3/31 From 1980: Solly & KY Sign, Canaria In, Bielecki Dealt, Tenace Gone, Tight Openers, GABP & PNC Open, MLB Tweaks, HBD Ryan
- 1984 – C Gene Tenace ended his 15-year career when he was released by the Pirates in spring training after batting .177 for the Bucs in 1983 as a 36-year old. Tenace featured a great eye at the dish – his career BA was just .241, but he had a .388 OBP and drew nearly 1,000 walks. Even in his last season with Pittsburgh, the patient batsman drew more walks than hits.
- 1988 – The Chicago Cubs traded minor league LHP Mike Curtis to the Pirates for RHP Mike Bielecki. Bielecki slashed 10-17/4.57 in his four Bucco campaigns and proved to be a workmanlike journeyman pitcher, working 14 years in MLB (he had one big season for the Cubs, going 18-7/3.14 in 1989) while Curtis never got out of AAA, ending his career in the indie leagues.
- 1994 – LHP Ryan Borucki was born in Highland Park, Illinois. Ryan was a 15th round pick in the 2012 draft from Mundelein HS by the Blue Jays. He made his debut with Toronto in 2018, was released after the ‘21 campaign and was picked up by Seattle. After a year with them (MLB line: 10-9/4.45 in 96 outings), Borucki was let go again, claimed by the Cubs, and released by them in May 2023 after a rough AA stint, with the Pirates taking him. He pitched scoreless ball at Indy, albeit in 8-1/3 IP, and was called up to the show in June after an avalanche of bullpen injuries. Bo slashed 4-2-1/4.04 and broke camp with the team in 2024. Ryan suffered a pair of injuries (tricep inflammation/carpal tunnel) and struggled during his September return. He became a free agent but returned to the fold, signing in late January as a NRI and then making the roster. Ryan was released in August and went to Toronto and then the White Sox; he’s now with the Giants.
- 1997 – The Pirates lured free agent 1B Kevin Young back to Pittsburgh from KC with a $400K contract. He would sign two more deals with the Bucs worth $28M covering the following six seasons before retiring after the 2003 campaign. The 1B hit .259 over 11 years with the Pirates and is back with the club as a special instructor. The team also signed undrafted Puerto Rican middle infielder Luis Figueroa, who got a cup of coffee with the Bucs in 2001, Toronto in 2006 and San Francisco in 2007. He played in 18 MLB games overall, batting .125.
- 2001 – PNC Park hosted its first MLB game when the Pirates and Mets opened it up with an exhibition match. The game was a sellout that NY won, 4-3. The Mets took the next day’s spring tune-up too, 3-2, notable mainly because Aramis Ramirez hit the first home run in the park’s history. The first game that counted was between the Reds and the Pirates on April 9.
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| A-Ram – 2001 Upper Deck Victory |
- 2003 – Pittsburgh helped the Reds christen Great American Ballpark. President George Bush tossed out the first ball in front of 42,000+ fans, but Cincy played second banana during the yard’s opening act. The Bucs spoiled the inauguration, winning 10-1 behind homers from Reggie Sanders, Kenny Lofton and Jason Kendall, all launched during a six-run second inning. Kris Benson got the win.
- 2006 – RHP Salomon Torres agreed to a two-year contract extension worth $6.5M pending a physical, extending his current deal through 2008. He worked in 94 games in 2006 (3-6-12/3.28), but after a subpar 2007 campaign, he was shipped to Milwaukee for Marino Salas and minor leaguer Kevin Roberts. Torres considered retirement over relocation, but decided to join the Brewers for the season before hanging up his mitt after posting a final 7-5-28/3.49 slash. Salas’ only MLB work came in 2008 for the Bucs (13 games, 1-0/8.47) while Roberts never climbed past Class AA Altoona.
- 2008 – In an Opening Day shootout at Turner Field, the Bucs beat the Braves, 12-11, in 12 innings before 45,269 tomahawk choppers. Damaso Marte and Matt Capps blew a 9-4 ninth inning lead, capped by a fly ball dropping between LF Jason Bay and CF Nate McLouth with two outs that tied the score. Pittsburgh reclaimed the lead in the top of the 12th on a Xavier Nady three-run bomb, but Atlanta almost tied it again with two runs in their half before Franquelis Osorio nailed down the win, his first MLB victory. The X-Man had four hits while McLouth, Freddy Sanchez and Ryan Doumit had three to prime a 17-hit attack.
- 2014 - Neil Walker blasted a 10th-inning, 3-2 changeup from Carlos Villanueva deep over the Clemente Wall to give the Bucs and Bryan Morris a 1-0 Opening Day win over the Cubs at PNC Park. The Kid’s longball (his first walk-off bomb) was only the fourth 1-0 walk-off homer in Bucco history: Bob Bailey (1965; also a Home Opener), Bill Virdon (1958), and Ted Kluszewski (1958) had the others. Francisco Liriano and Jeff Samardzija started the game, leaving it for the bullpens to decide. It also marked the first use of expanded replay, which had been rolled out in the Arizona Fall League: Cubs manager Rick Renteria challenged a double play in the top of the fifth inning to no avail as the original call on the field of out at first was confirmed. The pregame featured an impressive honors ceremony: Andrew McCutchen, the 2013 NL-MVP, received his trophy from former Pirates’ MVPs Dick Groat and Barry Bonds, Clint Hurdle was presented with his Manager of the Year award by future Hall of Famer Jim Leyland, and Pedro Alvarez received his Silver Slugger award from Jack Wilson, who won his SS in 2004.
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| Neil Walker – 2014 Topps |
- 2022 – MLB and the MLBPA formally announced the rule changes they had agreed upon in principle a week earlier as adjuncts to the new CBA. A current pace-of-play rule, the ghost runner on second base in extra innings, was retained. Unpopular as a concept, the auto runner did shorten games and preserve pitchers to serve its purpose. Changes included the “Shohei Ohtani” rule, allowing a P/DH to remain in the lineup as the designated hitter even if removed as a hurler, a return to nine-inning doubleheader games, and an active roster expansion to 28 players through May 1st to make up for short spring training camps.
- 2024 – The Pirates completed a season-opening four-game sweep of the Miami Marlins, 9-7, in 12 innings despite falling behind, 5-0, after one inning. They fought their way into the lead thanks to a two-run triple by Alika Williams in the third and a three-run long ball by Rowdy Tellez in the seventh frame, only to give up a game-tying solo shot in the ninth. The Bucs then flipped gears to small ball – two bunts in the 10th inning scored the ghost runner to regain the lead and a two-out, bases-loaded walk pushed across an insurance score. David Bednar, who gave up the homer, got the win while Hunter Stratton posted his first MLB save. It kept alive a big league record streak of four opening games that featured either a first-time winner (Ryder Ryan, Jared Jones) or first-time save (Stratton, Jose Hernandez). The brooming survived a shaky rotation that Pittsburgh overcame by plating 31 times against the Fish while the pen gave up just two runs in 20-1/3 IP.
- 2025 – The NY Mets sold the contract of out-of-options OF Alexander Canario, who they had DFA’ed, to the Pirates and he was added to the active roster a few days later; he hit .286 in 45 MLB PAs (Cubs) and was a .252 hitter with some pop in AAA. IF/OF Ji Hwan Bae was optioned to Indy and Jared Jones was bumped to the 60-day IL to clear 40-man space. The 24-year-old played all three spots in the pasture (primarily the corners) and interestingly enough was getting some offseason work at first, a Bucco question mark. Canario was released in the offseason after hitting .218 with six homers in 87 games/234 PAs with the Pirates and he’s now playing in Japan.
Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2026/03/331-from-1980-solly-ky-sign-canaria-in.html
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