BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

12/21
BIRTHDAYS
1911 Josh Gibson HOF catcher (Negro World Series 1943, 44; 12 × NL All-Star; Triple Crown 1936, 37; batting average .466 1943), born in Buena Vista, Georgia (d. 1947)


1948 Dave Kingman (Mets, NY Yankees, Giants), born in Pendleton, Oregon


1952 Joaquín Andújar pitcher (Cardinals), born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic (d. 2015)


1957 Tom Henke born in Kansas City, Missouri


1960 Andy Van Slyke born in Utica, New York


1960 Roger McDowell pitcher (NY Mets, Baltimore Orioles), born in Cincinnati, Ohio


1972 Dustin Hermanson, born in Springfield, Ohio

1972 Latroy Hawkins born in Gary, Indiana

1980 Royce Ring born in La Mesa, California

1982 Philip Humber born in Nacogdoches, Texas

 

FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1926 Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis dismisses claims by Dutch Leonard, Ty Cobb's former Tiger teammate, alleging the Georgia Peach and Indian outfielder Tris Speaker bet on a fixed game six years ago. The commissioner will declare the matter closed, with both future Hall of Famers getting a clean bill of health given their support from the public and the accuser's failure to defend his claim at last month's hearing.

1959 After Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh rejects the A's offer to deal Roger Maris for shortstop Dick Groat, Pittsburgh obtains Gino Cimoli and Tom Cheney from the Cardinals for right-hander Ron Kline. Maris, who goes to the Yankees, will enjoy the first of his two consecutive MVP years in New York, but Groat will play a vital role for the World Champion Bucs next season, and he will also be named the most valuable player of his league.

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1960 Cub owner P.K. Wrigley announces the club will not have a manager next season but will instead use a college of coaches. The 'faculty' of head coaches for the upcoming campaign will include El Tappe, Charlie Grimm, Goldie Holt, Bobby Adams, Harry Craft, Rube Walker, Ripper Collins, and Vedie Himsl.

1978 Sports cartoonist Willard Mullin, the creator of the lovable caricature known as the 'Brooklyn Bum,' dies in Corpus Christi at 76. The cartoon featured a low-brow, working-class character who would proudly represent the borough of Brooklyn, quickly becoming a favorite of the Dodger fans.

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1995 After considering an attractive offer from the Orioles, David Cone re-signs with the Yankees as a free agent, inking a three-year deal worth $19.5 million. The 32-year-old 'hired hand' starts the season 4-1 with a 2.02 ERA before being diagnosed with an aneurysm in his right arm, resulting in being on the disabled list for most of the season.


1995 The Orioles sign Toronto free-agent Roberto Alomar to a three-year $18 million contract. The 27-year-old second baseman, selected as an All-Star all three seasons he is with the team, wins two Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger award during his stay in Baltimore.

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2000 Hoping to pick it up where his success started, 41-year-old outfielder Tim Raines, a lifetime .295 batter, signs a minor league contract with the Expos, the team he played for as a rookie in 1979. Last season, the Rock retired during spring training with the Yankees and failed to make the U.S. Olympic baseball team.

2002 After deciding at first not to exercise their club option to sign Mark Grace (.252, 7, 48), the Diamondbacks retain the popular veteran first baseman. The lifetime .305 hitter agrees to a one-year deal, including a club option for the 2004 season that the club declines after the 39-year-old bats .200 in 66 games.

2005 With the announcement Oakland will no longer sell tickets for the third deck of McAfee Coliseum, the A's home becomes the smallest park in the major leagues. The seating capacity, reduced from 44,073 to 34,179, is less than Fenway Park, recently increased to accommodate 38,805 denizens of Red Sox Nation.

 

2005 After trying to sign the All-Star outfielder twice as a free agent, the Giants finally acquire Steve Finley (.222, 12, 54) in a trade with the Angels, which sends third baseman Edgardo Alfonzo (.277, 2, 43) to Los Angeles. The veteran infielder appeared in only 109 games last season due to injuries.

2009 The Yankees are assessed with a luxury tax of $25.69 million for its spending in 2009. The World Series champion club is the only team to be penalized this year for crossing the salary threshold, as it has in all seven years since the collective bargaining agreement initiated the tax in 2002.

2009 Chip Caray, who left Turner Sports three weeks ago under a storm of criticism, says he has been hired to be the Braves play-by-play announcer on Fox Sports South and SportsSouth. The 44-year-old broadcaster, son of the late Atlanta broadcaster Skip Caray and grandson of fabled Harry Caray, is replacing ESPN-bound Jon Sciambi and is expected to call approximately 105 games next season.

2010 The Red Sox and Bobby Jenks agree to a two-year, $12 million deal bringing the former White Sox closer to Boston as a set-up man for Jonathan Papelbon. The two-time All-Star reliever, who did not pitch after saving both ends of a doubleheader against his new team in early September, saved 27 games for Chicago but lost his job at the end of the season when he struggled because of difficulties with his forearm.

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Today in Baseball History
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Search archives: Historical Events Baseball Birthdays Baseball Deaths
On December 21 in Baseball History...

• • 1918 - The Red Sox send pitchers Dutch Leonard and Ernie Shore and outfielder Duffy Lewis to the Yankees for pitchers Ray Caldwell and Slim Love, outfielder Frank Gilhooey, catcher Al Walters, and $15,000.
    
  • 1932 - The Giants sign former outfielder Billy Southworth as a coach. Southworth, who was a .297 career hitter, will have a .597 percentage in 13 years as a manager. All 1,044 wins will come with the Cardinals and Braves-he never takes the reigns in New York.
    
  • 1944 - In an even closer vote than occurred in the AL, where Hal Newhouser won by four points, the NL MVP award goes to fielding wizard Marty Marion. The Cardinals shortstop tallies one more vote than Cubs slugger Bill Nicholson. Led by Marion at shortstop, the Cardinals erred only 112 times and averaged.982. Both marks top the previous records held by the 1940 Reds.

Baseball Birthdays on December 21...

• • 1858 - Dunn, Steve
  • 1859 - Traffley, Bill
  • 1861 - Maskrey, Harry
  • 1861 - Darling, Dell
  • 1865 - Zinn, Frank
  • 1869 - Harrington, Joe
  • 1878 - Gill, Warren
  • 1882 - Weeden, Bert
  • 1884 - White, Steve
  • 1887 - Williams, Cy
  • 1888 - Curry, George
  • 1897 - Haid, Hal
  • 1898 - Scott, Pete
  • 1900 - Hamann, Doc
  • 1905 - Koster, Fred
  • 1907 - Muller, Freddie
  • 1911 - Bongiovanni, Nino
  • 1913 - Heltzel, Heinie
  • 1920 - Werle, Bill "When (Bill) Nicholson took a hefty swing and popped the ball straight up into the air in front of the mound, Werle breathed a sign of relief. As he was trained, Werle quickly called out the name of the fielder who should make the play. 'Eddie's got it! Eddie's got it!' he yelled. Catcher Eddie Fitzgerald, third baseman Eddie Bockman and first-baseman Eddie Stevens stopped in their tracks and looked on helplessly as the ball fell untouched to the ground." - Author John McCollister in Tales from the Pirates Dugout
  • 1923 - Difani, Jay
  • 1925 - Peterson, Kent
  • 1925 - Rush, Bob
  • 1927 - Daniels, Jack
  • 1930 - Kravitz, Danny
  • 1936 - Lumenti, Ralph
  • 1936 - Reed, Howie
  • 1941 - Casanova, Paul
  • 1942 - Charton, Pete
  • 1947 - Maddox, Elliott
  • 1948 - Kingman, Dave "The last time a pure home run hitter swung a bat for the Cubs at Wrigley Field, his personality wasn't the question. Ernie Banks' disposition came drenched in sunshine. One-Stroke Magic returned to Wrigley Field this spring in the person of lean and hungry David Arthur Kingman. He is an unquestionable slugging talent with a puzzling psyche marked 'fragile' and sure to be handled with care. The past is his bane." - Columnist Brian Hewitt in the Chicago Sun Times
  • 1949 - Bradford, Larry
  • 1950 - Wright, Jim
  • 1952 - Andujar, Joaquin
  • 1957 - Henke, Tom
  • 1960 - McDowell, Roger
  • 1960 - Van Slyke, Andy
  • 1966 - Swingle, Paul
  • 1970 - Hope, John
  • 1972 - Hawkins, LaTroy
  • 1972 - Hermanson, Dustin
  • 1976 - Cogan, Tony
  • 1977 - Carlyle, Buddy
  • 1977 - Jimenez, D'Angelo

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12/22
BIRTHDAYS
1949 Mike Caldwell


1963 Jeff Treadway infielder (LA Dodgers,Braves), born in Columbus, Georgia


1964 Wayne Kirby outfielder (Cleveland Indians, LA Dodgers), born in Williamsburg, Virginia


1969 Keith Gordon outfielder (Cincinnati Reds) born in Bethesda, Maryland


1978 Chone Figgins, born in Leary, Georgia

 

FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1862 Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy is born in East Brookfield (MA) but will become better known as Connie Mack, changing his name to better fit on a scorecard. The 'Tall Tactician' will play in the National League with Washington, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh before serving as a manager and team executive for fifty-three years, spending fifty years as the owner-manager of the Philadelphia A's from 1900 through 1950.

Connie & Jimmy Foxx
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1899 The American League owners meet to map out a strategy against the established National League. The fledgling circuit agrees to place a team in Chicago with Charles Comiskey as the new Windy City franchise owner-manager.

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1953 Jack Dunn III officially turns over the name Orioles to the Browns, the major league franchise relocating from St. Louis to Baltimore. The Dunn family had successfully operated the International League team for 50 years in Charm City.

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1959 The upstart Continental League awards a franchise to the Dallas/Fort Worth area, joining Denver, Houston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York City, and Toronto, with Atlanta and Buffalo, will be added later. All of the cities in the newly proposed third major league circuit, which will be disbanded before its first scheduled game when baseball agrees to expand, will be eventually be awarded an MLB franchise except Buffalo.

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1962 Voters in Harris County (TX) approve a bond issue to complete financing the world's first domed sports stadium, which will become home for the Houston Astros. The structure will become known as the Astrodome and dubbed the 'Eighth Wonder of the World.'

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1980 The Red Sox mail Fred Lynn and catcher Carlton Fisk their new contracts two days after the Basic Agreement December 20th deadline, technically making their productive All-Stars eligible for free agency. After a favorable arbitrator ruling in February, the 33-year-old backstop will leave Boston, signing a $3.5 million deal with the White Sox, with the team dealing Lynn to the Angels, providing Boston with some compensation for losing their popular outfielder.

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1982 Lee Mazzilli is traded for the third time this season. In August, the Yankees, after obtaining the Brooklyn native from the Rangers for Bucky Dent, deal the first baseman/outfielder to the Pirates for Tim Burke and three minor leaguers.

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1994 The Giants trade pitcher John Burkett to the Rangers for minor league infielders Desi Wilson and Rich Aurilia. The latter will spend nine years in his first tenure in San Francisco, becoming a vital offensive cog in the team's everyday lineup.

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1995 Bill DeWitt, Jr. and two investment partners, Frederick and Stephen Brauer, agree to purchase the Cardinals from Anheuser-Busch for a reported $150 million. As the Browns' nine-year-old batboy, the new Redbird owner once lent his uniform to Eddie Gaedel, the shortest major leaguer in history, who made a single plate appearance, walking on four consecutive balls in a 1951 Bill Veeck stunt.

1995 After a Southwest Bank investment group promises to keep the franchise in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch agrees to sell the Cardinals to the financial establishment. The price tag of approximately $150 million is considered a bargain, with Forbes Magazine estimating the club's value to be worth twice that amount.

 

2000 The Mariners sign former Padres' second baseman Bret Boone to a $3.25 million, one-year deal. The brother of Aaron Boone, grandson of Ray Boone, and son of Bob Boone plays in only 127 games next season due to a bruised right knee that ends his season in August.

2000 The Giants, hoping to fill the void created by Ellis Burks' departure, sign veteran outfielder Eric Davis to a $1.5 million, one-year contract. The Players Choice Awards 'Man of the Year' had considered retirement, but the lure of more playing time changed his mind.

2001 Highly sought free agent Chan Ho Park (15-11, 3.50) signs a five-year, $65 million deal with the Rangers. Last year, the Korean right-hander led the Dodgers in wins, starts, innings, strikeouts, and opponents' batting average.

2005 The U.S. Treasury Department denies the request to allow Cuba to participate in the World Baseball Classic due to the possibility of financial gain by the island country. MLB reapplies after Fidel Castro says his country will donate any money earned to Hurricane Katrina victims.

2009 The Yankees reacquired Javier Vazquez by trading outfielder Melky Cabrera to the Braves. The right-hander's last pinstripe performance was less than stellar, allowing two home runs, including a grand slam, which put Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS out of reach, completing the team's historic collapse after beating the Red Sox in the first three games of the championship series.

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2009 Colorado free-agent Jason Marquis (15-13, 4.04) signs a $15 million, two-year contract with the Nationals, hoping to become the anchor of the team's' rotation. The 31-year-old right-handed starter, considered a workhorse by his former clubs, will be a veteran presence on the staff, which featured four rookies and a sophomore last season.

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2009 Garrett Atkins (.226, 9, 48) and the Orioles finalize a $4.5 million, one-year deal after the 30-year-old infielder passes a physical. After his woeful performance last season, the Rockies, the only team he had ever played with during his seven years in the big leagues, failed to offer their former starting third baseman a contract for 2010.

 

2011 The Cardinals announce Carlos Beltran (.300, 22, 84), and the team has agreed on a two-year deal, pending the results of a physical. The 34-year-old outfielder, who signed for a reported $26 million, will play right field, allowing Lance Berkman to shift to first base to fill the void created by the departure of Albert Pujols to free agency.

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2012 Ryan Freel, a victim of numerous head traumas during his nine-year major league career with the Reds and four other teams due to his aggressive style of play, is found dead from what appears to be a self-inflicted shotgun wound. Within a year, a study of the 36-year-old's brain will reveal he suffered from a degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a condition linked to suicides, believed to be triggered by repeated concussions.

2014 Phil Hughes (16-10, 3.52) and the Twins come to terms on a $58 million, five-year contract that adds $42-million in guaranteed money from 2017-19. The 28-year-old right-handed control artist, who led the major leagues with an 11.63 strikeout-to-walk ratio, lost $500,000 bonus when a rainout ended the game, leaving him one out shy of earning an incentive.

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2015 Los Angeles finalizes the plans for a likeness of Jackie Robinson to appear at Dodger Stadium. The team commissioned former Brooklyn resident Branly Cadet to create 9-to-10 feet tall statue, the first-ever sculpture to appear at the Chavez Ravine ballpark.

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