March 24
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 March 24.
Events[edit]
- 1889 - The minor league season opens with the California League in San Francisco and Stockton. This year's new rules include the first legal substitution rule and the reduction of balls for a walk from five to four. The substitution rule, which allows a team to designate one man to be put into the game at the captain's discretion at the end of any inning, will soon be modified.
- 1911 - Matthew Stanley Robison, president of the St. Louis Cardinals, dies unexpectedly. He leaves the club and the bulk of his estate to his niece, Mrs. Helene Hathaway Britton, who becomes the first female owner of a major league club.
- 1933 - Babe Ruth, another victim of the Great Depression, takes a pay cut of $23,000 from his previous salary of $75,000.
- 1936 - Pitcher Paul Dean follows his brother Dizzy into the fold and signs with the St. Louis Cardinals for $10,000.
- 1947 - In a meeting at the Sarasota Terrace Hotel, in Florida, former Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher admits to Commissioner Happy Chandler that he sometimes bets on card games with the team's pitcher, Kirby Higbe.
- 1952 - During spring training, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Slaybaugh is hit in the left eye with a line drive and subsequently loses the eye. The young pitcher will return to the mound in 1953 and again in 1954 before he retires from professional baseball.
- 1953 - Larry Raines, on leave from military service, plays his first game for the Hankyu Braves. He will stay for the 1954 season, return in 1962, and will end his Japanese baseball career with a .302 batting average.
- 1956 - The Cleveland Indians sign veteran OF/1B Sam Mele, just released by the Boston Red Sox.
- 1959 - In Havana, Cuba, the Cincinnati Redlegs and Los Angeles Dodgers play an exhibition game. For a pre-game photo, Reds outfielder Pete Whisenant swaps his glove for a Fidel Castro rebel's machine gun.
- 1960 - Commissioner Ford Frick says he will not allow the planned Continental League to pool players in the Western Carolinas League, as it would violate existing major-minor league agreements.
- 1961:
- The New York State Senate approves $55 million in funding for a new stadium to be built at Flushing Meadows Park in Queens, NY. The park will be called Shea Stadium. After playing their first two seasons in the Polo Grounds, the Mets will move to Shea in 1964, playing there until the end of 2008.
- In Mesa, Arizona, left fielder Orlando Cepeda gives the Cubs two runs with an error, then hits a three-run home run as the Giants defeat the Cubs, 13 - 12.
- 1962 - Third baseman Andy Carey, who was traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Philadelphia Phillies on December 15th, refuses to report to his new team and is sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two minor leaguers.
- 1967 - In a trade of infielders, the Houston Astros send Sandy Alomar to the New York Mets in exchange for Derrell Griffith.
- 1970 - Commissioner Bowie Kuhn orders a halt to the use of X-5 balls, which are much too lively for major league play.
- 1972 - The Cincinnati Reds send pitcher Tony Cloninger to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for second baseman Julian Javier.
- 1973 - The Cleveland Indians trade former All-Star catcher Ray Fosse to the Oakland Athletics for outfielder George Hendrick and catcher Dave Duncan. Fosse was once considered an untouchable before going into decline following back-to-back All-Star seasons in 1970 and 1971.
- 1982 - Pitcher Fernando Valenzuela ends his holdout and reports to the Dodgers spring training camp in Vero Beach, Florida. In 1981, Valenzuela captured the National League Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards after winning 13 games with a 2.48 ERA and 180 strikeouts during the strike-shortened season. After earning just $42,500 in his rookie season, Valenzuela had asked for a raise to $1 million this year. The Dodgers unilaterally renewed his contract for a reported $350,000 instead.
- 1983 - The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee agrees to stage a six-team exhibition baseball tournament as part of the 1984 Olympics to be held in Los Angeles, California.
- 1984 - The Detroit Tigers acquire relief pitcher Willie Hernandez and first baseman Dave Bergman from the Philadelphia Phillies for catcher John Wockenfuss and outfielder Glenn Wilson. Hernandez will win the American League MVP and Cy Young awards after saving 32 games with an 1.92 ERA and 140.1 innings in 80 pitching appearances. His brilliant pitching during the postseason will help Detroit to the World Championship.
- 1995 - Braves replacement player Dave Shotkoski is held up while out for his daily walk in West Palm Beach, FL during spring training. Shotkoski is murdered by his assailant. Fellow replacement player Terry Blocker will help the police track down Neal Douglas Evans, who was out on parole. Evans will wind up with a 27-year jail sentence after a guilty plea.
- 1996 - At Tampa's Legends Field, Yankees infielder Tony Fernandez fractures his right elbow in an exhibition game against the Astros, and is placed on the 60-day disabled list.
- 2001 - Durable pitcher Tim Belcher announces his retirement. In a 14-season majors career, Belcher posted a 146-140 record with 1,519 strikeouts and a 4.24 ERA in 2,442.2 innings for seven teams. He was the first overall choice of the 1983 amateur draft but failed to come to terms with the Minnesota Twins.
- 2006:
- The Kansas City Royals will start the season without pitcher Zack Greinke, and it remains uncertain when he will return. Greinke left spring training February 26th for unspecified personal reasons to return to his home in Orlando, Florida. He is later diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, but will make a remarkable comeback after undergoing treatment which will cause him to miss most of this season, and will win the 2009 American League Cy Young Award.
- Minor league umpires plan to strike when the season starts next month and file an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board.
- The Arizona Diamondbacks release reliever Felix Heredia, and the Boston Red Sox claim first baseman Hee-Seop Choi off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
- 2010:
- The probation sentence of Orioles 3B Miguel Tejada is extended by six months because he failed to complete the required 100 hours of community service in due time. Tejada was handed the sentence a year ago as a consequence of misleading Congress and withholding information during testimony regarding the use of steroids in baseball in 2005; he agreed to a $5,000 fine and to community service in lieu of a prison sentence.
- Former Cy Young Award winner Dwight Gooden is back in trouble with the law. He faces charges of driving under the influence of drugs, child endangerment, and leaving the scene of an accident, after a 9:00 am crash in Franklin Lakes, NJ. Gooden's problems with substance abuse in the 1980s and 1990s were well-publicized, but he had apparently turned his life around in recent years, serving as a senior vice-president of the Atlantic League's Newark Bears until last November.
- 2011:
- Major League Baseball announces that it will organize "El Torneo Supremo" (the Great Tournament) in the Dominican Republic starting April 11th. The event will feature four teams of unsigned prospects who will get an opportunity to enhance their skills and showcase their talent in front of scouts, while also receiving in-classroom education and being taught some life skills. Moises Alou is named Tournament Director, while the managers are Juan Bell, Nelson Norman, Jorge Meran and Nelson Silverio. Mel Rojas and Ben Rivera will serve as pitching instructors.
- Rangers starting pitcher Tommy Hunter leaves today's Cactus League game against the Reds in the 2nd inning. He is diagnosed with a groin injury and is expected to be out six weeks to allow the injury to heal properly.
- 2012:
- P Ryan Madson, signed as a free agent to be the Reds' closer, will have to undergo Tommy John surgery and will not pitch this season.
- In other injury news, Braves 3B Chipper Jones, who has just announced that this season will be his last, will start the year on the disabled list, as he needs to undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee.
- 2013;
- The Yankees acquire veteran OF Vernon Wells from the Angels, adding a much-needed major league bat to a line-up depleted by injuries and departures via free agency. However, Wells is still owed $42 million for the last two seasons on his huge multi-year contract, and has put up dismal OBPs since the Angels acquired him from Toronto two seasons ago; as part of the deal, the Angels will remain on the hook for the majority of the money owed him. The deal will officially be completed in two days, with the Yankees giving up two low-level minor league players in return for Wells.
- At the 2012-2013 Cuban All-Star Game, the West rolls in a 13 - 9 slugfest, with three runs and three RBI from Yasmani Tomás and three runs from José Miguel Fernández to overcome a two-homer, three-RBI day from Yoelvis Fiss. Carlos Juan Viera allows seven runs in the last 1 1/3 innings to take the loss for the East.
- 2015 - Cuban defectors continue to find lots of suitors for their services, as today IF Héctor Olivera Jr. signs a six-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers worth $62.5 million. In contrast with other recent signees, Olivera is already 29 years old and coming off some injuries at the end of his tenure in Cuba. When healthy, he was one of the top players on the island however, and the Dodgers are betting - wrongly, it will turn out - that he will age well.
- 2017 - Eight Angels pitchers combine to no-hit the Mariners, 4 - 0, in a Grapefruit League game. They need three diving defensive stops in the 9th to complete the feat, as 1B C.J. Cron, RF Shane Robinson and 3B Sherman Johnson pull out all the stops to help Abel De Los Santos close out the win. The other hurlers who see action are Bud Norris, Jose Alvarez, Cam Bedrosian, Andrew Bailey, Austin Adams, Drew Gagnon and Justin Anderson.
- 2020 - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe makes the inevitable announcement that the 2020 Olympics, scheduled to be held in Tokyo in July, will be postponed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The unprecedented medical emergency has wreaked havoc with sporting events around the world and athletes had been clamoring for the Olympic movement to do the same, for safety reasons. Before this, only the two World Wars of the 20th Century had forced a change to the Olympic schedule since the creation of the modern games in 1896. Baseball is scheduled to make its return as a medal sport after having been last played in 2008.
- 2022 - The Blue Jays and Rockies swap outfielders as Randal Grichuk heads to the Rocky Mountains, and Raimel Tapia to Canada. The Rockies also toss in prospect Adrian Pinto while the Jays send $9.7 million, covering roughly half of Grichuk's remaining contract.
Births[edit]
- 1849 - Sam Jackson, infielder (d. 1930)
- 1854 - Pat Sullivan, manager (d. 1896)
- 1863 - Jim McCauley, catcher (d. 1930)
- 1865 - Billy Klusman, infielder (d. 1907)
- 1869 - Al Lawson, pitcher (d. 1954)
- 1872 - Kip Selbach, outfielder (d. 1956)
- 1874 - Roy Thomas, outfielder (d. 1959)
- 1882 - Joe Bernard, pitcher (d. 1960)
- 1882 - William Galloway, minor league player; Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1943)
- 1882 - Bessie Largent, scout (d. 1958)
- 1884 - Mike Mowrey, infielder (d. 1947)
- 1887 - Fatty Arbuckle, minor league owner (d. 1933)
- 1888 - C.P. Mosley, college coach (d. 1968)
- 1889 - Manuel Villa, Negro League infielder (d. ????)
- 1890 - Charlie Bradford, pitcher (d. ????)
- 1891 - Bob McClure, pitcher (d. 1931)
- 1891 - Ernie Shore, pitcher (d. 1980)
- 1892 - Fred Trautman, pitcher (d. 1964)
- 1893 - George Sisler, infielder, manager; Hall of Famer (d. 1973)
- 1898 - Pete Cawthon, college coach (d. 1962)
- 1900 - Earl Harrison, pitcher (d. ????)
- 1900 - Charlie Henry, pitcher (d. 1972)
- 1904 - Red Grier, pitcher (d. 1967)
- 1906 - Pat Veltman, catcher (d. 1980)
- 1907 - Gus Dugas, outfielder (d. 1997)
- 1912 - Bill Lobe, coach (d. 1969)
- 1912 - Jud McLaughlin, pitcher (d. 1964)
- 1912 - Earl Bolyard, minor league outfielder (d. 1988)
- 1917 - Dave Bartosch, outfielder (d. 2006)
- 1917 - Tony Ravish, scout
- 1920 - Lefty Boone, pitcher
- 1922 - Saul Rogovin, pitcher (d. 1995)
- 1923 - Zander Hollander, author (d. 2014)
- 1924 - James McRae, minor league outfielder (d. 2010)
- 1925 - Wiley Griggs, infielder (d. 1996)
- 1925 - Dick Kryhoski, infielder (d. 2007)
- 1931 - Joe Lewis, minor league pitcher and manager (d. 1996)
- 1937 - Dick Egan, pitcher
- 1937 - Bob Tillman, catcher (d. 2000)
- 1938 - Dick Clegg, umpire (d. 1999)
- 1942 - Jesus Alou, outfielder (d. 2023)
- 1943 - Toshio Kanbe, NPB pitcher
- 1947 - Tom Kraft, minor league outfielder (d. 2013)
- 1947 - Mark Marquess, college coach; minor league infielder
- 1950 - Les Treitel, umpire (d. 1997)
- 1955 - Bob Blasko, Canadian national team pitcher
- 1956 - Garry Templeton, infielder; All-Star
- 1958 - Bruce Hurst, pitcher; All-Star
- 1960 - Dwight Taylor, designated hitter
- 1961 - Al Chambers, outfielder
- 1961 - Shawn Pender, scout
- 1961 - Sang-moon Yang, KBO pitcher and manager
- 1962 - Ron Robinson, pitcher
- 1964 - Keven Bottenfield, minor league catcher/infielder
- 1964 - Kevin Kuykendall, minor league pitcher
- 1967 - Doug Cronk, minor league infielder
- 1969 - Jose Cabrera, pitcher
- 1969 - Todd Claus, minor league infielder and manager
- 1969 - Gary Tatterson, minor league pitcher
- 1970 - Wilson Alvarez, pitcher; All-Star
- 1970 - Takao Kuwamoto, Japanese national team infielder
- 1970 - Brett Roberts, minor league pitcher
- 1972 - Steve Karsay, pitcher
- 1973 - Lester Fontenot, minor league pitcher (d. 2016)
- 1973 - Hye-sook Kang, South Korean women's national team outfielder
- 1973 - Mike Wieser, minor league infielder
- 1974 - Jamie Arnold, pitcher
- 1974 - Fletcher Bates, minor league outfielder
- 1974 - Jim Rushford, outfielder
- 1976 - Joe Davenport, pitcher
- 1976 - Dan DeYoung, minor league pitcher
- 1976 - Roberto Girón, minor league pitcher
- 1976 - Yi-Feng Kuo, CPBL catcher
- 1976 - Scott Wiggins, pitcher
- 1977 - Eduy Mosqueda, Division Honor pitcher
- 1978 - Takeharu Kato, NPB pitcher
- 1978 - Jose Valverde, pitcher; All-Star
- 1979 - Norris Hopper, outfielder
- 1980 - Maikel Benner, Hoofdklasse catcher
- 1981 - Dirk Hayhurst, pitcher
- 1982 - Corey Hart, outfielder; All-Star
- 1982 - Dustin McGowan, pitcher
- 1982 - Heath Phillips, pitcher
- 1982 - Robinson Tejeda, pitcher
- 1983 - Royce Fukuroku, Division Elite infielder
- 1983 - Chad Gaudin, pitcher
- 1983 - Devon Lowery, pitcher
- 1983 - John Salas, Guam national team catcher
- 1984 - Gary Galvez, minor league pitcher
- 1984 - Chris Minaker, minor league infielder
- 1984 - José Julio Ruíz, minor league infielder
- 1985 - Chris Lubanski, minor league outfielder
- 1986 - Andre Lamontagne, minor league pitcher
- 1986 - Darren Wedel, South African national team player
- 1986 - Joep de Wit, Hoofdklasse pitcher
- 1987 - Matt Coburn, minor league pitcher
- 1987 - Lucas Luetge, pitcher
- 1987 - Cole Miles, minor league infielder
- 1987 - Josh Zeid, pitcher
- 1988 - Humberto Miranda, minor league manager
- 1988 - Lloyd Stevens, South African national team pitcher
- 1989 - Evan Chambers, minor league outfielder (d. 2013)
- 1990 - Starlin Castro, infielder; All-Star
- 1990 - Porfirio Lopez, minor league pitcher
- 1991 - Rafael De Paula, minor league pitcher
- 1991 - Masashi Kanehira, NPB pitcher
- 1991 - Jan Jacob, Bundesliga outfielder
- 1993 - Jawad Ali, Pakistani national team infielder
- 1993 - Christopher Bostick, infielder
- 1993 - Miguel García, minor league pitcher
- 1993 - Joeli McGoon, Fijian national team outfielder
- 1993 - J.B. Wendelken, pitcher
- 1994 - Kevin Ginkel, pitcher
- 1995 - Allan Inestroza, Honduran national team designated hitter
- 1995 - Nate Mondou, infielder
- 1996 - Ryan Osborne, college coach
- 1999 - George Soriano, pitcher
- 2002 - Jonathan Amaya, Panamanian national team pitcher
Deaths[edit]
- 1888 - Bill Collver, outfielder (b. 1867)
- 1894 - Mike Jones, pitcher (b. 1865)
- 1895 - Ed Dugan, pitcher (b. 1865)
- 1898 - Vincent Hudson, umpire (b. 1858)
- 1901 - Mike Trost, catcher (b. 1866)
- 1906 - Hub Knoll, minor league outfielder (b. 1875)
- 1914 - Jim Brennan, catcher (b. 1863)
- 1918 - Jack Farrell, infielder (b. 1892)
- 1919 - John Bates, pitcher (b. 1868)
- 1921 - Larry McLean, catcher (b. 1881)
- 1936 - Charlie Parsons, pitcher (b. 1863)
- 1938 - Joe Dolan, infielder (b. 1873)
- 1944 - Bob Glenalvin, infielder (b. 1867)
- 1948 - Jimmy Bannon, outfielder (b. 1871)
- 1950 - Bert Lewis, pitcher (b. 1895)
- 1954 - Chubby Snyder, catcher (b. 1890)
- 1966 - George O'Brien, catcher (b. 1889)
- 1968 - Ovid Nicholson, outfielder (b. 1888)
- 1971 - Verlon Walker, coach (b. 1929)
- 1972 - Dick Coffman, pitcher (b. 1906)
- 1980 - Clemon Rooney, pitcher (b. 1911)
- 1981 - Charlie Hughes, infielder (b. 1906)
- 1983 - George Darrow, pitcher (b. 1903)
- 1986 - Hank Grampp, pitcher (b. 1903)
- 1995 - Dave Shotkoski, minor league pitcher (b. 1964)
- 1996 - Ray Pepper, outfielder (b. 1905)
- 1996 - Jerry Robertson, pitcher (b. 1943)
- 1999 - Birdie Tebbetts, catcher, manager; All-Star (b. 1912)
- 2002 - Mace Brown, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1909)
- 2004 - Masaaki Noguchi, NPB pitcher and infielder (b. 1924)
- 2008 - Tom Upton, infielder (b. 1926)
- 2009 - George Kell, infielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1922)
- 2009 - Howard McCormick, minor league catcher and infielder (b. 1922)
- 2010 - Jack Joyce, scout (b. ~1928)
- 2011 - Joe Agee, minor league catcher (b. 1917)
- 2012 - Bill Cutler, minor league executive (b. 1920)
- 2013 - Carlos Fortuna, minor league pitcher (b. 1990)
- 2013 - Jimmy Moran, minor league infielder (b. 1924)
- 2014 - Sonny Ruberto, catcher (b. 1946)
- 2018 - Carl Scheib, pitcher (b. 1927)
- 2022 - Philip Von Borries, author (b. 1947)
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