March 29
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
| Standings on this day | |
| Permanent link to Today's Entry | |
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| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on March 29.
[edit] Events
- 1867 - Denton True "Cy" Young is born in Gilmore, a tiny village near Newcomerstown, Ohio. Young will earn his nickname for his cyclone-like pitching motion and he will win (and lose) more games than any pitcher in major league history with a 511-316 record and a 2.63 ERA over 22 seasons. Young wins 20 or more games 15 times, and tops the 30-win mark five times. He will be elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America in 1937, with 153 votes on 201 ballots.
- 1933 - Chicago Cubs outfielder Kiki Cuyler breaks his leg and will miss nearly three months of the season. Cuyler also missed half of last season when he broke his other leg.
- 1935 - The St. Louis Cardinals release Dazzy Vance. The future Hall of Fame pitcher will spend his last season with the Brooklyn Dodgers, the team where he blossomed in 1922.
- 1954 - Chicago Cubs manager Phil Cavarretta gives team's owner Phil Wrigley an honest assessment of the Cubs chances, and is fired for his defeatist attitude, becoming the first manager ever to be given the gate during spring training. Stan Hack replaces him. Cavarretta is right: the Cubs will drop to seventh place in 1954.
- 1973 – The Alert Orange Baseball is used for the first time in major league history. The unique baseball, an invention of Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley, is used in an exhibition game between Oakland and the Cleveland Indians. Finley contended the ball, painted the color of a construction worker's hat, would be easier for both players and fans to see. But pitchers complained that the ball was slippery and hard to grip, while batters couldn't pick up the spin of the ball without seeing the seams. Although Finley pushes for the use of colored baseballs during the regular season, the idea will never come to fruition.
- 1975 - Pitcher Mel Stottlemyre Sr., suffering from a torn rotator cuff, is given his unconditional release by the New York Yankees. He compiled a 164-139 record and a 2.97 ERA as well as 40 shutouts in an eleven-season ML career with the Yankees.
- 1979 - Former Negro Leagues and Cleveland Indians star Luke Easter is murdered in Euclid, Ohio, at the age of 63. Easter starred for the Homestead Grays and several minor league teams before arriving in the major leagues at age 34.
- 1983 - While some clubs are concerned about low attendance at the start of the season, the Los Angeles Dodgers become the first team in major league history to cut off season ticket sales before the start of the season. The Dodgers, with 27,000 season tickets already sold, implement the cutoff so that group sales won't be impeded and fans will be able to buy tickets for individual games.
- 1984 - The New York Yankees trade one of the key members of their recent World Championship teams when they dispatch Graig Nettles to the San Diego Padres for pitcher Dennis Rasmussen and a player to be named. Nettles, who had angered Yankees owner George Steinbrenner by criticizing him in his book, will hit 20 home runs and help the Padres reach the 1984 World Series.
- 1988 - Popular slugger Ted Kluszewski dies in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the age of 63. In a 15-season career, Kluszewski hit 279 home runs, including a National League lead with 49 in 1954.
- 1995 - Four-time All-Star Terry Moore dies in Collinsville, Illinois, at the age of 82. An outstanding defensive center fielder, Moore played 11 seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals and was a member of the World Championship teams in 1942 and 1946.
- 1997 - Malley's Chocolates announces the introduction of the Chipper Jones Candy Bar. On a team full of marketable stars, the 24-year-old Atlanta Braves third baseman is the first member of the club to get his own candy bar.
- 2000 - In Japan, the Chicago Cubs open the major league season at the Tokyo Dome by defeating the New York Mets, 5 - 3, in the first ML opening day ever played outside of the United States, Canada or Mexico. Jon Lieber gets the victory and Mike Hampton takes the loss. Shane Andrews, Mark Grace and Mike Piazza hit home runs in the game.
- 2001 - First baseman Todd Helton signs a nine-year, $141.5 million contract extension making him the highest-paid player in Colorado Rockies history. The past season, Helton posted a .372 avergae with 42 home runs and 147 RBI.
- 2002:
- Rickey Henderson is added to the Boston Red Sox Opening Day roster as his contract is purchased from Triple-A Pawtucket. Henderson, who joined the exclusive 3000 hit club on the final day of last season, will begin his 24th year in MLB appearing with his eighth different club.
- Miller Park's retractable roof will only be used on a limited basis at the start of season as engineers try to eliminate persistent noise coming from the one-year-old roof.
- 2005 - First baseman Andres Galarraga announces his retirement. A five-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner in a 19-year MLB career, Galarraga was a .288 hitter with 399 home runs and 1425 RBI in 2,257 games played.
- 2006:
- Outfielder Marquis Grissom announced his retirement after a 17-year major league career that saw him play with six teams. A two-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner, he finished with 429 stolen bases, including a career-high 78 in 1992. Grissom leaves as one of seven players with 2,000 hits, 200 home runs and 400 stolen bases, joining Craig Biggio, Roberto Alomar, Barry Bonds, Rickey Henderson, Paul Molitor and Joe Morgan.
- Lenny Harris, the career leader in pinch hits, was released from the Florida Marlins after being told he would not make the team. Harris, 41, has 212 career pinch hits, 62 more than second-place Manny Mota. Last year, Harris batted .314 with one home run and 13 RBI, as he set Marlins franchise records with 19 pinch hits and 13 pinch-hit RBI.
[edit] Births
- 1849 - George Hall, outfielder (d. 1923)
- 1855 - Bill Harbidge, outfielder (d. 1924)
- 1858 - Gus Shallix, pitcher (d. 1937)
- 1865 - Hank Gastright, pitcher (d. 1937)
- 1866 - George Carman, infielder (d. 1929)
- 1867 - Cy Young, pitcher, manager; Hall of Famer (d. 1955)
- 1873 - Duff Cooley, outfielder (d. 1937)
- 1876 - Harry Lochhead, infielder (d. 1909)
- 1876 - Frank Oberlin, pitcher (d. 1952)
- 1881 - Lou Schiappacasse, outfielder (d. 1910)
- 1883 - Rube Dessau, pitcher (d. 1952)
- 1888 - Leo Meyer, infielder (d. 1968)
- 1889 - Squanto Wilson, catcher (d. 1967)
- 1892 - Harry McCluskey, pitcher (d. 1962)
- 1894 - Dixie Leverett, pitcher (d. 1957)
- 1894 - Alex McColl, pitcher (d. 1991)
- 1899 - Herb McQuaid, pitcher (d. 1966)
- 1900 - Red Schillings, pitcher (d. 1954)
- 1908 - Gibby Brack, outfielder (d. 1960)
- 1908 - Bill Strickland, pitcher (d. 2000)
- 1910 - Bill Dietrich, pitcher (d. 1978)
- 1915 - Johnny Gorsica, pitcher (d. 1998)
- 1917 - Tommy Holmes, outfielder, manager; All-Star (d. 2008)
- 1944 - Denny McLain, pitcher; All-Star
- 1952 - Bill Castro, pitcher
- 1953 - Tom Hume, pitcher; All-Star
- 1954 - Mike Ramsey, infielder
- 1954 - Tom Tellmann, pitcher
- 1955 - Karl Pagel, infielder
- 1958 - Domingo Ramos, infielder
- 1961 - Mike Kingery, outfielder
- 1962 - Bob Nutting, owner
- 1962 - Billy Beane, outfielder; General Manager
- 1964 - Grady Hall, minor league pitcher
- 1966 - Eric Gunderson, pitcher
- 1967 - Brian Jordan, outfielder; All-Star
- 1967 - Geronimo Pena, infielder
- 1968 - Juan Bell, infielder
- 1969 - Pedro Lopez, minor league catcher and manager
- 1971 - Sean Lowe, pitcher
- 1972 - Alex Ochoa, outfielder
- 1975 - Marcus Jones, pitcher
- 1975 - Danny Kolb, pitcher; All-Star
- 1976 - Scott Atchison, pitcher
- 1976 - Kevin Nicholson, infielder
- 1978 - Eric Bruntlett, infielder
- 1981 - Benjamin Fritz, minor league pitcher
[edit] Deaths
- 1892 - Adam Rocap, outfielder (b. 1854)
- 1894 - Jim Gallagher, infielder
- 1898 - Tony Hellman, catcher (b. 1861)
- 1907 - Doug Crothers, pitcher (b. 1859)
- 1907 - Cozy Dolan, outfielder (b. 1872)
- 1908 - Forrest Crawford, infielder (b. 1881)
- 1933 - Harry Salisbury, pitcher (b. 1855)
- 1933 - Ed Watkins, outfielder (b. 1877)
- 1938 - Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Houston, owner (b. 1867)
- 1945 - Jim Hughey, pitcher (b. 1869)
- 1945 - Ray Tift, pitcher (b. 1884)
- 1951 - Kohly Miller, infielder (b. 1874)
- 1958 - Jimmy Archer, catcher (b. 1883)
- 1959 - Johnny Allen, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1905)
- 1960 - Kid Carsey, pitcher (b. 1870)
- 1962 - Otto Miller, catcher (b. 1889)
- 1962 - Red Thomas, outfielder (b. 1898)
- 1963 - Wilcy Moore, pitcher (b. 1897)
- 1968 - Buddy Napier, pitcher (b. 1889)
- 1971 - Gus Salve, pitcher (b. 1885)
- 1979 - Luke Easter, infielder (b. 1915)
- 1984 - Hugh Poland, catcher (b. 1913)
- 1988 - Ted Kluszewski, infielder; All-Star (b. 1924)
- 1990 - Phil Masi, catcher; All-Star (b. 1916)
- 1994 - Ray Bare, pitcher (b. 1949)
- 1995 - Terry Moore, outfielder, manager; All-Star (b. 1912)
- 1998 - Dick Phillips, infielder (b. 1931)
- 2000 - Hank Miklos, pitcher (b. 1910)
- 2004 - Al Cuccinello, infielder (b. 1914)
- 2008 - Mitch Coplon, minor league pitcher (b. 1959)
