On this date in 1962 the Pittsburgh Pirates traded first baseman Dick Stuart and pitcher Jack Lamabe to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for pitcher Don Schwall and catcher Jim Pagliaroni. Stuart was covered in the November 7th article here. He played five seasons in Pittsburgh with a .273 average and 117 homers. He had a great 1961 season, hitting .301 with 35 homers and 117 RBI’s but struggled in 1962 and he was horrible defensively at 1B. Lamabe was a 25 year old rookie reliever in 1962, who had a 3-1 2.88 record in 46 games. Don Schwall was a 26 year old starting pitcher in 1962, he had a strong rookie season in 1961 posting a 15-7 3.22 record while winning the rookie of the year but his sophomore season was a bust as he went 9-15 4.94. Pagliaroni was a 25 year old catcher who had some pop in his bat, hitting 27 homers combined over 210 games in 1961-62.
Stuart became an instant hitting star with the Red Sox although his poor defense got even worse. He only played two seasons in Boston but hit a combined 75 homers while driving in 232 runs. Lamabe pitched well in relief in 1963 but the Sox switched him to the starting role in 1964 and he struggled, then back to relief in 1965 he pitched even worse before being traded. Schwall had a 3.33 ERA his first season in Pittsburgh but poor run support led to a 6-12 record. He missed half of 1964, was moved to relief where he pitched well for almost two seasons before the Pirates traded him away in June of 1966. Pagliaroni lasted the longest of these players with their new team. He played five seasons in Pittsburgh before he was sold to the Oakland A’s. He batted a career high .295 in 1964 and the following year he had 17 homers and 65 RBI’s, both career highs. In 1966 he led NL catchers in fielding percentage with a .997 mark
Born on this date in 1887 was pitcher John Scheneberg who played for the 1913 Pirates. He had an amazing seven years between major league appearances, last playing for the 1920 St Louis Browns. He started his pro career in the minors in 1909 playing his first three seasons with the Paris Bourbonites of the Blue Grass League, a D level minor league at the time. He began to get noticed his third season there in 1911 when he went 12-0. The Pirates signed him in 1913 and only used him for one game in late September and it only came about when they had five straight doubleheaders and they needed an extra starter. He pitched game one on September 23 and lost 6-1 to the Brooklyn Dodgers,allowing 10 hits and five runs in six innings. Just two days later the Pirates sold him to a minor league team and he spent the next four years in the minors. He then served two years in the military during WW1, returning to baseball with the 1920 Browns. For them he pitched just one game in relief, almost exactly seven years to the date of his first major league game. On September 24, 1920 he allowed 7 runs in 2 innings during a 16-8 loss, thus ending his major league career. He pitched briefly in the minors in 1921 before retiring as a player.
Also born on this date in 1880 was infielder George McBride, who played for the 1905 Pirates. He began his career with three games for the 1901 Milwaukee Brewers (current day Orioles) before going to the minors for three seasons. The Pirates purchased him in August 1904 and he made the 1905 team as a reserve infielder. He lasted until early July, when the Pirates traded him to the Cardinals for Dave Brain, a more experienced infielder. McBride hit .218 for the Pirates in 27 games. He played 14 more years in the majors and although he was a very weak hitter (his career average was also .218) he was strong enough defensively at shortstop to gain MVP recognition in four straight seasons. That was despite hitting between .203 and .235 in each of those seasons, with just two homers total and he never scored or drove in 60 runs in any season.
Finally, current Pirates starting pitcher Jeff Locke turns 26 today. He was acquired in the Nate McLouth trade in June of 2009, working his way from high-A ball then, to the majors in September of 2011. He made four late season starts for the Pirates going 0-3, 6.48 in 16.2 innings. He pitched briefly for the Pirates again in 2012, then had an All-Star season in 2013, going 10-7, 3.52 in 30 starts.
