There have been nine former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, including the starting right fielder for the first team in franchise history to win a World Series title. We also have one trade of note, which is where we start.
The Transaction
On this date in 1987, the Pirates traded pitcher Rick Reuschel to the San Francisco Giants for pitchers Jeff Robinson and Scott Medvin. Reuschel was already 38 years old at the time of the deal, playing in his 15th season in the majors. For the Pirates in 1987, he was 8-6, 2.75 in 25 starts, with 170 career wins to his credit. Despite the age and a slow start to his Giants career (4.32 ERA after the deal), Reuschel went on to have two big seasons with San Francisco, going a combined 36-19 between the 1988-89 seasons. He started the 1989 All-Star game at 40 years old. He played two more years afterwards, getting into just 19 games due to injuries. Medvin pitched 23 games in relief over two seasons with the Pirates before they dealt him to the Seattle Mariners in 1990 for minor league pitcher Lee Hancock. The Pirates actually lost Medvin in the 1987 Rule 5 draft, but he was returned before the season started. Robinson pitched three years in Pittsburgh, going 20-19, 3.78 in 143 games, with 19 starts and 17 saves. His biggest contribution to the Pirates was likely his inclusion in the deal to the New York Yankees in December of 1989 that brought Don Slaught back to Pittsburgh.
The Players
Chief Wilson, right fielder for the Pirates from 1908 until 1913. His strong hitting off of Pirates minor league pitcher Babe Adams, got him highly recommended to the Pirates by Adams himself and the Pirated acted upon that recommendation by signing Wilson. At 21 years old, Wilson debuted in pro ball in his home state of Texas. He would player for Forth Worth of the Texas League during the 1905-07 seasons, but he also played for three other teams during that time, including Des Moines of the Western League, where he hit .323 in 56 games in 1907, and also Little Rock of the Southern Association. The Texas League was a Class-C level of the minors, while the other two were considered to be Class-A, so he was making a jump in the competition when he joined those clubs. The Pirates drafted him (early version of the Rule 5 draft) on October 12th, and received word 18 days later that their claim went through. In 1908, without a game of Major League experience, Wilson became the Pirates starting right fielder to open the season. He was known for his strong arm, which led to 20 outfield assists during his first year. His bat didn’t come around until his second season, which just happened to be the year the Pirates won their first World Series title. After batting .227 with a .546 OPS in 144 games as a rookie, Wilson hit .272 with 38 extra-base hits, 17 steals and 64 runs scored in 154 games in 1909. He led the league in games played that season, starting every single game, while playing all but two innings when he left for a pinch-hitter during the eighth inning of the first game in Forbes Field history. In the World Series against the Detroit Tigers, he hit just .154 with no walks, but the Pirates still took the series in seven games. Chief, who was known mainly by his middle name Owen (his first name was John), really broke out with the bat in 1911, hitting .300 with 58 extra-base hits and a league leading 107 RBIs. He set career highs with 34 doubles and 12 homers.
The 1912 season was just as good and forever put his name in the baseball history books. That year he hit 36 triples. It’s a Major League record that still stands 100+ years later, and one that no one has seriously approached since then, with the high being 26 (done twice). He batted .300 for a second consecutive season, with 94 RBIs and a career high of 80 runs, while playing 152 games. Wilson finished eighth in the MVP voting that season. His offense dropped off a little bit in 1913, batting .266 with 36 extra-base hits, 73 RBIs and 71 runs scored. He started all 155 games that season. On December 12, 1913, the Pirates traded Wilson to the St Louis Cardinals in an eight-player deal that didn’t work out at all. The Pirates gave up Dots Miller and three other players in the deal, for first baseman Ed Konetchy and two players. Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss talked about getting Konetchy for a long time prior to the deal, so he gave up a lot to get him. He then saw the deal backfire, when Miller not only outplayed Konetchy at first base, Konetchy jumped to the Federal League after one season. St Louis showed a 30-game improvement in the standings between 1913 and 1914, while the Pirates saw a nine-game slide in their record in 1914 and it resulted in their first losing season since 1898.
Wilson would go on to play three more years in the majors, never quite approaching the numbers he put up during the 1911-12 seasons, but his 1914-15 numbers with St Louis showed very similar production to his final season in Pittsburgh. He hit .259 with 48 extra-base hits, 73 RBIs and 64 runs scored in 154 games in 1914. That was followed by a .276 average in 107 games in 1915. During that three-year stretch (1913-15) his OPS marks were .694, .695 and .694 each year. His final season saw him drop down to a .239 average and 13 extra-base hits in 120 games in 1916.
In his six seasons in Pittsburgh, Wilson played at least 144 games each year, three times leading all National League outfielders in games played. In 899 games for Pittsburgh, he hit .274 with 427 RBIs and 94 triples. His career average was .269 in 1,280 games, with 520 runs scored, 570 RBIs and 114 triples. He collected 181 outfield assists during his nine-year career. Before he joined the Pirates he had the nickname Tex, which was just because he was born in Texas. When he joined the Pirates, manager Fred Clarke said that he looked like the chief of the Texas Rangers (the state police officers), which gave him his new nickname Chief. A popular misconception is that he was part Native American, based on other Native Americans in baseball at the time getting the nickname Chief, but his nickname had nothing to do with his ancestry. Baseball-Reference recently did a lazy sweep of nicknames they deemed to be offensive and mixed Wilson into that group, one of many mistakes they made in that process due to lack of research.
Jeff Clement, first baseman for the 2010 and 2012 Pirates. He was originally drafted in the 12th round out of high school by the Minnesota Twins in 2002. He was signed as a first round pick (third overall pick) of the Seattle Mariners in 2005 out of USC. He was considered to be a top prospect in baseball for a few years, though he never reached that high potential. Clement spent most of his first season in Low-A, hitting .315 with six homers in 2005. He played in the Arizona Fall League after the season and hit .269 with three homers in 22 games. In 2006, he split the year between Double-A and Triple-A, while also playing winter ball in Hawaii, back when MLB ran a league similar to the Arizona Fall League. He hit .263 with six homers in 82 games during the regular season, then batted .189 with two homers in winter ball. Most of the 2007 season was spent in Triple-A, playing in the high offense Pacific Coast League, where he batted .279 with 35 doubles and 20 homers. Clement reached the majors in late 2007 and started off with a bang, hitting .375 with two homers in nine games. He attended the Arizona Fall League after the season and hit .269 with three homers in 14 games.
In 2008, Clement got an extended look with the Mariners and batted .227 with five homers in 66 games. He hit .335 with 14 homers in Triple-A that year. He spent the entire 2009 season in the minors, despite hitting 35 doubles, 21 homers and 90 RBIs. He came over to the Pirates in the seven-player Jack Wilson/Ian Snell deal with the Mariners at the 2009 trade deadline. Clement played 54 games for Pittsburgh in 2010, hitting .201 with seven homers and 12 RBIs. He missed the end of the season with a knee injury and an oblique injury, which landed him on the 60-day disabled list. After missing most of the 2011 season due to surgery over the off-season, he became a free agent, though he quickly re-signed with the Pirates on a minor league deal. He began the 2012 season in Triple-A, where he put up solid stats, batting .276 with 35 doubles and 16 homers in 112 games. The Pirates called him up in late August and used him often off of the bench. In 23 games, he batted .136 with an RBI. Clement was granted free agency after the 2012 season and spent 2013 in Triple-A for the Minnesota Twins before retiring. In four Major League seasons, he hit .218 with 14 homers and 39 RBIs in 152 games.
Jesse Chavez, pitcher for the 2008-09 Pirates. He was originally drafted in the 39th round by the Chicago Cubs out of high school in 2001. He was then drafted by the Rangers in the 42nd round in 2002 out of Riverside Community College, signing as a draft-and-follow the following May. He spent the 2003 season in short-season ball, posting a 4.55 ERA in 55.1 innings, splitting his time between starting and relief. In 2004, Chavez went 6-10, 4.78 in 123 innings, being mostly used as a starter. The next season was split between High-A and Double-A, where he combined to pitch 81.1 innings in relief over 42 appearances. He had a 4.65 ERA that year, with much better results at the lower level. In 2006, he went 2-5, 4.42 in 59 innings over 38 outings in Double-A. He made one Triple-A appearance before the Pirates acquired him at the 2006 trading deadline in exchange for Kip Wells. Chavez went to Triple-A for the Pirates and he had a 4.24 ERA in 17 innings. He went to the Arizona Fall League after the season and dominated, allowing one run in 14 innings. In 2007, he had a 3-3, 3.92 record in 80.1 innings over 46 games at Triple-A Indianapolis. That was followed by another AFL assignment, where this time he had a 6.00 ERA in 12 innings and 11 appearances. In 2008 at Indianapolis, he posted a 3.80 ERA and 14 saves in 68.2 innings over 51 games. Chavez made his debut for Pittsburgh at the end of August in 2008, pitching 15 games in relief, with a 0-1, 6.60 record in 15 innings. The Pirates used him often in 2009, with strong results early, but he fell off in the second half. In 73 games, he posted a 4.01 ERA in 67.1 innings. He had a 3.19 ERA at the All-Star break and a 4.99 mark afterwards.
In November 2009, the Pirates traded Chavez to the Tampa Bay Rays for second baseman Aki Iwamura. Chavez was traded a month later to the Atlanta Braves. Since the deal from the Pirates, he has also pitched with the Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays (twice), Oakland A’s, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, Chicago Cubs, two stints with the Texas Rangers and he’s back in Atlanta. In 2010, he went 5-5, 5.89 in 51 games, spending the first half of the year with the Braves and the second half with the Royals. In 2011, his big league time was limited four relief appearances and a 10.57 ERA for the Royals. With the Blue Jays and A’s in 2012, he had a combined 9.85 ERA in 24.2 innings. Chavez finally established himself as a big league pitcher at 29 years old in 2013 with the A’s. He went 2-4, 3.92 in 57.1 innings over 35 games that season. In 2014 he made 21 starts and 11 relief appearances, going 8-8, 3.45 in 146 innings. He remained in the starter role with the A’s in 2015 and had a 7-15, 4.18 record in 157 innings. He had a career high 136 strikeouts in each of those two seasons as a start in Oakland. The 2016 season was split between the Blue Jays and Dodgers, with similar results at each stop. Chavez posted a 4.43 ERA over 67 innings and 62 appearances.
In 2017, Chavez made 21 starts and 17 relief appearances for the Dodgers. He went 7-11, 5.35 in 138 innings. In 2018, he split the year between the Rangers and Cubs, with much better results after a mid-season trade to Chicago. He had a 3.51 ERA in 56.1 innings with Texas, then posted a 1.15 ERA in 39 innings over 32 games with the Cubs. He re-signed with the Rangers after the season and had a 3-5, 4.85 record in 78 innings over 48 games. During the shortened 2020 season, Chavez had a 6.88 ERA in 18 games, with 17 innings pitched. He signed with the Angels as a free agent, but they released him at the end of Spring Training in 2021. He then signed with the Braves in mid-April and he has a 2.76 ERA in 16.1 innings through early August. Chavez has a career 43-60, 4.49 record in 496 games, with 80 starts and 949.1 innings pitched (as of August 10, 2021). He has a career 3.8 WAR in 14 seasons, with 3.0 of that number coming during the 2018 season.
Ramon Vazquez, infielder for the 2009 Pirates. He was born in Puerto Rico, though he was drafted out of college in Iowa. Vazquez was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 27th round in 1995 out of Indian Hills Community College. He went to the Arizona Summer League in his first season and hit .206 with no homers in 39 games. In 1996, he played 33 games in short-season ball, three games in Low-A and 18 games in Triple-A. He batted .265 with one homer that year. That move to Triple-A was made more out of need and the 1997 season was spent in Low-A, where he hit .269 with 78 walks and 38 extra-base hits in 131 games. In 1998, Vazquez spent the entire year in High-A, playing in the high offense environment of Lancaster in the California League. He hit .276 with 81 walks and 32 extra-base hits in 121 games. In 1999, he spent his first of two full seasons in Double-A. He hit .258 with 27 doubles, five homers and 62 walks in 127 games during the first year, then followed it up with a .286 average with 25 doubles and eight homers in 124 games 2000.
The 2001 season started at Triple-A, where he hit .300 with 28 doubles, ten homers, 79 RBIs and 76 walks in 127 games. That was followed by 17 games with the Mariners, where he hit .229 with no extra-base hits. Vazquez was sent to the San Diego Padres in a six-player deal in December of 2001. He played 128 games for the Padres in 2002, moving around the infield, with 81 games at second base, 41 at shortstop and 20 at third base. He batted .274 with 28 extra-base hits and 45 walks that season. In 2003 he mostly played shortstop, hitting .261 with 56 runs scored, 30 RBIs and 52 walks in 116 games. He had more of a bench role in 2004 when he batted .235 in 52 games, with one homer and 11 walks. Vazquez was traded to the Boston Red Sox prior to the 2005 season, then got traded to the Cleveland Indians during the season. He hit .212 with no homers in 39 games that year, spending part of the season back in Triple-A. In 2006, he once again saw limited time, with a trip to Triple-A mid-year. He batted .209 with one homer in 34 games for the Indians, then became a free agent after the season, signing with the Texas Rangers six weeks later.
In 2007, Vazquez hit eight homers with Texas, one more than he hit during his first six seasons in the majors.However, he was a .230 hitter in 104 games, with a low walk rate. The average went up in 2008 and he had his best season, hitting .290, with 27 extra-base hits and a .795 OPS in 105 games. Those numbers came with the huge caveat that Texas is a big-time hitter’s ballpark. After coming off his best season in the majors, Vazquez signed with the Pirates as a free agent in December of 2008. When he got to Pittsburgh the hitting numbers regressed back to his normal standards. He signed a two-year contract with the Pirates, but after hitting .230 with one homer in 101 games in 2009, he was released with one year remaining on his deal. He played 14+ games at shortstop, second base and third base during his only season with Pittsburgh. Between the 2010-11 seasons, Vazquez played in the minors with five different organizations (Mariners, Houston Astros, St Louis Cardinals, Florida Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays), but he never returned to the majors. He played independent league ball in 2012, followed by winter ball in Puerto Rico, before retiring. In 696 Major League games, he was a .254 hitter with 176 RBIs. After retiring as a player, he has held numerous coaching jobs throughout baseball with a few different organizations.
Lou Collier, shortstop for the 1997-98 Pirates. He was a 31st round draft pick in 1992 by the Pirates out of Kishwaukee College. There have been 46 players drafted from that school, but just three made the majors, and Collier is the last from that group. In 1991, he was taken in the 56th round by the Houston Astros out of high school. Collier was a draft-and-follow player, so he didn’t sign until the deadline in 1993. He spent that first season in the short-season New York-Penn League, where he hit .303 in 50 games. He split the 1994 season between Low-A and High-A, hitting .275 with 21 doubles, 13 homers and 37 steals in 128 games. The entire 1995 season was spent in High-A, where he hit .276 with 26 extra-base hits, 31 steals and 68 runs scored in 114 games. He moved up to Double-A Carolina of the Southern League in 1996 and hit .280 with 76 runs scored, 26 extra-base hits and 29 steals in 119 games. Collier averaged over 30 stolen bases a year in the minors in his first three full seasons, though his breakout season came during a year in which he went 12-for-19 in steal attempts at Triple-A. In 1997, he hit .330 with 31 doubles in 112 games for Calgary of the Pacific Coast League. Pittsburgh called him up at the end of June, but he really struggled and was quickly sent back to the minors. He returned in September, finishing the year with a .135 average in 18 games for the Pirates. In 1998, Collier was the starting shortstop for much of the season, batting .246 in 110 games, with 30 runs scored and 36 RBIs. He was put on waivers at the end of the season, where he was picked up by the Milwaukee Brewers. Almost every one of his offensive stats in 1998 ended up being his career high for a season.
Collier played in the majors every season from 1999-2004, seeing time with four different teams, though he never spent a full season in the majors. He hit .259 with two homers and 21 RBIs in 74 games for the Brewers in 1999, seeing most of his time off of the bench. In 2000, he hit .219 in 14 games. Still with the Brewers in 2001, Collier batted .252 with 11 extra-base hits and 14 RBIs in 50 games. He received 14 plate appearances over 13 games with the 2002 Montreal Expos, then played just four games for the 2003 Boston Red Sox. He batted once that year, yet he ended up playing defense at three different spots. In 2004, his last big league time was spent with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he had 42 plate appearances over 32 games. He had a .770 OPS in his limited work that year. Collier started 174 games during his big league time, mostly at shortstop, though he played all three outfield spots, as well as second base and third base. He hit .241 in his 315 career games, with just 12 stolen bases, never attempting more than six steals in a season once he reached the majors. Just three of those steals came with the Pirates. After 2004, he played two years of Korean baseball, before returning to the minors in 2007 for one last season. He had 172 steals in the minors and another 25 in Korea, including 19 in his first season.
Murry Dickson, pitcher for the 1949-53 Pirates. His pro career began in 1937 at 20 years old when he played Class-D ball for Grand Island of the Nebraska State League. Dickson went 14-15, 4.87 in 233 innings that year. In 1938, he played for Decatur of the Three-I League, where he had a 16-14, 4.07 record in 243 innings. In 1939, he spent the year with Houston of the Texas League, where he compiled a 22-15, 3.25 record in 263 innings. He pitched his first Major League game in 1939, making just one appearances for the St Louis Cardinals on September 30th. He pitched another game for St Louis on May 9, 1940, then spent the year with Columbus of the American Association, where he had a 17-8, 3.33 record in 219 innings. He was back with Columbus for all of 1941, going 21-11, 3.30 in 259 innings. He was with the 1942 Cardinals for the entire season, where he pitched seven times as a starter and 29 times in relief. Dickson went 6-3, 2.91 in 120.2 innings in 1942. He followed that up with an 8-2, 3.58 record over 115.2 innings in 1943, with seven starts and 24 relief appearances. The next two years were lost to military service during WWII.
Six years after he made his Major League debut, Dickson had just 14 career wins, but that all changed when he returned in 1946 from the war effort. That first season back, he went 15-6, 2.88 in 184.1 innings, leading all National League pitchers with a .714 winning percentage. He made 19 starts and 28 relief appearances. That season began a string of 11 straight years of 10+ wins. In 1947 he went 13-16, 3.07 in 231.2 innings, making 25 starts and 22 relief appearances. His 1948 season was not strong, going 12-16, 4.14 in 252.1 innings, while leading the league in earned runs and home runs allowed. He was a workhorse pitcher though, taking the ball often as a starter and pitching in relief. The Pirates purchased Dickson from the Cardinals on January 29, 1949 for $125,000.
Pittsburgh was a very bad team during his five-season stint with the club, never winning more than 71 games in a year. Dickson felt that in his first year, with a 12-14 record, despite a 3.29 ERA in 224.1 innings. In 1950, he had a 10-15, 3.80 record in 225 innings, making 22 starts and 29 relief appearances. Dickson had a remarkable 1951 season, going 20-16 for a team that finished 64-90 in seventh place. What is most impressive about that record for a bad team is that his ERA went up to 4.02 in 288.2 innings. He actually led the league in hits allowed, earned runs and home runs allowed. The Pirates lack of support got to him the next two years, leading the National League in losses each season, a total of 40 defeats, with 24 wins to show for his effort. In a strange twist from the previous season, he went 14-21 in 1952 with a 3.57 ERA in 277.2 innings. His 1953 record/ERA was more in line, as he went 10-19, 4.53 in 200.2 innings.
On January 13, 1954, the Pirates traded Dickson to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Andy Hansen, infielder Jack Lohrke and cash. His first season in Philadelphia had to remind him of Pittsburgh, a 3.78 ERA in 226.1 innings, but it came with a 10-20 record, leading the league in losses for a third straight season. He finally had some luck in 1955 to break that string, going 12-11, 3.50 in 216 innings. That positive record continued on in his later years, as he had a 13-11, 3.28 record in 219.1 innings, with a large majority of that coming after a May trade that also included Harvey Haddix, returned him to the Cardinals. He saw limited time in 1957, going 5-3, 4.14 in 74 innings before being released by St Louis. His last two seasons were split between the New York Yankees and Kansas City A’s. He went 10-7, 3.70 in 119.1 innings in 1958, making 11 starts and 20 relief appearances. Dickson pitched strictly in relief during his final year, posting a 4.94 ERA in 71 innings over 38 games. He had a 66-85, 3.83 record in 228 games with Pirates, 137 as a starter. In his 18-year career, he went 172-181, 3.66 in 625 games, 338 as a starter. He was a decent hitting pitcher, batting .231 in his 638 games.
Wally Hebert, pitcher for the 1943 Pirates. He made his pro debut in 1930, pitching for Springfield of the Western Association, where he won 15 games and pitched 241 innings. Hebert then pitched for the St Louis Browns for three seasons (1931-33) before going to the minors for nine years, all spent in the Pacific Coast League. At 23 years old in 1931, he had a 6-7, 5.07 record in 103 innings. The next year the Browns went 63-91 and his record suffered along with the team, though he pitched poorly at times, finishing 1-12, with a 6.48 ERA in 108.1 innings. While working in more of a relief role in 1933, Herbert had a 4-6, 5.30 record in 88.1 innings. He went 11-25, 5.65 in 91 games for the Browns, making 38 starts during that three-year stretch. Hebert threw 170 innings in the minors in 1934 for Hollywood, then pitched at least 219 innings in each of the next eight seasons, throwing a high of 319 frames during the 1942 season. He had a 4.24 ERA in 1934, which then went up to 4.93 the next season, which led to a 10-17 record. For the next seven seasons, he played for San Diego, where he showed immediate improvements. Herbert went 18-12, 3.03 in 229 innings in 1936. He followed that up with a 17-14, 3.02 record in 244 innings in 1937. He basically had the same season in 1938, posting a 3.11 ERA in 243 innings, but he finished with a 12-16 record. Things would turn around the next year, as he went 20-10, 3.13, while throwing 299 innings. The 1940 season didn’t go as well, with a 15-18, 3.92 record in 280 innings.
Herbert came back strong in 1941, going 22-10, 3.00 in 279 innings, completing 25 of his 35 starts. The workhorse effort in 1942 got him back to the majors. He went 22-15, 2.37 in 319 innings, completing 33 of his 39 starts. His minor league record stood at 162-139 after ten seasons, with three 20-win campaigns. In November of 1942, Herbert was taken by the Pirates in the Rule 5 draft. That 1943 season marked the end of a ten-year absence from the majors. Hebert went 10-11, 2.98 in 184 innings, with 23 starts and 11 relief outings. He decided to retire from baseball after the season and take a wartime job, rather than return to the Pirates, who held his contract rights. He was initially given permission to report to Spring Training no later than April 1st, but four days before that deadline he told manager Frankie Frisch that he played to stay at his job and retire from baseball. The Pirates waited until May 4th to place him on the voluntarily retired list. There was talk of him returning two years later, but he never did. He finished 21-36, 4.63 in 483.2 innings in the majors. He won a total of 183 games in pro ball, while pitching 3,006.2 innings.
Cobe Jones, shortstop for the 1928-29 Pirates. He debuted in pro ball in 1925, playing 11 games for Sacramento of the Pacific Coast League. At 18 years old in 1926, he hit .224 in 66 games for Corsicana of the Texas Association. Pirates scout Chick Fraser was tipped off about Jones after he played college ball and saw time in 1926-27 playing in Fort Bayard, New Mexico. The Pirates signed him on February 8, 1928 and announced that if he played well, they would find a suitable place for him to develop as a player in the minors. He went to Spring Training that year with the Pirates and remained with the club through mid-April, though he didn’t play any regular season games (April 11th Opening Day that year). He spent the 1928 season playing for Bridgeport of the Eastern League, where he hit .306 in 150 games. He rejoined the Pirates on September 17th, but didn’t make his Major League debut until the very last game of the season ten days later, getting into the second game of a doubleheader against Brooklyn. He came into the game off the bench, as Brooklyn took a big early lead. Jones went 1-for-2 at the plate with a single, and he handled the only play hit his way. He began the 1929 season with the Pirates, lasting through June, before finishing the season (and his career) in the minors. In 25 games with the 1929 Pirates, he started ten times at shortstop, hitting .254 with four RBIs in 64 at-bats. On June 18, 1929 he was sent to Wichita, along with cash, in exchange for infielder Stu Clarke. Jones played off-and-on in the minors until 1941, occasionally serving as a player/manager. After retiring as a player, he served as a scout for three different teams. Cobe (full name was Coburn Dyas Jones) was a long-time coach outside of baseball, and it is said that his playing career was cut short by diabetes. He attended two colleges, the University of Colorado, which has produced just six Major League players, and Colorado College, a school that is represented in Major League history by just Jones himself. Much of his minor league stats are incomplete due to the common surname. He hit .314 in 96 games for Wichita in 1929, but that’s not on his records. He also played 65 games for Wichita in 1932 when they were short on players, but that too is missing from his career records.
Jim Mosolf, pinch-hitter/outfielder for the 1929-31 Pirates. He played college ball at the University of Washington, as well as two years of semi-pro ball before signing to play pro ball. He debuted in pro ball at 22 years old in 1928, playing most of the year for Class-C Pocatello of the Utah-Idaho League, while also seeing time at the start of the year with Los Angeles of the Pacific Coast League, a team three levels higher. Despite the difference in quality between the two levels, Mosolf hit .328 in Pocatello and .326 in Los Angeles. In his second season of pro ball in 1929, he hit .362 with 60 extra-base hits for Wichita of the Western League. On September 1st, the Pirates purchased his contract from Wichita. He debuted with the Pirates on September 9th and hit .462 (6-for-13) with two RBIs in eight games. Mosolf was with the Pirates for all of 1930, but he received just six starts (all in right field) all year, batting a total of 60 times in 40 games, with a .333 average, eight walks, 16 runs scored and nine RBIs. Over the off-season, there was talk of moving him to the mound, but he never pitched that next season for the Pirates. When he originally signed with the Pirates, his scouting report said that he also excelled at pitching and occasionally played first base. He held the same role as a pinch-hitter/seldom used outfielder in 1931. In 39 games, Mosolf started four times, finishing the year with a .250 average, one homer and eight RBIs. On February 4, 1932, he was released on option to Mission of the Pacific Coast League, though he played just four games there before spending most of the 1932-34 seasons with Kansas City of the American Association. He returned to the majors for three months with the 1933 Chicago Cubs and batted .268 in 31 games, before finishing his career in the minors four years later. His last three seasons were spent with Dallas of the Class-A Texas League and he hit over .300 each year. Mosolf was a career .321 hitter in 1,025 minor league games. He hit .315 with one homer and 19 RBIs in 87 games with the Pirates.
