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9/9 From 1980: All #21, A Winner!, 14 For Ollie, Jeff Jolt, Game Days, Freddy Goes, Vogey Out, SI Cutch, Greg & David Winners, Ouch, HBD Wil

Wednesday, September 9, 2026 7:01

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1987 – The Bucs nipped the Cubs 4-3 when an unlikely suspect, reliever Jeff Robinson, went yard on ace Chicago closer Lee Smith with two out in the ninth at Wrigley Field, smashing the first pitch into the bleachers. Coach Rick Donnelly told Paul Meyer of the Post Gazette that “Jeff Robinson and Lee Smith could stand out there the rest of their lives and not have that happen again.” Robinson agreed – “It was pretty much of a fluke,” he admitted. Still, a great series for Jeff; not only did he go deep for his first Pirates win, but two days prior, he tossed an immaculate inning against Chicago to post his first Bucco save. Jim Leyland told the media that he let Robinson bat because he thought he had the best shot at retiring the Cubs in the ninth and getting the game to Jim Gott. Robby did get the closer Gott on the mound an inning sooner than expected, and he struck out two for the save. RJ Reynolds led the attack with two hits and two RBI.

1991 – Jay Bell went 4-for-4 with a homer in Pittsburgh’s 12-10 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The Pirates trailed 10-8 in the ninth inning after blowing an early 6-0 lead before rookie Orlando Merced connected for a three-run, pinch-hit homer to trigger Pittsburgh’s game-winning four-run frame. As the score indicated, the wind was blowing out – each team homered three times, doubled three times and together banged out 29 hits while burning through 12 pitchers. Stan Belinda claimed the win while Rosario Rodriguez nailed the save.

1992 – With the score tied in the bottom of the sixth with two on, one out and first base open, the Cubs intentionally walked Barry Bonds. It was his 28th IBB of the year, breaking the Bucs’ single season record that was set in 1968 by Roberto Clemente (Bonds finished up with 32 by year’s end). The seemingly sound stratagem backfired, though, when Jeff King hit the first pitch he saw from Ken Patterson over the left field wall for his second career grand slam, a response to Ryne Sandburg’s granny in the top half of the frame that had briefly put the Cubbies ahead. Gary Varsho and Jay Bell also went long (Varsho’s was the first Pirates pinch-hit homer of the year) as Pittsburgh prevailed 13-8 at TRS, with Danny Cox getting the blown save/win combo.

1994 – RHP Wil Crowe was born in Kingston, Tennessee. He fought back from TJ surgery in college to become a second-round pick of the Nationals in 2017. Crowe debuted in 2020 and was traded in the off season to the Pirates as part of the Josh Bell deal. Despite a shaky start with Washington, he pitched solidly in the spring and went north with the big team and joined the rotation in late April. He was converted to the pen in 2022 and found a home there, slashing 6-10-4/4.38 while making a team-leading 60 outings and tossing a bullpen-leading 76 innings. He was injured late in the year and he started 2023 slowly. Crowe was put on the IL in April with a bum shoulder and DFA’ed in July. He went unclaimed and was outrighted to Indy. He started 2024 in Korea, where he pitched solidly (5-1/3.57) but underwent elbow surgery and was released. Crowe spent 2025 in the Philly system, but after 13 outings was released in late August and retired.

Wil Crowe – 2021 Panini Diamond Kings

1999 – The Pirates gave up on 3B Freddy Garcia, trading the 27-year-old Rule 5 pick (1995) to the Atlanta Braves for RHP Greg Dukeman. Garcia, who had hit .221 in his four-year Bucco career, got three at bats with the Bravos to end his MLB career. Dukeman worked in the minors before hangin’ ‘em up after the 2003 campaign, never advancing past High Class A.

2001 – Ryan Vogelsong had to leave the game with a sore elbow in a 5-3 loss to the Reds at PNC Park. The rookie righty, who had just been dealt for on July 30th, needed TJ surgery and was lost for the entire 2002 campaign. He joined Jason Schmidt (11 months missed), Kris Benson (missed all of 2001) and Francisco Cordova (never returned after 2000) as Bucco hurlers who had reconstructive surgery in the past 14 months. The other piece of trade that brought Vogey to Pittsburgh, Armando Rios, tore his ACL after playing just two games for the Bucs. Though not injury related, other than shooting oneself in the foot, the Pirates stranded 15 runners in the loss. The only bright spot was Humberto Cota, who spanked a pinch hit single for his first MLB hit and RBI.

2004 – It was a good day for Ollie Perez, who ended the Astro’s 12-game winning streak with a career-high 14 strikeouts at PNC Park in a 3-1 victory. He gave up three hits and an unearned run in eight frames to become the second Pirates pitcher – Bob Veale was the other – in history to crack the 200-K mark (Ed “Cannonball” Morris fanned 326 in 1886 after whiffing 298 in ‘85, but the team doesn’t recognize those as the Pittsburgh Alleghenys were in the American Association then). Perez ended the year with 239 whiffs; the Pirates modern single-season record belongs to Veale, who fanned 276 batters in 1965. Ollie needed his A game for his 10th win as the Bucs only had six hits themselves (Jose Castillo had three), but RBIs by Jason Kendall, Tony Alvarez and Ty Wigginton carried the day, with Jose Mesa nailing the save in the ninth. It was the opener of a twilight twin bill; Houston avenged the defeat by romping 9-2 in the nightcap.

2007 – Sparked by a dazzling catch by Nyjer Morgan and an almost inside-the-park granny by Freddy Sanchez, the Bucs beat the Cubs 10-5 at PNC Park. The Bucs had an early 6-2 lead thanks to Steady Freddy’s bases-juiced triple (he was thrown out at home on a bang-bang call). The following inning, Aramis Ramirez spanked a ball the opposite way and Nyjer, who had played him to pull, made a diving catch at the corner of the Clemente Wall in right center to rob A-Ram, while barely avoiding right fielder Steve Pearce, who had to hurdle Morgan. Matt Morris went six innings for the win, followed by three relievers who held down the fort.

Gerrit Cole – 2013 Topps

2013 – The Pirates clinched their first winning season since 1992 with a 1-0 win over Yu Darvish and the Texas Rangers at the Ballpark in Arlington. Rookie Gerrit Cole went seven innings of three-hit ball, walking a pair and striking out nine, with Tony Watson and Mark Melancon pitching two innings of one-hit ball to seal the deal. The game was scoreless until two outs in the seventh when Marlon Byrd and Pedro Alvarez hit back-to-back doubles to produce the game’s only run. The win broke a four-game losing streak and moved the Pirates within a game of first place St. Louis, though the Cards held on to win the Central by three games.

2013 – Andrew McCutchen was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated as part of Lee Jenkins story “The Bucs Start Here.” Cutch won the National League MVP that year with a .317/.404/.508 slash.

2015 – Jung Ho Kang smacked a grand slam to break a 1-1 tie in the top of the sixth inning at Cincinnati, and the Bucs needed every one of those runs as they ran out the clock to take a 5-4 win from the Reds.

2016 – The Pirates were in a bad way, having lost four in a row and 12 of 14, and it looked like more of the same at Citizens Park against the Phils. Despite 11 K and stellar pitching by Ivan Nova, some sloppy fielding and an eighth inning wild spree by reliever Felipe Rivero had them in a 3-2 hole going into the ninth. Fran Cervelli led off with a walk against former Pirate Jeanmar Gomez, and Jordy Mercer, after fouling off a bunt, doubled him to third. Sean Rodriguez came off the bench, got a 2-2 fastball and lined it over the RF wall to lead Pittsburgh to a 5-3 win. It was the first time in 140 games that the Bucs had rallied from a ninth inning deficit. It was also the first ninth-inning-or-later pinch hit dinger to give the Bucs a come-from-behind lead since Rob Mackowiak’s blast in 2003.

2016 - It was a busy day for Bucco trainers. Gerrit Cole was shut down with elbow inflammation, Josh Harrison’s year was done after a groin injury, catcher Chris Stewart took a trip to see Dr. Andrews with a knee injury that would require off-season surgery and minor league C Elias Diaz, a 2017 roster candidate, was out with cellulitis. In addition, relievers Neftali Feliz (arm) and AJ Schugel were also hors d’ combat and inactive, requiring the Bucs to call up minor league C Jacob Stallings and hurler Zach Phillips, then deal for pitcher Wade LeBlanc to fill the roster, even with the original wave of September call-ups on hand.

Roberto Clemente – 2020 Topps Allen & Ginter

2020 – On MLB’s Roberto Clemente Day, for the first time all the Pittsburgh Pirates and every MLB Puerto Rican ballplayer wore #21 during their game. Joey Cora became the first Bucco Puerto Rican to wear the retired 21 since Clemente, while before the game, Josh Bell was recognized as Pittsburgh’s nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award. None of it helped on the field, though, as the Bucs were trounced, 8-1, by the Chicago White Sox at PNC Park.

2022 – The MLB Joint Competition Committee, in a split decision, voted to restrict defensive shifts, use a pitch clock, limit pickoffs/step-offs, and increase the size of the bases (from 15-to-18”) to address pace of play and player safety issues. The changes were first unveiled and tested in minor league play and took effect in 2023. Robo umps didn’t make the cut in this round.

2023 – The Pirates topped the Atlanta Braves 8-4 at Truist Park behind two homers (Bryan Reynolds and Liover Peguero) and 5-1/3 innings of one-run relief work by five relievers (Ryan Borucki got the victory) following a short starting outing by Johan Oviedo. B-Rey had three hits with two RBI and two runs, and his long ball moved him into a tie with Bobby Bonilla for most consecutive 20-homer seasons by a Pirates switch-hitter with three, with Bo’s trio coming during 1988-90. (Reynolds posted his fourth straight 20+ HR campaign in 2024 to hold the record alone) Michael Andujar also added three knocks. The game opened with a little cha-cha as Ronald Acuna and Oviedo faced off with jaws flapping after a tight pitch, emptying the benches. But the ump kept the disputing pair apart while the teams exchanged their howdy-dos, and the dance ended quickly.

2024 – For the third straight year, reliever David Bednar was named as the Pirates Roberto Clemente Award nominee. The Renegade, born in Mt. Lebanon and raised in Mars, has been a ready and steady fixture in the community during his Bucco career, but lost out to a pair of pretty popular guys, Justin Turner and Aaron Judge, in those past seasons. Two Pirates have won the award (it dates back to 1973) – Willie Stargell in 1974 and Andrew McCutchen in 2015.

2025 – Pirates announcer Greg Brown was the Bob Prince Award winner as this year’s Outstanding Sports Personality at the annual Catholic Youth Association/Art Rooney dinner at Acrisure Stadium. Andrew McCutchen was the last Pirate to be honored in 2016, with Neil Walker, Billy Maz and Lanny Frattare past awardees.

Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2026/09/99-from-1980-all-21-winner-14-for-ollie.html

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