November 19
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 November 19.
Events[edit]
- 1884 - National League president Abraham G. Mills resigns and is replaced by former league secretary Nick Young.
- 1885 - At a National League meeting, it is decided that the Buffalo Bisons "Big Four" (Dan Brouthers, Hardy Richardson, Jack Rowe and Deacon White) can play for the Detroit Wolverines next season.
- 1900 - At an American League meeting at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Chicago, Ban Johnson says the AL has chosen not to renew the National Agreement with the National League, but sees no need for friction between the two leagues.
- 1921 - Future Hall of Famer Roy Campanella is born in Philadelphia, PA. Campanella will begin his professional career in the Negro Leagues in 1937 before arriving in the major leagues in 1948 with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
- 1928 - In one of their most important acquisitions ever, Cleveland Indians general manager Billy Evans sends $40,000 and two players to the San Francisco Seals (Pacific Coast League) for outfielder Earl Averill. A future Hall of Famer, Averill will play 11 years in Cleveland.
- 1937 - The St. Louis Browns release future Hall of Famer Jim Bottomley, who had served the team as first baseman/manager. The move ends the 16-year playing career of Bottomley, who leaves the game with 219 home runs and a .310 batting mark.
- 1939 - The National Professional Indoor Baseball League, headed by league president Tris Speaker, begins play. The league has ten clubs, one in each then major-league city except Washington. Alas, it disappears within a month.
- 1949 - The Tokyu Flyers' Hiroshi Oshita collects hits in seven straight at-bats to set a new Nippon Pro Baseball record.
- 1951 - The Puerto Rican national team wins the 1951 Amateur World Series. It is the last Amateur World Series/Baseball World Cup that the Cuban national team enters and fails to win until 2007.
- 1952 - American League President Will Harridge says there will be greater fines for managers who use abusive language while arguing with umpires.
- 1960 - The new Washington Senators name Mickey Vernon the first manager in franchise history. An exceptional hitter during his playing career, Vernon played for the original Senators franchise from 1939 to 1948.
- 1962 - The St. Louis Cardinals send newly-acquired pitcher Don Cardwell, along with shortstop Julio Gotay, to the Pittsburgh Pirates for SS Dick Groat and P Diomedes Olivo. Groat, the National League MVP in 1960, will be an All-Star for the next two seasons and will become a force in the Cardinals World Championship in 1964.
- 1963 - Hank Bauer is named to replace Billy Hitchcock as manager of the Baltimore Orioles.
- 1968 - New York Yankees pitcher Stan Bahnsen, who posted a 17-12 record with 162 strikeouts and a 2.05 ERA, is named American League Rookie of the Year. Bahnsen easily outdistances outfielder Del Unser of the Washington Senators.
- 1975 - By the most overwhelming margin up to that time, with more than double the points of runner-up Greg Luzinski, Cincinnati Reds second baseman Joe Morgan is named National League Most Valuable Player. Morgan batted .327 with 67 stolen bases and a league-leading 132 walks.
- 1976 - The Milwaukee Brewers sign free agent third baseman Sal Bando to a multi-year contract. Bando, the captain of three consecutive World Championship teams in Oakland, will play the final five seasons of his career in Milwaukee. He will bat .250 with 17 home runs and 82 RBI in his first season with the Brewers. He is one of a large number of high profile free agents to defect from the A's this off-season.
- 1979 - The Houston Astros sign free agent pitcher Nolan Ryan. The former California Angels ace and future Hall of Fame member signs a four-year deal worth $4.5 million, making him the highest-paid player in major league history. Ryan also becomes the first player to earn a $1 million annual salary.
- 1986 - Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt wins the National League Most Valuable Player Award, joining Stan Musial and Roy Campanella as the only three-time NL award winners. Schmidt led the NL with 37 home runs and 119 RBI.
- 1990 - Barry Bonds of the Pittsburgh Pirates wins the National League MVP Award, easily outdistancing teammate and runner-up Bobby Bonilla. Bonds hit .301 with 23 home runs, 114 RBI, and 52 stolen bases.
- 1992:
- The Pittsburgh Pirates trade second baseman Jose Lind to the Kansas City Royals for pitchers Dennis Moeller and Joel Johnston.
- Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Eric Karros is named National League Rookie of the Year. Karros hit .257 with 20 home runs, becoming the first Dodgers rookie to reach 20 homers since Frank Howard in 1960.
- 1993:
- The Montreal Expos acquire starting pitcher Pedro Martinez from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for second baseman Delino DeShields.
- Free agent Howard Johnson is signed by the Colorado Rockies.
- 1996 - One of Major League Baseball's most controversial owners, Jerry Reinsdorf, and its most controversial player, Albert Belle, join forces with the Chicago White Sox. Belle signs a record five-year, $55 million deal that makes him the first player to surpass the $10 million per year mark. Reinsdorf, seen as the instigator in the owners' vote against the collective bargaining agreement, draws the ire of owners in both leagues who feel he sold them out.
- 1998:
- Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa is an easy winner in the National League MVP Award balloting over Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals, creating an historic Hispanic American sweep of the MVP awards with Texas Rangers OF Juan Gonzalez winning the award in the American League this season. Sosa received 30 of 32 first-place votes after leading the Cubs to a wild card spot in the playoffs.
- The Philadelphia Phillies trade pitchers Ricky Bottalico and Garrett Stephenson to the St. Louis Cardinals for outfielder Ron Gant, pitchers Jeff Brantley and Cliff Politte, and cash considerations.
- The St. Louis Cardinals sign free agents OF Eric Davis and reliever Scott Radinsky to two-year contracts.
- 2000:
- Free agent outfielder Ellis Burks is signed by the Cleveland Indians to a three-year contract.
- The Chicago Cubs obtain third baseman Bill Mueller from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for pitcher Tim Worrell.
- 2001 - San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds is named National League Most Valuable Player by the Baseball Writers Association of America with 30 of 32 first-place votes. Bonds, who hit .328 with an all-time record 73 home runs and 137 RBI, wins the award for an unprecedented fourth time. Previously, he was awarded as a Pittsburgh Pirates member in 1990 and 1992 and with the Giants in 1993. Three-time MVP Award winners include Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Joe DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial and Mike Schmidt, all of them Hall of Famers.
- 2002 - Jesse Orosco, agrees to a one-year contract with the San Diego Padres estimated at $800,000. Orosco started his major league career in 1979 with the New York Mets (traded by the Minnesota Twins for Jerry Koosman). He will retire next season at age 45, after setting a major league record with 1,252 games pitched.
- 2004 - The Los Angeles Angels trade outfielder Jose Guillen to the Washington Nationals for OF Juan Rivera and IF Maicer Izturis. Guillen, now playing for his sixth team in an eight-year career, was suspended by the Angels after throwing a batting helmet during a tirade caused by being taken out for a pinch runner last September.
- 2007 - Alex Rodríguez is named American League MVP. He set the all-time major league record for home runs by a third baseman, having already held the record for homers by a shortstop.
- 2008 - The Seattle Mariners hire Don Wakamatsu as their new manager. He will be the first Asian-American manager in Major League Baseball history.
- 2009:
- Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants wins his second consecutive National League Cy Young Award in one of the closest races in the award's history. Lincecum gets 100 points in the voting, Chris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals 94 and Carpenter's teammate Adam Wainwright collects the most first-place votes but finishes third with 90 points.
- Yet another gambling scandal hits the Chinese Professional Baseball League as La New Bears players Ying-Feng Tsai and Chung-You Tsai admit to recruiting teammates to throw games. They return one million in New Taiwan dollars in illegal gains and are thrown out of the CPBL. More indictments are expected in the ongoing gambling travails. It is the seventh gambling scandal in the past 15 years in the CPBL and fourth in four years.
- 2010:
- The South Korean national team wins the baseball competition at the 2010 Asian Games, topping Taiwan, 9 - 3, in the Gold Medal game. Suk-min Yoon tosses five shutout innings of relief and Jung-ho Kang homers twice and drives in five. The South Korean government promised waivers from military service if the team won Gold - while some players had fulfilled their service or had waivers from the 2008 Olympics, Shin-soo Choo and many others have now won themselves exemptions and will avoid mid-career interruptions. In the Bronze Medal game, Japan beats host China, 6 - 2.
- The Pirates clean house, releasing three veteran players in one fell swoop - OF Delwyn Young, P Zach Duke and 3B Andy LaRoche. At the same time, the Pirates add five youngsters to their major league roster, illustrating the direction the team intends to take to attempt to end its multi-season losing streak.
- The Rangers sign P Barret Loux as an amateur free agent. Loux was selected sixth overall in the first round of the most recent amateur draft by the Diamondbacks, but was not offered a contract after failing a physical due to shoulder and elbow issues. Commissioner Bud Selig declared Loux a free agent, while the D-Backs received an additional pick in the 2011 amateur draft as compensation.
- 2011 - In Game 6 of the Japan Series, the Chunichi Dragons beat the Softbank Hawks, 2 - 1, to tie the Series. Kazuki Yoshimi fans eight and allows one run in 7 2/3 innings to outduel Tsuyoshi Wada. Kazuhiro Wada's two-run triple in the 1st gives the Dragons their offense.
- 2012:
- Brazil earns the last qualifying berth for the 2013 World Baseball Classic by defeating Panama, 1 - 0, in the Pool D finals, capping a stunning tournament in which the upstart Brazilians, managed by Hall of Famer Barry Larkin, were undefeated. The team's lone major leaguer, Yan Gomes, drives in the game's only run with a 3rd-inning bloop single that scores Leonardo Reginatto. Meanwhile, pitchers Rafael Fernandes (6 IP), Murilo Gouvea (2 1/3) and Thyago Vieira (2/3) completely shut down a line-up stocked with current and former major leaguers, and playing in front of a home crowd to boot. Vieira strikes out Carlos Lee and Ruben Rivera with the tying run on third base to end the game and give Brazil the biggest win in its baseball history.
- Commissioner Bud Selig gives final approval to the 12-player trade between the Marlins and Blue Jays first announced on November 13th. "After a thorough examination [...], it is my conclusion that this transaction, involving established Major Leaguers and highly regarded young players and prospects, represents the exercise of plausible baseball judgment on the part of both Clubs, does not violate any express rule of Major League Baseball and does not otherwise warrant the exercise of any of my powers to prevent its completion," Selig says in a written statement.
- The Best Nines for 2012 are awarded in Japan. Shinnosuke Abe wins for the seventh time as the top catcher in the Central League; there are eight first-time winners.
- 2013:
- For the first time, no Nippon Pro Baseball team will play in an Asia Series finale. The Rakuten Golden Eagles squad (relying heavily on second-stringers) gets four-hit by the Uni-President Lions' Nelson Figueroa in the 2013 Asia Series. The Lions score three runs off rookie Sho Miyagawa in the 1st in a 4 - 1 win.
- The trickle of defectors from Cuba is becoming a flood, following the recent major league success of Aroldis Chapman, Yoenis Cespedes, Yasiel Puig and others. Two more members of the Cuban national team, SS Erisbel Arruebarruena and P Raicel Iglesias are now in the Dominican Republic and Mexico respectively, training to be signed by a major league team, according to today's Miami Nuevo Herald. These follow on the footsteps of the defections of Jose Dariel Abreu and Alexander Guerrero, who both signed lucrative contracts in recent weeks.
- 2014 - Nexen Heroes second baseman Geon-chang Seo wins the KBO MVP, two years after being signed as a free agent who had already been released by one KBO club after one career at-bat. Seo hits .370 with 41 doubles, 17 triples and 48 steals, scoring 135 runs, to lead the league in all those departments except swipes. He also became the first KBO player to rap 200 hits in a year. The KBO Rookie of the Year goes to Min-woo Park of the NC Dinos, who hit .298 and stole 50 bases (second in the league).
- 2015:
- After winning their first six games of the 2015 Premier 12, Japan is cruising with a 3 - 0 lead after eight innings against South Korea in the semifinals at the Tokyo Dome. Shohei Otani has pitched six no-hit innings and South Korea has one hit and no walks at that point, but in the 9th, the Koreans start off with three straight hits and a hit batsman off Takahiro Norimoto. Yuki Matsui walks Hyun-soo Kim with the bases loaded, then Dae-ho Lee delivers a two-run single off Hirotoshi Masui for the winning hit. Tae-hyun Chong and Hyun-seung Lee close out the win as six Korean hurlers toss 5 2/3 shutout innings.
- OF Bryce Harper of the Nationals is a unanimous winner of the 2015 National League Most Valuable Player Award after leading the major leagues in both on-base percentage and slugging percentage. In the American League, Blue Jays 3B Josh Donaldson is honored after leading the circuit in runs scored and RBIs.
- Softbank Hawks manager Kimiyasu Kudoh is named winner of the Matsutaro Shoriki Award for 2015, after guiding the Hawks to the Japan Series title.
- 2018 - The Yankees make a big trade, acquiring ace SP James Paxton from the Mariners for three players, including top prospect Justus Sheffield. Paxton struck out 208 batters and pitched a no-hitter last season.
- 2021 - The Cleveland Guardians officially come into being as the franchise adopts its new identity, dropping the name Indians that had been associated with the team for over 100 years but had become increasingly controversial in the last two decades. The huge sign with the team name has just been replaced at Progressive Field and today fans cue up at the team's souvenir store to buy merchandise with the new name.
Births[edit]
- 1840 - Nealy Phelps, outfielder (d. 1885)
- 1848 - Al Pratt, pitcher, manager; umpire (d. 1937)
- 1855 - Denny Driscoll, pitcher (d. 1886)
- 1862 - Billy Sunday, outfielder (d. 1935)
- 1867 - John Roach, pitcher (d. 1934)
- 1873 - Charlie Atherton, infielder (d. 1934)
- 1881 - Bill Bailey, outfielder (d. 1967)
- 1887 - Jack Nabors, pitcher (d. 1923)
- 1888 - Mike Regan, pitcher (d. 1961)
- 1890 - Fred Cozens, college coach (d. 1954)
- 1892 - Everett Scott, infielder (d. 1960)
- 1895 - Fred Bostick, outfielder (d. 1965)
- 1895 - Billy Zitzmann, outfielder (d. 1985)
- 1898 - Harry Courtney, pitcher (d. 1954)
- 1902 - Joe Palmisano, catcher (d. 1971)
- 1904 - Roosevelt Davis, pitcher (d. 1968)
- 1904 - Elmer Tutwiler, pitcher (d. 1976)
- 1907 - Henry McCall, infielder (d. 1998)
- 1908 - Harley Boss, infielder (d. 1964)
- 1908 - Joe Glenn, catcher (d. 1985)
- 1911 - Ponciano Lombillo, Nicaraguan national team manager (d. 1994)
- 1912 - Steve Gerkin, pitcher (d. 1978)
- 1914 - Eddie Morgan, outfielder (d. 1982)
- 1921 - John Alusik, minor league infielder (d. 2018)
- 1921 - Roy Campanella, catcher; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 1993)
- 1922 - George Yankowski, catcher (d. 2020)
- 1924 - Walter Wilson, minor league pitcher (d. 2018)
- 1925 - Chuck Comiskey, owner (d. 2007)
- 1926 - Bob Thorpe, outfielder (d. 1996)
- 1928 - Harry Psutka, minor league catcher (d. 2014)
- 1929 - Chuck Wilson, outfielder (d. 1983)
- 1930 - Joe Morgan, infielder, manager
- 1936 - Salvador Acosta, Guatemalan national team pitcher
- 1936 - Manny Jimenez, outfielder (d. 2017)
- 1938 - Ted Turner, manager, owner
- 1942 - Larry Haney, catcher
- 1943 - Aurelio Monteagudo, pitcher (d. 1990)
- 1945 - Bobby Tolan, outfielder
- 1947 - Bob Boone, catcher, manager; All-Star
- 1947 - Jitsuo Mizutani, NPB outfielder
- 1951 - Manolito García, Division Honor player
- 1952 - Gary Robinson, college coach
- 1956 - Mark Letendre, trainer
- 1956 - Dickie Noles, pitcher
- 1958 - Mike Winters, umpire
- 1960 - Pai-Sheng Cheng, CPBL infielder (d. 2021)
- 1961 - Jeff Hearron, catcher
- 1961 - Alan Dunn, minor league pitcher, major league coach
- 1966 - Jeff Hartsock, pitcher
- 1966 - Rodney Imes, minor league pitcher
- 1967 - Gary DiSarcina, infielder; All-Star
- 1968 - Luis Raven, minor league infielder
- 1969 - Steve Dreyer, pitcher
- 1969 - Jose Padilla, Nicaraguan national team outfielder
- 1970 - Jeff Berblinger, infielder
- 1970 - Mike Serbalik, minor league infielder
- 1970 - J.J. Thobe, pitcher
- 1970 - Marc Tramuta, scout
- 1971 - Chris Neier, minor league pitcher
- 1971 - Andy Sheets, infielder
- 1972 - Eric Martins, coach
- 1973 - Fred Lindberg, minor league pitcher
- 1974 - John Roskos, outfielder
- 1974 - Mario Valdez, infielder
- 1975 - Clay Condrey, pitcher
- 1976 - Tommy Kidwell, minor league infielder
- 1976 - Jeff Stevens, minor league catcher
- 1977 - Justin Duchscherer, pitcher; All-Star
- 1977 - Chia-Jung Wu, CPBL infielder
- 1977 - Makoto Yoshino, NPB pitcher
- 1978 - Jeff Bailey, infielder
- 1978 - Duane Johnson, minor league outfielder (d. 2002)
- 1979 - John-Ford Griffin, designated hitter
- 1979 - Ryan Howard, infielder; All-Star
- 1980 - Preston Larrison, minor league pitcher
- 1980 - Scott Loiseau, college coach
- 1980 - Keiji Oyama, NPB catcher
- 1980 - Nick Trzesniak, minor league catcher
- 1981 - Eddie Cornejo, college coach
- 1981 - Matt Davis, minor league player
- 1981 - Jeff Gray, pitcher
- 1982 - Daryl Harang, minor league pitcher
- 1982 - Jonathan Sanchez, pitcher
- 1983 - Daniel Haigwood, minor league pitcher
- 1983 - A.J. Van Slyke, minor first baseman/outfielder
- 1984 - Yuichi Honda, NPB infielder
- 1984 - Adam Mills, minor league pitcher
- 1984 - Kenji Otonari, NPB pitcher
- 1984 - Polin Trinidad, minor league pitcher
- 1985 - Dan Merklinger, minor league pitcher
- 1986 - Eric Massingham, minor league pitcher
- 1986 - Mike Saunders, outfielder; All-Star
- 1987 - Bryan Holaday, catcher
- 1987 - Kasey Kiker, minor league pitcher
- 1987 - Chris Schaeffer, minor league catcher
- 1989 - Andrew Marck, New Zealand national team pitcher
- 1989 - Michael Tonkin, pitcher
- 1990 - Brett McKinney, minor league pitcher
- 1991 - Jem Argenal, minor league infielder
- 1993 - Joey Gallo, infielder; All-Star
- 1993 - Ian Gibaut, pitcher
- 1993 - Thanabordee Panyimphakakul, Thai national team infielder
- 1993 - Framber Valdéz, pitcher; All-Star
- 1994 - Moisés Gutiérrez, minor league infielder
- 1995 - McKenzie Mills, minor league pitcher
- 1996 - Lewin Diaz, infielder
- 1996 - Daniel Fajardo, minor league catcher
- 1997 - Gilberto Chu, minor league pitcher
- 1997 - Braden Shewmake, infielder
- 2003 - Amar Mahmood, Pakistani national team outfielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1891 - Ernie Hickman, pitcher (b. 1856)
- 1917 - King Bailey, pitcher (b. 1869)
- 1926 - Fred Smith, pitcher (b. 1865)
- 1930 - John Russell, pitcher (b. 1894)
- 1937 - Cub Stricker, infielder, manager (b. 1860)
- 1938 - Slim Jones, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1913)
- 1939 - Frank Mountain, pitcher (b. 1860)
- 1941 - Davey Dunkle, pitcher (b. 1872)
- 1944 - Frank Brill, pitcher (b. 1864)
- 1951 - Marty Griffin, pitcher (b. 1901)
- 1951 - Crese Heismann, pitcher (b. 1880)
- 1953 - Guy Lacy, infielder (b. 1897)
- 1953 - Dutch Schesler, pitcher (b. 1900)
- 1955 - Otto Jacobs, catcher (b. 1889)
- 1957 - Frank Foreman, pitcher (b. 1863)
- 1964 - Fred Hofmann, catcher (b. 1894)
- 1971 - Bill Stern, broadcaster (b. 1907)
- 1976 - Frank Kellert, infielder (b. 1924)
- 1978 - Warren Brown, writer (b. 1894)
- 1980 - Jack Gilligan, pitcher (b. 1885)
- 1986 - Jodie Marek, minor league pitcher (b. 1916)
- 1987 - Dave Odom, pitcher (b. 1918)
- 1988 - Kid Lowe, infielder (b. 1900)
- 1989 - Sungo Carrera, infielder (b. 1914)
- 1995 - Ed Wright, pitcher (b. 1919)
- 2003 - Howie Gershberg, minor league coach (b. 1936)
- 2004 - Brian Traxler, infielder (b. 1967)
- 2006 - Evelyn Keppel, AAGPBL catcher (b. 1929)
- 2007 - John Jackson, Negro League pitcher (b. 1926)
- 2010 - Charles Varnak, minor league outfielder (b. 1921)
- 2011 - Balos Davis, scout (b. 1927)
- 2011 - Sonny Dixon, pitcher (b. 1924)
- 2011 - Niuman Loiz, minor league pitcher (b. 1973)
- 2013 - Babe Birrer, pitcher (b. 1929)
- 2013 - Jerry Gregory, researcher (b. 1927)
- 2014 - Alfredo Conton, minor league outfielder (b. 1928)
- 2014 - Bernard Fernández, pitcher (b. 1918)
- 2014 - Len Kahny, minor league infielder (b. 1911)
- 2015 - Jim Stump, pitcher (b. 1932)
- 2017 - Ken Cochran, Olympic player (b. ~1933)
- 2021 - Ken Moffett, executive director of the MLBPA (b. 1931)
- 2021 - Ricky Nelson, outfielder (b. 1959)
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