March 5
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 5.
[edit] Events
- 1860 - Sam Thompson is born in Danville, Indiana. An outstanding slugger and a fine right fielder in the deadball era, Thompson will collect 200 or more hits three times, finishing his 15-season major league career with a lifetime mark of .336, 126 home runs, and 1299 RBI, including a batting crown (1887) and two home run titles (1889 and 1895). Thompson will be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1974.
- 1886 - A business wrangle in the National League ends in a weakening of the league's famous 50 cents admission standard. The St. Louis Maroons and Philadelphia Phillies, the two clubs facing rival American Association teams with an admission of 25 cents, are allowed to charge a minimum of a quarter. Newcomers Washington Nationals and Kansas City Cowboys are stuck with the 50 cents minimum, but are given the option of selling three tickets for a dollar.
- 1888 - The American Association meets in Brooklyn, New York, and votes to make use of turnstiles mandatory at all entrances to its parks.
- 1889 - Both the National League and American Association hold their spring meetings to adopt their schedules. The NL also hires a fifth umpire at a salary of $200 per month. The AA, to the surprise of many, does not adopt the NL's salary classification system.
- 1894 - St. Louis Browns owner Chris Von der Ahe, unable to hire either Harry Wright or Phil Powers as manager, announces that he will manage the club himself. Von der Ahe will eventually name starting infielder George (Doggie) Miller as manager.
- 1901 - The American League approves a 14-player limit to go into effect 14 days after the start of the season. The limit is changed at the last minute, the deadline postponed for two weeks, and the limit increased to 15 players by Ban Johnson, after six teams request the change.
- 1922 - New York Yankees star Babe Ruth becomes the highest-paid player in history when he signs a three-year contract that will pay him over $50,000 per season. In 1921, Ruth led the American League with 59 home runs and 171 RBI.
- 1936 - The St. Louis Cardinals - without the brothers Paul and Dizzy Dean, who are once again holdouts - visit Cuba and are beaten by the Cuban all-stars. Luis Tiant, Sr., whose son Luis Jr. will win 229 major league games, is the starting pitcher for the Cubans.
- 1941 - Brooklyn Dodgers president Larry MacPhail issues instructions that all Dodgers players must live in Brooklyn. MacPhail is also campaigning for visiting teams to stay in Brooklyn rather than Manhattan.
- 1942 - Variety, the weekly entertainment magazine, wades in against "droopy drawers". "Joe DiMaggio and Carl Hubbell are the silliest looking pair we've seen. Way back in the days when the speed boys were stealing 40 to 90 bases a year, you'll remember they used to roll their pants just below the knee. Now they've got 'em almost to their shoes. The theory here is that the constriction inherent in the new style can slow a player a full stride getting to first."
- 1945:
- Bert Shepard, a one-legged veteran of the war, tries out as a pitcher for the Washington Senators. The symbol of wartime baseball, outfielder Pete Gray of the St. Louis Browns, will field and bat with only one arm.
- With war-time travel restrictions still in effect, the Dodgers open spring training at Bear Mountain, New York with 15 players in camp. Seven teams - the Browns, Tigers, Reds, Indians, Cubs, Pirates and White Sox - are training in Indiana, the most of any state. The Red Sox are at Tufts College in Massachusetts, while the Braves are prepping at the Choate School in Connecticut.
- 1952 - Norman Bel Geddes, after designing a 5,000 seat complex for the Brooklyn Dodgers in Vero Beach, Florida, states that team owner Walter O'Malley has asked for a stadium design for the team. It is to have a retractable dome, garage, automatic hotdog vending machines, and artificial turf that can be painted in different colors.
- 1958 - Duke Snider, Johnny Podres, and Don Zimmer suffer minor injuries in an auto accident in Vero Beach, Florida, as they try to beat a 12:30 A.M. curfew. This is the third accident involving Dodgers players in the last two months; Jim Gilliam and his family had an accident shortly after Roy Campanella's.
- 1962 - Cincinnati Reds third baseman Gene Freese will be out until August 17 due to a severe ankle fracture suffered in the team's first intrasquad game.
- 1964 - Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr. says he has a verbal commitment from a major league baseball club to move there if a stadium is ready by 1965. Funding for a $15 million stadium is approved the next day by the city Board of Aldermen.
- 1965 - Former All-Star Johnny (Pepper) Martin dies at the age of 61. A member of the St. Louis Cardinals' legendary "Gashouse Gang," Martin batted .298 over a 13-year major league career. In 1933, Martin led the National League with 122 runs scored.
- 1966 - United Steelworkers union official Marvin Miller is named the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Under Miller's guidance, the players' union will make major gains such as salary increases, improvements in pension benefits, and the advent of free agency and salary arbitration.
- 1969 - A prodigious pre-season poke promises great things from Pittsburgh's Roberto Clemente, seemingly recovered from last season's right shoulder injury. "Clemente, who didn’t put on a uniform until last Monday," writes Bill Christine in the Pittsburgh Press, "hit a 400-foot home run on his second plate appearance in the final intrasquad game." Clemente drives a 3-and-2 pitch over the left field wall to lead his team to a 2 - 1 victory. "I'm glad to see his shoulder isn't bothering him this spring,’ says manager Larry Shepard of Clemente's 400-foot drive." But on March 14, after his dramatic display of right shoulder recuperation, shoulder number two will fall prey to Clemente's relentless pursuit of a Boston batter's foul pop in a meaningless exhibition contest.
- 1973 - New York Yankees pitchers Mike Kekich and Fritz Peterson make a stunning declaration. The left-handers announce that they have traded wives, children, and family dogs. The announcement sends shock waves through the baseball world and beyond.
- 1975 - Former Boston Red Sox star Tony Conigliaro begins a comeback attempt by signing a contract with Triple-A Pawtucket, Boston's top affiliate in the International League. "Tony C" will make the Red Sox major league roster, but will hit only .123 in 57 at-bats before deciding to retire.
- 1982 - Needing just three wins to reach 300 for his career, pitcher Gaylord Perry signs a one-year contract with the Seattle Mariners.
- 1986 - The Atlanta Braves acquire hard-hitting catcher Ted Simmons from the Milwaukee Brewers for defensive-minded catcher Rick Cerone and a pair of minor leaguers. Simmons hit .273 with 76 RBI in 1985.
- 1996 - The Veterans Committee elects four new members for the Hall of Fame, and just misses naming a fifth. The group elected includes fiery manager Earl Weaver, who had a .583 winning percentage in 17 seasons managing the Baltimore Orioles; pitcher Jim Bunning, who won 100 games in both leagues, including no-hitters; 19th-century manager Ned Hanlon, who won five National League pennants with the Baltimore Orioles (3) and Brooklyn (2), and Bill Foster, the top left-handed pitcher in the Negro Leagues. Nellie Fox receives the necessary 75% of the Committee's votes, but the rules allow just one modern player elected, and Bunning has more votes.
- 2003 - Although not agreeing to ban ephedra, a memo is sent to all major leaguers by the players' union strongly recommending players "be extremely reluctant to use any products" containing the substance. The diet supplement, which is available without a prescription, has been linked to the spring training death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler.
- 2006:
- In today's opening game at the World baseball Classic, Taiwan crushes China, 12 - 3, as the two underdogs are left playing for pride after losing their first two games. Taiwan (1-2) ends in third place, and China (0-3) is last.
- At Tokyo Dome, South Korea upsets fierce rivals Japan, 3 - 2, on a towering home run from slugger Seung Yeop Lee to sweep the Asian Pool A of the World Baseball Classic. As final-out duels go, between the most famous pitcher in Korean history versus Japan's most successful export, the San Diego Padres' Chan Ho Park secures a memorable victory for South Korea by retiring Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners on a pop-up fly. It matters little that both South Korea (3-0) and Japan (2-1) have already qualified for the next round of the 16-team tournament. Japan and South Korea will face the top two teams from a pool of the United States, Canada, Mexico and South Africa in the quarter-finals.
- 2009 - The 2009 World Baseball Classic begins at the Tokyo Dome. Japan beats China, 4 - 0, with Yu Darvish getting the win with four hitless innings. Shuichi Murata hits a 2-run homer off Chenhao Li and Kosuke Fukudome walks 4 times in the victory.
- 2010 - Sancti Spíritus, after a league-best 63-27 regular season, gets dropped in the playoffs 4 games to 1 by the 47-43 Industriales. Sancti Spíritus Ismel Jiménez ace carries a shutout into the 6th but a grand slam by Rudy Reyes turns the tide to complete the upset series.
- 2011 - Top Phillies OF prospect Domonic Brown breaks a hand in an exhibition game against the Pirates. Looking to succeed Jayson Werth as the Phils' starting rightfielder, Brown had started the Grapefruit League season 0 for 15. Ironically, he singles in the at-bat that follows the injury, but then comes out of the game. He will require surgery and will miss Opening Day.
[edit] Births
- 1855 - John Richmond, infielder (d. 1898)
- 1860 - Sam Thompson, outfielder; Hall of Famer (d. 1922)
- 1869 - John Haskell, umpire (d. 1940)
- 1882 - Rabbit Robinson, infielder (d. 1915)
- 1888 - Jake Northrop, pitcher (d. 1945)
- 1889 - Jeff Tesreau, pitcher (d. 1946)
- 1891 - Walt Alexander, catcher (d. 1978)
- 1896 - Bernie Hungling, catcher (d. 1968)
- 1897 - Virgil Barnes, pitcher (d. 1958)
- 1897 - Lu Blue, infielder (d. 1958)
- 1898 - Bill Grevell, pitcher (d. 1923)
- 1903 - Chick Autry, catcher (d. 1950)
- 1904 - Lou Rosenberg, infielder (d. 1991)
- 1908 - Chester Bujaci, minor league catcher and manager (d. 1998)
- 1911 - Earl Browne, outfielder (d. 1993)
- 1912 - Dick Errickson, pitcher (d. 1999)
- 1912 - Jim Gleeson, outfielder (d. 1996)
- 1915 - Vic Bradford, outfielder (d. 1994)
- 1915 - Stan Ferens, pitcher (d. 1994)
- 1915 - Harry Shuman, pitcher (d. 1996)
- 1919 - Don Savage, infielder (d. 1961)
- 1921 - Elmer Valo, outfielder (d. 1998)
- 1924 - Ramon Garcia, pitcher (d. 2001)
- 1924 - Ruby Heafner, AAGPBL catcher (d. 2010)
- 1930 - Del Crandall, catcher, manager; All-Star
- 1936 - Jacke Davis, outfielder
- 1938 - Larry Elliot, outfielder
- 1941 - Phil Roof, catcher
- 1945 - Dave Bakenhaster, pitcher
- 1945 - Katsuo Osugi, NPB infielder; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1992)
- 1946 - Les Rohr, pitcher
- 1947 - Kent Tekulve, pitcher; All-Star
- 1950 - Doug Bird, pitcher
- 1950 - Don Dickerson, minor league infielder
- 1951 - Mike Veeck, minor league owner
- 1952 - Mike Squires, infielder
- 1952 - Daisuke Yamashita, NPB infielder and manager
- 1953 - Tom Holliday, college coach
- 1954 - Jack Leggett, college coach
- 1955 - Steve Burke, pitcher
- 1956 - Gary Pellant, minor league infielder and manager
- 1957 - Jerry Ujdur, pitcher
- 1959 - Andy Rincon, pitcher
- 1961 - Steve Ontiveros, pitcher; All-Star
- 1966 - Kevin Brown, pitcher
- 1966 - Victor Mendez, minor league outfielder
- 1970 - Brian Eldridge, minor league infielder
- 1971 - Chad Fonville, infielder
- 1971 - Jeffrey Hammonds, outfielder; All-Star
- 1971 - Brian Hunter, outfielder
- 1971 - Brian Lesher, outfielder
- 1971 - Jose Mercedes, pitcher
- 1973 - Felipe Crespo, infielder/outfielder
- 1973 - Ryan Franklin, pitcher; All-Star
- 1974 - Jenny Dalton-Hill, USA womens' national team infielder
- 1976 - Doug Clark, pinch hitter
- 1976 - Paul Konerko, infielder; All-Star
- 1977 - Mike MacDougal, pitcher; All-Star
- 1978 - Mike Hessman, infielder
- 1979 - Erik Bedard, pitcher
- 1980 - Kun Chen, Chinese national team pitcher
- 1980 - Keith Ramsey, minor league player
- 1981 - Francisley Bueno, pitcher
- 1981 - Maikel Jova, minor league outfielder
- 1982 - Wei-Lun Pan, CPBL pitcher
- 1985 - Blake Brannon, minor league pitcher
- 1985 - Jessie Mier, minor league catcher
- 1985 - Bradley Mills, pitcher
- 1985 - Aaron Seuss, minor league outfielder
- 1986 - Martin Dewald, minor league pitcher
- 1987 - Sergio Miranda, minor league infielder
- 1988 - Joe Benson, outfielder
- 1988 - Héctor Gómez, infielder
- 1989 - Mayumi Solano, Japanese womens' national team pitcher
- 1990 - Khureltulga Gankhuyag, Mongolian national team outfielder
- 1993 - Shunta Goto, NPB outfielder
[edit] Deaths
- 1897 - Dave Foutz, infielder, manager (b. 1856)
- 1901 - Alexander Skinner, outfielder (b. 1856)
- 1912 - Harry Keener, pitcher (b. 1871)
- 1915 - Jim Donnelly, infielder (b. 1865)
- 1919 - Bill Yawkey, owner (b. 1875)
- 1920 - Alex Farmer, catcher (b. 1877)
- 1928 - Mart McQuaid, infielder (b. 1861)
- 1929 - Lou Hardie, catcher (b. 1864)
- 1942 - Dutch Wetzel, outfielder (b. 1893)
- 1950 - Effie Norton, pitcher (b. 1873)
- 1956 - Joe Berger, infielder (b. 1886)
- 1956 - Bruce Ogrodowski, catcher (b. 1912)
- 1963 - Lefty Lorenzen, pitcher (b. 1893)
- 1965 - Pepper Martin, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1904)
- 1965 - Tadashi Wakabayashi, NPB pitcher and manager; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1908)
- 1980 - Les Fleming, infielder (b. 1915)
- 1989 - Bill Harvey, Negro League pitcher (b. 1908)
- 1995 - Roy Hughes, infielder (b. 1911)
- 2000 - Dewey Williams, minor league pitcher (b. 1931)
- 2001 - Leo Thomas, infielder (b. 1923)
- 2002 - Clay Smith, pitcher (b. 1914)
- 2007 - Ken Beardslee, scout (b. 1930)
- 2009 - Toshihide Yamane, NPB pitcher/coach;CPBL manager (b. 1928)
- 2009 - Billy Joe Davidson, minor league pitcher (b. 1933)
- 2009 - James Herndon, minor league pitcher (b. 1928)
