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18 Fact(s) Found
| 1933 | Four days after turning thirty years old and acquiring a very generous inheritance from his step-father, Tom Yawkey purchases the Red Sox from Robert Quinn for $1.2 million. The acquisition of the Boston American League franchise, which lasts for 44 years, the longest by a sole owner in baseball history, is prompted by former school classmate and Hall of Fame infielder Eddie Collins, who serves as the team's general manager until 1947. |
| 1934 | John McGraw dies at 60 at a New Rochelle Hospital two weeks after hearing optimistic reports about his recovery. The renowned Giants skipper, known as 'Little Napoleon' due to his style and stature, won ten pennants and three world championships during his 30 years as the team's manager. |
| 1965 | The MLB owners refuse to raise the minimum salary requested by the players to $7,000 from the current $6,000, a level that is only $500 more than the first minimum salary established 18 years ago. In 1968, thanks to the first-ever collective bargaining agreement in professional sport, the amount will be raised to $10,000, setting the tone for more rapid increases in the coming years. |
| 1969 | Baseball avoids the sport's first work stoppage when the owners agree to increase their contribution to the newly revised pension plan, changing the players' ability to qualify from five years to four and lowering the minimum age to receive benefits from fifty to forty-five. Other improvements include the players agreeing to collect $5.45 million per year, retroactive to 1959, and a percentage of the revenue generated by televised games. |
| 1972 | After multiple salary disputes with their 27-year-old southpaw, the Cardinals trade a stunned 20-game winner, Steve Carlton (20-9), to the last-place Phillies for Rick Wise (17-14). This season, 'Lefty' will post a 27-10 record for Philadelphia, winning the first of four National League Cy Young Awards during his 15-year tenure with Philadelphia. |
| 1973 | The spring training lockout ends when the players' union and the owners reach a three-year agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement. The CBA establishes salary arbitration for players with two+ years of major league service, raises the minimum salary to $15,000, and includes the new '10 and 5' trade rule that allows a player with ten years of service, in which the last five are with his current team, to veto any trade. |
| 1981 |
At the White House, Ronald Reagan receives a major league season pass from baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn, who hopes the president will attend a few games during the upcoming year. Ironically, the Executive Board of the Major League Baseball Players Association will vote unanimously in Tampa today to strike on May 29, if necessary, surprising the owners who thought the well-paid players wouldn't risk a costly work stoppage.
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| 1987 | Commissioner Ueberroth bans former Cy Young Award winner LaMarr Hoyt from major league baseball for the 1987 season due to multiple drug-related incidents during the past year. An arbitrator orders the Padres to reinstate the right-hander after reducing the penalty to sixty days. |
| 1993 | Resembling a fish with arms and legs, 'Billy the Marlin' is introduced as the mascot of Miami's new National League franchise. Owner Wayne Huizenga selects the name partly because a dolphin is from the "billfish" species, which differs from typical baseball mascot names like Smasher. |
| 1994 | After a long campaign by Yankee fans, including owner George Steinbrenner, the Veterans Committee elects Phil Rizzuto to the Hall of Fame and the posthumous selection of Leo Durocher. The former infielder and current television broadcaster's enshrinement causes much debate, given the borderline career stats became especially important to his supporters when Pee Wee Reese, a similar-styled shortstop of the rival crosstown Brooklyn Dodgers, was inducted in 1984. |
| 2002 | Diamondbacks' third baseman Matt Williams breaks a bone in his left leg during a spring training workout. Arizona will not issue a timetable for their injured infielder's return, but the 36-year-old veteran will resume his duties at the hot corner after the All-Star break on July 11. |
| 2002 | The 84-year-old Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell announces this season will be his last as the Tigers' radio play-by-play announcer. During his 62-year career behind the mike, the 1981 Ford Frick Award winner for baseball broadcasting excellence had worked for the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, and Baltimore Orioles before moving to Detroit. |
| 2003 | The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame selects Blue Jays' World Series hero Joe Carter for a June induction. Pete Rose, who played 95 games for the Expos and collected his 4000th hit with Montreal, was one of the 46 nominees considered but was not chosen by 75 percent of the voters. |
| 2005 | After winning an auction for the one-day naming rights for the Boston Fleet Center, Yankee fan Kerry Konrad initially plans to honor Derek Jeter but agrees to rename the arena the 'Jimmy Fund Center' after a friend offers to give an additional $6,275 to the charity. The donation brings the total to $8,600, reflecting the 86 years between Red Sox World Championships. |
| 2008 | Terry Francona signs a three-year contract extension that runs through 2011, including team options for 2012 and 2013 to continue as the Red Sox manager. After an eighty-six-year drought, the Boston skipper led the club to a pair of World Series titles in four seasons. |
| 2010 | The Rangers void Khalil Greene's contract, announcing the reason for the action is a private matter done in the ballplayer's best interest. The 30-year-old utility infielder, who missed 49 games with the Cardinals last season because of social anxiety, did not report to spring training last week due to an unidentified problem. |
| 2012 |
On their Twitter account, the Mets send out an image of the patch the team will wear this season in memory of Gary Carter, who died earlier in the month of brain cancer at 57. The black pentagon will feature the former New York catcher's nickname, Kid, and the number 8. |
| 2016 |
The players' union and MLB agree to a slide rule after Ruben Tejada suffers a broken leg covering second base during the NLDS. The new policy, the direct result of Chase Utley's attempt to break up a double play that injured the Mets infielder, will be reviewable and allow contact to be permissible with the fielder but prohibit the runner from changing his path to disrupt the play deliberately.
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18 Fact(s) Found