November 12
From BR Bullpen
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Events, births and deaths that occurred on November 12.
Events[edit]
- 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 the San Francisco team (Pacific Coast League).
- 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 through 1955 he will win 303 games, the first pitcher 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 The Sporting News 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.
- 1956 - Having won the AL Triple Crown (.353 BA, 52 HR, 130 RBI), Mickey Mantle is named AL MVP in a unanimous vote.
- 1957 - Frank Lane resigns as general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals and is replaced by Bing Devine.
- 1958 - New York Yankees pitcher Bob Turley, who had 21 wins and 19 complete games, is named the Cy Young Award winner. With only one award given for the two leagues, Turley gathers five votes to four for last year's winner, the 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 and third 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 major league 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 tenth manager in the club's nine-year history.
- 1986 - Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox wins the 1986 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 re-signed 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 to a two-year contract.
- Villa Clara third baseman Rafael Orlando Acebey becomes the first Cuban infielder to turn an unassisted triple play.
- The demolishing of Osaka Stadium, the former home of the Nankai Hawks, begins.
- 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 Japan while Cuba, with its second win against the Americans in the tournament, will play Australia for the gold medal.
- 2001:
- One year after playing Class-A baseball, Albert Pujols, who hit .329 with 37 home runs and 130 RBI, 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 Redlegs.
- Although disappointed not to win 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 votes for C.C. Sabathia, who posted a 17-4 record, as his top choice, stating 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 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. Pedroia is a clear choice in the American League.
- 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 heads for third on a hit by Max De Biase. He slides under the tag from Tai-Shan Chang but umpire Man-hwang Suk calls him out. Replays later show that the Italian infielder was safe. Chris Di Roma gets the first two outs in the 9th but then allows the next three batters to reach, leading to the game's lone run. Another questionable umpiring call hurts Italy in the bottom of the inning as a 2-2 check swing is 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 major league history, edging out Mike Piazza's $13 million average from 1999-2005.
- 2008:
- The Athletics trade former closer Huston Street, starter Greg Smith and prospect Carlos González to the Rockies for former batting champion Matt Holliday.
- Manager of the Year honors go to Joe Maddon of the Rays and Lou Piniella of the Cubs. Maddon led Tampa not just to the first winning record in franchise history, but also to the World Series. Piniella guided Chicago to the best record in the National League. It is Piniella's third time winning the honor, having been honored in 1995 and 2001 while in the American League.
- 2009 - The Matsutaro Shoriki Award is given to Tatsunori Hara, who also won in 2002. Hara is honored for his work in leading the Yomiuri Giants to the 2009 Japan Series title.
- 2010:
- Boston trades P Dustin Richardson to Florida in return for P Andrew Miller.
- The Athletics pick up 3B Edwin Encarnacion on waivers from the Blue Jays. However the A's will soon let Encarnacion go as a free agent, and he will blossom as power hitter after re-signing with the Blue Jays a few weeks from now.
- 2011 - The 2011 Japan Series starts with a pitching duel, as Wei-Lin Chen of the Chunichi Dragons and Tsuyoshi Wada of the Softbank Hawks each allow one run in eight innings, while combining for 19 strikeouts. Chunichi wins, 2 - 1, in the 10th, when left fielder Masaaki Koike goes deep off Takahiro Mahara. Koike usually backs up Kazuhiro Wada, but Wada is playing DH as the game is in a Pacific League park and thus under PL DH rules. Wada, for his part, provides Chunichi's other run with a solo homer off his namesake Tsuyoshi Wada in the 7th, his sixth career Japan Series dinger.
- 2012 - Bryce Harper of the Nationals is named the National League Rookie of the Year while Mike Trout of the Angels wins the honor in the American League. The two young outfielders wowed observers with their prowess with the bat, Harper becoming only the second teenager to hit 20 home runs in the big leagues, and the 21-year-old Trout being Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera's main rival for the MVP Award after hitting .326 with 129 runs. Trout becomes the youngest AL winner, while Harper misses surpassing Dwight Gooden as the youngest NL winner by under a month.
- 2013:
- Clint Hurdle, who guided the Pirates to their first winning record in 21 years and pushed the Cardinals to the limit in the Division Series, is named the National League Manager of the Year, while Terry Francona, who revived the fortunes of the Indians in his first season at the helm, wins the honor in the American League.
- The Phillies sign OF Marlon Byrd to a two-year contract worth $16 million.
- 2014:
- Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is the unanimous winner of the National League Cy Young Award after going a dominant 21-3, 1.77. In the American League, Corey Kluber of the Indians, owner of an 18-9 record and a 2.44 narrowly beats out Felix Hernandez for the Award.
- A team of Major League All-Stars begins the 2014 Nichi-Bei Series in Japan with a 2 - 0 loss to the Japanese national team in Osaka. Japanese ace Kenta Maeda allows only two hits in five innings to pick up the win over Matt Shoemaker.
- The Tigers acquire OF Anthony Gose from the Blue Jays in return for prospect Devon Travis, while the Yankees send C Francisco Cervelli to Pittsburgh for P Justin Wilson.
- 2015:
- The Braves trade slick-fielding SS Andrelton Simmons and minor league C Jose Briceno to the Angels in return for veteran SS Erick Aybar and pitching prospects Chris Ellis and Sean Newcomb, while the Mariners acquire reliever Joaquin Benoit from San Diego for minor leaguers Enyel De Los Santos and Nelson Ward.
- Winners of the Silver Slugger Awards are announced, with first-time winners dominating the squads, as there are five in the American League and four more in the National League. In contrast, C Brian McCann and 1B Miguel Cabrera both win the award for the sixth time.
- At the 2015 Premier 12, Canada edges host Taiwan, 9 - 8, in a dramatic game. In the top of the 8th, with a man on second and two out, Chih-Hao Chang hits a long drive to right-center off Dustin Molleken. Canadian CF Tyson Gillies makes a run and leaps to get hold of the ball, then smacks into the wall and has the ball pop out - and into the glove of RF Rene Tosoni, who was alertly covering the play. First-base umpire Fabrizio Fabrizi initially calls it a no-catch, concluding the ball hit the wall in between the two catches, but the umpiring crew reverses the call after a protest by Canadian skipper Ernie Whitt.
- 2016 - The Athletics trade veteran IF Danny Valencia, whose job was taken over by rookie Ryon Healy late in the season, to the Mariners in return for P Paul Blackburn. Valencia and DH Billy Butler had been in a clubhouse fight late in the year, and both are now gone from the A's.
- 2018:
- The SK Wyverns win their fourth Korean Series, beating the Doosan Bears four games to two in the 2018 Korean Series. Game 6 today is a dramatic one as SK blows a 3 - 0 lead and trails 4 - 3 entering the 9th. Jung Choi then homers off 2018 KBO ERA leader Josh Lindblom to tie it. In the 13th, Series MVP Dong-min Han hits one out against Hee-kwan Yoo. Kwang-hyun Kim closes out the win for Seung-won Moon.
- Shohei Ohtani, the first two-way player in the major leagues since Babe Ruth, wins the 2018 American League Rookie of the Year Award, beating out teammates Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres of the Yankees. In the National League, OF Ronald Acuna wins the award, finishing in front of fellow young outfield phenom Juan Soto and P Walker Buehler.
- 2019:
- The British Baseball Hall of Fame announces its class of 2019: 1960s pitching star Alan Asquith, British slugging and OBP career leader Ryan Bird, infielder Jason Holowaty and umpire Darrin Muller.
- Gabe Kapler, recently dismissed as manager of the Phillies, is hired to succeed Bruce Bochy as manager of the Giants.
- The winners of the Manager of the Year Award are announced: Twins manager Rocco Baldelli is honored in the AL for leading his team to a 100-win season in his first year at the helm, while Mike Shildt is the winner in the NL after returning the Cardinals to the postseason for the first time since 2015.
- 2020 - 1B Freddie Freeman of the Braves is voted NL MVP with 28 of 30 first-place votes, while fellow 1B José Abreu of the White Sox is voted the AL winner. It's a first win for both players.
- 2022 - A glove that was used by Babe Ruth during his playing career sells at auction for a record $1.53 million.
Births[edit]
- 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)
- 1888 - Elmer Leonard, pitcher (d. 1981)
- 1891 - Carl Mays, pitcher (d. 1971)
- 1893 - Frank Graham, writer (d. 1965)
- 1895 - Rags Roberts, outfielder (d. 1963)
- 1897 - Yushi Uchimura, NPB executive; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1980)
- 1900 - Herm Merritt, infielder (d. 1927)
- 1905 - Andy Childs, infielder (d. 1977)
- 1906 - Red Evans, pitcher (d. 1982)
- 1911 - Curtis Henderson, infielder; All-Star (d. 1982)
- 1913 - Gene Lillard, pitcher (d. 1991)
- 1914 - Emerson Dickman, pitcher (d. 1981)
- 1922 - Billy Reed, infielder (d. 2005)
- 1923 - Hiroshi Katayama, NPB pitcher
- 1924 - Andy Hansen, pitcher (d. 2002)
- 1925 - Bill Corman, college coach (d. 2017)
- 1926 - Nicolás Bolaños, Nicaraguan national team pitcher-outfielder and manager
- 1926 - Don Johnson, pitcher (d. 2015)
- 1927 - Harry Hanebrink, infielder (d. 1996)
- 1930 - Tom Tewksbury, minor league pitcher (d. 2019)
- 1931 - Martin Carrasquel, minor league pitcher
- 1936 - Joe Hoerner, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1996)
- 1936 - Alfred Womack, minor league pitcher
- 1943 - Al Schmelz, pitcher
- 1945 - Paul Barts, Hoofdklasse umpire (d. 2019)
- 1945 - Rafael Batista, infielder (d. 2008)
- 1945 - Carlos Guzmán, Serie A1 catcher and manager
- 1945 - Ken Plesha, minor league catcher (d. 2009)
- 1945 - Kyohei Taniki, NPB outfielder
- 1947 - Ron Bryant, pitcher
- 1947 - Gregory Walling, minor league outfielder
- 1950 - Bruce Bochte, infielder; All-Star
- 1952 - Steve Bartkowski, drafted infielder
- 1954 - Kuang-Huei Wang, CPBL infielder and manager (d. 2021)
- 1956 - Bob Bresnen, minor league pitcher (d. 2014)
- 1956 - Jody Davis, catcher; All-Star
- 1956 - Leonardo Valenzuela, minor league outfielder
- 1960 - Donnie Hill, infielder
- 1961 - Greg Gagne, infielder
- 1961 - Kiyoyuki Nagashima, NPB outfielder
- 1962 - Jeff Reed, catcher
- 1962 - Wilfredo Tejada, catcher
- 1963 - Chris Rauth, minor league pitcher
- 1964 - Dave Otto, pitcher
- 1964 - Gary Thurman, outfielder
- 1965 - Steve Hecht, minor league infielder, coach
- 1967 - Donald Harris, outfielder
- 1967 - Mark Small, pitcher (d. 2013)
- 1968 - James Buccheri, minor league outfielder; Olympian
- 1968 - Randy Knorr, catcher
- 1968 - Sammy Sosa, outfielder; All-Star
- 1969 - Roy Berrevoets, Hoofdklasse infielder
- 1969 - Matt Gilmore, minor league infielder
- 1969 - Scott Talanoa, minor league infielder
- 1970 - Brent Miller, minor league infielder
- 1971 - Curtis George, minor league player
- 1971 - Mark Gulseth, college coach
- 1972 - Homer Bush, infielder
- 1973 - José Arrondo, Division Honor outfielder
- 1973 - J.D. Smart, pitcher
- 1974 - Darren Fidge, minor league pitcher
- 1976 - Cliff Raphael, Guam national team pitcher
- 1978 - Aaron Heilman, pitcher
- 1978 - Kevin Lynn, minor league pitcher
- 1980 - Dwayne Pollok, minor league pitcher
- 1983 - Keisuke Katto, NPB pitcher
- 1983 - Charlie Morton, pitcher; All-Star
- 1983 - Tim Torres, minor league player
- 1984 - Jose Fragoso, minor league pitcher
- 1984 - Cesar Jimenez, pitcher
- 1985 - Kuo-Min Lin, CPBL infielder
- 1986 - Peng Du, China Baseball League infielder
- 1986 - Fabian Marquez, minor league pitcher
- 1986 - Mukkapol Subsulekun, Thai national team outfielder
- 1987 - Mike Leake, pitcher
- 1988 - Gabriel Asakura, Brazilian national team pitcher
- 1988 - Adam Koontz, Austrian national team coach
- 1988 - Kimio Watanabe, Japanese national team infielder
- 1988 - Carlos Willoughby, minor league infielder
- 1989 - Joselin Giménez, Venezuelan womens' national team infielder
- 1989 - Ben Kincaid, minor league pitcher and college coach
- 1989 - Adrian Nieto, catcher
- 1990 - Hideto Asamura, NPB infielder
- 1990 - Marcell Ozuna, outfielder; All-Star
- 1990 - Chih-Fang Pan, minor league infielder
- 1991 - Connor Narron, minor league infielder
- 1991 - Matt Strahm, pitcher
- 1992 - Muhammad Asad, Pakistani national team pitcher
- 1992 - Ben Taylor, pitcher
- 1993 - Will Coursen-Carr, minor league pitcher
- 1993 - Courtney Hawkins, minor league outfielder
- 1993 - Zach Reks, outfielder
- 1994 - Ning Li, China Baseball League catcher
- 1995 - Alex Faedo, pitcher
- 1997 - Ryan Kreidler, infielder
Deaths[edit]
- 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. 1862)
- 1941 - Ernie Koob, pitcher (b. 1892)
- 1943 - George Meyers, infielder (b. 1865)
- 1955 - Sam Crane, infielder (b. 1894)
- 1960 - Merle Keagle, AAGPBL outfielder (b. 1923)
- 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)
- 1969 - Eddie Hurley, umpire (b. 1910)
- 1972 - Johnny Echols, pinch-runner (b. 1917)
- 1976 - Al Aaberg, minor league pitcher (b. 1911)
- 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)
- 1986 - Joe Strong, pitcher (b. 1902)
- 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)
- 2014 - Larry Click, minor league player; college coach (b. 1936)
- 2014 - Raúl Landaeta, Venezuelan national team catcher (b. 1934)
- 2021 - Takeshi Koba, NPB infielder and manager; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1936)
- 2022 - Steve Webber, college and minor league coach (b. 1947)
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