March 22
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
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| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on March 22.
[edit] Events
- 1886 - Denny McKnight, one of the founders of the American Association, is ousted from the league presidency for his partisan handling of the Sam Barkley case. Wheeler Wikoff becomes the new AA president.
- 1888 - 3B/C Deacon White signs with the Detroit Wolverines after a prolonged battle with manager Bill Watkins, under whom White had said he'd never play.
- 1889 - The All America team beats Chicago 7 - 6 in England's Old Trafford Cricket Stadium. The Manchester Guardian said the "general verdict of the more than 1,000 spectators was that the American game was "˜slow' and "˜wanting in variety.'
- 1939 - Rookie outfielder Pete Reiser starts his second spring training game for the Brooklyn Dodgers. After going 0-for-3 yesterday against the Yankees, Reiser belt a home run in his first at bat against the Cardinals, and follows with a walk and two singles. He will have 10 straight hits before striking out three times against Yankees pitcher Oral Hildebrand six days later. When Jack Haley relieves Hildebrand, Reiser hit a home run off him. Reiser will go north with Brooklyn and play in an April 15 exhibition against the Yankees in Ebbets Field before being sent to the Triple-A Elmira Pioneers.
- 1962:
- A former New York Giants requesting anonymity reveals that Bobby Thomson's home run in the 1951 playoffs against the Brooklyn Dodgers was helped by a sign-stealing clubhouse spy. The spying is claimed to have gone on for the last three months of the season. Thomson, along with former NY Giants manager Leo Durocher, vehemently deny that he received help, but a source close to the team confirms the spy operation.
- At spring training, Yankees slugger Roger Maris declines to pose with Mets coach Rogers Hornsby because the Hall of Famer had criticized him in his book My Wars with Baseball.
- 1963 - The New York Mets, who finished last in the National League with a 40-120 record in their inaugural season, purchase pitcher Carl Willey from the Milwaukee Braves. Willey will boost a pitching rotation that include Roger Craig, Al Jackson and Tracy Stallard. The Mets will improve to 51-111 in that season.
- 1972:
- The American League approves the sale of the Cleveland Indians by Vernon Stouffer. A group headed up by businessman Nick Mileti purchases the team for an estimated $9.7 million. Mileti also owns the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association and the Cleveland Barons of the National Hockey League. Stouffer had turned down an offer from George Steinbrenner to buy the team, but when the AL owners reject his proposal to have the Indians play some of their games in the New Orleans Superdome, Stouffer decides to sell the team.
- In one of the best trades in franchise history, the New York Yankees acquire reliever Sparky Lyle from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for 1B/OF Danny Cater. In seven seasons with the Yankees, Lyle will post a 57-40 record with 141 saves and a 2.41 ERA, win a Cy Young Award, and help the team to three World Series titles.
- 1976 - The California Angels' groundskeeper finds hundreds of marijuana plants growing in the outfield at Anaheim Stadium. The culprits? Most likely rock concert fans who attended a recent performance at the stadium by The Who.
- 1981 - American League President Lee MacPhail suspends Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver for removing his team from the field and forfeiting a spring training game to the Kansas City Royals. It is the fourth career suspension for Weaver, who was upset that the umpires did not provide him with an official batting order after Kansas City made numerous substitutions. Weaver's suspension will last three days.
- 1990 - MLB umpires announce that they will boycott exhibition games to protest not having been consulted in the revision of the regular season schedule after the lockout. They will return to work on April 1.
- 1991 - At Sotheby's in New York, a 1909-10 tobacco card in mint condition of Honus Wagner sells for $451,000, with the 10% auction house premium. Ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and Los Angeles Kings owner Bruce McNall purchase the rare card. On the same day, a 1952 Topps card of Mickey Mantle goes for $49,500, tripling the pre-auction estimate, while a baseball, signed by 12 players at the 1939 Hall of Fame induction ceremony, sells for $20,900.
- 1993 - Cleveland Indians pitchers Steve Olin and Tim Crews are killed, and Bob Ojeda is seriously injured, when the motorboat in which they are riding strikes a pier on Little Lake Nellie in Winter Haven, Florida. Crews and Olin are the first active major leaguers to die since Thurman Munson in 1979.
- 1997:
- The New York Mets, loaded with middle infielders, add two more, acquiring shortstop Manny Alexander and third baseman Scott McClain from the Baltimore Orioles. The Mets give up hard throwing reliever Hector Ramirez in exchange.
- At spring training, Cincinnati Reds catcher Joe Oliver tears a ligament in his thumb making a tag at home plate, and will need surgery to repair it. Oliver will be out of action at least a month.
- 1999 - The St. Louis Cardinals announce that starter Matt Morris, expected to be the ace of their pitching staff, will miss the entire season because of a torn ligament in his right elbow.
- 2002 - 38-year-old Dante Bichette announces his retirement after a poor spring trying to make the Dodgers roster as a bench player. A four-time All-Star, Bichette was a .299 hitter with 274 home runs and 1,141 RBI in a 14-season career with the California Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox.
- 2005 - Eleven home runs shy of passing Babe Ruth on the all-time list, San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds indicates he may not play this season. The 40-year old National League MVP, who has two knee operations and has been implicated in the sport's steroids scandal, cites being physically and mentally "done" and blames the news media for much of his unhappiness.
- 2008 - Javy Lopez retires. Lopez had hit 260 home runs and slugged .491 in his major league career, producing a 112 OPS+ in 15 seasons. He set a single-season home run record for catchers with 42. A 3-time All-Star, Lopez had sat out 2007 before managing just a .188 average in his comeback attempt with the Atlanta Braves in the spring of 2008.
[edit] Births
- 1854 - Myron Allen, outfielder (d. 1924)
- 1856 - Bill McClellan, infielder (d. 1929)
- 1866 - Jack Boyle, infielder (d. 1913)
- 1867 - Nick Reeder, infielder (d. 1894)
- 1868 - Ed Fuller, pitcher (d. 1935)
- 1869 - George Bausewine, pitcher (d. 1947)
- 1880 - Ernie Quigley, umpire (d. 1960)
- 1881 - Bill Chappelle, pitcher (d. 1944)
- 1882 - Jimmy Sebring, outfielder (d. 1909)
- 1889 - Tillie Shafer, infielder (d. 1962)
- 1892 - Lew Wendell, catcher (d. 1953)
- 1896 - Chick Holmes, pitcher (d. 1954)
- 1898 - Luke Urban, catcher (d. 1980)
- 1902 - Goldie Holt, coach, minor league player and manager (d. 1991)
- 1904 - Bob Elson, announcer (d. 1991)
- 1906 - Manuel Chávez, minor league infielder (d. 1988)
- 1906 - Marv Owen, infielder (d. 1991)
- 1906 - Moose Solters, outfielder (d. 1975)
- 1906 - Overton Tremper, outfielder (d. 1996)
- 1907 - Johnny Scalzi, pinch hitter (d. 1962)
- 1909 - Ed Cole, pitcher (d. 1999)
- 1913 - Hank Steinbacher, outfielder (d. 1977)
- 1915 - Norm Branch, pitcher (d. 1971)
- 1915 - Wataru Nonin, NPB infielder and manager (d. 1991)
- 1918 - Bill Butland, pitcher (d. 1997)
- 1918 - Carl Miles, pitcher
- 1921 - George Crowe, infielder; All-Star
- 1926 - Billy Goodman, infielder; All-Star (d. 1984)
- 1926 - Wataru Noguchi, NPB infielder and pitcher
- 1927 - Paul Stuffel, pitcher
- 1928 - Paul Schramka, outfielder
- 1932 - Al Schroll, pitcher (d. 1999)
- 1933 - Frank Dolson, writer (d. 2006)
- 1934 - Víctor Saíz, minor league umpire; Salon de la Fama
- 1935 - Gene Oliver, catcher (d. 2007)
- 1935 - Frank Pulli, umpire
- 1940 - Dick Ellsworth, pitcher; All-Star
- 1944 - Matt Galante, manager
- 1948 - Jake Brown, outfielder (d. 1981)
- 1948 - Carlos Velazquez, pitcher (d. 2000)
- 1949 - Terry Wilshusen, pitcher (d. 2000)
- 1952 - Eddie Bane, pitcher
- 1952 - Bob Costas, announcer
- 1952 - Eric Rasmussen, pitcher
- 1953 - Dan Boitano, pitcher
- 1960 - Scott Bradley, catcher
- 1960 - Matt Sinatro, catcher
- 1963 - Rich Monteleone, pitcher
- 1965 - Glenallen Hill, outfielder
- 1966 - Sean Berry, infielder
- 1967 - Josh Lowery, minor league outfielder
- 1968 - Ramon Martinez, pitcher; All-Star
- 1972 - Cory Lidle, pitcher (d. 2006)
- 1972 - Kevin Lidle, minor league catcher
- 1974 - Jason Phillips, pitcher
- 1976 - Selwyn Langaigne, minor league outfielder
- 1978 - Jeremy Griffiths, pitcher
- 1981 - Dong-hwa Cho, KBO outfielder
- 1982 - Mike Morse, infielder
- 1984 - Joe Smith, pitcher
- 1985 - Justin Masterson, pitcher
- 1986 - Dexter Fowler, outfielder
- 1987 - Ike Davis, minor league outfielder
[edit] Deaths
- 1897 - Dave Anderson, pitcher (b. 1868)
- 1902 - Johnny Ryan, outfielder (b. 1853)
- 1904 - Art McCoy, infielder (b. 1864)
- 1905 - Gus Krock, pitcher (b. 1866)
- 1912 - Ed Kenna, pitcher (b. 1877)
- 1918 - Jim Holdsworth, infielder/outfielder (b. 1850)
- 1940 - Libe Washburn, outfielder (b. 1874)
- 1942 - Bob Vail, pitcher (b. 1881)
- 1944 - Claude Hendrix, pitcher (b. 1889)
- 1947 - Tony Von Fricken, pitcher (b. 1869)
- 1949 - Jake Livingstone, pitcher (b. 1880)
- 1953 - Michael Driscoll, pitcher (b. 1892)
- 1954 - Harry LaRoss, outfielder (b. 1888)
- 1957 - Charlie Babington, outfielder (b. 1895)
- 1960 - Gordon Rhodes, pitcher (b. 1907)
- 1962 - Lee DeMontreville, infielder (b. 1875)
- 1962 - Joe Martina, pitcher (b. 1889)
- 1969 - Floyd Speer, pitcher (b. 1913)
- 1973 - Bill McCorry, pitcher (b. 1887)
- 1980 - Ray Foley, pinch hitter (b. 1906)
- 1983 - Don Savidge, pitcher (b. 1908)
- 1985 - Arthur Allyn, Jr., owner (b. 1913)
- 1993 - Steve Olin, pitcher (b. 1965)
- 1996 - Pete Whisenant, outfielder (b. 1929)
- 2000 - Lilio Marcucci, minor league catcher and manager (b. 1922)
- 2001 - Newt Kimball, pitcher (b. 1915)
- 2007 - Don Dennis, pitcher (b. 1942)
- 2007 - Dong-hee Park, KBO pitcher (b. 1968)
- 2007 - Willard Schmidt, pitcher (b. 1928)
