Just three former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, although one of them went on to the Hall of Fame. It has been a big date for draft picks in team history as noted below.
The Players
Ray Rohwer, outfielder for the 1921-22 Pirates. The Pirates signed him out of the University of California on March 2, 1921. Rohwer was the school’s captain in 1920, hitting .351 with 17 stolen bases and 22 extra-base hits during the abbreviated college season. He had attended the school prior to WWI, but returned (after graduating already) in 1920 to play baseball. Despite being just months shy of his 25th birthday, Rohwer had never played pro ball before, but he made the 1921 Pirates squad. He played 30 games that rookie season, getting just three starts and only 40 at-bats. His final start that season was July 10th and all of his final 15 games were off of the bench. He hit .250 with six RBIs and six runs scored. He had a bigger role in the 1922 season, playing 53 games, 28 as a starter. A majority of his work came during a four-week stretch from mid-June to mid-July. After collecting five hits during a doubleheader on July 1st, he had a .386 average. He then batted .130 over the rest of the season. His only action after September 1st was playing in a pair of exhibition games off of the bench, including one game with his brother Claude on September 28th. For the year, he hit .295 with three homers and 22 RBIs. In December of 1922, Rohwer was traded to Seattle of the Pacific Coast League, along with pitcher Sheriff Blake, in exchange for infielder Spencer Adams. He would end up playing nine seasons in the PCL before he retired, without ever returning to the majors. He played over 1,300 minor league games, hitting nearly 200 homers with a .299 batting average. Rohwer’s full stats are incomplete, but it’s known that he batted .325 with 30 doubles, 20 triples and 37 homers for Seattle in 1923. That was followed by a .325 average again in 1924, this time with 42 doubles, 15 triples and 33 homers. In 1925 with Portland of the PCL, he hit .334 with 44 doubles and 40 homers. His full 1926 stats aren’t known, but during the 1927 season with Sacramento of the PCL, Rohwer hit .334 with 32 doubles and 14 homers. He failed to reach a .300 average after 1927 season during his final four years, all spent with Sacramento. His power numbers also dropped during this time. He best year was 1930 was offense was up all around baseball. He hit .298 with 27 doubles and 13 homers that season
Jack Chesbro, pitcher for the Pirates from 1899 until 1902. He played five seasons in the minors leagues prior to having his contract purchased by the Pirates. Chesbro debuted at 21 years old in 1895 with Springfield of the Eastern League, where he had a 2.81 ERA in 32 innings. The next year he moved down a level in competition, pitching for Roanoke of the Virginia League, where he went 8-11, 1.81 in 159.1 innings. He joined the Richmond Bluebirds of the Atlantic League in 1897, where he was 16-18, 1.80 in 289.1 innings. While full stats aren’t available for 1898, it’s known that he won 23 games for Richmond. In July of 1899, Pittsburgh bought him from Richmond, where he had a 17-4 record, while throwing complete games in all 21 starts. Chesbro was a far cry from the Hall of Fame pitcher he eventually became during his rookie season in the majors. He went 6-9, 4.11 in 149 innings for the 1899 Pirates, recording just 28 strikeouts. In the off-season he was traded to the Louisville Colonels in the major trade that brought Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke and many others to Pittsburgh, although the move was temporary for Chesbro. When the Louisville franchise folded, he was assigned back to the Pirates. The Pirates were a much stronger team in 1900 and Chesbro showed improvements, but he was still the fifth best starter on the team, and not even the only future Hall of Famer. Pittsburgh also had Rube Waddell, an eccentric 23-year-old, who led the National League in ERA that season. Chesbro went 15-13 with a 3.67 ERA in 215.2 innings for a Pirates team that went 79-60, finishing in 2nd place.
Chesbro established himself as a star pitcher in 1901, helping the Pirates to their first NL title. He went 21-10, 2.38 in 287.2 innings, while throwing a league leading six shutouts along the way. In 1902 he was even better, as were the Pirates, who had their highest winning percentage ever that season with their 103-36 record. Chesbro went 28-6, 2.17 in 286.1 innings, leading the league in wins, winning percentage, and his league leading eight shutouts are a franchise record during the NL years of the franchise. His 28 wins that season are still the highest total in team history since 1900. That 1902 Pirates pitching staff was loaded with talent, having Chesbro, Jesse Tannehill, Sam Leever and Deacon Phillippe, four pitchers who would be top starters on many clubs. Their fifth starter was Ed Doheny, who went 16-4 with a 2.53 ERA. The Pirates lost Chesbro (and Tannehill) to the American League after the 1902 season, as both jumped to the new league. Chesbro went 21-15, 2.77 in 324.2 innings in 1903 for the New York Highlanders, but the Pirates were still able to win their third straight title without his services. He went on to have an incredible season in 1904 when he went 41-12, 1.82 in 454.2 innings. His win total is a record for the American League and the most in baseball since 1891. The innings total is the second highest since 1900. Chesbro went 19-15, 2.20 in 303.1 innings in 1905. He was a workhorse in 1906 as well, going 23-17, 2.96 in 325 innings. His workload dropped a bit the next year when he had a 10-10, 2.53 record in 206 innings, but he saw a large increase in 1908, with 14-20, 2.93 record in 288.2 innings. His final season was split between New York and the Boston Red Sox, though his time in Boston consisted of just his final big league start. He had a 6.34 ERA in 49.2 innings with the Highlanders. Chesbro was voted to the Hall of Fame in 1946, mostly because of his huge season in 1904. He had strong stats, with a 198-132, 2.68 record in 2,896.2 innings. However, eight of the ten most similar pitchers to him in baseball history aren’t in the Hall of Fame, including the aforementioned Jesse Tannehill and Pirates great Babe Adams.
Gene Madden, pinch-hitter for the Pirates on April 20, 1916. Madden played one game in his big league career and he was lucky to get that game. His pro career began in 1908, playing Class-D ball for Bradford of the Interstate League. Madden next appeared in 1911 with Hattiesburg of the Cotton States League, where he hit .283 in 120 games. He moved up two levels to Galveston of the Texas League in 1912 and he hit .246 in 141 games. His stats were very similar with Galveston in 1913, then he had a solid 1914 season, batting .281 with 99 runs scored, 46 steals and 37 extra-base hits in 153 games. Madden played for Galveston for a fourth straight season in 1915 and batted .312 in 134 games. He was a speedy player, who played third base and outfield that season, while also seeing significant time at second base during his career. The Pirates selected him in the Rule 5 draft on September 15, 1915. Owner Barney Dreyfuss had a habit then of not announcing drafted players until they signed their contracts and Madden was the first player from that group to be announced, inking his 1916 contract on September 19th. It was mentioned by Dreyfuss at the time that he has been scouting Madden for the last three seasons before securing him. Madden made the 1916 Pirates Opening Day roster, but didn’t get into action through seven games. The Pirates were planning on releasing him to Syracuse of the New York State League after play on April 20th and he wasn’t in the starting lineup. When the starting pitcher Al Mamaux got knocked around early, Madden was sent in to hit for him in the second inning. He grounded out to second base. After the game, he was assigned to Syracuse of the New York State League and was never recalled. The local press said that they expected Madden to rejoin the team in the fall, but he batted .232 that season in 133 games with Syracuse. The Pirates sold his contract to Birmingham of the Southern Association on September 13, 1916. He returned to Syracuse for the 1917 season and hit .232 again. Madden had a long career in the minors and also served in the military during WWI. He began playing in 1908 and retired from pro ball after the 1921 season, though some of that time was spent outside of the minor leagues in semi-pro ball. (Editor’s Note: His birth date was recently updated to June 5th from January 5th, so his bio has been moved to this date)
The Draft Picks
Here’s a list of the players the Pirates have selected in the amateur draft on June 5th throughout the years.
2014: Mitch Keller, Cole Tucker
2012: Adrian Sampson, Jacob Stallings
2008: Pedro Alvarez, Jordy Mercer, Chase d’Arnaud, Matt Hague
2001: John Van Benschoten, Chris Duffy, Zach Duke, Rajai Davis. Pirates also took Mark Guthrie and Steven Drew, although neither signed.
2000: Sean Burnett, Chris Young, Jose Bautista, Nate McLouth, Ian Snell
1989: Willie Greene, first round pick
1979: Mike Bielecki, 8th overall pick. Jose DeLeon, 3rd round
1974: Rod Scurry, 11th overall pick. Ed Whitson, 6th round
1973: Steve Nicosia, 24th overall pick
