December 13
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 December 13.
Events[edit]
- 1883 - The Ohio State League is formed.
- 1887 - Chris Von der Ahe completes his biggest deal, selling Bob Caruthers to Brooklyn for $8,250. The deal is delayed by Caruthers's negotiations with Brooklyn, but he finally agrees to a $5,000 salary for 1888.
- 1906 - The Athletics sell P Andy Coakley to Cincinnati. A 20-game winner in 1905, he slipped to 7-8 last season. He will be an effective but hard-luck pitcher for the next two years before starting a 37-year career as baseball coach at Columbia University.
- 1910 - Former New York Giant Dan McGann, 33, who ended his 13-year career in 1908, shoots himself in a Louisville hotel.
- 1911:
- The Boston Rustlers (formerly the Doves) are bought by New York politician James E. Gaffney and former player, now attorney, John Montgomery Ward. The team will be called the Braves because of Gaffney's Tammany Hall connections.
- At the National League meetings at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, NY, Sporting Life reports that "For the first time in history a woman sat in at a major league meeting. Mrs. H.H. Britton, owner of the St. Louis Cardinals, remained throughout the entire session of the National League meeting on the second day. Mrs. Britton took no voice in the meeting. She allowed President Edward A. Steininger to do all the voting."
- 1916 - American League owners unanimously approve the sale of the Red Sox to Harry Frazee and Hugh Ward.
- 1922:
- Alarmed at the increase in home run hitting (1,054 in the major leagues, up from 936), some American League owners back a zoning system setting a minimum of 300 feet for a ball to be called a home run. The motion dies. In another action, the league requires each club to furnish two home uniforms per player, plus extra caps and stockings on the road, to improve the players' appearance. In National League meetings, Charles Ebbets proposes putting numbers on players' sleeves or caps. It's left to each club to do as it wishes.
- The Phils buy IF Heinie Sand from Salt Lake City (Pacific Coast League) for four players and cash. A competent SS, Sand will be the object of an alleged bribery scheme that causes another scandal.
- 1923 - The Braves acquire 2B Cotton Tierney from the Phils for SS Hod Ford and OF Ray Powell. Powell is later replaced by OF Al Nixon.
- 1927:
- Senators president Clark Griffith gains approval to have Washington open the American League season one day before the rest of the league, to celebrate a "National Day" with the U.S. president throwing out the first ball. The AL also installs Ernest S. Barnard as its president.
- The Cards trade P Jimmy Ring to the Phils with C Johnny Schulte for C Bubber Jonnard, SS Jimmy Cooney Jr., and OF Johnny Mokan.
- The Tigers trade OF Heinie Manush and 1B Lu Blue to the Browns for P Elam Vangilder and OF Harry Rice. Manush, who batted .298 for Detroit, will explode with the Browns, batting .378 with 108 RBI and a league-leading 241 hits.
- 1930 - The 15-year career of George Sisler ends as the Boston Braves release him. A lifetime .340 hitter who twice led the American League with averages above .400, Sisler will be among the first to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, enshrined in 1939.
- 1934 - The Cardinals sell minor league prospect Johnny Mize to Cincinnati for $55,000. He is later returned because of a suspect knee and does not make his debut until 1936.
- 1938 - Fred Frankhouse returns to the Boston Bees, and Joe Stripp goes to Brooklyn in a player swap. In a separate transaction, the Dodgers send Buddy Hassett and Jimmy Outlaw to the Bees for Gene Moore and Ira Hutchinson.
- 1940 - Veteran umpire George Moriarty is removed from the active staff and transferred to the American League promotional department.
- 1941 - The Red Sox send P Jack Wilson and infielder Stan Spence to the Senators for Ken Chase and Johnny Welaj.
- 1948 - After a year in New York, Red Embree is traded, along with young C Sherm Lollar, Dick Starr and $100,000, to the Browns. Embree will slump to 3-13 in St. Louis after having his only winning major league season in New York. Lollar is the prize, and will catch in the majors through 1963. The Yankees receive Fred Sanford and Roy Partee. Partee is ticketed for the minors, but Sanford will help the Yanks as a starter/reliever next season.
- 1949 - The Browns send star 3B Bob Dillinger (.324) and OF Paul Lehner to the A's for a reported $100,000 and infielders Frankie Gustine and Billy DeMars, and outfielders Ray Coleman and Rocco Ippolito. Dillinger will play just a half-season in Philly before being swapped to Pittsburgh.
- 1954 - The Dodgers shed part of an era, sending P Preacher Roe and 3B Billy Cox to Baltimore for two unknowns and cash. The O's will complete this deal next March by sending OF Frank Kellert to Brooklyn for P Erv Palica.
- 1956 - The Dodgers trade Jackie Robinson to the cross-town rivals, the Giants, for pitcher Dick Littlefield and $35,000. Jackie, according to some accounts had already decided privately to leave the game to work for Chock Full of Nuts, publicly retires from baseball rather than accept the trade.
- 1961 - Mickey Mantle signs a 1962 contract for $82,000. Only Joe DiMaggio has been paid more by the Yankees.
- 1966 - The Washington Senators trade Mike McCormick to the Giants for Bob Priddy and Cap Peterson. The newly-acquired San Francisco hurler will win the Cy Young Award next season.
- 1969 - The Red Sox send 1B Syd O'Brien and pitcher Billy Farmer and cash to the White Sox for P Gary Peters and C Don Pavletich. Boston also picks up 3B Tom Matchick from the Tigers for Dalton Jones. Farmer will announce his retirement and in March the White Sox will replace him with P Gerry Janeski.
- 1980 - The Cubs send Mike Vail to the Reds in exchange for Hector Cruz.
- 1982 - Free agent P Floyd Bannister, who led the American League with 209 strikeouts at Seattle last season, signs a five-year contract with the White Sox for a reported $4.5 million. As compensation, the M's will pick minor leaguer Danny Tartabull from the player pool on January 20th.
- 1983 - Forty-year-old Joe Morgan signs a one-year contract with the Oakland A's - his fifth club since 1979.
- 1988 - The Red Sox trade 1B-OF Todd Benzinger, P Jeff Sellers, and a player to be named later to the Reds for 1B Nick Esasky and P Rob Murphy.
- 1994:
- Free agent relief pitcher Lee Smith, last year's major league saves leader with the Orioles, signs with the Angels to a two-year contract. At the time of the deal, he has 434 career saves.
- The Red Sox acquire 2B Terry Shumpert from the Royals in exchange for a player to be named.
- The Rangers sign free agent P Kevin Gross and 2B Mark McLemore.
- 1996:
- The Pirates trade IF Jeff King and SS Jay Bell to the Royals for 3B Joe Randa and pitchers Jeff Granger, Jeff Martin and Jeff Wallace.
- The Blue Jays sign free agent P Roger Clemens (10-13) to a three-year contract worth $24.75 million. The Red Sox's last-minute offer falls short and The Rocket's flirtation with the Yankees comes to naught. However, the Sox are successful in retaining Tim Naehring, who was minutes away from signing with Cleveland.
- In other free agent news, the Cubs sign P Kevin Tapani to a three-year contract and the Indians sign P Mike Jackson to a two-year contract.
- 1997 - The Twins sign much-traveled free agent P Mike Morgan.
- 1998:
- The Padres trade P Joey Hamilton to the Blue Jays for pitchers Woody Williams and Carlos Almanzar and OF Peter Tucci.
- The Mets sign free agent OF Rickey Henderson.
- 1999:
- The Diamondbacks obtain P Brad Clontz from the Pirates for a player to be named.
- The Marlins obtain OF Brant Brown from the Pirates in exchange for OF Bruce Aven.
- In what is believed to be baseball's first four-team swap since 1985, the Rockies obtain 3B Jeff Cirillo, P Rolando Arrojo and Scott Karl, and IF Aaron Ledesma, the Devil Rays obtain 3B Vinny Castilla, the Brewers obtain P Jamey Wright and Jimmy Haynes and C Henry Blanco, and the Athletics obtain P Justin Miller.
- The Rangers obtain OF Chad Curtis from the Yankees in exchange for minor league pitchers Sam Marsonek and Brandon Knight.
- Red Sox P Tom Gordon has ligament reconstruction surgery on his right elbow, and will miss the 2000 season. According to the Red Sox, there is only a 15% to 20% chance that he will ever pitch again, but he will beat those odds and pitch until 2009, when he is done at age 41.
- The Devil Rays sign free agent OF Greg Vaughn to a four-year contract.
- 2000 - The Braves sign 1B Rico Brogna to a contract, the Padres sign IF Alex Arias for the next two years, and, outbidding the Indians, the Red Sox sign Manny Ramirez to a reported eight-year, $160 million contract.
- 2001:
- The Phillies trade P Chris Brock to the Orioles for P John Wasdin.
- The Dodgers obtain P Paul Quantrill and IF Cesar Izturis from the Blue Jays in exchange for Ps Luke Prokopec and Chad Ricketts.
- The Red Sox send troubled OF Carl Everett to the Rangers in exchange for P Darren Oliver. The former all-star outfielder, who had his problems with players and managers in Boston, says he is looking forward to joining the veteran players in Texas.
- The Pirates send P Todd Ritchie and C Lee Evans to the White Sox. In return, Pittsburgh gets pitchers Kip Wells, Sean Lowe, and Josh Fogg.
- The Yankees sign free agent 1B Jason Giambi to a seven-year deal worth $120 million. The 2000 MVP and this year's runner-up drove in 120 runs, hit 38 home runs, and had a .342 batting average for the wild card Oakland A's this season. In another move, New York acquires OF John Vander Wal from San Francisco in exchange for P Jay Witasick.
- In other free agent news, the Mets sign OF Roger Cedeno to a four-year, $18 million contract and P David Weathers to a three-year pact worth $9.4 million and the Tigers sign IF-OF Craig Paquette to a two-year contract.
- Writing a 24-page pun-filled opinion, U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III upholds most of an arbitrator's decision declaring nine of 22 umpires who lost their jobs following a 1999 mass resignation must be reinstated. To make his point, the judge said it was his job to make sure the arbitrator hadn't "missed the ball" and both parties "make(s) a pitch that all or part of the arbitrator's ruling should be scored as an error and set aside".
- 2002 - The Cardinals sign free agent P Chris Carpenter to a contract.
- 2003:
- Keith Foulke (9-1, 2.08) signs a three-year, $21 million contract with Red Sox. The 31-year-old All-Star closer had a league-leading 43 saves in 48 chances for Oakland last season.
- The Dodgers trade 38-year-old Kevin Brown (14-9, 2.39) to the Yankees for Jeff Weaver, minor league pitching prospect Yhency Brazoban, a player to be named later and cash. Baseball's first 100-million dollar player, who will make $15 million next season, waives his no-trade clause to be closer to his family.
- 2007 - The Mitchell Report is released, naming 89 players as having used or been in possession of steroids. Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Miguel Tejada and Jason Giambi are among those named. The report calls for tighter regulation of performance-enhancing drugs.
- 2008:
- Kerry Wood signs a two-year, $20.5 million deal (with a 2011 option) to play for the Cleveland Indians.
- A.J. Burnett signs a $82.5 million, five-year deal with the New York Yankees only three days after they inked another top free agent pitcher, CC Sabathia.
- 2009 - C John Buck signs a one-year deal with Toronto, one day after being non-tendered by Kansas City. He will have an excellent season in Toronto, making the All-Star team for the first time in his career.
- 2010:
- Canada Post announces that it will feature Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins on a postage stamp that commemorates black history month next February.
- The A's sign oft-injured starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy to a one-year contract.
- 2011:
- The Associated Press reports a few more features of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement signed earlier this month. The All-Star break will go from three days to four beginning in 2013, with the Mid-Summer Classic being played on a Wednesday; teams will no longer be allowed to have players on the 40-man roster share a room during spring training; and players are forbidden from displaying tattoos with corporate logos.
- The Phillies sign P Dontrelle Willis and the Red Sox add C Kelly Shoppach.
- 2012 - 2010 AL MVP Josh Hamilton, fresh off a 43-homer season, leaves the Texas Rangers to sign with the Los Angeles Angels for five years and $125 million, while Andres Torres signs with the Giants for one year and a considerably smaller salary.
- 2013:
- Reds 1B Joey Votto is named recipient of the Tip O'Neill Award, given to the best player in Canada, for a record fourth straight year.
- A few more free agent signings are announced today, with 2B Omar Infante inking a four-year deal with the Royals, while the Rockies add 1B Justin Morneau on a two-year deal, where he will be asked to take over for the recently retired Todd Helton.
- 2014:
- The White Sox continue their very active off-season, signing free agent OF Melky Cabrera to a three-year deal rumored to be worth $42 million.
- The Italian Baseball Hall of Fame inducts its 2014 class: catcher Elio Gambuti, pitcher/coach Umberto Calzolari, executive Roberto Buganè and scorekeeper Anna Maria Paini.
- The 2014 Hoofdklasse awards are given out. Bas de Jong repeats as MVP, becoming the fourth straight Amsterdam Pirate to win (something no team has done before). Teammate Kevin Heijstek wins Best Pitcher.
- 2017:
- The Marlins seem to be conducting yet another fire sale as they send OF Marcell Ozuna to the Cardinals for P Sandy Alcantara and three other prospects. Unimpressed, agent Scott Boras says that the Marlins "have turned into a pawn shop," as they have already traded OF Giancarlo Stanton and 2B Dee Gordon in cost-cutting moves this off-season. More similar moves will soon follow.
- The Tigers trade All-Star 2B Ian Kinsler to the Angels for two prospects, P Wilkel Hernandez and OF Troy Montgomery, as they continue a rebuilding trend begun late last season when they traded J.D. Martinez, Justin Upton and Justin Verlander.
- 2018:
- First basemen are on the move at the winter meetings as Cleveland flips DH Edwin Encarnacion to Seattle in return for 1B Carlos Santana, then acquires 1B Jake Bauers from Tampa Bay for IF Yandy Diaz and prospect Cole Sulser.
- The 2018 Rule V Draft is held to conclude the meetings. Richie Martin, a shortstop from the Athletics organization is the first of 13 players selected by a major league club, in his case the Orioles. However, the most intriguing selection is made by the Blue Jays, who pluck 18-year-old P Elvis Luciano from the Royals. While he has never pitched above Rookie-class, he is described as having electrifying stuff and was made available in spite of his limited professional experience because of a contract loophole. He will become the first player born in the 21st Century to appear in a major league game when he makes his debut in the first few days of the upcoming season.
- 2020:
- The New York Mets hire Jared Porter as their General Manager, replacing former player agent Brodie Van Wagenen, who was dismissed following the team's change of ownership earlier this off-season. A pupil of Theo Epstein, Porter was Assistant GM of the Arizona Diamondbacks, but, embroiled in controversy, won't even last a full year in the job.
- The New York Times reports that the Cleveland Indians have decided to bite the bullet and drop their controversial nickname, after years of pressure from Native American activists and others. They had already dropped their caricatural "Chief Wahoo" mascot last year, and pressure only increased after the Washington Redskins of the NFL became the "Washington Football Team" earlier this year. It is not yet clear when the change will take effect, and what the new team name will be.
- 2022 - The beneficiary of the latest free agent mega-deal is SS Carlos Correa, who decided to opt out of the final two years of the three-year deal he had signed with the Twins following last year's lockout. His bet pays off handsomely as the Giants offer him a 13-year deal worth $350 million - the biggest in team history. However, the story comes with the usual caveat that a formal announcement will be made after a physical exam, but it will fall apart on December 20th, when the said exam reveals a problem that makes the Giants back out only hours before a scheduled press conference meant to introduce Correa to the media.
- 2023 - On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Hall of Famer Larry Doby's birth, his family receives the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor that was awarded to him by Congress in 2018 at a ceremony in the nation's capital. He is only the third baseball player to receive the highest honor that Congress can bestow, after Roberto Clemente and Jackie Robinson, in recognition for his role as a pioneer for integration as the first African-American player in the history of the American League.
Births[edit]
- 1860 - Leonidas Lee, outfielder (d. 1912)
- 1868 - Bill Everitt, infielder (d. 1938)
- 1873 - Jack Taylor, pitcher (d. 1938)
- 1874 - Kid Mohler, infielder (d. 1961)
- 1876 - Rube Kisinger, pitcher (d. 1941)
- 1877 - Leo Fishel, pitcher (d. 1960)
- 1877 - Frank Hershey, pitcher (d. 1949)
- 1882 - Gene Good, outfielder (d. 1947)
- 1886 - Jules Thomas, outfielder (d. 1943)
- 1887 - Spec Harkness, pitcher (d. 1952)
- 1889 - Fritz Coumbe, pitcher (d. 1978)
- 1891 - Bob Wright, pitcher (d. 1993)
- 1892 - Pete Bigler, pinch runner (d. 1975)
- 1892 - Margaret Donahue, executive (d. 1978)
- 1899 - Kuei-Hsing Lin, Taiwan Baseball Hall of Famer (d. 1947)
- 1899 - Buckshot May, pitcher (d. 1984)
- 1899 - Denny Williams, outfielder (d. 1929)
- 1903 - Al Smith, pitcher (d. 1995)
- 1904 - Bill Windle, infielder (d. 1981)
- 1909 - Dick Newsome, pitcher (d. 1965)
- 1910 - Shaw Buck, minor league infielder and manager (d. 2000)
- 1911 - Walt VanGrofski, minor league catcher and manager (d. 2000)
- 1913 - Scat Metha, infielder (d. 1975)
- 1916 - Hank Majeski, infielder (d. 1991)
- 1916 - Lou Thuman, pitcher (d. 2000)
- 1919 - Rufus Lewis, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1999)
- 1921 - Knute Dobkins, minor league outfielder (d. 2012)
- 1923 - Larry Doby, outfielder, manager; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 2003)
- 1924 - Chico Garcia, infielder; Salón de la Fama (d. 2007)
- 1924 - George Shuba, outfielder (d. 2014)
- 1926 - Carl Erskine, pitcher; All-Star
- 1928 - Joe Landrum, pitcher (d. 2018)
- 1929 - Billy Loes, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2010)
- 1931 - Don Erickson, pitcher (d. 2012)
- 1931 - Bubba Morton, outfielder
- 1935 - Joe Christopher, outfielder (d. 2023)
- 1935 - Lindy McDaniel, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2020)
- 1936 - J.C. Martin, catcher
- 1937 - Ron Taylor, pitcher
- 1940 - Nate Oliver, infielder
- 1941 - Joe Jones, coach (d. 2023)
- 1942 - Fergie Jenkins, pitcher; All-Star, Hall of Famer
- 1943 - Tony Torchia, minor league outfielder and manager
- 1947 - Dave Hamilton, pitcher
- 1949 - Armando Renderos, Salvadoran national team outfielder
- 1950 - Craig Scramuzzo, minor league pitcher
- 1951 - Clint Myers, college coach
- 1955 - Paul Boris, pitcher
- 1956 - Dale Berra, infielder
- 1956 - Jon Perlman, pitcher
- 1958 - Harvey Kuenn, Jr., scout
- 1960 - Hugh Kemp, minor league pitcher
- 1960 - Jeff Robinson, pitcher
- 1962 - Julio Medina, Nicaraguan national team infielder
- 1964 - Steve Wilson, pitcher
- 1965 - Ki-bum Kim, KBO pitcher
- 1967 - Mike Mordecai, infielder
- 1968 - Ivo Kučera, Extraliga player and manager
- 1968 - Mitch Simons, minor league infielder
- 1969 - Doug Saunders, infielder
- 1971 - Greg Mullins, pitcher
- 1973 - Tomohiro Kuroki, NPB pitcher
- 1974 - Yen-Kuo Wang, Taiwan national team coach
- 1975 - Matt LeCroy, designated hitter
- 1975 - Raul Marval, minor league infielder
- 1976 - Josh Fogg, pitcher
- 1980 - Danny Lopaze, minor league infielder
- 1980 - Kurt Wilkinson, Virgin Islands national team outfielder
- 1982 - Ricky Nolasco, pitcher
- 1982 - Adam Godwin, minor league outfielder
- 1983 - John Martin, college coach
- 1983 - Yannick Sel, First Division pitcher
- 1983 - Jun Zhang, China Baseball League pitcher
- 1984 - Kuang-Sheng Chou, CPBL infielder
- 1984 - Motohiro Shima, NPB catcher
- 1987 - Aneury Rodriguez, pitcher
- 1988 - Perci Garner, pitcher
- 1988 - Beck Wheeler, minor league pitcher
- 1989 - Tyler Pastornicky, infielder
- 1992 - Brandon Leibrandt, pitcher
- 1992 - Austin Slater, outfielder
- 1993 - Roman Boyko, Ukrainian national team infielder
- 1993 - Johan Camargo, infielder
- 1993 - Carson Fulmer, pitcher
- 1993 - Damon Mitchell, South African national team pitcher
- 1995 - Javier Godard, minor league infielder
- 1996 - Luis García, pitcher
- 1996 - Sun-woo Oh, KBO outfielder
- 1996 - Gleyber Torres, infielder; All-Star
- 1997 - Alberto Guerrero, minor league pitcher
- 1998 - Carlos Rodriguez, minor league pitcher
- 1999 - Ryan Bliss, minor league infielder
- 2000 - Martin Vissac, French Division I outfielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1902 - Ed Tighe, umpire (b. 1842)
- 1904 - Bob Murphy, pitcher (b. 1866)
- 1905 - Bill Yeatman, outfielder (b. 1848)
- 1908 - Frank Griffith, pitcher (b. 1872)
- 1910 - Dan McGann, infielder (b. 1871)
- 1918 - Frank Arellanes, pitcher (b. 1882)
- 1926 - Tom Needham, catcher (b. 1879)
- 1934 - Doc Shanley, infielder (b. 1889)
- 1941 - Roy Witherup, pitcher (b. 1886)
- 1944 - Lloyd Christenbury, infielder (b. 1893)
- 1944 - Welcome Gaston, pitcher (b. 1874)
- 1949 - Orth Collins, outfielder (b. 1880)
- 1963 - Joe Jaeger, pitcher (b. 1895)
- 1964 - Hank Erickson, catcher (b. 1907)
- 1966 - Herman Young, infielder (b. 1886)
- 1968 - Charles Donnelly, umpire (b. 1887)
- 1969 - Jack Kibble, infielder (b. 1892)
- 1970 - George Baumgardner, pitcher (b. 1891)
- 1970 - Chick Gandil, infielder (b. 1888)
- 1971 - Mike Ryba, pitcher (b. 1903)
- 1975 - Alex Herman, outfielder (b. 1899)
- 1981 - Jack Snyder, catcher (b. 1886)
- 1990 - Archie Ware, infielder; All-Star (b. 1918)
- 1993 - Fausto Camusi, Serie A1 infielder and manager; Italian Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1929)
- 1993 - Billy Shantz, catcher (b. 1927)
- 2000 - Jake Jones, infielder (b. 1920)
- 2004 - Andre Rodgers, infielder (b. 1934)
- 2010 - James Belknap, minor league player (b. ~1933)
- 2012 - Yong-Chang Jian, writer; Taiwan Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1916)
- 2013 - Vivian Kellogg, AAGPBL infielder (b. 1922)
- 2013 - Ted Persell, drafted outfielder (b. 1974)
- 2015 - Lincoln Holdzkom, minor league pitcher (b. 1982)
- 2015 - Phil Pepe, author (b. 1935)
- 2018 - Kenzo Zenimura, NPB outfielder (b. 1927)
- 2019 - Yasuhiro Takai, NPB designated hitter (b. 1945)
- 2020 - Frank Baumann, pitcher (b. 1933)
- 2022 - Curt Simmons, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1929)
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