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This Day in Baseball History
January 28th

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12 Fact(s) Found
1949 Monte Irvin becomes the first African-American player, along with hurler Ford Smith, to sign with the Giants. Although the 29-year old outfielder will play only five full seasons in the major leagues, the former Newark Eagles standout will be elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973, primarily for his outstanding play in the Negro Leagues.
1953 Cardinal owner, Fred Saigh, is found guilty of income tax evasion and is sentenced to a fifteen-month jail term.
1958 The Tigers trade Jim Finigan and $25,000 to the Giants for Gail Harris and Ozzie Virgil.
1961 The International League Board of Directors vote to move the Montreal franchise to Syracuse, New York.
1982 The Angels trade outfielder Dan Ford to the Orioles for third baseman Doug DeCinces and minor leaguer Jeff Schneider.
1986 The Rangers sign 34-year old free-agent catcher Darrell Porter to a one-year contract. The bespectacled backup backstop will hit .253 during his tenure in Texas, his last two years in the majors.
2005 Recently traded first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, who caught and kept the ball used to make the last out giving the Red Sox their first World championship in 86 years, will lend his souvenir to his former club. The historic horsehide, which Boston claims belongs to the team, will be encased within a plaque and will become part of the victory tour which includes World Series trophy.
2008 The Rays and James Shields (12-8, 3.85) finalize a $11.25 million, four-year deal which includes options that could make the contract worth nearly $38 million over the next seven years. The 26-year-old right-hander was second in the big leagues in strikeout-to-walk ratio - an impressive 184 to 36 trailing only C.C. Sabathia (209 to 37).
2009 Avoiding salary arbitration, the Angels and 28-year-old infielder Maicer Izturis come to terms on a one-year deal worth $1.6 million. The Halos' opening-day shortstop missed 61 games last season after tearing a ligament in his left thumb in August and straining his lower back in May, necessitating the first of his two stints on the disabled list.
2009 Aaron Heilman is traded for the second time this offseason when the Mariners swap the 30-year old right hander to the Cubs for utility infielder Ronny Cedeno and southpaw Garrett Olson. Seven weeks ago, the Mets dealt the much-maligned reliever to Seattle as part of a three-team trade.
2009 David Weathers decides to stay with Cincinnati after signing a one-year deal that guarantees the 39 -year old reliever $3.9 million. A member of the Reds pitching staff for the past four seasons, the right hander compiled a 4-6 record posting a 3.25 ERA in 72 appearances from the bullpen last season.
2011 The Twins plan to remove the 14 pine trees located behind the center field wall that were planted last season to be the batter's eye at Target Field. The evergreens, which possibly will be relocated inside the newly opened ballpark, made it difficult for hitters to pick up the ball from the pitcher's hand due to the movement of the conifers in the wind and the shadows cast during afternoon contests.
12 Fact(s) Found