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8 Fact(s) Found
| 1896 |
Princeton University professor Charles E. Hinton demonstrates his invention of the first pitching machine, before the baseball team and a large crowd of undergraduates in the school's gymnasium. The mathematics instructor's creation, which resembles a rifle shooting the ball at varying speeds toward the batter, leads to his dismissal after the gunpowder-powered device injures several baseball players.
 The Baltimore Sun, December 16, 1896 |
| 1948 | The Dodgers trade the much-heralded but injury-prone Pete Reiser to the Braves for outfielder Myron McCormick. 'Pistol Pete' will play only 137 games during his two years in Boston. |
| 1968 |
The Dodgers elevate Al Campanis to the position of vice president of player personnel and scouting, where he will assume many responsibilities typically associated with a general manager. In one of his first moves in this position, he trades his son, Jimmy, to the expansion Royals, calling it the best way to give the 24-year-old catcher more playing time.
(Ed. Note: Campanis believed the trade was a good thing for the boy, thinking that teammates might think his son, who had had three trials with the team, was a spy planted in the clubhouse. - LP) |
| 2007 | Right-hander Hiroki Kuroda, joining his close friend Takashi Saito, agrees to a three-year, $35.2 million free-agent deal to pitch for the Dodgers. The 33-year-old native of Osaka compiled a 103-89 record, posting a 3.69 ERA in the Japanese Central League during the past 11 seasons playing with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. |
| 2009 | Bud Selig establishes a committee composed of managers and longtime executives to explore "on-field matters," which the baseball commissioner will chair. The 15-member panel includes four owner representatives - Paul Beeston (Blue Jays), Dave Montgomery (Phillies), Chuck Armstrong (Mariners), and Bill DeWitt (Cardinals), three current managers - Tony La Russa (Cardinals), Jim Leyland (Rockies), and Joe Torre (Dodgers) along with Mike Scioscia (Angels), Orioles president for baseball operations Andy MacPhail, Indians GM Mark Shapiro, Braves president John Schuerholz, former Twins GM Terry Ryan, political columnist George Will, and Hall of Famer Frank Robinson. |
| 2014 | The Cubs and Jon Lester have terms on a $155 million contract to keep the 30-year-old southpaw in Chicago for six years. The deal, which includes a record $30 million signing bonus, makes the former Red Sox and A's ace the second-highest-paid pitcher in baseball history, behind only Clayton Kershaw, who inked a $30.7 million pact with the Dodgers. |
| 2015 |
Major League Baseball's goodwill tour to Cuba, the first official MLB visit since 1999, opens with a news conference at Havana's Hotel Nacional. Players participating in the four days of children's clinics and charitable events include White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu and Dodger outfielder Yasiel Puig, both defectors from the island nation to the United States to play baseball.
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| 2019 | At FunCity Turf in Burlington (IA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) takes batting practice after meeting with representatives from three Iowa-based teams: the Quad City River Bandits, the Clinton LumberKings, and the town's local club, the Bees. The 78-year-old Democratic presidential candidate vehemently opposes Major League Baseball's plan to eliminate 42 minor league teams nationwide after 2020, including the Vermont Lake Monsters, the Single-A affiliate of the A's in his hometown of Burlington (VT). |
8 Fact(s) Found