The following are the events that happened world-wide throughout the sport of baseball.
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1800s[]
- 1884 - Pitcher Tony Mullane violates an oral agreement to sign with the St. Louis Browns by signing a $5,000 contract with the Cincinnati Red Stockings. The American Association suspends Mullane for the 1885 season and fines him $1,000, but allows him to remain with Cincinnati. Over the next eight years Mullane will win 163 games with the Reds on his way to a career total of 285 victories.
- 1887 - The Washington Statesmen sells veteran outfielder Paul Hines to the Indianapolis Hoosiers for $5,000.
- 1889 - After a formal meeting of reps from all NL chapters, the Brotherhood issues a "Manifesto" in which it claims that "players have been bought, sold and exchanged as though they were sheep instead of American citizens." This bold statement constitutes a declaration of war between the Brotherhood and major league officials which will soon explode.
- 1891 - Charlie Comiskey, having had enough of St. Louis Browns owner Chris Von der Ahe, signs as the manager and team captain of the NL Cincinnati Reds.
- 1899 - Representatives of seven cities meet in New York regarding the proposed new American Association. Attention focuses on what other city might become the eighth franchise.
1900s-1950s[]
- 1912 - Miller Huggins is named manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, beginning his 17-year career as a skipper.
- 1935 - Cal Hubbard, pro football tackle with the Green Bay Packers, joins the AL umpiring staff.
- 1948 - Former Senators and Yankees outfielder Jake Powell shoots and kills himself in a Washington, D.C. police station.
- 1953 - Eddie Joost succeeds Jimmy Dykes as the manager of the Philadelphia Athletics.
- 1957 - With a new balk rule, the batter now has an option after the call is made. If a player gets a hit, he can accept the outcome of the pitch, instead of being only limited to the advance of the base runner(s).
- 1959 - Ernie Banks wins his second NL MVP Award in a row on the strength of his 45 home runs and 143 RBI for the Chicago Cubs. Eddie Mathews finishes second.
1960-1970s[]
- 1963 - The St. Louis Cardinals acquire pitcher Roger Craig from the Mets for outfielder George Altman and P Bill Wakefield. Craig was the NL's top loser the past two seasons with the lowly Mets, dropping 24 and 22 games.
- 1965 - Al Lopez resigns as manager of the Chicago White Sox.
- 1966 - Maury Wills leaves the Los Angeles Dodgers club touring in Japan, complaining that his injured right knee needs immediate treatment in the U.S. On December 1, the Dodgers will send Wills to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
- 1975 - Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer wins his second Cy Young Award, after pacing the AL in wins (23), shutouts (10), and ERA (2.09).
- 1976 - The first mass-market free agent re-entry draft is held at New York Plaza Hotel. Among those available are Reggie Jackson, Willie McCovey, Joe Rudi, Don Gullett, Gene Tenace, Nate Colbert, Rollie Fingers, Don Baylor and Bobby Grich. McCovey and Colbert are the only two players not selected, but McCovey will catch on with the Giants in spring training and have a banner year at his old first base position.
- 1977 - The second re-entry free agent draft is held at New York Plaza Hotel. Big names include Lyman Bostock, Goose Gossage, Larry Hisle, Mike Torrez and Oscar Gamble.
- 1978 - In the third annual re-entry free agent draft held at the New York Plaza Hotel, Pete Rose, Tommy John and Darrell Evans are the biggest names among the eligible players.
1980s[]
- 1980:
- Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies joins Sandy Koufax, Tom Seaver and Jim Palmer, as pitchers with three Cy Young Awards. Carlton garners all but one of the twenty-four first-place votes to take NL honors. He posted a 24-9 record with a 2.34 ERA and a league-lead 286 strikeouts.
- Japan's all-time home run hitter, Sadaharu Oh, retires from professional baseball. The Tokyo Yomiuri Giants' first baseman hit a record 868 home runs in his 22-year playing career.
- 1981:
- The Cincinnati Reds trade outfielder Ken Griffey to the New York Yankees for pitcher Fred Toliver and minor-leaguer Brian Ryder. Griffey was about to become a free agent.
- The Philadelphia Phillies announce that Pat Corrales will be the club manager in 1982, replacing Dallas Green, who quit to become the Chicago Cubs' general manager.
- 1982 - New York Yankees coach Mike Ferraro lands his first major league managing job, signing a two-year contract to lead the Cleveland Indians. He will be fired before the end of the 1983 season.
- 1987 - San Diego Padres catcher Benito Santiago]], who ended the season with a rookie record 34-game hitting streak, is a unanimous selection as the NL Rookie of the Year.
1900s[]
- 1993 - Cleveland Indians pitcher Cliff Young is killed in a truck crash in Willis, Texas. He is the third Indians pitcher to die this year in an accident.
- 1997 - Third baseman Scott Rolen is the unanimous choice for NL Rookie of the Year and becomes the first Philadelphia Phillies player to win the award since Dick Allen in 1964. Rolen led all NL rookies in batting average (.283), home runs (21), runs batted in (92), runs (93), hits (159), doubles (35), total bases (263), on-base percentage (.377) and slugging average (.469). He barely qualified as a rookie, logging exactly 130 at bats in 1996 before breaking his wrist on September 7 when he was hit by a pitch. One more at bat would disqualified him for the award in 1997.
- 1999:
- The Milwaukee Brewers hire Davey Lopes as their new manager.
- Larry Dolan agrees to buy the Cleveland Indians from Richard Jacobs for $320 million. The sale is subject to approval by major league owners. If approved, the deal will be a record for a baseball franchise. The O'Malley family sold the Dodgers to the FOX division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation for $311 in 1998.
2000s[]
- 2001 - In Game Seven of a classic World Series, the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning defeating the New York Yankees and their usually unbeatable closer, Mariano Rivera, 3–2. The four-year-old Diamondbacks, the youngest franchise to win a Fall Classic, ended New York's string of three consecutive World Championships. Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling shared the Series MVP honors. The Arizona pitchers are the first multiple winners since the Los Angeles Dodgers trio of Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager shared the award in the 1981 WS.
- 2002:
- Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Eric Hinske, who posted a .279 batting average with 24 home runs and 84 RBI, is named AL Rookie of the Year. Hinske receives 19 of 28 first-place votes cast by the Baseball Writers Association of America with Baltimore Orioles pitcher Rodrigo López getting the other nine first-place votes.
- Pitcher Jason Jennings, who had a 16-6 record with a 4.52 ERA, becomes first member of the Colorado Rockies to be selected by the BBWAA as the NL Rookie of the Year. Jennings receives 27 first-place votes from the 32 writers participating in the balloting. Brad Wilkerson of the Montreal Expos is the runner-up.
- 2003:
- Don Mattingly is named as the hitting coach of the New York Yankees replacing Rick Down.
- Miami-Dade County Commissioners approved a plan committing $73 million in tax money toward a new major league ballpark for the Florida Marlins. The World Champions, who have agreed to change their name to the Miami Marlins if the city builds the ballpark, want to begin playing in the$325 million new park in 2007, but still doesn't have a plan for raising $137 million needed as part of their commitment.
- 2004 - Charlie Manuel is named to replace Larry Bowa as the Philadelphia Phillies' manager. Manuel managed the Cleveland Indians from 2000-02.
Births[]
- 1873 - Bobby Wallace, Hall of Fame infielder (d. 1960)
- 1877 - Tommy Leach, outfielder (d. 1969)
- 1909 - Skeeter Webb, infielder (d. 1986)
- 1927 - Carl Sawatski , catcher (d. 1991)
- 1930 - Dick Groat, All-Star infielder
- 1933 - Tito Francona, All-Star outfielder
- 1943 - Dick Selma, pitcher (d. 2001)
- 1952 - Doug Corbett, All-Star pitcher
- 1961 - Argenis Salazar, infielder
- 1967 - Eric Karros, infielder
- 1968 - Carlos Baerga, All-Star infielder
- 1974 - Carlos Mendoza, outfielder
- 1977 - Larry Bigbie, outfielder
- 1978 - John Grabow, pitcher
- 1979 - Ezequiel Astacio, pitcher
- 1982 - Travis Blackey, pitcher
- 1982 - Chris Resop, pitcher