BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1874 A Havanan team plays Matanzas in Cuba's first documented baseball game. The contest, played at Palmar de Junco, ends with Havana leading, 51-9, with the game called after seven innings due to darkness.

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1941 Levi Walker, the third person to play Chief Noc-A-Homa, a role he will perform from 1969 through 1985, is born. Dressed in Native American costume, the Georgia native will come out of his tepee, located in the bleachers, setting off smoke signals and do a celebration dance whenever a Braves player homers at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

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1943 Former Yankee infielder Roy White is born in Los Angeles. The two-time All-Star will play 15 years in the majors, compiling a lifetime .271 batting average for the Bronx Bombers.

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1967 Johnny Murphy becomes the Mets' third general manager in franchise history when he replaces Bing Devine. During his tenure, the team benefits from a talented farm system, especially its young pitching prospects, including Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Nolan Ryan, and Gary Gentry, who will play a major role in the club's World Championship in 1969.

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1984 Ed Whitson, 14-8 with the NL champion Padres, signs a five-year $4.4 million ill-fated contract with the Yankees. The free-agent deal becomes a nightmare when the right-hander lasts only a season and a half, compiling a 15-10 record and an ERA of 5.38 in 44 games with the Bronx Bombers.

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2001 After 21 years on WABC, the Yankees will broadcast its spring training, regular-season, and postseason games on all-news station WCBS-AM, which Infinity Broadcasting owns. The five-year deal with the Yankees' YES Network, created earlier this year, is worth approximately $50 million.

2001 The Mets continue to stay busy this offseason, acquiring first baseman Mo Vaughn for 13-year veteran right-hander Kevin Appier (11-10, 3.57) and cash. The 1995 American League MVP will join Roberto Alomar, Roger Cedeno, and Shawn Estes as the Shea Squad's newest members.

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2003 In his hometown of Loza, Puerto Rico, former major league All-Star outfielder Ivan Calderon is shot and killed at a bar reportedly known where several other murders have occurred in the past year. During his ten-year major league career, the 41-year-old played with the Mariners (1984-1986), White Sox (1986-1990), Expos (1991-1992), Red Sox (1993), and the White Sox (1993).

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2004 After the Cubs decline Moises Alou's (.293, 39, 106) option, the Giants ink the free-agent outfielder to a one-year contract reportedly worth $13.25 million, with an option for a second year for the career .300 hitter. The signing marks the 38-year-old All-Star's second time he will call his dad skipper, with Felipe managing him while he played with the Expos from 1992-96.

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2007 Hoping he will continue to be a hot hitter at Kauffman Stadium (.415), the Royals sign free-agent Miguel Olivo (.237, 16, 60) to a one-year deal with a mutual option for the following season. The Marlins did not tender a contract to the 29-year-old backstop, the team's starting catcher for the past two seasons, after acquiring catching prospect Mike Rabelo in the blockbuster trade with the Tigers during the Winter Meetings.

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2008 Adding speed at the top of their order and a superior glove in centerfield, the Reds sign Willy Taveras (.251, 1, 26) to a two-year contract. The 27-year-old speedster, who led the major leagues with 68 stolen bases last season, became a free agent earlier in the month when the Rockies declined to offer him a contract after the oft-injured outfielder spent two seasons with the team.

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2013 The Rangers come to terms on a seven-year, $130 million deal with free-agent Shin-Soo Choo, who will join the recently acquired power-hitting first baseman Prince Fielder to provide the club more offense. The 31-year-old outfielder, who compiled a .423 on-base percentage, hit .285 with 21 home runs and drove in 54 runs for the Reds last season.

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2020 In a seven-player trade, the Cubs deal 34-year-old Yu Darvish and his personal catcher Victor Caratini to the Padres for right-handed starter Zach Davies and four minor league prospects: Reginald Preciado, Yeison Santana, Owen Caissie, and Ismael Mena. San Diego's addition of Darvish, last season's NL Cy Young runner-up, comes less than a day after the team obtains southpaw Blake Snell, another top of the rotation hurler from the Rays.

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On December 27 in Baseball History...

• • 1919 - One day after secretly working out a deal with the Yankees to sell Babe Ruth to the Yankees, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee announces that Boston will deal any player except Harry Hooper. Hooper will be sent to the White Sox after the 1920 season.
  • 1981 - Fernando Valenzuela becomes the fifth Los Angeles Dodger to become Southern California Athlete of the Year honors. It winds up an autumn of awards for Valenzuela, who won both the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards -- the first NL pitcher to do so -- and also earned a World Series ring with the Dodgers.
    
  • 1984 - Free agent pitcher Ed Whitson, who went 14-8 for the NL champion Padres, begins a nightmarish association with the Yankees by signing a five-year $4.4 million contract. By the middle of his second year with the club, he gets so rattled in New York that he can only pitch on the road. The Yankees ship him back to San Diego, where he has four solid years.
    
  • 1994 - The Chiba Lotte Marines announced that Julio Franco, Pete Incaviglia and Eric Hillman had been signed to contracts. They would play for fellow American Bobby Valentine, the 1st American manager in professional Japanese baseball.

Baseball Birthdays on December 27...

• • 1861 - Curtis, Ervin
  • 1867 - Hemp, Ducky
  • 1869 - Bishop, Bill
  • 1870 - Farmer, Bill
  • 1873 - Thomas, Tom
  • 1876 - Woodruff, Sam
  • 1876 - Carr, Charlie
  • 1888 - Textor, George
  • 1890 - Krueger, Ernie
  • 1897 - Tavener, Jackie
  • 1904 - Shea, John
  • 1912 - Tobin, Jim
  • "I (Phil Masi) always caught Jim Tobin because I could handle the knuckleball, which was about all he ever threw. He also had a very slow motion which made it easy for runners to steal on him. He was a good hitter, too — in 1942 he hit three home runs in a game [box] against the Cubs. He also no-hit the Dodgers, 2-0, in 1944 [box]." - Masi, Phil. Major League Baseball Catcher. Baseball Digest. February 1978. Page 43.
  • 1913 - Lynn, Red
  • 1916 - Brewster, Charlie
  • 1917 - Karpel, Herb
  • 1920 - McCall, Dutch
  • 1922 - Johnson, Connie
  • "Connie (Johnson) was a good pitcher in the major leagues. He was a great pitcher in the Negro Leagues. No comparison. He threw hard for the Monarchs. Hard. He had good control. Could have won twenty games in the big leagues. Oh yeah. Could have won twenty games every year. That's Connie Johnson." - Former Major Leaguer Buck O'Neil in the Lexington Herald-Leader
  • 1930 - Larker, Norm "'C'mon, Frank,' he (Norm Larker) complained to umpire Secory, 'the guy's (Lew Burdette) throwing spitters.' 'Naah,' replied Secory, 'them were sinkers.' 'Sinkers!' replied Larker. 'My foot! One of them sinkers just splashed me in the right eye!'" - Sportswriter Phil Pepe in The New York Daily News (Baseball Digest, July 1975)
  • 1937 - Klaus, Bobby
  • 1941 - Gagliano, Phil
  • 1942 - Browne, Byron
  • 1943 - White, Roy
  • 1949 - Escarrega, Chico
  • 1952 - Budaska, Mark
  • 1952 - Reynolds, Craig
  • 1955 - Weiss, Gary
  • 1963 - Leyritz, Jim
  • 1965 - Marsh, Tom
  • 1968 - Palmer, Dean
  • 1972 - Busby, Mike
  • 1973 - Gonzalez, Raul
  • 1975 - D'Amico, Jeff

Copyright � 2001-2007. All Rights Reserved.
Part of the Baseball Almanac family: 755 Home Runs | Around the Horn | Baseball Box Scores | Baseball Fever | Today in Baseball History.​

 

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12/28
BIRTHDAYS
1900 Ted Lyons HOF pitcher (MLB All-Star 1939; AL wins leader 1925, 27; AL ERA leader 1942; no-hitter 1926; Chicago WS) and manager (Chicago WS 1926-28), born in Lake Charles, Louisiana (d. 1986)


1947 Aurelio Rodriguez


1952 Ray Knight, 3rd baseman (NY Mets, Baltimore Orioles)


1960 Zane Smith pitcher (Pittsburgh Pirates), born in Madison, Wisconsin


1971 Benny Agbayani, born in Honolulu, Hawaii


1971 Melvin Nieves outfielder (Detroit Tigers), born in San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1926 Bob O'Farrell is named to replace Rogers Hornsby as the Cardinal manager. The 'Rajah,' who guided the Redbirds to a World Championship as the team's player-manager last season, was traded to the Giants eight days ago for Frankie Frisch and Jimmy Ring.

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1944 Buddy Lewis wins the Distinguished Flying Cross for his extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight in the China Burma India Theater. During World War II, the 28-year-old Senators' outfielder/third baseman flew more than 500 missions for the U.S. Army Air Force as a transport pilot.

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1957 After Representative Kenneth B. Keating indicates Congress should reopen its sports hearing, CBS announces they will not broadcast major league games into any area during the time of a scheduled minor league game. The television network has agreed with six teams - Indians, Orioles, Phillies, Reds, White Sox, and Yankees - to telecast major league games nationally on Sundays next season.

1957 In a swap of first basemen, the Reds deal fan-favorite Ted Kluszewski to the Pirates for Dee Fondy, who will retire at the end of the season after hitting only .218 for Cincinnati. 'Big Klu' will play a season-and-a-half for his new team before being sent to the White Sox, where he will play a pivotal role for the eventual American League champions in 1959.

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1983 Free-agent Warren Cromartie signs a $2.5 million contract with the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants. The 30-year-old former Expo outfielder, considered the best American player to date to leave the majors in his prime to play in Japan, will compile a .321 batting average along with 171 home runs and 558 RBIs during his seven seasons with the Nippon team.

1994 In the century's fourth-largest trade, the biggest since 1957, the Astros and Padres exchange a dozen players. Houston sends Ken Caminiti, Andujar Cedeno, Steve Finley, Roberto Petagine, Brian Williams, and a player to be named later (Sean Fesh) for Derek Bell, Doug Brocail, Ricky Gutierrez, Pedro Martinez, Phil Plantier, and Craig Shipley.

1998 The Tigers acquire two players when the team signs free-agent Gregg Jefferies to a two-year contract and trades outfield prospect Luis Gonzalez to the Diamondbacks for Karim Garcia. The 31-year-old California native will finish his controversial 14-year major league career in Detroit with a lifetime .289 batting average.

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2001 Outgoing New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani announces the Yankees and Mets have reached a tentative agreement with the city to build a pair of $800 million, retractable-roof stadiums. Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg, concerned if the Big Apple can afford the largest private-public venture in baseball history, will have the final word on the $1.6 billion costs of the proposed new ballparks agreements.

2005 The White Sox and starter Jon Garland (18-10, 3.50) sign a three-year, $29 million contract. The deal to stay with the 2005 World Series champions takes him off the profitable free-agent market next year, avoids salary arbitration, and keeps the 26-year-old right-hander in the city he loves.

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2005 The Diamondbacks send Troy Glaus and highly touted infield prospect Sergio Santos to the Blue Jays in exchange for Gold Glove second baseman Orlando Hudson and starter Miguel Batista. Toronto's active off-season, in which the team has also signed starter A.J. Burnett, closer B.J. Ryan, and first baseman Lyle Overbay, convinced the third baseman to waive his limited no-trade clause.

Hudson Batista
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Today in Baseball History
Home | Contact | Baseball Almanac | Baseball Box Scores | Baseball Fever | Advertise | Support​

Search archives: Historical Events Baseball Birthdays Baseball Deaths
On December 28 in Baseball History...

• • 1944 - Former Washington third baseman Buddy Lewis wins the Distinguished Flying Cross for precision flying over the Burma War Theater.
  • 1957 - CBS states that it will not broadcast baseball into any area at the time a minor league game is scheduled.
  • 1983 - Free agent outfielder Warren Cromartie signs a reported three-year, $2.5 million contract with Japan's Yomiuri Giants. The 30-year-old Cromartie, who hit .278 as a mainstay in the Montreal outfield in 1983, is the best American player to jump to Japan while still in his prime. He will play in Japan for seven seasons before returning for one more season in North America with the Royals in 1991.
  • 1994 - The Houston Astros and San Diego Padres swing a mammoth twelve-player trade.
  • 1998 - Mark McGwire is named the AP Male Athlete of the Year.

Baseball Birthdays on December 28...

• • 1847 - Sensenderfer, Count
  • 1860 - Broughton, Cal
  • 1864 - Kalbfus, Charlie
  • 1875 - Karns, Bill
  • 1885 - Parson, Jiggs
  • 1887 - Miller, Hughie
  • 1887 - Henning, Pete
  • 1891 - Carroll, Doc
  • 1898 - Kelly, Bill
  • 1900 - Lyons, Ted
  • 1901 - Holm, Wattie
  • 1906 - Bridges, Tommy "Primarily, I was a fastball pitcher, and nobody could teach me to throw a fastball because nobody on that ballclub could throw any harder than I could. But, I did watch Tommy Bridges to learn how to throw a curveball; I think he had the greatest curveball I've ever seen." - Virgil Trucks (Baseball Digest : February 1995)
  • 1912 - Denning, Otto
  • 1915 - Sweeney, Hank
  • 1920 - Aulds, Leslie
  • 1921 - Burbrink, Nelson
  • 1923 - Thompson, Don
  • 1924 - Daniels, Tony
  • 1924 - Kuczek, Steve
  • 1944 - Lamb, Ray
  • 1946 - Lee, Bill "You have two hemispheres in your brain - a left and a right side. The left side controls the right side of your body and the right side controls the left half. It's a fact. Therefore, left-handed pitchers are the only people in their right minds." - Bill Lee in Boston Red Sox and the Meaning of Life
  • 1947 - Rodriguez, Aurelio
  • 1949 - Milner, John
  • 1950 - Lawson, Steve
  • 1952 - Knight, Ray "Concentration is the ability to think about absolutely nothing when it is absolutely necessary." - Ray Knight in Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball
  • 1952 - Sosa, Jose
  • 1960 - Willis, Carl
  • 1960 - Smith, Zane
  • 1963 - Stottlemyre, Mel
  • 1971 - Agbayani, Benny
  • 1971 - Nieves, Melvin
  • 1972 - Diaz, Einar
  • 1975 - Ryan, B.J.

Copyright � 2001-2007. All Rights Reserved.
Part of the Baseball Almanac family: 755 Home Runs | Around the Horn | Baseball Box Scores | Baseball Fever | Today in Baseball History.​