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Today in Baseball History
November 21st

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26 Fact(s) Found
1911 Hal Chase resigns as the Highlanders manager after the team finished in sixth place with a 76-76 record. The slick-fielding first baseman remains with New York as a player until the team trades him to the White Sox during the 1913 season.
1913 With the formation of the Wilmington (NC) Baseball Stock company and its promise to raise money to improve the local park's playing conditions, Philadelphia selects the Southeastern coastal locale to be its spring training home for the next two seasons. In March, the Phillies become the first major league team to play in the Port City when they beat the International League's Baltimore Orioles, 5-1, in front of nearly 2,000 fans at Sunset Park.

(Ed. Note: The team departs the city after finishing their 1915 exhibition schedule, citing logistical problems)
1934 The Yankees purchase future Hall of Fame outfielder Joe DiMaggio's contract from the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League for $50,000 and five players. The son of Italian immigrants, who set a PCL mark last season when he hit in 61 consecutive contests, will be one of the three brothers to play in the major leagues.

(Ed. Note: Dom DiMaggio, the youngest sibling, will be a mainstay in Boston, playing his entire 11-year baseball career with the Red Sox, and oldest brother, Vince, will hurl for five National League teams, the Phillies, Braves, Giants, Pirates, and Reds.- LP)

1952 Twenty-eight-year-old Dodger right-hander Joe Black (15-4, 2.15, 15 saves), receiving 19 of 24 first-place votes, is overwhelmingly selected as the National League's Rookie of the Year. Hoyt Wilhelm, Dick Groat, and Eddie Mathews also garner first-place votes.
1970 Mets' center fielder Tommie Agee becomes the first non-pitcher to win a Gold Glove in each league. The New York flycatcher, who joins the selection of flycatchers Pete Rose and Roberto Clemente for NL honors, also won the prestigious award for fielding with the White Sox during his 1966 Rookie of the Year season.

1972 Boston catcher Carlton Fisk (.293, 22, 61) becomes the first unanimous choice for the American League's Rookie of the Year award. The 24-year-old Red Sox All-Star backstop from Bellows Falls (VT) will become a Hall of Famer in 2000.
1972 The BBWAA, casting 19 of 24 first-place votes for the southpaw, selects Mets Jon Matlack (15-10, 2.32) as the NL Rookie of the Year. The 22-year-old West Chester (PA) native, who easily outdistances Giants' catcher Dave Rader and teammate Jon Milner for the honor, becomes the second player in team history to win the award, joining teammate Tom Seaver, who copped the freshman prize in 1967.
1973 Pete Rose (274 points, 12 first-place votes) edges Pirates outfielder Willie Stargell (250 points, 10 first-place votes) to win the NL Most Valuable Player award. The Reds left fielder led the circuit in plate appearances (752) and hits (230), finishing the season with a league-leading .338 average to win his third and last batting title.
1983 Mets' outfielder Darryl Strawberry breaks Los Angeles' four-year stronghold on the Rookie of the Year Award when he becomes the first non-Dodger to win the honor since 1978. The previous winners were Rick Sutcliffe, Steve Howe, Fernando Valenzuela, and Steve Sax.
1989 The Yankees sign Pascual Perez to a three-year, $5.7 million contract. The free-agent deal proves disastrous for New York when the right-handed starter spends 150 weeks on the disabled list and then serves a suspension for the entire 1992 season after failing another drug test.
1990 Red Sox free agent Mike Boddicker (17-8, 3.36) signs a three-year deal with the Royals worth approximately $9 million. The 33-year-old right-hander, slated to be skipper John Wathan's #2 starter, joins the rotation pitching behind Cy Young winner Bret Saberhagen.
1990 Danny Jackson and the Cubs agree to a four-year deal valued at $10.5-million, making him the second-highest paid player on the team. The 28-year-old southpaw will post a 5-14 record before being traded to the Pirates for Steve Buechele on July 11, 1992.
1991 After raising his batting average by over 80 points from last season, Terry Pendleton (.319, 22, 86) wins the National League's Most Valuable Player Award. The Braves' third baseman surprisingly outdistances runner-up Pirate outfielder Barry Bonds (.292, 25, 116).
2000 During a hearing in front of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Business Rights, and Competition, commissioner Bud Selig states it's time for 'sweeping changes' in the game's economics, raising the possibility of a work stoppage when the current contract with the Players' Association expires next October. The legislators raise concerns about the game's growing revenue disparity among teams, creating a sport of haves and have-nots where teams with the largest payrolls can buy the best players and control the game.
2002 Major League Baseball announces a partnership with the five-year-old Women's Pro Softball League, recently renamed National Pro Fastpitch, to appeal more to women and families. MLB will provide sponsorship support and give the softball players a presence at big-league events.
2002 In major league history's earliest scheduled season opener, the A's and Mariners will begin the current campaign in Tokyo on March 25. The two-game Japanese series will feature Japanese natives Kazuhiro Sasaki and Ichiro Suzuki, recent American League Rookies of the Year Award recipients in 2000 and 2001.
2002 The Expos may play approximately twenty-five percent of their home games (22 of 81) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Away 'home games' are not unprecedented as the Dodgers played seven games in Newark (NJ) in 1956 and 1957, and the White Sox, filling a void when the Braves left, played nine games in Milwaukee in 1968 and another 11 the following season.

2007 The Angels and Twins free-agent Torii Hunter agree to a five-year deal reportedly worth $90 million. The acquisition of the 32-year-old Gold Glove center fielder is a surprise because the Halos already have a trio of outstanding outfielders, including Gary Matthews, Jr., Garret Anderson, and Vladimir Guerrero.
2008 The Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune report a tentative agreement between the White Sox and 19-year-old phenom Dayan Viciedo, pending the outcome of a physical. The Cuban infielder/outfielder hopes to get an opportunity to play third base with the Pale Hose, his preferred position.
2009 The Mets, responding to criticism of the lack of commemorating the team's history, announce the Citi Field entrances will bear the names of the persons who have had their number retired by the franchise and honor William Shea by using his name for the outfield bridge. Additionally, the venue will feature a team Hall of Fame and Museum, a display of full-color banners of Mets players in front of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, and the light poles in the parking lots will feature team logos.
2010 The Mets replace former manager Jerry Manuel, fired a day after the season ended, with Terry Collins, eleven years after he resigned from his last managerial position, having piloted the Astros (1994-96) and Angels (1997-99). The 61-year-old new skipper, known for alienating some of his players due to his old-school approach, compiled a 444-434 won-loss record, finishing second in five of his six years in the dugout.
2011 All-Star reliever Joe Nathan agrees to a reported two-year deal worth $14.5 million to save games for the Rangers. The signing gives Neftali Feliz, the team's current closer, an opportunity to be a starter for the reigning American League champions.
2011 According to Dutch authorities, Mariners outfielder Greg Halman was stabbed to death early this morning in Rotterdam by his brother, Jason. The police arrest the 24-year-old younger sibling for the killing, but they will release and eventually free him because of a psychosis induced partly by his use of marijuana, deemed responsible for the singular event with only a remote chance of any reoccurrence.
2011 Justin Verlander (24-5, 2.40) is named the American League's Most Valuable Player, becoming the first starting pitcher to receive the award since 1986 when Roger Clemens accomplished the feat. The Tiger right-hander, who won the A.L. Cy Young Award unanimously last week, received 13 of 28 first-place votes and a total of 280 points, besting Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, who was listed first on four writers' ballots and had 242 points.

((Ed. Note: Justin Verlander becomes the only player other than Don Newcombe to win the Rookie of the Year, Cy Young, and an MVP award. - LP)
2020 Oakland fans select Liam Hendrik's relief appearance against the White Sox in Game 3 of the American League Wild Card Series, sending the A's to the playoffs for the first time since 2006, as the team's best moment of 2020. The 31-year-old right-handed closer will sign as a free agent with his opponents in January.
2022 Grant Achilles, Brown Baseball Head Coaching Chair, announces the addition of Olivia Pichardo to the team's varsity squad, making her the first female on a NCAA Division I Baseball varsity roster. The 18-year-old first-year student, who played varsity high school baseball in the Queens (NY) as both a seventh and eighth grader, made the team as a walk-on after trying out with the Bears this fall.
26 Fact(s) Found