December 21
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
| Standings on this day | |
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| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on December 21.
Events[edit]
- 1871 - The National Association's Boston Red Stockings meet and elect a new board of directors, who will retain Harry Wright as manager. The club reports an operating surplus of $75 on home attendance of around 35,000.
- 1911 - Future Hall of Fame catcher Josh Gibson is born in Buena Vista, Georgia. Although record-keeping in the Negro Leagues is somewhat nebulous, Gibson will become the leading home run hitter in all of black baseball. His legendary power will earn him the nickname, "The Black Babe Ruth." Gibson wil begin his pro career at age 18 with the Homestead Grays before becoming a star with the Pittsburgh Crawfords.
- 1935:
- The Brooklyn Dodgers trade Ray Benge, Tony Cuccinello, Al Lopez and Bobby Reis to the Boston Bees for Ed Brandt and Randy Moore.
- The Pittsburgh Pirates send pitcher Claude Passeau and catcher Earl Grace to the Philadelphia Phillies for catcher Al Todd. Passeau will have three decent seasons in Philadelphia before blossoming with the Cubs.
- 1937 - The first night game in Cuban Winter League history takes place. Marianao beats Almendares, 6 - 5, with Martín Dihigo getting the win.
- 1940 - Chicago writers name Cleveland Indians shortstop Lou Boudreau as the outstanding rookie in the major leagues. Boudreau will be honored at the annual January banquet. The Rookie of the Year Award won't be created until 1947, however.
- 1944 - Official National League statistics published today show Brooklyn's Dixie Walker at the top of the hitters with a .357 batting average, ahead of Stan Musial at .347. In an even closer vote than occurred in the American League, the National League Most Valuable Player Award goes to fielding wizard shortstop Marty Marion of the Cardinals, who tallies one more vote than Cubs slugger Bill Nicholson (189). The Cardinals committed only 112 errors and fielded .982, both better than previous records held by the 1940 Cincinnati Reds. Marion is the third different Cardinals player in three years to win MVP honors.
- 1960 - Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley announces the club will not have a manager for the next season, but will instead use a college of coaches, who will take turns managing the ballclub. The original eight coaches include Charlie Grimm, Ripper Collins and Rube Walker. Before the season is over, Vedie Himsl, Harry Craft, El Tappe and Lou Klein will have taken turns leading the team. The results will be disastrous for the Cubs, who will finish the season 35 games out of first place, but the experiment will be repeated in 1962 before being shelved for good.
- 1970 - Houston Astros outfielder Jimmy Wynn is stabbed during a domestic dispute. Wynn will undergo abdominal surgery but will recover in time to start next season.
- 1977 - Free agent Orioles pitcher Ross Grimsley is signed by the Montreal Expos. Grimsley will reward Montreal with a 20-game winning season in 1978, the only one in franchise history.
- 1981:
- The Philadelphia Phillies sign future Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt to a six-year contract worth $1.2 million per season. During the strike-shortened 1981 season, Schmidt led the National League in home runs (31), RBI (91) and runs (78).
- Twenty-two-year-old Royals pitcher Mike Jones, who was 6-3 with a 3.20 ERA in the second half of the season and was projected to be the club's third starter next year, is listed in guarded condition after crashing his car while driving under the influence near Rochester, NY. Jones will not pitch in the majors again until 1984.
- 1982 - All-Star first baseman Steve Garvey signs a free agent five-year contract with the San Diego Padres. Garvey leaves the Los Angeles Dodgers after 14 seasons.
- 1987 - The Oakland Athletics sign free agent outfielder Dave Henderson, who played this past season with the San Francisco Giants.
- 1989 - The Dodgers sign free agent outfielder Hubie Brooks.
- 1992 - The Colorado Rockies sign free agent outfielder Daryl Boston.
- 1995:
- After considering an attractive offer from the Orioles, free agent pitcher David Cone re-signs with the Yankees a three-year deal worth $18 million.
- The Red Sox sign free agent pitcher Tom Gordon to a two-year contract.
- The Orioles sign free agent second baseman Roberto Alomar to a three-year $18 million contract.
- The Royals send first baseman Wally Joyner and a minor league pitcher to the Padres in exchange for infielder Bip Roberts and a minor league pitcher.
- 1999 - The Dodgers are fined $50,000 and banned from scouting any Dominican Republic players for one year as a penalty for having signed third baseman Adrian Beltre as a 15-year-old. Beltre is not given his free agency, according to Commissioner Bud Selig, because he participated in the scheme, and because the claim for free agency was made too late. The players association is expected to file a grievance in the matter, but the ruling will stand.
- 2000 - Hoping to pick it up where it all started, 41-year old OF Tim Raines agrees to a minor league contract with the Montreal Expos, the team he broke in with in 1979. After retiring in Yankees camp during spring training with a .295 career batting average, Raines failed to make this year's U.S. Olympic team.
- 2001 - The Boston Red Sox sign free agent CF Johnny Damon to a four-year contract.
- 2002 - After declining their club option, the Arizona Diamondbacks decide to retain veteran 1B Mark Grace. A lifetime .305 hitter, Grace agrees to a one-year deal which includes a club option for the 2004 season.
- 2004 - Former NPB pitcher Hiroshi Ogawa is arrested for a murder that took place during a robbery.
- 2005 - The Tampa Bay Devil Rays agree to terms with C Toby Hall and P Lance Carter on one-year contracts and the St. Louis Cardinals sign P Sidney Ponson to a one-year contract.
- 2007 - The Cincinnati Reds trade troubled slugging outfielder Josh Hamilton to the Texas Rangers for P Edinson Volquez and Danny Herrera.
- 2009 - The Rangers sign reliever Darren Oliver to a one-year contract. It marks the lefty's third tour of duty with Texas.
- 2010:
- The Blue Jays sign a host of players today, including OF Corey Patterson, Ps Winston Abreu, Mike Hinckley, Brian Stokes and Sean Henn, and C Ryan Budde.
- The Nationals sign OF Rick Ankiel as a free agent.
- 2011:
- The Reds continue to acquire players in preparation for a run at what appears to be a wide-open NL Central division in 2012. Today, they get lefty reliever Sean Marshall from the Cubs in return for P Travis Wood and two players to be named, who turn out to be OF Dave Sappelt and IF Ronald Torreyes.
- Four persons come out to accuse long-time Philadelphia, PA columnist and Spink Award winner Bill Conlin of having molested them when they were children. Conlin abruptly retires from the Philadelphia Daily News, while the BBWAA is criticized for issuing an initial statement that defends its long-time member without expressing any sympathy for the alleged victims.
- The Royals sign lefty reliever Jose Mijares to a one-year deal, the Phillies add IF Hector Luna and OF Luis Montanez, but lose IF Carlos Rivero, claimed off waivers by the Nationals, while the Indians sign 3B Andy LaRoche.
- The Padres acquire P Ryan Kelly from Texas for C Luis Martinez.
- 2012 - The Pirates sign P Francisco Liriano for two years at $14 million. However, the deal is not officially announced and rumors soon surface that Liriano has suffered a serious injury to his non-throwing arm, negating the purported deal.
- 2013 - OF Shin-Soo Choo signs a seven-year deal with Texas worth $130 million to be the team's new leadoff hitter.
- 2015:
- The Seattle Mariners hire Amanda Hopkins to be an area scout, covering the southwestern United States. A graduate of Major League Baseball's scouting development school, she becomes the first full-time female scout since the 1950s.
- Tyler White is named Dominican League MVP, the first American to win since Eric Byrnes in 2001-2002. White hit .297/.421/.494 for the Estrellas Orientales, leading the league in homers, OBP, slugging, walks and runs and finishing second in RBI.
- 2018:
- The Dodgers pull off a big trade with the Reds, sending four major leaguers - OFs Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp, P Alex Wood and C Kyle Farmer, in return for P Homer Bailey and prospects Josiah Gray and Jeter Downs. The main purpose of the trade for L.A. appears to be to clear roster and salary space in order to sign free agent OF Bryce Harper, as they release Bailey immediately after acquiring him, buying off $28 million he is still owed on his contract.
- In another big trade, the Rangers send utility player Jurickson Profar to Oakland in a three-team deal that also involves the Rays. P Emilio Pagan and five prospects also change uniforms in the deal, while Tampa obtains a supplemental 1st round pick in the 2019 amateur draft from Texas.
- The Associated Press reports that the average salary in the major leagues went down last season, for the first time since 2004, albeit by a very small amount, according to data provided by the Players Association. The typical player took home $4.095 million, down from $4.097 million the year before. The other times salaries had failed to rise were during collusion in the mid-1980s and after the devastating 1994 strike. In 2018, teams had been notably reticent to offer salaries to free agents, with a huge number being still unsigned when spring training opened and many forced to accept salaries below their previous market value.
- 2019 - Owners of the worst record and the most anemic line-up in the majors last season, the Tigers add a couple of power hitters on one-year free agent deals, both for $6.1 million. The similarities don't end there as 1B C.J. Cron and 2B Jonathan Schoop were both with the Twins last season, and put up very similar numbers: Cron hit .253 with 25 homers in 125 games, and Schoop .256 with 23 homers in 121 games.
- 2021 - With Major League Baseball still under an off-season lockout, figures are released today which show that major league salaries dropped by 4% last season, returning to levels not seen since 2015, and have been in decline since 2017, at a time when revenues have grown steadily. For the purpose of luxury tax payments, the Dodgers had the highest payroll, at $285.6 million, generating a tax bill of $32.6 million, whereas ten teams were under $100 million in total payroll.
- 2022 - The Yankees officially name Aaron Judge as the 16th team captain of their history and the first since Derek Jeter's retirement at the end of the 2014 season. Jeter and another former captain, Willie Randolph, are on hand to bestow the honorary title on the man who just broke Roger Maris's American League record for most home runs in one season.
- 2023 - The Dodgers pull off their second huge signing of the off-season. After the record-breaking contract to Shohei Ohtani, they agree to a deal with his Japanese national team teammate, pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, worth $325 million over 12 years. They will also have to pay a posting fee of $50 million to his former team, the Orix Buffaloes.
Births[edit]
- 1850 - Eugene Rhoads, umpire (d. 1920)
- 1858 - Steve Dunn, infielder (d. 1933)
- 1859 - Bill Traffley, catcher (d. 1908)
- 1861 - Dell Darling, catcher (d. 1904)
- 1861 - Harry Maskrey, outfielder (d. 1930)
- 1865 - Frank Zinn, catcher (d. 1936)
- 1869 - Joe Harrington, infielder (d. 1933)
- 1872 - Bade Myers, minor league infielder and manager (d. 1940)
- 1878 - Warren Gill, infielder (d. 1952)
- 1881 - Jim Doyle, infielder (d. 1912)
- 1882 - Bert Weeden, pinch hitter (d. 1939)
- 1884 - Steve White, pitcher (d. 1975)
- 1887 - Cy Williams, outfielder (d. 1974)
- 1892 - Earl Wolgamot, coach (d. 1970)
- 1897 - Hal Haid, pitcher (d. 1952)
- 1898 - Pete Scott, outfielder (d. 1953)
- 1900 - Doc Hamann, pitcher (d. 1973)
- 1902 - Oscar Rodríguez, minor league infielder and manager (d. ????)
- 1905 - Fred Koster, outfielder (d. 1979)
- 1907 - Freddie Muller, infielder (d. 1976)
- 1911 - Nino Bongiovanni, outfielder (d. 2009)
- 1911 - Josh Gibson, catcher; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 1947)
- 1913 - Heinie Heltzel, infielder (d. 1998)
- 1914 - Lionel Decuir, catcher (d. 1977)
- 1914 - Dutch Deutsch, scout
- 1915 - Chet Bryan, college coach (d. 1986)
- 1920 - Bill Werle, pitcher (d. 2010)
- 1923 - Jay Difani, infielder (d. 2003)
- 1925 - Dottie Kamenshek, AAGPBL infielder (d. 2010)
- 1925 - Kent Peterson, pitcher (d. 1995)
- 1925 - Bob Rush, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2011)
- 1927 - Jack Daniels, outfielder (d. 2013)
- 1928 - Dom Valentino, broadcaster (d. 2012)
- 1930 - Danny Kravitz, catcher (d. 2013)
- 1935 - Takao Katsuragi, NPB infielder (d. 2013)
- 1936 - Ralph Lumenti, pitcher (d. 2018)
- 1936 - Howie Reed, pitcher (d. 1984)
- 1941 - Paul Casanova, catcher; All-Star (d. 2017)
- 1942 - Pete Charton, pitcher
- 1947 - Masahiro Kuroda, NPB catcher
- 1947 - Elliott Maddox, outfielder
- 1948 - Frank Alfano, minor league infielder (d. 2019)
- 1948 - Dave Kingman, infielder; All-Star
- 1948 - Glenn Woodruff, minor league catcher and manager
- 1949 - Larry Bradford, pitcher (d. 1998)
- 1950 - Jim Wright, pitcher
- 1952 - Joaquin Andujar, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2015)
- 1955 - Mike Young, minor league manager
- 1957 - Tom Henke, pitcher; All-Star
- 1960 - Roger McDowell, pitcher
- 1960 - Andy Van Slyke, outfielder; All-Star
- 1961 - Michael Weiner, executive director of MLBPA (d. 2013)
- 1966 - Paul Swingle, pitcher
- 1967 - Rafael DeLima, minor league outfielder and manager
- 1968 - Mike Jeffcoat, college coach
- 1968 - Tim Tadlock, college coach
- 1969 - Andy Beckerman, minor league pitcher
- 1970 - Scott Gentile, minor league pitcher
- 1970 - John Hope, pitcher (d. 2018)
- 1970 - Motonobu Tanishige, NPB catcher and manager
- 1971 - Jay Vaught, minor league player
- 1972 - LaTroy Hawkins, pitcher
- 1972 - Dustin Hermanson, pitcher
- 1974 - Benoit Eudes, Canadian national team pitcher
- 1976 - Tony Cogan, pitcher
- 1977 - Buddy Carlyle, pitcher
- 1977 - D'Angelo Jimenez, infielder
- 1977 - Freddy Sanchez, infielder; All-Star
- 1979 - Toshiyuki Hayashi, Japanese national team outfielder
- 1980 - Royce Ring, pitcher
- 1982 - Philip Humber, pitcher
- 1983 - Taylor Teagarden, catcher
- 1983 - John Mayberry, Jr., outfielder
- 1984 - Ramon Aguero, minor league pitcher
- 1984 - Eddie Gamboa, pitcher
- 1984 - Orlando Medina, minor league player
- 1985 - Tim Auty, minor league outfielder
- 1985 - Ed Easley, catcher
- 1985 - Matt Mangini, infielder
- 1985 - Brian Schlitter, pitcher
- 1986 - Nate Tenbrink, minor league infielder
- 1987 - Khris Davis, outfielder
- 1988 - Danny Duffy, pitcher
- 1988 - Ross Hopkins, drafted catcher
- 1988 - William Ireton, Philippines national team infielder
- 1988 - Hyun-jun Lim, KBO pitcher
- 1988 - Iván Marín, minor league infielder
- 1988 - Cody Stanley, catcher
- 1988 - Asher Wojciechowski, pitcher
- 1989 - Jay Johnson, minor league pitcher
- 1989 - Gregory Lambrechts, First Division outfielder
- 1989 - Eitan Maoz, Israeli national team catcher
- 1989 - Akane Nakamura, Japanese women's national team outfielder
- 1989 - David Rollins, pitcher
- 1989 - Ayami Sato, Japanese women's national team pitcher
- 1989 - Shinji Tajima, NPB pitcher
- 1990 - Mike Clevinger, pitcher
- 1990 - Kendall Graveman, pitcher
- 1990 - Baasandorj Nergui, Mongolian national team infielder
- 1993 - Fabián Anguamea, minor league pitcher
- 1993 - Josh Staumont, pitcher
- 1994 - Dong-hyun Choi, South Korean national team pitcher
- 1994 - Frederick Thomas Jr., American Samoa national team outfielder
- 1995 - Hans Werner, Guatemalan national team pitcher
- 1996 - Aneurys Zabala, pitcher
- 1997 - Josiah Gray, pitcher; All-Star
- 1997 - Ben Thompson, minor league pitcher
- 2002 - Héctor Mora, minor league infielder
- 2004 - Max Clark, drafted outfielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1909 - Kid Keenan, pitcher (b. 1869)
- 1912 - Jim Conway, pitcher (b. 1858)
- 1912 - Jim Gilman, infielder (b. 1870)
- 1914 - E.A. Griffith, umpire (b. 1860)
- 1921 - Socks Seybold, outfielder (b. 1870)
- 1931 - Harry Womack, minor league pitcher and manager (b. 1881)
- 1933 - Louie Heilbroner, manager (b. 1861)
- 1936 - Fred Gunkle, catcher/outfielder (b. 1857)
- 1942 - Ira Davis, infielder (b. 1870)
- 1943 - Jim Cudworth, infielder (b. 1858)
- 1943 - John Warner, catcher (b. 1872)
- 1946 - Bill Evans, pitcher (b. 1893)
- 1949 - Teddy Kearns, infielder (b. 1900)
- 1950 - Dad Lytle, infielder/outfielder (b. 1862)
- 1957 - Marty Berghammer, infielder (b. 1888)
- 1963 - Howard Ross, pitcher (b. 1903)
- 1963 - Happy Townsend, pitcher (b. 1879)
- 1963 - Harry Williams, infielder (b. 1890)
- 1964 - Delos Brown, pinch hitter (b. 1892)
- 1970 - Chubby Dean, pitcher (b. 1916)
- 1972 - Paul Steinberg, umpire (b. 1880)
- 1976 - Walt Lynch, catcher (b. 1897)
- 1978 - Joe Mathes, infielder (b. 1891)
- 1980 - Tony Jacobs, pitcher (b. 1925)
- 1985 - Joe Genewich, pitcher (b. 1897)
- 1987 - Joe Sherman, pitcher (b. 1890)
- 1988 - Willie Kamm, infielder (b. 1900)
- 1989 - Ralph Schwamb, pitcher (b. 1926)
- 1993 - Ernie Kish, outfielder (b. 1918)
- 1993 - Ham Schulte, infielder (b. 1912)
- 1996 - Mickey Taborn, catcher (b. 1922)
- 1999 - James Williams, college coach (b. ~1921)
- 2001 - Carl Vergamini, college coach (b. 1917)
- 2002 - Hal Charnofsky, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1931)
- 2005 - Elrod Hendricks, catcher (b. 1940)
- 2007 - Jack Lamabe, pitcher (b. 1936)
- 2007 - Al Scheel, umpire (b. 1931)
- 2008 - Vern Kindsfather, college coach (b. 1924)
- 2008 - Carlos Santiago, infielder (b. 1926)
- 2008 - Kichiro Sasaki, NPB pitcher (b. 1940)
- 2009 - Robert Baumler, minor league infielder (b. 1927)
- 2011 - Bud Bloomfield, infielder (b. 1936)
- 2011 - Bill Cunis, college coach (b. 1940)
- 2012 - Vivian Anderson, AAGPBL infielder (b. 1921)
- 2012 - Boyd Bartley, infielder (b. 1920)
- 2014 - John Morse, minor league infielder (b. 1929)
- 2014 - Virgil Richardson, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1919)
- 2017 - Dick Clegg, college coach (b. 1927)
- 2017 - Dick Enberg, broadcaster (b. 1935)
- 2018 - Jim Isaacson, college coach (b. 1940)
- 2019 - Norm Angelini, pitcher (b. 1947)
- 2019 - Luis Peñalver, minor league pitcher (b. 1941)
- 2020 - John Higgins, umpire (b. 1955)
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