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February 2
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
| Standings on this day | |
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| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on February 2.
[edit] Events
- 1923 - Red Schoendienst is born in Germantown, Illinois. Playing mostly as a second baseman, Schoendienst will bat .289 during a 19-year career mainly with the St. Louis Cardinals, who he will later manage to a World Championship. He will win election to the Hall of Fame in 1989.
- 1930 - The New York Yankees waive shortstop Leo Durocher, who batted only .246 in 1929. The future Hall of Fame manager will eventually sign with the Cincinnati Reds.
- 1936 - The Baseball Writers Association of America announces the results of the first Hall of Fame vote. Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson and Honus Wagner comprise the inaugural class of Hall of Fame members. Several other stars like Cy Young fail to make the grade, but will enter the Hall in later elections.
- 1987 - Longtime Kansas City Royals pitcher Dennis Leonard announces his retirement. A three-time 20-game winner, Leonard has struggled in his comeback from knee problems, winning just eight of 21 decisions in 1986.
- 1989 - Former All-Star first baseman Bill White is elected president of the National League. White succeeds Chub Feeney, becoming the first African-American to be named president of either league and the highest-ranking black executive in the four major sports.
- 2005:
- SkyDome is renamed the "Rogers Centre" several days after Rogers Communications completed its purchase of the Toronto Blue Jays' stadium. Fans react to the naming with derision.
- The trade that sent Sammy Sosa to the Baltimore Orioles from the Chicago Cubs is finalized after Commissioner Bud Selig approves the deal and the slugger passes his physical. Chicago receives second baseman Jerry Hairston, Jr. and two minor leaguers, then signs Jeromy Burnitz as a free agent to replace Sosa in right field.
- 2006:
- Ramón Hernandez hits for the cycle and drives in five runs, leading the Caracas Lions of Venezuela to a 17 - 1 rout of Mexico's Mazatlan Reindeer in the Caribbean Series opener. Alex Cabrera also hits a home run with four RBI, and starter Jeremi Gonzalez strikes out seven in seven innings. According to Caribbean Series historians, Ramón Hernandez's feat is the first in Caribbean Series play, dating back to 1949.
- In the other game played today in the Caribbean Series, Anderson Hernandez hits a tiebreaking single in the 11th inning to help the Dominican Republic's Licey Tigers beat the Carolina Giants of Puerto Rico, 5 - 4. Miguel Tejada drives in two runs in the third inning, giving the Dominicans a 2 - 0 lead.
- 2008:
- In the Caribbean Series, DH Miguel Tejada homers twice to become the all-time Caribbean Series leader with 13 home runs, breaking a tie with Tony Armas Sr.. Tejada's jacks help his Aguilas Cibaeñas to a 13 - 6 victory over the Yaquis de Obregón. He goes 3 for 4 with four runs in the game.
- In the other day one game of the 2008 Caribbean Series, the Tigres del Licey beat the Tigres de Aragua in a matchup of Tigers, 6 - 4. 2B Ronnie Belliard drives in four, including a 2-run homer against Jose Santiago, to lead the victory charge while José Capellán gives up one run in five innings for the win.
- 2010:
- On the first day of the Caribbean Series, Escogido defeats Mayaguez, 2 - 1, while Hermosillo beats Caracas, 7 - 2, as veterans Vinny Castilla and Ruben Rivera lead the attack.
- The Marlins sign P Seth McClung and Jose Veras to minor league contracts, while the Dodgers add utility player Alfredo Amezaga, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, and also re-sign P Jeff Weaver.
- 2011:
- In the opening game of the 2011 Caribbean Series in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, Obregon of Mexico defeats Toros del Este from the Dominican Republic, 4 - 3, in 15 innings. Barbaro Canizares ties the game with a two-out RBI off Dominican closer Julio Manon in the bottom of the 9th, then Iker Franco wins it with a two-out run-scoring hit in the 15th.
- In the second game of the 2011 Caribbean Series, Anzoátegui of Venezuela tops Caguas of Puerto Rico, 5 - 3, to cap a harrowing day. The Venezuelan champions only reached Mayagüez at 7:00 AM, and had to play until 2:00 AM following delays caused by the Series' opening ceremonies and the marathon opening contest. However they take advantage of two Puerto Rican errors to score four runs the 1st inning and nurse the lead to the end in what manager Julio Franco calls a "superhuman feat".
- The Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame announces its 2011 class. For the third straight year, only players from the Caribbean Series host nation are honored. This time, it is Roberto Alomar, Carlos Baerga, Candy Maldonado and Luis DeLeon who get the nod.
- 2012:
- Behind the pitching of veteran Nelson Figueroa, Mayagüez defeats Aragua, 3 - 1, in the opener of the 2012 Caribbean Series. Figueroa gives up a run on 7 hits while striking out 8 in 6 2/3 innings; Ruben Gotay drives in two runs. In the second game, Escogido defeats Obregon, 2 - 1, as lefty Kris Johnson is the star.
- The Cubs sign Cuban LhP Gerardo Concepcion. Concepcion was the Rookie of the Year in the 2010-11 Serie Nacional before defecting at the World Port Tournament in the Netherlands last June.
- A few major leaguers also sign contracts: P Micah Owings goes to the Padres, 1B Casey Kotchman to Cleveland and P Edwin Jackson to the Nationals.
- 2013:
- Escogido wins its second game in the 2013 Caribbean Series, defeating Caguas, 6 - 2. Donell Linares his a three-run homer in the 8th for the key blow. In the other game, Magallanes beats Obregón, 4 - 3, after the Mexican Pacific League champions waste a great start by Rodrigo Lopez. Lopez gives up only a run on two hits in 6 innings, the run coming on Robert Perez's solo homer, but Obregón replies with a solo homer by Barbaro Canizares. An error by Mario Lissón gives the Mexicans a pair of runs in the 7th, but reliever Oscar Villarreal gives them back immediately, then Lissón redeems himself with a game-ending RBI single in the bottom of the 9th.
- Caltech wins its first game in nearly 10 years, a span of 228 games.
[edit] Births
- 1856 - Harry Spence, manager (d. 1908)
- 1860 - Ed Halbriter, pitcher (d. 1936)
- 1862 - Bert Dorr, pitcher (d. 1914)
- 1872 - Dale Gear, outfielder (d. 1951)
- 1874 - Charlie Frisbee, outfielder (d. 1954)
- 1878 - Emil Haberer, catcher (d. 1951)
- 1878 - Hub Hart, catcher (d. 1960)
- 1881 - Orval Overall, pitcher (d. 1947)
- 1883 - Bill Abstein, infielder (d. 1940)
- 1884 - Ray Demmitt, outfielder (d. 1956)
- 1884 - Walt Kuhn, catcher (d. 1935)
- 1886 - Herb Juul, pitcher (d. 1928)
- 1887 - Mutz Ens, infielder (d. 1950)
- 1889 - Ernie Wolf, pitcher (d. 1964)
- 1891 - Lawrence Whitney, Olympic outfielder (d. 1941)
- 1893 - Cy Warmoth, pitcher (d. 1957)
- 1895 - George Halas, outfielder (d. 1983)
- 1895 - George Lees, catcher (d. 1980)
- 1896 - Tsutomu Takeda, Japanese Hall of Fame (d. 1990)
- 1900 - Willie Kamm, infielder (d. 1988)
- 1900 - Frank Mack, pitcher (d. 1971)
- 1901 - Otis Miller, infielder (d. 1959)
- 1907 - Jerry Byrne, pitcher (d. 1955)
- 1908 - Bobby Coombs, pitcher (d. 1991)
- 1908 - Wes Ferrell, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1976)
- 1920 - Zeb Eaton, pitcher (d. 1989)
- 1922 - Sheldon Jones, pitcher (d. 1991)
- 1923 - Red Schoendienst, infielder, manager; All-Star, Hall of Famer
- 1925 - Joe Szekely, outfielder (d. 1995)
- 1927 - Doris Sams, AAGPBL outfielder and pitcher (d. 2012)
- 1927 - Fred Waters, pitcher (d. 1989)
- 1931 - Ted Tappe, outfielder (d. 2004)
- 1933 - Jack Reed, outfielder
- 1935 - Charles Pagliarulo, minor league infielder (d. 1994)
- 1937 - Don Buford, infielder; All-Star
- 1938 - Max Alvis, infielder; All-Star
- 1942 - Ron Franklin, announcer
- 1942 - Larry Rojas, minor league infielder
- 1948 - Dell Chambers, minor league infielder (d. 1968)
- 1950 - Dale Murray, pitcher
- 1951 - Leo Foster, infielder
- 1952 - Warren Brusstar, pitcher
- 1954 - Puchy Delgado, outfielder
- 1954 - Rob Dressler, pitcher
- 1954 - John Tudor, pitcher
- 1956 - Jose Centeno, minor league outfielder
- 1956 - Manny Sarmiento, pitcher
- 1957 - Craig Chamberlain, pitcher
- 1958 - Pat Tabler, infielder; All-Star
- 1960 - Buddy Biancalana, infielder
- 1961 - Steve Smith, college coach
- 1962 - Pat Clements, pitcher
- 1962 - Paul Kilgus, pitcher
- 1963 - Ruggero Bagialemani, Serie A1 infielder
- 1965 - Tom Aldrich, minor league infielder
- 1966 - Greg Smith, scout
- 1968 - Scott Erickson, pitcher
- 1969 - Bill Abare, minor league infielder
- 1969 - Óscar Macías, Cuban league and minor league infielder
- 1971 - Kiyoshi Toyoda, NPB pitcher
- 1972 - Jared Fernandez, pitcher
- 1972 - Melvin Mora, infielder; All-Star
- 1973 - Stefano Landuzzi, Italian Baseball League catcher
- 1974 - Billy Percibal, minor league pitcher
- 1975 - Mark DeRosa, infielder
- 1977 - Adam Everett, infielder
- 1977 - Olivier Israel, Division Elite infielder
- 1979 - Wai-Hang Leung, Hong Kong national team player
- 1979 - Marko Pavlakovic, Croatian national team outfielder
- 1979 - Tino Sanchez, minor league catcher
- 1980 - Luis Miguel Navas, Cuban leagues infielder
- 1983 - Ronny Cedeno, infielder
- 1983 - Jason Vargas, pitcher
- 1984 - Ryan Doherty, minor league pitcher
- 1984 - Chin-Lung Hu, infielder
- 1985 - Scott Maine, pitcher
- 1986 - Joanniel Montero, minor league player
- 1987 - Jean Tome, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Brad Peacock, pitcher
- 1988 - Max Perlman, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Travis Snider, outfielder
- 1990 - Nick Rickles, minor league catcher
- 1992 - J.J. Franco, drafted infielder
[edit] Deaths
- 1918 - Jack Crooks, infielder, manager (b. 1865)
- 1929 - Thorny Hawkes, infielder (b. 1852)
- 1929 - Mike Walsh, manager (b. 1850)
- 1941 - Ambrose McGann, infielder (b. 1868)
- 1950 - John Butler, catcher (b. 1879)
- 1951 - Bill Sowders, pitcher (b. 1864)
- 1953 - Mike Dejan, outfielder (b. 1915)
- 1961 - Red Holt, infielder (b. 1894)
- 1963 - Emil Planeta, pitcher (b. 1909)
- 1969 - Ray Schmandt, infielder (b. 1896)
- 1972 - Dick Burrus, infielder (b. 1898)
- 1978 - Archie Wise, pitcher (b. 1912)
- 1980 - Chauncey DeVault, minor league executive (b. 1910)
- 1980 - Jack Rothrock, outfielder (b. 1905)
- 1981 - Al Van Camp, outfielder (b. 1903)
- 1983 - Frederick Bedore, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1904)
- 1993 - Merle Anthony, umpire (b. 1926)
- 1993 - Len Levy, coach (b. 1913)
- 1997 - Art Merewether, pinch hitter (b. 1902)
- 2002 - Andy Hansen, pitcher (b. 1924)
- 2002 - Ed Jucker, college coach (b. 1916)
- 2008 - Ed Vargo, umpire (b. 1938)
- 2009 - Kazuhiro Yamauchi, NPB outfielder; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1932)
- 2011 - John Gayle, minor league outfielder (b. 1923)
- 2012 - Michael Fandozzi, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1927)
- 2013 - Pepper Davis, AAGPBL catcher (b. 1924)
- 2013 - Edith Houghton, scout (b. 1912)
