BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

Today In 1992: The all-time classic "Homer at the Bat" episode of "The Simpsons" makes its television debut
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Baseball Birthdays February 22 2024
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1907 Marty Hopkins Phils, White Sox IF


1919 Johnny Lucadello, Browns IF


1929 Ryne Duren Orioles, A's, Yankees, Angels P


1931 Chet Nichols Braves, RedSox P


1934 Sparky Anderson Phils, IF


1956 Joe Lefebvre Yanks, Padres IF/OF/C


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This Day in Baseball History
February 22nd​

1880 George Wright signs a contract with the Boston Red Caps, which he states allows him not to travel with the team on western road trips, participating in games only played in New England and Troy. The arrangement will allow the Hall of Fame shortstop to devote more time to his sporting goods business.

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1889 Italy's King Humbert is among the fans who witness the Chicagos beat the All-Americans, 3-2, outside Rome at the Villa Borghese. Originally billed as the Spalding's Australian Baseball Tour, the trip expands to include European contests, much to the surprise of the captive players aboard the ship en route to the Land Down Under.

1936 As thousands cheer on both sides of the river, 48-year-old Senator legend Walter Johnson throws a silver dollar to the far side of the Rappahannock, believed to be a 386-foot toss. The Washington, D.C. Sesquicentennial celebration, which includes commemorating the 204th anniversary of George Washington's birth, stages the event to duplicate the alleged feat that the young Virginian accomplished when he threw a silver dollar across the Potomac River.

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1938 After college, Texas Christian football All-American Sammy Baugh signs a contract with the Cardinals. 'Slingin' Sammy,' who will experience little playing time as a backup to starting shortstop Marty Marion, will leave the minor leagues to play for in the National Football League, where he will become a Hall of Fame quarterback with the Redskins.

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1966 The Mets trade Wayne Graham, Bobby Klaus, and Jimmie Schaffer to the Phillies for first baseman Dick Stuart, who will join the Dodgers after being released by his new team in June. During his brief tenure with the Amazins,' Dr. Strangelove plays in 31 games, hitting .231 while committing six errors.

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2005 Jerry Coleman receives the Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award. The 80-year-old San Diego play-by-play broadcaster, the MVP of the 1950 World Series, has spent 41 years calling games for the Yankees, Angels, and Padres.

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2005 Tom Umberg, a California state assemblyman, introduces legislation requiring pro franchises to use disclaimers if they do not play most home games in the location used in their name. With his 'Truth in Sports Advertising Act', the Anaheim Democrat attempts to prevent the local team from changing its name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Halos' third moniker since the franchise's inception in 1961.

2006 The Dodgers announce the team has extended the contract of 78-year-old Vin Scully through 2008. The Bronx-born Hall of Fame broadcaster, considered by many to be the best announcer in baseball history, is beginning his 57th year in the Dodger organization, started calling games with Red Barber in 1950 when the team played in Brooklyn.

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Barber gave young Scully the advice of his wisdom that Scully would follow his whole career. There were 3 things that Barber told Scully never to do. “Don’t go out with the players after the games”-Scully was young too and surely he admired the players. However Barber found it important to draw a line between the young broadcaster and the players in order for Scully to do his best possible job The second thing was don’t drink and play cards with the writers. Scully understood why he should obey Barber’s first two rules. It was the third one that he didn’t see the point. The third don’t that Barber told young Scully was not to listen to the other broadcasters play by play himself included. Scully questioned him on that one “Why?” “Because it will rob the fans of something only you can give from the broadcast booth that they can’t!” “What could I possibly give that none of these seasoned pro’s can’t?”, Scully wanted to know. Barber’s answer was a simple one, “It will rob the fans of you”, Barber said quickly. In other words Scully had something to offer that was unique.​

 

2008 The Mets, who had not gone to arbitration with a player in 16 years, come out on the short end of the hearing when southpaw Oliver Perez (15-10, 3.56) gets a favorable decision in his case from arbitrators Steven Wolf, Robert Bailey, and Elizabeth Neumeier. The process awards southpaw $6.5 million for this year rather than the club's offer of $4,725,000.

2008 After losing his request for $12.5 million, Francisco Rodriguez (2.81, 40 saves) receives a $10 million award, tying Alfonso Soriano (Nationals) and Ryan Howard (Phillies) for the most money ever given in a salary arbitration case. The 26-year-old Angels closer leads the majors in saves during the last three seasons with 132.

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2010 Johnny Damon and the Tigers agree to an $8 million, one-year deal. The 36-year-old southpaw-swinging outfielder, who hit .282 with 24 homers for the World Champion Yankees last season, will bat leadoff for Detroit, misses going to the postseason after the team loses a one-game tiebreaker to Minnesota.

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2017 "I think it's a mistake to stick our head in the sand and ignore the fact that our game has changed, and continues to change." - MLB COMMISSIONER ROB MANFRED, commenting on the new intentional walk rule.
To speed up the game, MLB announces the approval of implementing an intentional walk with a signal from the dugout rather than the need to throw four pitches out of the strike zone. Although the new rule will eliminate only about a minute of play, some believe the new approach rids the sport of an old-fashioned way of issuing a deliberate base-on-balls.

2021 Kevin Mather resigns as the president of the Mariners when the February 5 Zoom video of a meeting with a Rotary Club goes viral. With the team since 1996 and named president in 2014, the former club official questioned if Hisashi Iwakuma needed an interpreter, commented on the poor English spoken by top prospect Julio Rodriguez, and shared the organization's decision to manipulate service time by not calling up prospects.
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Baseball legend Bob Gibson stretches at St. Louis Cardinals spring training camp back in the day!
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Jackie Robinson & Mickey Mantle - Baseball Legends In The Florida Sun! (1953) #MLB #Dodgers #Yankees #SpringTraining
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San Diego #Padres legend Tony Gwynn
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Padre, Kyle Higashioka
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Baseball Birthdays February 23 2024
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1914 Mike Tresh White Sox C


1929 Elston Howard Yankees, Catcher/OF/1B


1941 Ron Hunt Mets, Giants, Expos IF


1944 Don Shaw Mets, Cards, P


1958 Juan Agosto White Sox, P


1963 Bobby Bonilla White Sox, Pirates, Mets IF/OF


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This Day in Baseball History
February 23rd​

1921 Brooklyn trades 29-year-old Rabbit Maranville to the Pirates for Billy Southworth, Fred Nicholson, Walter Barbare, and $15,000 in cash. The future Hall of Fame shortstop will spend four of his 19 major league seasons playing for the Bucs, providing excellent defense while compiling a .283 batting average.

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1934 Brooklyn coach Casey Stengel signs a two-year deal to manage the Dodgers, replacing skipper Max Carey, who guided the sixth-place club to a 65-88 record last season. During the rookie manager's three-year tenure with the Brooks, the team will finish 43 games under .500, finishing no higher than fifth place.

Hall of Famers
Carey & Stengel

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1960 Twenty-eight months after the Dodgers play their last game in Brooklyn, the demolition of Ebbets Field finally begins when a wrecking ball, painted with red and white stitches, begins its work on the ballpark Brooklyn called home for 44 years. Before the demolition, wheel-chair-bound Roy Campanella, the team's former All-Star catcher and three-time National League MVP, is given an urn of dirt from behind home plate in front of a crowd of 200 faithful fans.

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1986 Although he loses his arbitration case, Boston third baseman Wade Boggs receives the largest amount ($1.35 million) ever awarded by this process. Last season's AL batting champ had sought $1.85 million, but arbitrator Thomas Roberts ruled in favor of the Red Sox, resulting in a drop of a half-million dollars for the infielder.

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1987 "He won friends and titles with savvy, wit and loyalty." - TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT, from an obituary written by Gerald Ensley, a Democrat staff writer.
Three days into spring training, Dick Howser's attempt to return after undergoing brain tumor surgery ends when the frail-looking Royals manager finds he is physically too weak to continue. Third-base coach Billy Gardner replaces the ill skipper, who will die three months later at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City.

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1988 Facing the loss of the 1990 All-Star game and possible postseason games, the Chicago City Council passes an ordinance, 29-19, allowing the Cubs to play 18 night games a season through the year 2002 at Wrigley Field, the last major league ballpark without lights. The legislation prohibits beer sales after 9:20 p.m. and organ music ten minutes later.

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