BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

MARCH 4 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1884 Red Murray Yankees OF (d. 1958)


1888 Jeff Pfeffer pitcher Brooklyn, Cardinals (d. 1972)


1891 (Charles) "Dazzy" Vance HOF pitcher (7 x NL strike-out leader; World Series ,1934 St Louis Cardinals; NL MVP & Triple Crown of Pitching, 1924 Brooklyn Robins),


1897 Lefty O'Doul HOF left fielder (MLB All-Star, World Series 1933; NL batting champion 1929, 32 NY Yankees)\


1939 Jack Fisher Pitcher, Orioles, born in Frostburg, Maryland


1948 Leron Lee Lotte Orions


1964 Tom Lampkin catcher (SF Giants)
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This Day in Baseball History
March 4th​

1912 With the shanties torn down and the garbage pits filled in the Pigtown section in Brooklyn, Charles Ebbets breaks ground for his team's new Bedford Avenue ballpark. The Dodgers' Flatbush facility, which will serve as theteam's beloved home for 44 years, will be named for its owner after a reporter at the ceremony suggested the idea​

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1913 The Yankees become the first team to train outside of the United States when they start spring training in Bermuda, playing nine games against the International League’s New Jersey Skeeters. The minor league team had trained on the island nation in 1912, playing on a converted cricket field in Hamilton, known Bernard Park today.

New Jersey Skeeters

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1919 Giants' manager John McGraw sells Slim Sallee to the Reds, but the team will purchase the southpaw back next year. During his five seasons with New York, 'Scatter' compiles a 42-23 (.646) record along with an ERA of 2.26.

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1921 After spending the first 12 years of his career with the Red Sox, the team trades veteran outfielder Harry Hooper to the White Sox for Nemo Leibold and Shano Collins. 'Hoop' will finish his playing days in Chicago, hitting .302 during his five seasons in the Windy City, thirty points higher than his average in Boston.

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1948 Cardinals outfielder Stan Musial ends his holdout, signing for $31,000, the same salary he made last season after new owners Robert Hannegan and Fred Saigh assure him that his salary will increase based on his performance. 'Stan the Man' gets a pay raise of $5,000 when he is hitting .403 at the All-Star break, en route to being named the National League's MVP.

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1976 The Giants, due to the intervention of San Francisco mayor George Moscone, will stay in the City by the Bay. In a last-minute deal, the Stoneham family sells the team to Bob Lurie and Bud Herseth for $8 million instead of the Labatt's Brewery, which had planned to move the Giants to Canada.

 

1984 The Special Veterans Committee selects two outstanding defensive players, shortstop Pee Wee Reese and catcher Rick Ferrell, to be members of Baseball's Hall of Fame. Cooperstown's newest infielder batted .269 during his 16-year career, all with the Dodgers, and the former Browns, Senators, and Red Sox's backstop hit .281 in his 18-year major league tenure.

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2004 Commissioner Bud Selig announces major league baseball will celebrate "Jackie Robinson Day" in every ballpark on April 15, the anniversary of the debut of the first black player in the major leagues. Jackie's number (42) was retired for all time in a ceremony at Shea Stadium in April of 1997 to mark the 50th anniversary of Robinson's achievement.

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2006 "We are sorry that certain players will not be present for portions of spring training. These players have elected to participate in the World Baseball Classic. The World Baseball Classic is an event sanctioned by the commissioner of Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association. The New York Yankees did not vote to support this event."- LEGENDS FIELD SIGN, apologizing for the absence of star players.

Before the scheduled exhibition game at Legends Field in Tampa, the Yankees, using a sign outside the park, apologize to the fans for Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon, and Bernie Williams not playing due to their participation in the World Baseball Classic. Bronx Bombers boss George Steinbrenner had abstained when the owners approved the World Cup type tournament at the urging of baseball commissioner Bud Selig.

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2008 Brad Hawpe and the Rockies agree to $17,425,000 for three years, replacing the $3,925,000, one-year contract signed in January. Joining right-hander Aaron Cook, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, and closer Manny Corpas, the Colorado right fielder becomes the fourth young player of the National League champs to receive a long-term deal.


2012 A swarm of bees that moved down the right-field line and settled near the Giants' dugout behind first base causes the evacuation of two sections of fans, delaying the split-squad game against the Diamondbacks for 41 minutes. The Salt River Fields grounds crew uses a combination of lemonade and cotton candy obtained from the concession stand to lure the buzzing insects away from fans and players.

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172,858

 

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"I don't think Buddy Harrelson ever gets the credit he's due for what an outstanding defensive player he was for years and years and years. He made the tough plays look easy, and during my tenure, there was no better shortstop in baseball. He's one of the reasons that pitching staff was as good as it was." - Jim McAndrew on Bud Harrelson

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MARCH 5 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1860 Sam Thompson HOF right fielder (NL batting champion 1887 Detroit Wolverines; NL HR leader 1889, 1895 Philadelphia Quakers), born in Danville, Indiana (d. 1922)


1921 Elmer Valo outfielder (one of only 4, four-decade MLB players 1939-61; Philadelphia, KC Athletics),


1930 Del Crandall catcher (11 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1957; 4 × Gold Glove Award; Boston/Milwaukee Braves) and manager (Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners)


1947 Kent Tekulve relief pitcher, 1980 All-Star (Pittsburgh Pirates, 1974-85


1971 Brian Hunter outfielder, 1994-2003, AL stolen base leader (99) - 1997 (Braves, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, and 4 other teams), born in Portland, Oregon


1971 Chad Fonville infielder, 1995-99 (LA Dodgers and 3 other teams)

1971 José Mercedes pitcher, 1994-2003 (Milwaukee Brewers, and 2 other teams)

1976 Paul Konerko

1977 Mike MacDougal

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This Day in Baseball History
March 5th​

1922 Babe Ruth and the Yankees agree to a three-year contract worth $52,000 annually, breaking down to $1,000 for each of the 156 weeks of the deal, more than three times as much as teammate Home Run Baker, the second-best paid major leaguer. The 'Sultan of Swat' will prove worthy of his contract, hitting 122 home runs and earning MVP honors in the team's first World Championship season in 1923. In November, Yankees owner Colonel Jacob Ruppert has the 'Bambino' agree to a contract addendum, limiting the slugger's outrageous off-field behavior that includes the excessive consumption of alcohol and late-night carousing.
Ruth & Baker

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1936 Without the holdout Dean brothers, Dizzy and Daffy, available, the Cardinals lose an exhibition game to Habana at Havana's Tropical Park. Luis Tiant Sr., the dad of a future major league pitcher, is the starting pitcher for the Cuban winter league team.

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1958 Duke Snider, Johnny Podres, and Don Zimmer, trying to beat a 12:30 am curfew, suffer minor injuries in an auto mishap in Vero Beach. With prior crashes involving Roy Campanella and Jim Gilliam, the car accident involves Dodger players for the third time within the last two months.

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1962 Gene Freese suffers a severely fractured ankle in the team's first intrasquad game, keeping the Reds' third baseman out of action until mid-August. The 28-year-old infielder, who played an essential role in Cincinnati's National League championship last season, will never regain the form he displayed during the pennant drive.

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1964 Atlanta's Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr. claims to have a verbal agreement with a major league team that promises to move to the Peach State if a stadium is ready by next year. The next day the Board of Alderman approves a $15-million stadium.

1966 Marvin Miller, an assistant to the President of United Steelworkers, is elected as the first full-time executive director of the Major League Players' Association by the player representatives. The skilled negotiator, who will lead the MLBPA from 1966 to 1982, transforms the organization into one of the country's strongest unions.

1972 Jim Fregosi, obtained by the Mets from the Angels in the off-season for future Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, breaks his right thumb during a spring training workout. The All-Star infielder will suffer through an agonizing season, batting only .232 in 101 games after being touted as the team's solution to its revolving door at third base.
1973

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"We may have to call off family day." - LEE McPHAIL, Yankees GM jesting about two players swapping their wives and children.
Yankee southpaws Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich announce that they have traded families, including their wives, kids, and dogs. The teammates' swap that began last Fall will work better for Peterson, who will become married to his best friend's former wife with whom he will have four children than it does for Kekich, whose relationship with Marilyn Peterson is short-lived.

 

1982 Gaylord Perry signs a one-year deal with Seattle, needing three wins to reach 300 career victories. The 43-year-old 'Ancient Mariner' will reach the milestone in May when he goes the distance to beat New York at the Kingdome, 7-3, en route to finishing his 22-year career next season with a 314-265 (.542) won-loss record.

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1986 The Braves and Brewers swap backstops with Atlanta acquiring Ted Simmons from Milwaukee in exchange for Rick Cerone and a pair of minor leaguers, David Clay and Flavio Alfaro. The offensively talented Simmons will spend three years with his new club before retiring after the 1988 season with a lifetime .285 batting average.

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2002 When dismissed by the Red Sox, Joe Kerrigan becomes the fourth manager fired during spring training. The team's former pitching coach, who led the club to a 17-26 record after taking over for Jimy Williams last August, had signed a multi-year contract to be Boston's field boss with then-GM Dan Duquette but was not favored by the new ownership that took control last month.

2003 Although not agreeing to ban ephedra, a memo is sent to all major leaguers by the players' union strongly recommending players "be extremely reluctant to use any products" containing the substance. The diet supplement, available without a prescription, has been linked to Orioles' pitcher Steve Belcher's death during spring training.

2005 A new ownership group, headed by real estate tycoon Lewis N. Wolff and businessman John J. Fisher, takes control of the A's after purchasing the franchise from Steve Schott and Ken Hoffman. Oakland's four-year playoff streak, fueled by Billy Beane's "Moneyball" approach, had come to an end in 2004, and the former owners were anxious to sell the club they bought from the estate of Walter A. Haas, Jr. in 1995.
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Walt “No Neck” Williams
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• 1970 AL RBI leader "The Capital Punisher" Frank Howard​
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Posting 3/6/24 early appointment at O Dark 30

 

MARCH 6 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1915 Pete Gray [Wyshner] one-armed outfielder (St Louis Browns)


1933 Ted Abernathy pitcher, 1955-72 (Washington Senators, Chicago Cubs, and 5 other teams)


1939 Cookie Rojas second baseman (5 × MLB All-Star; Philadelphia Phillies, Kansas City Royals) and manager (California Angels, Florida Marlins)


1940 Willie Stargell Hall of Fame outfielder/1st baseman (7 x MLB All Star; World Series 1971, 79 [MVP]; Pittsburgh Pirates)


1971 Roger Salkeld, pitcher (Cincinnati Reds)


1973 Terry Adams, pitcher (Chicago Cubs)


1977 Marcus Thames


1979 Erik Bedard
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This Day in Baseball History
March 6th​

1884 High winds tear off the grandstand roof of Manhattan's Southeast Diamond, but the one-year-old ballpark will be ready for the Gothams' National League home opener on May 1st. The team, renamed the Giants next season, will win their first dozen games at the repaired facility at 5th Avenue and 110th street, commonly referred to as the Polo Grounds because the sport of kings took place in the 1870s at the site.

1907 The courts formally acquit Phillies' owner A.J. Reach and John Rogers from damages resulting from the 1903 Baker Bowl disaster. A balcony had collapsed at the Broad Street and Lehigh Avenue ballpark, killing 12 and leaving 232 fans injured.

1923 The Cardinals announce that players will wear numbers on their uniforms' sleeves, with the digits corresponding to their place in the batting order. The Redbirds strongly disapproved of the concept implemented by St. Louis manager Branch Rickey, who acted on a suggestion from sportswriter John Sheridan.

1938 The Phillies trade first baseman Dolph Camilli to the Dodgers for utility player Eddie Morgan and $45,000. The heavy-hitting infielder will spend six seasons in Brooklyn, having his best year in 1941 when he wins the National League MVP after leading the circuit in home runs and RBIs.

Camilli & Dodger Infield

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1945 In some of the fiercest fighting of World War II, Harry O'Neill is killed in the battle for Iwo Jima. In 1939, the fallen Marine played one game in the major leagues, appearing with the A's as a catcher.

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1948 The Braves acquire All-Star second baseman Eddie Stanky from the Dodgers for Bama Rowell and $60,000. This season, the 32-year-old hard-nosed infielder, known as the Brat, will play a pivotal role in Boston's National League championship.

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1951 Perennial loser Charlie Brown, who made his debut in Charles Schultz's Peanut comic strip last October, appears in his first baseball game. The team's pitcher and the manager usually fielded the following lineup first baseman - Shermy, second baseman - Linus, third baseman - Pig-pen, shortstop - Snoopy, right fielder - Lucy, center fielder -Patty, left fielder -Violet, and catcher - Schroeder.

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1971 Joe Cronin, the AL president, defers to A's owner Charlie Finley's request to allow three balls, rather than four, to constitute a base on balls during an exhibition game against the Brewers. The experiment, designed to add offense and speed up the game, proves tedious for both teams when 19 walks are issued and six homers clear the fence during the 13-9 spring training victory for Oakland.

1973 In a spring training game against the Pirates, Larry Hisle becomes the first designated hitter in major league history. The contention that the new American League rule will add more offense to the game appears correct when the Twins' DH hits two homers and drives in seven runs.

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