November 12
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 November 12.
[edit] Events
- 1920 - Owners unanimously elect Kenesaw Mountain Landis chairman for seven years. The owners' action comes in direct response to the Black Sox scandal, which threatens the integrity of the game. Landis accepts, but only as sole Commissioner with final authority over the players and owners, while remaining a [federal judge (with his $7,500 federal salary deducted from the baseball salary of $50,000).
- 1923 - New York Giants manager John McGraw trades outfielders Casey Stengel and Bill Cunningham along with shortstop Dave Bancroft to the Boston Braves for pitchers Joe Oeschger and Bill Southworth.
- 1936 - Following the death of Phil Ball, wealthy owner of the St. Louis Browns, his estate sells the team to a syndicate headed by Donald L. Barnes and William O. DeWitt. As the new owners of Sportsman's Park, they announce their intention to install lights and bring night baseball to the American League.
- 1939:
- The youngest of the three DiMaggio brothers, Dom DiMaggio, is bought for $40,000 by the Boston Red Sox from San Francisco team (PCL).
- In the Japanese Professional Baseball League, pitcher Victor Starffin wins his 42nd game in a 96-game season, leading the Yomiuri Giants to the pennant, and setting a post-1900 world record for season victories that will be equaled by Kazuhisa Inao in 1961 but never broken. Born in Russia, Starffin moved to Asahikawa, Hokkaido at a young age, and was picked as part of the national baseball team for an exhibition game against the United States in 1934. From 1936 though 1955 he won 303 games, the first in Japanese baseball to top the 300 mark.
- 1940 - Unwilling to yield to the players' demands during the season, Cleveland Indians owner Alva Bradley finally fires manager Oscar Vitt and replaces him with Roger Peckinpaugh. It is Peckinpaugh's second time as Cleveland's field boss.
- 1952 - The Baseball Writers Association of America name Philadelphia Athletics pitcher Bobby Shantz the American League Most Valuable Player. Shantz posted a 24-7 record with 152 strikeouts and a 2.48 ERA during the regular season and also claimed the honor of being TSN American League Pitcher of the Year.
- 1955 - Fred Hutchinson replaces Harry Walker as the St. Louis Cardinals manager. With the departure of Walker, next season will be the first time in National League history without a player-manager.
- 1957 - Frank Lane resigns as general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals and is replaced with Bing Devine.
- 1958 - New York Yankees pitcher Bob Turley, who had 21 wins and 19 complete games, is named the Cy Young Award. With only one award given for the two leagues, Turley gathers five votes to four for last year's winner, Milwaukee Braves' Warren Spahn.
- 1959 - Chicago White Sox second baseman Nellie Fox wins the American League MVP Award. Teammates Luis Aparicio and Early Wynn finish second respectively.
- 1966 - The Los Angeles Dodgers complete an 18-game tour of Japan with a 9-8-1 record, the most losses ever for a MLB club touring the Far East.
- 1969 - Minnesota Twins infielder Harmon Killebrew, who led the American League with 49 home runs, 140 RBI, and a .430 on-base percentage, is voted AL Most Valuable Player.
- 1975 - Tom Seaver of the New York Mets wins his third Cy Young Award. He posted 243 strikeouts with a 2.38 ERA and led the National League with 22 victories]].
- 1980:
- Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Stone, who led the American League with 25 victories, wins the Cy Young Award over Mike Norris of the Oakland Athletics.
- Don Zimmer is named manager of the Texas Rangers, becoming the 10th manager in the club's nine-year history.
- 1986 - Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox wins the American League Cy Young Award unanimously, joining Denny McLain (1968) as the only pitchers to do so. Clemens finished with a 24-4 record with 238 strikeouts and a 2.48 ERA.
- 1992 - Arbitrator George Nicolau overturns the suspension of Yankees pitcher Steve Howe for being too severe. The pitcher is resigned by the team.
- 1996 - Pat Hentgen of the Toronto Blue Jays edges Andy Pettitte of the New York Yankees for the Cy Young Award in the closest American League voting since 1972 when Gaylord Perry topped Wilbur Wood by six points. Hentgen (with a 20-10 mark), the major league leader in complete games, outpoints Pettitte (21-8) by the narrow margin of 110-104. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera finishes third in the ballot and receives one first-place vote.
- 1997:
- Ken Griffey, Jr. becomes the ninth unanimous pick for the American League MVP Award. Griffey hit .304 for Seattle, led the AL with 56 home runs, and led the majors with 147 RBI. He receives all 28 first-place votes and 392 points in balloting to become the first unanimous AL pick since Frank Thomas in 1993, and the 13th unanimous selection overall.
- Free agent infielder Dave Magadan is signed by the Oakland Athletics.
- 1998:
- The Baltimore Orioles sign free agent relief pitcher Mike Timlin to a four-year contract.
- The Mariners sign Free agent closer Jose Mesa sign with the Seattle Mariners to a two-year contract.
- 1999 - In the Intercontinental Cup baseball tourney in Sydney, Australia, Cuban pitcher Ciro Licea shuts out Team USA, 7 - 0, striking out 13 batters. Team USA will play for the bronze medal against either Australia or Japan while Cuba, with its second win against the Americans in the tournament, will play the winner of that game for the gold medal.
- 2001 - One year after playing Class-A baseball, Albert Pujols hit a .329 batting average with 37 home runs and 130 RBI and is named the National League Rookie of the Year by the BBWAA. The St. Louis Cardinals freshman set NL rookie marks in RBI, total bases (360) and extra base hits (88) and fell one home run shy of tying the NL rookie record of 38 established by Frank Robinson in 1956 as a member of the Cincinnati Reds.
- 2001 - Although disappointed not winning the award unanimously, Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, who led the American League with a .350 batting average, is named Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Chris Assenheimer of the Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle-Telegram voted for C.C. Sabathia, who posted a 17-4 record, as his top choice citing the nine years of professional experience in Japan made Suzuki less of a rookie than Cleveland pitcher Sabathia.
- 2002 - Oakland Athletics shortstop Miguel Tejada, who receives 356 points from the BBWAA, including 21 first-place votes of the 28 cast, is selected as the American League MVP. Tejada joins countrymen George Bell and Sammy Sosa as Dominican Republic natives to win the award, in 1987 and 1998 respectively.
- 2007:
- Dustin Pedroia and Ryan Braun win Rookie of the Year awards. Braun edges Troy Tulowitzki in the National League. He had led the league in slugging despite starting the year in the minors; one negative was that he was the first major leaguer in 29 years to field under .900. Braun was the first Rookie of the Year with any Jewish ties (his father is Jewish). Pedroia is a clear choice in the AL.
- Only one game is held in the 2007 Baseball World Cup, a make-up for the rainout of six days earlier. It is an exciting duel between the Italian national team and the host Taiwan national team as Tony Fiore and En-Yu Lin trade goose eggs for seven innings. Lin strikes out 13 in a complete game shutout. Italy suffers a controversial call in the top of the 9th. With one out, Davide Dallospedale headed for third on a hit by Max De Biase. Dallospedale slid under the tag from Tai-Shan Chang but umpire Man-hwang Suk called Dallospedale out. Replays later showed that the Italian infielder was safe. Chris Di Roma got the first two outs in the 9th but then allowed the next three batters to reach, leading to the game's lone run. Another questionable umpiring call hurt Italy in the bottom of the inning as a 2-2 check swing was deemed not to be a swing right before the winning hit.
- The New York Yankees re-sign catcher Jorge Posada for $52.4 million over four years. This makes Posada the highest-paid catcher in MLB history, edging out Mike Piazza's $13 million average from 1999-2005.
[edit] Births
- 1858 - Bill Gleason, infielder (d. 1932)
- 1861 - Pat Dealy, catcher (d. 1924)
- 1861 - John Humphries, catcher (d. 1933)
- 1867 - Harry DeMiller, pitcher (d. 1928)
- 1868 - Jack Ryan, catcher (d. 1952)
- 1875 - Fred Raymer, infielder (d. 1957)
- 1876 - Ed Killian, pitcher (d. 1928)
- 1876 - Bill Salisbury, pitcher (d. 1952)
- 1877 - Moonlight Graham, outfielder (d. 1965)
- 1886 - Clyde Goodwin, pitcher (d. 1963)
- 1887 - Ben Froelich, catcher (d. 1916)
- 1888 - Elmer Leonard, pitcher (d. 1981)
- 1891 - Carl Mays, pitcher (d. 1971)
- 1900 - Herm Merritt, infielder (d. 1927)
- 1906 - Red Evans, pitcher (d. 1982)
- 1913 - Gene Lillard, pitcher (d. 1991)
- 1914 - Emerson Dickman, pitcher (d. 1981)
- 1922 - Billy Reed, infielder (d. 2005)
- 1924 - Andy Hansen, pitcher (d. 2002)
- 1926 - Don Johnson, pitcher
- 1927 - Harry Hanebrink, infielder (d. 1996)
- 1936 - Joe Hoerner, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1996)
- 1941 - Damaso Blanco, infielder
- 1943 - Al Schmelz, pitcher
- 1947 - Ron Bryant, pitcher
- 1950 - Bruce Bochte, infielder; All-Star
- 1956 - Jody Davis, catcher; All-Star
- 1960 - Donnie Hill, infielder
- 1961 - Greg Gagne, infielder
- 1962 - Jeff Reed, catcher
- 1962 - Wilfredo Tejada, catcher
- 1964 - Dave Otto, pitcher
- 1964 - Gary Thurman, outfielder
- 1967 - Donald Harris, outfielder
- 1967 - Mark Small, pitcher
- 1968 - Randy Knorr, catcher
- 1968 - Sammy Sosa, outfielder; All-Star
- 1972 - Homer Bush, infielder
- 1973 - J.D. Smart, pitcher
- 1978 - Aaron Heilman, pitcher
- 1978 - Kevin Lynn, minor league pitcher
- 1983 - Tim Torres, minor league player
[edit] Deaths
- 1903 - John Gilbert, infielder (b. 1864)
- 1916 - Will Foley, infielder (b. 1855)
- 1916 - Mike Roach, catcher (b. 1869)
- 1923 - Mark Polhemus, outfielder (b. 1860)
- 1937 - Peek-A-Boo Veach, infielder (b. 1862)
- 1938 - Andy Harrington, pitcher (b. 1888)
- 1940 - Joe Quinn, infielder, manager (b. 1864)
- 1941 - Ernie Koob, pitcher (b. 1892)
- 1955 - Sam Crane, infielder (b. 1894)
- 1962 - Harvey Smith, infielder (b. 1871)
- 1963 - Ed Connolly, catcher (b. 1908)
- 1964 - Fred Hutchinson, pitcher, manager; All-Star (b. 1919)
- 1965 - Dave Gregg, pitcher (b. 1891)
- 1966 - Mike Loan, catcher (b. 1894)
- 1967 - Cleo Carlyle, outfielder (b. 1902)
- 1968 - Dutch Schirick, pinch hitter (b. 1890)
- 1978 - Buzz Boyle, outfielder (b. 1908)
- 1978 - Roy Elsh, outfielder (b. 1892)
- 1978 - George Shears, pitcher (b. 1890)
- 1982 - Cass Michaels, infielder; All-Star (b. 1926)
- 1985 - Augie Walsh, pitcher (b. 1904)
- 1986 - Rocky Stone, pitcher (b. 1918)
- 1990 - Junior Walsh, pitcher (b. 1919)
- 1993 - Bill Dickey, catcher, manager; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1907)
- 1993 - Le Grant Scott, outfielder (b. 1910)

