BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

Happy 94th Birthday Vern Law! ~ The 1960 Cy Young Award winning pitcher for the World Champion Pittsburgh #Pirates was born in Meridian, Idaho on this day in 1930
​

 

​

 

MARCH 13 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
**************************************
1886 John 'Home Run' Baker HOF third baseman (World Series 1910, 11, 13; AL HR leader 1911–14; AL RBI leader 1912, 13; Philadelphia A's)


1925 Bertha Tickey softball pitcher 162 No Hitters (Hall of Fame 1973)


1930 Doug Harvey HOF umpire (NL 1962-92; 5 x World Series; 7 x MLB All-Star games; career total 4,673 games)


1957 Steve Lake

1963 Mariano Duncan, infielder (NY Yankees)

1964 Will Clark first baseman (San Francisco Giants)


1979 Johan Santana pitcher (4 × MLB All-Star; AL Cy Young 2004, 06; Triple Crown 2006; Gold Glove 2007; no-hitter 2012; Minnesota Twins, NY Mets)

***************************************

 

This Day in Baseball History
March 13th​

1915 "Help me, Lads, I'm covered with my own blood!" - WILBERT ROBINSON, reacting to the fluid dripping down from his chest before quickly realizing it's only grapefruit juice.
Dodger manager Wilbert Robinson, thinking he will catch a baseball dropped from a plane, is surprised and splattered when the sphere turns out to be a grapefruit. Although legend has it that Casey Stengel is behind the prank, the pilot, Ruth Law, a pioneer in American aviation, substituted part of her lunch when she realized she forgot to bring a baseball.

​

1944 It's True, Cy Young's middle name is not Tecumseh, as sometimes listed, but the initial T stands for True. The Hall of Fame right-hander's middle name mixup may result from his teammates calling him 'The Chief,' the English word for Tecumseh.

​

1953 On the day that will become known as 'Black Friday' in Boston, Lou Perini announces he will seek permission from the National League to move his franchise to Milwaukee, home of the team's top minor-league affiliate. The Braves owner cites low attendance as the reason for relocating the club after being in the New England city for 82 years.

​

1954 During an exhibition game against the Yankees, recently acquired Brave Bobby Thomson breaks his ankle in three places, sidelining him until July 14. The '51 National League playoff hero is replaced in the Braves' lineup by a promising prospect named Hank Aaron.

​

 

1960 Much to the chagrin of other owners and most of his players, Bill Veeck's White Sox becomes the first team to put the players' names on the back of the jersey, unveiling the new look on their road uniforms in an exhibition game against Cincinnati in Tampa. After the rest of the league's clubs protest the Chicago owner's innovation, the commissioner's office will rule that in addition to displaying traditional numbers, each team will have the option to use monikered uniforms.

​

Veeck’s thinking was to make the players more identifiable not only to visiting crowds, but to television viewers.
In spring training, garrulous second-sacker Fox was displeased with the innovation: “We look like semi-pros.” Other players felt exposed by the innovation, suggesting that Veeck simply print their home addresses or phone numbers on their uniforms as well.

1979 The Tigers and Mets swap relievers, with Detroit sending Ed Glynn to the Big Apple in exchange for Mardie Cornejo, who, after posting a 4-2 record as a rookie last season, will never play in another major league game. The latest addition to the New York bullpen will make 84 appearances, compiling an ERA of 3.53 during the two years with his new club.

​

1986 Designated hitter Hal McRae, 39, and Brian, his 18-year-old second baseman son, play in a Royals preseason game against the Phillies at Terry Field to become the first father and son combination to appear as major league teammates. Kansas City manager Dick Howser refers to the pair as a 'Big Mac Attack.'

​

1987 The Phillies sign Tiger free-agent catcher Lance Parrish to a one-year deal worth $800,000, plus another $200,000 if the 31-year-year-old does not have any problems with his chronic back. The former six-time All-Star backstop, a winner of five Silver Slugger Awards and three Gold Glove Awards playing for the Tigers, proves to be a bust in Philadelphia, batting .230 in his two seasons in the City of Brotherly Love.

 

1997 In their first-ever minor league spring training game, the Rays defeated Philadelphia, 6-0. John Kaufman, Tom Bergan, Matt Williams, and Jamie Ybarra combine to throw a no-hitter in the exhibition contest against the major league team.

​

2001 Rick Ankiel makes his first appearance since last year's playoffs, throwing 22 strikes out of 29 pitches while tossing two innings of shutout ball in his surprise start against the Mets at Roger Dean Stadium. The 21-year-old southpaw starter lost his control at the end of last season, throwing nine wild pitches in three postseason appearances last year.

​

2006 Three pitches into the top of the seventh inning, the stadium lights at Tradition Field partially fail. With fifty percent of the lighting not functioning, the exhibition game ends, after a 15-minute delay, with the Mets leading the Nationals, 10-4.

2008 Joining the ranks of Garth Brooks and Tom Selleck as celebrities who have appeared in a spring exhibition game, Billy Crystal strikes out in the first inning as the Yankees' leadoff batter. The comedian, who signed a one-day contract with the Bronx Bombers, wears the number sixty in honor of his 60th birthday tomorrow.

​

 

2008 The pitching-poor Cardinals bolster their rotation by agreeing to a preliminary one-year deal with Kyle Lohse (9-12, 4.62). The 29-year-old right-hander, who pitched for the Reds and Phillies last season, will make $4.25 million hurling for the Redbirds.

​

2009 "Through good times and bad, I never doubted the support that all of you had for my teammates and me...I hope to see you in October." - PAT BURRELL, former Phillies outfielder thanking the Philadelphia fans.
Pat Burrell takes out ads in two of Philadelphia's largest newspapers, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, to thank Phillies fans for their support during his nine years with the team. The 32-year-old slugging 'Pat the Bat' signed a free-agent deal in the off-season with the Rays, the club the Phils beat in last season's World Series.

​

***************************************************************
176,158

 

​

 

​

 

​

 

Jackie Robinson congratulating Willie Mays after the Giants won the pennant in 1954
​

 

Straw
​

 

Richard Nixon, Earl Weaver, Johnny Bench, and Gil Hodges

​

 

MARCH 14 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
**************************************
Kirby Puckett (1960-2006) HOF centerfielder (10 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1987, 91; ALCS MVP 1991; 6 × Gold Glove Award; Minnesota Twins)


1965 Kevin Brown pitcher (Florida Marlins)


1981 Bobby Jenks MLB Pitcher Sox

***************************************

 

This Day in Baseball History
March 14th​

1954 Hank Aaron, filling in for Bobby Thomson, who broke his ankle yesterday, starts his first game wearing a Braves uniform. The 20-year-old from Mobile (AL) makes such an impression the club offers him a major league contract after he collects three hits, including a home run, in the spring training game against the Red Sox.

​

1961 The Mets lure former Yankee general manager George Weiss out of retirement to become the club's first president, reportedly offering the four-time The Sporting News Executive of the Year a five-year deal at $100,000 annually. During the 67-year-old New Haven native's five years in the post, the expansion team will compile a record of 260–547 (.322), finishing last four times.

1993 The Reds announce the prohibition of team president Marge Schott's Saint Bernard from accessing the Riverfront Stadium field for the season. The mandate to ban Schottzie 02 comes from the MLB's Executive Council, which has received numerous complaints from the players about dogs running on the field.

1995 The players' union makes it clear if the owners use replacement players during regular-season games and the results count, the strike will continue. The NLRB also announces the charging of MLB owners with two counts of unfair labor practices.

 

2003 Cablevision, maintaining its "long-standing philosophy," of allowing customers to choose to receive paid programming, agrees to a one-year interim deal to offer YES Network to New York Yankees fans for a fee, ending a bitter and costly yearlong feud. The arrangement makes YES a premium channel instead of a basic cable channel, dropping the new network's previous mandate to make every subscriber pay for it regardless of the viewer's choice.

2003 Baseball suspends Montreal outfielder Vladimir Guerrero for three regular-season games and Marlin starter Brad Penny for five after igniting an exhibition game bench-clearing brawl earlier in the week. After being hit in the chest, the Expo All-Star, with a bat in his left hand, swings his right fist around Florida catcher Matt Treanor, trying to restrain him, missing the starting pitcher, who retaliated with a punch that also missed its mark.

​

2003 "Must be in the front row!"- BOB UECKER, a quip from beer commercials that have become a famous cry in ballparks nationwide.
Bob Uecker, the Brewers' TV/radio play-by-play announcer, is chosen for induction into the broadcasters' wing of the Hall of Fame as the Ford C. Frick Award recipient. The 68-year-old former backup catcher, a member of Milwaukee's broadcast crew since 1971, is best known for the humor he has brought to the game through his starring role in the cult movie Major League and the Miller Lite beer commercials.

​

2003 Dependent on passing a physical, free agent Kenny Lofton agrees to a one-year pact to play with the Pirates this season. The 35-year-old leadoff man would likely start in center, moving Brian Giles to left with left fielder Reggie Sanders going to right field.

​

 

2006 Avoiding a trial scheduled to begin on Opening Day, Major League Baseball settles a lawsuit with an Atlanta-based company claiming it owned the trademark rights to Washington Nationals. MLB sued Bygone Sports LLC, asking the court to declare that the trademark for the name Nationals does not belong to the company because its sole purpose in filing the September 2002 trademark application was to capitalize on the renaming of the team that recently shifted from Montreal to Washington.

2006 Terry Francona agrees to a two-year contract extension keeping the skipper at the helm through 2008. The Red Sox manager replaced Grady Little in December 2003 and promptly brought Boston to its first World Championship in 86 years.

​

2006 Washington, D.C. officials unveil the design for the Nationals' new home, scheduled to be opened in 2008. The glass-and-steel 41,000-seat ballpark will feature pale stone chosen to complement the nation's capital's familiar skyline.

2008 The Padres' new left-hander starter, Randy Wolf, struggles in a 6-2 spring training exhibition loss to the Brewers in Peoria, Arizona. The pitcher's brother, Jim, isn't much help as the home plate umpire, an occurrence not allowed during a regular-season game and marking the only time it has ever happened, when the San Diego hurler gives up three runs in four innings.

​

*******************************************
176,563

 

​

 

Vinny Castilla in 1996 and 1997 1996: .304 average, 40 home runs, 113 RBIs, 4 sac flies 1997: .304 average, 40 home runs, 113 RBIs, 4 sac flies
​