BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

This Day in Baseball History
March 11th​

1901 John McGraw, manager of the new American League's Orioles, signs Charlie Grant, trying to pass off the black infielder as a Cherokee Indian named Tokohoma. The skipper's scheme to secretly integrate the major leagues unravels in Chicago when White Sox president Charles Comiskey objects to Baltimore's new player after recognizing the team's second baseman's true identity.

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1933 A significant earthquake during an exhibition game in L.A. sends the Cubs and Giants scurrying to second base until the tremors stop. The seismic event, which takes place along the 46-mile-long Newport-Inglewood Fault, is estimated at a magnitude of 6.3.


1933 Rogers Hornsby returns to the Cardinals as a player after being fired as the Cubs' manager last August. After a six-year absence, the 'Rajah's' return to the Redbirds will be short-lived when he is claimed on waivers in July by the crosstown AL's Browns, who make him the skipper of the last-place club, replacing the recently-resigned Bill Killefer.

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1953 Braves' owner Lou Perini proposes a ban on any major league franchise shift to an existing minor league city until October 1st. Boston, who owns the Milwaukee minor league franchise, had invoked its territorial privilege last week to block the Browns' attempt to shift their franchise to Milwaukee.

1953 The Dodgers defeat the A's, 4-2, in the first game played in Holman Stadium, their Grapefruit League ballpark at the team's spring training complex in Vero Beach, better known as Dodgertown. Fifty-five years later, Carl Erskine, the game's starting pitcher, will return to play the national anthem on his harmonica as an 81-year-old at the club's last game at the storied facility.

1st Game ~~ Last Game

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1957 Representative Emanuel Celler, chair of a congressional committee investigating baseball, calls Commissioner Ford Frick a czar. The New York congressman takes exception when the baseball boss cautions the major league owners about commenting on the Supreme Court's recent decision concerning pro football coming under antitrust rules.

1958 American League president Will Harridge informs the circuit's umpires that wearing a helmet is mandatory for batters this season, reinforcing the mandate passed by the owners' 7-1 vote at their December meeting in Colorado Springs. The Red Sox dissent, knowing their slugger Ted Williams adamantly opposes wearing headgear, asserting the protective equipment will interfere with their hitters' timing.

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1961 At Palm Springs, former president Dwight Eisenhower is a no-show at the Angels' first-ever exhibition game, an 8-3 victory over the Cubs. Ike had been scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch but decided to go fishing instead.

1973 "I didn't think I'd have to tell them everytime I cross the street. He made his point and he was right. I made a mistake. I should have told him." - WILLIE MAYS, commenting on his fine for leaving the Mets during spring training. Mets manager Yogi Berra fines Willie Mays $500 for leaving the club without permission and missing the Saturday's workout. The aging superstar left the team for two days during spring training without notice and flew to California to be with his wife.

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1988 California Angels manager Gene Mauch, citing health issues, takes a leave of absence and is replaced by Cookie Rojas. The Halos' skipper will officially announce his retirement in two weeks, leaving the game with a managerial record of 1,902 wins and 2,037 losses during his 26-year tenure in the dugout with the Phillies, Expos, Twins, and California.
Mauch & Rojas

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2001 Preston Wilson, the franchise's first 30-30 player, signs a $32 million five-year contract with Florida. The 26-year-old Marlin center fielder, the stepson and nephew of former major leaguer Mookie Wilson, was obtained from the Mets in the Mike Piazza deal in 1998.

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2002 The Boston replaces Joe Kerrigan, the once-popular skipper fired last week, with Grady Little, who will manage the team for two years, compiling a 188-136 (.580) record and making one appearance in the postseason as the AL wild card. The Red Sox do not renew their new manager's contract when he becomes the target of fans' angst for not replacing Pedro Martinez in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the ALCS, a contest the team loses in the eleventh on Aaron Boone's walk-off home run.

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2004 The first contest played at Petco Park, the Padres' new home, establishes the record for the best-attended game in college baseball history when 40,106 fans watch Tony Gwynn's San Diego State Aztecs beat the University of Hawaii, 4-0. The previous mark of 27,673 was established in 2002 when state rivals LSU and Tulane met in New Orleans's Superdome.

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2006 First baseman Nick Johnson (.289, 15, 74) and the Nationals agree to a $16.5 million, three-year contract extension. The 27-year-old first baseman, who signed a $3.2 million, one-year deal in January to avoid arbitration, has often been injured since making his big league debut with the Yankees five years ago.

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2010 Todd Helton and the Rockies agree to a $9.9 million contract extension that takes the first baseman through the 2013 season. The 38-year-old fan favorite, who has played his entire career in Colorado, hit .325 with 15 home runs, driving in 86 runs last season after undergoing back surgery at the end of the 2008 season.

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2018 Taking a significant pay cut, unsigned free-agent Mike Moustakas signs a one-year contract to stay with the Royals, the team he set a franchise record for home runs (38) last season. The 28-year-old All-Star third baseman agrees to 6.5 million, having turned down a qualifying offer of $17.4 million at the start of the off-season.

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175,647

 

Robinsons
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The most recent pitcher to Win 40+ games in a season Ed Walsh (40 in 1908)
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The last man to post 10 Shutouts in a season John Tudor (1985)
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Babe Ruth and Yogi Berra
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The most recent pitcher to post 250+ innings in a season Justin Verlander (251.0 in 2011)
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MARCH 12 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1942 Jimmy Wynn outfielder (MLB All Star 1967, 74, 75; Houston Astros, LA Dodgers)


1956 Dale Murphy 1956 baseball slugger (NL MVP 1982–83; Silver Slugger Award 1982–85; Gold Glove Award 1982–86; 7 x MLB All-Star; NL HR leader 1984, 85; NL; Atlanta Braves)


1962 Darryl Strawberry right fielder (8-time All Star), born in Los Angeles, California


1965 Shawn Gilbert (New York Mets)


1965 Steve Finley outfielder (San Diego Padres, DBacks),


1971 Greg Hansell, pitcher (Minnesota Twins, Mariners)


1971 Raul Mondesi, MLB outfielder (LA Dodgers)


1979 David Williams pitcher, 2001-07 (Pittsburgh Pirates, and 2 other teams

1982 Zach Miner

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This Day in Baseball History
March 12th​

1903 After the club ceases operations in the Charm City, Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchase the original American League team in Baltimore, receiving approval from 15 of 16 major league owners to move the team to New York to play as the Highlanders. Giants' owner John T. Brush cast the dissenting vote, believing the new club, known as the Yankees starting in 1913, will compete for fans in the Big Apple.
Highlanders ~ ~ Giants

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1971 The Cubs catcher Randy Hundley suffers a badly sprained knee and will play only nine games this season. In 1968, the venerable backstop caught 160 games for Chicago, starting 156 of those contests and playing every inning in 146 of those games.

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1980 The BBWAA elect Al Kaline and Duke Snider National League outfielder The Veterans Committee select Chuck Klein, who compiled a .320 batting average during his 17-year career, and former Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey to the Hall of Fame. Yawkey becomes the first person selected who was not a player, manager, or general manager
Kaline, Snyder, Klein & Yawkey family accept for deceeased honories​

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1982 Ballantine Books publishes the first of seven annual Bill James Abstracts, bringing the author into the national spotlight for his statistical insight into the game. The sabermetrician's initial self-published efforts, written on the night shift as a security guard at the Stokely-Van Camp's pork and beans cannery, introduce baseball fans to new ways of measuring a player's ability with stats such as Runs Created.

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1991 At the age of 45, Jim Palmer's attempted comeback ends when the newly elected Hall of Famer tears his hamstring warming up before an exhibition appearance against Boston. The Orioles right-hander, who hadn't thrown a major league pitch in seven seasons, keeps his 268-152 and 2.86 ERA intact, which he accomplished during a 19-year career on the mound.

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2001 Richard Hidalgo signs the third-richest contract in Astro history with a four-year $32-million deal with the club. The outfielder's pact is less than teammates Jeff Bagwell's $85 million (5 years) and Craig Biggio's $33 million (4 years).

2003 This week's second exhibition season bench-clearing brawl occurs when a raging Mike Piazza charges the mound after being hit by a pitch thrown by Guillermo Mota, who makes it to the dugout without being caught. The incident may be a follow-up to a similar event last spring when a shoving match between the two players resulted when the Mets' All-Star catcher waited for Mota and grabbed the Dodger reliever's jersey coming off the field in the eighth inning of the game.

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2006 Over 15,000 Twins fans attend a memorial service at the Metrodome to pay their final respects to Kirby Puckett, who died unexpectedly, at 45, after suffering a stroke last week. During the emotional ceremony, former teammates and fellow Hall of Famer Cal Ripken lighten the mood by sharing humorous anecdotes about the beloved Minnesota outfielder with the crowd.

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2008 The benches clear in a rare spring training brawl when Shelley Duncan slides into second base, with his spikes aimed at Rays infielder Akinori Iwamura after being thrown out by a wide margin. Tampa Bay's aggressive play four days ago, which resulted in a home-plate collision that injured Yankee catcher Francisco Cervelli, may have precipitated the incident.

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2010 In the opener of a scheduled three-game exhibition series in Taiwan, the Dodgers are defeated by an All-Star squad from the Chinese Professional League (CPBL) at Taipei's Tienmu Baseball Stadium, 5-3. The road trip is the team's second journey to the Chinese island, having finished with one win and two losses during a trio of spring training games in 1993.

2015 Will Ferrell, hoping to raise awareness of organizations trying to cure cancer, plays nine positions while appearing for ten teams in five Cactus League exhibition games. The comedian's effort in Arizona, detailed in an upcoming HBO documentary, is severely criticized by former NFL coach and broadcasting legend John Madden, who calls the stunt disrespectful and insulting to the game of baseball.

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Atlanta #Braves legend Dale Murphy hammers a HR vs. Detroit #Tigers pitcher Willie Hernández in the 1984 All-Star Game at Candlestick Park! ~ Happy 68th Birthday Dale Murphy!​

 

New York #Mets slugger Darryl Strawberry hits a towering HR in Game 7 of the 1986 World Series vs. the Boston Red Sox at Shea Stadium! Happy 62nd Birthday Darryl Strawberry!

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Today In 1951: Brooklyn #Dodgers star catcher Roy Campanella strikes a pose with his sons David and Roy Jr. during spring training camp in Florida!
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