3/5: Scott, Cutch & Gravedigger Sign, Foxy Hall Of Fame, WBC Crowd; Another Year Older - HBD Sam, Erik, Teke, Larry, Del, Al, Handsome Harry, Earl & John
- 1855 – Jack-of-all-trades John Richmond was born in Philadelphia. A journeyman who played middle infield, the hot corner, and all three outfield spots, Richmond suited up for seven teams in eight big league seasons (National League & American Association), making a stop in Pittsburgh in 1885. He mostly was used off the bench as a shortstop here, batting .206 before being released by the Alleghenys in July. He finished out in the minors, last playing in 1887.
- 1911 – 1B/OF Earl Browne was born in Louisville. A noted minor league slugger, Brown began his MLB career in Pittsburgh, getting into 17 games from 1935-36 and hitting .273 before closing out with two more seasons with Philadelphia. Browne did enjoy a 22-year career in minor league baseball as a southpaw pitcher, outfielder and first baseman with a .304 lifetime BA; he also was a 19-game winner in the minors as an 18-year-old hurler before becoming an everyday player.
- 1915 – RHP “Handsome Harry” Shuman (guess he was a looker) was born in Philadelphia. Shuman got his big break in 1936 when the pre-law student was a pitcher for Temple U and a friend asked him to toss batting practice to the Philadelphia Athletics. A’s skipper Connie Mack was impressed by his arm and signed him to a minor league contract. He cracked the majors when got into a dozen games from 1941-43 for the Pirates, going 0-0/4.88. He spent 1944 with Philadelphia and then was traded to the Los Angeles Angels, then of the Pacific Coast League. Handsome Harry had a family in Philly and didn’t want to travel that far, so he retired rather than report to the left coast. He stayed in his hometown and worked a series of government/political jobs.
- 1917 – Coach Al Monchak was born in Bayonne, NJ. After his playing days (he had a cup of coffee with the Phils), he was a scout, instructor and minor league manager. Then he hooked up with Chuck Tanner and coached for the White Sox, Athletics, Braves and Pirates (1977-84) as Chuck’s first base coach and infield tutor. He was named the 2009 winner of the Roland Hemond Award by Baseball America in December 2009. The award recognizes baseball figures who have made long-term contributions to scouting and player development operations.
- 1930 – C Del Crandall was born in Ontario, California. The long-time Braves receiver made a 1965 stop in Pittsburgh late in his 16-year career after the Pirates sent Bob Burda and Bob Priddy to the Giants for him. He was 35-years-old and got into 60 games, batting .214, before being released after the year to spend his final season in Cleveland. Del later managed the Brewers and Mariners along with a long minor league stint in the Dodger organization as a skipper, closing out his coaching book as a catching instructor for LA. Del passed away at age 91 in 2021.
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| Del Crandall – 1965 photo/Jay Publishing |
- 1938 – OF Larry Elliot was born in San Diego. Elliot was signed by the Pirates as a 20-year-old out of San Diego City College and spent four years in the Bucs’ farm system before getting cups of coffee with Pittsburgh in 1962-63. He went 3-for-14 with a homer (he was a minor league masher) and then spent a pair of seasons with the New York Mets, hitting .236 with 14 long balls. He then played in the minors for three seasons, retiring after the 1969 season.
- 1947 – RHP Kent Tekulve was born in Cincinnati. The rubber-armed reliever pitched 12 years for the Pirates (1974-85) with a slash of 70-61-158/2.68 and appeared in 90 games twice, making 722 Pittsburgh outings totaling 1,017-1/3 IP. He saved three of the four wins against the Orioles in the 1979 World Series, and Teke with Mike Marshall are the only pitchers to make 90 appearances in a season three times during their career. Tekulve is a heart transplant recipient who retired from his decade-long Pirates studio gig after the 2017 campaign with plans to finally enjoy a long overdue summer vacation.
- 1975 – After holding out for a week, Richie Hebner struck a deal w/GM Joe Brown for approximately $75,000. The Gravedigger was ready and in camp that afternoon. But he had a miserable year, suffered through a bad back and batted a career low .246. He then played in 1976 without a contract, which made him a free agent for 1977, and skipped to the Phillies.
- 1979 – LHP Erik Bedard was born in Naval, Ontario. In 2012, the often-injured lefty signed as a free agent with the Pirates for $4.5M. Bedard stayed healthy and posted a 3.12 ERA in 10 starts over the first two months. But beginning in June, the wheels fell off and Bedard slashed 7-14/5.01 before the Pirates released him on August 28th. Houston and Tampa tried to right his ship, but he tossed no better with those clubs and retired after the 2014 season.
- 1993 – LHP Sam Howard was born in Marietta, Georgia. He was drafted out of Georgia Southern by the Rockies in 2014 and made his debut with them in 2018. He averaged 10 K per nine innings with the Rox, along with the attendant wildness, and was waived the next year. The Pirates claimed him, and though he didn’t break camp with the big club in 2020, they added him to the MLB roster on August 2nd and Sam made his Bucco debut on the same day. He impressed enough to go north with the squad the following season, working in 54 games but posting an unwieldy 5.60 ERA. Howard was waived in May, 2022, was picked up by the Tigers, and hasn’t pitched since.
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| Sam Howard – 2021 photo/Pirates |
- 1996 – “Foxy” Ned Hanlon was selected to the Hall of Fame. He played and managed for the Alleghenys, Burghers and Pirates (1889-91) but his glory years were as skipper of the Baltimore Orioles and Brooklyn Superbas. Noted as a keen tactician (hence “Foxy”), he came up with innovations still in play today such as the hit-and-run, double steal and “Baltimore chop.” Also selected was RHP Jim Bunning, who worked for the Pirates from 1968-69 toward the back end of his career and was one of five players to throw a no-hitter in both leagues. The last local connection chosen was Negro League star LHP Willie Foster, who had stops with the Homestead Grays (1931) and Pittsburgh Crawfords (1936). They were inducted into the Hall on August 4th.
- 2001 – LHP Scott Sauerbeck signed a three-year/$2.7M deal with the Pirates, which carried him to Boston via trade in late July of 2003. The setup man went 19-15-5/3.56 in his five Bucco seasons, making 341 appearances. He suffered shoulder and hammy injuries which cost him all of 2004 and only tossed 86-1/3 innings after being traded, with 2006 being his last campaign.
- 2012 – Andrew McCutchen signed a six-year contract worth $51.5M with a club option for 2018 worth $14.75M. The deal bought out his remaining pre-arbitration year, all three arb years, and a pair of free agent seasons with a club option for another. The breakdown: $1.25M signing bonus; 2012: $500K; ‘13: $4.5M; ‘14: $7.25M; ‘15: $10M; ‘16: $13M; ‘17: $14M; ‘18: $14.5M club option ($1M buyout) plus bonuses worth $25K each for a World Series MVP, Gold Glove, or All-Star selection and $125K for an NL-MVP ($75K for runner up, $50K for third). He almost saw it through, lasting until his 2018 option was exercised and he was traded to the SF Giants. They moved him to the Yankees before Cutch signed on with the Phils and then the Brew Crew. He’s been back home since 2023.
- 2017 – Four of the Pirates eight starting position players skipped to their WBC teams (Starling Marte & Gregory Polanco – Dominican Republic; Andrew McCutchen & Josh Harrison – USA) with Fran Cervelli joining the exodus the next day to report to the Italian squad. Minor league reliever Jared Lakind packed his bags on the 9th to join Team Israel while 3B Eric Woods was called to Team Canada. Also, RHP’s Ivan Nova & Luis Escobar left respectively for the DR/Colombia’s pitcher’s pool. 3B Jung Ho Kang was selected to the South Korean team, but was later dropped after his DUI episode. The rosters had been announced in February, with player adjustments toggled through early March. The USA defeated Puerto Rico for the WBC title on March 22nd.
Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2025/03/35-scott-cutch-gravedigger-sign-foxy.html
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