Weekend Notes: Gregory Waived; Odds & Ends

Weekend warriors...

Notes:

• Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports that the Pirates have placed struggling OF Gregory Polanco on waivers. El Coffee was the last remaining player from the Pirate playoff years, but injuries and performance have eroded his value. In the past three years, he's hit .197 with an OPS+ of 66. But Jason Mackey of the Post Gazette can see a path where Gregory sticks with the big club, at least through the season.
• David Bednar earned his first MLB save against the Cards on Saturday night. It was the first Pirates save registered since Ric Rod was traded to the Braves in July.
• The Pirates are 6-19 since the 2021 trade season began with Adam Frazier's swap. They're also 0-9 trying to close out a a sweep, and the only team in MLB without a sweep this year. Their latest effort was thwarted by the Cards' Adam Wainwright, who happens to be 20-7 lifetime and has won his last seven decisions against the Buccos. He's 3-0 this year, giving up one run on 10 hits in 23 IP with 24 K.

Wilmer Difo is strong off the bench - photo Pgh Pirates

• Five different Bucs have banged a pinch-hit homer this season (Wilmer Difo -2, Yoshi Tsutsugo, Rodolfo Castro, Phil Evans and Michael Perez). The club didn't swat any pinch hit dingers in 2020.
• Pittsburgh's shutout victory over the Cards on Friday was the team's first road whitewash of the year. It was the fifth zippo of the year spun by the Bucco staff.
• A guy to watch: Ben Cherington said on his radio show "We don't have any player in our minor leagues who has done it better than Matt Fraizer." The 23-year-old Altoona OF, a 2019 third round pick who didn't get an invite to the alt camp last season, has hit .321 between AA and Hi A with 21 HR, 59 RBI, 74 runs scored and 15 stolen bases going into Sunday. Baseball America doesn't have him ranked, but did name him as a potential MiLB breakout candidate.
• BC added that OF Anthony Alford should be ready to come off of the IL when Pittsburgh returns home on Monday.
• The Pirates begin a three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday, followed by a four-game series with St. Louis beginning Thursday night.
• Tip o' the hat: On Sunday, Motown's Miggy Cabrera became the 28th MLB player (and the first born in Venezuela) to hit 500 home runs. 

8/22 Through the 1950s: Hans Lucky 7 & Cycle; Kiner Kab Kaper; Even Up; Long Day; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Doug, Swats, Lyle, Howie & Ned

• 1857 - CF and manager Ned Hanlon was born in Montville, Connecticut. He played in 1889 and 1891 for the Pirates, hitting .252 with a year in between spent as a Pittsburgh Burgher in the Players League where he hit .278. He was a player/manager all three years, and “Foxy Ned” was credited with coming up with tactics such as the hit-and-run and the Baltimore chop. Hanlon was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans’ Committee in 1996. 

Howie Camnitz - 1914 Helmar/Murad

• 1881 - RHP Howie Camnitz was born in Covington, Kentucky. The curveballer pitched nine seasons for Pittsburgh (1904-13), going 116-84 with a 2.63 ERA and posting three 20-win seasons. Camnitz was a member of the 1909 World Series club and spun 240+ innings for seven consecutive years. He finished his career by pitching a couple of years in the upstart Federal League for the Pittsburgh Rebels, earning his release in 1915 after a hotel fight (and a fading arm). Howie factoids: He was called “Rosebud” as a kid because of his red hair, tossed a curfew-shortened five inning no-hitter in 1907, was an early Bucco brother act with his sib Harry in 1909 and finally, became a car salesman after he retired. 
• 1881 - 1B Harry “Swats” Swacina was born in St. Louis. Harry played the first two years (1907-08) of his four-year career (he played a couple of seasons in the Federal League) with Pittsburgh as a bench guy, batting .210 but earning a rep as a gold-glove defender. Per Brian McKenna’s book “Early Exits,” it wasn’t Swacina’s weak bat that ended his big league stay; it was a nasty letter to owner Barney Dreyfuss complaining about club practices that in effect got him blackballed. Swacina did carve out a long pro ball career from 1901-23 before he finally hung up the spikes. We assume his nickname is the shorthand form of his last name. 
• 1893 - RHP Lyle Bigbee was born in Waterloo, Oregon. A farm boy with an imposing build, Lyle was a three-sports star at Oregon. Then he worked in the shipyards and the service before beginning his brief MLB career. In 1920, he worked for the Philadelphia A’s and the next year the Pirates brought him up from the minors where he joined his brother, Carson. The curveball whiz worked just eight IP for the Bucs, albeit with a 1.13 ERA, and was cast loose. His control was always an issue (he walked 29 hitters in 53 big league innings) and never made it back to the majors. He retired at age 30, playing semi-pro ball (he was a decent hitter & played some OF) and working as a farmer, watchman, and in the shipyards. 

Lyle Bigbee - undated photo via SABR

• 1903 - The Pirates beat the last place Phillies 7-4 in the second game of a doubleheader sweep at Philadelphia. With that win, the Pirates had 1,409 wins and 1,409 losses since playing MLB in 1882, originally as the Alleghenys of the major league American Association. Even with some rough decades of losing ball, the franchise hasn’t dipped below .500 since then, per Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times. 
• 1906 - Vic Willis edged the NY Giant’s Christy Mathewson 2-1 at Exposition Park. After falling behind in the first inning, the Pirates evened the score in the fifth on two errors followed by two walks, then won in the ninth when Claude Ritchey walked, was bunted to second, and scored with two down on Fred Clarke’s double to right center. 
• 1907 - As the Pittsburgh Press reported “It was a regular swatfest from start to finish, the Buccaneers having no mercy...but hammering the ball to all corners of the lot” in a 20-5 win over the NY Giants at the Polo Grounds. George Gibson, Ed Abbaticchio and Alan Storke had four hits each while Tommy Leach and Fred Clarke had three. Lefty Leifield cruised to the win. 
• 1910 - Honus Wagner led the Bucs to a 6-2, 8-4, doubleheader sweep against the Philadelphia Phillies at Forbes Field, going 7-for-7 with two homers, three doubles and a sac fly. The Bucs set a record in the second game by hitting three homers in an inning for the first time when Howie Camnitz, Vin Campbell and Hans connected. It was Camnitz’s only MLB home run; some credit the outburst to the debut of the new cork-center NL ball. 
• 1912 - Hans Wagner hit for the cycle in an 8-6 loss to the NY Giants at Forbes Field in the nightcap of a Forbes Field doubleheader played in front of 27,000 fans, a sell out. At the time, Hans was the oldest player in the league at age 40. In the twin bill's opener, Howie Camnitz out pitched Christy Mathewson for a 3-2 victory, with Hans going 3-for-4. On the day, the Dutchman had seven hits, scored five runs, plated four Buccos, and swiped two sacks. 

Honus - 1910 American Caramel Die Cut

• 1917 - The Pirates lost the longest game (by innings) that they ever played, 6-5, in 22 frames to the Brooklyn Robins at Ebbets Field despite Carson Bigbee’s six hits (Bigbee set the MLB record with 11 at-bats in a single game). The game was the longest in NL history to that point. Poor Elmer Jacobs tossed 16-2/3 innings, giving up one run - and lost. The teams only used two pitchers each, and it took four hours and 19 minutes to complete the contest. The match was, as fate would have it, the opener of a double header; the second game went two innings before being called for darkness. It was the fourth straight extra-inning game for Pittsburgh, and third against Brooklyn. The Pirates set a record by playing 59 innings in those four games. 
• 1925 - Pittsburgh swept a doubleheader from the second place NY Giants by 8-1 and 2-1 scores at the Polo Grounds behind the pitching of Lee Meadows and Vic Aldridge to take a five game lead in the NL race. Kiki Cuyler had three hits, including a homer, three RBI and two runs scored in the opener, while Glenn Wright’s two-run homer in the seventh was the difference in the nitecap. The Pirates pulled away from the Giants and won the pennant by 8-1/2 games. 
• 1928 - The Bucs big three of Paul Waner, Lloyd Waner and Pie Traynor led Pittsburgh to a 10-3 win over the Boston Braves at Forbes Field. Big Poison and Pie had three hits and three RBI apiece while the Waner brothers each scored three runs. Erv Brame tossed a six-hitter for the win. 
• 1949 - RHP Doug Bair was born in Defiance, Ohio. Doug was a second round pick of the Bucs in 1971 out of Bowling Green and began and finished his 15-year career in Pittsburgh. The middle reliever tossed for a minute in 1976 and closed out in 1989-90 with the Pirates, posting a line of 2-3-1/3.12 in 70 outings. 

Doug Bair - 1990 Score

• 1952 - Ralph Kiner found a letter threatening his life unless $6,200 was stashed in a cab the next evening. Ralph called the police and then went out and hit his 27th homer of the year. He was under police guard for a while, and though the authorities suspected and questioned a taxi driver who they believed cooked up the plot, no one was ever charged and the case faded.

8/22 From 1960: HR Six Pack; 1000 For Cobra; Hey J-Hay; Gems & Game Tales; RIP Alfredo; HBD Chris & Drew

• 1962 - Tom Sturdivant’s knuckler fluttered its way past the Colt .45 bats for eight whiffs as he tossed a three-hit, complete game whitewash against Houston at Forbes Field, winning 3-0. Bob Skinner’s two-run triple followed by Roberto Clemente’s sac fly in the third provided all the Bucco runs. Clemente preserved the shutout by making a wall-crashing grab of Jim Pendleton’s ninth inning drive with a runner on second. 
• 1969 - Dock Ellis became the third straight Bucco starter to strike out 10 or more hitters in a game for the first time in club history when he K’ed 10 in a 8-2 win over Cincinnati at Forbes Field. Roberto Clemente tripled and had four RBI while Al Oliver added a homer. The streak started when Luke Walker whiffed 11 in a 5-1 win against Houston on the 19th, followed by Bob Veale winning a 1-0 decision with 10 punch outs the next day against Denny Lemaster and the Astros, with both performances also tossed at Forbes Field. The whiff run ended in the second game of a twilight doubleheader when Steve Blass and Bruce Dal Canton came close but only could punch out nine, though the result was still good - the Bucs swept the twin bill by a 5-3 score on rookie Oliver’s two-run, ninth-inning homer over the right field screen to extend their winning streak to six games. 

Roberto Clemente - 1970 Topps Super

• 1970 - The Pirates beat Los Angeles, 2-1, in 16 innings at Dodger Stadium. Roberto Clemente went 5-for-7 and scored the winning run when he led off the 16th with a single, stole second and came in on Jerry May’s two-out knock to left. Four Pirate pitchers scattered seven hits, with Bruce Dal Canton getting the W, but they kept it interesting by issuing 11 walks; they even allowed LA pitcher Don Sutton to steal the only base of his career. The Dodgers refused the visitor’s generosity, though - LA went 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position. 
• 1972 - Nellie Briles tossed a one-hitter, giving up just a two-out, seventh inning single to Ken Henderson, to beat Juan Marichal and the SF Giants 1-0 at Candlestick Park. The game’s only score came in the first when Roberto Clemente reached on a two-out error by Tito Fuentes and came home on Willie Stargell’s double. Henderson was the only Giant baserunner; Briles didn’t walk anyone and whiffed six. 
• 1974 - A sad day in Pirates history. The Salem Pirates of the Carolina League were playing the Rocky Mount Phillies at Salem's Municipal Stadium. Right fielder Alfredo Edmead charged in on a Texas League bloop, while 2B Pablo Cruz drifted back for the play. Edmead collided with Cruz - who, coincidentally, had signed Edmead to his first pro contract as a part-time scout for the Pirates - striking his head on Cruz's knee, knocking Edmead unconscious. Phillies pitcher Jim Meerpohl related the incident to The Sporting News: "Cruz was seated on the ground, rolling up his pant leg, still very much in pain, but then we saw he had a knee brace, the old-fashioned kind with steel braces on each side. That damned steel had been like an axe to Edmead's head, with his left side of his skull from the frontal lobe across the top to the back of his skull sliced open about three-quarters of an inch and the bleeding was horrific." Edmead died an hour later from massive brain trauma and loss of blood at Lewis-Gale Hospital in Salem. At the age of 17, Edmead remains the youngest death of any professional baseball player in history, per Wiki. Cruz told Peter Gammons of Sports Illustrated in 2018 that “I have prayed for Alfredo every day since that night. I didn’t know that night how it happened. But it happened, and every day I think about Alfredo, I say a prayer for him, I grieve for him.” 

Richie Zisk - 1975 Kellogg's 3-D

• 1975 - Pittsburgh swept the Reds in a doubleheader at TRS by 7-2 and 4-2 tallies. In the opener, Richie Zisk homered twice and Rennie Stennett had three hits to support Larry Demery. John Candelaria spun a four-hitter in the second game, backed by homers smoked off the bats of Dave Parker and Richie Hebner. Both teams would go on to win their divisions, with the 108-win Reds sweeping the NLCS against the Bucs and then winning the World Series against the BoSox. 
• 1979 - The Pirates scored twice in the seventh and added two more in the eighth to rally past the SF Giants 8-6 at TRS. Tim Foli had four RBI, and his two-out, two-run single up the middle drove in the winning runs in the eighth. Dave Parker also collected his 1,000th hit. Kent Tekulve, the last of four Pirate pitchers, got the win after tossing two scoreless innings of relief. 
• 1982 - Charley Feeney of the Post Gazette wrote “Two bloops by the Pirates and one blooper by the Dodgers in the 14th inning capped a 4-3 win for the Bucs at Three Rivers Stadium.” The bloops were by Mike Easler and Dale Berra and the blooper made by LA’s Pedro Guerrero, who let Berra’s dink to get past him, allowing The Hit Man to score the winning run. Easler had three hits while Berra and Jason Thompson had two apiece. Don Robinson, who worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the top of the 14th (LA stranded 13 runners), got the win. He followed Rick Rhoden, Enrique Romo, Rod Scurry and Kent Tekulve in a game that stretched over four hours to finish. 
• 1990 - RHP Drew Hutchison was born in Lakeland, Florida. Drew was the return for Francisco Liriano plus minor leaguers Reese McGuire and Harold Ramirez in a 2016 contract-dump deadline deal with Toronto. He got into six games that year with no decisions and a 5.56 ERA, spent 2017 at AAA Indianapolis and then was DFA’ed at the end of the year. He’s bounced around since and is now playing for Detroit. McGuire is still with the Jays while Ramirez plays for the Indians. 

Chris Stratton - 2021 photo Pgh. Pirates

• 1990 - RHP Chris Stratton was born in Tupelo, Mississippi. A first round pick of the Giants in 2010, he went 15-14/4.63 for SF from 2016-18, then was traded to the Angels in 2019. He was beat up there, DFA’ed, and purchased by the Pirates who were thin in pitching after a rash of injuries. The converted starter has found a home here as a middle man since then. 
• 1998 - 45,082 fans jammed TRS to see Mark McGwire and weren’t disappointed; he got a big cheer when he stepped to the plate and an ovation when he sent a Francisco Cordoba offering 477’ for his 52nd homer, the first NL player to hit that mark since George Foster in 1977. With that out of the way, the Bucs rolled to their sixth straight win by a 14-4 count. Jason Kendall (three runs, two RBI) and Tony Womack (two runs, one RBI) had three hits while Kevin Young chased home four runners to pace the attack. Cordoba lasted six frames, giving up three long balls, but had plenty enough support for the win. 
• 2007 - The Bucs bashed six homers (Nate McLouth - 2, Freddy Sanchez, Xavier Nady, Jason Bay, Jack Wilson) to bang out an 11-2 decision over the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Sanchez had four hits and three RBI to plow the road for Tom Gorzelanny’s win. 
• 2014 - Josh Harrison had a career high five RBI, all coming with two outs, to lead the Bucs to an 8-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. He had a double and a homer while Andrew McCutchen added another moon shot. Jeff Locke went six innings for the win; he gave up just two hits though the Nibbler walked an unsightly six batters. The Pirate staff gave up eight free passes, while recording just one strikeout. 

J-Hay - 2014 Topps Update

• 2015 - In front of a sold-out house at PNC Park, the Pirates took a 3-2 decision from the SF Giants in dramatic fashion. Gerrit Cole gave up a run on a walk, stolen base, error and broken bat single; Joakim Soria gave up the game-tying run on a walk that came home on a two-out wild pitch. The Pirates scores came when Jung-Ho Kang homered off starter Mike Leake and then off reliever Hunter Strickland. George Kontos struck out the first two Bucco batters in the ninth, then Starling Marte ripped Pittsburgh’s third homer on a first pitch cutter to walk off with the win, claimed by Mark Melancon, who spun a six-pitch ninth. The Pirates had just four hits, and thanks to a couple of caught stealing tries, left no runners on base. Kang became the third South Korean-born ballplayer with a multi-homer game, joining Hee-Seop Choi and Shin-Soo Choo.

Notes: Yoshi Here, Nogo, Ka'ai Go; Injury Report; Minor Rankings; Pirates/MLB Potpourri

The Grind Goes On...

Pirates Notes:

• It's official: The Pirates signed OF/IF Yoshitomo Tsutsugo to a major league contract, with most of the his salary on Tampa Bay's books; the Bucs are on the hook for just the pro-rated minimum. He joined the team Monday in LA and hit his first homer on Friday against St. Louis. 1B John Nogowski was DFA'ed, clearing roster space for Yoshi; he cleared and was sent to Indy. When Tsutsugo appeared on Monday, he became the 56th different player used this season, a new team record - and set without the help of September call ups. 

Yoshi Tsutsugo - photo Marcio Jose Sanchez AP/Pirates

• Mitch Keller has been on a roller coaster for the Pirates, but he's money in the bank against St. Louis. In four career outings (three starts), he's 2-0/0.56, giving up a run in 16 IP on seven hits and six walks with 14 K. 
• Left coast blues: The Dodgers are 23-2 in their last 25 games against Pittsburgh and have beaten the Bucs 16 straight times, a new Pirates record for futility against one team. Including this week's sweep, it was the 14th time Pittsburgh has been broomed this campaign without a single series sweep to their credit.
• JT Brubaker moved into a tie for the most homers allowed in the NL this year with 28 in 116-1/3 IP.
• After his Saturday debut, it was announced that Neil Walker will return to the AT&T SportsNet booth during the Pirates’ final homestand from September 28th-to-October 3rd against the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds.
• End to a sad chapter: Felipe Vazquez was sentenced to two-to-four years in prison with an additional two years on probation. Because Vazquez has already served nearly two years in jail since his arrest in September 2019, he'll be eligible for parole next month.
• Baseball America rated Pittsburgh's farm system as fourth best in MLB. They're behind a paywall; here's a link to the Trib's Kevin Gorman's report on the farm. MLB Pipeline has an updated list of their Top 30 Pirates Prospects.

Injury Notes:

• LHP Sam Howard (oblique) began his rehab stint at Indy on Tuesday. He tossed 19 pitches (he was on a 20-pitch count) in 2/3 scoreless IP, giving up a hit and walk.
• RHP Bryse Wilson (dead arm) threw a side session in LA.
• RHP Chad Kuhl (Covid IL) accompanied the team to Los Angeles and was activated for the St. Louis series; they plan to work him out of the bullpen to rebuild his arm strength. RHP Cody Ponce was optioned to Indy to clear an active roster spot.

Chad Kuhl - photo Gene Puskar AP/Pirates

• OF Anthony Alford has resumed all baseball activity. They expect him to join team in St. Louis to continue his rehab work.
• The club activated OF Ka'ai Tom from the 10-day IL and then DFA'ed him. He went unclaimed and was assigned to AAA. 
• RHP Miguel Yajure (forearm strain) is done with his 60 day IL/rehab stint and tossed for Indy on Thursday. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk with six strikeouts, spinning four innings/51 pitches. RHP Steven Wright, who was attempting a comeback with the Tribe, was released to open Yajure's 40-man spot.
• SS Oneil Cruz came off the IL and returned to action at Altoona on Friday as DH, smoking two doubles and driving in three runs. He's been out since the end of June with forearm soreness. 

Baseball Notes:

• RHP Neftali Feliz, who spun for the Bucs in 2015, has been called up by the Dodgers. He was out of baseball during the 2019-20 seasons, but made a brief comeback with the Phils this year, was released, and then picked up by LA three weeks ago.
• RHP Kyle Lobstein (Pirates - 2016) has been DFA'ed by the Brewers.
• Early CBA volley: MLB has proposed a $100 million salary floor and lowering the luxury tax threshold to $180 million. It seems to be more of a trial balloon rather than serious proposal.
• Is nothing sacred? MLB and the MLBPA awarded their exclusive baseball card licenses to Fanatics, a sports betting, memorabilia and merchandise franchise. The union deal starts in 2023, and the MLB rights kick in for 2026. For the past 70 years, the rights have belonged to Topps.
• Meadowcroft will host its annual Vintage Base Ball Day on Saturday the 21st from 10 AM to 4 PM. Two teams dressed in vintage uniforms will play at 10:30 AM and 1 PM by the rules used during the 1860s. So if you're interested in old-timey throwback ball...

8/21 Through the 1960s: Raidin'; Longball Lynch; MLBPA; Nick Show; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Murry, Cobe, Preacher, Chief & Jim

• 1883 - OF John Owen “Chief” Wilson was born at his family's ranch in Bertram, Texas. Chief, by the way, wasn’t a Native American. Wilson set the organized baseball record of 36 triples in 1912, though oddly he never had more than 14 three-baggers in his other eight big league campaigns. Chief was a Pirate for six years (1908-13), driving in a league-leading 107 runs in 1911 and hitting .274 as a Bucco. He was the starting RF for the 1909 World Championship club. He played three final seasons for St. Louis and retired to his Texas ranch, passing away at age 70. His moniker has a couple of possible origins: one is that it was given by manager Fred Clarke, who thought the clean cut Wilson looked like a "Chief of the Texas Rangers." Another is that he and Hans Wagner attended a Wild West show when Wilson was a rookie, and that Honus thought the darkly tanned outfielder looked like one of the Indian chiefs in the act, per Ron Waldo in “Honus Wagner and His Pittsburgh Pirates...” 

Chief Wilson - 1912 Mears/TSN Collection

• 1902 - Sam Leever outdueled Christy Mathewson 2-0 in the opener of a doubleheader at Exposition Park; Leever surrendered three hits and Matty six. Tommy Leach and Hans Wagner each had a pair of hits and scored. The Giants bats woke up in the second game as NY earned a split with an 8-1 victory. The Pittsburgh Press astutely noted that “(Deacon) Phillippe’s steady pitching was just to the liking of the Giants.” 
• 1902 - Barney Dreyfuss announced the suspension of C Rowdy Jack O’Connor because he was recruiting players from the powerhouse Pirates club to switch leagues, under the direction of AL President Ban Johnson. O’Connor even held a meeting with Johnson, who claimed he was in Pittsburgh to do spadework for an AL franchise to compete against the Pirates, and some teammates to pitch the merits of the American League, which was coolly interrupted by manager Fred Clarke. The main target was Hans Wagner, who refused to bite even though the junior circuit was offering $1,000 signing bonuses and hefty $15-16,000 contracts over two years (Honus topped out at $10K at Pittsburgh) to prospective jumpers. Dreyfuss found out about the raid from Jess Tannehill, who blabbed about the conspiracy while under anesthetic to have a dislocated shoulder put back into place, per Ronald Waldo’s book “The 1902 Pirates: Treachery and Triumph.” Barney was wise to keep the club together; the 1903 team won 91 games and the NL flag, meeting Boston in what’s considered baseball’s first World Series. 
• 1905 - OF Jim Mosolf was born in Puyallup, Washington. Jim played the first three of his four big league seasons as a bench bat from 1929-31, hitting .315 over that span mainly as a deluxe pinch-hitter. Jim spent eight years in the minors where he batted .321 over his career. His brother George, an infielder, also had a four-year MLB run. 

Wally Hebert - 1943 photo via Out Of The Park Development

• 1907 - LHP Wally “Preacher” Hebert was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Wally was the epitome of the wartime baseball warrior - the sidewinding southpaw tossed for three years for the St. Louis Browns and then returned after a decade-long stint in the Pacific Coast League to pitch for the 1943 Pirates at the age of 35, going 10-11/2.98 before retiring back to the bayou to farm and fish. His nickname, per Wikipedia, is a slightly twisted tale: Hebert got the nickname ‘Preacher’ in first grade when he wore a hat to school that his classmates thought was a preacher's hat. However, the travelogue book “The Walk West, A Walk Across America 2” that included a visit to Wally has a different version. Hebert claims that he got his nickname from baseball, and that it was originally “Mississippi Mudcat.” However, another player had that moniker, so his teammates changed the nickname to “Preacher” and he never could figure out why. 
• 1907 - SS Coburn “Cobe” Jones was born in Denver. Cobe played in just 26 games from 1929-30, hitting .265 in 65 at-bats. His playing career was cut short by diabetes, diagnosed in 1929. Starting in 1932, he was director of boys programs for a hometown community center, managed Denver’s minor league club for a spell and scouted. Cobe, a four-sports star in HS, was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1973. 
• 1908 - The Pittsburgh Press wrote that “Nick Maddox was pretty nearly the whole show at Exposition Park...” and the reporter was right. Maddox tossed a seven-hit complete game, had three hits and drove in both Bucco runs in a 2-1 win over the Brooklyn Superbas. It was Nick’s eighth straight win and put the Bucs in first place; they would finish the year with 98 wins, one game behind the Chicago Cubs. 

Nick Maddox - 1908 Bain/Library of Congress

• 1916 - RHP Murry Dickson was born in Tracy, Missouri. He tossed five years (1949-53) for some sad Pirate teams, leading the league in losses in 1952-53. But he also won 34 games in 1951-52 for Buc squads that tasted victory just 106 times, so he was responsible for nearly 1/3 of the Pirate wins during that span. Murry finished with a Pittsburgh final line of 66-85/3.83 and was an All Star in 1953. The soft-tossing righty put in 18 big league years with five teams before retiring after the 1959 season. He became a carpenter after his playing days. 
• 1953 - After 13 straight wins, the first place Dodgers finally lost, going down to birthday boy Murry Dickson and the last-place Pirates, 7-1, at Forbes Field. Frank Thomas had a homer and four RBI in the upset victory. 
• 1953 - The Pirates Ralph Kiner and the Yankees Allie Reynolds, the NL and AL player reps of the newly formed MLBPA, announced that they had hired New York Sports attorney J. Norman Lewis for $15,000 as an advisor after baseball had rejected their proposals for an increased minimum wage and greater pension contributions. Lewis wasn’t much help; the owners refused to meet with him. 
• 1962 - Down 6-4 in the ninth against the Mets at the Polo Grounds, the Pirates loaded the bases with one out on an infield single (Bob Skinner’s 1,000th MLB rap) and two walks. Danny Murtaugh called on Jim Marshall to pinch hit. He hit a grounder to third, but Felix Mantilla’s throw to first was airmailed, allowing Skinner, Howie Goss and a sliding Roberto Clemente to score. The Bucs added another tally to win by an 8-6 count, New York’s 14th straight loss, giving Diomedes Olivo the win after a Roy Face save. The Mets finally got into the W column in the nightcap in equally dramatic style when Marvelous Marv Thorneberry, who had been coaching first (he was pulling double duty), came up to pinch hit with two outs in the ninth and belted an overworked Face’s fourth pitch into the right field upper deck to earn a 5-4 split for the Metropolitans. 

Jerry Lynch - 1964 Kahn's Wieners

• 1963 - Jerry Lynch set a MLB record for pinch-hit home runs when he hit his 15th to best George Crowe’s mark, a ninth-inning blast off Lindy McDaniel. He drilled a 3-1 fastball that gave the Pirates a 7-6 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Lynch retired in 1966 with 18 pinch-hit homers, the record until Cliff Johnson broke it in 1984. Matt Stairs now holds the MLB mark with 23. 
• 1968 - The Bucs lit up the Reds at Forbes Field by a 19-1 count, banging out 23 hits. They were led by the top and bottom of the order - leadoff man Matty Alou and eight-hole hitter Gene Alley each had four hits; Roberto Clemente homered twice and Donn Clendenon once (he had five RBI). Steve Blass lasted for eight innings, with ElRoy Face sealing the deal in the ninth. Cincinnati didn’t leave empty-handed, though - Johnny Bench won a pre-game home run derby, netting $150 that was split among the three Redleg participants (the losing Bucs shared $100 among their trio).

8/21 From 1970: Bautista, Reuschel Deals; Rennie Hurt; Giles POTW; JT Signs; Dock Cover; Game Tales; HBD Jesse, Jeff, Lou & Ramon

• 1971 - Dock Ellis was featured on the cover of The Sporting News for the story “Sound Off.” That’s the year Ellis told the media that NL All-Star Team manager Sparky Anderson would "never start two brothers against each other" as Vida Blue was starting for the AL. Anderson surprised Ellis (or played into his hand) by naming him the starter. Dock was the losing pitcher in the game, giving up a titanic shot to Reggie Jackson. 
• 1973 - IF Lou Collier was born in Chicago. He began his eight-year career as a Bucco in 1997-97, hitting .235 after being selected in the 31st round of the 1992 draft from Kishwaukee College. He spent two years in Korea after his MLB days and retired from baseball in 2007. He founded the Lou Collier Baseball Association, recruiting Chi-town kids out of rec center/little league teams and getting them some tournament prime-time to showcase their skills. He’s also an area scout for KC. 

Lou Collier - 1998 Pacific Omega

• 1976 - IF Ramon Vazquez was born in Aibonito, Puerto Rico. He spent the final campaign of his nine-year career with Pittsburgh in 2009, hitting .230. Since retiring, he’s coached for San Diego, Houston, and currently Boston along with managing Santurce (Roberto Clemente’s old club) in the Puerto Rican League. 
• 1977 - Rennie Stennett broke his right ankle sliding into second against the Giants at TRS and was lost for the year. Rennie never recovered fully, and his best BA after the accident was just .244. At the time, Stennett was the NL’s #2 hitter, batting .336 and fell 12 at-bats short of qualifying for the title, though his .336 BA would have been nosed out by the eventual winner, teammate Dave Parker, who hit .338. To rub some salt into the wound, the Bucs lost the game 5-4. The second baseman left the Pirates after the ‘79 campaign to join the Giants, inking a big 5-year deal, but was released after two seasons at age 31. 
• 1983 - RHP Jesse Chavez was born in San Gabriel, California. He started out with the Pirates in 2008-09, going 1-5/4.48 from the bullpen after arriving as the return from Texas for Kip wells. The Bucs sent him to Tampa Bay in 2009 for 2B Akinori Iwamura. Jesse is still pitching, now with the Braves; Oakland had converted him to the rotation, though most clubs (he’s been on nine teams) preferred him out of the pen. 
• 1983 - 1B Jeff Clement was born in Marshalltown, Iowa. He was a highly touted power hitter from Southern Cal and was taken third overall in the 2005 draft by Seattle. The Pirates got him from the Mariners in 2009 as part of the return for Ian Snell and Jack Wilson. Jeff got a look-see in 2010 and again in 2012, putting up a .193 BA, and retired from baseball in 2014. 

Marvell Wynne - 1984 Donruss

• 1984 - Marvell Wynne led the attack with three hits, including a walkoff single with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, to give the Pirates a 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves at TRS. Johnny Ray hit a two-run dinger and Pittsburgh was up 3-0 early; the Bravos took the lead two innings later, primed by Dale Murphy’s three-run blast off John Tudor. Relievers Lee Tunnell and Don Robinson, who earned the win, shut it down after that. Lee Lacy’s two-out RBI knock tied it in the seventh to set the stage for Wynne. 
• 1987 - Vet Rick Reuschel was sent to the Giants for two pitchers, Jeff Robinson and Scott Medvin. Reuschel had two strong years on the Bay, winning 36 games and earning an All-Star berth. Robinson lasted three years in Pittsburgh as a fairly solid reliever/spot starter (20-19-17, 3.98) while Medvin (3-1, 5.03) was traded to Seattle in May, 1990 after spending most of his Pirates time in the minors. 
• 1998 - All nine Pirates starters had hits, eight had RBI and seven scored in a 14-2 romp over the Reds at TRS. Kevin Young banged out three knocks and five other Bucco had a pair of raps as the Bucs collected 17 hits and six walks. Al Martin and Jason Kendall homered; Pittsburgh added five doubles and a triple. Chris Peters went seven innings for the decision. It was part of a 15-game streak where the Pirates scored four or runs. 
• 2000 - OF Brian Giles was named the NL’s co-POTW, along with Todd Helton. Giles was 11-of-21 with three doubles, a triple and three homers, scoring six times and chasing home eight runs. It was the fourth time Giles received the award. 

Jose Bautista - 2008 Topps Heritage

• 2008 - Jose Bautista was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for a PTBNL, who ended up being C Robinzon Diaz. Bautista bloomed as a slugger in Toronto and while no one saw it coming at the time, it ended up among the worst deals in Bucco history. A side note: the Pirates were trying to pry C Brian Jeroloman loose for Jose, not Diaz. Jeroloman, a prospect that never reached MLB, did eventually end up a Bucco when he was sold to the club in 2013 just before the season started. He was traded away in May to the Nationals. The FO had its eye on Jeroloman for a while before that - they claimed him off waivers in 2011, but DFA’ed him three days later. 
• 2011 - The Pirates announced a six year extension of Jose Tabata’s contract. It guaranteed him $15M and included three club option years. JT’s advisers quit, believing the terms were too team friendly; they were wrong. JT logged lots of minor league innings from 2012-15 before being traded to the LA Dodgers at the 2015 deadline; they released him in 2016 and at last look, he was playing Mexican ball.

8/20 Through the 1950s: Cozy Deal; Russ Rampage; Sad Streak; Union Nixed; No Ump Show; Bootball; Fine Froth; Game Tales; HBD Al, Bull & Robert

• 1869 - RHP Robert Gibson was born in Duncansville, Pennsylvania, near Altoona. He tossed in the show in 1890, working a game for the Chicago Colts (a shutout) and then finishing up with three more starts with the Alleghenys, doing not so well with an 0-3/17.25 line, while also playing a little outfield. He did better after he hung up the spikes, though - the Washington & Jefferson grad worked for Allegheny County/US Magistrate as an attorney, then was appointed as a Federal judge for the Western District in 1922, and became the chief judge before he retired. He’s buried in Homewood Cemetery. 
• 1880 - OF Lewis “Bull” Smith was born in Plum, West Virginia. He was raised in an orphanage but overcame that humble beginning to become a West Liberty and later WVU multi-sports star and grad (he won a law degree). Bull played sparingly in the MLB, with his 13-game 1904 season with the Pirates his longest stay, hitting .143 (he got one-game cups of coffee with the Cubs in ‘06 and the Senators in ‘11). Baseball wasn’t his only strong suit, though - he was also a halfback for the Canton Bulldogs in 1905-06, playing in the NFL’s forerunner, the Ohio League. He managed and played locally at Clarksville & Charleston after his big league days. He later became a lumberman and school teacher. 

George Creamer was creamed - art via Dead Ball Era

• 1883 - According to Charlton’s Baseball Chronology, after the Eclipse-Pittsburgh game at Exposition Park (won by Louisville 8-2), Allegheny OFs Billy Taylor and Mike Mansell‚ along with 2B George Creamer, were each fined $100 and suspended indefinitely for drunkenness. 
• 1903 - The Pirates set a record for futility in the first inning of a twin bill at the Polo Grounds, committing six errors (they would boot eight balls during the game) and allowing seven runs to the NY Giants in a 13-7 loss. But they came back in the nitecap behind Deacon Phillippe, who tossed a five-hit, 4-1 winner against NY, backed by Fred Clarke’s home run. The split kept the Pirates five games ahead of the G-Men in the NL pennant race. 
• 1908 - Hall of Fame catcher Al Lopez was born in Tampa. He caught seven years (1940-46) for the Pirates, hitting .254 with a rep as one of the finest defensive catchers in baseball and earning a 1941 All-Star berth. After his playing days, Lopez found more success as a manager of the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox. 
• 1912 - Umpires William Brennan (twisted knee) and Clarence “Brick” Owens (foul to the chest) were both out of action by the second inning and transported to St. John’s Hospital, leaving no one to call the game, but the twin bill at Forbes Field nevertheless went on. Pirates manager Fred Clarke selected 1B Ham Hyatt to call the bases while Brooklyn skipper Bill Dahlen chose C Eddie Phelps to get behind the plate. The Pirates took the opener 3-2, but the Dodgers came back to run away with the nightcap, 9-1, as Hyatt and Phelps also arbitrated the second match. Both men in blue were pretty banged up - Brennan ended up with torn ligaments in his knee and Owens tore ligaments in his rib cage. 

Cozy Dolan - photo via Find-A-Grave

• 1913 - The Pirates traded P Howie Camnitz and 3B Bobby Byrne to the Philadelphia Phillies for third baseman Albert “Cozy” Dolan and cash. Camnitz and Byrne were at the end of their effective careers (Bryne had a strong 1914 before fading), and Dolan was traded at the end of the year, so even though a couple of big names were involved, it ended up a minor deal. Cozy was banned from baseball in 1924 as a coach after being involved with a bribe offer during a heated pennant race. He didn’t get his nickname by being cozy with the bookies, though, but rather from a namesake baseball predecessor, Patrick “Cozy” Dolan. Fortunately for scorekeepers, there was a five-year break between Patrick’s last game and Albert’s MLB debut. 
• 1939 - Pittsburgh dropped its 12th straight game by a 9-5 score to the Cubs in the first game of a doubleheader at Forbes Field. Bob Klinger took the loss. The streak was the longest in Bucco history (although the Alleghenys lost 23 in a row in 1890) and the longest in the majors for the year. But they finally got back on the right side of the ledger by taking the second game 5-0, which perhaps fortunately for the Buccos was called after six innings following a 40-minute rain delay. Max Butcher went the distance for the win, backed by Elbie Fletcher’s two-run homer and two-hit afternoons by Johnny Rizzo & Fern Bell. 
• 1945 - The Pirates hit two homers (Babe Dahlgren, Pete Coscarart), two triples (Lee Handley, Jim Russell) and two doubles (Tommy O’Brien, Johnny Barrett) to romp over the Brooklyn Dodgers 11-1 at Ebbets Field. The Bucs scored three times in the first inning and five more times in the ninth while Preacher Roe scattered eight hits. O’Brien and Frankie Gustine led the lumber parade with three hits each; Dahlgren and Coscarart homered. Da Bums had two noteworthy sidebars: they committed seven errors during the game, and 17-year-old Dodger SS Tommy Brown became the youngest player to hit a major league home run. 
• 1946 - The Pirates voted against recognizing the American Baseball Guild as their bargaining agent by a 15-3 count with 10 abstentions in a pregame Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board election. They then whipped the Brooklyn Dodgers 10-0 at Forbes Field behind Nick Strinovich’s four-hitter. Elbie Fletcher banged a three-run homer and Jim Russell had three hits that chased four Buccos home. 

Jim Russell - photo via WPa HoF

• 1947 - It wasn’t a very good day for pitchers as Pittsburgh bludgeoned its way to a 16-10 win over Boston at Braves Stadium. 19 players banged out 34 hits. The leader of the pack was the Pirates’ Jim Russell, who went 5-for-6 with a double and triple, five RBI and three runs scored. Jimmy Bloodworth wasn’t far behind, going 4-for-5 with three RBI and two runs. It wasn’t all on the hurlers; the teams combined to commit six errors, allowing 10 unearned runs to score. 
• 1953 - The Pirates used four Philadelphia Phillies errors to beat Robin Roberts 5-2 at Connie Mack Stadium, ending his 15-game winning streak against them. The winner was 19-year-old Jim Waugh, who tossed a six-hitter. Four of the Bucco runs were unearned.

8/20 From 1960: Montanez Deal; 1,000 For Danny; Antelope On The Go; Swattin' Sanders; LL Classic; Gems & Games Tales; HBD Matt

• 1961 - The Cubs and Pirates tied an NL record by playing their third straight extra-inning game at Wrigley Field. Chicago took this one 1-0 when Billy Williams singled home the winning run with two outs in the 11th, making Bob Friend a loser to Don Cardwell. The clubs had split the first pair; all three games went 11 innings. 

Bob Veale - 1969 Milton Bradley

• 1969 - Bob Veale tossed a four-hitter with one walk and 10 Ks to defeat the Houston Astros and Denny Lemaster 1-0 at Forbes Field. The big lefty allowed just one runner beyond first during the contest. The match’s only run scored in the eighth, when back-to-back Astro errors and a successful bunt set the table for Roberto Clemente’s game-winning sac fly. It also capped a four-contest complete game streak (he had nine CG’s in 34 starts during the season) and was the part of an eight-game winning streak for Veale. 
• 1975 - Manager Danny Murtaugh’s 1,000th win (he finished with 1,115, all with the Buccos) went in the books after a 3-1 victory over the Giants at TRS. He became the second Pittsburgh skipper to reach that milestone, after Fred Clarke. The Pirates scored all three of their runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on Craig Reynold’s double and a two-run knock by Rennie Stennett. Jim Rooker pitched eight innings of three-hit ball to earn the win with Dave Giusti closing it out. 
• 1978 - The Pirates defeated the Astros in a TRS twin bill by 7-6 and 3-1 scores. The two wins gave the Bucs a six game sweep of the ‘Stros that was followed by a three-game brooming of the Braves that would take them from 9-1/2 games back in the division race to 3-1/2. The opener was sloppy; the Pirates committed three errors, opening the gates for three unearned runs, but homers by Willie Stargell and Dale Berra (his first MLB long ball) along with 14 hits (Frank Taveras had four raps and Stargell three) carried the day. Jim Rooker got the win with a Kent Tekulve save. Jerry Reuss went the distance in the second game, backed by a pair of Ed Ott homers. It was Reuss’ first win of the year in his ninth start; he had been largely ineffective and given a bullpen role for much of the summer. It was also the first time a team had swept a six game series (or even played one, per the Pittsburgh Press) in the modern era. The Bucs were hot in the dog days, going 39-21 over the last two months of the season, but they fell 1-1/2 games short of the Phils at the final gun. 

Omar Moreno - 1980 Burger King

• 1980 - Omar Moreno stole his 70th base of the year in a 5-1 loss at the Astrodome, becoming the first player in the 20th century with three consecutive 70-steal seasons. The Antelope swiped 71 in 1978, 77 in 1979 and finished 1980 with a career-high 96 successful larcenies. He swiped 412 sacks in an eight-year Bucco stay, behind only Max Carey (688) and Hans Wagner (639) in the franchise record book, with 487 bases stolen during his career. 
• 1981 - Pittsburgh traded John Milner to the Expos for Willie Montanez in a flip of reserve first basemen. Neither did much for their new teams, and Montanez was released after the 1982 season so the Pirates could bring Milner back for his final MLB campaign. 
• 1983 - Jose DeLeon took a no-hitter into the seventh inning for the third time during the season, but Cincinnati's Dan Driessen doubled with two outs to spoil the no-no. DeLeon finished with 13 strikeouts and a 4-0 two-hit victory at TRS. Jason Thompson and Tony Pena had two hits, a run and an RBI each. 
• 1985 - 1B Matt “The Hit Collector” Hague was born in Bellevue, Washington. The Pirates selected Hague in the ninth round of the 2008 draft out of Oklahoma State as a third baseman; he was switched to first because of Pedro Alvarez. He got his nickname because in the minors it was said all he did was hit, but in two Pittsburgh stays (2012 & 2014), he stroked just .222 and was waived to Toronto, where he played in 2015. After a year in Japan, he signed with the Twins organization and is now a hitting coach in the Blue Jays system. 

Matt Hague - 2012 Topps Chrome

• 1988 - John Smiley and Jim Gott held the Astros to seven hits as the Bucs defeated Houston and Nolan Ryan by a 2-1 count at TRS. The Pirates used a two-out rally in the sixth to put up their runs. Smiley walked on five pitches and Barry Bonds singled after falling behind 1-2. In a key play, the ‘Stros Gerald Young took a shot at Smiley going to third and missed by a hair, allowing Bonds to reach second. Jose Lind’s liner to center plated them both. The win pulled the Buccos to within 3-1/2 games of the lead, but they dropped 9-of-13 matches after the victory to fall out of contention. 
• 2002 - Pirate pitching held the Cardinals hitless after a one-out single in the first at Busch Stadium in an 8-0 win. Kris Benson started and went seven frames, with an inning each from Brian Boehringer and Al Reyes. Jason Kendall had three RBI, and five Bucs homered - Brian Giles, Aramis Ramirez, Rob Mackowiak, Craig Wilson and Adam Hyzdu. 
• 2003 - Reggie Sanders joined Jeff King (who did it twice) and Jake Stenzel (1894) as the only Bucs to homer twice in one inning when he belted long flies off Jason Pearson and Esteban Yan of the Cards during a 10-run fifth inning at Busch Stadium, with his second dinger being a grand slam. His first tater was the team’s third in a row, behind Jason Kendall and Brian Gile blasts, and the four bombs in one inning was a Pirates record. It was a home run derby for the Pirates, who hit seven long flies; also going long were Rob Mackowiak with a pair of four-baggers and pitcher Jeff D’Amico, who dropped one in the seats while tossing a complete game three-hitter in a 14-0 Bucco romp. 
• 2014 - Down 2-0 in the bottom of the eighth and in the throes of a seven-game losing streak, the Bucs rallied to overtake the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park by a 3-2 score. A leadoff walk to Gaby Sanchez in the eighth was followed by a ground rule double off Travis Snider’s bat. A grounder and wild pitch brought them home to tie the game. Jordy Mercer opened the ninth with a single and went to third an out later when Justin Upton misplayed Starling Marte’s fly to left center. Sanchez again was the man of the hour, hitting a fly just deep enough to plate Mercer. Tony Watson got the win and Mark Melancon the save. The Pirates went on to finish the year on a 24-12 run and earn a wild card, falling two games short of catching the Cards for the NL Central title. The SF Giants, who went on to win the WS, topped them 8-0 behind Madison Bumgarner in the win-or-go-home playoff game. 

LL Classic - 2017 photo/Pgh Pirates

• 2017 - The Pirates, at the behest of MLB, flipped their game from PNC Park to Bowman Field, a minor-league park in Williamsport, to play the St. Louis Cardinals in the “Little League Classic” during the Little League World Series tournament. 2,596 tweener ball players and their parents watched as the Buccos won a 6-3 decision. Ivan Nova had a rocky outing but kept the run count down for the win, supported by some nice work from the bullpen. The first four Pirates hitters (Starling Marte, Josh Harrison, Andrew McCutchen & Josh Bell) went 8-for-15, scored all six runs and drove in five. It marked the sixth straight multi-hit game for Marte while J-Bell's four RBIs (two-run homer, two-run single) tied his single-game high. And in a nice nod to LL sportsmanship, the two teams went through a handshake line after the game.

8/19: Redus, May, Byrne, Faber Deals; Rook & Roll; Mad Dog POTW; Pirates Portrait; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Britt, Terry & Ike

• 1891 - SS Ike McAuley was born in Wichita. In his three years in Pittsburgh (1914-16) he had just 50 PA and hit .149, yo-yo’ing between the show and the farm. He did have a moment in the sun, though - when he made his debut, the Bucs started him at SS and played Hans Wagner at 3B. He also had stints with the Cubs and Cards. Ike spent 15 years playing pro ball, retiring after the 1927 campaign at age 35 and then scouting for the Detroit Tigers. 
• 1901 - The Pirates chased the Cards’ 21-game winner Jack Harper in a 9-5 win at Robison Field. The Bucs used a five-run third inning to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, using four hits and a pair of Redbird errors to pile up the points. Ed Doheny got the win with help from Deacon Phillippe. Lefty Davis left the attack with four hits; Hans Wagner and Kitty Bransfield added three more knocks each. Pittsburgh banged out 17 hits as “the batting fever was still hot upon them” per the Pittsburgh Press. 
• 1902 - In a see-saw game at Exposition Park, the NY Giants went ahead of Pittsburgh 4-3 with a ninth-inning run off Jack Chesbro on a single that went off Honus Wagner’s glove. But in the Bucco half, the Dutchman atoned when he spanked a two-out, two-strike single through the left side to score Deacon Phillippe and Ginger Beaumont to give the Bucs a 5-4 win. 

Bobby Byrne - 1909 photo Conlon Collection/Detroit Public Library

• 1909 - The Pirates traded Alan Storke and Jap Barbeau to the St. Louis Cardinals for 3B Bobby Byrne. Storke died young in the next year from the flu, while Barbeau lasted two more seasons. Byrne held down the hot corner for the Bucs for the next five seasons, hitting .277 in 590 games. 
• 1910 - The Pirates signed RHP Urban Clarence “Red” Faber from Dubuque the day after he tossed a perfect game against Davenport. After finishing the campaign with the Dubs, he broke camp with the club in 1911, but the sidearm fastballer was sold to the minor league Minneapolis Millers in late May without appearing in a game. He had a mediocre farm season due to a sore arm, but with a big silver lining: he learned to toss the wet one to compensate. That combined with his fastball made for a deadly combo, and at Des Moines he won 41 games and led the Western League in strikeouts in 1912-13. The White Sox inked him and he threw for 20 years, winning 254 games for Chicago, the only MLB he ever pitched for, before being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1964. 
• 1941 - Manager Frankie Frisch was ejected by ump Jocko Conlan and fined $50 during the second game of a twinbill when he appeared on the field with an umbrella to protest the damp playing conditions at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field, with the scene becoming the basis of a Norman Rockwell painting. Da Bums were the better mudders, winning 9-0 and 6-2 as they hung out the Pirates to dry. 
• 1950 - The Pirates outpointed the Cubs 13-9 at Wrigley Field for their sixth win in seven games, led by Ralph Kiner’s pair of bombs and three RBI. Johnny Hopp had a big day, too, with a homer and a pair of doubles, driving in a pair and scoring twice. Pittsburgh plated six times in the final two frames to rally for the victory. Murry Dickson earned the win with Bill Werle finishing up. 

Terry Harper - 1988 Fleer

• 1955 - OF Terry Harper was born in Douglasville, Georgia. The Bucs traded for the then 32-year-old Harper from the Tigers in June of 1987, and it was the last hurrah for the eight-year vet. He hit .288 and then played out his final campaign in Japan. Terry’s now a private hitting instructor in the Atlanta area. 
• 1958 - The Pirates held off the Chicago Cubs 4-3 at Wrigley Field on the strength of two-run blasts by Bill Mazeroski in the second frame and Dick Stuart in the sixth (Stu’s went 450’ and touched down on Waveland Avenue), both off starter Taylor Phillips. Curt Raydon worked six innings for the win, with Bob Porterfield tossing three shutout frames to save the decision. A key factor in the victory was Roberto Clemente’s play in the field; he made a pair of highlight grabs and threw out a runner at third. The win was the Pirates’ twentieth of twenty-eight games and kept them in second place, 6-1/2 games behind the Milwaukee Braves. 
• 1973 - Jim Rooker was a one-man wrecking crew, spinning a five hitter and batting 3-for-3 as the Pirates beat San Francisco and Juan Marichal 5-0 at TRS. Richie Hebner also added three hits, as he & Al Oliver went back-to-back with long balls, and Manny Sanguillen iced the cake with a two-run double. 
• 1973 - RHP Britt Reames was born in Seneca, South Carolina. Britt spent parts of six years in the show with his final campaign as a Bucco in 2006, getting into five games and putting up a 9.82 ERA. He became the pitching coach for Furman and moved on to his alma mater, The Citadel, where he’s a member of the Bulldogs Hall of Fame. 
• 1983 - The Pirates traded Steve Nicosia to the Giants in exchange for Milt May and cash in a swap of backup catchers. May retired after the 1984 season and Nicosia, who was unhappy here playing behind Tony Pena, remained a reserve and played a bench role for three teams before giving up the tools of ignorance after the 1985 campaign. 

Gary Redus - 1989 Donruss

• 1988 - The Pirates swapped 1B/OF Mike Diaz, sending him to the Chicago White Sox for OF Gary Redus. Rambo ended the year with the Sox before heading to Japan to finish his career. Redus played first and some outfield for the Bucs until 1992, hitting .255 with 24 homers, 96 RBI, 157 runs scored and 69 stolen bases for Pittsburgh. 
• 1985 - Bill Madlock was named the NL Player of the Week after going 9-for-22 (.409) and banging out four homers; he was the first Bucco to win the award this season. Unfortunately for the team, he was pretty much a one-man show as the club went 2-5 over the week. 
• 1999 - Cincinnati defeated Pittsburgh 1-0 at Cinergy Field, as Pete Harnisch and Scott Williamson combined for a one-hitter while whiffing 13 Bucs; Harnisch surrendered just a seventh inning single to Mike Benjamin. Kris Benson pitched a dandy of his own, scattering seven hits and punching out eight. He had a shutout going until one out in the eighth, when Sean Casey, in the midst of his breakout year, homered for the game’s only run. 
• 2012 - The Bucs outlasted the Cards at Busch Stadium to take home a 19-inning victory, 6-3. The teams ran through 16 pitchers before it was decided on a Pedro Alvarez homer off Barret Browning; El Toro became the first player in Pirates history to hit a home run in the 19th inning or later. Usual starter Wandy Rodriguez was called on to work the last two frames and notched the W after both teams swapped runs in the 17th to keep the game rolling. It was the first Pittsburgh road win of 19 innings or more since beating San Diego in 1979, and the first time the Pirates put up three runs or more in the 19th or beyond since 1912 against the Boston Braves. 

Wandy Rodriguez - 2012 AP photo/Al Behrman

• 2018 - The Pirates salvaged a hard-earned four-game split against the Cubs with a 2-1, 11-inning victory at PNC Park. Jameson Taillon (he struck out eight in six innings) and Carlos Quintana left it up to the bullpens to battle out a 1-1 draw. Both sides ducked some bullets and blundered on the basepaths. The Bucs were especially egregious, having two runners thrown out at home and going 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. After Richard Rodriguez left the bases full in the 11th, Brandon Kintzler got two easy outs before falling behind Adam Frazier 3-0; he grooved a fastball and Fraze wasn’t taking but hunting. He blasted the ball 413’, completely out of the park and onto the Riverwalk, for his second career walk off homer. The Pirates had lost the first two games 1-0, then took the last pair by 3-1 & 2-1 tallies. Chicago set a quirky MLB record; all four of their runs came on solo homers, neatly meted out at one per game.

8/18 Through the 1950s: Berardino Trade; Branch Goes Continental; Big Poison Fiver; Gems & Game Tales; HBD Roberto, Paul, Carl, Roger, Burleigh, Bernie & Spooks

• 1891 - IF Wally “Spooks” Gerber was born in Columbus, Ohio. Gerber started his 15-year career with Pittsburgh in 1914-15 as a utilityman (he was another in a long line of Hans Wagner replacements at short), batting .207. Following his playing career, Gerber was an umpire in the Mid Atlantic League and also worked as a supervisor for the Columbus Recreation Department. Wally got his nickname because of his gaunt build. 
• 1893 - RHP Burleigh Grimes was born in Emerald, Wisconsin. The Hall of Famer spent five years with the Bucs (1916-17, 1928-29, 1934), beginning and ending his career in Pittsburgh with a couple years in the middle. His line was a modest 48-42/3.26 as a Pirate, but in a 19-year career with seven different clubs, Old Stubblebeard (he didn’t shave on game days, claiming the emery he used on ball irritated his face) won 269 decisions. He was also the last player that was allowed to legally throw a spitball. 

Burleigh Grimes - 1928 photo Charles Conlon/HoF

• 1893 - RHP Bernie Duffy was born in Vinson, Oklahoma. He joined the Pirates briefly in 1913 as a highly touted arm, but in three outings (two starts), the 19-year-old lasted just 11-⅓ IP and gave up 18 hits while putting up a 5.56 ERA. He spent the next several years going from farm club to farm club, and after the 1917 season did what any self-respecting Oklahoman would do: he hung up the spikes and earned his daily bread as a wildcatter in the oil fields. 
• 1897 - LHP Roger Bowman was born in Amsterdam, New York. He closed out his five-year MLB career with two stops in Pittsburgh in 1953 and 1955, slashing 0-7/5.66. Bowman did have a long career in the minors, working from 1946-61 and once tossing a seven-inning perfecto, and also twirled in the Cuban and Venezuelan Leagues. He was a well-rounded fellow, playing sax for area big bands in the Adirondacks, turning an art degree into an upholstery business after his ball-playing days and earning a pilot's license. 
• 1914 - Babe Adams bested NY Giants Rube Marquard to take a 3-1 decision at Forbes Field. Ralph Davis of the Pittsburgh Press wrote that “Adams was more than their (the Giants) master and forced them to bow to defeat.” The Babe helped his own cause by banging an inside the park homer, set up when frustrated center fielder Bob Bescher didn’t chase the ball after it got past him and allowed it to roll almost to the wall. 
• 1930 - Carl Barger was born in Lewistown, Pennsylvania. A corporate lawyer with Eckert, Seamans, Cherin & Mellott, he helped form and lead the Pittsburgh Associates to keep the Pirates in Pittsburgh after they were put up for sale by John Galbreath's family in 1985. He was president of the Pirates from 1987 to 1991 when he resigned to help his friend, Wayne Huinzenga, put together the Florida Marlins franchise. He died of a ruptured aorta while attending the winter meetings in 1992, before the Marlins had even played their first game. The Fish retired number 5 in his honor (though a long-time Pirates fan from his youth, Joe DiMaggio was his favorite player) then controversially unretired it for Logan Morrison in 2012, instead leaving a couple of practice fields named after him. 

Paul Waner - 1931 W-571 Strip Card

• 1931 - Paul Waner went 5-for-6 to lead Pittsburgh to a 14-5 win over the Phils at the Baker Bowl. Pie Traynor added three hits, three runs and two RBI and Eddie Phillips drove in four runs to help back Glenn Spencer’s pitching. 
• 1934 - The Great One, Roberto Clemente, was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico. The Hall of Famer and humanitarian compiled a lifetime .317 BA, hitting over .300 in 13 of his last 14 seasons, and collected 3,000 hits in eighteen years as a Pirate. He was a two-time World Series champ, 15-time All-Star, won 12 Golden Gloves, was an NL & WS MVP, had his number retired and since 2002 has been honored annually by a MLB special day in September. 
• 1940 - Homestead Grays P Ray Brown was part of the East All-Star staff that shut out the West 11-0 at Comiskey Park in the Negro League AS game. Teammate Buck Leonard added three hits and three RBI for the winners. 
• 1940 - IF Paul Popovich was born in Flemington, West Virginia. The Mountaineer (he was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 2013) closed out his 11-year career with Pittsburgh, hitting .211 in 1974-75 as a bench player for two division-winning clubs. After his playing days, he spent a decade as an infield coach for the Dodgers. 
• 1948 - The Bucs put up a six-spot in the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs to pull away for a 7-4 win at Wrigley Field. Future manager Danny Murtaugh drove in three runs, and rookie pitcher Bob Chesne helped himself with two hits, a run and an RBI. 

Danny Murtaugh - 1948 Leaf

• 1952 - The Pirates sent IF George Strickland and RHP Ted “Cork” Wilks (he was called Cork in his St. Louis days because he was the club’s “stopper” from the pen) to Cleveland for Johnny Berardino‚ minor leaguer Charlie Sipple and $50‚000. For Berardino, it was his second stint in Pittsburgh, a stopping off point before his more lucrative career in movies and as a soap opera star, notably playing Dr. Steve Hardy on “General Hospital.” The deal was a win for the Tribe; Strickland ended up with eight years for the Tribe as a defensive whiz, playing 734 games while hitting .233. 
• 1959 - Branch Rickey resigned as chairman of the Pirates board of directors to become president of the Continental League, a proposed third major league. The league disbanded in 1960 without playing a single game, but it helped to accelerate the expansion of MLB. Owners who were opposed to the CL approved expansion clubs in Houston, Minnesota and New York, all potential CL cities, to draw membership away from the new league, eventually killing it.