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This Day in Baseball History
November 7th

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21 Fact(s) Found
1928 After hitting .387 for the Braves, player-manager Rogers Hornsby is traded to the Cubs for five players and $200,000. The 'Rajah' will hit .380 along with 39 home runs and 149 RBIs for his new club.
1963 Elston Howard is named the American League's Most Valuable Player Award becoming the first black player to receive the honor. Joining Roger Maris (1960-61) and Mickey Mantle (1962), the New York catcher becomes the third consecutive Yankee to win the MVP.
1964 The Braves, for the second time in eleven years, receive permission to shift their franchise to another city. Hank Aaron and company will move from Milwaukee to Atlanta after the 1965 season.
1972 For the second time in three years, Johnny Bench (.270, 40, 125) wins the National League MVP award. The Reds catcher joins Mickey Cochrane (1928 A's , 1934 Tigers), Yogi Berra (1951, '54 Yankees), and Roy Campanella (1951, '53, '55 Dodgers) as only the fourth backstop to win the award multiple times.
1973 The Cubs trade second baseman Glenn Beckert and minor league prospect Bobby Fenwick to the Padres for outfielder Jerry Morales. The deal will prove to be beneficial to Chicago when their new fly chaser spends four productive years in his first tenure with the club, including an all-star selection in 1977, and their former infielder playing in only 73 games before being released by San Diego during the first month of the 1975 season.
1973 Sylvia Pressler, a hearing examiner for the New Jersey Civil Rights Division makes a ruling which leads to the admittance of girls into Little League Baseball making the Garden State the first to allow girls to play on Little League baseball teams. Prior to the decision, regulations had prohibited girls from participating with boys in the program.
1978 Red Sox slugger Jim Rice (.315, 46, 139) wins the American League Most Valuable Player taking 20 of 28 first-place votes cast by the BBWAA. Ron Guidry, who posted a 25-3 record for the World Champion Yankees, is the runner-up.
1979 The American League Rookie of the Year Award balloting ends in a tie with Twins third baseman John Castino and Blue Jays shortstop Alfredo Griffin each receiving seven of the 28 votes cast by the writers. The deadlock will prompt a change in the method used for next season's selection.
1990 Receiving all of the writers' 28 first-place votes, Indian freshman catcher Sandy Alomar, Jr. wins the AL Rookie of the Year joining Carlton Fisk and Mark McGwire as the only players to be elected unanimously. Yankee first baseman/DH Kevin Mass and Royals right-hander Kevin Appier are the runners-up.
1995 For a bit less money paid by CBS for the rights to televise the 1990-1993 seasons of big league games, Major League Baseball comes to an agreement with the Fox Broadcasting Company to air regular season contests on Saturday afternoons. Similar to the format used by the The Baseball Network, Fox will offer weekly regionalized telecasts based solely on a viewer's geography.
1997 The new Tampa Bay expansion team names Larry Rothschild as the franchise's first manager. The Devil Rays skipper was the the highly respected pitching coach of the World Champion Florida Marlins last season.
2000 Receiving 25-of-32 first-place votes, the BBWAA selects Rafael Furcal as the National League Rookie of the Year. The Braves shortstop, who is the only player listed on all 32 ballots, easily outdistances Cardinal pitcher Rick Ankiel and Mets outfielder Jay Payton.
2002 A's southpaw Barry Zito (23-5, 2.75) is selected as the American League Cy Young Award winner by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The 24 year-old sophomore, who led the AL in wins, out points Red Sox right-hander Pedro Martinez, 114 to 96.
2002 The Baseball Writers' Association of America selects Mike Scioscia (World Champions Angels - 99-63) and Tony LaRussa (Cardinals - 97-65) as Manager of the Year for their respective leagues. The St. Louis skipper, who also won the award in the American League with White Sox (1983) and the A's (1988, 1992) joins Braves' field boss Bobby Cox as the only managers to win the top honors in both leagues.
2003 Thanks to Luis Garcia's ninth inning tie-breaking home run, Mexico upsets the United States Olympic baseball team in the quarterfinals of the qualifying tournament, 2-1. The loss in Panama means the U.S. squad will be unable to defend its gold medal in Athens next summer.
2005 Closer Huston Street becomes the second consecutive A’s freshman to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award, and Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard cops the similar honor in the National league. Both players, who were not on Opening Day rosters, got their opportunity to play in the majors this season due to injuries to teammates.
2007 In a five player trade, the Phillies obtain reliever Brad Lidge and infielder Eric Bruntlett from the Astros in exchange for outfielder speedster Michael Bourn, right-hander Geoff Geary and minor league prospect Mike Costanzo. Philadelphia hopes a change of scenery will help Lidge become a dominant closer in the National League again as he was in Houston during the 2004 and 2005 seasons.
2011 Clearing a spot in center field for top prospect Lorenzo Cain, the Royals trade outfielder Melky Cabrera (.305, 18, 87) to the Giants in exchange for left-hander Jonathan Sanchez (4-7, 4.26). The addition of the 29-year old southpaw bolsters KC's very young starting rotation.
2011 The Twins replace GM Bill Smith on an interim basis with Terry Ryan, who had previously held the post. The dismissal marks the first time since 1961 when the club left Washington to move to Minnesota that the franchise has fired a general manager.
2012 The Rockies, after informing their season-ticket holders via e-mail before making an official announcement, name Walt Weiss as the sixth manager in the 20-year history of the team. The 48 year-old new skipper, a popular shortstop with Colorado during the early years of the franchise, replaces Jim Tracy, who resigned a last month.
2012 With a year remaining on his contract, outfielder Jason Bay is released by the Mets after three very disappointing seasons with New York. The move will not save team any money as they will be responsible for the $21 million owed to the former National League Rookie of the Year, who signed a big free-agent deal with the club in 2009.
21 Fact(s) Found