December 26
From BR Bullpen
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| Stats of players who died on this day | |
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Events, births and deaths that occurred on December 26.
Events[edit]
- 1906 - National League umpire Hank O'Day suggests that the batter's box be outlined with white rubber strips rather than chalk, making it impossible for hitters to erase the lines. But the rule will never be implemented.
- 1914 - The Philadelphia Phillies trade star outfielder and team captain Sherry Magee to the Boston Braves for cash and two players to be named later. The two turn out to be Possum Whitted and Oscar Dugey. Magee led the National League in hits (171), doubles (39), RBI (103), and slugging average (.509), while hitting .314 with 15 home runs and 92 runs. On the first day of 1915 spring training at Macon, Georgia, Magee will step in a hole while shagging fly balls and break his collar bone. He will hit just .280 with 2 home runs and 87 RBI in 156 games.
- 1917 - The Philadelphia Phillies keep swapping with the Chicago Cubs, this month sending OF Dode Paskert, a seven-year veteran, to Chicago for slugger Cy Williams. Williams will flourish in National League Park, and will hit 222 home runs for the Phillies over the next 13 years. Paskert will not enjoy the same success at Wrigley Field.
- 1919 - Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee makes a secret agreement to sell Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100,000 (one-fourth cash, plus $25,000 a year at 6 percent) plus guaranteeing a $300,000 loan with Fenway Park as collateral. The transaction will be announced publicly in one week.
- 1934:
- Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis denies the Brooklyn Dodgers' claim to the services of teenage pitcher Johnny Vander Meer.
- Matsutaro Shoriki, head of Yomiuri Newspapers, announces the official formation of Japan's first professional team, the Tokyo-based "Dai Nihon Tokyo Yakyu Club" (the future Yomiuri Giants). The team is made up of players signed to compete against the American All-Star team. Professional league play, with six teams, will not begin until 1936.
- 1950 - With a large portion going to the players' pension fund, outgoing Commissioner Happy Chandler announces the Gillette Razor Company has purchased the television rights to the All-Star Game for six years for six million dollars.
- 1963 - The Hanshin Tigers deal Masaaki Koyama to the Daimai Orions for Kazuhiro Yamauchi.
- 1964 - The Seattle Angels of the Pacific Coast League select Bob Lemon as manager for the upcoming season. Lemon, who last pitched in the majors in 1958, will eventually become the manager of the Kansas City Royals in 1970.
- 1974 - The Little League is officially open to girls as U.S. President Gerald Ford signs legislation amending the charter of the organization. Little League had sought changes in their charter after a series of lawsuits challenged its boys-only rule.
- 1979 - The Cuban national team wins its first Intercontinental Cup by taking the 1979 Intercontinental Cup with a 10-0 record. Team USA visits Cuba for the first time in three decades and wins Bronze, led by Joe Carter, Pat Dodson and Terry Francona.
- 1990 - The Senior Professional Baseball Association folds in the middle of its second season when the Fort Myers Sun Sox franchise collapses due to a financial dispute among club owners. The other five teams will quickly follow Fort Myers' lead. The league, which starred retired major leaguer players like Amos Otis, Dave Kingman, and Vida Blue, was plagued by poor attendance, among many financial problems.
- 1993 - Free agent pitcher Dave Righetti signs a contract with the Oakland Athletics.
- 1995:
- The Associated Press selects Cal Ripken, Jr.'s consecutive game streak as the top sports story of the year, followed by the death of Mickey Mantle.
- The Baltimore Orioles acquire P David Wells from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for outfielder Curtis Goodwin and a minor leaguer.
- The Chicago Cubs sign free agent utility player Dave Magadan.
- 2001 - The Angels sign free agent P Aaron Sele to a three-year contract and the Seattle Mariners sign OF Ruben Sierra to a one-year contract.
- 2002 - The Texas Rangers sign free agent P Esteban Yan to a contract.
- 2005:
- The Associated Press reports that baseball took a lot of shots in 2005 from politicians, commentators and players themselves as the sport struggled with steroids. MLB went from no drug policy in 2002 to anonymous testing in 2003, to counseling for positive tests in 2004, to a dozen ten-day suspensions this year. Starting next year, an initial positive test will result in a 50-game suspension, and players will be tested for amphetamines for the first time, with penalties for a second positive result.
- Free agent P Jason Johnson signs a one-year contract with the Cleveland Indians. Johnson, who went 8-13 with a 4.55 ERA and a career-high 210 innings for the Detroit Tigers last season, joins C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee and Jake Westbrook in one of the American League's deepest rotations.
- 2008 - 44-year-old Randy Johnson, a five-time Cy Young Award winner, signs with his hometown San Francisco Giants for $8 million (with $5 million in incentives) for one season. Johnson is five wins shy of 300 for his career.
- 2009 - The Diamondbacks sign free agent relief pitcher Bobby Howry to a one-year contract while the Nationals ink veteran reliever Eddie Guardado to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training.
- 2010 - Having lost Cliff Lee earlier this month, the Rangers sign another former Cy Young Award winner to bolster their starting rotation. Brandon Webb, who last pitched in April of 2009 before being felled by shoulder injuries is expected to be fit for spring training as he joins the defending American League champs. However, he won't pitch at all in 2011 - or ever again.
- 2011 - The Cubs sign P Andy Sonnanstine.
- 2012:
- The Pittsburgh Pirates deal away two-time All-Star closer Joel Hanrahan and middle infield prospect Brock Holt to the Boston Red Sox for four former prospects who have struggled in the last couple of years: Mark Melancon, Stolmy Pimentel, Jerry Sands and Iván DeJesús Jr. Melancon will turn out to be the best of the lot, by far.
- Former P Ugueth Urbina is released from prison after serving seven years of a fourteen-year sentence for attempted murder.
- 2020 - Hall of Famer and 300-game winner Phil Niekro passes away from cancer at age 81. He is best known for having one of the best knuckleballs of all-time, and for sharing with his brother Joe the record for most wins by a pair of brothers, with 539.
- 2023:
- The Yankees trade perennial outfield prospect Estevan Florial to the Guardians in return for P Cody Morris.
- The White Sox sign free agent C Martin Maldonado, a great defender but a weak hitter for the great Houston Astros teams of the past half-decade, to a one-year contract.
Births[edit]
- 1837 - Morgan Bulkeley, executive; Hall of Fame (d. 1922)
- 1861 - George Tebeau, outfielder (d. 1923)
- 1863 - Dick Burns, outfielder (d. 1937)
- 1866 - John Devey, British baseball pioneer (d. 1940)
- 1866 - Bob Murphy, pitcher (d. 1904)
- 1873 - John O'Neil, catcher (d. 1943)
- 1874 - F.C. Hansford, pitcher (d. 1952)
- 1879 - Jerry Freeman, infielder (d. 1952)
- 1883 - Jimmy O'Rourke, infielder (d. 1955)
- 1887 - Jim Clark, outfielder (d. 1969)
- 1889 - Pug Cavet, pitcher (d. 1966)
- 1889 - John Henry, catcher (d. 1941)
- 1889 - Andy Rush, pitcher (d. 1969)
- 1890 - Harry Grabiner, General Manager (d. 1948)
- 1892 - Lee King, outfielder (d. 1967)
- 1895 - Bonnie Hollingsworth, pitcher (d. 1990)
- 1895 - Herman Pillette, pitcher (d. 1960)
- 1896 - Steve Harrick, minor league player and college coach (d. 1988)
- 1899 - Art Gardiner, pitcher (d. 1954)
- 1899 - Judy Johnson, infielder, manager; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 1989)
- 1900 - Logan Drake, pitcher (d. 1940)
- 1901 - Doc Farrell, infielder (d. 1966)
- 1901 - Milt Laurent, infielder (d. 1995)
- 1902 - Bill Cronin, catcher (d. 1966)
- 1906 - Ernie Jenkins, minor league pitcher and manager (d. 1978)
- 1907 - Harry Taylor, infielder (d. 1969)
- 1913 - Al Milnar, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2005)
- 1915 - Frank Dascoli umpire (d. 1980)
- 1916 - Dorothy Comiskey, owner (d. 1971)
- 1919 - Gene Markland, infielder (d. 1999)
- 1923 - Fred Thomas, minor league outfielder; Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1981)
- 1927 - Stu Miller, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2015)
- 1927 - Danny Schell, outfielder (d. 1972)
- 1928 - Red Foley, writer (d. 2008)
- 1930 - Carl Hrovatic, minor league outfielder (d. 2010)
- 1935 - Joe Wiwchar, amateur coach and executive; Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
- 1936 - Wayne Causey, infielder
- 1939 - John Braun, pitcher (d. 2011)
- 1940 - Ray Sadecki, pitcher (d. 2014)
- 1947 - Carlton Fisk, catcher; All-Star, Hall of Famer
- 1948 - Chris Chambliss, infielder; All-Star
- 1948 - Dave Rader, catcher
- 1950 - Mario Mendoza, infielder
- 1950 - Mike Willis, pitcher
- 1951 - Toru Nimura, NPB infielder
- 1954 - Kyoichi Kikuchi, NPB outfielder
- 1954 - Ozzie Smith, infielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer
- 1956 - Mike Lentz, minor league pitcher
- 1958 - Mike Sodders, minor league infielder
- 1960 - Akihito Kaneishi, NPB pitcher
- 1960 - Jeff Stone, outfielder
- 1961 - Storm Davis, pitcher
- 1961 - Chris Fedor, minor league pitcher
- 1961 - Jason Felice, minor league outfielder
- 1961 - Jim Traber, infielder
- 1962 - Hui-Sheng Chou, CPBL outfielder
- 1963 - Kevin Sheary, minor league pitcher
- 1964 - Jeff King, infielder
- 1966 - Tsai-Ming Chiang, CPBL infielder
- 1967 - Esteban Beltre, infielder
- 1969 - Jason Fronio, minor league player
- 1969 - Márcio Irikura, Brazilian national team outfielder
- 1969 - Henry Roa, Nicaraguan national team infielder
- 1971 - Jay Tessmer, pitcher
- 1971 - Carlos Valdez, pitcher
- 1974 - Brian Fitzgerald, pitcher
- 1974 - Corey Lee, pitcher
- 1975 - Yoshinori Tateyama, pitcher
- 1978 - Charles Thomas, outfielder
- 1978 - Wei-Ting Tsai, CPBL catcher
- 1979 - J.C. Boscan, catcher
- 1979 - Russ Rohlicek, minor league pitcher
- 1981 - Alvin Colina, catcher
- 1981 - Omar Infante, infielder; All-Star
- 1981 - Dustin Moseley, pitcher
- 1982 - Matt Miller, minor league outfielder
- 1983 - Jeff Gosney, umpire
- 1983 - J.J. Pacella, minor league pitcher
- 1983 - Yohan Pino, pitcher
- 1984 - Darin Downs, pitcher
- 1984 - Brett Sinkbeil, pitcher
- 1985 - Jeremiah Bayer, minor league pitcher
- 1985 - Chris Carpenter, pitcher
- 1986 - Moisés Flores, Nicaraguan national team infielder
- 1986 - Byung-woo Kang, KBO outfielder
- 1986 - Matteo Modica, Italian Baseball League pitcher
- 1987 - Addison Johnson, drafted outfielder
- 1987 - Mike Minor, pitcher; All-Star
- 1987 - Derrick Saito, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Hsuan-Tsung Fang, CPBL infielder
- 1988 - Jiří Gál, Extraliga pitcher
- 1989 - Ryan Byrne, Swiss national team outfielder
- 1989 - Sean Nolin, pitcher
- 1989 - Maksym Symchyna, Ukrainian national team catcher
- 1990 - Daniel Christianto, Indonesian national team outfielder
- 1990 - José Palacios, Bundesliga catcher-outfielder
- 1991 - Kohei Morihara, NPB pitcher
- 1993 - Yonny Chirinos, pitcher
- 1993 - Alfredo de Guzmán, Philippines national team catcher
- 1994 - Joan Baez, minor league pitcher
- 1996 - Hogan Harris, pitcher
- 1996 - Tsung-Wei Lin, CPBL pitcher
- 1997 - Pascal Amon, minor league outfielder
- 1997 - Jason Carelse, South African national team outfielder
- 1997 - Logan Davidson, minor league infielder
- 1997 - Muhammad Mohsin Jamil, Pakistani national team infielder
- 1997 - Bryce Jarvis, pitcher
- 1997 - Easton McGee, pitcher
- 1998 - Nelson Velázquez, outfielder
- 2000 - Yi-Ta Lin, CPBL pitcher
- 2000 - Matteo Sollecito, Great Britain national team pitcher
- 2002 - Rumsey Yasin, Palestinian national team infielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1908 - Charlie Householder, infielder (b. 1856)
- 1908 - Shadow Pyle, pitcher (b. 1861)
- 1913 - Frank O'Connor, pitcher (b. 1868)
- 1915 - Art Ball, infielder (b. 1872)
- 1918 - Bob Blakiston, outfielder (b. 1855)
- 1924 - Doc Gessler, outfielder, manager (b. 1880)
- 1926 - Charles Matthews, outfielder (b. 1863)
- 1926 - William Stecher, pitcher (b. 1869)
- 1931 - Robert Ross, umpire (b. 1853)
- 1934 - George Kopshaw, catcher (b. 1896)
- 1934 - Jule Mallonee, outfielder (b. 1900)
- 1936 - Bill Clymer, infielder (b. 1872)
- 1936 - John Lawler, umpire (b. 1861)
- 1939 - Clyde Engle, infielder (b. 1884)
- 1945 - Frank Lange, pitcher (b. 1883)
- 1947 - Roxey Roach, infielder (b. 1882)
- 1947 - Phil Stremmel, pitcher (b. 1880)
- 1948 - Joe Pate, pitcher (b. 1892)
- 1956 - John Tapley, infielder (b. 1911)
- 1957 - Tom Fleming, outfielder (b. 1873)
- 1960 - Fred Knorr, owner (b. 1913)
- 1970 - Jack Stansbury, infielder (b. 1885)
- 1971 - Cliff Daringer, infielder (b. 1885)
- 1971 - Emmett O'Donnell, Commissioner-elect (b. 1906)
- 1977 - Al Mahon, pitcher (b. 1909)
- 1979 - Michio Shigematsu, NPB pitcher (b. 1916)
- 1979 - Red Smith, minor league catcher and manager (b. 1921)
- 1980 - Bill Crouch, pitcher (b. 1907)
- 1980 - Johnny Oulliber, outfielder (b. 1911)
- 1983 - Josh Billings, pitcher (b. 1907)
- 1983 - Sid Graves, outfielder (b. 1901)
- 1984 - Johnny Gill, outfielder (b. 1905)
- 1985 - Les Bell, infielder (b. 1901)
- 1985 - Jim Bilbrey, pitcher (b. 1924)
- 1986 - Bob Crues, minor league outfielder (b. 1918)
- 1989 - Roy Joiner, pitcher (b. 1906)
- 1992 - Tom Gorman, pitcher (b. 1925)
- 1994 - Allie Reynolds, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1917)
- 1995 - Bob Veselic, pitcher (b. 1955)
- 1998 - Dewey Adkins, pitcher (b. 1918)
- 2000 - Roy Partee, catcher (b. 1917)
- 2001 - Tom McBride, outfielder (b. 1914)
- 2002 - Frank Reiber, catcher (b. 1909)
- 2003 - Paul Owens, manager (b. 1924)
- 2006 - Chris Brown, infielder; All-Star (b. 1961)
- 2007 - Jim Castiglia, catcher (b. 1918)
- 2007 - Dom Barczewski, minor league infielder (b. 1925)
- 2008 - Yoshiyuki Iwamoto, NPB outfielder (b. 1912)
- 2013 - Paul Blair, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1944)
- 2013 - Allan Suter, minor league pitcher (b. 1931)
- 2014 - Joe Macko, coach (d. 1928)
- 2015 - Bobby Dews, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1938)
- 2015 - Jim O'Toole, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1937)
- 2016 - Guillermo Valencia, Colombian national team manager (b. 1926)
- 2018 - Pete Lovrich, pitcher (b. 1942)
- 2019 - Doug Minnis, college coach (b.1929)
- 2020 - Derek Aucoin, pitcher (b. 1970)
- 2020 - James Wilson, pitcher/outfielder (b. ????)
- 2021 - Daryl Cronk, college coach (b. 1975)
- 2022 - Fred Valentine, outfielder (b. 1935)
- 2023 - Larry McCray, researcher (b. 1942)
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