February 8
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 February 8.
Events[edit]
- 1887:
- King Kelly meets with Chicago White Stockings owner Albert Spalding for contract talks. Kelly, who won the National League batting championship for the pennant-winning White Stockings last season, wants the bonus of $375 that Spalding promised for good behavior last year. Spalding refuses to give him the bonus or to rescind the additional $225 withheld from Kelly's salary as fines for drinking. Six days from now, Kelly will be sold to the Boston Beaneaters.
- The National League franchise in St. Louis, MO is sold to a group from Indianapolis, IN for $12,000, including players. The Maroons will now become the Hoosiers.
- 1889 - In New York City, workers are dismantling fences at the Polo Grounds to cut a street through the property, leaving the New York Giants without a home for the coming season. They will hastily erect Manhattan Field in order to have a home grounds.
- 1901 - It is rumored that Nap Lajoie, the National League's leading hitter and Phillies top player, has jumped to the Philadelphia Athletics of the new American League.
- 1916 - The National League turns down a request from Brooklyn Robins owner Charles Ebbets, who had wanted to impose a limit of 2,000 seats that clubs can sell for 25 cents. The Boston Braves have 10,000 such seats, the St. Louis Cardinals 9,000, the Philadelphia Phillies 6,500, and the Cincinnati Reds 4,000.
- 1927 - Pitcher Sad Sam Jones is traded by the New York Yankees to the St. Louis Browns in exchange for pitcher Joe Giard and outfielder Cedric Durst. Jones will be 8-14 in his only season in St. Louis.
- 1932 - Waite Hoyt is released by the Philadelphia Athletics and will sign with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
- 1940 - The St. Louis Browns make one of their best acquisitions ever when they purchase pitcher Elden Auker from the Boston Red Sox. Auker will become the ace of the Browns staff winning 44 games over the next three seasons.
- 1941 - The Detroit Tigers release future Hall of Famer Earl Averill and sign outfielder Hoot Evers, a star at the University of Illinois. Averill will eventually sign a contract with the Boston Braves but will hit only .118 in 17 at-bats, ending his major league career.
- 1942 - At California's Folsom prison, the annual game between major leaguers and the prison team is stopped when it is discovered that two prisoners have escaped. With the pros leading 24 - 5 at the end of seven innings, the game ends and guards go after the two lifers, who are found three hours later. The major leaguers include Ernie Lombardi, Tiny Bonham, Gus Suhr, Joe Marty, and Johnny Babich.
- 1956:
- The legendary Connie Mack dies at age 93. After managing Pittsburgh's National League club from 1894 to 1896, the former catcher became a prominent figure in Ban Johnson's Western League. A founder of the American League in 1901, Mack managed and owned the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 to 1950, leading the team to five World Series titles and nine American League pennants. He won election to the Hall of Fame in 1937.
- The Washington Senators send pitcher Mickey McDermott and shortstop Bob Kline to the New York Yankees in exchange for catcher Lou Berberet, outfielder Whitey Herzog, and three more players.
- 1958 - Juan Pizarro opens the Caribbean Series with a 17-strikeout effort, setting a new record for the event.
- 1962 - The Federal Trade Commission accuses Topps Chewing Gum of illegally monopolizing the baseball card industry. In 1980, a court decision will open the door to competition.
- 1968 - The Cincinnati Reds trade catcher Johnny Edwards to the St. Louis Cardinals for infielder Jimy Williams and catcher Pat Corrales, both future major league skippers.
- 1972 - Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard are elected to the Hall of Fame through the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues. The two former stars, who led the Homestead Grays to nine straight league championships from 1937 to 1945, become the second and third players to be selected by the Committee, joining Satchel Paige, who was elected in 1971.
- 1973 - MLB owners announce that "early bird" spring training camps are canceled until all bargaining with the Players' Association is concluded.
- 1978 - The Milwaukee Brewers purchase slugger Gorman Thomas from the Texas Rangers. He will blossom as a hitter in his second tour of duty with the Brew Crew.
- 1982 - The Los Angeles Dodgers trade veteran second baseman Davey Lopes to the Oakland Athletics for minor leaguer Lance Hudson. The move, which opens a spot for rookie Steve Sax, breaks up the Dodgers' infield, which had been intact since 1974. The other starting infielders, Steve Garvey (1B), Bill Russell (SS) and Ron Cey (3B) remain with the team.
- 1983 - One day after taking a job as director of sports promotions for the Claridge Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, Mickey Mantle is ordered to sever his ties with Major League Baseball by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn. Mantle joins fellow Hall of Famer Willie Mays as players banned from baseball by Kuhn for involvement with legalized gambling.
- 1984 - After losing Type A free agent Tom Underwood to the Orioles, Oakland grabs pitcher Tim Belcher from the Yankees as compensation. The number-one selection in the June 1983 draft, Belcher did not sign with Minnesota and was available in the January draft last month. The Yankees signed him on February 2nd, only to lose him because they had already submitted their list of 26 protected players, a blunder which will cost general manager Murray Cook his job.
- 1987 - Braudilio Vinent retires from play in the Cuban National League. He won 221 games with 2,134 strikeouts in his twenty-year career.
- 1991 - Boston Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens signs a four-year $21,521,000 contract extension, making him baseball's highest-paid player.
- 1999 - Boston Red Sox outfielder Midre Cummings has his arbitration case heard by Elizabeth Neumeier. It is the first arbitration case in MLB history to be decided by a female arbitrator. Since the arbitration rule went into effect in 1974, all 409 cases have been decided by men.
- 2001 - The Aguilas Cibaeñas of the Dominican League defeat Mexico's Hermosillo, 5 - 3, to take their fourth Caribbean Series title in the last five years. The Aguilas also won in 1997, 1998 and 2000, while the Tigres del Licey were the champions in 1999.
- 2002 - In Caracas, Venezuela, the Tomateros de Culiacan of Mexico defeats Puerto Rico's Vaqueros de Bayamón to win the Caribbean Series title.
- 2006 - Emil Brown defeats the Kansas City Royals in salary arbitration and will get his request for $1,775,000 rather than the team's offer of $1.4 million. Brown set career highs last season in batting average (.286), doubles (31), home runs (17) and RBI (86) for the Royals, who had the worst record in the major leagues at 56-106.
- 2008 - The Baltimore Orioles deal Erik Bedard to the Seattle Mariners for prospects Adam Jones, George Sherrill, Chris Tillman, Tony Butler and Kam Mickolio. Bedard was leading the American League in strikeouts before a rib injury cut his season short. Jones is a former first-round pick who hit 25 home runs in AAA at age 22. Tillman was Seattle's minor league pitcher of the year in 2007.
- 2009 - The Perth Heat win their second straight Claxton Shield title, beating the New South Wales Patriots, 3 - 2, in the third game of the best-of-three finals. Daniel Schmidt allows two hits and no runs in 6 2/3 IP for Perth, which maintains a 2 - 0 lead until the 9th. Closer Brendan Wise blows it, though, giving up a two-run hit to Mitch Dening. Thankfully, his club rallies against Matthew Williams in the bottom of the inning to win it. Luke Hughes is named MVP of the finals.
- 2011 - The Red Sox sign reliever Alfredo Aceves to a one-year contract. Aceves, who has spent his entire career with the New York Yankees is coming off a back injury that cut short his 2010 season, and a broken collarbone suffered in an off-season bicycle accident.
- 2014:
- The Naranjeros de Hermosillo defeat Mayagüez, 7 - 1, in the finals of the Caribbean Series to give the representatives of the Mexican Pacific League their third title in the last four editions. OF Chris Roberson is named the series' MVP after his 6th-inning homer off Kanekoa Texeira breaks a scoreless tie. Puerto Rican starter Joel Pineiro keeps the Mexicans from scoring through the first five innings, but the floodgates open after his departure, as C Sebastian Valle adds a grand slam later in the 6th to break the game open. Juan Delgadillo is the winner.
- The Perth Heat win the 2013-2014 Australian Baseball League title, two games to none, over the Canberra Cavalry. Brandon Tripp drives in Corey Adamson in the 1st and Allan de San Miguel drives in Matt Kennelly in the 6th. Jeremy Barnes homers in the bottom of the 7th for Canberra's lone run in the 2 - 1 loss. Brian Baker, Cameron Lamb and Warwick Saupold combine on a three-hitter while Ethan Cole takes the loss. Joey Wong goes 2 for 2 to be named the finals MVP, after driving in the winner in Game 1.
- 2015:
- The Perth Heat win their fourth Australian Baseball League title in five years by defeating the Adelaide Bite, 12 - 5, in the third game of the 2014-2015 ABL finals. Tim Kennelly, Luke Hughes and Tim Smith all homer while Mike McCarthy is the winner. Allan de San Miguel is named the series' MVP.
- A Cuban team wins the Caribbean Series for the first time since 1960 as Pinar del Río defeats Culiacan, 3 - 2 in the finals. Yulieski Gourriel's 8th-inning homer is the key blow for the Cubans while Yosvani Torres gets the win, throwing perfect ball for the first four innings. Frederich Cepeda is the Caribbean Series MVP.
- Reports indicate that free agent pitcher James Shields has come to an agreement with the Padres on a four-year contract.
- 2016 - The Cuban national team is dealt a major blow as two of its most prominent stars, brothers Yulieski Gourriel and Lourdes Gourriel Jr., defect jointly at the end of the Caribbean Series held in the Dominican Republic. The two had been loaned to the Cuban Serie Nacional representative in the tournament, Ciego de Ávila, as "national reinforcements" and have been in the cross-hairs of major league scouts for years.
- 2018:
- News emerges that the Tampa Bay Rays have settled on a site in Ybor City, FL, one of Tampa, FL's most historic neighborhoods, as the location for a new ballpark to replace the inadequate Tropicana Field. However, the team will fail to obtain the necessary authorizations and financing before construction starts, and the project will fall through within a few months.
- For the second straight year, the Criollos de Caguas win the Caribbean Series title, rallying for a 9 - 4 win over Aguilas Cibaenas in the final game of the tournament. Jonathan Morales hits a three-run homer in the 7th inning as part of a five-run barrage to put the Puerto Ricans ahead. The win is especially sweet as the Puerto Rican League had to shorten its season because of the damage caused by Hurricane Maria in September, and the island is still reeling from the after-effects of the devastating storm. It is the fifth Caribbean championship overall for the Criollos. Anthony García is named Caribbean Series MVP after hitting three home runs and scoring eight runs and driving in eight in the six games, with a 1.598 OPS.
- 2019 - In the Caribbean Series, the Charros de Jalisco defeat the Cardenales de Lara, 9 - 4, behind a three-run homer by Victor Mendoza. In the other game, Estrellas Orientales defeat Toros de Herrera, 5 - 3, inflicting their first defeat on the host Panamanians, as Wilkin Castillo has three hits and four RBIs.
- 2021 - MLB and the Players Association agree on a new set of health and safety protocols for spring training and the upcoming season, given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Among the features retained from 2020 are seven-inning doubleheaders and the use of the extra-innings tie-breaker - but not the universal designated hitter. The deal also confirms the opening of spring training on February 17th and the date of Opening Day on April 1st.
- 2022 - Prosecutors in Los Angeles, CA decide not to file charges against Trevor Bauer, who was alleged to have choked a woman during a sexual encounter, due to lack of evidence. He has been on administrative leave since last July 2nd, but still faces a likely suspension from Major League Baseball.
- 2023 - The 2023 Caribbean Series round-robin phase ends, with the Tigres del Licey winning the last spot in the semifinals thanks to a 6 - 2 win over the WildCats. Ramón Hernández's three-run pinch-hit homer in the 7th breaks a 1 - 1 tie while Emilio Bonifacio falls a homer shy of a cycle, scores two and drives in one.
- 2024:
- The Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame inducts its class of 2024: Jesús Feliciano, César Tovar, Francisco Campos, Odell Jones and Julian Tavarez.
- After going 5-1 in the round-robin phase of the 2024 Caribbean Series, the Federales de Chiriquí drop a 4-1 game to the Tigres del Licey to open the semifinals; defending champion Licey had been 3-3 in the round-robin. They got fine pitching today from Cameron Gann, Jonathan Aro, Fernando Abad and Neftali Feliz, who blanked the Federales for seven innings Yadiel Hernández goes 2-for-3 with a run and a RBI to pace the offense.
- In the other semifinal, the Tiburones de La Guaira beat the Curaçao Suns, 6-2, with Ramón Flores reaching all four times, scoring a pair and driving in two as well.
Births[edit]
- 1855 - Harry Arundel, pitcher (d. 1904)
- 1860 - John Robb, umpire (d. 1939)
- 1867 - Bug Holliday, outfielder (d. 1910)
- 1873 - John Richter, infielder (d. 1927)
- 1883 - Joe Cassidy, infielder (d. 1906)
- 1886 - Fred Blanding, pitcher (d. 1950)
- 1886 - Roy Ellam, infielder (d. 1948)
- 1889 - Gene Elliott, outfielder (d. 1976)
- 1890 - Ray Bates, infielder (d. 1970)
- 1892 - Manuel Cueto, outfielder (d. 1942)
- 1894 - Clarence Roper, minor league infielder/manager (d. 1974)
- 1896 - Dobie Moore, infielder (d. 1947)
- 1899 - Bob Cobb, minor league owner (d. 1970)
- 1902 - Eddie Rose, minor league outfielder (d. 1970)
- 1906 - Bruce Caldwell, outfielder (d. 1959)
- 1909 - William Prince, minor league pitcher and manager (d. 1971)
- 1911 - Rae Blaemire, catcher (d. 1975)
- 1911 - Don Heffner, infielder, manager (d. 1989)
- 1912 - Takeshi Sugeta, Brazilian national team manager (d. 1997)
- 1914 - Saburo Asaoka, NPB pitcher
- 1914 - Mel Bosser, pitcher (d. 1986)
- 1914 - Leslie Green, outfielder; All-Star (d. 1985)
- 1914 - Bert Haas, infielder; All-Star (d. 1999)
- 1918 - Danny Carnevale, coach (d. 2005)
- 1918 - Cookie Cuccurullo, pitcher (d. 1983)
- 1918 - Butch Nieman, outfielder (d. 1993)
- 1920 - Buddy Blattner, infielder (d. 2009)
- 1920 - Dewey Soriano, owner (d. 1998)
- 1921 - Hoot Evers, outfielder; All-Star (d. 1991)
- 1921 - Betsy Jochum, AAGPBL outfielder and pitcher
- 1921 - Willard Marshall, outfielder; All-Star (d. 2000)
- 1922 - Monty Basgall, infielder (d. 2005)
- 1922 - Jerry Daunt, minor league infielder (d. 2009)
- 1923 - Hank Baylis, infielder (d. 1980)
- 1924 - Joe Black, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2002)
- 1925 - Milt Nielsen, outfielder (d. 2005)
- 1925 - Rafael Olivares, Venezuelan national team infielder (d. 2010)
- 1931 - Larry Dolan, owner
- 1935 - Wim Onderstal, Hoofdklasse player and manager (d. 2012)
- 1937 - Wen-Chen Shih, Taiwan national team pitcher
- 1939 - Harvey Branch, pitcher
- 1939 - Steve Ryder, minor league outfielder (d. 2018)
- 1942 - Fritz Peterson, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2023)
- 1942 - Costen Shockley, infielder (d. 2022)
- 1943 - Bob Oliver, infielder (d. 2020)
- 1944 - Isao Shibata, NPB outfielder
- 1946 - Oscar Brown, outfielder (d. 2020)
- 1946 - Larry Burchart, pitcher
- 1948 - Rich Giacchetti, Italian Baseball League pitcher
- 1949 - Phil Meyer, minor league pitcher
- 1951 - Steve Dillard, infielder
- 1954 - Joe Maddon, manager
- 1955 - Tim Norrid, minor league outfielder
- 1961 - David Chiono, Serie A1 pitcher
- 1964 - Edgar Diaz, infielder
- 1965 - Angel Morales, Puerto Rican national team outfielder
- 1965 - Miguel Pariente, Division Honor infielder
- 1966 - Morris Hodges, umpire
- 1967 - Cheng-Hsien Chang, CPBL catcher
- 1969 - Kuang-Hao Wang, CPBL catcher and infielder
- 1971 - James Hoye, umpire
- 1973 - Keith McDonald, catcher
- 1975 - Tony Mounce, pitcher
- 1976 - Ho-joon Lee, KBO infielder
- 1976 - Jim Parque, pitcher
- 1976 - Adam Piatt, outfielder
- 1977 - Gye-sung Lee, KBO outfielder
- 1978 - Casey Harrelson, minor league infielder
- 1978 - Yuji Iwamoto, Japanese national team infielder
- 1979 - Aaron Cook, pitcher; All-Star
- 1979 - Ryan Snare, pitcher
- 1980 - Ali Modami, minor league infielder
- 1980 - Jason Sabolic, Croatian national team catcher
- 1980 - Edward Valdez, minor league pitcher
- 1981 - Gibran Hamdan, Pakistani national team pitcher
- 1982 - Hyo-joon Ko, KBO pitcher
- 1983 - Burke Badenhop, pitcher
- 1983 - Vincent Blue, minor league outfielder
- 1983 - Aaron Peel, minor league outfielder (d. 2010)
- 1983 - Ryan Priddy, minor league outfielder and manager
- 1983 - Kenta Suzumegano, minor league infielder
- 1983 - Chase Wright, pitcher
- 1983 - Mauro Zarate, pitcher
- 1984 - Young-min Ko, KBO infielder
- 1985 - Félix Pie, outfielder
- 1985 - Leury Bonilla, minor league infielder
- 1986 - Matt Bush, pitcher
- 1988 - Wilmer Alvarado, minor league infielder
- 1988 - Jonathan Arias, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Yanet Cruz, Cuban women's national team pitcher
- 1988 - David Francis, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Yuya Fukui, NPB pitcher
- 1989 - Soo-ji Ahn, South Korean women's national team outfielder
- 1989 - Yu-Ju Lee, CPBL infielder
- 1989 - Josh Whitaker, minor league outfielder
- 1990 - Andrew McKirahan, pitcher
- 1991 - Andrés Pérez, minor league pitcher
- 1992 - Christoph Ziegler, Bundesliga infielder
- 1993 - Jesús García, minor league pitcher
- 1993 - James Naile, pitcher
- 1994 - Ibrahim McKenzie, minor league infielder
- 1995 - Jake Fishman, pitcher
- 1995 - Seung-min Lee, KBO catcher
- 1995 - Enmanuel Moreta, minor league infielder
- 1995 - Naoki Yoshikawa, NPB infielder
- 1996 - Matthew De Permentier, First Division pitcher
- 1996 - Tommy Lindell, Elitserien outfielder
- 1997 - Moisés Gómez, minor league pitcher
- 1998 - Luis Espinal, Dominican national team outfielder
- 1998 - Jared Triolo, infielder
- 1999 - Seung-ho Lee, KBO pitcher
- 1999 - Austin Vernon, minor league pitcher
- 2000 - Matt Koperniak, minor league outfielder
- 2000 - Charlie Welch, minor league catcher
- 2003 - Yui-Fong Wong, Hong Kong national team pitcher
- 2005 - Nien-Tzu Yang, CPBL infielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1892 - Spider Clark, outfielder (b. 1867)
- 1895 - Roger Carey, infielder (b. 1865)
- 1897 - Fleury Sullivan, pitcher (b. 1862)
- 1910 - Flip Lafferty, outfielder (b. 1854)
- 1910 - Cy Vorhees, pitcher (b. 1874)
- 1934 - Tom Sexton, infielder (b. 1865)
- 1943 - Dan Casey, pitcher (b. 1862)
- 1949 - John Carden, pitcher (b. 1921)
- 1951 - Harry Ables, pitcher (b. 1884)
- 1956 - Roy Hitt, pitcher (b. 1884)
- 1956 - Tom Hughes, pitcher (b. 1878)
- 1956 - Connie Mack, catcher, manager; Hall of Famer (b. 1862)
- 1957 - Lee McElwee, infielder (b. 1894)
- 1960 - Punch Knoll, outfielder (b. 1881)
- 1961 - Bert Yeabsley, pinch hitter (b. 1893)
- 1962 - Charlie Meara, outfielder (b. 1891)
- 1965 - Ray Brown, pitcher/outfielder; All-Star, Hall of Fame (b. 1908)
- 1965 - Ray Kremer, pitcher (b. 1895)
- 1966 - Gene Paulette, infielder (b. 1891)
- 1968 - Joe Matthews, pitcher (b. 1898)
- 1970 - John Churry, catcher (b. 1900)
- 1971 - Bobby Burke, pitcher (b. 1907)
- 1973 - Roy Spencer, catcher (b. 1900)
- 1977 - Boardwalk Brown, pitcher (b. 1887)
- 1978 - Josephine Kabick, AAGPBL pitcher (b. 1922)
- 1979 - Alex Gaston, catcher (b. 1893)
- 1979 - Al Tiner, minor league pitcher (b. 1899)
- 1979 - Art Williams, umpire (b. 1934)
- 1982 - Eddie Turchin, infielder (b. 1917)
- 1983 - Rufe Clarke, pitcher (b. 1900)
- 1987 - Larnie Jordan, infielder (b. 1914)
- 1989 - Dick Bass, pitcher (b. 1906)
- 1992 - Fabian Gaffke, outfielder (b. 1913)
- 1992 - Wally Shannon, infielder (b. 1933)
- 1994 - Saul Davis, infielder (b. 1901)
- 1995 - Bob Prentice, scout (b. 1928)
- 1996 - Del Ennis, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1925)
- 1997 - Hal Warnock, outfielder (b. 1912)
- 1998 - Roberto Cota, Mexican national team infielder (b. 1934)
- 1998 - Betty Foss, AAGPBL infielder (b. 1929)
- 1999 - Carl Sumner, outfielder (b. 1908)
- 2000 - Ben Catchings, minor league infielder (b. 1912)
- 2002 - Steve Roser, pitcher (b. 1918)
- 2004 - Jim Russo, scout (b. 1922)
- 2005 - Mike Bishop, catcher (b. 1958)
- 2011 - Cliff Dapper, catcher (b. 1920)
- 2011 - Tony Malinosky, infielder (b. 1909)
- 2014 - Donald Engbers, minor league first baseman (b. 1943)
- 2015 - Bill Dixon, minor league outfielder (b. 1939)
- 2016 - George Brill, scout (b. 1943)
- 2016 - Tom Singer, writer (b. ~1949)
- 2017 - Robert Lucas, minor league infielder and manager and college coach (b. 1942)
- 2017 - Jim Reinebold, minor league manager (b. 1930)
- 2021 - Stan Palys, outfielder (b. 1930)
- 2022 - Gerald Williams, outfielder (b. 1966)
- 2024 - Jim Hannan, pitcher (b. 1939)
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