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19 Fact(s) Found
| 1914 |
The Cubs exchange second basemen with the Braves, sending future Hall of Famer Johnny Evers to Boston for Bill Sweeney. Boston's new middle infielder plays a pivotal role in the club's World Championship this season, garnering the Chalmers Award as the league's Most Valuable Player.
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| 1920 | A group of eight midwestern team owners meets at the Kansas City YMCA to organize the Negro National League, which will become one of the most successful ventures of its kind. Rube Foster, the owner/manager of the American Giants, will become president of the new circuit, leading to accusations of favoritism, which appear especially true when Chicago's schedule plays a disproportionate number of games at home. |
| 1935 | Former major league journeyman Gus Dugas, a French-Canadian obtained by the Montreal Royals from Albany of the International League in November, signs his contract while visiting relatives in his native province of Quebec. The French language contract is the first in the history of professional baseball. |
| 1953 |
In honor of their longtime owner and manager, the A's rename their Philadelphia ballpark from Shibe Park to Connie Mack Stadium. During his 50-year tenure as Athletics skipper, the 'Tall Tactician' guided the team to nine American League pennants and appeared in eight World Series, winning five Fall Classics.
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| 1964 | At the age of twenty-two, Cubs' second baseman Ken Hubbs dies when the red and white Cessna 172 plane he is piloting crashes one quarter-mile south of Bird Island in Utah Lake during a winter storm. The 1962 National League Rookie of the Year took flying lessons for the past two off-seasons to overcome his fear of flying, obtaining his license last month. |
| 1968 | The Dodgers trade infielders Ron Hunt and Nate Oliver to the Giants for backstop Tom Haller. The 30-year-old All-Star catcher will compile a respectable .276 batting average during his four years behind the plate for LA. |
| 1970 | A day after his 27th birthday, Paul Edmondson and his girlfriend are killed in an automobile accident in San Barbara (CA) when his automobile skids on a rain-slicked U.S. Route 101 and crashes into oncoming traffic. The White Sox had hoped their sophomore right-hander would become the fourth starter in the team's rotation after compiling a misleading 1-6 record last season, which included a complete game two-hitter beating California 9â1 in his major league debut last June. |
| 1986 |
Ron Hassey, whom the White Sox acquired two months ago from the Yankees, is traded back to the Bronx Bombers, along with three minor-leaguers for Neil Allen, Scott Bradley, and a minor leaguer. In December, the Bronx Bombers sent the 32-year-old catcher to the Windy City, along with Joe Cowley, who will toss a no-hitter in September, for Britt Burns and two minor leaguers.
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| 1987 | Jack Morris receives the highest salary ever given to a pitcher by arbitration when the Tigers must pay the hurler $1.85 million for his services next season. The 31-year-old right-hander will not disappoint, posting an 18-11 record and an ERA of 3.38 for the AL East Division champions. |
| 1995 | A Japanese Uniform Players Contract loophole enables the Dodgers to sign 26-year-old right-hander Hideo Nomo as a free agent, giving the five-time Japanese All-Star a $2 million signing bonus. In May, the 'Tornado Boy' will become the first Japanese-born Major Leaguer to appear in a major league game since Masanori Murakami pitched for the Giants in 1965. |
| 2002 | The Red Sox sign 43-year-old Rickey Henderson, who will bat .223 in 72 games for Boston this season, to a minor-league contract. Last year with the Padres, the future Hall of Famer got his 3000th career hit while breaking the major league records for walks and runs. |
| 2003 | The Mets sign 40-year-old David Cone, who compiled an 80-48 record with the team from 1987-1992, to a minor league contract. The veteran right-hander is coming out of retirement, hoping to win the fifth spot in the rotation. |
| 2005 | Ben Sheets (12-14, 2.70) and the Brewers avoid an arbitration hearing and agree to a one-year contract valued at $5.5 million. The All-Star right-hander, who made $2.5 million last season, established a team record last May, striking out 18 batters in a game. |
| 2005 | After 19 years at shortstop for the Reds, Barry Larkin announces his retirement as an active player to become a special assistant to Nationals general manager Jim Bowden, who served as Cincinnati's GM from 1992 to 2001. The 40-year-old former Gold Glove infielder spent his entire career in his hometown. |
| 2006 | Avoiding an arbitration hearing, Adam Dunn (.247, 40, 101) and the Reds agree to an $18.5 million two-year deal, which gives the team a 2008 option for $13 million with a buyout for $500,000. The 26-year-old outfielder/first baseman, who led the big leagues in strikeouts for the second consecutive season, had asked for $8.95 million, with the club countering with $7.1 million. |
| 2008 | Takashi Saito (2-1, 1.40), who signed a minor-league deal with the Dodgers two years ago after playing 14 seasons in the Japanese Central League with the Yokohama Bay Stars, agrees to a $2 million, one-year contract to stay with Los Angeles. The 37-year-old All-Star closer had 39 saves in 43 chances last season. |
| 2008 |
In a much anticipated congressional hearing, Roger Clemens and his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee, testify for four and a half hours concerning the allegations of the Rocket's use of performance-enhancing drugs. Republicans believe the seven-time Cy Young Award winner, while Democrats favor his chief accuser's account of events.
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| 2009 | To avoid arbitration for the remainder of his career, Ryan Howard agrees to a three-year, $54 million deal with Philadelphia. The Phillies slugger, who led the major leagues in home runs (48) and RBI (146), was unable to reach a contract settlement in less than friendly negotiations with the team and was awarded $10 million by arbitrators during the 2008 off-season tying the highest sum ever given to a player in the process. |
| 2012 | Yoenis Cespedes and the A's have reached a reported four-year, $36 million deal, pending the results of a physical examination. The Cuban defector, slotted to play center field, moving Coco Crisp to left, hit .458 with a double, three triples, two home runs, and five RBIs in the six games he played in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. |
19 Fact(s) Found