BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

1990 Although the owners drop their arbitration and minimum salary proposals, spring training camps remain closed. Baseball's seventh work stoppage will last 32 days, delaying Opening Day for a week and extending the overall season by three days to accommodate the 162-game schedule.

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1997 Ira Berkow's front-page story about Larry Doby appears in the Sunday New York Times, detailing the 22-year-old second baseman's experience of being the first black to play in the American League. The article spurs much interest in the former Newark Eagle, leading many to believe the story helped his election to the Hall of Fame the following year..

Newark Eagles Larry Doby & Monte Irvin



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2000 Cubs manager Don Baylor names four captains, selecting first baseman Mark Grace, right fielder Sammy Sosa, pitcher Kevin Tapani, and reliever Rick Aguilera. The quartet will be the Cubs' first captains since Ron Santo held the position in the 1960s and early 1970s.

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2006 Complaining about the lack of support from local baseball officials, Roberto Kelly resigns as manager of Panama's team in the World Baseball Classic. The Giants' spring training instructor believes some players choose not to participate in the WBC, opting to play in the Panamanian championships.

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2012 Avoiding a 50-game suspension, Ryan Braun becomes the first major league player to challenge a positive test result successfully. The panel that heard the appeal voted 2-1 in favor of the 28-year-old Brewer outfielder. The test collector kept the urine sample at home and stored it in his refrigerator for two days before sending it to a Montreal laboratory for analysis.

2013 After three years of futility in New York, Jason Bay, who mutually agreed to terminate his contract with the Mets in November, clouts a two-run homer in his first at-bat of spring training in the Mariners' 8-6 exhibition victory over the Padres. In the offseason, the likable but oft-injured outfielder signed with Seattle for $1 million, a far cry from the four-year, $66-million free-agent deal he inked, leaving Boston for the Big Apple in 2009.

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2016 Placed on paid leave until the completion of criminal proceedings, Jose Reyes becomes the first player disciplined under baseball's new domestic violence policy, stemming from his arrest following an argument with his wife at a Hawaiian resort in late October. The 32-year-old All-Star shortstop pleaded not guilty to a charge of abuse of a family member and will not report to the Rockies' spring training camp.

2016 At a news conference at Borough Hall in Queens, the Mets announce the team will host an LGBT Pride Night on August 13 at Citi Field, featuring discounted seating for the game against the Padres and a free postgame concert. A portion of the ticket proceeds purchased from Mets.com/pride for the event, expected to attract more than 5,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender fans, will benefit the LGBT Network, a non-profit organization Safe Schools Initiative working to stop bullying in Long Island and Queens.

 

2020 The new-look Phillie Phanatic, a redesign prompted by a copyright dispute, struts his stuff in the team's spring training home opener. The colorful changes made to the uproarious mascot's costume pays homage to the history of the franchise; with powder-blue tail recognizing a historical color in the Phillies' story, the blue socks with a red stripe honoring the 1948 uniform famously worn by Phillies Hall of Fame outfielder Richie Ashburn, and the red shoes featuring a Liberty Bell design paying tribute to the City of Love.

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In 1934: Casey Stengel signs on as the new skipper of the Brooklyn #Dodgers ballclub! It would be the first major league stop in Casey’s long managerial career
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Today In 1932: "The Old Maestro Feels One" ~ Still wearing his clothes from playing a round of golf, Babe Ruth takes a big swing at New York #Yankees spring training camp in Florida
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Honus Wagner
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Minnie Miñoso @whitesox with his @Cadillac at spring training, circa 1954
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Baseball Birthdays February 24 2024
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1874-1955 Honus Wagner Hall of Fame shortstop (8 x NL batting champion; 5 × NL RBI / stolen base leader; Pittsburgh Pirates), born in Chartiers Borough, Pennsylvania


1956 Eddie Murray MLB Hall of Fame 1st baseman, 8x All-star, 3x Golden Glove (Baltimore Orioles, 1977-88 & 96; L.A. Dodgers, 1989-91 & 97, and three other teams


1963 Matias Carrillo outfielder (Florida Marlins)
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1966 Rene Arocha pitcher (St Louis Cardinals)


1970 Wilson Alvarez, , pitcher (Chicago White Sox) (Edmonton Eskimos 2011-13), born in Georgetown, South Carolina


1977 Bronson Arroyo

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This Day in Baseball History
February 24th​

1943 The Texas League announces the circuit plans to cease operations for World War II. As with most minor leagues, the difficulty of traveling and the lack of non-disabled men available to fill team rosters make suspending play necessary.

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1948 The White Sox trade Ed Lopat to the Yankees for Aaron Robinson, Bill Wight, and Fred Bradley. The 29-year-old southpaw, called 'The Junkman' by his teammates, will spend eight seasons with the Bronx Bombers, compiling an impressive 113-59 (.657) record.

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1966 The Braves sign the University of Southern California hurler Tom Seaver, but Commissioner William Eckert nullifies the contract due to rules governing the signing of college players. The right-hander declared ineligible by USC will become available to any team, except Atlanta, willing to match the original contract in a lottery, an offer that only the Indians, Phillies, and Mets will submit bids.

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1977 The A's trade Macon (GA) native Ron Fairly to the Blue Jays for minor leaguer Mike Weathers and cash. The 38-year-old first baseman/outfielder, who played with the Montreal Expos from 1969 to 1974, becomes the first major leaguer to appear with both Canadian teams, compiling a .277 batting average and hitting 105 home runs playing with clubs north of the border for seven seasons.

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1986 Eleven weeks after Padres executives attempt to buy out his contract, only to be thwarted by team owner Joan Kroc, Dick Williams resigns as the Padres manager. The future Hall of Fame skipper, who captured an NL pennant in 1984 and compiled a 337-311 (.520) record during his four seasons in San Diego, will be replaced by Steve Boros.

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1990 Former Red Sox fan favorite Tony Conigliaro dies at 45 of pneumonia and kidney failure. In 1965, the Revere (MA) native became the youngest player to lead the American League in home runs when he hit 32 round-trippers as a 20-year-old.

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2003 In the wake of last week's death of 23-year-old Oriole pitcher Steve Belcher, Commissioner Bud Selig bans ephedra in the minor leagues. Players on the current 40-man major league rosters can continue to use the substance because the new collective bargaining agreement's drug-testing rules ban only drugs of abuse and certain illegal steroids.

2010 A Kansas man, who sat six rows behind the third-base dugout, files a lawsuit against the Royals due to being hit in the eye by a hot dog thrown by Sluggerrr, the team's mascot. The suit is seeking $25,000 in damages for injuries caused by the flying frank, which includes a detached retina and the development of cataracts in the left eye.

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Baseball Birthdays February 25 2024
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1919 Monty Irvin HOF outfielder (4 x NgL All-Star, NgL World Series 1946 Newark Eagles; MLB All-Star 1952, World Series 1954 NY Giants), born in Haleburg, Alabama (d. 2016)



1921 Andy Pafko, Boyceville, Wisconsin, (Chicago Cubs), (d. 2013)


1940 Ron Santo Hall of Fame third baseman (9 x MLB All Star; 5 x Gold Glove; Chicago Cubs), born in Seattle, Washington (d. 2010)


1951 César Cedeño, center fielder (Houston Astros) and four-time All-Star player, born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic


1963 Paul O'Neill MLB right fielder (Cincinnati Reds, NY Yankees), born in Columbus, Ohio


1967 Rich Rowland catcher (Detroit Tigers)


1968 David Hulse outfielder (Texas Rangers)

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This Day in Baseball History
February 25th​

1933 Four days after turning thirty years old and acquiring a very generous inheritance from his step-father, Tom Yawkey purchases the Red Sox from Robert Quinn for $1.2 million. The acquisition of the Boston American League franchise, which lasts for 44 years, the longest by a sole owner in baseball history, is prompted by former school classmate and Hall of Fame infielder Eddie Collins, who serves as the team's general manager until 1947.

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1934 John McGraw dies at 60 at a New Rochelle Hospital two weeks after hearing optimistic reports about his recovery. The renowned Giants skipper, known as 'Little Napoleon' due to his style and stature, won ten pennants and three world championships during his 30 years as the team's manager.

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1965 The MLB owners refuse to raise the minimum salary requested by the players to $7,000 from the current $6,000, a level that is only $500 more than the first minimum salary established 18 years ago. In 1968, thanks to the first-ever collective bargaining agreement in professional sport, the amount will be raised to $10,000, setting the tone for more rapid increases in the coming years.

1969 Baseball avoids the sport's first work stoppage when the owners agree to increase their contribution to the newly revised pension plan, changing the players' ability to qualify from five years to four and lowering the minimum age to receive benefits from fifty to forty-five. Other improvements include the players agreeing to collect $5.45 million per year, retroactive to 1959, and a percentage of the revenue generated by televised games.

 

1972 After multiple salary disputes with their 27-year-old southpaw, the Cardinals trade a stunned 20-game winner Steve Carlton (20-9) to the last-place Phillies for Rick Wise (17-14). This season, 'Lefty' will post a 27-10 record for Philadelphia, winning the first of four National League Cy Young Awards during his 15-year tenure with Philadelphia.

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1973 The spring training lockout ends when the players' union and the owners reach a three-year agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement. The CBA establishes salary arbitration for players with two+ years of major league service, raises the minimum salary to $15,000, and includes the new '10 and 5' trade rule that allows a player with ten years of service, in which the last five are with his current team, to veto any trade.

1981 At the White House, Ronald Reagan receives a major league season pass from baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn, who hopes the president will attend a few games during the upcoming year. Ironically, the Executive Board of the Major League Baseball Players Association will vote unanimously in Tampa today to strike on May 29, if necessary, surprising the owners who thought the well-paid players wouldn't risk a costly work stoppage.

1987 Commissioner Ueberroth bans former Cy Young Award winner LaMarr Hoyt from major league baseball for the 1987 season due to multiple drug-related incidents during the past year. An arbitrator orders the Padres to reinstate the right-hander after reducing the penalty to sixty days.