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This Day in Baseball History
January 13th

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20 Fact(s) Found
1922 Buck Weaver applies unsuccessfully for reinstatement in professional baseball, one of six attempts to clear his name. The Black Sox infielder remained banned for life due to allegations of throwing the 1919 World Series to the Reds, although he batted .324 and played errorless ball in the Fall Classic.
1958 On the eve of conferences to discuss the impact of major league telecasts on minor league attendance, Senator Kenneth Keating urges baseball to proceed with caution. The Republican legislator representing New York believes broadcasting big-league games in out-of-town markets could doom the existence of the minor leagues, which have already formally appealed to Congress about their 'desperate plight.'
1959 State Senator Joe Cowgill introduces a bill to build an eight-million-dollar stadium in Delaware Township, dependent on the nearby Phillies' decision to move to southern New Jersey. The proposed legislation results from team owner Bob Carpenter threatening to leave Philadelphia if the City of Brotherly Love doesn't build a new ballpark.
1972 Barred for five years due to gender discrimination, Bernice Gera wins her landmark lawsuit against the National Association of Baseball Leagues (NABL). The Ernest (NY) housewife will become the first female umpire in a professional game when she debuts in June at Geneva (New York), arbitrating a New York-Penn League contest.
1978 At 90, Hall of Fame manager Joe McCarthy dies of pneumonia in a Buffalo (NY) hospital. The former Cubs (1926-30), Yankees (1931-46), and Red Sox (1948-50) skipper compiled a 1460-867 (.627) record, winning nine pennants and seven World Championships during his 24-year tenure in the dugout.


(L-R) American League skipper Joe McCarthy shakes National
League pilot Bill Terry's hand in a meeting of All-Star managers.

1982 The BBWAA elects Hank Aaron (Braves, Brewers) and Frank Robinson (Reds, Orioles, Dodgers, Angels, Indians) to the Hall of Fame in the player's first year of eligibility. Hammerin' Hank, the all-time home run leader, falls just nine votes short of being the baseball writers' first player to be selected unanimously.


BaseballReference
1988 After hitting a meager .211 last season and not being offered a new contract by San Diego, former National League Most Valuable Player Steve Garvey decides to retire. The perennial All-Star first baseman for the Dodgers and Padres ends his 19-year career with a lifetime .294 batting average
1996 ðŸ‡Ļ🇚 Cuban defector Livan Hernandez agrees to a $4.5 million four-year deal, including a record $2.5 million bonus, to pitch for the Marlins. The 20-year-old right-hander, a Villa Clara native, will post a mediocre 24-24 record during his four years with the club but plays a pivotal role in the team's 1997 World Championship, posting wins in both World Series starts.
2001 Major League Baseball announces the Rangers and Blue Jays will begin the season in Puerto Rico, playing a pair of games at Hiram Bithorn Stadium, marking the third straight year that Opening Day will take place outside the United States and Canada. In 1999, the Rockies and Padres started the season in Monterrey, Mexico, and a year later, the Mets and Cubs played in Japan at the Tokyo Dome.
2005 The owners unanimously approve the $223-million sale of the Brewers to Mark Attanasio, a Los Angeles investor. The purchase of the team, formerly owned by the family of commissioner Bud Selig, ensures Milwaukee will keep their team due to a 30-year lease to play in newly built Miller Park.
2005 Marvin Miller, 88, the former executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association who helped change the nature of the player-owner relationship forever, receives the Judge Emil Fuchs Memorial Award from the Boston Chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The honor, named for Judge Emil E. Fuchs, who owned the hometown Braves from 1929 through 1935, is given for "long and meritorious service to baseball."

(Ed. Note: Other Fuchs Award recipients include former Baseball Commissioner (2004), former Red Sox pitcher Luis Tiant (2017), and Peter Gammons, a well-respected baseball analyst and writer. (2007)- LP)

2005 At the owners' meeting in Scottsdale (AZ), major league baseball and the players association agree in principle on a stricter drug-testing policy in response to the scrutiny of national lawmakers. Addressing a problem ignored for years, the new program, which includes steroids but not amphetamines, will randomly conduct tests year-round, with first-time offenders suspended for ten days and a fourth violation resulting in a one-year ban for the offending player.
2005 Hoping to sway the veterans' committee, North Dakota's House of Representatives approves House Concurrent Resolution 3006, proclaiming native son Roger Maris (Indians, A's, Yankees, Cardinals) should gain election to the Hall of Fame. The lawmakers' action, which Rep. Andy Maragos sponsored, orders the Secretary of State to send a copy of the resolution to the 85 baseball veterans' committee members, including 60 living members enshrined in Cooperstown.
2006 Johnny Estrada, who filed for arbitration after being traded from the Braves for relievers Lance Cormier and Oscar Villarreal, agrees to a $2 million, one-year contract to catch for the Diamondbacks. The former All-Star backstop had limited playing time after a midseason home plate collision with Angels' center fielder Darin Erstad.
2006 Legal proceedings begin to determine if Arte Moreno violated a ten-year-old contract that Anaheim claims to have cost the city $100 million in tourism and merchandising revenue when the owner changed the team's name from the Anaheim Angels to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Some people in the crowded courtroom for the much-anticipated trial wear Angel-colored red T-shirts imprinted with the words "We Are Not L.A." to show their displeasure with the Halos' new identity.
2009 Appearing on Larry King Live, President George W. Bush makes it very clear he doesn't have any interest in becoming baseball's commissioner when Bud Selig leaves the post. The former owner of the Rangers, who leaves office in seven days, tells the CNN talk show host he isn't looking to get back into the game in any capacity.
2009 The Brewers announce a $6 million, one-year deal with free-agent reliever Trevor Hoffman after the all-time career saves leader passes a physical. The 41-year-old right-hander, a fixture in the Padres bullpen since 1993, has compiled 554 saves in 930 relief appearances during his 16-year tenure in the major leagues.
2010 Royals' general manager Dayton Moore hires former Milwaukee manager Ned Yost as a special advisor. The 54-year-old former major league catcher met the Kansas City GM when they worked in the Braves organization.
2010 Ryan Church and the Pirates agree on a $1.5 million, one-year deal. Pittsburgh plans to use a 31-year-old left-handed hitting outfielder, who batted .273 with the Mets and Braves in an injury-plagued season last year, to be the team's fourth outfielder, backing up Brandon Moss, Andrew McCutchen, and Lastings Milledge.
2020 Major League Baseball suspends Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and skipper AJ Hinch this season without pay for their role in Houston's sign-stealing scheme, with team owner Jim Crane firing both men an hour later. In addition to the suspensions, other MLB penalties include the club forfeiting their 2020 and 2021 first-and second-round draft picks and a $5 million fine, the most substantial amount allowed under the organization's constitution.
20 Fact(s) Found