One Pittsburgh Pirates trade of note and five former players born on this date.
The Trade
On this date in 1975, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded pitcher Wayne Simpson to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for outfielder Bill Robinson. Simpson, a 26-year-old starting pitcher, played four seasons in the majors (1970-73) prior to the trade, going a combined 29-19, 4.08 in 531.1 innings over 88 games, 79 as a starter. He was an All-Star as a 21-year-old rookie in 1970, going 14-3, 3.02 in 176 innings over 26 starts, After coming to the Pirates from the Kansas City Royals in a March 1974 trade, he spent the entire 1974 season at Triple-A, where he went 9-10, 3.32 in 160 innings. Robinson was 31 years old, coming off a 1974 season in which he hit .236/.280/.346 in 100 games, with 32 runs, 14 doubles, five homers and 29 RBIs. He hit .288 for the 1973 Phillies, with 62 runs, 32 doubles, 25 homers and 65 RBIs.
Robinson played eight seasons for the Pirates following the trade. He saw plenty of time at each of the four corner infield/outfield positions over the years. He hit .276 in 805 games with Pittsburgh, with 328 runs, 135 doubles, 109 homers and 412 RBIs. He hit .304 in 1977, with 26 homers and 104 RBIs. All three of those stats were career high numbers during his 16 seasons in the majors. Simpson pitched just seven games for the Phillies in 1975, then was sold to the California Angels prior to the 1976 season. After a full season in the minors, Simpson pitched 122 innings for the 1977 Angels, posting a 6-12, 5.83 record. That was his last season in the majors. Robinson was worth 7.5 WAR during his time in Pittsburgh, losing something off of his value due to below average defense (-3.6 dWAR in Pittsburgh). Simpson’s value was -0.8 over his two seasons after the deal.
The Players
Jung-Ho Kang, third baseman for the 2015-19 Pirates. Kang was a major international signing for the Pirates during the 2014-15 off-season. He was already an established star in Korea before joining Pittsburgh at 28 years old. Kang debuted in the Korean Baseball Organization in 2006 at 19 years old. He saw limited action during his first two seasons, batting .143 in 30 games total, with one double, one RBI and no walks. He went from the Hyundai Unicorns to the Woori Heroes in 2008, where he batted .271 in 116 games, with 36 runs, 18 doubles, eight homers, 47 RBIs and a .727 OPS. He hit .286 in 2009, with 73 runs, 33 doubles, 23 homers, 81 RBIs and an .858 OPS in 133 games. Woori changed to the Nexen Heroes in 2010. Kang batted .301 that year, with 60 runs, 30 doubles, 12 homers, 58 RBIs and an .848 OPS in 133 games. He put up a .754 OPS during the 2011 season, showing a drop in his power and walk rate. He batted .282 that season, with 53 runs, 33 extra-base hits, 63 RBIs and 43 walks in 123 games. His OPS dropped 94 points over the previous season, but he would turn things around in a big way in 2012, finally establishing himself as a star in his seventh season of pro ball. That year he batted .314 in 124 games with 77 runs scored, 32 doubles, 25 homers, 82 RBIs, 71 walks and 21 stolen bases. His .973 OPS that year was easily the best in his career up to that point, topping the .858 mark he put up three years earlier. However, that personal record would fall two years later. Kang hit .291 over 126 games in 2013, with 67 runs, 21 doubles, 22 homers, 96 RBIs, 15 steals and 68 walks. His .876 OPS that years pales in comparison to his 2014 numbers, which earned him his chance with the Pirates. That year he hit .357 in 117 games, with 103 runs, 36 doubles, 40 homers, 117 RBIs and 68 walks, while finishing up with a 1.198 OPS.
Kang was posted by his team from Korea in December of 2014. All 30 MLB teams had a chance to submit bids to negotiate a contract with him. The Pirates won with a $5,002,015 bid. He signed a four-year deal with the Pirates for $11M, which also came with an option for a fifth season. He hit .287 as a rookie in 2015, with 60 runs, 24 doubles, 15 homers, 58 RBIs and an .816 OPS in 126 games. A late season knee injury cost him the end of the 2015 season, plus the start of 2016. He finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting. He was a full-time shortstop in Korea, but the Pirates had him split the 2015 season evenly between shortstop and third base. He joined the Pirates in 2016 after hitting just .146/.246/.271 in 16 rehab games for Indianapolis of the Triple-A International League. He hit two homers in his first game of the season on May 6th. He hit .255 in 103 games for the Pirates that year, with 45 runs, 19 doubles, 21 homers, 62 RBIs and an .867 OPS. All of his time in the field was at third base in 2016. Kang would miss the entire 2017 season due to suspension for a drunken driving accident in Korea. He played winter ball in the Dominican during the 2017-18 off-season, which did not go well. He batted .143/.219/.202 in 24 games, with one homer and ten RBIs.
Kang finally returned to the majors at the end of the 2018 season for three games. He was scheduled to come back earlier, but a wrist injury and subsequent surgery limited him to just 16 minor league rehab games. He put up a .926 OPS during that rehab time, though nearly half of it was spent with Bradenton of the High-A Florida State League. Kang was with the Pirates for part of 2019. He hit ten homers in 65 games, but he had a .169 batting average, as well as a .222 OBP, due to drawing just 11 walks. He was released in early August, which was the end of his baseball career. He was handed a one-year suspension by the KBO in 2020 for his prior DUI’s (he had three), but he was eligible to return to the league in 2021. He did not play during the 2021-22 seasons. He batted .254 in his four seasons with the Pirates, with 120 runs, 50 doubles, 46 homers and 144 RBIs in 297 games.
Lastings Milledge, outfielder for the 2009-10 Pirates. He was a first round draft pick of the New York Mets in 2003, taken 12th overall out of Lakewood Ranch HS at 18 years old. He played just seven games during his draft year because he signed late, finishing the season with Kingsport of the short-season Appalachian League, where he had a .630 OPS in 31 plate appearances. Milledge split his 2004 season between Capital City of the Low-A South Atlantic League and St Lucie of the High-A Florida State League. He hit .315 in 87 games, with 72 runs, 28 doubles, 15 homers, 66 RBIs, 28 steals and a .927 OPS. His OPS was 231 points higher in Low-A. Baseball America rated him as the 11th best prospect in baseball going into the 2005 season. He split that season between St Lucie and Double-A Binghamton of the Eastern League, doing well at both levels. Milledge combined to hit .318 in 110 games, with 81 runs, 32 doubles, eight homers, 46 RBIs, 29 steals (he was caught 18 times) and an .837 OPS. He went to the Arizona Fall League after the season, where he hit .330/.402/.575, with 24 runs, 11 extra-base hits and 23 RBIs in 24 games. He was rated as the ninth best prospect in baseball going into the 2006 season. He split that year between Norfolk of the Triple-A International League and the majors, seeing three different stints with the Mets. He didn’t dominate Triple-A like he did the lower levels, but he still put up an .828 OPS in 84 games, finishing with a .277 average, 52 runs, 32 extra-base hits and 36 RBIs. Milledge batted .241 for the 2006 Mets, with 14 runs, seven doubles, four homers, 22 RBIs, one steal and a .689 OPS in 56 games.
Milledge was injured for half of the 2007 season, which limited him to 59 games with the Mets and 11 rehab games in the minors. He hit .272/.342/.446 in his limited big league time, with 27 runs, nine doubles, seven homers and 29 RBIs. His .787 OPS was the highest of his big league career. New York traded him to the Washington Nationals for two players after the 2007 season. One of those players was Ryan Church, who would end up on the Pirates with Milledge in 2010. Milledge played his first full season in the majors in 2008, hitting .268 that year, with 65 runs, 24 doubles, 14 homers, 61 RBIs, 24 stolen bases and a .731 OPS in 138 games. He was sent to the minors early in the 2009 season after a poor start. The Pirates acquired him, along with Joel Hanrahan, in exchange for Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett on June 30, 2009. Before joining the Pirates that year, Milledge hit .167/.231/.167 in seven games, with ten strikeouts and some major defensive miscues. He was hitting .253/.277/.317 in 22 games with Syracuse of the International League before the trade. He missed seven weeks of the season due to a broken finger. He batted .291 in 58 games for the 2009 Pirates, with 20 runs, 11 doubles, four homers and 20 RBIs. He hit .277 over 113 games in 2010, with 38 runs, 21 doubles, 34 RBIs and a .712 OPS. The Pirates decided to move on at that point. He was granted free agency after the season, then signed with the Chicago White Sox. He played winter ball that off-season, putting up a .764 OPS over 36 games in Venezuela.
Milledge played two games for the White Sox during the 2011 season, which ended up being his final big league games. He spent the rest of the 2011 season with Charlotte of the International League, where he hit .295 in 123 games, with 61 runs, 23 doubles, 12 homers, 47 RBIs 27 steals and an .805 OPS. Milledge signed to play in Japan for the 2012 season, then remained there for four seasons total. He batted .300 for Yakult in 2012, with 73 runs, 23 doubles, 21 homers, 65 RBIs and an .865 OPS in 125 games. His stats dropped during each of the following seasons and he played some minor league ball in Japan during the 2014-15 seasons. Milledge hit .251 over 96 games in 2013, with 56 runs, 21 doubles, 16 homers, 49 RBIs and a .764 OPS. He combined to hit .222/.310/.306 over 19 games in 2014, missing much of the year due to a shoulder injury. He was out of action early in 2015, finishing up the year with a .220 average over 66 games, with 19 runs, eight doubles, four homers, 32 RBIs and a .639 OPS He played winter ball in Mexico in 2016, though he was done after going 3-for-21 with three singles and no walks. He then finished his pro career in 2017 with Lancaster of the independent Atlantic League, where he had a .270 average and a .675 OPS in 85 games. He was a .269 hitter over six big league seasons, with 166 runs, 73 doubles, 33 homers, 167 RBIs and 40 steals in 433 games.
Rennie Stennett, second baseman for the 1971-79 Pirates. The Pirates signed him as an international amateur free agent out of Panama at 17 years old in February of 1969. It took just two seasons for him to have an impact in the majors at 20 years old. Stennett debuted with Gastonia of the Class-A Western Carolinas League in 1969, where he hit .288 in 107 games, with 51 runs, 17 doubles, 49 RBIs, nine steals and a .709 OPS. He moved up to Salem of the Carolina League (considered to be Advanced-A, but still Class-A) in 1970, where he hit .326 in 131 games, with 65 runs, 20 doubles, nine triples, five homers, 50 RBIs and a .782 OPS. He stole nine bases again, but it was a much different year than what he did in 1969, when he was caught stealing just once. He went 9-for-20 in steals with Salem. The Pirates gave him one game at Triple-A with Columbus of the International League at the end of the season. He responded with two hits, one run, one double and one stolen base. Stennett remained in Triple-A in 1971 without any Double-A experience, and it proved to be a smart move by the Pirates. He had a big year with Charleston of the International League (new Pirates affiliate for 1971), batting .344 in 80 games, with 61 runs, 30 extra-base hits, 39 RBIs and an .881 OPS, before joining the Pirates in early July. He hit .353 during that first big league season, with 24 runs, ten extra-base hits, 15 RBIs and an .834 OPS in 50 games, including 33 starts at second base. The Pirates went on to win the World Series, but he didn’t play in any postseason games.
Stennett saw time at shortstop, second base and all three outfield spots in 1972. He hit .286 in 109 games, though it came with a .683 OPS due to minimal power (22 extra-base hits) and a very low walk rate (nine walks in 381 plate appearances). He finished the year with 43 runs, 30 RBIs and four steals. He matched his season average in the playoffs against the Cincinnati Reds, putting up a .286/.318/.286 slash line. The 1973 season saw Stennett mostly playing middle field, while seeing just five games in the outfield. He played 84 games at second base and 43 at shortstop. He struggled at the plate, hitting .242 in 128 games, with only 16 walks in 491 plate appearances. He had 45 runs, 18 doubles, 55 RBIs, a .623 OPS and a career high ten homers. Stennett had a strong season in 1974 as the Pirates everyday second baseman. He hit .291 in 157 games, with 84 runs scored, 196 hits, 29 doubles, seven homers, 56 RBIs and a .697 OPS. However, he hit .063/.118/.063 in the four-game National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He finished 21st in the MVP voting that year, one of two years he received mild MVP support. The 1975 season was much like the prior year. He hit .286 in 148 games, with 25 doubles, seven triples, seven homers, and careeer highs of 62 RBIs and 89 runs scored, helping the Pirates to the playoffs again. He went 3-for-14, with three singles and no runs or RBIs that year in the postseason against the Cincinnati Reds. On September 16, 1975, the Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 22-0 at Wrigley Field. Stennett went 7-for-7 at the plate, with five runs scored, tying Hall of Famer Wilbert Robinson’s record for seven hits in a nine-inning game. The pair still hold the record, which will likely never be broken.
Stennett batted .257 over 157 games in 1976, with 59 runs, 60 RBIs, and career highs of 31 doubles and nine triples. He also stole 18 bases in 24 attempts. However, his low walk rate led to a .277 OPS, which resulted in a .613 OPS for the season. He finished second to teammate Dave Parker in the 1977 National League batting race, hitting .336, while also adding 28 stolen bases. It was the only full season of his career that he batted over .300. His .806 OPS that year was easily the best of his career over a full season, topping the .707 mark he had two years earlier. Unfortunately for Stennett, he suffered a major leg/ankle injury on a slide in late August, and the injury affected him for the rest of his career. He failed to reach a .250 batting average during each of his four big league seasons following the injury. He batted .243 over 106 games in 1978, with 30 runs, 14 extra-base hits, 35 RBIs and two steals. His .584 OPS was the lowest of his career up to that point, though he failed to reach a .600 OPS in any of his final four seasons. The Pirates won the World Series in 1979. Stennett saw semi-regular action that year, playing 108 games, which included 84 starts at second base. He batted .238/.289/.292 in 348 plate appearances, with 31 runs, 15 extra-base hits and 24 RBIs. He played just two postseason games, and he singled in his only at-bat.
Stennett became a free agent following the 1979 World Series. He signed with the San Francisco Giants, where he finished his big league career two seasons later. That was despite signing a five-year deal worth $3.2 M. He saw regular starts at second base in 1980, posting a .244 average and a .588 OPS in 120 games, while finishing with 34 runs, 17 extra-base hits and 37 RBIs. He played just 38 games during the strike-shortened 1981 season, hitting .230/.264/.264 in 92 plate appearances, with one extra-base hit (a homer) and three walks. He fell out of favor with manager Frank Robinson, then sat on the bench for the last 38 games of the season. The Giants ended up buying out his remaining three years in 1982, settling the deal for a one-time payment of $1 M. He hit just .117 in Spring Training in 1982, but he got a tryout with the Pirates in early April. They got him into some Spring Training games before deciding not to sign him. He hit .278 over nine season while with the Pirates, finishing with 458 runs, 1,122 hits, 164 doubles, 39 triples, 38 homers, 388 RBIs and 69 steals in 1,079 games. He led all National League second basemen in putouts in 1974 and 1976. His 2.9 dWAR in 1975 was the best for all National League players. Stennett played over 100 games in eight straight seasons with the Pirates. He remained in pro ball through the end of 1983. He spent the 1982 season in Mexico, where he had a .326 average and an .834 OPS in 24 games for Reynosa. He finished up his career in Triple-A for the Montreal Expos in 1983, hitting .309/.341/394 in 55 games for Wichita of the American Association.
Wid Conroy, shortstop for the 1902 Pirates. He played five seasons in the minors before making his Major League debut with the 1901 Milwaukee Brewers (current day Orioles). Conroy debuted at 19 years old in 1896 with Carlisle of the Cumberland Valley League, where he’s credited with four singles and five runs scored seven games played (stats are very limited). The 1897 season saw him play for two teams, including 36 games with Paterson of the Class-B Atlantic League, which was the last minor league team/season for Honus Wagner. Conroy had a .229 average, 13 runs and five extra-base hits for Paterson, where he also played for part of the 1898 season. He had an interesting split each of the 1897-98 seasons, playing for a Class-B team (Paterson) and two different Class-F clubs during that time, four levels lower in the minors. He played with Milton of the Central Pennsylvania League in 1897, then New London of the Connecticut State League in 1898. Conroy played for Cortland of the Class-C New York State League in 1899, where he had a .261 average, with 77 runs, 13 doubles, three triples and 38 steals in 95 games. He was with Milwaukee of the American League in 1900, though the league existed as a Class-A minor league for just that one year. He hit .234 in 116 games, with 58 runs, 17 doubles, five triples, one homer and 42 steals. The American League became a Major League in 1901, and Conroy stayed with the Milwaukee team. He hit .264 that year, with 74 runs, 31 extra-base hits, 64 RBIs, 21 stolen bases and a .666 OPS in 131 games, while serving as the team’s everyday shortstop.
Conroy jumped his contract at the end of the season to sign with the Pirates for 1902. That was something that happened often during the early years of the American League, with players going both ways. He was playing shortstop for the 1902 Pirates before it became Honus Wagner’s full-time position. Conroy hit .244 in 99 games, with 55 runs, 17 extra-base hits, 47 RBIs and a .612 OPS, helping the Pirates to their best winning percentage ever (.741). He played strong defense, finishing third in fielding percentage among National League shortstops. His 1.6 defensive WAR ranked as the fourth best mark in the National League (for all positions) that season. Conroy got into a fight with Hall of Famer Joe Tinker from the Chicago Cubs during a game on June 23rd, which resulted in a 20-game suspension for the Pirates shortstop. It reportedly started because Conroy held Tinker’s jersey while he was at second base, which didn’t allow him to advance on the bases. When they later met at second base again in that game, they started throwing punches.
As soon as the 1902 season ended, Conroy jumped from the Pirates back to the American League to join the New York Highlanders. There were reports in season in 1902 that he took advanced money to sign a 1903 contract, then tried to get out of it in October. Catcher Harry Smith and 3B/CF Tommy Leach were also involved in the same package deal, but only Conroy ended up going to the American League in 1903. Conroy actually took advanced money from the Pirates as well, and was forced to return it before he could suit up for the Highlanders. He batted .272/.322/.372 in 126 games during that first season with New York, setting/tying career highs with 74 runs scored, 23 doubles and 12 triples. He also stole 33 bases and drove in 45 runs. Conroy hit .243 over 140 games in 1904, with 58 runs, 18 doubles, 12 triples, 52 RBIs, 30 steals and a .649 OPS. He assumed a utility role in 1905, when he had his best season at the plate, topping the .700 mark for OPS for the only time. He played seven different positions that year, though he only played 101 games total. He finished with a .273 average, 55 runs, 19 doubles, 11 triples, 25 RBIs, 25 steals and a .723 OPS. Conroy hit .245 in 1906, while playing a career high of 148 games. He had 67 runs, 17 doubles, ten triples, 54 RBIs, 32 steals, and a career high 47 walks, helping him to a .635 OPS. That was followed by a .234 average over 140 games in 1907, when he finished with 58 runs, 12 doubles, 11 triples, 51 RBIs, a .594 OPS and a career high 41 steals. That season was his last of five straight years with double-digit totals in triples.
Conroy hit .237 over 141 games in 1908, with 44 runs, 22 doubles, 39 RBIs, 23 steals and a .554 OPS. He was sold to the Washington Senators in February of 1909, where he spent his final three seasons in the majors. He hit .244 over 139 games in 1909, with 44 runs, 18 extra-base hits, 20 RBIs, 24 steals and a .594 OPS. He was their starting third baseman that year, but he also saw time at four other spots. He split his time during the 1910-11 season between third base and left field each year. Conroy played 103 games in 1910, hitting for a .254 average, with 36 runs, 15 extra-base hits, 27 RBIs, 11 steals and a .625 OPS. He hit .232 over 106 games in 1911, with 40 runs, 17 extra-base hits, 28 RBIs, 12 steals and a .585 OPS. He ended up stealing at least ten bases in all 11 of his big league seasons. Conroy finished with a .248 career average, to go along with 605 runs scored, 176 doubles, 82 triples, 22 homers, 452 RBIs and 262 stolen bases in 1,374 games. He saw starts at every position except catcher and pitcher during his career, with a majority of his work coming at third base.
After Conroy’s big league career ended, he played another six seasons in the minors, retiring at age 40 after the 1917 season. His last five years were spent as a player/manager, including three seasons with Elmira of the Class-B New York State League. He spent the 1912-13 seasons with Rochester of the Double-A International League, which was the highest level of the minors at the time. Conroy hit .279 over 154 games in 1912, with 27 doubles, eight triples and six homers. He had a .273 average over 112 games in 1913, with 57 runs, 27 extra-base hits (21 doubles), 11 steals, 54 walks and a .739 OPS. He joined Elmira on September 6, 1913, taking over the team at the end of the season. There are no stats available from that year in Elmira, but he was playing left field in his debut. Conroy batted .248 over 131 games in 1914, with 62 runs and 51 walks (stats are very limited for his time in Elmira due to the lower level of the league). He had a .262 average over 122 games in 1915, then followed that up with a .249 average over 121 games in 1916. His final season of pro ball in 1917 was spent with Richmond of the American Association, where he had a .247 average over 60 games, with four extra-base hits. His pro stats are missing a few of the earlier stats in the minors, but Conroy played over 2,300 games in pro ball, and he had over 2,100 hits. His actual first name was William. The “Wid” nickname was apparently short for Widow, which he earned at a young age before his pro days. According to his SABR bio, he had what was described as a motherly interest in the younger kids in his neighborhood.
Chuck Lauer, outfielder/catcher for the Alleghenys in 1884 and 1889. A local kid from Pittsburgh, he opened up his pro career in 1883 playing for a minor league team called the Pittsburgh Liberty Stars, from the Western Interstate League (no stats available). Lauer started playing for the Alleghenys during July of 1884 as an outfielder at 19 years old. However, he was technically with the team earlier. Back in 1884, the American Association had their form of minor league teams called the Reserves. The Alleghenys split into two teams after Spring Training, with the Reserves remaining in town, where they played exhibition games against amateur, minor league and other Reserve teams from the American Association. Lauer was with that Reserves team, working mainly as a pitcher. It’s interesting to note that his big league career almost didn’t happen, as in February of 1884, he said that he decided not to play baseball that year. The Reserves idea was nixed after two months because the teams were losing money due to small crowds at their games. Lauer remained with Pittsburgh, and the local media even suggested that he could help the struggling team as a pitcher in late June, but he didn’t debut until a month later as a catcher. He was released on August 7th, though ended up returning to the team at the end of the season. With his team near the bottom of the American Association standings, Lauer took the mound three times in early October. He allowed 25 runs in 19 innings, picking up two losses and a tie. He hit just .114/.114/.114 in 13 games, going 5-for-44, with five singles for the Alleghenys.
Five years after his big league debut, Lauer reappeared in the majors with the Alleghenys (then in the National League). He lasted just four games during his second stint with the team. He hit .188/.188/.188, with five strikeouts and five errors in his three games behind the plate. On May 7th, the Alleghenys’ owner/president William Nimick denied rumors that Lauer would be released soon, saying that he had potential as a catcher and his low salary (along with the low salaries of Jocko Fields and William Garfield) made it possible to carry extra players. At the time, “extra” meant that they had 16 active players. Lauer’s salary for 1889 was said to be $1,700, and it included a large amount of advanced salary when he signed with the team on October 31, 1888. The Alleghenys signed him based on strong reports from the Tri-State League, which included his ability to throw out runners. However, Pittsburgh only signed him after they couldn’t secure a deal with veteran catcher Charles Ganzel. Despite playing only four games, he remained with the team until being unconditionally released on August 17th. His only other experience in the majors was with the 1890 Chicago Colts (Cubs), and even then he lasted only two games. Cap Anson came to Pittsburgh to sign Lauer on December 3, 1889, going down to his job at the stockyards in East Liberty to find him. He went 2-for-8, with a double and two RBIs during his third brief stint in the majors.
Lauer played pro ball until 1892, playing for ten different teams (minors and majors) over his nine seasons. In between his appearances with the Alleghenys, he played ten games for Cleveland of the Western League in 1885, where he had a .125 average in 40 at-bats, with a double and a triple. He played two years for the Zanesville Kickapoos (1887-88) and two years for the Evansville Hoosiers (1890-91), but neither team was in the same league both years. Lauer played semi-pro ball in 1886 for a team in Steubenville. He was in the Ohio State League with Zanesville in 1887, where he hit .327 in 52 games, with 37 runs, 16 doubles, seven homers and three steals. His stats are unavailable from his time in the Tri-State League during the 1888 season. Besides his time with the Alleghenys in 1889, he also played briefly for Davenport of the Central Interstate League, hitting .200 over nine games, with six runs and three doubles. Evansville was in the Central Interstate League in 1890. Lauer batted .246 over 69 games that year, with 48 runs, 12 doubles, seven triples, five homers and 13 steals. His 1891 stats are unavailable, when Evansville was in the Northwestern League. He went out west to finish his career, playing for teams in Montana and Washington during his final season. He hit .203 in 70 games for Tacoma of the Class-B Pacific Northwest League in 1892, with 35 runs, 17 doubles, two triples, a homer and 12 steals. His stats with Missoula of the Class-B Montana State League from that year are unavailable.
Editor’s Note: Bill Gray, a third baseman from the 1898 team, had an April 5th birthday until recent research corrected that to April 15th. He will be covered that day.
