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This Day in Baseball History
November 28th

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25 Fact(s) Found
1938 Monty Stratton, having compiled a 36-23 record (.610) during his five-year major league career, has his right leg amputated due to a hunting accident in Greenville (TX). Jimmy Stewart plays the title role in The Stratton Story, a 1949 movie chronicling the White Sox hurler's attempted comeback.

1944 Hal Newhouser (29-9, 2.22, 187) edges his Tiger teammate Dizzy Trout (27-14, 2.12, 144) for the American League's MVP by four votes. The future Hall of Fame southpaw, who will also win the award next year, had posted only 34 victories in the past four seasons.
1950 After relieving GM Branch Rickey of his duties, Walter O'Malley names PCL Oakland manager Chuck Dressen to replace the fired 65-year-old Burt Shotton, who compiled a 326-215 (.603) record during his four-year tenure as the Dodgers skipper. Dressen will spend three seasons in the Brooklyn dugout, capturing two pennants and compiling an impressive 298-166 (.642) record, but resigns after publicly demanding and not being given a three-year contract instead of the customary one-year deal the team then offered their managers.
1955 Monte Irvin's tenure with the Giants ends when the former Negro League standout is claimed in the Rule V draft by the Cubs. The future Hall of Fame outfielder will retire after playing one season in Chicago, finishing his brief eight-year major league career with a .293 batting average.
1956 The Indians name Major Kerby Farrell as the team's new manager, replacing Al Lopez, who resigned on the last day of the season after finishing his six-year tenure with a franchise-best 570-354 (.617) record. The Tribe's 43-year-old new skipper led the AA Indianapolis Indians to the Junior World Series title, sweeping the Rochester Red Wings (Cardinals) in four games at the end of September.
1958 The American League announces Opening Day will be April 9, the earliest the Junior Circuit has ever started the regular season. Accompanied by David Eisenhower, the president's grandson, Vice President Nixon will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Senators beat the Orioles, 9-2, in the traditional opener played in Washington D.C.'s Griffith Stadium.

1964 Twins freshman outfielder Tony Olivia, named on 19 of the 20 ballots cast by a special committee of the BBWAA, is overwhelmingly selected as the American League's Rookie of the Year, with the lone dissenting vote going to 19-year-old Oriole right-hander Wally Bunker (19-5, 2.69). The Cuban native from Pinar del Rio won the AL's batting crown with a .323 average, hitting 32 home runs and collecting 94 RBIs for the sixth-place club.
1964 Phillies' third baseman Dick Allen easily wins the National League's Rookie of the Year Award, receiving 18 of the 20 writers' votes, with the other two ballots cast for Braves' outfielder Rico Carty and Giants' third baseman Jim Ray Hart. The 22-year-old 'Wampum Walloper' led the circuit in runs scored, triples, and total bases, batting .328, fifth-best in the league, with 29 homers and 91 RBIs.
1965 Future Red Sox owner Haywood Sullivan resigns as A's manager to become the Red Sox vice president and director of player personnel. Alvin Dark, who will lead the club to a seventh-place finish in his only full season in Kansas City, replaces the Donalsonville (GA) native.
1972 In a seven-player blockbuster deal between crosstown rivals, the Dodgers trade Bobby Valentine, Billy Grabarkewitz, Frank Robinson, Bill Singer, and Mike Strahler to the Angels for Ken McMullen and Andy Messersmith. Singer (1973) and Messersmith (1974) will become 20-game winners for their new teams.
1974 Commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspends George Steinbrenner after the Yankee owner pleads guilty to making illegal contributions by giving "bonuses" to eight shipping firm employees, instructing them to donate their $25,000 to the Re-elect Nixon campaign, and for trying to cover up the scheme. The 'Boss' will have his suspension commuted to fifteen months, and in January of 1989, he will be pardoned by Ronald Reagan just before the president leaves office.
1979 Right-hander Rick Sutcliffe, who compiled a 17-10 record on a losing Dodger team, is named on 20 of 24 writers' ballots to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Outfielders Jeffrey Leonard of the Astros and Scot Thompson of the Cubs garnered the remaining four votes.
1988 Rich Gedman becomes the highest-paid catcher in the American League, signing a one-year contract with the Red Sox for $1.2 million. The Boston backstop, who will appear in only 93 games, bats a meager .212 in his last full season with the team.
1989 Rickey Henderson signs a four-year $12 million free-agent deal to stay with the A's, the team he broke in with in 1979 as a 20-year-old rookie. In June, Oakland traded Greg Cadaret, Eric Plunk, and Luis Polonia to the Yankees to obtain the 'Man of Steal.'
1994 The Astros trade Pete Harnisch to the Mets for two players to be named later, Andy Beckerman (12/6/1994) and Juan Castillo (4/12/1995). The 29-year-old All-Star right-hander, who compiled a 45–33 record and a 3.41 ERA with Houston, doesn't fare as well in New York, winning ten of 31 decisions in two-plus seasons, before being traded to the Brewers on August 31, 1997, for a minor league outfielder.
2000 Curtis Leskanic (9-3, 2.56, 12 saves) agrees to a $7.2 million, three-year incentive-laden contract with the Brewers, which can almost double based on his performance. After Milwaukee traded closer Bob Wickman to the Indians at the end of January, the 32-year-old closer converted 11 of 12 save chances.
2005 Agreeing to a deal that pays him the highest average salary for a reliever in baseball history, the Mets offer Phillies left-handed free-agent Billy Wagner a $43 million, four-year contract to close for the team. The 34-year-old 'Billy the Kid,' who led the NL in games finished with 70, will compile 101 saves in his three-plus seasons with New York.
2005 Closer B.J. Ryan, who saved 36 games last season for the Orioles, agrees to a $47 million, five-year deal with the Blue Jays. The thirty-year-old southpaw's contract calls for the largest sum ever given to a reliever.
2005 Due to the 15-year restriction, Pete Rose is no longer eligible for possible inclusion on the Baseball Writers' Hall of Fame ballot. The all-time hits leader, who was banned from baseball for life in 1989 for allegedly gambling on the game, has not been listed previously because the Hall of Fame Board of Directors decreed that BBWAA couldn't consider anyone on the permanently ineligible list.
2006 Adam Kennedy ends his seven-year tenure with the Angels, signing a $10-million, three-year deal with the Cardinals. The former Redbird farmhand will reunite with David Eckstein, the second baseman's double-play partner during Anaheim's 2002 World Series championship year.
2007 In a six-player trade, the Twins obtain outfielder Delmon Young, infielder Brendan Harris, and outfield prospect Jason Pridie from the Rays for right-handed starter Matt Garza, starting shortstop Jason Bartlett, and pitching prospect Eduardo Morlan. The acquisition of the 22-year-old turbulent Tampa Bay outfielder, admonished by his manager Joe Maddon last season for not hustling, will help Minnesota fill the void created by free agent Torii Hunter's departure to the Angels.
2007 The White Sox sign free agent Scott Linebrink (5-6, 3.71) to a four-year, $19 million contract, which many consider lucrative for a middle-reliever. Chicago plans to use the former Padres/Brewers reliever in an eighth-inning set-up role to get to Bobby Jenks, their closer.
2011 Less than a week after obtaining the Astros from Drayton McLane, new owner Jim Crane fires GM Ed Wade and team president Tal Smith. In a statement issued by new team president and chief executive officer George Postolos, Dave Gottfried, Houston's assistant GM, has been asked to serve as the club's interim general manager.
2011 The Rays and veteran backstop Jose Molina agree to a one-year, $1.5-million contract that includes a club option for the same amount for the 2013 season. The 36-year-old catcher, known for his outstanding defensive skills, hit a career-best .281 last season with Toronto.
2014 In a blockbuster trade, the Blue Jays acquire Josh Donaldson from the A's in exchange for second baseman Brett Lawrie, pitching prospects Kendall Graveman and Sean Nolin, as well as Franklin Barreto, a talented minor league infielder. The deal for the 28-year-old All-Star comes as a surprise because the Toronto third baseman was considered untouchable, partly for not being eligible for free agency until after the 2018 season.
25 Fact(s) Found