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This Day in Baseball History
December 12th

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21 Fact(s) Found
1903 The Cardinals trade Mordecai Brown and catcher Jack O'Neill to the Cubs in exchange for backstop Larry McLean and Jack Taylor, a righty who will set the record for consecutive complete games in one season next year with 39 when he compiles a 20-19 record for the Redbirds. The future Hall of Fame right-hander, nicknamed Three Finger due to a farm-machinery accident when he was 11 years old, will post a 188-86 (.686) record, including six consecutive seasons of 20+ wins, during his ten-year tenure with Chicago.
1913 The Reds trade outfielder Bob Bescher to the Giants for shortstop Buck Herzog, who will become the team's player-manager, replacing Joe Tinker in the Cincinnati dugout. In his 2+ plus seasons, the club's new skipper will compile a 165-226 (.422) record, never finishing higher than seventh place in the eight-team circuit.
1920 Major League Baseball approaches U.S. District Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who will be elected and assume the post in January, to be its first commissioner. The selection of the tough-minded jurist appears to be a move by the owners to restore the integrity of the game after the 1919 World Series scandal that involved eight White Sox players paid off by professional gamblers to throw the Fall Classic against Cincinnati.
1930 The rules committee decides a ball that bounces into the stands will no longer be a home run but will become a ground-rule double. Babe Ruth's career total of round-trippers may have been slightly higher due to the existing ground rules in various ballparks at the time; however, research has never uncovered any of his 60 home runs in 1927 hopped into the seats.
1933 The A's swap their ace Lefty Grove, Rube Wallberg, and Max Bishop to the Red Sox for Bob Kline, Rabbit Warstler, and $125,000. The 33-year-old future Hall of Fame southpaw continues to pitch well for his new team, compiling a 105-62 (.629) record, leading the league with the best ERA in four of the eight seasons he hurls for Boston.
1941 The Dodgers obtain Arky Vaughn from the Pirates for right-hander Luke Hamlin, 1B/OF Jimmy Wasdell, and catcher Babe Phelps. The future Hall of Fame infielder, who will have his stint in Brooklyn interrupted by WWII, plays four seasons for the club, compiling a .291 batting average.
1950 The owners drop the bonus and high school rule, designed to prevent the wealthier clubs from monopolizing the available talent. The previous edict mandated that all 'bonus' players stay on the major league roster after one season in the minors.
1952 Peter J. McGovern becomes the Little League's president, replacing Charles Durban, who resigned due to ill health. The organization started with two leagues in 1939 and has grown to 1,800 in 48 states and international sites.
1966 With Justices W. Douglas, H.Black, and W.Brennan in favor but opposed by Chief Justice E.Warren, Associate Justices P. Stewart, J. Marshall Harlan II, B. White, and T.Clark, the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to review Wisconsin's suit to block the Braves' move to Atlanta by a 4-3 vote. The team initially announced its intention to move to the Peach State for the 1965 season, but the injunction filed by the state in Wisconsin forced the club to stay put in Milwaukee for one final year.
1979 Re-entry free agents second baseman Rennie Stennett, catcher Milt May, and outfielder Jim Wohlford sign with the Giants. The combined total of the contracts is nearly $5 million.
1998 After being given his last rites, Hall of Fame outfielder Joe DiMaggio appears to make a miraculous recovery, defying his doctors' dire predictions. In mid-January, the 'Yankee Clipper' is allowed to go home after a 99-day hospital stay but will die at his home in Florida on March 8 after a long battle with lung cancer.
1998 Kevin Brown signs a seven-year deal with the Dodgers, becoming baseball's first 100+ million dollar man. The right-handed free agent, who posted an 18-7 record last season with the Padres, is the first major leaguer to earn an average salary of $15 million per season, much to the chagrin of the other owners.
2007 In a six-player deal, the Orioles trade former American League MVP Miguel Tejada to the Astros for three pitchers (Matt Albers, Troy Patton, Dennis Sarfate), outfielder Luke Scott, and third baseman Michael Costanzo. The acquisition of the four-time All-Star shortstop is the latest move in a busy offseason for Houston, which includes signing free-agent second baseman Kaz Matsui and trading reliever Brad Lidge to the Phillies for Michael Bourn.
2007 Free-agent Aaron Rowand (.309, 27, 89) and the Giants agree to a $60-million, five-year deal. The team plans to bat 30-year-old Gold Glove center fielder fifth, filling the void in the outfield created by the departure of Barry Bonds.
2007 Paul Lo Duca and the Nationals agree to a $5 million, one-year deal that puts the former Mets catcher behind Washington's home plate. The free-agent backstop became expendable and much-needed in the same instance when New York dealt Lastings Milledge to get the Nats' starting catcher, Brian Schneider.
2008 The Yankees sign their second ace this week as the club reaches an agreement with free-agent A.J. Burnett. The Bronx Bombers ink the former Blue Jays right-hander to a $82.5 million, five-year deal after giving CC Sabathia $161 million over seven years two days ago.
2008 The Pirates sign Ramon Vazquez, the only player with major league experience added to the club during the winter meetings, to a two-year deal worth $4 million. The versatile infielder played all four infield positions last season while compiling a career-high .290 batting average with the Rangers.
2008 The Mets, reeling from their second consecutive season-ending collapse, continue overhauling their much-maligned bullpen, which blew 29 saves in 72 chances (40%). Scott Schoeneweis joins Joe Smith and Aaron Heilman in becoming the latest New York reliever the team trades when the southpaw goes to the Diamondbacks for Connor Robertson, a right-hander acquired by Arizona in the Dan Haren deal.
2009 Brandon Lyon (6-5, 2.86) and the Astros finalize their $15 million, three-year deal. The Tigers' former right-handed reliever, who saved 26 games for Arizona in 2008, hopes to be the club's closer but may be used in Houston as the set-up man to get to Matt Lindstrom.
2010 The Metrodome's inflatable roof collapses after a storm drops 17 inches of snow on Minnesota. The domed stadium, home of the Twins and Vikings, forces the NFL team to shift their game against the New York Giants to Detroit's Ford Field.
2013 The Mariners land the most sought-after free agent when the team signs Robinson Cano to a 10-year, $240-million contract, a value that equals Albert Pujols' deal with the Angels, the third-largest in baseball history. The Yankees, the 32-year-old's former team, did not want to invest financially in the long term for their All-Star second baseman, recently inked outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury for $153 million (7 years) and catcher Brian McCann for $85 million (5 years).
21 Fact(s) Found