March 27
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
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Events, births and deaths that occurred on March 27.
Events[edit]
- 1879 - Miller Huggins is born in Cincinnati, Ohio. A second baseman adept at getting on base, Huggins will lead the National League in walks four times, score 100 or more runs three times, and regularly collect 30 or more stolen bases and an on-base percentage near .400. He will start as a player-manager with the St. Louis Cardinals before heading to the New York Yankees in 1918. Huggins will lead the Yankees to six American League pennants and three World Series titles, and his "Murderers' Row" club, which will win 110 games before sweeping the 1927 World Series, will be considered one of the greatest teams in history. Huggins will be selected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1964.
- 1886 - The Cincinnati Red Stockings announce that the American Association pennant they won in 1882 will be flown at home games this season "for luck."
- 1889 - The final game of the All-American All-Stars tour is played in Dublin, Ireland. The group sails for America the next day after playing 28 games overseas.
- 1890 - The application of an all-black club made up of former Cuban Giants players is rejected by the Inter-State League.
- 1897 - Cleveland Spiders president Frank DeHaas Robison proposes that National League clubs chip in to pay the 1896 salary of New York Giants stellar pitcher Amos Rusie, who refused to play due to a contract dispute. Robison and other NL officials want to avoid Rusie's lawsuit, in which he seeks free agency. Although New York president Andrew Freedman vehemently opposes the plan, the $3,000 payment is made and Rusie rejoins the Giants.
- 1902 - The nickname Cubs is coined by the Chicago Daily News, when an unbylined column notes that manager Frank Selee will devote his strongest efforts on the team work of the new "Cubs" this year. In time, the Cubs will replace the Colts as the nickname for the Chicago National League club.
- 1917 - The Boston Red Sox beat the Brooklyn Robins, 11 - 2, in Hot Springs, Arkansas. For tomorrow's exhibition game in Memphis, Tennessee, players on both teams will sport numbers on their sleeves, the idea of Robins' owner Charles Ebbets. His reasoning is that fans in non-major league cities would be unfamiliar with the players.
- 1935 - With two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning and the bases loaded at Asahi Field, California, Russell Hinaga singles the winning run to give the San Jose Asahi a 3 - 2 victory over the visiting Tokyo Giants. A Japanese-American semi-pro team, the Asahi took their name from the Japanese word for "morning sun". The visitors will avenge their loss to San Jose the following season.
- 1938 - White Sox shortstop Luke Appling, sliding into second base in an exhibition game against the Cubs, fractures his right leg in two places and will miss almost half the season. He will return on July 8th.
- 1941 - The New York Yankees sell pitcher Steve Sundra to the Washington Senators. Sundra, who posted a 11-1 record in 1939, slipped in 1940 to 4-6.
- 1948 - Former slugger Hank Greenberg, who tormented the Cleveland Indians for most of his career as a member of the Detroit Tigers, is hired as the Indians' farm club director by Bill Veeck.
- 1956 - Hanshin Tigers hurler Masaaki Koyama starts a game by striking out a NPB record seven consecutive batters.
- 1960 - Pittsburgh's defensive wizards Roberto Clemente and Bill Mazeroski, future Hall of Famers both, strut their stuff in a spring scrimmage with Milwaukee. Red Thisted of the Milwaukee Sentinel reports: "Mazeroski, a slim-jim in comparison with the weight he was carrying around a year ago, made Danny Murtaugh look good in the 2nd inning when he skipped far out on the right field grass for a back-handed stab of Eddie Haas' hopper and got his man... Roberto Clemente robbed Bill Bruton of a triple with a startling grab in right center in the 4th."
- 1961 - In a spring training game, Cardinals pitcher Larry Jackson suffers a broken jaw when hit by a fragment of Dodgers Duke Snider's broken bat. Jackson will be sidelined four weeks.
- 1973:
- Veteran pitcher Jim Perry of the Minnesota Twins becomes the first player in Major League Baseball to approve of being traded under the new "ten and five" rule. The Twins send Perry to the Detroit Tigers for a player and cash considerations. Perry, a 24-game winner in 1970, will win 14 games for the Tigers this year.
- The Atlanta Braves release former 30-game winner Denny McLain, ending his career at the age of 28. In 1972, the Braves had acquired McLain from the Oakland Athletics in a straight-up swap for first baseman Orlando Cepeda. McLain won the American League Cy Young Award in 1968 and 1969.
- 1978 - Oakland Athletics owner Charley Finley cancels the deal that would have sent the team to Denver, Colorado, under the sponsorship of oil magnate Marvin Davis. Objecting to some of the details, Finley decides to call off negotiations.
- 1982 - The Korea Baseball Organization opens its first regular season. Man-soo Lee hits the first home run in league annals but his Samsung Lions lose to the MBC Dragons in the 10th inning on a Jong-do Lee grand slam.
- 1984:
- The Houston Astros release J.R. Richard, ending his major league career. The hard-throwing Richard had been the Astros' top pitcher before suffering a stroke during the 1980 season, from which he never came back.
- The Philadelphia Phillies trade outfielders Gary Matthews and Bob Dernier and pitcher Porfi Altamirano to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for pitcher Bill Campbell and catcher Mike Diaz. Matthews was named the NLCS Most Valuable Player last season, while Campbell led the National League with 82 pitching appearances. Dernier will win a Gold Glove for Chicago and help them reach the playoffs. His 45 stolen bases will be the most by a Cubs player since 1907.
- 1986 - Major League Baseball's Rules Committee votes to change the designated hitter rule for the World Series, allowing a DH to be used in all games played in the American League club's home park, but not in the National League's. Since 1976, the DH had been used in all games in even years.
- 1987 - The New York Mets make one of the best trades in franchise history when they acquire pitcher David Cone from the Kansas City Royals for catcher Ed Hearn and two pitching prospects, Mauro Gozzo and Rick Anderson. Cone will blossom as one of the National League's better starting pitchers, posting a 20-3 record for the Mets in 1988, while Hearn's promising career will be ended by injuries.
- 1989 - Sports Illustrated publishes a story about Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose's gambling activities. Rose will eventually agree to a lifetime ban from Major League Baseball as part of an agreement with Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti.
- 1992:
- The San Diego Padres acquire third baseman Gary Sheffield and a minor leaguer from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for pitcher Ricky Bones, shortstop Jose Valentin and outfielder Matt Mieske. Sheffield will lead the National League in batting average this year, while making a strong run at the Triple Crown.
- A lawsuit is filed against Mets pitcher David Cone by three women who charge him with exposing himself to them while in the bullpen at Shea Stadium.
- 1993 - The Chicago Cubs put second baseman Ryne Sandberg (broken hand) and shortstop Shawon Dunston (lower back) on the disabled list. The two will miss Opening Day for the first time in nine years together.
- 1994 - The Baltimore Orioles trade first baseman David Segui to the New York Mets in exchange for pitcher Tom Wegmann and shortstop Kevin Baez.
- 1995 - The National Labor Relations Board files for an injunction to restore previous work rules to the game, as part of the settlement of the 1994 strike.
- 2000 - The Toronto Blue Jays sign former American League Rookie of the Year Marty Cordova to a contract.
- 2002:
- Jose Canseco is given his release by the Montreal Expos after being told he would not be an everyday player. Canseco, who needs 38 home runs to reach 500, batted .258 and hit 16 homers for the Chicago White Sox last season while appearing in 76 games, but he will not play in the major leagues again.
- The Chicago Cubs send reliever Julian Tavarez and three minor league prospects to the Florida Marlins for reliever Antonio Alfonseca and starter Matt Clement. One of the prospects, Dontrelle Willis, is rated among the Cubs' top 20 prospects. Alfonseca, nicknamed "El Pulpo" (octopus) because he was born with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, will replace the injured Tom Gordon.
- 2006:
- Two days after minor league umpires said they intend to strike, management's lawyer denies that unfair labor practices have been committed.
- One day after winning the first game in franchise history, the Rakuten Golden Eagles drop a 26-0 decision, the most-lopsided shutout in Nippon Pro Baseball in 60 years. Val Pascucci drives in seven and Tsuyoshi Nishioka six for the Chiba Lotte Marines while Shunsuke Watanabe throws a one-hitter.
- 2009 - Eri Yoshida becomes the first female player in a Japanese professional league. A teenaged knuckleball pitcher, she walks one batter and strikes out another in a relief stint for Kobe 9 Cruise of the new Kansai Independent League.
- 2010:
- Minneapolis' new Target Field is inaugurated with a college game between the University of Minnesota and Louisiana Tech, in front of 37,757 spectators, a game which also serves as an open house for fans and a dry run for the new facility. The ballpark's main tenants, the Minnesota Twins will play two exhibition games against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 2-3, while the official home opener is set for April 12th.
- The 2010 Korea Baseball Organization season begins with a new 12-second limit between pitches and a widened strike zone to speed up games. Min-woo Kim of the Nexen Heroes hits the first home run of the year, to help his club beat the Lotte Giants. The defending champion KIA Tigers fall, 8 - 3, to the Doosan Bears, as Doosan's Hyun-soo Kim goes 4 for 4.
- Veteran 1B Doug Mientkiewicz leaves the Dodgers' training camp after being told he will not make the opening day roster. He is offered a position as a minor league instructor, but declines, preferring to seek another opportunity to play somewhere in the major leagues.
- 2011:
- Cubs P Carlos Silva fails in his bid to become the team's fifth starter, but says he will refuse an assignment to the minor leagues and makes disparaging remarks about pitching coach Mark Riggins. This pushes the Cubs to release him and swallow $8.5 million for the two years remaining on his contract, while the Seattle Mariners, who traded Silva to the Cubs before the 2010 season, are on the hook for another $5.5 million. Silva has a 10.90 ERA in spring training after a terrible second half last year, and made headlines earlier for getting into a fight in the dugout with 3B Aramis Ramirez.
- A thief breaks into the spring training home rented by Tampa Bay players Evan Longoria, David Price and Reid Brignac in Port Charlotte, FL and makes off with $50,000 worth of jewelry and electronics. Among the items pilfered is an AK-47 automatic rifle belonging to Longoria.
- The Brewers acquire CF Nyjer Morgan from Washington in return for minor league IF Cutter Dykstra. The Brewers are concerned that starting CF Carlos Gomez may not hit enough to justify his job, while the Nationals have Rick Ankiel to patrol centerfield.
- The Division Élite season begins. Last year's finalists, the Savigny Lions and Rouen Huskies, split two games on opening day. Clayton Cooper fans seven in winning the opener for Savigny, while Keino Perez takes game two for Rouen.
- 2012 - The group led by former NBA star Magic Johnson and executive Stan Kasten emerges as the winner of the bidding process to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers from owner Frank McCourt under supervision of a bankruptcy court judge. The winning bid is estimated at $2 billion, the highest amount ever paid for a North American professional sports franchise; an additional payment of $150 million will secure the land around Dodger Stadium that McCourt originally wanted to keep for himself. The huge prize tag will allow McCourt to make hundreds of millions in profit, even after paying back the loans he took out to purchase the team for $430 million in 2004, and the $131 million owed his wife Jamie as part of a divorce settlement. The purchase must now be submitted to the bankruptcy court by April 6th, and the sale completed by April 30th.
- 2013 - The Yankees place starting pitcher Phil Hughes on a crowded disabled list, where he joins teammates Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, all of whom will miss Opening Day.
- 2016 - In the second of two games played in Mexico City, the Padres take advantage of favorable hitting conditions at Fray Nano Stadium and explode for five homers and 21 runs in defeating the Astros, 21 - 6. Jabari Blash, Adam Rosales and Jon Jay all go deep off Astros starter Brady Rodgers in the 1st. The Padres also score eight runs in the 7th, with Casey McElroy supplying a two-run blast, to seal the landslide win. For his part, Rodgers gives up eight runs in only two-thirds of an inning and reliever Brendan McCurry is also lit up for eight runs.
- 2017 - The announcement that the Oakland Raiders are moving to Las Vegas, NV puts an end to the last ballpark-sharing arrangement between a Major League Baseball team and an NFL franchise. The Oakland Athletics will now be the sole tenant at the O.co Coliseum, a situation that may make it easier to resolve the ballpark issues that have plagued the franchise for decades.
- 2018 - Playing for the first time in the old stomping grounds of his father, newly-minted Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, at Stade Olympique in his birth city of Montréal, QC, top Blue Jays prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. begins to build his own legend. He ends an exhibition game against the Cardinals by hitting a walk-off homer off Jack Flaherty with two outs in the 9th, breaking a scoreless tie, much to the delight of the 25,800 spectators present.
- 2022 - 42-year-old Albert Pujols, the majors' active career leader in all sorts of offensive categories, signs a one-year contract for the Cardinals to finish his career where it all started back in 2001
Births[edit]
- 1852 - Ed Cushman, pitcher (d. 1915)
- 1856 - Jim Tyng, pitcher (d. 1931)
- 1869 - Toby Lyons, pitcher (d. 1920)
- 1869 - Will Wynne, pitcher (d. 1951)
- 1870 - Fred Siefke, infielder (d. 1893)
- 1875 - George Magoon, infielder (d. 1943)
- 1878 - Miller Huggins, infielder, manager; Hall of Famer (d. 1929)
- 1882 - Bill Collins, outfielder (d. 1961)
- 1891 - Alonzo Longware, infielder (d. 1961)
- 1891 - William Rumler, catcher (d. 1966)
- 1894 - Bob Fagan, infielder (d. 1960)
- 1895 - Bill Burwell, pitcher, manager (d. 1973)
- 1897 - Joe Lucey, pitcher (d. 1980)
- 1897 - Effa Manley, Negro League owner; Hall of Famer (d. 1981)
- 1899 - Ed Hock, outfielder (d. 1963)
- 1899 - Jackie Reid, minor league pitcher and manager (d. 1971)
- 1899 - Marty Walker, pitcher (d. 1978)
- 1900 - Grady Orange, infielder (d. 1946)
- 1900 - Hal Weafer, umpire (d. 1978)
- 1903 - Double Joe Dwyer, pinch hitter (d. 1992)
- 1905 - Johnny Gill, outfielder (d. 1984)
- 1906 - Fred Tauby, outfielder (d. 1955)
- 1910 - Vince Sherlock, infielder (d. 1997)
- 1910 - Steve Sundra, pitcher (d. 1952)
- 1911 - Walter Stephenson, catcher (d. 1993)
- 1915 - Newt Kimball, pitcher (d. 2001)
- 1916 - Jesse Douglas, infielder (d. 1979)
- 1920 - Jacob Robinson, infielder (d. 2013)
- 1920 - Joe Tuminelli, minor league infielder (d. 1980)
- 1921 - Harold Siroka, umpire (d. 2002)
- 1922 - Josephine Kabick, AAGPBL pitcher (d. 1978)
- 1923 - Hank Robinson, minor league player (d. 2013)
- 1924 - Walt Linden, catcher (d. 2013)
- 1927 - Mario Bretto, Serie A1 executive; Italian Baseball Hall of Fame
- 1927 - Dick Rozek, pitcher (d. 2001)
- 1927 - George Vass, writer (d. 2020)
- 1929 - Harry Smail, umpire (d. 1993)
- 1929 - Milt Smith, infielder (d. 1997)
- 1929 - Rita Briggs, AAGPBL catcher (d. 1994)
- 1931 - Bobby Prescott, outfielder (d. 2020)
- 1932 - Wes Covington, outfielder (d. 2011)
- 1933 - Don Lassetter, outfielder
- 1946 - Mike Jackson, pitcher
- 1946 - Bill Sudakis, infielder (d. 2021)
- 1947 - Narihiro Abe, NPB outfielder
- 1950 - Vic Harris, infielder
- 1950 - Lynn McGlothen, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1984)
- 1951 - Dick Ruthven, pitcher; All-Star
- 1953 - Gary Alexander, catcher
- 1954 - Larry Keller, scout (d. 2018)
- 1956 - Jesús Feliciano, Puerto Rican national team pitcher
- 1956 - Dave Hostetler, infielder
- 1957 - Dave Van Gorder, catcher
- 1960 - Seiji Kamikawa, NPB infielder
- 1960 - Fu-Ming Tu, CPBL pitcher and manager
- 1960 - Ruperto Zamora, Cuban league outfielder and manager
- 1963 - Mike Dalton, pitcher
- 1963 - Drew Hall, pitcher
- 1965 - Sadaharu Hiranuma, NPB pitcher
- 1966 - Barry Winford, minor league catcher
- 1967 - Jaime Navarro, pitcher
- 1967 - Candy Sierra, pitcher
- 1968 - Tom Quinlan, infielder
- 1968 - Jose Solis, Panamanian national team outfielder
- 1969 - Satoshi Nakajima, NPB catcher and manager
- 1969 - Todd Raleigh, college coach
- 1970 - Derek Aucoin, pitcher (d. 2020)
- 1971 - Robbie Moen, scout
- 1972 - Creighton Gubanich, catcher
- 1972 - Adam Melhuse, catcher
- 1975 - Todd Cunningham, minor league outfielder
- 1977 - Steven Meinke, Thai national team pitcher
- 1977 - Nate Rolison, infielder
- 1978 - Dee Brown, outfielder
- 1979 - Mike Cuddyer, infielder/outfielder; All-Star
- 1980 - Shingo Maeda, NPB infielder
- 1980 - Ming-Ta Tsai, Taiwan women's national team coach
- 1980 - David Winkler, Extraliga catcher
- 1981 - Brian Slocum, pitcher
- 1982 - Marc LaMacchia, minor league pitcher
- 1983 - Josh Hill, minor league pitcher
- 1984 - Adam Elliot, minor league pitcher (d. 2013)
- 1985 - Zac Bone, college coach
- 1985 - Jin-young Park, KBO infielder
- 1985 - Ryan Tatusko, minor league pitcher
- 1986 - Jakub Černík, Extraliga player
- 1986 - Johnny Monell, catcher
- 1987 - Adam Abraham, minor league player
- 1987 - Buster Posey, catcher; All-Star
- 1988 - Kyle Roller, minor league infielder
- 1989 - Hiroyuki Fukuyama, NPB pitcher
- 1989 - Ryne Harper, pitcher
- 1989 - Matt Harvey, pitcher; All-Star
- 1989 - Devon Ramirez, minor league pitcher
- 1989 - David Rees, Great Britain national team pitcher
- 1990 - Jake Esch, pitcher
- 1990 - Junior Lake, outfielder
- 1990 - Jake Odorizzi, pitcher; All-Star
- 1992 - Montana DuRapau, pitcher
- 1993 - Clay Holmes, pitcher; All-Star
- 1993 - Brandon Nimmo, outfielder
- 1993 - Eric Stout, pitcher
- 1997 - Frank Bulte, Russian national team infielder
- 1999 - Cheol-won Jeong, KBO pitcher
- 2001 - Charlie Adamson, New Zealand national team pitcher
- 2001 - Andrii Boiko, Ukrainian national team pitcher
Deaths[edit]
- 1902 - Tom Morrison, infielder (b. 1869)
- 1906 - Toad Ramsey, pitcher (b. 1864)
- 1908 - Forrest Crawford, infielder (b. 1881)
- 1917 - Willie Jensen, pitcher (b. 1889)
- 1926 - Kick Kelly, catcher; umpire (b. 1856)
- 1923 - Wheeler Wyckoff, executive (b. 1856)
- 1927 - Joe Start, infielder, manager (b. 1842)
- 1947 - Pete Lister, infielder (b. 1881)
- 1949 - Frank Gleich, outfielder (b. 1894)
- 1950 - Fred Frank, outfielder (b. 1874)
- 1955 - Frank Roth, catcher (b. 1878)
- 1962 - Bill Chambers, pitcher (b. 1889)
- 1963 - Fritz Knothe, infielder (b. 1903)
- 1964 - Wilfred Rhinelander, Hawai'ian national team utility man (b. ~1905)
- 1978 - Dutch Zwilling, outfielder (b. 1888)
- 1984 - Baby Ortiz, pitcher (b. 1919)
- 1994 - Kozo Kawai, NPB infielder (b. 1927)
- 1995 - Chet Nichols, pitcher (b. 1931)
- 1997 - Fred Chapman, infielder (b. 1916)
- 2004 - Alice Haylett, AAGPBL pitcher (b. 1923)
- 2004 - Bob Cremins, pitcher (b. 1906)
- 2008 - Billy Consolo, infielder (b. 1934)
- 2009 - Satoru Sugiyama, NPB outfielder (b. 1926)
- 2010 - Susumu Aikawa, NPB infielder (b. 1948)
- 2014 - Al Cihocki, infielder (b. 1924)
- 2015 - Hugo Walker, Hoofdklasse infielder (b. 1933)
- 2016 - Kiyohiro Miura, NPB pitcher (b. 1938)
- 2017 - Byron Elser, minor league infielder (b. 1930)
- 2018 - Jesus Martinez, minor league pitcher (b. 1974)
- 2019 - Akihito Kondo, NPB infielder and manager (b. 1938)
- 2019 - Nan-Hui Yeh, Taiwan national team catcher (b. 1937)
- 2020 - Jaime Córdova, Puerto Rican national team pitcher (b. ~1932)
- 2022 - Jim Dietz, college coach (b. 1938)
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