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First Pitch: Day Three
December 4, 2021
First Pitch
The MLB lockout is probably going to be very monotonous, and writing about it and discussing it daily will feel just as tedious. I’m keeping all of my lockout thoughts in First Pitch. However, I’ve been thinking of ways where First Pitch can have alternate themes, for those who are tired of lockout talk on any given day. These themes will stray from baseball into entertainment. To start this idea, I’m going to dedicate the Friday night/Saturday morning First Pitch each week to music discussion, after a quick Lockout update. Lockout Updates The biggest actual update I saw today was this from Jayson Stark. Pitch clocks!…Shift bans!…Robot umps!…The Double Hook! They won't be coming to a bargaining table near you – because, in a surprise move, MLB has taken rule changes off that table. I looked into why – and how it could endanger the chances of a dealhttps://t.co/63a0E7uX6D — Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) December 3, 2021 Spotify Wrap I spent a lot of time this year listening to Spotify. In fact, more than 98% of other users. I spent sixty three and a half days this year listening to @Spotify. pic.twitter.com/XgXJehSlgP — Tim Williams (@TimWilliamsPGH) December 1, 2021 According to my Spotify 2021 Wrap, I listened to over 1,500 artists and 117 different genres this year. I used the service to hunt for new music, though I definitely also used the service to play the same artists and songs on repeat. My 2021 wrap came up very heavy on John Mayer, Run the Jewels, and some of my favorite albums that were released in the first half of 2021. In summary of that wrap, if you’re looking for some new music, here are my suggestions based on what I listened to constantly this year. New Albums in 2021 Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee The first song on this album (“Paprika”) and the last song on the album (“Posing For Cars”) are two of my favorite new songs of the year. There’s not a bad track on the entire album, which is loaded with horns, strings, and an incredible guitar solo at the end of “Posing For Cars”. I first heard Japanese Breakfast, aka, Michelle Zauner, earlier this year with a track off an earlier album called “Everybody Wants to Love You.” She’s been busy this year, with the release of “Jubilee”, a best selling book (Crying in H-Mart), and the soundtrack to the PC video game Sable. Julien Baker – Little Oblivions This is another album I’ve listened to on repeat this year. One of my favorite albums of 2020 was “Punisher” by Phoebe Bridgers. That album led me to discover the group “boygenius” which is made up of Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker. Baker and Dacus both released new albums this year, and while both were outstanding, I trended towards Baker’s work. The album is raw emotion, dealing with struggles of relationships, mental health, and addiction. Julien Baker’s amazing voice is on full display, especially at the end of the song “Highlight Reel” and throughout “Ringside.” The Avalanches – We Will Always Love You Technically this album was released in 2020. However, it was released in December, less than 365 days ago, and I listened to it a lot this year, so I’m counting it. I had never heard of The Avalanches before this year. Their newest album, “We Will Always Love You” has guest appearances from MGMT, Leon Bridges, Denzel Curry, Rivers Cuomo, and more. Each song blends in perfectly together, and the album is broken up with periodical transmissions of an answering machine message being transmitted through space. Smoke a joint, hit play at the start of the album, and enjoy the ride. St. Vincent – Daddy’s Home St. Vincent’s guitar skills are incredible, and her new 70s themed album “Daddy’s Home” provides sounds that any fans of Pink Floyd would find familiar. The song “Live in the Dream” is reminiscent of that Pink Floyd sound that you would imagine plays as you transcend the space between two different realities, with each pluck of the guitar extending just a little bit longer than it would if life were moving at normal speed. The song transitions into the next track with sounds very similar to Floyd’s “Money”. St. Vincent’s album was written about dealing with her father’s prison sentence over the last decade. John Mayer – Sob Rock It’s probably no surprise to regular readers of First Pitch that John Mayer was my top artist this year. In fact, I was in the top .01% of listeners on Spotify for John Mayer’s work. He’s one of my favorite artists, but I never got into his dive into bluegrass and folk until the end of last year. That got me back into his music throughout the year, and he released a new album in July with an 80s vibe that calls on Toto, Clapton, and others of the easy listening variety in that era. The best tracks off the album are “Last Train Home”, “New Light”, and “Carry Me Away”. Madlib – Sound Ancestors I’ll be doing another “Best Albums of 2021” next week, looking through my vinyl record purchases. This album by Madlib would be one of my favorites on either side. I’ve listened to it a lot of weekends this year, and some of the beats end up on my regular Spotify daily mixes. “Two For 2 – For Dilla” and “The Call” are my favorites off the album. The last 6-7 songs hit a stride that you’ll get lost in, with so many different sounds blended perfectly together. New Old Songs My top 100 songs were dominated by albums that I listened to on repeat, but a few older songs made it through with regular plays. Here’s a mix of those songs: Caroline Rose – More of the Same This song is so catchy. The album, “Loner”, was released in 2018. El-P – Tougher Colder Killer Killer Mike and El-P together before RTJ. This is just a high speed rap battle that will leave you out of breath in less than four minutes. MF DOOM – Red & Gold Of all the DOOM personas, King Geedorah is my favorite. I was listening to this classic off Operation: DOOMSDAY a lot after DOOM’s passing was announced. The Japanese House – Dionne If I’m honest, it was a bit confusing at first to have new music by Japanese Breakfast and The Japanese House. This song is off a four-song EP that was released last year, and this song features Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon. CZARFACE, MF DOOM, Open Mike Eagle – Phantoms Another DOOM appearance. I hadn’t listened to CZARFACE before DOOM’s passing, but was hooked to the latest comic book references from Inspectah Deck. This song off the 2018 CZARFACE/MF DOOM album features Open Mike Eagle, who absolutely kills it with two legends on the track. Phoebe Bridgers – Chinese Satellite “Punisher” was one of my favorite albums in 2020, and this has emerged as one of my favorite songs from that album. I even wrote an article surrounding this song earlier in the year. John Mayer – Love on the Weekend I read someone speculating this song is written about the relationship between Mayer, the artist, and the fans who consume his work to unwind at the end of the week. Ever since reading that, this has been on my writing playlist. Killer Mike – Willie Burke Sherwood This 2012 album, R.A.P. Music, is outstanding from start to finish. Killer Mike, one half of RTJ, did this album with El-P, the other half of RTJ, producing. They followed this project by forming Run the Jewels the next year. This particular album is one of my favorite pre-2021 albums I’ve listened to this year. Run the Jewels – A Report to the Shareholders / Kill Your Masters This was my most listened to song in 2021, reserved for workouts, or even getting worked up for big projects. I hadn’t listened to RTJ prior to their fourth album released in 2020. Before that, I had only heard of Killer Mike from his work with Outkast. RTJ4 was one of my favorite albums of 2020, and a life changing album for me in a way that I’ll write about one of these days, as it ties into the skull you see on The 2022 Guide and all over this site. This year I went back and listened to RTJ 1-3. The third one is my favorite, and this song that finishes the album is damn-near perfect, including an appearance by Rage Against the Machine’s Zack De La Rocha. “Sea Legs” off their first album was my second favorite RTJ song this year, and my anthem as I got back into the habit of writing here on a regular basis. Share your favorite albums from this year in the comments below, and have a great Saturday! Daily Links **Winter Leagues: Thursday’s Recap for the Pittsburgh Pirates **Looking Ahead: Pirates Still Have Work To Do Post-Lockout **Pirates News: Another Starter in Plans, Don Kelly Candidate for Mets **Where Does the Pirates Payroll Stand Going into the Lockout? **This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History: December 3rd, Jose Lind and Junior Ortiz Join the Pirates **Card of the Day: 1987 Fleer Junior Ortiz PBN Updates First Pitch: PRE-SALE for The 2022 Guide and The 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghenys Books Song of the Day...
Pirates News: Another Starter in Plans, Don Kelly Candidate for Mets
December 3, 2021
News
Just a couple Pirates-related news items, and one potentially Pirates-related one: — You’ve probably seen this one, but Ben Cherington told reporters that the Pirates are interested in adding another starter. He added that nobody goes into spring training with a rotation slot secured, which makes sense because all their starters who were in the majors last year sucked, except Zach Thompson. — Bench coach Don Kelly reportedly is a candidate for the Mets’ vacant managerial job. This isn’t the first time he’s been connected to a managerial opening. — There are a variety of reports that Endeavor, a sports and entertainment firm, and it equity investor, Silver Lake, are buying up minor league teams. They’re expected to scarf up a dozen or so in the next few months, and the expectation is that they could eventually own 40 or more of the 120 remaining franchises. Supposedly, they’re focusing on affiliates owned by the parent team and “offering incredible value.” The Pirates, of course, own the Bradenton team. (I looked all over and couldn’t find out which teams Endeavor is supposedly buying.) What this could mean for the future of minor league baseball is impossible to say. I suppose one possible outcome might be a better online presence for minor league teams. Or worse. I dunno....
Where Does the Pirates Payroll Stand Going into the Lockout?
December 3, 2021
Analysis
When the clock struck midnight Wednesday night into Thursday morning, the lockout was officially upon us. That means no more transactions, rumors, or on-field baseball talk in the least. Conversations have moved to labor law and proposals. Now, while I personally find this thrilling—I am not joking—I know many don’t, so we need to find any kind of baseball content where we can. Well, I’m not sure this is the content you were hoping for, but I thought I would give a quick update on where the projected 2022 payroll sits as rosters are officially frozen until further notice. Sure, this could all become moot, given that salary structures could change—especially minimum ones, which the Pittsburgh Pirates have in spades. However, it’s still a good exercise, especially as the Pirates are currently Exhibit A in the MLBPA’s crusade against noncompetitive teams and low payrolls. So, just where does it sit at the moment? Let’s have a look: Guaranteed Salaries: $15,500,000 This is quite a step up from the last time, where the number sat at $0 for a long while. A free agent splurge—Pirate edition, in which they are actually tied for second in signings with three, but 20th in guarantees with $11,000,000—has bumped them up significantly. Among the six commitments is Michael Perez, who I instituted as the backup catcher, because well, you have to have one. I included his major league split amount as a guarantee—by rule, Perez had to sign a deal for 2022 before being outrighted—even though it would be lower if he were optioned to the minors. Arbitration Salaries: $6,700,000 After some designations, nontenders, and outright assignments, a potential class of eleven has been whittled down to two—Bryan Reynolds and Chris Stratton. Of course, there’s no telling what arbitration may look like or when and how they may come to agreements, so their predictions per MLB Trade Rumors are still the placeholders here, for now. Pre-arbitration Salaries: $11,311,000 This includes every other player on the 26-man roster that isn’t on a guaranteed contract—19 in total per my projected roster. Before I could come up with this amount, I had to calculate a projected minimum salary for 2022. Since there is no CBA to reference at this point, I merely applied the same raise that we saw from 2020 to 2021—1.24 percent—for 2022. This got me $577,500 as a baseline. For anyone who is unaware, minimum contract amounts are often determined based on service time, so it’s not exactly accurate to enter the same number for every player. To account for this, I added two to three percent raises to past minimum salaries on the books for all the players in question. This is certainly not a perfect method, but it’s probably better than using one random estimate, and the total should still be within reason of whatever the actual amount ends up being. Of course, this is assuming minimum salaries don’t change dramatically, which I don’t think if a safe assumption. Minor League Salary: $1,366,400 Another subsection that is very much up in the air, this is the total allocated for players not on the active roster, which I allocated thirteen out of fourteen possible spots. Again, since there are no set minimums for 2022, I had to calculate these salaries as well. I came up with $94,200 for players on second contracts or with major league experience and $47,200 for players new to the 40-man roster. Players with more service time or options used, like Luis Oviedo or Oneil Cruz, have higher estimates, as their split amounts are generally higher than the minimums. 2022 Payroll Projection: $34,877,400 Remember last offseason when all the talk was out there about Trevor Bauer making more than the Pirates? Well, that wasn’t true, however, that storyline is actually a possibility this time around. Max Scherzer just signed a three-year, $130 million deal with the New York Mets, in which the payouts are spread evenly among the life of the contract. Therefore, Scherzer is slated to make $43,333,333 in 2022, which is almost $10 million more than my current projection. Who knows, maybe Ben Cherington sticks to his word and the team goes out and finds some more pitching, or some late addition NRI’s boost the bottom line, but for now, the Pirates are in fact projected to make less than one player. I’d say follow along, as I normally would, but we won’t be seeing any changes, likely at least for a month or two. By that point, my family will have increased in size by 33%, so I’m hoping to be able to find time to digest the new deal and be here to cover it for you, but I can’t make any promises. Here’s to hoping!...
First Pitch: Day Two
December 3, 2021
First Pitch
This didn’t need to happen. MLB wasn’t forced to implement a lockout immediately after the Collective Bargaining Agreement expired. They weren’t forced to scrub MLB.com of player images and stories almost immediately. There’s some debate about making money off the likeness of the players. MLB’s argument is that this is just procedure to stay within the law and avoid making money from the likeness of the players. That said, you can still buy this Bryan Reynolds cornhole set for a penny under $320. Several former Pirates took to Twitter to change their avatars to the blank players that have replaced every 40-man roster player across MLB.com. Some A+ trolling here from @itsFatherJoe44, @JTaillon50 and @MeLlamoTrevor changing their profile pictures to the blank avatars https://t.co/cML1faFwBH is using in lieu of player images, which it has scrubbed from its website in the wake of the lockout. pic.twitter.com/sp59sRacce — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 2, 2021 The plan here is simple. MLB is using every tool and technique at their disposal to turn public opinion against the players. By issuing an immediate lockout and a strong statement from Rob Manfred that blames the players for everything, MLB removed the players from their news site only to make you forget who exactly makes the game of baseball. We’re in times right now where there’s a larger debate about fair wages for people making much less than MLB players. We’re also in times where the top players in the league keep getting record deals. Inevitably, the players will draw some heat from the public for being greedy. Their easily available salary figures will be used as an example of how they don’t actually need more. In a time when there’s a surge to tax billionaires, the billionaire owners of MLB can easily turn that sentiment toward its millionaire players. MLB’s focus is to get as much of the public on their side, and to put pressure on the players. The league has the advantage in that they are assembling the needs to 30 owners versus 1200 players. It’s going to be much more difficult for the players to stand as a united front with so many to consider. The battle on each side is the same. On the owners side, there are a few large market teams who can outspend the rest of the league, and buy near-guaranteed playoff appearances. Then, there are teams in small markets who routinely have tanking seasons to rebuild, ultimately only ever seeing 3-5 years of continuous success, with a much lower chance of a World Series than the big markets. The hope, for the sake of competitiveness, would be MLB implementing a system to share revenue equally and put every team on the same spending level, which would eliminate market size from the competitive factor. On the players side, there are those at the top signing nine-figure contracts, and making over $43 million per year. Then, there are those at the bottom who have their wages suppressed during their best seasons. The system that MLB has now pays the players nothing during their best years, and leaves them unwanted as veteran free agents when they finally hit the open market north of 40-years-old. If Max Scherzer made $33 million per year instead of $43 million, the Mets could use the difference to pay every minor leaguer in their system a living wage. Or, they could double the minimum wage for 20 players on the roster. Like the teams, the players experience a massive difference in pay between the top and bottom. If the league were to ever implement a salary cap/floor/total revenue sharing, it would result in a shift for both sides. You’d see fewer top deals, with the salary of those at the bottom rising. You wouldn’t see a $200 million gap between the highest and lowest spending team. To get to this point, you’d not only need teams like the Yankees/Red Sox/Dodgers to give up their power and revenue for the greater good. You would also need players like Scherzer, Gerrit Cole, and others to give up money and power for the greater good on their side. And then, you’d need both sides to agree on a revenue split that would be fair for the haves and have-nots on either side. There are a lot of moving parts here, and MLB has done a great job for years of sweeping their problems under the rug to deal with down the line. They haven’t wanted to turn off their money making machine in the past. Now, the machine is locked out. You wonder if this is finally the time the league will make drastic changes that should have been implemented way back in 1994. If not now, then I don’t know if it will ever happen where MLB will see a fair league structure that bridges the gap between the top and bottom. **For a great rundown of where each side stood on the discussions before the lockout, check out Ronald Blum’s article in the AP. **The MLB portion of the Rule 5 draft is postponed indefinitely, according to Baseball America, though the minor league portion is still scheduled for next Thursday. CORRECTION: The MLB portion of the Rule 5 draft has been postponed indefinitely, not necessarily canceled. We apologize for the error. https://t.co/sRX8LwUaVT — Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) December 2, 2021 Check back to First Pitch each night for the latest updates on the MLB lockout. Daily Links **Winter Leagues: Wednesday’s Action Includes a First Start from a Reliever, and a Free Agent Signing Elsewhere **PBN Podcasts: Roster Decisions, Lockouts, and Angst, OH MY! **DOWN Goes Baseball **No Rule 5 Draft? **This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History: December 2nd, Deacon White and a Big Trade with the Royals **Card of the Day: 1889 N172 Old Judge Deacon White PBN Updates PBN Black Friday: New Book Releases and Discounts on Pirates Prospects Books and Merchandise Song of the Day...
No Rule 5 Draft?
December 2, 2021
News
According to Baseball America, the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft has been “canceled.” The minor league phase will take place as usual. This makes sense, because players selected in the major league phase have to be added to the 40-man roster, which in turn makes them union members and subject to the lockout. The interesting part is the draft being canceled rather than postponed. Both the BA article and the similar one at MLBTR are written as if there will be no major league Rule 5 draft at all this off-season. Neither article explicitly says that there’s no chance of the draft being rescheduled after a labor agreement is reached. There probably is at least some chance, as generally speaking all bets are off during a dispute like this until it gets resolved. If an agreement comes at a late date, like March or after — as I’m guessing it will — MLB could easily decide a last-minute Rule 5 draft is more trouble than it’s worth. If in fact no draft takes place, it’ll be the rarest of rare birds: An MLB decision that benefits the Pirates. Their gamble in leaving prospects like Mason Martin, Tahnaj Thomas and Cal Mitchell unprotected might work out. It’s even conceivable that they based their decision partly on the possibility that a cancellation might happen. UPDATE: The draft has been “postponed indefinitely.” I guess it became obvious that simply saying “canceled” wasn’t very clear. So it could still happen....
DOWN Goes Baseball
December 2, 2021
Analysis
The long-expected lockout has arrived. No more Hot Stove League, unless you like to gather ’round to discuss labor law. There’s plenty that happens in the normal off-season that won’t now. No free agent signings. (FYI for Pirate fans: Free agent signings are a thing that major league teams do a lot at this time of year.) No trades. That’s no big deal because the Pirates have (almost) nobody left to trade. No waiver claims . . . . Wait a minute! NO WAIVER CLAIMS??!! How are the Pirates going to field a team in 2022??!! This is a disaster!! At least there’s a comical element to it all. MLB has meticulously removed all likenesses of major league players from its website, along with all rosters. Keep in mind, this is the organization that, to this very day, has left the “GCL” logo at the top of the Florida Coast League web pages. Thoroughness is hardly a byword for these guys, except when there’s a chance to add some pettiness to the labor strife. Anyway, the conventional wisdom seems to be that the rich guys will get this straightened out in January or February, early enough to leave the season and probably spring training intact. My gut feeling is that they won’t, that it’ll take until March or even later. The basic problem here is the fundamentally flawed nature of the sport’s economic structure. Of course, it’s fundamentally flawed because that’s the way both parties wanted it, for different reasons of course. That’s why their solutions in the past have always involved papering over the flaws with artificial solutions, like the luxury tax or the super two rules. All they’ve accomplished in the process has been to build more flaws into the flawed system. The problem the parties are facing now is that the flawed system has led to a fundamental imbalance, one that favors the owners. The usual explanation for the players’ unhappiness is that they got hosed in the last negotiations. That’s true up to a point, but it’s not the main problem. The one area where the players got hosed was the luxury tax, which has turned into a soft cap. Otherwise, the players have been hurt by the inevitable ramifications of the game’s structure. What’s damaging the players is their obsession with protecting the nine-figure deals of a handful of veteran players above all else. It’s led them to focus obsessively on free markets, to the point where they don’t even want to hear about a payroll floor. Unfortunately for them, the teams, due to the influx of executives with business backgrounds, understand the free market better than they do. By that, I don’t mean that the owners are being more fair or anything. It’s only that, after decades of being outsmarted by the union, the owners have reversed the balance and are better able to realize their greedy objectives. Most significantly, thanks to the emergence of analytics, the teams have figured out that non-elite veterans aren’t all that valuable because non-elite players begin to decline at an earlier age than baseball people traditionally believed. That’s made life difficult for second- and third-tier free agents. Teams realize that 0-6 players are not only far cheaper, in a lot of cases they’re actually better. That’s the reality of the market, but the players don’t want to make fundamental changes in it. To the extent that any details have emerged from the negotiations, it sounds like both sides are still just trying to piddle around with the existing structure. The players want things like a much higher luxury tax threshold and a big increase in the minimum salary. (The owners supposedly are strongly opposed to more than a small increase in the latter, which shows they know the value of 0-6 players under the current structure. Max Scherzer’s recent comments about how the system is unfair to younger players are bizarre given that the system was obviously intended by both sides to be exactly that right from the start.) The players also want various measures to require deadbeat teams like the Pirates to spend more on payroll, except they supposedly don’t want to do it directly, as with a minimum payroll. Instead they reportedly have proposed to punish deadbeats through the draft or revenue sharing. What’s going to make a settlement extremely difficult, I think, is that the existing system has gotten so unbalanced that simply tweaking it to put it back in balance, to the players’ satisfaction, is going to require some really massive tweaks. The system is working so well for the owners that I don’t see them giving in to the degree the players will need except under dire circumstances. So I can’t see an agreement happening until things get pretty painful....
First Pitch: Day One
December 2, 2021
First Pitch
It’s midnight, December 2nd. MLB’s Collective Bargaining Agreement has expired. Well, it’s not really midnight. For me, it’s 12:18 PM on December 1st. You might be reading this article at any other time throughout the day on December 2nd. Or, maybe you read it a day or two later. Maybe you’re a daily reader. Maybe you’re a casual reader. Maybe a friend of yours liked something about this article so much that they decided to share it on their favorite social media channel, and you clicked it to read me for the first time. Maybe you’re a member of the media, or a fellow writer in the wild west of independent journalism. Maybe you’re a reader that I’ve met in person over the last 13 years covering the Pittsburgh Pirates. Perhaps you’re someone who read something I said about how good or bad an individual player or the Pirates might be, and it clashed with your beliefs on the subject so much that you chalked me up to an enemy on the other side of a war between people who ultimately all just want to see the same thing: A winning Pittsburgh Pirates team. Or, maybe you don’t even follow the Pirates at all, and you don’t know about the glorious place that ever has been, and ever will be Pirates Twitter. Welcome, everyone, even if I didn’t describe your situation above. We’re all here for the same reason. We all share the same connection. Baseball. Baseball brought us here, to this article, in some way. For me, baseball has been a huge part of my entire life. It’s a sport that permeates every part of my brain and every stage of my existence. I have memories with family, whether that’s playing wiffleball in my backyard with my grandfather as a child, or going to games with my parents and brother throughout my life. I have memories with friends, some of whom I met because of our shared association with a team, a player, or an alternate way to experience the sport, like fantasy baseball. I have memories of the time in Statistics class in college where I wrote about Randy Johnson’s strikeout rate, got an A, then kept writing about baseball to get an A in the course. That might have been my only A, as I usually aimed for the easy passing grade. I knew at that point I wanted to be a sports writer. It just felt like my natural path. I’ve now spent 15 years as a professional sports writer, with the last 13 being spent independently running Pirates Prospects and now Pittsburgh Baseball Network. At some point during that 13 year period, you started reading me. You started reading me because your love for the game of baseball runs so deep that you went searching for more information about the minor league players who might eventually make the Pittsburgh Pirates — one of the objectively saddest franchises in our current time period — well, they might eventually make that sad franchise fun to associate yourself with again one day. I’m waiting for that day, when PNC Park is blacked out again and shaking in October, and maybe eventually November. Humans crave connection to other humans. I think we’ve all learned that in the last two years under a pandemic. There are many ways to bring masses together, whether that’s religion, politics, or sports. We all want to know our purpose in the universe, we all want a say in how the world will work, and we all want to see what the human body is capable of. You and I, and everyone else who will ever read this article have picked Sports, subgroup: Baseball, subgroup: Pittsburgh Pirates, subgroup: Prospect Coverage, subgroup: Independent Writers. The main subgroup that holds us all together way down here is Baseball, which is currently run in the United States by the legal monopoly that is Major League Baseball. And right now, in my time at 1:19 PM on December 1st, it looks like Major League Baseball is going to be in an official lockout by the time you are reading this. ***** I’ve been planning for this day for a few years. I hope that MLB and the MLB Players Union come to an agreement soon, and that the 2022 season doesn’t face a scheduling change. I hope that because I make my living on Pirates Prospects. I gather information from all sources on the minor league players in the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system. I gather my own information from my own sources — the players themselves, their managers, coaches, the Pirates’ front office, scouts both internal and external, and analysts covering the game, including the ones writing for my sites. From there, I compile all of the information to try and give you a clear picture of the spectrum of possibility for each human player. None of this is possible without baseball. And if there’s a risk of no baseball, or if MLB turns off my readers to the sport, it has an obvious impact on my life. So, I hope MLB reaches a new agreement and the 2022 season proceeds as planned. Realistically, there’s too much money in the game right now for either side to sacrifice a significant amount of the season, or any at all. But in the event of a worst-case scenario, I’m just an independent writer who writes about baseball, and that’s difficult to do when there is no baseball. I came up with a plan for this over the last few years. Pittsburgh Baseball Network is that plan. It preserves Pirates Prospects as a news source exclusively for prospects in the Pirates system, while creating a separate site for opinions on the Pirates and baseball in general. That’s my plan: Provide you with baseball content to read every single day, whether there’s baseball or not. It’s not much different from the plan over the last 13 years. Every day of the lockout you can come to No Quarter and read my latest First Pitch article, which I’ll try to consistently post around midnight to serve as a discussion post of the day. You can stick around to read what our other contributors have to say. You can jump over to John Dreker’s Pittsburgh Baseball History to read what happened each day throughout the past of the Pirates franchise. Or, you can head over to Pirates Prospects, where I’m aiming to have content every day, regardless of what happens with the lockout. I have a few things saved up from my trip through the farm system in September, and will be running those articles as soon as I get the new membership software ready to go, which should be in the next week. You’re here now, you’ve been here in the past, and you’ll be here in the future for one reason: Baseball. You want to discuss the game with other people. You want to read what someone else has to say to check your own opinion on the latest events. You want a distraction from the tediousness of regular life and from having to work a disproportionate amount of time during that regular life. Regardless of what happens with Major League Baseball, we’ve got you covered. ***** You know what I hope for even more than a quick finish to MLB’s expected lockout? I hope this is all worth it. Right now, if you’re a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, you’ve got two ways of viewing this sport. 1. The sport is fair enough for a team like the Pirates to contend, and Bob Nutting isn’t doing enough to make that happen. 2. It doesn’t matter how much Bob Nutting spends, or what moves anyone he hires make: The deck will still be stacked against the Pirates in this unfair league. We don’t really know which one is the case. All we can do is hope that the result of this next round of CBA negotiations results in either: 1. A league where the Pittsburgh Pirates can win, which would also ensure that Bob Nutting is absolutely using every resource he has available to achieve winning. 2. A league that gives Bob Nutting the resources he needs to combat the revenue disparity across the game that stacks the deck against any good moves the Pirates make. We all just want to see the Pittsburgh Pirates as a good team again. We all want that positive response when we tell people about our association with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The CBA negotiations can reshape the league. They can put the Pirates on more of an even playing field as the biggest market teams. The negotiations could implement changes that would ease the concerns that small market owners aren’t doing enough to win. At the end of all of this, there will be a different version of Major League Baseball. Hopefully that version gives the Pirates a better chance to win than the current version. It sucks following this team. There’s a feeling of double hopelessness. There’s the hopeless feeling of watching a team that rarely is in competition, and always doing something that makes them the butt of a joke. Then, there’s the added hopelessness that nothing can be done, because the league is stacked against the small market teams, and the Pirates owner has insisted he’ll never sell the team. That could all go away with a salary cap, floor, and revenue sharing that would allow for every team to spend to the cap and floor. The Pirates could be like the other two professional teams in Pittsburgh, playing in leagues that reward good moves, punish teams who make dumb moves, and allow for small markets like Pittsburgh and Tampa to actually win championships. This might be a pipe dream. But this is also the time to have that pipe dream. This is the time for small market owners to step up and swing the game more in their favor. It’s the time for the 1100+ players who aren’t making $20-40+ million to fight for better salaries for the guys at the bottom. We all want baseball to return as quickly as possible. If it returns in a form similar to this one, where teams like the Pirates are at a perpetual severe disadvantage, then I’m not sure it would be a victory for Pirates fans. The game is thriving from a business standpoint, but it’s deeply flawed and broken from a competitive standpoint. Hopefully, the competitive issues can be fixed, which I believe will help on the revenue side. Not that MLB needs help bringing in revenue. I just think that having a league with 30 teams who all have a fair shot at a title is preferred over advertisements on uniforms and 3+ hour games that are the result of excessive commercial breaks. I’ll be covering the CBA talks each night in First Pitch, with a focus on what the talks mean for the Pirates. Feel free to join in on the discussion in the comments, starting today with a simple prompt: What got you following the Pirates? Daily Links **Winter Leagues: Randy Romero Shines on an Otherwise Rough Night for Pirates **Pitt Baseball to Host Two Rivals at PNC Park **Pirates Have Interest in Richard Rodriguez **Potanko: The Jacob Stallings Trade Isn’t as Bad as Fans Think **Williams: A Tale of Three Catchers **This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History: December 1st, Pirates Get Maury Wills and Matty Alou **Card of the Day: 2004 Topps Reggie Sanders PBN Updates PBN Black Friday: New Book Releases and Discounts on Pirates Prospects Books and Merchandise Song of the Day...
Williams: A Tale of Three Catchers
December 1, 2021
Analysis
It’s difficult to judge any move in baseball individually. Case in point, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded their starting catcher, Jacob Stallings, in a surprise move yesterday. The move landed starting pitcher Zach Thompson, along with prospects Kyle Nicolas and Connor Scott. It also left the Pirates without a catcher for what is now almost certainly going to be a losing 2022 season. One day later, the other shoe drops. The Pirates signed Roberto Perez today to a one-year, $5 million deal. Perez is two years removed from having a season very similar to the one Stallings just had, although at this point he’s in his age-33 season and has been replacement level the last two seasons. David Todd had a great take on how to view these two moves together: I’m actually surprised the #Pirates paid this amount, but works for both sides. All the catching prospects need some more time in the minors. Pirates downgraded hitting at the catcher position & essentially “paid” $2.5M for 3 prospects w the Stallings/Perez moves. https://t.co/rLx88Gj03w — David Todd (@DTonPirates) November 30, 2021 The Pirates could have had Stallings, who is the better catcher right now. They traded him, boosting the farm system. They replaced him with a more expensive Perez, who looks like a downgrade. Ultimately, they’re waiting for Henry Davis. It raises the question: Would you rather have Jacob Stallings from 2022-2024, with $2.5 million extra in 2022, or would you take Perez in 2022 at a higher price with Thompson, Scott, and Nicolas added to the system? I like these moves when put together. I hate seeing Stallings go, but it’s easy to argue that the Pirates got better in the long-term, and didn’t lose much in the short-term. To dive deeper into my thought process, here’s my forecast of how the next three years could go for Jacob Stallings, Roberto Perez, and Henry Davis. 2022 Jacob Stallings – The value for Stallings has never been higher. That’s not to say it won’t remain high, and can’t go higher. If he repeats his 2021 season in 2022, the Marlins will be very happy with their new starting catcher. Had he remained with the Pirates, they could have benefitted from his defense and work with the pitching staff, and possibly retained the same type of trade value next year. The downside with a hold approach to Stallings’ trade value is that he’s a catcher with limited success on the north side of age 30. The moment his value on the field starts to decline, the trade value will collapse. The Pirates dealt him when the value was high. Roberto Perez – The easiest thing to do here is hope that Perez can bounce back to pre-pandemic form, when he had a 3.2 fWAR in 2019. That season was very similar to what we just saw from Jacob Stallings in 2021. I think that’s the best case scenario here, that the Pirates get Stallings production from Perez. The downside here is that Perez is in his age 33 season in 2022. He’s been replacement level the last two years. His defensive value declined in 2021. His offense did improve, but an unlucky BABIP hid some of those improvements. The Pirates are likely going to be losing in 2022. The best value they’ll get from Perez is his defense and experience, which will help with their young pitching staff. Perez has far more experience than Stallings to rely on, and a better assortment of pitchers he’s worked with. They might have upgraded on the help for the younger pitching staff. Henry Davis – We don’t really know how the Pirates will handle a top prospect like Henry Davis under Ben Cherington. My guess is that he goes to Greensboro for the 2022 season, with a chance to move to Altoona by the end of the year. Again, we don’t really know. Nick Gonzales spent all year in Greensboro, so I’d expect the same from Davis, regardless of production. 2023 Jacob Stallings – Here’s where it starts to look better having Stallings. Perez is signed to a one-year deal, while Stallings has three years of control remaining. I’d expect Stallings to remain a starter in 2023. He might not be a multi-WAR, top ten starter by this point. This would be his age-33 season. I think the Pirates could have formed a plan to win around him in 2023. It would have been difficult, especially with Stallings himself posing a big risk to that plan if he starts his decline. But the alternative to a declining Stallings is going through the free agent roulette again. Roberto Perez – I see two paths for Perez in 2022. He either emerges as a sleeper starter, putting up a few WAR, and parlaying that into a multi-year contract; Or, he looks like a backup starting for a losing team, while providing value from his defense and experience. The Pirates will need a catcher again in 2023, and maybe even in 2024, depending on what happens with Henry Davis. If Perez provides value to the younger pitchers, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to bring him back in 2023. If he ended up Rod Barajas 2.0 in 2022, then the Pirates would be better off going back to free agency for 2023. Henry Davis – I’d expect Davis to be in Altoona for most of this season, and I think there’s a chance he could be in the majors by the end of the season. He would pair well with a Perez type. For that matter, he would have paired well with a Stallings type. In the event Perez looks like a starter, the Pirates can bring him back on a two-year deal, creating a transition/backup plan for Davis. If Perez looks like a defensive catcher whose value added is more of the intangible variety, then he’d still be good to have around as a transition to Davis. 2024 Jacob Stallings – This will be the age 34 season for Stallings, which a year older than Roberto Perez in 2022. I’d like to think that Stallings will remain a starter by this point in his career. It could be that he remains a starter, but a “Roberto Perez 2022” level starter. If that is the case, I’d have to imagine he gets non-tendered by this point, at which point I’d love to see the Pirates bring him back. It all depends on how Stallings does in 2022-23. Roberto Perez – This would be the age 35 season for Perez. If he was good enough as a starter in 2022, and signed a two-year deal in 2023, he’d probably be an expensive backup for the Pirates in this year, and a mentor to Davis. They could also keep going back to free agency to find the newest version of Perez to keep costs lower. And, as I noted above, by 2024 that version of Perez might be Stallings. Henry Davis – A somewhat aggressive push would have Davis arriving in the majors in late-2023, and opening the 2024 season as the starting catcher in Pittsburgh. I think having a veteran catcher to back him up, whether that’s Stallings or Perez, would be good. Beyond this season, the Pirates have some internal prospects who could be ready to backup Davis, possibly starting to take over by the end of 2024. I also wonder if Davis will be catching Thompson in the rotation by this point, if Nicolas will be in the bullpen, and if Scott will be in the outfield....
First Pitch: What is Next For the Pirates and MLB?
December 1, 2021
First Pitch
Today is the big day. The MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement expires tonight at 11:59 PM EST. It’s almost a certainty that MLB will enter a lockout, and things could potentially get bad enough for Spring Training or the season to be delayed. For more of what this means for MLB, check out this rundown by Jeff Passan on ESPN+. The key thing I took from that is the February 1st and March 1st deadlines that Passan mentions for delays of Spring Training or the regular season. After tomorrow, I feel like we’ll all be in a state of slow moving limbo for a few months, as the owners and players stare off their demands. The Pirates, meanwhile, will have their building efforts paused under a lockout. That will leave plenty of time to discuss what we already know about this team, and forecast what could be to come in the future, while we wait for baseball to resume. Over the last month, I’ve been breaking down the Pirates by position, with rundowns of the prospects they’ve got coming up from the minors. If you’re looking for more than lockout talk over the next few days, check out the summaries below. Catcher **No Quarter: The Brilliance of Jacob Stallings **Pirates Prospects: Henry Davis Leads a Rebuilt Group of Catchers First Base **No Quarter: Colin Moran Versus Yoshi Tsutsugo at First Base **Pirates Prospects: Mason Martin Leads a Thin Group of Prospects Second Base **No Quarter: The Adam Frazier Trade Left a Hole at Second Base **Pirates Prospects: The Free-For-All is Ready to Begin Shortstop **No Quarter: Shortstop is a Game of Attrition **Pirates Prospects: The Impact Potential of Oneil Cruz Third Base **No Quarter: Ke’Bryan Hayes Saw a Drop in His Power Numbers **Pirates Prospects: The Ke’Bryan Hayes Failsafes Left Field **No Quarter: Can the Pirates Do Better in 2022 Than Ben Gamel and Anthony Alford? **Pirates Prospects: Two Potential Big League Starters Added to the System Center Field **No Quarter: The Emergence of Bryan Reynolds, and Bryan Reynolds Trade Rumors **Pirates Prospects: Travis Swaggerty Could Arrive in 2022 Right Field **No Quarter: The Final Chapter of The Dream Outfield **Pirates Prospects: The Pirates Have Candidates For Their Final Outfield Spot Starting Pitching **No Quarter: The Starting Rotation Showed Little Sign of Hope **Pirates Prospects: Quinn Priester and Roansy Contreras Lead the Way Relief Pitching **No Quarter: The Bullpen Continues a Concerning Development Trend For Pirates Pitchers **Pirates Prospects: Building a Bullpen From Within Team Recaps In case you missed it, here are the minor league season recaps from Wilbur Miller and John Dreker: **Indianapolis Indians **Altoona Curve **Greensboro Grasshoppers **Bradenton Marauders **FCL Pirates **DSL Pirates Daily Links **New Pirates Prospects: What to Expect From Kyle Nicolas and Connor Scott **WATCH: Rodolfo Castro Shows Off Extreme Athleticism in Winter Ball **Pirates, Roberto Perez Agree to One-Year Deal **Pirates in Agreement with Veteran Catcher Roberto Perez **Pirates Avoid Arbitration with Newman; Chad Kuhl Non-Tendered **This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History: November 30th, Frank Killen and Craig Wilson **Card of the Day: 2005 Donruss Diamond Kings Craig Wilson PBN Updates PBN Black Friday: New Book Releases and Discounts on Pirates Prospects Books and Merchandise Song of the Day...
Pirates Avoid Arbitration with Newman; Chad Kuhl Non-Tendered
November 30, 2021
News
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced that they avoided arbitration with infielder Kevin Newman on Tuesday night ahead of the deadline. They tendered contracts to outfielder Bryan Reynolds and reliever Chris Stratton, but they did not tender a contract to pitcher Chad Kuhl, making him a free agent. We have agreed to terms with INF Kevin Newman on a contract for the 2022 season, thus avoiding arbitration. We have also tendered contracts to OF Bryan Reynolds and RHP Chris Stratton for the 2022 season. We did not tender a contract to RHP Chad Kuhl for the 2022 season. — Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) December 1, 2021 Kevin Gorman had the agreement price at $1.95M between Newman and the Pirates, a raise of just over $1,350,000, but $250,000 under his projected salary. Source: The Pirates avoided arbitration with SS Kevin Newman by agreeing to a $1.95 million contract for 2022. Newman was projected to earn $2.2M. He made $598,000 last season, when he was a Gold Glove finalist. — Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) December 1, 2021 Newman hit .226/.265/.309 in 148 games this season, while also struggling in 2020 with a .556 OPS. He posted an .800 OPS during the 2019 season. His real value in 2021 came from his defense, which earned him a finalist spot for the Gold Glove award. He had 1.3 dWAR, which is well above the -0.6 dWAR he had during his first three seasons combined. Kuhl missed time in 2021, and then pitched in relief for part of the season. He had a 4.82 ERA, a 5.31 FIP, a 1.43 WHIP and a 42:75 BB/SO ratio in 81 innings in 2021. He had just one season left before reaching free agency. His projected salary was $3M. Reynolds and Stratton will both likely go to arbitration now. Reynolds is projected to get $4.5M, while Stratton projects at $2.2M....
Card of the Day: 1961 Topps Virdon Saves Game
December 4, 2021
Card of the Day
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder, manager and long-time coach/instructor Bill Virdon recently passed away at 90 years old. He played 11 years for the Pirates and took part in 1,415 regular season games. Today’s Card of the Day looks at one of his postseason games in which he emerged a hero due to his golden glove. Here is card #306 from the 1961 Topps set, which is titled “Virdon Saves Game”. Here’s the front of the card: This scene here is a colorized photo from game one of the 1960 World Series. The card has some real firepower on there too. That’s Bill Mazeroski in the lower right running out on a long fly ball, just in case it landed. Next to our featured player is the great Roberto Clemente, who softly collided with Virdon after the catch was made about 420 feet from home plate. Just for completeness, I’m not 100% sure on the umpire, but an educated guess would say that it’s Bill Jackowski. He spent 17 seasons in the majors, and he was the second base umpire in this game. I assume that’s who was out there for this play. Virdon got the headlines for this catch because it was a big play in a tight game. Another reason that it was noteworthy is that the Yankees were the original team to sign Virdon, but traded him away before he made the majors. To set the scene, the Pirates took an early 3-1 lead with a rally started by a walk to Virdon in the bottom of the first inning. The scored was the same in the fourth inning when the New York Yankees rallied. A single by Roger Maris and a walk to Mickey Mantle put the tying run on base, bringing up Yogi Berra, who drove one to deep right-center, where Virdon made a running one-handed catch right before the wall. After the game, which the Pirates won 6-4, manager Danny Murtaugh called the catch the key play of the game. Virdon was surrounded by the press after the game to ask him about the catch. He was quoted as saying: “I thought I could get it. I had a good beam on the ball. Yes I have made better catches, but none which gave me a greater thrill.” Here’s the back of the card: It’s interesting to note that the back only sort of mentions the play that they thought was the most noteworthy from game one. Each game in the series got a card with an event from that game. Sure the play is mentioned, but no details of how it saved the game. It’s almost buried by the fact that the Yankees added a run that inning after the catch. One of the interesting scoring plays in this game was that Mazeroski homered, scoring what was the winning run of this game. A hidden sign of things to come perhaps? This card can be bought cheap off of Ebay, though I’ll note something really interesting that I noticed while scrolling through scans. The centering on this card is awful, which is odd for a center fielder (that’s a bad joke, I know it). That keeps the price down EXCEPT when you find a high grade copy. You will have no trouble picking up a copy for around $5 delivered, but a PSA 8 recently sold for $350. Another one actually ended higher, though the price is hidden on Ebay because the seller accepted a lower offer. I’ll warn you now that there is a card graded as an 8 that is available for $200, which seems like a sound investment, but the grading company really matters. It’s not a PSA card, and being PSA adds value, both when you buy and later when/if you go to sell....
This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History: December 4th, Pirates Get Don Slaught, Swing Five-Player Deal with Royals
December 4, 2021
This Date in Pittsburgh Baseball History
One of the slower dates for Pittsburgh Pirates born on this day. Just three players and one of them is very recent. We also have two trades of note. The Players Joe Musgrove, pitcher for the 2018-2020 Pirates. He was first round draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays out of high school in 2011, selected 46th overall. He debuted in the Gulf Coast League, while also making one appearances in the Appalachian League in 2011, combining to go 1-1, 4.01 in 24.2 innings. He was traded to the Houston Astros during the 2012 season and pitched briefly for both teams in the Appalachian League that season. In 2013, Musgrove was back in the Gulf Coast League, where he went 1-3, 4.41 in 32.2 innings, with 30 strikeouts. The next year he jumped to the New York-Penn League with Tri-City, where he went 7-1, 2.81 in 77 innings. After four years in short-season ball, he played in Low-A, High-A and Double-A during the 2015 season, pitching between 25.2 and 45 innings at each level. He combined to go 12-1, 1.88 in 100.2 innings, with 99 strikeouts. In 2016, Musgrove allowed one earned run in 26.1 innings with Corpus Christi of the Double-A Texas League, then pitched 59 innings for Fresno of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, where he had a 3.81 ERA and 57 strikeouts. He debuted in the majors on August 2nd and went 4-4, 4.06 in 62 inning, with 55 strikeouts. Musgrove made one appearance for Fresno in 2017 and threw seven shutout innings. He made 15 starts and 23 relief appearances for the Astros that season, going 7-8, 4.77 in 109.1 innings, with 98 strikeouts. That was the year that the Astros cheated their way to a World Series victory, but Musgrove was a bit player throughout the playoffs, giving up six runs over 6.2 innings in the entire postseason. After the season, he was one of four players who the Pirates acquired in the Gerrit Cole trade. Musgrove ended up bringing the Pirates the most value in the deal, though much of that value came as the large return when he got traded away after three seasons. He went 6-9, 4.06 in 115.1 innings over 19 starts in 2018, missing time due to a Spring Training shoulder injury that required a handful of rehab starts in the minors. In 2019, Musgrove went 11-12, 4.44 in 170.1 innings over 31 starts (and one relief outing), with 157 strikeouts. During the shortened 2020 season, he had a 1-5, 3.86 record, with 55 strikeouts in 39.2 innings. He missed some time due to an ankle and a triceps injury. After the season, the Pirates dealt Musgrove to the San Diego Padres in a trade that included three teams and it netted them five prospects. He had a strong season in San Diego’s pitcher-friendly park, going 11-9, 3.18 in 181.1 innings, with 203 strikeouts. He has one more year left before free agency. His record currently sits at 40-47, 4.02 in 678 innings. Jerry D’Arcy, outfielder for the 1911 Pirates. He played just two Major League games, one in center field and one as a pinch-hitter. D’Arcy joined the 1911 Pirates in late September and went 0-for-6 at the plate. He went 0-for-5 in the first game, though manager Fred Clarke allowed him to bat with two outs in the ninth and the tying run (which was Clarke) on second base. D’Arcy grounded out to shortstop. According to the local newspaper, he looked well in the field with some fine catches in his first game, although one of his tougher catches was a ball that right fielder Chief Wilson had lined up for an easy catch and D’Arcy cut in front of him. The report also said that he “Got down the first base line with great alacrity”, which has now been added to my scouting phrase vocabulary (it’s actually defined as brisk and cheerful readiness). He was playing for the Gadsden Steel Makers of the Southeastern League at the time the Pirates purchased his contract in mid-August of 1911. That team was a Class-D ball club, equal to making the jump from Class-A ball to the majors now. However, he also played very briefly for Memphis of the Class-A Southern Association earlier in the year. Despite being announced as purchased on August 18th, D’Arcy didn’t join the Pirates right away. His total time in Pittsburgh was short, reporting to the team on September 21st and he left October 3rd, six days before the season ended. The Pirates allowed five players to leave early, including pitcher Cliff Averett, who never appeared in a big league game. D’Arcy was put on the Pirates reserve list for the 1912 season, but he was released to Indianapolis of the American Association on December 20, 1911. He played pro ball until at least 1917, then again in 1920, but his minor league stats are incomplete, likely due to the spelling confusion and numerous players from that era with the same last name..sort of. He was referred to as “Dorsey” during his time in Pittsburgh and there are multiple minor league players from that era who are known only as Dorsey, without any other information. The actual correct spelling of his name was made known to Pirates fans on the day they released him. D’Arcy played briefly for teams from Springfield and Decauter in 1912 (an injury limited his effectiveness early on), as well as a time back in Gadsden, but his only records show him playing for Henderson of the Kentucky-Illinois-Tennessee League, where he supposed got a lot of attention from scouts and was signed by Baltimore of the International League. However, his 1913 stats show him playing a full season for Bonham of the Class-D Texas-Oklahoma League, where he hit .275 in 121 games. He played for Bonham and Denison of the Texas-Oklahoma League in 1914, while also seeing time with McAlester of the Class-D Western Association. He remained in the Western Association for the next three seasons of pro ball, playing for three different teams, though he played in Denison (same town, different league) during parts of all three seasons. In 1920, he was back in the Western Association with the Drumright Drummers, where he hit .238 in 64 games. In 1921, he was on the ineligible list of the Western Association. Johnny Meador, pitcher for the 1920 Pirates. His entire big league career consisted of two starts and ten relief appearances, all with the Pirates. Meador was 27-years-old at the time, a veteran of five minor league seasons. He debuted in pro ball in 1914 with Winston-Salem of the Class-D North Carolina State League. He had a 10-10 record in 178 innings over 29 games, with a 55:77 BB/SO ratio. He remained with Winston-Salem in 1915, going 5-9 in 17 games, with 108 innings pitched. He moved up to Class-C in 1916, spending the season with Charleston of the South Atlantic League, where he went 10-9 in 187 innings over 23 games. While his ERA isn’t available, records indicate that he allowed just 1.93 runs per nine innings, and he had an 0.91 WHIP. In 1917, he split the season almost evenly between Charleston and Nashville of the Class-A Southern Association. Meador had a 13-2 record with Charleston and a 5-8 record for Nashville, though there wasn’t a substantial difference in his runs per nine innings in each spot. After missing all of 1918 due to the war (more on that below), he spent the 1919 season with Galveston of the Class-B Texas League. Meador was purchased from Galveston on August 12, 1919, though it was said that he wouldn’t report to the club until his minor league season was over (some articles said he would be there around September 1st). He was credited with posting a 17-16 record for a seventh place team in 1919 with Galveston, though when he signed with the Pirates one local newspaper said that he had a 15-6 record at the time, so his season didn’t end well. On September 21st, he pitched a doubleheader for Galveston and took the loss in both games, despite allowing two runs in each contest. He almost didn’t pitch for the Pirates after going to Spring Training in 1920. On April 9, 1920, they decided to send him to Wichita Falls of the Texas League, but there was a disagreement about his contract/services between the two clubs and the Pirates kept him instead. He made his big league debut eight games into the 1920 season. He threw five shutout innings in relief, then didn’t pitch until a week later. He was used just four times in the month of May, four times in June and three times in July. Meador did not fare well in his two starts, allowing a total of 12 runs in 9.1 innings. In relief, he had a 1.67 ERA over 27 innings. His last Major League game in mid-July was also his last game as a pro. On July 23rd, he jumped from the Pirates to Oil City, which played independent ball. Jumping from organized ball to independent ball usually spelled the end of a player’s career in organized ball and that almost held true for Meador. He stayed in baseball for quite some time after jumping ship in Pittsburgh, playing for multiple teams from 1920-24, including a club from Mount Carmel, PA in 1924. He then applied for reinstatement into pro ball, which was allowed by Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis in late April of 1926. He had to return to the Pirates at that point, and they sent him Columbia of the South Atlantic League, which was a Pirates-backed affiliate at the time. He never pitched for the club due to a sore arm he developed while training. On June 3rd, he was released, officially ending his pro career. Meador spent exactly one year in the Navy during WWI, spending time on the U.S.S. Montana from December 13, 1917 until December 13, 1918. The Transactions On this date in 1973 the Pirates traded pitcher Nelson Briles and infielder Fernando Gonzalez to the Kansas City Royals for outfielder Ed Kirkpatrick, utility player Kurt Bevacqua and minor leaguer Winston Cole. This deal basically worked out even for the teams, with Briles and Kirkpatrick as the only two who saw significant time with their new team. Cole never made the majors and Bevacqua ended up back with the Royals mid-1974 in a trade that involved a minor league player and cash. Gonzalez ended up back with the Pirates in 1975, but Kansas City sold him to the New York Yankees just five months after this deal. Briles went 11-13, 4.14 in 215 innings with the Royals over two seasons before he was traded to the Texas Rangers. Kirkpatrick stayed in Pittsburgh through early 1977, though nearly half of his playing time came in 1974 when he put up a .714 OPS in 116 games. He was a bench player during the last 2+ seasons, finishing with a .676 OPS in 309 games for the Pirates. On this date in 1989 the Pirates traded pitcher Jeff Robinson and minor leaguer Willie Smith to the New York Yankees in exchange for catcher Don Slaught. The trade was a one-sided win for the Pirates, as Slaught spent six seasons in Pittsburgh, including three years in which the Pirates won the NL East. Robinson pitched just one year out of the Yankees bullpen before leaving via free agency, and Smith played just one partial season in the majors, which wasn’t until 1994 with the St Louis Cardinals. Slaught hit .305 with 21 homers and 184 RBIs in 475 games for the Pirates. In his 16-year career he accumulated 19.3 WAR, which was split 10.3 in six years with the Pirates and 9.0 over ten seasons elsewhere. Robinson was a reliable reliever who occasionally started. In his three seasons in Pittsburgh, he had a 3.78 ERA in 292.2 innings. He filled a similar role with the Yankees, posting a 3.45 ERA in 88.2 innings. The Pirates got great value out of Smith, who was signed as a non-drafted free agent. He had just a handful of Double-A appearances before the trade, all as a reliever....
This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History: December 3rd, Jose Lind and Junior Ortiz Join the Pirates
December 3, 2021
Card of the Day
One of the slower dates for Pittsburgh Pirates birthdays. Just three players born on December and none of them were around long with the team. We also have two transactions of note below. The Players Steve Carter, outfielder for the 1989-90 Pirates. He was drafted five times before he signed, including the first and last times with the Pirates (1983 and 1987). The Pirates were his worst draft spots over that time as well, first going in the 21st round out of high school, then finally signing as a 17th round pick out of the University of Georgia. In between he was a second round pick of the Kansas City Royals in 1984, then twice got drafted in the third round by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1985, back when they had June and January phases of the draft. All three of those picks came while he was attending Hagerstown Community College. Carter debuted in pro ball with Watertown of the short-season New York-Penn League, where he hit .310 in 66 games, with 50 runs scored, 18 doubles, 24 steals and 33 walks in 66 games. He began the 1988 season in Low-A with Augusta of the Class-A South Atlantic League, where he hit .299 in 74 games, with an .807 OPS and 22 steals. He played briefly for Salem of the Class-A Carolina League, before moving up to Harrisburg of the Double-A Eastern League. Carter saw his 1988 season ended early due to a hand injury just nine games into his time in Double-A. He got off to a hot start at Triple-A with Buffalo of the American Association in 1989 (10-for-25 in seven games), and the Pirates had as many as seven players injured at one time in April, so he was called up on April 16th and made his debut that day. He had just 16 games above A-Ball at the time. On April 26, 1989, Carter was sent back to the minors, but he was gone for a total of 16 hours before Andy Van Slyke had go to on the disabled list and he returned. He played his last game with the Pirates on May 7th and he was sent down two days later. He did not return in September when the rosters expanded, despite finishing with a .295 average in 100 games at Triple-A. Carter batted .303 with 39 extra-base hits in 120 games with Triple-A Buffalo in 1990, then returned to the Pirates in September, though he only played five games off of the bench. Just before Opening Day in 1991, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Gary Varsho. Despite solid minor league batting numbers, his big league time was done. He played until 1995, including some time in Mexico, before retiring. During the 1991-95 stretch, he saw time in the minors with the Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros and Florida Marlins. His big league career lasted 14 games and he had 21 at-bats, with three hits, including a double and a homer. Carter played all three outfield spots during his brief MLB time, though he only got starts in right field. He finished as a .291 hitter in 773 minor league games. He was born on the same exact day at Major League pitcher Jeff Carter, but they are not twins. Lou Marone, relief pitcher for the 1969-70 Pirates. He was a 30th round pick of the Pirates in 1965 out of San Diego Mesa College. He almost didn’t make it to the majors, as the Pirates nearly cut him in 1967 due to major conditioning issues (they said he was 5’9″, 220+ pounds, despite being now listed at 5’11”, 185). Marone had a brief big league career that was spent entirely with the Pirates over two seasons. He debuted in the minors at 19 years old in 1965, playing most of the year with Batavia of the Class-A New York-Penn League. He also made one appearance with Salem of the short-season Appalachian League and threw three no-hit innings. He combined to go 7-4, 3.13 in 72 innings, with 83 strikeouts. In 1966, Marone played for Raleigh of the Class-A Carolina League as a starting pitcher, while spending the rest of the year with Asheville of the Southern League (Double-A) as a reliever. He combined to go 6-10, 4.22 in 111 innings over 12 starts and 28 relief outings. During his tumultuous 1967 season, he pitched just five games (all starts) for Clinton of the Class-A Midwest League. In 1968, Marone was back in A-Ball for the season, playing with Salem of the Carolina League. He went 6-6, 3.56 in ten starts and 24 relief appearances, striking out 88 batters in 91 innings. Marone debuted in the majors at the end of May in 1969 after posting an 0.93 ERA over 29 innings for York of the Double-A Eastern League. He remained with the Pirates through the end of the season, mostly pitching late in losses. The Pirates went 5-24 in his appearances. In his 29 games that year, he posted a 2.55 ERA in 35.1 innings. He made just one early season appearance in 1970, allowing one run in 2.1 innings. Marone pitched for the Pirates on April 18, 1970, then was sent to Triple-A to develop a slider. In the process of throwing his new pitch, he injured his arm and couldn’t pitch for most of the summer. He pitched just ten minor league innings that year and allowed ten runs. He was sent home and worked as a bartender, then returned to Pittsburgh in August and threw batting practice. Marone pitched two seasons in the minors (1971-72), with most of that time coming as a reliever in Double-A. He had a 4.44 ERA in 77 innings in 1971, and a 3.32 ERA in 111 innings in 1972. He couldn’t make the Pirates out of Spring Training in 1973 and he was released in mid-April without pitching a minor league game. In June, he was working as an insurance salesman in Montreal when the Pirates came there on a road trip. Marone pitched batting practice for the Pirates during that series, but he never returned to baseball. His cousin John D’Acquisto pitched ten years in the majors (1973-82), making 22 appearances against the Pirates during that time. Harry Simpson, outfielder for the 1959 Pirates. He had the nickname “Suitcase” because he reminded a sportswriter during his early years of a cartoon character named Suitcase who had large feet, just like Simpson. You often hear that his nickname came along because it seemed like he was always on the move during his career, which spanned 19 seasons, including stints in the Negro Leagues and Mexico. However, he had the nickname while he was still with his first team in pro ball. He hit over 200 homers in his pro career. Simpson debuted in pro ball with the Philadelphia Stars of the Negro National League in 1946 at 20 years old, which is now considered to be Major Leagues. That recent decision added three years to his big league career. While stats from those leagues are incomplete, then known stats show that he hit .279 in 46 games as a rookie, with 29 runs scored and 19 RBIs. He is credited with a .297 average in 34 games in 1947, followed by a .300 average, 29 runs scored, 13 extra-base hits and 24 RBIs in 45 games in 1948. He was signed by the Cleveland Indians in 1949 and played two years of minor league ball before debuting in the American League. Simpson played for Wilkes-Barre of the Class-A Eastern League in 1949, where he hit .305 in 139 games, with 125 runs scored, 27 doubles, 16 triples, 31 homers, 120 RBIs and 77 walks. In 1950, he moved up to San Diego of the Pacific Coast League and had a huge season, batting .323 in 178 games, with 121 runs scored, 41 doubles, 19 triples, 33 homers and 156 RBIs Simpson split his 1951 season between first base and right field, struggling a bit initially with the jump to the majors. He batted .229 in 122 games, with 14 extra-base hits, 51 runs scored and 45 walks. He put together a solid year in 1952 when he hit .266 with 66 runs, 41 extra-base hits, 65 RBIs and 56 walks in 146 games. It was a one-year peak and his numbers/playing time dropped in 1953 down to a .227 average and a .618 OPS in 82 games. He spent 1954 in the minors with Indianapolis of the Triple-A American Association, hitting .282 with an .824 OPS in 100 games. He then briefly played for the Indians again in 1955 (one at-bat in three games) before moving on to the Kansas City Athletics for three seasons. Simpson finished the 1955 season with a .301 average, 42 runs scored, 28 extra-base hits and 52 RBIs in 112 games for the Athletics. He hit .293 with 76 runs scored, 22 doubles, a league leading 11 triples, 21 homers and 105 RBIs in 1956 when he made his lone All-Star appearance. He spent half of the 1957 season with Kansas City, hitting .296 in 50 games before he was traded to the New York Yankees on June 15th in a seven-player deal. Simpson hit .250 with 27 runs scored and 39 RBIs in 75 games for the Yankees to finish the season. They lost the World Series that year and he went 1-for-12 with a single and a .167 OPS. In 1958, he hit .216 with no homers in 24 games for the Yankees before they traded him back to the A’s, exactly one year to the day that they acquired him. He finished the season by hitting .264 with seven homers and 27 RBIs in 78 games. In his final big league season, he spent time with the A’s, Chicago White Sox and the Pirates. After eight early season games with Kansas City, they traded him to Chicago even up for Ray Boone. He played 38 games with the White Sox, hitting .187 with two homers. He came to Pittsburgh in trade for first baseman Ted Kluzsewski on August 25th. Simpson went 4-for-15 with two RBIs in nine games for the Pirates. Exactly seven weeks after he was acquired, he was sold back to the White Sox. While he never played in the majors again after 1959, Simpson still played another five years of pro ball, finishing his career in Mexico in 1963-64. He returned to San Diego in 1960, where he had his best minor league season, but he ended up hitting just .222 with a .714 OPS in 95 games. He rebounded to hit .303 with 24 homers and 105 RBIs in 1961 with San Diego, followed by an .837 OPS in Indianapolis in 1962. He had a .900 OPS in 11 games with Indianapolis in 1963, before going to Mexico for the final 1+ seasons of his career. In 11 years in the majors, Simpson hit .269 in 1,013 games, with 413 runs scored, 240 extra-base hits and 436 RBIs. The Transactions On this date in 1982, the Pirates signed second baseman Jose Lind as an 18-year-old amateur free agent out of Puerto Rico. He debuted in the Gulf Coast League in 1983 and hit .301 in his first season of pro ball. He moved up one level each of the next four years, then made it to the majors for a short time in 1987, before becoming the starting second baseman. Lind played for the Pirates for six seasons (1987-92), hitting .255 with 50 stolen bases, 292 runs scored and 249 RBIs in 779 games, helping the Pirates to three straight playoff appearances. He won a Gold Glove in 1992. On this date in 1984, the Pirates selected catcher Junior Ortiz in the Rule 5 draft from the New York Mets. He was originally with the Pirates in 1982-83, but he was traded to the Mets in the middle of the 1983 season in a deal to acquire Marvell Wynne. After the Rule 5 draft, he spent five more seasons in Pittsburgh as the backup catcher. In his first year back, Ortiz hit .292 in 23 games. The Pirates used two catchers all season that year and Tony Pena started 141 games. Pena was traded before the 1987 season, which opened up playing time for Ortiz, who hit .336 during his limited backup time in 1986. During his time in Pittsburgh, Ortiz hit .264 with five homers and 81 RBIs over 299 games with the Pirates. There’s an interesting connection between Lind and Ortiz, besides being teammates, and it pairs well with both of them being part of transactions today. When the Pirates traded Ortiz to the Minnesota Twins on April 4, 1990, they also included Orlando Lind, the brother of Jose Lind, who played in the minors for the Pirates from 1983 through 1989....
Card of the Day: 1987 Fleer Junior Ortiz
December 3, 2021
Card of the Day
This is the first time that we have featured the 1987 Fleer set here, which is an incredible fact to me. We have been going since last March, with Card of the Day articles almost every day, occasionally throwing in a different feature if there’s something else I feel the need to write about on a particular day. That’s a long time to go without posting a single article about what I consider my favorite Fleer set from the 1980s. A few years ago someone asked me what my favorite Fleer/Donruss/Topps sets were from the 1980s and after thinking about it for much longer than one person should think about cards from the 1980s, I came up with 1987 for all three sets. I had no idea that all of my favorites were from the same year until the question was posed that specific way. I will note than the Fleer set from that year is my least favorite of the three, but it would still be top five/six if I put all of the 28 sets in order (only Topps made a set in 1980). The 1981 Topps set would be ahead of it, and maybe 1982, which I know some people don’t particularly care for as much as other sets from that time period. I also like the 1985 Donruss set more. I have not been waiting for a good day to write about Junior Ortiz to include the 1987 Fleer set, but those two paths have crossed today. It was 37 years ago today that the Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Ortiz for the second time. The first time was as an international free agent in 1977, while the second time was during the Rule 5 draft in 1984. He played 13 seasons in the majors and seven of those years were spent with the Pirates. The 1987 season was his fifth year with the team and he batted .271 in 75 games that year. Before that year started, Fleer assigned him #616 in their set and gave us today’s Card of the Day subject. Here’s the front of the card: One of the reasons that I like these cards is that logo you see in the bottom right corner. It’s one of my favorite all-time logos and it didn’t always show up on the front of cards from that era, though Fleer seemed to realize that it helps the eye appeal more than the other companies did. They included it on each of the last seven sets from the 1980s. I’m not really sure why I like this set more than others, it’s not like the borders use team colors (maybe that yellow stripe at the bottom, but that’s relatively small). It’s also not like that blue is a favorite color of mine, but it just works. I’d like to hear what other people think. I’m having trouble deciding on my second favorite, though I will say that the 1989 Fleer Pirates cards do have added eye appeal over the set itself. While it doesn’t help the case of this set over other Fleer sets, you have to love the look of the uniforms from that time period, especially with the pillbox cap. Here’s the back of the card: The backs are a lot like all of the Fleer backs from the era. That found something that they liked in 1983 and just rolled with it, adding racing stripes to the stats to make them go faster. These cards had an interesting addition at the bottom, with the strike zones to show you what kind of hitter Ortiz was at the time, and where he liked to get pitched. I always wondered how much time was put into these reports. It’s not like now when you can just go online and look these things up. These were supposedly reports from scouts about each player, which is a lot of work to do for a set with 660 cards (not all had that report, but most did, noting that obviously the pitching ones were different). If you want this card and you follow this series regularly, that I’m sure you already know about a place on the interwebs called Ebay, where this can be had from multiple sellers for around $2-$3 delivered. The only noteworthy auctions are three autographed copies. Two are in marker and Ortiz has a nice signature. One is for sale for $10, the other for $15. Then there is one signed in pen, which just doesn’t look as good to me on cards, and that’s reflected in the price. You can get that for $5....
This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History: December 2nd, Deacon White and a Big Trade with the Royals
December 2, 2021
This Date in Pittsburgh Baseball History
Six former Pittsburgh Pirates born on this date, including a Hall of Famer. We also have one trade of note from the 1970 season. The Players Deacon White, third baseman for the 1889 Alleghenys. He collected the first hit in MLB history, a double, back on May 4, 1871. Despite being a star player before MLB baseball started, and playing much of his career when full seasons were under 100 games, White had 2,067 base hits, 1,140 runs scored and 988 RBIs. He won a batting title in 1875 and 1877, and also won three RBI crowns. He played his final Major League game in 1890 and he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame 123 years later in 2013, though many of his family members were in attendance for the ceremony in Cooperstown. His brother Will White was a star pitcher, who had three 40+ win seasons and he once threw 680 innings in a season. Their cousin Elmer White played one season in the majors as a teammate of Deacon (first name was James), but he sadly passed away at 22 years old prior to the 1872 season. White debuted with the 1871 Cleveland Forest Citys of the National Association in 1871, already 23 years old before pro baseball leagues existed. After collecting the first hit in Major League history, he played a total of 29 games that season (the team played 29 games total) and hit .322 with 40 runs scored and 21 RBIs. He was a catcher at that time, though he’s more known for his work at third base during his career. Cleveland played a 22-game schedule in 1872 and White played every game, hitting .339 with 21 runs and 22 RBIs. He moved on to the Boston Red Stockings (which is basically the Atlanta Braves now and started as the famed 1869 Cincinnati Reds). White had an outstanding season, leading the league with 60 games played and 77 RBIs (which wasn’t an official stat at the time). He hit .392 that year, with 79 runs scored and 26 extra-base hits. In 1874, he batted .301 with 75 runs and 52 RBIs in 70 games. He won the league batting title in 1875 with a .367 mark in 80 games. He had 76 runs scored, 23 doubles and 60 RBIs. The National League was formed in 1876 and took over for the National Association. White played for the Chicago White Stockings (Cubs) in 1876 and hit .343 in 66 games, with 66 runs scored and a league leading 60 RBIs. He played for the Boston Red Stockings again in 1877 and had his best season. He led the league with a .387 average, a .545 slugging, a .950 OPS, 103 hits, 11 triples and 49 RBIs, all in 59 games (the team played 61 games that year). In 1878, White moved on to the Cincinnati Reds, where he was teammates with his brother, who started/pitched 52 of the 61 games that year. Deacon White hit .314 that season, with 41 runs and 29 RBIs in 61 games, including plenty of starts at catcher for his brother. In 1879, he hit .330 in 78 games, with 55 runs and 52 RBIs. White retired after the 1879 season, but luckily for his legacy, he decided to return to baseball, otherwise he would not have made the Hall of Fame. His 1880 season started late due to the retirement and he batted .298 in 35 games, breaking a string of nine straight seasons over the .300 mark to begin his career. That season saw him go from primarily a catcher, to playing more games in the outfield that year. He would then take over at third base for the majority of his remaining time. He signed with the Buffalo Bisons in 1881 and stayed there for five seasons. In 1881, White hit .310 in 78 games, with 58 runs scored and 53 RBIs. His 24 doubles that year were a career high. He followed that up in 1882 by hitting .282 in 83 games, with 51 runs scored and 33 RBIs. He played 94 games in 1883 and hit .292 with 62 runs scored and 47 RBIs. White broke the century mark in games played for the first time in 1884. That year he hit .325 in 110 games and set a career high with 82 runs scored, while also adding 74 RBIs. In 1885, he batted .292 in 98 games, with 54 runs scored and 57 RBIs. White was purchased by the Detroit Wolverines before the 1886 season and hit .289 in 124 games that year, with 65 runs scored and 76 RBIs. Detroit won the National League title in 1887 and he helped out by batting .303 in 111 games, with 71 runs scored, 20 doubles, 11 triples and 75 RBIs. In his last season with the Wolverines in 1888, he batted .298 in a career high 125 games, with 75 runs scored and 71 RBIs. After the season, Detroit folded and sold players off. First White was sent to the Boston Beaneaters, but he was later transferred to the Pittsburgh Alleghenys when it was said that Boston no longer wanted to pay the fee for his services. White had a rocky start with the Alleghenys, as his sale was disputed for most of the off-season and into the season. He disputed the reserve rule that said that a team still existed until all of its players were sold off. He believed that he should be able to sign where he wanted to because the team no longer existed, and he desired to play for Buffalo of the International League in 1889. All off-season and part of the regular season, Pittsburgh fans were unsure if the Deacon was going to play for the team. He was managing in Buffalo to start the season, but finally gave in to join the Alleghenys on June 27th after Detroit offered to give him a share of the money (reported as $1,250) they were paid for his release by Pittsburgh. It was said that he was willing to make the change at that point because Buffalo was losing too much. White also agreed that he would get the pro-rated amount of his $3,500 salary. Everything seeming to be in place as he traveled to Pittsburgh the next day, but he left town on June 30th and headed home without signing. Despite that setback, White agreed to join the Alleghenys in New York for the July 8th opener against the Giants. Pittsburgh was 26-31 at the time and they went 35-40 (with two ties) after he signed. In the 19th year of his 20-year career, White hit .253 with 26 RBIs in 55 games for the Alleghenys. After the 1889 season, White left to play for Buffalo, which was now part of the newly-formed Player’s League, which got many star players and didn’t adhere to the reserve rule. That ended up being his final season, though he was already 42 years old at that time, the oldest active player in the majors. He hit .260 that season with 62 runs scored, 67 walks and 47 RBIs in 122 games. He managed briefly during his career in two seasons (1872 and 1879), going 9-11 in those games. He was a player-manager briefly for Elmira of the New York-Penn League in 1891 before his baseball career ended. White hit .312 in 1,560 games, with 1,140 runs, 270 doubles, 98 triples, 988 runs and 221 strikeouts in 6,973 plate appearances. Roscoe Miller, pitcher for the 1904 Pirates. He played pro ball from 1896 until 1909, spending four of those seasons in the majors. The available stats for him from his first four seasons of pro ball are very light. He pitched for two teams in the Class-B Southern Association at 19 years old in 1896. The next three years were spent with Mansfield of the Class-B Interstate League, where almost nothing is available, though it’s known that he won 23 games in 1898. Miller made his big league debut with the 1901 Detroit Tigers at 24 years old in the first year of the American League as a Major League. The league existed in 1900, but as a minor league, and Miller had a 19-9 record that season in 241 innings. He saw a lot of work as a rookie in 1901, and he was very successful, going 23-13, 2.95 in 332 innings, with 36 starts and 35 complete games. The 1902 season didn’t go as well and he jumped teams mid-season, going from the Tigers to the New York Giants. Players jumped leagues often back then, but usually during the off-season, as the two leagues battled for the best players. Miller went 6-12, 3.69 in 148.2 innings for the Tigers, then had a 1-8, 4.58 record in 72.2 innings for the Giants. He saw limited work for New York in 1903 and got released late in the season, finishing 2-5, 4.13 in 85 innings. The Pirates actually signed Miller while the first World Series was being played on October 4, 1903 (travel day between games three and four), though he wasn’t an eligible player for the series. He started the second game of the season for the 1904 Pirates, and by the 29th game of the year, he already had starts against all seven opposing National League teams, going 4-4 during that stretch (two starts versus Philadelphia) with two shutouts. He was seeing regular use through July 8th in 1904, but he pitched just three times after that date. The Pirates released him unconditionally on August 27th. He was at home in Cleveland at the time nursing a sore arm suffered during his last appearance on August 3rd. In his only season in Pittsburgh, he went 7-7, 3.35 in 134.1 innings. He made 17 starts and two relief appearances. Miller spent the 1905 season in the Pacific Coast League, seeing time with San Francisco and Seattle, combining for a 19-26 record. He was signed by the Cleveland Naps in late 1906, but never played for them, remaining in the minors for his final five seasons of pro ball. That year he went 28-15 for Des Moines of the Class-A Western League, where he also played in 1907. His final two seasons (1908-09) were split between three different teams in California League. In his four-year big league career, Miller went 39-45, 3.45 in 772.2 innings, with 88 starts, 74 complete games and six shutouts. Mike Wilson, catcher for the 1921 Pirates. His big league career consisted of five games for the 1921 Pirates, all of them off of the bench. He caught in each game and went 0-for-4 at the plate. The Pirates were his first team in pro ball. His next seven seasons were spent in the minors before he retired from baseball. Wilson is credited with playing ball at three different colleges before his big league debut at 24 years old. He was called the “Lehigh star athlete” when it was announced that he signed with the Pirates on January 27, 1921. Besides catching for the baseball team, he also played for the football team. He gained semi-pro baseball experience playing for Bethlehem of the Bethlehem Steel League in 1920, a small industrial league team run by the Bethlehem Steel company. He was with the Pirates during Spring Training in 1921 and made the Opening Day roster in early April, but he didn’t play his first game until June 4th. Wilson was with the Pirates during Spring Training of 1922 and was still there for Opening Day, but he was given his unconditional release on April 22nd so he could pursue a bigger role elsewhere, even if it was in the minors. He was reportedly headed to Rochester of the International League because he wanted to play for manager George Stallings, but didn’t play for that team until 1927, which was Stallings’ last year with the team. Wilson moved around a lot after leaving the Pirates. He played for two teams in 1922, seeing time with Newark of the Double-A International League and Des Moines of the Class-A Western League, where he hit .216 with nine doubles in 45 games. He played for Pittsfield of the Class-A Eastern League in 1923 and batted .299 with 27 extra-base hits in 125 games. He remained in the Eastern League in 1924, though he split the season between New Haven and Bridgeport, playing a total of 132 games. He played for a short time with Scranton of the Class-B New York-Penn League in 1925, but an injury in late June ended his season early (this season is missing from his online stats). In 1926, Wilson played for Newark again, while also seeing time all the way down in Class-D Ball with Salisbury of the Eastern Shore League, where he hit .390 in 35 games. He played for the aforementioned Rochester in 1927, as well as seeing time with Salisbury (where he hit .370) and Williamsport of the New York-Penn League. His final season in 1928 was split between Williamsport and Wilkes-Barre of the same league. Wilson went by “Mike” in pro ball, but his actual name was Samuel Marshall Wilson, and the nickname appears to have come from an athlete from his area with the name Mike Wilson, who had some fame during the same time Samuel Wilson was entering college. Giving players with the same last name the same nickname was a very common practice during this era. The Pirates’ Wilson played pro football during the 1922-24 seasons, getting into 17 NFL games with Rochester (1922) and Rock Island (1923-24). Later in life he became the head of NFL officials. A story from Spring Training in 1921 said that he also excelled in boxing and basketball, and he spent time as a member of the Marines during the war. Johnny Welch, pitcher for the 1936 Pirates. He finished his nine-year big league career with one season for the Pirates. Welch had two double-digit win seasons with the Boston Red Sox (1934-35), but he finished with just 35 big league wins. He played a total of 14 seasons in pro ball, yet he was done with his career by age 30. Welch debuted at 17 years old in 1924 and managed to get in two games in one of the best minor leagues, playing for Buffalo of the International League. He spent the rest of the year with Utica/Oneonta of the New York-Penn League, where he went 3-4 in 16 games and threw 62 innings. After winning 17 games (with 12 losses) and throwing 269 innings for Ottumwa of the Class-D Mississippi Valley League in 1925, Welch debuted in the majors in 1926 with the Chicago Cubs. Despite being healthy, and with the team for the entire 1926-27 seasons, he pitched a total of four games, all in relief. After some early season games in 1928 with the Cubs, he went to the minors and didn’t return until 1931. Welch went from pitching 5.1 innings total in two seasons, to going 14-10, 4.30 in 182 innings for Reading of the Double-A International League in 1928. He saw similar work and results over the next three seasons with Reading, averaging 182 innings per year, while compiling a 31-39 record. His 1931 season was easily his best, finishing 15-11, 3.79 in 202 innings, which led to him rejoining the Cubs in late August. Over the last five weeks of the season, he went 2-1, 3.74 in 33.2 innings. He finished with just seven strikeouts. Welch moved on to the Boston Red Sox in 1932 and put in 4 1/2 seasons there, posting a 4.66 ERA in 583.1 innings. He gained some notoriety for being the final remaining player on the Red Sox from before new owner Tom Yawkey took over after the 1932 season. Welch opened the 1932 season with Newark of the International League, before the Red Sox acquired him on July 22nd. Over the final two months, he went 4-6, 5.23 in 72.1 innings over eight starts and 12 relief outings. In 1933, he had a 4-9, 4.60 record in 129 innings, with seven starts and 40 relief appearances. The 1934 season was his best as far as workload in the majors. Welch went 13-15, 4.49 in 206.1 innings, with 22 starts and 19 relief appearances. The 1935 season saw him go 10-9, 4.47 in 143 innings, with 19 starts and 12 relief appearances. He made three starts in April of 1936, and only one went well for him, though he had a relief outing in the middle that consisted of 7.2 shutout innings. He switched to relief in May and that went poorly, with eight runs in 3.2 innings over five outings. The Pirates acquired Welch off waivers on June 4th and he pitched sporadically the rest of the way, with just one appearance after July 29th. At the time of his pick-up, Welch was working out with the St Louis Cardinals, waiting for the Red Sox to sell him elsewhere. His first outing with Pittsburgh was a start in which the Pirates won 7-5, but he allowed four runs in four innings of work. In his second appearance with the Pirates, his wild pitch led to a walk-off win for the New York Giants. He had one relief appearances that saw him throw 6.2 shutout innings. He posted a 4.50 ERA in 22 innings with the Pirates. After the season, he was sold to the Chicago White Sox. Welch never pitched in the majors again. He finished his career in the minors in 1937, going 12-19, 4.97 in 220 innings for Indianapolis of the Double-A American Association. In nine big league seasons, he went 35-41, 4.66 in 684.1 innings, with 63 starts and 109 relief appearances. Andre Rodgers, infielder for the 1965-67 Pirates. He was the first player born in the Bahamas who made it to the majors. He was originally signed by the New York Giants in 1954 at 19 years old. He debuted in the majors in April of 1957 with the Giants, then made the move cross country with the team to San Francisco for another three seasons. He debuted in pro ball in the Class-D Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York League, where he hit .286 with 92 runs scored, 36 extra-base hits, 85 RBIs and 94 walks in 125 games. In 1955, he moved up to St Cloud of the Class-C Northern League and put on a show. Rodgers hit .387 in 123 games, with 133 runs scored, 28 doubles, 28 homers, 111 RBIs and 84 walks. That performance led to him jumping up three levels to Dallas of the Texas League in 1956, where he batted .266, with 84 runs scored, 23 doubles, 22 homers, 90 RBIs and 98 runs scored in 148 games. From there it was to Minneapolis of the Triple-A American Association in 1957, where he had a .663 OPS in 52 games. He debuted that season with the Giants and hit .244 with three homers in 32 games. Rodgers spent most of 1958 in Triple-A, playing for Phoenix of the Pacific Coast League, where he hit his way back to the majors by putting up a .354 average, with 43 doubles and 31 homers in 122 games. He played 22 games for San Francisco that season, batting .206 with two homers and 11 RBIs. After posting a 1.148 OPS for Phoenix and playing 22 big league games in 1958, Rodgers had a .728 OPS for Phoenix in 1959 and ended up playing 71 big league games, where he actually slightly improved to a .733 OPS, thanks to a .250 average with 19 extra-base hits and 32 walks. He finally spent a full season in the majors in 1960 and hit .244 in 81 games, with two homers, 22 runs and 22 RBIs. Right after the 1960 season, Rodgers was traded to the Milwaukee Braves. Right before the 1961 season, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs, so he never got a chance in Milwaukee. Rodgers spent four seasons in Chicago and saw the majority of his big league time during the 1962-64 campaigns, playing nearly half of his career big league games in those three seasons. In 1962, he was given the shortstop job, while Ernie Banks was over at first base. Rodgers hit .278 with 33 extra-base hits, 40 runs scored, 44 RBIs and 44 walks in 138 games in his first year in Chicago. In 1963, he hit just .229 in 150 games, though he had a decent OBP due to 65 walks, to go along with 51 runs scored. He batted .239 in 129 games in 1964, belting a career high of 12 homers, which he never approached in any other season. The Pirates acquired him on December 9, 1964 for minor league infielder Roberto Pena and cash. He saw most of his playing time with the Pirates in 1965 and responded by hitting .287 in 75 games, making 41 starts. He saw almost exclusively bench time in 1966-67, getting a total of just 110 at-bats in 83 games. He started eight games in 1966 and nine games in 1967. Despite that low total of games in 1967, he made starts at all four infield spots that year. His work was mostly pinch-hitting that year, as he played a total of 100 innings on defense all season. Rodgers spent the 1968 season at Triple-A (Columbus of the International League) for the Pirates, then finished his pro career in Japan in 1969. In three seasons in Pittsburgh, he saw time at five different positions and hit .257 with 33 runs scored and 31 RBIs in 158 games. He was a .249 hitter over 11 big league seasons, with 268 runs, 45 homers and 245 RBIs in 854 games. Wyatt Toregas, catcher for the 2011 Pirates. His big league career consisted of 19 games for the 2009 Cleveland Indians and three games for the 2011 Pirates. The Indians drafted Toregas in the 24th round out of Virginia Tech in 2004 and signed him nine days later. He debuted that season with Mahoning Valley of the short-season New York-Penn League, where he hit .294 with seven homers and 48 RBIs in 59 games. In 2005, he played for Lake County of the Low-A South Atlantic League. He batted .231 with 22 doubles and five homers in 104 games, showing a 201-point drop in his OPS over the previous season. In 2006, Toregas moved up to High-A (Kinston of the Carolina League), where he had a .336 average and a .931 OPS in 44 games, which led to a mid-season promotion to Double-A (Akron of the Eastern League). He batted .258 with ten doubles and four homers in 48 games with Akron, then played winter ball in the Dominican and hit .320 in 16 games. Toregas spent all of 2007 with Akron, putting up a .250 average, 16 doubles, six homers and 39 RBIs in 86 games. The 2008 season was split between Akron and Triple-A Buffalo of the International League, with vastly different results. He hit .296 with 12 homers and 35 RBIs in 47 games with Akron, and .219 with two homers in 50 games with Buffalo, with a 335-point difference between the two spots in OPS. In 2009, Toregas began the year in Triple-A (Columbus of the International League), batting .284 with ten doubles, seven homers and 29 RBIs in 60 games. He debuted in the majors on August 1, 2009, and he remained with the club through the end of the season on October 4th. He hit .176 with six RBIs in 19 games, getting 17 starts behind the plate. After failing to win a job out of Spring Training, Toregas was designated for assignment in April and spent 2010 in the minors for the Indians, playing at three different levels. After the season, he signed as a minor league free agent with the Pirates on January 18, 2011. Toregas joined the Pirates in June and played three straight games (June 10-12). His total stay with the Pirates was four days, getting called up on the 9th and he was designated for assignment on the 13th. The Pirates were dealing with catching injuries that year and they ended up using eight different starters behind the plate that season, including one start for Toregas. He went 0-for-4 at the plate in Pittsburgh. He barely played in the minors that season, hitting .133 in 22 games for Triple-A Indianapolis of the International League. Toregas re-signed with the Pirates in both 2012 and 2013, though he was a player-coach those years and didn’t actually play any games. He managed for five seasons (2015-19) in the minors for the Pirates, working his way from Morgantown to Bradenton. He was a manager in the minors with the Atlanta Braves for part of the 2021 season. The Trade On this date in 1970, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Kansas City Royals completed a six-player trade with Bruce Dal Canton, Jerry May and Freddie Patek going to the Royals and Jim Campanis, Jackie Hernandez and Bob Johnson coming back to Pittsburgh. Patek was by far the best player involved in the trade, but Johnson and Hernandez both contributed to the 1971 World Series title. Patek played three years for the Pirates with decent overall results (3.1 WAR total), but he really broke out with the Royals, making three All-Star teams over nine years, while accumulating 20.5 WAR. Dal Canton spent five years in Kansas City, with one big season (1974) accounting for much of his value. May was a backup for three seasons after the deal, playing a total of 139 big league games. The three combined had 26.4 WAR in 17 seasons with the Royals The Pirates did not get anything close to that WAR total from their three players, though the fourth World Series title more than made up for that fact. Johnson was a solid starter-turned-bullpen arm during his time in Pittsburgh. He went 9-10, 3.45 in 174.2 innings in 1971, then he out-pitched Juan Marichal in game three of the NLCS. Johnson actually had 4.5 WAR for the 1970 Royals, so the Pirates were banking on him being a bigger contributor. His Pirates WAR total was just 2.9 over three seasons, but he was still a solid contributor all three years. Hernandez has his best year with the Pirates in 1971 due to his defensive contributions. However, he was -0.9 WAR over three seasons due to very poor offense in Pittsburgh (.537 OPS in 214 games). Campanis pinch-hit six times for the Pirates and that’s it. It was a bad trade that still managed to work out fine....
Card of the Day: 1889 N172 Old Judge Deacon White
December 2, 2021
Card of the Day
My favorite all-time baseball card set is the N172 Old Judge set that was produced from 1886-1890. It’s one of the most amazing card sets in existence. Over 500 players are pictured in the set in real photos taken in studios and even some outdoor scenes around the United States. Many of the players included in the set have no other known photos. I might have been the only kid in a long time (since the cards were new?) who wanted an Old Judge card (that was already over 100 years old) before my ninth birthday. I know I was eight at the time because I got a baseball card calendar at Christmas for the upcoming year that I turned nine and one of the cards pictured in it was an Old Judge card. As soon as I saw it, I said I need to get that card some day. It took about 16 years, but I got the card pictured in the calendar (Hall of Famer Buck Ewing/pictured with the team mascot). Before I got a job, I was getting Old Judge cards as birthday/Christmas presents only, then once I got a job I started buying them often. One of the areas of the set that I started buying was players pictured on the Pittsburgh Alleghenys. I got all but one of those players, then Deacon White made the Hall of Fame in 2013 and the prices of his cards skyrocketed. I do not have a Deacon White card on Pittsburgh still to this day. They are extremely rare and when they do come up, there are about 50 collectors who need/want him for their collection. Most can’t pay the prices. It’s me, I’m most…unless I sell some other expensive card(s) to get it. Anyway, James “Deacon” White was born on this date in 1847, and he spent part of the 1889 season with the Pittsburgh Alleghenys, which resulted in some interesting Old Judge cards, including this one shown below. Here’s the front of the card (the back is blank): The photo here is a bit faded which is common for Old Judge cards, especially ones that were reissued from a previous year. In general, you will see some sort of fading with a good percentage of these cards, which are all at least 131 years old. However, the photos that were used multiple times tend to see this issue more often. An Old Judge card with no fading is a glorious sight. I wanted to use this scan for a particular reason, and it wasn’t to talk about the fading issue. The uniform you see above is not a Pittsburgh Alleghenys uniform. It’s one from the Detroit Wolverines taken in 1888. When White switched teams in 1889 to Pittsburgh, they reissued two of his cards (he has nine poses) with a new team name (see Pittsburghs at the bottom after his last name/position). On the other card, they only switched the team name at the bottom, but on this particular card, they did some 19th century photoshopping to put “Pittsburgh” across his jersey. The second most interesting thing about that fact is that the uniforms didn’t say Pittsburgh that year. They didn’t say anything. They were rather plain looking that season. White is an under-appreciated Hall of Famer, with some people saying that he was a fringe choice based on a career 45.7 WAR. What that hides is that he was already a good player before Major League Baseball existed. That didn’t come around until he was 23 years old. He also caught a lot, which was much more difficult back then due to the inferior equipment. The other lost issue is that he played most of his career before seasons were 100 games long. WAR is an accumulating stat, so imagine if you could add in around 1,000 more games in his career to make up for the unavoidable late start AND the limited schedule. Assuming he went along at the same rate, then he would have been a no question Hall of Famer. It’s hard to punish him for things beyond his control, so his Hall of Fame case is solid in my book. If you’re interested in buying one of his Old Judge cards, get out the checkbook and be prepared to write some zeros in that price number. This particular card shown would probably go for about $3,000 if it came up for auction. That’s the minimum really, because with this set, you just need two bidders who really want it and they can drive the price....
This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History: December 1st, Pirates Get Maury Wills and Matty Alou
December 1, 2021
This Date in Pittsburgh Baseball History
Seven former Pittsburgh Pirates born on this date, but we start with two transactions of note. The Transactions On this date in 1966 the Pittsburgh Pirates traded 3B/LF Bob Bailey and shortstop Gene Micheal to the Los Angeles Dodgers for All-Star shortstop Maury Wills. Bailey and Michaels performed poorly for the Dodgers following the deal, while Wills played two seasons for the Pirates, hitting .302 in 1967 with 92 runs and 29 stolen bases in 149 games. He would steal 52 bases in 1968, the second highest total in the National League. He hit .278 and scored 76 runs in 153 games that season. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the expansion draft in October 1968. Michael hit .204 in his only season in Los Angeles before being sold to the New York Yankees. Bailey batted .227 in both years for the Dodgers, totaling 12 homers. He had 13 homers for the Pirates in 1966 before the trade. He ended up as a teammate with Wills in Montreal in 1969 and put up 18.3 WAR there over seven seasons. So while the Pirates won the deal short-term, it was the Montreal Expos who actually got the best of the Pirates/Dodgers trade. Exactly one year before the Wills trade, the Pirates traded pitcher Joe Gibbon and 3B/C Ozzie Virgil to the Giants for outfielder Matty Alou. Prior to the deal, Alou was a .260 hitter over six season, but he turned his career around with the Pirates, hitting .342 his first year, winning the batting title and finishing ninth in the MVP voting. He would hit over .330 each season from 1967-69 twice making the All-Star team. In 1969 he led the NL with 231 hits and 41 doubles. He dropped down to .297 in 1970, but still scored 97 runs and had 201 hits. Following that season he was traded to the Cardinals in exchange for Nelson Briles and Vic Davalillo. Gibbon would actually return to the Pirates in 1969 after four solid seasons in San Francisco, where he had a 3.07 ERA in 223 innings. Virgil had just 43 games left in the majors after the trade. He was a fringe/AAAA player before the deal, playing a total of 281 games over seven seasons during a ten-year time period. The Players Reggie Sanders, outfielder for the 2003 Pirates. He was originally drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the seventh round of the 1987 draft out of Spartanburg Methodist College. It took him four years to make the majors, but he stayed around Cincinnati for his first eight seasons in the majors. Sanders had a streak of playing with a different team each year that stretched from 1998 until 2004. After playing his last year with the Reds in 1998, he played for the 1999 San Diego Padres, 2000 Atlanta Braves, 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, 2002 San Francisco Giants, 2003 Pirates and 2004 Cardinals. He remained in St Louis for two years, then finished his career with the 2006-07 Kansas City Royals. Sanders debuted in pro ball with Billings of the Pioneer League in 1988, where he hit .234 with no homers in 17 games. In 1989, he moved up to A-Ball, playing for Greensboro of the South Atlantic League, where he hit .289 with nine homers and 21 steals in 81 games. He played for Cedar Rapids of the Class-A Midwest League in 1990 and batted .285 in 127 games, with 89 runs, 27 doubles, 17 homers, 40 steals and 59 walks. From there he moved up to Chattanooga of the Double-A Southern League, where he batted .315 in 86 games, with 50 runs, 31 extra-base hits, 49 RBIs and 15 steals. Sanders debuted in the majors that season, though he played just nine games and hit .200 with one homer. He remained in the majors to start the 1992 season. That year he hit .270 in 116 games, with 26 doubles, 12 homers, 16 steals and 62 runs scored. That was good enough for a fourth place finish in the Rookie of the Year voting. In 1993, he hit .274 in 138 games, with 90 runs scored, 20 homers, 83 RBIs and 27 steals. During the strike-shortened 1994 season, Sanders batted .263 in 107 games, with 66 runs scored, 20 doubles, 17 homers and 21 steals. Despite all of his career success, Sanders had just one All-Star appearance and it was also the only season that he received any MVP votes. In 1995, he batted .306 with 36 doubles, 28 homers, 99 RBIs and 36 stolen bases. All of those stats are career highs except the homers, which he topped in 2001 and 2003. Those numbers are made more impressive by the fact that the 1995 season was shortened due to the 1994 strike, with MLB getting a late start the following year. He finished sixth in the MVP voting that year. In 1996, Sanders hit .251 in 81 games, with 17 doubles, 14 homers and 24 steals. He was slowed by a back injury suffered in April that season, then re-injured it in April of 1997. That limited him to 86 games that season, as he hit .253 with 19 doubles, 19 homers and 13 steals. In 1998, he was able to play 135 games, which was a mark that he topped just twice in his career. He hit .268 that year with 83 runs scored, 18 doubles, 14 homers, 59 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. The Reds traded him to the Padres of February 2, 1999 in a five-player deal that included Greg Vaughn going the other way. Sanders played 133 games in 1999 and hit .285 with 24 doubles, 26 homers, 72 RBIs, 36 steals and 65 walks. His 92 runs scored that season were a career high. In December of 1999, the Padres traded Sanders to the Atlanta Braves in a six-player deal. He slumped in his only season with the Braves, hitting .232 with 23 doubles, 11 homers and 21 steals in 103 games. He became a free agent after the season and signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he won a World Series ring. Sanders batted .263 that season in 126 games, with 84 runs scored, 21 doubles, a career high 33 homers, and 90 RBIs. During the World Series, he hit .304 with an RBI and six runs scored. After hitting .250 with 23 homers and 85 RBIs for the Giants in 2002, while helping them to the World Series, Sanders signed with Pittsburgh in March of 2003. During his lone season in Pittsburgh, he hit .285 with 31 homers, 15 stolen bases and 87 RBIs in 130 games for the Pirates. He left the team as a free agent following the season and signed with the St Louis Cardinals. In 2004, Sanders hit .260 with 27 doubles, 22 homers, 67 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. He played 93 games during the 2005 season and hit .271 with 21 homers, 54 RBIs and 14 steals. He missed time with a leg injury that season, in what was just the start of him missing time over his final three years. Despite the missed time late, he returned in time for the playoffs and drove in ten runs in three games during the NLDS. With the Royals in 2006, Sanders batted .246 in 88 games, with 23 doubles, 11 homers and 49 RBIs. His final season in 2007 was limited to just 24 games due to a hamstring injury. He played 17 seasons in the majors, hitting .267 in 1,777 games. He scored 1,037 runs, drove in 983 and is a member of the 300 stolen base/ 300 home run club, reaching both milestone marks 22 days apart during the 2006 season. He finished with 305 homers and 304 steals, and he had 706 extra-base hits during his career. Despite some postseason success, he got a reputation for disappearing in the playoffs. In 64 postseason games, he batted .195 with a .604 OPS. Cal McLish, pitcher for the Pirates in 1947-48. He was originally signed by the Dodgers in 1944 at 18 years old and he pitched in the majors that season, though he struggled as a rookie that year. He went 3-10, 7.82 in 84 innings over 13 starts and ten relief appearances, with twice as many walks (48) as strikeouts (24). He missed all of 1945 and most of 1946 while serving in the military during WWII, then made one brief appearance in the majors in 1946, allowing two runs without recording an out in late August. The Pirates acquired him in May of 1947 as part of a five-for-one trade with the Brooklyn Dodgers, with Al Gionfriddo (and cash) being the lone player sent to Brooklyn. After joining the Pirates, he pitched just one big league game that 1947 season, giving up two runs in his only inning. The rest of the year was spent with Kansas City of the Triple-A American Association, where he had a 6-7, 4.40 record in 92 innings. McLish spent most of 1948 in the minors, posting a 12-9, 4.13 record in 172 innings in Triple-A for Indianapolis of the American Association. For the Pirates in 1948, he pitched one inning in April, then made one start in late September, allowing five runs in four innings. Following the 1948 season he was traded to the Chicago Cubs on December 8th in a four-player deal that also included Cliff Chambers and Frankie Gustine. McLish saw brief big league time in 1949, posting a 5.83 ERA in 23 innings. He spent all of 1950 in the minors with Los Angeles of the Pacific Coast League, where he went 20-11, 3.60 in 260 innings. He then returned to the Cubs for a full season in 1951. That year he had a 4-10, 4.45 record in 145.2 innings, making 17 starts and 13 relief appearances. He didn’t stick in the majors from that point on though, returning to the minors for the next four seasons. All four years were spent in Los Angeles (with some time in San Diego of the PCL in 1955), and during that span, he went 56-53, and average 231 innings per season. When he returned to the big leagues in 1956, McLish had eight career wins and he was already 30 years old. He barely added to that total in his first season, winning two games for the Cleveland Indians, who used him in a relief role all season. However, from 1957 through 1963, he averaged 12 wins per season. In 1957, he went 9-7, 2.74 in 144.1 innings over seven starts and 35 relief appearances. In 1958, he had a 16-8, 2.99 record in 225.2 innings. He made 30 starts and nine relief appearances. That performance earned him a 14th place finish in the MVP voting. In 1959, McLish had his best season in the majors. He went 19-8, 3.63 in a career high 235.1 innings. He received a little more MVP support that season, finishing 11th in the voting. That year was also his only All-Star season in the majors. He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds on December 15, 1959 as part of a three-for-one deal that brought All-Star second baseman Johnny Temple to Cleveland. McLish struggled with his new team, going 4-14, 4.16 in 21 starts and 16 relief outings, throwing a total of 151.1 innings pitched. After the season, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox, along with reliever Juan Pizarro, in exchange for infielder Gene Freese. It was a deal that included three players who played for the Pirates, though Pizarro’s time in Pittsburgh was still ahead of him at that point. For Chicago, McLish went 10-13, 4.38 in 162.1 innings, with 27 starts and four relief appearances. During Spring Training in 1962, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, where he played his final three seasons in the majors. In 1962, he went 11-5, 4.25 in 24 starts and eight relief outings, throwing a total of 154.2 innings. McLish had a 13-11, 3.26 record in 209.2 innings in 1963, when all 32 of his appearances came as a starter. He was released in 1964 after just two appearances, barely playing due to an arm injury that ended his career. He immediately got into coaching and remained as a pitching coach well after his playing days were over. McLish had a career record of 92-92, 4.01 in 15 seasons in the majors, with 1,609 innings pitched over 209 starts and 143 relief appearances. He also added 102 minor league wins over his 20-year pro career. McLish has likely the most interesting name in baseball history. His full name is Calvin Coolidge Julius Caeser Tuskahoma McLish. Cookie Lavagetto, outfielder for the 1934-36 Pirates. The Pirates bought Lavagetto from the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League on September 13, 1933 for cash and a player to be named later. He was in his first season of pro ball at the time, hitting .312 that season with 44 extra-base hits in 152 games. He remained with the Oaks after the deal, joining the Pirates during the following Spring Training. He made the Opening Day roster in 1934 and played second base during his rookie season, hitting .220 with 46 RBIs and 41 runs scored in 87 games. At the time, he was believed to be 19 years old, though he was actually 21 and he “gained” those two years at some point after leaving the Pirates. He played both second base and third base in 1935, hitting .290 with 27 runs and 19 RBIs in 78 games. Lavagetto batted .244 with 21 runs scored, 15 doubles and 26 RBIs in 60 games in 1936, seeing very little time over the final three months of the season. He made just two starts in the final 88 games. Following the season, the Pirates traded him (and Ralph Birkofer) to the Brooklyn Dodgers for pitcher Ed Brandt. Cookie (his first name was Harry) broke out right away with the Dodgers, making four straight All-Star teams (1938-41) before leaving to serve in WWII. In 1937, Lavagetto batted .282 in 149 games, with 64 runs scored, 40 extra-base hits, 70 RBIs, 13 steals and 74 runs scored. During his first All-Star season, he hit .273 in 137 games, with 68 runs scored, 36 doubles, 79 RBIs, 15 steals and 68 walks. He began to play third base full-time in 1938 and continued that until going into the war. In 1939 he batted .300 in 153 games, setting career highs with 93 runs scored and 87 RBIs. He also had 43 extra-base hits, 14 steals and 78 walks. All of that led to him getting mild MVP support for the first of two times. In 1940, Lavagetto hit .257 in 118 games, with 56 runs scored, 43 RBIs and 70 walks. In his final season before joining the war effort, he batted .277 in 132 games, with 75 runs, 78 RBIs and a career best 80 walks. He missed four full seasons during WWII, returning in 1946 for two more years with the Dodgers, before finishing his career in the minors. The missed time took its toll, with Lavagetto hitting .236 in 88 games, with 36 runs scored and 27 RBIs. In his final big league season, he batted .261 in 41 games. His final three seasons of pro ball (948-50) were spent with Oakland of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, where he batted .291 in 371 games. He was a career .269 hitter in 1,043 games, with twice as many walks (485) as strikeouts (244). Lavagetto managed for five seasons in the majors after his career. He was the manager at the time of the Washington Senators moving to Minnesota in 1961. We posted a full-length feature article on Lavagetto’s time with the Pirates here. Mike Cvengros, pitcher for the 1927 Pirates. He debuted in pro ball with Chickasha of the Class-D Western Association in 1921, where he won 17 games at 20 years old, but he also lost 22 games and walked 151 batters in 153.2 innings. He moved up to Little Rock of the Class-A Southern Association and pitched well enough to get a start for the 1922 New York Giants on September 30th, just eight days before they won the World Series title. He went 17-14, 2.88 in 269 innings for Little Rock, then gave up five runs in a complete game loss for the Giants. Cvengros then pitched the next three seasons for the Chicago White Sox and saw plenty of work during the 1923 season. He went 12-13, 4.39 in 215.1 innings over 26 starts and 15 relief appearances. He had a rough 1924 campaign, going 3-12, 5.88 in 105.2 innings, with 15 started and 11 relief outings. In 1925, Cvengros went 3-9, 4.30 in 104.2 innings, with 11 starts and 11 relief appearances. He then spent the 1926 season with New Orleans of the Southern Association. He went 18-5, 3.68 in 220 innings, which gained the attention of the Pirates. Cvengros was a small lefty, standing just 5’8″, 159 pounds. He was a Rule 5 draft pick by the Pirates in late 1926 and then they traded him away after the 1927 season, so his time in Pittsburgh was short. He saw sporadic playing time throughout the season in Pittsburgh, never pitching more than six times in any month. From July 29th through October 1st, he pitched just six innings total over eight appearances. Cvnegros got the start on the last day of the regular season and he threw five shutout innings. With the Pirates, he went 2-1, 3.35 in 19 relief appearances and four starts. He pitched twice during the World Series, giving up one run over 2.1 innings. That one run came on a home run by Babe Ruth. On December 3, 1927, it was announced that Cvengros and catcher Ike Danning were released to Wichita Falls of the Texas League as part of an earlier deal for pitcher Fred Fussell. Cvengros went 21-8, 3.26 for Wichita Falls in 1928, which helped earn him a trip back to the majors with the 1929 Chicago Cubs. In his final big league season, he went 5-4, 4.64 in 64 innings over four starts and 28 relief appearances. Cvengros pitched a total of six years in the majors, going 25-40, 4.59 in 145 games (61 starts), with 552.1 innings pitched. He won 159 games in the minors. He pitched eight seasons in the minors after his final big league game, including the last six years with Houston of the Texas League. He won 21 games in 1933 and had a 2.36 ERA in 272 innings. He averaged 206 innings per season during that stretch in Houston. Eppie Barnes, first baseman for the 1923-24 Pirates. He was a multi-sport college star at Colgate, who got his career started in the Class-B Three-I League with the Peoria Tractors in 1922. That season he hit .289 with 25 extra-base hits in 73 games. In 1923 with Peoria, he batted .302 with 27 extra-base hits in 137 games. His runs total isn’t available for that season, but an article about his signing noted that he led the league in runs at the time. Another article said that he scored 100 runs and led the league in walks too. Barnes was purchased by the Pirates from Peoria on September 8, 1923 for what was said to be the highest price ever paid at the time for a player from that league (his local Brooklyn paper reported the price to be $50,000). He joined the Pirates two days later and played two games in September of 1923, going 1-for-2 with a single and a strikeout. His first appearance came as a pinch-runner on September 24th, then the next day he played the last four innings at first base of a game that the Pirates were winning 13-2 after five innings. He made the Opening Day roster in 1924, but he went to the minors on May 8th, joining Dallas of the Class-A Texas League, where he hit .261 with 22 doubles, three triples and no homers in 110 games. He played one game with the Pirates four days before being sent down, and then he got into another game in September, going 0-for-5 at the plate, in what turned out to be his final big league game. He likely would have played more during the latter stint, but a batting practice mishap led to a broken nose on September 3rd, which kept him from playing for the next 20 days. The Pirates called up Barnes on August 26th when starting first baseman Charlie Grimm was in a horrible slump at the plate. It was said that Barnes would play regularly unless Grimm turned things around immediately, but he started just the one game. Barnes spent the 1925 season with Chattanooga of the Class-A Southern Association, after the Pirates optioned him there on January 28, 1925. He was actually sent back to the Pirates on April 12th because his price was too high according to the Chattanooga management, though things quickly changed and Barnes was in the Chattanooga lineup by April 18th. He hit .277 that year in 136 games, with 17 doubles, ten triples and four homers. That season was the end of his brief pro career, though he remained active as a player in semi-pro leagues long after his final pro game. His time with the Pirates officially ended on February 12, 1926 when his contract was sold to Buffalo of the International League. In the transaction note, it said that he was being sold as a pitcher. Barnes went by the nickname Eppie quite often, but his actual first name was Everett. He was famous in his days after his brief career, helping form the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and he spent a long time back at Colgate as a coach and athletic director. He was also a key member in getting baseball included in the Olympics. During his college days he was considered to be a basketball star, but an article about his prowess on the court noted that he was even better at baseball and he was already getting offers from big league clubs two years before he signed with the Pirates. Barnes was born the same exact day as 1927 Pirates pitcher Mike Cvengros. Jake Miller, right fielder for the 1922 Pirates. He debuted in pro ball in 1919 with Mobile of the Class-A Southern Association. Miller hit .258 that season, with 19 extra-base hits in 140 games. In 1920, he joined Wichita Falls of the Class-B Texas League and hit .294 with nine doubles and seven triples in 71 games. He remained in Wichita Falls in 1921, as the league reclassified to A-Ball. He had a strong season, batting .324 with 35 doubles, eight triples and nine homers in 130 games. Through 96 games with Wichita Falls in 1922, he batted .316 with 29 doubles, three triples and four homers. On July 11, 1922, the Pirates acquired the 26-year-old Miller from Wichita Falls in a trade for pitcher John “Bonnie” Hollingsworth. Miller’s big league career basically lasted three days, July 15-17, 1922, though he was with the Pirates a little longer. He went 1-for-11 with a stolen base and two walks in his three games. His only big league hit was a single in his first Major League at-bat. In the field, he made one error in nine chances. The error was a costly one early in a game against Brooklyn, but a play he made in the fourth inning caused him more grief. He caught a deep foul ball with one out and a man on third, despite cries from his teammates to let it drop. The run came in to score to make it a 4-1 game in favor of Brooklyn. It’s interesting to note that manager Bill McKechnie was irate over the play and that ended up being Miller’s final game. On July 29th, he was sold to Toronto of the International League for the reported price of $5,000. His actual time spent with the Pirates was 16 days. Miller’s off-and-on minor league career lasted from 1919 until 1930, but he never made the majors again. He batted .307 with 27 extra-base hits in 129 games for Birmingham of the Southern Association in 1923. He jumped to Double-A with Portland of the Pacific Coast League in 1924, where he hit .291 in 89 games, with 21 extra-base hits. He played briefly for Jersey City of the International League in 1925 after being sold there by Portland (these records don’t show up in his online stats). He was managing a semi-pro team called the Miller All-Stars near his Baltimore home in 1926. His next time in pro ball was 1927 with York of the Class-B New York-Penn League, where he hit .312 with 41 extra-base hits in 139 games. He played semi-pro ball there before his pro career started, so he was familiar to the fans. He was found playing semi-pro ball in both 1928 and 1929, before returning to pro ball for one last year in 1930. In his final season, he hit .328 in 87 games while serving as a player-manager for the Hagerstown Hub of the Blue Ridge League. Miller was a .303 career hitting in the minors and batted over .300 in five of his eight seasons. George Fox, 1B/C for the 1899 Pirates. He had an eight-year stretch between his only two short stints in the majors. He made his MLB debut in July of 1891 for the Louisville Colonels of the American Association. Fox played six games at third base and went 2-for-19, with a triple and two RBIs. He then spent the next nine seasons playing all over minor league teams in Pennsylvania, with a brief stop in Pittsburgh near the end. He made his pro debut in 1889 with teams from Lebanon and Hazelton of the Middle States League. In 1890, he played for a team that played in both Lancaster and Allentown in the Eastern Interstate League. He has no other team listed for the 1891 season besides his short big league time, but when he signed with Louisville on July 13th, it said he was coming from a team in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. It was said at the time of the signing that he hit just .140 and fielded poorly for Allentown in 1890, so little was expected from him unless he improved greatly, but it was okay to give him a tryout because his salary was small. Fox spent the next five seasons in the Pennsylvania State League, playing for Danville in 1892, Reading in 1893-94, Pottsville in 1895 and Shamokin in 1896. He saw a nice rise in his stats during the 1893-95 seasons as new pitching rules went into effect that helped the batters. He hit .312 in 1893, then .281 with 25 extra-base hits in 71 games in 1894, followed by .338 average and 70 runs scored in 65 games in 1895. During the 1897 season, Fox played his first of three straight seasons in the Class-B Atlantic League, playing for a different team each year. He hit .242 with 34 extra-base hits and 53 runs scored in 119 games for Philadelphia in 1897. In 1898, he played for Norfolk (no stats are available). Then in 1899 before he joined the Pirates, he played with Reading, where he hit .205 with four extra-base hits and 19 runs in 40 games. Fox joined the Pirates on August 7, 1899, and debuted as a pinch-hitter on August 10th. He was used as a defensive replacement on August 22nd behind the plate in both games of a doubleheader. Starting on August 29th, he played nine straight games as the starting first baseman. He played his final game on September 7th, but he was still part of the team for the final month of the season. As the third-string catcher, Fox was left at home to save on travel expenses when the team went on a 13-day Eastern road trip in mid-September. He ended up playing nine games at first base and three games at catcher. He hit .244 in 13 games, with a homer and three RBIs. Fox was one of the players traded to Louisville when the Pirates made the famous Honus Wagner trade. Louisville was one of the teams cut from the National League a short time later and Fox was returned to the Pirates in February, though he was released unconditionally on April 5th. He returned to the minors in 1900 and played pro ball until 1908, retiring at 39 years old. He was a player/manager during the 1901-02 seasons, and then again in 1908 for Lancaster of the Class-D Ohio State League. He remained on as the team manager in 1909, but has no managerial records after that point. He didn’t outlive his baseball career by long, passing away in May of 1914....
Card of the Day: 2004 Topps Reggie Sanders
December 1, 2021
Card of the Day
Today’s Card of the Day helps celebrate a man who made quite a mark on the Pittsburgh Pirates, despite spending just one season with the team. Reggie Sanders, who turns 54 years old today, played right field for the 2003 Pirates and hit .285 with 31 homers and 87 RBIs. He didn’t have a ton of cards with the Pirates because he didn’t sign with the team until March, and he became a free agent at the end of the year, but some card sets put him on 2004 cards with the Pirates, even though he was gone before they came out. One of those cards was from Topps and featured Sanders in a pose that was quite different from the usual portrait/swing photo choices that we usually see from players. It caught my eye my scrolling through potential options for this article, so here’s a look at card #2 from the 2004 Topps set featuring Reggie Sanders. Here’s the front of the card: As you can see, this is definitely a different pose. It’s an extreme closeup of Sanders, who almost looks like he was shoehorned into the card frame. I really like this because it is different. I also like the fact that they used team colors on the front as part of the design. They also included the great logo from 2005 in the photo, where it adds to the card without taking anything away from the photo. The other great thing here is that Topps included an outline of a player in the bottom left corner and it’s exactly the same as his pose. It’s a throwback to the idea that they used in 1976, but it’s also completely different because those cards had generic poses for each position, while the 2004 Topps cards mimic the specific photo. For good measure, they threw in his uniform number. Here’s a fun fact: Sanders wore #16 for every other team that he played for during his career. Aramis Ramirez had #16 already when Sanders joined the team, then after Ramirez was traded, Jose Hernandez was given his number. I wonder if Sanders thought about taking it after the trade, or did he just want to ride the success he was having that season as part of baseball superstition rituals? Here’s the back of the card: I’m a big fan of the back of 2004 Topps cards. I like that they use the team colors on the back. I also like that the stats are easy to read, which many of you know, that wasn’t always the case with Topps cards. I also like the fact that the point out league leaders, although in this case all Sanders got was a strikeout crown during the strike-shortened 1994 season, so he could probably do without that feature. If you remember Sanders with the Pirates, then you probably remember the fast start he had to the season, which is pointed out at the bottom of the card just below the career stats. There isn’t a lot to say about this card as far as price. As a fan of the Pirates who remembers Sanders with the team, this would be a cool card to possess. I’m sure many of you in the same position, feel the same way. That was a frustrating season for a few reasons, but he made it fun to watch the team. There are plenty of options on Ebay available in the $2-$3 range. There are some tougher variations to consider. There is one with a black border that goes for between $11 and $20 and three are available on Ebay right now. Those were limited to 53 copies. Then there are chrome versions that go for around $5-$8 each, including a chrome black refractor that seems cheap at $6 delivered. Then there is a gold version that is easier to find and it can be had around $5....
This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History: November 30th, Frank Killen and Craig Wilson
November 30, 2021
This Date in Pittsburgh Baseball History
Five former Pittsburgh Pirates born on this date, plus two transactions of note. The Transaction On this date in 1950, the Pirates signed 32-year-old outfielder Pete Reiser as a free agent. He was a three-time All-Star, a batting champ and a two-time stolen base champ with the Brooklyn Dodgers prior to joining the Pirates. The 1950 season was easily his worst. Reiser batted .205 with one homer and one stolen base in 53 games for the Boston Braves. He lasted just one season in Pittsburgh, hitting .271 in 74 games, with an .811 OPS. He injured his shoulder during a game of pepper in mid-August and missed the last six weeks of the season. He signed with the Cleveland Indians for the 1952 season and had just 34 big league games left in his career after leaving the Pirates. On this date in 1972 the Pirates traded outfielder Dick Sharon, their first round draft pick from 1968, to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for pitchers Jim Foor and Norm McRae. Sharon was a minor leaguer all five years with the Pirates, while Foor and McRae each pitched briefly in the majors with little success. Following the trade Sharon played three years in the majors, two for the Tigers, where he hit .231 in 151 games. He spent the 1975 season with the San Diego Padres, hitting just .194 in 91 games. McRae never suited up for the Pirates organization. He played in the Mexican League for five years before retiring as a player. Foor pitched just three games for the Pirates in 1973, facing a total of eight batters, and then never pitched in the majors again. The Pirates traded him away during the following Spring Training. The Players Kyle Crick, pitcher for the 2018-21 Pirates. He was a first round draft pick, taken 49th overall out of high school in 2011 by the San Francisco Giants. He debuted in pro ball in the Arizona Summer League in 2011, where he gave up eight runs in seven innings of relief work. Crick was a starter in 2012 for Augusta of the Low-A South Atlantic League, where he went 7-6, 2.51 in 111.1 innings, with 128 strikeouts. He moved up to San Jose of the High-A California League in 2013 and posted a 3-1, 1.57 record in 14 starts, with 95 strikeouts in 68.2 innings. He missed about two months with a strained oblique, but he made up for some lost time by going to the Arizona Fall League after the season, where he had a 2.87 ERA in 15.2 innings. In 2014, he spent his first of three straight seasons with Richmond of the Double-A Eastern League. Crick had a 6-7, 3.79 record in 90.1 innings, with 111 strikeouts, in 2014. The next year saw him go 3-4, 3.29 in 63 innings, as he made 11 starts and 25 relief appearances. In 2016, he had a 4-11, 5.04 record in 109 innings. Crick moved up to Triple-A in 2017 with Sacramento of the Pacific Coast League. He also moved to relief work full-time and it paid off. He had a 2.76 ERA in 24 appearances, while also pitching 30 times for the Giants, where he had a 3.06 ERA in 32.1 innings. Over the off-season, he was traded to the Pirates with Bryan Reynolds in exchange for Andrew McCutchen. Crick pitched briefly with Indianapolis of the International League (Triple-A) in 2018, otherwise the rest of the season was spent in the majors, where he went 3-2, 2.39 in 60.1 innings over 64 appearances. He struggled a bit in 2019, putting up a 3-7, 4.96 record in 49 innings over 54 games. During the shortened 2020 season, Crick was limited to seven games due to multiple trips to the injured list. That was the same story as his 2021 season (his 2019 season also ended early due to hand surgery), when he placed on the injured list twice before being designated for assignment on July 19th. He had a 4.44 ERA in 24.1 innings over 27 games at the time. He signed a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox, but they released him just over a month late, despite allowing one run in 10.1 innings at Triple-A, while striking out 15 batters. In five seasons in the majors, he has a 7-11, 3.51 record in 171.2 innings over 180 appearances. Craig Wilson, outfielder/first baseman for the 2001-06 Pirates. He was a second round draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays out of high school in 1995. The Pirates acquired him in December of 1996 in a nine-player deal, with six players headed towards Pittsburgh. Wilson wasn’t the biggest piece for the Pirates in the deal, but he ended up being the best. He debuted in pro ball with Medicine Hat of the short-season Pioneer League, where he hit .283 in 49 games, with seven homers, 35 RBIs and an .851 OPS. At the time of the trade, he just completed a season in Low-A ball, where he hit .261 in 131 games for Hagerstown of the South Atlantic League, with 27 doubles, 11 homers, 70 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. He moved up to High-A in 1997 and hit .264 with 26 doubles, 19 homers and 69 RBIs in 117 games for Lynchburg of the Carolina League. In 1998, he split the season between Lynchburg and Double-A Carolina of the Southern League. That year he batted .294 with 23 doubles and 17 homers in 106 games, with slightly better results at the upper level. Wilson hit .268 with 21 doubles, 20 homers and 69 RBIs in 1999, as the Pirates moved their Double-A affiliate to Altoona of the Eastern League. He moved up to Triple-A Nashville of the Pacific Coast League in 2000 and hit .283 in 124 games, with 83 runs scored, 24 doubles, 33 homers and 86 RBIs. Wilson played just 11 games in Triple-A in 2001 before getting the call to the majors at 24 years old. He made his Pirates debut on April 22nd and ended up playing 88 games as a rookie, batting .310 with 13 homers and a .979 OPS. He was an everyday player in 2002, hitting .264 with 16 doubles, 16 homers and 57 RBIs in 131 games. He had a similar 2003 season with a .262 average, 15 doubles, 18 homers and 48 RBIs in 116 games, before his breakout season in 2004. He played a career best 155 games that season, while setting personal bests with 97 runs scored, 36 doubles, 29 homers and 82 RBIs, all numbers that he never approached in any other season. Despite those career highs, his OPS was actually 19 points higher in the previous season (.872 vs .853). Multiple injuries limited him to 59 games in 2005, and he hit .264 with five homers and 22 RBIs that year. Wilson was hitting .267 with 13 homers in 85 games before his trade to the New York Yankees for Shawn Chacon on July 31, 2006. Wilson played just 64 big league games after being traded away from the Pirates. He hit .212 with four homers in 40 games for the Yankees to finish out the 2006 season, then batted .172 in 24 games for the 2007 Atlanta Braves, who released him in mid-May. He signed with the Chicago White Sox a few days later, but he hit just .180 in 15 games at Triple-A. He signed with the Cincinnati Reds in February of 2008, but they released him after two weeks.. He finished his career in the minors in 2008, with the first part of the season spent with the Pirates in Triple-A, before he was traded to the Seattle Mariners. Wilson hit 22 homers during his final season of pro ball. In 634 games with the Pirates, he hit .268 with 282 runs scored, 94 doubles, 94 homers and 282 RBIs. He split his time fairly evenly between first base and right field, but he also played some left field and even caught in 40 games during his career. He ranks 28th all-time in Pirates history in homers. His .846 OPS in 15th all-time. Matt Lawton, outfielder for the 2005 Pirates. The Pirates were one of three teams he played for during the 2005 season, which was his 11th year in the majors. Lawton was a 13th round draft pick in 1991 by the Minnesota Twins at 19 years old, though he signed too late to play that season. He was selected out of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. It took him four years to make the majors, debuting in September of 1995. He debuted in pro ball in the Gulf Coast League in 1992, where he hit .260 in 53 games, with two homers and 20 steals in 21 attempts. He moved up to Fort Wayne of the Class-A Midwest League in 1993, where he hit .285 in 111 games, with 33 extra-base hits. He stole 23 bases, but he was caught stealing 15 times. In 1994, he was in High-A with Fort Myers of the Florida State League. Lawton hit .300 in 122 games, with 31 doubles, seven homers, 42 steals (in 61 attempts) and 80 walks. In 1995, he played 114 games for Hardware City of the Double-A Eastern League. He hit .269 with 75 runs scored, 37 extra-base hits, 26 steals and 56 walks. He played 21 games for the Twins in September and hit .317 with an .881 OPS. He started 1996 in the majors, but after hitting .205 in April, he was sent to Triple-A for almost two months. He returned in late June and ended up hitting .258 with six homers and 42 RBIs in 79 games. Lawton was the starting right fielder for the Twins for most of 1997. He hit .248 with 74 runs scored, 29 doubles, 14 homers, 60 RBIs and 76 walks in 142 games. He had a poor success rate in steals during his first three seasons and didn’t run often, but that started to change in 1998 when he went 16-for-24 in steals, while hitting .278 in 152 games, with 91 runs scored, 36 doubles, 26 homers, 77 RBIs and 86 walks. In 1999, he saw a drop in his production, posting a .708 OPS in 118 games, which was 156 points lower than the previous year. The one highlight to his stats was that he went 26-for-30 in steals. Lawton rebounded in 2000 and made his first All-Star appearance. He set career highs with 156 games played, a .305 average, 44 doubles, 88 RBIs and 91 walks. He also scored 84 runs, hit 13 homers and he went 23-for-30 in steals. He started off strong during the 2001 season, putting up an .835 OPS, 71 runs scored, 19 steals and 63 walks in 103 games before he was traded to the New York Mets to finish out the 2001 season. After the deal, he had a .718 OPS in 48 games. Lawton set a career high with 29 steals that season, while putting up 95 runs scored, 36 doubles and 85 walks. He played seven seasons for the Twins, hitting .277 with 72 homers and 96 steals in 771 games. Lawton got traded to the Cleveland Indians over the 2001-02 off-season and remained there for three seasons, though he missed time due to injuries in two of those seasons. Lawton hit .236 in 114 games in 2002, with 19 doubles, 15 homers, 57 RBIs, 59 walks and 71 runs scored. After having so much success in recent years with steals, he went 8-for-17 that season in stolen base attempts. He played 99 games in 2003 and hit .249 with 15 homers and 57 RBIs. He made his second All-Star appearance in 2004 when he hit .277 with 25 doubles, 20 homers, 77 RBIs, 74 walks and 23 stolen bases. He set a career high with 109 runs scored that season. The Pirates acquired him in December of 2004 from the Indians for pitcher Arthur Rhodes. Lawton’s stay in Pittsburgh lasted just under eight full months and nearly half of that was the off-season. He batted .273 in 101 games, with 53 runs scored, 28 doubles, ten homers, 44 RBIs, 16 steals and 58 walks. He was shipped to the Chicago Cubs at the July 31st trade deadline for outfielder Jody Gerut and cash. Lawton would end the 2005 season with the New York Yankees and then finish his career with 11 games for the 2006 Seattle Mariners. He batted .244 with one homer in 19 games for the Cubs, .125 with two homers in 21 games for the Yankees, then .259 with one RBI for the Mariners. Lawton was a career .267 hitter over 12 seasons in the majors, finishing with 756 runs, 267 doubles, 138 homers, 631 RBIs and 165 stolen bases. He also had more walks (681) than strikeouts (613). His brother Marcus Lawton played one season in the majors for the 1989 Yankees. Tacks Latimer, catcher for the 1900 Pirates. The Pirates acquired Latimer as part of the famous Honus Wagner trade made during the 1899-1900 off-season. He was one of 12 players going to Pittsburgh in the original deal, though the Pirates ended up with more players after Louisville was one of four teams dropped from the National League before the 1900 season. He played just four games in Pittsburgh, going 4-for-12 at the plate. Latimer’s time with the Pirates didn’s start off well, as he suffered from malaria in the spring. He was the third-string catcher, but saw time early in the year due to an injury to Pops Shriver. His debut was April 27th as a mid-game replacement for Chief Zimmer in a one-sided contest. On May 3rd, he caught Hall of Fame pitcher Rube Waddell. Latimer then caught Hall of Fame pitcher Jack Chesbro on May 18th and had two hits to help the Pirates to an 11-4 win. His final game was on May 20th when he went 0-for-3 in a loss against Frank Killen, who shares a birthday with him (see below). On May 25th, Latimer was sent to Syracuse of the Eastern League after the Pirates acquired veteran catcher Jack O’Connor. The Pirates still held the rights to Latimer, but he never returned. He signed with New Castle of the Interstate League on June 10th. He played parts of five seasons in the majors, with a different team each year, and lasted just 27 games total. He played for 30 different teams in 13 seasons of pro ball. His pro career began in 1895 at 19 years old, playing for three different teams in three different leagues. He has no pro ball records in 1896, but he was playing for a team called the Pennsylvanias in late May. His 1897 records show just seven games for Minneapolis of the Western League, so he likely played a lot of semi-pro ball during the 1896-97 seasons. He batted .297 with 30 extra-base hits in 83 games in the minors in 1898, splitting his time between two teams. In October he joined the New York Giants and played his first five big league games. The 1899 season was spent in the Class-B Interstate League, where he also saw brief time in 1895 and 1898. He played nine big league games with Louisville and hit .276 with four RBIs. After his season with the Pirates, Latimer played for two Class-A minor league teams in 1901, while also playing one game with the Baltimore Orioles (now the New York Yankees…I know sources now says that they were different franchises, but that is wrong). In 1902, he hit .246 in 65 games for Atlanta of the Class-A Southern Association, and he played eight big league games with the Brooklyn Superbas (Dodgers), where he went 1-for-24 at the plate, with an .083 OPS. That was the end of his big league career, but he still had six more seasons and plenty of moving around. He played for two teams in 1903, two more in 1904, then played for three teams in 1905. Latimer played for five different teams in 1906, including three clubs in the Tri-State League. His 1907 season was spent with just two teams in the Southern Association, then he finished up in 1908 with 13 games in the Ohio State League. He only played for one team that year, but that team ended up moving mid-season and played in two different towns. Latimer’s real first name was Clifford. The nickname Tacks was given to him by a teammate, who liked to give everyone nicknames and there was no real reason behind it. The nickname first showed up in print in October of 1898. After his playing days, he scouted for the Pirates for a time, but ended up in trouble and served six years in prison for a second degree murder, which he claimed was self-defense. Frank Killen, lefty pitcher for the 1893-98 Pirates. He’s the last 30-game winner in team history. Killen was a Pittsburgh native, who played with local amateur teams through 1889. He got his start in pro ball in 1890 at 19 years old, going 3-1 in four starts for Grand Rapids of the International Association. He went 18-13, 3.00 in 275.2 innings for Minneapolis of the Western Association in 1981. He was in the majors by late August of 1891, posting a 1.68 ERA in 11 starts for Milwaukee of the American Association, where he added another 96.2 innings to his season total. Killen moved on to Washington of the National League in 1892 and he went 29-26, 3.31 in 459.2 innings, which was his career high, though in a sign of the times, he was only fourth in the league with that total. He made 52 starts that year and completed 46 games. The Pirates acquired him for catcher Duke Farrell, who refused to catch in Pittsburgh and wanted to play third base, which wasn’t an option for the Pirates in 1893. Killen had an $1,800 per year contract with Washington, but Pittsburgh signed him for $2,400 after the trade and got their money’s worth and more in his first season. During the 1893 season, he went 36-14, 3.64 in 415 innings, leading the Pirates to their best season in franchise history (12 years) up to that point. He led the NL in wins that season, and he was fourth in innings. Injuries in both 1894 and 1895 limited Killen to a total of 299 innings (seriously, that was very limited for him). He went 14-11, 4.50 in 205 innings in 1894. The ERA sounds high, but the league ERA that season was 5.33, during one of the best seasons of offense in MLB history. In 1895, Killen went 5-5, 5.49 in 95 innings over 11 starts and two relief outings. He was healthy in 1896 and bounced back, putting together what was unknowingly at the time, the last 30-win season in franchise history. During that season, he went 30-18, 3.41 for a team that went 36-45 in the rest of their games that season. He led the league in wins, games started (50), complete games (44), innings pitched (432.1) and shutouts (five). Killen went 17-23, 4.46 in 337.1 innings in 1897, leading the league once again in complete games (38). He had a 10-11, 3.75 record in 23 starts (all complete games) during the first 3 1/2 months of 1898, then got unconditionally released on August 1st after the Pirates couldn’t find any takers in trade talks. Killen re-signed with Washington on August 11th to finish the 1898 season. He went 6-9, 3.58, and finished the year with 306 innings pitched. He then saw action with three different teams during the 1899-1900 seasons, getting two starts with Washington in 1899, 12 starts with the Boston Beaneaters (Braves) in 1899, and his final six starts with the Chicago Orphans (Cubs) in 1900. Killen finished his pro career three years later in the minors. He had a 112-82, 3.97 record in 1,661.1 innings for the Pirates, and he won 164 games in his ten-year career. He made exactly 300 starts during his career and he threw 253 complete games, with a3.78 ERA in 2,511.1 innings pitched. He was also quite the hitter during his day for a pitcher, batting .241 with 11 homers, 127 RBIs and 131 walks....
Card of the Day: 2005 Donruss Diamond Kings Craig Wilson
November 30, 2021
Card of the Day
Today’s Card of the Day comes from the 2005 Donruss set and it features Craig Wilson, who turns 45 years old today. He played four different positions for the 2001-06 Pittsburgh Pirates. I got wordy in the price section, so let’s get right into the card, which is a Diamond Kings card with some added goodies (I’m pretty sure that’s the first time I used “added goodies” in a card article). Here’s the front of the card: Let me start by saying that it was impossible to find a good scan of this card that didn’t have a watermark from the seller. This was the best and the card was scanned on an angle, so a bit of it is cropped off and in the top right side you can see a bit of the scan background. The same thing happened with the back scan. There are plenty of options for this card, as you will see in the price section, but no great scans. Also you can see, there’s a portrait style artwork of Craig Wilson wearing a cap with the old logo, which is a favorite of mine (more on that below). This card is autographed by Wilson, or so we are told. That looks like it could possibly say “Gill”, which I only say because “Cill” makes no sense. In the bottom left, you get a piece of a jersey that he wore in a game. On the bottom right, you get a sliver of a bat that he used in a game. You’ve got a nice Diamond Kings symbol between the two game used items, giving you a card with a lot of goodies on the front Here’s the back of the card: All of the good stuff is on the front…except that great Pirates logo that they were using before, during and after 2005. That’s such a great logo and now they have just the letter P like it’s a logo brought to you by Sesame Street. I’d like to hear from one person who honestly likes the current logo the best. Don’t get me wrong, it looks great on hats, but it’s boring and all of the previous ones are so much better. Anyway, the back just guarantees that the items on the front are real and game worn or game used by Craig Wilson. Also, up top you see that this card is numbered to 200 copies and this one is #164. The actual card number (#178) is just above that. I was going to mention that Wilson looks more like John Kruk on the front of the card, but then I realized that the name of the illustrator is on the back with a little fun fact added in, so I didn’t want to call out his work. I’m glad I didn’t do that. I mentioned up top that the price section will be interesting. Let me just say that if you want this card, you have plenty of options to choose from, but there are some subtle difference between some of the options. I really wanted to use a 1-of-1 card, but the scan wasn’t good and there wasn’t a back scan either. The card I did use is listed for $8.66 delivered, but that has a “make offer” option, so you could get it a little cheaper if you’re collecting on a budget. The 1-of-1 card is $60 plus shipping. Funny thing about being the only person who has a 1-for-1 card, you set the market. If you like the card, then you set the price higher, to a point where you like the money more than the card. At what price point would you not have seller’s remorse? That’s the price…assuming you like it. If you’re just going for resale, then you leave yourself open for offers and let the market play itself out. There’s also a black version that is numbered to ten. There’s a silver material version that is one of 50 available. There’s also another one with red writing in the middle than is numbered to 100 copies. Besides all of that, you can get this card autographed without the game used pieces or vice versa, with no autograph and the game used material is included. There are variations of both, and if you just want no frills, there are variations of the card with no autograph or game used pieces. Those are the cheapest ones out there, and it’s just the basic Diamond Kings card. The 1-of-1 card is the most expensive, and the rest range in price from $5-$20 range....
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