BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

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In honor of #MarchMadness , here’s how many MLB players each of the 68 schools have produced. Also included: each school’s best player by WAR.​

 

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3/20
OTD
BIRTHDAYS
1871 Joe McGinnity Hall of Fame pitcher (World Series 1905; 5 × NL wins leader; NL ERA leader 1904; Baltimore Orioles, NY Giants), born in Rock Island, Illinois (d. 1929)

1915 Stan Spence center fielder (MLB All-Star 1942, 44, 46, 47; Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns), born in South Portsmouth, Kentucky (d. 1983)

1933 George Altman MLB player, born in Goldsboro, North Carolina

1941 Pat Corrales baseball player/manager

1966 Blas Minor, Merced CA, pitcher Pirates

1971 Manny Alexander, infielder (Baltimore Orioles), born in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic

 

FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1934 Babe Didrikson, a renowned female athlete, gives up no hits and walks only one Dodger when she pitches the first inning of the Philadelphia A's spring training game at McCurdy Field in Frederick, Maryland. The founder of the LPGA and Olympic track and field Gold Medalist will also participate in exhibition contests with the Indians and Cardinals.

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1937 In one of the most significant trades in Negro League history, the Homestead Grays obtain catcher Josh Gibson and third baseman Judy Johnson from the Pittsburgh Crawfords in exchange for $2,500 and two journeymen; backstop Lloyd' Pepper' Bassett and infielder Henry 'Jake' Spearman. The Baseball's Hall of Fame will induct both players, with Gibson becoming a member in 1972 and Johnson, following three years later.

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1953 Although the Department of Justice outlawed this practice in 1949, U.S. Senator Edwin C. Johnson proposes a bill banning the broadcast of major league games in minor league territories. The lawmaker, who is baseball executive Bob Howsam's father-in-law, serves as the President of the Class A Western League and once played a significant role in constructing Mile High Stadium, formerly known as Bears Stadium.
1958 The Phillies purchase Joe Collins from the Yankees, but he decides to retire rather than report to the City of Brotherly Love. The 34 year-old first baseman, who spent his entire ten-year career with New York and appeared in seven World Series with the team, finishes with a lifetime .256 batting average.

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1973 Four months after his death, the BBWAA selects (393-31 votes) the late Roberto Clemente to be a member of the Hall of Fame in a special election after its board of directors previously waived the mandatory five-year waiting period. The 38 year-old Pirates outfielder, the first Latin-American player chosen for induction at Cooperstown, died when a cargo plane crashes on New Year's Eve, bringing supplies to the Nicaraguan earthquake victims.

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1975 A rare spring training brawl occurs when Ranger second baseman Dave Nelson takes exception to the two brushback pitches thrown at him by Yankee southpaw Mike Wallace in the seventh inning of a Fort Lauderdale exhibition contest. The trouble begins early after Jim Bibby's first pitch plunks leadoff hitter Elliot Maddox, who had angered Texas skipper Billy Martin when he told the local press that his former manager "has a habit of lying to his players."

 

1979 In Puerto Rico, Willie Mays, in the second game of an annual exhibition series to benefit a youth sports program started by the late Roberto Clemente, pilots a mini-squad of the Mets to an 8-3 win over the Pirates. Last night, after a 5-3 victory in Game 1, New York manager Joe Torre and many of the players returned to Florida to play the Dodgers in a Grapefruit League contest.

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1989 Outgoing baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth announces his office is conducting an inquiry into "serious allegations" concerning Pete Rose and gambling. Three days after his successor Bart Giamatti assumes the post on April 1, MLB retains John M. Dowd to investigate the charges against the Reds' manager.
2002 The Commissioner's office announces MLB will continue the practice that began after the September 11 attacks of singing 'God Bless America' during the seventh-inning stretch in each team's first homestand. Also, an American flag patch will be worn on the jackets of 28 major league teams this season with distinctive logos for Opening Day, Memorial Day weekend, and the Fourth of July, as well as Canadian versions designed for the Blue Jays and Expos.

 

2006 At San Diego's Petco Park, Japan, managed by all-time international home-run king Sadaharu Oh, captures the first World Baseball Classic crown, beating Cuba, 10-6. The 16-team tournament, plan to occur again in the year 2009, ends with just two major leaguers still in the game.
2006 In his first appearance in a Nationals uniform, Alfonso Soriano refuses to play the outfield in an exhibition game against the Dodgers. The All-Star second baseman, slated to start in left field, could be placed on the disqualified list for insubordination, preventing him from getting paid his $10 million salary and accruing service time, used to determine a player's free-agent status.
2008 Behind the strong pitching of Brad Penny, the Dodgers make their Cactus League debut, beating the White Sox in Phoenix, 8-2. The outing, which takes place where he made his professional debut, earns the right-hander the Opening Day start against the Giants.

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2014 The Angels trade first baseman Matt Scioscia, the son of manager Mike Scioscia, to the Cubs for outfielder Trevor Gretzky, the offspring of NHL's Hall of Fame center Wayne Gretzky. The name-worth swap proves not to help either prospect, with each failing to make the big league club.
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1,365

 

Today in Baseball History
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Search archives: Historical Events Baseball Birthdays Baseball Deaths
On March 20 in Baseball History...

• • 1934 - All-around female athlete Mildred Babe Didrickson pitches the first inning for the Philadelphia Athletics in a spring training exhibition game against the Brooklyn Dodgers. She gives up one walk but no hits. Two days later she pitches again, this time one inning for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Red Sox. She is less successful this time, giving up four hits and three runs. Didrickson is the second female to play exhibitions with a major league team (first baseman Lizzie Murphy played for an A.L. all-star team on August 14, 1922).
  • 1953 - Senator Edwin C. Johnson offers a bill to give clubs the sole right to ban radio-TV broadcasts of major league games in their own territory. The Antitrust Division of the Justice Department outlawed this practice in 1949. Johnson believes that it started the decline of baseball in small towns and cities throughout the country. His bill will restore the equity between large communities and the small areas.
  • 1973 - In a special election held by the BBWAA, the late Roberto Clemente receives 393 of 424 votes to earn entry in the Hall of Fame. The Hall's Board of Directors had earlier waived the five-year-wait rule for Clemente, who was killed on New Year's Eve 1972 with four others when a plane carrying supplies to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua crashed. His number 21 will be retired in Pittsburgh 17 days later.
  • 1976 - Leo Durocher, hired to manage the Yokohama Taiyo Whales (Japanese League), is sick with hepatitis and asks for a five-week delay in reporting. The Lip receives a telegram from the Whales stating: Since the championship starts in twenty days, it's better if you stay home and take care of yourself for the remainder of the season.
  • 1989 - The commissioner's office announces that Reds manager Pete Rose is under investigation for unnamed serious allegations.

Baseball Birthdays on March 20...

• • 1853 - Stearns, Bill
  • 1864 - Mahoney, Dan
  • 1864 - McShannic, Pete
  • 1865 - Griffin, Mike
  • 1867 - Geiss, Emil
  • 1869 - Buckley, John
  • 1875 - Greene, Paddy
  • 1879 - Vinson, Rube
  • 1882 - Stankard, Tom
  • 1882 - Armbruster, Harry
  • 1883 - Clark, Pep
  • 1885 - Siner, Hosea
  • 1887 - Schmidt, Walter
  • 1888 - Backman, Les
  • 1890 - Wolfgang, Mellie
  • 1891 - Boehling, Joe
  • 1893 - Butler, Johnny
  • 1894 - Stellbauer, Bill
  • 1900 - Shealy, Al
  • 1907 - Kennedy, Vern
  • 1911 - Moss, Charlie
  • 1912 - Shoun, Clyde
  • 1915 - Spence, Stan
  • 1921 - Peterman, Bill
  • 1925 - Widmar, Al
  • 1927 - Willis, Jim
  • 1928 - Crawford, Jake
  • 1931 - Izquierdo, Hank
  • 1933 - Altman, George
  • 1936 - Golden, Jim
  • 1937 - Kuhn, Kenny
  • 1941 - Corrales, Pat
  • 1943 - Dillon, Steve
  • 1944 - Taylor, Bob
  • 1944 - Blateric, Steve
  • 1948 - Seelbach, Chuck
  • 1951 - McDermott, Terry
  • 1952 - Langford, Rick
  • 1952 - Terlecky, Greg
  • 1954 - Mirabella, Paul
  • 1954 - McCatty, Steve
  • 1960 - Young, Mike
  • 1963 - Williams, Dana
  • 1963 - Parker, Rick
  • 1965 - Hoiles, Chris
  • 1966 - Minor, Blas
  • 1970 - Brunson, Will
  • 1971 - Alexander, Manny
  • 1972 - McDonald, Jason
  • 1977 - Fontenot, Joe
  • 1979 - Rodriguez, Wilfredo

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