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This Day in Baseball History
December 6th

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34 Fact(s) Found
1913 At Keio University Stadium in Tokyo, the White Sox defeat the Giants, 9-4, as part of their world tour. Tomorrow, a combined squad will beat the Keio University team, 16-3, before the White Sox defeat the Giants again, 12-3.
1920 A court of appeals reversed a lawsuit that awarded $264,000 damages to the Federal League's Baltimore franchise, upholding the reserve clause, which cites baseball as neither interstate commerce nor subject to antitrust laws. The legal action grew out of the Baltimore Feds' exclusion in the Federal League war settlement, thus thwarting an effort to have a major league team in the Charm City.
1941 The Giants select Mel Ott to replace Bill Terry, who compiled an 823-661 (.550) record during his decade as the team's skipper. The team's new player-manager will spend all his 22 years in the majors with the New York franchise, hitting 511 home runs during his Hall of Fame career.
1946 Except for picking the pitchers, major league baseball agrees to return the All-Star teams' selection to the fans. In 1933 and 1934, the public chose the 18 starters, but beginning in 1935, the team managers decided the players who would participate in the Midsummer Classic.
1952 To curb interleague trading after June 15th, the American League approves a two-league waiver rule.
1954 The Tigers trade one first baseman for two when the team swaps Walt Dropo, outfielder Bob Nieman, and southpaw Ted Gray to the White Sox for first sackers Ferris Fain and Jack Phillips, with right-hander Leo Cristante included in the deal. Before being dealt to the Reds, Dropo, the 1950 Rookie of the Year, will hit .266 during his 3+ South Side seasons.
1959 The Indians trade fan-favorite Minnie Minoso with Dick Brown, Don Ferrarese, and Jake Striker to the White Sox for Norm Cash, Bubba Phillips, and John Romano. The 34-year-old 'Cuban Rocket' will play in every game for Chicago next season, leading the American League in hits (184) and stolen bases (13) while collecting a Gold Glove for his defensive play in left field.
1959 The Reds trade Frank Thomas to the Cubs for reliever Bill Henry. The deal, which includes Lou Jackson and Lee Walls coming to Cincinnati, gives the team a southpaw out of the bullpen who will save 17 games in the upcoming season.
1960 The American League awards the new Los Angeles franchise to Gene Autry, a well-known cowboy movie star who once turned down an opportunity to play in the minor leagues, and former football player Bob Reynolds for $350,000. After spending its inaugural season at LA's Wrigley Field and the next three years at Dodger Stadium, the team will move to Anaheim, a short distance from Chavez Ravine, becoming known as the California Angels (1965-1996), the Anaheim Angels (1997-2004) and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2005 to market the team better.
1964 Major League Baseball releases its official 1964 batting averages that confirm Twins' outfielder Tony Oliva, who finished the season hitting .323, is the first rookie to win a batting title. The recently crowned American League Rookie of the Year finished ahead of Orioles' third baseman Brooks Robinson (.317), who copped the circuit's Most Valuable Player Award.
1968 William Eckert, sometimes called the 'Unknown Soldier' due to his obscurity in the sport, resigns as baseball commissioner. The former distinguished U.S. Air Force lieutenant general, who served as the game's fourth commissioner from 1965-68, will be replaced on an interim basis by Bowie Kuhn, the legal counsel for baseball owners.
1973 The National League owners unanimously approve the sale and relocation of the Padres to the nation's capital in time to start the 1974 season as the Washington Stars. Grocery chain magnate Joseph Danzansky, who offered to buy the team, sees his effort fail due to local legal maneuvers, allowing McDonald's co-founder Ray Kroc to buy the Friars and keep the club in San Diego.
1973 The Dodgers trade southpaw starter Claude Osteen and minor league reliever David Culpepper, a player never to appear in a major league game, to the Astros for outfielder Jim Wynn. The 'Toy Cannon' hits .261 in his two-year stint with the West Coast team, and Houston's newest left-hander posts a 9-9 record in his one season under the Dome.
1976 The Brewers trade first baseman George Scott and outfielder Bernie Carbo to the Red Sox for Cecil Cooper. Cooper will become a dominant player during the early eighties, appearing in five All-Star games and batting over .300 in the first seven of his eleven years with Milwaukee.
1989 The Mets and Reds swap closers when they send Randy Myers to Cincinnati for John Franco, who will finish games in New York. The deal will benefit both teams as Franco becomes the club's all-time leader in saves and games pitched, and Myers, one of the feared 'Nasty Boys' relievers, will play a significant role in the club's World Championship next season.
1989 Free-agent closer Jeff Reardon signs with the Red Sox. While in Boston, 'The Terminator,' who will save 88 games during the three years with the team, becomes the all-time leader with 342, breaking Rollie Fingers' previous record.
1989 The Padres trade catcher Sandy Alomar, left fielder Chris James, and minor-league third baseman Carlos Baerga to the Indians for outfielder Joe Carter, who has averaged 30 home runs and 108 RBIs during the past four seasons with Cleveland. San Diego's newest outfielder will spend one season with the team, batting .232 and driving in 115 runs, while Alomar, selected as the 1990 Rookie of the Year, and Baerga become perennial all-stars for the Tribe.
1990 The signature of Shoeless Joe Jackson, known not to read or write, is purchased for a record $23,100 at New York's Leland's auction house, making the bid the highest amount ever paid for a 19th or 20th-century ballplayer's autograph. The White Sox outfielder copied the inscription from one written out by his wife from an unknown document.
1997 Tickets for the Devil Rays' Opening Day of its inaugural season sell out in 17 minutes after being put on sale to the general public. The 45,369 fans attending the March 31st contest see their team play their first game in franchise history, with Tampa Bay dropping an 11-6 decision to the Tigers.

2001 Bud Selig tells the House Judiciary Committee that baseball owners cannot be competitive and lose money due to the current system. The commissioner uses many statistics to make his case, including a team without a payroll in the top 25 percent failing to win a single World Series game over the last seven years.
2002 The MLB Players Association agrees to allow the Expos to play 22 home games in Puerto Rico. To increase overall attendance, the team will play three homestands at San Juan's Hiram Bithorn Stadium while hosting 59 contests at Montreal's Olympic Stadium.
2004 Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year issue, featuring the 2004 Red Sox as the magazine's choice for its prestigious honor, arrives on newsstands today. Since its inception in 1954, SI annually has named an "athlete whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement," making the World Champions the first team to earn the distinction in the 50-year history of the award.

2004 The Mets and Royals exchange right-handers, with starter Brian Bannister going to Kansas City and reliever Ambiorix Burgos heading for the Big Apple. The son of former major league southpaw Floyd Bannister will place third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting, earning nine victories for the last-place club, with the 23-year-old Dominican appearing in only 17 games for New York, being derailed by injuries and off-the-field incidents.
2005 At the Winter Meetings, the Blue Jays keep their wallets open as the team agrees to a five-year, $55 million deal with A.J. Burnett (12-12, 3.44). The signing of the Marlin free agent, who many consider the best starter available on the market, comes on the heels of Toronto giving B.J. Ryan $47 million over five years, making it the richest contract in baseball history.
2005 Filling a two-month managerial void, the Dodgers hire Grady Little as the team's skipper. The former Red Sox manager, who compiled an outstanding 188-136 (.580) record in two seasons in Boston in 2002-03, is best remembered for not pulling a tiring Pedro Martinez during the eighth inning of ill-fated Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS.
2005 Trevor Hoffman agrees to stay with the Padres, signing a $13.5 million, two-year contract with an option for 2008. The Tigers had courted the veteran closer but could not close the deal after San Diego improved its offer for the second year and made the accomplishments needed to trigger the option year a bit easier to reach.
2007 The Dodgers and Andruw Jones (.222, 26, 94) reach a preliminary agreement on a $36.2 million, two-year deal, the fifth-highest average salary in the major leagues. The 30-year-old center fielder from Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles, has won ten consecutive Gold Gloves but suffered one of the worst offensive seasons in his 12 years of playing with the Braves.
2010 The Red Sox complete their deal for Adrian Gonzalez by sending minor league right-hander Casey Kelly, first baseman Anthony Rizzo, outfielder Reymond Fuentes, and a player to be named (Eric Patterson) to San Diego for the All-Star first baseman. The left-handed slugger, expected to take advantage of the Green Monster's proximity to home plate, is entering the last year of his contract, and the deal does not include a contract extension to stay in Boston.
2010 A trade between two last-place teams sends Arizona slugger Mark Reynolds to the Orioles in exchange for right-handed relievers David Hernandez and Kam Mickolio. The O's new third baseman will bring much-needed offense to Baltimore, and San Diego's acquisition of the young pitchers will strengthen the team's bullpen for the late innings.
2011 During baseball's Winter Meetings, the White Sox trade their closer Sergio Santos to the Blue Jays in exchange for Nestor Molina, a 22-year-old right-handed prospect with a 27-7 minor league won-loss record and a 2.21 ERA overall. Toronto's new reliever, who recorded 30 saves in 36 opportunities with Chicago last season, will be an upgrade for the club, whose top closer in 2011 recorded only 17 saves.
2011 The Baseball Writers' Association of America selects Bob Elliott as the recipient of the 2012 J.G. Taylor Spink Award for his "meritorious contributions to baseball writing." The Canadian writer, who has practiced his craft for the last 30 years, covered both the Expos and Blue Jays and is presently a columnist for the Toronto Sun.
2013 The Mariners and Robinson Cano agree to a ten-year contract worth approximately $240 million, making the former Yankee second baseman the third-highest-paid baseball player in history. The All-star middle infielder, trailing Alex Rodriguez and equaling Albert Puljos deals for the same amount of time, signed respectively in 2008 and 2012 with the Yankees and Angels, will spend five seasons with his new team, hitting. 296 with 107 homers before being traded in 2018 to the Mets along with Edwin Díaz and $20 million for Jay Bruce, Jarred Kelenic, Anthony Swarzak, Gerson Bautista, and Justin Dunn.
2023 For the first time, the Indians will have the No. 1 pick in the June amateur baseball draft after winning the new weighted lottery system, agreed to by Major League Baseball and the players' association in their March 2022 labor contract. The innovative sweepstakes, which included the 18 teams that failed to make the playoffs, was designed to discourage teams from jettisoning their veteran players to secure a top draft pick. 

(Ed. Note: The Reds have the second selection, followed by the Rockies, A's, the White Sox, Royals, Cardinals, Angels, Pirates, and the Nationals, who initially won the top spot but were deemed ineligible to pick in the top six because the CBA states a club that pays in the revenue-sharing plan cannot have a lottery pick in back-to-back years. - LP)

2023 To reduce payroll, the Padres trade All-Star slugger Juan Soto and outfielder Trent Grisham to the Yankees for pitchers Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez and veteran backstop Kyle Higashioka. In exchange for promising the pitching prospects, the Bronx Bombers add another potentially powerful bat to a lineup that already includes Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.
34 Fact(s) Found