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This Day in Baseball History
November 11th

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33 Fact(s) Found
1891 Responding to Chicago's protest that Eastern teams helped Boston capture the circuit's championship, the National League rules the title still belongs to the Beaneaters. The pennant winners won 23 of their last 30 games, including 18 in a row.
1933

"Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter." - SATCHEL PAIGE, commenting on his longevity.

The California Winter League holds Satchel Paige Day to honor the legend's accomplishments in this multi-racial circuit. The right-hander takes no prisoners, throwing a three-hit 5-0 shutout with 14 strikeouts in the Armistice Day contest against Joe Pirrone's All-Stars, a team made up of big leaguers who came to the West Coast to play winter league ball to earn some extra money.

1941 Joe DiMaggio, who copped the honor in 1939, wins the American League Most Valuable Player award for the second time in his career. The Yankee Clipper edges Ted Williams, who hit .406 this season, when a writer leaves the Red Sox right-fielder off the ballot.


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1948 Joe DiMaggio undergoes surgery to remove bone spurs on his right heel at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. The Yankee Clipper will return to the Bronx Bombers' lineup on June 28, hitting a single and a two-run homer in his first two at-bats in the team's 5-4 victory over Boston at Fenway Park. 
1958 The American League announces the A's will play a league record 52-night games at Municipal Stadium during the upcoming campaign. Kansas City will finish fourth (4th of 8) in attendance in the Junior Circuit when 925,090 fans witness the team finishing in seventh place with a 37-40 record in home games, 19 games behind the Yankees.
1962 His major league peers select second baseman Ken Hubbs as the Gold Glove recipient for his position. The 21-year-old Cubs infielder is the first rookie to be honored with the prestigious fielding award.
1981 Dodger hurler Fernando Valenzuela (13-7, 2.48) becomes the first rookie to win the Cy Young Award. The 20-year-old southpaw, also selected as the NL's Rookie of the Year, edges Reds' right-hander Tom Seaver (14-2, 2.54) in the BBWAA voting for the strike-shortened season, 70-67.
1982 The Orioles hire Joe Altobelli to succeed the retiring Earl Weaver, who began managing Baltimore in 1968. The former Giants manager (1977-79) will compile a 212-167 (.559) record during his two-plus seasons with the team and lead the club to a World Championship his first year in Baltimore before being replaced by the returning Earl of Baltimore in May of 1985 when the underachieving Birds start the season, 29-26.
1986 Mike Scott edges Fernando Valenzuela (21-11, 3.14) for the National League Cy Young Award, collecting 15 of the writers' 24 first-place votes, with the Dodger southpaw garnering the other nine. The 31-year-old Astros' right-hander pitched a no-hitter to clinch the division and compiled an 18-10 record, leading the circuit with an ERA of 2.22 and 306 strikeouts.
1990 In an exhibition game between American and Japanese All-Star teams, Angels' ace Chuck Finley and Randy Johnson of the Mariners combine to hurl a no-hitter in the finale of an eight-game series. Japan takes the series 4-3 with one tie, making it the first time since 1970 that a team of major leaguers has left the Land of the Rising Sun with a losing record.
1992 The Pirates and Barry Bonds agree on a deal to keep Pittsburgh's outfielder for another season. The contract is worth $4.7 million, making the deal the richest one-year commitment in baseball history.
1996 John Smoltz (24-8, 2.94) is named first on 26 of the 28 BBWAA writers' ballots to win the National League Cy Young Award, outdistancing Florida's Kevin Brown, who finishes second in the voting. The right-handed starter is the fourth consecutive Atlanta pitcher to win the honor, with teammate Tom Glavine being the previous recipient of the prestigious pitching prize from 1993-1995. 
1996 The Mets trade Rico Brogna to the Phillies for relievers Toby Borland and Ricardo Jordan. The first baseman, diagnosed with spinal arthritis in 1991, proves to be a good acquisition for Philadelphia when the 27-year-old infielder spends 3+ seasons as an everyday player in the City of Brotherly Love.
1997 Mike Kelly becomes the Rays' first major leaguer obtained via a trade when the Reds send the 27-year-old outfielder to Tampa Bay for a player to be named later. Next week, Tampa Bay returns Dmitri Young, their 16th pick in the expansion draft, back to Cincinnati to complete the trade.
1997 Beginning to dismantle their World Champion team, the Marlins trade Moises Alou to the Astros for two pitchers, Oscar Henriquez and Manuel Barrios, and a player to be named later. The outfielder had helped lead Florida to the postseason, batting .292 with 23 home runs and 115 RBIs.
1998 In one of the best trades ever made in franchise history, the White Sox send center fielder Mike Cameron to the Reds for top prospect Paul Konerko, whom Cincinnati had acquired from the Dodgers. The first baseman/DH, who will become a mainstay in Chicago's offense for over a decade, bats .294, belts 24 home runs, and drives in 81 runs during his first season in the Windy City.
2001 Cardinals' first baseman Mark McGwire tells ESPN he plans to retire, ending his 16-year big league career. The prolific home run hitter, who ranks fifth all-time with 583 career homers, decided not to sign the two-year, $30-million extension St. Louis had offered.
2002 Barry Bonds becomes the first player in major league history to win the Most Valuable Player Award five times. The 38-year-old Giant left fielder, who also won the award with the Pirates (1990 and '92) and with San Francisco (1993, 2001), was the National League's batting champion with a .370 average and broke 1941 Ted Williams' on-base percentage record with an impressive .582 OBP.
2003 Roy Halladay of the Blue Jays easily wins the American League Cy Young Award, garnering 26 of 28 first-place votes. The 26-year-old right-hander finished the season 22-7, including winning 15 straight decisions from May 1 to July 27.
2004 Johan Santana (20-6, 265, 2.61), winning the American League top pitching honor with 28 first-place votes, becomes the 18th unanimous Cy Young winner selected by the BBWAA. The 25-year-old Venezuelan southpaw joins Jim Perry (1970) and Frank Viola (1988) as the only Twin hurlers to earn the award.
2006 Although the team has declined to comment, several newspapers and internet sites report that the Mets' new ballpark will be known as Citi Field. The deal with CitiCorp, the nation's largest bank, may be worth as much as $20 million annually for 20 years, making it the richest naming rights agreement in sports history, surpassing the 32-year, $300 million contract between the NFL's Texans and Reliant Energy Inc.

2008 Joining Mike McCormick, who copped the honor in 1967, Tim Lincecum (18-5, 2.62) becomes the second San Francisco Giant hurler to win the NL Cy Young Award. The 24-year-old right-hander, finishing his first full big league season, receives 23 out of 32 first-place votes cast by the Baseball Writers' Association of America to finish ahead of Arizona's Brandon Webb and New York's Johan Santana.
2008 The Nationals, which posted baseball's worst record last season, begin revamping their team, sending second baseman Emilio Bonifacio and two minor leaguers to the Marlins in exchange for right-hander Scott Olsen and outfielder Josh Willingham. The trade gives Washington much-needed starting pitching and adds a left-fielder to their outfield crop, including Lastings Milledge, Elijah Dukes, and Austin Kearns.
2011 The Miami Marlins officially unveil their new name, logo, and uniforms in an elaborate Friday night ceremony at their new downtown ballpark, attended by 800 celebrities and VIPs. The team's new colorful merchandise will go on sale for the first time after the event, and at 11 pm, it will be available to the general public. 

2011 Former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon and the Phillies, pending a physical examination, tentatively agree to the largest contract ever given to a relief pitcher, a four-year $50 million deal. In his three seasons with Philadelphia, the right-handed reliever will become the franchise's all-time leader in saves, compiling 123 in 138 opportunities.
2013 Rays' outfielder Wil Myers, obtained in the off-season from the Royals with three other prospects in exchange for James Shields and Wade Davis, wins the American League Rookie of the Year Award. The 22-year-old North Carolina native, who received 23 of 30 first-place votes from the BBWAA, joins third baseman Evan Longoria (2008) and right-hander Jeremy Hellickson (2011) as the third Tampa Bay player in the last six years to cop the freshman honor.
2013 The Dodgers confirm their manager, Don Mattingly, will return for his fourth season with the team. The skipper's status in Los Angeles was uncertain early in the season until the club went on a record-setting 42-8 tear en route to the NL West division title.
2013 The Braves announce the franchise will leave Turner Field, a ballpark newer than 13 of the other 29 major league stadiums after their initial 20-year lease expires after the 2016 season. Team executives, disappointed with Atlanta's inability to support needed renovations for the venue, cite their fan base as unwilling to attend games because of its crippling downtown traffic congestion and inadequate parking around the stadium.
2013 Jose Fernandez (12-6, 2.19) receives 26 of 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers' Association of America to easily win the National League's Rookie of the Year award. The 21-year-old right-hander, who defected from Cuba with his mother and sister in 2008, becomes the fourth Marlin player in the last 11 years to cop the freshman honor, joining Chris Coghlan (2009), Hanley Ramirez (2006) and Dontrelle Willis (2003).
2013 The Twins announce that Joe Mauer, who missed the last six weeks of the season, will move from catcher to first base full-time next season. A concussion the 30-year-old sustained when he took a foul tip off the mask in mid-August prompted the team to change the All-Star backstop's position.
2014 Buck Showalter, who led the Orioles to a divisional title for the first time since 1997, is selected as the American League Manager of the Year by the BBWAA. The Baltimore skipper cops the honor for the third time (1994 Yankees and 2004 Rangers ), joining Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa, Dusty Baker, Jim Leyland, and Lou Piniella in winning the award three or more times.
2019 Garnering 29 of 30 first-place votes, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, who set a freshman record for round-trippers with his major league-leading 53 homers, wins the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez, who finished the season with a batting average of .313 and recorded 27 home runs and 78 RBIs over 87 games after making his debut in June, unanimously cops the American League honor.
2020 Reds' right-hander Trevor Bauer becomes the first National League Cy Young Award in franchise history, receiving 27 of the 30 BBWAA's first-place votes to finish ahead of Yu Darvish of the Cubs and the Mets' Jacob DeGrom. The 29-year-old North Hollywood native (CA) compiled only a 5-4 record in the COVID-shorten season but led the Senior Circuit with a 1.74 ERA, a 0.76 WHIP, two complete games, and two shutouts.
33 Fact(s) Found