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This Day in Baseball History
March 12th

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11 Fact(s) Found
1903 After the club ceases operations in the Charm City, Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchase the original American League team in Baltimore, receiving approval from 15 of 16 major league owners to move the team to New York to play as the Highlanders. Giants' owner John T. Brush cast the dissenting vote, believing the new club, known as the Yankees starting in 1913, will compete for fans in the Big Apple.
1971 The Cubs catcher Randy Hundley suffers a badly sprained knee and will play only nine games this season. In 1968, the venerable backstop caught 160 games for Chicago, starting 156 of those contests and playing every inning in 146 of those games.
1980 The BBWAA elects National League outfielder Chuck Klein, who compiled a .320 batting average during his 17-year career, and former Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey to the Hall of Fame. Yawkey becomes the first person selected who was not a player, manager, or general manager.

Yawkey Plaque small

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1982 Ballantine Books publishes the first of seven annual Bill James Abstracts, bringing the author into the national spotlight for his statistical insight into the game. The sabermetrician's initial self-published efforts, written on the night shift as a security guard at the Stokely-Van Camp's pork and beans cannery, introduce baseball fans to new ways of measuring a player's ability with stats such as Runs Created.

Amazon The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract

1991 At the age of 45, Jim Palmer's attempted comeback ends when the newly elected Hall of Famer tears his hamstring warming up before an exhibition appearance against Boston. The Orioles right-hander, who hadn't thrown a major league pitch in seven seasons, keeps his 268-152 and 2.86 ERA intact, which he accomplished during a 19-year career on the mound.
2001 Richard Hidalgo signs the third-richest contract in Astro history with a four-year $32-million deal with the club. The outfielder's pact is less than teammates Jeff Bagwell's $85 million (5 years) and Craig Biggio's $33 million (4 years).
2003 This week's second exhibition season bench-clearing brawl occurs when a raging Mike Piazza charges the mound after being hit by a pitch thrown by Guillermo Mota, who makes it to the dugout without being caught. The incident may be a follow-up to a similar event last spring when a shoving match between the two players resulted when the Mets' All-Star catcher waited for Mota and grabbed the Dodger reliever's jersey coming off the field in the eighth inning of the game.
2006 Over 15,000 Twins fans attend a memorial service at the Metrodome to pay their final respects to Kirby Puckett, who died unexpectedly, at 45, after suffering a stroke last week. During the emotional ceremony, former teammates and fellow Hall of Famer Cal Ripken lighten the mood by sharing humorous anecdotes about the beloved Minnesota outfielder with the crowd.

2008 The benches clear in a rare spring training brawl when Shelley Duncan slides into second base, with his spikes aimed at Rays infielder Akinori Iwamura after being thrown out by a wide margin. Tampa Bay's aggressive play four days ago, which resulted in a home-plate collision that injured Yankee catcher Francisco Cervelli, may have precipitated the incident.
2010 In the opener of a scheduled three-game exhibition series in Taiwan, the Dodgers are defeated by an All-Star squad from the Chinese Professional League (CPBL) at Taipei's Tienmu Baseball Stadium, 5-3. The road trip is the team's second journey to the Chinese island, having finished with one win and two losses during a trio of spring training games in 1993.
2015 Will Ferrell, hoping to raise awareness of organizations trying to cure cancer, plays nine positions while appearing for ten teams in five Cactus League exhibition games. The comedian's effort in Arizona, detailed in an upcoming HBO documentary, is severely criticized by former NFL coach and broadcasting legend John Madden, who calls the stunt disrespectful and insulting to the game of baseball.


11 Fact(s) Found