Eight former Pittsburgh Pirates players have been born on this date, including a player from the 1991-92 NL East champs. There’s also one game of note. Before we get into those players, current pitcher Chris Archer turns 32 today. He’s been on the injured list for the entire 2020 season.
Jordan Luplow, outfielder for the 2017-18 Pirates. He was a third round pick of the Pirates in the 2014 draft. Luplow had a breakout year in the minors in 2017, which led to a call up in late July. In 28 games for the Pirates, he hit .205 with three homers and 11 RBIs. In 2018, he joined the team in early July and played 37 games, hitting .185 with three homers. After the season, the Pirates traded him to the Cleveland Indians in a five-player deal. Luplow had a strong 2019 season in a platoon role, batting .276 with 15 homers in 85 games. He posted a .923 OPS. He has struggled in 2020 (as of this writing), hitting .203 with one homer in 20 games. Luplow’s great-uncle Al Luplow played for the 1967 Pirates.
Daniel McCutchen, pitcher for the 2009-12 Pirates. He came to the Pirates from the New York Yankees in a six-player deal that involved Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte. McCutchen was drafted four times before he finally signed with the Yankees in 2006. With the Pirates, he made 108 appearances, 15 as a starter. He had a 4.77 ERA in 188.2 innings. He saw limited time in both 2009 and 2012, pitching a total of seven games. In 2010, he split his time between starting and relief, posting a 6.12 ERA in 67.2 innings. His best season was the 2011 campaign when he pitched 73 times in relief and had a 3.72 ERA in 84.2 innings. The Pirates released McCutchen after the 2012 season. He spent all of 2013 in the minors and then he made his final big league appearance for the Texas Rangers in 2014, allowing three runs in 2.1 innings. He pitched in the minors in 2015-16 for the San Diego Padres before retiring.
Yurendell de Caster, infielder for the 2006 Pirates. Went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts in three games for the Pirates, his only big league time. Spent seven seasons in the Pirates farm system. On May 21, 2006, de Caster made his big league debut as a pinch-runner. He received his first at-bat 15 days later as a pinch-hitter, then pinch-hit again two days later, in what turned out to be his final at-bat. He was with the Pirates for five more days before being sent to the minors when Joe Randa came off the disabled list. In 2007, de Caster hit .280, with a .793 OPS in 120 games for Indianapolis. He was let go after the season and played for another eight seasons in the minors/winter ball/independent ball, before retiring. The Pirates acquired de Caster in the minor league portion of the 2000 Rule 5 draft from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He was originally signed out of Curacao in 1996.
Brian Shouse, pitcher for the 1993 Pirates. During his brief time in Pittsburgh, he gave up four runs over four innings in six relief appearances. Shouse pitched briefly for the 1998 Red Sox, before finally sticking in the majors in 2002. He ended up pitching 467 games in the majors over ten seasons and 565 games in the minors over 18 years. The Pirates selected him in the 13th round of the 1990 draft out of Bradley University. He pitched poorly during his debut in the New York-Penn League in 1990, but he did much better in 1991, splitting the season between the two A-ball full-season levels. Shouse spent all of 1992 in Double-A, where he posted a 2.44 ERA in 77.1 innings. The Pirates called him up in late July of 1993 and he made his last appearance for the team on August 23rd. Despite his brief big league time, he was with the Pirates until being released mid-1996. He was converted to a starter in 1995, but it was a brief experiment and he never pitched as a starter during his ten-year big league career.
Steve Buechele, third baseman for the 1991-92 Pirates. The Pirates acquired him on August 30, 1991 from the Texas Rangers for two minor league pitchers. He was batting .267 with 18 homers at the time of the deal. He hit .246 with four homers over the last 31 games with the Pirates. In the playoffs, Buechele hit .304 with four walks. The next year, he was traded in July to the Chicago Cubs for Danny Jackson. At the time of the deal, he was batting .249 with eight homers and 43 RBIs in 80 games. He ended up playing four seasons with the Cubs. Buechele played 1,334 games over his 11-year big league career, spending the majority of his time with Texas. He was a .245 career hitter, with 137 homers and 547 RBIs. He was a first round pick in 1979 out of high school, but he decided to attend Stanford and slipped to the fifth round three years later.
Bobby Shantz, pitcher for the 1961 Pirates. Played 16 years in the majors, winning 119 games while spending half of his career as a reliever. As a starter for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1952, he led the American League with 24 wins (just seven losses) and WHIP (1.05), which led to him winning the MVP award. Shantz led the AL in ERA in 1957 with a 2.45 mark. Prior to joining the Pirates, he pitched against them three times during the 1960 World Series. After the season, they acquired him from the Washington Senators, who had just picked him up in the Expansion Draft. The Pirates worked out a deal with the Senators in which they shared scouting reports in exchange for Washington picking up Shantz. The Pirates then sent three players to Washington in a trade to acquire him. Immediately after the 1961 season, he was lost to the Houston Colt .45’s in the Expansion Draft. While in Pittsburgh for one year, Shantz went 6-3, 3.32 in six starts and 37 relief appearances, throwing a total of 89.1 innings. He won the Gold Glove award that year. It was his fifth straight win, and he would also take the award during the 1962-64 seasons.
Joe Sullivan, lefty pitcher for the 1941 Pirates. He was purchased mid-season from the Boston Braves and went 4-1, 2.97 in four starts and 12 relief appearances. After the 1941 season, Sullivan was sent to minors and played another seven years without returning to the big leagues. Prior to joining the Pirates, he spent two years with the Detroit Tigers (1935-36) and three seasons with Boston (1939-41). Sullivan went 30-37, 4.01 in 588 big league innings. His pro career spanned from 1931 to 1949. He missed the 1945 season while working as a fireman in a Naval shipyard. According to his SABR bio, he only pitched home games during the 1946-49 seasons, while retaining his job as a fireman.
Bob Coleman, catcher for the 1913-14 Pirates. He hit .245 in 97 games during his time in Pittsburgh. He spent the first four years of his pro career playing for teams in Davenport, Iowa. The Pirates purchased his contract in June of 1913 and he batted .180 in 24 games during his rookie season. Coleman spent all of the 1914 season with the Pirates, hitting .267 in 73 games. Prior to the 1915 season, he was sold to Columbus of the American Association. His only other big league time was a brief stint with the 1916 Cleveland Indians, after they acquired him in August in a trade with Columbus. Coleman caught over 1,300 minor league games. He managed a total of 38 seasons in pro ball, starting in 1919. His first eight years were as a player-manager. Coleman spent three of those 38 years in the majors, at the helm of the Boston Braves.
On this date in 1906, Pirates pitcher Lefty Leifield threw the first no-hitter in franchise history. During the second game of a doubleheader, Leifield no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies. The game was limited to six innings due to darkness. He hit one batter and walked two others. In game one, Hall of Fame pitcher Vic Willis threw a 5-0 shutout. Here’s the boxscore for Leifield’s game. At one time Leifield’s game was considered to be an official no-hitter, but a rule change around 20 years ago eliminated any shortened games from being official. Regardless of the change, he threw a complete game with no hits, it’s a no-hitter.
