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March 23
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 March 23.
[edit] Events
- 1889 - John Ward arrives in New York, having left the world tour early, and states that he might consent to play with the Washington Nationals if he receives a major portion of the $12,000 sale price. On April 2nd he will kill the deal with the Giants by refusing to play for Washington.
- 1900 - The Brooklyn Superbas sell John McGraw, Wilbert Robinson and Bill Keister to the St. Louis Cardinals for $15,000. McGraw and Robinson refuse to report.
- 1936 - Pitcher Dizzy Dean ends his well-publicized holdout and signs a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. Dean agrees to a one-year deal that will pay him $24,000 for the upcoming season.
- 1938 - Commissioner Landis frees 74 St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, among them Pete Reiser, in yet another attempt to halt the farm system cover-up. Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Larry MacPhail makes a pact with his St. Louis counterpart, Branch Rickey, to take the as-yet unknown Reiser and swap him back in the future, but the young outfielder's ability is too great to hide.
- 1941 - New York Yankees outfielder Joe DiMaggio, a holdout and late arrival in spring training, plays his first exhibition game.
- 1942 - The Brooklyn Dodgers reobtain Frenchy Bordagaray, buying the veteran first baseman from the New York Yankees.
- 1951 - The Brooklyn Dodgers sign a 21-year lease with the city of Vero Beach, Florida, for use of their spring training facilities there.
- 1955 - 160-something pound rookie Roberto Clemente flashes some of his under-publicized power in the form of a triple, "425 feet to the fence in center," according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Jack Hernon. In the process, Clemente hits a laser to the deepest part of the ballpark in the Pirates' spring training home, Terry Park, in Fort Myers, FL, in the 3rd inning of an exhibition game against the Chicago White Sox. However, as Pittsburgh Press writer Les Biederman recounts, (Clemente) "then was an easy out at the plate when he tried to stretch the drive into an inside-the-park homer."
- 1957 - At Los Angeles's Wrigley Field, Willie Mays belts two home runs to lead the Giants to a 9 - 3 Cactus League win over the Cleveland Indians. Giants general manager Bill Rigney fines Hank Thompson $150 for missing last night's exhibition win over the Indians in San Diego.
- 1959 - The San Francisco Giants clear space for future Hall of Famers Orlando Cepeda and Willie McCovey by trading first baseman Bill White to the St. Louis Cardinals. Cepeda won the 1958 National League Rookie of the Year Award after batting .312 with 25 home runs and 96 RBI. McCovey, a top prospect in the Giants' farm system, will make his major league debut this season.
- 1962 - William DeWitt buys the Cincinnati Reds from the Crosley Foundation for $4.625 million.
- 1968 - In a spring training game, Chicago Cubs pitcher Jim Ellis creates the "Lip Pass" by going to his mouth on a 3 and 1 count to issue an intentional walk. Cubs manager Leo Durocher, who was opposed to the new strict enforcement of the rule preventing pitchers from going to their mouth while on the rubber, is warned not to repeat the Lip pass or he'll be fined. He doesn't, but the rule is relaxed.
- 1974:
- The New York Yankees purchase outfielder Elliott Maddox from the Texas Rangers for $60,000. Maddox will prove to be a great defensive outfielder as well as hitting .303 this year.
- The Chicago Cubs send All-Star outfielder Jim Hickman to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for pitcher Scipio Spinks.
- 1978 - The New York Mets trade popular shortstop Bud Harrelson to the Philadelphia Phillies for minor leaguer Fred Andrews.
- 1990 - Gambler Howard Spira is arrested for extorting money from New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who paid Spira $40,000 in January. The Commissioner will suspend Steinbrenner because of his relationship with the unsavory caracter.
- 1992 - The National League announces that president Bill White will step down at the end of his term in 1993. A former St. Louis Cardinals star, White became the first African-American league president in 1989.
- 1996 - In a Grapefruit League game at Clearwater's Jack Russell Stadium, the Philadelphia Phillies and Cleveland Indians meet for the first time in their history, with the Indians prevailing, 8 - 2.
- 2000:
- The St. Louis Cardinals obtain All-Star centerfielder Jim Edmonds from the Anaheim Angels in exchange for pitcher Kent Bottenfield and second baseman Adam Kennedy.
- All-Star outfielder Tim Raines announces his retirement after 21 major league seasons. But he will return in 2001 to play two more seasons.
- The Chicago Cubs send relief pitcher Rodney Myers to the San Diego Padres in exchange for outfielder Gary Matthews, Jr.
- 2001:
- A panel of veteran baseball writers, historians and executives selects a roster of the Top 100 Greatest Cleveland Indians Players, as part of the club's 100th Anniversary Celebration.
- The Cincinnati Reds announce the retirement of first baseman Hal Morris. In a 13-season major league career, Morris was a .304 hitter with 76 home runs and 513 RBI in 1246 games.
- 2006:
- Alfonso Soriano ends his brief stand-off with the Washington Nationals, agreeing to move to left field and abandon his perch at second base.
- According to a new book, San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds tried to keep his name out of the BALCO scandal, sending his lawyer into meetings with company representatives to ask for protection.
- 2009:
- Japan wins the 2009 World Baseball Classic, its second World Baseball Classic title in the two times the tournament had been held. As in 2006, Daisuke Matsuzaka is named MVP after going 3-0. In the finale, Japan beats the South Korean national team, 5 - 3 ,in 10 innings, with a 2-run single by Ichiro Suzuki off Chang-yong Lim being the winning hit. Suzuki goes 4 for 6 in the game. Yu Darvish gets the win after blowing a save opportunity in the 9th.
- Curt Schilling announces his retirement on his blog. He pitched 23 seasons in the major leagues and won three World Series (2001, 2004 and 2007), sharing World Series MVP honors in 2001. He went 216-146 with 3116 strikeouts in the majors. He made six All-Star teams and was a 3-time runner-up for the Cy Young Award. He retires 15th all-time in strikeouts and first in K:BB ratio for players from the 20th Century or later.
- 2010 - The Brewers advise P Scott Schoeneweis that he will not make their opening day roster and that they plan to release him on March 25th. Schoeneweis is attempting a comeback after a trying 2009 season both on and off the field and will find a job a few days later with the Boston Red Sox.
- 2011:
- On the last day of the Cuban Serie Nacional 2010-2011 regular season, José Dariel Abreu cracks his 33rd home run. Despite missing about a quarter of the season with an injury, Abreu wins two legs of the Triple Crown. He and Yoennis Céspedes both break Alfredo Despaigne's two-year old home run record of 32. Cuban baseball has seen increased home run outputs in recent years with the more lively Mizuno 150 baseball being used.
- Japan's Central League announces that it will delay its opener, scheduled for March 25th, until at least April 12th in the wake of the devastating March 11th earthquake and tsunami. The Pacific League has already announced a delay in its opener, and both leagues will refrain from playing night games in April in order to ease the strain of the country's battered power grid.
- Phillies P Roy Oswalt is hit behind the ear by a line drive off the bat of the Rays' Manny Ramirez in a spring training game in Port Charlotte, FL. He is immediately removed from the game, but suffers no significant injury - only a bruise to his neck.
- 2012:
- Boston reliever Bobby Jenks is arrested in Fort Myers, FL for driving under the influence, destruction of property and leaving the scene of an accident. Jenks argues that the cause of his erratic driving is because "I took too many muscle relaxers." After further questions from police, he confesses that "I was just leaving Babes (nightclub) because I hit a car. I just had to get out of there." Jenks had problems with alcohol in past years but claimed in 2010 that he had stopped drinking altogether.
- Joe Torre returns to his job as Vice-President of Major League Baseball, three months after resigning to join a group bidding to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers. The group has since dropped out of the process.
- Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain dislocates his ankle while playing on a trampoline with his son. Already recovering from Tommy John surgery, he undergoes emergency surgery for an open dislocation. Doctors report that he lost so much blood that there was concern for his life and that he will need to stay hospitalized for several days. While the injury is thought to be season-ending, Joba will be back pitching for the Yankees on August 1st.
[edit] Births
- 1863 - Joe Gunson, catcher (d. 1942)
- 1864 - Charlie Hilsey, pitcher (d. 1918)
- 1864 - Willie Murphy, outfielder
- 1865 - Dan Shannon, infielder, manager (d. 1913)
- 1865 - Farmer Weaver, outfielder (d. 1943)
- 1868 - Elmer Smith, outfielder (d. 1945)
- 1870 - Rudy Kling, infielder (d. 1937)
- 1871 - Paul Russell, infielder (d. 1957)
- 1877 - Peaches Graham, catcher (d. 1939)
- 1877 - Ed Taylor, pitcher (d. 1912)
- 1878 - Pete Loos, pitcher (d. 1956)
- 1878 - Homer Smoot, outfielder (d. 1928)
- 1881 - Gavvy Cravath, outfielder, manager (d. 1963)
- 1885 - Danny Moeller, outfielder (d. 1951)
- 1886 - Cy Slapnicka, pitcher (d. 1979)
- 1886 - Buzzy Wares, infielder (d. 1964)
- 1893 - Ray Kremer, pitcher (d. 1965)
- 1895 - Frank Parkinson, infielder (d. 1960)
- 1902 - Johnny Moore, outfielder (d. 1991)
- 1908 - Bill Harvey, Negro League pitcher (d. 1989)
- 1911 - Sig Broskie, catcher (d. 1975)
- 1918 - Lou Lucier, pitcher
- 1920 - Tetsuharu Kawakami, NPB infielder, manager; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
- 1923 - Barney Koch, infielder (d. 1987)
- 1926 - Stu Komer, minor league catcher
- 1926 - Johnny Logan, infielder; All-Star
- 1928 - Jim Lemon, outfielder, manager; All-Star
- 1929 - Fate Simms, Negro League outfielder (d. 1979)
- 1930 - Teruo Owaki, NPB pitcher
- 1931 - Stan Pitula, pitcher (d. 1965)
- 1932 - Jack Meyer, pitcher (d. 1967)
- 1936 - Al Herring, minor league player
- 1936 - Hubie LeBlanc, college coach (d. 2009)
- 1938 - Sam Bowens, outfielder (d. 2003)
- 1938 - Bobby Dews, minor league infielder and manager
- 1942 - Danny Coombs, pitcher
- 1943 - Bruce Howard, pitcher
- 1943 - Lee May, infielder; All-Star
- 1944 - George Scott, infielder; All-Star
- 1947 - Pat Bourque, infielder
- 1948 - Lanny Frattare, announcer
- 1949 - Jim Geddes, pitcher
- 1953 - Bo Diaz, catcher; All-Star (d. 1990)
- 1956 - Mike Darr, pitcher
- 1956 - Ron Johnson, infielder
- 1957 - Sa-yong Gam, KBO pitcher
- 1962 - Butch Baccala, scout
- 1964 - Mark Wooden, minor league pitcher
- 1966 - Mike Remlinger, pitcher; All-Star
- 1967 - Jerry Brooks, outfielder
- 1967 - Tom Fischer, minor league pitcher
- 1967 - Luis Vasquez, minor league pitcher
- 1969 - Chris Turner, catcher
- 1970 - Ricky Gutierrez, minor league infielder
- 1973 - Byung-ho Jun, KBO pitcher
- 1975 - Gary Coffee, minor league infielder
- 1975 - Will Rikard, Bundesliga outfielder-pitcher
- 1976 - Joel Peralta, pitcher
- 1977 - Omar Obando, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - Hung-Sen Chu, CPBL infielder
- 1978 - Francisco Villegas, minor league pitcher
- 1979 - Mark Buehrle, pitcher; All-Star
- 1981 - Anderson Garcia, pitcher
- 1981 - Tony Pena, infielder
- 1981 - Marcel Vianna, minor league pitcher
- 1982 - Lincoln Holdzkom, minor league pitcher
- 1984 - Brian Gausman, minor league pitcher
- 1984 - Jon Link, pitcher
- 1985 - Chih-Ping Lin, CPBL infielder
- 1986 - Jamie Richmond, minor league pitcher
- 1987 - Jose Jimenez, minor league player
- 1988 - Ryosuke Hirata, NPB outfielder
- 1988 - Dellin Betances, pitcher
- 1988 - Boung-gon Jeung, South Korean national team infielder
- 1990 - Jacinto Cipriota, minor league infielder
- 1990 - Sang-soo Kim, KBO infielder
- 1991 - Dainari Morales, Cuban womens' national team outfielder
- 1994 - Rodney Daal, minor league catcher
[edit] Deaths
- 1916 - Frank Graves, catcher (b. 1860)
- 1917 - Art Weaver, catcher (b. 1879)
- 1925 - Tom Evers, infielder (b. 1852)
- 1928 - Jake Kafora, catcher (b. 1888)
- 1929 - Denny Williams, outfielder (b. 1899)
- 1935 - John Flynn, infielder (b. 1883)
- 1946 - George Wheeler, pitcher (b. 1869)
- 1948 - Dutch Meier, outfielder (b. 1879)
- 1950 - Slim Sallee, pitcher (b. 1885)
- 1952 - Steve Sundra, pitcher (b. 1910)
- 1958 - Harry Kelley, pitcher (b. 1906)
- 1964 - Hideo Shimizu, NPB pitcher (b. 1918)
- 1969 - Oris Hockett, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1909)
- 1972 - Red Bird, pitcher (b. 1890)
- 1976 - Walter Murphy, pitcher (b. 1907)
- 1979 - Don Osborn, coach, minor league pitcher and manager (b. 1908)
- 1979 - Frog Redus, Negro League outfielder (b. 1905)
- 1980 - Lou Knerr, pitcher (b. 1921)
- 1987 - Tony Pacheco, coach (b. 1927)
- 1990 - Eileen Burmeister, AAGPBL utility player (b. 1924)
- 1993 - Tim Crews, pitcher (b. 1961)
- 1994 - Roger Wolff, pitcher (b. 1911)
- 1998 - Gentry Jessup, Negro League pitcher (b. 1914)
- 1998 - Ray Scott, announcer (b. 1919)
- 1998 - Allen Halley, minor league pitcher (b. 1971)
- 2002 - Minnie Rojas, pitcher (b. 1933)
- 2003 - Tadayoshi Kajioka, NPB pitcher (b. 1920)
- 2007 - Ed Bailey, catcher; All-Star (b. 1931)
- 2010 - Jim Colzie, Negro League pitcher (b. 1920)
- 2011 - Ford Baker, minor league pitcher (b. 1932)
- 2012 - Dennis Bennett, pitcher (b. 1939)
- 2013 - Virgil Trucks, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1917)
