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11 Fact(s) Found
| 1879 | The Northwestern League, considered the first minor league circuit in baseball history, is organized in Rockford (IL). The fledgling organization, which includes teams from Davenport, Omaha, Dubuque, and Rockford, will be defunct before the season ends due to lacking a fixed schedule and paying the players more than their counterparts in the rival National League. |
| 1912 |
Charles Ebbets announces the purchase of 4.5 acres of land in the Pigtown section of Brooklyn to build an 18,000-seat concrete and steel stadium. The team's new ballpark location, which will be the Dodgers' home until 1957, is presently a neighborhood that consists of deplorable housing with piles of garbage strewed everywhere.
 1913 Ebbets Field, Brooklyn - George Grantham Bain Collection |
| 1918 | In a deal featuring two future Hall of Famers, the Dodgers exchange outfielder Casey Stengel and infielder George Cutshaw to the Pirates for right-handers Burleigh Grimes, Al Mamaux, and infielder Chuck Ward. Grimes, known as Ol' Stubblebeard, and Stengel, dubbed The Old Perfessor, will be enshrined in Cooperstown. |
| 1946 | The Senators sell right-hander Alex Carrasquel and shortstop Fred Vaughn to the White Sox. The 33-year-old Caracas, Venezuela native rejects the deal and signs a three-year contract to hurl in Jorge Pasquel's Mexican League, becoming the first major leaguer to jump to a team south of the border. |
| 1977 | Commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspends Ted Turner for one year due to tampering while trying to obtain free-agent outfielder Gary Matthews, who signed a five-year, $1.875 deal with the team in November. The Braves owner, an accomplished sailor, uses his free time to pursue another goal, winning this year's America's Cup, which he will accomplish in September. |
| 1986 | Former owner of the Browns, White Sox, and Indians Bill Veeck, well-known for his promotions and innovative ideas, dies of cardiac arrest in Chicago. Some of the Hall of Famer's creative ideas included pinch-hitting a little person, an exploding scoreboard, and putting players' names on the back of their uniforms, in addition to breaking the color barrier in the American League, signing Larry Doby in 1947 to play for Cleveland. |
| 1992 | The Red Sox sign Mets' free agent Frank Viola, a former Cy Young Award winner (1988, Twins), to a three-year, $13.9 million deal. The 31-year-old southpaw will injure his arm and undergo 'Tommy John' surgery with Boston, posting a 25-21 record and a 3.40 ERA during his three seasons with the team. |
| 1996 | The Red Sox sign free-agent hurler Jamie Moyer. The 33-year-old southpaw will compile a 7-1 record for Boston before being traded to Seattle in July, where he will enjoy a pair of 20-game victory seasons en route to winning over 100 games during his 11-year tenure with the Mariners. |
| 2003 | Due to a conflict with the major league schedule, the annual Hall of Fame game in Cooperstown, previously held the day after the inductions of new members since 1940, will take place on a different weekend. This year's scheduled contest between the Phillies and Devil Rays will occur on June 16, five weeks before the July 27 induction ceremonies. |
| 2013 | Avoiding arbitration, the Rays announce the team has reached an agreement with left-handed starter David Price on a one-year deal worth $10.1125 million. The 27-year-old American League Cy Young Award winner, who finished with a 20-5 record with a 2.56 ERA last season, earned $4.35 million playing for the third-place Tampa Bay club. |
| 2020 | Without playing a major league game, Luis Robert, a Cuban defector, agrees to a multiyear deal with the White Sox. The 22-year-old future Gold Glove center fielder, called La Pantera by his teammates, signs a $50 million six-year contract, with team options worth an additional $38 million over the two final seasons. |
11 Fact(s) Found