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This Day in Baseball History
February 22nd

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13 Fact(s) Found
1880 George Wright signs a contract with the Boston Red Caps, which he states allows him not to travel with the team on western road trips, participating in games only played in New England and Troy. The arrangement will allow the Hall of Fame shortstop to devote more time to his sporting goods business.
1889 Italy's King Humbert is among the fans who witness the Chicagos beat the All-Americans, 3-2, outside Rome at the Villa Borghese. Originally billed as the Spalding's Australian Baseball Tour, the trip expands to include European contests, much to the surprise of the captive players aboard the ship en route to the Land Down Under.
1936 As thousands cheer on both sides of the river, 48-year-old Senator legend Walter Johnson throws a silver dollar to the far side of the Rappahannock, believed to be a 386-foot toss. The Washington, D.C. Sesquicentennial celebration, which includes commemorating the 204th anniversary of George Washington's birth, stages the event to duplicate the alleged feat the young Virginian accomplished when he threw a silver dollar across the Potomac River.

1938 After college, Texas Christian football All-American Sammy Baugh signs a contract with the Cardinals. 'Slingin' Sammy,' who will experience little playing time as a backup to starting shortstop Marty Marion, will leave the minor leagues to play for in the National Football League, where he will become a Hall of Fame quarterback with the Redskins.

1966 The Mets trade Wayne Graham, Bobby Klaus, and Jimmie Schaffer to the Phillies for first baseman Dick Stuart, who will join the Dodgers after being released by his new team in June. During his brief tenure with the Amazins, Dr. Strangelove played 31 games, hitting .231 while committing six errors.
2005 Jerry Coleman receives the Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award. The 80-year-old San Diego play-by-play broadcaster, the MVP of the 1950 World Series, has spent 41 years calling games for the Yankees, Angels, and Padres.
2005 Tom Umberg, a California state assemblyman, introduces legislation requiring pro franchises to use disclaimers if they do not play most home games in the location used in their name. With his 'Truth in Sports Advertising Act', the Anaheim Democrat attempts to prevent the local team from changing its name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Halos' third moniker since its inception in 1961.
2006 The Dodgers announce the team has extended the contract of 78-year-old Vin Scully through 2008. The Bronx-born Hall of Fame broadcaster, considered by many to be the best announcer in baseball history, is beginning his 57th year in the Dodger organization after starting calling games with Red Barber in 1950 when the team played in Brooklyn.

LAT Scully Will Stay Through 2008

2008 The Mets, who had not gone to arbitration with a player in 16 years, come out on the short end of the hearing when southpaw Oliver Perez (15-10, 3.56) gets a favorable decision in his case from arbitrators Steven Wolf, Robert Bailey, and Elizabeth Neumeier. The process awards the southpaw $6.5 million for this year rather than the club's offer of $4,725,000.
2008 After losing his request for $12.5 million, Francisco Rodriguez (2.81, 40 saves) receives a $10 million award, tying Alfonso Soriano (Nationals) and Ryan Howard (Phillies) for the most money ever given in a salary arbitration case. The 26-year-old Angels closer leads the majors in saves during the last three seasons with 132.
2010 Johnny Damon and the Tigers agree to a $8 million, one-year deal. The 36-year-old southpaw-swinging outfielder, who hit .282 with 24 homers for the World Champion Yankees last season, will bat leadoff for Detroit, misses going to the postseason after the team loses a one-game tiebreaker to Minnesota.
2017

"I think it's a mistake to stick our head in the sand and ignore the fact that our game has changed, and continues to change." - MLB COMMISSIONER ROB MANFRED, commenting on the new intentional walk rule.

To speed up the game, MLB announces the approval of implementing an intentional walk with a signal from the dugout rather than the need to throw four pitches out of the strike zone. Although the new rule will eliminate only about a minute of play, some believe the new approach rids the sport of an old-fashioned way of issuing a deliberate base-on-balls.

2021 Kevin Mather resigns as the president of the Mariners when the February 5 Zoom video of a meeting with a Rotary Club goes viral. With the team since 1996 and named president in 2014, the former club official questioned if Hisashi Iwakuma needed an interpreter, commented on the poor English spoken by top prospect Julio Rodriguez, and shared the organization's decision to manipulate service time by not calling up prospects.
13 Fact(s) Found