Posts by John Dreker

John Dreker

2209 posts

Card of the Day: 1993 Upper Deck Blas Minor

Today at 12:01 am

I feel like I’m repeating yesterday’s article. This is another player who has been here before, but it’s a first time for the set. Blas Minor was a pitcher for the 1992-94 Pittsburgh Pirates. I mentioned yesterday that Jose Castillo felt like he was around longer than he actually was…

This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History: March 20th, Pitcher Blas Minor and Catcher Walter Schmidt

This Date in Pittsburgh Baseball History

Today at 12:01 am

Five former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, including one who spent nine seasons in a Pirates uniform. Walter Schmidt, catcher for the 1916-24 Pirates. It took him nine seasons of minor league ball before he made his big league debut with the Pirates in 1916 at 29 years…

This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History: March 19th, Jose Castillo and David Ross

This Date in Pittsburgh Baseball History

Yesterday at 12:01 am

Five former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date. Jose Castillo, second baseman for the 2004-07 Pirates. He was signed as an amateur free agent by the Pirates out of Venezuela, shortly after his 16th birthday in 1997. After playing the 1998 season in the Venezuelan Summer League (no stats…

Card of the Day: 2005 Topps Jose Castillo

Card of the Day

Yesterday at 12:01 am

Today’s Card of the Day comes to us from the 2005 Topps set. It features Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Jose Castillo, fresh off of his rookie season. It was really surprising the first time I looked back on his career and saw that he only played four seasons with the…

This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History: March 18th, Pitcher Dick Littlefield and First Baseman Elbie Fletcher

This Date in Pittsburgh Baseball History

18 Mar at 12:01 am

Three former Pittsburgh Pirates players and a manager were born on this date. Brian Fisher, pitcher for the 1987-89 Pirates. He was born in Hawaii, and became the 17th player from that state to make the majors when he debuted in 1985. Fisher was drafted out of high school in…

Card of the Day: 1941 Goudey Elbie Fletcher

Card of the Day

18 Mar at 12:01 am

Today’s Card of the Day comes from a set we have not looked at here yet in this series. It features a player who is also making his first appearance, which surprised me, mostly because today’s history article doesn’t have a lot of good matches for a Card of the…

Card of the Day: 1991 Donruss John Smiley

Card of the Day

17 Mar at 12:02 am

I’m sure many of you have already enjoyed my clever title for today’s daily history article. I have no idea if John Smiley has any Irish heritage, but what’s that saying about St Patrick’s Day? Everyone is Irish today. I’m more Irish than anything else according to my genealogy chart,…

This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History: March 17th, Irish Eyes are Smiley on St Patrick’s Day

This Date in Pittsburgh Baseball History

17 Mar at 12:01 am

Seven former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date. We start with the one who was also traded on his birthday. John Smiley, pitcher for the 1986-91 Pirates. He was a 12th round draft pick of Pittsburgh in the 1983 amateur draft, who made his Major League debut in September…

This Date in Pittsburgh Pirates History: March 16th, Outfielder Patsy Donovan and Hall of Famer Lloyd Waner

This Date in Pittsburgh Baseball History

16 Mar at 12:02 am

Four former Pittsburgh Pirates born on this date, including a Hall of Fame outfielder and a very underrated outfielder from the 19th century. Lloyd Waner, outfielder for the 1927-41 and 1944-45 Pirates. One of the great outfielders in team history, he ranks among the top ten in numerous categories on…

Card of the Day: 1985 Woolworth Lloyd Waner

Card of the Day

16 Mar at 12:01 am

Today’s Card of the Day subject is Lloyd Waner, the Hall of Fame outfielder who was born 117 years ago today. He played for the 1927-41 and 1944-45 Pittsburgh Pirates, placing himself among many of the franchise’s top ten lists for all-time stats. Waner is a controversial Hall of Famer,…