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This Day in Baseball History
November 15th

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34 Fact(s) Found
1886 The American Association's Red Stockings deal rookie catcher Jack Boyle and $400 to the Browns in exchange for outfielder Hugh Nicol. The transaction is the first recorded trade in major league history.
1908 In the first contest of a 14-game barnstorming trip, 21-year-old Cuban hurler Jose Mendez one-hits the visiting Reds, 1-0. In the following two weeks, the Almendares right-hander throws another seven shutout innings in relief and finishes by tossing a second complete-game shutout, recording an incredible 25 consecutive scoreless innings against the first major league club to ever play on the island.
1933 The Phillies and Cardinals swap catchers, with hard-hitting Virgil Davis going to St. Louis and Jimmy Wilson traded to the 'City of Brotherly Love.' Philadelphia makes the deal to have the former Redbird backstop become the team's player-manager, a position 'Ace' will hold for five seasons.
1951 Although not included on the club's spring training rosters, 20-year-old Giant outfielder Willie Mays and Yankee infielder Gil McDougald, 23, win the Rookie of the Year honors in their respective leagues. White Sox outfielder/third baseman Minnie Minoso, the runner-up in the American League, loses his bid for the prestigious freshman award to his New York rival by a slim 13-11 margin after having a superior offensive season, including compiling a .326 batting average and stealing 31 bases.
1961 Roger Maris is named American League's Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive year. The new single-season record holder with 61 home runs edges his more popular Yankee teammate Mickey Mantle, who was hospitalized with a severe abscessing septic infection on his hip late in the season, by four votes, 202-198.
1962 The White Sox release 299-game winner Early Wynn, enabling the veteran right-hander to make a deal with other clubs to win his 300th game. Next July, the future 43-year-old Hall of Famer will pitch the first five innings of a contest for Cleveland, reaching the milestone when the Indians down the Kansas City A's, 7-4.
1967 Triple Crown winner Carl Yastrzemski (.326, 44, 121), receiving 19 of 20 first-place votes, is selected by the BBWAA as the American League's Most Valuable Player. A writer puts the light-hitting Twins infielder Cesar Tovar (.267, 6, 47) on the top of his ballot, denying the 28-year-old Red Sox outfielder of being the unanimous choice for the award.
1968 Jim Bouton agrees to a one-year deal worth $22,000 to play for the expansion Pilots, who had purchased the right-hander from New York last month for $20,000, with his previous team agreeing to pick up $12,000 of the salary. The knuckleballer uses his tenure with the club and his experiences with the Astros after being traded to Houston to chronicle the 1969 season, along with stories from his Yankee years, in his groundbreaking book, Ball Four, a publication which will not endear him to Major League Baseball.
1972 Dick Allen, receiving 21 of 24 first-place votes, is named the American League's MVP by the Baseball Writers Association of America. The White Sox's slugging first baseman barely missed accomplishing the Triple Crown, leading the league with 37 home runs and 113 RBIs while batting .308, the third-best average in the circuit.
1983 Cal Ripken (.318, 27, 102) is named the American League's MVP, with teammate Eddie Murray and Chicago catcher Carlton Fisk also receiving first-place votes. The Orioles' infielder becomes the first player to win the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player Awards in consecutive years.
1988 Kirk Gibson is named the National League Most Valuable Player, with Mets outfielders Darryl Strawberry and Kevin McReynolds also receiving first-place votes for the award. The Dodger World Series hero, the first MVP not to be named an All-Star in the same season, batted .290 and drove in 76 runs in 150 games.
2000 Jason Giambi (.333, 43, 137) wins the American League MVP Award, edging out two-time winner White Sox first baseman Frank Thomas. The A's first baseman receives 14 of the 24 first-place ballots cast by the BBWAA.
2001 Yankee right-hander Roger Clemens (20-3, 3.51 ERA) wins the Cy Young Award for an unprecedented sixth time (Red Sox -1986, '87, '91 and Blue Jays -1997, '98). The 'Rocket' becomes the first Pinstriper to win the award since 1978, when Ron Guidry copped the honor.
2002 The Mariners select Diamondbacks' bench coach Bob Melvin, making him the team's twelfth manager in franchise history. The 41-year-old former major league catcher is replacing Lou Piniella, who asked to be released from his contract with Seattle to take a job closer to his home as the Devil Rays' skipper next season.
2004 Barry Bonds (.362, 45, 101), the only player to be his league's Most Valuable Player more than three times, is named by the BBWAA for a record seventh time, including an unprecedented fourth consecutive season. The Giants' 40-year-old left-fielder surpasses Willie Stargell as the oldest player to win the award.
2005 The players' association and owners agree to toughen the current penalties (10 days for the second offense, 30 days for the second offense, and 60 days for the third time) for the use of steroids, using a 50-game suspension for a first offense, 100 games for a second, and a lifetime ban for a third. The agreement also adds the much-needed testing for amphetamines, which will result in mandatory additional testing for first-time positives, with a second offense drawing a 25-game suspension and a third offense leading to an 80-game banishment.
2005 Alex Rodriguez wins the American League MVP Award for the second time in three seasons. The Yankees' third baseman edges out David Ortiz, the Red Sox DH, fueling the controversy that a designated hitter is not considered an all-around player by many baseball writers who vote for the honor.
2005 The Devil Rays introduce Joe Maddon as the franchise's fourth manager after considering the team's bench coach John McLaren as a possible successor to Lou Piniella. The new skipper, formerly a bench coach for Mike Scioscia of the Angels, believes that despite the club's poor record and having the lowest payroll in baseball, the young, talented team can start a winning tradition in Tampa Bay based on his computer-generated analysis.

(Ed. Note: Maddon will compile a 754-705 (.517) record, bringing the club to the postseason four times during his nine-year tenure with the club. -LP)
2006 Six weeks after the Marlins fired him, Joe Girardi wins the NL Manager of the Year award when he received 18 of 32 first-place votes in the BBWAA's balloting. The unemployed freshman skipper, who easily outpointed Willie Randolph of the Mets for the honor, is the first manager of a losing team (78-84) to cop the award.
2006 Jim Leyland, who led the eventual AL champion Tigers in his first year at the helm to their first winning season since 1993, is named the American League Manager of the Year. The veteran skipper received 19 of the writers' 28 first-place votes, easily outdistancing the Twins' Ron Gardenhire for the award.
2007 A federal grand jury indicts Barry Bonds, accused of lying nearly four years ago about using performance-enhancing drugs, on four perjury counts and one obstruction of justice. The prodigious slugger, who has broken many cherished home run baseball records, could be sentenced to 30 years if convicted on all charges.
2007 Joining Randy Jones (1976), Gaylord Perry (1978), and Mark Davis (1989), Jake Peavy (19-6, 2.54) becomes the fourth Padres pitcher to win the National League Cy Young Award. The 26-year-old right-hander, who led the Senior Circuit in wins, ERA, and strikeouts with 240 K's, is the unanimous choice of the BBWAA, being named first on all 32 of the writers' ballots.
2010 Ryne Sandberg, returning to the organization that gave him his professional start, is hired to manage the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Phillies. The diplomatic Hall of Fame second baseman, a finalist to replace Lou Piniella as the Cubs manager, decided it would be in the best interest of everyone involved not to continue managing in the Chicago minor league system.
2010 Buster Posey becomes the sixth catcher, joining Johnny Bench (1968), Earl Williams (1971), Benito Santiago (1987), Mike Piazza (1993), and Geovany Soto (2008) to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award. The 23-year-old Giants backstop, who started the season with the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies, batted .305 along with 18 home runs and 67 RBIs, playing 108 games with the eventual World Champions.
2010 Ranger reliever Neftali Feliz becomes the second player in franchise history to win the American League Rookie of the Year Award, joining Mike Hargrove, who copped the honor in 1974. The 22-year-old closer set a freshman record with 40 saves while finishing the most games in the league.
2010 The Phillies and Jose Contreras agree to a $5.5 million, two-year deal to keep the 38-year-old right-hander in Philadelphia. The one-time starter played a vital role as a reliever for the NL East champions, posting a 6-4 record and four saves in 67 appearances in his first season in the bullpen.
2010 The Reds and Ramon Hernandez agree to a one-year, $3 million deal. The 34-year-old catcher started in 85 games behind the plate last season and, along with Ryan Hanigan and Corky Miller, was part of a trio that led the National League backstops with 168 hits and a .296 batting average.
2010 Clint Hurdle, replacing John Russell, becomes the Pirates' sixth manager since 1992, their last winning season. The 53-year-old skipper, who managed the Rockies to the National League pennant in 2007, inherits a team that lost 105 games last season, averaging 97 during the previous six campaigns.
2011 The BBWAA selects Justin Verlander (24-5, 2.40) as the unanimous American League Cy Young award winner, who easily outdistanced runners-up, including LA's Jered Weaver, Tampa Bay's James Shields, and New York's CC Sabathia. The 28-year-old Tiger right-hander captures the circuit's pitching triple crown, leading in victories, ERA, and strikeouts.
2012 The Baseball Writers' Association of America selects Miguel Cabrera (.330, 44, 139) as the American League's Most Valuable Player. The Tigers' third baseman, the first Triple Crown winner since 1967, receives 22 out of the 28 writers' first-place votes, easily outpointing Angels outfielder Mike Trout, the circuit's Rookie of the Year.
2012 Buster Posey (.306, 24, 103), whose 2011 season ended with a severe injury after a horrific collision with a runner at home plate, wins the National League MVP Award. The Giant catcher is the 21st MVP previously named the Rookie of the Year, an award the backstop copped in 2010.
2014 Four Japanese hurlers combine to hurl a no-hitter, beating a team with six major league All-Stars, 4-0. The victory, the first no-hitter in the Japan All-Star Series when Randy Johnson and Chuck Finley combined on a hitless game in 1990, clinches the series for the host country for the first time in 24 years.
2015 Commissioner Bud Selig announces Petco Park as the site of the All-Star Game in 2016, making it the first time the same league will play host in consecutive seasons since Pittsburgh's PNC Park and San Francisco's AT&T Park were the venues in 2006-07. The contest will mark the third Midsummer Classic held in San Diego, following 1978 and 1992 games played at Jack Murphy Stadium.
2022 Buck Showalter becomes the first Met to be named Manager of the Year after guiding the team to a second-place finish in the NL East with a 101-61 record. The 66-year-old is the first skipper to cop the award with four different teams, having won the honor previously with the Yankees (1994), Rangers (2004) and the Orioles (2014).
34 Fact(s) Found