March 23
From BR Bullpen
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| Stats of players who died on this day | |
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Events, births and deaths that occurred on March 23.
Events[edit]
- 1889 - John Ward arrives in New York, having left the world tour early, and states that he might consent to play with the Washington Nationals if he receives a major portion of the $12,000 sale price. On April 2nd he will kill the deal with the Giants by refusing to play for Washington.
- 1900 - The Brooklyn Superbas sell John McGraw, Wilbert Robinson and Bill Keister to the St. Louis Cardinals for $15,000. McGraw and Robinson refuse to report.
- 1936 - Pitcher Dizzy Dean ends his well-publicized holdout and signs a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. Dean agrees to a one-year deal that will pay him $24,000 for the upcoming season.
- 1938 - Commissioner Landis frees 74 St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, among them Pete Reiser, in yet another attempt to halt the farm system cover-up. Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Larry MacPhail makes a pact with his St. Louis counterpart, Branch Rickey, to take the as-yet unknown Reiser and swap him back in the future, but the young outfielder's ability is too great to hide.
- 1941 - New York Yankees outfielder Joe DiMaggio, a holdout and late arrival in spring training, plays his first exhibition game.
- 1942 - The Brooklyn Dodgers reobtain Frenchy Bordagaray, buying the veteran first baseman from the New York Yankees.
- 1951 - The Brooklyn Dodgers sign a 21-year lease with the city of Vero Beach, Florida, for use of their spring training facilities there.
- 1955 - 160-something pound rookie Roberto Clemente flashes some of his under-publicized power in the form of a triple, "425 feet to the fence in center," according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Jack Hernon. In the process, Clemente hits a laser to the deepest part of the ballpark in the Pirates' spring training home, Terry Park, in Fort Myers, FL, in the 3rd inning of an exhibition game against the Chicago White Sox. However, as Pittsburgh Press writer Les Biederman recounts, (Clemente) "then was an easy out at the plate when he tried to stretch the drive into an inside-the-park homer."
- 1957 - At Los Angeles's Wrigley Field, Willie Mays belts two home runs to lead the Giants to a 9 - 3 Cactus League win over the Cleveland Indians. Giants general manager Bill Rigney fines Hank Thompson $150 for missing last night's exhibition win over the Indians in San Diego.
- 1959 - The San Francisco Giants clear space for future Hall of Famers Orlando Cepeda and Willie McCovey by trading first baseman Bill White to the St. Louis Cardinals. Cepeda won the 1958 National League Rookie of the Year Award after batting .312 with 25 home runs and 96 RBI. McCovey, a top prospect in the Giants' farm system, will make his major league debut this season.
- 1962 - William DeWitt buys the Cincinnati Reds from the Crosley Foundation for $4.625 million.
- 1968 - In a spring training game, Chicago Cubs pitcher Jim Ellis creates the "Lip Pass" by going to his mouth on a 3 and 1 count to issue an intentional walk. Cubs manager Leo Durocher, who was opposed to the new strict enforcement of the rule preventing pitchers from going to their mouth while on the rubber, is warned not to repeat the Lip pass or he'll be fined. He doesn't, but the rule is relaxed.
- 1974:
- The New York Yankees purchase outfielder Elliott Maddox from the Texas Rangers for $60,000. Maddox will prove to be a great defensive outfielder as well as hitting .303 this year.
- The Chicago Cubs send All-Star outfielder Jim Hickman to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for pitcher Scipio Spinks.
- 1978 - The New York Mets trade popular shortstop Bud Harrelson to the Philadelphia Phillies for minor leaguer Fred Andrews.
- 1990 - Gambler Howard Spira is arrested for extorting money from New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who paid Spira $40,000 in January. The Commissioner will suspend Steinbrenner because of his relationship with the unsavory character.
- 1992 - The National League announces that president Bill White will step down at the end of his term in 1993. A former St. Louis Cardinals star, White became the first African-American league president in 1989.
- 1996 - In a Grapefruit League game at Clearwater's Jack Russell Stadium, the Philadelphia Phillies and Cleveland Indians meet for the first time in their history, with the Indians prevailing, 8 - 2.
- 2000:
- The St. Louis Cardinals obtain All-Star centerfielder Jim Edmonds from the Anaheim Angels in exchange for pitcher Kent Bottenfield and second baseman Adam Kennedy.
- All-Star outfielder Tim Raines announces his retirement after 21 major league seasons. But he will return in 2001 to play two more seasons.
- The Chicago Cubs send relief pitcher Rodney Myers to the San Diego Padres in exchange for outfielder Gary Matthews, Jr.
- 2001:
- A panel of veteran baseball writers, historians and executives selects a roster of the Top 100 Greatest Cleveland Indians Players, as part of the club's 100th Anniversary Celebration.
- The Cincinnati Reds announce the retirement of first baseman Hal Morris. In a 13-season major league career, Morris was a .304 hitter with 76 home runs and 513 RBI in 1,246 games.
- 2006:
- Alfonso Soriano ends his brief stand-off with the Washington Nationals, agreeing to move to left field and abandon his perch at second base.
- According to a new book, San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds tried to keep his name out of the BALCO scandal, sending his lawyer into meetings with company representatives to ask for protection.
- 2009:
- Japan wins the 2009 World Baseball Classic, its second World Baseball Classic title in the two times the tournament has been held. As in 2006, Daisuke Matsuzaka is again named MVP after going 3-0. In the finale, Japan beats the South Korean national team, 5 - 3, in ten innings, with a two-run single by Ichiro Suzuki off Chang-yong Lim being the winning hit. Suzuki goes 4 for 6 in the game. Yu Darvish gets the win after blowing a save opportunity in the 9th.
- Curt Schilling announces his retirement on his blog. He pitched 23 seasons in the major leagues and won three World Series (2001, 2004 and 2007), sharing World Series MVP honors in 2001. He went 216-146 with 3,116 strikeouts in the majors. He made six All-Star teams and was a three-time runner-up for the Cy Young Award. He retires 15th all-time in strikeouts and first in K:BB ratio for players from the 20th Century or later.
- 2010 - The Brewers advise P Scott Schoeneweis that he will not make their opening day roster and that they plan to release him on March 25th. Schoeneweis is attempting a comeback after a trying 2009 season both on and off the field and will find a job a few days later with the Boston Red Sox.
- 2011:
- On the last day of the Cuban Serie Nacional 2010-2011 regular season, José Dariel Abreu cracks his 33rd home run. Despite missing about a quarter of the season with an injury, Abreu wins two legs of the Triple Crown. He and Yoennis Céspedes both break Alfredo Despaigne's two-year old home run record of 32. Cuban baseball has seen increased home run outputs in recent years with the more lively Mizuno 150 baseball being used.
- Japan's Central League announces that it will delay its opener, scheduled for March 25th, until at least April 12th in the wake of the devastating March 11th earthquake and tsunami. The Pacific League has already announced a delay in its opener, and both leagues will refrain from playing night games in April in order to ease the strain of the country's battered power grid.
- Phillies P Roy Oswalt is hit behind the ear by a line drive off the bat of the Rays' Manny Ramirez in a spring training game in Port Charlotte, FL. He is immediately removed from the game, but suffers no significant injury - only a bruise to his neck.
- 2012:
- Boston reliever Bobby Jenks is arrested in Fort Myers, FL for driving under the influence, destruction of property and leaving the scene of an accident. Jenks argues that the cause of his erratic driving is because "I took too many muscle relaxers." After further questions from police, he confesses that "I was just leaving Babes (nightclub) because I hit a car. I just had to get out of there." Jenks had problems with alcohol in past years but claimed in 2010 that he had stopped drinking altogether.
- Joe Torre returns to his job as Vice-President of Major League Baseball, three months after resigning to join a group bidding to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers. The group has since dropped out of the process.
- Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain dislocates his ankle while playing on a trampoline with his son. Already recovering from Tommy John surgery, he undergoes emergency surgery for an open dislocation. Doctors report that he lost so much blood that there was concern for his life and that he will need to stay hospitalized for several days. While the injury is thought to be season-ending, Joba will be back pitching for the Yankees on August 1st.
- 2013 - The Dodgers complete a two-game sweep of the Diamondbacks in Sydney, Australia with a 7 - 5 win. They jump to a quick 6 - 0 lead against Trevor Cahill thanks to a combined six hits by their first two hitters, Dee Gordon and Yasiel Puig. The D-Backs score four runs in the bottom of the 9th, including a two-run homer by Mark Trumbo off Kenley Jansen, but it's not enough to reverse the early deficit.
- 2015 - Hillerich & Bradsby, which has manufactured the iconic Louisville Slugger bats for 130 years, sells the brand to the rival Wilson Sporting Goods company for $70 million. The bats will continue to be produced in Louisville, KY and the Louisville Slugger Museum will also remain open.
- 2016 - In his first professional pitching appearance since being freed from prison after serving 51 months for driving under the influence, driving without a licence and causing grievous bodily injury, former Number One Pick in the 2004 amateur draft Matt Bush has a spectacular outing, flashing a fastball that hits 98 mph and a devastating curveball in pitching two hitless innings for the Rangers against the Cubs.
- 2018 - A few lines in a 2,000 page, $1.3 trillion spending bill passed by Congress exempts Major League Baseball from certain terms of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The consequences are that minor leaguers need no longer be paid for spring training, off-season workouts or any overtime during the season. The change, misnomingly entitled the "Save America's Pastime Act", is the result of active lobbying by MLB to preempt a lawsuit filed four years ago in a U.S. District Court in San Francisco, CA by former minor league player Garrett Broshuis on behalf of three active players that accuses teams of systematically violating labor laws. MLB is still liable for such violations in past years, however.
- 2023 - Phillies 1B Rhys Hoskins suffers a freak injury during a Grapefruit League game as he trips and falls awkwardly while backing up to field a ground ball. He is carted off the field and will require surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left knee, forcing him to miss the entire season.
- 2024 - Peter Angelos, principal owner of the Baltimore Orioles since 1993, passes away at age 94; his son John Angelos has been effectively running the team since 2020, when failing health forced Peter to curtail his activities. His passing will allow the team's sale to David Rubenstein, agreed to in principle in January, to go ahead.
Births[edit]
- 1863 - Joe Gunson, catcher (d. 1942)
- 1864 - Charlie Hilsey, pitcher (d. 1918)
- 1864 - Willie Murphy, outfielder
- 1865 - Dan Shannon, infielder, manager (d. 1913)
- 1865 - Farmer Weaver, outfielder (d. 1943)
- 1868 - Elmer Smith, outfielder (d. 1945)
- 1870 - James F. Cairns, minor league owner; Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1928)
- 1870 - Rudy Kling, infielder (d. 1937)
- 1877 - Peaches Graham, catcher (d. 1939)
- 1877 - Ed Taylor, pitcher (d. 1912)
- 1878 - Pete Loos, pitcher (d. 1956)
- 1878 - Homer Smoot, outfielder (d. 1928)
- 1881 - Gavvy Cravath, outfielder, manager (d. 1963)
- 1885 - Platt Adams, Olympic pitcher (d. 1961)
- 1885 - Danny Moeller, outfielder (d. 1951)
- 1886 - Cy Slapnicka, pitcher (d. 1979)
- 1886 - Buzzy Wares, infielder (d. 1964)
- 1895 - Leo Birdine, pitcher/outfielder (d. 1960)
- 1895 - Ray Kremer, pitcher (d. 1965)
- 1895 - Frank Parkinson, infielder (d. 1960)
- 1902 - Johnny Moore, outfielder (d. 1991)
- 1908 - Bill Harvey, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1989)
- 1911 - Sig Broskie, catcher (d. 1975)
- 1912 - Louis Dula, pitcher (d. 1979)
- 1917 - Joe Echols, outfielder (d. 1977)
- 1918 - José Araújo, Colombian national team infielder (d. 1985)
- 1918 - Lou Lucier, pitcher (d. 2014)
- 1920 - Tetsuharu Kawakami, NPB infielder, manager; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 2013)
- 1921 - Bill Boudreau, minor league infielder (d. 2011)
- 1923 - Barney Koch, infielder (d. 1987)
- 1926 - Stu Komer, minor league catcher
- 1926 - Johnny Logan, infielder; All-Star (d. 2013)
- 1928 - Jim Lemon, outfielder, manager; All-Star
- 1929 - Fate Simms, Negro League outfielder (d. 1979)
- 1930 - Teruo Owaki, NPB pitcher (d. 2013)
- 1931 - Stan Pitula, pitcher (d. 1965)
- 1931 - Norman Wielansky, minor league pitcher (d. 2019)
- 1932 - Jack Meyer, pitcher (d. 1967)
- 1936 - Al Herring, minor league player
- 1936 - Hubie LeBlanc, college coach (d. 2009)
- 1938 - Sam Bowens, outfielder (d. 2003)
- 1938 - Bobby Dews, minor league infielder and manager (d. 2015)
- 1942 - Danny Coombs, pitcher
- 1943 - Bruce Howard, pitcher
- 1943 - Lee May, infielder; All-Star (d. 2017)
- 1944 - Tom Mandile, minor league pitcher (d. 2020)
- 1944 - George Scott, infielder; All-Star (d. 2013)
- 1947 - Pat Bourque, infielder
- 1948 - Lanny Frattare, announcer
- 1949 - Jim Geddes, pitcher
- 1952 - Terry Mappin, minor league pitcher
- 1953 - Bo Diaz, catcher; All-Star (d. 1990)
- 1956 - Mike Darr, pitcher
- 1956 - Ron Johnson, infielder (d. 2021)
- 1957 - Sa-yong Gam, KBO pitcher
- 1962 - Butch Baccala, scout
- 1962 - Stuart Stauffacher, minor league pitcher
- 1964 - Mark Wooden, minor league pitcher
- 1966 - Mike Remlinger, pitcher; All-Star
- 1967 - Pablo Abreu, Cuban league pitcher
- 1967 - Jerry Brooks, outfielder
- 1967 - Tom Fischer, minor league pitcher
- 1967 - Luis Vasquez, minor league pitcher
- 1968 - Yáder Roa, Nicaraguan national team coach
- 1969 - Chris Turner, catcher
- 1970 - Ricky Gutierrez, minor league infielder
- 1973 - Byung-ho Jun, KBO pitcher
- 1975 - Gary Coffee, minor league infielder
- 1975 - Will Rikard, Bundesliga outfielder-pitcher
- 1976 - Joel Peralta, pitcher
- 1977 - Joe Bauldree, minor league pitcher (d. 2002)
- 1977 - Omar Obando, minor league pitcher
- 1977 - Bert Snow, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - Hung-Sen Chu, CPBL infielder
- 1978 - Francisco Villegas, minor league pitcher
- 1979 - Mark Buehrle, pitcher; All-Star
- 1980 - Radhame Perez, minor league outfielder
- 1981 - Anderson Garcia, pitcher
- 1981 - Tony Pena, infielder
- 1981 - Marcel Vianna, minor league pitcher
- 1982 - Lincoln Holdzkom, minor league pitcher (d. 2015)
- 1984 - Brian Gausman, minor league pitcher
- 1984 - Florentino Nunez, minor league outfielder
- 1984 - Jon Link, pitcher
- 1985 - Chih-Ping Lin, CPBL infielder
- 1985 - Braedyn Pruitt, minor league infielder
- 1986 - Kris Dabrowiecki, minor league pitcher
- 1986 - Shao-Pai Lan, CPBL infielder
- 1986 - Jamie Richmond, minor league pitcher
- 1987 - Jose Jimenez, minor league player
- 1988 - Dellin Betances, pitcher; All-Star
- 1988 - Ryosuke Hirata, NPB outfielder
- 1988 - Boung-gon Jeung, South Korean national team infielder
- 1988 - Nanda Dwi Saputra, Indonesian national team pitcher
- 1989 - Issei Endo, NPB outfielder
- 1989 - Heng-Hsiao Kuo, CPBL pitcher
- 1989 - Dae-Eun Rhee, minor league pitcher
- 1990 - Jacinto Cipriota, minor league infielder
- 1990 - Sang-soo Kim, KBO infielder
- 1991 - Jonathan Cramman, Great Britain national team infielder
- 1991 - Dainari Morales, Cuban women's national team outfielder
- 1993 - Art Warren, pitcher
- 1994 - Rodney Daal, minor league catcher
- 1995 - Isiah Kiner-Falefa, infielder
- 1995 - Luis Miyamura, Brazilian national team outfielder
- 1995 - Chyi Tat Tan, Singaporean national team infielder
- 1997 - Tristan Pompey, minor league outfielder
- 1998 - Chun-Yang Hsu, CPBL pitcher
- 1998 - Antoine Villard, French Division I pitcher
- 1999 - Heorhii Hvrytishvili, French Division I pitcher-outfielder
- 1999 - Austin Martin, outfielder
- 2001 - Hae Seong Jeremy Chua, Singaporean national team catcher
- 2004 - Renzo Meloni, Peruvian national team pitcher
Deaths[edit]
- 1916 - Frank Graves, catcher (b. 1860)
- 1917 - Art Weaver, catcher (b. 1879)
- 1928 - Jake Kafora, catcher (b. 1888)
- 1929 - Denny Williams, outfielder (b. 1899)
- 1932 - Charles Daniels, umpire (b. 1849)
- 1935 - John Flynn, infielder (b. 1883)
- 1936 - Shin Hashido, executive; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1879)
- 1940 - John Schorling, Negro League owner (b. 1865)
- 1945 - Charles McCafferty, umpire (b. 1878)
- 1946 - George Wheeler, pitcher (b. 1869)
- 1948 - Dutch Meier, outfielder (b. 1879)
- 1950 - Slim Sallee, pitcher (b. 1885)
- 1952 - Steve Sundra, pitcher (b. 1910)
- 1958 - Harry Kelley, pitcher (b. 1906)
- 1964 - Hideo Shimizu, NPB pitcher (b. 1918)
- 1966 - Fred Long, outfielder (b. 1896)
- 1969 - Oris Hockett, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1909)
- 1972 - Red Bird, pitcher (b. 1890)
- 1976 - Walter Murphy, pitcher (b. 1907)
- 1979 - Don Osborn, coach, minor league pitcher and manager (b. 1908)
- 1979 - Wilson Redus, outfielder, manager; All-Star (b. 1905)
- 1980 - Lou Knerr, pitcher (b. 1921)
- 1985 - Francis Abercrombie, minor league pitcher (b. 1918)
- 1985 - Lefty Mellix, pitcher (b. 1896)
- 1987 - Tony Pacheco, coach (b. 1927)
- 1988 - Gentry Jessup, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1914)
- 1990 - Eileen Burmeister, AAGPBL utility player (b. 1924)
- 1993 - Tim Crews, pitcher (b. 1961)
- 1994 - Roger Wolff, pitcher (b. 1911)
- 1998 - Gentry Jessup, Negro League pitcher (b. 1914)
- 1998 - Ray Scott, announcer (b. 1919)
- 1998 - Allen Halley, minor league pitcher (b. 1971)
- 2002 - Minnie Rojas, pitcher (b. 1933)
- 2003 - Tadayoshi Kajioka, NPB pitcher (b. 1920)
- 2007 - Ed Bailey, catcher; All-Star (b. 1931)
- 2011 - Ford Baker, minor league pitcher (b. 1932)
- 2012 - Toyohiko Aida, NPB outfielder (b. 1937)
- 2012 - Dennis Bennett, pitcher (b. 1939)
- 2013 - Helen Hannah Campbell, AAGPBL executive (b. 1915)
- 2013 - Virgil Trucks, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1917)
- 2014 - Jeff Stark, minor league outfielder (b. 1963)
- 2015 - Nick Peters, writer (b. 1939)
- 2016 - Joe Garagiola, catcher (b. 1926)
- 2018 - Wayne Huizenga, owner (b. 1939)
- 2019 - Hal King, catcher (b. 1944)
- 2019 - Ed Reilly, minor league pitcher (b. 1958)
- 2019 - Bill Guthrie, minor league pitcher (b. 1928)
- 2020 - Tom Mandile, minor league pitcher (b. 1944)
- 2023 - Joe Jones, coach (b. 1941)
- 2024 - Peter Angelos, owner (b. 1929)
- 2024 - Hank Bunnell, minor league pitcher (b. 1949)
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