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This Day in Baseball History
November 4th

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25 Fact(s) Found
1935 NFL standout Cal Hubbard becomes an American League umpire. The former Green Bay Packers offensive tackle will become the only person enshrined in the Pro Football and Baseball Hall of Fame.
1957 With a new rule, an option now includes keeping the ball in play after a balk call. If a player gets a hit, a team can accept the batted ball's outcome instead of being limited to the advance of the baserunner(s).
1959 Ernie Banks (.304, 45, 143) becomes the first National Leaguer to win consecutive MVP awards. 'Mr. Cub,' playing for a fifth-place team, garners 10 of the writers' 21 first-place votes, with Eddie Mathews (5) and Hank Aaron (2) of the Braves and Dodger Wally Moon (4) found on top of the remaining ballots.
1963 The Cardinals trade outfielder George Altman and pitcher Bill Wakefield to the Mets for veteran right-hander Roger Craig. Next season, the hard-luck hurler, who has lost 20 games the last two years, will win Game 4 of the Fall Classic, beating the Yankees for the World Champion Redbirds.
1965 Al Lopez resigns as the manager of the White Sox. The future Hall of Fame skipper will briefly return to the Chicago dugout to manage 47 games in 1968 and 17 games the following season before retiring for good.
1975 Orioles hurler Jim Palmer, garnering 15 of the 24 first-place votes cast by the writers, wins the second of his three Cy Young awards, easily outpointing runners-up Yankees' right-hander Catfish Hunter and A's reliever Rollie Fingers. The 30-year-old Baltimore ace first copped the prestigious pitching prize in 1973, posted a 23-11 record along with a league-leading 2.40 ERA for the second-place team.
1980 Japan's all-time home run hitter, Sadaharu Oh, retires from professional baseball. The Tokyo Yomiuri Giants' first baseman hit a record-setting 868 home runs in his 22-year playing career.
1997 Phillies infielder Scott Rolen, who led all freshman players in the National League in batting average (.283), home runs (21), and RBIs (92), is the unanimous choice for the circuit's Rookie of the Year Award. The third baseman, who did not qualify as a rookie last season by one at-bat after having his wrist broken when hit by a pitch, becomes the first Philadelphia player to win the award since Dick Allen copped the honor in 1964.
2001 For the first time since 1985, two twenty-game winners start Game 7 of the World Series when Yankee right-hander Roger Clemens (20-3) faces Curt Schilling (22-6) of the Diamondbacks at Bank One Ballpark in Arizona. Sixteen years ago, Bret Saberhagen (20-6) of the Royals squared off against Cardinal hurler John Tudor (21-8) in the Fall Classic finale at Kauffman Stadium.
2001 In Game 7 of a classic World Series, Arizona rallies for two runs in the bottom of the ninth, defeating the Yankees and their usually unbeatable closer, Mariano Rivera, 3-2. The four-year-old Diamondbacks, the youngest franchise to win a Fall Classic, end New York's string of three consecutive World Championships.

2001 Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling are named co-MVPs of the World Series. The Diamondback hurlers are the first multiple winners since a trio of Dodgers (Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero, and Steve Yeager) shared the award in 1981.
2002 Eric Hinske (.279, 24, 84) wins the American League Rookie of the Year award. The 25-year-old Blue Jays third baseman receives 19 of 28 first-place votes cast by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, with Oriole starter Rodrigo Lopez getting the other nine first-place nods.
2002 Colorado Rockies right-hander Jason Jennings (16-6, 4.52) becomes the first member of the Rockies to be selected by the BBWAA as the National League Rookie of the Year. The 24-year-old right-hander receives 27 first-place votes from the 32 writers participating in the balloting.
2003 Former Yankee captain Don Mattingly is named the Bronx Bombers' hitting coach, replacing Rick Down. The 42-year-old, who retired due to back problems, will be a top candidate to replace Joe Torre as the manager in 2005.
2003 Miami-Dade County Commissioners approved a plan committing $73 million in tax money toward a new major league ballpark for the Marlins. The World Champions, who have agreed to change their name to the Miami Marlins if the city builds the ballpark, want to begin playing in the $325 million new park in 2007 but need to raise $137 million for their part of their commitment.
2004 Philadelphia names Charlie Manuel as the team's new manager, replacing Larry Bowa, who was fired at the end of the season after the much-favored Phillies failed to make the postseason. The former Cleveland skipper compiled a 220-190 (.537) record and won a division during his three years with the Tribe.
2004 The Mets introduced Willie Randolph as the franchise's 18th manager. The long-time Yankee second baseman and third base coach becomes the first black to manage in New York.
2005 The Yankees continue to makeover their coaching staff when Ron Guidry, a former three-time 20-game winner, is named to replace Mel Stottlemyre as the team's pitching coach, and former Red Sox skipper Joe Kerrigan joins the team as its bullpen coach. Earlier in the week, the Bronx Bombers added former big league managers Larry Bowa (third-base coach), Lee Mazzilli (bench coach), and Tony Pena (first-base coach) to Joe Torre's staff.
2008 Barack Obama, a long-time White Sox fan, is elected as the 44th president of the United States. The junior senator from Illinois, the first African-American to become the nation's Commander-in-Chief, is friendly with the team's general manager, Kenny Williams, a prominent member of Chicago's black community.
2009 In Game 6 of the Fall Classic, the Yankees captured their 27th World Championship and first since 2000, with a 7-3 decision over the Phillies, the defending champs. Hideki Matsui, New York's designated hitter, collects six RBIs, tying a World Series mark, and Andy Pettitte became the second pitcher to get the victory in all three postseason-clinching games, joining Derek Lowe, who accomplished the feat with Boston in 2004.
2009 Ryan Howard breaks Royals outfielder Willie Wilson's record, established in the 1980 Fall Classic against Philadelphia, for the most strikeouts in a World Series. The Phillies' slugging first baseman, the NLCS MVP against the Dodgers, earns the dubious distinction when he whiffs in the eighth inning of Game 6, making it the 13th time he returned to the bench without putting the ball in play.
2010 Instead of negotiating a new multi-year contract with their designated hitter, the Red Sox decide to exercise their $12.5 million option on 34-year-old David Ortiz for the upcoming season. 'Big Papi,' who would have preferred a long-term contract, led Boston with 32 homers and 102 RBIs.
2010

"Jump on board, boys. I'm going to carry us tonight. Don't even worry about it. Just back me up a little, and I'll take us to Game 7." - KIRBY PUCKETT, 1991 World Series speech before Game used as an inscription.

The unveiling of a 7½-foot bronze statue depicting Kirby Puckett's pumping his fist as he rounds second base following his 11th-inning walk-off homer in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series takes place at Target Field. Sculptor Bill Mack, who also created the ballpark's likenesses of Rod Carew and Harmon Killebrew, attended the Metrodome game the night Puck hit the most iconic home run in Twins history.

Kirby Puckett
2011 Jim Thome, 41, returns to the Phillies, inking a $1.25 million, one-year contract as a free agent with the team. The slugger, who hit 15 homers with the Twins and the Indians last season, completed three seasons of his six-year $85 million deal with the club before his 2005 trade to the White Sox for Aaron Rowand and two southpaw prospects, Gio Gonzalez and Daniel Haigwood.
2013 The Mets and Clear Channel Media and Entertainment announce the launching of a five-year multimedia marketing partnership. WOR (710 AM) will become the team's flagship radio station, replacing WFAN (660 AM), which will now broadcast Yankee games after carrying the Amazins for the past 26 years.

25 Fact(s) Found