BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

MARCH 24 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1893 George Sisler HOF first baseman (AL MVP 1922; AL batting champion 1920, 22 St. Louis Browns) and manager (St. Louis Browns 1924–26)


1942 Jesús Alou outfielder, 1963-79 (World Series 1973, 74 Oakland A's; Houston Astros, and 2 other teams


1972 Steve Karsay


1982 Corey Hart


1982 Dustin McGowan


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This Day in Baseball History
March 24th​

1933 Babe Ruth, who made $75,000 last season, takes a $23,000 pay cut, a decrease indicative of the depression era. The 38-year-old Yankee slugger remains productive, batting .301, hitting 34 home runs, and driving in 103 runs for the second-place club that finishes seven games behind the Senators.

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936 Paul Dean agrees to a $10,000 deal to pitch for the Cardinals after posting a 19-11 record in his sophomore year. After compiling 38 victories in his first two seasons, Dizzy's 23-year-old right-handed brother will have his career shortened by arm troubles, retiring after a nine-year tenure in the major leagues with a 50-34 mark.

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1946 In Birmingham, Alabama, police pull 27-year-old southpaw Edward Klep from the Cleveland Buckeyes lineup, a visiting Negro American League team. The authorities order the first white player in organized black baseball to change into his civilian clothes and sit in the "whites only" section of Rickwood Field away from his teammates.

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1947 During a four-hour hearing with Commissioner Chandler at the Sarasota Terrace Hotel, Dodger manager Leo Durocher admits to playing occasional card games for money with Kirby Higbe. Before Opening Day, Chandler will suspend the Brooklyn skipper for the 1947 season for "association with known gamblers."

Durocher and Boston Brave manager Billy Southworth
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1952 During spring training at St. Petersburg, Cardinals pitcher Bob Slaybaugh is hit in the face with a line drive during batting practice, resulting in the loss of his left eye. The 21-year-old southpaw will attempt a comeback in 1953 and 1954 before retiring from professional baseball.

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1959 A photo of Pete Whisenant taken before an exhibition game played against the Dodgers in Havana, Cuba, shows the Reds outfielder toting a machine gun. The weapon shown in the posed picture belongs to a rebel from Fidel Castro's revolutionary army.

1961 The NY State Senate approves $55 million in funding to build a new stadium in Flushing Meadows Park for the new National League's expansion team. Until the Queens' ballpark is completed, which will become known as Shea Stadium, the Mets will play in the Polo Grounds during the first two years of their existence.

1982 When Fernando Valenzuela ends his three-week holdout, the Dodgers automatically renew the southpaw's contract for a reported $350,000. The National League Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year Award recipient, after earning just $42,500 in his freshman season, still refuses to sign the deal that makes him the highest-paid second-year player in baseball history, having asked for a raise to $850,000.

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1984 The Tigers trade utility player John Wockenfuss and outfielder Glenn Wilson to the Phillies for first baseman Dave Bergman and relief pitcher Willie Hernandez, who will win the American League's MVP and Cy Young awards. The 29-year-old closer from Aguada (PR) posts a 9-3 record and a 1.92 ERA en route to saving 32 games in 33 opportunities for the World Champs.

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2001 During an exhibition game against the Giants, Diamondback hurler Randy Johnson's fastball hits and instantly kills a dove flying in front of home plate. The bird appears to explode as the National League Cy Young winner's pitch sends it over catcher Rod Barajas' head.

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2006 At Mickey Mantle's Manhattan restaurant, the U.S. Postal Service unveils the Baseball Sluggers postage stamps, to be issued before the game against the White Sox at Yankee Stadium on July 15. The four featured Hall of Famers all have roots in New York, with Mickey Mantle (Yankees), Mel Ott (Giants), and Roy Campanella (Dodgers) playing their entire careers in the Big Apple, and the fourth, Hank Greenberg, setting schoolboy records at James Monroe High School in the Bronx.

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2008 The Twins agree to a new deal with their All-Star closer, signing Joe Nathan (1.88, 37 saves) to a $47 million, four-year contract, including a 2012 club option. The 33-year-old right-hander's 160 saves over the past four seasons is tied with Mariano Rivera of the Yankees for most in the American League.

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2008 On the South Lawn of the White House, the Washington Nationals Presidential character mascots take part in the traditional White House Easter Egg Roll. Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington appeared very comfortable in their surroundings.

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"When you started your baseball career, did you ever dream you'd be wearing the uniform of four different New York teams?" ~ Lindsey Nelson chats with Casey Stengel at the first New York #Mets spring training! (1962)
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Barry Bonds
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Weaver & Powell​

 

Boston Red Sox slugger Jimmie Foxx with New York Yankees Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, and Bill Dickey in the Fenway dugout (1937)
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1939 New York Yankees Lou Gehrig (HOF), Joe DiMaggio (HOF), Tommy Henrich, Bill Dickey (HOF), and Joe Gordon (HOF)
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MARCH 25 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1909 Dutch Leonard pitcher (MLB All Star 1940, 43, 44, 45, 51; Brooklyn Dodgers, Washington Senators, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs)


1955 Lee Mazzilli utility (MLB All Star 1979, NY Mets; World Series 1986, Pittsburgh Pirates), manager (Baltimore Orioles) and coach (World Series 2000, NY Yankees


1966 Tom Glavine 1966 l HOF pitcher (NL Cy Young Award 1991, 98; World Series MVP 1995; 10 x MLB All Star; Atlanta Braves, NY Mets)


1969 Dan Wilson catcher, 1992-2005 (Seattle Mariners: Cincinnati Reds)

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This Day in Baseball History
March 25th​

1910 Hugh Chalmers, the president of the Chalmers Motor Car Company of Detroit, announces his Model 30, one of the most luxurious autos of its day, will be awarded to the player with the highest batting average this season. Nap Lajoie goes 8-for-9, beating out seven bunts, when Browns' Red Corriden purposely plays deep at third base, raising the Indian infielder's final average to .384 to surpass Ty Cobb for the controversial batting title.

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1914 Babe Ruth makes the first start of his professional career, defeating the world champion Philadelphia A’s, 6-2, in an exhibition game played in Wilmington (NC). The 19-year-old left-hander tosses a complete game for the International League's Baltimore Orioles, allowing 13 hits and four walks in the Port City’s newly constructed Sunset Park.

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1934 For the third time in six days, track and field Olympian medalist (javelin, hurdles, high jump) Babe Didrikson takes the mound to face a major leaguer team. The Orleans Pelicans' hurler pitches two scoreless innings against the Indians, lining out in her only at-bat.

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Earlier in the week, Babe Didrikson pitched for the A's against the Dodgers and the Cardinals with the Red Sox as her opponents.-LP)

1935 The Cubs sell 32-year-old right-hander Pat Malone to the Yankees. The former 20-game winner (1929, 1930) will go 12-4 in 1936 but will post only a 19-13 record in his three-year tenure with the Bronx Bombers.

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1945 Tryouts are granted to pitcher Terris McDuffie and first baseman Dave Thomas when a group of blacks appears at the Dodger offices in Brooklyn. The two players will work out at Ebbets Field in front of Branch Rickey on April 7.

McDuffie and Thomas

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1959 Infielder Bill White and third baseman Ray Jablonski are traded to the Cardinals by the Giants in exchange for pitching prospect Don Choate and right-hander Sam Jones. Although southpaw 'Toothpick Sam' will have three solid seasons in San Francisco, including a 20-win season, the Redbirds' new first baseman will become a perennial All-Star and Gold Glover during his eight-year tenure in St. Louis.
Sam & Bill

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1962 The Cubs, who haven't had a manager since 1960, tap Elvin Tappe to be the team's first head coach of the campaign after he posted a 42–54 record last year, the best by far of the four who led the club as members of Chicago's college of coaches. When he gets off to a 4–16 start as the skipper, the 35-year-old veteran returns to the bench, playing 26 games as a backup catcher for the ninth-place team.

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1963 The Reds sell journeyman pitcher Johnny Klippstein to the Phillies. After going 7-7 over two seasons with Philadelphia, the 37-year-old box salesman will help the Twins win the pennant in 1965, posting a 9-3 record.

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1981 The Phillies trade Bob Walk to the Braves for outfielder Gary Matthews. The team's new center fielder provides outstanding defense and has three solid seasons at the plate for Philadelphia, with Atlanta's new right-hander compiling a 12-13 record with a 4.85 ERA during his three-year tenure with the club.

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1985 The news is terrible for the Cubs when Circuit Court Judge Richard L. Curry rules that the existing laws banning night games are constitutional. The Chicago's west-side club brought suit after giving up a home playoff game last season due to Wrigley's lack of lights.
Chicago Tribune: No Lights at Wrigley Field, Judge Rules

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1989 The Pirates and Indians swap shortstops with Jay Bell going to the Steel City and Felix Fermin joining the Tribe. Pittsburgh's new slick infielder will serve as the team's starting shortstop for the next eight seasons, winning a Gold Glove in 1993.

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1997 The Indians send Kenny Lofton (.317, 14, 67) and Alan Embree (3-1, 2.79) to the Braves for Marquis Grissom (.262, 10, 57) and David Justice (.337, 30, 88). The deal saves Atlanta $5.8 million in salaries and helps the team sign hurlers Greg Maddux ($57.5 million, five-year) and Tom Glavine ($34 million, four-year).

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2006 Acknowledging he may never play again, Jeff Bagwell announces he will start the season on the disabled list and seek consultation to determine if removing bone spurs from his shoulder would help prolong his career. The 37-year-old first baseman must stay on the injured list all season for the Astros to collect $15.6 million of the $17 million guaranteed contract from an insurance claim filed in January.

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2008 At the corner of Carnegie and Ontario Avenues, Cleveland’s Brilliant Electric Sign Co. installs the brand new Progressive Field sign on the ballpark formerly known as Jacob Field since 1994. Progressive, a major insurance corporation headquartered in nearby Mayfield, agreed to pay the team $57.6 million for the naming rights for 16 years.

2008 In Japan's Tokyo Dome, the Red Sox beat the A's, 6-5, in the earliest major league opener ever played. Manny Ramirez's tenth-inning double gives Hideki Okajima the victory, who used to pitch in this stadium for the hometown Yomiuri Giants.

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2008 Miguel Cabrera (.320, 34, 119), acquired by the Tigers in a trade at the winter meetings with the Marlins, agrees to a $152.3 million, eight-year deal to play with the team. The All-Star third baseman, who had previously agreed to an $11.3 million, one-year contract in January, will compile a .326 batting average and hit 270 home runs during the span of the deal.

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Al Hrabosky. Braves
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