March 2
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 March 2.
Events[edit]
- 1874 - At the fourth meeting of the National Association of Professional Baseball Players in Boston, the batter's box is officially adopted. It is also decided that expulsion will be the penalty for any player betting on his own team and any player betting on any other team will forfeit his pay.
- 1886 - The American Association meets and overrules president Denny McKnight (also owner of the Pittsburgh Alleghenys club) and suspends second baseman Sam Barkley for signing with Pittsburgh before the dispute over his sale is settled. The AA adopts new rules. The number of balls needed for a walk is reduced from seven to six; the pitcher's box is one foot deeper, giving the pitcher seven feet behind the 50-foot front line in which to execute his delivery; stolen bases are adopted as an official statistic, although the definition is rather vague initially.
- 1888 - The National League meets in New York and abolishes all discounts from the 50-cent minimum admission price. Despite the demands of the Brotherhood and the fact that the rule is practically a dead letter, the NL refuses to drop its $2,000 salary limit rule. The schedule committee recommends that the season go to 140 games from the current 126.
- 1899 - At the National League meeting in New York, an attempt to expel the St. Louis Browns, who had a 39-111 record in 1898, fails by a 7-4 margin. It is also decided that no club may hold more than 18 players on its reserve list. St. Louis will play as the "Perfectos" in the upcoming season, after beefing up its line-up by taking the best players on the Cleveland Spiders, who will be awful as a result.
- 1901 - Jimmy Collins, the choice of Connie Mack as the best all-time third baseman, switches leagues but not cities. Collins leaves the Boston Beaneaters National League club to manage the new Boston Americans of the American League. The Beaneaters will also lose outfielder Hugh Duffy, who becomes manager of Milwaukee's new AL entry, and catcher Billy Sullivan, who signs with the Chicago White Sox. More than half the AL rosters - a total of 185 - will be filled by former NL players.
- 1909 - Mel Ott is born in Gretna, Louisiana. He will make his major league debut with the New York Giants in 1926. Over a 22-year career, Ott will hit 511 home runs with 1,860 RBI, 1859 runs, 2876 hits (1,071 extra-base hits) and a .304 batting average. Ott will receive Hall of Fame honors in 1951.
- 1927 - Babe Ruth becomes the highest-paid player in major league history when the Yankees announce he will earn $70,000 per season for the next three years. Ruth will sign the historic contract on March 4th.
- 1941 - In Havana, Cuba, the Brooklyn Dodgers complete a three-game sweep of their rival New York Giants. During the regular 1940 season the Giants held a 16-6 advantage over Brooklyn.
- 1949 - Joe DiMaggio leaves the Yankees' spring training camp to have an ailing right heel examined at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He is told that no surgery is needed and he returns to Florida, but the heel will continue to bother him. The star is hitting just 7 for 31 in the Grapefruit League.
- 1966 - Commissioner William Eckert voids the contract recently signed by collegiate star Tom Seaver. The Atlanta Braves had signed Seaver to a $50,000 bonus a week earlier, but Eckert cites a rule prohibiting teams from signing players while their college seasons are ongoing. A special draft will be held after the collegiate season to reassign Seaver's rights.
- 1973 - Eddie Bane of Arizona State University pitches a 9 - 0 perfect game against Cal State Northridge. Bane will rack up a record of 41-4 in college. He will reach the major leagues with the Minnesota Twins without playing in the minor leagues, but will win only seven games in three seasons.
- 1976 - The Los Angeles Dodgers re-acquire second baseman Ted Sizemore from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for outfielder Willie Crawford. Sizemore had started his major league career with the Dodgers in 1969, when he won the NL Rookie of the Year Award, and was later traded to the Cardinals as part of a package for slugger Richie Allen.
- 1992 - The highest-paid player tag now belongs to Ryne Sandberg of the Chicago Cubs. The All-Star second baseman signs a four-year contract extension worth $7.1 million per season.
- 1996 - At St. Petersburg's Al Lang Field, two Japanese umpires work a game with two U.S. umpires. Osamu Ino is behind the plate as the Pirates whip the Cardinals, 11 - 2. "I thought they (the Japanese) did a good job," comments Pirates manager Jim Leyland. "And even if they didn't, you couldn't argue with them." In Dunedin, fellow Central League umpires Samio Murakoshi and Toshio Azuma are part of a four-man crew that works the Phillies' 12 - 2 victory over the Blue Jays. Meanwhile, four umpires from the majors are on a nine-day tour of Nippon Pro Baseball.
- 1999 - Players Orlando Cepeda and Smokey Joe Williams, manager Frank Selee, and umpire Nestor Chylak are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
- 2005:
- Thirty-two years after his death, Jackie Robinson receives the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, the highest honor Congress can bestow. The medal is accepted by Rachel Robinson, his widow. Baseball is represented in a way by former Texas Rangers executive George W. Bush. Robinson joins Roberto Clemente, Joe Louis and Jesse Owens as the only athletes among about 300 Gold Medal recipients. Following the ceremony, the Boston Red Sox are honored at the White House for winning the 2004 World Series.
- In the Washington Nationals' first game since moving from Montreal, pitcher Tony Armas, Jr. tosses two hitless innings and Jose Guillen hits a two-run home run as the Nationals post a 5 - 3 triumph over the Mets in the Grapefruit League opener for both teams. The Expos played their first regular-season game against the Mets in 1969 and their last game against the Mets on October 3, 2004. In the first regular-season game between these franchises, Tom Seaver started for the Mets at Shea Stadium and Coco Laboy powered the Expos to an 11 - 10 victory. In their last meeting, Tom Glavine started for the Mets at Shea Stadium and Todd Zeile hit a home run to deal the Expos an 8 - 1 defeat. Wearing their regular-season home uniforms instead of the traditional batting practice spring training jerseys, the Nationals defeat Glavine this time.
- 2006:
- Barry Bonds' Reality TV Show chronicling the slugger during his pursuit of Hank Aaron's career home run record will debut April 4th on ESPN2, the television network announces.
- Bret Boone retires at the New York Mets training camp, the culmination of a swift decline for a player who was one of baseball's best second basemen only a few years ago.
- Raúl Ibañez and the Seattle Mariners finalize an $11 million, two-year contract extension that runs through 2008.
- 2010:
- At the Red Sox's spring training in Fort Myers, FL, knuckleballer Tim Wakefield meets one of his greatest fans, 18-year-old Eri Yoshida of Japan. The 5' 1" righthander taught herself to throw the knuckleball by mimicking Wakefield in her backyard and is on a quest to become the first female player in Nippon Pro Baseball. She is still undecided as to whether she will pitch this season in the Japanese minor leagues, or accept a contract offer from the Chico Outlaws of the independent Golden Baseball League.
- OF Rocco Baldelli is back with the Tampa Bay Rays, not as a player but as a special assistant to general manager Andrew Friedman. He is unable to play this season because of a shoulder injury, the latest in a long string of physical ailments that have derailed what once was a very promising career. At 28, he is not yet ready to call it quits, but is preparing a fall-back in case he cannot return to the playing field. He will retire definitely after playing in only a handful of games at the end of this season.
- 2011:
- A fight breaks out in the Cubs dugout between P Carlos Silva and 3B Aramis Ramirez after a dreadful performance in the 1st inning of a Cactus League game against the Brewers, when the Cubs commit a slew of mistakes and fall behind 6 - 0. The fight reminds everyone of a similar occurrence in June of last season, when P Carlos Zambrano and 1B Derrek Lee came to blows in the dugout.
- The Indians send P Aaron Laffey to Seattle in return for OF Matt Lawson.
- Projected Astros starting catcher Jason Castro tears a ligament in his knee while trying to avoid a tag in a spring training game against Detroit. He will miss the entire season.
- 2012:
- Major League Baseball confirms that starting this year, the postseason will be expanded from eight to ten teams, with an extra wild card team in each league. The two wild card teams in each league will play one game to determine which one will then face the team with the league's best record in the Division Series.
- The College Baseball Hall of Fame names its new class of inductees, consisting of players Lou Brock, Nomar Garciaparra, Brad Wilkerson and Tim Jorgensen, and coaches Ed Cheff, Frank Sancet and Wayne Graham.
- 2013:
- The 2013 World Baseball Classic gets under way with three games played in the Far East. In the opener, Taiwan exceeds its performance in the 2009 tournament with a 4 - 1 win over Australia, thanks to six scoreless innings by starting P Chien-Ming Wang and a homer by Cheng-Min Peng. Taiwan had to win a qualifying pool to enter this year's event after exiting without a single win four years ago.
- In the other Pool B game, the Netherlands upset 2009 finalists South Korea with a 5 - 0 shutout. Ps Diegomar Markwell and Orlando Yntema combine for seven scoreless frames, while the Dutch hitters scratch a handful of runs with singles and some good fundamental baseball. OF Roger Bernadina drives in a pair of runs.
- Japan survives a scare in the Pool A opener at home, overcoming a 3 - 2 deficit against upstarts Brazil, who are playing in the World Baseball Classic for the first time, with a three-run outburst in the 8th to win, 5 - 3. Injured Japanese captain Shinnosuke Abe, pinch-hitting with the bases loaded and the score tied, drives a bullet up the middle on which 2B Felipe Burin makes a diving stop, but he is only able to get the runner at second base, allowing the go-ahead run to score. Leonardo Reginatto goes 3 for 4 with a pair of RBIs to lead Brazil's attack.
- 2018 - One of the biggest stories in spring training this year has been the presence of NFL quarterback Russell Wilson at the Yankees' camp. Today, he gets to play in a game for the first time since he was a minor league infielder in 2011 as he pinch-hits for Aaron Judge in a Grapefruit League game against the Atlanta Braves. He strikes out against Max Fried, but does not look out of place as he takes a good cut to foul off a hard fastball and works the count to 2-2 before a swing and miss ends his lone at-bat. He will now return to his normal occupations.
- 2019 - The Phillies introduce their new marquee player in free agent OF Bryce Harper, just signed to a record-breaking 13-year deal worth $330 million.
- 2021 - In one of these bizarre twists only seen in spring training games in pandemic times, pitcher John Means of the Orioles is pulled out of a Grapefruit League game after two outs in the 1st inning for having reached his pitch count limit, and then re-enters the game to pitch the 2nd. He needs 29 pitches in the 1st, but after his rest, retires the side on just ten offerings. This is possible thanks to the special Coronavirus rules that have seen these games be limited to seven innings, and teams only suit up a small number of players to avoid crowding the dugouts; conversely, players are allowed to re-enter games, something that has been prohibited in meaningful games since the demise of the courtesy runner.
Births[edit]
- 1826 - James Whyte Davis, pre-MLB player (d. 1899)
- 1848 - Justus Thorner, owner (d. 1928)
- 1851 - Billy Arnold, outfielder (d. 1899)
- 1855 - Jim Ward, catcher (d. 1886)
- 1858 - Charlie Bastian, infielder (b. 1943)
- 1861 - Horace Fogel, manager (d. 1928)
- 1861 - Jim Wilson, Negro League outfielder (d. 1940)
- 1865 - Jake Virtue, infielder (d. 1943)
- 1865 - Lou Harding, catcher (d. 1947)
- 1870 - Frank Thyne, minor league manager (d. ????)
- 1872 - John Patterson, Negro League outfielder (d. 1942)
- 1876 - James Gilmore, Federal League President (d. 1947)
- 1879 - Chick Robitaille, pitcher (d. 1947)
- 1880 - Danny Hoffman, outfielder (d. 1922)
- 1890 - John King, minor league outfielder and manager (d. 1976)
- 1891 - William Fischer, catcher (d. 1945)
- 1891 - Lefty Robinson, pitcher (d. 1974)
- 1894 - Elmer Myers, pitcher (d. 1976)
- 1898 - Rip Wheeler, pitcher (d. 1968)
- 1899 - George Stueland, pitcher (d. 1964)
- 1901 - Butch Weis, outfielder (d. 1997)
- 1902 - Moe Berg, catcher (d. 1972)
- 1903 - Art Mills, pitcher (d. 1975)
- 1906 - Woody English, infielder; All-Star (d. 1997)
- 1906 - Mike Powers, outfielder (d. 1983)
- 1907 - Jack Knott, pitcher (d. 1981)
- 1909 - Gil Aase, minor league pitcher (d. 2004)
- 1909 - Mel Ott, outfielder, manager; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 1958)
- 1910 - Orville Armbrust, pitcher (d. 1967)
- 1912 - Ace Adams, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2006)
- 1912 - Bennie Warren, catcher (d. 1994)
- 1913 - Mort Cooper, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1958)
- 1915 - Babe Barna, outfielder (d. 1972)
- 1916 - Mickey Rocco, infielder (d. 1997)
- 1917 - Jim Konstanty, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1976)
- 1917 - Manuel Salvatierra minor league outfielder (d. ????)
- 1918 - Frank Colman, outfielder (d. 1983)
- 1921 - Dick Starr, pitcher (d. 2017)
- 1922 - Arnold Hano, author (d. 2021)
- 1924 - Cal Abrams, outfielder (d. 1997)
- 1924 - Félix Guilbe, outfielder (d. 2010)
- 1926 - Joe Taylor, outfielder (d. 1993)
- 1926 - Carlos Santiago, infielder (d. 2008)
- 1927 - George Smith, minor league outfielder (d. 2011)
- 1927 - Donald Troy, pitcher (d. 2006)
- 1932 - Chico Fernandez, infielder (d. 2016)
- 1934 - Howard Cassady, minor league coach (d. 2019)
- 1935 - Chester Moody, Negro League player (d. 2013)
- 1936 - Jim Brady, pitcher (d. 2024)
- 1936 - Kazuhiko Kondo, NPB infielder (d. 2002)
- 1936 - Don Schwall, pitcher; All-Star
- 1942 - Fu-Hsiung Chen, Taiwan national team infielder
- 1942 - Toshimitsu Suetsugu, NPB outfielder
- 1947 - Joe Castiglione, broadcaster
- 1947 - Jim Nettles, outfielder
- 1949 - Katy Feeney, executive (d. 2017)
- 1950 - Pete Broberg, pitcher
- 1951 - Mike Johnson, pitcher
- 1953 - Dave Tobik, pitcher
- 1953 - Larry Wolfe, infielder
- 1956 - Masashi Fujiwara, NPB pitcher
- 1958 - James Camacho, minor league infielder (d. 2002)
- 1958 - Roy North, minor league pitcher (d. 2011)
- 1958 - Jeff Stember, pitcher
- 1959 - Ray Corbett, scout
- 1960 - Mike Woodard, infielder
- 1962 - Terry Steinbach, catcher; All-Star
- 1962 - Scott Wright, minor league pitcher
- 1963 - Roberto Bianchi, Serie A1 catcher-infielder-outfielder; Italian Baseball Hall of Fame
- 1963 - Eric Bolling, minor league infielder
- 1963 - Yuji Inoue, NPB pitcher
- 1964 - Sherwin Cijntje, minor league outfielder
- 1964 - Tim Layana, pitcher (d. 1999)
- 1965 - Ron Gant, outfielder; All-Star
- 1966 - Leo Gomez, infielder
- 1967 - Bryan Manicchia, minor league pitcher
- 1968 - Javier Díez, Division Honor outfielder
- 1969 - Ed Martel, minor league pitcher (d. 2018)
- 1969 - Francisco Tejada, minor league catcher
- 1970 - Ruben Santana, minor league infielder
- 1971 - Ryan Wheeler, college coach
- 1973 - Ji-man Song, KBO outfielder
- 1974 - Carey Paige, minor league pitcher
- 1974 - Jake Russell, minor league player
- 1974 - Anthony Sanders, outfielder
- 1976 - Christian Quintero, minor league outfielder
- 1977 - Jay Gibbons, outfielder
- 1977 - Dave Noyce, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - B.R. Cook, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - Jared Sandberg, infielder
- 1979 - Jeong-min Lee, KBO pitcher
- 1979 - Jonathan Vega, minor league outfielder
- 1979 - Todd West, minor league player
- 1983 - Glen Perkins, pitcher; All-Star
- 1983 - Jose Rojas, minor league pitcher
- 1984 - Will Little, umpire
- 1985 - Jim Negrych, minor league infielder
- 1985 - Bud Norris, pitcher
- 1985 - Brandon Wood, infielder
- 1987 - Sean Killeen, minor league catcher
- 1988 - Juan Aponte, minor league player
- 1989 - Sean Jamieson, minor league infielder
- 1989 - Nirun Jaroenkitsiriwong, Thai national team infielder
- 1990 - Jennifer Gilroy, Canadian women's national team catcher
- 1990 - Wilking Rodriguez, pitcher
- 1991 - Nick Franklin, infielder
- 1991 - Min-su Kim, KBO catcher
- 1991 - Manuel López, minor league pitcher
- 1991 - Robinson Lopez, minor league pitcher
- 1992 - Michele Bartoli, Italian Baseball League pitcher
- 1992 - Ariel Hernandez, pitcher
- 1993 - Adolis García, outfielder; All-Star
- 1993 - Josh Taylor, pitcher
- 1994 - James Kaprielian, pitcher
- 1995 - Miguel Andujar, infielder
- 1995 - Reese McGuire, catcher
- 1997 - Junior Fernandez, pitcher
- 1998 - Johan Oviedo, pitcher
- 1998 - Mauricio Zepeda, Salvadoran national team player
- 1999 - Justin Foscue, infielder
- 1999 - Dom Hamel, minor league pitcher
- 1999 - Julian Tristan, minor league pitcher
- 2000 - Gaspar Palacio, minor league infielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1886 - Charles Garrigan, umpire (b. 1845)
- 1895 - Kid Camp, pitcher (b. 1869)
- 1905 - Stump Weidman, pitcher; umpire (b. 1861)
- 1918 - George Kaiserling, pitcher (b. 1893)
- 1929 - Tom Smith, pitcher (b. 1871)
- 1938 - Walter Prince, infielder (b. 1861)
- 1939 - Alex McFarlan, outfielder (b. 1869)
- 1940 - Matt Kilroy, pitcher (b. 1866)
- 1943 - Earle Gardner, infielder (b. 1884)
- 1947 - Dewey Metivier, pitcher (b. 1898)
- 1951 - Adam Comorosky, outfielder (b. 1904)
- 1956 - Fred Merkle, infielder (b. 1888)
- 1957 - Frank Hafner, pitcher (b. 1867)
- 1960 - Howie Camnitz, pitcher (b. 1881)
- 1964 - Fred Vaughn, infielder (b. 1918)
- 1965 - Fred Ostendorf, pitcher (b. 1892)
- 1968 - Phil Slattery, pitcher (b. 1893)
- 1971 - Johnny Podgajny, pitcher (b. 1920)
- 1975 - Scat Metha, infielder (b. 1913)
- 1977 - Orlando Varona, infielder (b. 1925)
- 1979 - Dale Alexander, infielder (b. 1903)
- 1980 - Winfield Welch, outfielder, manager (b. 1899)
- 1983 - Hal Doerr, minor league catcher (b. 1913)
- 1985 - Leslie Green, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1914)
- 1986 - Jocko Collins, scout (b. 1905)
- 1986 - Jimmy Reynolds, infielder/outfielder (b. 1920)
- 1987 - Mo Mozzali, coach (b. 1927)
- 1992 - Eddie Locke, pitcher/outfielder (b. 1923)
- 1994 - Butch Sutcliffe, catcher (b. 1915)
- 1995 - Ray Moore, pitcher (b. 1926)
- 1995 - Katsuo Tanaka, college coach; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1898)
- 1998 - Slick Castleman, pitcher (b. 1913)
- 2000 - Danny Musser, infielder (b. 1905)
- 2000 - Jack Robinson, pitcher (b. 1921)
- 2003 - Joe Decker, pitcher (b. 1947)
- 2004 - Marge Schott, owner (b. 1928)
- 2005 - Rick Mahler, pitcher (b. 1953)
- 2006 - Ernesto Aparicio, winter league infielder (b. 1910)
- 2007 - Clem Labine, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1926)
- 2008 - Harry Barrett, minor league pitcher (b. 1930)
- 2010 - Florian Cassutt, minor league pitcher (b. 1923)
- 2010 - Bill Lawrence, minor league pitcher (b. 1939)
- 2013 - Tom Borland, pitcher (b. 1933)
- 2018 - Sammy Stewart, pitcher (b. 1954)
- 2018 - Ray Stockton, minor league outfielder (b. 1931)
- 2018 - Theo Vleeshouwer, Dutch executive (b. 1928)
- 2019 - Fred Hill, college coach (b. 1934)
- 2024 - U L Washington, infielder (b. 1953)
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