The name Sid Bream now brings shudders to long-time Pirate fans. There was a time, though, when he was beloved in Pittsburgh, even after he had signed with the Braves.
Bream came over to Pirates in the 1985 trade that sent Bill Madlock to the Dodgers. He immediately became the Bucs' starting first baseman, and remained so through 1990, although injuries limited the left-handed hitter to 19 games in 1989.
After the 1990 season, Bream became a free agent. In December he signed a three-year, $5.6 million deal with Atlanta, but said he'd have taken Pittsburgh's $4.5 million offer if the Pirates had included a no-trade clause.
"I was going to take a million dollars less money to sign with the Pirates," Bream said, "I didn't want to look like a fool by being traded to Atlanta a week later."
Pirate president Carl Barger said, "We can't get into that. We can't invest millions of dollars in players and be restricted like that."
Bream also said he'd have signed with Pittsburgh without the no-trade if the Pirates had matched the Braves' offer.
Pirate manager Jim Leyland's response was, "It's a very sad day for our players, but it's also a good day for them because one of their buddies got a hell of a deal."
The players would have liked to see him get the deal in Pittsburgh. Andy Van Slyke's quote was representative: "If this is what Sid really wanted, that's one thing. But if it's not what Sid wanted, it scares me. I thought our No. 1 priority was to sign Sid. And I thought our other No. 1 priority was to win. Those two would seem to go hand-in-hand."
The Braves visited Pittsburgh in May. On the 10th, left-hander John Smiley started the series opener for the Bucs, so Bream was on the bench. In the ninth inning, though, down 5-1 with two out and nobody on, Atlanta manager Bobby Cox sent Sid up to pinch-hit against reliever Stan Belinda. He got a standing ovation, and catcher Mike LaValliere stepped out in front of the plate to allow the applause to run its course.
"He's that kind of guy," Bream said. "He's a class act."
Once he settled into the batter's box, the crowd settled into a chant of "Let's Go, Sid!" This was more than Bream expected: "It is difficult to hit with tears in your eyes."
Nonetheless, Bream was able to work a full count, then lined a pitch over the center field wall. Not only did the fans applaud the home run, but they continued to cheer until Sid came out and waved his cap to the crowd.
"That really touched me," Bream said. "Of course, when Dale Murphy [who had been traded to Philadelphia] comes back to Atlanta, you'll see that for three days, and it will be even better. But this made me feel real special."
A walk and a flyout later, the Pirates had their 5-2 win.
"Sid Bream will always be a big part of this club," said Barry Bonds. "We felt he and R.J. [Reynolds, who signed in Japan] did the right thing for their wives and families. That's what important. Me, if I left and came back, I'd be booed."
The home run led the Pirate stories on May 11, but it wasn't the top sports story. Game 6 of the NHL's Wales Conference final series was going to be played that night, and there would be more ovations on the other side of the river as the Penguins reached their first Stanley Cup Final.
The Pirates and Braves would play a pair of seven-game NL Championship Series in October of 1991 and 1992. Atlanta won both, with one Bream contribution becoming history. But an otherwise meaningless regular-season pinch-hit home run was memorable, too.
All quotes are from the original newspaper reporting.