December 20
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
| Standings on this day | |
| Permanent link to Today's Entry | |
| Sources | |
| Baseball Library Chronology | |
| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on December 20.
Events[edit]
- 1885 - The St. Louis Maroons announce that Jerry Denny, Dude Esterbrook, Paul Hines, and George Myers are to play for them in 1886. Denny and Myers do so, but Esterbrook stays with the Giants and Hines goes to the newly-formed Washington Nationals.
- 1889:
- Papers are served on Charles Buffinton and Bill Hallman for allegedly breaking their contracts with Philadelphia (National League). This will be the first of many battles between the Players League and NL.
- Toledo is admitted to the American Association.
- 1903:
- In an unpopular trade in Boston, the Americans send Long Tom Hughes to the Highlanders for lefty Jesse Tannehill. Hughes, 20-7 for the champs, had jumped to the American League from the National League Chicago team in 1902. Hughes will come up short in New York and be shipped to Washington in July, while Tannehill will win 20 for the Hubmen.
- After a two-year absence from the majors, pitcher Kid Nichols signs as player-manager of the Cardinals. He will win 21 himself, but the team will finish in fourth place.
- 1904 - The last-place Phillies send minor-league 1B Del Howard to Pittsburgh for Moose McCormick, Otto Krueger and 1B Kitty Bransfield.
- 1921:
- The Yankees raid Boston again, and come away with P Bullet Joe Bush, SS Everett Scott, and P Sad Sam Jones in exchange for SS Roger Peckinpaugh (who goes on to Washington), pitchers Jack Quinn, Rip Collins, and Bill Piercy, and $50,000.
- At the Major League meetings, the American League votes to return to the best-of-seven World Series; the National League votes to keep the five-of-nine format. Judge Landis casts the deciding vote, and the four-of-seven format is reinstated.
- 1926 - In a swap of top second basemen, the World Champion Cardinals trade Rogers Hornsby to the Giants for Frankie Frisch and P Jimmy Ring. The trade gets complicated when the "Rajah" refuses to sell his 1,167 shares of the team stock back to the Redbirds at the asking price.
- 1929 - Bill Carrigan has had enough of managing the Red Sox. He quits, and Heinie Wagner signs on for a year.
- 1938 - The White Sox sell veteran C Luke Sewell to Brooklyn.
- 1940 - For a reported $42,000, A's manager Connie Mack buys a controlling interest in the club from the Shibe family.
- 1944 - The Yomiuri Giants lists all of their players as company employees to protect their rights to them as Japanese baseball is on hold until after World War II.
- 1946 - With the trade for Al Lopez, the Indians send young catcher Sherm Lollar and 2B Ray Mack to the Yankees for minor league P Gene Bearden, P Al Gettel, and OF Hal Peck. Peck never played for New York after they acquired him in June. Lollar will play just 33 games in two years, while Mack is swapped after one game. Bearden, as a rookie knuckleballer in 1948, will win 20 games and the lead the American League in ERA.
- 1947 - The host Colombian national team wins the 1947 Amateur World Series, finishing with a 7-2 record in the absence of Cuba.
- 1954 - Yankees pitcher Bob Grim (20-6, 3.26 ERA) is named AL Rookie of the Year.
- 1960 - Charlie Finley buys the 52 percent of the A's from the late Arnold Johnson's estate.
- 1966 - The Yankees acquire SS Dick Howser from Cleveland for minor leaguer Gil Downs and cash.
- 1973 - Siding with the A's, American League president Joe Cronin rules the Yankees cannot sign manager Dick Williams. The Yankees had announced a deal with the Oakland skipper two days earlier.
- 1978:
- Willard Mullin, 76, the nation's top sports cartoonist and creator of the "Brooklyn Bum," dies at Corpus Christi, TX.
- Don Blasingame is named manager of the Hanshin Tigers, the first American not of Japanese descent to lead a Japanese team.
- 1980 - Unless contracts are tendered to certain veterans by today's deadline, the Basic Agreement requires they be allowed to become free agents. In a major blunder, the Red Sox will miss the deadline, permitting All-Stars Fred Lynn and Carlton Fisk to be eligible for free agency.
- 1989 - Six months after obtaining him from the Phillies, the Mets trade 2B-OF Juan Samuel to the Dodgers for 1B Mike Marshall and P Alejandro Pena.
- 1990 - The Chicago White Sox sign veteran knuckler Charlie Hough, a free agent. Hough spent every year of the 1970s with the Dodgers and every year of the 1980s with Texas.
- 1993:
- The Indians trade SS Felix Fermin and 1B Reggie Jefferson to the Mariners in exchange for SS Omar Vizquel.
- The Athletics trade SS Kurt Abbott to the Marlins in exchange for OF Kerwin Moore.
- The Yankees sign free agent OF Luis Polonia.
- 1995:
- The Astros trade P Dave Veres and minor league C Raul Chavez to the Expos in exchange for 3B Sean Berry.
- The Orioles sign free agent IF-OF B.J. Surhoff to a three-year contract.
- 1996 - The Blue Jays send 1B John Olerud and his $5 million contract to the Mets for pitcher Robert Person. The move leaves 1B open for Joe Carter.
- 2000:
- Faustino Corrales of Pinar del Río strikes out 22 Holguín batters to set a new Cuban record for a nine-inning game; Santiago Mederos had held the mark for 31 years.
- After trading their All-Star shortstop to the Mets last season, the Orioles get him back agreeing to a two-year deal with free agent Mike Bordick. The move will send Melvin Mora, the player obtained from the Mets to replace Bordick, to the outfield where he is a stronger defensive player.
- 2001:
- The Braves sign free agent P Albie Lopez to a one-year contract.
- The Dodgers sign last season's American League strikeout leader with 220, free agent P Hideo Nomo, to a two-year contract. It is Nomo's second tour of duty with the Dodgers, whom he first played for in 1995.
- The Jean Yawkey Trust announces all the partners have unanimously voted to sell 100 percent of the Red Sox, a family-owned business since 1933, to a group of investors led by Florida Marlins owner John Henry who also has a one percent share of the Yankees and is the managing partner-in-waiting of the Sox. The price tag, rumored to be $600+ million, doubles the largest amount ever spent to buy a team.
- 2002:
- The Braves trade P Kevin Millwood to the Phillies for C Johnny Estrada. Meanwhile, according to Braves general manager John Schuerholz, "The economics stink. The economics stink, and if this isn't a clear enough signal to the doubters and naysayers, to be forced to trade an 18-game winner to your arch enemy... The economics stink." Millwood stunned the Braves' management by accepting binding salary arbitration when he was expected to leave via free agency, forcing the Braves to trade him in order to stay within budget.
- The White Sox sign free agent C Sandy Alomar to a contract.
- After rejecting salary arbitration from the Red Sox, Cliff Floyd (.288, 28, 79), agrees to a $26 million, four-year contract deal with the Mets. The 30-year-old outfielder played with the Marlins, Expos and Red Sox last season.
- Hoping to fill the void after trading Eric Karros to the Cubs, the Dodgers reach an agreement with 39-year-old veteran first baseman Fred McGriff (.273, 30, 103) on a one-year deal. The "Crime Dog", who has also played for the Blue Jays, Padres, Braves and Devil Rays as well as the Cubs, is fourth among active players behind Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Rafael Palmeiro with 478 career homers.
- 2005 - The World Champion White Sox finalize the trade with the Diamondbacks which brings starter Javier Vazquez and $4 million dollars to the Windy City. Veteran right-hander Orlando Hernandez, reliever Luis Vizcaino and minor league outfield prospect Chris Young go to Arizona to complete the deal.
- 2008:
- The 2008 Hoofdklasse awards are given out. Mark Duursma becomes the first Pioniers player to win MVP honors after having hit .386 to lead the league. Rob Cordemans, the leader in ERA and strikeouts, wins his fifth Pitcher of the Year Award. The Coach of the Year is Rikkert Faneyte, the former major leaguer who led the Amsterdam Pirates to the 2008 Holland Series title in his first year at the reins.
- Aroldis Chapman of Holguín hits 102 mph on the radar gun, breaking the Cuban record held by Maels Rodríguez. Less than a year later, Chapman will follow Rodriguez's footsteps in defecting from Cuba.
- 2009 - The Indians add two pitchers, starter Mitch Talbot whom they obtain from the Rays as the player to be named later in the December 1st deal for C Kelly Shoppach, and reliever Saul Rivera, who is signed as a free agent after being recently released by the Nationals.
- 2011 - Among free agents signing today are 3B Casey Blake, who goes to Colorado; SS Yuniesky Betancourt, who heads back to Kansas City one year after being dealt; and P Ryota Igarashi and 1B Jeff Clement who both ink deals with Pittsburgh.
- 2012:
- Edwin Jackson joins his eighth team in 11 years, signing a four-year, $52 million deal with the Chicago Cubs despite a career record of 70-71.
- The Miami Marlins sign .299 career hitter Placido Polanco for a one-year, $2.75 million deal, hoping his .257 mark from 2012 was not a sign of decline at age 37. In other signings, P Tom Gorzelanny inks a deal with the Brewers, while C A.J. Pierzynski goes to Texas.
- 2013:
- Veteran 3B-1B Kevin Youkilis signs a one-year contract with the Rakuten Golden Eagles, hoping for a comeback in Japan after an injury-plagued year with the Yankees. He replaces Casey McGehee, who had turned a strong season in Japan into a return to the US for 2014. In other signings, the Twins ink C Kurt Suzuki as a replacement for Joe Mauer, who will move to 1B.
- Orioles P Troy Patton is suspended for 25 games at the start of the 2014 season for testing positive for amphetamines.
- 2016 - The Phillies acquire veteran SP Clay Buchholz from the Red Sox in return for 2B prospect Josh Tobias.
- 2017:
- The Rays send 3B Evan Longoria, arguably the greatest player in team history, to the Giants in a trade for four players, the most prominent of whom is OF Denard Span. Longoria comes with a risk as he is due to make $86 million over the next five seasons, but his acquisition fills a huge hole as the Giants got the worst offensive production from their third basemen among all major league teams last year.
- Cleveland sign free agent 1B Yonder Alonso for two years, filling the hole recently created when Carlos Santana moved to the Phillies, also as a free agent. In other signings, the Brewers ink SP Jhoulys Chacin to a two-year deal and Washington adds 1B Matt Adams, pending a successful physical.
- 2018 - In free agent signings today, 2B Daniel Murphy joins the Rockies on a two-year contract worth $24 million, while the Padres sign 2B Ian Kinsler. also for two years, but at the relatively bargain price of $8 million.
- 2021 - The last remaining managerial vacancy in the majors is filled as word leaks out that the Athletics have settled on coach Mark Kotsay to succeed Bob Melvin, who recently moved to the Padres. It will be a first opportunity to manage a team for Kotsay, who retired] as a player after the 2013 season.
- 2022:
- In a stunning turn of events, moments before a scheduled press conference in which the Giants are set to introduce Carlos Correa, with whom they reached agreement on a 13-year, $350 million contract on December 13th, the team backs away from the deal because of an undisclosed problem that turned up during the normally routine physical examination. Immediately, the Mets swoop in and within hours reach a deal with Correa for 12 years and $315 million - also subject to Correa passing a physical exam. That exam will also reveal concerns that scuttle the deal.
- Other, less dramatic signings are announced today, with the Padres inking 37-year-old utility player Matt Carpenter, who resurrected his career with a brilliant 47-game stretch with the Yankees brefore breaking his foot in early August, for $6 million for the coming season with an option for a second year. Also, the Angels sign IF Brandon Drury, coming off a career year with the Reds and Padres, for two years at $17 million.
- 2023 - The Brewers trade two major leaguers, P Adrian Houser and OF Tyrone Taylor, to the Mets in return for pitching prospect Coleman Crow, who underwent Tommy John surgery last August and is expected to miss all of 2024 as well.
Births[edit]
- 1852 - Herm Doscher, infielder (d. 1934)
- 1853 - Jack Manning, outfielder, manager (d. 1929)
- 1856 - Harry Stovey, outfielder, manager (d. 1937)
- 1866 - Joe Gormley, pitcher (d. 1950)
- 1869 - Bill McCauley, infielder (d. 1926)
- 1876 - Jimmy Williams, infielder (d. 1965)
- 1878 - Bob Hall, infielder (d. 1950)
- 1878 - Doc Moskiman, infielder (d. 1953)
- 1879 - Ham Wade, outfielder (d. 1968)
- 1881 - Branch Rickey, catcher, manager; Hall of Famer (d. 1965)
- 1885 - Paddy Baumann, infielder (d. 1969)
- 1885 - Joe Wilhoit, outfielder (d. 1930)
- 1886 - Joe Berger, infielder (d. 1956)
- 1888 - Fred Merkle, infielder (d. 1956)
- 1893 - Deacon Jones, pitcher (d. 1952)
- 1894 - Butch Henline, catcher, umpire (d. 1957)
- 1897 - Snooks Dowd, infielder (d. 1962)
- 1899 - George Pipgras, pitcher (d. 1986)
- 1900 - Gabby Hartnett, catcher, manager; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 1972)
- 1902 - Carl Yowell, pitcher (d. 1985)
- 1903 - Shunichi Amachi, NPB manager; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1976)
- 1904 - Sadayoshi Fujimoto, NPB manager; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1981)
- 1904 - Spud Davis, catcher, manager (d. 1984)
- 1908 - Art McLarney, infielder (d. 1984)
- 1910 - Calvin Chapman, infielder (d. 1983)
- 1910 - Eddie Leishman, minor league infielder and manager (d. 1972)
- 1910 - Domingo Santana, minor league infielder and manager
- 1912 - Tommy Irwin, infielder
- 1915 - Marv Felderman, catcher (d. 2000)
- 1918 - Jimmy Johnson, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1987)
- 1920 - Julio Gonzalez, pitcher (d. 1991)
- 1922 - Mahlon Duckett, infielder (d. 2015)
- 1923 - Grant Dunlap, outfielder (d. 2014)
- 1928 - Jack Scott, minor league infielder (d. 2014)
- 1930 - Jaime Del Valle, Colombian national team coach (d. 2022)
- 1930 - Troy Herriage, pitcher (d. 2012)
- 1931 - Julio Becquer, infielder (d. 2020)
- 1934 - Chuck Hartman, college coach (d. 2020)
- 1935 - Maurice Lerner, minor league infielder (d. 2013)
- 1936 - Dan Pfister, pitcher (d. 2020)
- 1937 - Tung-Sheng Hung, executive; Taiwan Baseball Hall of Fame
- 1940 - Thad Tillotson, pitcher (d. 2012)
- 1943 - John Noriega, pitcher
- 1943 - Charlie Williams, umpire (d. 2005)
- 1944 - Don Mason, infielder (d. 2018)
- 1945 - Vince Colbert, pitcher
- 1945 - Keith Lampard, outfielder (d. 2020)
- 1948 - John Bachman, minor league catcher
- 1948 - Jim Norris, outfielder
- 1949 - Cecil Cooper, infielder; All-Star
- 1949 - Oscar Gamble, outfielder (d. 2018)
- 1949 - Hajime Kato, NPB pitcher (d. 2016)
- 1951 - Mike Hart, outfielder
- 1953 - Paul Moskau, pitcher
- 1953 - Ken Bolek, minor league manager
- 1955 - Smoke Laval, college coach
- 1955 - Rory Markas, broadcaster (d. 2010)
- 1957 - Bill Laskey, pitcher
- 1960 - Jose DeLeon, pitcher
- 1960 - Shigeru Kuwata, NPB pitcher
- 1963 - Mark Snyder, minor league pitcher
- 1965 - Fernando Ramsey, outfielder
- 1966 - Heberto Andrade, coach
- 1966 - Jeff Mutis, pitcher
- 1967 - Steve Martin, minor league outfielder
- 1968 - Mike Brady, minor league pitcher
- 1971 - Marc Valdes, pitcher
- 1971 - Russell van Niekerk, South African national team pitcher
- 1974 - Augie Ojeda, infielder
- 1975 - Joe Kilburg, minor league player
- 1976 - Chip Alley, minor league catcher
- 1976 - Jeff Becker, minor league player
- 1976 - Aubrey Huff, infielder
- 1976 - Chien-Chih Lee, CPBL outfielder
- 1978 - Tung-Yi Yang, CPBL infielder
- 1979 - David DeJesus, outfielder
- 1979 - Muhammad Mushtaq, Pakistani national team outfielder
- 1979 - Akihide Shimizu, Japanese national team infielder
- 1979 - Luis Villarreal, minor league pitcher
- 1980 - Luke Carlin, catcher
- 1980 - Kellyn Mendoza, Venezuelan womens' national team outfielder
- 1981 - Gil Kim, coach
- 1981 - Chris Narveson, pitcher
- 1981 - James Shields, pitcher; All-Star
- 1982 - David Wright, infielder; All-Star
- 1983 - Chris Brownsten, minor league pitcher
- 1983 - Brian Dopirak, minor league infielder
- 1985 - Tyler Sturdevant, pitcher
- 1986 - Francisco Samuel, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Erik Goeddel, pitcher
- 1988 - Braulio Lara, minor league pitcher (d. 2019)
- 1989 - Larry Suarez, minor league pitcher
- 1990 - Bruce Maxwell, catcher
- 1991 - Luis Delogu, Spanish Baseball League catcher
- 1991 - Katsunori Hirai, NPB pitcher
- 1992 - Christian Binford, minor league pitcher
- 1992 - Joey Krehbiel, pitcher
- 1992 - Shuta Tonosaki, NPB infielder-outfielder
- 1993 - Trent Giambrone, infielder
- 1994 - Dane Dunning, pitcher
- 1995 - Julsan Kamara, minor league outfielder
- 1996 - Abraham Toro, infielder
- 1997 - Ricardo Rodriguez, minor league catcher
- 1997 - Andrea Sellaroli, Serie A1 infielder
- 1997 - Bryse Wilson, pitcher
- 1998 - Kevin Ayala, Salvadoran national team outfielder
- 1998 - Billy Facteau, minor league coach
- 1998 - Colton Gordon, minor league pitcher
- 2000 - Martin Zelenka, Extraliga catcher
Deaths[edit]
- 1885 - Jim Hall, infielder (b. 1852)
- 1892 - John Fitzgerald, pitcher (b. 1866)
- 1897 - Willard Brown, infielder (b. 1866)
- 1917 - Will Calihan, pitcher (b. 1868)
- 1918 - Silk O'Loughlin, umpire (b. 1872)
- 1924 - Jimmy Woulfe, outfielder (b. 1859)
- 1927 - George Walton, umpire (b. 1851)
- 1934 - Parke Wilson, catcher (b. 1867)
- 1944 - Elmer Zacher, outfielder (b. 1883)
- 1950 - Jiro Morioka, NPB executive; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1886)
- 1950 - Carroll Yerkes, pitcher (b. 1903)
- 1960 - Skip Dowd, pitcher (b. 1889)
- 1962 - Charlie Luskey, outfielder (b. 1876)
- 1963 - Dinny McNamara, outfielder (b. 1905)
- 1965 - Al Lyons, pitcher (b. 1918)
- 1966 - Doc Farrell, infielder (b. 1901)
- 1971 - Tom Fitzsimmons, infielder (b. 1890)
- 1972 - Gabby Hartnett, catcher, manager; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1900)
- 1978 - Willard Mullin, cartoonist (b. 1902)
- 1980 - Mike Knode, outfielder (b. 1895)
- 1981 - James Enright, writer (b. 1910)
- 1981 - Bob Stewart, umpire (d. 1915)
- 1984 - Cuckoo Christensen, outfielder (b. 1899)
- 1984 - Gonzalo Marquez, infielder (b. 1940)
- 1984 - Art McLarney, infielder (b. 1908)
- 1984 - Steve Slayton, pitcher (b. 1902)
- 1986 - Joe DeSa, infielder (b. 1959)
- 1987 - Jake Eisenhart, pitcher (b. 1922)
- 1991 - Hal Finney, catcher (b. 1905)
- 1991 - Don Williams, pitcher (b. 1935)
- 1992 - Joan Tysver, AAGPBL pitcher (b. 1931)
- 1993 - Marlin Carter, infielder; All-Star (b. 1912)
- 1993 - Felix Mackiewicz, outfielder (b. 1917)
- 1994 - Mark Bonner, minor league infielder (b. 1958)
- 1994 - Larry Crawford, pitcher (b. 1914)
- 1994 - Bob Wellman, outfielder (b. 1925)
- 1999 - Dick Bertell, catcher (b. 1935)
- 2000 - Mickey Mantle Jr., minor league outfielder (b. 1953)
- 2003 - Walter DeFreitas, minor league infielder and manager (b.1918)
- 2007 - Tommy Byrne, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1919)
- 2009 - Lester Rodney, writer (b. 1911)
- 2013 - Roel de Groot, Hoofdklasse coach (b. ~1929)
- 2014 - Pete Calieri, minor league umpire (b. 1948)
- 2014 - George Fisher, minor league player and manager (b. 1924)
- 2015 - George Burpo, pitcher (b. 1922)
- 2018 - Jon Goodrich, minor league pitcher (b. 1972)
- 2020 - Billy Harris, infielder (b. 1943)
- 2020 - Matt Nerland, scout (b. ~1967)
- 2021 - Fred Andrews, infielder (b. 1952)
- 2021 - Kimera Bartee, outfielder (b. 1972)
- 2021 - Jack Whillock, pitcher (b. 1942)
- 2022 - Denny Doyle, infielder (b. 1943)
- 2022 - Ray Herbert, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1929)
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