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14 Fact(s) Found
| 1878 | In Havana, the first game is played in the Professional Baseball League of Cuba, later known as the Cuban League, when hometown Habana edges its rivals from suburban Almendares, 21-20. Player-manager Esteban Enrique Bellan, who will become the first Latino to appear in the major leagues for the Troy Haymakers and the New York Mutuals of the National Association from 1871 to 1873, leads the winning team. |
| 1932 | The Boston Braves reacquire Shanty Hogan when they purchase the catcher traded away four years ago to the Giants for $25,000. The slow-footed but gifted defensive backstop lost his spot in the New York lineup at the end of the season when new player-manager Bill Terry, who replaced the legendary John McGraw in early June, elected to build the team around speed and pitching. |
| 1933 | Babe Ruth loses an opportunity to manage the Reds when Jacob Ruppert refuses to release his 38-year-old outfielder. The Yankee owner still viewed the aging superstar, who batted .301 with 34 home runs and 103 RBIs last season, as an asset to the team. |
| 1969 | The New York Times reports Curt Flood will challenge the reserve clause by suing major league baseball. The Cardinal outfielder's legal action, whose case will ultimately be appealed unsuccessfully in the U.S. Supreme Court, paves the way for the players in the future to overturn baseball's reserve clause in their attempt to gain free agency. |
| 1973 |
American screenwriter Philip G. Epstein, best known for writing the 1942 Academy Award-winning screenplay for Casablanca, along with his identical twin, Julius and Howard Koch, welcomes his fraternal twin grandsons into the world. In twenty-eight years, Paul's 60-second younger brother, Theo, will become the youngest GM in major league baseball history when the Red Sox hires him in 2002.
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| 1977 | Melissa Ludtke, a female Sports Illustrated sportswriter, files suit against major league baseball, the Yankees, and New York City officials for denying her access to the locker room to interview players during the World Series. In September, a federal judge will rule that the Bronx Bombers can no longer enforce an MLB policy that bans female reporters in the locker rooms because it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, giving an unfair advantage to males. |
| 2002 | Sending a huge dust cloud down the Ohio River, Cinergy Field, formerly known as Riverfront Stadium, is imploded with 1,275 pounds of explosives. The Reds' former home of 32 seasons was where Hank Aaron tied Babe Ruth's career home run record on Opening Day in 1974, and Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb's all-time hits record in 1985. |
| 2003 |
The Angels announced their ballpark will now be known as Angel Stadium of Anaheim. In 1997, their 41-year-old home, known as Anaheim Stadium, was renamed Edison International Field.
 (Ed. Note: According to the New Era tags inside the hats, the giant Angel baseball caps that provide shade for fans entering the ballpark are size 649½. - LP) |
| 2005 | Agreeing to a $60 million, five-year contract, Indians free agent Kevin Millwood (9-11, 2.86) joins the Rangers' new and improved rotation as the ace the team has been seeking. The 31-year-old right-hander, who had the lowest ERA in the American League last season, will anchor a staff including newcomers Vicente Padilla (9-12, 4.71) and Adam Eaton (11-5, 4.27), acquired from the Phillies and Padres, respectively. |
| 2005 | In an attempt to permit Cuba to participate in the 16-team World Baseball Classic, Venezuela offers to host the Group C teams in place of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, suggesting the finals be played in Canada rather than in San Diego's Petco Park. The venue change would mean Castro's charges would avoid playing on U.S. soil and not be subject to the U.S. Treasury Department regulations, which ban the team due to American trade and financial embargoes. |
| 2009 | Mark DeRosa, a veteran .275 hitter, signs a $12 million, two-year deal with the Giants. The 34-year-old versatile infielder, who Cleveland traded to the Cardinals at the end of June, will likely play first or third base and hit fifth behind cleanup batter Pablo Sandoval. |
| 2009 | The Mets and Jason Bay, a former farmhand, agree to a four-year deal worth approximately $66 million, including a vesting option for a fifth year for an additional $14 million. The 31-year-old outfielder joined the organization as a minor leaguer in 2002 when Omar Minaya, then the general manager of the Expos, traded the Class-A pull hitter to New York, who shipped him four months later to San Diego as part of an undistinguished deal. |
| 2012 | Ruth Ann Steinhagen, the infamous 19-year-old obsessed fan who shot former Phillies' first baseman Eddie Waitkus in 1949 at Chicago's Edgewater Beach Hotel, dies anonymously at 83. Her crime, the inspiration for the book and movie The Natural, spotlighted 'baseball Annies,' young, hero-worshipping females who relentlessly pursued major league ballplayers. |
| 2020 | The Rays trade 2018 Cy Young Award recipient Blake Snell to the San Diego Padres in exchange for minor league prospects Blake Hunt and Cole Wilcox along with RHP Luis Patiño and backstop Francisco Mejía. San Diego's newest southpaw joins Yu Darvis, recently obtained from the Cubs, at the top of the team's much-improved rotation. |
14 Fact(s) Found