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This Day in Baseball History
March 9th

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23 Fact(s) Found
1897 The Cleveland Spiders sign Penobscot Indian Louis Sockalexis. Although the former Holy Cross star plays only three seasons due to alcoholism, the fans, admiring his outstanding skills, refer to the team as the Indians, a name that will become official in 1915.

(Ed. Note:Cleveland's former moniker, linked to Sockalexis by legend, is based on scant factual evidence. - LP)


Louis Sockalexis

1922 Rogers Hornsby, coveted by John McGraw of the Giants, signs a three-year contract with Sam Breadon's Cardinals. The 25-year-old second baseman, who will hit .404 over the three years of the deal, agrees to $18,500 per season, making him the highest-paid player in National League history.
1943 The Dodgers trade first baseman Babe Dahlgren to the Phillies for outfielder Lloyd Waner and infielder Al Glossop. Philadelphia's new 31-year-old infielder will enjoy an all-star season during his only year in the City of Brotherly Love, hitting a solid .287 for the seventh-place team.
1948

"Golf is a game of coordination, rhythm, and grace; women have these to a high degree." - BABE DIDRIKSON ZAHARIAS, commenting on women's ability to play golf.

Ted Williams accepts Babe Didrikson Zaharias's challenge to compete in a driving contest at a local range. The former Olympic track star, turned golf champion, playfully teases the Red Sox superstar, giving him pointers when he slices most of his drives as her shots go straight, usually further.

1960 The police find Arnold Johnson en route to his Palm Beach home after watching his A's play a spring training intrasquad game semi-conscious and slumped behind the wheel of his car. The 53-year-old club owner will die early tomorrow morning due to a cerebral hemorrhage.
1961 The Yankees announce the team will be leaving its spring training home in St. Petersburg to move to Fort Lauderdale by 1963. Also, the team owners encourage the new, yet unnamed, National League New York franchise to play its home games at the Polo Grounds rather than Yankee Stadium.
1963 Songwriters Ruth Roberts and Bill Katz introduced the official Met theme song, Meet the Mets, to the public. The tune will be modernized in 1984, adding Long Island, New Jersey, Brooklyn, Queens, Uptown and Down, to the team's East Side, West Side geographical realm.

1979 Bowie Kuhn, fearing legal consequences, gives female reporters access to major league locker rooms. The commissioner's unpopular ruling makes the players uncomfortable in their once-all-male domain.
1994 John Kruk will be diagnosed with testicular cancer after being hit in the groin by an errant pickoff throw from teammate Mitch Williams that breaks his protective cup. The Phillies' first baseman/outfielder will fully recover after surgery, hitting .304 in 120 games with Philadelphia and the White Sox over the next two seasons.
1995 At a West Palm Beach (FL) meeting, the major league owners vote unanimously, 28-0, to add their 13th and 14th expansion teams, officially granting Phoenix and Tampa Bay franchises. The new cities, selected over municipalities that included bids from Orlando and two by groups from Washington, DC, will be assigned leagues in January of 1997.
1995 Tampa Bay's new expansion team will be known as the Devil Rays, a name that will prove unpopular due to its un-Christian reference after being selected from more than 7,000 entries submitted by the public. The club's owner, Vince Naimoli, preferred his team be called the Sting Rays, but he refused to pay the $35,000 needed to buy the trademark from a club in the Hawaiian Winter League, which owned the nickname's rights.
2005 Current and former big-league players and baseball executives are issued subpoenas to appear on March 17 by the House Committee on Government Reform. The eleven 'invitees' to the congressional hearing on steroid use include Sandy Alderson, Jose Canseco, Donald Fehr, Jason Giambi, Rob Manfred, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Curt Schilling, Sammy Sosa, Frank Thomas, and Kevin Towers.
2005 Nikko Smith, Ozzie's son who made it to the third round of the American Idol semi-finals, is voted off the popular reality show. Days later, the producers will ask the young entertainer back to replace contestant Mario Vazquez, prompting judge Paula Abdul to call him "The Comeback Kid" after his performance of West Side Story's "One Hand, One Heart."

2006 At Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, a Cuban official attending Cuba's 11-2 WBC win over the Netherlands confronts a person holding a "Down with Fidel" sign, an image seen by millions of television viewers, including those watching the contest in Cuba. The local police quickly intercede, taking Angel Iglesias to a nearby police station, where authorities remind Cuba's National Institute of Sports vice president that Puerto Ricans enjoy the right to freedom of speech.
2009 Alex Rodriguez undergoes an 80-minute arthroscopic surgical procedure to repair torn cartilage in his right hip. The Yankee's third baseman, who will need a more extensive operation in the offseason, expects to return to the lineup in May.
2010 Amidst much hoopla, former San Diego State right-hander Stephen Strasburg throws two scoreless innings against Detroit in his first exhibition start for the Nationals this spring. The recipient of the Golden Spikes Award as the best amateur baseball player in the nation was selected as the number one overall pick in last year's draft, signing a record $15.1 million, four-year deal with Washington.
2011 A helicopter airlifts Luis Salazar from just outside Champion Stadium in Kissimmee (FL) to Orlando Regional Medical Center after he is struck in the face by a line drive pulled into the dugout by Brian McCann in the first inning of a Braves' exhibition game. The 54-year-old minor league manager sustained a concussion and will lose his left eye due to the injury.
2014 Barry Bonds returns to the Giants as a special spring training instructor for the young Giants' hitters, a role the organization believes will benefit the club for years. The much-maligned former superstar, who played in his last major league game in 2007, has a ten-year personal services contract with San Francisco, which has yet to commence.
2017 Kris Bryant (.292, 39, 102), who made $652K in his rookie year, becomes the highest-paid second-year player when he comes to terms with the World Champion Cubs on a contract reportedly worth $1.05 million. The Chicago third baseman’s deal surpasses the previous record major league record of one million dollars, given to sophomore outfielder Mike Trout in 2014 by the Angels.
2017

"Major League Baseball’s greatest responsibility is to ensure that today’s youth become active participants in our game as players and fans. The ‘MLB Little League Classic’ exemplifies our entire sport’s commitment to building a stronger connection between young people and the National Pastime" - ROB MANFRED, Commissioner of Baseball.

Major League Baseball announces Williamsport's BB&T Ballpark, the second-oldest minor league ballpark in the United States, formerly known as Bowman Field when it opened in 1926, will host the first "MLB Little League Classic." The regular-season game between the Cardinals and Pirates on August 20, originally scheduled to be played at PNC Park, will occur in conjunction with the Little League World Series that will be taking place in nearby Howard J. Lamade Stadium.

Bowman Field
Bowman Field
Photograph by Wendy Pastore ©
Digitalballparks.com
2019 Former infielder Alex Rodriguez and pop icon Jennifer Lopez get engaged after dating for two years. The couple will separate in 2021 before marrying, with J-Lo tying the knot a year later with movie star Ben Affleck, her fiancee in 2002.
2019 Former major league infielder Alex Rodriguez and pop icon Jennifer Lopez get engaged after dating for two years. The couple will separate in 2021 before marrying, with J-Lo tying the knot a year later with movie star Ben Affleck, her fiancee in 2002.
2022 After being picked off first base in the second inning, University of Mississippi junior Peyton Chatagnier steals three bases on one play in a game against Alcorn State University. The 21-year-old second baseman swipes second with a head-first slide, takes third when the bag is left uncovered, and continues to a vacant home plate as the catcher leaves his position in an attempt to make a play at third.

23 Fact(s) Found