December 5
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 5.
Events[edit]
- 1888 - Columbus is admitted to the American Association to replace Cleveland, which is moving to the National League.
- 1922 - Connie Mack spends money to begin building another winner. He sends $40,000 and several players to Portland (Pacific Coast League) for 3B Sammy Hale.
- 1926 - Cardinals C Bob O'Farrell is named National League MVP. O'Farrell caught 146 games and batted .293. He polls 79 points. Reds 2B Hughie Critz is runner-up with 60. Critz set a major-league record amassing 588 assists, which will be topped by Frank Frisch with 643 in 1927.
- 1927:
- The National Board of Arbitration rules the Texas League cannot place teams in Tulsa and Oklahoma City without permission of the Western League, which now operates in those cities. This landmark decision establishes league property rights in the cities of each circuit.
- In an attempt to combat "chain store" baseball, the American Association votes to bar further ownership of its clubs by the major league clubs.
- 1950 - Mel Ott, who has been working in the New York Giants farm system, hires on for two years in the Oakland managerial spot vacated by Charlie Dressen.
- 1952 - Major league attendance figures released today show an 11 percent drop.
- 1955:
- Carl Stotz announces his plans to organize a rival Little League of his own.
- The Red Sox sell 41-year-old pitcher Ellis Kinder to the Cardinals. He will team up with the like-aged Walker Cooper to form just the second 40+ battery. Curt Davis and Clyde Sukeforth, in 1945, are the other such duo.
- 1957:
- The American League purchases a $1.8 million group accident policy to help clubs buy new players in case of a major disaster.
- The minor leagues threaten to sue Major League Baseball if it televises Sunday games in their territory.
- The Cards turn down the Phillies' offer of Richie Ashburn and Harvey Haddix for Ken Boyer, trusting that Boyer will turn into a good third baseman. Then, in one of their best trades ever, the Cardinals acquire outfielders Curt Flood and Joe Taylor from the Redlegs for pitchers Marty Kutyna and Ted Wieand. The 19-year-old Flood, who appeared in eight games for Cincinnati over the past two seasons, will anchor the St. Louis outfield for the next 12 years.
- The Cubs send veteran Bob Rush and two players to the Braves for C Sammy Taylor and P Taylor Phillips.
- 1958 - The Phils, under pressure provided by the Yankees' threat to broadcast into their territory, drop any plans for 1959 broadcasts to New York City. The Cards and Pirates follow suit.
- 1959:
- The Phils ship Chico Fernandez and Ray Semproch to Detroit for Ken Walters, Ted Lepcio, and minor leaguer Alex Cosmidis. The Cuban-born Fernandez was the first ethnic minority to play for the Phils, and will be the second ethnic minority to play for Detroit.
- Representing Major League Baseball, the Yankees' Yogi Berra visits Italy to present baseball equipment and aid in the sport's development.
- 1960 - American League President Joe Cronin suggests that if the National League starts its new New York franchise in 1961, the American League will stay out of Los Angeles until 1962. The NL turned down the suggested compromise of November 22nd because Houston will not be ready in 1961.
- 1966 - Bill DeWitt sells the Cincinnati Reds to a group of Cincinnati investors for an estimated $7 million.
- 1967 - Stan Musial resigns as general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals and is replaced by Bing Devine. Musial remains a senior vice-president.
- 1969 - Chub Feeney succeeds Warren Giles as president of the National League. He is elected for a four-year term, beginning January 1, 1970.
- 1973:
- Ron Santo becomes the first player to invoke the new 10 and 5 rule. The Cubs want to trade Santo to the Angels for two pitchers, but he vetoes the deal.
- The Dodgers trade OF Willie Davis to the Expos for relief pitcher Mike Marshall. Marshall will win the Cy Young Award for the Dodgers next season.
- For the first time, there are two Amateur World Series held due to political infighting in the baseball world. In the FEMBA-sponsored Series, Rich Wortham of the USA beats Dennis Martinez of Nicaragua, 1 - 0, in a pitching duel.
- 1977 - The White Sox trade C Brian Downing and pitchers Chris Knapp and Dave Frost to the Angels for outfielders Bobby Bonds and Thad Bosley, and minor league P Rich Dotson.
- 1978 - After sixteen years with the Cincinnati Reds, Pete Rose signs a four-year, $3.2 million deal with the Phillies. Other teams which pursued "Charlie Hustle" include the Mets, Braves, Pirates and the Royals. The deal temporarily makes Rose the highest-paid athlete in team sports.
- 1979 - A month after being acquired by the Blue Jays, Chris Chambliss goes to the Atlanta Braves with Luis Gomez for Barry Bonnell, Pat Rockett and Joey McLaughlin. Chambliss will play eight seasons for the Braves.
- 1983 - The Phillies trade veteran 1B Tony Perez to Cincinnati for a player to be named later.
- 1984 - The Oakland A's send base-stealing OF Rickey Henderson and P Bert Bradley to the Yankees in exchange for pitchers Jay Howell and Jose Rijo, OF Stan Javier, and minor leaguers Tim Birtsas and Eric Plunk. On the same day, the Yankees trade C Rick Cerone to the Braves for P Brian Fisher.
- 1987 - The Tigers swap pitcher Dan Petry to the Angels for center fielder Gary Pettis.
- 1988 - Not the best trade the Cubs have ever made: the Cubs and Rangers complete a nine-player swap, with Chicago giving up OF Rafael Palmeiro, P Jamie Moyer and P Drew Hall in exchange for IF Curtis Wilkerson and pitchers Mitch Williams, Paul Kilgus, and Steve Wilson, and a pair of minor leaguers to be named.
- 1990:
- In a blockbuster deal, the Blue Jays trade first baseman Fred McGriff and shortstop Tony Fernandez to the Padres for second baseman Roberto Alomar and outfielder Joe Carter.
- Free agent OF Vince Coleman signs a four-year contract with the Mets. He has led the National League in stolen bases each of the last six seasons, and this year (June 3rd) copped his 500th theft in his 804th game, the quickest player to reach that plateau.
- 1992:
- The Dodgers sign free agent OF Cory Snyder to a two-year contract.
- The Twins trade P David West to the Phillies in exchange for P Mike Hartley.
- 1994:
- The Rangers sign free agent C Dave Valle to a two-year contract.
- It is announced that Richard Ravitch will step down as negotiator for the owners on December 31st. Instead, he will resign tomorrow.
- 1995:
- The Twins bring back free agent DH Paul Molitor.
- The Angels sign free agent 3B Tim Wallach.
- 1996:
- Two days after signing C Joe Girardi, the Yankees send back-up catcher Jim Leyritz to the Angels in exchange for minor leaguers Ryan Kane and Jeremy Blevins. Leyritz, the Yankee with the longest tenure - five years, 126 days - was vulnerable because of his $1.75 million yearly contract.
- Following his most productive season with the Oakland A's, Terry Steinbach elects to take less money and return home. Like Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor and Jack Morris before him, the Minnesota veteran signs with Twins.
- The new collective bargaining agreement is unanimously approved by the Players' association executive committee, clearing the path for interleague play and guaranteeing no work stoppages until 2001.
- 1998 - The Orioles sign free agent 1B Will Clark to a two-year contract.
- 1999 - Major League Baseball and ESPN agree to settle their lawsuit by signing a new six-year, $800 million deal. The suit involved ESPN's decision to give NFL football games priority over late-season Sunday Night Baseball games on its main channel.
- 2001 - New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani announces he wants to complete new stadium deals for the Mets and Yankees before he leaves office at the end of the month. Before the September 11th attacks, which dramatically changed the city's financial stature, the mayor thought an arrangement in which the city, the state and the owners agreed to pay one-third of the cost of the new stadiums might complete the negotiations with the teams. A deal will be struck and the two new ballparks will both open in 2009.
- 2005 - Reaching a preliminary deal with the Dodgers a day before baseball's winter meetings, Rafael Furcal agrees to a $39-million, three-year contract to play shortstop in the City of Angels. The 28-year old Dominican infielder was also strongly pursued by the Braves, his former team for the past six seasons, and the Cubs.
- 2009 - The 2009 CPBL Awards are given out. The Sinon Bulls' Yi-Chuan Lin cleans house, winning MVP, Rookie of the Year, Gold Glove (1B) and Best Ten (1B) honors. Rounding out the Best Ten are Bulls teammates Wilton Veras (3B) and Chien-Ming Chang (OF), the La New Bears' Aaron Rakers (P), Chih-Sheng Lin (SS) and Chin-Feng Chen (DH), the Uni-President Lions' Chih-Kang Kao (C) and Wu-Hsiung Pan (OF) and the Brother Elephants' Ssu-Chi Chou (OF). Lin becomes the first shortstop to win the award four times while Chen becomes the first four-time winner at DH.
- 2010 - The Washington Nationals sign free agent OF Jayson Werth to a seven-year deal worth $125 million. The deal is considered shocking because of its length, considering Werth is already 31 and was a late bloomer.
- 2011 - Ron Santo, former Chicago Cubs third baseman in the 1960s, who died last year, is the lone player elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. He receives 15 of 16 votes from members of the "Golden Era" Committee.
- 2012:
- For the third straight year, 1B Joey Votto of the Reds is named recipient of the Tip O'Neill Award given to the best ballplayer in Canada.
- The Yankees see two potential replacements for injured 3B Alex Rodriguez slip away, as Eric Chavez, who was A-Rod's back-up over the last two seasons, signs with Arizona while Jeff Keppinger, whom the Yankees were also pursuing, agrees to a three-year deal with the White Sox.
- Tom Cheek, who broadcast every Toronto Blue Jays game from the team's creation in 1977 until 2004, is the posthumous recipient of the Ford Frick Award.
- 2013:
- The Brewers trade OF Norichika Aoki to the Royals for P Will Smith, while a number of free agents sign with new teams: P Edward Mujica with Boston, P Ronald Belisario with the White Sox, and SS Rafael Furcal, who was injured all of last season, with the Marlins.
- 2014:
- The Yankees make a couple of moves today. First, they sign reliever Andrew Miller for four years and $36 million, then they acquire SS Didi Gregorius from Arizona as the heir apparent to the retired Derek Jeter, parting with P Shane Greene, with the Tigers also involved in the deal.
- The Rays hire former C Kevin Cash as their new manager, after an extended search to replace Joe Maddon, who jumped to the Cubs.
- 2015 - Another day, another free agent pitcher signs a huge contract. Today, Jeff Samardzija inks a five-year deal with the Giants worth $90 million. The deal, which is pending a physical exam, follows on the heels of even larger contracts signed by David Price and Zack Greinke in previous days.
- 2016 - A couple of important free agent signings are announced at the winter meetings taking place in National Harbor, MD. The Giants sign closer Mark Melancon for four years and and $62 million, after the lack of a reliable closer cost them dearly in the second half of the previous season and in the postseason. For their part, the Dodgers re-sign P Rich Hill for three years and $48 million, two years after the 36-year-old one-time reliever re-launched his career by going to the independent leagues and tried his luck as a starting pitcher.
- 2017 - The Cardinals sign free agent P Miles Mikolas to a two-year deal worth $15.5 million. Mikolas failed to make much of an impression in his first taste of the majors earlier this decade but is coming off three excellent seasons with the Yomiuri Giants in which his ERA never exceeded 2.45; he will be an All-Star in 2018.
- 2018 - The Cardinals acquire 1B Paul Goldschmidt from Arizona for a package of young players that includes C Carson Kelly, P Luke Weaver, IF Andy Young and a Compensation Round B pick in the 2019 amateur draft.
- 2020 - Softbank Hawks skipper Kimiyasu Kudoh wins the Matsutaro Shoriki Award after his team swept the 2020 Japan Series. It is his fifth time winning the award, breaking Sadaharu Oh's record.
- 2021 - Making up for not having met last year, the Veterans Committee of the Hall of Fame announces the result of two separate votes, one covering the "Early Days" era (before 1950) and the other the "Golden Days" era (1950-1969). A total of six candidates gain election: Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Minoso, Tony Oliva and Buck O'Neil.
- 2022 - At the winter meetings in San Diego, CA, the Phillies are reported to have signed All-Star SS Trea Turner for 11 years and $300 million. For their part, the Mets, who a few days ago saw P Jacob deGrom sign as a free agent with the Rangers, replace him with Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander, who signs a two-year deal worth $86.7 million with an option for another year.
- 2023 - At the winter meetings, the Red Sox and Yankees pull off a rare trade, only the eighth between them since the start of the Divisional era in 1969, as Boston sends starting RF Alex Verdugo to the Bronx in return for three pitchers, only one of whom, Greg Weissert, has major league experience.
Births[edit]
- 1860 - Billy Shindle, infielder (d. 1936)
- 1862 - Harry Fuller, infielder (d. 1895)
- 1864 - Patsy Tebeau, infielder, manager (d. 1918)
- 1868 - Frank Bowerman, catcher, manager (d. 1948)
- 1871 - Dick Cogan, pitcher (d. 1948)
- 1871 - Tom Smith, pitcher (d. 1929)
- 1871 - Snake Wiltse, pitcher (d. 1928)
- 1872 - Pink Hawley, pitcher (d. 1938)
- 1873 - Mike Mahoney, infielder (d. 1940)
- 1876 - Homer Mock, minor league pitcher (d. ????)
- 1877 - Lee Garvin, minor league catcher and manager (d. 1954)
- 1877 - Gus Zeimer, minor league infielder and manager (d. 1947)
- 1878 - Smylie Anderson, minor league player (d. 1944)
- 1884 - Ed Summers, pitcher (d. 1953)
- 1885 - Larry Strands, infielder (d. 1957)
- 1887 - Raleigh Aitchison, pitcher (d. 1958)
- 1888 - Ed Porray, pitcher (d. 1954)
- 1893 - Joe Gedeon, infielder (d. 1941)
- 1894 - Philip K. Wrigley, owner (d. 1977)
- 1899 - Roy Tyler, outfielder (d. 1984)
- 1901 - Ray Moss, pitcher (d. 1998)
- 1901 - Carey Selph, infielder (d. 1976)
- 1904 - Ray Fitzgerald, pinch hitter (d. 1977)
- 1905 - Gus Mancuso, catcher; All-Star (d. 1984)
- 1906 - Lin Storti, infielder (d. 1982)
- 1908 - Grover Seitz, minor league outfielder and manager (d. 1957)
- 1911 - Stu Flythe, pitcher (d. 1963)
- 1911 - Don Padgett, catcher (d. 1980)
- 1911 - Dick Stone, pitcher (d. 1980)
- 1914 - Helen Dettweiler, broadcaster (d. 1990)
- 1915 - Bobby Mattick, infielder, manager (d. 2004)
- 1916 - Steve Rachunok, pitcher (d. 2002)
- 1916 - Len Schulte, infielder (d. 1986)
- 1919 - Baby Ortiz, pitcher (d. 1984)
- 1920 - Warren Gilbert, minor league player (d. 2012)
- 1921 - Dave Ferriss, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2016)
- 1922 - Ed Kowalski, minor league pitcher (d. 2012)
- 1922 - Bill Rodgers, outfielder (d. 2002)
- 1923 - Eleanor Dapkus, AAGPBL player (d. 2011)
- 1924 - George Handy, infielder (d. 1993)
- 1927 - Bob MacKinnon, college coach (d. 2015)
- 1928 - Jack Urban, pitcher (d. 2006)
- 1930 - Chico Rodríguez, Ecuadorian national team player
- 1931 - Segal Drummond, minor league infielder (d. 2010)
- 1931 - Joan Tysver, AAGPBL pitcher (d. 1992)
- 1932 - Jess Duran, minor league outfielder (d. 2019)
- 1932 - Alfredo Street, Cuban league pitcher (d. 2019)
- 1935 - Masayuki Dobashi, NPB pitcher and manager (d. 2013)
- 1936 - Kihachi Enomoto, NPB infielder; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 2012)
- 1938 - Al Moran, infielder
- 1938 - Chico Ruiz, infielder (d. 1972)
- 1939 - Urbano Lugo Sr., minor league pitcher (d. 2017)
- 1940 - John Papa, pitcher
- 1940 - Ken Anderson, minor league player (d. 2009)
- 1941 - Bob Sprout, pitcher
- 1942 - Hans Bouwen, Hoofdklasse pitcher (d. 2019)
- 1942 - Steve Shea, pitcher (d. 2015)
- 1948 - Buddy Harris, pitcher (d. 2022)
- 1953 - Jamie McCourt, owner
- 1953 - Yoshiharu Wakana, NPB catcher
- 1954 - Gary Roenicke, outfielder
- 1956 - Luis Casanova, Cuban league outfielder and manager
- 1956 - Dave Hudgens, infielder
- 1956 - Bill Swaggerty, pitcher
- 1958 - Scott Munninghoff, pitcher
- 1959 - Phil Lansford, minor league infielder
- 1959 - Eloy Morales, Nicaraguan national team pitcher
- 1961 - Alessandro Ambrosioni, Serie A1 infielder
- 1962 - Alan Cockrell, outfielder
- 1962 - German Jimenez, pitcher
- 1962 - Phillip Wellman, minor league player and manager
- 1963 - Sam Khalifa, infielder
- 1963 - Shinichi Murata, NPB catcher
- 1963 - Byeong-Son Ryu, CPBL catcher
- 1964 - Gene Harris, pitcher
- 1964 - Travis Katzenmeier, umpire
- 1965 - Eric Holtz, Israeli national team manager
- 1965 - Scott Lewis, pitcher
- 1966 - Tony Beasley, manager
- 1966 - Shinichiro Kawabata, Japanese national team infielder
- 1967 - Matt Grott, pitcher
- 1968 - Katsuyuki Dobashi, NPB infielder
- 1970 - Andy Stewart, catcher
- 1970 - Charles York, minor league player
- 1972 - Pat Evans, minor league player
- 1972 - Cliff Floyd, outfielder; All-Star
- 1972 - Mike Mahoney, catcher
- 1973 - Hanley Frias, infielder
- 1973 - Damir Karin, Croatian national team infielder
- 1974 - Brian Conley, minor league infielder
- 1974 - Ken Vining, pitcher
- 1975 - Mike Hughes, minor league player
- 1978 - Darwin Peguero, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - Anton Shirokiy, Russian national team pitcher
- 1978 - Josh Stewart, pitcher
- 1978 - Michinao Yamamura, NPB pitcher
- 1982 - Oscar Marin, coach
- 1983 - Isandra Cumare, Venezuelan womens' national team pitcher
- 1983 - Chris Rahl, minor league outfielder
- 1984 - Josh Lueke, pitcher
- 1984 - Sergio Perez, minor league pitcher
- 1985 - Ryan Additon, umpire
- 1986 - Tim Kennelly, minor league utility man
- 1986 - Cheng-Yi Lin, CPBL outfielder
- 1986 - Gary Owens, minor league outfielder
- 1986 - Justin Smoak, infielder; All-Star
- 1987 - A.J. Pollock, outfielder; All-Star
- 1987 - Chris Rearick, pitcher
- 1987 - Clayton Tanner, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Yuki Koyama, NPB pitcher
- 1988 - Kyle Long, drafted pitcher
- 1988 - Troy Snitker, coach
- 1989 - Ryan Garton, pitcher
- 1989 - Derrik Gibson, minor league infielder
- 1989 - Yoshinori Sato, NPB pitcher
- 1990 - Juan Martín, minor league catcher
- 1991 - Cody Gabella, minor league infielder and manager
- 1991 - Toshiya Okada, NPB pitcher
- 1991 - Christian Yelich, outfielder; All-Star
- 1992 - Tzu-Hung Chen, CPBL outfielder
- 1993 - Tejay Antone, pitcher
- 1993 - Trevor Megill, pitcher
- 1993 - Cam Vieaux, pitcher
- 1994 - Chun-Kai Chang, CPBL outfielder
- 1995 - Julián Fernández, pitcher
- 1995 - Mikhail Korovin, Russian national team outfielder
- 1995 - Nick Nelson, pitcher
- 1995 - Jiping Qi, China Baseball League pitcher
- 1997 - Muhammad Hussain, Pakistani national team infielder
- 1997 - Hayden Wesneski, pitcher
- 1999 - Antoine Kelly, minor league pitcher
- 2000 - Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis, Australian national team pitcher
- 2000 - Lay Rathanak, Cambodian national team outfielder
- 2001 - Louise Maillard, French women's national team outfielder
- 2001 - Jorge Puerta, minor league infielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1899 - Ruben Cudlipp, pre-MLB infielder (b. ~1821)
- 1916 - John Cuff, catcher (b. 1864)
- 1928 - William Ritter, catcher (b. 1869)
- 1930 - Ben Guiney, catcher; umpire (b. 1858)
- 1937 - John Lovett, pitcher (b. 1877)
- 1942 - Ed Eiteljorg, pitcher (b. 1871)
- 1942 - Val Picinich, catcher (b. 1896)
- 1950 - Bill Dahlen, infielder, manager (b. 1870)
- 1951 - Norrie Claxton, Australian executive (b. 1877)
- 1951 - Jim Duggan, infielder (b. 1885)
- 1951 - Joe Jackson, outfielder (b. 1887)
- 1954 - Russ Christopher, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1917)
- 1956 - John George, minor league pitcher and manager (b. 1921)
- 1957 - Alex Ferson, pitcher (b. 1866)
- 1959 - Oscar Siemer, catcher (b. 1901)
- 1961 - Frank Mahar, pinch hitter (b. 1878)
- 1964 - Ed Wingo, catcher (b. 1895)
- 1967 - Jack Lively, pitcher (b. 1885)
- 1969 - Joe Rabbitt, outfielder (b. 1900)
- 1970 - Sylvester Carlisle, infielder (b. 1926)
- 1970 - Joe Wyatt, outfielder (b. 1900)
- 1973 - Spencer Pumpelly, pitcher (b. 1893)
- 1974 - Jim Beckman, pitcher (b. 1905)
- 1978 - Brennan King, pitcher (b. 1916)
- 1979 - Buford Nunley, infielder (b. 1912)
- 1986 - George Abrams, pitcher (b. 1897)
- 1992 - Art Bartelli, minor league infielder/outfielder (b. 1914)
- 1992 - Masayasu Kaneda, NPB outfielder and manager (b. 1920)
- 1994 - Woody Abernathy, pitcher (b. 1915)
- 1995 - Bill Bruton, outfielder (b. 1925)
- 1996 - Cliff Mapes, outfielder (b. 1922)
- 1998 - Henry McCall, infielder (b. 1907)
- 1999 - Freddie Shepard, outfielder (b. 1916)
- 2001 - Carmen Bush, executive (b. 1912)
- 2003 - Paul Busby, outfielder (b. 1918)
- 2005 - Billy Reed, infielder (b. 1922)
- 2010 - Paul Deters, minor league outfielder (b. 1925)
- 2010 - James Griffy, minor league infielder (b. 1931)
- 2011 - Joe Lonnett, catcher (b. 1927)
- 2011 - Ron Stead, minor league pitcher (b. 1936)
- 2014 - Rod Graber, outfielder (b. 1930)
- 2016 - Luis Zúñiga, Ecuadorian national team catcher (b. ????)
- 2017 - Brian Baldea, college coach (b. ~1955)
- 2018 - Bobby Trevino, outfielder (b. 1945)
- 2020 - John Erickson, minor league infielder (b. 1938)
- 2021 - Roly Wout, Hoofdklasse infielder (b. 1941)
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