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This Day in Baseball History
January 25th

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18 Fact(s) Found
1934

"Is Brooklyn still in the league?" - GIANTS' MANAGER BILL TERRY, speaking of the Dodgers' chances in the upcoming season.

During an interview with the New York Herald Tribune, Giants' manager Bill Terry wakes a sleeping giant when he jests, "Is Brooklyn still in the league?" In September, New York, tied for first place with two games to play, finishes second when sixth-place Brooklyn sweeps them at the Polo Grounds in the season's final two games, allowing the Cardinals, who complete the campaign 13-2, to capture the National League pennant.

1943 The Braves buy future Hall of Famer Lefty Gomez, known as Goofy to his teammates, from the Yankees for $10,000. Boston releases the southpaw before he plays a game with his new team, but he will pitch one more time before retiring, hurling for the Senators, a club he joins in May, allowing four hits, four runs, and five walks before leaving the contest with a pulled shoulder muscle.
1945 In one of the best sports business deals ever made, NFL Brooklyn Dodgers co-owner Dan Topping, real estate developer Del Webb, and baseball executive Larry MacPhail purchase 96.9% of the Yankees from the Ruppert estate for just $2.8 million. After the trio buys the remaining 3.12 percent in March for complete ownership, Topping and Webb will buy out MacPhail after two years, selling 80% of the Bronx Bombers to CBS after the 1964 season for $11.2 million.
1947 Houma (LA) Indians Bill Thomas, winner of all four games of his team's final-round victories, is among the five persons, including two teammates and manager, put on baseball's ineligible list for allegedly betting on the 1946 Class D Evangeline League playoffs. The 41-year-old right-hander, the all-time minor league winningest pitcher with 383 wins, will be reinstated in 1949, pointing out that he pitched in all four games his team won in the final round.
1949 Lou Boudreau signs a two-year contract worth $65,000 with the World Champion Indians to remain the team's player-manager. The future Hall of Famer will pilot the Tribe for nine years, six as a player, and compile a 728-649 (.529) record.
1966 Yankee shortstop Tony Kubek announces his early retirement, citing the improper healing of an injured nerve at the top of his spinal column that impacts his reflexes. During the last game of the season, the nine-year veteran who had gone 3-for-4 at Fenway Park, including a ninth-inning home run, is now remembered as the 29-year-old infielder's final big-league at-bat.
1980 At Shea Stadium's Diamond Club, the Mets' new owners formally introduced themselves to the local media. Nelson Doubleday will be the board's new chairman, replacing the outgoing Lorinda de Roulet, who no longer plays a role in the franchise's future, and Fred Wilpon is named the president and CEO of the club.
1983 The White Sox trade pitchers Warren Brusstar and Steve Trout to the Cubs for Dick Tidrow and Randy Martz, shortstop Scott Fletcher, and first baseman Pat Tabler. Trout will be the key player in the deal as the left-hander will post a 43-38 record during his five seasons on the north side of Chicago.
1997 The Devil Rays sign Gregg Blosser, the organization's first player with major league experience. The former Boston Red Sox outfielder, a Florida native, will never appear in a game for Tampa Bay.
1999 The Oakland A's sign former Yankee free-agent outfielder Tim Raines for $600,000. The 39-year-old future Hall of Famer batted .290 for the World Champs last season and had a .296 career batting average.
1999 After being aired on WOR, Channel 9, since the team's inception in 1962, Mets games will be broadcasted this season by WPIX, Channel 11. The Yankees games, which had aired for nearly 50 years on the Amazins' new station, will now be seen on Channel 5, a Fox affiliate.
2005 Carlos Delgado (.269, 32, 99) and Florida agree on a four-year, $52 million contract. The 32-year-old first baseman's deal stops the intense bidding war between the Marlins, Mets, Orioles, and Rangers for the coveted free agent.
2006 The A's sign 37-year-old free-agent Frank Thomas to a $500,000, one-year deal. The two-time American League aging MVP gives Oakland the right-handed bat the team needs in the middle of their lineup.
2007 Willie Randolph, who brought New York within one game of a World Series appearance, agrees to a $5.65 million, three-year deal to continue as the Mets manager through 2008. The skipper's new deal doubles his present salary from $700,000 to $1.4 million.
2008 In an unusual move for the club, the Yankees, rather than waiting for a young talented player to become arbitration-eligible before negotiating a deal, offer Robinson Cano (.306, 19, 97) a six-year contract worth approximately $55 million. The 25-year-old second baseman will become eligible for free agency after the 2011 season if the team doesn't exercise its option in each of the following two seasons.
2008 After losing Torii Hunter and Carlos Silva to free agency and the possibility of trading Johan Santana, Twins fans rejoice when the club announces Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer have both signed long-term deals to stay in Minnesota. The 2006 AL MVP gets the richest contract in franchise history, $80 million for six years, and his teammate, Cuddyer, inks an agreement worth $24 million over three years.
2012 Five-time All-Star Jorge Posada catcher (.273, 275, 1,065) at an SRO Yankee Stadium news conference announces his retirement after 17 major league seasons. The 40-year-old backstop joins Bernie Williams and Andy Pettitte in retirement, leaving Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera as the remaining core players who led the Bronx Bombers to four World Series titles in five years.
2022 David Ortiz (.286/.380/.552) becomes the 58th player elected into the Hall of Fame in his first appearance on the ballot and the fourth Red Sox player to accomplish the feat, joining Ted Williams (1966), Carl Yastrzemski (1989), Wade Boggs (2005), and Pedro Martinez (2015). The ten-time All-Star, named on 77.9% of the ballots, spent the first six of his 20-year career with the Twins.
18 Fact(s) Found