there’s still some debate over who took that first swing. 
•   1979 - SS Clint “Don’t Stop Believing” Barmes was born in Vincennes, Indiana. The slick fielding, stick-challenged infielder joined the Buccos in 2012 when he signed a two-year, $10.5M FA contract. He returned in 2014 for $1.5M, although he was hurt much of the year and during the off-season signed with the San Diego Padres. He retired in 2016. 
• 1985 - SS Arky Vaughan was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. Vaughan batted .318 with a .406 OBP over a 14-year career with the Pirates (1932-41) and Brooklyn Dodgers, hitting .300 or better in 12 of those campaigns. He was inducted on July 28th. Earlier, in 1981, Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their book The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time. Twenty years later, in his 2001 New Historical Baseball Abstract, Bill James rated Vaughan as the second-best shortstop in MLB history, behind fellow Pirate and mentor Honus Wagner. 

Cervy - 2017 Topps

• 1986 - C Francisco Cervelli was born in Valencia, Venezuela. He joined the Bucs in November of 2014 from the Yankees, traded for Justin Wilson. New York signed him in 2003. Originally an infielder, they flipped him to catching, where he’s considered one of the better defensive players with a solid bat, although injuries have bitten him throughout his career. In his first year as a Buc, Cervy was healthy as a horse, playing 130 games and hitting .295. That wasn’t quite the tale in 2016, as he got behind the dish 95 times due to various injuries and hit .264. It was worse in the following campaign when Fran was again banged up and started just 75 games, batting .249. Fran got into 104 games in 2018, though still dinged a bit, and put up a 123 OPS+ with 12 HR and a line of .259/.378/.431, his best offensive showing as a Bucco. He was hurt through much of 2019 and moved on to Atlanta as a free agent in late August. Cervy then went to Miami and retired after the 2020 campaign. 
• 1999 - 1B Kevin Young signed the richest contract to date in Pirate history, a $24M, four-year deal that was made possible by anticipated revenues from the team's soon-to-be-built stadium. The deal called for a $500,000 signing bonus and salaries of $5.5M in 2000, $6M in 2001, $5.5M in 2002 and $6.5M in 2003. That carried him to the end of his 12-year career, with all but one campaign spent as a Pirate. He rejoined the team in 2015 as a special assistant of the baseball operations. 
• 2001 - 2B Bill Mazeroski was voted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. He was inducted on August 5th, tearing up during his speech and tucking his handwritten notes away, saying "I think you can flush these 12 pages down the drain." The Pirates retired his number, built him a statue, and every October 13th fans meet at the Forbes Field wall to celebrate his famed longball, selected by ESPN as the “Greatest Home Run of All Time.” 
• 2006 - RHP Kip Wells had surgery to remove a blood clot from his right armpit, returning on June 19th. He was traded at the deadline to Texas, beginning a 10-team exodus that finally ended when he retired in 2013. From the surgery on, he pitched in 108 more MLB games, topping 100+ IP just once and went 14-34/5.66 over that span, while more clots were found in his hand in 2008. In the seven years before the clot was found, Kip had posted a 55-69/4.36 line. 

Kip Wells - 2005 Topps Heritage

• 2007 - The Bucs signed Cuban righty Yoslan Herrera to a three year/$1.92M deal. He made it to the show in July, 2008, and in five starts, he went 1-1/9.82. The Pirates released him during the 2009 off-season, and he was out of baseball after another year. Herrera did rebound though, pitching for the LA Angels in 2014 before moving on to Japan. 
• 2012 - Andrew McCutchen signed a six-year contract worth $51.5M with a club option for 2018 worth $14.75M. The deal bought out his remaining pre-arbitration year, all three arb years, and a pair of free agent seasons with a club option for another. The breakdown: $1.25M signing bonus; 2012: $500K; ‘13: $4.5M; ‘14: $7.25M; ‘15: $10M; ‘16: $13M; ‘17: $14M; ‘18: $14.5M club option ($1M buyout) plus bonuses worth $25K each for a World Series MVP, Gold Glove, or All-Star selection and $125K for an NL-MVP ($75K for runner up, $50K for third). He almost saw it through, lasting until his 2018 option was exercised and he was traded to the SF Giants; he’s now with the Phils.

Phils Shut Down Pirates 3-0

 Today's Game:

Chad Kuhl became the first Bucco to get a second start this spring today, and was followed by Wil Crowe. They both worked a pair of frames The rest of the slab crew were Edgar Santana, Blake Cederlind, Yerry De Los Santos and Sean Poppen. Brian Goodwin got his second straight start in center.

Chad gave up a two-run dinger to Bryce Harper in the first inning and Cutch welcomed himself back with a solo shot off of  Blake Cederlind on an 0-2 sinker that didn't. That was plenty to give the Phils a 3-0 win; the Bucs managed just two hits, singles by Wilmer Difo and Travis Swaggerty, with 13 whiffs.

Chad was a fat fastball away from a pretty good outing - photo 2020 Pirates

Notes:

• Tough to tell from the Pirates offensive line, but today was a full nine-inning game.
• SS Liover Peguero has arrived at camp; he had passport problems try to get to Bradenton. 

Tomorrow's Game: 

The Yankees visit LECOM Park with the first pitch at 1:05. The match will be aired on KDKA 1020 and the PRN. Cody Ponce will take on Jameson Taillon with the other hurlers TBA. (spoiler alert: rain is forecast for Saturday, so the managers backed off the original Mitch Keller-Gerrit Cole pairing.)