| This Day in Pirate History - 12/3 |
Posted: Monday, December 2, 2002
By 81omar_moreno
Only 3 players born on this date appeared in uniform for the Pirates and none had much of a career with them. No major trades either so Dec 3rd is historically a slow day for the Bucs, maybe they will do something today, so I can write about it next year.
Players born on this date include lefty reliever Lou Marone who pitched for the Bucs during the 1969 season and appeared in one game in 1970. Born in 1945, Marone made his major league debut at age 23 on May 30, 1969 vs the Astros. Lou would go 1-1, 2.55 with 25 strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings over 29 games. The '69 Pirates would finish in 3rd place with a 88-74 record.
The next season the Bucs improved just one game but finished in 1st place. Marone pitched just the one game, throwing 2 1/3 innings, giving up one run with no decision. His ML career ended after that game, finishing with a career ERA of 2.63. Despite appearing in 30 games, Marone never had an official plate appearance in the majors.
Harry Simpson, born in 1925 had an 8 year career, starting for the Indians in 1951 and lasted 888 games, the last 9 with the 1959 Pirates, the third team he played for that year. Simpson batted 15 times for the Bucs, getting 4 hits, scoring 3 runs, 2 doubles and driving in 2 runs. He played just 3 games in the field, 1 in left field and 2 in right field.
The 1959 Pirates finished 78-76, 4th in the NL and Roberto Clemente played just 105 games that year, his 2nd lowest total ever behind just the 72' season when he appeared in 102. In his place, the Bucs used 6 different right fielders, including Simpson.
His brief stint with the Bucs was his only NL experience, he played for 4 AL teams, Cleveland, NY, KC A's and the White Sox. He retired with a career .266 average over 2829 at-bats and was aptly known as "Suitcase" during his playing days for playing for 17 teams total (counting minors) during his 11 year baseball career. During his career, Casey Stengel, who knew a little about baseball, called Simpson the best defensive right fielder in the AL.
Finally, born on this date in 1964 was former Pirates outfielder Steve Carter who played for them during the 1989-90 seasons. Carter a big 6"4', left-handed hitter who threw right-handed, made his ML debut on April 16, 1989. He would play 9 games that year for a team that finished 74-88 in 5th place. At bat he went just 2-16 but did hit a homer, double and drove in 3 runs. He appeared in 5 games in the field, all 5 in RF.
In 1990, Carter would make a brief appearance in what would be his last ML experience. He played 5 games, batting 5 times with one single. He also played all 3 outfield positions in this short time, 2 games in center and 1 at each corner OF spot. His final career average was .143, but he did retire with a perfect fielding %.
Carter wore the uniform number 42 during his ML career, which is now retired by baseball honoring Jackie Robinson. Marone wore the number 29 during his playing days which is currently worn by Kevin Young and Simpson wore the #2 last worn by 2b/ss Pat Meares. It's safe the say the last 2 guys won't have their numbers retired by the Bucs.
By 81omar_moreno
Only 3 players born on this date appeared in uniform for the Pirates and none had much of a career with them. No major trades either so Dec 3rd is historically a slow day for the Bucs, maybe they will do something today, so I can write about it next year.
Players born on this date include lefty reliever Lou Marone who pitched for the Bucs during the 1969 season and appeared in one game in 1970. Born in 1945, Marone made his major league debut at age 23 on May 30, 1969 vs the Astros. Lou would go 1-1, 2.55 with 25 strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings over 29 games. The '69 Pirates would finish in 3rd place with a 88-74 record.
The next season the Bucs improved just one game but finished in 1st place. Marone pitched just the one game, throwing 2 1/3 innings, giving up one run with no decision. His ML career ended after that game, finishing with a career ERA of 2.63. Despite appearing in 30 games, Marone never had an official plate appearance in the majors.
Harry Simpson, born in 1925 had an 8 year career, starting for the Indians in 1951 and lasted 888 games, the last 9 with the 1959 Pirates, the third team he played for that year. Simpson batted 15 times for the Bucs, getting 4 hits, scoring 3 runs, 2 doubles and driving in 2 runs. He played just 3 games in the field, 1 in left field and 2 in right field.
The 1959 Pirates finished 78-76, 4th in the NL and Roberto Clemente played just 105 games that year, his 2nd lowest total ever behind just the 72' season when he appeared in 102. In his place, the Bucs used 6 different right fielders, including Simpson.
His brief stint with the Bucs was his only NL experience, he played for 4 AL teams, Cleveland, NY, KC A's and the White Sox. He retired with a career .266 average over 2829 at-bats and was aptly known as "Suitcase" during his playing days for playing for 17 teams total (counting minors) during his 11 year baseball career. During his career, Casey Stengel, who knew a little about baseball, called Simpson the best defensive right fielder in the AL.
Finally, born on this date in 1964 was former Pirates outfielder Steve Carter who played for them during the 1989-90 seasons. Carter a big 6"4', left-handed hitter who threw right-handed, made his ML debut on April 16, 1989. He would play 9 games that year for a team that finished 74-88 in 5th place. At bat he went just 2-16 but did hit a homer, double and drove in 3 runs. He appeared in 5 games in the field, all 5 in RF.
In 1990, Carter would make a brief appearance in what would be his last ML experience. He played 5 games, batting 5 times with one single. He also played all 3 outfield positions in this short time, 2 games in center and 1 at each corner OF spot. His final career average was .143, but he did retire with a perfect fielding %.
Carter wore the uniform number 42 during his ML career, which is now retired by baseball honoring Jackie Robinson. Marone wore the number 29 during his playing days which is currently worn by Kevin Young and Simpson wore the #2 last worn by 2b/ss Pat Meares. It's safe the say the last 2 guys won't have their numbers retired by the Bucs.