| << Yesterday | This Day in Baseball History |
Tomorrow>> |
18 Fact(s) Found
| 1903 | Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchase Baltimore's defunct American League franchise for $18,000, planning to relocate the club to New York. The Manhattan team, who will play at Hilltop Park in the northern part of the island borough, will first be known as the Highlanders before being officially renamed the Yankees in 1913. |
| 1952 | The Marines announce their plan to recall Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams, who missed three years in the majors due to serving in WW II, back to active duty. The fighter pilot, who will fly 39 missions over Korea and survive a crash-landing after being shot down by the enemy, will play briefly at the start of the season but will not return to the Boston lineup full-time until late in the 1953 season. |
| 1960 |
In the first episode of Home Run Derby ever aired, Mickey Mantle overcomes an 8-2 deficit to beat Willie Mays, 9-8, when he goes deep in the bottom of the ninth at LA's Wrigley Field. The Giants superstar, who had hit four homers before the Yankee slugger stepped up to the plate, agrees to double their $500 side bet when he is ahead by five runs in the seventh, enabling his opponent to walk away with both the winning and losing share of the contest.
|
| 1961 | After two months of negotiations, the Twins of the American League agree on a $500,000 indemnity payment to the American Association for entering the minor league's territory in Minnesota. The settlement paves the way for the team, formerly known as the Senators, to move from Washington, D.C., and play their home games in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. |
| 1982 | While being driven to the airport by his brother Billy, Tony Conigliaro suffers a massive heart attack, resulting in irreversible brain damage that leaves the 36-year-old unresponsive until he dies in 1990. The former Red Sox outfielder, whose career was shortened in 1967 when a Jack Hamilton's pitch smashed into his left cheekbone, dislocating his jaw and damaging the left eye's retina, had been in Boston to interview for a broadcasting job with the team. |
| 1984 | Pascual Perez is arrested in his native Dominican Republic for possessing cocaine and will remain in jail, missing the start of the season. The Braves' 26-year-old All-Star right-hander maintains his innocence, claiming an unknown woman gave him the package. |
| 1989 | Reds catcher Johnny Bench and Red Sox outfielder Carl Yastrzemski, foes in the classic 1975 World Series, are elected to the Hall of Fame. The perennial All-Star backstop is named on 96.4% of the BBWAA ballots, making Ty Cobb and Hank Aaron the only players to receive a higher percentage of the writers' votes. |
| 1990 | The BBWAA elects Jim Palmer (three-time AL Cy Young Winner) and Joe Morgan (two-time NL MVP) to the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. The Orioles' right-hander compiled a 268-152 (.638) record, spending his 19-year career in Baltimore, and the Cincinnati diminutive second baseman finished his 22-year tenure in the big leagues batting .271, playing with five different teams, including the Big Red Machine. |
| 1990 |
"No one on either side of the table is pleased by the prospect, but the issue of deadlines is part and parcel of labor negotiations." - CHARLES O'CONNOR, the owners' chief labor negotiator, addressing the possibility of spring training lockout. The owners announce a spring training lockout of major league players beginning on February 15th unless there is a new collective bargaining agreement. The 32-day work stoppage will occur as scheduled, settled when the owners agree to the following:
|
| 2001 | The Expos agree to a one-year, approximately $2 million contract with French-language Reseau des Sports and TSN to telecast 55 games (46 on RDS, 12 on TSN, and three on both). The pact ends the year-long local television blackout, which resulted in the departure of respected play-by-play announcer Dave Van Horne and the loss of Labatt Brewery's sponsorship, which cited the lack of local TV rights as a factor in ending its 15-year relationship with the club. |
| 2001 | The Indians, to fill the void created by Manny Ramirez's departure to Boston, sign Juan Gonzalez to a one-year, $10-million deal. After hitting .289 with only 67 RBIs in a disappointing injury-plagued season, the two-time American League MVP leaves the Tigers after turning down a $143 million, eight-year contract extension to stay in Detroit last year. |
| 2002 | When he signs a $27 million deal to remain with the Astros, Billy Wagner, who has saved 146 games since breaking in with the team in 1995, becomes one of baseball's highest-paid relievers. The 30-year-old will get $8 million each of the next three seasons with a $9 million club option for 2005 with a $3 million buyout. |
| 2002 | Postseason spark plug Craig Counsell (.275, 4, 38) signs a three-year, $7.25 million deal with the Diamondbacks. The NLCS MVP, who the Dodgers cut in 2000, played the infield in 141 games for the World Series champion Diamondbacks last season. |
| 2005 | Carlos Beltran (.267, 38, 104) becomes the tenth $100-million player in major league history when the 27-year-old native of Puerto Rico agrees to a seven-year deal for $119 million with the Mets. The five-tool outfielder, who had his market value increase with his postseason performance with the Astros, goes to New York after Houston refuses to include a no-trade clause in their generous offer to keep him on the club. |
| 2006 | The Red Sox sign 37-year-old Giants' free agent J.T. Snow to a one-year, $2 million contract. The six-time Gold Glove winner, acquired to share playing time at first base with Kevin Youkilis, will be released by Boston in June after appearing in only 38 games for his new team. |
| 2008 | The Mayo Smith Society names Magglio Ordonez as the annual King Tiger Award winner for his contributions on and off the field. The international organization for Detroit fans revived the honor in 2004, a tradition started and maintained by various fan clubs from 1961 to 1980. |
| 2012 |
The Baseball Writers' Association of America elects former Reds infielder Barry Larkin as its only player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in July. The Cincinnati shortstop, who received 86.4 percent of the scribes' votes, will be joined by Ron Santo, who was selected posthumously last month by the Golden Era committee.
|
| 2020 | Former Walmart Inc. chief executive David Glass, who owned the Royals for 19 years before selling the franchise last season to Cleveland Indians vice-chairman John Sherman, dies of complications from pneumonia at age 84. Although Kansas City won two AL pennants and a World Series during his ownership, the fans disliked him due to his bottom-line management style, similar to his role as the CEO of the largest retailer in the United States. |
18 Fact(s) Found