11/7 Through the 1960s: Friend-ly Ballot; RIP Fred; HBD Dave, Andy, Stu, Bill, Ed & The Only

• 1857 - RHP Ed “The Only” Nolan was born in either Canada or Patterson, New Jersey; no one is quite sure. Nolan was a two-fisted drinker who made a brief stop with Allegheny in 1883. The following is per the Baseball Reference Bullpen page: He lost the seven games he pitched, and then, after he was fined $10 for misbehaving, went on a drinking spree and put it on the team's tab. He was fined an extra $100 and suspended for the rest of the season. One fan even sold a line of T-shirts featuring Nolan, Buttercup Dickerson and the 1883 Allegheny as “The Hardest Drinking Team of All Time." There are several theories regarding his nickname. One says it was because he would demand to be the only pitcher employed by the teams on which he played. Others claim it was lifted from a burlesque actor named "The Only Leon." Another explanation is that "The Only" was a commonly used term during Nolan's time, applied to anyone who excelled at something, and so Nolan took the moniker to feed his ego. Guy Smith, who wrote “Heroes of Baseball,” followed that line of thought, writing that he got the nickname as a minor league pitcher after he started and won 11 straight games, six by shutout, for Indianapolis. Ironically, in an “all the sinners are saints” twist, bad boy Nolan became a cop after he retired. 

Ed Mensor - undated photo via the Jewish Baseball Museum

• 1885 - SS/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.” Mensor factoid: Ed was the first Jewish switch-hitter in major league history per the Jewish Baseball Museum. 
• 1904 - C Fred Carroll died in San Rafael, California at the age of 40 after a heart attack. He was one of the top hitting catchers of his era, with a .284 BA, and had his hand in all the Pittsburgh franchises, playing for the Allegheny, Burghers and Pirates for seven (1885-91) of his eight big-league years. He was a complete player - he also spent some time in the OF, corner IF and short while stealing 137 bases during his career and even umped a game in ‘87. Fred had nine hits during an 1886 twinbill and was the first Pittsburgh player to hit for the cycle (both as an Allegheny) in 1887. He’ll always be a part of local baseball lore for burying his pet monkey and team mascot under home plate at old Recreation Park before a game. He left baseball early at age 26, partly because of a sub-par year with the Pirates (he hit .218) and partly because the Sacramento native wanted to return to the west coast. 
• 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 (he was super in ‘36, hitting .289 w/101 RBI). After a couple of years in the service, he ended his career in 1943 with the Boston Braves. His grandson, Dennis Rasmussen, also played in the major leagues, putting together a 12-year career as a starting pitcher in the early 80s-to-mid 90s. 

Bill Brubaker - 1932 Goudey Wide Pen

• 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 as it blew 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 muffs at first base in 1963 remain the MLB record for the position. He said “As long as you drive in more than you let in, you get to play.” Oddly enough, stick-first Stu was the first 1B to record three assists in one inning; go figure. Stuart also mashed 66 home runs for the Lincoln club of the Class A Western League in 1956, proving that his glove wasn’t the main reason he got a paycheck. The apt nickname for the poor-fielding 1B was adapted from the movie “Doctor Strangelove,” and at 6’4”, he was also known as Big Stu. Hank Aaron dubbed him “Stonefingers.” Per Wikipedia, other less well known but equally unflattering nicknames included "Iron Glove" and "The Ancient Mariner," a reference to an opening line in the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: "It is an ancient mariner, And he stoppeth one of three." 
• 1966 - OF Andy Tomberlin was born in Monroe, North Carolina. The strong-armed and fleet Tomberlin spent parts of six seasons as a big league bench outfielder after being converted from a pitcher, beginning in Pittsburgh in 1993, where he hit .286. Tomberlin played most of his games in the minor leagues from 1986 through 2000 for eight different organizations. After his playing days, Andy scouted and coached in the minors for the Brewers and White Sox. 
• 1967 - Bob Friend made the transition from Sennett to Ross Street seamlessly by winning his first political outing, running as the Republican candidate for County Controller. He defeated the incumbent, James Knox, in a horse race. Those ‘60 Pirates pitchers were quite the political powerhouse: Wilmer “Vinegar Bend” Mizell would become a North Carolina congressman, Ronnie Kline became the mayor of Callery, PA after he retired and Diomedes Olivo wasn’t elected to office but was appointed as Director of the Ministry of Sports by the Dominican President. 

Dave Wainhouse - 1991 poster snip via Out of the Park Development

• 1967 - RHP Dave Wainhouse was born in Toronto, Ontario. The Montreal Expos selected Wainhouse with their first-round pick of the 1988 draft, making him the first Canadian-born player picked in the first round. He put in seven years as a middle reliever, spending 1996-97 with the Bucs, going 1-1/6.97 in 42 outings. He now operates a baseball academy and is an assistant baseball coach for Seattle University.

11/7 From 1970: Diaz, Cordova Sign; Doughty GM; '83 FA Queue; No Sale; HBD Roansy, Kris & Todd

• 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. He signed again with Pittsburgh in 2005, but retired during camp. Todd’s final comeback effort was in 2008 with the Rockies; he lasted through five minor-league starts before leaving the slab for good. 
• 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 “parking lot sex” and other such antics with wife Anna were sports page fodder throughout his career, culminating in a 2013 divorce. On the other side of the pillow, he and Anna also fronted many charitable causes and raised an estimated $750K in alms during his big league days. 

Kris Benson - 1999 Sky Box

• 1983 - Dave Parker, Jim Bibby, Kent Tekulve, Richie Hebner, Miguel Dilone and Dave Tomlin became free agents and entered the convoluted compensation draft; only Teke (three years + option/$1M per year) and Tomlin (who spent two years at AAA Hawaii) returned to the Pirates. Parker went to Cincinnati, Bibby to Texas, Hebner to the Cubs and Dilone to Montreal. 
• 1988 - The Pirates replaced Syd Thrift with Larry Doughty as GM, three years to the day after they announced Syd’s hiring. Doughty had been hired from the Reds and became the Pittsburgh assistant GM in 1987, served a brief apprenticeship as the acting GM and was passed the torch OTD. His background was in player evaluation; with Cincinnati, he had been the head of their scouting department. The Pirates won division titles in ‘90 and ‘91, but Doughty caught flak for his handling of young talent, losing top prospects like Wes Chamberlain on a waiver snafu and Moisés Alou via trade. In 1992, the club's new president, Mark Sauer, replaced Doughty with Ted Simmons. 
• 1997 - The Pirates reached agreement with RHP Francisco Cordova on a three-year/$4.1M contract with an option year. Cordova went 11-8/3.63 with a nine-inning no-hitter during the season. He went 27-32 over the three guaranteed seasons of the deal, but his ERA zoomed each year, from 3.31 to 4.43 to 5.21 as arm troubles limited his effectiveness. After his MLB days, the lefty tossed in his native Mexico from 2002 through 2011. 
• 1999 - RHP Roansy Contreras was born in Peralvillo, Monte Plata, Dominican Republic. Signed by the Yankees in 2017 as an international FA, he had a strong 2019 Class A campaign with Charleston before the minor-league 2020 season was scrubbed before he became part of the package sent to Pittsburgh for Jameson Taillon. An early season forearm injury limited him to 60 IP, mainly at Altoona, but he showed enough to get the call during the Bucs final 2021 homestand for a three-inning bullpen start. 

Roansy - 2021 AT&T SportsNet screen grab

• 2005 - Owner Kevin McClatchy denied rumors that the Pirates had been sold to Dallas Maverick owner/Mt. Lebanon native Mark Cuban. McClatchy told Paul Meyer of the Post Gazette bluntly that “..the team was not for sale.” But the deck was being shuffled: by January 2007, Bob Nutting had taken over as the principal owner of the club. 
• 2008 - Rene Gayo signed 18-year-old C Elias Diaz out of Venezuela. Eli developed slowly but steadily, outpunching first-round prospects Tony Sanchez and Reese McGuire. Baseball America named him the best defensive catcher in the minors in 2014. After being injury-bitten and sputtering in his early MLB calls, Diaz broke out in 2018 and became Fran Cervelli’s heir apparent, shaking his earlier backup rep, but then backtracked in the 2019 campaign. He was released in the offseason and signed with Colorado.

11/6: Branch GM; Cutch, The Kid Silver Slugger; Carroll, Thevenow Deals; Cobra Dangled; Nealon Signed; Rene Hired; HBD Adam, Candy Man, Matt, Don, Bob & Tommy

• 1877 - 3B Tommy Sheehan was born in Sacramento (some sources say his BD is on the 5th, c’est la vie). Tommy played for Pittsburgh from 1906-07 and hit .255. He also spent a year with the New York Giants and Brooklyn Superbas before and after his Bucco stint. He did get to play a lot of ball near home, though - he earned his daily bread with 11 years of minor league ball at Sacramento, Portland, Tacoma, Oakland and Stockton. A word of caution - make sure to keep your Sheehan’s straight - this one is not to be confused with Tommy Sheehan, pitcher from the mid-20s who tossed for the Bucs from 1925-26. 
• 1905 - The Pirates signed a hot shot prospect, San Francisco Seals 1B Jim (aka Joe, his middle name) Nealon, for a reported $6,500 in a heated bidding battle with the Cincinnati Reds (the New York Highlanders, Boston Americans, St. Louis Browns and Chicago Cubs were also on his scent). Manager Fred Clarke spent a week by the Bay working on Nealon and his father, with the Reds rep arriving a little late on the scene. Signing Nealon allowed the Pirates to include 1B Dave Brain as part of a package to the Boston Beaneaters to add Vic Willis to their staff a month later without losing any offensive muscle. Joe led the NL in RBI in 1906, but reported to camp in 1907 overweight and with a bad hand, the result of a fracture suffered in the off-season. He also fell out of favor with management; as a son of wealth, they felt he didn’t have his focus on baseball but on business. Nealon retired after the season - the Pirates were already auditioning replacements - and returned to the coast, playing in the California State League. He died of typhoid fever at the age of 25 in 1910. 
• 1925 - OF Bob Addis was born in Mineral Springs, Ohio. He closed out a four-year MLB career with Pittsburgh, going 0-for-3 with a pair of whiffs and one pinch-running assignment. Bob finished his pro career that season with Toronto of the International League. Addis was later the baseball coach and AD at Euclid (Ohio) HS, and was inducted into the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1975. 

Tommy Thevenow - 1933 Goudey

• 1930 - SS Dick Bartell was traded by the Pirates to the Philadelphia Phillies for SS Tommy Thevenow and P Claude Willoughby. Defensive whiz Thevenow spent six seasons with the Bucs and hit .251 while Willoughby went 0-2 for Pittsburgh in his final MLB season. Bartell played 14 more seasons, made a couple of All-Star teams 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 in the lineup by Hall-of-Famer Arky Vaughan. 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. 
• 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. was named Pittsburgh's VP and farm system director. Branch laid the groundwork for future success by developing a productive farm system, but the Bucs put together just a 269-501 record (.349) during his tenure as GM. 
• 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 slash in his four post-season starts. The Candy Man tossed a no-hitter, led the MLB in ERA once, earned an All-Star nod and won a World Series ring while a Bucco. Overall, he had a 19-year MLB career with the Pirates, CaliforniaAngels, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, and Los Angeles Dodgers. 
• 1969 - RHP Don Wengert was born in Sioux City, Iowa. Don had spent 1996-97 full-time with Oakland but had been bouncing back and forth since the Pirates signed him as a FA in 2001. The 32-year-old got four starts in May, went 0-2/12.38, and spent the rest of the year back on the farm. That ended his MLB days; he tossed one more year for the Boston system before retiring and returning to Iowa. 

Don Wengert - 2001 photo Tom Pidgeon/Getty

• 1972 - RHP Matt Skrmetta was born in Biloxi, Mississippi. Matt got to toss briefly in the bigs during 2000, first getting into a half-dozen games with the Expos and finishing with eight outings and an 0-2/9.26 line with Pittsburgh. Matt was a determined hurler: he played for 25 teams, believed to be a record, and 13 organizations, including a couple of seasons in Japan and an indie campaign. He’s now a scout for Softbank in the Japanese League. 
• 1976 - In a swap of 22-year-old righties, the Bucs traded Jim Sadowski to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Tom Carroll. The deal ended up a wash; neither Sadowski nor Carroll ended up pitching in the majors again. 
• 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 (their pop was P Dave LaRoche) and also became the first player in major league history to lose a home run to video review. He left baseball in 2016 after a messy clubhouse beef about him bringing his teen-aged son to the Chicago White Sox clubhouse too often. A devout family man and Christian, LaRoche quietly retired rather than compromise, passing on a $13M contract for the season. 
• 1981 - Dave Anderson of the NY Times wrote that the Bucs and Yankees were discussing a deal for RF Dave Parker with the departure of Reggie Jackson on the horizon. The Pirates originally wanted five pitchers; the Yankees countered with an offer of hurlers Ron Davis and Gene Nelson along with SS Andre Rodgers. There were two sticking points: Pittsburgh wanted lefty Dave Righetti, whom New York considered an untouchable, and the Gotham gang wanted Parker to agree to a playing weight of 210 pounds, which the Cobra ho-ho-ho’ed off. No match was made and Parker played as a Pirate for two more seasons, then signed as a free agent with the Reds. 

Parker in pinstripes? - 1981 Fleer

• 2003 - Rene Gayo was hired as the Bucs’ full-time Latin scout, a position that Pittsburgh had inexplicably left vacant for five years. Rene was actually making a homecoming; he had started in Pittsburgh in 1989 when Cam Bonifay hired him as a part-time area scout. He later worked for the Texas Rangers and Cleveland Indians, for whom he became scouting director for the Indians in Latin America in 1999. Among others, he signed Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco, Jose Osuna, Alen Hanson, Elias Diaz, Willy Garcia, Tito Polo, and Harold Ramirez; among his fails were Luis Heredia and Miguel Sano. Gayo was let go in 2017 following a scandal involving kickbacks for recommending lesser players for top-shelf bonuses and then pocketing some of the difference. 
• 2014 - CF Andrew McCutchen won his third consecutive NL Silver Slugger award and 2B Neil Walker took home his first. Cutch became the first Pittsburgh outfielder to earn three consecutive Silver Sluggers since Barry Bonds in 1990-92 while Walker was the first Pirate second baseman to earn one since Johnny Ray in 1983. Cutch and SS Ian Desmond of the Nats were the only NL repeat winners.

11/5 Through the 1970s: Tanner-Sangy Trade; Bagby, Sure Shot Join; Gunner Parade; HBD Gunboat, Lefty, Big Jack, Tom & John

• 1877 - 2B Fred “Sure Shot” Dunlap was purchased by the Pittsburgh Alleghenys from the Detroit Wolverines for $4000-5000 (the final figure is up for debate); he also got $2K personally to agree to the deal. Sure Shot remained a slick fielder, but his batting eye disappeared after he hit .266 in 1888, stroking the ball at a .235 clip the following season and hitting just .172 in 1890 after 17 games before being released (he had a big salary & was in manager Guy Hecker’s doghouse to boot) and claimed by the NY Giants. His career ended the next year with Washington after he broke his leg sliding in April. Dunlap, who had amassed a considerable nest egg as a player, was bankrupt a decade later. Some say his frittered finances were due to poor stock market decisions and others blamed horse-racing debts. Either way, the arguably top second baseman of his era passed away penniless in 1902 of consumption. 

Sure Shot - 2014 Goodwin Upper Deck Champions

• 1888 - Umpire John Mullin was born in Pittsburgh and lived in Brookline. John umpired in the NL in 1909, the AL in 1911-12 and the Federal League in 1915, spending most of his arbitrator time in the minors with the American Association, although he also wore the blue in six other farm leagues. John was just as quick tempered as the early baseball players who he joined on the field. In one of his first major league gigs, two days after he had been called up from the bushes in 1909, he threw out three players during an argument and after they refused to leave, he waited the allotted one-minute of grace time they had and forfeited the game. 
• 1895 - OF Tom McNamara was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts. His MLB stay consisted of one June pinch-hitting appearance in 1922 for the Buccos, resulting in a ground out. The 26-year-old Princeton grad was sent to Flint for the rest of the year, hitting .313 before disappearing from baseball’s radar. 
• 1899 - RHP “Big Jack” (he was 6’3”) Wisner was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Jack’s first two major league campaigns consisted of 21 outings for the Bucs from 1919-20 and he was solid, going 2-3/2.70. He got four years off after that, tossing for Rochester, before getting the call to serve 1925-26 as a NY Giant. Big Jack was sent down during the ‘26 season, worked in the minors through 1929 and hung ‘em up to work as a minor league coach. 
• 1908 - LHP Ralph “Lefty” Birkofer was born in Cincinnati. Lefty worked for the Bucs from 1933-36 and slashed 31-26-2/4.04, splitting time between starting & the pen, then finishing his career in 1937 as a Dodger, going to Brooklyn as part of a three-man trade for Ed Brandt. 

Lefty - 1933 Harwell/Detroit Public Library

• 1909 - RHP Harry “Gunboat” Gumbert was born in Elizabeth. Harry tossed for 15 big league seasons (and that’s with missing a year, 1945, while in the service), closing out his run in his hometown in 1949-50 (1-4-3/5.83) before retiring at age 40. Gunboat joined his great-uncles Ad and Billy Gumbert (also pitchers) as Pittsburgh hurlers. During his career, he slashed 143-113/3.68 with 235 starts (94 CGs), 13 shutouts and 48 saves, working 200+ IP in a season five times before transitioning into a reliever. His nickname doesn’t have much of a backstory behind it; Harry said it came about because a sportswriter thought ”Gunboat Gumbert” sounded good together. 
• 1922 - RHP Jim Bagby Sr. was claimed by the Pirates after being waived by the Indians. Bagby won 31 games for Cleveland in 1920 and 122 games for the Tribe over the last six years, but at age 33 was done. He finished 3-2/5.24 in 23 appearances for Pittsburgh and retired at the end of the campaign. His son, RHP Jim Bagby Jr., also played for the Pirates in 1947. 
• 1975 - After KDKA fired Pirate announcers Bob Prince and Nellie King days earlier, rival station WEEP organized a downtown parade in their honor that drew thousands of fans and featured both Pirates & City politicos as supporters. While the parade was a success, it didn’t move the station or team off their position. The Gunner wouldn’t broadcast a Bucco game again until 1985, after he had been diagnosed with throat cancer, and he died a few days later. 

Gunner & Nellie Parade - 11/6/1975 Harry Coughenauer/Post Gazette

• 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 being in 1967 when the Mets sent RHP Bill Denehy and cash to the Washington Senators in exchange for manager Gil Hodges. Chuck had a good run in Pittsburgh. During his nine-year tenure, he posted a 711-685 (.509) record and won a World Championship in 1979. Manny returned home after a year in exile in a trade, spending his last three campaigns in Pittsburgh.

11/5 From 1980: JR, Syd Hired; Frankie Comeback Player; Corey, Nate - Golden Gloves; Russ - Wilson Winner; '90 FA Parade; A-Ram Retires; RRI Goes Down

• 1985 - The Pirates hired Syd Thrift as their GM, replacing Harding Peterson (They made the official announcement via press conference two days later). 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. This date is when the news of his hiring was leaked by the media; the official announcement wasn’t made until two days later. 
• 1990 - Whole lotta shakin’ going on as the following Bucs became free agents after the season: IF Wally Backman, RHP Doug Bair, SS Rafe Belliard, 1B Sid Bream, RHP Ted Power, OF Gary Redus, LHP Jerry Reuss, OF RJ Reynolds, C Don Slaught & LHP Zane Smith. Redus, Sluggo and Smith rejoined the team while the others went on their merry way: Belliard & Bream to Atlanta, Backman to Philly, Bair spent two years on minor league deals and was done, Power to Cincy, Reuss retired, and Reynolds went to Japan for three years before a final season in Mexico. 

Sluggo re-signed - 1991 Score

• 1997 - The Regional Renaissance Initiative was soundly defeated at the polls. A funding mechanism for a new stadium, its defeat cast doubts as to whether Kevin McClatchy’s Pirates team could remain in Pittsburgh. Some later political twists and turns eventually led to the selling of the team and the building of PNC Park to save the franchise for the City. 
• 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. He was never given much to work with, and in 2010 was fired as the Pirates manager after a 105 loss season and an overall record of 186-299, replaced by Clint Hurdle. 
• 2008 - CF Nate McLouth won his first Golden Glove award, the first Bucco to take home the trophy since SS Jay Bell in 1993. Nate the Great committed one error during the season (a wayward throw in September), getting himself on the radar not only with his leather but by his hitting line of .276 BA/26 HR/46 2B/94 RBI/113 RS/26 SB. He also made the 2008 All-Star team. 
• 2013 - LHP Francisco Liriano was named the Baseball Writer’s “Comeback Player of the Year,” the second time he took the honor, having earlier won the same recognition from The Sporting News after a 16-8/3.02/9.1K game per game campaign. 
• 2014 - C Russ Martin was named the Wilson Major League Defensive Catcher of the Year after losing the Golden Glove award to Yadier Molina the day before. Russell threw out 39% of the base-stealers who challenged him (league average - 28%), allowed just three passed balls and had a .994 fielding average. 

Russ Martin - 2014 Gypsy Queen

• 2015 - 3B Aramis Ramirez retired after 18 years in the show. A-Ram, 37, hit .283/.341/.492 with 386 home runs. He made his debut with the Pirates in 1998 and played here for parts of six years before being traded to the Chicago Cubs in a salary dump that still rankles. He returned as a stretch run rental from the Brewers in 2015, hitting .245 with six long balls. Ramirez played his first 17 seasons as a third baseman, never taking the field at another position other than DH, until September; he manned 1B for the Bucs five times in his final go-round. 
• 2018 - Corey Dickerson, who arrived in Pittsburgh with a rep as a meh gloveman only to be thrown into PNC Park’s massive left field, accepted the challenge and took home his first Golden Glove award. He ranked first among NL left fielders with a .996 fielding percentage while making one error in 263 chances and setting career highs with seven assists in 122 starts in left field. Corey posted 16 defensive runs saved and recorded 10 outs above average to join Barry Bonds and Starling Marte as Bucco LF’s to win a GG.

11/4 Through the 1960s: Law Joins Staff; Wills Busted; Dodger-Buc History; TV Quiz; HBD Logan, Dick, Spook, Wee Tommy & Fiddler

• 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. His 1903 Fall Classic triple is the first World Series hit. Leach is still in the top 100 all-time in stolen bases (361) and runs scored (1,355), and for the Pirates, he's 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). 

The Fiddler -- 1947 photo via Mainline Autographs

• 1922 - 2B Eddie “The Fiddler” Basinski was born in Buffalo, New York. Eddie was a Mr. Peepers look-alike, thin and with wire-rim glasses, who earned his nickname as a violinist who played for the U of Buffalo Symphony (and he was a good one, becoming concertmaster). He went straight from the sandlots to Brooklyn, mainly as an audition so the Dodgers could determine what minor-league level to start him at, and the sweet-fielding SS ended up in AA after a hot big league start. Eddie put in 13 minor league years mostly in the PCL (he moved to Portland and even, to his later regret, turned down a 1948 call to the Yankees to stay on his beloved West Coast). Aside from parts of two seasons with Brooklyn (Pee Wee Reese blocked him at SS and converted him to 2B) his only other showtime was with Pittsburgh in 1947, where he hit a paltry .199 in 56 games. Eddie’s glove made him a hit - in 1984, he was named to the all-time PCL All-Star team, then inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame in 2006. Beside “The Fiddler,” Basinski was also known as “Bazooka,” a moniker laid on him by Leo Durocher because of his strong arm. 
• 1925 - 2B Forrest “Spook” Jacobs was born in Cheswold, Delaware. Spook spent 17 years in baseball (he wintered in the Cuban, Panamanian and Puerto Rican winter leagues) with three in the majors. His last season in the show was 1956, when the Bucs got him from the KC Athletics and he hit .162 with the Pirates. He was selected into the Cuban and Delaware Sports Hall of Fames, along with a handful of smaller HoFs. His nickname came about because of the “spooky” way he could drop Texas-League bloopers over the infield for hits, somewhat reminiscent of Albert Einstein’s “spooky action at a distance.” 
• 1930 - SS Dick Groat was born in Wilkinsburg. The Swissvale Golden Flash HS star was a two sport ace and was twice named 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 in 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 - 1952 Topps

• 1949 - The Pirates purchased IF Hank Schentz from the Brooklyn Dodgers. The bench piece put in a season plus with the Bucs, and marked the end of a frenzied bit of dealing between the two clubs. As noted by @JohnDreker of Pirates Prospects “Between October 2nd, 1946 and November 4th, 1949, the Pirates and Dodgers completed 12 transactions with each other. The two franchises then went over 17 years before making another deal, which was the Maury Wills trade.” Over that span, the Pirates got Eddie Basinski, Hank Behrman, Monte Basgall, Nanny Fernandez, Hal Gregg, Art Herring, Kirbe Higbe, Dixie Howell, Vic Lombardi, Gene Mauch, Cal McLish, Steve Nagy, Danny O’Connell, Marv Rackley, Stan Rojek, Schentz, Ed Stevens & Dixie Walker. The Bucs gave up Ed Bahr, Vic Barnhart, Hank Behrman (he went from Brooklyn to Pittsburgh back to Brooklyn), Jimmy Bloodworth, Jack Cassini, Billy Cox, Al Gerheauser, Al Gionfriddo, Johnny Hopp, Gene Mauch (he also went back and forth), Preacher Roe & Grady Wilson. Hopp and Rackley were returned to the Pirates and Dodgers respectively after their trade was voided. In all, 30 players were moved. The Pittsburgh GM that rode the trade tsunami was Fred Hamey; Branch Rickey was the Dodger exec...and the flood gates slammed shut once Rickey became Bucco GM after the 1950 campaign. 
• 1959 - Shortly after the highly-rated “$64,000 Question” TV quiz show scandal broke due to the leaking of the quiz answers to the winner, former Pirate Pie Traynor disclosed that he had been asked to participate in the show, but declined because he was told the category for his proposed session would be music. “I don’t know a thing about music. (But) I suppose that wouldn’t have mattered. I would have gotten the answers,” he explained in hindsight with tongue-in-cheek. 
• 1961 - RHP Logan Easley was born in Salt Lake City. He got into 27 games for the Bucs in 1987 and 1989, posting a 2-1-2/5.12, line. He came to the Bucs via Gotham: Easley was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 20th round of the 1981 draft and was traded to the Pirates in November of 1986 along with Brian Fisher and Doug Drabek for Pat Clements, Cecilio Guante and Rick Rhoden. Logan, btw, did more than pitch when he went to college. After retiring from baseball, he returned to his alma mater and is part of the geology faculty at the College of Southern Idaho.

  

  Maury made LA's decision to move him easy - Pirates promo photo

• 1966 - Maury Wills left the Los Angeles Dodgers team touring in Japan, griping about his injured right knee. He was granted his wish to go home for treatment, but a few days later, he was spotted on a Hawaiian beach jamming with Don Ho by vacationing Dodger GM Buzzie Bavasi. Wills had a deserved rep as hard to handle, and that was the last straw for LA. On December 1st, he was traded to the Pirates for Bob Bailey and Gene Michael. 
• 1967 - Bucco Cy Young winner Vernon Law was named pitching coach for the Pirates for new manager Larry Shephard. Law coached here from 1968-69, then became an assistant at Brigham Young University from 1969 to 1979. Vern also worked in Japan with the Seibu Lions from 1979-81 before managing in the White Sox organization at Denver in the American Association in 1984.

11/4 From 1970: Hebner, Goose & Co. Lost In Re-Entry Draft; Russ & Frankie Get QOs; Dunne RoY Runnerup; Overdue Road Trips; HBD Chris & John

• 1976 - Richie Hebner, the Pirates only FA, was claimed by eight teams (including Pittsburgh, which retained his rights) in the first Free Agent Re-Entry Draft. The Gravedigger could only deal with the teams that chose him, and he reached a deal with the Phillies six weeks later for three years & a tad over $600K; the Pirates had reportedly offered $270K over the same span. The Bucs selected 10 players for their wish list of free agents, including Rollie Fingers, Sal Bando and Reggie Jackson. Gene Tenace was the only one of the 10 who ever wore a Pirates uniform, and that wasn’t until 1983, his final season. 
• 1977 - Pirates Goose Gossage and Terry Forster were two of the eight players claimed (both drew the interest of 13 clubs) during the Free Agent Re-Entry Draft; Bobby Tolan didn’t get enough suitors (three or more were required), allowing him to play the field. Goose went to the Yankees, Forster to the Dodgers and Tolan took his game to Japan. The Pirates selected seven players to chase, with reliever Rawly Eastwick being their prime target. They didn’t sign any, with Eastwick nixing the Bucs and inking a deal with the Bronx Bombers. 

Goose Gone -- 1978 Kelloggs

• 1978 - The Pirates had two of their free agents claimed, Duffy Dyer (who signed with Montreal) and Dave Hamilton (who went with Oakland) during the Free Agent Re-Entry Draft. Two other players, Steve Brye and Cito Gaston, drew no takers and saw their careers end after the ‘78 campaign. Pittsburgh chased 13 players, including ex-Bucco Wilbur Wood, Pete Rose, Tommy John and Mike Marshall. For the first time since the draft began three years ago, they actually signed a FA they claimed - OF Lee Lacy, who inked a six-year deal for a reported $1.05M. They took a twisty route to land RHP Dave Roberts. They picked him, but he signed with the Giants. Persistence pays; the Bucs eventually reeled him in as part of the Bill Madlock trade in June. 
• 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. In 2009, Grabow pitched for the US in the World Baseball Classic, the first Bucco to be named to the US squad. His last MLB season was 2011 with the Cubs. 
• 1982 - RHP Chris Resop was born in Naples, Florida. Resop tossed for the Pirates from 2010-12 after being claimed off waivers from the Braves and posted a line of 6-8-2/3.88 in 159 appearances, mainly as the Bucs bullpen bridge guy. He was heavily involved in civic/charity work and was voted the Pirates Roberto Clemente Award honoree in 2012. Chris retired during the 2014 season after eight years in the MLB and returned to his hometown. 
• 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. Dunne was traded to Seattle in 1989, with 1992 being his last MLB hurrah.
   

Mike Dunne - 1987 Fleer Update

• 2004 - The league released the Pirates schedule, and it featured a trio of road trips that were long overdue. For the first time in team history, the Buccos were scheduled for a series against Boston at Fenway Park, which opened its gates in 1912; their last trip to Beantown was in 1903 for the World Series at the Huntington Grounds. They were also slated at Yankee Stadium, a field that Pittsburgh hadn’t visited since the 1960 Fall Classic. In a final reunion, they matched up with the relocated Washington Nats (formerly the Expos) at RFK Stadium, the first time the Bucs played in DC since the 1925 World Series against the Senators in 1925 at Griffith Stadium. 
• 2014 - C Russell Martin and LHP Francisco Liriano became the first two Pirate free agents ever to be tendered qualifying offers ($15.3M) to retain their services for the upcoming year. Both rejected the offer. Russ signed with Toronto for $82M over five years while Frankie eventually came to terms with the Bucs on a three-year/$39M deal.

11/3: Cy For Deacon; Chavez-Aki Deal; Thompson Signs; '16 Shuffle, '17 Calm; Dizzy Tops Big Poison; DC Bet Collected; RIP Matty, Mike; HBD Meow, Homer, Ed, John, Jim & Harry

• 1856 - RHP Jim McCormick was born in Thornliebank, Scotland. He ripped off eight consecutive 20+ win seasons (including years with 45, 40, 36 & 31 wins) before he closed out his career with the Alleghenys in 1887 following a trade with the White Sox that sent George Van Haltren and $2,000 to Chicago. He was sadly over the hill when he got here, posting a 13-23/4.30 line, the first time in his decade of MLB that his ERA was north of 2.80. He retired after the year at the age of 30. As a rookie for the NL Indianapolis Blues, he became the first native Scot to get into a big league game in 1878. McCormick was one of the forgotten dominators of the deadball era; Baseball Reference compares his career to that of Pittsburgh ace Pud Galvin. 

Harry Staley - 1889 photo via Police Gazette

• 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. He was a workmanlike pitcher, and one who knew his way around the batter’s box. On June 1st, 1893, Staley (then a Boston Beaneater) had nine runs batted in, hitting two three-run homers off Louisville’s Billy Rhines. It set a record for most RBIs in a game by a pitcher that stood for over 70 years until equaled by Atlanta Braves pitcher Tony Cloninger in 1966. 
• 1871 - P (no one noticed which hand he used) Fred “John” Hayner was born in Janesville, Wisconsin. As a Chicago prepster in 1890, 18-year-old Fred had an in-game tryout with the floundering Pittsburgh Alleghenys, in town to play the Colts at West Side Park. Fred fizzled as he tossed four innings and was lit up for nine runs (six earned) and that was the extent of his big league career. He eventually ended up a sports writer for the Chicago Daily News, and in 1901, along with George Rice, began using the name “Cubs” for the Chicago ball club, supposedly because of the team’s youth. It was officially adopted a few years later and still is the banner. So if you ever want to win a free beer by betting that a Pittsburgh pitcher helped name the Cubs... 
• 1883 - 3B James “Ed” (middle name Edgar) Lennox was born in Camden, New Jersey. After a four year MLB career, Ed played for the Pittsburgh Rebels from 1914-15, batting .311. While a Rebel in 1914, Lennox hit for the cycle to become the only Federal League player to pull off that feat. He also swatted pinch-hit home runs in consecutive games the same season, a deed that was unmatched until Victor Martinez of the Detroit Tigers repeated it in 2016. 
• 1898 - OF Homer Summa was born in Gentry, Missouri. He began a 10-year MLB career in 1920 with the Pirates, going 7-for-22 (.318) in 10 games. He later served as a platoon outfielder with a lifetime BA of .302, playing for the Indians before closing out his run with two years in Philadelphia. His parents were a little over optimistic when they named him Homer; he only hit 18 round-trippers during his big league decade. 

Meow Gilmore - 1944 w/Albany photo via SABR

• 1917 - RHP Len “Meow” Gilmore was born in Fairview Park, Indiana. Gilmore pitched 11 minor league seasons between 1938-52 for nine teams, going 128–94, 3.66, in 332 pitching outings after starting out at Indiana State Teachers College, now IUP. The Bucs gave him his reward when he got to start the second game of a twinbill against the Philadelphia Phillies at Shibe Park on the last day of the 1944 season. Gilmore allowed seven earned runs on 13 hits, with no walks or strikeouts in eight innings of work, but more importantly, got to add the title of major league pitcher to his resume. Following his days on the slab, Gilmore worked for the Oklahoma City Fire Department, retiring as a captain. Per “Indiana-born MLB Players,” Len got his nickname from a West Coast service station franchise named Gilmore that had a lion as its logo. Somehow its tagline “Roar with Gilmore” morphed into a meow. 
• 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. It would start a string of three top-eight MVP finishes in four years for Big Poison. 
• 1945 - P/OF Elmer “Mike” Smith passed away at age 77 and was buried at Union Dale Cemetery in the North Side. He was born in old Allegheny City and spent half his career (1892-97, 1901) in Pittsburgh. Smith started out with the Reds, where he was a pitcher known for his heater, but by the time he became a Pirate in ‘92, his pitching arm was shot. No diff; Pittsburgh wanted him as an outfielder, using him in just 17 games on the hill (he’d only toss once more as a Pirate afterward) but spending 124 contests in the pasture. It was a good positional switch; Elmer could hit, and finished with a .325 BA/.415 OBP during his Bucco years. Mike played for four teams in his 14-year career, but kept his permanent home on the North Side on 510 Madison Avenue. After leaving baseball in 1906, Smith worked as an inspector for the Pittsburgh Bureau of Highways, retiring from that job in 1931. 
• 1960 - Vern Law, who finished 20-9 with 18 complete games and a 3.08 ERA, was voted the Cy Young Award winner, easily outdistancing runner-up Warren Spahn. It was a big year for The Deacon - he was an All-Star, winning one of the two Midsummer Classics in ‘60, and was also the winning pitcher for two of the Bucs’ World Series victories. 

Vern Law - 1961 Nu

• 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 toting peanuts for snacks and shovels to clean the street. 
• 1982 - 1B Jason Thompson agreed to a five-year/$5.5M contract with the Pirates ($200K/year in bonuses, $1.2M deferred). The 28-year-old followed with three seasons in which he failed to hit .260 or 20 HR, and was traded to Montreal after the 1985 campaign for a minor-leaguer. They released him in June after 30 games and the Pirates/Expos ate the final year of his deal as he couldn’t catch on with anyone else. 
• 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. Aki was replaced rather handily by Neil Walker, a converted minor league 3B/C, then released in mid-September. After 10 games with Oakland, he was out of MLB. Jesse is still around and tossed for the Rangers in 2019 while Neil played for Miami and is a 2020 FA. 
• 2011 - Matty Alou passed away in Santo Domingo at the age of 72 of diabetes complications. He was the middle man of one of the top MLB brother acts, between Felipe and Jesus. He came to the Bucs in 1965 from the Giants, and under the tutelage of Harry “The Hat” Walker and the prodding of Roberto Clemente, he turned into one of the great slap hitters of the era. In his first year as a Pirate, he led the NL with a .342 average as his hermano Felipe came in second at .327, the only time in baseball history that brothers finished 1-2 for the batting title. He hit .338 in 1967 (third in the NL), .332 in 1968 (second in the circuit) and .331 in 1969, leading the league with 231 hits and 41 doubles. He made two All-Star teams during that span, but after batting .297 in 1970, he was dealt to the Cards. In a 15-year big league career, his BA was .307. Following the 1974 season, he played three years in Japan and managed in the Dominican Winter League. In 2007, the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame inducted Matty. 

Matty Alou - Pittsburgh Baseball Heroes Deck

• 2016 - RHP Neftali Feliz, OF Matt Joyce, RHP Ivan Nova, LHP Zach Phillips, UT Sean Rodriguez and RHP Ryan Vogelsong were non-tendered by the Bucs after the season and became free agents, along with LHP Kelvin Marte, RHP Justin Masterson and OF Danny Ortiz, who were let go days later. Only Nova remained with the club by signing a three-year/$26M deal, although S-Rod would come back via trade in August. 
• 2017 - There wasn’t much contract churn for the Pirates after the season. They exercised their team option on CF Andrew McCutchen and bought out those on C Chris Stewart (younger torch-bearer C Elias Diaz was out of options) and LHP Wade LeBlanc (who was outrighted to Indy and faced a crowded field of lefty relievers) while 1B/OF John Jaso and RHP Joaquin Benoit had already declared for free agency. Cutch was the only starter in the mix and the other losses were expected. Andrew’s 2018 contract of $14.75M was the largest single-year deal that the Pirates have ever been entirely committed to; AJ Burnett’s contract for $16.5M from 2012-13 was primarily paid for by the NYY. The club tendered their small though costly arb-eligible gang of RHP Gerrit Cole, SS Jordy Mercer, RHP Felipe Rivero and RHP George Kontos. Jordy & Felipe were the only ones of the option/arb posse to make it through the season.

11/2: AVS '88 Player of the Year; Bragan Hired; '15 FAs; Alley Retires; Jackson, Hassler, Redman Sign; Rentry Draft '79; Pie, Waners AS; AA Formed; HBD Orlando, Gary, Frenchy & Scott

• 1866 - Utilityman Frank “Frenchy” Genins was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Frank’s biggest workload in a three-year big league career came with the 1895 Pirates. He played all the infield & outfield spots (in fact, he was the only other Bucco to play the OF that year other than the starting trio of Patsy Donovan, Jake Starzel and Mike Smith), hitting .250 in 73 games. Genins may not have dented very many major league lineups, but he played his way through much of the midwest in the minors from 1887-1909, with his latter years spent as a player/manager. 
• 1881 - The American Association was founded. The initial members were the Brooklyn Atlantics (replaced by the Baltimore Orioles), Cincinnati Red Stockings, Louisville Cardinals, Philadelphia Athletics, 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. Denny McKnight, the Alleghenys owner, was elected its first president, with his term running from 1882-85. 

Denny McKnight - Ars Longa 

• 1927 - Although the first All-Star Game wouldn’t be played until 1933, that didn’t stop papers from picking a squad of its own, usually combining leagues. The Brooklyn Eagle’s Hall of Fame baseball writer Thomas Holmes released his 1927 lineup which featured 3B Pie Traynor and OF Paul Waner on the first team. Lloyd Waner was named to the second team. 
• 1952 - He never played in the Pirate organization, but he sure has some pull in the FO: agent Scott Boras was born in Sacramento. Boras was the rep of Josh Bell (Felipe Rivero dropped him for Magnus Sports, not that it makes much difference now) and was Cole Train and Pedro Alvarez’s man. Fun fact: Boras played four years in the minors as an infielder and was a pretty good slap hitter and OBP guy, even earning a spot on the Florida State League All-Star team before hanging up the spikes due to injury and enrolling in law school. 
• 1955 - Bobby Bragan was named the new Bucco field manager, signing a one-year deal to replace 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, making the first of four Pirates managerial stints. Bobby went on to manage the Cleveland Indians (1958) and Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves (1963-66), compiling an overall 443-478 record. 
• 1956 - IF Gary Hargis was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was drafted out of high school (Cabrillo HS, California) in 1974 in the second round by the Bucs. His MLB resume is slim; as a September call up, he made it into one game for the 1979 Buccos as a pinch runner, earning a $250 World Series share for his effort. Hargis was injury-plagued on the farm, and he was moved to the OF in 1980 because his arm wasn't considered MLB caliber for short and they were priming him for a utility role. He got married in ‘81 and that was his last pro season at age 24. 

Gary Hargis - 1979 photo via SABR

• 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. After a solid 13-year MLB career (seven teams w/.278 lifetime BA), he now operates the Orlando Merced Baseball Training Center in Kissimmee, FL. 
• 1973 - Two-time All-Star Gene Alley, 32, announced his retirement. In 1966-67, he was at the top of his game both with the glove (he and Maz set the DP record in ‘66 w/215 twin killings) and with the bat (.293 BA during those two years), but an arm injury suffered in ‘68 followed by a bum knee brought him back to earth. He never hit above .250 afterward and was a bench player in his final year. His Bucco career spanned 1963-73 and he hit .254 over that time. 
• 1978 - Willie Stargell was named the United Press’ “Comeback Player of the Year” after hitting .295/28 HR/97 RBI. He was coming off a 1977 campaign in which he only got into 63 games, going on the DL twice with a bum elbow, and ending his streak of 15 straight seasons with 20> homers. He ran away in the vote from pitchers Vida Blue (SF), Gaylord Perry (SD) and Jim Bouton (ATL). 
• 1979 - In MLB’s Free Agent Re-Entry Draft, the Bucs’ Bruce Kison was claimed by the Indians and Rennie Stennett by the Mets after the Pirates signed Grant Jackson to a new contract the day before to keep him out of the process. The Bucs claimed bidding rights on Dave Goltz of the Twins, John Curtis of San Francisco, Nolan Ryan of California, Milt May of the White Sox, Al Hrabosky of KC, Don Stanhouse of Baltimore and Rick Wise of Cleveland. The purpose of the draft was to lessen the financial impact of free agency for the bidders; FA’s could only sign with a team that selected them. The clubs could only select a limited number of players, and there was also a limit to the number of teams that could select a single player. But there was a loophole for the lesser-sought players and the champagne guys: unless selected by three or more teams, they were available to all. The draft lasted from 1976-80 when a new agreement that eliminated the re-entry procedure went into effect after the ‘81 strike. As for the draft results, Kison signed with the Angels and Stennett with the Giants as neither was drafted by three teams. The Bucs inked none of their selections, although they did eventually land ex-Pirate May once again in a 1983 trade. Since they couldn’t sign any of the big name arms, they instead inked Andy Hassler to a six-year, $750 K contract. He lasted until June, when he was sold to California. 

Andy Van Slyke - 1988 Parker Brothers

• 1988 - Andy Van Slyke joined Ralph Kiner (1950), Dick Groat (1960), Roberto Clemente (1966) and Dave Parker (1978) as Bucs who won The Sporting News NL Player of the Year Award. The 28-year-old hit .288 w/25 homers, 101 runs, 100 RBI, and 30 stolen bases. Teammates Bobby Bonilla and Mike LaValliere, along with AVS, were named to the TSN All-Star team. And in a very good day for Bucco awardees, Jim Leyland and Dodger skipper Tommy LaSorda tied for NL Manager of the Year (the first time TSN had a tie for that honor) in a race that was decided by a gnat’s eyelash by overall points in Jim's favor. Leyland and LaSorda earned four first-place votes each while the Mets Davey Johnson came in with three. Leyland was the third Pirates field general to win the award, along with Danny Murtaugh (1960, 1970) and Billy Meyer (1948). 
• 2005 - LHP Mark Redman exercised his $4.95M player option for the 2006 season. Acquired as part of the Jason Kendall deal, he went 5-15/4.90 in 2005 for the Bucs. He didn’t make it to camp, though, as the Bucs swapped him to KC for RHP Jonah Bayliss a month later. 
• 2015 - The Pirates had eight free agents after the season: P Antonio Bastardo, P Joe Blanton, P AJ Burnett, P JA Happ, 1B Corey Hart, UT Sean Rodriguez, 3B Aramis Ramirez and P Joakim Soria. S-Rod was the only one the team re-signed as AJ and A-Ram retired while the others found new homes during the winter. Bastardo had a homecoming when the Pirates traded to get him back at the 2016 deadline. S-Rod left the flock after 2016, but not for long; the Pirates got him back later in the next campaign. Several other bubble guys were released soon afterward: RHP Radhames Liz, LHP Jeremy Bleich, OF John Bowker, C Wilkin Castillo, RHP Brad Lincoln, RHP Blake Wood and 1B/OF Andrew Lambo.

11/1: Maz, Roberto, Alley Gold Gloves; '20 Roster Moves; Miceli-for-Sodowsky; Farm Mtg; Guintini Rule 5 Pick; HBD Eddie, Gary, Miguel, Larry, Howie, Clarence, Earl, Ham & Mike

• 1872 - C Mike Hopkins was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He’s one of only eight native Scotsmen to play MLB, and for him it was just for one game. His family crossed the pond and took up residence in Chartiers (now Carnegie); his dad was a miner and Mike became a railroader. He also played semi-pro ball for Chartiers and his neighbor, Honus Wagner, talked the team into taking him on a road trip in 1902, a year when the Pirates were waltzing away with the pennant. He got into a blowout game at Cincinnati’s Palace of the Fans and went 2-for-2. That was his career; he was married with a child on the way and had a regular day job, so a baseball gig didn’t ring his bell. Mike worked on the RR until the 40s, played a little sandlot ball, and raised nine children who gave him and the missus 18 grandchildren and two great-grandkids before he passed away at the age of 79. 

Ham Hyatt - 1910 American Caramels

• 1884 - PH Robert Hamilton “Ham” Hyatt was born in Buncombe County, North Carolina. 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 season and returned from 1912-14, hitting .267 for Pittsburgh. Ham spent a couple of more years in the show and finished off his career with a PCL stint, as he and his wife made their home in her native Washington state. 
• 1892 - C Earl Blackburn was born in Leesville, Ohio. Earl played for parts of five big league seasons, batting .262, but you can be excused if you missed him in Pittsburgh. He played one game as a 19-year old in 1912, but never made it to bat before moving on to the Reds, Braves and Cubs. Blackburn then put in one more season with KC in the American Association and then spent 1920 with Bethlehem of the Bethlehem Steel League, an industrial league that raided MLB players, and after that his horsehide trail turns cold. 
• 1894 - RF Clarence Berger was born in East Cleveland, Ohio. His MLB resume consists of six games for the 1914 Pirates with a 1-for-13 batting line after a late September call up from the Richmond Colts, from which the Bucs had bought Berger’s contract for $2,500. He was released the following year before camp broke, played the season in the minors and went on to his life’s work as a bookkeeper. 
• 1907 - LHP Larry French was born in Visalia, California. He started his 14-year career in Pittsburgh (1929-34) and had a line of 87-83-9/3.50, winning 15 or more games four times with the Pirates. French won 197 games before he hung ‘em up and was an All-Star for the Cubs in 1940. He’s still noted for his 1933 “Soap Game.” With the Bucs up 8-0 in the ninth, French ducked out of the bullpen to get to the hot water first. The pesky Boston Braves tied the game, and French was summoned to the mound with soap still dripping down his face. It didn’t hurt; he tossed 1-2/3 clean innings and got the win in 10 frames. 

Howie Goss - 1963 Topps

• 1934 - OF Howie Goss was born in Wewoka, Oklahoma. Howie spent nine years in the minors before the Bucs called him up in 1962 after he put together a .299/27/100 slash line in the PCL. In 89 games (25 starts) Goss hit .243. As the 1963 camp broke, Goss was traded to the Colt .45s for OF Manny Mota. Goss became Houston's regular CF’er, but hit only .209 in what was his last MLB year. Manny spent six seasons as a Pirate with a .297 BA and went on to become an all-timer as a pinch hitter with LA. 
• 1945 - OF/3B Ben Guintini was the Pirates selection in the Rule 5 draft. He had hit .283 for the San Francisco Seals in the PCL, but went 0-for-3 as a Buc in 1946 and returned to the Seals in 1948, closing out his career with three more games with Philadelphia in 1949, never managing to collect a big league hit. Ben did have a long career in the minors, playing 1,000+ games and once hitting 32 homers. Known as an entertainer on the field, he became a Cadillac salesman after he retired. 
• 1948 - The Pirates hosted the annual farm directors conference at the Hotel Schenley in Oakland, across the street from Forbes Field. Apparently there wasn’t much on the agenda; the meeting lasted just one day with an evening banquet following. The Pittsburgh hosts were Pirates GM Roy Hamey, Farm Director Ray Kennedy and Assistant Director Fred Hering. 
• 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 with 23 swipes as a Bucco and 267 lifetime steals. Dilone carved out a 12-year MLB career and had a .265 lifetime BA while playing for seven teams. The speedster was known in the Dominican as the "Saeta Cibaeña" (the Cibao Dart; Cibao is the region where Santiago is located) because of his baserunning chops. Sadly, he lost an eye in 2009 after being clipped by a foul ball while he was on the field helping coach young players. 

Gary Redus - 1990 Topps wide

• 1956 - 1B/OF Gary Redus was born in Tanner, Alabama. He was a minor league phenom who hit .462 while playing 68 games for the Pioneer League Billings Mustangs’ in 1978, setting a record for pro baseball that still stands, across all levels and all leagues. 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 Reds. Redus retired from playing in 1994, coached baseball for six years at Calhoun Community College in Tanner, Alabama, and was an outfield instructor for Pittsburgh and Houston before retiring for good. 
• 1964 - 1B Eddie Williams was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. Williams had put in eight MLB years (and another in Japan) playing baseball’s corners when the Pirates added him to their bench in 1997, where the former first-rounder (1983; fourth overall) hit .247. He got a cup of coffee with San Diego after that and finished his career in Mexico, Korea and the indie leagues. 
• 1967 - 2B Bill Mazeroski, RF Roberto Clemente and SS Gene Alley were named to The Sporting News 1967 NL Gold Glove Team. It was Maz’s eighth GG, Roberto’s seventh and Alley’s second. It would be the last one for the infielders while Clemente still had four more to collect. 
• 1996 - The Pirates traded RHP Dan Miceli to the Detroit Tigers in return for RHP Clint Sodowsky. Miceli started out as Pirate and in his four years went 8-15-24/5.41. The Bucs gave him nine starts in ‘96 (his only year that he was used as a starter), and he spent the rest of his 14-year career primarily as a set-up guy. Sodowsky went 2-2/3.62 (his FIP was 4.67 and WHIP 1.6) in his only Bucco campaign and he was out of the bigs after tossing three games in 1999 for the Cards. 

Dan Miceli - 1996 Flair

• 2020 - After making a boatload of player moves two days before, the Bucs finalized their 40-man roster by removing CF Anthony Alford, RHP Jameson Taillon, IF Phil Evans, RHP Michael Feliz and RHP Clay Holmes from the IL and protecting them on the roster. They had to jettison a couple of more guys before the weekend ended to clear space: The Pirates turned down RHP Chris Archer’s $11 million option for 2021, making him a FA, RHP Nick Burdi was removed from the IL after he had his second Tommy John surgery in mid-October and DFA'ed while RHP Dovy Neverauskas was placed on waivers.