December 7

Events, births and deaths that occurred on December 7.

[edit] Events

• 1876 - The first annual meeting of the National League is held. The New York Mutuals and the Philadelphia Athletics are expelled because the two teams had decided not to play their final games in the west without permission. Also, William Hulbert is elected to succeed Morgan Bulkeley as president.
• 1881 - At the National League's annual meeting, the owners reject the applications of Phil Baker and Charley Jones for reinstatement.
• 1887 - The Arbitration Committee meets and grants reserve rights to minor league clubs for the first time. In the most prominent contract dispute‚ prospect Bug Holliday signs with minor league Des Moines‚ despite the claims by major league St. Louis.
• 1898 - Roy Thomas‚ University of Pennsylvania outfielder‚ is signed by the Phillies for next season. Sporting Life calls him the "greatest amateur player of this generation."
• 1914 - Chief Bender signs a 2-year deal with the Federal League; he will be assigned to Baltimore.
• 1937:
  • Five of baseball's pioneers are added to the Hall of Fame: Connie Mack‚ John McGraw‚ Morgan G. Bulkeley‚ Ban Johnson‚ and George Wright.
  • The National League extends permission for night baseball but the American League refuses to permit arc light games.
  • The Red Sox acquire the contract of 19-year-old Ted Williams from San Diego (Pacific Coast League)‚ but he will not report to Boston until 1939.
• 1939 - Lou Gehrig‚ age 36‚ is unanimously elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame‚ the sole choice this year. The five-year waiting period is waived for the "Iron Horse".
• 1941 - Lefty Grove announces his retirement.
• 1946 - The Indians send young OF Gene Woodling to Pittsburgh for veteran receiver Al Lopez. Lopez will play just 61 games next season‚ before taking over as manager of Indianapolis for 3 seasons. He will return to skipper the Indians in 1951.
• 1947 - Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench is born in Oklahoma City, OK.
• 1949 - After ten years in pinstripes‚ Charlie "King Kong" Keller is released by the Yankees. He'll sign for a season in Detroit.
• 1957 - The Associated Press votes Tony Kubek of the Yanks as the Rookie of the Year. Frank Malzone of the Red Sox‚ who was declared ineligible‚ receives one vote. Malzone‚ with better offensive numbers‚ will later claim that he was robbed by New York writers‚ when the BBWAA changed the maximum number of at-bats to maintain rookie eligibility during the season‚ thus excluding him.
• 1959 - American League umpires Bill Summers and Ed Rommel retire.
• 1960 - Detroit trades 2B Frank Bolling and a player to be named later (OF Neil Chrisley) to Milwaukee for OF Bill Bruton‚ 2B Chuck Cottier‚ C Dick Brown‚ and P Terry Fox.
• 1962 - J.G. Taylor Spink‚ longtime publisher of The Sporting News‚ dies at age 74 in St. Louis, MO.
• 1966 - The Cubs trade P Dick Ellsworth to the Phils for P Ray Culp and cash.
• 1967 - The Yankees trade C Bob Tillman and P Dale Roberts to the Braves for minor leaguer Bobby Cox.
• 1973:
  • The Boston Red Sox make a pair of deals. The Sox purchase Juan Marichal from the San Francisco Giants for $100,000 and trade John Curtis, Lynn McGlothen, and Mike Garman to the St. Louis Cardinals for Reggie Cleveland and Diego Segui.
  • A controversial trade for Kansas City: they get veteran P Lindy McDaniel from the Yankees for OF Lou Piniella and P Ken Wright.
• 1976 - The Seattle Mariners make their first-ever trade. Grant Jackson goes to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Craig Reynolds and Jimmy Sexton.
• 1977 - In a swap that helps both teams‚ the Orioles trade P Rudy May‚ Randy Miller‚ and Bryn Smith to the Expos for P Don Stanhouse‚ P Joe Kerrigan‚ and OF Gary Roenicke.
• 1978 - The Red Sox trade P Bill Lee to the Expos for IF Stan Papi.
• 1979:
  • The Cardinals trade OF Jerry Mumphrey and P John Denny to the Indians for OF Bobby Bonds.
  • The Tigers swap OF Ron LeFlore to the Expos for P Dan Schatzeder.
• 1983:
  • In a complicated 3-team swap‚ pitcher Scott Sanderson is traded from the Expos to the Cubs. Montreal receives pitcher Gary Lucas from San Diego‚ and the Padres get P Craig Lefferts‚ 1B-OF Carmelo Martinez and 3B Fritzie Connally from Chicago, and IF Al Newman from Montreal.
  • The Mariners trade 2B Tony Bernazard to the Indians for OF Gorman Thomas and IF Jack Perconte.
  • The Reds sign their first major free agent: OF Dave Parker‚ who accepts a 2-year contract.
  • The Royals trade P Mike Armstrong and minor league C Duane Dewey to the Yankees for slugger Steve Balboni and P Roger Erickson.
• 1984 - In a straight trade‚ the Mets send P Walt Terrell to the Detroit Tigers for 3B Howard Johnson. Hojo will start for 8 years in New York. Terrell will have 6 seasons in Detroit‚ interrupted by stays with 4 other teams.
• 1987 - Free agent OF Bob Dernier‚ who hit a career-high .317 with 31 stolen bases for the Cubs last season‚ signs a one-year contract with his original major league club‚ the Phillies.
• 1988 - The Rangers sign free agent pitcher Nolan Ryan to a one-year contract.
• 1989 - Storm Davis‚ 19-7 for the A's last season‚ signs as a free agent with the Royals. Other free agent signees include Craig Lefferts (San Diego)‚ Pete O'Brien (Seattle)‚ Oil Can Boyd (Montreal)‚ and Keith Hernandez (Cleveland).
• 1992:
  • The owners, meeting in Louisville, KY, vote to re-open the collective bargaining agreement. They focus on free agency, salary arbitration, and salary minimums.
  • The Blue Jays sign free agent DH-1B Paul Molitor.
  • The Reds sign free agent OF Roberto Kelly to a 3-year contract.
• 1994 - The Cardinals trade 2B Luis Alicea to the Red Sox in exchange for P Nate Minchey and minor league OF Jeff McNeely.
• 1995:
  • The Yankees obtain 1B Tino Martinez‚ P Jeff Nelson‚ and minor league P Jim Mecir from the Mariners in exchange for P Sterling Hitchcock and 3B Russ Davis. In a memorable day‚ Martinez signs a 5-year‚ $20.25 million contract‚ and his wife gives birth to their third child.
  • The Red Sox sign free agent OF-DH Jose Canseco to a 2-year contract.
• 1998:
  • The Diamondbacks lure Padres free agent OF Steve Finley with a 4-year contract.
  • The Cubs sign two free agents, 3B Gary Gaetti and OF Glenallen Hill.
• 1999 - In a disappointment to the Mets‚ the Mariners sign free agent 1B John Olerud to a 3-year contract.
• 2000 - The Red Sox sign free agent P Frank Castillo to a 2-year contract.
• 2001:
  • Figures released by Major League Baseball show that the Milwaukee Brewers were baseball's most profitable club‚ after revenue sharing‚ in 2001. Without revenue sharing‚ the Brewers were the fourth-most profitable team.
  • The Mets send 3B Robin Ventura to the Yankees in exchange for OF David Justice. It is the first deal between the two New York teams in 8 years.
  • The Blue Jays trade closer Billy Koch to the A's. In return‚ Toronto gets minor league 3B Eric Hinske and minor league P Justin Miller.
  • The Orioles sign free agent OF Brady Anderson to a 1-year contract.
• 2002 - The Giants sign free agent 2B Ray Durham to a 3-year contract.
• 2003 - The Giants sign free agent OF Michael Tucker to a 2-year contract.
• 2005:
  • The Toronto Blue Jays acquire solid-hitting first baseman Lyle Overbay and right-handed pitching prospect Ty Taubenheim in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers; going the other way are pitcher David Bush and pitching prospect Zach Jackson, as well as outfielder Gabe Gross.
  • The Rangers trade 2B Alfonso Soriano to the Nationals for OF-1B Brad Wilkerson‚ OF Terrmel Sledge and minor league P Armando Galarraga.
  • The Marlins shed the last of their high-priced talent, trading CF speedster Juan Pierre to the Cubs for P Sergio Mitre and minor league P Ricky Nolasco and Renyel Pinto.
  • The Dodgers hire former Red Sox manager Grady Little as their new manager.
• 2006:
  • The Royals sign a 5-year deal with P Gil Meche.
  • The Braves trade P Horacio Ramirez to the Mariners for P Rafael Soriano.
• 2007:
  • The Pittsburgh Pirates deal veteran reliever Salomon Torres (10th on the team's games pitched leaderboard at the time) to the Milwaukee Brewers for Marino Salas and Kevin Roberts, two minor leaguers. Torres, a resident of the Pittsburgh suburbs, says he is considering retirement rather than reporting, but will decide to stay active for one more year. He will have a solid year as Milwaukee's closer while Salas will only pitch 13 games for the Pirates, with a 8.47 ERA, and Roberts won't reach the majors.
  • Barry Bonds pleads not guilty to five charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in federal hearings regarding the BALCO investigation.
• 2008 - It is a big night in Italian baseball. The Italian national team announces their coaching staff and preliminary roster for the 2009 World Baseball Classic: Mike Piazza, Mike Hargrove and Tom Trebelhorn will be among those assisting manager Marco Mazzieri. The new inductees are honored in the Italian Baseball Hall of Fame, including former national team skipper Giampiero Faraone and slugger Giuseppe Carelli. Giuseppe Mazzanti is honored as the MVP for Serie A1 in 2008.
• 2009:
  • The Veterans Committee holds two votes for election to the Hall of Fame, in the managers and umpires category and the executives category. In the first group, former umpire Doug Harvey and manager Whitey Herzog are elected and will be inducted in 2010. No one from the second group receives the required 75% of votes. Harvey is the first umpire elected in 11 years.
  • The 2009 Winter Meetings start slowly in Indianapolis, IN, with the only deals announced on the first day being SS Adam Everett re-signing with the Tigers for one year, and the Nationals acquiring reliever Brian Bruney from the Yankees for a player to be named later.
• 2010:
  • A judge in the divorce proceedings of Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt muddies the waters when he invalidates a 2004 marital property agreement that stated the Dodgers were McCourt's sole property. As a result, his former wife Jamie is recognized as half-owner of the team; she is considering selling her share to outside investors.
  • Signings today include OF Matt Diaz going to the Pirates and utility player Ty Wigginton going to Colorado, both on two-year deals, and the Mets reaching agreement with P D.J. Carrasco and C Ronny Paulino. Paulino still has 8 games remaining on 50-game suspension for PED use which he began to serve as a member of the Marlins at the end of last season.
• 2011:
  • The Marlins continue their free agent signing binge, adding P Mark Buehrle with a 4-year, $48 million deal days after signing two other top players, closer Heath Bell and SS Jose Reyes, in recent days. Buehrle will rejoin manager Ozzie Guillen, who was his manager with the Chicago White Sox since 2004. Meanwhile, the Padres acquire closer Huston Street from the Rockies to take over for Bell.
  • The Houston Astros hire Jeff Luhnow to be their new General Manager, one week after Ed Wade was fired. Luhnow was a Vice-President with the St. Louis Cardinals, responsible for overseing their drafting and for player development in Latin America.
  • The Yankees win the posting for SS Hiroyuki Nakajima from the Seibu Lions, and now have 30 days to reach a contract agreement. Nakajima is being considered as a back-up infielder in New York.
  • Tim McCarver is named the recipient of the Hall of Fame's Ford Frick Award for 2012 in recognition of his three decades as a national broadcaster following his playing career.

[edit] Births

• 1847 - Deacon White, infielder, manager; Hall of Fame (d. 1939)
• 1849 - Elmer White, outfielder (d. 1872)
• 1863 - Tom Lovett, pitcher (d. 1928)
• 1865 - Charles Yingling, infielder (d. 1897)
• 1867 - Joe Burke, infielder (d. 1940)
• 1874 - Hobe Ferris, infielder (d. 1938)
• 1885 - Ducky Yount, pitcher (d. 1970)
• 1886 - Bobby Schang, catcher (d. 1966)
• 1896 - Bud Davis, pitcher (d. 1967)
• 1899 - Ed Morris, pitcher (d. 1932)
• 1901 - Ralph Judd, pitcher (d. 1957)
• 1906 - Tony Piet, infielder (d. 1981)
• 1911 - Denny Galehouse, pitcher (d. 1998)
• 1911 - Don Johnson, infielder; All-Star (d. 2000)
• 1915 - Johnny Gee, pitcher (d. 1988)
• 1915 - Vinnie Smith, catcher (d. 1979)
• 1916 - Jorge Comellas, pitcher (d. 2001)
• 1916 - Jim Conlan, minor league outfielder (d. 2009)
• 1917 - Emil Belich, scout (d. 2003)
• 1922 - Wes Bailey, minor league pitcher (d. 2010)
• 1926 - Armando Roche, pitcher (d. 1997)
• 1927 - Dick Donovan, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1997)
• 1930 - Mark Freeman, pitcher (d. 2006)
• 1930 - Hal Smith, catcher
• 1930 - Ken Beardslee, scout (d. 2007)
• 1935 - Don Cardwell, pitcher (d. 2008)
• 1936 - Bo Belinsky, pitcher (d. 2001)
• 1941 - Rupe Toppin, pitcher
• 1942 - Alex Johnson, outfielder; All-Star
• 1947 - Johnny Bench, catcher; All-Star, Hall of Famer
• 1950 - Rich Coggins, outfielder
• 1951 - Paul Dade, outfielder
• 1955 - Scot Thompson, outfielder
• 1956 - Ozzie Virgil, catcher; All-Star
• 1957 - Kevin Houston, minor league pitcher
• 1963 - Jim Austin, pitcher
• 1963 - Billy Bates, infielder
• 1963 - Steve Howard, outfielder
• 1963 - Shane Mack, outfielder
• 1964 - Dave Shotkoski, minor league pitcher (d. 1995)
• 1967 - Tino Martinez, infielder; All-Star
• 1969 - Yfrain Linares, scout
• 1972 - Carl Dale, pitcher
• 1973 - Jerry Parent, minor league outfielder
• 1973 - Frans Richardson, Hoofdklasse infielder
• 1973 - Brian Schmack, pitcher
• 1974 - Mike Bell, infielder
• 1976 - Kevin Hooper, infielder/outfielder
• 1976 - Robbie Morrison, minor league pitcher
• 1977 - A.J. Brack, minor league pitcher
• 1977 - Eric Chavez, infielder
• 1977 - Saul Rivera, pitcher
• 1979 - Ryan Theriot, infielder
• 1981 - James Barksdale, minor league catcher
• 1982 - Motoki Higa, Japanese national team pitcher
• 1984 - Mike Baxter, outfielder
• 1984 - Mario Peña, minor league pitcher
• 1985 - Darin Holcomb, minor league infielder
• 1987 - Jorge Reyes, minor league pitcher
• 1987 - Matt Schuld, minor league pitcher
• 1988 - Michael Kvasnicka, minor league infielder-outfielder
• 1989 - Kyle Hendricks, minor league pitcher
• 1990 - Steven Baron, minor league catcher
• 1990 - Brian Johnson, minor league pitcher
• 1990 - Yasiel Puig, minor league outfielder
• 1990 - Yariam Rivera, Puerto Rican womens' national team catcher
• 1993 - Ho-Yin Liu, Hong Kong national team catcher

[edit] Deaths

• 1928 - Charlie Petty, pitcher (b. 1866)
• 1933 - Fred Hoey, manager (b. 1865)
• 1938 - Tom Kearns, infielder (b. 1859)
• 1940 - Harry Eells, pitcher (b. 1880)
• 1945 - Cal Crum, pitcher (b. 1890)
• 1947 - Jud Smith, infielder (b. 1869)
• 1953 - Slats Jordan, infielder/outfielder (b. 1878)
• 1959 - Tom McGuire, pitcher (b. 1892)
• 1962 - Bobo Newsom, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1907)
• 1964 - Bill Karlon, outfielder (b. 1909)
• 1964 - Bobby Keefe, pitcher (b. 1882)
• 1969 - Lefty O'Doul, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1897)
• 1974 - Red Dorman, outfielder (b. 1905)
• 1976 - Duke Maas, pitcher (b. 1929)
• 1977 - Denny Sothern, outfielder (b. 1904)
• 1980 - Lenny Pearson, Negro League infielder (b. 1918)
• 1980 - Luke Urban, catcher (b. 1898)
• 1984 - Howie Reed, pitcher (b. 1936)
• 1986 - John Bogart, pitcher (b. 1900)
• 1987 - Ken Richardson, infielder (b. 1915)
• 1988 - Steve Harrick, college coach (b. ????)
• 1990 - Lew Flick, outfielder (b. 1915)
• 1994 - Frank Sacka, catcher (b. 1924)
• 1997 - Vic Lombardi, pitcher (b. 1922)
• 2009 - José Guerrero, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1926)
• 2010 - Cardell Camper, pitcher (b. 1952)
• 2010 - Art Mahan, infielder (b. 1913)
• 2010 - James McRae, minor league outfielder (b. 1924)
• 2010 - Richard Meier, minor league outfielder (b. 1950)
• 2012 - P.J. Carey, coach, minor league manager (b. 1953)