The Trades

On this date in 1956, the Pirates traded outfielder Bobby Del Greco and pitcher Dick Littlefield to the St Louis Cardinals for outfielder Bill Virdon. As a 24 year old in 1955, Virdon won the NL Rookie of the Year award with his .281 average and 17 homers with 68 RBI’s. He was hitting .211 in 24 games at the time of the trade. Del Greco was just 23 years old at the time, hitting .200 in 14 games for the Pirates. He played 99 games for Pittsburgh in 1952 but had spent the next three years in the minors. At 30 years old, Littlefield was the veteran of the group. He had been with the Pirates since 1954 and in the majors since 1950. He had no record and a 4.26 ERA in two starts and four relief appearances with the 1956 Pirates. The year before he went 5-12 5.12, splitting his time between starting and relieving.

After the trade, Littlefield pitched three games for the Cardinals before being included in a nine player deal made with the Giants. He pitched until 1958, getting into 86 total games, 11 as a starter. Del Greco hit .215 in 102 games for the Cardinals. He was traded to the Cubs early in the 1957 season and spent parts of seven seasons in the majors after that deal. He was a .229 hitter in 731 games. Virdon became a star for the Pirates immediately, hitting .334 in 1956. He would play center field for ten seasons in Pittsburgh, helping them to the 1960 World Series along the way. He hit .266 with 667 runs scored in 1415 games for the Pirates. In 1962, he led the NL in triples and won the Gold Glove award. Virdon also managed the Pirates during the 1972-73 seasons.

Exactly five years earlier, the Pirates and Cardinals hooked up on another deal. Pittsburgh sent shortstop Stan Rojek to St Louis in exchange for outfielder Erv Dusak and first baseman Rocky Nelson. Rojek was 32 at the time of the time, coming off a season in which he hit .257 in 76 games. Two years earlier, he finished tenth in the NL MVP voting after hitting .290 with 51 RBI’s and 24 steals for the Pirates. He led the league in games played, AB’s and plate appearances. Dusak was 30 years old at the time and had played just 29 games in the majors since 1948. Nelson was 26, with a career .233 average and 61 RBI’s in 205 games with the Cardinals. Many people remember Nelson’s heroics in the 1960 World Series but that was actually during his second stint with the team. He was put on waivers and taken by the White Sox before the 1951 season ended. Dusak played only 41 games for the Pirates, spread out over the 1951-52 seasons, his last years in the majors. Rojek would play just 51 games for the Cardinals before he was put on waivers and his major league career was done by the 1952 season.

The Players

Jose Guillen (1976) Pirates outfielder from 1997 until 1999. The Pirates signed him as an amateur free agent at the age of 16 in 1992. It took him four years to reach High-A ball in 1996, where he hit .322 with 21 homers and 24 stolen bases for Lynchburg. Without ever playing AA or AAA, the Pirates put him in right field for Opening Day in 1997. Jose played 143 games as a rookie that year, hitting .267 with 14 homers and 70 RBI’s. He had a very similar season the next year, in which he played a career high of 153 games. Guillen had the same batting average as the year before, and his .712 OPS was exactly the same as well. He also hit 14 homers again, this time driving in 84 runs. Jose seemed to like to hit .267 while with the Pirates but he didn’t like the results it got him in 1999. After hitting just one home run through the end of June, Guillen was sent to AAA. One month later he was dealt to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, along with pitcher Jeff Sparks in exchange for two catchers, Joe Oliver and Humberto Cota.

Guillen finally reached his potential four years after the deal, playing for his fourth organization, the Reds. He hit .337 with 23 homers for Cincinnati before they traded him mid-season to the A’s. He then went on to play for the Angels(2004), Nationals(05-06) Mariners(07) Royals(08-2010) before finishing his career with the 2010 Giants. Jose played a total of 1650 major league games, hitting .270 with 214 homers and 887 RBI’s. Despite stealing 24 bases in the minors in 1996, he stole a total of just 31 bases over his entire major league career. Guillen had a strong throwing arm, one of the best in baseball and a throw he made with the Pirates was recently rated the best of all-time by MLB Network. On July 27,1998 Neifi Perez of the Rockies hit a ball to the right field wall that Guillen couldn’t catch. He picked up the ball near the warning track, and on the fly, threw out Perez, who was going for a triple.

Pascual Perez (1957) Pitcher for the Pirates during the 1980-81 seasons. He was signed by the Pirates as an amateur free agent prior to the 1976 season. Perez began his career in the Gulf Coast League, then moved up to A-ball in 1977, going 10-5 3.98 in 25 starts for Charleston. He moved up another level in 1978 and pitched well, going 11-7 2.61 in 24 starts and earning a late season promotion to AAA. In 1979, pitching for Portland, he struggled in his first full season of AAA but showed enough improvement the next season to earn an early season spot start for the Pirates, then a late season recall. Pascual began 1981 in the minors, joining Pittsburgh in mid-May after five starts. In that strike-shortened major league season, he went 2-7 3.96 in 13 starts and four relief appearances. Perez was back in AAA in 1982 until a June trade sent him to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Larry McWilliams. He pitched in Atlanta until he released just prior to the 1986 season. After not pitching at all that year, he had to work his way back to the majors, pitching at AAA for the 1987 Expos. Perez was called up in August and finished the season with a 7-0 record. He pitched a rain-shortened no-hitter in 1988 against the Phillies. Pascual lasted in the majors until 1991, finishing with a 67-68 record. He was an All-Star in 1983 when he won 15 games for the Braves. He had two brothers, Carlos and Melido, who also pitched in the majors.

Ozzie Virgil (1932) Catcher for the 1965 Pirates. He originally signed with the New York Giants as an amateur free agent in 1953, and he made his major league debut three years later.  In 1958, he was traded to the Tigers, who in turn dealt him to the Kansas City Athletics three years later. Virgil played one game for the Baltimore Orioles in 1962, then spent the next two years in the minors. The Pirates acquired him in the 1964 minor league draft from the Washington Senators. In 1965, Virgil played 39 games for the Pirates. He started just seven games despite being with the team the entire season. It was the first full year he spent in the majors since 1961 and just the third time(1957 as well) overall that he spent the entire year in the big leagues. On December 1,1965, the Pirates traded Virgil, along with Joe Gibbon, to the San Francisco Giants for outfielder Matty Alou in what turned out to be a one-sided deal for Pittsburgh. Ozzie got 89 AB’s for the Giants in 1966, then after two years in the minors, he played one game in 1969, his last in the majors. He played a total of 324 games in the majors, with a .231 batting average and 73 RBI’s.

Jolly Roger Rewind: May 17, 1971

Roberto Clemente ignited a late rally with an eighth-inning home run and completed the comeback one inning later with a walk-off triple as the Pirates beat the Expos 6-5 at Three Rivers Stadium.

With the Buccos trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the eighth, Clemente led off with a home run off Montreal starter Carl Morton. Two outs later, Bob Robertson cut the margin to one run with another solo homer.

The Expos brought in relief ace Mike Marshall to close out the game in the ninth, but Gene Alley greeted him with a single. Playing for the tie, Danny Murtaugh had Gene Clines sacrifice Alley to second. Dave Cash beat out an infield single to move Alley to third, where he stayed when Vic Davalillo’s fly ball was not deep enough for a sacrifice fly.

Clemente, who earlier in the game had hit into a double play with two men on and struck out with the bases loaded, stepped to the plate as the Pirates’ last hope. This time, he came through with a line-drive triple off the centerfield wall, scoring Alley and Cash to end the game.

Setting the stage for Clemente’s heroics were a trio of Bucco relievers—Jim Nelson, Nelson Briles and Mudcat Grant—who combined for six scoreless innings in relief of starter Luke Walker.

Box score and play-by-play

Observer-Reporter game story

Harry Riconda (1897) Shortstop for the 1929 Pirates. He began his pro career in 1916, but when the Pirates acquired him 13 years later, he had just 234 games in at the major league level, spread out over four seasons. On December 11, 1928, the Pirates traded star shortstop Glenn Wright to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Riconda and pitcher Jesse Petty. Harry had hit .224 in 92 games for the Dodgers in 1928, seeing time at SS/2B/3B. With the 1929 Pirates, he spent two months with the team but rarely saw the field. He got into eight of the first 51 games, four off the bench. Harry went 7-15 at the plate in his limited time but that couldn’t keep him from being sent to the minors to finish the year. He played two more seasons before retiring from baseball, with all but one game spent in the minors, getting one early season AB for the Reds in 1930.

Hal Carlson (1892) Pitcher for the Pirates from 1917 until 1923. He spent three years in the minors prior to his major league debut with the 1917 Pirates. Hal won 23 games in 1916, pitching for Rockford of the Three-I League. He had a strong rookie season pitching for a Pirates team that had 103 losses in 1917. Carlson went 7-11 2.90 in 161.1 inning. The next year he pitched just three games before taking up active military duty in WWI. Hal returned in 1919 to go 8-10 with a career best, 2.23 ERA. He had his best season in a Pirates uniform in 1920, going 14-13 3.36 in 246.1 innings. His numbers began to drop off the next season and after a 5.70 ERA in 1922, Carlson was sent to the minors just weeks into the 1923 season. It was said that his numbers dropped because he was a spitball pitcher and wasn’t allowed to throw the pitch after 1920, due to the rule baseball implemented making the pitch illegal. Carlson was drafted by the Phillies for the 1924 season, pitching in Philadelphia until a 1927 trade sent him to the Chicago Cubs. He was pitching for the Cubs in 1930 when his health began to decline. On May 28, 1930 he complained of feeling ill and died suddenly in his hotel room with teammates by his side. He was 38 years old. Carlson finished with 114 career wins, 42 coming while he was with the Pirates.

Elmer Steele (1886) Pitcher for the Pirates during the 1910-11 seasons. He began his pro career in 1906 in the minors before making his pro debut in September of 1907. Steele pitched parts of three years for the Boston Red Sox, making 36 appearances, 22 as a starter. He spent the 1910 season pitching for Providence of the Eastern League before the Pirates picked him up in the middle of September. It was a pleasant surprise for the Pirates because a player of his caliber in the minors was usually picked up by a major league club on September 1st during those days in the Rule V draft. Elmer made three starts for Pittsburgh that season, losing all three, although he pitched well. He had a 2.25 ERA and allowed 22 baserunners in 24 innings. In 1911, he switched between the starting and bullpen role, making 16 starts and 15 relief outings. Steele went 9-9 with a 2.60 ERA in 166 innings. In the middle of September, he was sold to Brooklyn, where he made five appearances before the season ended. Steele never returned to the majors and only pitched one more season in the minors. His pro career finished in 1917, although it was said he played baseball into his 50′s and was active among the sport in his hometown for many years.

Fred Woodcock (1868) Pitcher for the 1892 Pirates. On May 14, 1892 Woodcock was to make his major league debut against the Cleveland Spiders, just one day after Cy Young shut the Pirates down. That game was rained out, so three days later against the Chicago Colts he finally made his debut, and made a little history along the way. He became the first pitcher to make his debut as a starter on his birthday, something that didn’t happen again in the majors for another 67 years. He was a highly touted prospect who pitched at Brown University and then Dartmouth University prior to signing with the Pirates. In his debut the Pirates lost 7-5, although it was said that he pitched a remarkably good game but he was hurt by five Pittsburgh errors. It seemed as if he had a bright future but it quickly dimmed. His second start was said to be fair, although he was hit hard at times. There was poor fielding behind him again with five errors committed. Woodcock didn’t start again for two weeks, losing his third start by a 6-2 score. Two weeks later he made, what would turn out to be, his last start in the majors. Fred gave up five first innings runs to Cleveland before he was replaced. He would pitch just one minor league game in 1893, then finish his career playing for the Fort Worth Panthers of the Texas Southern League in 1895.

Frank Mountain (1860) Pitcher/first baseman for the 1885-86 Pittsburgh Alleghenys. When Frank joined Pittsburgh prior to the 1885 season, he was coming off a 23-17 2.45 season for the Columbus Buckeyes. It was by far his best season, prior to that he played for five teams over four seasons, compiling a 34-60 3.80 record. In 1883 he pitched 503 innings for Columbus, starting 59 of the team’s 97 games. He led the league in losses, hits allowed, earned runs allowed and walks. Columbus folded after the 1884 season when the American Association went from twelve to eight teams. The Alleghenys purchased ten of their players for the 1885 season, among them was Mountain. He was joining a Pittsburgh team that used nine different starting pitchers during that 1884 season. Mountain was used as an extra pitcher, making just five starts over the entire season. The next year he made one start early in the season and one late in the year, but was used as a first baseman 16 times. He hit just .145, although he drew 13 walks. Frank went 1-6 on the mound between his two seasons in Pittsburgh. His major league career ended that 1886 season and he went on to manage in the minors in 1888.

Henry Oberbeck (1858) First baseman for the 1883 Pittsburgh Alleghenys. He spent two seasons in the majors, playing for four different teams in two different leagues and got into just 66 games. Oberbeck spent time at six different positions in the majors, seeing time at all three outfield spots, first base, third base and as a pitcher. He began his career with the Alleghenys on May 7, 1883, the team’s third game of the season. Henry lasted only two games in Pittsburgh, going 2-9 at the plate and handling all 25 chances in the field flawlessly, an impressive feat in the pre-glove era. He would play four games for the St Louis Browns of the American Association later that season, going 0-14 at the plate. The next year, a third major league was formed, the Union Association. Henry played 33 games at the start of the year for the Baltimore Monumentals, hitting .184 and spending most of his time in the outfield. He then moved on to the Kansas City Cowboys to finish the year. Oberbeck hit .189 in 27 games there while also going 0-5 as a pitcher. He also umpired three October 1884 games in the Union Association at the end of his career.

Billy Reid (1857) Left fielder for the 1884 Pittsburgh Alleghenys. He began his major league career in 1883, playing for the Baltimore Orioles of the American Association. Billy played 23 games at second base and made 23 errors. He also played one other game at shortstop and made one error there. In 24 games for the Orioles, he hit .278 with 14 runs scored. Reid finished the year in the minors playing for a team from Grand Rapids, Michigan in the Northwestern League. He remained in that league to start the next year, this time playing for the Minneapolis Millers. He hit .279 with 66 runs scored in 80 games. Reid joined the Alleghenys late in the year and played mostly in left field, starting 17 of his 19 games out there. He hit .243 with 11 runs scored and two doubles. Billy also played one game at second base and one at third base, making one error at each position, keeping up his error per game pace at all three infield positions. That 1884 season was his last season in the majors. He bounced around the minors in 1885, playing for three different teams, then went back to the Northwestern League for 1886, joining the Duluth Jayhawks. His last known stop in pro ball was for the Sandusky Fish Eaters in 1888.

Mitch Webster (1959) Pirates outfielder in 1991. On his 32nd birthday, the Pirates acquired Webster from the Indians in exchange for pitcher Mike York. He was in his ninth season in the majors at the time and hitting just .125 through 13 games with Cleveland. Webster’s stay in Pittsburgh was a short one, 48 days after the trade, he was dealt to the Dodgers for outfielder Jose Gonzalez. The ironic part about those two being swapped is they played for the same three teams that season, just in reverse order. Mitch played 36 games in Pittsburgh, mostly in right field, hitting .175 with nine RBI’s. He remained with the Dodgers until 1995, ending his 13 year major league career with a .263 average, 342 RBI’s, 160 stolen bases and 504 runs scored in 1265 games. He was originally a 23rd round draft pick of the Dodgers in 1977 but he was taken in the minor league draft by the Blue Jays in 1979 before he played in Los Angeles. In 1986 while with the Expos, Mitch led the NL in triples with 13 and the following season he scored 101 runs.

Bob Patterson (1959) Pirates pitcher in 1986-87 and then from 1989 until 1992. He was a 21st round draft pick of the Padres in 1982 and he made his major league debut in San Diego three years later. The Pirates acquired him just before the start of the 1986 season in exchange for Marvell Wynne. In 1986, Bob was with the Pirates for two weeks, beginning at the end of April, before being sent down. He returned in September and made five starts. In 1987, he was the Opening Day starter and hung around Pittsburgh for the first five weeks of the season before being sent to the minors. Just like the previous year, he returned in September, although this time Patterson was a reliever. Bob was one of the last cuts during Spring Training of 1988, then missed most of the season with an army injury, making just four AAA starts. In 1989, he went 12-6 3.35 in 177.1 innings at AAA before getting recalled in September. He pitched often for the Pirates over the last month, three starts and nine relief appearances.

Patterson finally spent a full season in the majors in 1990 and he helped the Pirates get to the playoffs with a 2.95 ERA in 94.2 innings, picking up five saves and eight wins. In the NLCS, he had two scoreless appearances, although he did allow three of the five batters he faced to reach base. Bob wasn’t as effective in 1991, posting a 4.11 ERA in 54 appearances, but the Pirates made the playoffs again and he threw two shutout innings against the Braves. The 1992 season was a strong one for Patterson as he posted a 2.92 ERA in 60 games, winning six times and saving nine other games. In the playoffs, he made two appearances, allowing one run in 1.2 innings. The Pirates released him following the season and he signed with the Rangers. Bob pitched in the majors until 1998, finishing with 559 appearances and a 4.08 ERA in 617.1 innings pitched.

Rick Rhoden (1953) Pirates pitcher from 1979 until 1986. He was originally a first round draft pick of the Dodgers in 1971. He made it to the majors in 1974 and by the 1976 season, he was an All-Star, going 12-3 2.98 on the year. Rick won 16 games the next season, then the year before coming to Pittsburgh, he went 10-8 3.66 in 164.2 innings. The Pirates acquired him on April 7,1979 in exchange for pitcher Jerry Reuss. Rick did not have a good start in a Pittsburgh uniform, needing shoulder surgery after just one start, which caused him to miss the rest of the 1979 season. He began the year in the minors in 1980, making ten starts before being recalled by the Pirates. Rhoden went 7-5 that season, then improved to 9-4 during the strike-shortened 1981 campaign.

The 1982 season saw him set a then career high, with 230.1 innings pitched and he made 35 starts, the first of three times he reached that number while in Pittsburgh. His record was just 11-14 for a Pirates team that finished six games over the .500 mark. In 1983, Rick upped his innings pitched to 244.1, making 35 starts again and he finished 13-13 on the year, with a 3.09 ERA. He also picked up his only career save during his one relief appearance on the year. The Pirates went 75-87 in 1984 but Rhoden was able to post a 14-9 record. His 2.72 ERA ranked fourth in the NL. The strange thing about that season was that four of the Pirates five starting pitchers had winning records, yet the team finished well below the .500 mark.

Rick saw his ERA rise to 4.47 in 1985 and with the Pirates winning just 57 games all year, his 10-15 record was actually a better winning percentage than the team’s overall number. He bounced back to have a big season in 1986, going 15-12 2.84 in 253.2 innings. He was the only Pirates pitcher to win in double figures and his ERA ranked fourth in the NL. On November 26, 1986, Rick was dealt to the Yankees along with Pat Clements and Cecilio Guante in return for Doug Drabek, Logan Easley and Brian Fisher. He pitched two years in New York and one in Houston before retiring.Rick finished with 151 career wins, 79 while as a member of the Pirates. He was known as a strong hitting pitcher, three times winning the Silver Slugger award and once while in NY, he was used as a DH. He had a .238 career average with nine homers and 75 RBI’s.

Rick Reuschel (1949) Pirates pitcher from 1985 until 1987. He had 12 seasons of major league experience already, when the Pirates signed him as a free agent on February 28,1985. Rick pitched for the Cubs in 1984, going 5-5 5.17 in 19 games, 14 as a starter. From his rookie season in 1972 until 1980, Reuschel won at least ten games every season, 125 victories in all. For the 1985 Pirates, Rick had an amazing season. No one could’ve expected 14 wins from him when he signed, not after his 1984 season and also due to the fact he had just 14 wins since the 1980 season ended. The second part of the equation is even more amazing, the Pirates team he pitched for in 1985, went 57-104 on the year. Reuschel did it by posting a 2.27 ERA and completing seven of his wins. He threw a total of seven straight complete games from August 15th until September 15th, winning five of those games. Rick won his first of two Gold Glove awards that season.

In 1986, the Pirates were slightly better as a team but Reuschel saw his ERA slip to 3.96 and his record(9-16) suffered. He began the 1987 season in Pittsburgh, winning eight of his 25 starts before he was dealt to the San Francisco Giants in August for pitchers Jeff Robinson and Scott Medvin. Before he left, Rick was a representative of the Pirates in the All-Star game, his first selection in ten seasons. He also won his second Gold Glove and led the league with 12 complete games and four shutouts. Reuschel would win 36 games over the next two seasons with the Giants, where he pitched until 1991. He finished with 214 career wins and he ranks 34th all-time in games started with 529.

Jolly Roger Rewind: May 16, 1989

One of the most unexpectedly effective starting pitching performances in franchise history led the Pirates to a 5-0 win over the Reds at Riverfront Stadium.

Randy Kramer had stalled in the Rangers’ system when Syd Thrift obtained him in a minor trade in 1986. After an undistinguished five-game debut in late 1988, Kramer returned from AAA in late April ’89, contributed two middling starts, and then found himself on the sidelines (with the help of a few rainouts) for the next eleven days.

On the twelfth day, however, Kramer took the mound at Riverfront and threw a masterpiece. The 28-year-old old rookie held the home team hitless until Ron Oester’s double into the leftfield corner with two outs in the eighth inning. While falling short of the Pirates’ first no-hitter since John Candelaria in 1976, Kramer retired the final four Reds batters after Oester’s hit to wrap up a one-hit, one-walk complete-game shutout. (Cincinnati also put two men on base from late-game Pirate errors: Herm Winningham on Sid Bream’s seventh-inning error and Jeff Reed on Jose Lind’s error, one batter before Oester spoiled the no-hit bid.)

Unfortunately for Kramer, his brush with glory in the Queen City represented the apex of his big league career. When he next took the ball, four days later, it was as a relief pitcher; his next start did not come until June 10. Kramer remained on the major league roster for the balance of the ’89 season, but the majority of his 35 appearances came from the bullpen (including a brief stint as the Bucco closer), and his overall performance was unexceptional (85 ERA+). He pitched in twelve games for the 1990 Pirates before being shipped to Chicago in another minor trade, and his career ended shortly thereafter.

Box score and play-by-play

Pittsburgh Press game story

Al McBean (1938) Pitcher for the Pirates from 1961 until 1968, then again in 1970. He was signed by the Pirates in 1958 out of the Virgin Islands for a $100 bonus, just the second major leaguer to be signed out of there, with the first one being another Pirates player, Joe Christopher. McBean was in the majors by the middle of the 1961 season, posting a 3.75 ERA in 74.1 innings that rookie season. He made just two starts(and 25 relief appearances) but the following season he was moved into the starting rotation. Al had a good season, going 15-10 3.70, finishing second on the team in wins to Bob Friend. Despite the strong stats, it was said that he wasn’t cut out for starting because he worried too much about his starts the whole previous night prior to the game, sometimes getting no sleep. He was moved to the relief role in 1963 and was used often in that role, topping 85 innings in each of the next five seasons. In 1964, he won eight games, saved 22 and had a 1.91 ERA in 58 games.

In 1968, Al was moved back to the starting role and pitched two shutouts in his first five outings. He began to struggle as the year went on and by late August, after two very poor outings, he was moved back to the bullpen. McBean would be selected by the San Diego Padres that October in the expansion draft. He pitched one game for them before being traded to the Dodgers. After one appearance during the 1970 season, Los Angeles released McBean and he quickly signed back with the Pirates. His second stint with the team lasted less than a month before he was released, following an 8.10 ERA in seven outings. He finished his career playing two more years in the Phillies farm system. In 376 games for the Pirates, 75 as a starter, he had a 3.08 ERA with 65 wins and 59 saves.

Jimmy Wasdell (1914) Outfielder for the 1942-43 Pirates. He was one of four players the Pirates acquired in the Arky Vaughan trade with the Dodgers on December 12,1941. In parts of five seasons in the majors prior to the trade, he had a .270 average with 11 homers and 126 RBI’s in 295 games. In 1942 for the Pirates, Wasdell saw plenty of action at the corner outfield positions, while also getting starts in center field and first base. He hit .259 with 38 RBI’s and a .655 OPS in 122 games. Despite the fact he played less than 100 games in the outfield, he finished second among all NL outfielders in errors committed. Jimmy wasn’t with the Pirates for long in 1943. After four pinch hit appearances in the first week of the season, he was sold to the Phillies. He became a solid player in Philadelphia, playing there for 3 1/2 seasons, with his best season coming in 1945 when he hit .300 with 60 RBI’s. That year, he struck out just eleven times in 541 plate appearances. He lasted in the majors until 1947, getting one AB for the Indians that year before being released. He finished his pro career with three more seasons in the minors. He was a player/manager his last season in the minors, then managed during the 1950 season.

Jimmy Smith (1895) Shortstop for the 1916 Pirates. He was a light-hitting shortstop, who was a native of Pittsburgh, Pa and an alumni of Duquesne University. There have been just eight players in major league history who have also attended that school and six of them played with the Pirates. He spent the first two seasons of his big league career in the Federal League, considered an outlaw major league at the time. After hitting .207 in 128 games in 1915, he was released and signed with the Pirates as a free agent on February 6,1916. He was with Pittsburgh at the beginning of the year, playing shortstop when Honus Wagner played first base but by June, Smith was sent to Toronto of the International League. He hit .222 there in 85 games before returning to the Pirates in September. In a total of 36 games for the Pirates, Smith hit .188 with five RBI’s. He was sent back to Toronto in 1917 after unrealistic salary demands and eventually he was released so he could sign with the New York Giants. Jimmy played in the majors until 1922, getting into 370 games, with a .219 career average.

Harry Salisbury (1855) Pitcher for the 1882 Pittsburgh Alleghenys. He attended Brown University from 1877 until 1879, then made his major league debut for the Troy Trojans of the National League after graduating. Salisbury went 4-6 with a 2.22 ERA in ten starts that year for Troy. He had prior pro experience, playing minor league ball in 1877, the first year that organized minor league ball existed. His next known baseball experience came for the 1882 Pittsburgh Alleghenys, when he showed up on the roster one month into the season. The team started the season with a 6-5 record over the entire of May (games played were sporadic due to travel and limited time to draw up the first schedule) and Salisbury made his debut the next day in an 11-4 win. The Alleghenys played 79 games on the year and of the 68 played from June 1st on, Harry started 38 of those games. He also pitched a complete game in all 38 of those games, getting in a total of 338 innings. He is the first twenty game winner in Pirates franchise history. That 1882 season was his last in the majors and he played at least another three years in the minors afterwards. It was said that he had signed an 1883 contract to play for Louisville of the American Association before the 1882 season ended and some noise was made by Pittsburgh management about Harry’s last game in an Alleghenys uniform, a 20-6 loss to Louisville.

Jolly Roger Rewind: May 15, 1967

Tony Perez’s tenth-inning double scored Pete Rose with the winning run in an 8-7 Reds victory over the Pirates at Crosley Field.

The Reds emerged triumphant despite a frenetic effort from Roberto Clemente, who scorched the home team for three home runs and a double, driving in all seven Bucco runs. Clemente’s first salvo came in the first inning, with a two-run homer off Reds starter Milt Pappas. He repeated the feat in the fourth inning to extend the Bucs’ lead to 4-0.

After the Reds rallied with three runs in the sixth off Bob Veale, Clemente restored the lead to 6-3 with a two-run double off Darrell Osteen in the bottom of the seventh. He likewise responded to Cincinnati’s two-run bottom of the seventh uprising with a top-of-the-ninth solo shot off Gerry Arrigo, giving Bucco reliever Juan Pizarro a 7-5 margin going to the last of the ninth.

At this point, Cincinnati settled upon a winning strategy: end the game before Clemente could commit further mayhem. With one out in the ninth, Perez singled for the third of his four hits, and Lee May, playing in the first full season of what would turn out to be a 2071-game, 354-homer career, drove one over the fence to knot the game at 7-7. Arrigo set Bill Mazeroski, Donn Clendenon and Gene Alley down on groundouts in the visitors’ half of the tenth inning, and then Perez’s two-out double drove in Rose to clinch the win.

Clemente’s four-for-five night raised his batting average to .390 and OPS to 1.075. “It was the best game I’ve ever had—in a losing cause, that is,” he observed afterwards. “My best games are when I drive in the winning run.”

Box score and play-by-play

Associated Press game story

The Player

Drew Rader (1901) Pitcher for the Pirates on July 18,1921. Before he signed with the Pirates, he was a star pitcher for Syracuse University, claimed by some to be the best amateur pitcher around as a freshman. Prior to enrolling in college, Pittsburgh tried to sign the young pitcher who was said to be equally strong at pitching with either hand, although he was known as “lefty”.  The Pirates upped the offer to Rader, asking him to leave school and join the team for Spring Training in 1921. Drew was with the Pirates for awhile before he finally got to pitch. He roomed with another rookie, Moses “Chief” Yellow Horse, a full-blooded American Indian and by early June, the two were said to be close friends. Drew finally got into a game on July 18th, although it took a 12-1 deficit late in the game to actually get him off the end of the bench. He pitched two scoreless innings against the New York Giants that day, giving up a single in each frame. It would be the end of his major league career and his career as a pro player was almost over as well. He only pitched one game in the minors in 1922 with the Reading Aces of the International League

The Manager

Horace Phillips (1853) Manager of the Pittsburgh Alleghenys from 1884 until 1889. He was a minor league player/manager during the first season(1877) that minor league ball existed. After two years in the minors, he got the job as manager of the Troy Trojans during their first season of existence in the National League. Troy was the worst team in the NL and after 47 games, Phillips lost his job to veteran third baseman Bob Ferguson, who did no better at the helm of the team. Troy finished 19-56 on the season. Phillips returned to the minors as a player/manager in 1880, then as just a player in 1881, his last year as an active player. He was a manager of a team in Philadelphia in 1882, when talk of forming a second major league began. Horace was instrumental in getting the American Association off the ground, but when the first season started, he was without a job in the league. In 1883, Phillips managed the Columbus Buckeyes of the American Association to a sixth place finish, 1.5 games ahead of the Pittsburgh Alleghenys in the standings.

In 1884, Horace began the year managing in the minors. At the helm of a team from Grand Rapids, Michigan in the Northwestern League, he led them to a first place finish with a 48-13 record. At the same time, the Alleghenys were changing managers rapidly during their season, going through four, including Bob Ferguson, before they hired Phillips to finish out the year. He went just 9-24 and the team finished in tenth place but Pittsburgh chose to stick with him. The 1885 Alleghenys had a huge influx of talent and they were players familiar to Phillips. When the Columbus Buckeyes franchise folded after the 1884 season, Pittsburgh bought most of their players. The moved merged a 30-78 Pittsburgh team with a second place(69-39) Columbus team, making the Alleghenys an instant contender.

Phillips led the Alleghenys to a 56-55 finish in 1885, their first winning season in the franchise’s fourth year of existence. They would get much better the next year, finishing in second place with a record of 80-57, which helped lead to the team moving from the AA to the National League. Phillips remained at the helm of Pittsburgh for two more full seasons, leading the club to sixth place(out of eight teams) finishes each year. In 1889, he managed the club through the middle of July but began making odd decisions off the field with his finances. He received a salary from the team and part of the profits, which amounted to a decent amount of money but he began to spend money like someone who was much more wealthier. He was relieved of his managerial duties and sent back home. His doctor diagnosed him with Paresis, brought on by overwork and said that Phillips has been in a slow decline for the last year. It was also said that his managerial career was over and that assessment was correct. Phillips was committed to an insane asylum and passed away in 1896.

The Hitter

On this date in 1896, Jake Stenzel collects six hits in one game for the Pirates. Pittsburgh had their bats working overtime against the Boston Beaneaters that day, collecting 27 hits and scoring twenty runs. The day after his big game, Stenzel collected another four hits, giving him 12 hits in 15 AB’s over a three game span. Despite the streak and the fact Jake hit .361 on the season, he still finished second on the team in batting by .001 to Elmer “Mike” Smith. Stenzel would be traded away by the Pirates at the end of the season.

The mound opponent for the Pirates that day was Cozy Dolan, who would make just three more starts in his career. He returned to the majors in 1900 after a three year layoff and played another 798 games as a decent hitting outfielder. He is not to be confused with the Cozy Dolan that played outfield for the 1913 Pirates. A popular practice back in that era was to give players, with the same last name as an older player, that player’s nickname.

Jolly Roger Rewind: May 14, 1982

A baserunning blunder reduced Lee Lacy’s apparent go-ahead grand slam to a mere three-run single, but the runs were enough to complete the Pirates’ rally for an 8-7 victory over the Reds at Three Rivers Stadium.

Trailing 7-5 in the bottom of the eighth, the Bucs started the inning with Reggie Walton’s pinch-hit walk and Willie Stargell’s pinch-hit single off Cincinnati reliever Jim Kern. Kern then failed to field Omar Moreno’s attempted sacrifice bunt cleanly, loading the bases with none out.

Reds manager John McNamara called in Tom Hume to face Lacy, but the Bucco rightfielder hit Hume’s 2-2 pitch over the wall in right-center to put the Pirates into the lead. How far into the lead became an unexpected matter of doubt: rounding first and heading for second, Lacy failed to realize that Moreno had held up to ensure that Cincinnati centerfielder Cesar Cedeno did not catch the ball. Not expecting to encounter a teammate so soon into his celebratory trot, Lacy passed Moreno about 30 feet from second base, making him automatically out.

Its bizarre aftermath notwithstanding, Lacy’s clutch hit did give the Pirates a one-run lead that they would not relinquish. Kent Tekulve set down the Reds in the ninth to earn the save on Enrique Romo’s victory; earlier, Manny Sarmiento had performed the bullpen’s heavy lifting in a five-and-a-third-inning, one run, one hit performance in relief of starter Don Robinson, whom the Reds knocked out with a five-run first inning.

(Lacy’s “Slam That Wasn’t,” as the Pittsburgh Press called it, evoked two previous adventures in baserunning at Three Rivers. On July 4, 1976, Phillies catcher Tim McCarver had celebrated America’s bicentennial by hitting an apparent grand slam against Larry Demery, only to likewise wind up with a three-run single when he passed Gary Maddox between first and second. On June 19, 1974, Lacy, standing on third base as a member of the Dodgers, had walked off the field—along with various Pirates—and into the dugout when Los Angeles catcher Joe Ferguson apparently struck out on a full count pitch with the bases loaded and two outs. As it turned out, the home plate umpire ruled the pitch to Ferguson was ball four, and Lacy wound up returning to the field to score “from the dugout.”)

Box score and play-by-play

Pittsburgh Press game story

Jones was put in the hospital in game six but returned for game seven

Pittsburgh Pirates

3B Bobby Byrne
CF Tommy Leach
LF Fred Clarke
SS Honus Wagner
2B Dots Miller
1B Bill Abstein
RF Chief Wilson
C George Gibson
P Vic Willis

Detroit Tigers

LF Davy Jones
SS Donie Bush
RF Ty Cobb
CF Sam Crawford
2B Jim Delahanty
3B George Moriarty
1B Tom Jones
C Boss Schmidt
P George Mullin

The game started off with a bang for the Pirates as they got on the board quickly against Mullin, who was on just one day rest. Bobby Byrne and Tommy Leach each singled, putting runners on the corners with no outs and the big bats of the Pirates lineup coming up. Fred Clarke made it three straight singles to put the Pirates on the board. Ty Cobb in right field tried to nail Leach at third base but he slid in safe and Clarke moved to second on the throw. That brought up Honus Wagner, who lined a double into left field to score both of the runners and put the Pirates up 3-0 with no outs. Mullin was able to settle down a keep the deficit at three by retiring the next three batters in order, leaving Wagner on third base after he advanced there on a groundout by Dots Miller.

Davy Jones led off the Tigers half of the inning with a hard liner right at Miller for the first out. Willis walked Donie Bush but then struck out Cobb for the second out. Sam Crawford came up and hit a double to center field that brought Bush all the way around from first. The play at the plate would’ve been close but the relay throw from Miller was wild, which allowed Crawford to move to third base. Willis got Jim Delahanty to fly out to end the inning with a 3-1 score.

The second inning was over quickly for both sides, six batters up and six batters down, with a fly ball by Boss Schmidt being the only ball that left the infield. Pittsburgh led off the third with Leach reaching on an error by Bush. Clarke sacrificed him to second base but all Wagner could do was move him up ninety feet with his groundout to second base. Miller then drew a walk and moved to second base on a stolen base but Mullin struck out Bill Abstein to end the inning.

In the bottom of the third, Mullin singled to center field but was doubled off of first base when a liner to third base by Davy Jones was snared by Byrne, who threw out to first for the double play. Willis then hit Bush, who stole second base, but the inning ended on an infield pop up by Cobb.

The bottom of the Pirates order decided to try out all of the Detroit infielders in the fourth inning. Grounders to 3B,2B and SS retired the side in order.

The fourth inning for Willis was a rough one and it all started with a walk to Crawford. Delahanty singled to put runners on the corners with no outs. George Moriarty singled to Chief Wilson in right field, Crawford scored easily but Delahanty was thrown out trying to advance to third base. Moriarty moved to second on the throw, then scored when Tom Jones singled to left field. An error by Clarke let Jones get to second base on the play. Willis then walked Boss Schmidt, before getting out of trouble with two straight fly outs to left field. The score was now tied at three apiece.

The top of the Pirates order could do nothing in the fifth inning, making it seven in a row retired by Mullin. Willis remained on the mound in the fifth inning and gave up a leadoff single to Bush. Vic got Cobb and Crawford to groundout, with Bush moving up ninety feet on each play. Jim Delahanty then doubled to bring home the Tigers fourth run. After a walk to Moriarty, Willis got Tom Jones to pop out to end both the inning and the day for the Pirates pitchers. He would be replaced in the next frame by Howie Camnitz.

Pittsburgh got it’s first hit off Mullin in three innings, when Miller collected a one out single in the sixth. The Detroit ace was still able to face the minimum as he got the next hitter(Abstein) to hit into a double play.

Camnitz had a rough first inning, giving up two doubles,a walk and the Tigers fifth run. He almost got out of trouble when Boss Schmidt turned a leadoff double into a runner at first and one out, when he was nailed at third base on a grounder back to the mound by Mullin. Davy Jones replaced Mullin at first base with two outs, when he reached on a fielders choice Jones stole second, then scored on a ground rule double by Cobb. Camnitz got Crawford to make the last out, leaving the score at 5-3 after six innings.

In the top of the seventh, George Gibson collected a one out hit, bringing in Ham Hyatt to pinch hit for Camnitz. Mullin retired Hyatt, who got Gibson over to second base. Byrne came up and hit a line drive but it was right at Bush at shortstop to end the inning. Deacon Phillippe came in for the bottom of the inning and retired the Tigers in order. It was the fifth shutout inning thrown by Phillippe in the series, in game four he threw four scoreless innings in relief of Lefty Leifield.

The heart of the Pirates order could nothing against Mullin in the eighth inning and Phillippe shut down the Tigers in the bottom of the inning, setting up a dramatic, action packed ninth inning.

The Pirates stepped to the plate in the ninth inning down two runs. They got the inning started off quickly with back-to-back singles by Miller and Abstein. Chief Wilson stepped up and with the infield in, he laid down a perfect bunt. This is where the game got very interesting. Schmidt, the Tigers catcher, fielded the ball and made the throw to first. Wilson was running hard the whole way and got to the bag at the same time the throw did, but Tom Jones was reaching for the ball and the two players collided. Jones was out cold on the play and he didn’t hang on to the throw. Dots Miller, now at third base, saw the ball get away and he scurried towards home with the Pirates fourth run.

The play set off a melee that delayed the game and put Jones in the hospital. More importantly for the Pirates, it put runners on the corners with no outs and they needed just one run to tie. Gibson came up and hit a grounder to first base, now manned by Sam Crawford, who moved in from center field. Abstein took off for home on the play and was gunned down by Crawford for the first out. On the play, the Pirates first baseman slid hard into Boss Schmidt and gave him a nasty cut on his leg from the spikes. It also led to a second fight that had to be broken up. The Pirates then went to a pinch hitter with one out and two men on, calling on Ed Abbaticchio for the first time in the series. Mullin was able to strikeout the Pirates hitter and on the third strike, the runners took off. A perfect throw by Schmidt nailed Wilson at third base to end the game but it didn’t end the excitement.

A hard slide by Wilson left a third Tigers player bloodied in the inning. Third baseman George Moriarty and Wilson began a fight that nearly brought the Tigers fans on the field to get involved. It was a rough ending to a closely fought 5-4 game and it brought great intensity to game seven, which would be played two days later in Detroit. When we return next week, the date is October 16, 1909 and the Tigers and Pirates will meet in the deciding game of the World Series. Pittsburgh throws Babe Adams to the mound looking for his third win, while the Tigers counter with Wild Bill Donovan, the winner of game two.

Jack Shepard (1931) Catcher for the Pirates from 1953 until 1956. He was heavily recruited while in college at Stanford, deciding to sign with the Pirates because he felt GM Branch Rickey had the team going in the right direction. The Pirates brought Shepard right to the majors and got him into two games before sending him to the minor leagues. He went to Denver of the Western League and hit .324 with nine homers in 84 games. He made the Pirates out of Spring Training the next year and had a strong rookie season platooning with Toby Atwell behind the plate. In 82 games, Shepard hit .304 with 22 RBI’s. The next year, Jack got even more playing time, although his batting was nowhere near  as good as his rookie season. He hit .239 in 94 games and managed to have just a .639 OPS. When he was sent to the minors in 1953, it was said that he needed to work on his throwing to make himself a strong major league player. He must’ve taken that to heart, as he threw out 52% of would-be base stealers in 1955. In 1956, Shepard played a career high 100 games, hitting .242 with seven homers and 30 RBI’s. He signed his contract to play for the Pirates in February of 1957 but less than a month later he retired from baseball to pursue a career in business. He managed briefly for the Pirates in the minor leagues in 1959.

Frank Miller (1886) Pitcher for the Pirates from 1916 until 1919. Despite winning twenty games for four straight seasons in the high levels of the minors, Miller didn’t make his major league debut until age 27 with the Chicago White Sox. On July 12,1913, the White Sox gave him one start and he pitched poorly, allowing five runs in 1.2 innings. It was then back to the minors for two more full seasons before he returned to the big leagues with the 1916 Pirates. In his first full season in the majors, he went 7-10 with a 2.29 ERA in 173 innings, getting twenty starts and ten relief appearances. They next year, the Pirates were awful, winning just 51 games. Miller had a decent 3.13 ERA during a down year for offense, but his record was just 10-19 in 28 starts and ten relief outings. His 1918 season was his best overall. Miller had a 2.38 ERA, with a record of 11-8 in 23 starts. The next year, Frank won a career high 13 games and topped the 200 inning mark for the second time. The Pirates sold him to the Boston Braves in March of 1920 but he didn’t play for them until 1922. It was said he retired due to “family and business pressure”. Frank won 11 games for the Braves his first year back, then went 0-3 before he was released in 1923, ending his baseball career.

Jimmy Archer (1883) Catcher for the 1904 Pirates and then again in 1918. He began his pro baseball career in the low levels of the minors in 1903 and by the following year he established himself as a prospect. That second season, he hit .299 in 74 games despite breaking his collarbone during the season. He had a very strong throwing arm and in September of 1904, the Pirates gave him a trial in the majors. He played seven games and impressed but he needed more seasoning so he was sent to Atlanta of the Southern Association for two years. On September 1,1906 he was chosen by the Tigers in the Rule V draft. Archer played 18 games for the Tigers in 1907, then returned to the minors, where he was again taken in the Rule V draft, this time by the Cubs in 1908. He would become a star player for the Cubs, spending nine seasons in Chicago before being released during the 1917 season. The Pirates signed him in 1918 but by age 35, years of catching had worn him down and he was well past his prime. He hit .155 in 24 games before Pittsburgh released him. Jimmy played briefly for Brooklyn, then for the Reds before he decided to call it a career. In 847 major league games, he was a .249 career hitter with 296 RBI’s.

May 13,1892

The Pirates took on the Cleveland Spiders on May 13,1892 with Elmer “Mike” Smith on the mound. Smith was just one year away from becoming a star outfielder for the Pirates, but in 1892 he was trying to make a comeback to the majors as a pitcher. He won 34 games as a 19 year old in 1887 but by 1890 he was back in the minors for two full seasons. The Pirates lost 6-1 on this day, although it could actually be considered a win as Smith was hit hard. He would make just 11 more starts before becoming a full-time outfielder and over the next five seasons for the Pirates, he would hit .336 with 152 steals, 558 runs scored and 406 RBI’s. The starter for Cleveland that day was Denton True Young, the papers referred to him as Farmer Young back then but he is more well-known as Cy Young. The Pirates made seven errors during this game. They had two Hall of Famers in their lineup, at first base was Jake Beckley, while catching Smith that day was Connie Mack. Ed Swartwood played right field and batted sixth that day for the Pirates in one of his last major league games. He was the first batter in franchise history ten years earlier and had returned to the team after an eight year absence. Also of note for the Pirates on this day was the announcement that their new college pitcher, Fred Woodcock, would get his first major league start the next day and they hoped for big things from him. There will be much more on him in an upcoming article.

Jolly Roger Rewind: May 13, 1984

In a game that Chuck Tanner called “toughest loss I’ve ever had as a manager,” the Pirates squandered two-run leads in both the ninth and tenth innings and dropped a ten-inning 9-8 decision to the Braves on a Sunday afternoon at Fulton County Stadium.

After the Braves scored two ninth-inning runs off four Bucco relief pitchers to knot the game at 6-6, the Bucs responded with two tenth-inning runs on a Tony Pena RBI single and botched rundown. The lead in hand, Don Robinson, who had come into the game in the ninth and surrendered the tying run on a sacrifice fly, started the bottom of the tenth by retiring the first two Atlanta batters.

Victory appeared imminent, but Robinson walked the next two Braves, Jerry Royster and Gerald Perry. Tanner then called John Candelaria into the game; Candelaria had pitched seven innings in a starting appearance two days before, but had volunteered to work out of the bullpen that day, if needed.

The change was not enough to stop Atlanta. Claudell Washington drove in Royster with a bloop double to right center. Alex Trevino followed by lining a Candelaria pitch into the gap in right center, scoring Perry and Washington to end the game.

The Braves’ rallies concluded a frustrating weekend for the Pirates. Reigning two-time NL MVP Dale Murphy won Friday’s game with a tenth-inning home run off Kent Tekulve, and Atlanta broke an eighth-inning tie on Saturday with the eventual game-winning runs. Sunday’s walk-off loss sank the Bucs’ record to 10-19, the worst winning percentage in the major leagues.

Box score and play-by-play

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette game story

Josh Phelps (1978) First baseman for the 2007 Pirates. He was one of those rare Rule V draft picks that had major league experience before he was picked, and plenty of it. Phelps already had over 350 games in at the majors and six seasons of big league experience, when the Orioles signed him as a minor league free agent on November 10,2006. Less than a month later, the Yankees selected him in the Rule V draft and he would hit .263 in 36 games in New York through the end of June. He was put on waivers, where the Pirates picked him up. Playing mostly off the bench, in 58 games he hit .351 with five homers and 19 RBI’s for the Pirates. He was even used as a starting catcher when Ryan Doumit went down with an injury, getting two starts at the position, which were his first big league starts behind the plate in six years. Despite his versatility and his strong hitting, the Pirates dropped him from the roster in November of 2007 when they picked up Jimmy Barthmaier off waivers. Phelps has since played just 19 more major league games, all with the 2008 Cardinals. He is still currently active, playing pro ball in Italy.

Johnny Hetki (1922) Pitcher for the 1953-54 Pirates. He began pro ball in 1942, but missed the next two years due to military service. When he returned, Johnny pitched well for Birmingham of the Southern Association, earning a September call-up to the Cincinnati Reds. He went 6-6 2.99 in 32 games during his first full season in 1946 but really struggled the next two years. He spent most of 1948 and all of 1949 in the minors before coming back up to the majors with the 1950 Reds as a bullpen arm. Hetki then spent most of the 1951-52 seasons pitching for Toronto of the International League, where he won a combined 32 games. He also pitched three games for the 1952 St Louis Browns. The Pirates picked him up in the 1952 Rule V draft in December of 1952, paying $10,000 for his rights. Hetki would pitch two full seasons for Pittsburgh out of the bullpen, getting into a total of 112 games with 201.1 innings pitched. He went 7-10 4.38 with 12 saves. Johnny returned to Toronto in 1955 and pitched two years there before retiring as a player. At 90 years old today, he is the sixth oldest living Pirates player. One of his catchers during that 1953 season, Mike Sandlock, is the oldest.

Hank Borowy (1916) Pitcher for the 1950 Pirates. He was already in the middle of his ninth season in the majors when the Pirates picked him up off waivers in mid-June 1950 from the Phillies, paying the $10,000 fee for his rights. Borowy had a 104-76 career record at that point, winning in double digits his first five seasons. In 1945 he won 21 games, splitting the year between the Cubs and Yankees. In 1949, he made 28 starts for the Phillies, going 12-12 4.19 but in the first two months of 1950, he pitched just three times in relief and was being used as a batting practice pitcher. For the Pirates, he was put into the starting rotation and got hit hard in his two starts, including one against the Phillies just ten days after he was acquired. He got one more start and eight relief appearances before the Pirates sold him to the Detroit Tigers for more than they had paid to the Phillies. He would pitch 39 games for the Tigers over the next two years before retiring.

Alex McCarthy (1889) Infielder for the Pirates from 1910 until 1917. He was a teammate of Hall of Fame outfielder Max Carey, playing for South Bend of the Central League when both players had their contracts purchased. McCarthy was in his first season of pro ball at the time. Pittsburgh let him play the last three games of the season at shortstop, with Honus Wagner moving over to first base to give the kid a chance to play his normal position. On the final day of the season, he led off the game with a triple but made two errors in the field and didn’t collect another hit. In 1911, he made the team out of Spring Training and was the backup middle infielder, getting into 33 games at shortstop and 11 at second base. The following year, the Pirates moved Dots Miller over to first base and McCarthy became the regular second baseman. He played a career high 111 games that year, hitting .277 with 41 RBI’s and 53 runs scored.

In 1913, McCarthy struggled at the plate and 22 year old Jim Viox, who came up the previous season, took over the second base job. Viox hit .317 to lead the team, while Alex hit .203 in 31 games. The 1914 season was an even tougher one at the plate for McCarthy. He played strong defense in his 36 games at third base but hit just .150 in 173 AB’s. He was with the Pirates until September of 1915, when the team sold him to the Chicago Cubs. Alex was being used as the backup for all four infield positions for Pittsburgh but had played only 21 games all year. He was with the Cubs until July of 1916 when the Pirates reacquired him. He saw plenty of time at shortstop over the end of the season but hit just .199 in 50 games. After hitting .219 in 49 games the next year, he was traded to a minor league team in Kansas City. McCarthy never returned to the majors but played another ten seasons of pro ball before retiring. He would go on to manage in the minors after his playing days were over.

Harry Truby (1870) Second baseman for the 1896 Pirates. He began playing minor league ball as an 18 year old in 1888 but didn’t make his major league debut until seven seasons later with the 1895 Chicago Colts(Cubs). Harry made his major league debut in late August that year, playing 33 games at second base with a .336 average and 16 RBI’s. Truby began the 1896 season back with the Colts, hitting .257 with 31 RBI’s in 29 games. On July 4th, the Pirates purchased his contract from Chicago. He made his debut three days later batting seventh and playing second base. Truby was said to likely be there only until the starting second baseman, Louis Bierbauer, recovered from a minor injury.  He played poorly in his eight games, hitting .156 with five singles to his credit and he made some poor plays in the field. When Bierbauer returned, Truby lost his spot in the lineup and as it turned out, he never played in the majors again. He was sent to Toronto, a team in the Eastern League that the Pirates used as a farm team, where he played out the year.

Truby would be part of a fairly big trade for the Pirates later that year. Pittsburgh gave up Jake Stenzel, the franchise leader with a .360 career average in Pittsburgh, along with three players from Toronto, to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Steve Brodie, a defensive star in center field and third baseman Jim Donnelly. Harry ended up playing another eight seasons in the minors before his playing career ended. He also managed for three seasons between 1899 and 1908.

Jolly Roger Rewind: May 12, 1955

Chicago righthander Sam Jones held the Pirates hitless in a 4-0 Cubs victory at Wrigley Field. Fifty-seven years later, Jones’ performance remains the most recent instance of the Buccos getting no-hit in a road game.*

Jones—known as “Toothpick Sam” and “Sad Sam”—required 136 pitches to complete the feat. The league leader in both strikeouts and walks that season, he wound up striking out six Pirates and walking seven in the course of the no-hitter.

This propensity for strikeouts and walks provided some ninth inning drama. Jones started the ninth by walking Ed Freese, pinch-hitter Preston Ward, and Tom Saffell. With the tying run at the plate, Cubs manager Stan Hack visited the mound and, according to the Associated Press account of the game, told his pitcher to “get the ball over, that’s all.” (Hack revealed afterwards that he did not inform Jones that he had decided to remove him if he walked another batter.)

Thus counseled, Jones went mano-a-mano with three young Pirate hitters—all of whom would play integral roles in the Pirates’ metamorphosis from 42-win catastrophe in 1952 to World Champions eight years later—and emerged with his no-hitter. First, he took three pitches to strike out 24-year-old shortstop Dick Groat (in his second major league season after missing two years for Army service). Next, he dispatched 20-year-old rookie rightfielder Roberto Clemente (batting third in just his 23rd major league game) with a four-pitch strikeout. Finally, he threw four more pitches to strike out 25-year-old leftfielder Frank Thomas (who would return three significant members of the 1960 team—Don Hoak, Harvey Haddix and Smokey Burgess—when traded to Cincinnati in 1959), ending the game. (Dale Long, unquestionably the best hitter on the 1955 Bucs, stood on the on-deck circle for the final out; Long drew walks against Jones in all three of his plate appearances that day.)

Jones became the first African-American pitcher to throw a no-hitter in major league history, eight years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier.

* St. Louis’ Bob Gibson no-hit the eventual World Champion Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium on August 14, 1971.

Box score and play-by-play

Associated Press game story

What this article is about though, is how did the Pirates stack up to Young during his time. He played from 1890-1911, that’s twenty-two seasons. From 1890-1900 he was in the NL, then he briefly came back at the end of his career, plus he pitched against the Pirates in the 1903 World Series. First part is, how many wins did the Pirates team leader have in each one of those seasons compared to Young. The second part will be, just how did the Pirates fare head-to-head against baseball’s all-time winningest pitcher. Simply, when Young started against them, how often did they win/lose.

Young vs Pirates best

1890: As a 23 year old rookie, Young won nine games. The Pittsburgh Alleghenys as a team won just 23 games, then changed their team name the next year. Billy Gumbert won four games to lead the team. Young +5 (running +/- total)

1891: Young won 27 games. Mark Baldwin led the Pirates with 21 wins. Young +11

1892: Young led the NL with 36 wins. Baldwin finished ten behind him. Young+21

1893: Young eclipsed the thirty win mark again, winning 34 times. Frank Killen however, led the NL with 36 wins. Young+19

1894: Young “only” won 26 times. Red Ehret led Pittsburgh with 19 wins. Young+26

1895: Cy  amassed 35 wins. Pink Hawley led the way with 31. Young+30

1896: Young had 28 victories. Killen again beat him out with a league leading 30 wins. Young+28

1897: Young dropped down to 21 but the Pirates leader was less, Hawley with 18. Young+31

1898: Cy won 25 times. Jess Tannehill tied him. Young+31

1899:  Young won 26 times in the last year of his first decade.  Tannehill was close behind at 24. Young+33

1900: Young had a 19-19 record, first .500 or worse season. Tannehill and Deacon Phillippe each win twenty. Young+32

1901: Cy goes to AL and dominates with league leading 33 wins. Phillippe leads the way with 22 wins. Young+43

1902: Young leads AL again, 32 wins. Jack Chesbro gives him a run with 28 wins. Young+47

1903: Young makes it three straight AL win titles with 28. Phillippe and Sam Leever win 25 apiece. Young+50

1904: Cy doesn’t lead AL with 26 wins. Patsy Flaherty wins 19 times. Young+57

1905: Young had a 1.82 ERA and an 18-19 record. Phillippe/Leever win 20 each. Young+55

1906: Cy wins 13, leads AL in losses. Hall of Famer Vic Willis wins 23. Young+45

1907: Young bounces back at age 40 to win 21 games. Willis ties him. Young+45

1908: Another 21 win season for Young. Willis and Nick Maddox each win 23 times. Young+43

1909: Young wins 19 times. Howie Camnitz enters the fray with 25 victories. Young+37

1910: Young became old, wins just seven times. Babe Adams win 18 times. Young+26

1911: Cy’s last sigh. Seven again. Adams emerges victorious 22 times. Young+11

Final tally, Cy Young 511 wins. The Pirates best pitcher from 1890-1911, 500 wins. That total is from 14 different Pirates pitchers.

Head-to-Head

1890: Alleghenys went 0-3

1891: Pirates went 1-6

1892: Pirates went 2-3

1893: Pirates went 2-2

1894: Pirates went 3-1

1895: Pirates went 1-3

1896: Pirates went 4-0

1897: Pirates went 0-2

1898: Pirates went 2-3

1899: Pirates went 2-3

1900: Pirates went 4-3

1903: Pirates went 1-2 in the World Series

1911: Pirates went 0-2

Finally tally against the all-time win leader, 22-33 for the Pirates. Pittsburgh bested him during just two seasons.

Mike Garcia (1968) Pitcher for the 1999-2000 Pirates. He was originally signed after being drafted by the Tigers in the 55th round of the amateur draft. Three years earlier, while coming out of high school, the Red Sox drafted him in the seventh round. With the Tigers, he made it to AA before being released in 1993. He then signed with the expansion Colorado Rockies, but was cut by the end of Spring Training. From 1994 until 1998, Garcia played in Mexico and Taiwan. In December of 1998, he returned to the states, signing with the Pirates. Mike had a 3.95 ERA in 23 AAA outings in 1999, earning a September call-up. He allowed a run in his major league debut, then followed that with six scoreless appearances. In 2000, Garcia was a late cut during Spring Training but made it back to the majors shortly after the season started. His results were opposite of the previous season with Pittsburgh, he struck out the side during his only inning during his first game back, then struggled the rest of the way. In 11.1 innings over 13 outings, Mike allowed 21 hits, seven walks and 15 runs, before being sent back to AAA and eventually released before the season ended. Pittsburgh resigned him in January 2001, and he spent the season in AA, where he dominated the younger competition. He bounced around the minors and foreign ball until retiring after the 2007 season.

Mark Huismann (1958) Pitcher for the 1990-91 Pirates. He was originally drafted by the Cubs in 1979 but did not sign. The next year he went undrafted and signed with the Royals. By 1983. Mark was in the majors with Kansas City although he only spent one full season(1986) in the majors during his career. The Pirates signed him in March of 1990 as a free agent after he was released by the Orioles. The previous season, he had a 6.35 ERA in eight games(11.1 IP) with Baltimore. For the Pirates in 1990, Huismann made just two appearances in June, giving up five runs in one inning, then throwing two shutout innings the other game. In 1991, he was called up early in the season when the Pirates sent down Tom Prince and expanded the bullpen to six pitchers. Mark pitched five games, allowing runs in three of them, and in another game, he gave up a hit to the only batter he faced. He was sent back to AAA in May, then Pittsburgh released him in June. Huismann signed quickly with the Royals, although he pitched in AAA until the end of 1992 without making it back to the majors. He is one of just four players from Colorado State University to make the majors. Mark made one start in his nine year major league career, 1986 for the Mariners.

Walt Terrell (1958) Pitcher for the 1990 Pirates. He was drafted and signed by the Texas Rangers in 1980. Just before Opening Day in 1982, the Mets acquired him, along with Ron Darling, in exchange for Lee Mazzilli. Terrell won eleven games for the Mets in 1984, then was dealt to the Tigers in exchange for Howard Johnson. In Detroit, he would win at least 15 games over the next three seasons, going a combined 47-32 in 102 starts. His record fell to just 7-16 in 1988 but he had a better ERA than each of his two previous seasons. Walt was then traded to the Padres, where he pitched briefly, until being dealt to the Yankees in July of 1989. After a 5.20 ERA in 13 starts for New York, he left via free agency, signing with the Pirates just 16 days later. He had a few decent starts in Pittsburgh but for the most part, he was a bust, far from his best days in Detroit. After 16 starts, Walt was released, finishing 2-7 with a 5.88 ERA. He resigned with the Tigers, pitching there through the end of the 1992 season. He finished his career with a 111-124 record, with a 4.22 ERA in 294 starts and 27 relief appearances.

Gene Hermanski (1920) Outfielder for the 1953 Pirates. He was originally signed by the Philadelphia A’s in 1939 but made his major league debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1943. Shortly after his debut, he began serving in the military which caused him to miss all of 1944 and 1945. Gene returned to the Dodgers in 1946 and remained there until a June 1951 trade sent him to the Chicago Cubs. He hit .255 with 34 RBI’s in 99 games during his first full season with the Cubs(1952) and he was batting .150 through 18 games played in the 1953 season, when the Cubs sent him and five other players(plus cash) to the Pirates in the Ralph Kiner deal. For Pittsburgh, Hermanski played 41 games, mostly off the bench. He hit .177 with four RBI’s in what would turn out to be his last season in the majors. He spent the entire 1954 season playing in the Pacific Coast League before retiring. Gene had a career average of .272, with 533 hits in 739 games.

Jolly Roger Rewind: May 11, 1977

After a doubleheader defeat one night earlier in Three Rivers Stadium extended the Braves’ losing streak to sixteen games, Atlanta owner Ted Turner resorted to a bold move to reverse his team’s fortunes: giving regular manager Dave Bristol a ten-day “leave of absence” and taking over the dugout helm himself. Unfortunately for the man whom a local columnist described as “indeed the handsome, charming, charisma-charged firebrand that his press clippings have made him out to be,” John Candelaria outdueled Phil Niekro for a 2-1 Bucco victory and the Braves’ seventeenth straight loss.

Turner turned most of the in-game duties over to coaches Vern Benson and Chris Cannizzaro, and the three of them took a relatively laissez-faire approach to game management. Niekro, who fell to 0-7 on the year, was the sole Atlanta pitcher to take the mound. The Braves did send in two pinch-hitters and a pinch-runner in an attempted ninth-inning rally; one of the pinch-hitters, Darrell Chaney, nearly tied the game by driving a pitch into the left-center gap with pinch-runner Pat Rockett on first and two out, but the ball bounced over the fence for a book-rule double. At that point, Pirates manager Chuck Tanner replaced Candelaria with Rich Gossage, who ended the game—which was also the first-place Bucs’ eleventh consecutive victory—by striking out pinch-hitter Rowland Office.

Turner’s managerial career lasted just one game; NL President Charles Feeney telephoned him the next morning and informed him that he was not to be in the dugout for that afternoon’s game, on the grounds that anyone who owned stock in a team could not manage it..* The Braves wound up stopping the losing streak—and the Pirates’ winning streak—with a 6-1 victory.

* Notwithstanding his 0-1 mark as field manager and the Braves’ 61-101 overall record that year, Turner’s sporting 1977 was not completely joyless. Less than two months later, he would be chosen to lead America’s Cup defense as skipper of the yacht Courageous. In September, Turner successfully defended America’s Cup, defeating Australia 4-0.

Box score and play-by-play

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