Pirates Swap Pitchers in Trade with Royals
The Pittsburgh Pirates traded right-handed pitcher Gene Garber to the Kansas City Royals for left-handed pitcher Jim Rooker. The transaction marked a shift in the Pirates' pitching roster, bringing in Rooker while sending Garber to the American League.
Rooker’s Long Tenure and Post-Playing Life
Jim Rooker would go on to pitch eight seasons for the Pirates. During his time with the team, he won 82 games and posted a 3.29 earned run average. After his playing career concluded, Rooker became a Buc announcer. He also pursued various other careers, including charity treks, politics, dog training, and writing children’s books.
Garber’s Career Success
Gene Garber, the pitcher sent to Kansas City, had a successful career spanning 19 years. He won 96 games and recorded 218 saves with a 3.44 ERA. Garber saved more than 20 games five times during his career, achieving a high of 30 saves in 1982 while playing for the Atlanta Braves.
UPI Honors Murtaugh and Friend
In other baseball news, Danny Murtaugh was named National League Manager of the Year by United Press International. He won the award by an 18-6 count over Solly Hemus. Murtaugh’s team went on to win the 1960 World Series, while Hemus brought the Cardinals to third place.
Bob Friend took UPI’s NL Comeback Player of the Year award. He outdistanced Stan Musial, Ernie Broglio, Curt Simmons, and Ed Roebuck for the honor.
Rickey Steps Down as Pirates GM
Branch Rickey stepped down as Pittsburgh Pirates general manager and was replaced by Joe L. Brown. Before It's News reported that during his five-year tenure, Rickey’s "Rickey-Dinks" had three 100-loss seasons. However, he also developed a solid farm system and stayed with the organization as an advisor after leaving the GM post.
Joe L. Brown supplemented the farm system with veteran trades via the trade route. He was paid off with a strong 1958 campaign and eventually claimed the World Series title in 1960.
Birthday Honors for Aldridge, Fernandez, Mikkelsen, Darwin
The day also marked birthdays for several notable baseball figures. RHP Vic “Hoosier Schoolmaster” Aldridge was born in Crane, Indiana. He tossed three MLB seasons for the Pirates from 1925 to 1927 and bookended those campaigns with World Series appearances.
Aldridge went 40-30-2 with a 3.99 ERA for the Pirates, starting 86 times. He went 2-1 in four Fall Classic starts, claiming both wins in 1925 against Stan Coveleski. After retirement, Vic Aldridge served as a state senator in the Indiana General Assembly and was selected to the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Utilityman Froilan “Nanny” Fernandez was born in Wilmington, California. He played for Boston in 1942, went to service, and later returned to the majors with Pittsburgh in 1950 as a backup to Stan Rojek.
RHP Pete Mikkelsen was born on Staten Island. He tossed for Pittsburgh from 1966 to 1967, posting a line of 10-10-16 with a 3.46 ERA from the pen in 103 outings. Mikkelsen suffered a chronic back injury in 1967 when a truck rear-ended his car. He also had a dispute with Topps, which did not issue him a card for the last four years of his career.
RHP Danny Darwin was born in Bonham, Texas. He signed with the Pirates in 1996 at age 40 and was traded to the Astros mid-season for Rich Loiselle after posting a 7-9 record with a 3.02 ERA.