The following are the events that happened world-wide throughout the sport of baseball.
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1800s[]
- 1890 - Brooklyn is selected by the American Association as a new franchise. Syracuse, Rochester, and Toledo were selected earlier. However, the Brooklyn team will be transferred to Baltimore before the end of the season.
- 1892 - Slide, Kelly, Slide, composed by George Gaskin, makes the popular music charts, the first baseball song to do so.
- 1894 - Boston Beaneaters catcher Charlie Bennett loses both legs in a horrific train accident. In 1900, the Detroit Wolverines, Bennett's first team, will name its ballpark Bennett Park in his honor.
- Cap Anson is quoted in the New York Clipper as saying that "I don't care if they can't field a little bit. In my experience I have found that a man can be taught to almost stop cannon balls, but it is a very difficult task to teach them to line 'em out."
1900s-1910s[]
- 1903 - The defunct Baltimore franchise is purchased by Frank Farrell and Bill Devery for $18,000 and moved to Manhattan where they will become the New York Highlanders, which marked the genesis of the Yankees.
- 1908 - The Detroit Tigers name Frank Navin president of the team. The Tigers’ home ballpark, Bennett Field, will be renamed Navin Field, which will later become Tiger Stadium.
- 1915 - The National Commission declares University of Michigan senior George Sisler a free agent after a two-year fight. Pittsburgh Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss claimed rights to Sisler, who had signed a contract as a minor leaguer but never played pro ball. After graduating, Sisler will sign with the St. Louis Browns, managed by his former college coach, Branch Rickey.
- 1918 - The Brooklyn Dodgers sends outfielder Casey Stengel and infielder George Cutshaw to the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitchers Burleigh Grimes and Al Mamaux, and infielder Chuck Ward.
1920s-1950s[]
- 1927 - In a three-way deal, pitcher Burleigh Grimes goes from the Brooklyn Dodgers to the New York Giants, catcher Butch Henline goes from the Philadelphia Phillies to Brooklyn, and Giants second baseman Fresco Thompson and pitcher Jack Scott wind up with the Phillies.
- 1928 - The Giants sign Chinese-Hawaiian infielder William "Buck" Lai, to a major league contract. Lai had been signed by the Pirates in 1918 but never appeared in a game, and since then has played in the minors and for the semipro Brooklyn Bushwicks. Alas, he'll be on the Giants for a month but never appear in a game (as noted by Bob Timmerman).
- 1952 - the U.S. Marines announce they will recall Boston Red Sox’ star Ted Williams into active duty to serve in the Korean War. Williams will play briefly during the 1952 season but will not return to the Red Sox lineup on a full-time basis until late in 1953. As a pilot in Korea, Williams will fly 39 missions and will survive a crash-landing brought about by enemy fire.
1960s-1970s[]
- 1961:
- Leo Durocher joins the Los Angeles Dodgers as third base coach. Previously, Durocher managed the Dodgers in Brooklyn and the Giants in New York.
- The new American League Minnesota Twins and the American Association finally agree on a $500,000 indemnity payment to minor league baseball for the Minneapolis/St. Paul territory, ending two months of negotiation.
- 1971 - Hall of Fame outfielder Elmer Flick dies at the age of 94. Flick batted over .300 eight times and won a batting title in 1905. During a 13-year career, Flick stole 330 bases.
- 1974 - Picking first in the January amateur draft, the Texas Rangers select shortstop Roy Smalley, Jr., son of 10-year ML veteran SS Roy Smalley and nephew of manager Gene Mauch. Smalley, who dropped out of University of Southern California in the fall to make himself eligible, will sign for $100,000.
- 1976 - Charles Ruppert, Giants vice president and son-in-law of Horace Stoneham, announces the sale of the team to a Toronto group for $13.3 million. Outrage by the fans prompts San Francisco mayor George Moscone to get a preliminary injunction preventing the move.
- 1979 - In the January draft, secondary phase, the Phillies take pitcher Mark Davis with the top pick.
1980s[]
- 1980 - Al Kaline and Duke Snider are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Kaline is the 10th player to be elected in his first year of eligibility, while Snider is making his 11th appearance on the ballot.
- 1982 - Former Boston Red Sox OF Tony Conigliaro, in Boston to interview for a broadcasting position, suffers a massive heart attack while riding in a car with his brother, Billy. The 37-year-old Conigliaro, nicknamed “Tony C,” falls into a coma and will remain hospitalized until early March.
- 1989 - First baseman Bill Terry dies at the age of 92. Terry batted .341 over a 14-year tenure with the New York Giants, including a career-high .401 in 1930. Terry also served as the Giants’ manager for 10 seasons, leading the team to three consecutive pennants. He gained election to the Hall of Fame in 1954.
- 1989 - Johnny Bench and Carl Yastrzemski are elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA in their first year of eligibility. Bench and Yastrzemski, who faced each other in the classic 1975 World Series, each spent their entire careers (40 years combined) with one club (Cincinnati and Boston, respectively). Bench set new standards for catchers both offensively (348 home runs) and defensively (10 straight Gold Gloves). Yastrzemski hit 452 home runs, collected 3,308 hits, and won the 1967 Triple Crown. Bench is named on 96.4% of the ballots, making Ty Cobb and Hank Aaron the only players to receive a higher percentage.
1990s[]
- 1990:
- Pitcher Jim Palmer, a three-time American League Cy Young Award winner, and second baseman Joe Morgan, a two-time National League MVP, are elected to the Hall of Fame in their first years of eligibility.
- A spring training lockout of major league players will begin February 15 unless there is a new agreement according an announcement made by the owners. The work stoppage will last 32-days
- 1991 - Former Padres and Orioles infielder Alan Wiggins dies in a Los Angeles hospital at age 32, reportedly from complications due to AIDS.
- 1994 - Former All-Star pitcher Harvey Haddix dies at the age of 68 from emphysema. Haddix, who won 136 games over a 14-year career, was best known for pitching 12 perfect innings against the Milwaukee Braves in a game in 1959, only to lose in the 13th inning.
- 1996 - Free agent IF Mike Gallego is signed by the Cardinals. In other transactions, Atlanta trade OF Mike Kelly to Cincinnati for minor league P Chad Fox, and Oakland send P Todd Stottlemyre to the Cardinals in exchange for P Jay Witasick and three prospects.
- 1997 - Free agent OF Mark Whiten is signed by the New York Yankees.
2000s[]
- 2001:
- The Montréal Expos agree to a one-year contract to telecast 55 games this season – 46 on Réseau des sports, 12 on The Sports Network, and three on both. The approximately $2 million pact with French-language RDS ends the year-long local television blackout which resulted in the departure of Dave van Horne, a respected play-by-play announcer, and the loss of the team's main sponsor, Labatt Brewery, which cited the lack of local TV rights as a factor in ending its 15-year relationship with the club.
- Free agents signings include outfielder Juan González by the Cleveland Indians, and catcher Kelly Stinnett and infielder Wilton Guerrero by the Cincinnati Reds.
- The Chicago White Sox announce that pitcher Bill Simas will miss the entire 2001 season following ligament replacement surgery on his elbow last month.
- 2002:
- Signing a $27 million deal with the Houston Astros, Billy Wagner becomes one of MLB highest-paid relief pitchers. Wagner will get $8 million in each of the next three seasons with a $9 million club option for 2005 with a $3 million buyout.
- Post-season spark plug Craig Counsell signs a three-year, $7.25 million deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Cut by the Dodgers in 2000, the NLCS MVP played the infield in 141 games for the 2002 World Series champion Diamondbacks.
- Congressman John Conyers, Jr. of Michigan says Bud Selig should resign because he appeared to violate major league rules in a 1995 loan from a company controlled by the owner of the Minnesota Twins. Conyers, The House Judiciary Committee's ranking Democrat says the loan created an "irreparable conflict of interest" for Selig in his plan to fold two franchises, a proposal that most likely would include the Twins." Selig rejects the suggestion saying, "The suggestions made in your letter are wholly unacceptable."
- 2005 - Center fielder Carlos Beltrán becomes the tenth $100 million player in major league history as the 27-year old native of Puerto Rico agrees to seven-year deal for $119 million with the New York Mets. The five-tool player, who had his market value increase in the post season by helping the Houston Astros come within a win of their first World Series appearance in franchise history, goes to New York after Houston refuses to include a no-trade clause in their very attractive monetary offer to keep him on the club.
- 2006:
- Outfielder Bobby Kielty agreed to a $1.85 million, one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics, avoiding salary arbitration.
- Free agent outfielder Michael Tucker agreed to a one-year contract with the Washington Nationals, who also gave a $2.2 million, two-year contract with reliever Luis Ayala.
- Shortstop Rafael Furcal, who signed a $39 million, three-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers last month, will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
- Outfielder Corey Patterson, once projected as the Chicago Cubs star of the future, was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for a pair of minor leaguers.
Births[]
- 1936 - Julio Navarro, pitcher
- 1936 - Ralph Terry, All-Star pitcher
- 1953 - Ivan DeJesus, infielder
- 1959 - Otis Nixon,outfielder
- 1964 - Stan Javier, outfielder
- 1970 - T.J. Mathews, pitcher
- 1972 - Jay Powell, pitcher
- 1975 - Kiko Calero, pitcher
Deaths[]
- 1970 - Ray Collins, pitcher (b. 1887)
- 1971 - Elmer Flick, Hall of Fame outfielder (b. 1876)
- 1973 - Lyn Lary, infielder (b. 1906)
- 1975 - Walter Cruise, outfielder (b. 1890)
- 1983 - Stan Spence, All-Star outfielder (b. 1915)
- 1989 - Bill Terry, Hall of Fame infielder (b. 1896)
- 1990 - Spud Chandler, All-Star pitcher (b. 1907)
- 1994 - Johnny Temple, All-Star infielder (b. 1927)
- 2003 - Don Landrum, outfielder (b. 1936)