BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

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BIRTHDAYS
1913 Johnny Mize Hall of Fame first baseman (10 x MLB All Star; 5 × World Series champion; NL batting champion 1939; 4 × NL HR leader; St. Louis Cardinals, NY Giants, NY Yankees), born in Demorest, Georgia (d. 1993)


1922 Alvin Dark player and manager, born in Comanche, Oklahoma, (d. 2014)


1943 Jim Lefebvre manager (Seattle Mariners), born in Hawthorne, California


1945 Tony Conigliaro outfielder (Boston Red Sox), born in Revere, Massachusetts (d. 1990)


1950 Ross Grimsley born in Topeka, Kansas

1962 Jeff Montgomery pitcher, 1987-99, 3X All-Star; AL saves leader, 1993 (Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals), born in Wellston, Ohio


1963 Craig Shipley infielder (San Diego Padres), born in Parramatta, Australia

1969 Chris Hatcher outfielder (Houston Astros), born in Kinston, North Carolina

1976 Alfonso Soriano born in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic


1976 Éric Gagnél pitcher (NL Cy Young Award 2003), born in Montreal, Quebec


1978 Kevin Mench, born in Wilmington, Delaware

1982 Francisco Rodriguez born in Caracas, Venezuela

1984 Jon Lester, American baseball player, born in Tacoma, Washington

1997 Ozzie Albies, Curaçaoan (Atlanta Braves), born in Willemstad, Curaçao

 

FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1920 Babe Ruth, reacting to harsh comments made about him after his trade to the Yankees, tells the Boston Evening Standard, "Frazee is not good enough to own any ball club, especially one in Boston." Recently, the Red Sox owner called his former player "one of the most selfish and inconsiderate men ever to put on a baseball uniform."

1924 The Indians trade catcher Steve O'Neill, second baseman Bill Wambsganss, and pitcher Danny Boone to the Red Sox for first baseman George Burns, second baseman Chick Fewster, and catcher Al Walters. In 1926, Burns, who also played for the Tribe 1920 and 1921, will lead the American League in hits and wins the circuit's MVP award while playing for the much-improved team.

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1933 Kenesaw Mountain Landis, in a move seen as a precursor to the reduction of all salaries during the depression years, voluntarily cuts his pay by forty percent. In 1920, the Millville (OH) native accepted the offer to become the game's first commissioner for seven years at an annual salary of $42,500, on condition he could remain a federal judge.

1945 During an argument over a disputed call, Roberto Ortiz viciously punches Bernardino Rodriguez, knocking the home plate umpire unconscious. The Almendares' first baseman, who apologizes in local newspapers, will be suspended from the Cuban League for the rest of the season due to his violent behavior that sent the arbitrator to the hospital.

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1971 In Frankfort (KY), Bobby Tolan ruptures his Achilles tendon while playing basketball with a team put together by his Reds teammates, who perform in the Tri-State area at charity events. The Cincinnati outfielder will miss the entire season but returns to the Reds in 1972, winning the Comeback Player of the Year and Hutch awards, hitting .283, and knocking in 82 runs for the National League champs.

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1985 The BBWAA elects St. Louis outfielder Lou Brock and Hoyt Wilhelm, who played with nine different teams, to the Hall of Fame. The Cardinals speedster broke Ty Cobb's record for stolen bases in 1977 with 893 career steals, and the veteran knuckleballer, best remembered for his seasons with the Orioles and the White Sox, appeared in more games than any other pitcher in major league history.

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1991 After serving five months for tax evasion, authorities release Pete Rose from the US Penitentiary in Marion (IL). The former Reds legend pays $366,041 in back taxes and interest, a $50,000 fine, and is required to perform 1,000 hours of community service, which he will fulfill working with kids in the inner-city schools in Cincinnati.

1992 The baseball writers elect Rollie Fingers, the first closer in major league history to record 300 career saves, and Tom Seaver into the Hall of Fame. 'Tom Terrific,' the author of 311 victories, receives the highest percentage (98.84%) in the voting history of the BBWAA, being named by 425 out of 430 writers with three of the five ballots not choosing Seaver left blank in protest of Pete Rose's ineligibility.

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2005 John Henry, the Red Sox owner, calls reserve first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz to discuss the ownership of the ball thrown to get the last out of the World Series, now in possession of the infielder. Club president Larry Lucchino has made it clear he wants the team to own that historic ball, which currently resides in the player's safe deposit box along with an Olympic ring.

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2005 Baseball commissioner Bud Selig announces Major League Baseball and the Players Association will donate $1 million to help the victims of last month's Indian Ocean tsunami. According to the United Nations, 229,866 people were lost, including 186,983 known dead and another 42,883 missing.

2006 The first black general manager to win a World Series championship, Bob Watson receives the Jackie Robinson Lifetime Achievement Award from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. The former Astro and Yankee GM, the second African American, following the Braves' Bill Lucas, to serve in the position, is honored during the organization's Legacy Awards ceremonies in Kansas City.

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2007 Randy Johnson agrees to a $26 million, two-year Diamondback deal, leaving only a physical and MLB approval to finalize his trade from the Yankees back to the desert. In exchange for the 'Big Unit,' the Bronx Bombers receive reliever Luis Vizcaino, minor league right-handed prospects Ross Ohlendorf and Steven Jackson, along with Alberto Gonzalez (INF).

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2008 Mets reliever Duaner Sanchez signs an $850,000, one-year deal to stay with the team. The 27-year-old right-hander, who has not pitched after being injured in a 2006 Atlanta cab accident, was used primarily as the eighth-inning setup man for closer Billy Wagner before separating his throwing shoulder in the motor vehicle mishap.

2009 Jason Giambi agrees to a one-year $5.25 million deal to return to the A's, the franchise where his major league career started. The 37-year-old free-agent first baseman/DH, celebrating a birthday tomorrow, joins the growing list of aging superstars - Frank Thomas, Mike Piazza, and Mike Sweeney - who played the same role with Oakland in recent years.

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2009 Kevin McClatchy ends his 13-year relationship with the team when he sells his remaining shares in the Pirates. After local ownership failed to materialize in 1996, the former managing general partner ensured the struggling club would stay in Pittsburgh by finding shareholders and securing the cash needed to buy the franchise.

2009 The Reds retain the services of Jerry Hairston, Jr., signing their leadoff hitter to a $2 million, one-year deal. The 32-year-old versatile veteran, who is the brother of Scott Hairston, grandson of Sam Hairston, and grandson of Jerry Hairston, played six positions last season and hit .326 while appearing in 80 games for Cincinnati

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2010 The Royals sign 19-year-old southpaw Noel Arguelles to a $7 million, five-year contract. The 6-foot-4 Cuban fireballer, who defected from his country at the 2008 World Junior Championships in Edmonton, won the Gold Medal Game at the Pan American Junior Championships two seasons ago.

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2010 The Mariners and Red Sox finalized their trade, bringing Casey Kotchman to Seattle in exchange for outfielder Bill Hall, a player to be named, and cash. The M's acquisition of the 26-year-old slick-fielding first baseman signals the departure of free-agent slugger Russell Branyan, who suffered from a disc issue in his back late last season.

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2011 In an eight-player trade, the Cubs send outfielder Sam Fuld and minor leaguers Christopher Archer, Hak-Ju Lee, Brandon Guyer, and Robinson Chirinos to the Rays to acquire starter Matt Garza. In addition to receiving the 27-year-old right-hander, who compiled a 15-10 record last season that included a no-hitter, Chicago obtains outfielder Fernando Perez and minor league southpaw prospect Zachary Rosscup.

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Today in Baseball History
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Search archives: Historical Events Baseball Birthdays Baseball Deaths
On January 7 in Baseball History...

• • 1971 - The ruptured Achilles tendon of Reds center fielder Bobby Tolan brings an end to two sports seasons. Tolan suffers the injury while playing basketball for the Reds offseason squad. He misses the baseball season because of the injury and the Cincinnati front office orders the basketball team disbanded as a result.
    
  • 1985 - Lou Brock, the major leagues' all-time stolen base king, and Hoyt Wilhelm, who rewrote the record book on relief pitching, are elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA.
    
  • 1992 - Tom Seaver, one of the greatest starting pitchers of all time, and Rollie Fingers, who helped revolutionize the role of the relief pitcher, are elected to the Hall of Fame. Between the two of them, they won or saved 767 games: Seaver had 311 wins and one save, while Fingers had 114 wins and 341 saves.

Baseball Birthdays on January 7...

• • 1865 - Clarke, Dad
  • 1867 - Keefe, George
  • 1875 - Bransfield, Kitty
  • 1882 - Berger, Heinie
  • 1884 - Wilson, Willy
  • 1889 - Murphy, Leo
  • 1890 - Baichley, Grover
  • 1897 - Rigney, Topper
  • 1900 - Lord, Carlton
  • 1900 - Grabowski, Johnny
  • 1902 - Todd, Al
  • 1902 - Knox, Cliff
  • 1904 - Roe, Clay
  • 1905 - Grube, Frank
  • 1910 - McCarthy, Johnny
  • 1913 - Mize, Johnny "Mize was one of the really outstanding hitters in baseball history. Every place he played, from the time he started to play baseball till the time he quit, he was a premier hitter. When he ambled up to the plate, people expected big things because he made things happen. I always thought he was one of the very best." - Ted Williams in The 50 Greatest Players in St. Louis Cardinals History (Robert W. Cohen,
  • 1915 - Steiner, Red
  • 1916 - Butka, Ed
  • 1920 - Howell, Dixie
  • 1921 - Beard, Ted
  • 1922 - Dark, Alvin "Evidently believing in conspiracy theories, pitchers such as (Ken) Holtzman quipped, 'I knew Alvin Dark was a religious man, but he's worshipping the wrong god - Charles O. Finley.' Following a tough 3-2 loss in Chicago on May 18, Finley publicly chastised Dark in the clubhouse, shouting, 'We won the World Series two years with out, and if you don't get your rear in gear, you're gone.' The apparently unflappable Dark went out to dinner with Finley after the tirade, again quoting the Bible, 'Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them.'" - Author Ron Briley in Class at Bat
  • 1924 - Pendleton, Jim
  • 1931 - Stewart, Bunky
  • 1931 - Semproch, Ray
  • 1935 - Schofield, Dick
  • 1938 - Whitfield, Fred
  • 1940 - Hannan, Jim
  • 1942 - Lefebvre, Jim "What they should do is give Candlestick Park back to the city and use it as a prison. Then, they could sentence the convicts to playing baseball. Naked." - Jim Lefebvre (as a Giants coach in 1981)
  • 1943 - Gray, Dave
  • 1944 - Calmus, Dick
  • 1945 - Conigliaro, Tony "The Tony Conigliaro Award is given each year to the MLB player who overcomes an obstacle and adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination, and courage that were trademarks of Tony Conigliaro. Conigliaro was hit in the face by a pitch in 1967. His injuries were so severe that he did not return to the playing field until 1969, homering on Opening Day. Despite his dramatic return, Conigliaro continued to be plagued with vision problems and was forced to retire at age 30." - Nowlin, Bill. Author. Overcoming Adversity: Baseball's Tony Conigliaro Award.
  • 1946 - Keough, Joe
  • 1947 - Reid, Scott
  • 1950 - Grimsley, Ross
  • 1952 - Gorinski, Bob
  • 1952 - Capilla, Doug
  • 1958 - Diaz, Carlos
  • 1962 - Montgomery, Jeff
  • 1963 - Shipley, Craig
  • 1964 - Anderson, Allan
  • 1964 - Meads, Dave
  • 1967 - Maurer, Rob
  • 1969 - Hatcher, Chris
  • 1971 - Menechino, Frank
  • 1974 - Radlosky, Rob
  • 1975 - Toca, Jorge
  • 1976 - Gagne, Eric
  • 1978 - Soriano, Alfonso

Copyright � 2001-2007. All Rights Reserved.
Part of the Baseball Almanac family: 755 Home Runs | Around the Horn | Baseball Box Scores | Baseball Fever | Today in Baseball History.​

 

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1/8
BIRTHDAYS
1915 Walker Cooper catcher (MLB All-Star 1942–44, 46–50; World Series 1942, 44; St. Louis Cardinals), born in Atherton, Missouri (d. 1991)


1934 Gene Freese born in Wheeling, West Virginia (d. 2013)


1953 Bruce Sutter HOF relief pitcher (NL Cy Young Award 1979; 6 x MLB All-Star; 5 x NL saves leader; Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals; Atlanta Braves), born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (d. 2022)


1971 Jason Giambi infielder, 1995-2014, 5X All-Star (Oakland A's, New York Yankees, and 2 other teams), born in West Covina, California


1976 Carl Pavano born in New Britain, Connecticut


1981 Jeff Francis, born in Vancouver, British Columbia


1984 Jeff Francoeur born in Atlanta, Georgia

 

FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1898 Nick Young, president of the National League, announces the more experienced umpire will stay behind the plate with the institution of the new two-umpire system. Previously, the lone arbitrator would move away from home and stand behind the pitcher when a runner occupied a base.

1913 Frank Chance, a strong disciplinarian, becomes the manager of a very weak Highlander team. The former Cubs' skipper, who compiled a .664 winning percentage during his eight seasons in the Chicago dugout, will finish next to last place (57-94) and compiles a 117-168 record during his two-year stint in New York.

Cub Miller Huggins & Frank Chance

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1916 James E. Gaffney sells the Boston Braves for $500,000 to Percy Haughton, Harvard's head baseball coach, and businessman Arthur Chamberlin Wise, who will raise $600,000 to build Fenway Park. The former owner, a Tammany Hall alderman and construction contractor, who bought the team in 1913 for $187,000, recently gained notoriety as a target of Hennessy and Whitman's investigations into political graft.

1944 Bill Terry announces his retirement from baseball and will work as a cotton trader for five years before moving to Jacksonville (FL) to open up a large Buick car dealership. The former Giants star and skipper, who will turn down an offer to manage the Dodgers in 1953, citing the loss of personal income, will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame the following season.

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1953 The Indians ban night games with the Browns due to Bill Veeck's refusal to share telecast receipts with visiting clubs. The St. Louis owner did not allow his opponents to broadcast away games against his team when other American League owners veto his proposal to share the radio and television revenue.

 

1956 The National Association awards Dodger second baseman Jackie Robinson the prestigious Spingarn Medal for the Advancement of Colored People for his strong support of civil rights initiatives. Last year the NAACP gave the honor to Martin Luther King Jr., who was best known for his role in promoting the use of nonviolent civil disobedience to secure equal rights for all Americans.

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1976 The Giants announce they plan to sell the team for $13.25 million to a group in Toronto, headed up by the Labatt Breweries, pending the approval of nine of the other 11 national League clubs. When reacting to his constituents' outrage, San Francisco mayor George Moscone will file a $10 million lawsuit to keep the club playing in the City by the Bay.

1981 With the signing of Larry Biittner, the Reds become the last big league team to sign a free agent. The team's first attempt into free agency, which has been an option of signing major leaguers since 1976, does not go well when the 35-year-old first baseman/outfielder bats only .213 during his first year with Cincinnati.

1986 Willie McCovey becomes the 16th player elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. The slugging first baseman, who smashed 521 home runs and collected 1,555 RBIs, spent most of his 22-year major league career with the Giants.

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1990 Johnny Sylvester, the terminally ill young boy whom Babe Ruth promised to hit a home run for in the 1926 World Series, dies at 74. Although the Yankee slugger homers against the Cardinals at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis and the 11-year-old youngster recovers from his undetermined illness, the accounts of the incident, especially as shown in the movie, The Babe Ruth Story, have proven to be more romantic than accurate.

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1991 Right-handers Gaylord Perry, who won 314 games, and 1971 Cy Young Award recipient Fergie Jenkins, as well as All-Star infielder Rod Carew, the 16th member of the 3,000-hit club, are elected into the Hall of Fame. None of the three players selected by the baseball writers have ever appeared in a World Series.

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1995 Mike Schmidt, a power-hitting third baseman with 548 homers, is elected in his first year of eligibility to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA after being named on 95.6% of the ballots cast. The two-time Most Valuable Player spent his entire 18-year major league career with the Phillies, tearfully retiring from the club during the 1989 season.

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1996 For the first time since 1971, the writers do not elect any new Hall of Famers. Phil Niekro, a knuckleballer who spent most of his career with the Braves, comes the closest with 68 percent of the writers' votes but falls short of the 75 percent needed to be selected.

2001 Harold Baines, only 145 hits shy of reaching 3,000, agrees to a minor league contract with the White Sox. The 41-year-old outfielder, a veteran of 21 seasons, will fall short of his goal, collecting only 11 hits in 94 at-bats with the Pale Hose before calling it a career.

2001 The Royals, A's, and Devil Rays participate in a nine-player trade that results with outfielders Johnny Damon and Ben Grieve and reliever Roberto Hernandez on new teams. The swap sends Damon from Kansas City to Oakland, with Grieve going from Oakland to Tampa Bay, with Hernandez moving from Tampa Bay to Kansas City.

2002 Juan Gonzalez, turning down the Mets offer worth a million dollars more with no money deferred, agrees to a $24 million, two-year deal with the Rangers, which includes $10.5 million in deferred payments. The outfielder, who prefers to stay in the American League, established franchise records in Texas for home runs, RBIs, total bases, and extra-base hits while playing for the club from 1989-1999.

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