1989 – The Pittsburgh Pirates make one of their better trades in recent memory, acquiring shortstop Jay Bell from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for fellow shortstop Felix Fermin. Bell will serve as the Pirates’ starting shortstop for the next eight seasons, twice leading the National League in fielding percentage.
On March 22, 1989, Benches clear twice and six players are ejected as the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates get into a spring training brawl. “It was sort of fun,” said manager Nick Leyva. “I didn’t see any good punches, but we had a few real good pileups. The only problem was we…
On January 12, 1988 On this date in 1988, Willie Stargell was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot. He was named on 352 of the 427 ballots, while a total of least 321 (75%) were necessary for election. Stargell was the only player voted…
The Angels trade two minor leaguers for Pittsburgh 2B Johnny Ray, and the A’s send minor league P Tim Belcher to the Dodgers for P Rick Honeycutt. Honeycutt (2-12), loser of his last 11 games with the Dodgers, will drop two more with the A’s before beating the Indians on September 22nd.
On August 16, 1987, Montreal Expos star Tim Raines hits for the cycle in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Raines, who goes 5-for-5 in hitting a single, double, triple, and home run, spearheads a 10-7 win for the Expos.
Eric Davis becomes the first National League player to hit three grand slams in a month, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 6 – 2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. His major league-leading 19 home runs also breaks the NL record for most homers batted between April and May.
1987 – Pitcher Danny Darwin , lifetime 2-for-26 with 20 strikeouts at the plate before the game, delivers three hits in a 5-1 triumph against the Phillies. He slaps a ground-rule double and a bunt single before spanking a two-run triple over Milt Thompson’s head in center field in the seventh inning for the game-winner.
On April 18, 1987, Mike Schmidt hits his 500th career home run. Schmidt connects against Don Robinson of the Pittsburgh Pirates, becoming the 14th player in history to reach the milestone. Schmidt’s home run helps the Philadelphia Phillies to an 8-6 victory.
The Pirates trade Tony Pena, three-time Gold Glove catcher, to the Cardinals in exchange for three youngsters, Mike LaValliere, Mike Dunne, and Andy Van Slyke, who thinks the deal is an April Fool’s Day joke. The former Pittsburgh backstop cries at a news conference with Bucs’ skipper Jim Leyland announces the swap with the Redbirds.
Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates tie a National League record by combining to use 17 pitchers in one gam