6/14 From 1980: Ortiz-Wynne, Solomon-Morrison; Bam A-Ram; AVS Out; Gems & Game Tales

• 1982 - RHP Eddie Solomon was sent to the Chicago White Sox for 3B Jim Morrison. Solomon was released after the season, while Mo found a home here for six years, posting a .274 BA with 57 HR and 241 RBI in 552 games for the Pirates. 
• 1983 - C Junior Ortiz and RHP Arthur Ray went to the New York Mets for RHP Steve Senteney and OF Marvell Wynne. Junior returned to the Pirates fold for the 1985 season via the Rule 5 Draft and hit .274 in seven Bucco campaigns. Marvell spent three years in Pittsburgh and batted .248 before moving on to San Diego. The two pitchers, Senteney and Ray, never made MLB appearances after the deal (Senteney had tossed 11 games for Toronto in ‘82). 
• 1985 - Jose DeLeon fanned 11 in seven innings at TRS to beat the Phillies, 3-2, backed by homers from Johnny Ray and Sixto Lezcano. DeLeon, who didn’t win his first game until June 2nd, then lost his next 11 outings to finish the campaign at 2-19. His 4.70 ERA was the worst of his career until his final season in 1995. The game also marked the return of Willie Stargell, who was hired as first base coach by Chuck Tanner and debuted this night. The next season, Pops didn’t make the transition to Jim Leyland’s staff and joined Tanner at Atlanta. 

Jose DeLeon - 1985 O-Pee-Chee

• 1987 - After the Bucs dropped a 7-3 decision to the Mets at TRS, Jim Leyland held a brief and X-rated closed door meeting with his team, citing lackadaisical play and then telling the Post Gazette’s Ed Bouchette that “If I was a fan, I’d want my money back today” after the game. The Pirates drew well - they attracted 84,836 for the three-game weekend set - but dropped two out of three. The only fire was shown by the Pirates pitchers: Brian Fisher and the Mets John Mitchell each buzzed a batter in this match, while the contest the day before featured Darryl Strawberry charging Bob Kipper after being plunked and a takedown of Ron Darling by the still-pumped Fisher during the dance. But despite Leyland’s prodding, the Bucs finished 80-82 on the year and were still a couple of bricks shy on the roster. They wouldn’t start their playoff run until 1990.
• 1992 - The Pirates won their fourth straight one-run game by a 5-4 count over the Mets at Shea Stadium to sweep the series. Andy Van Slyke plated Gary Varsho with a ninth inning sac fly for the victory. Denny Neagle got the win in relief with a Stan Belinda save. The club had taken consecutive 3-2 wins over the Mets in the first two games of the series and started the streak with a 2-1 win over the Phillies. On a down note: Barry Bonds sprained his rib cage, and was out of action until July 4th. But he was apparently 100% recovered when he returned - he slashed .311/.456/.624 with 34 HR and a 204 OPS+ and won the MVP. 
• 1993 - The Bucs not only lost their fifth game in a row, 8-3, to the St. Louis Cardinals but also lost center fielder Andy Van Slyke, who suffered whiplash and a fractured collarbone crashing into the Busch Stadium wall. He bemoaned the unforgiving fence, saying that “...an inch or two of more padding and I have a sore shoulder instead of a broken collarbone.” He wouldn’t return to action until August 27th. Even a healthy AVS wouldn’t have made a big difference in the Pirates final results - they were in the midst of losing 10-of-11 in their first campaign without Barry Bonds and Doug Drabek, and the lack of starpower showed. The Bucs finished 75-87, 22 games off the pace. 

Dan Plesac - 1996 Fleer Ultra

• 1996 - Jeff King singled home Jason Kendall and Mike Kingery in the ninth to send Rob Nen and the Marlins to a 5-4 defeat at TRS. Florida had raced out to a 4-0 lead as Matt Ruebel could only get three outs in his start, but Ramon Morel, Jon Lieber, Dan Miceli and winner Dan Plesac tossed eight shutout innings, giving up four hits and striking out eight Fish.
• 2003 - Aramis Ramirez homered and doubled, driving in four runs, while Jack Wilson smacked three two-baggers among his four hits, good for three RBI, as the Pirates outlasted the Tampa Bay Rays, 12-9, at Tropicana Field. Winner Josh Fogg was staggered in the ninth and was yanked after giving up four knocks to five Tampa batters. His replacement, Scott Sauerbeck, also allowed four of the five Rays he faced to reach before Mike Williams came on; he walked his first foe to pack the sacks before closing it out as the Pirates survived a six-run final frame. 
• 2006 - Two unlikely run producers, Jose Castillo and Zach Duke, combined for seven RBI to propel Pittsburgh to a 9-7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park. Castillo had a double and homer to drive in four runs while Duke had a pair of singles to plate three more Buccos. Starter Duke got the win and Mike Gonzalez nailed down the save, coming in to dish out the final out after Matt Capps allowed two ninth-inning runs on a Scott Rolen dinger. 
• 2009 - The Pirates hosted the Detroit Tigers at PNC Park during the 100th anniversary of their 1909 World Series meeting. Both teams wore throwback uniforms and the stadium's PA and sound systems were turned off to simulate the game conditions of the Hans and Ty era for the 27,565 fans on hand. Pittsburgh won the game, 6–3, as Robinzon Diaz drove in three runs off Dontrelle Willis and Ross Ohlendorf went six solid innings for the victory. 

Robinzon Diaz -2010 Topps

• 2011 - The Bucs beat the Houston Astros, 1-0, at Minute Maid Park. Jeff Karstens threw 6-2/3 innings of three-hit ball and five relievers picked up the slack, with Joel Hanrahan getting the save. The only run came in the second when Neil Walker singled off Bud Norris, went to second base on a wild pitch and scored on Garrett Jones’ knock into short right. 
• 2015 - The Pirates defeated the Phils, 1-0, in 11 innings at PNC Park. AJ Burnett and Cole Hamels left the game scoreless before the Bucs staged a two-out rally to walk off with the win. Neil Walker singled, Jose Tabata reached on an error, and Josh Harrison’s first-pitch rap knocked Walker home. Antonio Bastardo was credited with the victory. The Pirates swept the three-game series in a set of to-the-wire squeakers. The opener was a 13-inning, 1-0, victory, with Starling Marte’s two-out single bringing home the game winner for Bastardo while the middle game was a 4-3 nailbiter won by Gerrit Cole and saved by Mark Melancon.

6/13: Wilson-Marte; Kingham Gone; First Interleague Game; Willie Pops; Cutch Signs; Re-Ward; Lucky 13; Buc Relo? Game Tales; HBD Darrell & John

• 1885 - Pop Smith, slick fielding but weak hitting Alleghenys 2B, hit into a 4-3-2 triple play against Baltimore in the 11th at Oriole Park. It marked the beginning of an accursed stretch of baseball: Pittsburgh would go on to lose the game 11-10, beginning a tumble that saw them drop from second to finishing 17-1/2 games back after a 5-17 September swoon. 
• 1904 - C John O’Connell was born in Verona. The Duquesne Duke’s MLB career lasted three games played in 1928-29; he doubled once in nine PAs with a walk. O’Connell was the first Red & Blue ballplayer to reach the big leagues since Johnny Miljus in 1915; the next Bluff product to appear in the show was pitcher Dick Ricketts in 1959 with the Cards. He also multi-tasked by playing pro hoops until he retired from roundball after the 1958 season. 
• 1954 - It was a forgettable day for the Bucs, dropping a twin bill to the Cards at Busch Stadium by 5-0 and 5-3 scores. But it was a rags-to-riches tale for 1B Preston Ward. He wore the golden sombrero in the opener, K’ing four times while facing Harvey Haddix. He sat in the nightcap, but pinch hit in the eighth, and smacked a solo homer off Stu Miller. It would take 61 years for another Pirate to whiff in all four at-bats in the first game of a double header and then drill a homer in the second before Starling Marte turned the trick in 2014. 
• 1968 - Pittsburgh won a wild one, 8-7, over the Giants at Candlestick Park. San Francisco scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth and loaded the bases with two down, but had used up their bench and had to send Ray Sadecki, a good hitting hurler, to the dish to bat for reliever Bill Henry. Roy Face took over and whiffed Sadecki to close out the victory. The play of the game was made in the sixth when Roberto Clemente took a home run away from Willie Mays, making a grab over the RF railing as he was crashing into the fence with two on and two out. 

ElRoy Face - 1968 KDKA promo

• 1972 - LHP Darrell May was born in San Bernardino, California. He spent seven seasons with six teams in MLB, getting a brief look in Pittsburgh in 1996, getting five outings (two starts) and going 0-1/9.35 as a 24-year-old. The Pirates had acquired him off waivers from the Braves; Pittsburgh released him in September and California claimed him. He pitched in the show and in Japan through 2005. He did some high school and college coaching and now runs DMay Baseball School and is in charge of player development for TWC Sports Management. 
• 1980 - It was Willie Stargell’s day as Pops went 4-for-4 with two homers, both off Joe Niekro, a double and all five RBI (he drove in Tim Foli three times) in a 5-3 Bucco victory against the Houston Astros at Three Rivers Stadium. Eddie Solomon got the win with Kent Tekulve finishing up. 
• 1985 - The New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority announced that it had a pair of groups ask about the availability of the Meadowlands should the Pirates relocate there, per the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. The Bucco FO denied the rumors, saying that they hadn’t talked to any potential Jersey buyers and had made remaining in Pittsburgh, at least during the TRS lease that ran through 2011, one of their sale conditions. But the storm clouds were gathering… 
• 1988 - The Pirates shut out the Cubs, 8-0, at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Bobby Bonilla homered and went 3-for-5 with three RBI while Barry Bonds went 2-for-4 with a dinger and scored three times. Bob Walk pitched a complete game for the win while dodging raindrops - he threw 121 pitches and gave up eight hits with four walks but left 12 Cubbies stranded on the bases. 

Bobby Bo - 1988 Donruss Best

• 1994 - The Bucs avoided becoming no-hit victims when Carlos Garcia singled off Expo pitcher Jeff Fassaro’s glove with two outs in the ninth. Fassaro, with his bubble burst, then served up a gopher ball to Jay Bell. Jay’s bomb was way too little and way too late to move the needle as Montreal won the contest running away, 10-2, at Stade Olympique. 
• 1997 - Ex-Pirate Jeff King hit a two-run homer for Kansas City but was answered by ex-Royal Joe Randa with a tying homer, a triple and three RBI as Pittsburgh and KC squared off. Tony Womack smacked the winning homer in the sixth off Royals reliever Mike Williams, who joined the Buccos the next season, in a 5-3 Pittsburgh win at Three Rivers Stadium. It was the Pirates’ first interleague game and the concept was an early hit in Pittsburgh as 108,536 turned out for the three-game set. The mix of old mates came about after a December trade sent Jay Bell and King to the Royals for Jeff Granger, The Joker, and Jeff Wallace. 
• 2000 - Pittsburgh scored three times in the ninth and once again in the 10th to rally for a 7-6 win over the Atlanta Braves at TRS, redeeming themselves a day after blowing a five-run lead against the Bravos. Bruce Aven drove in Kevin Young to cut the lead to 7-5 in the final frame, then with two down, pinch hitter Mike Benjamin doubled and Warren Morris singled them both home on an 0-2 pitch to knot the score. Wil Cordero did it the easy way in the 10th by launching a leadoff bomb off Don Wengert for the walk-off win, credited to Jose Silva. 
• 2001 - The Pirates traded infielder Enrique Wilson to the Yankees for journeyman relief pitcher Damaso Marte. The Bucs would later trade Marte away, get him again and then flip the lefty back to the Bronx Bombers with Xavier Nady for Jose Tabata, Jeff Karstens, Ross Ohlendorf and Daniel McCutchen, with all the dealing coming in a three-year span. In all, Marte spent four workmanlike seasons with Pittsburgh, posting a line of 7-8-5/3.52 in 210 outings. 

Damaso Marte - team promo

• 2005 - The Pirates signed their #1 draft pick, CF Andrew McCutchen (#11 overall) from Fort Meade HS, to a $1.9 M deal and he began his pro journey at Bradenton in the Rookie League. Cutch gave up a commitment to Florida to turn pro and debuted with the Bucs in 2009. He played nine years in Pittsburgh, batting .291 with 203 homers while winning an MVP (2013) and five All-Star berths, took a hiatus and returned home this season. 
• 2014 - The Pirates blew a ninth-inning, 6-2, lead to Miami by allowing the Fish to tie the score on one hit; three relievers walked six batters in a Friday the 13th nightmare. But Jeanmar Gomez pitched four frames of shutout bonus ball - he and starter Jeff Locke tossed 12 innings, giving up just two runs without yielding a single walk - and Gregory Polanco’s first MLB homer won it in the 13th, 8-6, at Marlins Park. Polanco had quite a coming-out party; he became just the second post-1914 era rookie to have a five-hit contest during his first four games in the league, going 5-for-7. The top of the Pirate order (El Coffee, Starling Marte, who also homered, and Andrew McCutchen) went 11-for-21 with six runs scored and five RBI. The Pirates snapped a 13-game Friday the 13th losing streak in the 13th inning in their Twilight Zone victory. The Pirates eerily almost played out the same scenario the next day by giving up four ninth-inning runs, but hanging on for another 8-6 seat-of-the-pants victory. 
• 2019 - After bursting onto the scene by tossing 6-2/3 innings of perfect ball in his April of 2018 MLB debut while on his way to a 5-0, nine-K, win over the Cards, 26-year-old Nick Kingham was DFA’ed and sold to Toronto. Projected as a mid-rotation arm, the fourth round, 2010 pick from Sierra Vista HS in Vegas couldn’t replicate the magic, and finished the year at 5-7/5.21 in 18 outings (15 starts). Flipping between the pen and starting in 2019, his line was 1-1/9.87, and out of options, he was released in early June after spending a decade in the Pirates system. Nick has since tossed for Toronto and in Korea, Mexico and now China.

Notes: 50-50 Week; Cutch 2,000; Injuries, Moves & News

June bugs...

Notes: 

• Hapless Oakland came to town and quickly put Pittsburgh in a 3-0 hole in the opener, making the Bucs sweat for their 5-4 victory. Then the A's beat on Buc ace Mitch Keller to end a 15-game road losing streak, and chased Roansy early in the rubber match to take the series. Oakland may have just been due; they went on to sweep the Brewers. Then the Mets came calling and were clobbered 14-7 by the Pirates; the next day, the Bucs had three hits and lost 5-1 to even the set. Cutch led off the deciding game with a single to left, Andrew's 2,000 hit, and with that out of the way, Pittsburgh rode Mitch Keller to a 2-1 series clincher.

Cutch got 2,000 on Sunday - photo 6/11/2023/Pirates

• Pittsburgh recalled OF Canaan Smith-Njigba; RHP Chase De Jong was DFA'ed for the second time
• Vince Velasquez had elbow surgery and is done for the next 11-12 months. The procedure was done because of damage to Velasquez’s UCL, but it wasn't TJ surgery, FWIW.
• DFA'ed IF Chris Owings went unclaimed and was outrighted to Indy.
• Shelty said RHP Roansy Contreras is going to the bullpen, so they'll need a call-up from Indy for the Cub series next week; late reports, unconfirmed by the team, say it'll be 27-year-old RHP Osvaldo Bido (3-4/4.55) - and yes, they are that thin in AAA. The Bucs have Mitch Keller, Rich Hill, Luis Ortiz and Johan Oviedo still standing in the rotation after losing Roansy, Velasquez and JT Brubaker. 
• For  those wondering what a Mitch Keller and/or Oneill Cruz long-term deal might look like, Dan Szymborski of Fangraphs took a shot at projecting their shape.
• 23-year-old righty JP Massey has been named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Month. JP went 1-0 with a 0.72 ERA in May (he's 2-2/2.58 in seven '23 starts). 
• RHP Blake Cederlind, who was recently released by the Pirates, signed a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres.

6/12: Dock No-No; Hitman Cycle; 5 For Glenn; Hans HoF; Win 10,000; KY Hot; Groat Day; Strike; Harvey's Tea Time; Bottom's Up; Game Tales; HBD George, Willie, Dutch & Sol; '17 Draft

• 1868 - IF King Solomon “Sol” White was born in Bellaire, Ohio. An educated and gentlemanly guy, his multi-faceted career in black baseball was launched in Pittsburgh. White began his career in 1887 with the Pittsburgh Keystones of the National Colored League, with a return stop in 1892. Sol spread himself around the circuit - there were 18 clubs he played/managed for. In 1902, White and white sportswriter H. Walter Schlichter founded the Philadelphia Giants. For the next eight years White co-owned, managed and played for his team, one of the era's best. Sol then managed the Brooklyn Royal Giants and the New York Lincoln Giants. Following a period of semi-retirement, he led the Columbus Buckeyes, the Cleveland Browns and the Newark Stars, finally retiring after the 1926 season. White was also a sportswriter, author of the first definitive history of black baseball in 1907, and elected to the Hall of Fame in 2006. 
• 1884 - 2B Otto “Dutch” Knabe was born in Carrick. He got a cup of coffee with the hometown Buccos in 1905 and then returned to the fold in 1916, the last season of his 12-year career. The Bucs sent him to the Chicago Cubs in June, where he finished out as a player/coach. In between, though, he and SS Mickey Doolan formed one of the slickest and competitive DP combos in the league with Philadelphia. He then played/managed in the minors through 1922, ran a pool hall/gambling den (it was reported that he was going to bet on the “Black Sox” in the 1919 World Series, was tipped that the fix was in and switched his money to the Reds) and later operated a bar in Philadelphia. His moniker was common during his era - “Dutch” was a play on Deutsch, or German. 
• 1904 - LHP Willie Foster was born in Lorman, Mississippi. One of the top southpaws of his era (and perhaps any other), he pitched for the Homestead Grays in 1931 (9-2/2.34) and with the Pittsburgh Crawfords in 1936 (4-3/4.30) on his way to the Hall of Fame. Willie later became an associate dean and coached at Alcorn State, where the Foster Baseball Field at McGowan Stadium, home for Braves baseball, is named in his honor. He passed away in 1978. 

Ray Kremer - 6/28/1928 Press

• 1928 - The Pirates set a record, later tied, by having seven batters collect three hits or more in a game when they beat the Phillies, 15-4, at the Baker Bowl. Ray Kremer, the Bucco pitcher, led the parade with four knocks. Pittsburgh had 25 hits, with every starting player chipping in. Paul & Lloyd Waner, Sparky Adams, Glenn Wright (five RBI), Pie Traynor and Fred Brickell had three knocks while Clyde Barnhart had a pair with four RBI. 
• 1933 - The Homestead Grays’ 38-year-old Lefty Williams tossed a no-hitter against the local Hazelwood Jehovic club at Greenlee Field, claiming a 3-0 victory over the cross-river foes. The club wasn’t as fortunate on the back end of the twi-light twin bill as Hall-of-Famer Ray Brown (who also played CF) dropped an 8-6 decision to their Negro league foes, the Baltimore Black Sox, despite three hits from SS Leroy Mornay, who would skip to cross-town rivals, the Pittsburgh Crawfords, the following season; he played for 14 teams during his career. That was vividly in contrast with Lefty - he pitched for Homestead from 1921-35, with the only gap being six games he worked for Detroit in a split season. 
• 1939 - The Baseball Hall of Fame opened to the public in the greatest gathering of old-timey baseball starpower ever assembled. The Hall named its first five inductees in 1936 (Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Honus Wagner and Christy Mathewson) and the next wave voted in (Grover Alexander, Eddie Collins, Nap Lajoie, Connie Mack, George Sisler, Tris Speaker & others) prior to the building’s dedication. The Flying Dutchman, in the first HOF vote, tied for second with the Bambino. They were outpolled only by the Georgia Peach, Cobb. 
• 1946 - The Pirates traded OF Johnny Barrett to the Boston Braves for OF Chuck Workman. Both had started out in the 40’s as World War 2 MLB fill-ins. The guys finished out the campaign with their new clubs, but the return of the wartime players caused the duo to spend the rest of their careers in the minor leagues. 

The Kitten on his day - 6/13/1959 photo/Pgh Press

• 1959 - To celebrate his 12 perfect innings against the Braves, the Pirates held Harvey Haddix Night at Forbes Field. The leadoff hitter singled on the third pitch to ruin the vibe, and it was an omen of things to come: the Kitten was chased after four innings and the Pirates lost a see-saw contest, 9-6, to the Cards in front of 27,970 fans. However, the pregame gifts set up tea time at the Haddix household - NL President Warren Giles presented Harvey with a silver set with 12 goblets (one for each perfect inning, inscribed with the batters that were retired) and Bucco owner John Galbreath also gave him a $1,000 silver set. 
• 1970 - During the first game of a twin bill at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, Dock Ellis walked eight batters but no-hit the Padres, 2-0, to become the fourth Pirate pitcher to toss a no-no. He later famously claimed he was high on LSD while pitching that day. Pops Stargell provided the muscle with a pair of solo shots. The Friars took the nitecap, 5-2. 
• 1980 - Mike Easler, The aptly named Hit Man, hit for the cycle as the Bucs won, 10-6, over the Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium. John Milner and Dale Berra homered while Phil Garner drilled a pair of doubles to make a winner of Jim Bibby, with help from Enrique Romo, who tossed the final four innings for the save. For Easler, it was a breakout campaign - in six prior years, he had never gotten over 62 PAs in any one season. Finally playing regularly led to a 1980 line of .338 with 21 HR and a 167 OPS+. From 1980 until his final season, 1987, he hit .295 with 115 homers, a 120 OPS+ and averaged 130 games/486 PAs per year. 
• 1981 - The players went out on strike over free agent compensation. It was the first work stoppage in MLB since the 1972 strike that resulted in regular season games being canceled (86 in all that year - the owners refused to pay the players for the games they were on strike, so they chopped the unplayed matches). The strike forced the cancellation of 713 games before the two sides reached an agreement on July 31st. The season started on August 10th, with championships determined by the hybrid “split season” title format. Ironically enough, ushers and ticket-takers at TRS agreed on their contract the same day that the players walked out. 

6/13/1981 - Charley Feeney, Post-Gazette

• 1982 - Don’t overlook the bottom of the order. The Bucs 6-7-8-9 hitters (Tony Pena, Lee Lacy, Dale Berra, Manny Sarmiento) went 8-for-16, scored seven runs, chased home five more, walked three times, stole two bases, and hit a sac fly in a 9-2 romp over the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium. Berra provided the muscle with a homer and double while Sarmiento backed up his six-hit, complete game outing with his stick, going 2-for-3. 
• 1985 - RHP George Kontos was born in Lincolnwood, Illinois. The Pirates picked up the veteran reliever off the waiver wire from San Francisco, where he had spent six campaigns, in August of 2017. He was nearly a Bucco a decade earlier, though - he and Phil Coke were supposed to go to Pittsburgh in 2008 in the original configuration of the Xavier Nady deal. Kontos won an eighth inning set-up spot by going 1-1-1/1.84 in 15 outings but wasn’t nearly as effective in 2018 as he slashed 2-3-1/5.03. The Bucs let him go in late May; he finished the year with stints with New York and Cleveland, spent 2019 in the minors/indie ball and retired in 2020. 
• 1999 - Ed Sprague, Kevin Young and Jason Kendall homered, Al Martin had four hits and the Bucs banged out five doubles among their 17 hits to edge the KC Royals, 9-8, at TRS. Sprague singled home Adrian Brown in the ninth to earn a walk-off win for Jason Christiansen. 
• 2000 - Kevin Young was off to a hot start and so were the Bucs - KY doubled in the first, homered in the second and had six RBI after two innings as the Pirates piled up an 8-3 lead over the Braves at TRS. But Atlanta didn’t mail it in; they cut the margin to 8-6 after five frames. Then the Bravos scored twice in the eighth and twice more in the ninth to hand Jason Christiansen his sixth straight loss by a 10-8 count. It was a harbinger for the season - Atlanta won the Eastern Division while the Pirates came in last in the Central Division. 

Abraham Nunez - 2001 Upper Deck Victory

• 2001 - The Pirates put up nine runs in the fourth inning to run away with a 13-3 win over the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Abraham Nunez had a bases-loaded triple, Rob Mackowiak banged a two-run homer and John Vander Wal added a two-run single in the big frame. Brian Giles homered and doubled for four RBI to match Nunez’s game total as the Bucs hammered seven extra-base hits among their 15 knocks against five Motown hurlers. 
• 2013 - The Pirates/Alleghenys collected their 10,000th franchise win when they beat the Giants, 12-8, at PNC Park. 236 wins were collected as the Alleghenys of the American Association and 9,764 dubs were notched in the National League (which are the only victories the team officially recognizes). The top of the Pirate order (Starling Marte - Jordy Mercer - Andrew McCutchen - Gaby Sanchez) powered the win against San Francisco, going 13-for-19 and scoring eight runs while driving in four mateys. It marked the fourth time in the last 59 seasons that the top four hitters in the Bucs starting lineup each had at least three hits (it last happened in 2004), and Marte became the first Pirates leadoff hitter since 1916 with a four-hit, four-run, two-steal day. 
• 2015 - The Pirates took 13 innings, prolonged by an 86-minute rain delay, to defeat the Phils, 1-0, at PNC Park. Despite the score, it wasn’t much of a pitching duel - the teams were a combined 1-for-19 with RISP and stranded 30 runners; the Phils had at least two men aboard in six of the innings and the Bucs in five. Both sides used seven pitchers, with Antonio Bastardo getting his first Pirate win thanks to Starling Marte’s walk-off single that scored Chris Stewart. 
• 2017 - The Pirates drafted Texas prep RHP Shane Baz first (#12, $4.1M) of Concordia Lutheran HS in the draft. They raided the high schools on the first day, also selecting RHP Steven Jennings (#42 - $1.9M/DeKalb HS, Tennessee), OF Calvin Mitchell (#50 - $1,357,300/Rancho Bernardo HS, California, with a commitment to San Diego State) and OF Conner Uselton (#72 - $804K/Southmoore HS, Oklahoma). Baz was later traded to Tampa Bay as part of the Chris Archer deal while Mitchell got a call to the show by the Bucs in 2022. 

Dick Groat In City Council - 6/12/2018/Corey O'Connor twitter

• 2018 - The City of Pittsburgh declared “Dick Groat Day.” They held a ceremony for the Swissvale HS/Duke multi-sports star in Council Chambers and presented him with a resolution that, in part, reads that he “may be the greatest athlete to come out of Pittsburgh.” Groat was a five-time MLB All-Star who played nine seasons with the Pirates and the NL-MVP in 1960. He batted .290 during nine seasons with the Pirates and as a college ballplayer, led Duke to the College World Series as a senior. Dick also played for the NBA's Fort Wayne Pistons in 1952, was the Helms National Player of the Year in 1951 as a Blue Devil and is in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame - not too shabby for a 5’11” guard/shortstop.

6/11 Through the 1950s: Frank Rolls 7; Deacon Dealin'; Fred's 5; Yay Yde & Swift; What Rain? Waner Reception; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Dave, Frank & Lenny

• 1901 - The Pirate faithful saved the day for the Bucs in a 4-0 win at Exposition Park over Christy Mathewson and the NY Giants. Thunderstorms were predicted for the area, and by the start of the fifth a deluge began, with the Giants pleading for a rain-out. But umpire Hank O’Day followed a league directive that games not be called until the fans in the uncovered parts of the park deserted their seats, as the NL figured if the paying customers could brave the elements, so could the players. He pointed to the mass of Pirate rooters packing the bleachers (they drew 7,000, a huge showing, for the highly anticipated Matty/Schoolmaster Sam Leever match, of which 4,000 seats were in the open) and said play on - and no stalling shenanigans either, he warned. The G-Men went down in order, and with the game safely in hand the soggy crowd headed for shelter as the game was called, ending in the Buccos favor. Wee Tommy Leach had three RBIs and scored the other run while Leever gave up two hits in his short outing. 
• 1903 - Deacon Phillippe tossed his third straight whitewash, a three-hitter, to defeat Brooklyn, 9-0, at Exposition Park for the Pirates ninth consecutive win. The Pittsburgh Press wrote “Deacon Phillippe was the artist and he has never been in finer form.” Phillippe posted 2.43 ERA and won 25 games that season, but only ended up with one more shutout. Eddie Phelps spanked three hits and Claude Ritchey added a pair against the Superbas. 
• 1909 - Player/Manager Fred Clarke banged out five hits to lead the Pirates to an 8-1 win over the Brooklyn Superbas at Forbes Field for Pittsburgh's 11th straight victory. Clarke had a double, triple, a pair of stolen bases and three runs scored. Lefty Leifield claimed the win. 

Lenny Levy - 1960 TCMA (1977 Reprint)

• 1913 - Len Levy was born in Squirrel Hill. The Allderdice grad did about everything you could do for the Pirates without playing. He was a batboy, a Forbes Field ticket-taker, a minor league player, bullpen catcher, PR man, scout and coach in both the Pirates system and for the big league Bucs; he’s the guy that you saw in the first base box as Maz galloped by after his Series-winning homer in 1960. Older yinzers will remember him from his later days when he ran an Oakland car lot, Forbes Field Auto, that was popular with the players. 
• 1918 - Pittsburgh’s Roy Sanders and Boston's Bunny Hearn battled for each other for 16 innings before the Bucs won, 3-2, on a bases-loaded squeeze play by Howdy Caton. Sanders allowed just one hit over the last eight innings at Braves Field after Boston had taken an early 2-0 lead in the second, tossing 14 consecutive goose eggs. The Braves had plenty of chances early on, with 11 hits but they stranded 13 runners during the contest. 
• 1925 - Emil Yde did it all. The multi-tasking lefty scattered nine hits and went 3-for-4 with a double and triple, three runs and three RBI to carry the Pirates to an 11-3 win over the Boston Braves at Forbes Field. He did have some help with the lumber - Johnny Rawlings had three hits while Max Carey, Kiki Cuyler and Johnny Gooch each collected a pair of knocks. 
• 1927 - The Brooklyn Robins crashed Big Poison’s party to take an 11-10 win at Forbes Field by scoring four runs in the ninth. Waner had just been married the day before, and the Pirates held a “Paul Waner Day'' for him, where he was gifted with a car and then celebrated with three hits. He was joined in the hit parade by LF Clyde Barnhart, who also collected three knocks to run his multi-hit streak to 10 games. That string was snapped the next day when he could only manage a double against Brooklyn in another run-and-gun 11-10 loss. 

Big Poison - 1927 Exhibits

• 1929 - OF/3B Frank Thomas was born in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. The local kid spent half of his 16 year career as a Pirate (1951-58) before being traded to the Reds. While a Buc, his line was .275/.363/.562 and he was a three time All-Star. Frank was as noted for his contract fights as he was for his 286 career homers. When he retired, he settled in Ross Township with his wife Dolores and eight kids, participating in old-timer games and fantasy camps. 
• 1933 - The Bucs had lost 8-of-11 and that trend looked like it would go on as they went into the ninth at Sportsman Park down, 7-1, to St. Louis. But the Pirates were game to the finish, sending 14 batters to the plate (10 of the first 11 batters reached), resulting in seven hits, three walks, and three gifts: an error, a passed ball, and a wild pitch. When the smoke cleared, they had tallied 10 times, with Little Poison Waner driving in four runs on two singles and the final three runs charged to reliever Dizzy Dean; all unearned, as the Cards fell, 11-7. The Redbirds were equally frustrated in the second game of the twinbill - they collected eight hits off Larry French, but stranded 11 runners as they were dropped, 3-0. Tony Piet scored twice. The sweep tightened up a National League horse race as just 1-1/2 games separated the New York Giants, St. Louis Cards, and Pittsburgh. 
• 1938 - Bill Swift went the distance in a 4-3 win over the Phillies at Forbes Field. Not only did he go wire-to-wire to claim the win, he provided the muscle behind the victory when he bopped a two-out, three-run homer in the second, sending a curve ball over the wall in left center. It was his third and final MLB long fly - though a hurler, he posted a .227 BA for the Bucs over eight seasons to go with his 91-79-18/3.57 slash line from the bump.

Dave Cash - 1972 Topps

• 1948 - Dave Cash was born in Utica, New York. Drafted in 1966, he played his first five seasons in Pittsburgh (1969-73) and replaced Bill Mazeroski at second base in 1970; he in turn was bumped off the position by Rennie Stennett. Cash hit .285 as a Bucco and was in the league for a dozen campaigns, having three All-Star seasons with Philly. Dave coached/managed for the Oriole organization and is now retired and living in Tampa. Dave Parker said that Cash had a locker room nickname, explaining that “...he was so cool, we nicknamed him ‘A.C.’” 
• 1958 - Birthday boy Frank Thomas hit two homers, one a grand slam, and drove in seven runs as the Pirates pounded the Giants, 14-6, at Seals Stadium. Bill Mazeroski also went long and had three hits with three runs chased home; Roberto Clemente and Bill Virdon added three raps as the Pirates rolled up 18 hits. Vern Law got the win with ElRoy Face finishing up.

6/11 From 1960: Jose, Roberto, Stu Produce; A-Ram 22; Cam Canned; Cole Debut; Cobra Cover; MLB Unity; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Brock; '20 Draft

• 1962 - Dick Stuart hit two homers with five RBI (he actually drove in all six runs; one scored on a DP ball) to lead the Bucs to a 6-1 victory at Wrigley Field against the Cubs and Don Cardwell. Big Stu knew it was his day from the start - his first homer was a 250’ flare that hopped into the Chicago bullpen (then on the field in foul territory) and lodged under a bench; Billy Williams couldn’t find it until Stuart, with Bill Virdon ahead of him, crossed the plate. Cardwell said afterwards that he was hoping one of the boys in the pen would have casually dropped a warm up ball for Williams to play, but alas, no Chi-town improvisers thought that quickly. It was Stuart’s first inside-the-park circuit; he would repeat the deed one more time in his career. Stu’s second dinger was a legit three-run bomb to left in the sixth. Joe Gibbon went seven frames for the win. 
• 1964 - Pirates owner John Galbreath came out in support of unifying the leagues under one roof and run by the MLB commissioner while eliminating separate league control of umpire crews, PR, legal, and other administrative functions. It took awhile, but in 2000, the National League and American League merged into a single entity known as Major League Baseball. The most obvious result to the fans was the umpiring consolidation, but as we’ve seen over the intervening years, the business clout of a single entity has proven to be potent. 
• 1969 - The ‘Stros were cruising with a 6-3 lead going into the sixth at the Astrodome when the Bucs erupted. They cut the lead to a run via some small ball and then came the blast; Roberto Clemente launched a grand slam. It was his only hit, but he scored three times with an intentional walk, HBP and stolen base while adding an outfield assist to his basket. The Bucs banged out 15 hits, with Freddie Patek and Matty Alou chipping in three each, in the 13-8 victory. Houston helped - they committed four errors, leading to three unearned runs. Steve Blass got the win with Bruce DalCanton and Chuck Hartenstein mopping up. 

• 1977 - Dave Parker was featured as the cover story of The Sporting News in an article titled “Wham.” He was a National League whammy during the campaign, leading the league with a .338 BA, 215 hits and 44 doubles to go with 21 HR, 88 RBI and 107 runs scored to earn his first All-Star berth with six more appearances to follow, three with the Pirates. 
• 1982 - Lee Lacy, playing in place of an injured Dave Parker, lined a Larry Christenson curveball over the wall in right center with one away in the ninth to give the Bucs a 1-0 victory over the Phils at Veterans Stadium. Teke Tekulve tossed three frames of one-hit ball for the win in support of John Candelaria’s strong six-inning start as the pair combined for the Pirates first shutout of the campaign. Christenson went the distance, striking out 11 Bucs. 
• 1985 - The Pirates romped over the Cards, 13-2, at TRS. All 12 Bucs with an at-bat had hits (five had multi-hit days) and 11 scored and/or drove in a run. Joe Orsulek led the parade with three hits while Tony Pena and Bill Madlock homered. Rick Reuschel went seven innings for the win; he added two raps and three RBI to the cause, with Al Holland closing the book. 
• 1988 - OF/IF Brock Holt was born in Fort Worth, Texas. Taken in the ninth round of the 2009 draft by the Bucs, he played some in 2012 for Pittsburgh, hitting .292, before being sent to Boston as part of the Mark Melancon trade. He soon became a valued plug-in guy for the BoSox, hitting .270 and playing every position but pitcher & catcher during his seven years in Beantown. Brock’s last couple of seasons were nomadic and he last played in 2021. 

Brock Holt - 2013  Topps

• 2000 - The Bucs scored three runs in the first, five in the 10th and not much in between, but it was a strong enough mix to down the Kansas City Royals, 10-6, at Kauffman Stadium. Warren Morris and Adrian Brown combined for eight hits, three RBI and six runs at the top of the lineup while Brian Giles was the big gun at crunch time, driving in three clutch runs with a game-tying double in the ninth and then banging a two-run homer in the 10th. 
• 2001 - Kevin McClatchy fired GM Cam Bonifay after seven losing seasons featuring several costly and questionable free agent signings, replacing him with interim GM Roy Smith. Dave Littlefield was named the full-time replacement a month later. Littlefield couldn’t get the Bucs’ motor running either (he was generally forced to make moves for financial rather than baseball reasons) and was swapped out for Neal Huntington in September, 2007. 
• 2003 - Aramis Ramirez extended his hitting streak to 22 games by going 3-for-5 against the Blue Jays at the SkyDome in an 8-5 loss and bringing his batting average up to .309; it had been sitting at a sickly .218 on May 14th the day before he began his run. Toronto’s Mark Hendrickson and Aquilino Perez teamed up to end A-Ram’s string the next day. 
• 2005 - The Pirates exploded for 20 hits to beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 18-2, pushing across the most runs scored by the club at PNC Park as the Bucs scored three times in the opening frame and never looked back. Jose Castillo homered and knocked in a team-high five runs. Daryle Ward had four RBI and Ryan Doumit had three hits and three RBI. Seven Buccos had two or more hits. Ollie Perez struck out 10 batters in seven innings for the win. 

Jose Castillo - 2005 Topps Total

• 2013 - First overall pick of the 2011 draft, RHP Gerrit Cole, made his MLB debut at PNC Park and earned an 8-2 win over the San Francisco Giants in front of 30,614 fans; some 10,000 were walk-ups who rolled to the North Shore just to see Cole Train in action. Gerrit pitched to contact, giving up two runs on seven hits with two K in 6-1/3 innings, using up just 81 pitches and registering 99 on the radar gun a couple of times during the evening. Pedro Alvarez went 3-for-3 with a homer, two runs scored and three RBI to spark the Bucco attack. 
• 2020 - On the first night of the five-round draft, the Pirates chose SS Nick Gonzalez with their first pick (7th overall - New Mexico State), a guy who sported a good stick but an unsettled position in the field, with 2B the early consensus. He signed for $5.4M, slot value. They next landed righty Carmen Mlodzinksi with their competitive balance pick (#31, South Carolina) and agreed to a $2M bonus, $300K under slot. The next day, the Bucs took RHP Jared Jones, a Texas commit, in the second round (#44: La Mirada HS CA) and inked him to a $2.2M deal, roughly $500K over slot. They closed the action by taking three more righties - Nick Garcia (#79, Chapman U; $1.2M, $400K over slot), Jack Hartman (#108, Appalachian State), and Logan Hofmann (#138, Northwestern State). They all signed by July 2nd. Gonzales and Jones are Top 10 Pirates prospects, while Mlodzinski is being converted to the pen. Garcia and Hartman were traded for Connor Joe and Ji-Man Choi while Hoffman is 23 and still in Class A.

6/10: Kline-Gibbon; Robinson Claimed; B-2-B-2-B; Satch HoF; Darwin POTW; Swipery; Gems & Game Tales; RIP Gunner; HBD Carlos, Pokey, Hank, Specs, Deacon Danny, Vic & Jap

• 1882 - IF William “Jap” Barbeau was born in New York City. Barbeau spent four years in the show, and only one of those seasons was he a full-time guy. That was for the Pirates in 1909, but after he hit .220, he was sent to St. Louis late in the season as part of the Bobby Byrne deal. He played MLB ball for part of 1910 and was done, although he did carve out a 14-year pro career. He got his nickname because he was short - 5’5” - and per Alfred Spink in his 1910 book The National Game, “owing to his swarthy appearance,” leading a Columbus writer to pin the “Jap” tag on Barbeau as a minor-league rookie in 1905 before writers were PC. 
• 1890 - OF Jocko Fields of the Pittsburgh Burghers hit the first home run at Exposition Park (the third incarnation of the yard) in a 10-4 win over the aptly named Chicago Pirates. Fred Carroll banged out four hits and Ed “Cannonball” Morris went the distance for the win. The Burghers were part of the Players League, and were manned primarily by guys who had previously played for the Alleghenys and jumped leagues such as Fields, Carroll and Morris. 
• 1905 - Vic Harris was born in Pensacola, Florida. His family moved to Pittsburgh in 1914, and Vic spent 23 years playing the outfield for the Homestead Grays, hitting .299. He was also a player-manager for the Grays and his clubs won nine consecutive Negro National League pennants from 1937-1945 (he was off during the war years of 1943-44). 
• 1905 - RHP “Deacon Danny” MacFayden was born in Truro, Massachusetts. He spent 17 years in the majors, mostly with the Boston Red Sox and Bees, and his last full campaign was in 1940 with the Pirates when he went 5-4/3.55 and then was released at the age of 35. After his pitching days, Danny became the baseball coach at Bowdoin College from 1946 to 1970. Per Wikipedia, Danny’s serious demeanor won him the nickname "Deacon Danny" while New York World-Telegram sports writer Dan Daniel, a critic of his play, called him "Dismal Danny." 

Bobby Byrne - 1911 American Tobacco

• 1911 - The Bucs ran Brooklyn in circles at Forbes Field. Bobby Byrne stole 2B, 3B, and home in the sixth inning, taking third base while the Superbas argued the original call at second. The Pirates pulled off a pair of double steals and an uncredited triple steal that was instead ruled an error on the throw. When the dust settled, Pittsburgh had a 9-0 win over Brooklyn. But it was an all-around fine game by the Pirates. Beat man Ralph Davis of the Pittsburgh Press wrote “The Pirates played like real champions...they fielded like fiends, ran wild on the bases and hit when hits meant runs.” Fred Clarke and Newt Hunter each had three hits while pitcher Babe Adams added a pair of knocks while posting 10 whiffs. 
• 1920 - RHP Johnny “Specs” Podgajny was born in Chester, Pennsylvania. Podgajny put five years in the big leagues, and was a regular from 1941-43, mostly with Philadelphia (he was a teammate of Danny Murtaugh) who served with the Pirates in ‘43. He went 0-4/4.57 in 15 games with five starts and then was out of MLB except for a brief 1946 stint with the Indians. He ended his 12-year pro career after the 1950 campaign. “Specs,” of course, wore glasses. 
• 1929 - C Hank Foiles was born in Richmond, Virginia. He played for the Pirates from 1956-59, starting two seasons. Foiles was an All-Star in 1957, hitting .270 and throwing out 38% of the base stealers trying his arm, but his bat didn’t hold up over time, as his four-year Bucco BA was just .230. Hank put together an 11-year big league career, playing for six clubs. 
• 1935 - Paul Waner, Arky Vaughan and Pep Young hit back-to-back-to-back HRs in the eighth inning off Benny Frey during the Pirates 14-1 win against the Reds at Forbes Field. Gus Suhr also went yard for the Pirates and Bill Swift earned a complete game victory. The feat wasn’t witnessed by many eyeballs; only 1,186 fans showed for the contest. 

Joe Gibbon - 1960 Topps

• 1969 - The Bucs traded RHP Ron Kline, 37, to the Giants in return for LHP Joe Gibbon, who was 34. Kline had spent his first six years in Pittsburgh (1952, two years military, 1955-59) and returned for 1968-69, slashing 66-91-14/3.77 as a multi-role twirler for the Buccos. Gibbon had a similar resume; his first six seasons (1960-65) were spent as a Pirate followed by a second stint in 1969-70; his local line was 44-46-18/3.61. 
• 1971 - The Baseball Hall of Fame's new Special Committee on the Negro Leagues formally selected Satchel Paige for induction on August 9th. Paige made stops with the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords during his storied career that carried him through the Negro Leagues, the Dominican League, countless barnstorming nines and finally the MLB. 
• 1973 - IF Calvin "Pokey" Reese was born in Columbia, SC. A first round pick of the Reds in 1991 out of high school, he played second for the Bucs in 2003-04, hitting .254 but losing most of the second season to injury. His nickname didn't have anything to do with his pace (he stole 144 bases in his career), but there are two nana tales: Reese was born with a hernia that caused his navel to poke out, so his grandma called young Calvin "Pokey." The second story has it that Reese got his moniker because he was a chubby baby and his grandmother called him Porky, which came out “Pokey” with her southern drawl. 
• 1977 - It took 11 innings, but the Bucs defeated the San Diego Padres, 10-7, at TRS. Willie Stargell hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning - was Pop’s only hit of the night - to score Dave Parker and Al Oliver for the walk-off win. Bill Robinson had three knocks and three RBI while Rich “Goose” Gossage got the win. He came on during the eighth inning and pitched four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out four. 

Carlos Rivera - 2003 Leaf Rookie

• 1978 - 1B Carlos Rivera was born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Rivera was drafted in the 10th round by the Bucs in 1996 out of high school. He got the call to Pittsburgh and saw action in the 2003-04 seasons, hitting .218 off the bench. After his last season with the Bucs, Rivera took his game south, playing in Mexico and Puerto Rico through 2015 with a couple of AAA stops. 
• 1985 - The Gunner, Bob Prince, died of pneumonia and cancer at the age of 68. The long time Pirate broadcaster last called a game May 20th, when a rain delay sent him to the hospital and he never recovered. He served a 28-year stint as the voice of the Pirates on KDKA, famed for his “Gunnerisms” and hometown boosterism. Prince was posthumously awarded the Ford C. Frick Award by the Baseball Hall of Fame for broadcasters in 1986. 
• 1992 - RHP Jeff Robinson was selected off waivers by the Bucs from the Rangers. He was the second Jeff Robinson to join the Leyland-era Pirates; the original came from the Giants and tossed from 1987-89 with the middle name of Daniel; today’s pickup went by Jeffrey Mark. He replaced Dennis Lamp in the bullpen, but only lasted until July 25th, when he was released after posting a line of 3-1/4.46; it was the 30-year-old’s last MLB stop. 
• 1996 - RHP Danny Darwin was named the National League Pitcher of the Week. In two winning outings for the Bucs, he tossed 16 scoreless innings, giving up just 10 hits with no walks and six whiffs. Before catching fire, Darwin hadn’t won a game since April 22nd and was 2-6. 
• 2000 - The Kansas City Royals edged the Pirates, 2-1, in 12 innings. But don’t blame 2B Warren Morris; he went 5-for-6 during the match and had four more raps the next day. The Bucs banged out 13 hits, but they were all singles and they stranded 13 runners. Pittsburgh didn’t get on the scoreboard until there were two outs in the ninth inning to prolong the drama at Kauffman Stadium. 

Warren Morris - 2000 Topps All Stars

• 2001 - The Bucs were 3-of-21 on the road and looked like they were going to take another one on the chin when they entered the eighth down, 8-4, (it was an 8-1 deficit after three innings) to the Twins at Hubert Humphrey Metrodome. They showed some fight, loading the bases to start the frame, but only cashed in once after Pat Meares’ bullet to third became the second out instead of the game-tying shot. But they kept comin’ - three hits, sandwiched between a pair of walks, gave Pittsburgh an 11-8 edge, keyed by Brian Giles two-out, two-run triple. Mike Williams tossed a zero in the Twinkies half and struck out the side in the ninth as the Pirates finally took home a road win. They worked hard for the victory; Jason Schmidt didn’t make it through the second inning and left the game behind by an 8-1 count, but Dave Williams, Scott Sauerbeck and the soon-to-be-traded Williams (they gave up five hits in 7-1/3 IP with eight whiffs) kept Minnesota at bay. It was the second time in three weeks that the team rallied from a seven-run hole. 
• 2008 - Ryan Doumit had a big day, going 4-for-4 with two homers and two doubles, but Washington came out on top by playing late longball at TRS to claim an 8-7 win. Paul Maholm gave up four Nat homers - three in the seventh inning alone - and Matt Capps blew his first save when he served up a two-out, two-run, first-pitch homer to Lastings Milledge in the ninth. It was a brutal defeat; the Bucs had just put up a pair in the eighth to regain the lead before Milledge’s dagger. 
• 2015 - The Bucs shut out the Brewers at PNC Park by a 2-0 score. The runs resulted from a Starling Marte knock and Pedro Alvarez blast that traveled 438’ and cleared the RF stands. But the story of the night was Charlie Morton, who went 7-1/3 IP, giving up three hits, three walks and K’ing six. Charlie set a couple of personal bests during the night. He won five in a row for the first time in his career and started a season off 4-0 for the first time.

6/9 Through 1954: Hafey-Salveson; Hans 3,000? 5 For Elbie; Rain, Rain...; Komfy Korner; Ott Out; Game Tales; HBD Cobra, Julio, Quail, Roy & Charles

• 1860 - Charles Power was born in Johnstown. He was a minor league pitcher who developed a bum arm and turned briefly to umpiring. He became the sports editor of the Pittsburgh Dispatch in 1893, then was a boss for area minor leagues. He ran the Steel and Oil League in 1895, a local collection of eight teams that Hans Wagner passed through, and then stayed on when it became the Interstate League the following year until 1900. His last executive hurrah was in 1907 when he presided over the short-lived Class D Western Pennsylvania League. 
• 1902 - GM Roy Hamey was born in Havana, Illinois. Hamey replaced Ray Kennedy as Bucco GM following the 1946 campaign after serving as Business Manager of the Yankees. He hired Billy Meyer (a Yankee farm manager) as the Bucs' skipper and dealt for vets like Tiny Bonham, Bob Chesnes and Hank Greenberg, but the team was a second-division club for most of his tenure, and he was swapped out for Branch Rickey after the 1950 season. Hamey ran the Phillies for five years after that without much more success, and then returned to New York after the 1960 World Series, and in his three years there, the Bronx Bombers averaged 103 wins. His last gig was as interim Chief Executive of the Seattle Pilots in 1969, running operations until Bud Selig bought the team. 
• 1905 - It was a wild opening frame, as attested by the Pittsburgh Press headline "Pirates Win Slugging Bee: Two Twirlers Driven Off the Rubber After One Inning." The Giants scored five runs in the top of the first off Sam Leever and the Pirates came back with six runs off Iron Man Joe McGinnity in the bottom of the frame. Deacon Phillippe of the Pirates and Christy Mathewson of NY replaced the twirlers in the second inning. It was all Pittsburgh after that, with the Bucs rolling over New York, 12-6, at Exposition Park. Fred Clarke, Ginger Beaumont, Honus Wagner, Del Howard and Tommy Leach each collected a pair of hits, while Phillippe pitched “cleverly” per the Press. To add insult to injury, the Giants were pelted with fruit as they rode along Market Street after getting into a name-calling contest with some Pittsburgh fans after the game. 

Deacon Phillipe - 1905 Fan Craze 

• 1906 - The Phillies had a 1-0, eighth inning lead over the Pirates at the Baker Bowl. As a storm approached, the Pirates rallied in the ninth to forge ahead, and the Phils decided to give away outs‚ bean batters, toss wild pitches (the Pirates caught on and swung at them, trying to strike out on purpose) and argue almost every call in the hope of umpire Bill Klem would call the game because of the weather. Klem did cut the festivities short, all right: after seven runs crossed the plate, he declared a forfeit because of Philadelphia’s antics. The ploy almost worked as planned, though - the rain fell shortly after the game was banged. 
• 1914 - Honus Wagner was credited with his 3,000th hit off Philadelphia's Erskine Mayer in a 3-1 loss to the Phillies at the Baker Bowl. Wagner's hit, a double, came in the ninth inning. Wagner joined Cap Anson as the only members of the 3000-hit club. Hans told the Pittsburgh Press “Well, I’m glad that’s over. Sometimes I think too much newspaper talk hurts a fellow, that it acts as sort of a jinx.” It didn’t end up much of a hoodoo for the Flying Dutchman - in his 21-year career, Hans posted 3,420 hits, 643 doubles, 1,732 RBI, 1,739 runs scored, 723 stolen bases and a .328 BA. (Caveat emptor: This date was the one originally credited for the milestone hit and is still cited by many sources, but a recount by baseball archivists now date the deed to June 28th, 1914, when Hans singled off of the Reds Pete Schneider. We post both dates in the blog.) 
• 1931 - Bill Virdon was born in Hazel Park, Michigan. The Quail came over from the Cards in 1956 and patrolled center field for 11 years (1956-66) in Pittsburgh, including the 1960 World Series season. Virdon won Rookie of the Year in 1952, the World Series in 1960 and a Gold Glove in 1962. He later coached and managed the Bucs (and later the Yankees, Astros and Expos). Bill also lent a hand at Pirates spring training until he passed away in 2021.
• 1931 - While defeating the local North Side Civics (a team that The Chief, Art Rooney, once played for), 16-2, four Homestead Grays' hit home runs - Oscar Charleston, Ted Page, Vic Harris (he had four hits) and Ambrose Reid; the Post Gazette wrote “extra base hits rained off the bats of the Homestead Grays.” 23-year-old righty Roy Williams earned the win. 

Oscar Charleston - 1990 Eclipse Stars of the Negro League

• 1935 - The Pirates traded 21-year-old RHP Jack Salveson to the Chicago White Sox for 22-year-old OF Bud Hafey. In this case, youth was not all that well served. Hafey played in 97 games over two years for the Bucs, batting .222, and spent one final campaign (1939) in the show with 12 more seasons served in the minors. Salveson only appeared five times as a Buc; overall, he slashed 9-9-4/3.99 after five seasons and 87 MLB outings. 
• 1939 - IF Julio Gotay was born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. He spent two seasons with the Pirates in 1963-64 and barely got a big league taste, getting just seven games under his belt (though he did hit .500) with most of his days spent in AAA Columbus. Julio spent parts of 10 seasons in the majors, mainly with the Astros and Cards, but primarily as an insurance policy infielder; only once in his career did he collect more than 250 at-bats. 
• 1940 - The Pirates won for the fifth time in six games when they took the back end of a twin bill from Philadelphia by an 11-5 score at Forbes Field after losing the lidlifter, 6-1. Elbie Fletcher went 3-for-4 with a double and five RBI while Paul Waner matched him, also going 3-for-4 with a double, with two RBI and three runs. Mace Brown was the beneficiary of the batting boom. The good times didn’t last very long; the Bucs then lost 6-of-8. 
• 1946 - The boys in blue really got under the skin of New York Giants manager Mel Ott. He was ejected from both games of a twin bill at Forbes Field for arguing calls (two different umpires tossed him), an MLB first. Ott should have read the riot act to his hitters instead, who were shut down by 2-1 and 5-1 scores by Bucco hurlers Fritz Ostermueller and Johnny Lanning. 

Johnny Lanning - 1940 photo/George Burke

• 1949 - Peas in a pod: The Phillies beat the Pirates at Shibe Park, 4-3, in 18 innings. The intrastate rivals both had 16 hits in 68 at bats and committed three errors along with 21 assists. On the same day, The Press published a letter and sidebar from Sheriff Walter Monaghan urging a Pirates “Confidence Night” for the fans to rally in support of the team. He wrote “...as badly as most of us feel everytime we look at the standings, we should remember that the entire Pirates roster...must feel a whole lot worse.” The Pirates were 17-31 at the time and in last place; they finished 71-83, 26 games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers. 
• 1951 - Dave Parker was born in Calhoun City, Mississippi. The Cobra manned right field for 11 years (1973-83) for the Bucs while compiling a line of .305/166/758, earning four All-Star appearances and three Golden Glove awards. He was the 1978 National League MVP and the first professional athlete to earn one million dollars per year (not straight up but including deferred payments) after signing a five-year, $5 million contract in January 1979. Fun fact: Parker wore a gold necklace with a Star of David pendant although he wasn’t Jewish. When asked why, his explanation was simple: "My name is David, and I'm a star." 
• 1953 - The refusal of the National League owners to allow the Pirates to take down Forbes Field’s Kiner Korner after the trade of Ralph Kiner played into the Pirates’ hands in their 7-4 win over the Cards. Eddie Pellagrini belted a three-run pinch HR over the short porch in the eighth, after Dick Hall had earlier lofted a solo shot in the fourth into the same spot.

6/9 From 1955: Zisk Cycle; Clemente Clouts; Brant Booms; Law Love; Gems & Game Tales; Drafts - Ke'bryan, K-Man

• 1958 - The Pirates stopped in Boise, Idaho while on a west coast trip and became the first MLB club to play a game in the state. The Bucs paid the visit as a nod to Vern Law, who was born in Meridian and honored during “Vern Law Day.” The Pirates were greeted by a crowd at the airport and driven to their hotel in a motorcade. The Boise Braves were a Class C club out of the Pioneer League and played to that level, losing to the big boys by a 17-6 count. 

• 1966 - For the second time in a week, Roberto Clemente homered over the center field wall at Forbes Field, becoming the first right handed batter to pull off that feat more than once. The blast came during a 4-2 loss to the Cards; the first long ball was part of a 9-5 win over the Astros. 
• 1968 - In a game that neither the Pirates nor Astros players wanted to play after Robert F Kennedy’s assassination, the league muscled up on the teams - “They told us we have a contract and we must live up to it...” explained Houston player rep Dave Giusti - and the Bucs defeated Houston, 3-1, at the Astrodome. Bob Moose spun an eight-inning four-hitter, closed out by Ronnie Kline. The Bucs’ Maury Wills, along with the ‘Stros Rusty Staub & Bob Aspromonte, refused to play. Wills was handed an undisclosed punishment by the team while both Astros players forfeited a day's pay and were traded after the season. MLB’s sole concession was that none of the day’s games could start until after RFK’s memorial service concluded. 
• 1972 - Through his first 10 starts of the season, LA’s Don Sutton had slashed 8-0/1.14, but finally met his match with the Pirates. He suffered his first loss of the season when he gave up 10 hits and five runs (two earned) in seven innings to the Bucs at Dodger Stadium. Pittsburgh put up their five-spot in the opening frame. They didn’t exactly pound the righty; the runs scored on just three singles augmented by a trio of Dodger misplays. Still, the Pirates held their own with Roberto Clemente collecting three hits while Vic Davalillo and Al Oliver added a pair each. It was only a temporary burp for Sutton. Even though he lost his next three games, he was an All-Star with 19 wins and a 2.08 ERA at year’s end and finished fifth in the Cy Young voting. 
• 1974 - Richie Zisk hit for the cycle against the San Francisco Giants during a 14-1 romp at Candlestick Park, with five RBI and four runs scored. Willie Stargell outdid him in generation scores with two homers (one a grand slam), a double and six runs driven home. Bob Robertson also went long as Jerry Reuss cruised to victory behind the lumber explosion. 

Willie Stargell - 1978 Tastee Freeze

• 1978 - Down 8-1 after five innings, the Bucs shook their lethargy and came to life to rally past the Cincinnati Reds by an 11-9 count at TRS. They were led by Willie Stargell, who had pumped up his teammates with a short mid-game speech, and Bill Robinson. The pair combined for seven hits, including four doubles, six RBI and five runs scored. Chuck Tanner made the unorthodox move of bringing in starter John Candelaria from the pen (he hadn’t pitched in relief since 1976) and he recorded four straight outs to save Grant Jackson’s victory. 
• 1988 - The Pirates were looking hapless at TRS against Jamie Moyers and the Cubs bullpen. They went into the ninth inning down, 3-1, and were facing Goose Gossage, a decade removed from his Bucco glory days. Darnell Coles and Sid Bream opened the frame with doubles to cut the lead to a run and chase the Goose. A groundout and walk of Denny Gonzalez by Frank DiPino left Bucs on the corners. RJ Reynolds’ grounder to third cut down Bream, off on contact, at the dish. But the slow-footed Sid did a little boogaloo before allowing the tag to be applied, and it proved key, allowing the Pittsburgh runners to get to second and third. Barry Bonds slapped a soft two-out liner into right to plate the pair and give the Pirates a walk-off win for Jim Gott. 
• 1989 - Pittsburgh scored in the bottom of the ninth to tie the Mets after they had gone ahead in the top half, and then plated again in the 10th to take a 4-3 win at TRS. Gary Redus’ two-out single-and-error bouncer to short scored Rafael Belliard to knot the game. Another Met miscue led to the winner. Andy Van Slyke’s single to right was misplayed into a three-bagger, and after a pair of intentional walks, Benny Distefano’s one-out grounder ended up the walk off at-bat when the Mets couldn’t turn two, earning Bill Landrum the win. 

Hans and the Georgia Peach - Helmar T206

• 1999 - The Pirates beat up on the Detroit Tigers, 15-3, as Brant Brown smacked out five hits, including a double and homer, scored four runs and chased home five tallies. Ed Sprague and Jose Guillen each added a bomb and three RBI at Tiger Stadium while Francisco Cordova picked up the win. It was the first time the Pirates ever played a regular season contest in that ballyard (and not a minute too soon; it dated back to 1912 in its current configuration and this was the stadium’s final season). The Pirates last visit to Motown was in 1909 during the Hans Wagner v Ty Cobb World Series at Bennett Park, located on the same site that eventually evolved into Tiger Stadium. 
• 2009 - C Tony Sanchez was the Pirates first selection (#4 overall - $2.5M signing bonus) in the draft. RHP Vic Black ($717K bonus) was the second round pick and is now a Pirates coach, while IF Brock Holt, who put in a decade in the league, was chosen in the ninth round; both were later traded. There was a great gnashing of teeth over the Pirates' cheap ways in selecting Sanchez. It wasn’t a notably deep draft. Stephen Strasburg was taken #1 while prepster Michael Trout was the #25 overall choice. Sanchez never quite made it; he got into 51 games with the Pirates (.259 BA) with one final MLB outing with Atlanta in 2017. 
• 2015 - The Pirates chose Arizona SS Kevin Newman (#19 overall, $2.175M bonus), Texas prep 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes (#32; $1.855M bonus) and UCLA SS Kevin Kramer (#62; $850K bonus) in the opening two rounds of the draft. Newman made it to the show in 2018 and became the starting SS next season, Young Hayes took over at third in 2019 while Kramer last played in the Brewers system in 2021. LHP Brandon Waddell (currently with the Cards) and RHP James Marvel (called up for four starts in 2019 and now in the Phils’ organization) were also part of the class. 

Will Craig - 2016 Bowman Scouts Fantasy Chrome

• 2016 - The Buccos took Wake Forest 3B Will Craig (#22 overall; $2,257,700 bonus), one of the top college sticks on the board, followed by HS pitchers lefty Nick Lodolo from California (#44; he rejected $1.75M and instead honored his commitment to TCU) and Florida’s RHP Travis MacGregor (#68; $900K bonus) on the first day of the draft. Craig appeared briefly for the Bucs in 2020-21 and moved on to Korea. Other draftees: SS Stephen Alemais, who was injury-bitten, was recently released by Altoona, LHP Braedon Ogle, RHP Blake Cederlind (he was called up in 2020 but had TJ surgery the next year), RHP Max Kranick (TJ surgery after big team cups of coffee in 2021-22) and RHP Geoff Hartlieb, who made stops in Pgh from 2019-21 before moving on to the Mets and is now in the Boston system. Lodolo was drafted seventh overall by the Reds in 2019, signed for the slot value of $5.4M+ and joined their rotation in 2022, although he has missed much of the last two seasons with back and leg injuries. 
• 2022 - Bradenton pitchers Quinn Priester, Anthony Solometo, Jake Sweeney and Yunior Thibo combined to toss a no-hitter for Bradenton in a 3-0 win over Clearwater at LECOM Park in Low Class A Florida State League action. It was the Baby Bucs’ second no-no of the year (Indy also spun one) and a good omen for the future: RHP Priester, 21, a 2019 first rounder (#18 overall) was making his first rehab start after dealing with an oblique injury and LHP Solometo, 19, was the Pirates second round pick (#37 overall) from 2021.