February 7

Events, births and deaths that occurred on February 7.

[edit] Events

• 1881 - The Providence Grays round out their roster by signing pitcher Charley Radbourn, who missed most of last season with a bad arm.
• 1899 - Under a joint ownership arrangement, several Baltimore Orioles players are shifted to the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, and that club transfers several to the Orioles. Manager Ned Hanlon takes Willie Keeler, Joe Kelley, Hughie Jennings, and others with him to Brooklyn, while John McGraw and Wilbert Robinson remain in Baltimore to stay close to their businesses there. The powerful new Brooklyn team is now sometimes called the "Superbas", after a stage show in New York called "Superba" that is produced by the Hanlon brothers (unrelated to Ned Hanlon).
• 1900 - Pitcher Jack Taylor, three-times a 20-game winner and 20-game loser, dies of Bright's disease in Staten Island, New York, at 26 years of age.
• 1905 - In Lynn, Massachusetts, Rube Waddell prevents a fire by carrying a burning stove out of a store and throwing it into a snow bank. Three days later he flees nearby Peabody to escape charges of assaulting and injuring his wife's parents.
• 1908 - The St. Louis Browns purchase future Hall of Fame pitcher Rube Waddell from the Philadelphia Athletics. The Browns pay $5,000 for Waddell, who won 19 games with a 2.15 ERA in 1907. Waddell will win 19 games this season, while lowering his ERA to 1.89.
• 1916 - The Federal League's year-old suit charging antitrust violations by organized baseball is dismissed by mutual consent in U.S. District Court in Chicago by Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. No appellate decision is written and it will not be until 1922 when the courts rule on antitrust, in another suit stemming from the Federal League.
• 1917 - Tim Murnane, a first baseman on the original Boston National League team of 1876, and later a leading baseball writer, dies in Boston at age of 64.
• 1926 - The Cincinnati Reds acquire catcher Val Picinich from the Boston Red Sox for cash.
• 1934 - Cincinnati Reds players and officials set sail from New York City to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for a month of spring training. They will finish the grapefruit season in Tampa, Florida.
• 1942 - The Cincinnati Reds stir the hometown fans by selling popular catcher Ernie Lombardi to the Boston Braves, where he will win the National League batting title this season with a .330 average.
• 1949 - New York Yankees superstar Joe DiMaggio signs a one-year contract worth $100,000, becoming the first player to earn a six-figure deal in major league history. In 1948, DiMaggio batted .320, while leading the American League in home runs and RBI.
• 1958 - The Dodgers officially become the "Los Angeles Dodgers, Inc." in anticipation of playing their first season on the West Coast.
• 1959:
  • Chicago White Sox president Mrs. Dorothy Rigney agrees to sell the team to Bill Veeck for a reported $2.7 million. Chicago insurance broker Charles O. Finley allows that he can match the price. Charles Comiskey, Dorothy's brother, will try to stop Veeck from buying the Sox, but will be unsuccessful.
  • Nap Lajoie dies of pneumonia at the age of 84. Lajoie, who also managed the Cleveland Naps from 1905 to 1909, hit for a .338 batting average over a 21-year career and gained election to the Hall of Fame in 1937.
• 1961 - Boston Red Sox outfielder Jackie Jensen makes a return to the major leagues by signing a $40,000 contract. Jensen had retired in 1960 due to a fear of flying. The layoff will prove detrimental to Jensen, who will hit only .263 with 13 home runs this season.
• 1962:
  • The Boston Red Sox hire former Indianapolis Clowns scout Ed Scott as their first full-time black scout.
  • Lawyer Melvin Belli obtains a writ laying claim to Willie Mays, among other assets, unless the San Francisco Giants pay him the judgment awarded by a jury in January. Belli claims the club failed to file a motion for a new trial before the deadline.
• 1979 - Minor league pitcher Jesse Orosco becomes the player to be named later, going to the New York Mets in compensation for pitcher Jerry Koosman, who had been sent earlier to the Minnesota Twins.
• 1983 - The Seattle Mariners select Cincinnati Reds minor league infielder Danny Tartabull as compensation for the loss of free agent pitcher Floyd Bannister to the Chicago White Sox.
• 1987 - For only the second time in major league history, a player is forced to take a pay cut due to salary arbitration, when Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser signs for $800,000, which is a twenty percent reduction from his 1986 salary. Hershiser was 14-14 with a 3.85 ERA in 1986.
• 1994:
  • Former National Basketball Association star Michael Jordan signs a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox. Jordan will report to spring training before being assigned to the Class-AA Birmingham Barons. After one season in the minors, Jordan will return to the NBA.
  • The Detroit Tigers sign free agent pitcher Tim Belcher.
• 1995 - Former major league pitcher Cecil Upshaw dies from a heart attack at the age of 52. The side-arming Upshaw saved 27 games in 1969, helping the Atlanta Braves win the National League West. In nine seasons, Upshaw made 348 appearances, all in relief.
• 1996 - Dave Winfield announces his retirement at the age of 44. Winfield compiled 3,110 hits, 465 home runs and 1,833 RBI during a 22-year career with six teams. A 12-time All-Star, he joins Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Stan Musial as the only major league players with 3,000 hits and 400 home runs. Winfield will be elected to the Hall of Fame in 2001.
• 1999 - Veteran pitcher Dennis Martinez announces his retirement. The Nicaraguan right-hander won 245 games with 3,999.2 innings pitched over a 23-year career with five teams. In 1991, he pitched a perfect game as a member of the Montreal Expos.
• 2005 - The Detroit Tigers sign All-Star right fielder Magglio Ordóñez for five years for a reported $75 million. The contract for the free agent slugger, recovering from knee surgery, includes options which could extend his stay in Detroit for an additional two years making the deal worth nearly $100 million.
• 2006:
  • Venezuela wins its first Caribbean World Series championship since 1989 by rallying for two runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to beat the Dominican Republic, 5 - 4. Alex Gonzalez singles in the tying run off Jorge Sosa and scores the game-winning run on Henry Blanco's pop-fly double. Series MVP Ramón Hernandez also hits a home run for Venezuela's Caracas Lions, who finish 6-0 in the Series. In their previous game against the Dominican's Licey Tigers (4-2), the Lions won 11 - 9 on Gonzalez's three-run homer off Sosa in the 9th inning. In today's opener, the Carolina Giants of Puerto Rico beat Mexico's Mazatlan Reindeers, 3 - 2, in 11 innings, to clinch third place in the Series (2-4). Mazatlan, the defending champion, went 0-6 and finished last.
• 2008:
  • The Tigres del Licey win their record 10th Caribbean Series title, beating the Aguilas Cibaeñas, 8 - 2, in the finale of the 2008 Caribbean Series, behind the pitching of Ramon Ortiz and a balanced offense. Ortiz wins Caribbean Series MVP honors. In the other final game of the Series, the Yaquis de Obregón score 5 runs in the 9th for a 7 - 5 victory over the Tigres de Aragua.
  • The fallout from the Mitchell Report continues when Brian McNamee gives a 7-hour deposition to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Meanwhile, Roger Clemens lobbies congressmen and continues to claim McNamee lied about Clemens' use of steroids.
• 2010 - The Leones del Escogido, representing the Dominican League, win the 2010 Caribbean Series with a 7 - 4 victory over the Leones del Caracas of the Venezuelan League in La Asunción, Nueva Esparta, Venezuela. Escogido finishes the tournament with a 5-1 record and Mets OF prospect Fernando Martinez is named the Series' MVP after hitting .348 with 2 homers and 4 RBI. It is Escogido's third Caribbean championship and first since 1990.
• 2011:
  • The Yaquis de Obregón win the Caribbean Series for the first time in their history after beating Anzoátegui, 3 - 2, to finish with a 4 and 2 record. They have to wait for the result of the second game to celebrate however, but Caguas's 3 - 0 shutout of Toros del Este means both teams finish with a 3 and 3 record. Series MVP Jorge Vazquez's two-run home run off Seth Etherton is the big blow for the Mexicans. P Alberto Castillo gets off to a rough start, giving up 2 runs in 4 innings, but the four relievers who succeed him slam the door shut, with Luis Ayala getting the save. In the second game, Raul Valdes pitches 7.2 scoreless innings to end the Dominicans' hopes in the tournament.
  • Wake Forest University coach Tom Walter donates a kidney to freshman outfielder Kevin Jordan when no matching donors are found in Jordan's family.
• 2012:
  • With his Leones del Escogido having already won the 2012 Caribbean Series yesterday, Jairo Asencio wins the Caribbean Series MVP. He tossed 3 shutout innings with no hits or walks and had saved three games for the champions. He is the second reliever ever to win the MVP, following 2009's Francisco Butto. The Series wrap up with Mayaguez beating the champions from Escogido­, 3 - 1, and Aragua defeating Obregon, 6 - 2.
  • Rusty Staub is voted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, alongside P Rheal Cormier and GM Doug Melvin, the latter two Canadian natives. Staub was the first star in the history of the Montreal Expos, representing the team at three All-Star Games and seeing his number 10 retired by the team. The Canadian senior national team that won gold at the 2011 Pan American Games and bronze at the 2011 Baseball World Cup is also honored collectively.
  • The Korea Baseball Organization files an official protest against the signing of 17-year-old pitcher Seong-Min Kim by the Baltimore Orioles earlier this off-season. The KBO alleges that the Orioles failed to inform it that they were negotiating with Kim, as they are bound to do, and expresses fear that if such poaching of talented young players becomes more common, it will have a huge detrimental impact on the development of the national game. As a form of retaliation, the Korea Baseball Association announces that it will ban Orioles scouts from any event it organizes, such as national high school and college tournaments.
• 2013:
  • The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame announces its 2013 class. Two left fielders of the 1980s headline it: Montreal Expos all-around star Tim Raines, a 7-time All-Star, and Toronto Blue Jays slugger and 1987 American League MVP George Bell. Also picked are 2004 Olympian Rob Ducey, who also coached for Team Canada and played in the majors for 13 seasons, including stints for both Canadian teams, Expos and Blue Jays announcer Tom Cheek and Vancouver baseball executive Nat Bailey.
  • The Mariners sign ace pitcher Felix Hernandez to a seven-year contract for $175 million, making him the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history. The M's also sign veteran lefty Joe Saunders to a one-year contract, but for considerably less money.
  • The Yaquis de Obregón upset Escogido to win the 2013 Caribbean Series finals, 4 - 3, at the end of an 18-inning marathon that lasts well into the early hours of the morning. Ricardo Nanita forces extra innings when he homers against closer Luis Ayala to lead off the bottom of the 9th for Escogido. The teams trade runs in the 14th when Karim Garcia homers for Obregón, but Miguel Tejada drives in Jordany Valdespin with two outs, extending his all-time Caribbean Series RBI record to 47. Doug Clark hits a solo homer for the Mexican Pacific League champions with one out in the top of the 18th, and Marco Carrillo, the Yaquis' 11th pitcher of the evening, completes his fourth scoreless inning of relief to end the game. Edward Valdez is the loser, as the Dominicans use 10 pitchers in the epic contest that lasts a minute shy of 7 hours. The game sets near Caribbean Series records for length and pitchers used and ties the record for innings.

[edit] Births

• 1850 - Mike Hooper, outfielder (d. 1917)
• 1856 - Charlie Reipschlager, catcher (d. 1910)
• 1859 - John Fox, pitcher (d. 1893)
• 1862 - Charlie Dougherty, infielder (d. 1925)
• 1863 - Mike Jordan, outfielder (d. 1940)
• 1865 - Ted Kennedy, pitcher (d. 1907)
• 1866 - Tom Daly, infielder (d. 1938)
• 1867 - Ed Haigh, outfielder (d. 1953)
• 1876 - Pat Moran, catcher, manager (d. 1924)
• 1878 - Spike Shannon, outfielder (d. 1940)
• 1881 - Dave Williams, pitcher (d. 1918)
• 1885 - Barney Reilly, infielder (d. 1934)
• 1891 - Bill Dalrymple, infielder (d. 1967)
• 1893 - Charlie Jamieson, outfielder (d. 1969)
• 1894 - Charlie Jackson, outfielder (d. 1968)
• 1896 - Harold G. Hoffman, minor league executive (d. 1954)
• 1899 - Earl Whitehill, pitcher (d. 1954)
• 1900 - Bill Riggins, Negro League infielder (d. ????)
• 1904 - Randy Reese, infielder (d. 1966)
• 1905 - Cy Moore, pitcher (d. 1972)
• 1906 - Art Jones, pitcher (d. 1980)
• 1907 - Bill Steinecke, catcher (d. 1986)
• 1912 - Paddy Cottrell, scout (d. 1999)
• 1913 - Mel Almada, outfielder (d. 1988)
• 1919 - Stan Galle, infielder
• 1924 - Paul Owens, manager (d. 2003)
• 1926 - Jerry Lane, pitcher (d. 1988)
• 1926 - Danny Lynch, infielder (d. 1978)
• 1926 - Dick Wiencek, scout
• 1927 - Joe Lonnett, catcher (d. 2011)
• 1927 - Al Richter, infielder
• 1928 - Al Smith, outfielder; All-Star (d. 2002)
• 1930 - Felipe Montemayor, outfielder
• 1935 - Dave Nightingale, writer (d. 2007)
• 1936 - Frank Leja, infielder (d. 1991)
• 1936 - Franklin D. Williams, minor league outfielder (d. 2008)
• 1937 - Juan Pizarro, pitcher; All-Star
• 1938 - Johnny Werhas, infielder
• 1939 - Frank Kreutzer, pitcher
• 1941 - Mike Stubbins, minor league catcher
• 1946 - Tom Hicks, owner
• 1947 - Ted Ford, outfielder
• 1950 - Burt Hooton, pitcher; All-Star
• 1950 - Tom Maggard, minor league catcher (d. 1973)
• 1951 - Benny Ayala, outfielder
• 1951 - Regino Moroyoqui, minor league pitcher
• 1953 - Dan Quisenberry, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1998)
• 1955 - Damaso Garcia, infielder; All-Star
• 1955 - Charlie Puleo, pitcher
• 1957 - Carney Lansford, infielder; All-Star
• 1958 - Ralph Citarella, pitcher
• 1959 - Carlos Ponce, infielder
• 1962 - Garth Brooks, signed outfielder
• 1963 - Brian O'Nora, umpire
• 1964 - Bien Figueroa, infielder
• 1965 - Dan Simonds, minor league catcher and manager
• 1966 - Stu Cole, infielder
• 1967 - Lindsay Foster, minor league infielder
• 1970 - Charlie Sullivan, scout
• 1974 - Adrian Brown, outfielder
• 1976 - Laz Gutierrez, minor league pitcher
• 1977 - Dave Borkowski, pitcher
• 1978 - Endy Chavez, outfielder
• 1978 - Ben Christensen, minor league pitcher
• 1978 - Matthew Kent, minor league catcher
• 1978 - Vincent Parisi, Italian Baseball League catcher
• 1979 - Eliezer Alfonzo, catcher
• 1979 - Humberto Cota, catcher
• 1979 - Jon Leicester, pitcher
• 1979 - Josh Miller, minor league pitcher
• 1980 - Brad Hennessey, pitcher
• 1981 - Seth McClung, pitcher
• 1981 - Eddie Menchaca, minor league infielder and manager
• 1983 - Scott Feldman, pitcher
• 1983 - Lorvin Louisa, minor league outfielder
• 1986 - Josh Collmenter, pitcher
• 1988 - Edinho Meyer, minor league infielder
• 1990 - Nick Dawson, New Zealand national team pitcher

[edit] Deaths

• 1900 - Jack Taylor, pitcher (b. 1873)
• 1917 - Tim Murnane, infielder, manager (b. 1851)
• 1924 - George Kahler, pitcher (b. 1889)
• 1937 - Charlie Bell, pitcher (b. 1868)
• 1937 - Jim Miller, infielder (b. 1880)
• 1942 - Joe Poetz, pitcher (b. 1900)
• 1943 - Floyd Ritter, catcher (b. 1870)
• 1959 - Nap Lajoie, infielder, manager; Hall of Famer (b. 1874)
• 1965 - Bruno Betzel, infielder (b. 1894)
• 1965 - Rube Peters, pitcher (b. 1885)
• 1967 - Joe Vitelli, pitcher (b. 1908)
• 1968 - Ollie Marquardt, infielder (b. 1902)
• 1977 - Art Ehlers, general manager (b. 1897)
• 1978 - Roy Grover, infielder (b. 1892)
• 1979 - Warren Giles Hall of Famer (b. 1896)
• 1991 - George DeTore, infielder (b. 1906)
• 1993 - Floyd Stromme, pitcher (b. 1916)
• 1995 - Cecil Upshaw, pitcher (b. 1942)
• 1996 - Red Webb, pitcher (b. 1924)
• 1997 - Manny Salvo, pitcher (b. 1913)
• 1997 - Jim Walkup, pitcher (b. 1909)
• 2000 - Ed Linn, author (b. 1922)
• 2003 - Ron Mazeroski, college coach (b. 1956)
• 2008 - Hank Nowak, minor league outfielder (b. 1917)
• 2009 - John Gabler, pitcher (b. 1930)
• 2010 - Paul LaPalme, pitcher (b. 1923)
• 2010 - Soo-hyuk Lim, KBO catcher (b. 1969)
• 2012 - Danny Clyburn, outfielder (b. 1974)
• 2012 - Walt Yowell, minor league pitcher (b. 1930)