BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

Willie Mays hits his final HR to defeat Harmon Killebrew by a score of 7-6 on a classic episode of "Home Run Derby"! (1960) Willie wins $2,000 - Harmon gets $1,000!​

 

November Baseball Birthdays 11/14

1929 Jimmy Piersall outfielder (MLB All Star 1954, 56; born in Waterbury, Connecticut (d. 2017)


1937 Jim Brewer relief pitcher (World Series 1965; MLB All Star 1973; LA Dodgers), born in Merced, California (d. 1987)


1955 Willie Hernandez, pitcher (Cy Young Award)


1966 Curt Schilling, pitcher (Tigers,Red Sox,Philadelphia Phillies), born in Anchorage, Alaska


1968 Kent Bottenfield, pitcher (Chicago Cubs), born in Portland, Oregon


1978 Xavier Nady Mets


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This Day in Baseball History November 14​

1946 After finishing second to Yankees Joe DiMaggio (1941) and Joe Gordon (1942), Ted Williams (.342, 38, 123) wins the American League Most Valuable Player award. The Red Sox outfielder missed the last three seasons due to serving in the military during World War II.

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1956 The Pirates threaten to move the franchise from Pittsburgh unless the city builds a new municipal stadium to replace the 47-year-old Forbes Field. The second division club drew 949,878 fans, the fifth-best total of the eight National League teams.

1957 The BBWAA selects Hank Aaron as the National League's Most Valuable Player. The Milwaukee Braves outfielder, with 239 points from the writers, narrowly edges out Stan Musial and his Cardinal former teammate, Giants infielder Red Schoendienst, who collect 230 and 221, respectively.

Stan & Red

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1961 John Fetzer, a passionate fan of the game, becomes the Tigers' lone owner when he buys out the estate of Fred Knorr. After the 1983 season, the media mogul will sell the team to pizza entrepreneur Tom Monaghan.

1973 Reggie Jackson (.293, 32, 117) is selected unanimously as the American League's MVP. The 27-year-old right fielder of the World Champion A's, who captured all of the writers' 24 first-place votes, easily outdistances Oriole right-hander Jim Palmer (22-9, 2.40) and Royals outfielder Amos Otis (.300, 26, 93), the runners-ups for the honor.

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1973 Orioles right-hander Jim Palmer, runner-up for the AL MVP honors, is named the American League's Cy Young Award winner. The 28-year-old future Hall of Famer compiled a 22-9 and an ERA of 2.40 for the first-place Birds this season.

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1979 After the maximum of thirteen teams selects him in the first round of the free-agent draft, David Goltz signs a six-year, three-million-dollar contract with the Dodgers. The former Twins' pitcher (14-13, 4.16) will post a 9-19 record during his 2+ seasons with the club.

1985 Thirty-nine-year-old Rollie Fingers is released by the Brewers, ending his 17-year Hall of Fame career. The all-time major league leader in saves with 341, who won the American League MVP and Cy Young awards four seasons ago, will be enshrined in Cooperstown in 1992.

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1986 Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon buy the World Champion Mets from the Doubleday Publishing Company for $80.75 million. In 1980, the book company purchased the franchise for a then-record $21.1 million.

1988 The Angels announce Doug Rader will replace Cookie Rojas, their fired rookie manager who was stunned when the improved fourth-place team (75-79) released him with eight games left in the regular season. The Halos' new skipper compiled a 155-200 (.437) record while piloting the Rangers from 1982 to 1985.

1996 In the closest vote for the award since 1960, Ranger outfielder Juan Gonzalez (.314, 47, 144) wins the American League MVP. 'Juan Gone,' who will also cop the honor in 1998, edges out Alex Rodriguez by just three points, getting one more first-place vote than the Mariner shortstop.

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1997 After annually alternating the schedule of the League Championship Series between the divisions, with a 2-3 format in the best-of-five series (1969-1984) and a 2-3-2 format in the best-of-seven matchups (1985-1997), the MLB announces LCS home-field advantage will now be awarded to the team with the best record. The divisional winner, not necessarily the team with the most wins during the season, gets the benefit of playing at home in the series against the wild-card winner.

2000 Diamondback southpaw Randy Johnson wins the NL Cy Young Award for the third time in his career, copping the prestigious pitching prize for the second consecutive season. The 37-year-old 'Big Unit' struck out a league-leading 347 batters while posting a 19-7 record along with an ERA of 2.64 for the third-place team

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2001 For the second time in his career, Seattle skipper Lou Piniella is named the American League Manager of the Year. 'Sweet Lou,' the only person to appear on every ballot, guided the Mariners to a historical 116 victories, tying the 1906 Cubs as the winningest team in major league history.

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2001 The BBWAA selects Larry Bowa (86-76, .531) as National League's Manager of the Year, making him the first Phillies skipper to receive the award. In his first year at the helm, Philadelphia improves by 21 games, finishing the season two games behind the first-place Atlanta.

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2006 With the fewest victories as a starter, Brandon Webb (16-8, 3.10) wins the NL Cy Young Award, garnering 15 of the possible 32 BBWAA's first-place votes. The Diamondback right-hander beats out Padres closer Trevor Hoffman and Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter with Reds hurler Aaron Harang, who led the league in victories and strikeouts, not receiving one vote from the writers.

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2007 Bob Melvin is named National League Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The Diamondbacks skipper, who led the club to a league-best 90 victories, also was selected by his fellow managers for the same honor in The Sporting News poll.

2007 In his fifth season at the helm, Eric Wedge becomes the first Indian skipper to be selected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America as the American League Manager of the Year. The 39-year-old skipper led the Tribe to the AL Central title, compiling a 96-66 record during the regular season before losing Game 7 to Boston in the ALCS.

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Wichita State baseball coach Eric Wedge finished with a 65-61 record in three seasons with the Shockers.

2007 Major League Baseball announces the World Champion Red Sox will take on the A's in the 2008 season opener on March 25 at the Tokyo Dome. The Opening Day game will mark the third time the regular major league season has started in Japan.

2007 Reports start to surface that the Yankees and their third baseman are close to a multi-year deal that would be worth as much as $290 million only a few hours after Alex Rodriguez confirms he has spoken directly with the Steinbrenner family. The move is seen, in part, as an attempt to soften the harsh criticism incurred when A-Rod, through his agent Scott Boras, announced his decision to opt out of his contract with the team during Game 4 of the World Series.

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2010 A Santa Barbara father-son sports collectors team pays $575,912 for the bat Kirk Gibson used to hit his dramatic World Series Game 1 home run in 1988. The winning bid was the second-highest sale price ever for a baseball bat, topped only by the $1.265 million paid in 2004 for a Babe Ruth signed bat used by the 'Bambino' to hit the first home run at Yankee Stadium.

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2011 Mike Matheny is named to succeed Tony La Russa, who retired as the Cardinals manager a few days after leading the Redbirds to a world championship. The 41-year-old former minor league instructor served as a special assistant to general manager John Mozeliak and has no previous managerial experience.

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2011 Craig Kimbrel unanimously wins the National League Rookie of the Year award. The Braves' right-handed closer, who struck out 127 batters in 77 innings, set a major league record for saves by a rookie with 46.

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2011 Former Red Sox reliever Jonathan Papelbon agrees to a four-year, $50 million free-agent deal to finish games for the Phillies. The contract is the richest ever signed by a closer, surpassing B.J. Ryan's five-year, $47 million pact with the Blue Jays in 2005.

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2012 In one of the closest races to determine the American League Cy Young Award winner, Rays' southpaw David Price (20-5, 2.56) outpoints last year's recipient Tigers ace Justin Verlander (17-8, 2.64) by a slim margin of four points. The difference is the one first-place vote given to the Tampa Bay left-hander's teammate, closer Fernando Rodney.

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2013 Miguel Cabrera (.344, 44, 137) is named the AL Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive season. The Detroit third baseman, who received 23 of 30 first-place votes to finish ahead of Mike Trout and Chris Davis, joins Hal Newhouse (1944-45) and Hank Greenberg (1935, 1940), winning the prestigious award twice playing for the Tigers.

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2013 The National College Baseball Hall of Fame announces naming its new facility in Lubbock (TX) after George H.W. Bush, the first baseman and captain for the Yale baseball team. The 41st president of the United States participated in the College World Series with the Bulldogs in 1947 and '48, the collegiate national championship's inaugural years.

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2013 After leading the Pirates to their first postseason appearance since 1992, Andrew McCutchen (.317, 21, 84) is named the National League's Most Valuable Player. The Pittsburgh outfielder garners 28 of the writers' 30 first-place votes, easily outdistancing runners-up Diamondback first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and Cardinal catcher Yadier Molina for the MVP honor.

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2014 The Tigers come to terms on a $68 million, four-year deal with 35-year-old Victor Martinez, the team's designated hitter who finished second behind Mike Trout in the AL MVP balloting this year. The Detroit DH helped the team capture its fourth straight American League Central title, hitting .335 with 32 home runs while driving 103 runs.

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2019 Mike Trout becomes the eleventh three-time MVP in baseball history and the first since Alex Rodriguez copped his third award in 2007. The 28-year-old Angels outfielder, who has finished second in the voting four times, narrowly wins the American League honor, garnering 355 points from the writers, twenty more than runner-up Astro third baseman Alex Bregman.

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134,401

 

Ted Williams
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Ken Griffey Jr leaps at the wall and catches the ball to protect all the fans that ducked

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“Old Day”Old NY Giants,Leo Durocher,Willie Mays and Alvin Dark meet before the 1969 All Star Game in Washington DC.

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November Baseball Birthdays 11/15
1963 Michele McAnany, infielder (Colorado Silver Bullets), born in Los Angeles, California

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This Day in Baseball History November 15​

1886 The American Association's Red Stockings deal rookie catcher Jack Boyle and $400 to the Browns in exchange for outfielder Hugh Nicol. The transaction is the first recorded trade in major league history.

1908 In the first contest of a 14-game barnstorming trip, 21-year-old Cuban hurler Jose Mendez one-hits the visiting Reds, 1-0. In the following two weeks, the Almendares right-hander throws another seven shutout innings in relief and finishes by tossing a second complete-game shutout, recording an incredible 25 consecutive scoreless innings against the first major league club to ever play on the island.

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1933 The Phillies and Cardinals swap catchers, with hard-hitting Virgil Davis going to St. Louis and Jimmy Wilson traded to the 'City of Brotherly Love.' Philadelphia makes the deal to have the former Redbird backstop become the team's player-manager, a position 'Ace' will hold for five seasons.

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1951 Although not included on the club's spring training rosters, 20-year-old Giant outfielder Willie Mays and Yankee infielder Gil McDougald, 23, win the Rookie of the Year honors in their respective leagues. White Sox outfielder/third baseman Minnie Minoso, the runner-up in the American League, loses his bid for the prestigious freshman award to his New York rival by a slim 13-11 margin after having a superior offensive season, including compiling a .326 batting average and stealing 31 bases.

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1961 Roger Maris, for the second consecutive year, is named American League Most Valuable Player. The new single-season record holder with 61 home runs edges Yankee teammate Mickey Mantle by four votes, 202-198.

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1962 The White Sox release 299-game winner Early Wynn, enabling the veteran right-hander to make a deal with other clubs to win his 300th game. Next July, the future 43-year-old Hall of Famer will pitch the first five innings of a contest for Cleveland, reaching the milestone when the Indians down the Kansas City A's, 7-4.

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1967 Triple Crown winner Carl Yastrzemski (.326, 44, 121), receiving 19 of 20 first-place votes, is selected by the BBWAA as the American League Most Valuable Player. A writer puts the light-hitting Twins infielder Cesar Tovar (.267, 6, 47) on the top of his ballot, denying the 28-year-old Red Sox outfielder of being the unanimous choice for the award.

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1968 Jim Bouton agrees to a one-year deal worth $22,000 to play for the expansion Pilots, who had purchased the right-hander from New York last month for $20,000, with his previous team agreeing to pick up $12,000 of the salary. The knuckleballer uses his tenure with the club and his experiences with the Astros after being traded to Houston, to chronicle the 1969 season, along with stories from his Yankee years, in his groundbreaking book, Ball Four, a publication which will not endear him to Major League Baseball.

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1972 Dick Allen, receiving 21 of 24 first-place votes, is named the American League's MVP by the Baseball Writers Association of America. The White Sox's slugging first baseman barely missed accomplishing the Triple Crown, leading the league with 37 home runs and 113 RBIs while batting .308, the third-best average in the circuit.

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1983 Cal Ripken (.318, 27, 102) is named the American League's MVP, with teammate Eddie Murray and Chicago catcher Carlton Fisk also receiving first-place votes. The Orioles' infielder becomes the first player to win the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player Awards in consecutive years.

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1988 Kirk Gibson is named the National League Most Valuable Player, with Mets outfielders Darryl Strawberry and Kevin McReynolds also receiving first-place votes for the award. The Dodger World Series hero, the first MVP not to be named an All-Star in the same season, batted .290 and drove in 76 runs in 150 games.

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2000 Jason Giambi (.333, 43, 137) wins the American League MVP Award, edging out two-time winner White Sox first baseman Frank Thomas. The A's first baseman receives 14 of the 24 first-place ballots cast by the BBWAA.

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2001 Yankee right-hander Roger Clemens (20-3, 3.51 ERA) wins the Cy Young Award for an unprecedented sixth time (Red Sox -1986, '87, '91 and Blue Jays -1997, '98). The 'Rocket' becomes the first Pinstriper to win the award since 1978, when Ron Guidry copped the honor.

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2002 The Mariners select Diamondbacks' bench coach Bob Melvin, making him the team's twelfth manager in franchise history. The 41-year-old former major league catcher is replacing Lou Piniella, who asked to be released from his contract with Seattle to take a job closer to his home as the Devil Rays' skipper next season.

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2004 Barry Bonds (.362, 45, 101), the only player to be his league's Most Valuable Player more than three times, is named by the BBWAA for a record seventh time, including an unprecedented fourth consecutive season. The Giants' 40-year-old left-fielder surpasses Willie Stargell as the oldest player to win the award.

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2005 The players' association and owners agree to toughen the current penalties (10 days-first offense, 30 days-second offense, and 60 days for the third time) for the use of steroids, using a 50-game suspension for a first offense, 100 games for a second, and a lifetime ban for a third. The agreement also adds the much-needed testing for amphetamines, which will result in mandatory additional testing for first-time positives, with a second offense drawing a 25-game suspension and a third offense leading to an 80-game banishment.

2005 Alex Rodriguez wins the American League MVP Award for the second time in three seasons. The Yankees' third baseman edges out David Ortiz, the Red Sox DH, fueling the controversy that a designated hitter is not considered an all-around player by many baseball writers who vote for the honor.

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2005 The Devil Rays introduce Joe Maddon as the franchise's fourth manager after considering the team's bench coach John McLaren as a possible successor to Lou Piniella. The new skipper, formerly a bench coach for Mike Scioscia of the Angels, believes that despite the club's poor record and having the lowest payroll in baseball, the young talented team can start a winning tradition in Tampa Bay based on his computer-generated analysis.
Maddon will compile a 754-705 (.517) record, bringing the club to the postseason four times during his nine-year tenure with the club

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2006 Joe Girardi, six weeks after the Marlins fire him, wins the NL Manager of the Year award when he receives 18 of 32 first-place votes in the BBWAA's balloting. The unemployed freshman skipper, who easily outpointed Willie Randolph of the Mets for the honor, is the first manager of a losing team (78-84) to cop the award.

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2006 Jim Leyland, who led the eventual AL champion Tigers in his first year at the helm to their first winning season since 1993, is named the American League Manager of the Year. The veteran skipper received 19 of the writers' 28 first-place votes, easily outdistancing the Twins' Ron Gardenhire for the award.

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2007 A federal grand jury indicts Barry Bonds, accused of lying nearly four years ago about using performance-enhancing drugs, on four perjury counts and one obstruction of justice. The prodigious slugger, who has broken many cherished home run baseball records, could be sentenced to 30 years in prison if convicted on all charges.

2007 Joining Randy Jones (1976), Gaylord Perry (1978), and Mark Davis (1989), Jake Peavy (19-6, 2.54) becomes the fourth Padres pitcher to win the National League Cy Young Award. The 26-year-old right-hander, who led the Senior Circuit in wins, ERA, and strikeouts with 240 K's, is the unanimous choice of the BBWAA, being named first on all 32 of the writers' ballots.

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