BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

Former Brooklyn #Dodgers players pose at the 1962 New York #Mets first spring training camp! Gil Hodges, Clem Labine, Cookie Lavagetto, Roger Craig, Don Zimmer & Charlie Neal
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Baseball Birthdays February 18 2024
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1915 Joe Gordon Yankees Infield


1927 Luis Arroyo Pirates, Yankees, Pitcher


1930 Frank House Tigers Catcher


1938 Manny Mota Pirates, Dodgers Player


1939 Dal Maxvill Cardinals Infield


1939 Bob Miller Cardinals, Dodgers+


1967 John Valentin RedSox Infield

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This Day in Baseball History
February 18th
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1943 New York entrepreneur William D. Cox purchases the bankrupt Phillies from the National League. In November, the 33-year-old new owner will be banned from baseball by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis when he admits to making some "sentimental" bets on his team during the season.

1944 After getting permission from his parents and high school principal, 15-year-old Joe Nuxhall, a Hamilton, Ohio native, signs a contract with the Reds a day after playing in a high school basketball game. The not-so-old "Ol' Left-hander" will become the youngest player to appear in a major league game, tossing two-thirds of an inning for Cincinnati in June, 49 days before his sixteenth birthday.

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1954 In their first significant trade since moving from St. Louis, the Orioles, formerly known as the Browns, exchange outfielders with the Senators, sending Roy Sievers to Washington for Gil Conan. Sievers will spend five solid seasons in the nation's capital, making the All-Star squad twice, and Conan, playing less than two seasons in Baltimore, compiles a .266 batting average with three home runs, appearing in 155 games.

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1960 Walter O'Malley buys the land just north of downtown Los Angeles as a new ballpark site for his transplanted Brooklyn club. The Dodger owner paid a reported $494,000 for the property at Chavez Ravine, believed to be worth $92,000 at the time.

1967 During a nationally televised celebrity charity softball game at Dodger Stadium, hard-throwing Eddie Feigner strikes out six consecutive big leaguers, including five future Hall of Famers. The 39-year-old right-hander's victims include Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Brooks Robinson, Harmon Killebrew, Roberto Clemente, and Maury Wills.

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1998 Long-time baseball announcer Harry Caray, 84, dies after suffering a heart attack four days earlier while having Valentine's Day dinner with his wife, Dutchie. The colorful "Mayor of Rush Street" started his career in 1945 with the Cardinals and doing play-by-play for the A's, White Sox, and the Cubs during his 52 years in the broadcast booth.

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1999 The Blue Jays trade Roger Clemens to the Yankees for Graeme Lloyd, Homer Bush, and David Wells, the author of a perfect game in May. In his first tenure with the Bronx Bombers, the Rocket will post a 77-36 (.681) record, compiling an ERA of 3.99 during five seasons with New York.

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2005 The Venezuelan authorities, during a daring eight-hour police raid, free Ugueth Urbina's mother, Maura Villarreal, who spent five months of captivity surrounded by explosives to keep her from escaping from her imprisonment in a mountain camp. The kidnappers had demanded a $6 million ransom from the Tigers' relief pitcher for his mom's release.

2009 After considering playing for Atlanta, a location closer to his family, Ken Griffey Jr. agrees to a one-year deal with the Seattle Mariners. The 39-year-old outfielder joins a list of superstars, Babe Ruth (Boston), Willie Mays (New York), and Hank Aaron (Milwaukee), to choose the city where they played with their first team as the place to end their major league career.

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2009 The demolishment of the last remaining piece of Shea Stadium, the ramp to section 5, occurs at 11:25 a.m., marking the end of the New York venue where the Mets played for 44 years. The old ballpark's footprint will become a parking lot for the team's new home, the $800-million Citi Field, opening in April.

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2011 The Orioles officially announce the signing of Vladimir Guerrero after the 36-year-old passed his physical. The team's new everyday designated hitter, who batted .300 with 29 homers and 115 RBIs with the American League Champion Rangers last season, agrees to a one-year, $8 million deal to play in Baltimore.

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2011 Garrett Wittels goes 0-for-4 against Southeastern Louisiana, leaving the Florida International University junior two games short of Robin Ventura's Division 1 record of hitting in 58 consecutive games, established by the former major leaguer in 1987. The overall NCAA mark is 60 straight games, set by Damian Costantino, playing for Division III Salve Regina from 2001-03.

SLU
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Jackie Robinson kicks his glove in the air after he’s frustrated with the umpires call. He got ejected
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Jerry Coleman Professional baseball man and American hero
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Vin Scully at Fordham university- 1947
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LA blessed with sports announcers. Vin Scully, Chick Hearn, Bob Miller​

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Most insane Vin Scully stat…he called 19 no-hitters (3 of which were perfect games). 19!!!!

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Baseball Birthdays February 19 2024
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1912 Dick Siebert Dodgers, A's IF/OF


1923 Russ Sullivan Tigers OF


1938 Bob Sadowski Braves P


1940 Bill Kelso Angels P


1957 Dave Stewart Dodgers, A's+


1959 Tim Burke Expos, Mets P


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This Day in Baseball History
February 19th​

1912 Cracker Jacks, a sugar-coated popcorn with a mixture of peanuts confection immortalized in the song, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, introduces 'A Prize in Every Box.' In 1914, the manufacturer will insert the first of two company-produced baseball card issues featuring major league players, including those from the short-lived Federal League.

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1935 Lou Gehrig signs a one-year deal with the Yankees for a reported $30,000, a seven thousand raise, but less than the $35,000 he had requested. Last season, the All-Star first baseman hit .363 with 49 homers and led the American League with 165 RBIs.

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1942 Indian first baseman Hal Trosky tells the Des Moines Register he is leaving the team, citing his recurring migraine headaches, first experienced in 1938, as the reason for his early retirement. The 29-year-old good-hitting infielder will finish his 11-year career with a .302 batting average and attempt a comeback with the White Sox in 1944.

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1946 Danny Gardella becomes the first major league player to jump to the Mexican League. The outfielder goes south of the border, lured by a salary of $10,000, more than double the amount offered by the Giants.

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1953 After being hit by enemy fire during a combat mission, Ted Williams safely crash-lands his Panther jet at the Suwon's K-13 Airbase in Korea, skidding along the airstrip for nearly a mile before coming to a stop. The midnight-blue F9F is a total wreck, but the Marine reservist, who quickly evacuates the burning aircraft, suffers only minor injuries.

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1970 “....I have decided on the basis of facts developed at these conferences that Mr. McLain's involvement in 1967 bookmaking activities and his associations at that time leave me no alternative but to suspend him from all organized baseball activities pending the completion of my review of his situation." - BOWIE KUHN, commissioner of baseball announcing Denny McLain's suspension. After a five-and-a-half-hour meeting with Denny McLain, the pitcher's lawyer, William Aiken, and baseball's security chief, Henry Fitzgibbon, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspends the Tigers right-hander indefinitely for bookmaking and his associations at that time. Yesterday, the 1968 Cy Young Award recipient appeared voluntarily before a Federal grand jury in Detroit.

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1977 Unlike his previous decisions concerning the A's, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn does not void a deal as not being in the best interest of baseball when he allows the Rangers to purchase southpaw Paul Lindblad from Oakland for $400,000. The left-handed reliever will appear in 42 games for Texas this season, posting a 4-5 record with an ERA of 4.20 for the second-place club.

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1981 When the player-management panel cannot reach a compromise position, baseball implements a compensation plan that allows a team to sign a ranking free agent, giving up a roster player and an amateur draft choice in return. The owners' move, seen by the players as undermining the value of free agency, will lead to a midseason strike, forcing the cancellation of 713 games.

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1983 Fernando Valenzuela becomes the first player awarded $1,000,000 via arbitration. The 22-year-old Mexican southpaw has compiled a career record of 34-20 during his three years with the Dodgers.

1987 After signing a contract as a free agent with the A's less than a month ago, 37-year-old Vida Blue unexpectedly retires from baseball. The veteran southpaw, who played a significant role in the A's consecutive world championships in 1972, 1973, and 1974, compiled a 209-161 record during his 17-year major league career, including stints with the Giants and Royals.​

 

2002 The 37-year-old Jose Canseco (.258, 16, 49) signs a minor league contract with the lame-duck Expos. The 17-year veteran, the American League Rookie of the Year in 1985 and its MVP a season later, is 38 homers shy of the coveted 500 mark.

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2008 In a deal that includes a $10 million club option, sophomore Ian Kinsler (.286, 14, 55) inks a five-year, $22 million contract with the Rangers. With the signing of the 24-year-old second baseman and last season's contract extension for All-Star shortstop Michael Young, Texas has locked up the middle of its infield through 2013.

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2009 Despite his poor performance last season, the Braves give Jeff Francoeur (.239, 11, 71) a significant raise over his previous salary of $460,000, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $3,375,000 with the outfielder. The deal, a compromise between their two offers, comes just hours before Arizona's scheduled salary arbitration hearing.

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2010 The Nationals finalize a $2 million, one-year deal that includes the opportunity to earn up to $3 million in performance-based bonuses, with former Yankee pitcher Chien-Ming Wang (1-6, 9.64 ERA). The 29-year-old right-hander, who hasn't been the same since injuring his foot running the bases in a 2008 interleague game against Houston, underwent shoulder surgery last July and is not expected to pitch in the first few months of the season.

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2012 Before a 3-1 loss to the Devils at the Bell Centre, the NHL's Canadiens pay an emotional tribute to the late Gary Carter with a five-minute video set to The Eagles' song New Kid in Town. During warmups, the team dons No. 8 Carter jerseys with the team's mascot Youppi!, who once represented the Expos, wearing the former NL club's colors instead of his usual bleu-blanc-rouge, honoring the memory of the only Montreal player enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

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2014 Avoiding arbitration, Homer Bailey (11-12, 3.49) and the Reds agree to a $105 million, six-year deal, including a $25 million mutual option for 2020. The 27-year-old starter from Texas, the author of two major league no-hitters, will continue to be part of Cincinnati's young rotation, including Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos, Mike Leake, and southpaw Tony Cingrani, all under the age of 30.

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2019 The Dodgers announce the death of 92-year-old Don Newcombe, baseball's first standout black pitcher who played a pivotal role during the 1950s when the team played in Brooklyn. The right-handed hurler, who posted a career mark of 149-90 along with an ERA of 3.56 earned run average in ten seasons that included brief stints with the Reds and the Indians, won the Cy Young (1956), the MVP (1956), and the Rookie of the Year (1949) awards, a feat matched only by Justin Verlander.

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Darin Erstad makes an amazing catch while Vlad watches
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Nolan Ryan never won the Cy Young award
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1875 ad for Snyder's Base Ball Bats
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