BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

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Baseball Birthdays February 16, 2025
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1880- Carl Lundgren Pitcher, Cubs


1912- Ray Harrell Pitcher,Cards, Phils


1925- Howie Judson Pitcher, White Sox


1936 - Don Landrum, OF, Cards, Cubs


1949- Bob Didier Catcher, Braves


1952- Jerry Hairston, OF, White Sox


1960- Bill Pecota, IF, Royals

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This Day in Baseball History​

1924 Boston Braves' third baseman Tony Boeckel becomes the first major leaguer killed in an automobile accident, dying from injuries received as a passenger yesterday in San Diego. Yankee outfielder Bob Meusel, another passenger of the car driven by Los Angeles theater man Bob Albright, escapes without severe injuries.

1950 The BBWAA does not select any players for the Hall of Fame this season, with former Giants Mel Ott (69%) and Bill Terry (63%) as the top vote-getters. 'Master Mel' gets the nod next season, and 'Memphis Bill' enters in 1954 after both get named 75% of the writers' ballots required for induction.


1952 Hall of Fame shortstop Honus Wagner officially retires after 39 years in the major leagues, 21 as a player with the Louisville Colonels and Pirates, and another 18 years as a coach with Pittsburgh. The 'Flying Dutchman,' who led the league in stolen bases for five seasons, won eight batting titles, the most in National League history until Tony Gwynn tied the mark in 1997.


1953 Brooklyn, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia participate in a four-way trade that sends five players to new clubs. Joe Adcock (Reds) and Jim Pendleton (Dodgers) will now play for the Braves, Earl Torgeson (Braves) goes to the Phillies, Rocky Bridges (Dodgers) is now a Red, with Russ Meyer (Phillies) joining the Dodgers.

1967 Red Ruffing, the former Yankee pitcher who authored 273 major league wins, is selected to be in the Hall of Fame by getting the most votes on the second ballot made necessary after the BBWAA fails to choose a player in January. Former Cardinal outfielder Joe Medwick also received 75% of the writer's votes, usually enough to be selected; however, only the top vote-getter gets the nod in this special run-off election.

 

1989 Orel Hershiser, who will earn $3,166,167 in the final year of the deal, becomes baseball's first three-million-dollar man when he signs a three-year $7.9 million contract with the Dodgers. The 1988 Cy Young Award recipient will post an 18-18 record and an ERA of 3.65 during the terms of the agreement.

1996 General Mills announces a special edition of a Wheaties cereal box honoring the 75th Commemorative Year of the Negro Leagues, featuring superstars Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and 'Cool Papa' Bell. In 1934, Yankee first baseman Lou Gehrig became the first athlete depicted on the Breakfast of Champions box.

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2001 Yankee premier reliever Mariano Rivera (7-4, 2.85, 36 saves) signs a four-year, approximately $40 million contract with the Bronx Bombers. The 31-year-old Panama native surpassed Dennis Eckersley's major league record with 16 saves in postseason games.

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2003 Pete Rose becomes a member of the Ted Williams Hitters Hall of Fame along with the Splendid Splinters' teammate Dom DiMaggio, each not in attendance. 'Charlie Hustle,' who collected a record of 4,256 major-league hits, joins 1998 inductee Shoeless Joe Jackson, another player prohibited from becoming a member of Baseball's National Hall of Fame.

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2004 After leaving the Phillies as a free agent following the 2002 season to play for the Rangers, Doug Glanville returns to Philadelphia, signing a one-year contract with the team. The 31-year-old outfielder retires at the end of the season after compiling a lifetime batting average of .277 during his nine-year tenure in the major leagues, including playing time with the Yankees and the Cubs, and leaves with a 293-game errorless streak intact.


2004 The Rangers trade Alex Rodriguez along with cash to the Yankees in exchange for Alfonso Soriano and a player to be named later, Joaquin Arias. The deal comes on the heels of the Red Sox's inability to land the American League MVP in a swap with Texas for Manny Ramirez due to the players' association's objection because of the need to restructure A-Rod's existing contract as a result of the tentative transaction.

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2007 Altering the regulations for the first time since 1996, the rules committee approves several changes, including eliminating tie games halted after the fifth inning due to weather by resuming the contest in the next scheduled start at the same ballpark. The new standards also implement a ten-game suspension for scuffing a baseball, prohibit players from going into a dugout to make a catch, and allow pitchers to wear multicolored gloves.

2008 Kyle Kendrick, who posted a 10-4 record and an ERA under 4.00 last season as a rookie, is stunned when he hears about his trade to Japan for Takeru Kobayashi, a champion hot dog eater. The bogus deal, an elaborate hoax that includes skipper Charlie Manuel, assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr., fellow hurler Brett Myers, and media members, totally fools the Phillies sophomore pitcher.

2011 Rickie Weeks and the Brewers come to terms on a $38.5 million, four-year deal that includes a 2015 option based on plate appearances, which could increase the contract's total value to $50 million. The 28-year-old second baseman broke a franchise record last season with 754 trips to the plate, mostly as the leadoff hitter.

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2011 Speaking to reporters at the Phillies' spring training complex, a tearful Dallas Green, former big-league manager and senior adviser to general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr., thanks everyone for their support after the shooting death of his granddaughter. Nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green was one of six victims killed five weeks ago in a shooting rampage during U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords' 'Congress on Your Corner' gathering outside a Tucson supermarket.

2013 After an appearance at a local winter festival, Guido's costume, worn by one of the Brewers' racing sausages, goes missing. Later that night, a seven-foot Italian sausage impersonator is spotted at bars in Milwaukee, signing autographs.
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2/17/25
Baseball BIRTHDAYS
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1893 Wally Pipp first baseman (World Series 1923; AL HR leader 1916, 17; NY Yankees), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1965)


1908 Red Barber broadcaster (Cincinnati Reds 1934–38, Brooklyn Dodgers 1939–53, NY Yankees 1954–66), born in Columbus, Mississippi (d. 1992)


1930 Roger Craig, pitcher (World Series 1955, 59 - Brooklyn/LA Dodgers, 1964 St. Louis Cardinals) and manager (SD Padres, 1978-79; SF Giants, 1985-92)


1965 Jim Bowie infielder (Oakland Athletics)


1976 Scott Williamson


1979 Josh Willingham outfielder, 2004-14 (Florida MArlins, and 4 other teams), born in Florence, Alabama


1982 Brian Bruney

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FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1900 Instead of unpaid alimony, Mary H. Vanderbeck takes possession of the American League franchise in Detroit. Her ex-husband George Vanderbeck, who decided to build Bennett Park at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull Avenues, the Tigers' home the next 104 seasons, will later regain control of the team.

1916 During their annual meeting held at the Hotel Wolcott in New York, the American League owners endorse a new major league draft concept proposed initially by Dodger president Charles Ebbets. The approved plan gives second-division clubs the first pick of the available minor leaguers each season.

 

1937 The Yankees purchase Red Sox first baseman Babe Dahlgren, who will end Lou Gehrig's consecutive game streak. During his four-year tenure with the Bronx Bombers, the California native compiles a .248 batting average before being bought by the Braves before the 1941 season.​

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1943 Without notifying the Yankees, 28-year-old Joe DiMaggio waives his draft deferment and enlists in the U.S. Army Air Force, not playing for the team again until 1946. Although the Bronx Bomber outfielder asked for no special treatment, he will spend most of his time out of harm's way by playing baseball in California and Hawaii.​

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1954 "Realization that you now count your years at the four score mark reminds me, with something of a shock, that it was fifty years ago that I used to follow your batting average with the keenest of interest." - DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, 34th President of the U.S., congratulating Honus Wagner on his birthday.​

President Dwight Eisenhower sends a letter labeled "personal and confidential" to Honus Wagner, wishing the former Pirates' shortstop a happy 80th birthday. The Hall of Fame infielder was Ike's boyhood hero growing up in Abilene (KS).​

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1964 White Sox shortstop Luke Appling, although he received only two Baseball Hall of Fame votes when he first appeared on the ballot in 1953, is elected to the Hall of Fame by BBWAA, named on 189 of the 201 ballots cast (94%) to defeat Red Ruffing a run-off election. This selection method, used intermittently from 1947 to 1967, occurred when the writers did not select anyone on their initial ballot and then listed the top 20-30 players on a second ballot, with only the top vote-getter chosen for induction.​

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1976 Future National League Cy Young Award winner Mike Scott pitches a perfect game for Pepperdine against California Lutheran University. The Mets select right-hander, who will throw a no-hitter for the Astros, in the second round in the June draft.

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1987 Yankee first baseman Don Mattingly wins his $1.975 million arbitration case. The award breaks the record for the most substantial sum ever given to a player, established just four days ago by Jack Morris.

 

1990 Herb Raybourn, the Yankee director of Latin American operations, signs amateur free-agent Mariano Rivera, an athletic 20-year-old who has an effortless pitching motion but a less than average fastball, to a modest $3,000 contract. The future all-time major league saves leader has no formal training as a pitcher, having hurled for the first time two weeks before being scouted at the team's tryout camp in Panama City.

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1995 Unwilling to be part of an inferior product placed on the field and as a show of support for his players, Tigers skipper Sparky Anderson is suspended without pay when he refuses to manage replacement players in spring training during the work stoppage. The popular pilot will resume his duties when the strike ends but will 'retire,' believed by some not to be voluntary, at the end of the season.

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2003 Avoiding arbitration, the Braves and 36 year-old righty Greg Maddux (16-6, 2.62) agree to the largest one-year contract in major league history. The $14.75 million deal for the four-time Cy Young Award winner eclipses the $12 million given to David Cone by the Yankees in 2000.

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2003 After his body temperature soars to 108 degrees, Orioles pitching prospect Steve Belcher dies of multi-organ failure following a spring training workout in Fort Lauderdale. The use of ephedrine, the dietary supplement linked to heatstroke and heart attacks, may have led to the 23-year-old expectant father's death.

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FORT LAUDERDALE - Baltimore Orioles pitching prospect Steve Bechler died of heatstroke Monday, unable to recover from a spring training workout that sent his temperature to 108 degrees.
An autopsy will help determine whether Bechler had been taking the dietary supplement ephedrine, which has been linked to heatstroke and heart attacks.
Broward County medical examiner Dr. Joshua Perper acknowledged a published report that a bottle of a supplement containing ephedrine was found in Bechler's locker.

2006 White Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen issues an apology for his comments published in Sports Illustrated that criticized Alex Rodriguez's indecision concerning which country the Yankee All-Star would represent in the World Baseball Classic. At first, A-Rod, born in the United States, revealed he would play for the Dominican Republic due to his parents' heritage, deciding not to participate before choosing Team USA.

2007 In a poll conducted by his hometown newspaper, more than half of the respondents thought Carl Pavano would not bounce back with the Yankees this year. The reader poll, posted on myrecordjournal.com, revealed 54.5% believe the Yankee pitcher would not overcome his slow start with the team, while 45.5% stated he would have a comeback season.


2009 The Marlins announced a contract extension for manager Fredi Gonzalez through the 2011 season. The South Florida native, who became just the third skipper in franchise history to compile a winning campaign, guiding the club to an 84-77 record, was named The Sporting News Manager of the Year last season.

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2011 Jose Bautista and the Blue Jays agree on a $64-million, five-year contract extension. Last season's major league leader with 54 home runs, the 30-year-old third baseman/outfielder set a record for the most significant increase in round-trippers for a single season in baseball history, hitting 41 more homers than his total of 13 in 2009.

2021 After playing 143 major league games, Fernando Tatis Jr. and the Padres agree to a $340 million, 14-year extension. The 22-year-old shortstop's deal, which includes a full no-trade clause, ranks as the third-richest contract in baseball history, trailing only the money made by Angels' Mike Trout and Mookie Betts of the Dodgers.

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Stan Musial being interviewed by Vin Scully. Year is 1963
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