February 20
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Stats of players who died on this day | |
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Today in Baseball History |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on February 20.
Events[edit]
- 1884 - The Altoona Mountain City club is admitted to the Union Association as its seventh club, leaving Lancaster as the only franchise in the Inter-State League.
- 1887 - New York Giants shortstop and team captain John Ward thinks that the open sale of players has gone too far. "I wouldn't play in Kansas City under any circumstances," he says, but a club could force him to play there or not play at all.
- 1890 - Sam Rice is born in Morocco, Indiana. A quick outfielder with a great arm, Rice will lead the American League in hits twice, in stolen bases once, and collect at least 200 hits on six occasions, while finishing in the top ten in batting average eight times. Rice will gain election to the Hall of Fame in 1963.
- 1903 - Nicholas Young remains National League president when Albert Spalding bows out of the battle for the position.
- 1920 - The Chicago Cubs give his unconditional release to Lee Magee after having learned from him a week ago that he has been betting against his team. Magee will sue the Cubs for his salary of $4,500, charging that his livelihood as a ballplayer was destroyed through the sudden canceling of his contract. The Cubs will ask for a dismissal of the suit, saying that "previous to the making of the contract the plaintiff was guilty of betting against the team of which he was a member, and sought to win bets by intentional bad playing to defeat said team."
- 1923 - Future Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson becomes president and owner of the Boston Braves. Mathewson purchases the team for $300,000 with New York attorney Judge Emil Fuchs. The deal does not include Braves Field, which still belongs to James Gaffney. There are also 85 minority stockholders.
- 1929 - The Boston Red Sox announce they will play Sunday games (allowed for the first time in Boston) at Braves Field, because Fenway Park is located too close to a church and therefore barred from hosting games by a city ordinance.
- 1936 - The New York Giants buy back good-hitting first baseman Sam Leslie from the Brooklyn Dodgers.
- 1943 - Chicago Cubs owner Philip Wrigley and Brooklyn Dodgers executive Branch Rickey draw up charter for the "All-American Girls Softball League", which will eventually become the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The league, originally conceived in the belief that the major leagues would suspend play because of World War II, will operate from 1943 to 1954 in various cities in the Midwest. When the league changes its name and switches to hardball, the pitching distance is 40 feet and bases 68 feet apart. After struggling through poor attendance in its early seasons, the league will draw over one million fans in 1948.
- 1953:
- August A. Busch buys the St. Louis Cardinals from Fred Saigh for $3.75 million and pledges not to move the team from St. Louis, Missouri.
- The U.S. Court of Appeals rules that organized baseball is a sport and not a business, affirming the 25-year-old Supreme Court ruling. This effectively dismisses the antitrust suits of Jack Corbett and former Brooklyn Dodgers minor leaguer Walter Kowalski. The $300,000 suit of Corbett, the owner of the El Paso Texans, is based on his belief that he lost money when Major League Baseball prohibited him from signing several players suspended for participation in the Mexican League. Kowalski's $150,000 suit is based on the general principles of the antitrust and restraint-of-trade laws. Their lawyer in these cases is Frederic Johnson, who also represents player Danny Gardella, one of the Mexican League jumpers, in his suit against Major League Baseball.
- The Caribbean Series opens with a bang, as the Santurce Crabbers win the first game 15-6. It has to be called due to a time limit.
- 1958 - The Los Angeles Coliseum Commission approves a two-year pact for use of its facility by the Dodgers.
- 1960 - Branch Rickey meets with officials of the proposed Western Carolinas League about pooling talent for clubs in the proposed Continental League.
- 1963:
- The Chicago Cubs put an end to their radical "College of Coaches" system and hire Bob Kennedy as manager. Under Kennedy, the Cubs will sport a respectable record of 82-80 this season.
- After leading the San Francisco Giants to the pennant the previous season, Willie Mays becomes the highest-paid player in baseball, signing a $100,000 contract.
- 1966 - The American League officially announces the hiring of Emmett Ashford, who will become the first black umpire in major league history.
- 1971 - Former slugger Ted Kluszewski hits a 500-foot three-run single to lead the National League team to a 5 - 3 victory in the annual March of Dimes Old Timers Game.
- 1980 - The Oakland Athletics sign Billy Martin to a two-year contract as manager. Martin, who was fired by the Yankees only four months earlier, will popularize the notion of "Billy Ball" with the A's and lead the team to a split-season crown in 1981.
- 1984 - Pedro Guerrero becomes the highest-paid player in Dodgers history when he signs a five-year, seven-million dollar contract to play in Los Angeles.
- 1992 - The episode of the animated series The Simpsons entitled "Homer at the Bat" gets its first broadcast on FOX. In the episode, Springfield Nuclear Plant owner C. Montgomery Burns hires a team of major league ringers in order to win a bet he placed on a softball game against a rival businessman. In the end, though, it's the hapless Homer Simpson who saves the day with a walk-off hit-by-pitch. A number of contemporary major league stars, many of them future Hall of Famers, lend their voices and likeness to the show, which is considered one of the classic episodes of the series.
- 1997 - Free agent outfielder Danny Tartabull is signed by the Philadelphia Phillies. Tartabull will break his foot on Opening Day and be out for the year before retiring.
- 2001:
- Longtime baseball figure Bill Rigney dies at the age of 83 after a long bout with cancer. After an eight-year playing career in the major leagues, Rigney went on to manage the New York and San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Angels, and Minnesota Twins. Rigney also worked as a scout, executive, and broadcaster in a career that began in 1938.
- Atlanta Braves outfielder Andruw Jones wins a record $8.2 million contract in salary arbitration. The previous record of $7.25 million was set last year by New York Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera.
- 2005 - Teenage Nippon Ham Fighters pitcher Yu Darvish is caught smoking by a tabloid magazine. Teens are not allowed to smoke in Japan so Darvish is suspended.
- 2006 - San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds says this season will be his last, according to a report in USA Today. Meanwhile, Chicago Cubs pitcher Greg Maddux won't say whether this season will be his last, he just wants to concentrate on the basics and enjoy the game.
- 2010:
- Free agent OF Johnny Damon reportedly signs a one-year, $8 million contract with the Detroit Tigers.
- The Mets sign veteran C Rod Barajas to a contract, joining a crowded catching corps that also includes Henry Blanco, Omir Santos and top prospect Josh Thole.
- 2012:
- The A's sign slugger Manny Ramirez to a minor league contract, ending a retirement that began last April when he preferred to hang up his spikes rather than face a 100-game suspension for violating the Major Leagues' PED policy. In spite of the time missed, he still faces a 50-game suspension before the A's can add him to their major league roster. He will serve the suspension but never make it back to the Show.
- The Yankees sign veteran OF Raul Ibanez, who spent the last three seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, to be their lefthanded DH for the upcoming season. His timely late-game home runs will be key in defeating the upstart Baltimore Orioles for the AL East crown and in the ALDS.
- 2013:
- Marlins OF Giancarlo Stanton is accidentally beaned by rookie Jose Fernandez in an intra-squad spring training game, but seems to be fine. Miami can ill afford to lose its last remaining star after dumping all of its other prominent players in the off-season.
- The Red Sox obtain OF/1B Mike Carp from Seattle for future considerations, one week after Carp was designated for assignment. They place OF Ryan Kalish, who is recovering from shoulder surgery, on the 60-day disabled list to clear a roster spot for their new acquisition.
- 2014 - Two men plead guilty to the brutal attack in the Dodger Stadium parking lot on fan Bryan Stow that left him permanently disabled following a Giants-Dodgers contest on Opening Day in 2011. The two are sentenced to four and eight years in prison, minus time served but face additional charges for weapons possession. A suit against former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt for failing to provide adequate security in the parking lot is also still pending.
- 2015 - Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announces a series of measures to quicken the pace of the game. Chief among them are that a batter will need to keep at least one foot in the batter's box at all times during an at-bat, and that the intermission between half innings will be strictly timed. Pitchers will be required to complete their warm-up pitches before there are only 30 seconds left before resumption of play, or risk forfeiting any unmade pitches. More dramatic changes, such as adding a pitch clock, are not introduced at this time. Violation of the new guidelines will result in fines, and not in game-related penalties.
- 2016 - The Orioles announce that they have signed free agent P Yovani Gallardo to a three-year contract worth $35 million. However, the physical exam needed to make the deal official will uncover an unspecified health issue, and five days later the Orioles will restructure the deal to two years and $22 million.
- 2018 - The Yankees address their lack of experienced infielders by acquiring 2B/3B Brandon Drury from the Diamondbacks, in return for a pair of prospects, IF Nick Solak and P Taylor Widener. The D-Backs immediately flip Solak and another prospect, P Anthony Banda, to Tampa Bay in return for OF Steven Souza, their second move in two days to address their failure to re-sign OF J.D. Martinez. For Tampa, the shedding of experienced players continues, as Souza is the third to leave in a span of four days, after P Jake Odorizzi and OF/DH Corey Dickerson.
- 2021 - As collegiate baseball is being played for the first time in almost a year, freshman C Caleb Pendleton of Florida International University starts off his career with a double bang: he hits a grand slam in each of his first two at-bats, both in the same inning, against the University of Central Florida, bringing back memories of Fernando Tatis' unbelievable feat in 1999. But, as the local sportscaster says: "It's all downhill from here" - and indeed, Pendleton flies out in his third at-bat.
Births[edit]
- 1858 - Jim Toy, infielder (d. 1919)
- 1862 - Harry Raymond, infielder (d. 1925)
- 1866 - John Pickett, infielder (d. 1922)
- 1873 - Charlie Babb, infielder (d. 1954)
- 1873 - Tom O'Brien, outfielder (d. 1901)
- 1874 - Pug Bennett, infielder (d. 1935)
- 1874 - Sammy Samuels, infielder (d. 1964)
- 1875 - Jack Rafter, catcher (d. 1943)
- 1884 - Gus Epler, minor league outfielder and manager (d. ????)
- 1887 - Boardwalk Brown, pitcher (d. 1977)
- 1890 - Dave Davenport, pitcher (d. 1954)
- 1890 - Sam Rice, outfielder; Hall of Famer (d. 1974)
- 1890 - Tink Turner, pitcher (d. 1962)
- 1891 - John Donaldson, outfielder (d. 1970)
- 1894 - Suds Sutherland, pitcher (d. 1972)
- 1896 - Muddy Ruel, catcher, manager (d. 1963)
- 1900 - Al Williamson, pitcher (d. 1978)
- 1902 - Pete Monahan, minor league infielder and manager (d. 1963)
- 1904 - John Kerner, outfielder (d. 1951)
- 1910 - Luther Gilyard, infielder (d. 1976)
- 1912 - Kuo-Cheng Hsieh, executive; Taiwan Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1980)
- 1912 - Whitey Wistert, pitcher (d. 1985)
- 1913 - Tommy Henrich, outfielder; All-Star (d. 2009)
- 1916 - Billy Horne, infielder; All-Star (d. 1969)
- 1917 - Jack Bolling, infielder (d. 1998)
- 1918 - Jorge Alarcón, writer; Salon de la Fama (d. 2001)
- 1919 - Charles Tate, USA national team player (d. 1996)
- 1920 - Frankie Gustine, infielder; All-Star (d. 1991)
- 1920 - Dick Kashiwaeda, NPB infielder (d. 2012)
- 1920 - Roy Valdes, pinch hitter (d. 2005)
- 1921 - Bill Barnes, pitcher
- 1921 - Jack Robinson, pitcher (d. 2000)
- 1922 - Bill Reeder, pitcher (d. 2001)
- 1922 - Jim Wilson, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1986)
- 1922 - Henry Bartolomei, minor league infielder and manager (d. 2007)
- 1923 - Joop Geurts, Hoofdklasse catcher
- 1923 - Walter McCoy, pitcher (d. 2015)
- 1924 - Sal Yvars, catcher (d. 2008)
- 1928 - Juan Delis, infielder (d. 2003)
- 1928 - Roy Face, pitcher; All-Star
- 1928 - Tomio Hirooka, NPB infielder
- 1930 - Bill Ecklund, minor league pitcher (d. 2011)
- 1932 - Gene Carlson, minor league pitcher (d. 2009)
- 1936 - Wynn Hawkins, pitcher (d. 2021)
- 1936 - Shigeo Nagashima, NPB infielder and manager; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
- 1939 - Bruce Andrew, minor league infielder (d. 2007)
- 1940 - Bob Jones, college coach (d. 2021)
- 1941 - Barry Bruckner, minor league pitcher
- 1941 - Clyde Wright, pitcher; All-Star
- 1947 - Tom Buskey, pitcher (d. 1998)
- 1950 - Jim Morris, college coach
- 1953 - Manny Alvarez, minor league infielder
- 1957 - Jesus Figueroa, outfielder
- 1958 - Brian Snyder, pitcher
- 1959 - Bill Gullickson, pitcher
- 1959 - Jong-Nan Twu, CPBL catcher (d. 2021)
- 1960 (?) - Victor Mesa, Cuban Leagues outfielder and manager
- 1961 - Rusty Ford, minor league pitcher
- 1962 - Everett Graham, minor league outfielder
- 1963 - Phil Lombardi, catcher (d. 2021)
- 1964 - Alan Butts, coach
- 1965 - Paul Faries, infielder
- 1965 - Tony Menendez, pitcher
- 1966 - Derek Lilliquist, pitcher
- 1967 - Kurt Knudsen, pitcher
- 1970 - Yuki Kaseda, NPB pitcher
- 1972 - Steve Janssen, Hoofdklasse coach
- 1972 - Alexis Peña, Dominican national team infielder
- 1972 - Shane Spencer, outfielder
- 1974 - Tom Fordham, pitcher
- 1974 - Alexander Jorge, Cuban league infielder
- 1975 - Leo Estrella, pitcher
- 1975 - Livan Hernandez, pitcher; All-Star
- 1975 - Donzell McDonald, outfielder
- 1976 - Wing-Leung Au, Hong Kong national team infielder
- 1978 - Yang-Kai Chen, CPBL pitcher
- 1979 - Long-Yi Huang, CPBL outfielder
- 1979 - Joe Lydic, minor league infielder
- 1980 - Ryan Langerhans, outfielder
- 1980 - Ross Peeples, minor league pitcher
- 1982 - Jason Hirsh, pitcher
- 1982 - Chris Patrick, minor league infielder
- 1983 - Delio Martínez, minor league pitcher
- 1983 - Jose Morales, catcher
- 1983 - Justin Verlander, pitcher; All-Star
- 1984 - Brian McCann, catcher; All-Star
- 1985 - Michael Andersson, Elitserien pitcher
- 1985 - Mikael Fasth, Elitserien pitcher
- 1985 - Matt Moses, minor league infielder
- 1985 - Vinnie Pestano, pitcher
- 1985 - Ryan Sweeney, outfielder
- 1986 - Julio Borbon, outfielder
- 1986 - Carlos Hereaud, minor league infielder
- 1986 - Ian Rendón, Cuban league pitcher
- 1987 - Giddelys Cumaná, Venezuelan women's national team pitcher
- 1988 - Tim Crabbe, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Lance Durham, minor league infielder
- 1988 - Carmine Giardina, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Spencer Patton, pitcher
- 1990 - Zaw Zaw Oo, Myanmar national team pitcher
- 1990 - Derwin Pinto, minor league catcher
- 1991 - Buck Farmer, pitcher
- 1992 - Johnny Field, outfielder
- 1993 - Aldi Guzman, minor league infielder
- 1993 - Jurickson Profar, infielder
- 1994 - Sam Holland, minor league pitcher
- 1994 - Luis Severino, pitcher; All-Star
- 1995 - Rodrigo Ayarza, minor league infielder
- 1996 - Jakub Ondráček, Extraliga infielder
- 1996 - Clarke Schmidt, pitcher
- 1998 - Nelmerson Angela, minor league pitcher
- 1998 - Mason Thompson, pitcher
- 1998 - Keaton Winn, pitcher
- 2001 - Wilmer Flores, minor league pitcher
- 2002 - Chun-Hao Liu, CPBL infielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1903 - Al Dwight, catcher (b. 1856)
- 1908 - Walter Terry, infielder (b. 1850)
- 1909 - John Hatfield, infielder, manager (b. 1847)
- 1912 - Blondie Purcell, outfielder, manager (b. 1854)
- 1925 - John Mansell, outfielder (b. 1859)
- 1934 - George Mappes, infielder (b. 1865)
- 1943 - Lafayette Dumas, outfielder/pitcher (b. 1920)
- 1944 - John Labetich, minor league infielder (b. 1909)
- 1944 - Harry Wilhelm, pitcher (b. 1874)
- 1945 - Charlie Heard, pitcher/outfielder (b. 1872)
- 1949 - Norm Baker, pitcher (b. 1863)
- 1951 - Steamboat Johnson, umpire (b. 1880)
- 1951 - Marty Shay, infielder (b. 1896)
- 1954 - Sadie McMahon, pitcher (b. 1867)
- 1957 - Dixie Leverett, pitcher (b. 1894)
- 1959 - William Pierson, pitcher (b. 1899)
- 1960 - George Leitner, pitcher (b. 1872)
- 1961 - Otto Krueger, infielder (b. 1876)
- 1963 - Bill Hinchman, outfielder (b. 1883)
- 1971 - Irv Porter, outfielder (b. 1888)
- 1972 - Vidal López, minor league pitcher (b. 1918)
- 1974 - Bob Christian, outfielder (b. 1945)
- 1978 - Cleo Benson, catcher (b. 1913)
- 1984 - Dale Matthewson, pitcher (b. 1923)
- 1985 - Syl Johnson, pitcher (b. 1900)
- 1986 - Bob Rice, infielder (b. 1899)
- 1988 - Bob O'Farrell, catcher, manager (b. 1896)
- 1990 - Cecil Garriott, pinch hitter (b. 1916)
- 1991 - John Fetzer, owner (b. 1901)
- 1996 - Carolyn Morris, AAGPBL pitcher (b. 1925)
- 1999 - Buck Rogers, pitcher (b. 1912)
- 1999 - Joe Rossi, catcher (b. 1921)
- 2001 - Bill Rigney, infielder, manager; All-Star (b. 1918)
- 2005 - Ken Blackman, minor league executive (b. 1911)
- 2006 - Curt Gowdy, announcer (b. 1919)
- 2007 - Casey Wise, infielder (b. 1932)
- 2007 - Bob Malloy, pitcher (b. 1918)
- 2011 - Drew Baur, owner (b. 1944)
- 2011 - Henry Zajac, minor league pitcher (b. 1915)
- 2013 - Neil Wilson, catcher (b. 1935)
- 2016 - Kevin Collins, infielder (b. 1946)
- 2017 - Fenton Mole, infielder (b. 1925)
- 2019 - Joe Gibbon, pitcher (b. 1935)
- 2019 - Gé Oosterbaan, Hoofdklasse outfielder (b. 1928)
- 2021 - Stan Williams, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1936)
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