BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

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12/27/24
BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS

1896 Arch Ward sportswriter (Chicago Tribune - proposed baseball's all-star game)


1952 Craig Reynolds shortstop MLB All Star 1978, 79; Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros


1968 Dean Palmer, infielder (Texas Rangers)


1983 Cole Hamels pitcher (MLB All-Star 2007, 11, 12, 16; World Series MVP & NLCS MVP 2008 Philadelphia Phillies; pitched no-hitter 2015 Texas Rangers


1988 Rick Porcello pitcher (World Series 2018, AL Cy Young Award & MLB wins leader 2016 Boston Red Sox)

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Today in Baseball History​

1874 A Havanan team plays Matanzas in Cuba's first documented baseball game. The contest, played at Palmar de Junco, ends with Havana leading, 51-9, with the game called after seven innings due to darkness.

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1941 Levi Walker, the third person to play Chief Noc-A-Homa, a role he will perform from 1969 through 1985, was born into the Chippewa-Ottawa Tribe. Dressed in Native American costume, the Georgia native will come out of his tepee in the bleachers, setting off smoke signals and doing a celebration dance whenever a Braves player homers at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

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1943 Future Yankee infielder Roy White, a two-time All-Star, is born in Los Angeles. The switch-hitting left fielder will play 15 years with New York, helping the team win two World Series (1977-78) against his hometown while compiling a lifetime .271 batting average for the Bronx Bombers.

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1967 Former Yankee reliever Johnny Murphy becomes the Mets' third general manager in franchise history when he replaces Bing Devine. During his tenure, the team will benefit from a talented farm system, especially its young pitching prospects, including Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Nolan Ryan, and Gary Gentry, who will play a major role in the club's World Championship in 1969.

Johnny Murphy and Irving "Bump" Hadley at Fenway​

1984 Ed Whitson, 14-8 with the NL champion Padres, signs a five-year $4.4 million ill-fated contract with the Yankees. The free-agent deal becomes a nightmare when the right-hander lasts only a season and a half, compiling a 15-10 record and an ERA of 5.38 in 44 games with the Bronx Bombers.

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2001 After 21 years on WABC, the Yankees will broadcast its spring training, regular-season, and postseason games on all-news station WCBS-AM, which Infinity Broadcasting owns. The five-year deal with the Yankees' YES Network, created earlier this year, is worth approximately $50 million.

2001 The Mets stay busy this offseason, acquiring first baseman Mo Vaughn for 13-year veteran right-hander Kevin Appier (11-10, 3.57) and cash. The 1995 American League MVP will join Roberto Alomar, Roger Cedeno, and Shawn Estes as the Shea Squad's newest members.

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2003 In his hometown of Loza, Puerto Rico, a gunman kills former major league All-Star outfielder Ivan Calderon at a bar reportedly known where several other murders have occurred in the past year. During his ten-year major league career, the 41-year-old played with the Mariners (1984-86), White Sox (1986-1990, 1993), Expos (1991-92), and Red Sox (1993).

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2004 After the Cubs decline Moises Alou's (.293, 39, 106) option, the Giants ink the free-agent outfielder to a one-year contract reportedly worth $13.25 million, with an opportunity for a second year for the career .300 hitter. The signing marks the 38-year-old All-Star's second time he will call his dad skipper, with Felipe managing him while he played with the Expos from 1992-96.

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2007 Hoping he will continue to be a hot hitter at Kauffman Stadium (.415), the Royals sign free-agent Miguel Olivo (.237, 16, 60) to a one-year deal with a mutual option for the following season. The Marlins did not tender a contract to the 29-year-old backstop, the team's starting catcher for the past two seasons, after acquiring catching prospect Mike Rabelo in the blockbuster trade with the Tigers during the Winter Meetings.

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2008 Adding speed at the top of their order and a superior glove in centerfield, the Reds sign Willy Taveras (.251, 1, 26) to a two-year contract. The 27-year-old speedster, who led the major leagues with 68 stolen bases last season, became a free agent earlier in the month when the Rockies declined to offer him a contract after the oft-injured outfielder spent two seasons with the team.

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2013 The Rangers come to terms on a seven-year, $130 million deal with free agent Shin-Soo Choo, who will join the recently acquired power-hitting first baseman Prince Fielder to provide the club with more offense. The 31-year-old outfielder, who compiled a .423 on-base percentage, hit .285 with 21 home runs and drove in 54 runs for the Reds last season.

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2020 In a seven-player trade, the Cubs deal 34-year-old Yu Darvish and his personal catcher Victor Caratini to the Padres for right-handed starter Zach Davies and four minor league prospects: Reginald Preciado, Yeison Santana, Owen Caissie, and Ismael Mena. San Diego's addition of Darvish, last season's NL Cy Young runner-up, comes less than a day after the team obtained southpaw Blake Snell, another top-of-the-rotation hurler from the Rays.
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