February 16
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 February 16.
Events[edit]
- 1889 - Warrants are issued in Sacramento, CA for the arrests of Joe Quest, Billy Alvord and Harry Dooms for allegedly jumping their California League contracts. Alvord turns himself in and is released, but the Sacramento club is still seeking the other two players.
- 1896 - New York City Parks Commissioner Samuel McMillan announces a plan to cut a street through the Polo Grounds leading to the Speedway, a new privately-constructed horse track. The street is never built.
- 1900 - Washington sells eight players, including home run king Buck Freeman and P Bill Dinneen going to Boston, then disbands. Baltimore players are to be transferred to the Brooklyn Superbas and syndicate baseball will be ended.
- 1915 - Frank Home Run" Baker, 28, announces his retirement following a contract dispute with Connie Mack. He will sit out the 1915 season. Mack will also have salary problems with Charles Bender, Eddie Plank and Jack Coombs, and rather than compete with the Federal League, he releases the stars.
- 1916 - Energetic recruiting by Ban Johnson produces a pair of Chicago contractors to take over the Cleveland franchise from Charles W. Somers, a lavish spender at the American League's creation but now in financial difficulties. J.C. Dunn and P.S. McCarthy pay $500,000 - $60,000 less than the asking price. E.S. Barnard will stay on as vice president and Lee Fohl, as manager.
- 1924 - Boston Braves third baseman Tony Boeckel becomes the first major leaguer to be killed in an automobile accident when he dies from injuries received as a passenger yesterday in San Diego, CA. Yankee outfielder Bob Meusel, also a passenger of the car driven by Los Angeles theater man Bob Albright, escapes without any serious injuries.
- 1930 - Judge Landis rules that the Cards cannot farm out C Gus Mancuso to the Rochester Red Wings. Forced to keep him by the commissioner's edict, the Cardinals finds it pays off when regular C Jimmie Wilson is injured and Mancuso bats .366 in 76 games.
- 1934 - Pitcher Eppa Rixey of the Cincinnati Reds announces his retirement after 21 seasons and a career 266-251 mark. Tomorrow, Urban "Red" Faber will also retire, leaving a 20-year career mark of 254-212, all with the Chicago White Sox. Both hurlers will gain eventual election to the Hall of Fame.
- 1950 - Former Giants Mel Ott and Bill Terry are the top vote-getters, but fail to be elected into the Hall of Fame.
- 1952 - Hall of Famer Honus Wagner, 77, retires after 40 years as a major league player and coach. He receives a pension from the Pittsburgh Pirates, with whom he spent most of those years.
- 1953 - The Braves send 1B Earl Torgeson to the Phils for P Russ Meyer. They then send Meyer to Brooklyn for Rocky Bridges and Jim Pendleton, and complete the day's activities by sending Bridges to the Cincinnati Reds for slugger Joe Adcock.
- 1956:
- Major League owners announce that the players' pension fund will receive 60 percent of World Series and All-Star Game radio and TV revenues.
- The courts award Dr. Samuel Shenkman $5,000 in his suit against Dodger C Roy Campanella for surgery on Campy's injured hand on October 20, 1954. Campanella says the doctor never informed him that the charge would be $9,500, a price the catcher considered excessive.
- 1961 - Charlie Finley purchases the outstanding 48 percent of the Athletics stock to become their sole owner.
- 1967 - Former New York Yankees pitcher Red Ruffing, author of 273 major league wins, is elected to the Hall of Fame.
- 1980 - Milwaukee Brewers coach Harvey Kuenn has his right leg amputated below the knee after four operations to remove a blood clot.
- 1982 - Bake McBride becomes the third starter from the 1980 Phillies' World Championship squad to be traded or sold since Bill Giles bought the club last October. The Cleveland Indians get him in exchange for pitcher Sid Monge.
- 1989 - Orel Hershiser becomes the first player in major league history to sign a contract that calls for a $3 million salary by inking a three-year, $7.9 million contract with the Dodgers that will pay him $3,166,667 in 1991.
- 1996 - General Mills announces a special edition Wheaties cereal box honoring Negro League superstars Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and Cool Papa Bell.
- 2001 - The Yankees' premier reliever, Mariano Rivera (7-4, 2.85, 36 saves), signs a four-year contract worth approximately $40 million with the Bronx Bombers. The 31-year-old Panama native surpassed Dennis Eckersley's major league record with 16 saves in postseason games.
- 2002 - The sale of the Florida Marlins to a group headed by Jeffrey Loria becomes official.
- 2003 - Although banned by Major League Baseball for a Cooperstown induction, Pete Rose becomes a member of the "Ted Williams Hitters Hall of Fame". Charlie Hustle joins 1998 inductee Shoeless Joe Jackson, who is also banned from becoming a member of the Hall of Fame.
- 2004 - Alex Rodriguez is traded by the Rangers to the Yankees for Alfonso Soriano and a player to be named later (Joaquin Arias), as the Rangers want to get out from the massive ten-year contract they gave A-Rod before the 2001 season.
- 2010:
- The Nationals sign former Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang to a one-year contract. Wang saw his 2008 season end early with a foot injury, and struggled to a 1-6 record while being bothered with various ailments in 2009. He won't return to a major league mound until 2011.
- The Indians bring back 1B Russell Branyan, whom they originally drafted in 1994 and who played for the team until 2002. Coming off his best year in the majors, in which he slugged 31 homers for Seattle, Branyan missed the last month of the season with an ailing back and his health remains a concern.
- 2011:
- Albert Pujols' self-imposed deadline for reaching agreement on a long-term contract extension with the St. Louis Cardinals expires without a deal. Pujols, who is seeking $300 million over ten years, states that there will be no more negotiations during the season in order to avoid a potential distraction. The three-time National League MVP is slated to become a free agent next fall.
- Late tonight, Tigers 1B Miguel Cabrera is arrested in Fort Pierce, FL and charged with driving under the influence and refusing to cooperate with police officers. In October 2009, Cabrera was arrested for threatening his wife while intoxicated as the Tigers were playing a crucial series to determine the AL Central champion.
- 2012 - Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter dies of brain cancer in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. After becoming a perennial All-Star with the Montreal Expos, Carter led the New York Mets to a World Series title in 1986.
- 2013 - It looks like there will be no salary arbitration hearings this year, as two of the remaining unsigned players who had filed for arbitration sign deals with their teams. P Homer Bailey agrees to a $5.35 million deal with the Reds, while P Clayton Richard signs on the dotted line for $5.2 million with the Padres. The only unsigned player remaining is P Darren O'Day, but he has agreed to a contract with the Orioles, with only a physical examination required to make it final. Since arbitration was implemented in 1974, there had never been a year with fewer than three hearings being held.
- 2014 - One of the remaining prize free agents still on the market, P A.J. Burnett, signs a two-year deal with the Phillies worth up to $33.5 million with performance bonuses. Burnett is coming off two very good seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates that have re-energized his career. He says he chose the Phils over the Bucs because they are located a mere hour and a half from his hometown in Maryland.
- 2018:
- The Mets agree to a deal with free agent SP Jason Vargas, who is coming off the best season of his career at 35. Vargas will be paid $16 million over two seasons, as long as he passes a physical exam.
- Miami-Dade County and the city of Miami, FL sue former Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria for failure to execute a clause in the contract through which the governments provided funding for the construction of Marlins Park, which called for Loria to pay a 5% equity on any profit from the sale of the team. Through what the city and county call "fuzzy math", Loria claims to have made a loss on the sale, even though he received $1.2 billion for the team, having bought it for $158 million in 2002.
- 2024 - In a college game, Sacramento State University OF Matt Masciangelo gets hit by pitch seven times in eight plate appearance in a doubleheader against Loyola Marymount University.
Births[edit]
- 1865 - Ben Sanders, pitcher (d. 1930)
- 1866 - Jack Scheible, pitcher (d. 1897)
- 1870 - Bud Lally, umpire (d. 1932)
- 1872 - Frank McPartlin, pitcher (d. 1943)
- 1873 - John Sullivan, catcher (d. 1924)
- 1875 - Dan Coogan, infielder (d. 1942)
- 1879 - Ivor Wagner, minor league pitcher (d. 1958)
- 1880 - Frank Burke, outfielder (d. 1946)
- 1880 - Carl Lundgren, pitcher (d. 1934)
- 1884 - Herbie Moran, outfielder (d. 1954)
- 1889 - Skip Dowd, pitcher (d. 1960)
- 1894 - Tom Harris, minor league player (d. 1966)
- 1895 - Red Cox, pitcher (d. 1984)
- 1897 - Paul Castner, pitcher (d. 1986)
- 1897 - Alex Ferguson, pitcher (d. 1976)
- 1900 - Logan Hensley, pitcher (d. 1971)
- 1903 - Pete Cooper, minor league catcher and manager (d. 1985)
- 1904 - Alonza Bailey, pitcher (d. 1984)
- 1904 - Tiny Baldwin, infielder (d. 1959)
- 1907 - Ginger Watts, minor league catcher (d. 1978)
- 1909 - Charlie Wallgren, scout (d. 2000)
- 1911 - Bill Starr, catcher (d. 1991)
- 1912 - Ray Harrell, pitcher (d. 1984)
- 1912 - Parnell Woods, infielder, manager; All-Star (d. 1977)
- 1915 - Wilbert King, infielder (d. ????)
- 1916 - Elbert Treadway, pitcher (d. 1978)
- 1918 - Frank Crespi, infielder (d. 1990)
- 1923 - Ribs Raney, pitcher (d. 2003)
- 1926 - Atsushi Aramaki, NPB pitcher; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1971)
- 1926 - Howie Judson, pitcher (d. 2020)
- 1929 - Fred Hahn, pitcher (d. 1984)
- 1929 - Wally Komatsubara, scout (d. 2010)
- 1931 - Maurice Fisher, pitcher (d. 2022)
- 1933 - Dave Mann, minor league outfielder (d. 2018)
- 1933 - Jun Matsui, NPB catcher
- 1933 - Kenichiro Okamoto, NPB infielder
- 1934 - Don Eaddy, infielder (d. 2008)
- 1934 - Jesse Rogers, minor league outfielder (d. 2013)
- 1936 - Don Landrum, outfielder (d. 2003)
- 1942 - Tim Cullen, infielder
- 1943 - Bobby Darwin, outfielder
- 1944 - Glenn Vaughan, infielder (d. 2004)
- 1947 - Terry Crowley, designated hitter
- 1949 - Bob Didier, catcher
- 1951 - Glenn Abbott, pitcher
- 1951 - Domingo Figueroa, minor league player
- 1952 - Barry Foote, catcher
- 1952 - Jerry Hairston, outfielder
- 1955 - Gabriel Rodriguez, minor league outfielder
- 1956 - Takayoshi Nakao, NPB catcher
- 1960 - Eric Bullock, outfielder
- 1960 - Bill Pecota, infielder
- 1962 - Dwayne Henry, pitcher
- 1962 - Jason Malec, minor league pitcher
- 1964 - Homar Rojas, minor league catcher and manager
- 1964 - Rico Rossy, infielder
- 1965 - Frank Dimichele, pitcher
- 1965 - Ching-Lai Tsao, CPBL outfielder
- 1966 - Wes Bliven, minor league pitcher
- 1966 - Jin-woo Song, KBO pitcher
- 1967 - Brian Cornelius, minor league outfielder
- 1967 - Bill Losa, minor league catcher
- 1969 - Tim Costo, outfielder
- 1970 - Shin Nakagomi, NPB pitcher
- 1970 - Gabriel Valarezo, Spanish national team pitcher
- 1971 - Mike Hubbard, catcher
- 1972 - Jerome Bettis, minor league owner
- 1972 - John Carter, minor league pitcher
- 1973 - Brian Kooiman, minor league infielder
- 1973 - Sung-bo Shim, KBO outfielder
- 1974 - Cutberto Espinoza, minor league outfielder
- 1974 - Luis Figueroa, infielder
- 1974 - Tsung-Cheng Hung, CPBL pitcher
- 1975 - Angel Pena, catcher
- 1975 - Randy Stegall, college coach
- 1976 - Eric Byrnes, outfielder
- 1977 - Abraham Atencio, Panamanian national team pitcher
- 1977 - Marian Gajdoš, Extraliga pitcher
- 1980 - Johan Maya, minor league infielder and manager
- 1980 - Otto Wahyu Minarto, Indonesian national team infielder
- 1981 - Sergio Mitre, pitcher
- 1981 - Rodrigo Miyamoto, Brazilian national team pitcher
- 1981 - Jerry Owens, outfielder
- 1981 - Elias Saenz, Panamanian national team pitcher
- 1982 - Manny Delcarmen, pitcher
- 1982 - Toe Nash, minor league outfielder
- 1983 - Ardley Jansen, minor league outfielder
- 1983 - Ramon Troncoso, pitcher
- 1985 - Masato Nakazawa, NPB pitcher
- 1985 - Zach Penprase, minor league infielder
- 1985 - Clint Robinson, infielder
- 1986 - Jordan Lennerton, minor league infielder
- 1987 - Kevin Gossage, minor league catcher
- 1987 - Tom Milone, pitcher
- 1987 - Arismendy Mota, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Jan Blažek, Extraliga pitcher
- 1988 - Jorge Rondon, pitcher
- 1989 - Nikol Chermoshentsev, Russian national team pitcher
- 1989 - John Gast, pitcher
- 1989 - Eduardo Sánchez, pitcher
- 1990 - Byoung-wan Kang, KBO pitcher
- 1991 - Michelle Bruijn, Dutch womens' national team pitcher
- 1992 - Jeff Brigham, pitcher
- 1992 - Marco Gonzales, pitcher
- 1993 - Sosuke Genda, NPB infielder
- 1993 - Dustin Kellogg, minor league pitcher (d. 2011)
- 1993 - Cristofer Robles, Chilean national team player
- 1994 - Wynne McCann, USA womens' national team pitcher
- 1995 - Vitor Ito, Brazilian national team infielder
- 1996 - Viktor Belin, Croatian national team outfielder
- 1996 - Dianelis Muñoz, Cuban womens' national team outfielder
- 1996 - Nick Ray, minor league pitcher and manager
- 1997 - Jialun Tu, minor league pitcher
- 1998 - Matthew Joossens, First Division pitcher
- 1998 - Ben Sems, minor league infielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1902 - Tom O'Meara, catcher (b. 1872)
- 1924 - Tony Boeckel, infielder (b. 1892)
- 1924 - Pop-Boy Smith, pitcher (b. 1892)
- 1936 - Tom Shibe, owner (b. 1866)
- 1938 - Lee Tannehill, infielder (b. 1880)
- 1940 - Alex Albritton, pitcher (b. 1892)
- 1942 - O.F. Baldwin, pitcher (b. 1881)
- 1948 - Percy Coleman, pitcher (b. 1876)
- 1949 - Tommy Raub, catcher (b. 1870)
- 1957 - Cap Clark, catcher (b. 1906)
- 1959 - Ted Reed, infielder (b. 1890)
- 1960 - Stuffy McInnis, infielder, manager (b. 1890)
- 1960 - Jasper Washington, infielder (b. 1896)
- 1961 - Dazzy Vance, pitcher; Hall of Famer (b. 1891)
- 1969 - Mul Holland, pitcher (b. 1903)
- 1970 - Dick Conger, pitcher (b. 1921)
- 1971 - Cedric Durst, outfielder (b. 1896)
- 1972 - Wally Buchanan, Baseball Australia Hall of Famer (b. 1888)
- 1974 - Gus Brittain, catcher (b. 1909)
- 1974 - Bill Stellbauer, outfielder (b. 1894)
- 1976 - John Shovlin, infielder (b. 1891)
- 1977 - Rudolph Ash, outfielder (b. 1899)
- 1977 - Ken Nash, infielder (b. 1888)
- 1978 - Edward Lindberg, US national team catcher (b. 1886)
- 1983 - Everett Fagan, pitcher (b. 1918)
- 1988 - Bill Cox, pitcher (b. 1913)
- 1993 - Bill Zinser, pitcher (b. 1918)
- 1996 - Hank Gornicki, pitcher (b. 1911)
- 1997 - Motoaki Horigome, NPB outfielder (b. 1939)
- 1999 - Edwin Bucynski, minor league outfielder (b. 1923)
- 2000 - Wayne Blackburn, coach (b. 1914)
- 2000 - Soup Campbell, outfielder (b. 1915)
- 2001 - Bob Buhl, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1928)
- 2002 - Walter Schmid, Bundesliga infielder (b. 1937)
- 2004 - Charlie Fox, catcher, manager (b. 1921)
- 2005 - Hisafumi Kawamura, NPB pitcher (b. 1933)
- 2009 - Jason Cierlik, minor league pitcher (b. 1981)
- 2010 - Jim Bibby, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1944)
- 2010 - Jim Waugh, pitcher (b. 1933)
- 2012 - Gary Carter, catcher; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1954)
- 2018 - Jérôme Cotnoir, minor league catcher and manager (b. 1924)
- 2019 - Alfredo Street, Cuban league pitcher (b. 1932)
- 2019 - Rino Zangheri, Italian Baseball League executive; Italian Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1932)
- 2020 - Danny Bishop, minor league catcher (b. 1938)
- 2020 - Tony Fernandez, infielder; All-Star (b. 1962)
- 2021 - Lew Krausse, pitcher (b. 1943)
- 2021 - Angel Mangual, outfielder (b. 1947)
- 2023 - Alex Herrera, pitcher (b. 1976)
- 2023 - Tim McCarver, catcher; All-Star (b. 1941)
- 2024 - Joe Hindelang, college coach (b. 1945)
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