The following are the events that happened world-wide throughout the sport of baseball.
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1880s[]
- 1886 - The Sporting News publishes the official National League averages, which show King Kelly as the batting champ with a .388 average, 17 points ahead of Cap Anson. The paper previously had printed its own stats showing Anson ahead, .374 to .366.
1900s-1940s[]
- 1922 - Morgan G. Bulkeley, first president of the National League and later governor of Connecticut and U.S. senator, dies. As president of the Hartford Dark Blues club, Bulkeley presided over the NL first meeting and headed the league for one year.
- 1930 - The Pittsburgh Pirates trade shortstop Dick Bartell, a .320 hitter, to the Philadelphia Phillies for defensive star SS Tommy Thevenow and P Claude Willoughby. The Phillies get the better of the shortstop swap, while Willoughby lives up to his nickname "Flunky."
- 1933 - Sidney Weil quits as Cincinnati Reds president. Larry MacPhail acquires an interest in the team and is elected director. MacPhail will become GM.
- 1935 - Pitcher Sad Sam Jones finished his major league career after 21 successive American League seasons. Jones posted a 229-217 record with 1223 strikeouts and a 3.84 ERA in 3883.0 innings, pitching for the Indians, Red Sox, Yankees, Browns, Senators and White Sox.
- 1938:
- The brothers Joe, Vince and Dom DiMaggio play together for the first time, making up an outfield for an All-Star team in a West Coast charity game.
- Ray Blades is hired as the new manager of the St. Louis Cardinals.
- 1945 - Billy Southworth leaves the St. Louis Cardinals to sign a three-year contract with the Milwaukee Braves, who are making aggressive moves under Lou Perini and other new owners. Eddie Dyer will become the new Cardinals manager.
1950s-1960s[]
- 1950 - Branch Rickey signs a five-year contract as executive vice president/GM with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
- 1951 - Brooklyn Dodgers president Walter O'Malley denies that his minor league team system constitutes a monopoly. He cites the Dodgers' deficit in 1950.
- 1962 - Answering rumors that senior consultant Branch Rickey wants Stan Musial to retire, St. Louis Cardinals owner August Busch says Musial will play until it is time to become a club vice president. Further, Bing Devine is still running the club.
- 1969 - Denny McLain of the Detroit Tigers and Mike Cuellar of the Baltimore Orioles finish dead even in American League Cy Young Award voting. McLain posted a record 24-9 record with 181 strikeouts and a 2.80 ERA, while Cuellar had 23-11, 182, 2.38.
1970s-1980s[]
- 1970 - Minnesota Twins pitcher Jim Perry wins the American League Cy Young Award in a close race. Perry receives 55 points to edge out Dave McNally (47), Sam McDowell (45) and Mike Cuellar (44).
- 1974 - Mike Marshall of the Los Angeles Dodgers becomes the first relief pitcher to win the Cy Young Award. Ironman Marshall set MLB records with 106 appearances and 208 innings pitched in relief.
- 1976 - Former Minnesota Twins relief ace Bill Campbell becomes the first of the free-agent crop to sign with a new team, joining the Boston Red Sox with a contract calling for $1 million over four years.
- 1978 - The Yankees release pitcher Andy Messersmith, who will sign with the Dodgers. Messersmith never really recovered from the separated shoulder suffered in spring training.
- 1980 - Seattle Mariners general manager Lou Gorman, who had been with the club since its inception, resigns to become vice president of the New York Mets.
- 1984 - Willie Hernández wins the American League Most Valuable Player Award, joining Rollie Fingers as the only relief pitchers to be named MVP and Cy Young Award winner in the same season. Kent Hrbek is second with Dan Quisenberry third. Boston Red Sox slugger Tony Armas is the seventh, despite winning the home run and RBI titles. The last player to lead in those categories and not win was Ted Williams, twice, in the 1942 and 1947 seasons.
- 1987 - The Kansas City Royals trade pitcher Danny Jackson and shortstop Argenis Salazar to the Cincinnati Reds for P Ted Power and SS Kurt Stillwell.
1990s[]
- 1990 - Atlanta Braves outfielder David Justice wins the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Justice hit .282 with 28 home runs, 20 coming after he replaced Dale Murphy in right field in early August.
- 1991 - Minnesota Twins second baseman Chuck Knoblauch is named the American League Rookie of the Year. Knoblauch hit .281 and stole 25 bases in 30 tries. His fifteen post-season hits is a major league record for first-year players.
- 1996:
- In Chicago, the MLB owners decisively reject a proposed labor agreement that would have ended a three-year stalemate. The 18-12 vote threatens to plunge baseball back into full-fledged hostilities between the owners and players' union.
- Todd Hollandsworth of the Los Angeles Dodgers is voted the National League Rookie of the Year, for the fifth year in a row that the award has gone to a Dodgers player. The previous four were Eric Karros (1992), Mike Piazza ('93), Raúl Mondesí ('94) and Hideo Nomo ('95). A year before, Hollandsworth had 103 at-bats in 41 games played, but a broken right hand in May and a broken right thumb in August kept him eligible for the rookie award.
- 1997:
- Milwaukee is back in the National League 31 years after the Braves left the city for Atlanta. The Brewers are the first team to ever switch from the American League to the National League. With an expansion team joining each league in 1998, the move keeps an even number of teams in both leagues to allow interleague play to occur at selected times of the season.
- Dusty Baker of the New York Giants is named National League Manager of the Year.
- The Boston Red Sox trade pitchers Aaron Sele and Mark Brandenburg and catcher Bill Haselman to the Texas Rangers in exchange for C Jim Leyritz and outfielder Damon Buford.
- 1998 - Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Kerry Wood, who posted a 13–6 record, wins the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Wood held batters to a NL best .196 average and finished third in the league in strikeouts with 233 in just 166 2/3 innings pitched.
2000s[]
- 2000 - Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Kazuhiro Sasaki, who posted a 2-5 record with a 3.16 ERA and 37 saves, becomes the second-oldest major leaguer to win the Rookie of the Year Award as the 32-year old captures the American League honor. Sam Jethroe, who played in the Negro Leagues before joining the Boston Braves, was 33 days older than Sasaki when he won the National League award in 1950.
- 2001:
- Denying its a negotiating ploy, Commissioner Bud Selig is given the authority to "begin the process" of eliminating two 'to be announced' teams by the MLB owners by a 28-2 vote. Donald Fehr, the Players Association executive director, calls the action of possibly eliminating the Twins, Expos, Marlins or Devil Rays most imprudent and unfortunate and the worst manner in which to begin the process of negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement.
- Gold Glove Award winners are announced. Iván Rodríguez wins his 10th straight to tie Johnny Bench for the most by a catcher, Greg Maddux wins his 12th straight to extend his National League record for pitchers, and Roberto Alomar wins for the 10th time, the most ever for a second baseman.
- 2002:
- Oakland Athletics starter Barry Zito wins the American League Cy Young Award.
- Mike Scioscia of the Los Angeles Angels wins the American League Manager of the Year Award while Tony LaRussa of the St. Louis Cardinals takes National League honors.
- The San Francisco Giants announce that manager Dusty Baker won't be returning with the team in 2003.
Births[]
- 1876 - Danny Green, outfielder (d. 1914)
- 1887 - Walter Johnson, Hall of Fame pitcher (d. 1946)
- 1922 - Buddy Kerr, All-Star infielder
- 1938 - Mack Jones, outfielder (d. 2004)
- 1942 - Jim Gosger, outfielder
- 1953 - John Candelaria, All-Star pitcher
- 1959 - Leo Hernández, infielder
- 1969 - Don Wengert, pitcher
- 1971 - Bubba Trammell, outfielder
- 1972 - Deivi Cruz, infielder
- 1973 - Justin Spier, pitcher
- 1973 - Carlos Almanzar, pitcher
- 1979 - Adam LaRoche, infielder
Deaths[]
- 1922 - Morgan Bulkeley, Hall of Fame executive (b 1837)
- 1931 - Jack Chesbro, Hall of Fame pitcher (b. 1874)
- 1961 - Roy Hartzell, infielder (b. 1881)
- 1963 - Clarence Mitchell, pitcher (b. 1891)
- 1993 - Ed Sadowski, catcher (b. 1931)
- 1994 - Erv Dusak, utility (b. 1920)
- 2003 - Spider Jorgensen, infielder (b. 1919)