Six former Pirates born on this date, plus two games of note.
Jason Bay, left fielder for the 2003-08 Pirates. He was the first Rookie of the Year in team history (2004), and he remains the only one to this day. He had an .890 OPS over 719 games in Pittsburgh, which ranks as the seventh best in team history. Bay was an All-Star for the Pirates during the 2005-06 seasons. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 22nd round of the 2000 draft out of Gonzaga. He debuted that season with Vermont in the short-season New York-Penn League, where he hit .304 over 35 games, with 17 runs, five doubles, two homers, 12 RBIs, 17 steals and a .743 OPS. The next year was split between 87 games with Clinton of the Low-A Midwest League, and 38 games with Jupiter of the High-A Florida State League. He combined to hit .315 over 125 games, with 79 runs, 24 doubles, 14 homers, 71 RBIs, 25 steals, 66 walks and an .896 OPS. He was traded to the New York Mets late in Spring Training of 2002. His stay there lasted four months before being included in a five-player trade with the San Diego Padres. Bay played 69 games with St Lucie of the Florida State League in 2002, followed by 57 games at Double-A that were split between Binghamton of the Eastern League and Mobile of the Southern League. He combined to hit .283 over 126 games, with 81 runs, 21 doubles, 17 homers, 85 RBIs, 39 steals, 62 walks and an .846 OPS.
The Pirates acquired Bay from the Padres in late August of 2003, as one of three players they received in the Brian Giles deal. Prior to joining the Pirates, Bay had played 91 games for Portland of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. He also went 2-for-8 in three big league games, with a double, homer and a walk. He had a .303 average, 64 runs, 11 doubles, 20 homers, 59 RBIs and a .951 OPS for Portland that season. He briefly played for Nashville of the Pacific Coast League for the Pirates, then joined the big league squad for 27 games to finish out the 2003 season. He hit .291 for the Pirates, with 13 runs, six doubles, three homers, 12 RBIs, 18 walks and a .929 OPS. He batted .282 as a rookie in 2004, with 61 runs, 24 doubles, 26 homers, 82 RBIs and a .908 OPS, leading him to his Rookie of the Year award. He actually missed the entire first month due to an off-season surgery. Bay played all 162 games in 2005, when he put up a .306 average, to go along with 110 runs scored, 44 doubles, 32 homers, 101 RBIs, a .961 OPS and 21 steals in 22 attempts. That performance led to his first of back-to-back All-Star game appearances. He was just as good in 2006, batting .286 over 159 games, with 101 runs, 29 doubles, 35 homers, 109 RBIs, 102 walks and a .928 OPS. Bay slumped in 2007, batting .247 over 145 games, with 78 runs, 25 doubles, 21 homers, 84 RBIs and a .746 OPS. He posted a -0.3 WAR during the season. He had knee surgery after the 2006 season, which seemed to affect him for most of that year. He attempted just five stolen bases that season.
Bay was part of the six-player deal between the Pirates, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers in July of 2008. He was the only piece given up by the Pirates, who received four players in the deal. At the time of the trade, he was hitting .282 over 106 games, with 72 runs, 23 doubles, 22 homers, 64 RBIs and an .894 OPS. Bay had one full year (and two months of 2008) left before free agency after the trade, and he did well on his remaining deal with Boston. He hit .293 for the 2008 Red Sox, with 39 runs, 21 extra-base hits, 37 RBIs and an .897 OPS in 49 games. He then hit three homers and drove in nine runs over 11 postseason games. He hit .267 during the 2009 season, with career highs of 36 homers and 119 RBIs, to go along with 103 runs, 29 doubles, 94 walks and a .921 OPS. He finished seventh in the American League MVP voting that year. He also made the All-Star team and won the Silver Slugger award for the only time in his career. He signed a free agent deal with the New York Mets for 2010, but injuries limited his production over his remaining big league career. Bay batted .259 over 95 games in 2010, with 48 runs, 32 extra-base hits, 47 RBIs and a .749 OPS. He followed that up with a .245 average, 59 runs, 19 doubles, 12 homers, 57 RBIs, 56 walks and a .703 OPS over 123 games in 2011. He really struggled in his final season in New York, batting .165/.237/.299 over 70 games, with 21 runs, two doubles, eight homers and 20 RBIs. Bay didn’t run a lot in New York, but he managed to go 26-for-28 in steals with the Mets. He finished his career with the Seattle Mariners in 2013, where he hit .204 over 68 games, with 30 runs, six doubles, 11 homers, 20 RBIs and a .691 OPS. He was a career .266 hitter in 1,278 games, with 737 runs, 240 doubles, 222 homers, 754 RBIs and an .841 OPS. He stole 95 bases in 112 attempts. He hit .281 in 719 games for the Pirates, with 435 runs, 151 doubles, 139 homers and 452 RBIs.
Steve Lombardozzi, pinch-hitter for the 2015 Pirates. He was a 19th round pick of the Washington Nationals out of St Petersburg College in 2008, who made it to the majors just three years later at 22 years old. Lombardozzi played his first season in the rookie level Gulf Coast League, where his .693 OPS in 48 games was a product of a .283 average and a high walk rate. He had 23 runs, 24 RBIs and 21 walks. He showed no power, finishing with five extra-base hits and no homers in 152 at-bats. He jumped up to Hagerstown of the Low-A South Atlantic League in 2009, where he hit .296 over 128 games, with 90 runs, 36 extra-base hits, 58 RBIs, 62 walks, 16 steals and a .771 OPS. The 2010 season was mostly spent at Potomac of the High-A Carolina League, though he also played 27 games in Double-A Harrisburg of the Eastern League, where he had better results. Lombardozzi combined to hit .294 over 137 games, with 90 runs, 52 extra-base hits (35 doubles, 11 triples), 49 RBIs, 61 walks, 24 steals and an .802 OPS. He was sent to the Arizona Fall League after the 2010 season, where he hit .293/.385/.439 in 21 games. He had an .820 OPS in 65 games with Harrisburg in 2011, followed by a .762 OPS in 69 games at Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. He actually hit one point higher at Triple-A (.310 vs .309), but showed more power at the lower level. His combined stats show a .309 average in 134 games, with 86 runs, 42 extra-base hits, 52 RBIs, 30 steals and a .790 OPS. His 2011 season ended with a .194/.219/.226 slash line over 32 plate appearances in 13 September games with the Nationals.
Lombardozzi was a regular for the Nationals in 2012-13, starting with a .273 average, 40 runs, 16 doubles, three homers, 27 RBIs and a .671 OPS over 126 games during the 2012 season. That was followed by a .259 average, 25 runs, 15 doubles, 22 RBIs and a .616 OPS over 118 games in 2013. He saw most of his time at second base during those seasons, but he also played left field and third base both years. Lombardozzi was traded to the Detroit Tigers after the 2013 season, though he ended up with the Baltimore Orioles prior to the start of 2014. He batted .288/.297/.329 in 74 plate appearances over 20 games for the 2014 Orioles, with six runs, two extra-base hits and two RBIs. The rest of the season was spent with Norfolk of the International League, where he had a .270 average, 26 runs, ten extra-base hits, 30 RBIs and a .618 OPS in 78 games. The Pirates purchased his contract just before Spring Training in 2015, then he spent most of the year with Indianapolis of the International League. He .282 in 97 games for Indianapolis, with 30 runs, 15 extra-base hits (all doubles), 37 RBIs, 14 steals and a .671 OPS. Lombardozzi played 12 games for the 2015 Pirates, getting into 11 games as a pinch-hitter and one as a pinch-runner. He went 0-for-10 with a walk and a run scored.
Lombardozzi was released by the Pirates after the 2015 season. From 2016-19, he played with three different organizations, two independent teams, plus had a stint in winter ball during the 2015-16 season that lasted just three games in the Dominican. His only big league experience during that four-year stint was two games for the 2017 Miami Marlins. He returned to the Washington organization during the 2016 season, though a stretch of the year was spent with the independent Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League, where he had a .368/.401/.428 slash line in 40 games. He also hit .253/.299/.293 over 62 games for Syracuse that year. He went 0-for-8 in his two early season games with the 2017 Marlins. He spent the rest of the year with New Orleans of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, where he hit .274 over 103 games, with 53 runs, 20 extra-base hits, 18 RBIs and a .676 OPS. Lombardozzi was with the Oakland A’s organization, playing at Nashville of the Pacific Coast League for the 2018 season. He hit .243 over 120 games, with 67 runs, 19 extra-base hits, 42 RBIs, 51 walks and a .624 OPS. He played independent ball with Long Island of the Atlantic League in 2019 and 2021. He hit .262/.346/.346 over 72 games during the 2019 season. He then played 11 games of winter ball in Mexico during the 2019-20 off-season. He didn’t play in 2020, then had a huge 2021 season with Long Island. He hit .329 over 119 games, with 99 runs, 24 doubles, 16 homers, 83 RBIs, 20 steals, 90 walks and a .948 OPS. Lombardozzi spent 2022 with Kane County of the independent American Association, which was his last pro experience. He hit .301/.359/.405 over 38 games. His big league stats show a .260 average in 291 games, with 75 runs, 33 doubles, five homers and 52 RBIs. His father, also named Steve Lombardozzi, played six seasons in the majors.
Randy Kramer, pitcher for the 1988-90 Pirates. He was drafted three times before he signed with the Texas Rangers as a first round pick (tenth overall) in June of 1982 out of San Jose City College. The San Diego Padres took him during the 26th round out of high school in 1978. The Houston Astros selected him during the second round of the January draft in 1982. Kramer pitched just two games in relief during his first season, spending that brief time in the rookie level Gulf Coast League. He then spent 1983 playing with Burlington in the Class-A Midwest League, where he had a 6-8, 5.16 record in 26 starts, with 113 strikeouts and a 1.68 WHIP over 132.2 innings. He struggled with Salem of the Class-A Carolina League during the 1984 season, so once the short-season teams started in June, he was demoted to Tri-Cities of the Northwest League. He combined to go 7-14, 6.90 in 137 innings that season, with 109 strikeouts and a 1.74 WHIP. He had a 9.85 ERA in 53 innings at Salem. Kramer was back with Salem for the 1985 season. He did poorly that year, but the Rangers stuck with him. He went 7-11, 6.71 in 115.1 innings over 24 starts and one relief outing, with 77 walks, 86 strikeouts and a 1.91 WHIP. He switched to relief in 1986, then pitched 25 games in the Carolina League (split between Salem and Kinston), where he posted a 4.78 ERA, a 1.64 WHIP and 38 strikeouts in 43.1 innings. He also pitched 26 games with Tulsa of the Double-A Texas League that year, where he had a 5.08 ERA, 32 strikeouts and a 1.51 WHIP in 39 innings. Two years before making his big league debut, he was traded to the Pirates in late 1986 for pitcher Jeff Zaske.
Kramer spent the 1987 season struggling in both Harrisburg of the Double-A Eastern League and Vancouver of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. He combined for a 6.28 ERA, 59 strikeouts and a 1.87 WHIP in 67.1 innings over 37 appearances (five starts), with an ERA over 6.00 in both spots. After pitching poorly for four years in a row, he had an incredible turnaround in 1988. He went 10-8, 3.18 that year in 198.1 innings over 28 starts with Triple-A Buffalo of the American Association. He had 120 strikeouts and a 1.06 WHIP. Kramer would debut in the majors in September of 1988, making one start and four relief appearances. He had a 5.40 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP in ten innings with the Pirates. He started 1989 off strong in Buffalo, going 1-0, 1.26 in 14.1 innings, then was called up for the duration of the big league season in late April. He made 15 starts and 20 relief appearances for the 1989 Pirates, going 5-9, 3.96 in 111.1 innings, with two saves, 61 walks, 52 strikeouts and a 1.36 WHIP. He went 0-1, 4.91 in 25.2 innings for the 1990 Pirates, making two starts and ten relief appearances, while seeing most of his big league time in May. He had a 2.57 ERA, 58 strikeouts and a 1.19 WHIP in 73.2 innings with Buffalo that year. Kramer was traded to the Chicago Cubs late in the 1990 season for minor league pitcher Greg Kallevig, who never played another game after the deal. Kramer played ten games for the 1990 Cubs, posting a 3.98 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP in 20.1 innings.
Kramer was released by the Cubs in December of 1990. He spent all of 1991 in Triple-A, seeing time with the Atlanta Braves (Richmond of the International League) and Seattle Mariners (Calgary of the Pacific Coast League). He combined to go 7-7, 4.35 in 130.1 innings that year, with 50 strikeouts and a 1.50 WHIP. He capped off his big league career with four June starts for the 1992 Mariners, finishing that brief time with a 7.71 ERA and a 2.27 WHIP in 16.1 innings. The rest of the year was spent back with Calgary, where he went 1-4, 6.05 in 64 innings, with a 30/30 BB:SO ratio and a 1.83 WHIP. He spent 1993 at Edmonton of the Pacific Coast League for the Florida Marlins, going 5-4, 5.52 in 62 innings, with 44 strikeouts and a 1.61 WHIP. He saw brief time at Ottawa of the International League for the Montreal Expos in 1994, before spending part of that final season of pro ball in China. He allowed 21 runs over 14.1 innings with Ottawa, followed by seven runs over seven innings in China, where he had eight walks and one strikeout. He had 18 starts and 34 relief appearances over his three seasons in Pittsburgh, going 6-12, 4.22 in 147 innings, with 74 strikeouts and a 1.36 WHIP.
Dennis Ribant, pitcher for the 1967 Pirates. He was signed by the Milwaukee Braves at 19 years old in 1961. His first season of pro ball was outstanding, with an impressive 17-2, 1.86 record during part of the year with Davenport of the Class-D Midwest League. He also posted a 4-2, 1.17 record in 54 innings with Austin of the Double-A Texas League. He had an 0.96 WHIP and 201 strikeouts over 209 innings between both stops. Ribant spent part of 1962 back in Austin, as well as playing briefly for Louisville of the Triple-A American Association. He combined to go 11-12, 5.04 in 168 innings, with 118 strikeouts and a 1.42 WHIP. He played for two different Triple-A teams in 1963, spending most of the season with Denver of the Pacific Coast League, while pitching 15 innings for Toronto of the International League as well. He went 15-10, 5.07 in 181 innings between both stops, with 121 strikeouts and a 1.39 WHIP. Ribant played in Denver in 1964 until an early August trade sent him to the New York Mets. At the time of the deal, he had an 8-2, 3.53 record in 120 innings, with 114 strikeouts and a 1.27 WHIP. He went right to the majors after the trade, where he went 1-5, 5.15 in 57.2 innings, with 35 strikeouts and a 1.28 WHIP over his seven starts and seven relief appearances. He split the 1965 season between Buffalo of the International League and the Mets. He had a 3.82 ERA, 13 strikeouts and an 0.99 WHIP in 35.1 innings over 19 appearances (one start) for the Mets. He had a 3-12, 3.88 record, 65 strikeouts and a 1.15 WHIP in 109 innings for Buffalo, while working mostly as a starter. Ribant spent the entire 1966 season in the majors, where he went 11-9, 3.20 in a career high 188.1 innings. He also set a high with 84 strikeouts, while finished with a solid 1.19 WHIP. He had 26 starts, 13 relief appearances, ten complete games, one shutout and three saves.
Ribant was acquired by the Pirates in a four-player deal from the New York Mets over the 1966-67 off-season. He made 22 starts and 16 relief appearances during his only season in Pittsburgh. He went 9-8, 4.08 in 172 innings that year, with 75 strikeouts and a 1.31 WHIP. The Pirates traded Ribant to the Detroit Tigers for veteran pitcher Dave Wickersham following the 1967 season. Ribant pitched for four different big league teams during the 1968-69 seasons, splitting 1968 between the Tigers and Chicago White Sox, followed by one game for the 1969 St Louis Cardinals and seven more games with the 1969 Cincinnati Reds. His 1968-69 seasons both had large splits. He had a 2.22 ERA in 24.1 innings with the Tigers, then that ERA shot up to 6.03 in 31.1 innings with the White Sox. His entire 1968 season was spent in the majors, finishing the year with a combined 2-4, 4.37 record, a 27:27 BB/SO ratio and a 1.60 WHIP in 55.2 innings, while making 31 relief appearances. He allowed two runs in 1.1 innings with the 1969 Cardinals, then gave up just one run with the Reds in 8.1 innings. He played in Triple-A for both the Reds (Indianapolis of the American Association) and Cardinals (Tulsa of the American Association) in 1969, making a total of 26 minor league appearances. He had a 10-7 record over 141 innings, while compiling 67 strikeouts.
Ribant would be reacquired by the Pirates from the Reds for pitcher Bo Belinsky prior to the 1970 season, but he never played in the majors after 1969. He spent his final four seasons in Triple-A before retiring. He pitched for Columbus of the International League in 1970, going 14-9, 3.81 in 189 innings over 26 starts and a relief appearance, finishing the year with 102 strikeouts and a 1.29 WHIP. The Pirates traded Ribant to Hawaii of the Pacific Coast League on December 5, 1970, in exchange for two minor league players. He went 15-7, 3.58 in 224 innings for Hawaii during the 1971 season, with 132 strikeouts and a 1.18 WHIP. That was followed by an 8-9, 5.02 record over 172 innings with Hawaii in 1972, when he had 117 strikeouts and a 1.42 WHIP. He finished his pro career with Eugene of the Pacific Coast League in 1973, where he posted a 7.36 ERA, 16 strikeouts and a 1.86 WHIP in 22 innings. In his six years in the majors, he went 24-29, 3.87 in 518.2 innings over 56 starts and 93 relief appearances. He finished with 241 strikeouts, a 1.28 WHIP, 13 complete games, two shutouts and nine saves. He passed away earlier this year at 81 years old.
Vic Lombardi, pitched for the Pirates from 1948 until 1950. He debuted in pro ball in 1941 at 18 years old, spending most of the year with the Johnstown Johnnies of the Class-D Pennsylvania State Association. He had a 12-3, 1.85 record in 136 innings with the Johnnies. He also saw brief time with Santa Barbara of the Class-C California League, where he had a 1-1 record over 14 innings. The 1942 season was split between Santa Barbara and Durham of the Class-B Piedmont League. He combined to post a 13-5, 2.79 record and a 1.32 WHIP in 168 innings, with better results at the higher level. Lombardi lost the 1943-44 seasons while serving during WWII, but when he went right to the majors when he returned to pro ball. He began his big league career with the 1945 Brooklyn Dodgers, going 10-11, 3.31 in 203.2 innings over 24 starts and 14 relief appearances, with 86 walks, 64 strikeouts and a 1.38 WHIP. He had nine complete games and four saves (not an official stat at the time). He followed that up with 13-10, 2.89 record in 1946, making 25 starts and 16 relief appearances. He had 84 walks, 60 strikeouts, three saves, 13 complete games, two shutouts and a 1.32 WHIP over 193 innings. The next year saw similar results in a little less work. Lombardi went 12-11, 2.99 in 174.2 innings over 20 starts and 13 relief appearances. He had a 1.27 WHIP, seven complete games, three shutouts and three saves. His 72 strikeouts that year were a career high, and that marked the only season in which he had more strikeouts than walks (65). After the 1947 season, he was traded to the Pirates in a six-player deal that turned out poorly for Pittsburgh when pitcher Preacher Roe became a star in Brooklyn.
Lombardi won ten games (with nine losses) during the 1948 season for the Pirates, but his ERA slipped to 3.70 in 163 innings. He had a 1.37 WHIP and 54 strikeouts. The Pirates used him similar to how he was worked in Brooklyn, seeing his share of starts and relief games. He made 17 starts and 21 relief performances in 1948, finishing the year with nine complete games and four saves. He then had 12 starts and 22 relief games for the 1949 Pirates, finishing that season with a 5-5, 4.57 record in 134 innings. He had 64 strikeouts, a 1.62 WHIP, four complete games and one save. Lombardi mostly pitched out of the bullpen in 1950, where he had an 0-5, 6.60 record in 76.1 innings over 39 games (two starts), with 48 walks, 26 strikeouts and a 1.85 WHIP. That ended up being his final season in the majors. The Pirates cut his $8,000 salary 25% prior to the 1951 season due to his poor performance. That was the maximum amount that teams were allowed to cut salaries one year to the next. He was a holdout during Spring Training, then got sent to Hollywood of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for the 1951 season. He went 10-11, 3.94 in 162 innings that year, with 82 strikeouts and a 1.46 WHIP. The Pirates sold his contract to Hollywood on September 27, 1951. Lombardi made 31 starts and 80 relief appearances during his three season in Pittsburgh, posting a 4.60 ERA over 373.1 innings. He finished his six-year career by going 50-51, 3.68 in 944.2 innings over 100 starts and 113 relief appearances, with 418 walks, 340 strikeouts and a 1.42 WHIP. He was small for a pitcher, standing in at 5’7″, 158 pounds.
Despite not pitching in the majors after 1950, Lombardi’s pro career was far from over. He pitched for another nine seasons, spending most of his time in the Pacific Coast League. After spending 1951 in Hollywood, he moved to Toronto of the Triple-A International League for the next three seasons. He went 10-8, 3.19 in 161 innings during the 1952 season, with 68 strikeouts and a 1.43 WHIP. The next year saw him go 11-8, 3.31 in 144 innings, with a 1.19 WHIP and 60 strikeouts. Lombardi had a 9-7, 4.29 record, 50 strikeouts and a 1.44 WHIP in 107 innings during the 1954 season. He played for Seattle of the Pacific Coast League in 1955, going 8-11, 3.61 over 182 innings, with 81 strikeouts and a 1.32 WHIP. The Pacific Coast League was classified as an Open league at that time, though it was still basically Triple-A. He split 157 innings in 1956 between Seattle and San Diego of the Pacific Coast League. His ERA isn’t available for that season, but he had a 9-10 record and 81 strikeouts. Lombardi went 6-6, 3.31 in 106 innings for San Diego during the 1958 season, with 61 strikeouts and a 1.25 WHIP. He had an 11-6 record and 71 strikeouts over 142 innings for San Diego and Portland of the Pacific Coast League in 1958. During his final season of pro ball in 1959, he went 4-4, 5.67 in 54 innings for Portland, with a 1.57 WHIP and 13 strikeouts.
Red Juelich, infielder for the 1939 Pirates. Despite being just 22 years old in 1939, he already had four seasons of minor league ball before joining the Pirates. He debuted in 1935 with Lincoln of the Class-D Nebraska State League at 18 years old. He was a shortstop during that first season, but a large majority of his pro time was spent at third base. He had a .282 average and 28 extra-base hits in 105 games that season. He moved to Martinsville of the Class-D Bi-State League in 1936, where he batted .295 over 110 games, with 94 runs, 39 extra-base hits, 71 RBIs and 14 steals. Juelich moved up four levels to Rochester of the Double-A International League (highest level of the minors at the time), where he spent the 1937-38 seasons. He hit .309 during the 1937 season, with 93 runs, 32 extra-base hits, 52 RBIs and a .743 OPS in 142 games. He then batted .262 over 156 games in 1958, with 93 runs, 33 extra-base hits, 60 RBIs, 69 walks and a .683 OPS. He was acquired by the Pirates as a Rule 5 draft pick on October 4, 1938. He was set to fight for a job during Spring Training, but he impressed manager Pie Traynor so much early on that local papers on March 13th already declared that he was guaranteed to have an Opening Day spot.
Juelich hit .239/.271/.326 in 50 plate appearances over 17 games during his only season in the majors. Despite that low game total, he was with the Pirates for the entire year. He played just six games before September 9th, two as a pinch-hitter, two as a pinch-runner and two starts at third base. Juelich saw regular action at second base over an 11-game stretch in September, then sat out ten straight games, before playing one inning at third base on September 27th, which ended up being his final big league game. Red (real first name was John, but he mostly went by Jack while in baseball) played a total of seven years in the minors. After his one season in the majors, he finished his pro career with three years of playing with Syracuse of the International League. The Pirates sent him to Syracuse on Christmas Eve in 1939, as part of a package (four players and cash) to acquire 6’9″ pitcher Johnny Gee. Juelich never hit higher than .239 in a season during that three year stretch, while hitting just one homer over that time. He batted .230 over 143 games in 1940, with ten doubles, seven triples and one homer. He batted .194 over 58 games in 1941, with 11 runs, six extra-base hits, 12 RBIs and a .488 OPS. Juelich batted .239 over 116 games during his final season in 1942, with 38 runs, 11 extra-base hits, 42 RBIs, 39 walks and a .588 OPS. He was serving in the Army by 1943, then never returned to baseball. He was known as an accomplished soccer player.
The Games
On this date in 1969, Bob Moose no-hit the New York Mets, the team that went on to win the World Series just 26 days later. He accomplished the feat at 22 years old, while pitching at Shea Stadium. The Mets were also holding on to a slim lead for the division with ten games left in the season, so it was an important game at the time for them. You can find the boxscore here, complete with play-by-play. Moose walked three batters in the game. It’s amazing when you look at the two lineups in that game and think that the Mets were somehow the better team at the time.
Exactly 62 years earlier, 20-year-old rookie Nick Maddox threw the first nine-inning no-hitter in team history, defeating Brooklyn by a 2-1 score. The record books list this as the first no-hitter in team history, but that’s only due to a change made many years later that said that shortened games no longer counted as official no-hitters. I’m not sure what else to call an official complete game with no hits (they called them “no-hitters” for a very long time), but the Pirates had one by Lefty Leifield in 1906 and another by Howie Camnitz less than a month before Maddox pitched his game. So technically it’s the third no-hitter in franchise history. Maddox walked three batters and hit another, while the Pirates committed two errors behind him, which helped lead to the Brooklyn run. It was just his third big league start.
