December 30
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
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| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on December 30.
Events[edit]
- 1907 - The Mills Commission on the origins of baseball reports that the game was invented by Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown, New York, in 1839. The Commission is convinced by the testimony of Abner Graves, who claimed to be a childhood companion of Doubleday's. Graves' story is later "verified" when an old, rotting ball is found among his personal effects; the ball is now in the Hall of Fame. The Commission ignores the fact that Doubleday did not graduate from West Point until 1842.
- 1925 - In a trade of pitchers, the New York Giants send Jack Bentley and Wayland Dean to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jimmy Ring. Bentley will return to the Giants before the end of next season.
- 1926 - The Chicago Tribune breaks a story that the Detroit Tigers have thrown a four-game series to the Chicago White Sox in 1917 to help Chicago win the pennant. Responding to the publicity, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis convenes a hearing on the matter, but dismisses all charges. Landis can find no witnesses to confirm any part of Swede Risberg's claim.
- 1935 - Sandy Koufax, one of the most dominant pitchers in history, is born in Brooklyn, NY. He will go on to pitch for the hometown Dodgers, but his career really takes off when the team moves to Los Angeles. Koufax will post a 129-47 record and capture three Cy Young Awards. He will win all three when only one award is given annually for the two leagues.
- 1940 - The New York Yankees swap pitcher Monte Pearson to the Cincinnati Reds for a player and cash.
- 1943 - Happy New Year to a couple of Babes that swap places. The Philadelphia Blue Jays (Phillies) send much-traveled first baseman Babe Dahlgren to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for catcher Babe Phelps and cash considerations. A former Yankees first baseman, Dahlgren gained most of his notoriety after replacing Lou Gehrig when the "Iron Horse's" playing streak ended in 1939.
- 1970 - The San Francisco Giants trade popular second baseman Ron Hunt to the Montreal Expos for first baseman Dave McDonald. Hunt will be a solid starter for three seasons in Montreal, while McDonald will be sold back to the Expos less than a year later.
- 1995 - Free agent pitcher Kenny Rogers is signed by the Yankees to a four-year contract.
- 2002 - Citing this will probably be his last season, 40-year-old Roger Clemens agrees to a $10.1 million, one-year deal with the New York Yankees. The 19-season veteran, who has won the Cy Young Award six times, is seven victories shy of 300. In spite of his rumblings about retirement, Clemens will pitch five more seasons.
- 2004 - Aid originally destined for Nicaragua in memory of the anniversary of Roberto Clemente's tragic flight 32 years ago, will be sent instead to the earthquake and tsunami victims of Southern Asia. Roberto Clemente Jr., who with the help of the Project Club Clemente, collected two tons of supplies and raised nearly $20,000 dollars in efforts to reenact his father's unfinished mission, decides to postpone the ceremonial flight and divert the relief to help those in most desperate need right now.
- 2009:
- The Seoul Heroes conduct a fire sale. Banned from making major trades until their league entry fee is paid off, they make three deals that involve incoming cash going to the Korea Baseball Organization to pay off their fees. They ship away their top hitter, Taek-keun Lee, to the LG Twins for Byung-woo Kang, Young-bok Park and cash; pitcher Hyun-seung Lee goes to the Doosan Bears for Min-chul Keum and cash and Won-sam Jang is sent to the Samsung Lions for Sung-hun Park, Sang-soo Kim and cash.
- The Diamondbacks sign free agent 2B Kelly Johnson to a one-year contract.
- 2010 - For the first time, New Yankee Stadium is host to a football game, the first Pinstripe Bowl pitting Syracuse University and Kansas State University. It renews with an old tradition, as Yankee Stadium was a regular venue for college football games before its renovation in the 1970s. Syracuse defeats Kansas State 36-34 in a closely-fought game.
- 2011 - The Blue Jays sign lefty reliever Darren Oliver to a one-year contract. Oliver had a chance to clinch the 2011 World Series for the Texas Rangers, but blew a two-run lead in the 10th inning of Game 6, allowing the Cardinals to make their second thrilling comeback of the game.
- 2014:
- The Padres address the issue of their plethora of outfielders by sending Seth Smith to the Mariners for P Brandon Maurer.
- Tomás Pérez ends his 24-season Venezuelan League career in style, playing all nine positions (including his pitching debut) for the Caribes de Anzoategui in a 4 - 3 win over the Navegantes del Magallanes. He is only the second player in franchise history to play all nine spots in one contest, 23 years after Joe Hall was the first. Oddly, he is not the only winter ball player to turn the feat today - José Lozada plays all nine positions in a Senadores de San Juan loss in the Puerto Rican League.
- 2015 - The Dodgers sign free agent pitcher Scott Kazmir to a three-year $48 million contract. The signing gives the Dodgers a potential all-lefthanded starting rotation as Kazmir joins Clayton Kershaw, Brett Anderson, Hyun-jin Ryu and Alex Wood.
- 2023:
- The Red Sox send P Chris Sale, their one-time ace who has been battling a string of injuries these past four seasons, to the Braves for IF Vaughn Grissom. The Red Sox throw in $17 million to help cover part of Sale's remaining contract.
- Reports are that the Reds have signed free agent pitcher Frankie Montas to a one-year deal.
Births[edit]
- 1851 - Ed Caskin, infielder (d. 1924)
- 1856 - John Morrissey, infielder (d. 1884)
- 1877 - Charlie Miller, pinch hitter (d. 1951)
- 1878 - Clarence Currie, pitcher (d. 1941)
- 1888 - Ovid Nicholson, outfielder (d. 1968)
- 1889 - La Rue Kirby, outfielder (d. 1961)
- 1889 - Amado Maestri, minor league umpire; Salon de la Fama (d. 1963)
- 1890 - Jim Viox, infielder (d. 1969)
- 1892 - Tom Connolly, infielder (d. 1966)
- 1895 - Marion Cunningham, infielder (d. 1982)
- 1896 - Homer Norton, college coach (d. 1965)
- 1897 - Connie Day, infielder (d. 1961)
- 1901 - Dick Porter, outfielder (d. 1974)
- 1905 - John Pomorski, pitcher (d. 1977)
- 1906 - Ray Prim, pitcher (d. 1995)
- 1919 - Pete Layden, outfielder (d. 1982)
- 1923 - Harry Elliott, outfielder (d. 2013)
- 1928 - Clyde Golden, pitcher
- 1929 - Bill Taylor, outfielder (d. 2011)
- 1930 - Milt Graff, infielder (d. 2005)
- 1931 - Frank Torre, infielder (d. 2014)
- 1933 - Yoshiaki Ito, NPB pitcher
- 1935 - Sandy Koufax, pitcher; All-Star, Hall of Famer
- 1943 - Miles Wolff, minor league executive
- 1944 - José Morales, designated hitter
- 1944 - Bob Schroder, infielder
- 1945 - Tom Murphy, pitcher
- 1953 - Ron Clark, college coach (d. 2016)
- 1953 - Steve Davis, pitcher
- 1955 - Keith Macwhorter, pitcher
- 1962 - John Minch, minor league catcher
- 1964 - Steve Maye, minor league pitcher
- 1964 - Brett Robinson, minor league pitcher and manager
- 1967 - Archie Corbin, pitcher
- 1967 - Tim Timmons, umpire
- 1969 - Steve Gajkowski, pitcher
- 1970 - Ben Blomdahl, pitcher
- 1970 - Chad Fairchild, umpire
- 1970 - Bart Evans, pitcher
- 1971 - Travis Baptist, pitcher
- 1971 - Daisuke Motoki, NPB infielder
- 1971 - Chris Priest, minor league outfielder (d. 1997)
- 1973 - Ralph Milliard, infielder
- 1975 - Santiago Perez, infielder
- 1976 - Craig Lewis, minor league pitcher
- 1976 - A.J. Pierzynski, catcher; All-Star
- 1976 - Brad Voyles, pitcher
- 1977 - Grant Balfour, pitcher; All-Star
- 1980 - Dan Eisentrager, minor league player
- 1981 - Mark Phillips, minor league pitcher
- 1982 - José Guanchez, minor league pitcher
- 1982 - James Hoey, pitcher
- 1982 - Dioni Soriano, NPB pitcher
- 1983 - Thomas Cowley, minor league player
- 1983 - Mark Terrana, Division Elite player
- 1985 - Sean Gallagher, pitcher
- 1986 - Zane Chavez, minor league catcher
- 1986 - Raul Reyes, minor league outfielder
- 1988 - Bryce Brentz, outfielder
- 1988 - Danny Burawa, pitcher
- 1988 - Drew Rucinski, pitcher
- 1989 - Tyler Anderson, pitcher; All-Star
- 1989 - Sherwenne Antersijn, Netherlands Antilles national team pitcher
- 1989 - Erik Johnson, pitcher
- 1989 - Tae-gun Kim, KBO catcher
- 1989 - James Sommerville, Chilean national team infielder
- 1990 - Jayce Boyd, minor league infielder
- 1991 - Shurman Marlin, Hoofdklasse infielder
- 1991 - Cesar Vargas, pitcher
- 1992 - Tyler England, minor league outfielder and manager
- 1993 - Wyatt Mathisen, infielder
- 1993 - Kenneth Sips, First Division pitcher
- 1993 - Nathan Mikolas, minor league player and coach
- 1994 - Nick Hernandez, pitcher
- 1995 - Luiggy Florencia, Ecuadorian national team pitcher
- 1995 - Derek Hill, outfielder
- 1996 - Nick Fanti, minor league pitcher
- 1998 - Drew Waters, outfielder
- 2000 - Coleman Crow, minor league pitcher
- 2000 - Adam Macko, minor league pitcher
- 2004 - Pakorn Chaikaew, Thai national team infielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1894 - Jack McMahon, infielder (b. 1869)
- 1896 - Dave Birdsall, outfielder (b. 1838)
- 1898 - Bill Stearns, pitcher (b. 1853)
- 1903 - Dan Leahy, infielder (b. 1870)
- 1906 - Henry Porter, pitcher (b. 1858)
- 1913 - Joe Neale, pitcher (b. 1866)
- 1916 - Reddy Mack, infielder (b. 1866)
- 1919 - Garnet Bush, umpire (b. 1882)
- 1928 - John Talbot, umpire (b. 1863)
- 1934 - George Henry, outfielder (b. 1863)
- 1940 - Billy Childress, pitcher (b. 1867)
- 1942 - Nazario Gallegos, minor league outfielder (b. 1898)
- 1946 - Pat McGehee, pitcher (b. 1888)
- 1949 - Doc Watson, pitcher (b. 1886)
- 1951 - Hi Bithorn, pitcher (b. 1916)
- 1951 - Bob Kinsella, outfielder (b. 1899)
- 1958 - Jim Hickman, outfielder (b. 1892)
- 1958 - Glenn Spencer, pitcher (b. 1905)
- 1959 - Lew Whistler, infielder (b. 1868)
- 1962 - Joe Boley, infielder (b. 1896)
- 1963 - Wilbur Good, outfielder (b. 1885)
- 1965 - Hans Pung, Hawai'ian national team outfielder (b. 1907)
- 1968 - Dick Marlowe, pitcher (b. 1929)
- 1969 - Red Howard, pitcher (b. 1910)
- 1971 - Tetelo Vargas, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1906)
- 1972 - Tommy Butts, infielder; All-Star (b. 1919)
- 1974 - Al Shaw, outfielder (b. 1881)
- 1977 - Halsey Hall, broadcaster (b. 1898)
- 1978 - Bobby Williams, infielder; manager (b. 1895)
- 1980 - Stuffy Stewart, infielder (b. 1894)
- 1981 - Josh Billings, catcher (b. 1892)
- 1989 - Bill Leitz, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1906)
- 1993 - Tom Alston, infielder (b. 1926)
- 1994 - Bill Kuhfuss, USA national team infielder (b. ~1912)
- 1996 - Willie Brown, Negro League infielder (b. 1927)
- 1998 - Jack Graham, infielder (b. 1916)
- 1999 - Dick Clegg, umpire (b. 1938)
- 2004 - Rex Bowen, scout (b. 1911)
- 2005 - Bobby Stevens, infielder (b. 1907)
- 2007 - Pablo García, minor league infielder (b. 1923)
- 2010 - Tom Vandergriff, politician (b. 1926)
- 2010 - Betty Yahr, AAGPBL outfielder (b. 1923)
- 2011 - Ted Beard, outfielder (b. 1921)
- 2013 - W. Harrison Daniel, author (b. 1922)
- 2013 - Larry Yaji, NPB infielder (b. 1926)
- 2014 - Julio Ramos, minor league pitcher (b. 1925)
- 2015 - Ed Meyer, college coach (b. 1940)
- 2016 - Jim Zapp, outfielder (b. 1924)
- 2017 - Ken Huebner, minor league infielder (b. 1944)
- 2023 - Chuck Harrison, infielder (b. 1941)
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