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7/3: Alex, Jose Deals; Locke-Up, Drew Day, Bo-th Sides, Bombs Away, Pops Pop, Chief Cycle, Game Tales; Wren Flies, Steve, Arriba & Ralph Cover Boys, Hugo Hired; HBD Tuck, Eddie, Moises, Luke, Chet & Bunny

Wednesday, July 3, 2024 7:03

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1892 – OF Anthony John Greszkowski (“Bunny Brief”) was born in Remus, Michigan. He ended his four-year career as a bench player for the Pirates in 1917, hitting .217. Bunny wasn’t a major-league slugging threat, but he was a mini-Bambino on the farm. After the Bucs, Brief played in the minors until 1928. Though he never hit more than two home runs in any of his big league years, Bunny holds the all-time record for home runs in the American Association (by then, a minor league) with 256 and his eight AA home run crowns are tied for the most with Ken Guettler. How did Tony Greszkowski become Bunny Brief? The Bunny part is easy; it’s a take-off of his childhood nickname. As for the Brief, well, you can thank Ellis Island. According to Major-Smolinski’s “Favorite Baseball Nicknames,” his parents were immigrants and when they were processed by a clerk who wrestled with their long Polish name, Papa Greszkowski suggested that the registrar Americanize the name. “Just change it to something brief,” he said. The official did literally as requested, explained Joe Brief, a great-nephew of the ballplayer.
1897 – RHP Chet Nichols was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Chet, a three-sport star in high school, was a big-time prospect when the Bucs bought him from New Haven of the Eastern League, but his minor-league chops never carried over. He began his less-than-distinguished six-year MLB career (1-8/7.19) with the Bucs, tossing from 1926-27 and slashing 0-3/6.37. He spent his last three campaigns with Philadelphia, leaving the game after the 1932 season with a bum arm. Chet went on to coach at Woonsocket HS and the University of Rhode Island.
1904 – RHP Luke Hamlin was born in Ferris Center, Michigan. Luke had been a 20-game winner for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1939 and good for 40 outings/25 starts, but age caught up to him. The Pirates got him in 1942 as a 37-year-old, and he posted a line of 4-4/3.94 in 23 outings (14 starts) in Pittsburgh. Luke was sometimes called “Hot Potato” because he liked to juggle the ball while getting ready to pitch, much like a man handling a hot potato.
1910 – Owen “Chief” Wilson hit for the cycle at the Palace of the Fans in Cincinnati as the Pirates and Howie Camnitz took a 10-2 decision from the Reds. Howie was dented for 12 hits, but the Pirates answered with 14 of their own. Fred Clarke added three knocks while Hans Wagner, Tommy Leach and Bobby Byrnes chipped in a pair of hits to power the win.

Hugo Bezdek – 1917 photo/Charles Conlon

1917 – Bohemian-born Bucco scout Hugo Bezdek was named Pirate manager, replacing the short-lived skipper Honus Wagner. He managed the Pirates through 1919, compiling a 166–187 record, while also coaching Penn State football from 1918-29. He was known for his rigorous, gridiron-inspired workouts and open-minded leadership. Per Baseball Reference’s Bullpen, he “…had a good rapport with his players, whom he relied upon to make some key decisions given his lack of baseball experience. Two of those players would go on to be among baseball’s most famous managers – Casey Stengel and Billy Southworth.”
1926 – The Pirates scored eight times in the fourth inning and rolled over the St. Louis Cardinals at Forbes Field, 12-3. Pie Traynor had a homer and double to keep the big frame rolling and drove home four runs to help Vic Aldridge cruise to victory. All nine Pirates had at least a hit and run scored while a half-dozen Buccos chased home at least a run.
1948 – Baseball Digest featured Ralph Kiner on its cover. The 25-year-old outfielder was on the way to his third straight home run title (he would claim seven straight NL crowns and six consecutive MLB championships) while on the road to becoming the 12th big league player/first Bucco to cross the 300-homer threshold. He entered the Hall of Fame in 1975.
1966 – OF Moises Alou was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Alou was the second overall pick of the 1986 draft by the Pirates and a good one, although his Pirate career consisted of just five at-bats in 1990. Moise was the PTBNL in the Zane Smith deal with Montreal later that season; Smith helped the Pirates win the National League East pennant while Alou went on to a sterling MLB career. He played for 17 seasons with a BA of .303, 2,134 hits, 332 home runs, 1,287 RBI and six All-Star berths. Alou holds the record for stringing together a 30-game hitting streak for the Mets in 2007, the longest for a 40-year-old player in MLB history. Moises, a member of the storied Alou baseball family, also got to play under his dad, Felipe, who managed the Expos.

Moise Alou – 1991 Topps Debut

1967 – Willie Stargell’s estimated 500’ home run (it landed in the little league field behind the left-center field wall by the Mary Schenley fountain, both of which are still there today) helped the Pirates to a 5-2 win over Don Drysdale and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Forbes Field. Pops had two round trippers and three hits, Bill Mazeroski added a pair of knocks and three RBI and Gene Alley doubled twice. Tommie Sisk went the distance for the win, spinning a five hitter.
1967 – Roberto Clemente was featured as the cover story of Sports Illustrated in an article titled “The Big Hitters Are Back.” That was certainly true of Arriba – The Great One had 209 hits and a league-leading BA of .357 BA with a .400 OBP, 23 HR, 110 RBI, 103 RS and an OPS+ of 171.
1970 – The Bucs bashed six homers to outlast the Cubs, 16-14, at Wrigley Field (and yes, the wind was blowing out at 15 MPH). Roberto Clemente and Gene Alley each had a pair of bombs and four RBI each (Alley went 4-for-4 and also scored three times), while Al Oliver and Bill Mazeroski also went yard. Seven Pirates had multiple hits to tie a club record, five scored more than once and another five Bucs chased home multiple runs. The two clubs banged out 40 hits and went through a dozen pitchers before Dave Giusti struck out Ron Santo to end the drama with the tying runs aboard for Chicago.
1972 – Steve Blass was featured as the cover story of Sports Illustrated in an article titled “League Leader.” Steverino had a great season, making the All-Star team and going 19-8 with a 2.49 ERA, but his career would be struck down by the “Blass disease” the following year.

Eddie Volquez – 2014 Topps First Edition

1983 – RHP Edinson Volquez was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Eddie had a rebound season with the Buccos in 2014, going 13-7/3.04 after signing a one year/$5M contract. As a free agent after the season, he landed a two-year deal with the Kansas City Royals worth $20M, then moved to the Miami Marlins and last tossed for the Texas Rangers in 2020.
1987 – Bobby Bonilla became the first Pirate to homer from both sides of the plate in a 6-0 win against Los Angeles at Three Rivers Stadium, collecting five RBI for the first time (he cashed in five runners three times as a Buccaneer) in his MLB career. He took Fernando Valenzuela deep while batting right-handed and Ken Howell while swatting from the left side. Bonilla banged two-way bombs twice, with Dale Sveum (1999) and Bryan Reynolds (2019) later joining him. Rick Reuschel tossed a five-hit shutout for the victory. 24-year-old Bobby Bo, in his second big league season, was a year away from making the first of four straight All-Star outings for the Pirates.
1991 – The Pirates traded bench outfielders, sending Mitch Webster to the LA Dodgers for Jose Gonzalez. The Dodgers won the swap: Gonzalez was waived in August after going 2-for-20 while Webster lasted five years in the City of Angels with a .256 BA over that span. In another news, Pittsburghers were in a huff as reigning MVP Barry Bonds and defending Cy Young winner Doug Drabek (pitchers were announced on the 4th) were left off the All-Star team, neither winning the fan vote nor getting the nod from manager Lou Pinella of the Reds. Bobby Bonilla and John Smiley were the only Bucs to make the cut. Oddly, Drabek was only named to one ASG in his 13-year career despite three top-5 Cy Young finishes.
1992 – The Pirates sent minor leaguers OF Tony Mitchell, who led the Buc farm system in HRs, and 19-year-old RHP John Carter to Cleveland for OF Alex Cole. The time was ripe as the speedster had been on Pittsburgh’s radar for a while, Jim Leyland needed help at leadoff, and the price was affordable as he had dropped to the Tribes’ fifth OF spot, so GM Ted Simmons pulled the trigger. In a bit of a surprise, slumping 27-year-old Jeff King (.231) was sent to Buffalo to clear a roster spot for Cole, but played just seven games for the Bisons before being called back to Pittsburgh for good. Cole did fill the bill in his 64 games as a Pirate, batting .278 with an OBP of .335 and seven steals. The Pirates lost him in the 1992 expansion draft during the off season, and Cole never quite broke through as a MLB starter though he slashed .277 BA/.357 OBP over the final four years of his career (1993-96). Mitchell made it to Mexico and Japan, but not the show while Carter spent seven years in the bushes, reaching AAA for just 15 games.

Cole Tucker – 2021 photo/Pirates

1996 – SS Cole Tucker was born in Phoenix, Arizona. A first-round pick in 2014 from Mountain Pointe HS ($1.8M bonus), he rose steadily through the ranks when he was beckoned to the big team in late April of 2019 after starting SS Eric Gonzalez broke his collarbone. He was rushed to the bigs; his glove was ready, but he only had 13 AAA games before reaching the majors, and it showed at the dish. However, he did homer in his first MLB game, banging a two-run homer that proved the game-winner. He was sent back to Indy after an extended look in Pittsburgh, batting .211 after 159 PA’s, to sharpen his eye. His bat kept him yo-yo’ing between Indy and Pittsburgh; he was DFA’ed in 2022 and now is in his home-town system at Arizona.
2001 – The Atlanta Braves Assistant GM Frank Wren, considered a front runner to replace Cam Bonifay for the Pirates vacant GM job, told Kevin McClatchy that he was sticking with the Bravos; he was thought to be the heir apparent to current Atlanta GM John Schuerholz, and did eventually take over for him. Dave Littlefield, the Miami Marlins assistant GM, ended up with the Pittsburgh job, replacing interim GM Roy Smith, who was Bonifay’s assistant.
2012 – Journeyman Drew Sutton was the hero of the day. He hit a walk-off homer, his first long ball since 2010 and one of his three knocks on the day, off Wesley Wright’s hung slider to give the Bucs an 8-7 win over the Houston Astros at PNC Park. Pittsburgh battled back from a sixth inning, 6-2, deficit against the ‘Stros to take a late lead for Joel Hanrahan, who had blown the save in the ninth when he gave up a two-out double to Jason Castro but thanks to Sutton took home the dub. The victory moved the Pirates into a tie for first in the NL Central, but they were still a year away from respectability.
2013 – Jeff Locke won his eighth straight decision by a 6-5 score over the Philadelphia Phillies at PNC Park. Andrew McCutchen went 3-for-3 with two walks while Pedro Alvarez hit a three-run homer in support of the lefty. Locke put together his winning streak over 16 starts (the Pirates were 1-7 in the games he started w/o a decision to balance out) and lowered his ERA from 4.09 to 2.12 during that time before losing his next outing to the Oakland A’s, 2-1.

Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2024/07/73-alex-jose-deals-locke-up-drew-day-bo.html

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