November 23
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
| Standings on this day | |
| Permanent link to Today's Entry | |
| Sources | |
| Baseball Library Chronology | |
| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on November 23.
Events[edit]
- 1888 - The New York Giants announce the sale of John Ward to the Washington Nationals for a record price of $12,000. But Ward, who is on tour, will eventually cancel the deal by refusing to play for Washington.
- 1930 - At the Polo Grounds, St. Louis Browns outfielder Red Badgro, playing for the NFL New York Giants, catches a touchdown pass against the Green Bay Packers. It is the third TD catch of the season for Badgro, all from quarterback Benny Friedman. In 1981, Badgro will be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
- 1935 - The New York Giants purchase veteran pitcher Dick Coffman from the St. Louis Browns. Coffman, who was on the outs with Rogers Hornsby, will go 24-14 over the next four years for New York.
- 1943 - Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis rules that Philadelphia Phillies owner William D. Cox is permanently ineligible to hold office or be employed for having bet on his own team. The Carpenter family of Delaware will buy the Philadelphia club and Bob Carpenter, at age 28, will become president.
- 1944 - Five groups totaling 23 players, managers, umpires and sportwriters visit war theaters as part of the United Service Organizations program. Included are Mel Ott, Dutch Leonard, Frankie Frisch, Bucky Walters, Harry Heilmann, Carl Hubbell, Freddie Fitzsimmons, Bill Summers, Beans Reardon, Johnny Lindell, Tuck Stainback, Steve O'Neill, Leo Durocher, Joe Medwick, Nick Etten, Dixie Walker, Paul Waner and Rip Sewell.
- 1951 - The New York Yankees send young catcher Clint Courtney to the St. Louis Browns for pitcher Jim McDonald. Courtney, the first major league catcher to wear eyeglasses, has appeared in one game for New York.
- 1957 - 19-year-old Antonio Diaz throws the last no-hitter in Cuban Winter League history. Diaz is earning just $150 per month at the time.
- 1960 - Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Frank Howard is selected National League Rookie of the Year with 12 of 24 votes. The six-foot, nine-inch Howard batted 23 home runs during the regular season.
- 1962 - Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Maury Wills, whose 104 stolen bases broke a major league season-record set by Ty Cobb, wins the NL Most Valuable Player Award. In a controversial vote, Wills beats out teammate Tommy Davis, who led the NL with a .346 batting average and 153 RBI.
- 1964 - The New York Mets purchase future Hall of Fame pitcher Warren Spahn from the Milwaukee Braves. In addition to serving on the club's coaching staff, Spahn will post a 4-12 record in twenty appearances before being released. Spahn will then sign with the San Francisco Giants, his last major league team. When asked by reporters whether he and the likewise recently acquired Yogi Berra will now become the oldest battery in MLB history, Spahn quips, "I don't know about that, but we'll probably be the ugliest."
- 1966 - Chicago White Sox outfielder Tommie Agee is voted American League Rookie of the Year, gathering 16 of the 18 votes. Kansas City Athletics pitcher Jim Nash gets the other two votes. Agee had been brought up briefly the past four seasons before finding a permanent spot in 1966.
- 1971 - Danny Murtaugh, manager of the World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates, announces his retirement for health reasons. Bill Virdon is named to replace him. Murtaugh will return to manage the Pirates in 1974 as a replacement for Virdon after he is fired.
- 1977:
- The New York Yankees sign free agent relief pitcher Rich Gossage to a six-year $2.75 million contract. Gossage had 26 saves and a 1.26 ERA for the Pirates last season. He will join Cy Young Award winner Sparky Lyle in the Yankees bullpen.
- Free agent pitchers Mike Torrez and Dick Drago come to terms to play for the Boston Red Sox.
- 1988 - Leaving the World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers, free agent second baseman Steve Sax signs a three-year deal with the New York Yankees.
- 1990 - Former Phillies and Reds catcher Bo Diaz, 37, is crushed to death when a rooftop satellite dish topples over at his home in Venezuela.
- 1993 - Four-time All-Star free agent Hiromi Makihara re-signs with the Yomiuri Giants after manager Shigeo Nagashima shows up at his house with freshly cut roses and a no-trade promise.
- 1998:
- The Atlanta Braves sign free agent outfielder Brian Jordan to a five-year contract. Jordan had flirted with several teams before landing with the Braves.
- The Florida Marlins trade catcher Gregg Zaun to the Texas Rangers in exchange for future considerations.
- Bob Betts, the public address announcer whose distinctive baritone made him synonymous with Milwaukee Brewers baseball at Milwaukee County Stadium, dies at the age of 70. Betts announced the home games for 23 seasons.
- 1999 - Free agent pitcher Russ Springer is signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks to a two-year contract.
- 2005:
- Relief pitcher Bobby Howry agrees to a $12 million, three-year contract with the Chicago Cubs, joining fellow reliever Scott Eyre, who spent last season with the San Francisco Giants. Like Eyre, Howry once pitched for the cross-town White Sox.
- Bud Black decides to remain with the Angels as pitching coach rather than pursue the Dodgers managerial job.
- 2009 - Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins is named American League MVP, obtaining 27 of 28 first-place votes. Mauer hit .365 to win his third batting title while belting a career-high 28 homers.
- 2010:
- Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers, the American League batting champion at .359, wins the AL MVP Award, outpolling Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers.
- The Tigers sign C Victor Martinez to a four-year, $50 million contract, leaving the Red Sox scrambling to find a replacement backstop in a thin market.
- The Giants re-sign 1B Aubrey Huff, one of the keys to their World Series conquest last month, to a two-year deal worth $22 million. Huff led the team with 26 homers and 86 RBI while batting .290 last season.
- 2013 - After making do with makeshift solutions at catcher all of last year, the Yankees decide to sign seven-time All-Star Brian McCann to a five-year, $85 million contract.
- 2015 - The Dodgers hire Dave Roberts as their new manager, to replace Don Mattingly. With the highest salary mass in the major leagues, the Dodgers take a chance on the first minority manager in team history, whose experience as a skipper consists of one game in an interim capacity with the Padres last season.
- 2016:
- Ralph Branca, most famous for giving up the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" to Bobby Thomson while pitching for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1951 three-game playoff, passes away in Rye, NY at the age of 90. Branca was an All-Star in his own right, and a twenty-game winner, but observers usually reduced his career to one unfortunate moment.
- The Diamondbacks and Mariners pull off a five-player trade, with P Taijuan Walker and IF Ketel Marte headed to Arizona in return for 2B Jean Segura, OF Mitch Haniger and P Zac Curtis.
- 2017 - The Colombian national team wins Gold at the 2017 Bolivarian Games, their first Gold in baseball at the Bolivarian Games since 1973. Karl Triana gets the win in the finale, a 6 - 4 victory for the hosts over defending champion Panama, and Jhon Romero saves it with two on in the 9th. Andy Otero takes the defeat. In the Bronze Medal game, Venezuela tops El Salvador, 5 - 1, but it is their worst finish ever in baseball at the Bolivarian Games.
- 2020 - Yudai Ono of the Chunichi Dragons wins the Sawamura Award for 2020 after winning his second straight Central League ERA title and also pacing the league in strikeouts and shutouts; he was second in wins.
- 2021:
- The Yakult Swallows take a two-games-to-one lead in the Japan Series with a 5 - 4 comeback victory over the Orix Buffaloes. Down 4 - 3 in the bottom of the 7th, Domingo Santana hits a two-run shot off Ryo Yoshida to win it. Game 1 goat Scott McGough gets the save by retiring Orix slugger Yutaro Sugimoto with men on the corners and two out in the 9th.
- After a great half-season as a rookie, SS Wander Franco signs a 12-year contract extension with the Rays worth $185 million. It is the largest contract in team history.
- 2022 - The Best Ten winners are announced in the 2022 CPBL. For the first time, a foreign player wins the nod at catcher, with Francisco Peña taking the award.
- 2024 - The Argentinian national team wins the 2024 South American Championship. The finale against rival Brazil is a tight 1-0 pitching duel going into the bottom of the final outing. Down to their last out, Argentina gets a game-winning, two-run single by Jacinto Cipriota to win the title.
Births[edit]
- 1827 - Hiram Waldo, pre-MLB executive (d. 1912)
- 1850 - Cy Bentley, pitcher (d. 1873)
- 1860 - Charles Zimmer, catcher, manager, umpire (d. 1949)
- 1863 - Hi Church, outfielder (d. 1926)
- 1870 - Socks Seybold, outfielder (d. 1921)
- 1874 - Bill Clay, outfielder (d. 1917)
- 1877 - George Stovall, infielder, manager (d. 1951)
- 1878 - Jimmy Sheckard, outfielder (d. 1947)
- 1890 - Al Halt, infielder (d. 1973)
- 1891 - Runt Marr, minor league infielder and manager (d. 1981)
- 1894 - Art Corcoran, infielder (d. 1958)
- 1894 - Jesse Petty, pitcher (d. 1971)
- 1895 - Dallas Bradshaw, infielder (d. 1939)
- 1896 - Dick Reichle, outfielder (d. 1967)
- 1897 - Bubber Jonnard, catcher (d. 1977)
- 1897 - Claude Jonnard, pitcher (d. 1959)
- 1897 - Freddy Leach, outfielder (d. 1981)
- 1897 - Beans Reardon, umpire (d. 1984)
- 1903 - Joe Muich, pitcher (d. 1993)
- 1903 - Roy Parnell, outfielder, manager; All-Star (d. 1954)
- 1906 - Biggs Wehde, pitcher (d. 1970)
- 1910 - Hal Schumacher, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1993)
- 1912 - Fred Bankhead, infielder; All-Star (d. 1972)
- 1913 - Les Scarsella, infielder (d. 1958)
- 1914 - Emmett Ashford, umpire (d. 1980)
- 1914 - Mel Preibisch, outfielder (d. 1980)
- 1914 - Frank Genovese, minor league outfielder and manager (d. 1981)
- 1915 - Bob Kahle, pinch hitter (d. 1988)
- 1916 - Eddie Collins, outfielder (d. 2000)
- 1917 - Jake Caulfield, infielder (d. 1986)
- 1917 - Herman Reich, infielder (d. 2009)
- 1918 - Bill Gates, minor league pitcher and manager (d. 2008)
- 1920 - Jake Jones, infielder (d. 2000)
- 1922 - Grady Wilson, infielder (d. 2003)
- 1923 - Zenzo Ikeda, NPB pitcher (d. ????)
- 1924 - Josephine D'Angelo, AAGPBL outfielder (d. 2013)
- 1926 - Charlie Osgood, pitcher (d. 2014)
- 1927 - Joe Reardon, minor league pitcher (d. 2014)
- 1930 - Jack McKeon, , manager
- 1932 - John Anderson, pitcher
- 1940 - Billy Ott, outfielder (d. 2015)
- 1940 - Luis Tiant, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2024)
- 1942 - Jerry Nyman, pitcher
- 1946 - Andy Hancock, minor league catcher and manager (d. 2000)
- 1947 - Dwain Anderson, infielder
- 1947 - Tom Hall, pitcher
- 1947 - Frank Tepedino, infielder
- 1948 - Dennis Duncan, umpire
- 1950 - John Hasbrouck, minor league catcher
- 1951 - Wayne Cage, designated hitter
- 1951 - Luciano Dallospedale, Italian Baseball League infielder
- 1953 - Mark Batchko, minor league catcher (d. 2022)
- 1954 - Glenn Brummer, catcher
- 1954 - Broderick Perkins, infielder
- 1954 - Ken Schrom, pitcher; All-Star
- 1955 - Todd Cruz, infielder (d. 2008)
- 1955 - Mark Smith, pitcher
- 1955 - Dan Whitmer, catcher
- 1959 - Brook Jacoby, infielder; All-Star
- 1963 - Rich Sauveur, pitcher
- 1963 - Dale Sveum, infielder
- 1964 - Jose Gonzalez, outfielder
- 1964 - In-jo Jung, KBO pitcher
- 1967 - Kevin Dattola, minor league outfielder
- 1967 - Will Flynt, NPB pitcher
- 1967 - Yi-Nan Lee, CPBL pitcher
- 1967 - Barry Parisotto, minor league pitcher
- 1967 - Kevin Scott, minor league catcher
- 1969 - Doug Brady, infielder
- 1969 - Dave McCarty, infielder (d. 2024)
- 1970 - Glenn Murray, outfielder
- 1971 - Ryan McGuire, infielder
- 1971 - Matt Miller, pitcher
- 1971 - Eddie Oropesa, pitcher
- 1971 - Aaron Small, pitcher
- 1975 - Jeong-hun Lee, KBO outfielder
- 1975 - Colin Porter, outfielder
- 1977 - Adam Eaton, pitcher
- 1977 - Damon Katz, minor league player
- 1978 - Emmanuel Valdez, minor league catcher
- 1979 - Jared Porter, General Manager
- 1980 - Jonathan Papelbon, pitcher; All-Star
- 1981 - P.J. Pilittere, coach
- 1982 - Trevor Caughey, minor league pitcher
- 1982 - Jeung-min Cha, KBO pitcher
- 1983 - Wes Bankston, infielder
- 1983 - Rudy Guillen, minor league outfielder
- 1984 - Robert Coello, pitcher
- 1984 - Justin Turner, infielder; All-Star
- 1984 - Casper Wells, outfielder
- 1985 - Pedro Figueroa, pitcher
- 1986 - Esther Maliepaard, Dutch women's national team outfielder
- 1986 - Brandon Snyder, infielder
- 1987 - David Füßer, Bundesliga outfielder
- 1988 - Vladimir Eguia, Philippines national team pitcher
- 1988 - Elio Padilla, Bolivian national team pitcher
- 1989 - Corey Baker, minor league pitcher
- 1989 - J.J. Costantino, minor league outfielder and manager
- 1989 - Shinya Kayama, NPB pitcher
- 1989 - Ross Stripling, pitcher; All-Star
- 1990 - Enrique Burgos, pitcher
- 1991 - Kevin Encarnacion, minor league outfielder
- 1991 - Francisco Flores, Salvadoran national team designated hitter
- 1991 - Hotaka Yamakawa, NPB infielder
- 1992 - Kyle Hart, pitcher
- 1992 - Josh Tobias, minor league infielder
- 1993 - Austin Gomber, pitcher
- 1993 - Nathan Kirby, minor league pitcher
- 1994 - Tyler Wade, infielder
- 1995 - Airi Hiraga, Japanese women's national team infielder
- 1995 - Lewis Thorpe, pitcher
- 1996 - Hsuan-Ta Liu, CPBL pitcher
- 1997 - Ryan Jensen, minor league pitcher
- 1997 - Gavin Lux, infielder
- 2000 - Dong-hun Kang, South Korean national team pitcher
Deaths[edit]
- 1880 - Jack McDonald, outfielder (b. 1844)
- 1898 - Mother Watson, pitcher (b. 1865)
- 1905 - Bill Hanlon, infielder (b. 1876)
- 1910 - Charlie Barber, infielder (b. 1854)
- 1922 - Sandy McDermott, infielder; umpire (b. 1856)
- 1925 - Henry Lynch, outfielder (b. 1866)
- 1925 - Gurdon Whiteley, outfielder (b. 1859)
- 1937 - Welday Walker, outfielder (b. 1859)
- 1947 - Charlie Newman, outfielder (b. 1868)
- 1948 - Hack Wilson, outfielder; Hall of Famer (b. 1900)
- 1955 - Fred Tauby, outfielder (b. 1906)
- 1961 - Nick Carter, pitcher (b. 1879)
- 1965 - Ruby Tyrees, pitcher (b. 1891)
- 1973 - Willie Mitchell, pitcher (b. 1889)
- 1974 - Jerry Benjamin, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1909)
- 1974 - Babe Twombly, outfielder (b. 1896)
- 1978 - Buck Ross, pitcher (b. 1915)
- 1985 - Sam West, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1904)
- 1989 - Lefty Moses, pitcher (b. 1914)
- 1990 - Bo Diaz, catcher; All-Star (b. 1953)
- 1993 - Grey Clarke, infielder (b. 1912)
- 1995 - Lee Rogers, pitcher (b. 1913)
- 1996 - Nat Pollard, pitcher (b. 1915)
- 2001 - Bo Belinsky, pitcher (b. 1936)
- 2006 - Ted Del Guercio, minor league outfielder (b. 1927)
- 2007 - Joe Kennedy, pitcher (b. 1979)
- 2012 - Chuck Diering, outfielder (b. 1923)
- 2012 - Hal Trosky, pitcher (b. 1936)
- 2013 - Al Forman, umpire (b. 1928)
- 2014 - Murray Oliver, minor league infielder (b. 1937)
- 2015 - Gene Depew, college coach (b. 1949)
- 2015 - Papi Figueroa, minor league infielder (b. 1929)
- 2015 - Willie Royster, catcher (b. 1954)
- 2015 - Russ Tiedemann, college coach (b. 1931)
- 2016 - Ralph Branca, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1926)
- 2017 - Jim Brady, college coach (b. 1950)
- 2017 - Miguel Alfredo González, pitcher (b. 1983)
- 2019 - Will Brunson, pitcher (b. 1970)
- 2020 - Yi-Sung Chen, CPBL pitcher (b. 1962)
- 2021 - Bill Virdon, outfielder, manager (b. 1931)
- 2022 - Rudy Hernandez, pitcher (b. 1931)
We're Social...for Statheads
Every Sports Reference Social Media Account
Site Last Updated:
Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction?
Subscribe to our Free Email Newsletter
Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREE
Your All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database
Do you have a sports website? Or write about sports? We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Find out more.