Four former Pittsburgh Pirates born on this date, including a key member of the 1960 World Series champs.
Don Hoak, third baseman for the 1959-62 Pirates. He spent seven seasons in the minors for the Brooklyn Dodgers before he got his first shot at the big leagues in 1954 at 26 years old. Once he made it to the majors, ended up spending 11 straight seasons at the big league level, seeing time with five different National League clubs. He debuted in 1947 with Valdosta of the Class-D Georgia-Florida League at 19 years old, where he hit .295 in 134 games, with 71 runs scored, 33 extra-base hits, 100 RBIs, 87 walks and an .816 OPS. He then played for Nashua of the Class-B New England League in 1948. Hoak hit .283 in 120 games that year, with 86 runs scored, 20 extra-base hits, 78 RBIs, 75 walks and a .740 OPS. He moved up to A-Ball in 1949, spending the season with Greenville of the South Atlantic League. He hit .231 in 133 games that season, with 63 runs scored, 22 extra-base hits, 53 RBIs, 60 walks and a .639 OPS. He mostly played shortstop during the 1948-49 seasons, before moving to his familiar third base position. Hoak moved up to Fort Worth of the Double-A Texas League in 1950, where he hit .280 in 141 games, with 66 runs, 18 doubles, seven triples, six homers and 60 RBIs (somewhat limited stats are available from that year). He reached Triple-A in 1951, playing with St Paul of the American Association, where he hit .257 in 126 games, with 60 runs scored, 19 extra-base hits, 34 RBIs, 68 walks and a .720 OPS. He also played two games with Triple-A Montreal of the International League in 1951, then spent the entire 1952-53 seasons there as well. Hoak hit .293 in 144 games during the 1952 season, with 109 runs scored, 32 doubles, 16 triples, six homers, 70 RBIs, 81 walks and an .825 OPS. He hit .269 in 1953, with 84 runs, 39 extra-base hits, 48 RBIs, 78 walks and a .754 OPS in 138 games.
Hoak debuted with the Dodgers in 1954, where he hit .245 in 88 games, with 41 runs scored, 21 extra-base hits, 26 RBIs and a .717 OPS. He batted .240 over 94 games in 1955, with 50 runs, 21 extra-base hits, 19 RBIs, 46 walks and a .712 OPS. He started 133 games between those two seasons, all of them at third base. The Dodgers won the World Series that year, though Hoak barely played in the postseason, going 1-for-3, with two walks. Hoak was traded to the Chicago Cubs in a five-player deal on December 9, 1955. He batted .215 in 121 games during the 1956 season, with 51 runs, 27 extra-base hits, 37 RBIs, 41 walks and a .594 OPS. In November of 1956, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in a five-player deal. It was a great move for Hoak, who made his only career All-Star appearance during his first season in Cincinnati. He also led all National League third baseman in putouts and fielding percentage that year. Hoak batted .293 in 143 games for the 1957 Reds, with 78 runs, a league leading 39 doubles and career highs of 19 homers and 89 RBIs. He also set highs with his .863 OPS and his 74 walks, which he would tie during the 1960 season. He finished 11th in the MVP voting that year, the first of three times that he received MVP votes. Hoak hit .261 over 114 games in 1958, with 51 runs scored, 30 doubles, six homers, 50 RBIs and a .709 OPS. He joined the Pirates in a seven-player trade with the Reds on January 30, 1959, which also brought Smoky Burgess and Harvey Haddix to Pittsburgh. It was a move that would help push the Pirates towards their third World Series title.
Hoak would lead the National League in games played with 155 his first season in Pittsburgh. He hit .294 that year, with 60 runs, 29 doubles, eight homers, 65 RBIs, 71 walks and a .773 OPS, while also leading NL third baseman in both putouts and assists. Those stats earned him some MVP consideration for the second time in his career, finishing 17th overall. Hoak hit .282 in 1960, with 24 doubles, nine triples, 16 homers, 79 RBIs, 74 walks, an .810 OPS and a career high 97 runs scored in 155 games. The Pirates won the World Series over the New York Yankees that year, and Hoak hit .217/.333/.304, with three runs, two doubles and three RBIs in the postseason. He finished second in the NL MVP voting to teammate Dick Groat. Hoak received five first place MVP votes, and his 5.4 WAR was a career best. He hit a career high .298 in 1961, while posting an .839 OPS in 145 games. He scored 72 runs that year, with 27 doubles, seven triples, 12 homers, 61 RBIs and 73 walks. Hoak’s stats began to decline in 1962. He played just 121 games, although he was still able to lead all NL third baseman in fielding percentage. He had a .241 average, with 63 runs, 14 doubles, eight triples, five homers, 48 RBIs, 49 walks and a .670 OPS.
Hoak was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies after the 1962 season for outfielder Ted Savage and infielder Pancho Herrera. The Pirates got very little from their return in the deal, but Hoak hit just .231 for the Phillies over 115 games in 1963, with 35 runs, 20 extra-base hits, 24 RBIs and a .605 OPS. He was used just six times as a pinch-hitter in 1964, before retiring as a player. He managed two years in the Pirates farm system (1968-69) before passing away of a heart attack at age 41. In his 11-year big league career, he had a .265 average, with 598 runs, 214 doubles, 89 homers and 498 RBIs in 1,263 games. He posted a career 21.2 WAR, with 13.4 of that number coming during his four years in Pittsburgh.
Javier Martinez, pitcher for the 1998 Pirates. He was a third round draft pick by the Chicago Cubs out of high school in Puerto Rico in 1994. Martinez was a starter early in his career, debuting at 17 years old in the short-season Appalachian League with Huntington, where he went 2-1, 3.55 in 33 innings over eight starts, with 28 strikeouts and a 1.21 WHIP. He was in Low-A by age 18 with Rockford of the Midwest League, where he had a 3.96 ERA in 104.2 innings over 18 starts. His strikeout rate was very low that year, posting a 4.6 per nine innings mark that was well below his career average (7.7), as well as the 7.6 mark his put up as a rookie. He repeated the level the next year and showed improvements in his ERA and strikeout rates, though he was limited to 13 starts that year. He also spent some rehab time down in the Gulf Coast League. That rehab/limited work was due to shoulder surgery he had late in 1995, which caused him to miss the start of the 1996 season. He went 4-3, 3.36 in 59 innings, with 53 strikeouts for Rockford in 1996. Martinez struggled in 1997, posting a 3-13, 5.73 record in 130.1 innings over 26 starts, which were split between Rockford (17 starts) and Daytona of the High-A Florida State League. He had 104 strikeouts, while putting up a 1.73 WHIP. Despite the poor overall numbers, and the fact he was still just 20 years old, he was picked by the Oakland A’s in the 1997 Rule 5 draft, then immediately purchased from them by the Pirates. He was selected first overall in the draft, and the Pirates released pitcher Steve Cooke to clear room on their roster to add him. Pirates GM Cam Bonifay said that he saw Martinez pitch winter ball in Puerto Rico shortly before the Rule 5 draft, where he was throwing eight MPH harder than back in August, going from 91 MPH to 99 MPH.
Martinez spent the entire 1998 season in the majors, posting a 4.83 ERA in 37 relief appearances. He had a high walk rate (7.5 per nine innings) but also struck out 42 batters in 41 innings of work. The Pirates used him in some close games very early on, but by his third week in the majors, he was basically doing mop-up work in most of his outings. The Pirates had a 5-32 record in his appearances, and two of those wins were one-sided victories. He was in competition with pitcher Melvin Brazoban during Spring Training in 1998. Brazoban was a Rule 5 pick taken from the Texas Rangers, but he was returned to Texas when he didn’t make the team, and then never made the majors. Martinez returned to the minors in 1999, but he struggled with control and also missed a good portion of the season due to elbow soreness in mid-April. The team originally announced that he would miss the season with surgery, only to have the famous Dr James Andrews say that rest and rehab would be the better approach. He had a 5.00 ERA in 18 innings over 16 outings, mostly spent at Double-A Altoona of the Eastern League. Martinez got shutdown late after visiting Andrews again in August. The Pirates released him in late December of 1999. He ended up playing the next six seasons in the minors before retiring. He pitched just one Triple-A game during his entire pro career, getting a spot start in 2004, in which he allowed four runs in 1.2 innings.
After leaving the Pirates, Martinez spent time in the Cincinnati Reds (2000-02) and Baltimore Orioles (2004) organizations, as well as playing summer league ball in Mexico, and two years in independent ball. He went 4-1, 6.35 in 17 innings over 16 appearances for Dayton of the Midwest League in 2000. He spent the 2001 season in A-Ball except for one relief outing in Double-A with Chattanooga of the Southern League, in which he gave up six runs while recording one out. The rest of the year was split between Dayton and Mudville of the High-A Carolina League, where he had a 2.16 ERA in 16.2 innings. He pitched 25 innings over 25 games that year, finishing with 34 strikeouts in his brief time. The 2002 season saw him put up a 4.94 ERA in 23.2 innings with Chattanooga, as well as allowing four runs on four hits and seven walks in 5.1 innings with Stockton of the High-A California League. Martinez allowed four runs on ten hits over 5.1 innings in Mexico during a brief stay there in 2003. He also played that season for Bridgeport of the independent Atlantic League, where he went 4-1, 4.69 in 55.2 innings over 43 appearances. His time with the Orioles in 2004 saw his one rough Triple-A outing while with Ottawa of the International League, as well as a 6.75 ERA in 13.1 innings with Bowie of the Eastern League, where he had 18 walks and 18 strikeouts in his brief time. Martinez last played with Jackson of the independent Central League in 2005, where he went 1-4, 4.05 in 60 innings over seven starts and 15 relief appearances. He had 49 walks and 60 strikeouts.
Jack Maguire, infielder for the 1951 Pirates. He was an outfielder most of his brief Major League career, but he was mainly used as an infielder in the minors. The Pirates used him at second base and third base during his short time in Pittsburgh. He was signed as an 18-year-old amateur by the New York Giants in 1943, although he spent the next two years serving in the military. He got in just 26 games during that first season, though he held his own with a .281 average and a .646 OPS for Jersey City of the Double-A International League, which was the highest level of the minors at the time. He returned to pro ball in 1946 after his military service, then spent most of the year with Trenton of the Class-B Interstate League (two levels lower than before), where he hit .308 in 123 games, with 86 runs, 24 doubles, 13 triples, 11 homers, 72 RBIs, 35 steals and an .876 OPS. Maguire spent four seasons bouncing around the minors until he had a breakout season in 1949. He played four games for Jersey City during the 1946 season, then spent another five games with the team in 1947. That year was mostly spent with the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association, where he hit .281 in 93 games, with 34 runs, 23 extra-base hits, 32 RBIs and a .783 OPS. The 1948 season was split between 75 games for Minneapolis and 33 games for Jersey City. He wasn’t playing full-time in Minneapolis, despite a .766 OPS. The papers also noted that he played strong defense. Instead of using him in a bench role, Minneapolis optioned him to Jersey City in mid-August, where he had a .619 OPS over the rest of the season. He had 53 runs, 27 extra-base hits and 52 RBIs in 108 games. Online stats have him playing 15 games that year for Anaheim of the Class-C Sunset League, but I was able to determine that the player there was not the same Jack Maguire, though they shared the common name.
Maguire made a name for himself in 1949 by hitting .348 in 122 games, with 88 runs, 45 extra-base hits, 71 RBIs, 97 walks and a .966 OPS for Minneapolis. He was with the New York Giants for all of 1950, yet he played just 29 games, and started only six of them. He hit .175/.233/.225 in 45 plate appearances, with three runs, two doubles and three RBIs. He played a total of four games after July 25th, and he had just three at-bats during that time. Maguire was again being used in the reserve outfield role in 1951, when the Giants put him on waivers in late May, despite hitting .400/.455/.700 in 22 plate appearances over 16 games. The Pirates picked him up on May 28th, then used him eight times off the bench in just over a month, before they too put him on waivers, where he was picked up by the St Louis Browns on July 7th. He hit .244/.309/.299 in 41 games for the Browns, before returning to the minors. He went 0-for-5, with a walk and run scored while with the Pirates. The Pirates sent Dale Long to the minors to make room on the 25-man roster for Maguire.
Maguire’s father Gordon was a scout for the Giants and St Louis Cardinals. he was with the Giants when his son was signed, though he passed away in 1946 before his son made it to the majors. Jack Maguire played just one season in the minors after his big league time ended, hitting .258 in 72 games for Portland of the Pacific Coast League in 1952. He had 21 runs, eight extra-base hits, seven RBIs and a .648 OPS. The league was considered to be an Open level that year, though it was still basically Triple-A. He was traded to San Antonio of the Texas League in February of 1953, but he was found later that year playing semi-pro ball instead.
Charlie Hautz, first baseman for the 1884 Pittsburgh Alleghenys. He made his Major League debut in 1875 while playing in the National Association. That is the first recognized Major League from 1871-75, and a league that helped pave the way for the National League in 1876. Hautz played first base for the St Louis Red Stockings, a team that existed for all of 19 games, and they won just four of those games. He batted .301, etching his name into the baseball record books as the franchise’s all-time leader in hitting. He had five runs, three doubles, four RBIs, five steals and no walks. The next and only other time he played in the majors was late in the season for the 1884 Alleghenys. In mid-August, new manager Horace Phillips made wholesale changes to a team that was playing very poorly. He sent three players on their way and added four players of his own at the same time, including Hautz, who stepped right into the lineup at first base.
Hautz is credited with hitting .208 in seven games with three walks and no runs scored during his stint in Pittsburgh. However, he played a total of nine games and the final two contests seem to be missing, with a slight asterisk. Hautz debuted with Pittsburgh on August 15th in a 5-3 win over Baltimore, and he had an 0-for-4 day. That game somehow got erased from team history, even though his stats still remain from that debut. That’s based on his .208 average coming from his first seven games, and it doesn’t work with either of his final two games included, or any other combo of seven games. It was his only 0-for-4 game, so his current stats don’t work without that game included. Hautz played the next day against New York, and he went 1-for-3 in the game. His third game on August 18th was a wild 1-0 game in which the opponents (New York Metropolitans) protested the game because the Alleghenys didn’t wait ten full days after Hautz and Tom Forster were released by their minor league team in Saginaw before they played, as per the rules of the day. The problem was that Saginaw folded, so the club no longer held their rights. They had no trouble with him playing the prior day when they won the game, so the protest didn’t work. Hautz was also knocked down in that third game by catcher Charlie Reipschlager, who was fined $25 due to the dirty play. Hautz played first base on August 18th, then he was in center field for the Alleghenys on August 22nd and 23rd, then didn’t play again until a string of four straight games at first base on September 1-4, with the last day being his final big league game. He went 1-for-4 with a double and handled all 11 plays in the field that day. His actual average with Pittsburgh works out to .219 (7-for-32). He actually scored a run in the first game he played, so he should be credited with one run for the Alleghenys.
Hautz was an above average player who jumped around the minors his entire career, and even turned down multiple offers to play in the National League throughout his playing career, which stretched from 1874 until 1887. His online stats don’t show any minor league experience, but he played for a few pro teams over the years, as well as semi-pro and amateur teams. His name was often spelled incorrectly in the papers, usually “Houtz”, making it a bit difficult to find information on him. Knowing that though, you can find a separate Baseball-Reference page for “Charlie Houtz”, with six years of minor league experience, and it matches up to his career. Those teams include the 1883-84 seasons with Grand Rapids of the Northwestern League, his time with Lincoln of the Western League in 1886 and Birmingham of the Southern League in 1887. He’s also listed with Indianapolis of the League Alliance in 1877 (first year of minor league ball) and Springfield of the International Association in 1878, which I was able to confirm was the same player (aka Charles Hautz). Prior to the start of the 1878 season, it was said that Hautz was being pursued by the Pittsburgh Allegheny of the International Association to be a pitcher/first baseman. During his pro career, he umpired a total of 29 games over three seasons, including three games in the National League in 1876, 15 NL games in 1879, and 11 games in the American Association in 1882. His only available minor league stats show a .216 average, 39 runs and seven doubles in 61 games for Grand Rapids in 1884, and two games with Birmingham in 1887, in which he went 1-for-7.
