BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

2000 The Expos and Labatt announce the C$100M sponsorship deal, negotiated two years ago, will go forward as planned. The Brewery has committed to pay C$40M over the next twenty years for the naming rights to Montreal's proposed downtown ballpark and approximately another C$60M to be the team's primary sponsor, a role the company has played for the past 15 years.
2001 Todd Helton signs a nine-year, $141.5 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid player in Rockies' history. Last season, the Colorado first baseman batted .372, hit 42 homers, and knocked in 147 runs.

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2002 After the team purchases Rickey Henderson's contract from Pawtucket, the Red Sox places future Hall of Fame outfielder on their Opening Day roster. The 'Man of Steal,' who joined the exclusive 3,000-hit club on the final day of last season, will begin his 24th year in the majors, appearing with his eighth different club.

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2002 Major League Baseball announces there will be a minute of silence at 9:11 at every major league team's first-night game this season to remember September 11th's tragic events. The song God Bless America will continue to be sung during the seventh-inning stretch of all contests.
2002 The Brewers announce the Miller Park's retractable roof will be used only on a limited basis at the start of the season as engineers try to eliminate persistent noise coming from the year-old structure. According to the engineers who designed the building, the problem in the pivot system, located behind and above home plate in the so-called Uecker seats, is not a hazard.
2007 In a split-squad game between the Cubs and Diamondbacks at Mesa's HoHoKam Park, Ria Cortesio, serving alternately as the first and third base umpire, becomes the first female ump to work a major league exhibition game since Pam Postema in 1989. The thirty-year-old Davenport (IA) native, who is starting her ninth year overall as an arbitrator and fifth in Double-A minor league ball, hopes to be the first woman umpire in major league history.

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2008 In an exhibition game celebrating the club's 50th anniversary of their move west from Brooklyn, the Dodgers lose to the Red Sox in front of 115,300 fans at the LA Coliseum. The crowd is the largest ever to watch a baseball game, surpassing the previous record when approximately 114,000 patrons attended an exhibition contest between the Australian national team and an American services team during the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne.
2009 The Yankees dedicate a permanent September 11th memorial at the entrance of George M. Steinbrenner Field, the team's Spring Training home in Tampa (FL). The tribute to the victims and their families of the terrorist attacks of 2001 features a foundation in the shape of the Pentagon, which supports two towers made from steel from the World Trade Center placed on a grassy spot representing the heroes of United Flight 93, who perished in a field in Pennsylvania.

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2009 John Franco throws out the ceremonial first pitch to a standing ovation from the crowd attending the collegiate matchup between St. John's and Georgetown in the first baseball game ever played at Citi Field. Before tossing his signature pitch, a breaking ball in the dirt, the former Mets reliever goes to the mound wearing a familiar blue and orange jacket, removes his coat to reveal his alma mater's colors, a Red Storm jersey with his number 45.
2009 On a damp and chilly afternoon, 22,397 patrons become the first fans to attend a baseball game at Citi Field, the Mets' new home, when St. John's University hosts Georgetown in a collegiate contest. The weather dampened the schools' hope of breaking the NCAA attendance record of 40,106, set during a game between San Diego State and Houston played at Petco Park in 2004.
2009 Dontrelle Willis is placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Tigers. D-Train, unsuccessful since winning 22 games with the Marlins in 2003, has been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, believed by the doctors to be easily treatable, according to the southpaw.
2010 Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig announces President Obama will throw out the first pitch before Washington's game against the Phillies at Nationals Park on Opening Day, continuing a century-old tradition. In 1910, William Howard Taft became the first Commander-in-Chief to toss the ceremonial first pitch to start the season.

 

2013 The Giants and Buster Posey, the National League's MVP, come to terms on an eight-year, $159 million extension that includes a full no-trade clause. The deal, which will keep the 26-year-old backstop in a Giants' uniform through 2021, is the second-richest contract ever given to a catcher, surpassed only by the Twins' signing of Joe Mauer two seasons ago to an eight-year, $184 million pact.

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2013 Tiger right-hander Justin Verlander agrees to a seven-year, $180 million contract, the richest deal for a pitcher in baseball history. The 2011 American League MVP and Cy Young Award winner, already signed through 2014 under a previous $80 million, five-year deal, decides not to test free agency in two years, stating that "the pull of Detroit was too much."

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2017 The Dodgers commemorate Kirk Gibson's historic pinch-hit, walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series by offering a special ticket package to sit in the right-field pavilion seat, recently painted blue and autographed by him, where the ball landed. The team is donating two-thirds of the $300 price of the ducats, including a companion seat, two commemorative T-shirts, and food and drink, to the Kirk Gibson Foundation to raise money and awareness for Parkinson's research, a neurological disease affecting the Fall Classic hero.

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2018 Matt Davidson becomes the fourth major leaguer to hit three home runs on Opening Day, contributing to the White Sox’s 14-7 victory over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The White Sox slugging third baseman joins Dmitri Young (Tigers, 2005), Tuffy Rhodes (Cubs, 1994), and George Bell (Blue Jays, 1988) in accomplishing the feat on the first day of the season.

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2018 Excluding international openers, this date marks the earliest start of the major league season in the history of the game. The schedule calls for all the teams to play on Opening Day for the first time since April 10th, 1968, the last season before divisional play started in the American and National Leagues.
2018 On Opening Day, the late right-hander Roy Halladay’s number #32 is retired during an emotional on-field ceremony at Rogers Centre. In his 12 seasons with Toronto, the six-time American League All-Star, who died in a plane crash off the coast of Florida in November, compiled a 148-76 record along with a 3.43 ERA before his trade to the Phillies in 2009 for minor league prospects.

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Today in Baseball History
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On March 29 in Baseball History...

• • 1867 - Denton True Young is born in Gilmore, Ohio. He will earn the nickname Cy for his cyclone-like pitching motion and he will win (and lose) more games than any pitcher in history with a 511-316 record and 2.63 ERA over 22 seasons. He wins 20 or more games 15 times, and tops the 30-win mark five times.
  • 1954 - Phil Cavarretta gives Cubs owner Phil Wrigley an honest assessment of the team's chances, and is fired for his defeatist attitude, becoming the first manager ever to be given the gate during spring training. Stan Hack replaces him. Cavarretta is right the Cubs will drop to seventh place.
  • 1983 - While some clubs are concerned about low attendance at the start of the season, the Dodgers become the first team in major league history to cut off season ticket sales before the start of the season. The Dodgers, with 27,000 season tickets already sold, implement the cutoff so that group sales won't be impeded and fans will be able to buy tickets for individual games.
  • 1997 - Chipper Jones is now able to chip teeth as Malley's Chocolates announces the introduction of the Chipper Jones Candy Bar. On a team full of marketable stars, the 24-year-old Atlanta Braves third baseman is the first member of the club to get his own candy bar.

Baseball Birthdays on March 29...

• • 1849 - Hall, George
  • 1855 - Harbidge, Bill
  • 1858 - Shallix, Gus
  • 1865 - Gastright, Hank
  • 1866 - Carman, George
  • 1867 - Young, Cy
  • 1873 - Cooley, Duff
  • 1876 - Oberlin, Frank
  • 1876 - Lochhead, Harry
  • 1881 - Schiappacasse, Lou
  • 1883 - Dessau, Rube
  • 1888 - Meyer, Leo
  • 1889 - Wilson, Squanto
  • 1892 - McCluskey, Harry
  • 1894 - Leverett, Dixie
  • 1894 - McColl, Alex
  • 1899 - McQuaid, Herb
  • 1900 - Schillings, Red
  • 1908 - Brack, Gibby
  • 1908 - Strickland, Bill
  • 1910 - Dietrich, Bill
  • 1915 - Gorsica, Johnny
  • 1917 - Holmes, Tommy
  • 1944 - McLain, Denny
  • 1953 - Hume, Tom
  • 1954 - Tellmann, Tom
  • 1954 - Ramsey, Mike
  • 1955 - Pagel, Karl
  • 1958 - Ramos, Domingo
  • 1961 - Kingery, Mike
  • 1962 - Beane, Billy
  • 1966 - Gunderson, Eric
  • 1967 - Jordan, Brian
  • 1967 - Pena, Geronimo
  • 1968 - Bell, Juan
  • 1971 - Lowe, Sean
  • 1972 - Ochoa, Alex
  • 1975 - Kolb, Danny
  • 1975 - Jones, Marcus
  • 1976 - Nicholson, Kevin

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3/30
OTD
BIRTHDAYS
1904 Ripper Collins first baseman (MLB All-Star 1935, 36, 37; World Series 1931, 34; NL HR leader 1934; St Louis Cardinals), born in Altoona, Pennsylvania (d. 1970)


1983 Davis Romero baseball player

 

FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1922 A frail-looking Christy Mathewson, who served as class president in 1899, is elected as Bucknell's "B" Club first president. The beloved future Hall of Famer, who will die prematurely in 1925 from tuberculosis after being accidentally gassed in a training exercise during WWI, played on the school's football team as a placekicker and excelled as a pitcher on the baseball team.

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1966 Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale's refusal to report to spring training ends when the hurlers agree to the Dodgers' offer of $235,000, signing for $130,000 and $105,000, respectively. The LA starters' joint holdout lasts for 32 days, paving the way for other players to be more aggressive when negotiating with owners.

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1978 The Red Sox obtain Dennis Eckersley and catcher Fred Kendall from the Indians for pitchers Rick Wise and Mike Paxton, designated hitter Ted Cox, and catcher Bo Diaz. The 23-year-old 'Eck,' before becoming a Hall of Fame closer, will win 20 games as a starter for Boston this season.

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1979 After hitting only .231 in 61 games last season, Ron Blomberg is released during spring training by the White Sox, completing one year of his long-term deal. Chicago owner Bill Veeck had surprisingly signed the first baseman/DH, who had played in only one game during his last two seasons with the Yankees, to a generous four-year, $500,000 contract in 1977 that included an additional $80,000 signing bonus.

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1984 The Padres obtain Yankee veteran third baseman Graig Nettles for pitcher Dennis Rasmussen and prospect Darin Cloninger. The 39 year-old infielder's postseason experience will prove to be invaluable for the NL's West Division champs, but his on-field contributions will be minimal, hitting just .228 in 124 games.

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1991 A sold-out Joe Robbie Stadium plays host to the Yankees and the Orioles exhibition game, which draws 67,654 fans, a spring training attendance record. The two-day series between the AL East rivals is part of South Florida's efforts to be awarded a National League expansion team.
1992 The White Sox trade Sammy Sosa and pitcher Ken Patterson to the crosstown rival Cubs in exchange for 32 year-old All-Star slugger George Bell, who spends two seasons with his new team before retiring. Sosa will pass Ernie Banks as the franchise's all-time home run leader, going deep 545 times during his 13-year tenure with the North Siders.

1993 After 43 years, Peanuts character Charlie Brown finally hits a home run, a game-winning round-tripper batting against his nemesis Royanne Hobbs. Almost ten percent of the nearly 18,000 Peanuts strips created by Charles Schulz focused on baseball.

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1995 New York Southern District judge Sonia Sotomayor, after careful consideration of the case, rules that the owners' use of replacement players is in good faith regarding the negotiation for a new collective bargaining agreement, resulting in the players returning to work under the terms of the expired contract. The future Supreme Court Justice's decision ends the 232-day work stoppage, with fans showing their displeasure about the loss of last season and the cancellation of the World Series by not immediately supporting their local teams when the games resume in late April.