December 22
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 22.
Events[edit]
- 1881 - Harry Wright signs to manage the Providence Grays for the 1882 season.
- 1899 - The fledging American League owners meet to map a strategy against the established National League. They agree to place a team in Chicago with Charles Comiskey as the owner-manager of the franchise.
- 1915 - Organized Baseball and the Federal League sign a peace treaty at Cincinnati, ending their two-year war. The FL agrees to go out of existence, but the Major Leagues pay an enormous price: $600,000 for distribution to FL owners; amalgamation of two FL franchises, one each into the National League and the American League; recognition of FL players' eligibility, and agreement to bid for them in a Fed-controlled auction. The owners of the Baltimore Terrapins, hoping to get ownership of the Cardinals, balk, but conferees, eager for settlement, defer their claims - a decision they will repent at leisure when the Baltimore owners take their grievance all the way to the Supreme Court in a landmark case.
- 1921 - Socks Seybold, the holder of the American League season home run record before Babe Ruth, dies at 51 years of age when his car plunges over an embankment.
- 1953 - Jack Dunn III officially turns over the name "Orioles" to the major league franchise. His family had successfully operated the International League Orioles franchise for years in Baltimore, Maryland.
- 1959 - The upstart Continental League awards its last franchise to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.
- 1962 - Harris County voters approve a bond issue to complete the financing of an all-weather stadium to house the Houston Colt .45's.
- 1965 - Masaru Kageura is elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. Kageura was Japan's greatest two-way star before being killed in World War II.
- 1980:
- The Boston Red Sox mail Fred Lynn and Carlton Fisk their new contracts two days after the Basic Agreement's December 20th deadline. Boston's blunder make their All-Stars eligible for free agency.
- The St. Louis Cardinals release outfielder Bobby Bonds. Despite his 326 home runs and 456 stolen bases in 13 seasons, Bonds hit just .203 with St. Louis in 1980. He will make one more stop, his sixth in the last four years, with the Chicago Cubs in 1981.
- 1982 - Versatile Lee Mazzilli is traded for the third time this year. The New York Yankees send him to the Pittsburgh Pirates for four minor leaguers, including pitcher Tim Burke.
- 1983:
- Free agent reliever Kent Tekulve re-signs with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1983 he had 18 saves and a 1.64 ERA for Pittsburgh.
- Pete Rose wins a lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service and is awarded a $36,083 tax refund for 1978. His future clashes with the I.R.S. will be less successful.
- 1987 - The New York Yankees send pitcher Steve Trout and outfielder Henry Cotto to the Seattle Mariners for pitchers Lee Guetterman, Clay Parker and minor leaguer Wade Taylor.
- 1994:
- The San Francisco Giants trade P John Burkett to the Texas Rangers in exchange for SS Rich Aurilia and minor leaguer Desi Wilson.
- The Cincinnati Reds sign free agent P Jack Morris.
- 1995 - Anheuser-Busch agrees to sell the St. Louis Cardinals for $150 million to an investment group headed by Bill DeWitt Jr. that agrees to keep the team in St. Louis.
- 1997:
- The Kansas City Royals sign free agent 1B Hal Morris.
- The New York Mets trade OF Carl Everett to the Houston Astros for P John Hudek.
- 1999:
- The Atlanta Braves obtain 2B Quilvio Veras, 1B Wally Joyner, and OF Reggie Sanders from the San Diego Padres in exchange for 1B Ryan Klesko, 2B Bret Boone, and P Jason Shiell.
- P Kip Wells, drafted in the first round by the Chicago White Sox, finally signs for $1.495 million plus an invite to the White Sox spring camp.
- The Montreal Expos obtain P Hideki Irabu from the New York Yankees in exchange for P Jake Westbrook and two players to be named, Ps Christian Parker and Ted Lilly. Both Westbrook and Lilly will become All-Stars while Irabu will win two games in as many seasons in Montreal before being released for disciplinary reasons. The uneven trade is seen as a sweetheart deal between Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and his close friend, new Expos owner Jeffrey Loria.
- The Boston Red Sox sign free agent P Jeff Fassero to a contract and the Baltimore Orioles sign P Buddy Groom for two years.
- In an interview in Sports Illustrated magazine, Atlanta Braves P John Rocker offends virtually every race and ethnic group in a hateful outburst. Community leaders, media, management, coaches and teammates alike call for action to be taken against the lefthander who had 38 saves for Atlanta this past season.
- 2000 - The Seattle Mariners sign 2B Bret Boone to a $3.25 million, one-year deal. The former San Diego Padres second baseman played in only 127 games last season due to a bruised right knee which ended his season in late August, but will be re-born in Seattle.
- 2001 - The Texas Rangers sign highly-sought free agent pitcher Chan Ho Park to a five-year, $65 million contract. The Korean right-hander led the Dodgers last year in wins (15), starts (35), innings pitched (234.0), strikeouts (218) and opponents' batting average (.187).
- 2002:
- Two free agent pitchers sign contracts, Ugueth Urbina with the Texas Rangers and Tanyon Sturtze with the Toronto Blue Jays.
- Maels Rodríguez throws the first perfect game in the history of Cuban baseball. Exactly two weeks earlier, the young hurler had been the first Cuban hurler to hit 100 mph on the radar gun.
- 2004 - The Orix Buffaloes sell P Hisashi Iwakuma, who refused to report to the new team which results from the merger of the Orix BlueWave and Kintetsu Buffaloes. Iwakuma will join the expansion Rakuten Golden Eagles.
- 2005:
- The Houston Astros agree to terms with pitchers Dave Borkowski and Steve Sparks and the Los Angeles Dodgers agree to terms with pitcher Brett Tomko on a two-year contract.
- The Minnesota Twins agree to terms with OF/DH Rondell White on a one-year contract, while the New York Yankees re-sign OF Bernie Williams to a one-year contract.
- The San Diego Padres sign 2B Mark Bellhorn for one year while the Seattle Mariners agree to terms with OF Matt Lawton on a one-year contract.
- 2009:
- The Yankees acquire P Javier Vazquez from the Braves in a five-player deal that sees CF Melky Cabrera and minor leaguers Michael Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino head for Atlanta while P Boone Logan joins Vazquez in the Bronx. Vazquez pitched for the Yankees in 2004.
- The Blue Jays and Mariners exchange pitchers, with Seattle picking up hard-throwing Brandon League and minor leaguer Johermyn Chavez in return for Brandon Morrow.
- The Washington Nationals sign P Jason Marquis to a two-year contract.
- 2010:
- The driver responsible for the death of Angels P Nick Adenhart and two others on April 9, 2009, is sentenced to 51 years in jail. His blood alcohol level was at three times the legal limit when he ran through a red light and rammed his van into the car in which Adenhart and three friends were sitting.
- The Brewers sign P Sean Green to a one-year contract.
- 2011:
- The Cardinals sign free agent OF Carlos Beltran to a two-year deal for $26 million. He will play right field, while last season's starter there, Lance Berkman, will slide over to 1B to try to replace Albert Pujols.
- The Nationals pry young All-Star starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez from the Athletics, giving up four prospects in return: Ps Brad Peacock, Tom Milone and A.J. Cole and C Derek Norris. Gonzalez's trade follows that of fellow young starter Trevor Cahill by a few weeks and indicates that the A's are not looking to be competitive for the next couple of seasons, yet they will surprise everyone by winning the AL West title in 2012.
- The White Sox sign starter John Danks to a five-year contract extension for $65 million, while in other signings, P Jason Marquis goes to Minnesota, utility player Mark DeRosa heads to Washington, P Manuel Corpas goes to the Cubs and C Rob Johnson to the Mets.
- 2012:
- Raul Ibanez returns to Seattle for a third stint with the team, signing a one-year contract.
- The Diamondbacks sign OF Cody Ross for three years at $26 million.
- Former utility player Ryan Freel is found dead in his Jacksonville, FL home, victim of an apparent suicide at 36.
- 2013 - 41-year-old Alex Cabrera hits his 21st homer, breaking Bo Díaz's Venezuelan League mark, which had stood for 34 years, surviving assaults from players like Cecil Fielder and Tony Armas. Cabrera takes Caribes de Anzoategui hurler Daryl Thompson deep for his record shot, a 1st-inning grand slam in a 4 - 3 win for the Tiburones de la Guaira
- 2014 - Marcos Mateo becomes the first pitcher to be named Dominican League MVP in 30 years, since Ken Howell was picked. The Estrellas de Oriente hurler saved 21 games and posted a 1.75 ERA while nearly leading the league with 45 K (in only 25 2/3 IP) despite being a reliever - only Elih Villanueva (46) had more strikeouts.
- 2015 - The Cardinals sign P Mike Leake to a five-year deal worth $80 million.
- 2016 - The Indians sign free agent slugger Edwin Encarnacion to a three-year deal worth $60 million, while the Pirates re-sign SP Ivan Nova also for three years but for $26 million.
- 2020 - Newly-appointed Philadelphia Phillies team President Dave Dombrowski announces the hiring of former OF Sam Fuld as the team's General Manager. Fuld, a Stanford University graduate, is the second former player to accede to the GM ranks in recent weeks, following Chris Young with the Texas Rangers.
- 2022 - Arbitrator Martin Scheinman issues his ruling in Trevor Bauer's appeal of the two-year suspension handed out last April under Major League Baseball's policy on domestic violence. The arbitrator cuts the suspension from 324 to 194 days, reinstating Bauer immediately, although he will still be docked pay for the first 50 days of the coming season. MLB states that while it still believes that a longer suspension was warranted, it will abide by the verdict. For their part, the Dodgers withhold comment for the moment, but they will eventually decide to release Bauer, swallowing the final year of the three-year contract he signed before the 2021 season.
Births[edit]
- 1852 - Bill Boyd, infielder, manager (d. 1912)
- 1860 - Pop Tate, catcher (d. 1932)
- 1862 - Connie Mack, catcher, manager; Hall of Famer (d. 1956)
- 1864 - Charlie Cady, pitcher (d. 1909)
- 1866 - Buster Burrell, catcher (d. 1962)
- 1866 - George Gohen, umpire (d. 1927)
- 1868 - Augie Moran, umpire (d. 1964)
- 1879 - Owen Shannon, catcher (d. 1918)
- 1885 - Tex Erwin, catcher (d. 1953)
- 1885 - W. Rice Warren, college coach (d. 1969)
- 1886 - Hughie Miller, infielder (d. 1945)
- 1893 - Jesse Winters, pitcher (d. 1986)
- 1894 - Harvey McClellan, infielder (d. 1925)
- 1897 - Harvey Freeman, pitcher (d. 1970)
- 1907 - Andy Sarvis, pitcher (d. 1976)
- 1908 - Ed Fallenstein, pitcher (d. 1971)
- 1910 - Stan Klopp, pitcher (d. 1980)
- 1918 - Bill Kennedy, pitcher (d. 1995)
- 1918 - Julian Morgan, minor league pitcher and manager (d. 1988)
- 1919 - Alex Monchak, infielder (d. 2015)
- 1921 - Max Peterson, minor league pitcher (d. 2010)
- 1922 - Johnny Bero, infielder (d. 1985)
- 1923 - Bob Hall, pitcher (d. 1983)
- 1923 - Wally Jakowczyk, minor league player (d. 2012)
- 1923 - Pirincho Salazar, Dominican national team player (d. 2003)
- 1925 - Steve Lagomarsino, minor league pitcher (d. 2014)
- 1928 - John Hrasch, minor league infielder (d. 1952)
- 1931 - Clyde Sowell, pitcher (d. 1989)
- 1934 - Don Nichols, minor league pitcher
- 1935 - Murray Strey, umpire
- 1936 - Tommy Hawkins, executive (d. 2017)
- 1937 - Tony Curry, outfielder (d. 2006)
- 1937 - Charlie James, outfielder
- 1937 - Wenceslao Tejeda, Dominican national team pitcher (d. 2014)
- 1938 - Matty Alou, outfielder; All-Star (d. 2011)
- 1939 - Al Ferrara, outfielder
- 1940 - Ellie Hendricks, catcher
- 1941 - Ton Benningshof, Hoofdklasse coach (d. 2017)
- 1942 - Jack Jenkins, pitcher (d. 2002)
- 1944 - Steve Carlton, pitcher; All-Star, Hall of Famer
- 1946 - Hiroyuki Yamazaki, NPB infielder
- 1947 - Charley Taylor, minor league pitcher (d. 2017)
- 1948 - Steve Garvey, infielder; All-Star
- 1948 - Brock McConachy, Canadian national team outfielder
- 1949 - Ray Guy, drafted pitcher (d. 2022)
- 1950 - Tom Makowski, pitcher
- 1950 - Tommy Sandt, infielder (d. 2020)
- 1951 - Gary Isakson, minor league outfielder
- 1951 - Samio Murakoshi, NPB umpire
- 1951 - Fernando Sánchez, Cuban league outfielder
- 1953 - Tom Underwood, pitcher (d. 2010)
- 1954 - Sheldon Burnside, pitcher
- 1954 - Ken Landreaux, outfielder; All-Star
- 1955 - Lonnie Smith, outfielder; All-Star
- 1956 - Gary Cooper, outfielder
- 1956 - Dave Schmidt, catcher
- 1958 - Glenn Wilson, outfielder; All-Star
- 1958 - George Wright, outfielder
- 1958 - Curtis Reed, minor league outfielder
- 1959 - Orlando Isales, outfielder
- 1959 - Steve Scafa, minor league infielder
- 1961 - Andy Allanson, catcher
- 1964 - Mike Jackson, pitcher
- 1966 - Troy Aleshire, minor league catcher
- 1967 - Tommy Raffo, college coach
- 1968 - David Nied, pitcher
- 1968 - Jim Reynolds, umpire
- 1969 - Andrew Scott, Australian national team infielder
- 1970 - Geoff Loomis, college coach
- 1971 - Scott Emerson, coach
- 1971 - Jon Ratliff, pitcher
- 1972 - Craig Allen, minor league pitcher
- 1973 - Kuo-Chan Ni, CPBL infielder
- 1974 - Trevor Enders, pitcher
- 1975 - Ben Utting, minor league infielder
- 1976 - Jason Lane, outfielder
- 1976 - Wes Obermueller, pitcher
- 1978 - Chris Jakubauskas, pitcher
- 1979 - Franck Chatchueng, New Caledonia national team outfielder
- 1980 - Reid Gorecki, outfielder
- 1982 - Boubakar Guaye, French Division I outfielder
- 1982 - Victor Moreno, minor league pitcher
- 1983 - Greg Smith, pitcher
- 1983 - Blake Davis, infielder
- 1984 - Yuya Hasegawa, NPB outfielder
- 1984 - Levi Maxwell, minor league pitcher
- 1985 - Ridzki Aditya, Indonesian national team outfielder
- 1985 - Daniel Stange, pitcher
- 1986 - Martin Drong, Extraliga infielder
- 1987 - Zach Britton, pitcher; All-Star
- 1987 - Chad Jenkins, pitcher
- 1989 - Thomas De Wolf, minor league outfielder
- 1989 - Patrick Kivlehan, outfielder
- 1989 - Moko Moanaroa, minor league outfielder
- 1989 - Rey Navarro, infielder
- 1989 - Noe Ramirez, pitcher
- 1989 - Jacob Stallings, catcher
- 1989 - Nicky Vlyminckx, First Division pitcher-infielder
- 1990 - Antonio Romero, minor league pitcher
- 1992 - Matt Dean, minor league infielder
- 1993 - Gavin Cecchini, infielder
- 1993 - Jerry Downs, minor league infielder
- 1993 - Tyler Gilbert, pitcher
- 1994 - C.J. Chatham, minor league infielder
- 1994 - Richie Martin, infielder
- 1995 - Tyler Thomas, minor league pitcher
- 1996 - Nate Eaton, outfielder
- 1996 - José Mena, minor league catcher
- 1997 - Feleipe Franks, signed pitcher
- 1998 - Benjamin Meza, Chilean national team infielder
- 1999 - Jaden Hill, minor league pitcher
Deaths[edit]
- 1887 - Jud Birchall, outfielder (b. 1855)
- 1909 - Jimmy Sebring, outfielder (b. 1882)
- 1912 - Ed Kennedy, infielder (b. 1861)
- 1914 - Phil Powers, catcher; umpire (b. 1854)
- 1916 - Howard Earl, outfielder (b. 1869)
- 1922 - Frank Meek, catcher (b. 1867)
- 1926 - Harry Weber, catcher (b. 1862)
- 1928 - Hugh Reid, outfielder; umpire (b. 1852)
- 1933 - Nin Alexander, catcher (b. 1858)
- 1933 - Joe Flynn, outfielder (b. 1861)
- 1934 - Kitty Brashear, pitcher (b. 1877)
- 1940 - Will Dithridge, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1872)
- 1940 - Patsy McGaffigan, infielder (b. 1888)
- 1940 - Bill Schwartz, catcher (b. 1864)
- 1943 - Ed Kent, pitcher (b. 1859)
- 1945 - Bill Crouch, pitcher (b. 1886)
- 1950 - Rip Egan, pitcher; umpire (b. 1871)
- 1950 - Cal Vasbinder, pitcher (b. 1880)
- 1955 - Jimmy O'Rourke, infielder (b. 1883)
- 1960 - Jack Onslow, catcher, manager (b. 1888)
- 1964 - Lou Fiene, pitcher (b. 1884)
- 1964 - William Ross, pitcher (b. 1893)
- 1968 - Benny Bengough, catcher (b. 1898)
- 1968 - Ike Powers, pitcher (b. 1906)
- 1972 - Johnny Juran, pitcher (b. 1900)
- 1974 - Allyn Stout, pitcher (b. 1904)
- 1976 - Brick Eldred, minor league outfielder (b. 1892)
- 1980 - Earl Grace, catcher (b. 1907)
- 1980 - Joe Graves, infielder (b. 1906)
- 1981 - Ed Gallagher, pitcher (b. 1910)
- 1982 - Tony Faeth, pitcher (b. 1893)
- 1982 - John Mercer, infielder (b. 1892)
- 1987 - Bobby Hogue, pitcher (b. 1921)
- 1989 - Archie Campbell, pitcher (b. 1903)
- 1996 - Fred Green, pitcher (b. 1933)
- 1997 - Flea Clifton, infielder (b. 1908)
- 1997 - Juan Ealo, minor league infielder (b. 1912)
- 1997 - Jose Oliva, infielder (b. 1971)
- 1997 - Hal Rice, outfielder (b. 1924)
- 2001 - Bob Davis, pitcher (b. 1933)
- 2004 - Doug Ault, infielder (b. 1950)
- 2005 - Clarence Gann, minor league pitcher and manager (b. 1919)
- 2006 - Sam Chapman, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1916)
- 2008 - Kevin Ford, Bahamas national team player (b. 1961)
- 2010 - Gerald Ice, minor league pitcher (b. 1934)
- 2012 - Ryan Freel, outfielder (b. 1976)
- 2012 - Gary Johnson, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1939)
- 2013 - Ed Herrmann, catcher; All-Star (b. 1946)
- 2013 - Bill Tremel, pitcher (b. 1929)
- 2014 - Lee Handley, minor league outfielder (b. 1935)
- 2016 - Agustín Arias, Cuban league infielder and manager (b. 1942)
- 2016 - Ken Turner, pitcher (b. 1943)
- 2020 - George Spriggs, outfielder (b. 1937)
- 2023 - Ryan Minor, infielder (b. 1974)
- 2023 - Taisuke Watanabe, NPB pitcher (b. 1942)
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