Pittsburgh Pirates released pitcher Russ Bauers

On March 22 in 1946, the Pittsburgh Pirates released pitcher Russ Bauers. As a rookie in 1937, Bauers went 13-6, 2.88 in 187.2 innings. He followed that up with 13 wins in 1938, while posting a 3.07 ERA in 243 innings. Despite not being released until eight years later, Bauers won just three more games for the Pirates. He suffered multiple injuries over the next few seasons, before joining the Army in 1943 after a sore arm prevented him from pitching. Bauers returned from war prior to the 1946 season, but couldn’t make the Pirates during Spring Training. He ended up pitching 15 games for the Chicago Cubs that season, then bouncing around the minors for eight years, with just one big league game during that time.