March 12
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 12.
Events[edit]
- 1921 - Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis suspends eight members of the Chicago White Sox for their alleged involvement in the fixing of the 1919 World Series. The group includes outfielder Joe Jackson, who batted .375 in the Series. Others banned are Eddie Cicotte, Happy Felsch, Chick Gandil, Fred McMullin, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver and Lefty Williams. None of them will ever play in organized baseball again.
- 1934 - St. Louis Cardinals rookie pitcher Paul Dean ends his holdout. Dean will win 19 games for the Cardinals in his first major league season.
- 1946 - Negro Leagues pitching star Smokey Joe Williams dies in New York City at the age of 69. According to some sources, Williams won 41 games in 1914. Williams will win election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.
- 1951 - Commissioner Happy Chandler loses his bid to remain in office. Chandler is voted down, 9-7, in a tally of owners. Chandler, who started his term as commissioner in 1945, will be succeeded by Ford Frick.
- 1973 - Hall of Fame member Frankie Frisch dies in Wilmington, Delaware, at the age of 74. Frisch batted .316 over a 19-year career. As player-manager for the St. Louis Cardinals, he led the team to the 1934 World Championship.
- 1980 - Slugging outfielder Chuck Klein and former Boston Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. Klein batted .320 over a 17-year career with the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Yawkey becomes the first Hall of Fame owner who never served as a player, manager, or general manager during his career.
- 2006:
- In the World Baseball Classic, Alex Rodriguez hits a bases-loaded, two-out single in the 9th inning, to give the United States a victory over Japan, 4 - 3, but the victory is shrouded in controversy when an umpire's ruling denies the losers a crucial run. Japan looks to have broken open a 3 - 3 tie at the top of the 8th when Tsuyoshi Nishioka comes home on Akinori Iwamura's sacrifice fly off reliever Joe Nathan with the bases loaded. Second base umpire Brian Knight rules the run good, but U.S. manager Buck Martinez races from the dugout to appeal to home plate umpire Bob Davidson. Davidson overrules Knight and calls Nishioka out for leaving third base early, a decision that brings Japan manager Sadaharu Oh and a translator out of the dugout to argue the call. Television replays do not show that Nishioka left before outfielder Randy Winn made the catch. It is a crushing defeat for Japan, which led 3 - 0 after two innings and never trailed until Rodriguez's game-winning hit. Ichiro Suzuki puts the U.S. in an early hole with a lead-off home run off Jake Peavy to open the game. Japan adds two more runs in the 2nd. Chipper Jones answers back for the Americans with a towering home run but the U.S. cannot get level until the 6th when Derrek Lee crushes a two-run shot. In the second game, Jae Weong Seo pitches 5 1/3 strong innings, Seung Yeop Lee hits a two-run home run, and South Korea beats Mexico, 2 - 1, for its fourth straight victory in the Classic.
- At Hiram Bithorn Stadium, 10-time Gold Glove winner Omar Vizquel misses a double play opportunity and gives up an additional out on a fielder's choice, and Cuba capitalizes with a five-run 6th inning in a 7 - 2 victory over Venezuela. Frederich Cepeda hits a three-run home run and Ariel Pestano follows with a solo shot as the underdog Cubans break out after Johan Santana departs. Santana, the unanimous AL Cy Young Award winner in 2004, strikes out five in five innings and gives up two hits and one earned run. Starter Yadel Marti and reliever Pedro Luis Lazo provide a solid pitching outing, and silence the powerful Venezuelan lineup. A two-run homer by light-hitting outfielder Endy Chavez provides the only runs for the losers. In the second game, Jose Cruz, Jr. goes 3 for 5 with three RBI and four Puerto Rico pitchers combine to shut down the Dominican Republic in a 7 - 1 victory. Javier Vazquez, Jose Santiago, Kiko Calero and J.C. Romero combine to limit the Dominicans to one run and six hits. Bartolo Colón matches Vazquez in the early going, allowing one run and four hits in five innings, but Puerto Rico roughs up reliever Damaso Marte in the 6th. Vazquez allows a solo home run to Adrian Beltre - his fourth of the Classic - for the only Dominican run.
- 2008:
- In a 15 - 3 rout by Pinar del Rio, Pedro Luis Lazo wins his 234th game in the Cuban leagues. This ties the all-time record held by Jorge Luis Valdés.
- The South Korean national team clinches a spot in the 2008 Olympics by improving to 5-0 in the 2008 Final Olympic Qualification Tournament. Min-han Son throws six fine innings in a 12 - 1 win over Germany while Seung-yeop Lee drives in three runs to give him 12 RBI in the tournament so far.
- Taiwan comes close to clinching by beating Australia, 5 - 0, as Australia is almost eliminated. Chien-Fu Yang throws a dazzling four-hit, no walk shutout.
- In the other games played in the tournament, Canada shuts out Spain, 11 - 0, as Aaron Wideman and Alexandre Periard team on the shutout while a balanced offense carries the day, and Mexico wins, 5 - 0, over South Africa behind the pitching of Francisco Campos. Campos strikes out 18 and allows just two hits in eight shutout innings. However, Mexico is eliminated from Olympic contention because of the wins by Taiwan and Canada.
- 2009 - Cuba tosses aside Mexico, 16 - 4, in the World Baseball Classic. It is the 4th straight Mexican game in which one team scores at least 14 runs. Yulieski Gourriel drives in 4 and Frederich Cepeda and Michel Enríquez each drive in three, while Yoennis Céspedes scores three. Francisco Campos takes the loss one year after his star turn in the 2008 Olympic qualifier.
- 2011 - The pitching hand of Diamondbacks left-hander Zach Duke is struck by a line drive off the bat of the Rockies' Charlie Blackmon. X-rays taken the next day will reveal two broken bones, putting Duke on the shelf until mid-May.
- 2012 - New Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen is already in mid-season form. He gets ejected in the 6th inning of an otherwise placid Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox for arguing a foul ball call with umpire Tim Timmons. As Ozzie explains afterwards: "I don't mind getting ejected, man. That's my job. If I get ejected protecting my players, I can sleep at night."
- 2013:
- With both teams having already locked up spots in the final round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic, Japan beats the Netherlands, 10 - 6, thanks to an eight-run 2nd inning. Shinnosuke Abe homers twice in the 2nd, taking both David Bergman and Jonatan Isenia deep. Hisayoshi Chono adds five RBI, and Hideaki Wakui escapes a jam in the 8th, striking out Randolph Oduber with two on, two out and a two-run lead.
- In the second-round games of the 2013 World Baseball Classic played at Marlins Park, Team USA defeats Puerto Rico, 7 - 1, as Gio Gonzalez pitches five innings and David Wright drives in 5 runs. In the other game, underdog Italy gives the Dominican Republic a scare when it takes a 4 - 0 lead in the 1st inning as Edinson Volquez walks the first three batters he faces and gives up a three-run homer to Chris Colabello. The Dominicans finally take the lead with a three-run burst in the 7th, to win the game, 5 - 4.
- 2014 - The Braves sign P Ervin Santana, one of the last free agents remaining on the market, to a one-year contract for $14.1 million. Injuries this week to two of the team's projected starters, Brandon Beachy and Kris Medlen, prompt Atlanta to open its wallet and also give up a draft choice to add the experienced hurler.
- 2015 - Actor Will Ferrell pulls off a bizarre and hilarious stunt to drum up support for cancer survivors, as he suits up for ten different teams and takes part in five different games (all of them for both teams) during Cactus League play today. He plays all nine positions as well as designated hitter and even puts in some time as a third base coach, while being rushed from game to game. He retires the only batter he faces as a pitcher for the Dodgers, but for some reason all the teams he plays for decide to cut or trade him, once for a couple of hot dogs, after each of his brief appearances. He uses a police escort and a helicopter to ferry him from ballpark to ballpark, wearing uniform number 19 at every stop. "I'm a five-tool guy", the comic actor explains. The strange adventure will be the subject of a television special to be broadcast on HBO during the season.
- 2017:
- In the first second-round game of the 2017 World Baseball Classic, Israel continues its amazing run, winning its fourth straight game, 4 - 1 over Cuba. The Israelis overcome an early solo homer by Alfredo Despaigne as Blake Gailen drives in a couple of runs and Josh Zeid gets out of a bases-loaded jam in the 9th. In the other second-round game, Japan needs 11 innings to dispose of the Netherlands, 8 - 6. Starting the 11th with two men on base due to the Schiller rule, the Japanese execute their strategy perfectly, starting with a sacrifice bunt, and score both runners; but the Dutch are unable to follow suit, as their own bunt is popped up to the catcher and they strand both runners to suffer the loss.
- Colombia literally comes within inches of upsetting the powerful Dominican Republic national team and winning Pool C outright. With the score tied at 3 in the bottom of the 9th, Reynaldo Rodriguez hits a liner to LF Jose Bautista, who guns a perfect throw to C Welington Castillo, who tags out speedy pinch-runner Oscar Mercado on a play that could hardly have been closer. The D.R. then bursts out for 7 runs in the 11th, thanks to a two-run single by Castillo and a bases-clearing double by Jean Segura and puts the game away, 10 - 3, for its 11th straight win in WBC competition. In the other game, the United States also confirms its spot in the next round, eliminating Colombia, by thrashing Canada, 8 - 0. Nolan Arenado and Buster Posey both homer as the U.S. beats up on Ryan Dempster, scoring three runs before he leaves after only a third of an inning. Danny Duffy strikes out 7 in four innings to pick up the win.
- Puerto Rico also completes its first round games unbeaten in Pool D by defeating Italy, 9 - 3. Homers by John Andreoli and Drew Butera in the first two innings account for all three Italian runs, but they are held to one hit the rest of the way and, once again, their pitchers get beat up, giving up 9 or more runs for the third straight game. A three-run homer by Carlos Correa in the 4th proves to be a knock-out blow. The final pool game is another barnburner, with Mexico earning its first win, 11 - 9, over Venezuela. Homers by Brandon Laird and Esteban Quiroz account for six Mexican runs, but they end up on the short end of the tiebreaker by the slimmest of margins: giving up one fewer run or scoring one more would have turned the trick. In spite of Mexico filing a protest, it will be Italy and Venezuela who will play an extra game to determine which will be the second team from the pool to move to the next round.
- 2018 - The Astros take a short break from spring training for the traditional visit of the World Series-winning team to the White House, given they are not scheduled to visit the Washington, DC/Baltimore, MD area until September. A couple of team members, Carlos Correa and Carlos Beltran, choose to boycott the outing as they are still mad at President Donald Trump for his contempt of their native Puerto Rico after it was battered by Hurricane Maria in September.
- 2019 - Astros pitcher Francis Martes, recovering from Tommy John surgery, is handed an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a PED.
- 2020 - Major League Baseball announces that it is suspending spring training and delaying Opening Day, scheduled for March 26th, by two weeks, in light of the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe. This follows in the wake of similar announcements by other professional sports leagues such as the NBA, NHL and Major League Soccer. The 2020 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, which were scheduled to begin today, are also postponed.
Births[edit]
- 1844 - Abraham Mills, executive (d. 1929)
- 1857 - Marshall Locke, outfielder (d. 1940)
- 1860 - Bill Kienzle, outfielder (d. 1910)
- 1860 - Walt Walker, catcher (d. 1922)
- 1864 - William Sullivan, pitcher (d. 1911)
- 1865 - Phil Knell, pitcher (d. 1944)
- 1865 - George Moolic, catcher (d. 1915)
- 1866 - Denny Lyons, infielder (d. 1929)
- 1866 - Lev Shreve, pitcher (d. 1942)
- 1870 - Billy Hulen, infielder (d. 1947)
- 1874 - Doc Curley, infielder (d. 1920)
- 1874 - Charles Weeghman, owner (d. 1938)
- 1880 - Bobby Marshall, Negro League catcher and manager (d. 1958)
- 1880 - Frank Schneiberg, pitcher (d. 1948)
- 1880 - Babe Towne, catcher (d. 1938)
- 1882 - Johnny Beall, outfielder (d. 1926)
- 1884 - Pat Hynes, outfielder (d. 1907)
- 1884 - George McAvoy, pinch hitter (d. 1952)
- 1885 - Dode Criss, pitcher (d. 1955)
- 1885 - Charlie Johnson, outfielder (d. 1940)
- 1886 - Medric Boucher, catcher (d. 1974)
- 1887 - Walt Doane, pitcher (d. 1935)
- 1887 - Wally Mattick, outfielder (d. 1968)
- 1889 - Reb Russell, pitcher (d. 1973)
- 1891 - Jack Little, outfielder (d. 1961)
- 1892 - Bill James, pitcher (d. 1971)
- 1892 - George Maisel, outfielder (d. 1968)
- 1893 - Joe Engel, pitcher (d. 1969)
- 1893 - Alex Gaston, catcher (d. 1979)
- 1906 - Rusty Saunders, outfielder (d. 1967)
- 1906 - Bud Tinning, pitcher (d. 1961)
- 1907 - Leroy Matlock, Negro League pitcher (d. 1968)
- 1908 - Bob Barr, pitcher (d. 2002)
- 1908 - Harlin Pool, outfielder (d. 1963)
- 1913 - Jack Farmer, minor league pitcher and manager (d. 1950)
- 1914 - Otto Huber, infielder (d. 1989)
- 1916 - Rene Monteagudo, pitcher (d. 1973)
- 1917 - Muneyoshi Okada, NPB infielder (d. 1942)
- 1920 - Edgar Hartness, minor league infielder and manager
- 1929 - Jim Bragan, coach (d. 2001)
- 1930 - Vern Law, pitcher; All-Star
- 1931 - Chuck Oertel, outfielder (d. 2000)
- 1936 - Ray Barker, infielder (d. 2018)
- 1937 - Bruce Swango, minor league pitcher (d. 2001)
- 1938 - Durwood Merrill, umpire (d. 2003)
- 1939 - Johnny Callison, outfielder; All-Star (d. 2006)
- 1939 - Gary Krupsky, college coach (d. 2013)
- 1942 - Jimmy Wynn, outfielder; All-Star (d. 2020)
- 1944 - Joe Moock, infielder
- 1945 - Don O'Riley, pitcher (d. 1997)
- 1945 - Horacio Pina, pitcher
- 1946 - Len Boyer, minor league outfielder (d. 2013)
- 1946 - Jerry Howarth, broadcaster
- 1947 - Bill Butler, pitcher
- 1947 - Greg Garrett, pitcher (d. 2003)
- 1948 - Bob Watkins, pitcher
- 1948 - Tony Zontini, college coach
- 1950 - Gilbert Hodges, minor league infielder
- 1952 - Greg Biagini, coach (d. 2003)
- 1953 - Dave Masser, minor league outfielder (d. 2014)
- 1954 - Larry Rothschild, pitcher, manager
- 1955 - Ruppert Jones, outfielder; All-Star
- 1956 - Cheol-Sun Bak, minor league pitcher
- 1956 - Dale Murphy, outfielder; All-Star
- 1957 - Mike Quade, coach
- 1957 - Jinsheng Zhang, Chinese national team outfielder
- 1960 - Roberto Espinoza, minor league pitcher
- 1962 - Darryl Strawberry, outfielder; All-Star
- 1964 - Bill Hawley, minor league pitcher
- 1965 - Philippe Bonnery, Division Elite outfielder
- 1965 - Mike Curtis, minor league pitcher
- 1965 - Steve Finley, outfielder; All-Star
- 1965 - Shawn Gilbert, infielder
- 1966 - Mike Ignasiak, pitcher
- 1968 - Frank Gonzales, minor league pitcher and manager
- 1971 - Greg Hansell, pitcher
- 1971 - Raul Mondesi, outfielder; All-Star
- 1972 - George Arias, infielder
- 1972 - Ray Choi, minor league outfielder
- 1972 - Lino Connell, minor league infielder and manager
- 1973 - Adam Benes, minor league pitcher
- 1973 - David Lee, pitcher
- 1974 - Craig Dingman, pitcher
- 1974 - Koichi Isobe, NPB outfielder
- 1974 - Sergio Mena, Nicaraguan national team catcher
- 1975 - Kan-Lin Huang, CPBL outfielder
- 1975 - Kevin Pickford, pitcher
- 1976 - Bryan Hebson, pitcher
- 1979 - Felix Escalona, infielder
- 1979 - Hei-chun Lee, NPB pitcher
- 1979 - Dave Williams, pitcher
- 1981 - Josip Brozinic, Croatian national team infielder
- 1981 - Carlos Muniz, pitcher
- 1981 - Edilse Silva, Cuban league outfielder
- 1982 - Brook Coatsworth, Great Britain national team pitcher
- 1982 - Hayato Doue, NPB catcher
- 1982 - Zach Miner, pitcher
- 1982 - Mike Spidale, minor league outfielder
- 1984 - Jose Arredondo, pitcher
- 1984 - Eulogio De La Cruz, pitcher
- 1985 - Anderson Gomes, minor league outfielder
- 1985 - P.J. Walters, pitcher
- 1986 - Joey Butler, outfielder
- 1988 - Nicklas Melin, Hoofdklasse pitcher
- 1988 - Ethan Paquette, minor league infielder
- 1989 - Taylor Hill, pitcher
- 1989 - Kim McMillan, Women's Baseball World Cup infielder
- 1989 - Alberto Odreman, minor league infielder
- 1990 - Ji-hwan Oh, KBO infielder
- 1990 - Marlon Sucre, minor league outfielder
- 1990 - Cole Sulser, pitcher
- 1991 - Jorge Bishop, minor league infielder
- 1991 - All Luthvy Jhonata, Indonesian national team infielder
- 1991 - Tyler Wright, minor league pitcher
- 1993 - Jacob Lindgren, pitcher
Deaths[edit]
- 1907 - Pat Hynes, outfielder (b. 1884)
- 1908 - Fred Ketchum, outfielder (b. 1875)
- 1911 - Simon Nicholls, infielder (b. 1882)
- 1930 - Jack Powell, pitcher (b. 1891)
- 1942 - Owen Conway, infielder (b. 1889)
- 1954 - Bob Quinn, executive (b. 1870)
- 1957 - Dick Niehaus, pitcher (b. 1892)
- 1962 - Fred Beck, infielder (b. 1886)
- 1966 - Keith Molesworth, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1905)
- 1972 - Dutch Levsen, pitcher (b. 1898)
- 1973 - Jesse Altenburg, outfielder (b. 1893)
- 1973 - Frankie Frisch, infielder, manager; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1897)
- 1974 - Medric Boucher, catcher (b. 1886)
- 1975 - Dick Lanahan, pitcher (b. 1911)
- 1976 - Shunichi Amachi, NPB manager; Japanese Baseball Hall of Famer (b. 1903)
- 1978 - Ferrell Anderson, catcher (b. 1918)
- 1978 - Alex McCarthy, infielder (b. 1889)
- 1978 - Gene Moore, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1909)
- 1982 - Bill Andrus, infielder (b. 1907)
- 1983 - Bob Hall, pitcher (b. 1923)
- 1986 - Fred Hancock, infielder (b. 1920)
- 1994 - Gordy Coleman, infielder (b. 1934)
- 2001 - Bill Reeder, pitcher (b. 1922)
- 2002 - Steve Gromek, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1920)
- 2005 - Vincent Plumbo, minor league catcher and manager (b. 1923)
- 2006 - William Metzig, infielder (b. 1918)
- 2007 - Norm Larker, infielder; All-Star (b. 1930)
- 2009 - Ken Anderson, minor league player (b. 1940)
- 2011 - Tom Capezzuto, writer (b. 1953)
- 2011 - Mitchell Page, outfielder (b. 1959)
- 2013 - John Whited, college coach (b. 1938)
- 2014 - Arnold Heft, minor league pitcher (b. 1919)
- 2014 - Art Kenney, pitcher (b. 1916)
- 2014 - Jenny Romatowski, AAGPBL catcher (b. 1927)
- 2015 - Bob Anderson, pitcher (b. 1935)
- 2016 - Annastasia Batikis, AAGPBL outfielder (b. 1927)
- 2016 - Bill Whitby, pitcher (b. 1943)
- 2018 - Al Pfeffer, US national team player (b. ~1934)
- 2018 - Tom Vangelas, minor league infielder (b. ~1927)
- 2019 - Alberto Lois, outfielder (b. 1956)
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