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23 Fact(s) Found
| 1913 | Olympic hero Jim Thorpe, turning down an offer from the last-place Browns, signs with the Giants, the defending NL champs. The Native American, who grew up in the Sac and Fox Nation in Oklahoma, will compile a lifetime .252 batting average during his six seasons in the major leagues, including stints with the Reds and Braves. |
| 1914 | In the first game ever in the Egyptian desert, the White Sox and Giants play to a 3-3 tie. The contest is part of a 56-game world tour, including stops in Tokyo, Paris, and London, organized by New York manager John McGraw and Chicago owner Charles Comiskey to promote baseball globally. |
| 1954 | In a six-player trade, the Braves deal a pair of southpaws, Johnny Antonelli and Don Liddle, catcher Ebba St. Claire, and shortstop Billy Klaus to the Giants for playoff hero Bobby Thomson and backstop Sammy Calderone. Milwaukee's new outfielder will break his ankle in an exhibition game and appears in only 43 games, while Johnny Antonelli posts a 21-7 record, leading the league with an ERA of 2.30 for his new team in New York. |
| 1957 | At the American League meeting in New York, a three-member committee consisting of George Weiss, Hank Greenberg, and Joe Cronin submits a catastrophe plan, enabling a club affected by a transportation accident to field a high-caliber team. The proposal, prompted by the teams' increased use of air travel, calls for the disabled club after a disaster to make selections from a talent pool created by each Junior Circuit team submitting ten names from its active 25-man roster. |
| 1965 | The National League adopts a disaster plan in case a team's plane crashes or is involved in another catastrophic accident. The Senior Circuit's Emergency Crisis Rule allows the affected club to draft from a pool of two or three replacement players from each team, following a similar concept adopted by the American League in 1962. |
| 1970 | The Special Veterans Committee selects Earle Combs, a lifetime .325 hitter during his 12 years with the Yankees, and Jesse Haines, a right-hander who posted a 210-158 (.571) record during his 18 years with the Cardinals, for induction into the Hall of Fame. The group also elects former commissioner Ford Frick, who campaigned for a Hall of Fame to honor baseball's greatest baseball players when he became the National League president in 1934. |
| 1973 |
Commissioner Bowie Kuhn announces the selection of Monte Irvin to the Hall of Fame by the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues. The outfielder, who hit .293 during his eight seasons in the major leagues, played a pivotal role in the Giants' National League Championship in 1951, hitting .312 with 24 homers and a league-leading 121 RBIs.
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| 1976 |
 The East Lansing police arrest Mike Marshall for taking batting practice on the Michigan State University campus. MSU officials had asked the Dodger reliever not to hit baseballs near the tennis courts, fearing for the safety of the students. |
| 1985 | The Giants trade first baseman Jack Clark to the Cardinals for David Green, Jose Uribe, Dave LaPoint, and Gary Rajsich. The Silver Slugger Award recipient will play a pivotal role in the Redbirds winning the National League pennant this season. |
| 1999 | The Yankees trade highly-touted third base prospect Mike Lowell to the Marlins for minor league pitchers Eddie Yarnall, Todd Noel, and Mark Johnson. Scott Brosius' outstanding 1998 performance made the former minor league player of the year expendable. |
| 2001 | Postseason hero Jim Leyritz signs a $500,000, one-year minor league contract with the Mets. The former Yankee has hit one home run per 7.6 postseason at-bats, making his performance the third-best for players with five or more postseason round-trippers. |
| 2002 | Six-time All-Star Kenny Lofton (.261, 14, 66) agrees to a $1.25 million, one-year contract with the White Sox. The 34-year-old center fielder, who has played with the Indians, Braves, and Astros during his 11-year major league career, has a .302 lifetime batting average. |
| 2003 |
 Red Sox president Larry Lucchino announces four United States senators, Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), John F. Kerry (D-MA), John McCain (R-AZ), and Tom Daschle (D-SD), plan to file legislation nominating Jackie Robinson for the Congressional Gold Medal. Other medal recipients have included statesman George Washington, boxer Joe Louis, and poet Robert Frost. |
| 2005 |
Yogi Berra files a $10 million lawsuit with the New York Supreme Court against Turner Broadcaster System due to a 'Sex and the City' ad, which used the Hall of Famer's name as a possible answer concerning the definition of yogasm. The choices included:
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| 2006 |
 At a luncheon at Safeco Field, Astros' second baseman Craig Biggio becomes the 41st recipient of the Hutch Award. The prestigious award, named in honor of Seattle's Fred Hutchinson, a major league pitcher and manager who died of cancer in 1964, is given annually to a Major League Baseball player who best exemplifies Hutch's fighting spirit and competitive desire.
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| 2008 | In the richest contract ever given to a pitcher, southpaw Johan Santana agrees to a $137.5 million, six-year deal, completing the blockbuster trade between the Twins and the Mets. In exchange for the two-time Cy Young Award winner, Minnesota gets four of New York's highly touted minor leaguers, including three top pitching prospects, Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey, and Deolis Guerra, as well as fleet-footed outfielder Carlos Gomez. |
| 2008 | Avoiding arbitration, the Indians sign Casey Blake (.270, 18, 78) to a $6.1 million, one-year deal. The 34-year-old third baseman moved to Cleveland's hot corner, replacing Andy Marte, who was injured and then sent back to the minors last season. |
| 2010 |
The Hall of Fame announces that 58-year-old Jon Miller is the recipient of this year's Ford C. Frick Award, an honor for baseball broadcasting excellence. The veteran broadcaster, starting his career with the A's in 1974 and calling games for the Rangers, Red Sox, and Orioles, is the current voice of the Giants and has served as ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball play-by-play commentator along with color analyst Joe Morgan since the telecast's debut in 1990.
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| 2010 | The Reds trade center fielder Willy Taveras and infielder Adam Rosales to the A's for infielder Aaron Miles and a player to be named. Cincinnati, using the money they saved in the deal, agrees to a $3.02 million, one-year contract with Orlando Cabrera to become the team's starting shortstop |
| 2011 | Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon sign one-year deals with the Rays. The free-agent outfielders, former Red Sox teammates who won two world championships with Boston, will help Tampa Bay fill the void created by Gold Glover Carl Crawford's departure to their old team. |
| 2011 | Wandy Rodriguez and the Astros avoid arbitration by agreeing on a $34 million, three-year deal. The 32-year-old southpaw, who has compiled a 62-64 record in his six years in the majors, all with Houston, won eight of his last ten decisions, posting a 2.03 ERA over his final 18 starts last season. |
| 2021 | Much to the chagrin of their fans, the Rockies officially announce the Nolan Arenado trade, sending the third baseman and cash consideration to the Cardinals for five players, including southpaw Austin Gomber and four minor league prospects. In April, Colorado will fire General Manager Jeff Bridich over being fleeced by St. Louis and his handling of the All-Star infielder, who is dissatisfied with the front office's efforts to build a contender. |
| 2024 | In Tallahassee (FL), Mike Martin, the winningest coach in NCAA history, dies at the age of 79 after a three-battle with Lewy body dementia. "Eleven," nicknamed for his jersey number, led the Seminoles to a 2,029-736-4 record with an NCAA tournament appearance in all 40 years as head coach, without winning the College World Series. |
23 Fact(s) Found