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This Day in Baseball History
November 8th

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22 Fact(s) Found
1920 At a meeting to dismiss American League president Ban Johnson, the White Sox, Red Sox, and the Yankees threaten to pull out of the AL and join a new 12-team National League. The revolutionary new senior circuit, including a Detroit team unrelated to the Tigers, falls apart a few days later.
1928 Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly approve a referendum allowing professional sports on Sundays within the commonwealth in localities supporting that option. After admitting to using $200,000 of his funds, Braves' owner Judge Emil Fuchs will plead nolo contendere to spending money to influence the election outcome, resulting in the team being fined $1,000 in Municipal Court.
1950 Commissioner Happy Chandler and a player representative from each league agree on appropriating the $975,000 derived from radio and TV rights from this season's Fall Classic. After some initial resistance from Cardinals shortstop Marty Marion, the NL rep who thought some of the proceeds should go to the players' World Series pool, the group decides to place the money into the pension fund.
1950 The BBWAA selects Walt Dropo, who led the American League with 144 RBIs, as the American League's Rookie of the Year. The 26-year-old slugging first baseman, who easily outpointed Yankee southpaw Whitey Ford, is the first Red Sox player to win the award.
1951 Baseball Writers' Association of America names Yankees catcher Yogi Berra (.294, 27, 88) as the American League's Most Valuable Player. The 27-year-old catcher, who will also cop the honor in 1954 and 1955, edges out the Browns' 20-game winner Ned Garver, who thought he had won the award when a BBWAA representative misinformed him before a recount gave the Bronx Bomber backstop the edge, 184-157.
1967 The Mets obtain Art Shamsky from the Reds in exchange for infielder Bob Johnson, who will play only 16 games for his new team before being traded to Atlanta. New York's latest outfielder will hit 42 home runs playing part-time during his four seasons with the team.
1977 Hall of Fame skipper Bucky Harris, who compiled a 2158- 2219 (.493) record with five teams during his 29 years in the dugout, dies on his 81st birthday in Bethesda, Maryland. In 1924, the 27-year-old 'Boy Wonder' became the Senators' player-manager, winning a World Championship with Washington in his first year at the helm.
1983 Reliever Jesse Orosco garners four votes for the National League Most Valuable Player Award, ending a six-year drought in which no Mets player received a single nod for the honor. The last time a writer cast an MVP vote for a New York National Leaguer was on the 1976 ballot when the writers considered Tom Seaver.
1983 Dale Murphy (.302, 36, 121) joins Ernie Banks (1958-59), Joe Morgan (1975-76), and Mike Schmidt (1980-81) as one of the four National Leaguers who has won the MVP award in consecutive seasons. The soft-spoken Braves' outfielder receives 21 of the 24 votes cast by the writers.
1990 Darryl Strawberry, the Mets' all-time home run leader (252), ends his eight-year turbulent tenure with New York. The slugging right fielder signs a five-year free-agent deal with his hometown Dodgers.
1999 The U.S. House of Representatives passes H. Res. 269, honoring former White Sox star 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson. U.S. Representative Jim DeMint (R-SC) drafted the resolution to pay tribute to the Greenville legend, banned from professional baseball due to his involvement in the 1919 Black Sox scandal, and prohibited the outfielder from becoming a member of the Hall of Fame.
2000 The BBWAA selects Jerry Manuel as the American League Manager of the Year. The White Sox skipper led his club to their first playoff appearance in seven years despite having the 21st-lowest payroll of the 30 major league teams.
2004 Jason Bay (.282, 26, 82) becomes the first Pirates player and the first Canadian to win the National League Rookie of the Year. The 26-year-old British Columbia native married his college girlfriend, Kristen, two days ago.
2004 Receiving 27 of 28 first-place votes, Bobby Crosby (.239, 22, 64) wins the American League Rookie of the Year Award. The Oakland shortstop, who is the son of former big leaguer infielder Ed Crosby, joins Harry Byrd (1952), Jose Canseco (1986), Mark McGwire (1987), Walt Weiss (1988), and Ben Grieve (1998) as the sixth A's freshman to be honored by the BBWAA.
2005 Joining Dean Chance, Bartolo Colon becomes the second Angels pitcher, the first in 41 years, to win the Cy Young Award. The 32-year-old Halo hurler from the Dominican Republic, who led the American League with 21 victories, is the only player named on every ballot.
2007 In front of 7,000 fans at Straub Park, Tampa Bay announces the name change from the Devil Rays to the Rays after considering 'Aces,' 'Bandits,' 'Cannons,' 'Dukes,' 'Stripes,' and the 'Nine,' the personal favorite of club owner Stuart Sternberg, as other monikers. The team also reveals uniforms featuring the colors of Columbia blue, Navy blue, and gold with a yellow sunburst logo, replacing the 11-year-old franchise's original hues of green and blue and its logo of a cartilaginous fish.
2008 The Red Sox induct former players Bill Lee, Mo Vaughn, Mike Greenwell, Wes Ferrell, Frank Sullivan, Everett Scott, former scout George Digby, and former executive Ed Kenney Sr. into the team's Hall of Fame. The team also recognizes Ted Williams' homer in his last at-bat and Curt Schilling's performance (bloody sock) in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS for their special significance in Red Sox history.
2008 The Brewers hire Willie Randolph as a bench coach to work with the team's new manager, Ken Macha. The 54-year-old former Mets manager compiled a 302-253 record during his three-plus years in New York before being dismissed in June.
2008 A group of Bronx high schoolers and a few players remove rain-soaked dirt from the former Yankee Stadium, bringing it across the street where it is mixed with the dirt around the new $1.3 billion ballpark's home plate and pitcher's rubber, also removed during the ceremony. The students are participants in a team-sponsored high school program designed to assist local youths in pursuing careers in architecture, engineering, and construction.
2010 Jhonny Peralta and the Tigers come to terms on a $11.25 million, two-year contract, keeping the shortstop in Detroit. The agreement solidifies the left side of the team's infield for the next couple of years with the re-signing of third baseman Brandon Inge to a similar deal three weeks ago.
2010 ESPN announces Jon Miller and Joe Morgan will no longer do Sunday Night Baseball, ending the pair's 21-year tenure behind the mike. Network executive vice president Norby Williamson thanked the Hall of Famers for their outstanding work but did not name any replacements. ESPN announces Jon Miller and Joe Morgan will no longer do Sunday Night Baseball, ending the pair's 21-year tenure behind the mike. Network executive vice president Norby Williamson thanked the Hall of Famers for their outstanding body of work but did not name any replacements.

2012 The Orioles announce hiring Dan Duquette as their executive vice president for baseball operations, replacing Andy MacPhail. The 53-year-old former Red Sox general manager (1994-2002), who inked a three-year deal with the Birds, takes over a franchise that has suffered through 14 successive losing seasons
22 Fact(s) Found