1/10: JT, Todd & Tom Sign, 2024 & '20 Arbs Settled, Frankie's Guys Back, Rex Head Scout, Bing Double-Dips, NL & AL Play Nice, New Negro League; HBD Bo, Cliff & Fats

• 1898 - OF Clarence “Fats” Jenkins was born in New York City. Jenkins was a speedster who played eight games for the Pittsburgh Crawfords at the age of 40 in 1938; he was at the end of his road by that time and hit just .197 before moving on to the New York Black Yankees. He was a force in his day, though, posting a BA of .333 in 17 Negro League seasons. And his best sport may have been roundball. In the early 1920s, he played for Cum Posey's Pittsburgh-based powerhouse five, the Loendi Big Five, and then for the New York Renaissance, the last of the Colored World Champions, starting in 1925. From that season through 1939, Fats captained the Rens and then made the NBA Hall of Fame when the Gotham five joined the hoops Hall as a unit in 1963. 
• 1903 - The simmering feud between the National and American Leagues was calmed a bit after a meeting of the owners in Cincinnati. The NL asked for a consolidated 12-team league; the AL instead vowed to send Samuel Angus’ Detroit Tiger club to Pittsburgh to go head-to-head with the Pirates. Indeed, Barney Dreyfuss held a lease on Recreation (Union) Park, the only other City ballyard beside Exposition Park, from 1901-04 just to block the AL from claim jumping, using it mainly as a cycling venue he renamed “The Coliseum.” Once that matter was settled, the owners started playing a little more nicely and decided to share baseball’s sandbox. The leagues remained pretty much the same & agreed on common basic rules, the American Association officially became a minor league circuit, and the players who were under conflicting contracts for the season had their rights assigned to one club. However, a working World Series agreement between the leagues wouldn’t be made until 1905, although the league champions, the Pirates and Boston Americans, scheduled a best-of-nine set after the campaign in what’s considered the first modern World Series. 
• 1922 - LHP Cliff Chambers was born in Portland, Oregon. He worked for the Bucs between 1949-51, going 28-28 with a 4.33 ERA. But he had a shining moment: On May 6th, 1951, Chambers pitched a no-hitter (albeit with eight walks) for the Pirates, beating the Boston Braves 3-0 for the second no-no in franchise history (the first was Nick Maddox’s 1907 gem v Brooklyn).

Bo Strickland - 1952 Topps

• 1926 - SS George “Bo” Strickland was born in New Orleans. The Pirates got him from the Red Sox in the Rule 5 draft, and he played for the Bucs from 1950-52, helping to mentor a young Dick Groat. He hit .199 over that span, and then was traded to the Indians, where he lasted eight more seasons, several as a starting SS and manning the middle for the 1954 American League champs. Strickland was a solid glove guy and good thing; he hit over .238 just once in his 10-year MLB career. Per Mel Marmer of SABR, Bo got his nickname as a kid; he was always covered with scrapes and cuts, and all those “boo-boos” earned him the moniker Bobo, shortened to Bo as he grew up. 
• 1933 - The second Negro National League was established in 1933, two years after the original Negro National League (NNL) folded. It consisted of seven teams: the Baltimore Black Sox, Cole's American Giants, Columbus Blue Birds, Detroit Stars, Homestead Grays, Nashville Elite Giants and the Pittsburgh Crawfords. Homestead was expelled early in the first season for raiding Detroit's roster, but remained an associate club until 1935, when they were reinstated as a full member once again. They held on until the league’s end in 1949 as a shared Homestead-Washington franchise, while the Crawfords disbanded after the 1938 season. Each local club claimed two NNL titles. 
• 1941 - All three of Frankie Frisch’s coaches - Honus Wagner, Mike Kelly and Jake Flowers - returned signed contracts to keep the staff intact. C Al Lopez added his John Hancock to the pile, becoming the first Bucco player to accept his 1941 deal. Frankie Gustine, Bob Elliott, Vince DiMaggio, Rip Sewell, Mace Brown and Deb Garms joined the crowd by the end of the month. The major absence was of SS Arky Vaughan, who would bump heads with Frisch during the season. 
• 1957 - Rex Bowen became the Pirates scouting supervisor, replacing George Sisler. Bowen, who started with the Brooklyn Dodgers - he signed Maury Wills - joined the Pirates as a scout in 1950 and inked the 17-year-old Bill Mazeroski in 1954. Rex also signed Dick Groat, Gene Michael, Bruce Dal Canton and Gene Freese before joining the Cincinnati Reds in 1968. He was recognized by Baseball America as one of the top ten baseball scouts of the 20th century. Rex’s brother Joe and grandson Jack also worked in the Bucco scouting department. 

Der Binger - 1948 Loomis Dean/Life Magazine

• 1957 - Commissioner Ford Frick ruled that Bing Crosby could keep his 5% share of the Detroit Tigers, even though he was also a minority owner (16%) of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The dual ownership never became an issue (Der Bingle slipped through a minority-interest loophole; his holdings were not deemed “substantial”) as he sold off his shares in both teams by the early sixties. Bing liked keeping his hand in baseball; he also owned shares in the minor-league Hollywood Stars until 1957, when the club was sold, also while a Pirates owner. 
• 1962 - RHP Tom Sturdivant, who had been traded for Tom Cheney in August and put up a 5-2/2.48 line in his two months with the Pirates in 13 outings (11 starts), was signed to a contract for an undisclosed amount to return to the fold. The 32-year-old knuckleballer had a workmanlike campaign, going 9-5-2/3.73, taking a turn at everything from starting to closing. It would be his only full Bucco season; he was flipped to the Tigers after three outings in May of 1963.
• 2005 - Trying to prove that you can go home again, RHP Todd Ritchie, 33, signed a minor league deal ($350K MLB) with the Pirates after a disappointing season with Tampa Bay following rotator cuff surgery. But his arm and the comeback fell short, and he retired in the spring. Todd made one last comeback try in 2008 with the Colorado Rockies, but he never advanced past the low minors and he left the hill for good after eight MLB years, five teams and just 43 wins. 
• 2020 - The Pirates had a huge 10-man arb class, but cleared up everyone’s status before the deadline to file. IF Eric Gonzalez signed early ($725K) while C Elias Diaz was non-tendered and signed with Colorado. The eight remaining arb-eligibles inked one-year deals: 1B Josh Bell - $4,800,000; RHP Keone Kela - $3,725,000; RHP Trevor Williams - $2,825,000; RHP Big Joe Musgrove - $2,800,000; 2B Adam Frazier - $2,800,000; RHP Jameson Taillon - $2,250,000; RHP Michael Feliz - $1,100,000 and RHP Chad Kuhl - $840,000. None of the ten players remained on the Bucco roster by 2022. 

JT Brubaker - 2022 Topps Blue Star

• 2024 - The Pirates and RHP JT Brubaker avoided arb and agreed on a $2.275M contract for 2024, the same salary he collected during his out-of-action ‘23 season. Brubaker, 30, had claimed a spot in the 2022 rotation, but had TJ surgery early in the following campaign and wasn’t expected to return to the hill until sometime around the ‘24 All-Star break. He was traded to the Yankees in April of ‘24 and missed the whole season. The next day, they closed out the arb class contracts by inking closer David Bednar ($4.51M), RHP Mitch Keller ($5.4425M), OF Edward Olivares ($1.35M) and Swiss Army knife Connor Joe ($2.125M). The FO was thought to be talking longer-term deals with Bednar and Keller, so whether their signings were place-holders or wait til next year figures (other than JT, the other guys got big jumps in pay) were TBD. The only other rostered arb-eligible player, RHP Ryan Borucki, signed in November for $1.6M, doubling his payday.

1/9: Gomez - Latimore, Grimes - Cutshaw, Guillermo, Jeromy, Keith, Curtis & Carlos Sign, Elliott AS, FF's Grand Debut, Latin Trip; RIP Dirt, HBD Ed & Lady

• 1868 - LHP Harley “Lady” Payne was born in Windsor, Ohio. He closed out his fourth MLB campaign in 1899 as a Pirate, making five starts with a line of 1-3/3.76. Harley had been a workhorse for Brooklyn from 1896-97 (he was their Opening Day pitcher in ‘87), making 74 appearances (66 starts) and spinning 522 IP, but he only tossed six games the next two seasons before leaving baseball to work his farm. And no, we could find no story regarding his nickname. 
• 1872 - SS Ed Spurney was born in Cleveland. Ed’s MLB career consisted of three 1891 games as a 19-year-old for Pittsburgh, where he held up OK - he went 2-for-7, walked twice, scored twice and handled 8-of-9 chances in the field. He was part of a rotating crew auditioning for the job as the Pirates played several guys at the spot in ‘91 until Frank Shugart claimed the position in July. Spurney was sidelined with a bum arm, killing his chances to claim the position. 
• 1910 - Dubbed Dreyfuss’ Folly, Forbes Field drew raves from the local press after a busy debut season. The Pittsburgh Press noted that “...from its opening to the end of football season, Forbes Field drew nearly one million fans...nothing even approaching this record was ever made at any other athletic park.” Half the crowd was attracted by baseball; the remainder cheered football games, track meets, hippodrome events, police drills, firework displays, and even a Communion service as the Oakland ballyard quickly became Pittsburgh’s big-event venue.
• 1918 - The Pirates traded RHP Burleigh Grimes to the Brooklyn Robins along with RHP Al Mamaux & SS Chuck Ward for 2B George Cutshaw & OF Casey Stengel, who was making his second stop at Pittsburgh. Hall of Famer Grimes went on to win 158 games in nine seasons with Brooklyn. The Bucs top prize was Cutshaw, who manned second for Pittsburgh for four years, hitting .275 and providing solid up-the-middle defense. Stengel battled owner Barney Dreyfuss over salary, a familiar theme throughout his career, joined the Navy for a short tour and then was traded to Philadelphia in August of 1919 after playing 128 games for the Buccos. 

George Cutshaw - 1921 American Caramel

• 1945 - 3B Bob Elliott earned a spot on the 1944 MLB All-Star team as selected by The Sporting News. He hit .297 with 10 homers, 108 RBI and a 134 OPS+. Elliott was no stranger to accolades; he was also a member of the National League All Stars for the third time in the past four seasons. 
• 1961 - GM Joe Brown led what the Post Gazette’s Jack Hernon called a “safari” through Latin America with a party consisting of players Roberto Clemente, Bob Friend and Don Hoak along with scouts Howie Haak, Rex Bowen and George Sisler. The group made three-day stops in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and then the Dominican, holding clinics, scouting and building their brand. 
• 1987 - 2B Carlos Garcia, 19-years-old, was signed out of Venezuela as an international free agent. He spent most of his 10-year MLB career with Pittsburgh after debuting in 1990 as a September call up. Garcia batted .278 in his seven Bucco campaigns and earned one All-Star nod before he was traded to Toronto after the 1996 season. After he retired, Carlos coached first base for a season for the Pirates and managed in the Buc system for four more years. 
• 1991 - The Pirates and backup IF Curtis Wilkerson agreed to a one-year/$400K deal w/incentives. He replaced lost FAs Rafe Belliard, who signed with the Braves in December for two-years/$900K, and Wally Backman, who inked a contract with the Phillies a day later for two years/$1.3M. Wilkerson hit .188 in 85 games and moved on to Kansas City following the season. 
• 2001 - C Keith Osik avoided arb by signing a two-year deal worth $1.3M, with $675K due this season and the remainder in 2002. The five-year vet also played first, third and pitched in mop-up roles, and GM Cam Bonifay said of the signing that “He’s proven his flexibility. He’s a very important member of our club.” In 111 games over that two-year span, Osik hit .186 with an OPS+ of 38 and was allowed to walk after the contract ended, signing with Milwaukee. 

Jeromy Burnitz - 2006 Topps Allen & Ginter

• 2006 - 37-year-old OF Jeromy Burnitz was officially signed to the Pirates richest free agent contract to date, a $6M deal with a 2007 mutual option also worth $6M w/$700K buyout. Burnitz had been the Pirates top FA target the year before, but he turned down their $4.25M bid after the Cubs offered $5M. They almost missed on this go-around, too - the Orioles offered two-years/$12M, but Jeromy disagreed with some of the contract language and passed on the deal. It was a pyrrhic victory for the Pirates. He hit .258 w/24 HR in the Windy City in 2005 but just .230 w/16 HR for Pittsburgh in 2006, and the Bucs didn’t renew his contract. Burnitz then announced his retirement after 14 big league seasons during which he posted 315 HR and 981 RBI while playing for seven teams. 
• 2013 - The Indians traded RHP Jeanmar Gomez to Pittsburgh for OF Quincy Latimore. Gomez was effective in a long role for a couple of seasons (5-2-1/3.28 in 78 appearances) before signing with the Phillies in 2015. He went to the White Sox in 2018, played a bit for the Rangers the following campaign and has been out of MLB since then, while Quincy bounced around the minors and Latin leagues, sat out 2020 and has played indie/Latino ball since ‘21. 
• 2014 - Steve “Dirt” DiNardo, who had been the head groundskeeper at Three Rivers Stadium after starting out as a part-timer at Forbes Field in 1961 before retiring in 1994, passed away at the age of 82. Dirt was noted for his tricks, once alleged to have lowered the bullpen mounds of the visiting Cincinnati Reds, along with similar feats of homerism on behalf of the Steelers. 
• 2020 - The Bucs signed free agent OF Guillermo Heredia, who was soon to turn 29, to a one-year/$565K salary deal and released Pablo Reyes to clear a 40-man spot. Speedster Heredia played as a fourth outfielder for Seattle and Tampa, where he was a strong defensive corner player and adequate CF, but not-so-strong batter with a lifetime .240 BA (82 OPS+). The Cuban-born OF’er, who was DFA'ed by the Rays, was inked to bolster the Pirates at a thin position, especially after the trade of Starling Marte. Alas, he hit just .188, and in August was waived to the New York Mets, suited up for the Atlanta Braves through ‘22 and is now playing ball in Korea.

1/7: Max & Red Sign, Dapper Murry, Camp Spin Opens, McClatchy Cashes Out, Bucs On Fox, Pen-Pirates Ad Wars; HBD Billy, Ducky, Jim, Ted, Bud, Al, Red & Kitty

• 1875 - 1B William “Kitty” Bransfield was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. He played four seasons for Pittsburgh (1901-04), batting .271, and started for the 1903 Pirate team that played in the first recognized World Series, losing to the Boston Americans. He was active through the 1911 season and then spent time as a minor league umpire, Cubs scout and briefly as a farm team manager. Per David Anderson of the SABR Biography Project, “His original nickname was "Kid," but a reporter with bad hearing (mis)heard it as "Kitty" and the name stuck.” 
• 1889 - C Leo “Red” Murphy was born in Terre Haute, Indiana. Leo only spent one year in the majors when he was George Gibson’s 1915 back-up in Pittsburgh. He batted .098 and spent the next five years in the minors. But it did lead him on to bigger and better things - Red managed the Racine Belles of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (the inspiration for the “A League of Their Own” movie) for five years, winning the AAGPBL title in 1946. 
• 1902 - C Al Todd was born in Troy, NY. Todd spent from 1936-38 as a Pirate after coming over in a deal with the Phillies. He started the last two seasons, compiling a .282 BA during that span before being traded to the Boston Bees. He hung up the spikes at age 39 after the 1943 season and worked as a minor league manager and scout for several years after his playing career ended. 
• 1902 - C Cliff “Bud” Knox was born in Coalville, Iowa. The 22-year-old broke in in 1924, catching six games for the Bucs, going 4-for-18, and that was his MLB career. Bud played 16 minor league seasons, batting .302, and was a farm manager from 1935-38. He coached semi-pro ball and college hoops/football when called upon. Knox stayed in sports for a long time - the four-sport star from Des Moines College officiated football and baseball games at the prep/college level for over 30 years, calling NAIA championship games in hoops and as part of Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl ref crews. Nickname note: He was also known as “Hard Knox” in the minors after he broke bones in consecutive seasons.

Ted Beard - 1951 Bowman

• 1921 - OF Ted Beard was born in Woodsboro, Maryland. He played for the Pirates as a reserve outfielder from 1948-52, batting .203, after losing three years to WW2 as a medic. A top prospect, Ted had speed and showed some occasional flashes of power (he became the second player, after Babe Ruth, to clear the RF roof at Forbes Field), but was fated to become a AAAA player. He had great success playing for the Hollywood Stars and San Francisco Seals in the Pacific Coast League, then with Indianapolis through the fifties and into the early sixties. 
• 1924 - OF Jim Pendleton was born in St. Charles, Missouri. He played sparingly for Pittsburgh from 1957-58, mainly as a pinch-hitter who batted .306 in 49 games. He was one of the early Negro League players to reach the majors, having gotten his pro baseball start in 1948 with the Chicago American Giants. Sent to the minors in ‘58, he came back to earn a spot with the Cincinnati Reds and later the Houston Colt .45s, carving out an eight-year career in the show. 
• 1935 - IF Dick “Ducky” (which was actually his dad’s nickname that followed Dickie around) Schofield was born in Springfield, Illinois. He played eight (1958-65) of his 19 big league campaigns with the Pirates (the other clubs were the Cardinals, Giants, Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, and Brewers) and took over for an injured Dick Groat during the 1960 title stretch run, hitting .333 to help the Bucs claim the NL pennant without missing a beat. Schofield was a regular infielder from 1963-65, but his BA - .248 as a Pirate, .227 overall - limited him to a backup role through most of his career. His son Dick continued the legacy, playing for 14 big league seasons while grandson Jayson Werth put in 15 MLB years. Ducky passed away in 2022 at the age of 87 in Springfield. 
• 1937 - Red Lucas paid a surprise visit to Pittsburgh, stopping in from his Tennessee home to see President Bill Benswanger, working out a deal and inking his ‘37 contract. Red had gone 15-4/3.18 in 1936, and though his salary was undisclosed, it was assumed to top the previous year’s take home. Alas, the 35-year-old Lucas only won 14 more games during the next two campaigns and he ended his MLB career following the 1938 season after 15 years on the hill. 

Red Lucas - 1936 National Chickle

• 1942 - RHP Max Butcher, coming off a 17-win/3.05 ERA campaign, signed his contract for an undisclosed raise (it may have approached five figures). He fizzled in ‘42, winning just five times despite a 2.93 ERA, then bounced back with three double-digit win seasons, pitching to a 2.91 ERA during that time. His luck ran out in 1946 when he held out after Pittsburgh wanted to cut his salary, and he was assigned to the minors in what proved to be his final year of pro ball. 
• 1952 - Pitcher Murry Dickson was named winner of the 1951 Dapper Dan Award, which was presented at their annual banquet on February 2nd. Murry slashed 20-16-2/4.02 in 35 starts for a team that won just 64 games during the ‘51 season. It was the fourth time in five years that a Buc claimed the honor, with Dickson joining Ralph Kiner (1949, ‘47) and Billy Meyer (1948). 
• 1997 - Fox Sports and the Pirates reworked their TV package to extend through 2000. Over the course of the agreement, televised games would increase from 85/season to 100 and payments from $3.8M up to $4.5M in 2000; the 1996 deal had covered 75 games and $2.75M in payments. Some booth shuffling was also involved - Greg Brown became the TV play-by-play man while Lanny Frattare was relegated to radio, with Bob Walk and Steve Blass alternating between the two as color/analytic sidekicks. All four broadcasters were inked to multi-year contracts. 
• 1999 - Corner utilityman Billy Cook was born in Layton, Utah. He was a middling pick (10th round - #287) of the Orioles in 2021 out of Pepperdine. The Pirates got him in a deal with Baltimore at the 2024 deadline, sending them RHP Patrick Reilly (5th-round/2023). Cook was considered nearer to MLB-ready but without a clear path to claim a spot with the Os while Baltimore wanted to shore up its minor-league pitching depth. Cook was considered a mover in the minors, continuing his solid stickwork at Indy. He was a September call-up for the Bucs, making his MLB debut at 1B with some time in the OF while auditioning for a 2025 roster spot. 

Billy Cook debut - 2024 Topps Now

• 2001 - Under the regime of manager Lloyd McClendon and pitching coach Spin Williams, the Pirates held a voluntary week-long pitching mini-camp in Bradenton for the first time in club history. The staff had put together a 4.94 ERA in 2000, the clubs’ highest since 1953, and Williams said he wanted to get a jump on evaluating his charges’ physical shape, working on the fundamentals before training camp and pounding his philosophy of “Get quick outs.” Only three hurlers of the 20 invited didn’t attend - Kris Benson and Jason Schmidt (who was rehabbing an arm injury and wouldn’t get into a game until mid-May) were about to become fathers and vet Terry Mulholland begged off because of personal business. The extra camp work didn’t bear fruit as the team posted a 5.05 ERA in 2001. 
• 2004 - Pittsburgh pro teams usually get along well, but the Bucs were being a little bit catty (OK, downright mean) when they ran a season-ticket spot that had Lanny Frattare say something to the effect of “Cheer up, Penguin fans - baseball season is just three months away.” The Pens were not amused by the shade, even though they were going through a miserable season that featured a 17-game losing streak; after all, the Buccos had racked up an 11-season losing spell themselves. The Pirates pulled the radio ad on this date, apologized to the Penguins and both teams have played nicely in their community sandbox ever since. 
• 2009 - Cashing in his last shares in the Pirates, Kevin McClatchy ended his 13-year relationship with the team. Always undercapitalized, he still managed to keep the financially floundering Bucs in Pittsburgh by coming up with investors to cover the $90-95M needed to buy the franchise. Bob Nutting became the majority stockholder in 2007 and ushered in the Frank Coonelly/Neal Huntington era when the season ended. They were replaced by Ben Cherington and company in 2019.

1/6: Neftali, Jack, Stynes & Rocky Signed, Doughty Dismissed, Batter's Eye; HBD Jimmy, Brian, Doe, Lee, Phil, Chuck & George

• 1903 - RHP George Grant was born in East Tallahassee, Georgia. He tossed for three clubs during seven big league seasons (15-20-1-/5.65 overall), closing out his career in 1931 as a Pirate with no decisions and a 7.41 ERA in 11 appearances. He was sent to Buffalo and then closed out his 10-year pro ball stint at the age of 29 after spending the 1932 campaign with Fort Worth. 
• 1914 - The first version of the “batter’s eye” in ballparks was mandated by baseball. Every park was required to have a plain, dark green center field wall (early ballyards had their fences plastered with colorful ads) so the hitters could pick up the ball out of the pitcher’s hand per Today In Baseball History. 
• 1915 - OF/3B Chuck Workman was born in Leeton, Missouri. Chuck had a six-year career, starting in 1944-45 with the Braves. The Pirates traded OF Johnny Barrett for him in June of 1946 and Workman finished his MLB showtime run with the Pirates that summer, hitting .221 in 58 games. Chuck soldiered on in the minors afterward, retiring after 15 pro seasons in 1951. 
• 1916 - C Phil Masi was born in Chicago. He spent 48 games of his 14-year career in Pittsburgh, arriving via a June 1949 deal with the Braves. Phil hit .278, then was sold to the White Sox, where he closed his career in his hometown after three more campaigns. Masi began his MLB career with Boston, where he spent the first 11 years of his stint and earned four All-Star spots. 
• 1933 - OF Lee Walls was born in San Diego. He played three years and all three outfield positions for Pittsburgh (1952, 1956-57; the three-year gap was spent at Hollywood of the Pacific Coast League) while putting up a .259 BA before being traded to the Cubs in May of 1957. Walls was a Cub starter for three years, earning an All-Star berth in 1958, then spent the back end of his career as a bench player. He later coached for the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees while also spending time as a minor league manager. 

Doe Boyland - 1978 Topps

• 1955 - 1B Dorian “Doe” Boyland was born in Chicago. Boyland was drafted in the second round of the 1976 draft but would play in just 21 games with the Pirates in parts of 1978, 1979, & 1981, batting .105 and blocked at first base by Willie Stargell. Boyland was traded to the San Francisco Giants and never resurfaced in the show. He still made it big, though, in a different endeavor - at last look, his Dorian Boyland Auto Group had dealerships thriving in several western states. 
• 1960 - After a good year in 1959 (he hit .291, and he and his wife adopted a son), 1B Rocky Nelson added the cherry on top by signing his Pirates contract for 1960. The salary was undisclosed, although the media guesstimated it was in the $15,000 range. Platooning with Dick Stuart, as he did in 1959, he had an even better campaign, batting .300 and winning a World Series ring. But old man time caught up to the Rock in 1961. That year was his swan song as the 36-year-old batted just .197 and was released. He played one more year in the minors, then retired to become a painter (homes, not canvases) to pay the bills. 
• 1982 - RHP Brian Bass was born in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Bass spent parts of three seasons in the show, closing out with four 2010 appearances with the Pirates. He was a wild child, giving up 10 walks to go with nine hits in 7-1/3 IP, allowing 11 runs (10 earned), and was DFA’ed in mid-September. Brian signed on with the Phils and Astros after that campaign, then ended his baseball days with a season in Korea and another in the indie leagues. 
• 1984 - RHP Jimmy Barthmaier was born in Atlanta. A waiver claim from Houston, Jimmy got his only taste of MLB in 2008 for the Bucs, going 0-2/10.45 in three starts. Still, he opened the next year as the Pirates #12 prospect, but required TJ surgery in 2009 and never came back; he last played in the 2012 season as a member of the Washington Nats system. 

Jimmy Barthmaier - 1978 Rob Tringali/Getty

• 1992 - The Pirates CEO Mark Sauer dismissed GM Larry Doughty, who had just led the Pirates to a pair of back-to-back division titles and still had a year remaining on his Pittsburgh contract worth $250K. No specific reason was cited for the axing, but the speculation was that Doughty was a bit of a loose cannon, failed to handle the Pirates farm assets very prudently and didn’t hold the budget line on contracts. Ted Simmons replaced him, while Doughty went on to FO special assistant jobs with the KC Royals and NY Mets and scouting positions for the San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays. 
• 2004 - The Pirates signed 31-year-old, eight-year vet Chris Stynes to a $750K deal. The Bucs were trying to plug a hole at third base, and Stynes unfortunately wasn’t the answer. He hit .216 in 74 games for Pittsburgh and was released in August, ending Chris’ last major league gig. 
• 2005 - SS Jack Wilson avoided arbitration and signed a two-year/$8M contract ($3.4M - 2005; $4.6M - 2006), a nice jump over the $1.85M salary he had pocketed in 2004. He earned it after breaking out in ‘04: Wilson was an All Star after he sailed past his offensive doldrums (.246 BA from 2001-03) with a .308 campaign and was one of eight MLB players to collect over 200 hits. Jack later signed a three-year extension w/an option in the following off-season, putting him under team control up until 2010, and he remained with the Bucs until the FO broke up the club during the Neal Huntington takeover and the shortstop was moved to Seattle in a 2009 deadline deal. In 2011, Wilson was traded to the Atlanta Braves, and they re-signed him in 2012. But it was the end of Jack’s MLB road; the Braves released Wilson in August and he retired in September. 
• 2016 - Free agent RHP Neftali Feliz inked a one year/$3.9M deal plus incentives with the Bucs. He had suffered through a terrible 2015 season, but the Pirates bet on his past performance as a closer and recovery from a variety of injuries, including TJ surgery, by adding Feliz to the pen. Neftali bounced back and put up a solid 4-2-2/3.52 slash with 61 K and 1.137 WHIP in 53-2/3 IP. He split 2017 between the Brewers and Royals, spent 2018 as a D-Back farmhand and then was with the Seattle organization. Feliz spent time in the Dominican League, tossed for the Phillies and LA Dodgers in 2021, and he returned to the Latino leagues.

Notes: Cutch Re-Ups, Old Bucs Find New Landing Spots As All Is Quiet On The PNC Front

Christmas & the New Year come & go with hardly a peep from the FO...

Pirates Stuff:

• Andrew McCutchen re-upped with the Bucs last week on a one-year/$5M deal, the same agreement he reached in 2023 & 2024. Now pretty much used as a DH, the 38-year-old Cutch slashed .232/.328/.411w/20 home runs & 50 RBIs in '24 while battling various leg miseries.  

Other Stuff: 

• RHP Ben Heller, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs. He slashed 0-1/11.25 in eight outings with 15K in 12 IP for the Bucs last year. 
• DH Josh Bell, 32, signed a one-year/$6M deal with the Nationals.
• RHP Trevor Williams, 32, stayed with the Washington Nationals, signing a two-year/$14M contract. He spent his first five years in the league with the Bucs.
• RHP Charlie Morton, 41, inked a one-year/$15M contract with Baltimore.

1/5: Martin, Rich, Esteban, Gary, Ravello & Richie Sign, Smith Joins, Bert HOF, DD-MOY Frankie, Ecks & Banny Hired, Live Ball; RIP Phil, HBD John, Danny O, Mark, Danny J, Roger, JR, Bob, Jack & Newt

• 1880 - 1B Fred “Newt” Hunter was born in Chillicothe, Ohio. Hunter spent from 1903-18 in the minors, getting the call in 1911 when he was one of six players who spent time at first base in 1911 along with John Flynn, Honus Wagner, Bill McKechnie, Mickey Keliher and Bill Keen. He did OK, hitting .254 in 65 games, but was replaced by Doggie Miller in 1912. After retiring (he played 17 years on the farm for 17 teams), he spent time as a Card coach in 1920, and except for a brief 1924 minor-league comeback that lasted six games, was done with baseball. 
• 1914 - RHP Jack Salveson was born in Fullerton, California. He worked for five MLB campaigns, including five 1935 outings for the Pirates with an 0-1/9.00 line. Jack was known as a quick worker, once pitching a game in 65 minutes, and was a long-time PCL hurler who tossed for 22 years in the minors. Show biz fact: He got a small part in the movie “Pride of the Yankees” and got to bop Lou Gehrig (played by Gary Cooper) in the noggin as a Tinseltown tosser. 
• 1928 - C Bob Oldis was born in Preston, Iowa. Oldis was a third string catcher for the Bucs between 1960-61, getting into 26 games and batting .160 as a Pirate. Though seldom used, Oldis appeared in Games 4 and 5 of the 1960 World Series as a late-inning defensive replacement. After his seven-year MLB career ended, he was a coach/scout for the Phillies, Minny Twins, and Montreal Expos. He’s been with the Marlins since 2002 and still does some Iowa birddogging. 
• 1934 - The leagues took forever to sync the DH, shunned inter-league games until 1997 and didn’t pool umpires until 2000, but they did agree on a common baseball for the first time on this day. The NL adopted the AL horsehide, which had a thinner cover and less prominent seams. The switch was supposed to both juice up the NL attack and make inter-league performance comparisons more equivalent (the NL was considered more of a pitcher's league because of the less lively ball and the higher, pitcher-friendly seams). Pirates manager George Gibson told Volney Walsh of the Pittsburgh Press that “If the lively ball helps anyone it should help us some for we had the hardest hitting team in the league last year.” It didn't quite work out that way. The Bucs led the NL with a .383 slugging % in '33, and though they came in second in '34, their average fell to .344 as they pounded a paltry 52 homers. Business note: The AJ Reach Company, the AL’s vendor, was contracted to manufacture the balls, but it was bought by Spalding, its chief rival, which then produced the MLB balls until 1977 when Rawlings became the supplier. 

MLB Ball - Press/UPI story 1/1/1934 Joe Warney

• 1945 - Manager Frankie Frisch, in his fifth year at the Pittsburgh helm, became the second Pirate to win the Dapper Dan Award (pitcher Rip Sewell won it the year prior), comfortably finishing ahead of Stan “The Man” Musial. Frankie led the Bucs to 90 victories and a second-place finish in ‘44. 
• 1946 - The Pirates forked over $30,000 to the Cards for infielder Jimmy Brown. Brown had been an All-Star in 1942, but played an abbreviated season in ‘43 before joining the Army Air Corp. He came back for the Bucs as a 36-year-old, hit .241 in 79 games and called it a career after spending the following two seasons in the minors. Afterward, he managed in the Pittsburgh system for a couple of years and then coached with the Milwaukee Braves for three more campaigns. 
• 1961 - Manager John Russell was born in Oklahoma City. While with the Rangers, he caught Nolan Ryan's sixth career no-hitter in 1990. He ended his 10-year career with a .225 batting average, 34 home runs and 129 RBI in 448 games. Afterward, he made several coaching stops and managed the Bucs from 2008-10 during some dark seasons, with a record of 186-299. It wasn’t his first gig here; JR had been Lloyd McClendon’s third base coach from 2003-05. He was the Orioles bench coach from 2011-18 and is now an IMG Sports Academy director. 
• 1961 - LHP Roger Samuels was born in San Jose, California. He had a 20-game MLB career, tossing five of those contests in 1989 as a Bucco with no decisions and a 9.82 ERA. The 28-year-old started 1990 at AAA Buffalo, then the Pirates sent him to the Mets, where he pitched for AAA Tidewater and then retired at age 30, devoting his energies to amateur youth coaching. 
• 1962 - LHP Danny Jackson was born in San Diego. The Pirates got him in mid-July for the stretch run of the 1992 division race, and the lefty went 4-4/3.36 ERA as the club won the NL East but lost the NLCS to Atlanta in seven games. After the season, he was lost in the expansion draft. Jackson had a 15-year career with seven teams, appearing in three World Series and two All-Star games. 

Mark Redman - 2005 Topps Heritage

• 1974 - LHP Mark Redman was born in San Diego. He was part of the return from the Jason Kendall trade with Oakland, but in his one year (2005) with the Pirates, he slashed 5-15/4.90, the worst counting numbers season of his career. That prompted an off season deal with the Royals. He earned a spot on the 2006 All-Star team there despite a 6-4/5.27 line at the break, and that was his last hurrah. He made 17 more starts over two campaigns post-All Star and retired following the 2008 season, after playing in MLB for 10 years and eight teams. 
• 1984 - Richie Hebner signed a two-year deal with the Cubs which was made official on the 17th, marking the second time he left Pittsburgh via free agency. “I wanted to end my career in Pittsburgh,” claimed the 15-year vet. He said GM Pete Peterson was working on clearing a bench spot for him, but with camp approaching “They never got back to me and the Chicago deal came up.” The Grave Digger hit .264 over his last two years. He lost his job in 1986 after he signed up for one more campaign with Chicago but was released before the season ended and never caught on elsewhere. 
• 1990 - OF Danny Ortiz was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico. A fourth-round draftee of the Twins in 2008, he signed a minor league deal with the Pirates during the 2015 off season. Danny got into nine games in 2017, going 1-for-12. He left after the 2018 campaign and since spent his career in the Latin leagues. Danny’s thrived there with a .272 BA in 13 seasons of Mexican and Puerto Rican ball. 
• 1993 - 1B John Nogowski was born in Tallahassee, Florida. The Bucs bought him after the Cards DFA’ed him in July, 2021, when injuries thinned the first base spot. Nogo hit just .096 in 20 games for St. Louis, but he got off to a hot start with Pittsburgh, collecting 21 hits in his first dozen contests for a .438 BA, then cooled off in his last 21 games, hitting just .127. He was released in September, claimed by the Giants, and later moved to Atlanta. From there, the Nats later claimed him in mid-season. In 2023, he signed with the indie Sioux City Explorers, served a stint in the Mexican league, and is a free agent this campaign. 

John Nogowski - 2021 Pirates image

• 1994 - The Pirates signed LHP Ravello Manzanillo and OF Gary Varsho to minor league contracts. Manzanillo, who had been on a two-year hiatus from baseball, got into 51 games over the next two seasons, with a line of 4-2-1/4.19, and that was his last MLB slash. For Varsho, it was a return to the Pirates, where he played in 1991-92, and he said “There’s no place else I wanted to go.” He hit .256, used mostly as an extra outfielder and pinch hitter, before moving on to Philly for his final campaign in 1995. Gary did have a Steel City jones; he came back as John Russell’s bench coach from 2008-10, was axed along with JR’s staff, and then was resurrected as a Bucco scout in 2016, a position he held until his baseball retirement in 2020. His son is Blue Jays’ OF Daulton. 
• 1998 - The Pirates signed RHP Esteban Loaiza to a two-year/$1.9M deal with $500K due the first year and $1.4M in the second. He had earned $200K in 1997 while posting an 11-11/4.13 slash. He went 6-5/4.52 in ‘98 before being flipped to the Texas Rangers in mid-July for 2B Warren Morris and RHP Todd Van Poppel. He tossed for 11 more years with two All-Star dances before his 2008 finale. 
• 2009 - Sportswriter Phil Musick passed away at age 71. The Duquesne grad started locally as sports editor of the Greensburg Tribune-Review. In 1969, he joined the Pittsburgh Press and later wrote for the Post-Gazette during the time the Steelers won four titles in six years and the Pirates prevailed in two World Series. Musick was named Pennsylvania Sports Writer of the Year in 1975 by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. He wrote books on Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron and Tony Dorsett, articles for Sports Illustrated, People, Time and Newsweek magazines and was the first sports columnist for USA Today. Musick later taught journalism at LaRoche College. 
• 2011 - After a 14-year wait, curveball king RHP Bert Blyleven was elected to the Hall of Fame. He won 34 games for Pittsburgh between 1978-80, his stay cut short because the Dutchman publicly disagreed with Chuck Tanner, who went to his bullpen earlier and more often than the righty preferred. Blyleven, who was inducted into the Hall on July 24th, posted 287 victories and 3,701 strikeouts during a 22-year MLB career that saw him hurl for five clubs, mainly Minnesota. 

Bert Blyleven - HOF Presentation/Baseball HOF

• 2019 - The Pirates added a little grit to their operations department, hiring former 10-year vet David Eckstein and then bringing back former Bucco lifer Jeff Banister, both as special assistants for baseball operations. Eckstein had prior coaching experience with the Los Angeles Angels, Arizona Diamondbacks & USA Baseball, and joined his brother Rick, who had been hired as the batting coach in November. David left baseball to spend more time with his family while Rick is now with the Angels. Banny had spent 29 years with the Pirates, wearing several different hats, before taking over the reins at Texas for four years. His Steel City reunion was short-lived as he was let go in 2020 when the FO reduced the administrative staff. 
• 2022 - LHP Rich Hill’s one-year/$8M deal, agreed to on December 27th, became official and RHP Zach Thompson was DFA’ed to clear a roster space. In 22 starts, Hill slashed 7–10/4.76 and was shipped to San Diego at the deadline. He toiled briefly for Boston in 2024 and the 20-year, 13-team veteran is now a free agent. Thompson was a major part of the Miami return for C Jake Stallings. His line was 3-10/5.18 while working 121-2/3 innings over 29 outings (22 starts) for the Buccos and he never earned the rotation role that the FO had envisioned for him. The Bucs flipped Zach to the Toronto Blue Jays for minor league OF Chavez Young five days later and he’s now in the Braves system. 
• 2023 - Pitcher Martín Pérez and Pirates made their one year/$8M agreement official. The 32-year-old free agent lefty, a 12-year vet and 2022 All-Star, had agreed to terms in mid-December pending his physical. RHP Max Kranick was DFA’ed to create roster space. In 16 starts, Pérez slashed 2–5/5.20 with 63 strikeouts in 83 IP. The Pirates traded Pérez to the San Diego Padres for teen-aged LHP Ronaldys Jimenez at the deadline. Martin’s now a free agent.

1/4: Barkley Brouhaha, Starling, Lance & Skates Sign, Shane Claimed, Buffalo Back; HBD Blake, John, Brian, Jay & Cork

• 1869 - SS Tommy “The Cork” Corcoran was born in New Haven, Connecticut. The Cork started his 18-year big league career, spent mostly with the NY Bridegrooms and Cincinnati Reds, as a 21-year-old rookie starting for the Players League Pittsburgh Burghers in 1890, batting .233 while playing 123 games. Corcoran featured a sweet glove - he set a still-current MLB record for shortstops with 14 assists in a nine-inning game after starting out fielding barehanded and eventually adapting to a mitt later in his career. As a leadoff man, hit .256 with 387 stolen bases and 1,184 runs scored over his big league lifetime. He was famously involved in discovering one of the odder sign-stealing scenes of early baseball. While playing at the Baker Bowl in Philadelphia as a Red, he noticed the Phils’ third base coach tapping his leg before every pitch. Adding two and two, he went to the coaches’ box and started digging with his spikes. He found a shallowly-buried electronic box that was signaling pitches stolen from an outfield perch to the coach through a gentle shock system and then sent from the coach to the batter. 
• 1886 - St. Louis owner Chris Von Der Ahe sold the contract rights of IF Sam Barkley to the Alleghenys despite the fact that the infielder had already signed a deal with the Orioles. Because the O’s were late in sending Von Der Ahe their check to buy Barkley’s rights, he unilaterally voided the contract and shipped him to Pittsburgh instead, triggering a brouhaha that wouldn’t be settled for weeks. The American Association eventually resolved the controversial case by allowing Barkley to play for the Alleghenys and sending 1B Milt Scott from Pittsburgh to Baltimore as compensation. Additionally, the Browns were allowed to keep the $1,000 they received from Pittsburgh for Barkley's reserve rights. For all the hubbub his musical chairs created, Barkley hit just .248 in his two years with the club, splitting time between first and second base. 
• 1962 - RHP Jay Tibbs was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Jay tossed for parts of seven seasons in the show and spent his last five big league games as a Pirate in 1990, going 1-0/2.57. The Buccos sent RHP Dorn Taylor to the Baltimore Orioles for him in late June, and on July 7th Tibbs, who was coming off shoulder surgery, threw his last MLB inning. Fun fact: Tibbs had a small role in the 1994 Tommy Lee Jones flick “Cobb,” playing one of Georgia Peach’s teammates. 

Brian O'Connor - 2000 Fleer Tradition

• 1977 - LHP Brian O’Connor was born in Cincinnati. Brian’s MLB career consisted of six relief outings for the Pirates in 2000 as a September call-up, picking up no decisions with a 5.11 ERA. Brian was an 11th round pick of the Pirates in the 1995 draft and pitched 12 pro seasons in the Pirates, Rays and Braves systems before retiring after being cut by his hometown Reds in 2007. 
• 1984 - OF John Raynor was born in Memphis, Tennessee. The Pirates plucked the outfielder from the Marlins in the Rule 5 draft for the 2010 campaign. He made it through the spring and got into 11 games as a PH/sub, going 2-for-10. When Jeff Karstens came off the DL in early May, Raynor was returned to the Fish after the two teams failed to reach an agreement for the Bucs to keep him. Florida stashed him away, then released him in 2011 as a late camp cut. The 27-year-old Raynor retired and returned to UNC-Wilmington, his alma mater, as a student/coach. 
• 1991 - Buffalo, the minor-league leader in attendance and on the short list of possible expansion cities at the time, signed on with the Pirates for two more years as the AAA affiliate despite misgivings caused by executive churn in Pittsburgh and the erratic movement of players between levels that affected their competitiveness. The Bisons, Pittsburgh’s top farm club since 1988, stayed in the fold until 1995 when it joined with Cleveland and the Pirates moved to Calgary; the Buffs are now part of the Toronto system. The Pirates later swapped out Calgary for Nashville, and the Pirates top talent has been sent to Indianapolis since 2005. Indianapolis had some prior experience in being the Bucs’ feeder system’s big dog - Indy had originally been the top Bucco farm from 1947-51. 
• 1993 - The Pirates signed OF Lonnie “Skates” (due to his somewhat circuitous routes while playing the outfield) Smith to a one year/$1M deal. He put up a line of .286/6/24, with a .422 OBP and nine stolen bases before he was flipped to the Baltimore Orioles in September for two career minor leaguers, Terry Farrar and Stanton Cameron. The Pirates were Smith’s fifth team; he had reached the World Series with the first four, but his championship streak came to an end as a Bucco as they finished fifth in the NL's Eastern Division. 

Lance Parrish - 1995 Fleer

• 1996 - Pittsburgh signed free agent and eight-time All-Star catcher Lance Parrish after KC let him go. “Big Wheel” had caught for the Bucs in 1994, hitting .270 in a backup role before moving back into the American League. The catcher was entering his age 40 season in 1996 and didn’t make it out of camp with the Pirates, marking the end of his 19-year career. Since then, he’s been an announcer, minor league manager, and MLB coach. Lance was a local boy who was born in Clairton although raised in California and had a scholarship offer to play football at UCLA but made what proved to be a wise choice by focusing on baseball. 
• 1996 - RHP Blake Cederlind was born in Turlock, California, where he was a HS teammate of Kevin Kramer. “Baby Thor” (he’s a big, long-haired blond guy) was originally drafted by Minnesota as a college freshman, but stayed in Merced College and was picked in the 5th round by the Pirates the next year, signing for $285K. The power pitcher (he’s touched 100 MPH) broke out in 2019, moving from Hi A to AAA Ball and then getting his feet wet in the Arizona Fall League. Cederlind had a bout of Covid in mid-2020, but recovered to become a September 15th callup and pitched a clean inning against the Reds on the same day. Blake worked five MLB outings, posting a 4.50 ERA and punching out a batter per inning, but 2021 ended up a washout after he underwent TJ surgery in March, and he lost 2022 to clean-out elbow surgery. He was outrighted at the end of ‘22, went unclaimed, and ended up on Indy’s IL to open the 2023 campaign. Blake was let go at the end of May after a poor rehab showing (nine runs in six innings). San Diego picked him up, but he didn’t fare much better for the Padres in a handful of outings and was released. He’s a free agent now. 
• 2007 - Rene Gayo signed Dominican OF Starling Marte for $85,000 in one of the top Latin signings of Dave Littlefield’s watch. Marte was sought by several teams, and his stock took off after he switched from SS to CF. The deciding factor was said to be that Gayo had a good working relationship with Marte’s buscon (agent), tilting the field toward the Buccos. After eight years in Pittsburgh, he was traded to Arizona and has since been with the Marlins, the A’s and is now a Met. 
• 2018 - The Pirates claimed RHP Shane Carle from Colorado, where the Bucs had sent him in the 2014 off season in exchange for RHP Rob Scahill. The Bucs flipped him to Atlanta two weeks later for a PTBNL/cash after the team faced a 40-man roster jam following the Gerrit Cole trade, and Carle went 4-1-1/2.86 for the Bravos in 53 outings. He’ sat out ‘20 and has moved around since, playing for five clubs in 2021 before being released in mid-August of 2021, ending his pro career.

1/3: Joker, Spanky, Al & Sure Shot Signed, Rabbit Hunt, No-No To Jo-Jo, In The Black, Deac OK, Clemente Fund; HBD Carlos, Michael, AJ, Luis, Mark, Dick, Harry, Eudie, Gus & Red

• 1888 - 2B Fred “Sure Shot” Dunlap signed with the Alleghenys following the sale of his contract by the Detroit Wolverines. He agreed to a $5‚000 salary and a $2‚000 bonus‚ making him the highest-paid infielder of the time. The rangy defensive whiz played three years for the team, hitting just .240 (his lifetime BA was .292) at the backside of his career. Sure Shot is credited with earning his nickname from King Kelly, who was duly impressed with his fielding acrobatics and sure, strong arm. There is an alternate tale, per Wikipedia. In his book “The Complete History of the Home Run,” Mark Ribowsky claimed the nickname was won when Dunlap, then with the Cleveland Blues, hit a two-run, walk-off homer in the ninth to snap a 21-game Chicago White Stocking victory streak. One of the local papers called the blast the "...Shot Heard 'Round Cleveland," leading to the Sure Shot dub. Dunlap was also known as “The King of the Second Basemen.” Fun facts: Alfred Spink in “The National Game” wrote that Dunlap was ambidextrous and could catch/throw a baseball equally well with either hand. Moreover, Sure Shot reportedly never wore a glove. Continuing his dealing, club President William Nimick purchased RHP/1B/OF Albert Maul from Philly for $1,000 and immediately signed him to a $2,800 contract. Al played three years for the Pirates, batting .230 over that time while going 2-8/6.24 in 17 outings from the hill; he also spent 1890 with the Burghers of the short-lived Players League. 
• 1894 - RHP Kirby “Red” White was born in Hillsboro, Ohio. Kirby tossed parts of 1910-11 for the Bucs. He was traded to Pittsburgh by the Boston Doves early in 1910 and went 10–9/3.46 in 30 games. In 1911, he was used for just three innings, going 0-1/9.00, and was released, spending the next four seasons in the minors. We assume he was red-haired; Kirby also went by “Buck.” 
• 1906 - 1B Gus Suhr was born in San Francisco. He spent 9-1/2 seasons (1930-39) with the Pirates, hitting .279 with a .386 OPB and driving in 818 runs, earning an All-Star berth in 1936. Suhr started 1,389 games at first base for Pittsburgh, a team record, and once held the NL standard of 822 consecutive games played, which lasted until 1957. The game he missed wasn’t due to injury; he took off to attend his mother’s funeral. Gus retired after the 1940 season he spent with the Phils. 

Gus Suhr - 1935 National Chickle

• 1913 - C Euthumm “Eudie” Napier was born in Milledgeville, Georgia. His family moved from the farm to Pittsburgh when Eudie was a kid and he graduated from Allegheny HS. He was athletic and played baseball for Pittsburgh’s sandlot Monarchs, where he caught the notice of the black pro clubs. A defensive whiz (although he did hit .279 over his career as a Gray per Seamheads), he was yo-yo’ed on the Homestead roster, playing sporadically from 1939 until 1948 before moving on to Canadian and Latin American ball. Napier continued playing in the local sandlot leagues after he retired and was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame (Western Chapter) in 1978. He passed on in 1983 and is buried in North Side's Union Dale Cemetery. 
• 1920 - Ralph Davis of the Pittsburgh Press wrote “...it is generally believed that the Pirates have been casting longing eyes in the direction of Rogers Hornsby and Milton Stock of the St. Louis Cardinals...but (St Louis) President Branch Rickey is apparently determined to demand a ‘pound of flesh’ if he relinquishes his hold…” No wonder; 2B Hornsby went on a six-season batting title streak beginning during the 1920 campaign to go with a 13-year .300+ skein (including three .400+ years) on his way to the Hall of Fame. It would have been a sweet sight indeed to see Hornsby and Pirates SS Rabbit Maranville together in the middle for five years had the deal been consummated. The lesser-known 3B Stock started for the next six years while batting .299 for the St. Louis Cards and Brooklyn Dodgers, but the Pirates already had in-house replacements flowing through the pipeline. After a 1920 apprenticeship, Clyde Barnhart kept the hot corner warm for the Bucs in ‘21 before moving to the OF after Pie Traynor locked up third the following season. 
• 1926 - PH/RHP Harry Fisher was born in Waterloo, Ontario. He was a two-way guy and appeared in 18 MLB games with the 1951–52 Pirates, split between pinch hitter and pitcher. Harry hit .278 for the Bucs, and went 1-2/6.87 on the hill. His last appearance was in August, 1952, before his return to the minors, where he played through 1959, yo-yo’ing between the mound and the pasture. 

Dick Colpaert - 1971 Topps

• 1944 - RHP Dick Colpaert was born in Fraser, Michigan. Dick toiled in the minors for 13 years, 10 as a member of the Pirates system. He got his taste of the bigs in the late summer of 1970 after a hot start at AAA Columbus, getting into eight games and going 0-1/5.91, not as bad a line as it looks at first blush. He had seven effective outings (2.89 ERA), including his win over Atlanta when he blew through Hank Aaron, Orlando Cepeda and Clete Boyer, until the Mets beat him up in an August appearance. Unfortunately for Dick, that outing blew up his ERA and sent him packing back to the farm. He retired in 1974 at age 30 and did some scouting for the San Diego Padres and the MLB combine. 
• 1961 - The Pittsburgh Press reported that the Pirate owners collected their first dividend check (they got $4/share) since buying the club from the Dreyfuss family in 1946, citing the increased attendance attributed to the 1960 World Series championship season as the major contributor to the coffers.  The Galbreath family held majority team ownership from 1946-85 and most years were lean financially. 
• 1962 - Vern Law, who had suffered for years with muscle tears in his shoulder, was given a clean bill of health by the team doctors in Pittsburgh whose opinions were seconded by a Columbus specialist a couple of days later. Law agreed that he felt no pain in his wing, but by August his record was 4-5/4.93 in just 12 starts. Danny Murtaugh suggested it was time for Law to retire and he did. But a cure did exist - in the off season, he was blessed by a High Priest (Law was a devout Mormon) while in Salt Lake City, and came back to post a 12-13/3.61 line in ‘64, followed by a 17-9/2.15 slash in ‘65, winning the Comeback Player of the Year award. 
• 1965 - RHP Mark Dewey was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Mark went 3-3-8/3.23 for the Bucs out of the pen from 1993-94, with ‘93 being a particularly strong campaign as he converted seven saves with a 2.36 ERA. After six years in the show, he retired and since has coached for the Washington Wild Things and is now with the Milwaukee Brewers organization. 

Luis Sojo - 2000 photo Ezra Shaw/All Sport

• 1965 - IF Luis Sojo was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He spent 13 years in the show, the last eight with the Yankees except for a 61-game spell in 2000 when he was a Bucco. He hit .284 here after signing as a FA, and in August the Yankees got him back by sending RHP Chris Spurling to the Pirates. He retired from the Pinstripe Mob in 2003 and has coached in their system since then except for a break as the manager of the Venezuelan national/WBC squad. 
• 1973 - President Nixon gave a $1,000 check in Roberto Clemente's memory to the Nicaraguan embassy. At the President's request, Dan Galbreath, owner of the Pirates, along with Dave Giusti and Steve Blass, met with him at the White House to discuss setting up a fund in Clemente's honor to aid the survivors of the earthquake. Thus was born the Roberto Clemente Memorial Fund to aid the earthquake victims with Tricky Dicky as the first donor. 
• 1977 - RHP AJ Burnett was born in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The veteran tossed for two years in Pittsburgh (2012-13) after being obtained from the New York Yankees in a Gotham salary dump, with a line of 26-21/3.41 ERA while averaging a whiff per frame. After a rough campaign in Philly, he returned to the Pirates for his final year in 2015. He went 9-7/3.18 in 26 starts, coming back in September after losing time to an elbow inflammation at All-Star break to close out his 17th season, collecting 164 wins and 2,513 whiffs for five teams over those years. AJ was credited with leading the charge to reverse the team’s decades-long losing culture through his mentoring and clubhouse presence. 
• 1979 - OF Michael Restovich was born in Rochester, Minnesota. He spent parts of six seasons in the bigs, with the second half of 2005 in a Bucco jersey. He hit .214 in 52 games, mostly as a pinch-hitter, and moved on to the Cubs in 2006. After playing for seven different organizations (five at the MLB level) and in Japan, Restovich retired after the 2011 season. 

Carlos Maldonado - 2007 Fleer

• 1979 - C Carlos Maldonado was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela. After playing in the Mariner and White Sox systems, he signed with the Pirates in 2004. He got into 21 games in two years, but was here long enough to make his MLB debut, swat his first big league homer (he banged three in his career) and stole his only base. Carlos was released after the 2005 campaign and played his final eight games in the show for the Washington Nats, taking his final at bat in 2012. He’s been a minor league coach and manager for Texas since 2015 after finishing his ball-playing days in the Venezuelan and Italian leagues. 
• 1992 - GM Larry Doughty inked C Mike Lavaliere to a three-year/$6.3M contract that included a $600K signing bonus. The move didn’t pan out as hoped; the Pirates released Spanky in April of 1993 after he played one game, eating over $4M worth of Lavaliere’s salary as Don Slaught took over behind the dish with Tom Prince in reserve. Lavalliere finished his MLB days in 1995 after a three-year run with the Chicago White Sox and is now an IMG Academy instructor in Bradenton. 
• 2006 - 3B Joe Randa was officially signed as a free agent for his second go-around with the Pirates. He inked a $4M deal, nearly double his 2005 salary at Cincinnati. The Joker hit .267 in 89 games in his last MLB season, losing his job to Freddy Sanchez and then retiring in November. He's since been a special advisor to KC and active in Royals Charities.
• 2012 - LHP Jo Jo Reyes, who became a thing when he tied a MLB record for consecutive starts without a win (28) between 2008-2010, signed a minor league deal with the Bucs. The 27-year-old was coming off a 7-11/5.57 AL campaign, but was given a shot to land a back end/long man spot for Pittsburgh. It didn’t happen; he had a lousy spring, was sent to Indy and never took the hill for the Pirates. After his November release, he worked one game for the LA Angels of Anaheim in 2015 and another for the Miami Marlins in 2016, with most of his remaining time on the hill spread among Korean, Mexican, and AAA ball clubs.

1/2: Williams & Coleman Sign, Scouts Darren & Rex; HBD Sup, Ed, Bill, Jesse, George, Jack & Sam

• 1854 - 2B Sam Crane was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. Sam got around, playing for eight big league clubs in seven seasons over an 11-year span, with his last hurrah partially spent as an Allegheny in 1890 when he was 36-years-old. He hit just .195 in 22 games and closed out his career playing four games with the Giants. He signed with the Bucs after he was cleared in a trial that accused him of stealing another mans’ wife (and $1,500), though he shouldn’t be confused with the infamous Sam Crane who played 25 years later and was imprisoned for shooting his girlfriend and her companion. (It was apparently a pretty hot-blooded period in America, at least for Sam Cranes.) Our Sam umped a little afterwards, but found his retirement niche as a widely respected sports writer for the New York Evening Journal. Crane covered the Gotham hardball beat for 25 years, earning the sobriquet “the dean of baseball writers." 
• 1858 - RHP Jack Neagle was born in Syracuse, New York. Jack tossed for the Alleghenys between 1883-84, going 14-38/4.28 (the Allies were pretty poor during those seasons; they only won 61 games as a team). He also played a few games in the outfield but that was no better than his mound work as he hit just .165. His Pittsburgh tenure finished out the last two years of his career after he had previously worked for Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Baltimore. 
• 1888 - John Coleman, who had retired briefly, re-signed with the Alleghenys. He was recovering from a bad arm and an undisclosed illness, plus he was said to be under family pressure to stay retired for health reasons (this excuse was widely seen as a play to bump up his salary, undisclosed for ‘88 but $1,500 in 1887). He played RF/1B and was up-and-down in his performance, with his bad wing taking him out of contention as a swing pitcher. That led to his release in 1889 (Philly picked him up), though he did return to Pittsburgh for a brief three-game spell in 1890 that closed out his MLB career. Jack then played sporadically in the minors/semi-pro leagues through 1907. 

John Coleman - 1887 Goodwin/Old Judge

• 1892 - RHP George Boehler was born in Lawrenceville, Kansas. George spent bits and pieces of nine campaigns (he never appeared more than 18 times in any single season) in the majors over a 15-year period. He worked 10 games for the 1923 Pirates, going 1-3/6.04. He had a long, strong minor league career spanning 1911-30. George won 38 games one year, 27 in two others, and topped the 20-win mark seven times while compiling 248 farm victories (and his record is missing a couple of seasons), mostly hurling in the Western & Pacific Coast Leagues. 
• 1893 - OF Jesse Altenburg was born in Ashley, Michigan. His MLB career consisted of the 19 games he played as a Pirate from 1916-17, with a .290 BA. Jesse had a strong September in his rookie campaign, but faltered in the second go-round. He did have a long run in baseball, spending 10 years in the minors and hitting .300+ in at least five of those seasons. 
• 1894 - C/1B Bill Wagner was born in Jessup, Iowa. The light-hitting reserve was a Bucco from 1914-17, putting up a .205 BA in 80 Pittsburgh games. And while there were no family ties, he wasn't the only Wagner on the Pirates - he was a teammate of Honus Wagner, who was 20 years older. Bill was sold to the Boston Braves in 1918, and that was his last MLB season. He retired to Waterloo, Iowa, passing on a few days following his 57th birthday in 1951 after battling cancer. 
• 1929 - RHP Ed Wolfe was born in Los Angeles. Ed served for two years as an Army paratrooper after high school and following his discharge, he played at Fullerton JC before the Pirates' signed him. He spent eight years with the organization, pitching at Indianapolis, Modesto, Bartlesville, Charleston, New Orleans and finally in Hollywood. He got his moment in the sun when he was with the Pirates in April of 1952, going 0-1/7.36 in three outings. 

Ed Wolfe - bio from Diamonds in the Dusk

• 1957 - The Pirates selected Rex Bowen as their new chief scout, replacing George Sisler who would continue to serve the Bucs as an organizational batting coach, instructional league manager and scout. Bowen’s main claims to fame were signing Dick Groat and Bill Mazeroski. Rex hung on to the spot until 1967, when he joined the Cincinnati Reds operations department. 
• 1962 - Bill and Milene Mazeroski’s first son, Darren, was born at West Penn Hospital. He wasn’t a Hall of Famer like his pop, but did play ball in college and the low minors in the Expo system, coached/managed the Gulf Coast CC nine while bird dogging for the Bucs, and became a full-time Pirates scout in 2006, inking Adam Frazier, Kyle McPherson, Clay Holmes, Phil Irwin, Alex Presley and Travis Swaggerty among others. He’s now an area supervisor based out of Florida. 
• 1975 - RHP Jeff Suppan was born in Oklahoma City. “Sup” spent 17 years in the majors and made 417 starts; 21 of those were for the Pirates in 2003, when he went 10-7/3.57 after signing as a free agent. That performance got him flipped in a package deal to the Red Sox at the deadline, netting the Pirates a gift-wrapped return of IF Freddy Sanchez and LHP Mike Gonzalez. 
• 2002 - The Pirates officially signed a two-year deal with RHP Mike Williams worth $7M, getting him back from the Astros after he was swapped at the ‘01 deadline for RHP Tony McKnight. Following an All-Star campaign in 2002 (46 saves/2.93 ERA), Williams faded the next season, collecting another 25 saves but with a 6.27 ERA. He was traded to the Phillies in July of 2003, and that was his last MLB season. His saving grace in Pittsburgh was his swing-and-miss stuff as Williams whiffed 250 batters in 222-2/3 IP as a Buc, helping to cover a multitude of sins.

1/1: Happy & Healthy 2025! TSN - Maz POY & Danny MOY, Groat Wins Gehrig, Jay & Willie Dapper Dan MOYs, Southworth Short, New Year's Game, Josh Treated; RIP Specs, HBD Gary, Bob, Hank, Webster & Gunner

• 1855 - Manager Bill “Gunner” McGunnigle was born in Boston. After his playing career was ended by a beanball that fractured his skull, McGunnigle stayed in the game as a manager. When the 1891 Pittsburgh Pirates (the first to be known as the Pirates) got off to a 31–47 start on the heels of a 23–113 season, the club demoted captain/manager Ned Hanlon and hired McGunnigle, who had a prior stop at Brooklyn. He managed the club to a 24–33-2 record over the remainder of the year and was replaced by Tom Burns. The dapper Gunner managed and coached the bases wearing black patent-leather shoes, a cutaway suit coat, lavender trousers, a silk tie and a derby hat. He was street smart despite his foppish attire - he was the first to use signals from the bench and the first to steal opponent’s signs. He earned his nickname in the minors because of the strength of his arm, per McGunnigle's SABR bio written by Ronald Shafer. 
• 1892 - In a spur of the moment promotion featuring two top Pittsburgh semi-pro clubs, the Pittsburgh Keystones (regrouping after a five-year hiatus) and the South Side Standards, a New Year’s game at Exposition Park was slapped together. The game was scheduled on short notice during an uncharacteristic warm spell, and began with a fife-and-drum corp-led parade from town to the park with the players following in carriages. The contest drew 500 fans as the Standards won 8-3; the late afternoon game was called after 7-1/2 innings because of darkness. It had a touch of the big leagues as former Alleghenys’ pitcher turned Allegheny City bar owner Ed “Cannonball” Morris umpired the game. The Keystones warmed up with the weather and avenged the loss in an April rematch. 
• 1900 - RHP Webster McDonald was born in Wilmington, Delaware. McDonald was a submariner who played in the Negro Leagues from 1920 through 1940 and then managed for Washington and Philly. He tossed and won one game for the Homestead Grays in 1928 and would later join them on an All-Star barnstorming tour. Webster's nickname was "56 Varieties” due to his deep toolkit of pitches, with his bread-and-butter servings being a sinking fastball, curveball and changeup. 

Hank Greenberg - 1973 TCMA All Time Greats

• 1911 - Hall of Fame OF Hank Greenberg was born in New York City. He played for the Bucs in 1947, teaming up with Ralph Kiner in the middle of the Pirate order. The original Hammerin’ Hank signed with Pittsburgh for a reported $90,000, the biggest MLB contract inked to date. Team minority owner Bing Crosby even recorded a song, "Goodbye, Mr. Ball, Goodbye," with Groucho Marx and Greenberg to celebrate Hank's arrival. The Pirates also brought in the left field fence at Forbes Field by 30’ for him, calling it "Greenberg Gardens" and then keeping it intact during the Kiner era as “Kiner’s Korner.” Though he hit just .249 in Pittsburgh, he had a .408 OBP (he walked 104 times), launched 25 homers and tutored Kiner while taking his major league bow. 
• 1919 - NL President John Heydler washed his hands of the entire NL 1918 batting championship brouhaha by not naming the league’s top hitter. Some writers felt the king should be the Pirates Billy Southworth, who hit .341 but played just 64 games w/275 at bats. A second school preferred Brooklyn’s Zack Wheat, who hit .335 in 105 games w/436 at bats, and who tops most lists as the champ, as 100 games/400 at bats was the unwritten rule-of-thumb cut-off line then. The Bucs’ Debs Garms got into the same kind of mud fight in 1940 when he won the title easily (he hit .355, 30 points higher than any other NL’er) while playing 103 games but with only 358 at bats, as he was hurt early in the year. In 1954, the league ended the debates and made 3.1 plate appearances per game over the season (currently 502 PA’s) the official gold standard. 
• 1943 - C Josh Gibson suffered from a brain tumor (not a nervous breakdown as often touted) and was admitted to St. Francis Hospital for rest and treatment. He was released 10 days later, in time to get to spring camp and play for the Homestead Grays. The Pirates, among other clubs, reportedly wanted to try out the future Hall of Famer, but the color line wouldn’t be crossed until 1945. Although he never got a MLB shot, Gibson was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972. 

Bob Owchinko (he was between teams) - 1981 Donruss

• 1955 - LHP Bob Owchinko was born in Detroit. The vet made one outing for Pittsburgh in 1983 after signing as a free agent; he faced two batters against St. Louis, gave up two hits (Andy Van Slyke homered and Darrell Porter doubled) and blew the save in a 7-6 loss, forever maintaining a Pirates ERA of infinity. He spent most of the year as a starter in AAA Hawaii (10-6/4.25) and was sold to the Reds after the season. It was his second quick tour as a Bucco: the Pirates had originally gotten him as part of the Bert Blyleven trade with Cleveland in 1980, but sent him to Oakland for RHP Ernie Camacho early in April. His playing days ended in 1986, concluding a 10-year, six-team career split between starting and the pen. 
• 1961 - The Sporting News selected Bill Mazeroski as the Player of the Year and his boss, Danny Murtaugh, as the Manager of the Year. Maz was an All Star, Gold Glove, and hit the most memorable homer in World Series history while the Irishman guided the Bucs to the Promised Land (and presumably for penciling Maz’s name on the scorecard for all 159 games the Pirates played). The honors rolled in. The day before, Dick Groat was selected as the Lou Gehrig Award winner, adding that honor to his batting crown and National League MVP title. 
• 1970 - RHP Gary Wilson was born in Arcata, California. He was drafted by Pittsburgh in the 18th round of the 1992 draft from Cal State (Sacramento) and his MLB career consisted of 10 games tossed for the Bucs in 1995 with a line of 0-1/5.20. Following his playing days, Wilson briefly coached college ball, then became a scout for Colorado and later Kansas City. 
• 1980 - In the first year of fan voting, Willie Stargell ran away with the Dapper Dan Man of the Year award. It was Pop’s second Dapper Dan recognition, and he was presented with the prize the following month at the group’s annual dinner. Willie had already claimed the National League Playoff and World Series MVPs, then frustratingly tied with Keith Hernandez for the NL MVP and Terry Bradshaw for the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year honors. 

Specs Hill - 1927 photo Mears/TSN

• 1990 - RHP Carmen “Specs” Hill passed away in Indianapolis at the ripe ol’ age of 94. Hill tossed eight years for the Pirates (1915-16; 1918-19; 1926-29) and was a late bloomer; in his first five Bucco campaigns, he bounced back and forth between the big club and the farm. He was 47-31/3.26 for Pittsburgh, but his heyday was 1927-28 (he won 21 times at Indy in 1926 to earn a return trip to the majors at age 31) when he won 38 games and was a member of the ‘27 NL championship rotation. Oddly, those were the only seasons - he spent parts of 10 years in the majors - that he won more than three games, although the screwballer claimed 202 victories in the minors. While mostly a depth arm, he was a member of good staffs - he was with the Giants, which won the 1922 World Series; the Pirates, winners of the 1927 National League pennant and the Cards, which claimed the 1930 NL flag. Carmen picked up the “Specs” moniker in 1915; he and fellow righty Lee Meadows (he also went by “Specs,” go figure) were among the first pitchers to sport glasses, and they were Buc teammates from 1926-29. 
• 1994 - Jay Bell was announced as the Dapper Dan Athlete of the Year, becoming the third Pirate (Syd Thrift, Jim Leyland) in the past seven years to earn the honor. He hit .310, scored 102 runs and earned an All-Star berth after signing a $20M deal in April while also earning Golden Glove and Silver Slugger honors. Jay’s award soiree was held February 11th at the Hilton.