December 11

Events, births and deaths that occurred on December 11.

[edit] Events

• 1884 - The American Association votes to keep its ban on overhand pitching and to continue to allow fouls caught on one bounce to count as outs. It does abolish the tradition of team captains flipping for the honor of batting first. Now the home team will automatically bat first.
• 1900 - A rumor that the Players Protective Association leaders have gone to Philadelphia to meet with Ban Johnson causes National League owners to "have something closely resembling a fit," says the New York Times. Players later admit the meeting took place.
• 1906:
  • Harry Pulliam is reelected president of the National League at a salary of $10,000.
  • In a good trade for Boston, they acquire lefty Patsy Flaherty, 2B Claude Ritchey, and OF Ginger Beaumont from the Pirates for good-fielding 2B Ed Abbaticchio. Abbaticchio will lead the National League in fielding in 1908, but Ritchey will lead in 1907, and the other pair will be mainstays.
• 1912 - The Reds trade outfielders Mike Mitchell and Pete Knisely, infielders Red Corriden and Art Phelan, and P Bert Humphries to the Cubs for C Harry Chapman, P Grover Lowdermilk, and SS Joe Tinker, who will manage the Reds for one year.
• 1917 - The Phils sell star pitcher Grover Alexander, twice a 30-game winner, and his personal catcher "Reindeer" Bill Killefer to the Cubs for righthander "Iron" Mike Prendergast, C Pickles Dillhoefer, and $55,000. Phils owner William Baker later admits he made the trade because, "I needed the money." The 5th-place Cubs expect the addition of Alexander to greatly strengthen their staff, but Alex will be drafted in the Army.
• 1923 - The Yankees sell Carl Mays (5-2), who is considered a troublemaker, to the Reds for $7500. The submariner will win 20 for the Reds next season.
• 1924 - Eddie Collins signs as player-manager of the White Sox.
• 1926 - Cleveland coach Jack McCallister is named to replace Tris Speaker as Indians manager.
• 1927 - The Browns sell George Sisler to Washington for $25,000.
• 1928:
  • Brooklyn sends P Jesse Petty to Pittsburgh for SS Glenn Wright. Wright will injure his arm in a handball accident and will play just 24 games in 1929, but in 1930 he'll post career highs in hitting and home runs.
  • At the National League meeting, President John Heydler proposes the designated hitter for pitchers to improve and speed up the game. He contends fans are tired of seeing weak-hitting pitchers come to bat. Heydler refers to his idea as "the tenth regular."
• 1929:
  • The Cards send Grover Alexander, 42, back to the Phillies with C Harry McCurdy for OF Homer Peel and P Bob McGraw.
  • The Browns trade C Wally Schang back to the Athletics for 3B Sammy Hale.
• 1930 - The BBWAA votes to continue the custom of selecting an MVP for each league. Beginning in 1931 the annual vote of the BBWAA will designate a player for this honor in each league. Previous MVP winners will be able to repeat under the new rules, something that was prohibited by the American League in the 1920s.
• 1931 - Despite two wins in the World Series, spitball veteran Burleigh Grimes is traded by the Cards to the Cubs for the fallen Hack Wilson. Wilson will be offered just $7,500, reflecting the owner's new austerity drive. Grimes will have three losing seasons in Chicago before calling it quits.
• 1934:
  • The National League votes to permit night baseball, authorizing a maximum of seven games by any team installing lights. The American League will not grant permission for night games until 1937.
  • The 1935 All-Star Game is assigned to Cleveland. Frank Frisch and Mickey Cochrane, rival managers in the St. Louis-Detroit World Series, will manage their respective league's teams.
• 1935 - The Yankees trade the hot-tempered Johnny Allen to Cleveland for pitchers Monte Pearson and Steve Sundra, a minor leaguer.
• 1938 - The Giants get slugger Zeke Bonura from Washington for $20,000 and two minor league players.
• 1939 - The Yomiuri Giants beat the Hanshin Tigers, 4 - 2, to clinch the Japanese league pennant. The Giants will win the pennant for the next four years.
• 1940 - The Major Leagues extend commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis to another 4-year term. They also vote to limit night games to seven per team.
• 1941 - The Giants acquire Johnny Mize from the Cardinals for three players - Bill Lohrman, Ken O'Dea, and Johnny McCarthy - and $50,000. Because of injuries, Mize's home run production fell from 43 to 16 in 1941, but he will bounce back to lead the National League in 1947 and 1948.
• 1945 - The Giants obtain a genuine "phenom," pitcher/outfielder Clint Hartung, from Minneapolis for $20,000 and three players. Much ballyhooed, Hartung hit .358 in 66 games in 1942 for Eau Claire (Northern League) while winning three games. He was then in the military for the next three years, and will be still playing in the military for the 1946 season. The New York World Telegram's Tom Meany writes, "Hartung's a sucker if he reports to the Giants. All he has to do is sit at home, wait till he's eligible, and he's a cinch to make the Hall of Fame."
• 1947:
  • The Reds trade 1B Bert Haas to the Phils for P Tommy Hughes.
  • Branch Rickey announces that the Dodgers have signed an agreement with Bud Holman and the city of Vero Beach to rent 104 acres of a former pre-war municipal airport. They will pay $1 a year and take over the maintenance. In 1952 the Dodgers will sign a new 20-year lease for $1 a year, and on March 11, 1953, a new field will be named Holman Stadium.
• 1950 - At the winter meetings, held in St. Petersburg, FL, Major League owners vote 9-7 against renewing Commissioner Happy Chandler's contract for a new term, starting in 1951. The Cardinals' Fred Saigh led the opposition to Chandler, who had jeopardized the reserve clause and ordered investigations of the alleged gambling activities of several owners.
• 1951 - Joe DiMaggio officially retires as a member of the New York Yankees with 361 home runs and an average of .325 after 13 seasons. His 56-game consecutive-game hitting streak in 1941 will stand as one of the all-time best diamond achievements.
• 1952 - Fred Haney is named as the Pirate manager for the upcoming season. He replaces Billy Meyer, the Bucs manager since 1947.
• 1954 - With the Athletics poised to move to Kansas City, the Phillies purchase Connie Mack Stadium.
• 1956:
  • A major league player association is established with Bob Feller as president.
  • The Major Leagues vote at a joint meeting to reduce player limits to 28 by Opening Day.
• 1957 - The Phillies purchase veteran OF Dave Philley from Detroit.
  • U.S. Congressman Emanuel Celler and Senator Kenneth Keating, both of New York, hint that there might be antitrust action against Major League Baseball if it televizes games as planned, because it jeopardizes the minor leagues.
• 1959:
  • The A's Arnold Johnson gives the New York Yankees an early Christmas present when he gift wraps Roger Maris in pinstripes. The Yankees acquire the slugger in a 7-player deal that sends P Don Larsen, RF Hank Bauer, 1B Marv Throneberry, and LF Norm Siebern to the Athletics.
  • The Orioles elect Lee MacPhail as president of the club.
• 1962 - The Red Sox send P Tracy Stallard and infielders Pumpsie Green and Al Moran to the Mets for infielder Felix Mantilla.
• 1969 - A Federal Court in New York City rules against the suit of umpires Bill Valentine and Al Salerno because baseball is exempt from antitrust laws.
• 1970 - The Braves' Rico Carty, the leading active major league hitter at .322 lifetime, suffers a fractured knee and ligament damage in a Dominican League game. Carty will miss the entire 1971 season.
• 1973 - The Cubs come up with a team Ron Santo will agree to be traded to: Southside rivals the White Sox. P Steve Stone and three other players go to the Cubs.
• 1974 - Two baseball greats whose careers ended tragically, Roy Campanella and the late Roberto Clemente, each of whom already occupies baseball's Hall of Fame, are named today with twelve others to the Black Athlete's Hall of Fame. The formal induction ceremony will come on March 13th of next year.
• 1975:
  • In a busy day of trading, the Yankees acquire pitchers Dock Ellis and Ken Brett, and second baseman Willie Randolph from the Pirates for hurler Doc Medich. In a separate deal with the Angels, the club trades Bobby Bonds for outfielder Mickey Rivers and pitcher Ed Figueroa.
  • The White Sox send Bill Melton and Steve Dunning to California for 1B Jim Spencer and OF Morris Nettles.
• 1981:
  • Veteran free agent infielders Joe Morgan and Mark Belanger sign one-year contracts with the Giants and Dodgers, respectively.
  • Seattle trades OF Tom Paciorek to the White Sox for C Jim Essian, IF Todd Cruz, and OF Rod Allen.
• 1984 - OF Fred Lynn, a free agent, signs a 4-year contract with the Orioles.
• 1985:
  • The Giants send 2B Manny Trillo to the Cubs for SS Dave Owen, and C Alex Trevino to the Dodgers for OF Candy Maldonado.
  • The Phillies trade pitchers John Denny and Jeff Gray to the Reds for OF Gary Redus and P Tom Hume, and the Dodgers trade veteran catcher Steve Yeager to the Mariners for P Ed Vande Berg.
• 1987:
  • The A's obtain Jesse Orosco from the Mets and then trade the southpaw reliever along with shortstop Alfredo Griffin and right-hander Jay Howell to the Dodgers for pitchers Matt Young, Bob Welch and Jack Savage. New York gets Savage as well as right-handed hurlers Wally Whitehurst and Kevin Tapani from Oakland to complete the three-team, eight-player deal.
  • In the first trade ever between the Yankees and Mets to involve a major league player, the Mets send SS Rafael Santana and a minor leaguer to the Bronx for C Phil Lombardi and minor leaguers Darren Reed and Steve Frey.
• 1989 - The Royals sign free agent Mark Davis to a 4-year contract. Davis and Bret Saberhagen will make the Royals the first team ever to have both defending Cy Young Award winners on their staff.
• 1991 - In a blockbuster trade, the Mets obtain two-time Cy Young Award winner Bret Saberhagen along with SS Bill Pecota from the Royals in exchange for Kevin McReynolds, Gregg Jefferies and Keith Miller.
• 1992 - In free agent signings today, the Tigers sign P Bill Krueger to a 2-year contract, the Orioles sign 2B Harold Reynolds, the Cubs sign OF Candy Maldonado to a 2-year contract and the Angels sign OF Chili Davis for two years.
• 1995 - The White Sox sign free agent DH Harold Baines and the Yankees ink IF Mariano Duncan to a 2-year contract.
• 1996 - The Yankees sign free agent P Mike Stanton to a 3-year contract, the White Sox sign P Jaime Navarro to a 4-year contract and the Phillies sign P Mark Portugal to a 2-year contract.
• 1997:
  • The Orioles sign free agent P Doug Drabek and the Twins sign OF Otis Nixon.
  • The Braves trade P Chad Fox to the Brewers in exchange for OF Gerald Williams.
• 1998 - The Reds sign free agent P Steve Avery, the Athletics sign the much-traveled IF-OF Tony Phillips and the Mets sign 1B-3B Todd Zeile to a 3-year contract.
• 1999 - The Cubs obtain OF Damon Buford from the Red Sox in exchange for IF Manny Alexander.
• 2000:
  • Alex Rodriguez signs the richest contract in sports history, a ten-year deal with the Rangers worth $252 million. The quarter billion dollars doubles the previous high of $126 million paid by the NBA's Timberwolves to Kevin Garnett in a six-year agreement signed in October, 1997.
  • The Mets sign free agent P Kevin Appier to a 4-year contract, and free agent P Steve Trachsel to a 2-year contract.
  • The Tigers obtain P Chris Holt, OF Roger Cedeno, and C Mitch Meluskey from the Astros for C Brad Ausmus and pitchers Doug Brocail and Nelson Cruz. Houston catchers threw out 22% of base stealers in 2000, while Ausmus gunned down 42%.
• 2001:
  • Former USC P Mark Prior wins the Golden Spikes Award as the top amateur baseball player in the US. Prior signed a 5-year contract with the Cubs after being selected in the June draft.
  • The Rangers sign free agent P Jay Powell to a 3-year contract.
  • The Mariners and Padres complete a 6-player deal that sends P Brett Tomko, SS Ramon Vazquez and C Tom Lampkin to San Diego. C Ben Davis, IF Alex Arias and P Wascar Serrano move to Seattle.
  • In a swap of outfielders, the Reds send Dmitri Young to the Tigers in exchange for Juan Encarnacion. Cincinnati also gets P Luis Pineda in the deal.
  • The Mets obtain 12-time All-Star 2B Roberto Alomar in an 8-player deal with the Indians. In addition to Alomar, New York also receives P Mike Bacsik and OF-1B Danny Peoples. Cleveland gets OF Matt Lawton and bluechip prospect Alex Escobar, P Jerrod Riggan, and pitching prospect Billy Traber.
• 2003:
  • The Royals sign 18-year veteran Benito Santiago (279, 11, 56) to a two-year deal. Kansas City hopes the veteran catcher, who is a three-time Gold Glove winner, will provide help to the team's young pitching staff with his experience.
  • Andy Pettitte inks a three-year, $31.5 million deal with his "hometown" Astros. The 31-year-old Texan, who compiled a 149-78 won-loss record with a 3.94 ERA during his nine-year stint in pinstripes, turned down better offers to stay with the Yankees or go to the rival Red Sox.
• 2007 - Former Chunichi Dragons star Kosuke Fukudome signs with the Chicago Cubs for $48 million over four years, pending a physical. Fukudome was the Central League MVP in 2006 but was sidelined for much of 2007 with an elbow injury.
• 2009:
  • The KBO Gold Gloves for 2009 are given out. Winners are P Aquilino Lopez, C Sang-hoon Kim, 1B Hee-seop Choi, 2B Keun-woo Jeong, SS Si-hyun Son, 3B Sang-hyeon Kim, OF Hyun-soo Kim, OF Yong-taek Park, OF Taek-keun Lee and DH Sung-heun Hong.
  • The Royals sign free agent catcher Jason Kendall to a two-year contract, replacing Miguel Olivo who became a free agent himself. In other signings, the White Sox add former Seattle Mariners closer J.J. Putz to their bullpen. Putz's season with the Mets ended on June 9th when he underwent arthroscopic elbow surgery.
• 2010 - The Dodgers sign OF Tony Gwynn, after he passes a physical exam, to be the team's fourth outfielder.
• 2011 - The Indians sign OF Felix Pie to a minor league contract coupled with an invitation to attend spring training.
• 2012:
  • In a three-team trade, the Reds obtain OF Shin-Soo Choo and IF Jason Donald from the Indians, sending OF Drew Stubbs to Cleveland and SS Didi Gregorius to the Diamondbacks. Arizona sends Ps Trevor Bauer, Matt Albers and Bryan Shaw to the Indians and also receives 1B Lars Anderson and P Tony Sipp from the Tribe.
  • 3B Kevin Youkilis sign a one-year deal with the Yankees, where he will fill in for the injured Alex Rodriguez.

[edit] Births

• 1840 - Charlie Smith, infielder (d. 1897)
• 1854 - Charley Radbourn, pitcher; Hall of Famer (d. 1897)
• 1857 - Ed Callahan, outfielder (d. 1947)
• 1858 - Bill Mountjoy, pitcher (d. 1894)
• 1868 - Tom Gettinger, outfielder (d. 1943)
• 1878 - Gene Wright, pitcher (d. 1930)
• 1885 - Fred Anderson, pitcher (d. 1957)
• 1885 - Art Wilson, catcher (d. 1960)
• 1886 - Joe Riggert, outfielder (d. 1973)
• 1887 - Petie Behan, pitcher (d. 1957)
• 1888 - Fred Toney, pitcher (d. 1953)
• 1890 - Walt Meinert, outfielder (d. 1958)
• 1891 - Erwin Renfer, pitcher (d. 1957)
• 1894 - Lou Raymond, infielder (d. 1979)
• 1896 - Johnny Walker, infielder (d. 1976)
• 1897 - Slim Harriss, pitcher (d. 1963)
• 1901 - Elbert Andrews, pitcher (d. 1979)
• 1903 - Ray Phelps, pitcher (d. 1971)
• 1905 - Al Weston, pinch hitter (d. 1997)
• 1909 - Jim Bivin, pitcher (d. 1982)
• 1910 - Slick Coffman, pitcher (d. 2003)
• 1913 - Alvin Gipson, Negro League pitcher (d. 1992)
• 1914 - Bill Nicholson, outfielder; All-Star (d. 1996)
• 1917 - Hank Nowak, minor league outfielder (d. 2008)
• 1919 - Merl Combs, infielder (d. 1981)
• 1924 - Hal Brown, pitcher
• 1925 - Dick Hoover, pitcher (d. 1981)
• 1926 - Johnny Gray, pitcher
• 1930 - Eddie O'Brien, infielder
• 1930 - Johnny O'Brien, infielder
• 1930 - Andy Varga, pitcher (d. 1992)
• 1934 - Lee Maye, outfielder (d. 2002)
• 1947 - Greg Shanahan, pitcher
• 1948 - Gene Hiser, outfielder
• 1949 - Craig Caskey, pitcher
• 1952 - Rob Andrews, infielder
• 1954 - Bill Miller, college coach
• 1954 - Bob Sykes, pitcher
• 1960 - Tim Wallace, college coach
• 1961 - Mike Henneman, pitcher; All-Star
• 1961 - Bob Sebra, pitcher
• 1963 - Steve Swain, minor league outfielder
• 1964 - Massimo Fochi, Serie A1 infielder
• 1964 - Thomas Howard, outfielder
• 1965 - Jay Bell, infielder; All-Star
• 1965 - Dave Joppie, minor league manager
• 1965 - Adam Peterson, pitcher
• 1968 - Derek Bell, outfielder
• 1970 - J.J. Picollo, scout
• 1971 - Willie Canate, outfielder
• 1971 - Stan Robertson, minor league outfielder
• 1972 - Tsugio Abe, Japanese national team pitcher
• 1972 - Frank Rodriguez, pitcher
• 1973 - Scott Harp, college coach
• 1973 - Andy Tracy, infielder
• 1975 - Nate Field, pitcher
• 1978 - Chih-Hong Chen, CPBL catcher
• 1978 - Jason Szuminski, pitcher
• 1980 - Joe Blanton, pitcher
• 1980 - Jason Cromer, minor league pitcher
• 1980 - Nathan Cromer, minor league pitcher
• 1982 - Luis DePaula, minor league infielder
• 1982 - Bradley Coon, minor league outfielder
• 1983 - Derrick Loop, minor league pitcher
• 1984 - Josh Butler, pitcher
• 1988 - Justin Jackson, minor league infielder
• 1990 - Keila Aranguren, Venezuelan women's national team pitcher

[edit] Deaths

• 1902 - Bill Hawke, pitcher (b. 1870)
• 1914 - Harry Burrell, pitcher (b. 1867)
• 1924 - Moxie Hengle, infielder (b. 1857)
• 1929 - Doc McMahon, pitcher (b. 1886)
• 1931 - George Harper, pitcher (b. 1866)
• 1933 - Harry Croft, outfielder (b. 1875)
• 1936 - Myron Grimshaw, infielder (b. 1875)
• 1939 - Dallas Bradshaw, infielder (b. 1895)
• 1954 - Harry Courtney, pitcher (b. 1898)
• 1959 - Jim Bottomley, infielder, manager; Hall of Famer (b. 1900)
• 1959 - Doc Marshall, catcher (b. 1875)
• 1960 - Mike Donahue, college coach (b. 1878)
• 1966 - Cliff Fannin, pitcher (b. 1924)
• 1974 - Gordon Maltzberger, pitcher (b. 1912)
• 1978 - Paul O'Dea, outfielder (b. 1920)
• 1995 - Woody Wheaton, outfielder (b. 1914)
• 2000 - Katsumi Shiraishi, NPB infielder and manager; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1918)
• 2002 - Bob Loane, outfielder (b. 1914)
• 2010 - Eugene Spangler, minor league outfielder (b. 1922)
• 2011 - Mabel Holle, AAGPBL player (b. 1920)