Seven former Pittsburgh Pirates players have been born on this date, plus we have a game of note.
Travis Ishikawa, first baseman for the 2014-15 Pirates. He hit .217/.298/.348 in 53 games with the Pirates, split over two different stints. Ishikawa also had two stints with the San Francisco Giants during his eight-year career, plus a third stint in the minors with the Giants later in his career. He was drafted by the Giants in the 21st round of the 2002 draft out of high school. He played for two separate short-season teams at 18 years old, hitting .295 in 42 games, with 24 runs, 11 extra-base hits, 27 RBIs, eight steals and a .765 OPS. He saw time that year with the rookie level Arizona League Giants and Salem-Keizer of the Northwest League. He spent the first half of the 2003 season with Hagerstown of the Low-A South Atlantic League, then returned to Salem-Keizer during the second half. He combined to hit .233 over 123 games, with 73 runs, 32 extra-base hits, 53 RBIs, 77 walks and a .698 OPS. The 2004 season saw Ishikawa spend most of the year in Hagerstown, while also putting in 16 games for San Jose of the High-A California League. He batted .254 in 113 games, with 69 runs, 26 doubles, 16 homers, 64 RBIs, 55 walks and a .798 OPS. He played all of 2005 with San Jose, where he hit .282 over 127 games, with 87 runs scored, 28 doubles, 22 homers, 79 RBIs, 70 walks and a .920 OPS. He had three separate brief stints with the Giants during the 2006 season, in which he hit .292/.320/.500 in 25 plate appearances over 12 games. Ishikawa spent the rest of that season with Connecticut of the Double-A Eastern League., where he struggled a bit, hitting .232 in 86 games, with 33 runs, 13 doubles, ten homers, 42 RBIs and a .718 OPS. He went to the Arizona Fall League after the 2006 season, where he batted .186/.234/.271 in 17 games.
Ishikawa split the 2007 season between San Jose (56 games) and Connecticut (48 games). He combined to hit .243 over 104 games, with 52 runs, 18 doubles, 16 homers, 51 RBIs and a .750 OPS. He put up significantly better stats at the lower level. He played 64 games for Connecticut, 48 games for Fresno of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League and 33 games with the Giants during the 2008 season. He hit .299 in the minors, with 69 runs, 35 doubles, 24 homers, 94 RBIs and a .955 OPS. After being promoted to the Giants in mid-August of 2008, he finished the year by hitting .274/.337/.432 over 104 plate appearances, with 12 runs, six doubles, three homers and 15 RBIs. Ishikawa spent the entire 2009 season in the majors, where he saw significant playing time at first base. He hit .261 over 120 games, with 49 runs, ten doubles, nine homers, 39 RBIs and a .715 OPS. He played 116 games in 2010, but he was mostly being used as a bench player that year. He hit .266/.320/.392 in 173 plate appearances, with 18 runs, 11 doubles, three homers and 22 RBIs. He spent the 2011 season in Fresno, though a shoulder injury ended his season after 56 games. He was hitting .251/.368/.383 at the time of the injury, with 21 runs, 14 doubles, three homers and 18 RBIs.
Ishikawa moved on to Milwaukee in 2012 as a free agent, where he hit .257 over 94 games (27 starts), with 19 runs, 12 doubles, four homers, 30 RBIs and a .757 OPS. He then played very briefly for both the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees in 2013, getting into a total of seven big league games that season. The rest of the year was split between Norfolk of the Triple-A International League (Orioles affiliate) and Charlotte of the International League, which was the Chicago White Sox affiliate. Ishikawa combined to hit .290 in 83 minor league games, with 46 runs, 21 doubles, nine homers, 54 RBIs and an .854 OPS. He went 2-for-19 with an RBI and a walk in his brief big league time. He signed a free agent deal with the Pirates after the 2013 season, then ended up playing 15 early season games in 2014 before being released. Ishikawa batted .206/.263/.382 over 28 plate appearances during his first stint in Pittsburgh, with two runs, a double, a homer and three RBIs. He then re-signed with the Giants, where he stayed until the Pirates picked him up off waivers in July of 2015. He played 47 games for the 2014 Giants, hitting .274/.333/.397 in 81 plate appearances, with seven runs, three doubles, two homers and 15 RBIs. He had just five at-bats with the Giants before rejoining the Pirates in 2015, spending the rest of the time with Sacramento of the Pacific Coast League. He had a .271 average and a .763 OPS over 34 games for Sacramento. He was released by the Pirates after hitting .224/.318/.328 in 38 games, with five runs, three doubles, one homer and eight RBIs. He spent 2016 in the minors with the Giants (Sacramento) and the Chicago White Sox (Charlotte) before retiring. He combined to hit .237 in 116 games that last season, with 55 runs, 17 doubles, 18 homers, 73 RBIs and a .725 OPS. Ishikawa hit .255 in 488 big league games, with 114 runs, 49 doubles, 23 homers and 137 RBIs.
Jeff Karstens, pitcher for the 2008-12 Pirates. He was a 19th round pick by the New York Yankees in 2003 out of Texas Tech. The Montreal Expos selected him three years earlier in the 45th round out of high school, but he decided to go the college route. He debuted with Staten Island of the short-season New York-Penn League in 2003, going 4-2, 2.54 in 14 games (ten starts), with 53 strikeouts and a 1.17 WHIP in 67.1 innings. Karstens skipped to High-A in 2004, playing for Tampa in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League, where he had a 6-9, 4.02 record in 24 starts, with 116 strikeouts and a 1.31 WHIP in 138.2 innings. The next year was spent with Trenton of the Double-A Eastern League, where he went 12-11, 4.15 over 28 games (27 starts), with 147 strikeouts and a 1.38 WHIP in 169 innings. The 2006 season was split between Trenton and Columbus of the Triple-A International League. He had a combined 11-5, 3.29 record, a 1.21 WHIP and 115 strikeouts in 147.2 innings over 25 starts, while putting up much better results in his 11 starts at the lower level. Karstens debuted in the majors in late August of 2006, then posted a 3.80 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP and 16 strikeouts in 42.2 innings over six starts and two relief appearances. He had three separate brief stints with the Yankees in 2007, making appearances in April, August and September. He had an 11.05 ERA and a 2.45 WHIP in 14.2 innings over three starts and four relief appearances. He had a 1.49 ERA, a 1.08 WHIP and 47 strikeouts over 48.1 innings in the minors that season, seeing time at five levels due to some necessary rehab time. He suffered a broken right leg when he got hit by a line drive in his start on April 28th, then didn’t return to the majors until August.
Karstens was part of a six-player deal while in the minors during the middle of the 2008 season, coming to the Pirates as part of the package for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte. Karstens had a 6-4, 3.80 record, 55 strikeouts and a 1.18 WHIP in 68.2 innings over 12 starts with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre of the International League at the time of the trade. He went right into the rotation for the Pirates, where he made nine starts to close out 2008. He had a 2-6, 4.03 in 51.1 innings, with 23 strikeouts and a 1.34 WHIP. He split the 2009 season between the bullpen and starting, going 4-6, 5.42 in 108 innings, with 52 strikeouts and a 1.48 WHIP over his 13 starts and 26 relief appearances. The 2010 season saw a similar role for Karstens, though the split favored the rotation more this time. He went 3-10, 4.92 in 122.2 innings over 19 starts and seven relief appearances, with 72 strikeouts and a 1.41 WHIP. He had a breakout year of sorts in 2011, posting a 9-9, 3.38 record and a 1.21 WHIP in 162.1 innings. He set a career best with 26 starts, while picking up a career high of 96 strikeouts. He missed two full months in the middle of 2012 with a shoulder injury, which caused him to make five rehab starts in the minors. He had a 5-4, 3.97 record for the Pirates, with 66 strikeouts and a 1.15 WHIP in 90.2 innings over 15 starts and four relief appearances. He was signed by the Pirates for 2013, but missed the entire year due to a right shoulder injury. He attempted to rehab the injury, but he was shut down after two starts in May. He had minor surgery in June that wasn’t expected to end his season, but he never returned to action. He went unsigned in 2014, then eventually retired. Karstens had a 23-35, 4.31 record, 309 strikeouts and a 1.31 WHIP in 535 innings over 82 starts and 41 relief appearances while in Pittsburgh. He had a 5.65 ERA in 57.1 innings with the Yankees.
John McDonald, middle infielder for the 2013 Pirates. He was a 12th round pick of the Cleveland Indians in 1996 out of Providence College. He debuted for Watertown of the short-season New York-Penn League in 1996, where he hit .270 over 75 games, with 48 runs, 13 extra-base hits, 26 RBIs, 11 steals and a .685 OPS . He jumped to Kinston of the High-A Carolina League for his first full season in pro ball, where he hit .259 over 130 games, with 77 runs, 35 extra-base hits, 53 RBIs, 51 walks and a .671 OPS. The next year was spent at Akron of the Double-A Eastern League, where he had a .230 average, 68 runs, 22 extra-base hits (18 doubles), 43 RBIs, 17 steals, 43 walks and a .578 OPS. McDonald hit much better while repeating Double-A in 1999, which led to a mid-season promotion to Buffalo of the Triple-A International League, where his stats improved slightly. He hit .307 between both stops that year, with 61 runs, 24 doubles, 51 RBIs and a .719 OPS in 121 games. He saw some brief time with the Indians in July of 1999, then returned in September. He batted just 21 times over his 18 games, finishing his big league time with a .333/.333/.333 slash line. Most of 2000 was spent in Buffalo, where he hit .269/.315/.353 in 75 games, with 37 runs, 20 extra-base hits (17 doubles) and 36 RBIs. He made it back to Cleveland for a short time that year, batting nine times in nine games, while collecting four singles. The 2001 season was similar, with slightly more time in Cleveland. He batted .091/.167/.136 in 25 plate appearances over 17 games with the Indians that year. He also had a .244/.306/.305 slash line in 116 games for Buffalo, with 52 runs, 20 extra-base hits (17 doubles), 33 RBIs and 17 steals.
McDonald was in the majors for the entire 2002 season. He had a .250 average over 93 games, with 35 runs, 15 extra-base hits, 12 RBIs and a .614 OPS, while seeing time at three infield spots (not first base). He had the same exact role in 2003, this time batting .215/.258/.280 in 82 games, with 21 runs scored, 11 extra-base hits and 14 RBIs. His playing time dropped in 2004 when he batted 100 times over 66 games. He hit .204/.237/.344 that year, with 17 runs, five doubles, two homers and seven RBIs. McDonald was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in December of 2004. He spent the first four months of the 2005 season in Toronto, before being traded to the Detroit Tigers. He combined to hit .277 over 68 games, with 18 runs, seven extra-base hits, 16 RBIs and a .651 OPS. He was sold back to the Blue Jays after the 2005 season, then saw his most big league playing time during the 2006-07 seasons. He hit .223 over 104 games in 2006, with 35 runs scored, 13 extra-base hits, 23 RBIs and a .579 OPS. McDonald played 123 games in 2007, including 93 starts at shortstop. He had a .251 average that year, to go along with 32 runs, 20 doubles, 31 RBIs and a .612 OPS. That doubles total was not only his career high, he never had more than 17 extra-base hits in any other big league season. McDonald saw his hitting and playing time drop in 2008, though he did miss one month due to a sprained ankle. He hit .210/.255/.269 in 84 games, with 21 runs, nine extra-base hits and 18 RBIs. He had a similar role in 2009, when he finished with a .258 average, 18 runs, seven doubles, four homers and 13 RBIs in 73 games. He somehow managed to draw just one walk all season, leading to a .271 OBP.
McDonald hit .250 during the 2010 season, with 27 runs scored, 17 extra-base hits, 23 RBIs and a .727 OPS in 63 games. He hit a career high six homers that year. He was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks during the 2011 season. He was hitting .250/.285/.345 through 65 games for the Blue Jays prior to the deal, then batted .169/.222/.203 in 19 games after the deal. He had a combined .229 average in 84 games, with 21 runs, 13 extra-base hits and 22 RBIs. Despite the poor hitting after the trade, he signed a free agent deal with Arizona for 2012. He hit .249 over 70 games that year, with 16 runs, nine doubles, six homers, 22 RBIs and a .681 OPS. He joined the Pirates late in Spring Training 2013, as part of a trade with the Diamondbacks. McDonald hit .065/.171/.097 in 35 plate appearances over 16 games with Pittsburgh. He made eight starts at shortstop, while also seeing some time at second base. The Pirates traded him to the Indians in June of 2013, where he went hitless in seven at-bats over eight games. McDonald would also play for the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox during that same season. He batted 77 times total in 51 games that year, finishing with eight runs, a double, a homer, four RBIs and a .371 OPS. His career ended after the 2014 season, which he spent as a utility player with the Los Angeles Angels. He played 95 games that year, but he batted just 91 times all season. He hit .171/.256/.197 that year, with four runs, two doubles and five RBIs. He played a total of 16 years in the majors, seeing time with eight different teams. Despite the long big league career, he played 100+ games just twice in a season (2006-07 Blue Jays). McDonald hit .233 in 1,100 games, with 276 runs, 105 doubles, 28 homers and 210 RBIs. While he rated below average offensively during his career, he posted a 10.9 career dWAR.
Jim Mangan, catcher for the Pirates in 1952 and 1954. He was signed by Pittsburgh in 1949, when he debuted in pro ball at 19 years old. He had a .297 average and 32 extra-base hits in 83 games that year with Uniontown of the Class-C Middle Atlantic League. He struggled that same season while with York of the Class-B Interstate League, where he had a .217 average and one homer in 31 games. He had a .279 average between both stops that first year, with 55 runs, 19 doubles, 13 homers, 75 RBIs and a .781 OPS. The 1950 season was spent with Albany of the Class-A Eastern League, where he batted .313 in 118 games, with 50 runs, 23 doubles, six homers, 53 RBIs and an .831 OPS. He moved up to Indianapolis of the Triple-A American Association during the 1951 season, when he hit .291 over 100 games, with 39 runs, 14 doubles, nine homers, 51 RBIs and an .812 OPS. Mangan went to Spring Training with the Pirates in 1952, but he missed two weeks in the middle of it to fulfill service requirements with the Navy. Teams were allowed to carry extra players early in the season back in 1952 (as well as other years during that time period), before getting down to a 25-man roster on May 15th. Mangan was one of the cuts in 1952, but he got to play 11 games before being sent to Toronto of the International League. He batted .154/.214/.154 in 14 plate appearances that season for the Pirates. He split the minor league season between Toronto and Hollywood of the Pacific Coast League (an Open level of play, similar to Triple-A), combining to hit .275 in 63 games, with 17 runs, 14 extra-base hits, 29 RBIs and a .788 OPS. He wouldn’t get a chance to play for the Pirates in 1953, as he was called into service again. His Navy service that time was announced on October 1, 1952, then he wasn’t discharged until May 21, 1954.
Mangan left to join the Pirates immediately after being discharged in 1954. They had five catchers on the roster at the time, though they sold veteran Walker Cooper to the Chicago Cubs to remain at five catchers once Mangan arrived. Mangan hit .192/.300/.192 in 30 plate appearances over 14 games with the Pirates, before being optioned to Hollywood on July 16th. He had a .262 average and a .701 OPS in 43 games over the rest of the season. He went to Spring Training with the Pirates in 1955, but he was optioned to Hollywood on April 10th, three days before Opening Day. He batted .245/.321/.286 in 18 games for Hollywood they year, while playing/managing the majority of the season with El Paso of the Class-B West Texas-New Mexico League, four levels from the majors. He dominated the easier competition as you would expect, putting up a .366 average, 56 runs, 21 doubles, 12 homers, 59 RBIs and a 1.036 OPS in 72 games. His time with the Pirates ended on March 5, 1956, when he was picked up on waivers by the Giants for the $10,000 waiver fee. He went 2-for-20 with four walks during his final season in the majors, batting a total of 25 times in 20 games that season for the Giants.
The Giants suspended Mangan in August of 1956, after he had a public outburst against manager Bill Rigney. It wasn’t his first outburst at a higher up. His time with the Pirates was marred by him getting mad at General Manager Branch Rickey, who was said to have called him “boy”, followed by Mangan telling him not so kindly to use his real name. He also had an issue while in El Paso, when he went to the mound in a blowout and lobbed the ball over the plate, which led to a barrage of runs from the opposition. It was said that the league fined him for making a mockery of the game. He wasn’t happy about the fine obviously, so he just left for his home instead of paying the fine. Mangan spent the 1957-58 seasons in the minors before retiring. He played 43 games for Sacramento of the Pacific Coast League in 1957, one game for Fort Worth of the Texas League in 1957, and 43 games for San Antonio of the Texas League in 1958. He hit .252/.318/.269 during his time with Sacramento. He hit .265/.333/.456 for San Antonio, where he’s credited with 17 extra-base hits, after collecting just two extra-base hits (both doubles) in the same amount of games with Sacramento during the previous year. His final big league stats show a .153 average in 45 games, with five runs, no extra-base hits and five RBIs in 69 plate appearances.
Dixie Walker, outfielder for the 1948-49 Pirates. He was a star player who finished out his big league time in Pittsburgh. He hit .306 over 18 seasons in the majors, with 1,037 runs scored, 2,064 hits, 376 doubles, 96 triples, 105 homers, 1,023 RBIs, 817 walks and an .820 OPS. Walker led the National League in triples in 1937, average during the 1944 season, and RBIs in 1945. He played in four All-Star games and got MVP votes in eight different seasons. He compiled 44.9 WAR during his career. Dixie (his first name was Fred) debuted in pro ball in 1928 at 17 years old. He played for three lower level teams that year, combining for a .284 average and 32 extra-base hits in 104 games. Most of the year (82 games) was spent with Gulfport of the Class-D Cotton States League, while he also saw time with Albany of the Class-B Southeastern League and Greensboro of the Class-C Piedmont League. He spent the 1929 season with Vicksburg of the Cotton States League, where he had a .318 average and 16 extra-base hits in 61 games. He moved up to Greenville of the Class-B South Atlantic League for half of the 1930 season, then played the other half with Jersey City of the Double-A International League, which was the highest level of the minors at the time. He combined to bat .367 in 156 games, with 35 doubles, 19 triples and 18 homers.
Walker played well enough in 1930 to get the attention of the New York Yankees. They threw him into two early season games in 1931, in which he went 3-for-10 with two doubles. It was a brief trial, and he wouldn’t get his second shot until the start of the 1933 season. He played for three upper level minor league teams in 1931, seeing time in the International League with Jersey City and Toronto, as well as a stint with Toledo of the Double-A American Association. While most of his stats are incomplete from that season, he’s credited with hit .331 in 138 games, with 27 doubles, six triples and ten homers. He hit .350 over 144 games in 1932 for Newark of the International League, connecting on 30 doubles, seven triples and 15 homers. Walker hit .274 over 98 games for the 1933 Yankees, with 68 runs, 15 doubles, seven triples, 15 homers, 51 RBIs and an .830 OPS. Despite those solid stats at a young age, he got very few chances with the 1934-35 Yankees. He played in a total of 25 games over that two-year stretch, though his .133 average during that time didn’t help. He was buried on the bench in 1934, playing 17 games that were spread throughout the year, while getting just one start. He went 2-for-13 with a double in eight early season games for the 1935 Yankees. He spent the rest of the year with Newark, where he had a .293 average and 40 extra-base hits in 83 games.
Walker was put on waivers in 1936, despite going 7-for-20 in six early season games for the Yankees. He was picked up by the Chicago White Sox, though he didn’t see much action over the final five months of the season, hitting .271/.400/.300 in 26 games. That lack of big league playing time changed in 1937. He hit .302 over 154 games that year, with 105 runs, 28 doubles, a league leading 16 triples, nine homers, 95 RBIs, 78 walks and an .832 OPS in 154. He was traded to the Detroit Tigers in December of 1937. He hit .308 for the 1938 Tigers, with 84 runs, 39 extra-base hits, 43 RBIs, 65 walks and an .830 OPS in 127 games. He was put on waivers by Detroit early in 1939, despite the fact that he was hitting .305/.367/.474 over 43 games at the time. He was picked up by the Brooklyn Dodgers, where hit .280 over the final 61 games of the season. He finished that full year with 58 runs, 25 extra-base hits, 57 RBIs and a .762 OPS in 104 games. Walker batted .308 during the 1940 season, with 75 runs, 37 doubles, 66 RBIs and a .793 OPS in 143 games. He finished sixth in the MVP voting. The next year saw him hit .311 over 148 games, with 88 runs scored, 49 extra-base hits, 71 RBIs, 70 walks and an .843 OPS. That performance earned him a tenth place finish in the MVP voting.
Walker batted .290 during the 1942 season, finishing the year with 57 runs, 28 doubles, 54 RBIs and a .780 OPS in 118 games. With competition starting to get watered down due to the war effort, he batted .302 over 138 games in 1943, with 83 runs, 32 doubles, 71 RBIs, 49 walks and a .774 OPS. He made his first All-Star appearance that season, while finishing 24th in the MVP voting. The 1944 season was his best, led by him winning a batting title with a .357 average. He also had 77 runs scored, 37 doubles, eight triples, 13 homers, 91 RBIs, 72 walks and a .963 OPS in 147 games. He was an All-Star again, while finishing third in the MVP voting. Walker hit .300 in 1945, with 102 runs scored, 59 extra-base hits 75 walks and an .820 OPS over 154 games. He set career highs that year with 42 doubles and 124 RBIs, which led the league in the latter category. He finished ninth in the MVP voting that season. He also made his third All-Star appearance, though the game wasn’t played that year due to wartime travel restrictions. The 1946 season saw him hit .319 over 150 games, with 80 runs, 48 extra-base hits, 116 RBIs, 67 walks and an .839 OPS. He finished second in the MVP voting, while making his third All-Star appearance/fourth selection. Walker hit .306 over 148 games during his final season for the Dodgers, with 77 runs, 43 extra-base hits, 94 RBIs and an .842 OPS. He set a career high that year with 97 walks. He made his fourth All-Star appearance/fifth selection and received mild MVP support, finishing 19th in the voting.
Walker was acquired by the Pirates from the Dodgers as part of a six-player deal on December 8, 1947. He had a solid 1948 season at 37 years old, hitting .316 over 129 games, with 39 runs, 19 doubles, 54 RBIs, 52 walks and a .786 OPS, while spending most of his time in right field. He batted .282/.372/.331 during the 1949 season, though he saw more time off of the bench than as an actual starter, batting 211 times in 88 games. He had 26 runs, six extra-base hits and 18 RBIs. Walker was released as soon as the season 1948 ended. He begin a ten-year stretch as a minor league manager in 1950, the first year as a player-manager for Atlanta of the Southern Association. He hit .273 over 39 games during his final season of pro ball, with 11 runs, eight extra-base hits and 17 RBIs. Walker came from a great baseball family. His brother Harry Walker played 11 seasons in the majors, while also missing time during WWII. His father, who also went by Dixie, pitched for four seasons in the majors. His uncle Ernie Walker had a three-year stretch in the majors with the St Louis Browns.
Paddy Siglin, second baseman for the Pirates from 1914 until 1916. He played more than 2,000 games in the minors over 14 seasons, but his big league career lasted just 23 games over three seasons in Pittsburgh. The Pirates got him early in his pro career, acquiring him from his minor league team in Waterloo, Iowa during the 1914 season. He debuted as a pro in 1913 at 21 years old, when he had a .227 average, 15 doubles and four triples in 126 games for Waterloo of the Class-D Central Association. Siglin broke out the next season with Waterloo, batting .322 in 130 games with 83 runs scored and 43 steals. His contract was purchased by the Pirates on July 9, 1914, as one of three players picked up by Pittsburgh from Waterloo that season, along with infielder Ike McAuley and catcher Bill Wagner. According to the details of the purchase, he was allowed to remain in Waterloo until August 15th before reporting to the Pirates, though he ended up staying longer. He debuted three days after he got to Pittsburgh on September 9th. He made 11 starts at second base before the season ended, batting .154/.233/.154 in 44 plate appearances, with four runs, no extra-base hits and two RBIs. The difference in competition from Class-D to the majors was a jump over four levels of the minors at the time. Siglin went to Spring Training with the 1915 Pirates, where he was one of the last four cuts on the eve of Opening Day. He moved up in minor league competition for the 1915 season, going to Youngstown of the Class-B Central League, where he hit .241 over 125 games, with 45 runs, 31 extra-base hits and 25 steals. He again joined the Pirates in September (August 31st to be exact), then went 2-for-7 at the plate in six games over the last month of the season.
Siglin jumped up two more levels of the minors in 1916, playing for Rochester of the Double-A International League, which was the highest level of the minors at the time. He hit .285 over 142 games, with 20 doubles, 11 triples and one homer. He didn’t go to Spring Training with the Pirates that season because he was released under optional agreement to Rochester on March 9th. His Rochester manager was former Pirates star Tommy Leach. As a September addition for the Pirates that season, his big league action was limited to four at-bats over three games. That was surprising because it was said right before he joined the club that he was expected to see regular action at second base. Siglin and infielder Jack Farmer were traded to Portland of the Double-A Pacific Coast League on January 19, 1917 for infielder Chuck Ward. Siglin played another ten years of minor league ball before retiring, spending all but 58 games during that time in the Pacific Coast League. He batted .180 in 23 games with the Pirates, finishing with five runs, no extra-base hits and two RBIs.
Paddy (his actual first name was Wesley) ended up playing with Oakland in the Pacific Coast League in 1917, where he hit .231 in 201 games, with 21 doubles, seven triples and no homers. He spent the first half of the war-shortened year with Salt Lake City of the Pacific Coast League (no stats available), where he was voted the best second baseman in the league at the end of the season. He was serving in WWI by late June, though there were mentions of him playing baseball as part of his service. Siglin played 166 games for Portland during the 1919 season, when he had a .279 average and 37 extra-base hits (31 doubles). He hit .230 over 171 games for Portland in 1920, with 35 extra-base hits, including 31 doubles. He returned to Salt Lake City for the 1921-22 seasons. Siglin exploded on offense that season out of nowhere, hitting .344 over 180 games, with 67 doubles, three triples and 22 homers. He was strong in 1922 as well, though he slid a little from the previous season, which started a trend of five straight years of decline from that huge 1921 season. He batted .316 in 1922, with 60 doubles, seven triples and 16 homers over 194 games. He moved to Sacramento of the Pacific Coast League for the next three seasons. He hit .303 over 198 games in 1923, with 48 doubles, ten triples and ten homers. Siglin batted .289 in 189 games during the 1924 season, with 50 doubles, four triples and 11 homers. He hit .256 in 184 games during the 1925 season, with 46 extra-base hits, including 35 doubles. He moved to Mission of the Pacific Coast League for part of 1926, then spent the majority of the season with San Antonio of the Class-A Texas League. He hit .254 that year in 82 games total, with 13 extra-base hits. Not including his missing 1918 stats, he had 2,182 hits in the minors.
Bob Vail, pitcher for the 1908 Pirates. He debuted in pro ball fresh out of college in 1903 at 21 years old. He played with Nashua of the Class-B New England League for his first two seasons, before playing two years for Lynn of the same league. Vail is known now as a pitcher, but his only available stats for the 1903-04 seasons show a .267 average and two doubles over 16 games in 1903. There was a newspaper article in July of 1904 that said Vail was released by Nashua and would most likely quit playing baseball. His first available pitching stats show a 14-9 record for Lynn in 1905 (no other stats are available). He played for a team of mostly minor league players called the All-Americans, who went to Cuba in the winter of 1905-06 for an exhibition tour, but the team left after posting a 2-6 record. He then had a 15-9 record in 30 games for Lynn in 1906. The next year was split between Lynn and two teams in the Class-C Virginia League (Richmond and Portsmouth), where the available stats show a 9-16 record and 83 strikeouts over 136 innings pitched. Before joining the Pirates in 1908, Vail had a 15-12 record and 188 strikeouts in 34 games for Portsmouth that same year. His contract was purchased by the Pirates on August 17th, then he reported to Pittsburgh a week later. He made one start and three relief appearances for the 1908 Pirates, allowing ten runs over 15 innings. That turned out to be his entire big league career His first outing was eight shutout innings on August 27th in relief of Vic Willis, who gave up three runs in the first inning. The Pirates won the game 4-3. Vail started nine days later, when he allowed four runs in four innings. After a scoreless inning on September 10th, his final appearance was six runs over two innings on September 18th. The Pirates took 22 players with them when they left for their final road trip on October 1st. They allowed Vail to go home early, despite the fact that pitcher Irv Young was unavailable due to an ankle injury.
Vail was signed to a 1909 contract with the Pirates, but he was released on May 13th to Roanoke of the Virginia League without pitching in any of the first 18 games of the season. His Spring Training work was limited that year due to a sore arm. He would spend his final four seasons (1909-12) of pro ball mostly in the Virginia League before retiring as a player. He had a 5-11 record over 133 innings pitched in 1909, splitting his time between Roanoke and Portsmouth. The 1910 season was spent with Portsmouth, where he had an 11-13 record and a 1.09 WHIP in 223 innings over 28 games. His ERA isn’t available for that year, but it’s known that he allowed 3.75 runs per nine innings. Vail pitched for Norfolk during the 1911 season, when he had a 6-3 record and a 1.26 WHIP in 78 innings over nine games, with 3.81 runs allowed per nine innings. He also saw time back in Portsmouth that year, except it was in the Class-D Tidewater League (no stats available). His final season stats from 1912 consist of just two games for Richmond. He won both contests, while giving up one run over 15 innings of work. He also pitched for Greenville of the Class-D Carolina Association, where no stats are available. There were no pro records for him in 1913, but he did make the news that September for forging a check with the name of an executive for Richmond. He was mentioned in 1914 when he tried out for the Lynn team mid-season, but there are no records from that season.
The Streak
On this date in 1913, the Pirates won 3-2 over the Cubs to move to 76-68 on the season, all but securing them their 15th straight winning season. Due to multiple rain outs, they ended up playing just five more games that season, finishing with a 78-71 record. They would fall below .500 in 1914, stopping the still-standing longest winning stretch in team history. Here’s the boxscore from September 24, 1913.
