Just three former Pittsburgh Pirates born on this date, including a very recent one. We also have a significant trade of note.
The Trade
On this date in 1962 the Pittsburgh Pirates traded first baseman Dick Stuart and pitcher Jack Lamabe to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for pitcher Don Schwall and catcher Jim Pagliaroni. Stuart played five seasons in Pittsburgh with a .273 average and 117 homers. He had a great 1961 season, hitting .301 with 35 homers and 117 RBIs, but struggled in 1962 and he was horrible defensively at first base. Lamabe was a 25-year-old rookie reliever in 1962, who had a 3-1, 2.88 record in 46 games. Don Schwall was a 26-year-old starting pitcher in 1962. He had a strong rookie season in 1961, posting a 15-7 3.22 record while winning the Rookie of the Year award. His sophomore season was a bust, as he went 9-15, 4.94 in 182.1 innings. Pagliaroni was a 25-year-old catcher who had some pop in his bat, hitting 27 homers combined over 210 games in 1961-62.
Stuart became an instant hitting star with the Red Sox, although his poor defense got even worse. He only played two seasons in Boston, but hit a combined 75 homers while driving in 232 runs. Lamabe pitched well in relief in 1963, then the Sox switched him to the starting role in 1964 and he struggled. He went back to relief in 1965 and pitched even worse, before being traded. Schwall had a 3.33 ERA his first season in Pittsburgh, though poor run support led to a 6-12 record. He missed half of 1964, then was moved to relief where he pitched well for almost two seasons before the Pirates traded him away in June of 1966. Pagliaroni lasted the longest of these players with their new team. He played five seasons in Pittsburgh before he was sold to the Oakland A’s. He batted a career high .295 in 1964, then the following year he had 17 homers and 65 RBIs, both career highs. In 1966 he led NL catchers in fielding percentage with a .997 mark
The Players
Jeff Locke, pitcher for the 2011-16 Pirates. In 110 starts and 13 relief appearances with the Pirates, he went 35-38, 4.41 in 644.1 innings. Locke’s only other big league experience besides his time with the Pirates was seven starts for the 2017 Miami Marlins in which he went 0-5, 8.16 in 32 innings. Locke was 18 years old when he was selected in the second round of the 2006 draft by the Atlanta Braves. The Pirates picked him up three years after he signed in a three-for-one deal involving All-Star outfielder Nate McLouth. Locke was in High-A at the time of the deal, with a 5.52 ERA in ten starts. He improved on that ERA with the Pirates, posting a 4.08 mark in 17 starts. He split 2010 between Bradenton and Altoona, then 2011 between Altoona and five starts at Indianapolis, before he made his MLB debut on September 10th. Locke also spent most of 2012 in Triple-A, and part of 2014. In between those two partial seasons, he made 30 starts for the 2013 Pirates, going 10-7, 3.52 in 166.1 innings. Through early July, he had a 2.15 ERA in 18 starts, which led to an All-Star appearance. After the All-Star break he posted a 6.12 ERA in 12 starts.
The Pirates went 98-64 in 2015, with Locke getting 30 starts. Despite the Pirates playing so well as a team, he had an 8-11 record, with a 4.49 ERA in 168.1 innings. The team was actually above .500 when he started, going 8-3 in his no-decisions. The craziness of win-loss records carried into 2016 when he went 9-8, 5.44 on a team that finished below the .500 mark. He still had two years of team control before free agency, but the Pirates let him go after the 2016 season, which turned out to be a very wise move.
John Scheneberg, starting pitcher for the 1913 Pirates. On September 23, 1913, he made his big league debut and went six innings, allowing four earned runs. His only other big league experience was two innings for the 1920 St Louis Browns. He started his pro career in the minors in 1909, playing his first three seasons with the Paris Bourbonites of the Blue Grass League, a D-level minor league at the time. He began to get noticed his third season there in 1911 when he went 12-0. The Pirates acquired him on September 20, 1913 from Norfolk of the Virginia State League and only used him for one game in late September. That chance only came about when they had five straight doubleheaders and they needed an extra starter. He pitched game one on September 23rd and lost 6-1 to the Brooklyn Dodgers, allowing ten hits and five runs in six innings. On October 2nd, the Pirates sold Scheneberg to Columbus of the American Association. They needed to get their roster down to the league limit (35 players) and he was cut to reach that mark. His actual time spent with the Pirates was 13 days total. When he was taken in the Rule 5 draft on the recommendation of Pirates scout Billy Murray, it was said that he would get a tryout with the team and that was quite literal it appears.
After spending the next four seasons in the minors, he served two years in the military during WWI, returning to baseball with the 1920 Browns. While in St Louis, he pitched just one game in relief, almost exactly seven years to the date of his first Major League game. On September 24, 1920, he allowed seven runs in two innings during a 16-8 loss, thus ending his big league career. He pitched briefly in the minors in 1921 before retiring as a player. During his playing days, he was often called Jack Shenn, and the spelling of his last name was listed numerous different ways, including the somewhat comically long Schennenburger.
George McBride, shortstop for the 1905 Pirates. With the great Honus Wagner in his prime, the Pirates didn’t have much need for a young shortstop in 1905, especially one who didn’t hit much. McBride batted .218 in 27 games for the Pirates, then was traded to the St Louis Cardinals on July 4, 1905 for third baseman Dave Brain. McBride went on to play a total of 16 seasons in the majors, mostly with the Washington Senators (1908-20) and he is considered one of the best defensive shortstops in the history of the game. He compiled a 23.3 dWAR (28th best all-time) in 1,627 games, four times leading the league in defensive WAR, and eight times he finished among the top four in the league. McBride was strong enough defensively at shortstop to gain MVP recognition in four straight seasons (1911-14). That was despite hitting between .203 and .235 in each of those seasons, with just two homers total, plus he failed to score 60 runs or pick up 60 RBIs in any season during his career. After his playing days, he managed the 1921 Senators to an 80-73 record.
McBride debuted in the majors in 1901 with the Milwaukee Brewers, which is the current day Baltimore Orioles. He next big league appearance was with the Pirates four years later. He remained in Milwaukee in 1902, playing in the American Association. He spent the 1903-04 seasons playing for the St Joseph Saints of the Western League. The Pirates purchased his contract from St Joseph on August 1, 1904 for $1,000, though he didn’t report to the club until the following spring. Owner Barney Dreyfuss offered St Joseph extra money for the immediate release of McBride, but the Saints were in a playoff race and refused to part with him until their season was completed. A dispute in the final cost for McBride lasted until December 10th when the Pirates made their final payment.
