3/10: Neal Heaton - Kirk Gibson, Reggie Sanders Signs, '22 CBA OK'ed, Mike Lange & Steve Blass Man Booth, Expo Ladies' Days; HBD Josh, Tike, Cangy, , Art, Jack, Judge, Gene, Chief & Dad
- 1862 – Utilityman Ed “Pops/Dad” Lytle was born in Racine, Wisconsin. Pops (he was 28 when he reached the majors) had a 16-game big league career in 1890, appearing in 15 of the contests with the Alleghenys and playing 2B/OF while hitting .145. He played 12 years of organized ball starting in 1889 that concluded in 1900 and likely seasoned himself in the indie and semi-pro leagues during his younger days on teams that didn’t make the record-keeping annals.
- 1871 – OF John “Chief” Kelty was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. The 19-year-old Kelty played for the 1890 Alleghenys in his only big league stop, hitting .237 in 59 games as part of a posse of 12 players who roamed the pasture for Pittsburgh at one time or another during that 113-loss season. He dropped out of the record books (even his batting/throwing sides are undocumented) after playing in the minors in 1891, presumably returning to his hometown.
- 1873 – IF Gene DeMontreville was born in St. Paul. Gene played two games for the Pirates in his 1894 rookie season, hitting .250 in eight at-bats, and then went on to have an 11-year MLB career along with a 36-game hitting streak between 1896-97 with Washington, the 10th longest batting run in baseball history. Gene posted a .303 lifetime BA and six .300+ campaigns.
- 1880 – RHP Walter “Judge” Nagel was born in Santa Rosa, California. He began his big league career with the Pirates in 1911, signed by Barney Dreyfuss after a strong run in the Pacific Coast League, with three consecutive 20-win campaigns. He slashed 4-2/3.62 in eight games here. Judge was sold to the Red Sox in June, and that stop was the end of his MLB career. Judge may have missed the California sun, too – he played nine minor league campaigns; the first eight were with LA of the PCL, with the final season spent with San Jose in 1913. Nagle wrote a book afterward titled “Five Straight Errors On Ladies Day” about his baseball life. He got his “Judge” nickname by association as he grew up beside the Santa Rosa Courthouse, where his dad worked.
- 1889 – RHP Harry “Jack” Mercer was born in Zanesville, Ohio. His major league career lasted one inning, tossed in 1910 as an August audition for the Pirates, allowing no runs on two walks and one strikeout. He was fairly well touted in the minors, but had control issues he couldn’t overcome, and after two years on the farm, his days in pro ball ended following the 1911 season.
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| Ladies Day – 3/10/1894 Press |
- 1894 – The Pittsburgh Pirates announced that they would issue free season tickets for ladies, good for Tuesday and Friday games at Exposition Park, per the Pittsburgh Press. The New York Gothams introduced the ladies day concept in 1883 and Pittsburgh finally bought into the concept.
- 1906 – RHP Art Herring was born in Altus, Oklahoma. Art closed out his 11-year career in 1947 with the Pirates after the Bucs bought his contract from the Brooklyn Dodgers during the ‘46 offseason. The 41-year-old Herring made 11 appearances out of the pen for the Pirates in 1947 with a 1-3-2/8.44 slash and was released in late June, retiring after the season.
- 1963 – OF John Cangelosi was born in Brooklyn. The hustler hit .243 between 1987-90 for Pittsburgh, and in ‘87 became the first Pirate in 21 years to steal home. Cangelosi played 13 years for seven clubs; Pittsburgh was his longest stay with one team. He now operates Cangelosi Baseball, located inside the Bo Jackson’s Elite Sports Dome, a Chicago-based sports training facility.
- 1977 – OF Julian “Tike” Redman was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He played five of his six MLB seasons (2000-01, 03-05) in Pittsburgh as a reserve outfielder, with a .281 BA. He had a decent stick, but ended up the odd man out when Nate McLouth and Chris Duffy were called to the show. He finished out his pro career in 2011 after playing in the Mexican and indie leagues.
- 1987 – Mike Lange and Steve Blass were named announcers for the Bucco broadcasts on cable channel TCI following their 1986 debut. It was an unexpected return for the pair, as Ray Goss, Duquesne basketball announcer, and WPXI sportscaster Don Brinson were strong contenders to replace them and were in fact rumored to have the inside track. But a last minute compromise on contract terms saved the day for Lange and Blass, who broadcast 54 games for TCI in ‘87.
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| Kirk Gibson – 1992 Topps Stadium Club |
- 1992 – The Pittsburgh Pirates traded LHP Neal Heaton to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for OF Kirk Gibson in what ended up as a minor deal. Heaton, a 1990 All-Star, was released the following season while Gibson hit just .196 for the Bucs and was given his walking papers in early May. Kirk did have three decent seasons for Detroit and old skipper Sparky Anderson afterward, hitting .273 with 45 HR during that span before hanging up his spikes in 1996.
- 1995 – Utilityman Josh VanMeter was born in Ossian, Indiana. He was a three-year MLB man, with his time split between Cincy and Arizona, before the D-Backs traded him to the Pirates for minor league RHP Listher Sosa in 2022. He had put up a .212 BA over that span, but played three infield positions and corner outfield, checking the Bucs versatility box. He kept that part of the bargain, playing six different positions (including pitcher) plus DH’ing as needed, but his dexterity wasn’t enough to overcome his .187 BA and he was released after the season. It was his last MLB gig and Josh retired in 2025.
- 2003 – OF Reggie Sanders signed a one-year/$1M contract that had been announced pending his physical on February 19th, but because of a 40-man logjam, wasn’t made official until this date. Reggie earned every penny of the belated deal by hitting .285 with 31 HR/87 RBI, and the big campaign paid off for him as he left the following year and turned his slash into a two-year/$6M deal with St. Louis. Reggie remained productive over the final four years of his career (.263/56 HR) before hanging up his glove after an injury-shortened 2007 season.
- 2022 – After a 99-day lockout, MLB and the MLBPA came to terms on a new five-year CBA after a series of contentious meetings. The deal increased the Competitive Balance levels and minimum salary figures, but ignored the cap/floor issue entirely as neither side had an appetite to rework it. They pushed most of the non-economic changes down the road, except for adopting the universal DH, and returned to traditional game standards for the season, with items like pitch clock, base size, defensive positioning, automatic ball/strike zone, etc. handed off to a MLB/MLBPA Rules Committee. The season was played in full, with a new 12-team playoff setup in effect that pushed the World Series to November 5th.
Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2025/03/310-neal-heaton-kirk-gibson-reggie.html
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