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This Day in Baseball History
December 16th

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23 Fact(s) Found
1938 The Braves deal catcher Ray Mueller to the Pirates for Al Todd, who will get traded to Brooklyn in March, and Johnny Dickshot, who moves to the Giants in April. Mueller will play in only 90 games over two seasons for Pittsburgh.
1953 In an 11-player trade, the Yankees deal their top prospect Vic Power to the Philadelphia A's. The powerful first baseman, who had hoped to be the first black to play for the Yankees, enjoyed three outstanding seasons in the minors, including batting .331 and driving 109 runs for the Newark Bears last season, the team's top farm club.
1954 Willie Mays becomes the first player to win the Most Valuable Player Award in his first full year in the majors when he easily outdistances Reds' first baseman Ted Kluszewski for the honor. The 23-year-old Giants center fielder made his big league debut at the end of May in 1951 but missed the last two seasons due to his military service in the U.S. Army.
1975 With little encouragement from the other owners, Bill Veeck, who will see his team win their first pennant in 40 years, reacquires the White Sox when he purchases 80% of the team as part of an investment group intent on keeping the franchise in Chicago. The American League pressured former owner John Allyn to sell his club to a Seattle interest to help quell a lawsuit resulting from the Junior Circuit's approval in 1970 to move the one-year-old expansion Pilots from the 'Emerald City' to Milwaukee.
1976 The Reds trade first baseman Tony Perez and pitcher Will McEnaney to the Expos for pitchers Woody Fryman and Dale Murray. The former Cincinnati infielder, considered by many to be the Big Red Machine's heart and soul, spent three seasons in Montreal, hitting 46 home runs with 242 RBIs and a .281 batting average before signing as a free agent with the Red Sox in 1980.
1982 Tom Seaver's trade back to New York from the Reds becomes complete when 'Tom Terrific' comes to contract terms with the Mets. In exchange for the 'Franchise,' Cincinnati obtains pitcher Charlie Puleo and two minor leaguers, Lloyd McClendon and Jason Felice.
1983 Replacing Billy Martin (91-71, third place), the Yankees hire Yogi Berra for the second time to manage the Yankees. The Hall of Famer's self-exile from Yankee Stadium will last for nearly 15 seasons after he is dismissed 16 games into the 1985 season despite receiving assurances from owner George Steinbrenner that would not happen.


Sports Illustrated - April 2, 1984 cover

1991 Clemente Nunez, signed by Florida scout Edmundo Borrome, becomes the first player in Marlins' history. The 16-year-old Dominican right-hander will compile a 29-26 record and an ERA of 3.51 during his five seasons in the team's farm system but will never appear in a major league game.
1992 Dusty Baker is selected to replace Roger Craig in the dugout as manager of the Giants. The 44-year-old former hitting coach will compile an 840-715 (.540) record, becoming the National League Manager of the Year three times during his ten-year tenure.
1996 Unable to come to terms with the Yankees, World Series MVP John Wetteland signs a four-year free-agent deal worth $23 million to close games for Texas. The 29-year-old right-handed reliever, who saved all four victories in the Fall Classic against Atlanta, became expendable in New York with the emergence of Mariano Rivera, the team's nearly perfect setup man.
2001 🇯🇵 The Giants obtain their first Japanese player since 1964 when Masanori Murakami became the first ballplayer from Japan to appear in a major league game. San Francisco trades starting pitcher Shawn Estes (9-8, 4.02) to the Mets in exchange for outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo (.267, 10, 56) and infielder Desi Relaford (.302, 8, 36), later dealt to the Mariners for David Bell.
2002 After being invited to the Dominican Republic by President Hipolito Mejia, the Japanese home run king Sadaharu Oh meets one of his favorite players, island resident Sammy Sosa. The Dominican outfielder, one homer shy of the coveted 500, will have to hit several hundred more to reach the 62-year-old's mark of 868 set during his 22 seasons playing for the Yomiuri Giants.
2002 After declining the $4.6 million two-year contract offer by the Yankees on December 7, which he had only 15 minutes to consider, Mike Stanton (7-1, 3.00, 6 saves) decides to stay in the Big Apple by agreeing to a $9 million, three-year, no-trade contract with the crosstown rival Mets. The Bronx Bombers didn't offer the All-Star reliever salary arbitration after he failed to respond to their ultimatum.
2003

"We're tickled pink. It continues the tradition of great Orioles shortstops. That's always been a cornerstone of the great Oriole tradition.'' -MIKE FLANAGAN, Orioles' vice president for baseball operations.

Miguel Tejada agrees to a six-year $72 million contract with the Orioles, making it the richest deal in the franchise's history. Last season, the shortstop batted .287 with 27 home runs while driving in 106 runs for the Western Division champions Oakland A's.

2008 The Phillies finalize their $31.5 million, three-year deal with free agent Raul Ibanez (.293, 23, 110). The 36-year-old former Seattle outfielder, who will replace the departing Pat Burrell, provides another left-handed bat in an already potent Phillies lineup, including lefties Ryan Howard and Chase Utley.
2008 The Orioles sign former Cardinal infielder Cesar Izturis to a $6 million two-year deal to fill the team's void at shortstop. The 28-year-old free agent considered an outstanding defensive player, won a Gold Glove playing with the Dodgers in 2004.
2009 John Lackey and the Red Sox agreed on a $82.5 million five-year deal. The 31-year-old right-hander, who compiled a 102-71 record and a 3.81 ERA in eight seasons in the major leagues, all with the Angels, adds depth to a strong rotation that includes Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Jon Lester.
2009 In a series of moves involving four teams and nine players, and results in two Cy Young Award winners getting traded, the Phillies send three top minor leaguers, Travis d'Arnaud, Kyle Drabek (son of former CYA winner Doug Drabek), and Michael Taylor, later traded to get A's third baseman Brett Wallace, to the Blue Jays for Roy Halladay. After securing their new ace, Philadelphia sends their former ace, Cliff Lee, to the Mariners to restock their minor league system by getting prospects outfielder Tyson Gillies along with right-handers Phillippe Aumont and Juan Ramirez from Seattle.
2009 Yankee free-agent Hideki Matsui signs a one-year deal worth $6.5 million with the Angels. This year's World Series MVP decided to take LA's offer rather than wait to see if the uninterested Bronx Bombers planned to bring him back as the DH, the role his new club expects him to play.
2009 The Red Sox and 36-year-old Mike Cameron (.250, 24, 70) finalize a $15.5 million, two-year contract. The three-time Gold Glove winner will help fill the void in the outfield with the anticipated departure of free-agent left fielder Jason Bay.
2011 A federal judge sentences former Giants' super-star Barry Bonds to 30 days of house arrest, two years of probation, 250 hours of community service, and a $4,000 fine. The all-time home run champion, who is appealing his guilty verdict for the obstruction of justice, could have faced 15 months of jail time, as recommended by the prosecution.
2012 Torii Hunter signs a two-year, $26 million contract with the Tigers, the team the free agent wanted to play for after leaving the Angels. The deal, completed in less than an hour, brings the well-respected Gold Glove outfielder to the Motor City to pursue a World Championship, a prize yet to be realized in the All-Star's 16-year major league career.
2020 On the centennial of the founding of the Negro Leagues, MLB announces it was "correcting a longtime oversight in the game's history" by reclassifying the Negro Leagues as a major league. Big-League records will now include the verified statistics from 1920 through 1948 of the seven black baseball circuits.
23 Fact(s) Found