BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

1989 Billy Martin dies in an automobile accident as a passenger on an icy road near his home in Binghamton, New York. An unconfirmed rumor, denied by George Steinbrenner, had the 61-year-old ready to become the Yankees' manager for a sixth time, replacing Bucky Dent if the team faltered at the start of the 1990 season.

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2001 Signing a one-year, $4.7 million contract to play for the Yomiuri Giants, Hideki Matsui became the highest-paid player in Japanese baseball history. The outfielder's salary surpasses the $4 million mark the Orix Blue Wave gave Ichiro Suzuki for the 2000 season.

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2019 Edwin Encarnacion and the White Sox agree to a one-year, $12 million deal with a club option for an additional season. The 36-year-old infielder/DH plays 44 games in the COVID-shorten season before ending his 16-year career with a .260 lifetime batting average.

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147,598

 

Willie Mays playing Santa
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Bob Gibson pitched more complete games (255) than he had wins (251)
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Stirrups and vests! Baseball pioneer & Hall of Famer Frank Robinson debuted with the @reds
in 1956, won the NL rookie of the Year Award & established himself as one of the best players in the sport.

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Having the best nickname ever, James “Cool Papa” Bell earned it for his collected demeanor on the mound as a pitcher early in his career. Here’s my painting of him with the Petroleros de Cienfuegos during the 1928-29 Cuban Winter League season.

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Babe as Santa
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305/.929 with 37 HR and 113 RBI.. Hank Aaron average season for 23 years

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Thanks Bill,quiet day here in Irvine looks like drizzle all day
Hope your family and friends enjoy the day with you

 

December 26 Baseball Birthdays
1927 Stu Miller pitcher, 1952-68 (St. Louis Cardinals; New York/San Francisco Giants, and 3 other teams), born in Northampton, Massachusetts (d. 2015)


1940 Ray Sadecki (St. Louis Cardinals), born in Kansas City, KS, (d. 2014)


1947 Carlton Fisk HOF catcher (11 x MLB All Star; AL Rookie of the Year 1972; Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox), born in Bellows Falls, Vermont


1948 Chris Chambliss, 1st baseman (NY Yankee)


1954 Ozzie Smith Hall of Fame infielder (15 x MLB All-Star; 13 x Gold Glove Award; World Series 1982; NL Silver Slugger Award 1987; NLCS MVP 1985; SD Padres, St Louis Cardinals), born in Mobile, Alabama


1964 Jeff King infielder (Pittsburgh Pirates), born in Marion, Indiana

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This Day in Baseball History December 26​

1906 National League umpire Hank O'Day suggests using white rubber strips to mark the batter's box to prevent hitters from rubbing out chalk lines. The former right-handed hurler and future Hall of Famer will interrupt his 30-year umpiring career to pilot the Reds in 1912 and the Cubs in 1914, becoming the only person ever to play, manage, and umpire for a full season in the major leagues.

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1919 Although not official until January, the Yankees buy Babe Ruth from the Red Sox, who won the World Series with their carousing star in 1915, 1916, and 1918, for $125,000 and guarantee a $300,000 loan with Fenway Park as collateral. The sale of the 25-year-old southpaw and soon-to-be slugger will be the start of the 'Curse of the Bambino,' a spell of bad luck that will last for 86 years, ending in 2004 when Boston wins its next Fall Classic.

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1934 Commissioner Judge Landis denies the Dodgers' claim to Johnny Vander Meer's services, stating Brooklyn was guilty of waiting until the team could determine how good the southpaw was before lodging a protest. Brooklyn had assigned the left-handed free agent had signed to the independently-owned Daytona Ducks, the team that traded him to the Scranton Miners, the Braves' Class A in the New York-Penn League.

New York-Penn League.
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1950 With a large portion going to the players' pension fund, outgoing Commissioner Happy Chandler announces the Gillette Razor Company has purchased the television rights to the All-Star Game for six years for six million dollars.

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1964 The Seattle Angels select 45-year-old Bob Lemon as the club's manager for the upcoming season. After capturing the circuit's championship, the future big-league skipper, named The Sporting News Manager of the Year in 1966, will manage the team for two seasons before piloting the Royals, White Sox, and Yankees in the American League.

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1990 The Fort Myers Sun Sox franchise of the Senior Professional Association League folds due to its owners' financial disagreement. The monetary dispute will lead to the collapse of the circuit in the middle of its second season.

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2001 The Angels sign Seattle free agent Aaron Sele (15-5, 3.60) to a three-year, $24 million contract. The 31-year-old right-hander has compiled a 107-68 career record pitching for the Red Sox, Rangers, and Mariners during his major league nine-year tenure.

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2007 With the acquisition of Mark Prior, the Padres add another pitcher to the staff who will start next season coming off shoulder surgery, joining southpaw Randy Wolf. The 27-year-old former Cub right-hander signs a one-year, $1 million deal, which can be worth more with performance bonuses.

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2008 Randy Johnson (11-10, 3.91), a five-time Cy Young Award recipient, signs a one-year, $8 million deal with the Giants. The 45-year-old southpaw, five victories shy of 300, joins a staff that includes Tim Lincecum (2008) and Barry Zito (2002), who have also won the prestigious pitching prize.

Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito
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147,851

 

Brett Butler collected 2,375 hits...and was selected to (1) All-Star Game
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Dock Ellis
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Roberto Clemente
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Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey Jr.
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1909 Pittsburgh Pirates
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December 27 Baseball Birthdays
1896 Arch Ward, American sportswriter (Chicago Tribune - proposed baseball's all-star game), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1955)

1942 Byron Browne, baseball player


1952 Craig Reynolds shortstop (MLB All Star 1978-79; Seattle Mariners; Houston Astros), born in Houston, Texas


1963 Jim Leyritz, Lakewood OH, catcher (NY Yankees)


1968 Dean Palmer, infielder (Texas Rangers), born in Tallahassee, Florida


1983 Cole Hamels


1988 Rick Porcello

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