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29 Fact(s) Found
| 1953 | After two days of meetings, the rules committee ends the practice that allows players to leave their gloves on the playing field, requiring outfielders and infielders to carry them into the dugout after each half-inning. Before the controversial change, left fielders, right fielders, first basemen, and third basemen would leave their gloves in foul territory, with center fielders, shortstops, and second basemen dropping their gloves at their position, with plays occurring around the scattered leather. |
| 1953 | The Rules Committee re-establishes the sacrifice fly ruling, which credits a batter with an RBI who flies out driving in a run without charging the hitter with a time at-bat. MLB dropped the original decree in 1939. |
| 1964 | Philadelphia voters approve a $25 million bond issue to build a new sports stadium. Due to cost overruns, a 1967 measure will authorize an additional $13 million, bringing the final price tag to approximately $50 million, making Veterans Stadium one of the most expensive ballparks ever built. |
| 1965 | A's pitcher Lew Krausse strikes out a record 21 Lara batters during a winter league game, tossing a one-hitter for Caracas. The right-hander will average 5.1 strikeouts per nine innings during his dozen years in the major leagues, including stops with the Brewers, Red Sox, Cardinals, and Braves. |
| 1965 | Sandy Koufax (26-8, 2.04, 382) wins the second of his three Cy Young Awards unanimously, capturing all twenty of the writer's votes from both leagues. The Dodger southpaw also received the honor in 1963 and will be named again next season. |
| 1968 | Trying to cross the busy Kings Highway near the Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis, Harry Carey suffers two broken legs, a broken nose, and a dislocated shoulder after flying 40 feet in the air when struck by a car at 1:15 AM on an inclement Sunday morning. The popular Cardinals broadcaster's hospital room becomes party central before his discharge, recovering in time for Opening Day. |
| 1970 | The Phillies swap Curt Flood, who did not play last season, to Ted Williams' Senators for three minor leaguers, Greg Goossen, Gene Martin, and Jeff Terpko. The embattled outfielder, who retires after playing 13 games with his new team, refused to report to Philadelphia after the 1969 trade from the Cardinals, citing he was not a piece of property for sale, becoming the first player to challenge the reserve clause seriously. |
| 1971 | Pennsylvania lawmakers Hugh Scott and Richard South Schweiker collect their World Series wager from Maryland senators Charles Mathias, Jr. and J. Glenn Beall in front of the U.S. Capitol. After winning the bet on the Fall Classic between the Orioles and Pirates, the Keystone State lawmakers victoriously ride elephants as the losers lead and feed the pachyderms peanuts while carrying shovels to clean the street. |
| 1979 | The AL and NL all-star teams depart on an exhibition tour of Japan. The National League squad will take four of seven from the American League counterparts, but the teams will combine to split a pair of games with the Japanese all-stars. |
| 1983 | The Baseball Writers Association of America select Tony La Russa as the American League Manager of the Year after he guided first-place White Sox (99-63) to their first playoff appearance in 24 years. The 39-year-old skipper, in his sixth season with the club, received 17 of a possible 28 first-place votes, finishing ahead of Orioles' Joe Altobelli, who picked up seven first-place votes from the writers. |
| 1987 | Mark McGwire wins the American League Rookie of the Year, easily outdistancing runners-up Kevin Seitzer and Matt Nokes. The 24-year-old A's first baseman, who set the freshman major league home run record for home runs in 1987 with 49, becomes the second player to win the AL award unanimously, joining Carlton Fisk, who accomplished the feat with the Red Sox in 1972. |
| 1988 | Jeff Torborg replaces Jim Fregosi as the White Sox's manager. Chicago's new skipper, who will be named the American League Manager of the Year in 1990, will see his club finish second twice during his three-year tenure in the Windy City before leaving the team for a short-lived position managing the Mets. |
| 1992 | The Reds trade Paul O'Neill and Joe DeBerry, a minor leaguer, to the Yankees for Roberto Kelly. The deal works well for the Bronx Bombers as the popular outfielder will become a team leader, playing a vital role in four World Series championships before he retires before the 2002 season. |
| 1993 | Greg Maddux (20-10, 2.36) wins his second Cy Young Award when he easily outpoints Bill Swift of the Giants and teammate Tom Glavine on ballots cast by the BBWAA. The 27-year-old right-hander becomes the first hurler to win the prestigious pitcher prize in back-to-back seasons for different teams, having copped the award with the Cubs last season. |
| 1997 | Becoming the fifth Red Sox player to receive the honor, Boston shortstop Nomar Garciaparra (.306, 30, 98) is unanimously selected as the American League Rookie of the Year by the BBWAA. The 23-year-old leadoff hitter led the league with 209 hits. |
| 1999 | In a nine-player deal, the Rangers deal superstar Juan Gonzalez, pitcher Danny Patterson, and catcher Greg Zaun to the Tigers. Detroit ships three hurlers (Justin Thompson, Alan Webb, Francisco Cordero), outfielder Gabe Kapler, catcher Bill Haselman, and infielder Frank Catalanotto to Texas. |
| 2000 | After being turned down by Yankees third base coach Willie Randolph and their third base coach, Ron Oester, due to their below-market contract offers, the Reds hire Bob Boone as their manager to replace 69-year-old Jack McKeon. The former catcher and present special assistant to general manager Jim Bowden had an 181-206 record as the Royals manager. |
| 2001 | In Game 6, the Diamondbacks collect 21 hits in the first six innings against the Yankees to set a record for hits in a World Series game. The 1921 Giants (Game 3 vs. Yankees) and the 1946 Cardinals (Game 4 vs. Red Sox) established the previous record of 20. |
| 2003 | ESPN analyst Bobby Valentine will return to Japan to manage the Chiba Lotte Marines, which fired him after a solid second-place finish in 1995. The former Mets and Rangers skipper signs a three-year deal with an option for two more years worth an estimated $6.4 million. |
| 2005 |
SBC announces the San Francisco home of the Giants will get its third name in three years. The corporation will adopt the better-known AT&T brand for its identity due to the likely merger of the two companies planned for later this year.
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| 2006 | Orlando Hudson becomes only the sixth major league infielder to win a Gold Glove in the American and National League. The Diamondback second baseman's defensive prowess was recognized in the Junior circuit last season when he copped his first Rawling's award playing for the Blue Jays. |
| 2006 | 🇨🇳 To bring America's national pastime to a country with over 1.3 billion potential fans, MLB officials announce they will open an office in China to help promote the game. Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, raises the possibility of the sport playing a regular-season opener in Beijing. |
| 2006 | Greg Maddux wins his sixteenth Gold Glove award, tying the mark held by former Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson and pitcher Jim Kaat for the most won by one player. The Braves right-hander will extend the major league mark to 18 when managers and coaches again select him in 2007 and 2008 as the best fielding pitcher in the National League. |
| 2008 | Ruben Amaro Jr., the team's assistant GM for a decade, replaces Pat Gillick as the general manager of the recently crowned World Champion Phillies. The former batboy signs a three-year deal to run the club five days after Philadelphia beat Tampa Bay in the Fall Classic, winning just its second title in the 125-year history of the franchise. |
| 2008 | The Brewers exercise their $10 million option on Mike Cameron (.243, 25, 70). Last season, the 35-year-old three-time Gold Glove outfielder committed only one error in 119 starts for the Brew Crew. |
| 2009 | George W. Bush throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the Yomiuri Giants' 7-4 victory over the Nippon Ham Fighters in Game 3 of the Japan Series. The former American president, who bounces the pitch in the dirt, enjoys the game in a private box with former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, home run king Sadaharu Oh, and John Roos, the U.S. ambassador to Japan. |
| 2010 |
Reminiscent of when the New York team moved to San Francisco in 1958, tens of thousands of Giants fans pay homage by celebrating the World Champions with a ticker-tape parade. First baseman Aubrey Huff delights the fans by pulling out his "rally thong" while addressing a raucous crowd at Civic Center.
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| 2013 | Brad Ausmus, who has never managed or coached a professional baseball team, is introduced as the Tigers' new skipper, replacing veteran manager Jim Leyland. The 44-year-old Dartmouth graduate, a former All-Star catcher just three years past his playing career, signs a three-year contract with a team option for the 2017 season. |
| 2022 |
Cristian Javier, going the first six innings, and three Astro relievers combine to throw the second no-hitter in World Series history, silencing the explosive Phillies' bats and Philadelphia's boisterous fans en route to blanking the home team, 5-0, to even the series at two games each. Bryan Abreu strikes out the side in the seventh, Rafael Montero contributes with a hitless eighth, and Ryan Pressly, the Houston closer, completes the feat, allowing only a one-out walk in the final frame.
(Ed. Note: The Astros' victory was the first combined no-hitter in the postseason and the second no-no in the history of the Fall Classic after the perfect game thrown by Yankees right-hander Don Larsen in 1956.- LP) |
29 Fact(s) Found