March 23
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 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 2 he will kill the deal with the Giants by refusing to play for Washington.
- 1900 - The Brooklyn Dodgers 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 St. Louis GM 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 rookie Joe DiMaggio, a hold out 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.
- 1957 - At 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 National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1958 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 in 1959.
- 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 whle 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 proved to be a great defensive outfielder as well as hitting .303 in 1974.
- 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 - Howard Spira is arrested for extorting money from New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who have been paid Spira $40,000 in January.
- 1992 - The NL 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 center fielder 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 years. 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.
[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)
- 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
- 1927 - Johnny Logan, infielder; All-Star
- 1928 - Jim Lemon, outfielder, manager; All-Star
- 1931 - Stan Pitula, pitcher (d. 1965)
- 1932 - Jack Meyer, pitcher (d. 1967)
- 1936 - Al Herring, minor league player
- 1938 - Bobby Dews, minor league infielder and manager
- 1939 - Sam Bowens, outfielder (d. 2003)
- 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
- 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 - Ramon Ortiz, pitcher
- 1976 - Joel Peralta, pitcher
- 1979 - Mark Buehrle, pitcher; All-Star
- 1981 - Anderson Garcia, pitcher
- 1981 - Tony Pena, infielder
- 1986 - Jamie Richmond, minor league pitcher
- 1987 - Jose Jimenez, minor league player
[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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 2007 - Ed Bailey, catcher; All-Star (b. 1931)
