Never a Pirate (so this is not really the right place for this info, but I've not seen it posted anywhere and it's almost relevant) and for that we can be grateful:
Angel Mangual was the first guy I remember who was "the next Clemente." He was a legitimate prospect, fit the general Clemente -type of player, was from Puerto Rico, and resembled Clemente a bit:
Mangual got 4 at-bats with the Pirates in 1969. He was traded to Oakland for Mudcat Grant, and was a backup outfielder for the A's dynasty of the first half of the 70's.
Seeing Angel Mangual and the Oakland A's connection sparked my memory about another cuppa coffee Bucco outfielder, Tony Armas.
Armas played in 4 games for the Pirates in 1976, and had 2 hits in 6 Abs. He was then traded to the A's in 1977 as part of the multi-player deal that brought Phil Garner to the Pirates.
It seems like in the 70s excess Pirate outfielders automatically shipped to Oakland (California). Miguel Dilone was like Omar Moreno, only moreso - faster, less power, worse arm, skinnier:
The Pirates sensibly kept Moreno and traded Dilone to the A's after giving Dilone just 75 plate appearances spread over four seasons. Dilone moved to the Cubs, and then was sold to Cleveland in May, 1980. As you might expect with the Cubs involved, Dilone took over the left field job in Cleveland, played every day, and batted .341 with 61 stolen bases (third in the league in both categories).
The Cubbie effect wore off, and by 1983 he was back in Pittsburgh, with 7 pinch running appearances at the end of the season.
597D696164080 wrote: Seeing Angel Mangual and the Oakland A's connection sparked my memory about another cuppa coffee Bucco outfielder, Tony Armas.
Armas played in 4 games for the Pirates in 1976, and had 2 hits in 6 Abs. He was then traded to the A's in 1977 as part of the multi-player deal that brought Phil Garner to the Pirates.
And of course his son pitched 31 forgettable games at the end of the Littlefield era of doom.
Rex Johnston signed with the Pirates in 1959 out of USC and played OF in the Bucs' Pioneer League that year. When the Pirates were winning the World Series in 1960, Johnston was otherwise occupied. He was a backup RB to John Henry Johnson as well as the Steelers primary kick returner. He shared punt return duties with Preston Carpenter. That was his only season in the NFL and he remained in the Pirates' minor league system until making the Pirates' team out of spring training in 1964. But he was sent back to AAA within a month, going 0 for 7 in 1 start and 14 total games as a pinch-hitter, pinch-runner and outfielder. He never again appeared in MLB of the NFL.
