November 17

Events, births and deaths that occurred on November 17.

[edit] Events

• 1887 - The National League meets and officially recognizes the Brotherhood by meeting with a committee of three players, Monte Ward, Ned Hanlon, and Dan Brouthers.
• 1892 - National League magnates conclude a four-day meeting in Chicago where they agree to shorten the 1893 schedule to 132 games and drop the double championship concept. They also pledge to continue to reduce player salaries and other team expenses.
• 1903 - Chicago Cubs shortstop Joe Tinker tells an interviewer that it is "impossible to fix" a major league baseball game.
• 1913 - Future Hall of Famer Wilbert Robinson is named as the Brooklyn Dodgers' new manager in replacement of Bill Dahlen. The Dodgers will become known as the "Robins" in honor of their new skipper. Robinson will compile a 1375-1341 (.506) record during his 18-year tenure in Brooklyn, twice taking the team to the World Series.
• 1927 - A group led by Alva Bradley and John Sherwin buys the Cleveland Indians.
• 1933 - The Pittsburgh Pirates send Adam Comorosky and Tony Piet to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Red Lucas and Wally Roettger. As a pitcher, Lucas will feast on the Reds over the rest of his career, going 14-0 against them. Piet hit .323 for the season, but will be in the doghouse over a contract dispute and will never start a game after July.
• 1940 - Jimmie Wilson is named as the new Chicago Cubs manager. He gets his reward for managing the woeful Philadelphia Phillies in the 1930s and for his late-season role filling in at catcher with the Cincinnati Reds.
• 1947 - The Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Browns engineer a blockbuster eight-player deal. The key player is shortstop Vern Stephens, who comes to Boston after hitting .279 with 15 home runs and 83 RBI. The Red Sox also acquire 11-game winner Jack Kramer while giving the Browns $300,000 in cash and six players, including pitchers Jim Wilson and Al Widmar. Stephens will lead the American League in RBI in two of the next three seasons while averaging 33 home runs each year.
• 1953 - The St. Louis Browns officially become the Baltimore Baseball Club Inc. The Baltimore franchise board officially changes its name to the Orioles, the traditional name for baseball teams from the city.
• 1959 - San Francisco Giants slugger Willie McCovey is selected as the National League Rookie of the Year, after hitting .354 with 13 home runs and 38 RBI in just 52 games. McCovey gets all 24 votes to make him the second Giants player in a row to win the award unanimously. Teammate Orlando Cepeda ran away with the award in 1958.
• 1960:
  • The new Washington Senators franchise is awarded to Elwood Quesada, a Washington, DC native, World War II hero, and head of the Federal Aviation Agency.
  • Hank Greenberg drops out of the bidding to run the new American League franchise in Los Angeles.
• 1964 - The New York Mets name former New York Yankees great Yogi Berra to their coaching staff. Berra signs a two-year contract and will work under another former Yankee legend, Casey Stengel, who is now the Mets' manager.
• 1965 - Major League Baseball owners unanimously elect William D. Eckert as Commissioner, succeeding Ford Frick, who leaves office after 14 years. Eckert, a retired Lt. General in the United States Air Force, becomes baseball's fourth commissioner. He will serve only one term before being replaced by Bowie Kuhn.
• 1971 - At age 22, Oakland Athletics pitcher Vida Blue becomes the youngest player ever to win the Most Valuable Player Award and only the fourth to capture both the Cy Young Award and the MVP in the same season.
• 1975:
  • The Texas Rangers trade future Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins to the Boston Red Sox for outfielder Juan Beniquez and two pitchers. A seven-time 20-game winner, Jenkins will win only 12 games for Boston next season.
  • The Dodgers trade outfielders Jim Wynn and Tom Paciorek, and infielders Lee Lacy and Jerry Royster to Atlanta for OF Dusty Baker and 1B Ed Goodson.
• 1979 - On a flight to Austin, Texas, Daniel Okrent sketches out the first draft of rules for what will become Rotisserie League Baseball. Had the friends he was seeing not ignored these rules, the Rotisserie League would have been called Pit League, after the Austin barbecue joint where Okrent first unveiled them. Two weeks later in New York, he pitches the idea to a more receptive group with whom Okrent lunches monthly at La Rôtisserie Française.
• 1982 - Center fielder Dale Murphy wins the National League MVP Award, becoming the first Braves player to be so honored since Hank Aaron in 1957, when the team played in Milwaukee. Murphy hit .281 with 36 home runs, 109 RBI, 113 runs, and 23 stolen bases.
• 1983 - Kansas City Royals teammates Willie Wilson, Willie Aikens, and Jerry Martin, who, along with former teammate Vida Blue, had pleaded guilty to attempting to purchase cocaine, are each sentenced to three months in prison.
• 1987 - George Bell becomes the first Toronto Blue Jays player ever to win the American League MVP Award, edging Alan Trammell of the Detroit Tigers, 332-311. Bell hit .308 with 47 home runs and a league-leading 134 RBI.
• 1989 - Nick Esasky, who became one of the most coveted free agents after hitting .277 with 30 home runs and 108 RBI for the Boston Red Sox, signs a three-year contract with the Atlanta Braves. Esasky lives in Marietta, Georgia. However, he will be forced into early retirement because of an inner-ear infection that gives him chronic vertigo.
• 1992 - Major League Baseball holds the expansion draft to stock the rosters of the National League's two new teams, the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies. A total of 72 players are chosen. Pitcher David Nied is the first pick of the Rockies, while outfielder Nigel Wilson is selected first by the Marlins. Florida take prospect Jose Martinez second, while Colorado picks veteran 3B Charlie Hayes next. The best picks for Florida are Trevor Hoffman (4th), eventually packaged for Gary Sheffield; Jeff Conine (11th), who will hit 81 home runs in four years; and Cris Carpenter (18th), later dealt to Texas for Robb Nen. For Colorado, they will find gold with Eric Young (6th), Joe Girardi (10th), Vinny Castilla (16) and Armando Reynoso (18th).
  • The Colorado Rockies make their first trade a good one, sending OF Kevin Reimer to the Milwaukee Brewers for OF Dante Bichette. Bichette hit .287 for Milwaukee, but just .246 in the second half of the year, and will blossom into a hitting star in Colorado.
  • The Cincinnati Reds trade relief pitcher Norm Charlton to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for outfielder Kevin Mitchell.
  • The Chicago Cubs trade shortstop Alex Arias and third baseman Gary Scott to the Florida Marlins for pitcher Greg Hibbard.
  • Oakland Athletics shortstop Walt Weiss is traded to the Florida Marlins for two prospects.
  • The Los Angeles Dodgers trade pitcher Rudy Seanez to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for second baseman Jody Reed.
• 1993 - The Atlanta Braves trade first baseman Brian R. Hunter to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a minor league player.
• 1997:
  • The Arizona Diamondbacks sign free agent shortstop Jay Bell to a five-year contract.
  • The Atlanta Braves sign free agent shortstop Walt Weiss to a three-year contract.
• 1998:
  • The Pittsburgh Pirates sign free agent infielder Mike Benjamin to a two-year contract.
  • Tom Glavine of the Atlanta Braves edges San Diego Padres closer Trevor Hoffman for the National League Cy Young Award. It is the sixth time in the past eight seasons that a Braves pitcher has won the award.
• 1999 - Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, who hit .319 with 45 home runs and 110 RBI, wins the National League MVP Award. Jones becomes the fifth Braves player to be so honored, joining Johnny Evers (1914), Bob Elliott (1947), Hank Aaron (1957) Dale Murphy (1982 and 1983) and Terry Pendleton (1991).
  • The Anaheim Angels hire Mike Scioscia as their new manager.
  • In a trade of relievers, Colorado sends Curt Leskanic to Milwaukee for Mike Myers.
  • The Baltimore Orioles sign free agent pitcher Mike Trombley to a three-year contract.
• 2000:
  • Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Jason Kendall signs the richest contract in team history. The $60 million, six-year contract extension, which includes a $4 million signing bonus, starts with a base salary of $6 million in 2002 and peaks at $13 million in 2007.
  • The Rangers swap pitchers Ryan Cullen and Aaron Harang to Oakland for second baseman Randy Velarde.
  • The Phillies sign free agent closer Jose Mesa to a two-year contract worth $3.4 million.
• 2002 - After dropping the first three contests, the MLB team beats the NPB All-Stars, 4 - 2, to take its fourth straight victory. It is the visitors from the United States' fifth straight series win, and they haven't dropped one since 1990.
• 2004 - After being wined and dined by Detroit Tigers legend Al Kaline and team owner Mike Ilitch, free agent Troy Percival signs a two-year, $12 million deal, surprising everyone, including his agent, by announcing he wants to play in Detroit next season. Before the preliminary meeting in the Motor City, the former Angels closer had been scheduled to meet with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs later in the week. Bothered by arm problems in 2005, Percival will finish 1-3 with eight saves and a 5.76 ERA in just 26 games pitched.
• 2005:
  • Jason Bay, coming off two of the best career-starting seasons in Pittsburgh Pirates history, agrees to an $18.25 million, four-year contract that covers his arbitration-eligible seasons. In 2004, Bay hit .282 with 26 home runs and 82 RBI in 120 games played while becoming the first Rookie of the Year in club history. He won the award despite missing the first five weeks of the season after shoulder surgery. Bay followed by hitting .306 with 32 homers, 101 RBI, 110 runs scored, 21 stolen bases and a .402 on-base percentage in 2005 despite playing on a team that lost 95 games. He finished 12th in the National League MVP voting after playing in all 162 games.
  • Major League Baseball owners vote unanimously to approve the toughened steroids policy agreed to with the players' association earlier this week. Owners also approve transferring control of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to Stuart Sternberg from founding owner Vince Naimoli.
• 2007:
  • Team USA beats the Dutch national team, 5 - 0, in the semifinals of the 2007 Baseball World Cup. Colby Rasmus homers against David Bergman in the bottom of the 1st; Bergman and Matt Wright then trade goose eggs in a fine pitching duel. In the bottom of the 8th, the US tacks on four insurance runs to win it.
  • Adam Blackley pitches the Australian national team to its best Baseball World Cup finish ever, clinching 5th or 6th place, with a win over the Mexican national team. The game is marked by conflict between Australian CF Trent Oeltjen and the Mexican team.
• 2008 - Albert Pujols is named 2008 National League MVP, his second time as MVP. Despite missing some time to injury, Pujols led the National League in total bases. He also led in slugging and OPS. The win is a bit ironic as Pujols had criticized the selection of Ryan Howard in 2006 when Howard's team failed to make the playoffs; this time, Howard (the runner-up) and the Phillies did make the playoffs while Pujols' Cardinals did not.
• 2009 - Kansas City Royals pitcher Zack Greinke wins the American League Cy Young Award in a landslide. Greinke went 16-8 in spite of pitching for a last-place team and posted a league-leading 2.16 ERA, with 242 strikeouts.
• 2010:
  • Bud Black of the Padres wins the Manager of the Year Award in the National League, while Ron Gardenhire of the Twins is the winner in the American League.
  • The Blue Jays acquire OF Rajai Davis from Oakland in return for P Trystan Magnuson and Danny Farquhar.
  • The Tigers sign free agent reliever Joaquin Benoit, coming off a sensational year with Tampa Bay, to a three-year deal worth $16.5 million.
• 2011:
  • The Softbank Hawks top the Chunichi Dragons, 5 - 0, in Game 5 of the 2011 Japan Series. Coming to the Nagoya Dome down 2 games to 0, they pull off a sweep on the road to move within one of the title. Today, Hiroki Yamada, Tadashi Settsu, Masahiko Morifuku and Takahiro Mahara team up on a five-hit whitewash.
  • The Chicago Cubs announce they have hired Dale Sveum as their new manager, replacing Mike Quade. Sveum managed the Milwaukee Brewers at the tail end of the 2008 season, ending a swoon and leading them through their first playoff appearance since the 1982 World Series, but has not managed since.
  • Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers is the winner of the National League Cy Young Award, gathering 27 of 32 first-place votes and finishing ahead of the two aces of the Phillies, Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee. The 23-year-old lefthander went 21-5, tied with Ian Kennedy for the most wins in the NL, and finished first with a 2.28 ERA and 248 strikeouts.
  • Major League Baseball announces major structural changes for 2013 as a result of its approval of the sale of the Houston Astros to a group headed by Jim Crane. The Astros will move from the NL Central to the AL West, giving both leagues 15 teams split into three five-team divisions. As a result, teams will play a more balanced schedule and there will be interleague play during the entire season to accommodate the odd number of teams in each circuit. There will also be two additional playoff teams, but the new postseason format will be announced at a later date as it is tied to current negotiations with the Players Association regarding the new collective bargaining agreement.
• 2012:
  • After cleaning house earlier this week, the Marlins add a rare veteran by signing free agent OF Juan Pierre to a one-year contract.
  • New Zealand defeats the Philippines, 10 - 6, to reach the finals of Pool C of the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, where they will face Taiwan. Brothers John and Lincoln Holdzkom make key appearances in relief, with John earning the win and Lincoln the save. SS Scott Campbell goes 2 for 3 with a double and 3 RBI to lead the attack, but the Philippines help dig their own grave by committing 7 errors.
  • Brazil pulls off another upset in Pool D of the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, playing an outstanding fundamental game in defeating Colombia, 7 - 1, to reach the pool finals. Oscar Nakaoshi starts the game with four scoreless frames, and college reliever Gabriel Asakura adds two and two-thirds scoreless innings, shutting down the Colombians' bats. Colombia is placed into an early hole when starter Marwin Vega has to leave with an injury after facing only one batter.
  • In the other game in Pool D of the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, Panama eliminates Nicaragua from the tournament with a 6 - 2 win at home. SS Ruben Tejada leads the offense with three doubles; his first two two-baggers both drive in Isaias Velasquez, and on the third, he comes in to score on Luis Castillo's single.

[edit] Births

• 1853 - Bill Hawes, outfielder (d. 1940)
• 1857 - Pat Deasley, catcher (d. 1943)
• 1867 - George Stallings, catcher, manager (d. 1929)
• 1868 - Ezra Lincoln, pitcher (d. 1951)
• 1876 - Claude Elliott, pitcher (d. 1923)
• 1879 - Charlie Gibson, catcher (d. 1954)
• 1884 - Jack Kading, infielder (d. 1964)
• 1885 - Rube Ellis, outfielder (d. 1938)
• 1886 - Fred Beck, infielder (d. 1962)
• 1888 - Lew McCarty, catcher (d. 1930)
• 1889 - Willie Jensen, pitcher (d. 1917)
• 1889 - Tex Vache, outfielder (d. 1953)
• 1892 - Don Flinn, outfielder (d. 1959)
• 1892 - Gene Steinbrenner, infielder (d. 1970)
• 1895 - George Scott, pitcher (d. 1962)
• 1896 - Sam Post, infielder (d. 1971)
• 1897 - Danny Claire, infielder (d. 1956)
• 1897 - Rube Lutzke, infielder (d. 1938)
• 1900 - Ossie Orwoll, pitcher (d. 1967)
• 1901 - Ed Taylor, infielder (d. 1992)
• 1906 - Joe Jachym, minor league pitcher (d. 1991)
• 1906 - Bill Leitz, minor league infielder and manager (d. 1989)
• 1906 - Rollie Stiles, pitcher (d. 2007)
• 1913 - Stu Martin, infielder; All-Star (d. 1997)
• 1913 - Lee Stine, pitcher (d. 2005)
• 1916 - Joe Hatten, pitcher (d. 1988)
• 1919 - Ray Lamanno, catcher; All-Star (d. 1994)
• 1923 - Mike Garcia, pitcher (d. 1986)
• 1927 - Dick Weik, pitcher (d. 1991)
• 1929 - Norm Zauchin, infielder (d. 1999)
• 1933 - Dan Osinski, pitcher
• 1933 - Orlando Pena, pitcher
• 1936 - Gary Bell, pitcher; All-Star
• 1937 - Jim Brewer, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1987)
• 1937 - Kyoji Nishihara, NPB pitcher
• 1938 - Aubrey Gatewood, pitcher
• 1943 - Bruce Von Hoff, pitcher (d. 2012)
• 1944 - Tom Seaver, pitcher; All-Star, Hall of Famer
• 1945 - Bill Harrelson, pitcher
• 1947 - Tom Dettore, pitcher
• 1952 - Dave Frost, pitcher
• 1954 - Rick Rizzs, broadcaster
• 1959 - Brad Havens, pitcher
• 1959 - Brian Milner, catcher
• 1962 - Ray Chadwick, pitcher
• 1964 - Mitch Williams, pitcher; All-Star
• 1964 - Todd Gonzales, minor league pitcher
• 1965 - Paul Sorrento, infielder
• 1966 - Andy Fletcher, umpire
• 1966 - Jeff Nelson, pitcher; All-Star
• 1968 - Ty Kovach, minor league player
• 1969 - Ben Weber, pitcher
• 1971 - Billy McMillon, outfielder
• 1973 - Mickey Lopez, infielder
• 1973 - Eli Marrero, catcher
• 1974 - Jim Mann, pitcher
• 1975 - Miguel Rojas, minor league pitcher
• 1977 - Alex Graman, pitcher
• 1978 - Su-jin Kim, South Korean womens' national team pitcher
• 1978 - Darnell McDonald, outfielder
• 1978 - Val Pascucci, outfielder
• 1982 - Ty Taubenheim, pitcher
• 1983 - Ryan Braun, outfielder; All-Star
• 1983 - Kurtis Lay, college coach
• 1983 - Scott Moore, infielder
• 1986 - Everth Cabrera, infielder
• 1989 - Hector Sanchez, catcher
• 1990 - Luis De La Rosa, French Division I pitcher
• 1991 - Jenna Flannigan, Canadian womens' national team outfielder
• 1992 - Andres Vazquez, Philippines national team infielder

[edit] Deaths

• 1897 - Frank McGinn, outfielder (b. 1869)
• 1902 - Watch Burnham, manager (B. 1860)
• 1935 - Carl Cashion, pitcher (b. 1891)
• 1937 - John Hibbard, pitcher (b. 1864)
• 1937 - Bill Merritt, catcher (b. 1870)
• 1940 - John McCloskey, manager (b. 1862)
• 1958 - Mort Cooper, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1913)
• 1961 - Benny Kauff, outfielder (b. 1890)
• 1963 - Merito Acosta, outfielder (b. 1896)
• 1965 - Kazuo Kageyama, NPB infielder and manager (b. 1927)
• 1968 - Earl Hamilton, pitcher (b. 1891)
• 1970 - Kenzo Hirose, author; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1895)
• 1977 - Roger Peckinpaugh, infielder, manager (b. 1891)
• 1980 - Eppie Barnes, infielder (b. 1900)
• 1980 - Hersh Martin, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1909)
• 1981 - Red Shea, pitcher (b. 1898)
• 1987 - Paul Derringer, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1906)
• 1989 - Jack Cusick, infielder (b. 1928)
• 1991 - Smead Jolley, outfielder (b. 1902)
• 1995 - Ichiro Hiraoka, NPB pitcher (b. 1945)
• 1998 - Casey Jones, Negro League catcher (b. 1918)
• 2000 - Andy Hancock, minor league catcher and manager (b. 1946)
• 2003 - Pete Taylor, pitcher (b. 1927)
• 2004 - Silvano Ambrosioni, Italian national team manager (b. 1942)
• 2004 - Floyd Baker, infielder (b. 1916)
• 2008 - Floyd Weaver, pitcher (b. 1941)
• 2012 - Freddy Schmidt, pitcher (b. 1916)