12/13 Through the 1980s: Richert Deal, Cobra Sees Bucs In Court; HBD Josh, Jeff, Dale, Dave, Joe J, Joe C, Bill & Buckshot

• 1899 - RHP William “Buckshot” May was born in Bakersfield, California. The 24-year old appeared in his only MLB game as a Pirate, tossing a no-run, two-hit, one-strikeout frame in a 10-7 loss to the Boston Braves at Forbes Field in 1924. May never was given another chance (it was said that he got into a contract dispute with Barney Dreyfuss, and that spittin’ match with the boss put a brake on his career) though he did work 13 solid minor-league campaigns, winning 20 games three times. At age 35 in 1935, Buckshot left the mound for the rigs, retiring to a drilling supervisor job in the oil industry. 
• 1904 - 1B Willis “Bill” Windle was born in Galena, Kansas. Windle attended Missouri where he starred in football and baseball, but his MLB career consisted of just three games played for the Bucs between 1928-29 with Bill going 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored. He played in the minors until 1933 before retiring to Corpus Christi where he became a successful apartment owner and a model citizen, with ties to the Boy Scouts, Kiwanis and different civic boards. 
• 1935 - OF Joe Christopher was born in Frederiksted, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. He played for Pittsburgh from 1959-61 sparingly, hitting .244 before being lost in the expansion draft to the NY Mets; his highlight was scoring twice in the 1960 World Series as a pinch runner. Christopher is thought to be the first player from the Virgin Islands to play in the majors. Joe should remember his first start. He was called up to replace an injured Roberto Clemente and made his big league debut playing right field during Harvey Haddix’s 12-inning perfect game. 

Joe Christopher - 1961 Topps

• 1941 - Coach Joe Jones was born in Lebanon, Tennessee. He played and managed in the White Sox minor league system from 1963-79 before leaving for the Royals. At KC, he coached a bit at the MLB level but was primarily a farm manager/field coordinator. Gene Lamont brought him to Pittsburgh in 1997 as his 1B coach, a post he held until June of 2000 when he and 3B coach Jack Lind were let go in a housecleaning move. Joe returned to KC in ‘01, lasting into 2007. 
• 1947 - LHP Dave Hamilton was born in Seattle. He tossed for nine big-league seasons, splitting 1978 between the Pirates and Cards, the club the Bucs bought the lefty from in May. Dave pitched well enough, going 0-2-1/3.42 and then signed up with Oakland after the season, returning to the squad he had won three World Series titles with in 1972-74. He retired as an Athletic in 1980 and went on to coach high school ball and work as a project manager. 
• 1949 - The Pirates purchased 1B/OF Marv Rickert from the Boston Braves for an undisclosed amount, but not thought to be much more than the $10,000 waiver fee. He was Beantown’s leading hitter in ‘49 with a .292 BA, but it was by far the 29-year-old platoon player’s (he was a LH hitter) best year, and after going 3-for-20 in the ‘Burgh, he was sold to the White Sox in May. He batted .237 in Chicago, and that ended his MLB career after six seasons and five teams. 
• 1956 - Dale Berra was born in Ridgewood, NJ. The SS, the first round pick of the 1975 draft (20th overall), spent eight years in Pittsburgh (1977-84) and started the last three, but his bat (.238 as a Pirate) never came around and to boot, he testified that he was a coke user during the 1985 trial. Berra still makes the highlight tapes thanks to a 1985 baserunning blooper with Bobby Meacham while with the Yankees. With Meacham at second and Berra at first, Ricky Henderson drilled a ball into the corner. Meacham slipped rounding the bases, so he and Berra came home at virtually the same time. That little stagger allowed Ozzie Guillen’s relay to beat the pair to the dish and Carlton Fisk tagged them both out - a double turned into a double play! 

Jeff Robinson - 1989 Topps

• 1960 - RHP Jeffrey Daniel Robinson was born in Santa Ana, California. He tossed for the Bucs from 1987-89. His first two seasons were strictly out of the pen, followed by 19 starts in 51 appearances in ‘89. Overall, Robinson went 20-19-17 for Pittsburgh with a 3.78 ERA. He went to the New York Yankees in the Don Slaught deal, but couldn’t replicate his Pittsburgh success. Robinson tossed for three teams from 1990-92 and then was out of baseball. He barely preceded starter Jeff M. Robinson, a Bucco in 1992, who was a brother Californian and whose birthday fell just one day later. 
• 1976 - RHP Josh Fogg was born in Lynn, Massachusetts. He pitched for Pittsburgh from 2002-05 with a slash of 39-42/4.79 after coming over from the Chicago White Sox as part of the Todd Ritchie deal. Josh finished seventh in the Rookie of the Year vote in 2002 and won double figure games for three straight seasons, but was released after going 6-11/5.05 during the 2005 campaign. Fogg pitched four more years before stepping off the slab in 2009 as a Colorado Rockie. And blow out the candles - he was traded to the Bucs on his birthday in 2001. 
• 1988 - The suits and Dave Parker settled a 2-1/2 year battle over the Cobra’s 1979 contract. The Pirates believed his drug involvement voided $5.3M in deferred payments; Parker disagreed. A few weeks from trial, the two sides settled with Parker getting a lump sum payment of an undisclosed amount that was reportedly less than the original total due, confirmed a week later when the team said its 1988 operating profit was impacted favorably by the settlement.

12/13 From 1990: Marte-Mack, Ritchie-Wells/Fogg, Brown-Avens, Bell/King-KC Jays, Vince-Edinson & Steve Sign, Bucs & SNPgh, Mitchell Report; HBD Carson

• 1991 - Negotiating into the wee hours of the morning, the Pirates re-signed free agent 3B Steve Buechele to a four-year/$11M deal that included a $1M signing bonus; Buechele had sought a deal for $13M, but his agent admitted that the market wasn’t ready to support that figure. The agreement was announced a few hours later after the Bucs DFA’ed OF Cecil Espy to clear a 40-man roster spot for Buechele. Steve lasted into July before he was sent to the Cubs for Danny Jackson. GM Larry Doughty said that was near the end of the signings for next year; finalizing C Mike Lavalliere’s contract and bringing back RHP Bob Walk were the only items left on the Pittsburgh agenda. They were both re-signed and remained with the Buccos into 1993. 
• 1993 - RHP Carson Fulmer was born in Lakeland, Florida. The Chicago White Sox made the Vanderbilt ace the #8 overall pick in the 2015 draft, but he didn’t meet their expectations. In parts of five years as a starter and reliever, he tossed for CWS and the Tigers, posting a line of 6-9/6.57. The Pirates claimed him off waivers in late August of 2020 from Detroit, presumably to provide starting depth as they were shopping pitchers at the deadline. But none were moved and Carson became a man without a spot; he was waived in early September and claimed by the Orioles without appearing in a game for Pittsburgh. He was reclaimed by the Bucs two weeks later, released again, and spent 2021 with the Reds. The Dodgers took him in the minor league Rule 5 draft for 2022 before he left after the season, becoming an insurance policy for the Angels in 2023-24, and declared for free agency after he was outrighted. The Pirates re-signed him, stashed him in Indy and let him go in June. He returned to the Haloes, again became a FA and as of now, he’s still on the market. 
• 1996 - SS Jay Bell and 3B Jeff King were traded to the Royals for 3B Joe Randa (called "The Joker" after the grinning Batman villain; Joe had a permanent smile on his face), LHP Jeff Wallace, LHP Jeff Granger and RHP Jeff Martin in a salary dump, or maybe in an effort by the clubs to set a record for Jeffs (or just “J” first names in general) packaged in one deal. The trade cleared about $5M in salary, and also sent away the last starters from the playoff teams of the early 1990’s. In all, the Bucs traded away eight players worth $16.5M who were on the roster in August as Kevin McClatchy planned to operate the 1997 club with a payroll of $15M. On the same day, MLB projected that the Pirates would get $4.9M in revenue sharing for 1996 and $5.5M in ‘97. 

J's Jumbled - 1996 Score

• 1999 - The Pirates sent OF Brant Brown to Florida for OF Bruce Avens. Brant hit .232 in his year as a Bucco and it would get worse in 2000, his final MLB season. Aven hit .250 for the Pirates and was flipped to the Dodgers at the deadline, enjoying a couple of solid seasons in LA. 
• 2001 - The Pirates flipped RHP Todd Ritchie and C Lee Evans to the White Sox for RHPs Kip Wells, Sean Lowe, and Josh Fogg. Ritchie struggled for Chicago and then was injured the following year, effectively ending his career. Fogg and Wells were mainstays in the Pirate rotation for three years but never blossomed beyond journeyman status; neither made it through the 2006 season for the Bucs. Lowe worked for three teams in 2002-03 before ending his MLB journey. 
• 2005 - The Bucs acquired LHP Damaso Marte from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for INF/OF Rob Mackowiak. It was the lefty’s second go-around with Pittsburgh, and after an injury to Matt Capps in 2006, Marte became the closer. He was traded to the New York Yankees with Xavier Nady at the deadline for José Tábata, Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens, and Dan McCutchen. Mack was strong for the White Sox from 2006-07 (.285 BA), but after being traded back into the NL at the 2007 deadline he faded badly, and his career ended after the 2008 campaign. 
• 2007 - The Mitchell Report, a 20-month investigation led by former US Senator George Mitchell into performance-enhancing drugs’ MLB inroads, was released. The report covered the use of PEDs by players with recommendations on how to handle the epidemic. Mitchell named names - 89 MLB players were alleged to be users, including 11 ex-Pirates (Kevin Young and Denny Neagle were the Bucs’ big names; every team had at least one player implicated in the report). The findings stiffened the MLB’s spine, and they, hand-in-hand with the MLB Players Association, jointly implemented a testing program with stiff penalties for violations in both the major and minor leagues. 

Edinson Volquez - 2014 Topps

• 2013 - RHP Edinson Volquez was officially signed as a free agent after passing his physical to a one-year/$5M contract. He was quite the bargain, going 13-7/3.04 during the season. He signed a two-year/$20M guaranteed deal with the KC Royals after refurbishing his value, then skipped to Miami on a one-year/$9M deal. He underwent TJ surgery in 2017 and was on the comeback trail with Texas, getting 18 outings from 2019-20 that marked the close of his MLB career. 
• 2022 - The Pirates officially signed RHP Vince Velasquez, 30, to a one-year/$3.15M deal, finalizing a deal reached a week before during the winter meetings. He spent last year with the White Sox, going 3-3/4.78 in 32 appearances (nine starts). The Pirates were his fifth organization in eight MLB campaigns, six with the Phils, with VV posting an MLB line of 34-47/4.93. The Pirates plugged Velasquez into the rotation, and he started out solidly, going 4-4/3.86. Those eight outings were all they’d get from Velasquez, who had UCL surgery in early June and was lost for the remainder of the year. He wasn’t re-signed during the off season (recovery time for his surgery was estimated at around a year, so he’d be a mid-season add at best) and is now pitching in Korea. 
• 2023 - The Pirates became joint owners of SportsNet Pittsburgh with the Penguins, and planned to broadcast at the start of the new year with the Bucs guaranteed at least 150 on-air games. SNP had previously carried their games under the name AT&T SportsNet before Fenway Sports Group bought the regional sports network from Warner Bros. Discovery in late August. As with AT&T, the games will be available through cable, satellite and streaming services.

12/12 Through the 1960s: Arky, Don, Freddie, French, Kremer, Konetchy Deals, Law Signs; HBD Bill, Clyde, Hank, Diamond Joe, Tully & Phenom

• 1864 - LHP John “Phenomenal” Smith (John Gammon was his birth name) was born in Philadelphia. He made a couple of brief stops in Pittsburgh in 1884 & 1890, compiling a 1-4 record. He was actually born John Francis Gammon, but got his nickname when he struck out 16 batters in a no-hit game in 1885 while pitching for minor league Newark, with no batter hitting the ball out of the infield. Only two runners reached base, one on a walk and one on a dropped third strike – and Smith picked both of them off. Phenomenal played eight years of big league ball, then had a long minor league career as a player/manager until 1905, mostly manning the pasture rather than the hill.
• 1874 - RHP Tom “Tully” Sparks was born in Etna, Georgia. Out of Beloit College, Sparks spent 12 years in the show, with 1899 being his sole Bucco campaign. He was used as a swingman in Pittsburgh and went 8-6/3.86 in 28 outings/170 innings. Tully tossed in the MLB until 1910, mostly with the Philadelphia A’s, as a good pitcher on so-so teams, and closed out his pro career in 1913. 
• 1876 - OF “Diamond Joe” Rickert was born in London, Ohio. Joe played long and hard in the minors, toiling on baseball’s farm circuit from 1896-1915. Pittsburgh noticed him in 1898 when he was a 21-year-old with the nearby New Castle Quakers of the Interstate League and gave him a look, with Joe going 1-for-6 in two games. He didn’t impress the Bucs nor the Boston Beaneaters in a later 1901 audition of 16 games. Diamond Joe did put his years of baseball knowledge to use, managing the New Orleans Pelicans and the University of Tulane. 
• 1899 - The Pirates sold OF’er Jack McCarthy to the Chicago Orphans for $2,000. McCarthy hit .276 for Cincy in his first two campaigns and .286 as a Pirate from 1898-99. After being sold, he put in eight more big league seasons, finishing his 12-year, six-team career with a .287 BA. 

Ed Konetchy - Helmar Oasis

• 1913 - The Pirates traded LHP Hank Robinson, OF’ers Chief Wilson & Cozy Dolan and IF’ers Art Butler & Dots Miller to the St Louis Cardinals for RHP Bob Harmon, 1B Ed Konetchy and 3B Mike Mowrey. The Cards got two or three good seasons out of their new acquisitions, but the Bucs weren’t so lucky. Harmon was a keeper, tossing for four seasons and going 39-52/2.60. But Konetchy and Mowrey both had so-so 1914 seasons for the Pirates, then skipped to the outlaw Federal League’s Pittsburgh Rebels in 1915 and signed with different clubs in 1916. The deal was especially frustrating for the Bucs; they had been trying to get Konetchy for years, and it was said that manager Fred Clarke even dangled an aging Hans Wagner as bait to get him, but Ed ended up a one-and-done. The trigger was that Konetchy wanted a three-year, $7,500/season contract even after a sub-par .249 campaign (he did hit .285 in his remaining seven MLB years) and Barney Dreyfuss balked at those terms, leading to Konetchy's Federal League leap.
• 1914 - C Hank Camelli (Comolli) was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Hank spent 1943-46 with the Bucs and during that time he got into 108 games, hitting .229. He finished his big-league time with the Boston Braves and then followed up with a spot of minor-league coaching. 
• 1917 - C Clyde Kluttz was born in Rockwell, North Carolina. Clyde spent 1947-48 with the Pirates with a .258 BA, hitting well in his first season and not so well in the next. He had a nine-year career in the show, afterward becoming a longtime scout with the Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees. He was later director of player development of the Baltimore Orioles, serving the Birds from 1976 until he passed away three years later. 
• 1921 - OF Bill Howerton was born in Lompoc, California. He spent four years in the majors, joining the Pirates in 1951 as part of a big swap with the Cards. Bill hit .279 as a Bucco, leaving the club in May of 1952 to join the NY Giants. He closed out his big league career there and then spent a couple of seasons in the Pacific Coast League until retiring to become a trucker. 

Bill Howerton - 1952 Topps

• 1923 - The Pirates traded IF Spencer Adams, along with pitchers Earl Kunz and George Boehler plus $20K, to the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League in exchange for RHP Remy “Ray” Kremer. Kremer had been a PCL ace for several years, and the Cubs and Bucs were in a battle for his services, even though he would be 31 for the 1924 campaign. The start was bumpy as the player and team disputed if the sale cost went to the seller only or should be shared. But after that was settled, Kremer became a Pirate lifer, pitching from 1924-33 with a 143-85-9/3.76 line. The workhorse went 200+ IP and won double-digit games (hitting 20 wins twice) for eight straight years (1921-34) while finishing as the National League’s ERA leader twice. The Frenchman went 2-2 with a 3.12 ERA in 1925 & 1927 World Series games and was the hero in ‘25, winning games six and seven, the former as a starter and then claiming the finale with 4-1/3 scoreless IP from the pen. He spent much of 1933-34 with Oakland before retiring; then he became a mailman. Fun fact: Kremer spent eight years in the PCL (1916-23) before getting his MLB shot because he was considered by the east coast/heartland-based big league clubs to be a warm weather pitcher (he often had problems with rheumatism, making California a better clime for him). As for his nicknames, the newspapers called him the “Frenchman” because of his ancestry, and he also went by “Wiz”/”Bush Wiz” due to his long and impressive minor-league career. 
• 1928 - The Pirates bought LHP Larry French, 20, from Portland of the Pacific Coast League despite so-so numbers (31-36/4.65 in three minor league years) on the advice of scout Joe Devine. Joe’s eye was good - from 1929-34, the knuckleballer put up a line of 87-83-9/3.50 for Pittsburgh and won 197 games in a 14-year MLB career. French, like a lot of players, joined the Navy in 1942. Unlike most, he became a career swabbie, retiring in 1969 with the rank of Captain. 
• 1932 - Giant CF Freddie Lindstrom ended up a Bucco in a three-way deal. New York sent CF Chick Fullis to the Phillies, Pittsburgh sent RHP Glenn Spencer to the Giants and OF Gus Dugas to Philadelphia, who shipped OF Kiddo Davis to New York. Lindstrom hit .302 in two seasons at Pittsburgh, playing with the Waners. For the cost of two reserves, the Bucs got two years of a Hall-of-Famer. 
• 1934 - The Pirates sent RHP Leon Chagnon to the New York Giants for 21-year-old RHP Jack Salveson. Salveson never developed and was flipped to the White Sox after five so-so outings; following the ‘35 campaign, he reappeared in the majors for two more seasons during the war years. Chagnon had worked five years for the Bucs (19-14-2/4.61), but 1935 would be his last MLB hurrah. 

Arky Vaughan - 1941 Play Ball

• 1941 - The Bucs traded SS Arky Vaughan to the Brooklyn Dodgers for IF Pete Coscarart, RHP Luke Hamlin, C Babe Phelps and OF/1B Jimmy Wasdell. Only reserve infielder Coscarart stuck with the team past 1942. In 10 seasons, Hall of Famer Vaughan hit .324 for Pittsburgh. He later had a couple of strong seasons for Brooklyn, then left the team and worked his ranch for three years because of, according to baseball lore, a dispute with manager Leo Durocher (although his family said he ran the spread because his brother Glenn was drafted and there was no one else to do the job.) Both probably weighed in the decision, and he didn’t return to baseball until 1947 - the year Durocher was suspended by the Commissioner for loafing with gamblers. 
• 1950 - The Korean War put a stop to a Branch Rickey fishing expedition after he had placed 10 players on waivers, including RHP Murry Dickson, C Clyde McCullough, SS Stan Rojek and 3B Bob Dillinger. The UPI article said that “All were players generally past their peak and whom Rickey had placed on the waiver lists with the idea of getting ‘nibbles’ for deals...” but with the draft threatening to cut into his youth movement, he opted to keep some warm albeit creaky bodies available. It was a good decision by The Mahatma - Dickson won 20 times and McCullough played 92 games in ‘51. 
• 1959 - Vern Law became the first Bucco to sign a 1960 contract, agreeing to a deal that jumped his salary from $22,000 to an estimated $30K. Law had a breakout campaign in 1959, slashing 18-9/2.98 in 33 starts, then posted 20 victories in 1960 while winning the Cy Young and an All-Star spot. 
• 1961 - The Pirates shipped minor league OF/1B Tom Burgess to the Los Angeles Angels for C Don Leppert. Leppert spent two seasons as a backup in Pittsburgh, while the persistent Burgess, whose only prior MLB action was in 1954 with the Cards (he signed with them as an 18-year-old in 1946), got to swing it off the bench for the Angelinos in 1962-’63. Sadly, he didn’t bat his way above the Mendoza Line either season and hung ‘em up after a final year in the minors.

12/12 From 1970: Morton-Veras-Hendrick & Howe Deals, Rowdy-Frankie-Ramon & Grilli Signed, '06 Arbs Return, '23 IL, Roster Remix, Jimmy Moves; HBD Yerry & Joey

• 1975 - Houston sent veteran IF Tommy Helms to the Pirates for a PTBNL (IF Art Howe). Helms was at the end of his days here, while Howe went on to have a solid career with the Astros and Cards, playing for 11 years with a .260 career BA. Afterward, Art scouted, coached and managed the Astros (1989–93), Oakland Athletics (1996–2002), and New York Mets (2003–04). 
• 1984 - The Bucs traded LHP John Tudor and C/OF Brian Harper to the St. Louis Cardinals for UT Steve Barnard and OF George Hendrick. Tudor won 21 games with the Cards while tossing 10 shutouts the next season and won two World Series games. Harper was a late bloomer, but did break out in 1988 with the Twins. In his six years with Minnesota, he hit .306 with 111 homers and won a Fall Classic in 1991. “Jogging George” hit .230 and lasted until August, when he was sent to the California Angels. Barnard never made it out of A ball. 
• 1985 - Jim Leyland completed his staff with the hires of Bill Virdon (hitting coach), Mick Kelleher (1B coach) and Rich Donnelly (bullpen coach). They joined Gene Lamont (3B coach) and Ron Schueler (pitching coach) as members of Leyland’s first Pirates dugout brain trust. 
• 1991 - Jim Leyland and Bobby Bonilla got into a verbal spat when the skipper said he didn’t believe Bo, who went to the New York Mets, was ever planning to re-sign with the Pirates. That prompted an exchange of “cheap shot” charges between the pair, with Bobby Bo’s defense being that the Pirates front office never negotiated in good faith. A little bit me, a little bit you... 
• 1992 - UT Jose Osuna was born in Trujillo, Venezuela. He made his MLB debut with the Buccos in 2017, and in his four years bouncing around, he hit .241 w/24 HR in 660 ABs. The Pirates worked third base and the corner outfield into his resume while he hit .264 w/10 HR in 2019. He faded in 2020 and moved on to Japan. After a solid ‘21 campaign, Joey O signed a guaranteed three-year deal with Japanese League champs, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and is still there. 

Jose Osuna - 2018 Topps

• 1997 - RHP Yerry De Los Santos was born in Samana, Dominican Republic. A Pirates Latino signee who started out in 2015 in the Dominican Summer League, the reliever steadily climbed the Pittsburgh minor league ladder. He had a strong 2021 campaign (3-2-2/1.52, AAA + AA) in the upper levels, then continued to be impressive (2-0/1.72) during the opening weeks of 2022 at Indy, getting his call to the show in mid-May. He slashed 0-3-3-/4.91, wearing down at the end - he gave up just seven runs in his first 22 outings, but seven more in his final four appearances, leading to a season-ending trip to the IL with a shoulder sprain. He pitched a split season in ‘23 between the Bucs and Indy, was removed from the 40-man roster at the end of the year despite a 1-1/3.33 slash in 22 outings and was signed by the New York Yankees as a free agent. 
• 2004 - Pittsburgh was on the verge of a deal with Colorado for C Charles Johnson, but it fell through when Johnson wanted an extra year added to his contract. The Bucs shifted gears and four days later, they traded for Benito Santiago instead. He caught six games before he was released, not that Johnson would have been much of an upgrade - 2005 was his last MLB season, too. He lasted just 19 games with Tampa Bay, hitting .196. The club ended up using Humberto Cota, Ryan Doumit and David Ross during the campaign with Ronny Paulino on the horizon. 
• 2006 - The Pirates had a class of eight arb-eligible players and tendered them all. They were IF’s Freddy Sanchez & Jose Castillo, OF’s Xavier Nady & Jody Gerut, and hurlers Mike Gonzalez, John Grabow & Shawn Chacon along with C Humberto Cota. Six stuck with the team through the spring and into the campaign; Gonzo was traded in January and Gerut was cut during camp. 
• 2008 - The Pirates signed 32-year-old IF Ramon Vazquez during the winter meetings to a two-year deal worth $4M after he had hit .290 for the Rangers. Alas, he batted .230 in 2009, then was released the following April, ending his nine-year MLB career while the Pirates ate $2M in salary. 

Ramon Vazquez - 2009 photo Ron Modra/Getty

• 2009 - The Bucs non-tendered RHP Matt Capps, allowing the closer to walk as an uncompensated free agent. He signed a one-year deal with Washington for $3.5M and became an All-Star. Capps then went to the Twins and closed, but shoulder inflammation derailed him there in 2012, and a year later he had surgery, ending his career. He’s now a radio/TV broadcaster for the Pirates. 
• 2011 - The Milwaukee Brewers traded 3B Casey McGehee to Pittsburgh for RHP Jose Veras with the dominoes falling after the Brew Crew signed FA Aramis Ramirez. Veras put together a workmanlike campaign for Milwaukee while McGehee hit .230 and was swapped to the NYY for RHP Chad Qualls at the deadline. Casey went on to trip the light fantastic afterward, playing ball in the bigs, AAA and Japan in 2017, returning to the Nippon League in 2018 to end his career. 
• 2012 - The Pirates signed free agent reliever Jason Grilli to a two-year/$6.75M contract. Grilli, who found a home in Pittsburgh after being taken from AAA Lehigh in 2011, was supposed to have turned down a larger deal with the Jays to remain a Bucco. Good move; he became the closer in 2013 after Joel Hanrahan was dealt, saved 33 games and made his only All-Star outing. The wheels fell off next season and he was flipped to the Angels at the deadline. His four-year Bucco line was 3-11-47/3.01 with 44 holds and 222 punch outs in 161-2/3 innings. 
• 2014 - The Pirates officially announced Francisco Liriano’s three-year/$39M contract, the biggest FA contract in franchise history, after Frankie passed his physical. The financial terms of the deal were: $2M signing bonus, $11M in '15, $13M in '16, $13M in '17, plus sundry bonuses. The free agent had been 2014’s opening-day pitcher for the Bucs, winning 23 games in 2013-14 for the Bucs. He went 41-36/3.67 during his four campaigns with Pittsburgh with 659 K in 623+ IP before being moved to Toronto. He tossed in the playoffs for the Jays and then worked the postseason in 2017 with the Astros, taking home a WS ring, before moving to Detroit in 2018 and returning to the Buccos the following campaign. Frankie then signed with Philly, but ended up opting out of the 2020 season. He agreed to an NRI with the Blue Jays in 2021, was released and opted for free agency but couldn’t find any other offers, ending his big league days on the hill. 

Charlie Morton - 2015 Topps

• 2015 - Pittsburgh sent RHP Charlie Morton to the Phils for minor league RHP David Whitehead. Charlie was one of the league’s better ground ball pitchers (55.3% in his career), earning him the nickname “Ground Chuck,” but was often hurt and underperformed as a Bucco, though he possessed some great stuff. In seven seasons with Pittsburgh, he went 41-62/4.39 and never made 30 starts in any single campaign. The move was made to free up some money for the 2016 season; Morton was due $8M in 2016. It worked out well for Charlie - in 2017, he went 14-7 for Houston and beat the Yankees in the ALCS and the Dodgers in the WS followed with strong campaigns in 2018 & ‘19 (w/Tampa Bay) before moving on to Atlanta and finally retiring after the ‘25 campaign after tossing for seven teams over 18 MLB seasons. Whitehead tossed to a 7.52 ERA at Altoona and Bristol, and the Bucs released him. Philly reclaimed him, but let him go in 2017. 
• 2023 - The Pirates and 28-year-old 1B/DH Rowdy Tellez agreed to a one-year/$3.2M deal, with bonuses that could bring its value up to $4M that became official three days later. The Milwaukee Brewers non-tendered him after he hit .215 w/13 HR in 2023 after a career year for the Brewers in 2022, when he hit 35 homers w/89 RBIs in 153 games (.219 BA). There was hope for a bounceback; he suffered a forearm injury/broken finger during the dog days that cost him time and affected his hitting. He followed John Nogowski (2021), Yoshi Tsutsugo (2021-22) and Ji-Man Choi/Carlos Santana/Alfonso Rivas (2023) as plug-ins for the Buccos black hole at first base (20 different Pirates played multiple games at 1B between 2021-23) that was created after Josh Bell was traded. After an ice-cold start (his BA was below .200 into June), Rowdy rallied to post a .243/13/56 slashline but was released at year’s end as the Bucco search for a full-time 1B continued. 
• 2023 - The Pirates confirmed that C Endy Rodriguez had UCL surgery on his elbow and would be lost for the season, joining RHP Johan Oviedo, who earlier had year-ending TJ surgery. Endy was the Pirates starting catcher from late July to the end of the ‘23 campaign, and hurt himself while playing winter ball. Young gun SS Oneil Cruz missed all but nine games in 2023 while RHP JT Brubaker missed the entire season; it’s tough to retool when your building blocks keep breaking.

12/11 Through 1974: Ginger/Patsy/Claude-Abby, Buckshot Dealt, Haney Hired, Arriba Honors, Relo; HBD Derek, Jay, O'Briens & Dutch

• 1885 - C Art “Dutch” Wilson was born in Macon, Illinois. The backstop spent half a season with the Pirates in 1916, batting .258 in 53 games. The Bucs had purchased him from the Federal League’s Chicago Whales in February and traded him and 2B Otto Knabe to the Chicago Cubs for C Bill Fischer and OF Frank Schulte in July. Dutch played 14 big league seasons, mostly in the National League but with stints in the Junior Circuit and Federal League, too. 
• 1906 - The Pirates traded veterans OF Ginger Beaumont, LHP Patsy Flaherty and 2B Claude Ritchey to the Boston Beaneaters for IF Ed Abbaticchio. Beaumont had a great 1907 for Boston and followed with a pair of solid seasons. Flaherty and Ritchey also had two workmanlike years left in them. Abby stuck with the Pirates until 1910. He started for two years, but was a sub on the 1909 title team, backing up Hans Wagner and Dots Miller. He hit .253 in Pittsburgh. 
• 1928 - SS Glenn “Buckshot” (his arm was strong but not entirely accurate) Wright was sent to the Brooklyn Robins for LHP Jesse “The Silver Fox” (he didn’t make it into the big leagues until his 30s) Petty and IF Harry Riconda. Wright, one of the top SS of the era, suffered a major shoulder injury in 1929 which affected his play in the field, but didn’t hang up the spikes until 1935 with a lifetime .294 BA after 11 big league seasons. Petty was workmanlike in 1929, but the wheels fell off in 1930, and it was his final MLB season. Riconda got into eight games for the Pirates and then was sold to the minor league Kansas City Blues in June. 

Glenn Wright - 1925 photo/National Photo Co.

• 1930 - The O’Brien twins, Eddie and Johnny, were born in South Amboy, New Jersey. Utilityman Eddie - he played SS, 3B, OF and even pitched 16 innings - spent five years (1952, 1954-57) with the Bucs, hitting .236 to go with a 3.31 ERA and a 1-0 record. Johnny was a Pirate for five years (1953, 1955-58) and was a middle infielder/pitcher. He put up a .260 BA and went 1-3 with a 5.61 ERA. The O'Briens were the first twins in major league history to play for the same team in the same game. On a side note, the brothers were also strong basketball players at Seattle University, and scored 84 points between them when SU beat the barnstorming Harlem Globetrotters in 1952. With teammate Dick Groat, they formed the best backcourt in baseball. 
• 1952 - Fred Haney was named as manager, replacing Billy Meyer. It was an unusual job search; Haney, the PCL Hollywood coach, was happy there (it was his home), but was the fall-back man when Branch Rickey couldn't land anyone on his short list. The Bucs finished in last place each season under Haney’s three year reign, compiling a 163-299 (.353) record, which was more an indictment of the Pirates' talent than Haney’s leadership. In 1957, he took a Milwaukee team that featured Henry Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Warren Spahn to the World Series title. 
• 1957 - Relocation rumors are old news to Pittsburgh and its small-market revenue stream. Team VP Tom Johnson denied a report from the Associated Press from the day before that had the Bucs moving to the Big Apple, saying “...Mr Galbreath (team owner John) received a feeler from New York Mayor Robert Wagner’s committee (to find a new NL team after the Dodgers and Giants moved to the coast)...I can assure you that Mr. Galbreath emphatically turned down the effort to move the Pittsburgh franchise. Pittsburgh is a great baseball city, something the fans have proved over and over again.” 

Jay Bell - 1990 Leaf

• 1965 - SS Jay Bell was born at Eglin AFB (Pensacola), Florida. Jay played SS for Pittsburgh from 1989-96, hitting .269, anchoring the infield of Jim Leyland’s 1990-92 division championship clubs and earning an All-Star spot in 1993. Bell also won a Silver Slugger award and Gold Glove in 1993, breaking a string of thirteen straight National League Golden Gloves claimed by shortstop Ozzie Smith and the first GG by a Pirates SS since Gene Alley took back-to-back honors in 1966 and 1967. After stints as a Reds coach and a Yankee minor league manager, Jay's now the skipper of the Mid-East based Baseball United club, the Karachi Monarchs. 
• 1968 - OF Derek Bell was born in Tampa, Florida. The Pirates signed Bell to a two-year/$10M deal in 2001; he hit .173 in the first campaign and was slighted when newswriters told him that he was going to face competition in camp to start in 2002. Bell replied “If it is (a competition), then I'm going into 'Operation Shutdown.' Tell them exactly what I said. I haven't competed for a job since 1991." Bell left the team on March 29th, was released on March 31st, and never played in the majors again. The Pirates ate the $4.5M still due to him as Bell pulled anchor on his yacht and sailed away. New York Post writer Tom Keegan described the incident by calling Bell "the perfect Pirate given that he lives on a boat and steals money." 
• 1973 - The Pirates agreed to play two exhibition games in San Juan for the next five years to help fund a Roberto Clemente Sports Complex. It was a team effort - the Expos, Yankees, Mets and Red Sox (twice) agreed to play the series and Eastern Airlines picked up the travel arrangements. General manager Joe Brown said “We are overwhelmed by the cooperation.” The Sports City opened in Carolina, a suburb of San Juan, on land donated by Puerto Rico in 1974, and is now involved in a battle with the government over who will control the site. 
• 1974 - Roberto Clemente was named to the Black Athletes Hall of Fame. He, Roy Campanella and Pop Floyd were the only black baseball players included among the 14 honored. The official presentation was made in March in Las Vegas.

12/11 From 1975: Rhodes-Lawton, Foli-Harper, Dock/Kenny/Willie-Doc, Doe & Nova Deals, Jordan-Charlie-Don-Bo Sign, Sid Goes & Then Wins Hutch; HBD Joe

• 1975 - The Yankees acquired RHP Dock Ellis, LHP Ken Brett and 2B Willie Randolph from the Pirates for RHP Doc Medich. Randolph suited up for 17 more seasons, was named to six All-Star teams and played in four World Series, but was blocked in Pittsburgh by Rennie Stennett, who, as fate would have it, broke his leg in 1977 and left Pittsburgh after 1979. Dock pitched for five teams over the next four years, ending his career with a final stop in Pittsburgh in 1979 after two solid years (29-20/3.41) in 1976-77. Brett remained workmanlike over the next six seasons, tossing for a half-dozen clubs. Doc went 8-11/3.51 in his only Pirates campaign, then was traded to Oakland (and not gladly; he was attending Pitt medical school at the time) as part of the Phil Garner deal, spending four of his next six campaigns with the Texas Rangers. 
• 1980 - RHP Joe Blanton was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The Pirates bought the veteran reliever from Kansas City at the 2015 deadline and he went 5-0/1.57 in his time with the Bucs, turning a strong 21-game stretch run into a $4M free agent contract with the Dodgers. His last campaign was in 2017 with the Washington Nats, and he now runs a vineyard in California. 
• 1981 - SS Tim Foli was traded to the California Angels for Brian Harper. Foli was on the downside of his career while Harper spent three years in Pittsburgh as a utilityman, hitting .243. Crazy Horse (he was a fiery 100%'er) Foli returned in 1985 in a trade with the Yankees, but hit just .189 and was released in June. He became a coach for several teams (Rangers, Brewers, Reds, Royals, Mets, and Nats) after his playing days, managed in the minors, and now is a Christian speaker. The Bucs pulled off two swaps on the day, also sending 1B Doe Boyland to the Giants for veteran hurler Tom Griffin. Boyland was a seldom-used prospect who went 2-for-19 in short Pittsburgh visits over three years and never appeared in another MLB game. Griffin, who was starting his 14th season in the show in his age 34 season, was coming off an 8-8/3.76 campaign but went 1-3/8.87 for the Pirates and was released in mid-May, ending his major league days. 

Tim Foli - 1982 Fleer

• 1990 - Sid Bream, who overcame three knee operations to help the Pirates capture the NL East championship, was named the winner of the 26th annual Hutch Award. The award goes to a player who overcomes adversity to go on to further accomplishments, named for Fred Hutchinson. Bream hit .270 with 67 RBI after sitting out most of the 1989 campaign. It was his last bow as a Buc, as Bream had signed with the Atlanta Braves as an off-season FA the week before. 
• 2002 - Pittsburgh brought back RHP Brian Boehringer, 33, inking the reliever to a two-year contract with an option and $3.8M guaranteed. Boehringer was coming off a 4-4-1/3.39 campaign and appeared in 70 games, but he didn’t have to worry about that option coming into play. Brian went 6-5/5.42 in 2003-04 and was bought out at season’s end, finishing his MLB career. 
• 2004 - The Bucs swapped out LHP Arthur Rhodes to Cleveland for OF Matt Lawton less than a month after they had acquired him from the A’s. Cleveland also sent the Pirates an undisclosed amount of cash to help offset Lawton’s $7.2M salary. Lawton hit .284 with 10 HR and 44 RBIs before being flipped for the Chicago Cubs’ Jody Gerut at the 2005 trading deadline. 
• 2006 - Pittsburgh signed hometown utility guy Don Kelly, born in Butler and a Mt. Lebanon HS/Point Park College alum (he still lives in Mars with wife Carrie, Neil Walker’s sister), to a minor league contract. But it wasn't a home-sweet-home reunion; he got into just 25 games with the Bucs during his rookie 2007 campaign and hit .148 during his only local stint. Kelly seasoned in the minors for a year and then went on to play eight MLB campaigns with Detroit & Miami in a bench role, coached and scouted for the Astros and moved on up from Derek Shelton's bench coach to Bucco field boss. 

Don Kelly - 2007 Fleer Ultra Rookie

• 2013 - RHP Charlie Morton signed a contract extension for three years plus an option. He received $4M for 2014 (his last arb year), $8M in 2015 & 2016 plus a club option for 2017 of $9.5M and a $1M buyout, with $500K in possible bonuses. Morton went 15-21/4.21 the next two seasons, was traded to Philly, got hurt and inked a deal with the Astros. He won a WS game there and signed with Tampa Bay, where he became an All-Star in 2019. Charlie went 9-9 in 2020 and then signed with Atlanta in 2021, the organization he began his MLB journey with. After debating retirement, the Bravos picked up his $20M ‘24 option; he’s again considering the rockin’ chair vs the rubber. 
• 2018 - The Pirates shipped RHP Ivan Nova to the Chicago White Sox for prospect RHP Yordi Rosario, 19, and $500K international slot money. Nova was streaky since arriving from the NY Yankees at the 2016 deadline, stingy with walks but generous with homers allowed, and put together a 25-25/3.99 line with the Bucs in his 2-1/2 seasons. Rosario, from the Dominican Republic, was a lotto ticket projected as an eventual back-end starter as the Bucs restocked their lower level farm pitching. After stints in the Windy City & Motown, Nova pitched in Korea and the Dominican League from 2021-23 to close out his career. Rosario was let go by the Bucs in 2020 and pitched in the Los Angeles Angels system the following season before being released after the 2021 campaign. 
• 2018 - In another winter meeting deal, the club announced that it had signed free agent RHP Jordan Lyles (it became official on the 17th after his physical), 28, a guy with not much of a track record despite eight years in the league (31-52-2/5.28) with four other clubs, to a one-year/$2.05M deal. The converted starter did have a solid 2018 from the pen (1-0/3.32 in 28 outings), so that performance, no discernible split between L/R hitters, and an increased use of curves and sinkers won him a contract. The Pirates opted to start him, and after a hot beginning to 2019, he faded and was sent to the Milwaukee Brewers. In 2020, he jumped ship to the Texas Rangers for two campaigns, went to the Baltimore Orioles, worked for two seasons at Kansas City and became a FA in 2025.

12/10 Through 1985: Zisk-Goose, Friend-Mikkelson, Frankie Signs, The Riddler, Bo & Omar Go, No Wet One-No Expansion-No Deals; HBD Grant, Bob, Dolly & Frank

• 1866 - SS Frank Shugart was born in Luthersburg, in Clearfield County. He hit .268 for the Bucs between 1891-93, but booted 143 balls at short in 209 games in his first two seasons (which surprisingly was pretty close to league average), triggering a move to the OF and a mid-season trade in 1893 to the St. Louis Browns for SS Jack Glasscock. His MLB career ended when Shugart was blacklisted from baseball in 1901 after he punched an umpire. 
• 1888 - 1B Stan “Dolly” Gray was born in Ladonia, Texas. As a 23-year-old, he got into six MLB games for the 1912 Pirates, going 5-for-20, and that was the sum of his big league days. Per John Dreker of Pittsburgh Baseball History, Gray also pitched in the minors, and in fact came to 1913 camp as a hurler before a sore arm got him sent to the minors, where he finished his career in 1915. His moniker was a copycat; he was handed the nickname of Dolly Gray, a pitcher until 1911, to keep the torch moving along as a sort of legacy gesture. 
• 1919 - The National League, urged on by Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss, banned the spitball, which he believed was an unfair advantage against hitters. Old wet tossers were registered and spared through a grandfather clause. The AL initially resisted, then passed their own ban the following season. Off-and-on Pirate hurler Burleigh Grimes was the last of the legal spitballers, retiring following the 1934 season after a Hall-of-Fame career. 
• 1939 - RHP Bob Priddy was born in McKees Rocks and signed with the Bucs out of high school before the 1959 season. He spent his first two campaigns with the Pirates (1962, 1964; 2-2-1, 3.86 ERA, 37-1/3 IP), and went on to a nine-year journeyman career with the San Francisco Giants, Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels and Atlanta Braves with a 24-38-18/4.00 career line. Fun fact: Bob was signed as an infielder, but after a season in the minors (he hit .222 with a 33% strikeout rate), he was wisely converted to the mound. 

Bob Priddy - 1964 Topps Pirates Rookie Stars

• 1941 - Manager Frankie Frisch, whose contract ran through the 1942 season, had it extended by another year (terms undisclosed) to run through 1943 after guiding the Pirates to winning records in 1940-41. Frankie lasted until late in 1946, when he was replaced for three games by Spud Davis, with a 90-win, second-place finish in 1944 being his highlight. The top spot then went to Billy Herman for a campaign before being handed off to Billy Meyer. 
• 1947 - The Buccos bought 32-year old Elmer Riddle from the Reds. Riddle put up an All-Star season in 1948, going 12-10/3.49, but faded badly the following campaign, winning just once during his final MLB year. They also got his brother John as part of the same transaction but for a different reason; the Bucs wanted him not as a player but as their bullpen catcher. 
• 1947 - The Pirates came out in support of expansion to a pair of 10-team leagues. MLB was looking to plant some West Coast franchises, but more clubs wouldn’t become a reality until 1961. To temporarily vent some of the pressure, there were several relocations (Brooklyn Dodgers to LA, NY Giants to San Francisco, Boston Braves to Milwaukee, Philadelphia Athletics to Kansas City and the St Louis Browns becoming the Baltimore Orioles) in the fifties. 
• 1965 - The Pirates traded RHP Bob Friend, a four-time All-Star, to the New York Yankees for reliever Pete Mikkelsen and cash. Friend spent 15 years as a Pirate and won 191 games. He retired after the 1966 season, going just 1-4 for the Bronx Bombers. Mikkelson had a good year for the Bucs in 1966 out of the pen (9-8-14/3.07) but faltered the next year and was released. 
• 1967 - Scout Grant Brittain was born in Hickory, North Carolina. After an All-America career at Western Carolina and a considerably less successful stay in the minors, he turned to scouting. He worked as a bird dog for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, the Pirates (1994-2001, with his big signing being high school ace Zach Duke) and the Milwaukee Brewers. 

Al Oliver - 1975 Hostess

• 1975 - The press gang reported that the Pirates and Royals were that close to a four-player deal, with Pittsburgh sending Al Oliver & Art Howe to KC for Amos Otis & Cookie Rojas. Both the main lures, Oliver and Otis, were entering their age 29 campaign; Scoops was a better hitter and Amos the better gloveman, filling a need for each club. But as a 5-and-10 year man, Rojas vetoed the swap, and the trade fell through, triggering a pair of quick Pittsburgh deals for Doc Medich and Tommy Helms. Oliver was sent to the Texas Rangers two years later, and Otis signed with the Bucs in 1984, his last MLB season, as a 37-year-old. 
• 1976 - The Pirates traded OF Richie Zisk and RHP Silvio Martinez to the Chicago White Sox for pitchers Goose Gossage and Terry Forster. Except for minor-leaguer Martinez, the players were a year away from free agency, and all three took advantage to find new teams in 1978. But the big name rentals had a payoff: Zisk hit .290 with 30 homers and 101 RBI, and Gossage collected 11 wins, 26 saves and posted a 1.62 ERA with 10.2 K per nine innings. Both were named All-Stars. 
• 1982 - CF Omar Moreno bolted the Bucs for a five-year/$3.25M deal with the Astros, leaving a frustrated GM, Pete Peterson. He told the Post-Gazette’s Charley Feeney “I told Tom Reich (Moreno’s agent) that I didn’t think he did a good job of handling negotiations and I’m disappointed in some people in the Houston organization...” who apparently were aware of the Bucco bid, which Peterson said was just $25K less per season over the same length, and then topped it. Reich begged to differ, saying the contract was actually for $3.5M guaranteed w/$375K in bonuses, and that Pittsburgh wasn’t in the same ballpark after their final offer. Sticks and stones... At any rate, the Pirates replaced Omar with Marvell Wynn in center for three years, then Barry Bonds roamed the middle pasture for a year and finally Andy Van Slyke claimed the job in 1987. 
• 1985 - Bobby Bonilla, who the Bucs signed out of high school in 1981, was taken by the Chicago White Sox in the Rule 5 draft. The Pirates got Bobby Bo back in July of the following year, but it cost them RHP Jose DeLeon. Syd Thrift had signed him as a scout and reeled him back in as GM. It was worth it - from 1986 to 1991, Bonilla had a .284 BA with 114 home runs and 500 RBI's. He also made the All-Star team four years in a row before leaving town. It was a rough draft day for the Bucs, who also lost 2B/OF Leon “Bip” Roberts to the Padres. He put together a 12-year career, mainly with San Diego, and had a career .294 BA w/264 stolen sacks. To add injury to insult, a deal with the Tribe to move up and select a minor-league 3B (top-rated Ed Williams, left unprotected by Cincy) fell through. The scotched swap (a player for better position) left the Bucs with a full roster and no chance to draft without a 40-man vacancy.

12/10 From 1986: Ortiz-Horwitz, Joely-Antonio, Paulino-Jaramillo, Nicasio-Ward-Bell-Sveum-Pena-Redus Sign, GIBBY Winners; HBD Pedro

• 1986 - SS Pedro Florimon was born in La Romana, Dominican Republic. Pedro turned a good glove into a seven-year MLB career, starting for Minnesota in 2013, but his bat has relegated him to mainly a journeyman depth guy. In his two seasons with Pittsburgh (2015-16), he mostly stayed busy in AAA while getting into 42 games with the Pirates, hitting just .149 over that span. P-Flo appeared with the Phils in 2017-18, and that was his last MLB stop. 
• 1987 - GM Syd Thrift came home from the winter meetings empty-handed after trying to pry a corner infielder loose. Third baseman Brook Jacoby of the Indians was on his radar, but that deal never gained traction. Cleveland wanted a frontline hurler, and Doug Drabek, Mike Dunne and Brain Fisher were Pirates untouchables. Syd was also looking at 1B Bill Schroeder of the Brewers, in exchange for one of Mike Bielicki/Bob Kipper and a minor leaguer, then expanding the deal to include both if Milwaukee would include a minor league outfielder (one of Greg Vaughn, Darryl Hamilton or Lavell Freeman). It was just as well; Jacoby and Schroeder never came close to matching their 1987 career years again. 
• 1990 - OF/1B Gary Redus, 34, signed a two-year contract w/an option year for $1.425M after spending 1988-90 as a Bucco role player. He hit .250 in his two guaranteed campaigns, his option wasn’t exercised and he closed out his career by spending his two final years with the Texas Rangers. 
• 1992 - The Pirates signed 32-year-old RHP Alejandro Pena to a one-year/$1.35M contract. He had a strong four-year run before tendonitis laid him low in 1992, and the Bucs were counting on him to bounce back and solidify the back end of their pen. No such luck; he ended up with elbow surgery and missed all of 1993 (although he did voluntarily restructure the guaranteed money) and didn’t have much going in ‘94, when he was released after posting a 5.02 ERA. He finished his 15-year career in 1996 after stints with Boston, Atlanta and Florida. 

Dale Sveum - Mitchell Layton/Getty photo

• 1999 - Dale Sveum was signed as a free agent. He played three seasons for the Pirates (1996-97, 1999/.260 BA), and also managed at Altoona from 2001-03, winning an Eastern League Manager of the Year award before landing big league skipper jobs with the Brewers and Cubs. He was Kansas City’s bench coach through 2019, then spent two years as a special assistant before retiring. 
• 2000 - In a day they came to rue, the Pirates signed free agent OF Derek Bell of "Operation Shutdown" fame to a two-year contract worth $9.75M. Bell left the team during camp in 2002 after hitting .173 in his first campaign and never played in the majors again. He let it be known, after being told he had to earn a starting spot, that “I'm going into 'Operation Shutdown.' Tell them exactly what I said. I haven't competed for a job since 1991.” Bell left the team on March 29th and was released on March 31st rather than compete. The Pirates paid him $4.5M to go away when they cut him; Bell just moved onto his yacht and sailed into the baseball sunset. 
• 2003 - The Bucs signed veterans OF/1B Daryle Ward and RHP Juan Acevedo to minor league deals. Ward would get $600K and Acevedo $475K if they made the MLB roster, with both having a boatload of performance bonuses. Ward played until late July before a wrist injury laid him up, hitting .249 w/15 HR, and returned for 2005. For Acevedo, it was the end of an eight-year ride in the bigs. He spent 2004 in AAA Nashville as Buc insurance, and then Juan finished his career tossing in the Mexican League through 2013. 
• 2008 - The Pirates pulled off a swap of teetering catchers, trading Ronny Paulino to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jason Jaramillo. Paulino and manager John Russell weren’t on each other's Christmas card list after JR decided to go with Ryan Doumit as the everyday catcher, and Jaramillo had impressed Russell from his days as the Phils AAA manager. The change of scenery didn’t particularly help either player (or team). Ronny played for four more years, never sniffing 100 games/season, and hit .265 over that span while JJ caught three seasons for the Bucs with a .235 BA in 119 games, which ended up his only MLB tour of duty. 

Jason Jaramillo - 2020 Topps

• 2013 - Pittsburgh took three GIBBY (Greatness In Baseball Yearly awards): RHP Mark Melancon won the set-up player of the year, LHP Francisco Liriano took home the comeback player honors, and the postseason-bound Pirates were selected as the storyline of the year for their playoff run. 
• 2014 - The Pirates traded minor league LHP Joely Rodriguez to the Phillies for LHP set up man Antonio Bastardo. It was a domino effect deal, with Bastardo filling a hole in the bullpen created after southpaw Justin Wilson was traded to the Yankees. Bastardo put up a 4-1-1/2.98 slash in 66 Pirate outings while Rodriguez was removed from the Phil’s 40 man roster and assigned back to the minors after a rough 2015 AAA season. The Pirates lost Antonio to free agency in 2016, but brought him back to town in a deadline deal. He went 3-0/4.13 in his second coming before the wheels came off in 2017 and he was released with the Pirates eating the remainder of his $6.625M contract. He didn’t pitch in 2018 after a 140-game PED suspension, his second slap, and hasn’t had an MLB gig since. Rodriguez returned in 2020 and has tossed for the Rangers, Yankees and Mets during the 2020-22 seasons, signing with Boston for 2023. He’s been injury-bitten and the Red Sox DFA’ed him in August of ‘24, and he remains a free agent. 
• 2015 - The Bucs signed free agent RHP Juan Nicasio, who spent 2015 in the LA Dodgers' bullpen (1-3-1/3.86), to a one-year/$3M contract, with an arb season remaining for 2017. After a spotty stint in the rotation (5-5/5.05), Juan returned to the pen where he was 5-2 with a 3.88 ERA. To make room on the roster, the Pirates DFA’ed former #1 pick (fourth overall) of 2009, C Tony Sanchez, who played over parts of three seasons in 51 games, hitting .259. Nicasio had a strong 2017 campaign working exclusively from the pen (2-5-2/2.85), but the Pirates lost him, with no return, by placing him on irrevocable August waivers after passing up an earlier chance to move him on revocable waivers because he had been claimed by “a direct competitor” per GM Neal Huntington. Philly picked him up and quickly flipped him to the Cards, which may or may not have been that competitor, for a prospect. He spun for three more teams in the ensuing three seasons, and 2020 was his last MLB campaign after working a couple of brutal outings with Texas. 

Juan Nicasio - 2016 photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates

• 2020 - Pittsburgh used the first pick in the Rule 5 Draft to select RHP Jose Soriano, 22, from the Angels. He had TJ surgery in February and wasn't expected to be ready for action until at least May, 2021. The Pirates also reeled in RHP Luis Oviedo, 21, from Mets for cash or a PTBNL; New York got Oviedo from the Indians in today's lotto before flipping him. MLB Pipeline rated Oviedo as the organization’s 20th best prospect and Soria as 21st. Those two additions filled the Pirates 40-man roster. Oviedo made the team, even with injuries and big-league struggles but was waived in 2022. Cleveland claimed him and released him at the end of the ‘23 season; he started 2024 in Mexico, fared poorly and was released in July, moving to the Venezuelan League, his home for the past two campaigns. Soriano was returned to the Halos at the end of the year after undergoing a second elbow procedure and made his MLB debut in 2023. 
• 2024 - Pittsburgh sent RHP Luis Ortiz, 25, and a pair of young LHPs to the Cleveland Guardians for 1B Spencer Horwitz. The 27-year-old Horwitz is a left-handed hitter who batted .265/.357/.433 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs in 97 games for the Toronto Blue Jays last season. He was more than a rental with six years of contract control (four arb years) and an option remaining. The downside was he seems to be a platoon guy, batting just .195 v LHP, and in ‘25 he hit .272 overall, but only .186 v lefties. Ortiz was 12-13/3.93 in 59 appearances (34 starts) in three seasons here with a 7-6/3.22 slash in ‘24, but his career hit a wall with the Guardians after he was suspended for gambling allegations. The farm hands dealt were both in the Bucs’ Top 20 Prospect list. Michael Kennedy, 20, was a 2022-4th round prep pick who averaged 10.2 Ks/nine innings in 18 games between Bradenton and Greensboro while Josh Hartle, 21, was a '24-3rd round pick out of Wake Forest. Kennedy worked Hi A in 2024 and Hartle received a late promotion to AA. Per the Post-Gazette, RHPs Mitch Keller (11-12/4.25) and Jared Jones (6-8/4.14) were also available for the right bat. Keller remained with the Pirates while Jones was injured in camp and missed the campaign entirely.

12/9 Through the 1960s: Pena-Rodgers, Hall-Smith, Purkey-Gross, Billy Back, Kiki #2, Gov/Prez John, DD-HoF; RIP Branch, HBD Bruce, Doc, Hank, Adam, Mike & Handsome Joe

• 1871 - OF’er “Handsome Joe” Kelley was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He played for 17 MLB seasons, but only spent a partial campaign in Pittsburgh, hitting .239 in 56 games in 1892 as a wet-behind-the-ears 21 year-old. Pity the Bucs didn’t hang on to him - Joe was an early five tool player and part of the core of the powerful early Baltimore Orioles clubs (he was known as “Kingpin Kelly” with the Birds) and a Hall of Famer. He finished with a lifetime .317/.402/.451 slash and 443 stolen bases. Joe knocked in 100+ runs in five straight seasons, scored 100+ runs six times and had 212 assists from the OF. They may not have all been due to a rifle arm - one story about his fielding prowess claims that he hid balls in the pasture so that if one got by him, he had another stashed away near at hand. When he retired, he stayed in the MLB mix as a manager, scout, and coach. As for his nickname, SABR’s Jimmy Keenan wrote “Dubbed ‘Handsome Joe Kelley’ by his multitude of female admirers in Baltimore, he kept a small mirror and comb in his back pocket in order to maintain his well-groomed appearance during games.” 
• 1879 - OF Mike Mitchell was born in Springfield, Ohio. Mike was known for his speed and strong arm, leading the National League in triples and outfield assists early in his career, and he played for eight years in the show, closing out in 1913-14. He hit .250 in a pair of half seasons for the Pirates after being claimed in 1913 off waivers from the Cubs and then was moved midway through the ‘14 campaign when he was sold to the Senators. Mitchell, 35, retired before the 1915 campaign. 
• 1905 - OF Adam Comorosky was born in Swoyersville in Luzerne County. He played eight years (1926-33) for the Pirates with a line of .285/26/363. In 1929 and ‘30, he was one of the hot NL bats. Over that period, he hit .317 with 216 RBI and 198 runs scored, banging out 73 doubles, 34 triples (he led the NL with 23 in ‘30) and 18 homers. Adam is the only NL outfielder to register two unassisted double plays in a season, both within the span of a week in 1931. 
• 1913 - Tyrone PA’s John Tener, a one-time pitcher who worked for the Pittsburgh Burgers of the Player’s League in 1890, became a congressman, and then as the governor of Pennsylvania was voted in as the National League president. John had maintained an interest in the sport since his playing days, having founded the annual Congressional baseball game and then cracking down on baseball gambling as governor. He faced several player uprisings during his term (it became full-time in 1915 when his stint as governor ended) and resigned in 1918 over a dispute with the American League over roster-raiding. 

John Tener - 1910 Press photo

• 1914 - C Hank Camelli was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Camelli was a reserve during the war years (he only got three at-bats in 1945 due to service obligations) with a Bucco BA of .229 between 1943-46. Hank played in just 159 games during his MLB career, but paid his dues with 13 minor league campaigns. He once caught six straight doubleheaders while on the farm. 
• 1925 - Rogers Hornsby won the NL-MVP by defeating runner up Kiki Cuyler of the Pirates by a 73-61 vote. Rogers hit .403; Kiki’s numbers were .357 with 220 hits, 144 runs scored and 102 RBI. Other teammates who got votes were SS Glenn Wright, 3B Pie Traynor, CF Max Carey and P Vic Aldridge. 
• 1948 - RHP George “Doc” Medich was born in Aliquippa and became a three-sport star at Hopewell HS. For a local boy (he played football and baseball at Pitt, starting on both squads), he didn’t get much Pirates love, pitching just one of his 11 big league seasons in Pittsburgh, going 8-11/3.52 in 1976. Doc (he MD’ed from Pitt medical school) lived up to his name. Twice as a player (once as a Pirate) he went into the stands to perform CPR on a fan, saving one of the victims. Doc was chosen as a member of the Beaver County Hall of Fame. 
• 1950 - After weeks of “would he or wouldn’t he” narrative flying through the media, Branch Rickey announced that manager Billy Meyer would be back for the final year of his contract. Meyer came in 7th with the club in ‘51 and his five-year run came to an end in 1952 after a 42-win, last-place finish. He was replaced by Fred Haney, who didn’t do much better in his three seasons. 
• 1957 - The Pirates traded RHP Bob Purkey to the Cincinnati Reds for LHP Don Gross. Gross won six games in three years as a Pirate while Purkey, a Pittsburgh kid who went to South Hills HS, won 124 games after the deal, appearing in a World Series and three All-Star games. GM Joe Brown later called it “the worst trade I ever made.” Purkey pitched his final season (1966) for the Pirates and then retired to Bethel Park, where he became a successful insurance broker. He died in 2008 at age 78 and was buried at Queen of Angels Cemetery. 

Bob Purkey - 1955 Topps

• 1957 - The Dapper Dan Club announced that it was creating a Pittsburgh Sports Hall of Fame, and among its charter members were Pirates Honus Wagner, Pie Traynor and Pitt gridder Tommy Davies. The HoF trio were inducted during the club’s annual awards dinner in January. 
• 1959 - The Pirates sent RHP Dick Hall, IF Ken Hamlin, and a PTBNL (C Hank Foiles) to the Kansas City Athletics for C Hal Smith. Hall had a long career, tossing until 1971, and was also versatile enough to play the field in 127 games & pinch hit - he saw action everywhere but catcher & SS - with a career .271 BA. Hamlin and Foiles each spent five more years in the league as reserves, both batting in the low .240’s. Smith got into 144 games in 1960-61 for Pittsburgh before being lost to Houston in the expansion draft, and his huge three-run homer in the seventh game of the 1960 World Series set the table for the legend of Bill Mazeroski. 
• 1961 - RHP Bruce Tanner was born in New Castle. Chuck’s kid, Bruce got to toss one year in the show for the White Sox in 1985, his dad’s final year as Bucco skipper. After the 1989 campaign, Bruce gave up organized ball as a player and spent the 1990s as a minor league pitching coach for San Diego. He became the bullpen coach for the Pirates in 2001, a position he held through the 2005 season. In 2006, he served as pitching coach for the Williamsport Crosscutters, one of the Bucs' minor league clubs. He jumped to the Tigers the following year to become an advance scout and since 2009 has served Motown as a major league scout. 
• 1964 - The Bucs sent minor league IF Roberto Pena and cash to the Chicago Cubs for SS Andre Rodgers. Rodgers had a good start, getting into 75 games and batting .287 in ‘65, but he faded quickly and hit just .209 through the next pair of campaigns. Pena went on to play for five teams in six years with a .245 BA, playing at every infield spot and starting 100+ games four times. On the same day, the Pirates Columbus affiliate traded middle infielder Julio Gotay to help ease the logjam at short, with Ducky Schofield and Gene Alley in the mix to challenge Rodgers for the spot. Alley went on to hold the position through 1972, winning two Gold Gloves and appearing in two All Star Games between injuries. 
• 1965 - Former Pirates GM Branch Rickey died of a heart attack. Famous for breaking the color barrier by playing Jackie Robinson while a Brooklyn Dodger exec and becoming the poster child for strong farm teams, Rickey was the Pirates GM from 1950-55 before he retired due to health issues. He walked the walk for Pittsburgh’s minor league system, bringing in Roberto Clemente, Bill Mazeroski, Dick Groat, Frank Thomas, ElRoy Face, Bob Skinner and company, a group who, with some additional roster tweaking by new GM Joe Brown, would take all the marbles in 1960. Rickey’s legacy was continued as both his son and grandson (Branch Jr. and Branch III) were Pirates executives and he was voted into the Hall of Fame as a contributor to the game in 1967.

12/9 From 1970: Neil-Niese, Bert/Manny-Owchinko, Spanky-Walk-Steve-Roberto-Bobby Sign, Emil & Dave Rule 5'ers, No-Go Rumors; RIP Carl, HBD Cam, Geoff & Todd

• 1971 - RHP Todd Van Poppel was born in Hinsdale, Illinois. Todd spent 11 years in the show, tossing 18 games (seven starts) with Pittsburgh in 1989. He put up a line of 1-2/5.36 when he arrived in July with 2B Warren Morris after being traded by the Indians to the Pirates for P Esteban Loaiza. TVP was signed again for the 1999 season, but never got a call back to Pittsburgh, spending the campaign with AAA Nashville before moving on to the Cubs. 
• 1976 - The Post-Gazette reported that Al Oliver was an item on the trade market, with the hottest rumor involving the Montreal Expos, said to be dangling C Gary Carter and RHP Dale Murray as bait. But GM Pete Peterson held onto Oliver through the 1977 campaign before sending him to Texas in a four-team off-season deal that brought Bert Blyleven and John Milner to Pittsburgh. 
• 1977 - The Pirates tried to pry LHP John Hiller from the Detroit Tigers by offering pitchers Larry Demery and Odell Jones. The Tigers wanted Bruce Kison included in the package, and the two clubs parted ways on that note. Hiller was a 35-year-old reliever who had one good campaign left in him, but the Bucco bullpen did just fine without him in ‘78, led by Kent Tekulve and Grant Jackson. 
• 1980 - The Pirates traded RHP Bert Blyleven and C Manny Sanguillen to the Indians for LHP Bob Owchinko, RHP Victor Cruz‚ C Gary Alexander‚ and minor league RHP Rafael Vasquez. The California Angels were set aback by the deal, as they had offered 1B/OF Don Baylor and RHP Mark Clear to Pittsburgh for Blyleven plus C Ed Ott and thought they had made the better offer, per published reports. Halo GM Buzzy Bavasi said at the time “Blyleven wanted to come to California. The Pirates sent him to Siberia.” There may have been some truth to that as Buc GM Pete Peterson and Bavasi were not thought to be on the best of terms and Blyleven had burned his Pittsburgh bridges to ashes. The disgruntled Hall of Famer went on to pitch 11 more seasons while winning 148 more games. The righty requested a trade, saying that manager Chuck Tanner didn’t show any confidence in him by not letting him go deeper into games, although the Frying Dutchman (named because he loved setting teammates’ shoelaces on fire - the “hotfoot” prank - rather than his temperament) averaged 233 IP per season under Tanner’s watch. Sangy was at the end of his days and was released in spring camp. For the Bucs, Cruz split his time between the minors and the parent club, going 1-1-1/2.65 in 22 games before being sent back to Cleveland the next season for SS Nelson Norman. Owchinko was traded for Ernie Camacho, who tossed seven games for the Pirates (0-1/4.98). It was Alexander’s last go-around in the show; he hit .213 in 21 games. Vasquez had originally been signed by the Pirates and sent to Seattle in 1978 as part of the Enrique Romo deal. He pitched in AAA at Buffalo and then finished his career in the Mexican League. 

Bob Owchinko - Cleve/Pgh 1981 Donruss

• 1987 - GM Syd Thrift told the Pittsburgh Press that he was 0-for-3 in trade efforts during the winter meetings. He wanted 3B Brook Jacoby or SS Julio Franco from the Indians, using a mix-and-match menu of pitchers, but the Tribe didn’t take the bait. Then he tried to work out a deal with the Brewers for C Bill Schroeder to platoon with Mike LaValliere. Milwaukee wanted both Bob Kipper and Mike Bielecki; Thrift countered with one of the above and the second guy to come off a list of five non-rostered pitchers. The Brew Crew nixed that offer, dousing the third iron in the fire, a trade of C Junior Ortiz to the Astros for hot prospect OF Eric Anthony. Still, with a little patience, the pieces fell together. A year later, the Pirates did swing a deal with Cleveland to land SS Jay Bell. The Bucs found Spanky’s platoon partner by 1990 when Don Slaught was picked up; Schroeder never hit above .225 with more than six HR after his standout ‘87 campaign. As for Anthony, it was probably better that his ship sailed - he did play nine years in the show for five teams, but hit .231 with a lifetime -0.2 WAR. 
• 1991 - GM Larry Doughty was juggling a lot of balls. He signed ex-Bucco RHP Brian Fisher to a minor league deal with an invite to camp (he was ultimately cut) and took RHP Miguel Batista from Montreal in the Rule 5 Draft (he pitched just once as a Pirate, but did put together an 18-year MLB career after some minor league tinkering). He was also trying to lure free agent CF Otis Nixon to Pittsburgh and re-sign C Spanky LaValliere, RHP Bob Walk and 3B Steve Buechele. Doughty succeeded in three-of-four, herding LaValliere, Walk and Buechele back into the fold, but lost Nixon, who returned to the Atlanta Braves. He was also trying to sign/trade LF Barry Bonds, who would win the MVP in his walk year of 1992, but nothing was to come of those efforts and BB left as a FA. 
• 1992 - Carl Barger, 62, passed away at the winter meetings from an aneurysm despite the efforts of Bobby Brown, AL President and cardiologist, who tended to him almost immediately. Barger was an attorney for Eckert, Seamans, Cherin & Mellott who was key in putting together the public-private partnership that kept the Pirates in Pittsburgh, and then became the team president in 1987. He jumped to the newly formed Marlins in 1991, answering the call of his longtime friend Wayne Huinzenga. Barger’s Pittsburgh legacy is repped by a bronze bust by sculptor Robert Berks, originally set in TRS and now home in PNC Park. 
• 1992 - The Pirates selected LHP Dave Otto in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft - and his guaranteed $500,000 contract. John Perrotto of the Beaver County Times was told by Bucco GM Ted Simmons that “Frankly, I didn’t know he had a guaranteed contract and I take the blame for that. I wanted the guy, though...He may even be a bargain.” Or maybe not. Otto made the team and went 3-4/5.03 in 28 games (eight starts) and was released in August. 

Geoff Hartlieb - 2021 Pirates photo

• 1993 - RHP Geoff Hartlieb was born in Highland, Illinois. The big reliever (6’6”) was drafted in the 29th round from Lindenwood College in Missouri. That’s not a great launching pad, but Geoff moved through six levels in four years, from the short-season Appy League in 2016 to the show in 2019. The righty made his first appearance on May 18th, closing out the Pirates first-ever “opener” game, a 7-2 win. He tossed 35 IP with 38 K in 29 outings, but with an ugly 9.00 ERA after giving up eight long balls. Still, he was put into a higher leverage spot in 2020 and responded with a 1-0/3.63 line in 21 outings. In ‘21, the Bucs waived him after four games; he went to the Mets and they let him loose in September. He pitched for the Miami and Colorado systems before becoming depth for the Yankees. From there, he went to Detroit and KC, then signed with the A’s for ‘26. 
• 1996 - Pittsburgh plucked OF Emil Brown from the Oakland Athletics in the Rule 5 draft. The 22-year-old played parts of five seasons with the Pirates but hit just .205 before being sent to San Diego in 2001. He was a poster boy for the dark side of the Rule 5 draft which requires MLB rostering instead of everyday farm play - after some seasoning in the minors, he came back as a 30-year-old in 2005 and hit .271 over four years for KC and Oakland. The Pirates also took Texas OF Jason Johnson in the minor league portion, while losing LHP Jesus Pena to the White Sox and C Wilkenman Gonzalez to San Diego. 
• 1996 - RHP Cam Sanders was born in San Diego, California. He had been in the Cubs organization since 2018 after they had drafted him in the 12th round from LSU until the Bucs picked him up in 2025, when was called to the big club from Indy. Sanders topped out at AAA for the last three seasons and put together a breakout this year (2-1-2/1.93) after some staff tweaking, to earn his first MLB posting. Cam made five outings, was sent back to the farm and recalled in September. His AAA numbers didn’t carry over to the show; he gave up six runs in 6-2/3 IP and a pair of homers. His dad, Scott, had a seven-year MLB stint, mostly with the Padres, during the nineties. 
• 2005 - The Pirates agreed to sign free agent reliever RHP Roberto Hernandez, 41, to a one year‚ $2.75M contract (it was finalized a week later, on the 15th). The set-up man was flipped to the NY Mets, his old club, at the 2006 deadline as part of the Xavier Nady trade after working in 46 Bucco outings w/2.93 ERA, and had just one more MLB campaign left in his tank. 

Roberto Hernandez - 2006 Topps

• 2009 - The Bucs signed free agent IF Bobby Crosby, late of the Oakland A’s, to a one-year/$1M deal with another $500K dangled as bonus money. The 30-year-old former Rookie of the Year (2005) hit .224 with one homer and was swapped to Arizona at the deadline; 2010 was his final campaign. 
• 2015 - The Pirates traded 2B Neil Walker to the New York Mets for LHP Jon Niese. The Pittsburgh Kid (he was born in Gibsonia and went to Pine-Richland HS) had been a Bucco since he was selected in the first round (#11 overall) of the 2004 draft and took over the second base spot in 2010. Along with Robinson Cano, he was the only 2B with double-digit dingers for six straight seasons. From 2009-15, Walker put up a .272/.338/.431 slash for the Bucs, with 93 HR. Niese fizzled and was shipped back to the Mets while Walker remained injury-bitten and ended up on five different clubs through 2020, his final MLB campaign. 
• 2020 - The Pirates announced that due to MLB affiliate contraction, the Bucco minor league teams will be the Indy Indians (AAA), Altoona Curve (AA), Bradenton Marauders (A+) and Greensboro ‘Hoppers (A). They lost Charleston's West Virginia Power (they went into the MLB indie “partner league” Atlantic League as the Charleston Dirty Birds) and Morgantown's West Virginia Black Bears, which played in a short-season drafted player's league.