November 8
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 8.
Events[edit]
- 1894 - King Kelly, probably the most popular baseball player of the 19th century, dies of pneumonia in Boston, MA.
- 1920 - At a meeting to depose Ban Johnson as the American League president, a new 12-team National League, made up of the dissenting 11 teams plus one of the five teams loyal to Johnson, is agreed to. John Heydler will be its president and federal judge Kenesaw Landis the proposed chairman of the new commission. This revolutionary plan for a new senior circuit will be discarded a few days later, after four of the five American League clubs still backing Johnson agree to a joint meeting on November 12th in Chicago, IL.
- 1934 - Ford Frick, National League publicity director, is named league President. He will eventually become Commissioner.
- 1950:
- The Baseball Writers Association of America announces that slugging first baseman Walt Dropo of the Boston Red Sox is the Rookie of the Year in the American League. Dropo led the league with 144 RBI.
- Commissioner Happy Chandler and players' representatives agree on the split of the television and radio rights from the World Series.
- 1951 - New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra wins the first of his three Most Valuable Player awards.
- 1954 - American League owners approve the move of the Philadelphia Athletics to Kansas City. The vote is 6-2 in favor. The transplanted Athletics will play home games at Municipal Stadium, which will be expanded from 17,000 to 36,000 seats.
- 1955 - In a nine-player trade, first baseman Mickey Vernon is sent by the Washington Senators to the Boston Red Sox.
- 1961 - With only one Cy Young Award given for the two leagues, Whitey Ford, the American League leader in wins (25) and innings pitched (283), wins the honor ahead of Warren Spahn, who led the National League in wins (21) and ERA (3.02). In one of the closest votes in Award history, future Hall of Famers Ford and Spahn total nine and six points respectively.
- 1966 - Triple Crown winner Frank Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles is the unanimous choice as American League MVP. He becomes the first major league player to win the award in both leagues.
- 1977:
- Hall of Fame manager Bucky Harris dies on his 81st birthday. Harris won two World Championships and three American League pennants over a 29-year career with the Washington Senators and New York Yankees, among other teams.
- George Foster of the Cincinnati Reds is named the National League MVP. The slugging left fielder, part of Cincinnati's explosive "Big Red Machine" , led the NL in home runs with 52 and in RBI with 149.
- Free agent Richie Zisk, formerly of the Chicago White Sox, signs a ten-year, $2.3 million contract with the Texas Rangers.
- 1978 - The first Matsutaro Shoriki Award is given out, going to Yomiuri Giants veteran slugger Sadaharu Oh.
- 1979:
- The New York Yankees sign free agents first baseman Bob Watson and pitcher Rudy May to long-term contracts. The two veterans will help the Yankees to an American League-leading 103 victories next season.
- New York Mets president Lorinda de Roulet announces the team is for sale, beginning a two-month bidding war.
- 1983 - Atlanta Braves outfielder Dale Murphy, who hit .302 with 36 home runs, 121 RBI and 30 stolen bases in the National League, joins Ernie Banks, Joe Morgan and Mike Schmidt as one of the players who has won the MVP Award in consecutive years. Murphy receives 21 of the 24 first-place votes cast.
- 1989 - Chicago Cubs outfielder Jerome Walton wins the 1989 National League Rookie of the Year Award, collecting 22 of 24 first-place votes to defeat teammate Dwight Smith. They are the first teammates to finish 1-2 in the NL voting since Philadelphia Phillies rookies Jack Sanford and Ed Bouchee in 1957. Walton also becomes the first Cubs player to win rookie honors since Billy Williams, in 1961.
- 1990 - Free agent slugger Darryl Strawberry signs a five-year contract with his hometown Los Angeles Dodgers, formally ending his eight-year stay with the New York Mets. He is the all-time home run leader for the Mets with 252.
- 1991 - Cal Ripken, Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles is named the American League MVP, beating out Cecil Fielder of Detroit. The Gold Glove shortstop hit .323 with 34 home runs and 114 RBI.
- 1998:
- The New York Mets announce general manager Steve Phillips will take a paid leave of absence while a threatened sexual harassment lawsuit against him is resolved. Phillips acknowledges having had an extramarital affair with a woman, but denies having harassed her. Frank Cashen will replace Phillips on an interim basis.
- The Colorado Rockies sign free agent pitcher Brian Bohanon to a three-year contract.
- Chicago Cubs right fielder Sammy Sosa is named the National League MVP. Sosa hit 66 home runs and led the National League in RBI with 158 while carrying his team to the playoffs.
- 1999:
- Cincinnati Reds reliever Scott Williamson is named Rookie of the Year in the National League. Williamson was not on the Reds' roster at the beginning of the year, but ended with a 12-7 record, 19 saves, a 2.41 ERA, and 107 strikeouts in 93.1 innings pitched.
- The Dodgers trade disgruntled outfielder Raúl Mondesi and pitcher Pedro Borbón, Jr. to Toronto for OF Shawn Green and IF Jorge Núñez. Green said he wanted to play in a metropolitan city with a large Jewish population, but apparently the California native didn't include Toronto in that category.
- The U.S. House of Representatives passes a resolution calling for Shoeless Joe Jackson to be honored. The resolution stops short of calling for his induction into the Hall of Fame. "It is worthy for this body to take a few minutes to stand up for fairness and right an old wrong," said Rep. Jim DeMint, the author of the resolution who represents Jackson's hometown of Greenville, SC. Jackson was eligible for the Hall of Fame until 1991 but was never voted in either by the Baseball Writers Association of America or the Veterans Committee. In 1991, the Hall's board adopted a resolution prohibiting players on the permanently ineligible list. The resolution will now go to the US Senate.
- 2000:
- After leading the Chicago White Sox to their first playoff appearance in seven years despite having one of the lowest payrolls in the majors (21st out of 30), Jerry Manuel is selected by the BBWAA as the American League Manager of the Year.
- The Colorado Rockies obtain pitcher Ron Villone from the Cincinnati Reds for two minor league players to be named.
- 2004:
- Jason Bay, who hit .282 with 26 home runs and 82 RBI, becomes the first Pittsburgh Pirates player, as well as the first Canadian, to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award.
- Receiving 27 of 28 first-place votes, Oakland Athletics shortstop Bobby Crosby wins the 2004 American League Rookie of the Year Award. Crosby, who is the son of former big league infielder Ed Crosby, hit .239 with 22 home runs and 64 RBI.
- 2005:
- Los Angeles Angels pitcher Bartolo Colón, who led the American League with 21 wins, receives the Cy Young Award. Colón is the second pitcher in Angels history to win the award. Dean Chance was the winner in 1964, back when there was one award for the two leagues. Colón receives 17 of 28 first-place votes cast and finishes with 118 points. Closer Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees finishes second with eight first-place votes and 68 points, while Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins, who was the 2004 winner, is third with three first-place votes and 51 points.
- Commissioner Bud Selig has made it clear he doesn't want instant replay. Even Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who had a dreadful call go against his team in the American League Championship Series, says to leave calls to the human element of umpiring. That, however, won't stop general managers from debating the issue this week.
- Infielder Neifi Perez and the Chicago Cubs agrees to a $5 million, two-year contract. Perez, who became a free agent in October, hit .274 with 9 home runs and 54 RBI last season.
- The New York Yankees let Tino Martinez go, declining their $3 million option on the popular first baseman. Martinez returned to New York in 2005 and hit .241 in part-time duty with 17 home runs and 49 RBI. He was a staple in the Yankees' lineup from 1996 to 2001, helping the team to four World Series championships and five American League pennants with his clutch hitting and reliable defense.
- 2007:
- In the 2007 Baseball World Cup, the Cuban national team survives a 7 - 3 scare from a German national team that had never before won a Baseball World Cup game.
- Also in the 2007 Baseball World Cup, Australia sees a game decided in the bottom of the 9th for the second straight day. Trailing the Netherlands, 3 - 2, with closer Michiel van Kampen entering, Australia rallies. Brad Harman singles and Dutch SS Mike Duursma makes an error on a potential double play ball. Luke Hughes brings home Harman with a sacrifice fly and Trent Oeltjen doubles in the winning run.
- 2010 - The Oakland Athletics win the right to negotiate with Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma, whose name was placed on the posting system by his team, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Pacific League. The A's, who maintained the lowest ERA in the American League in 2010, now have 30 days to come to an agreement with Iwakuma, considered the second-best pitcher in Japan after Yu Darvish, but will fail to reach a deal.
- 2011 - A court in the Dominican Republic clears Orioles pitcher Alfredo Simon of all charges related to a December 31st shooting incident for which Simon was detained for two months this winter. The case is dropped after witnesses fail to appear at two scheduled hearings.
- 2012:
- The 2012 Silver Slugger Awards are announced. Leading the field in the American League is 3B Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, winner of the Triple Crown, alongside veteran SS Derek Jeter and Cabrera's main rival for the MVP Award, Angels rookie OF Mike Trout. The National League winners include three members of the Washington Nationals: 1B Adam LaRoche, SS Ian Desmond and P Stephen Strasburg.
- The Blue Jays make the first free agent signing of the off-season, inking IF Maicer Izturis, who played for the Angels last season, to a three-year contract. The Jays also purchase P Jeremy Jeffress from the Royals, continuing a busy off-season for GM Alex Anthopoulos.
- Hall of Fame executive Lee MacPhail dies at 95 in Delray Beach, FL. He was general manager of the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees before serving as American League President from 1974 to 1984, during an era of frequent clashes with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.
- The Gold Gloves are given out for Nippon Pro Baseball. Yakult Swallows 3B Shinya Miyamoto, a month shy of 42 years old, becomes the oldest winner ever (breaking his own record), taking his tenth award. In the Pacific League, Atsunori Inaba (40 yrs, 3 mos) becomes the oldest winner in that loop. He takes his first award at 1B after having won four in the outfield.
- 2015 - The first Premier 12 opens, replacing the Baseball World Cup with top players from Asia's big three leagues improving the talent level, though MLB 40-man roster players and Caribbean winter league players are not present, limiting Western Hemisphere talent. In the 2015 Premier 12 starting game at the Sapporo Dome, the Japanese national team beats rival South Korea, 5 - 0. Shohei Otani fans ten and allows two hits in six innings while throwing 100 mph and Korea blows bases-loaded chances in the 8th and 9th against the bullpen. Takeya Nakamura has the first Premier 12 hit, Ryosuke Hirata drives in Sho Nakata with the first run and Hayato Sakamoto socks the first homer.
- 2016 - Winners of the Gold Glove are announced in both leagues. Yadier Molina's eight-year reign as the National League's best defensive catcher ends, as the honor goes to Buster Posey. Other first-time winners include SS Francisco Lindor and 2B Ian Kinsler in the AL, and 1B Anthony Rizzo in the NL.
- 2018:
- In the first trade of the off-season, the Rays send OFs Mallex Smith and Jake Fraley to the Mariners in return for C Mike Zunino and OF Guillermo Heredia. Smith had previously been part of the M's, but for only 77 minutes, before being traded to the Rays in 2017.
- The Silver Slugger Awards are handed out today and J.D. Martinez does something unprecedented, winning the award in the American League both as a designated hitter and as an outfielder.
- 2020 - The Uni-President Lions complete their comeback from a three-games-to-one deficit in the 2020 Taiwan Series. In Game 7, they top the Chinatrust Brothers, 7 - 4, as Chieh-Hsien Chen drives in three, doubling and homering. Brock Dykxhoorn saves the win for Teddy Stankiewicz, while veteran Wu-Hsiung Pan is named the Taiwan Series MVP.
- 2022 - The SSG Landers win the Korean Series, four games to two, over the Kiwoom Heroes. The finale is a 4 - 3 win as Sung-hyun Kim hits a two-run double to give Wilmer Font the victory. The Korean Series MVP goes to 40-year-old Kang-min Kim, who did not start a game but was 3-for-8 with two clutch homers as a key bench contributor. He is the oldest Korean Series MVP to date.
- 2023 - The Angels hire Ron Washington, who twice led the Texas Rangers to the World Series in the 2010s, as their new manager, replacing Phil Nevin.
- 2024 - C Cal Raleigh of Seattle and 2B Brice Turang of Milwaukee, who both won their first Gold Glove a few days ago, are further rewarded by being named the recipients of the Platinum Glove Award given to the best overall defender in the American League and National League, respectively.
Births[edit]
- 1853 - John Farrow, catcher (d. 1914)
- 1867 - Ed Cassian, pitcher (d. 1918)
- 1869 - Joe Peitz, outfielder (d. 1919)
- 1870 - Bill Hoffer, pitcher (d. 1959)
- 1876 - Danny Shay, infielder (d. 1927)
- 1884 - Pat Donahue, catcher (d. 1966)
- 1892 - Pete Córdova, infielder (d. 1974)
- 1893 - Dave Black, pitcher (d. 1959)
- 1895 - Mike Knode, outfielder (d. 1980)
- 1896 - Bucky Harris, infielder, manager; Hall of Famer (d. 1977)
- 1898 - Otto Mitchell, infielder (d. 1938)
- 1901 - Beauty McGowan, outfielder (d. 1982)
- 1907 - Tony Cuccinello, infielder; All-Star (d. 1995)
- 1908 - John Stoneham, outfielder (d. 2004)
- 1910 - Les Hinckle, minor league pitcher (d. 1955)
- 1914 - Johnnie Dawson, catcher (d. 1984)
- 1915 - Wayne Ambler, infielder (d. 1998)
- 1916 - Percy Forest, pitcher (d. 1994)
- 1916 - Elijah Williams, outfielder (d. 2003)
- 1920 - Stephen Johnson, minor league outfielder
- 1920 - Wally Westlake, outfielder; All-Star (d. 2019)
- 1922 - Bob Brady, catcher (d. 1996)
- 1930 - Mike Roarke, catcher (d. 2019)
- 1932 - Hank Stickney, minor league owner (d. 2017)
- 1937 - Alberto De Carolis, Serie A1 executive; Italian Baseball Hall of Fame
- 1937 - Rex Johnston, outfielder (d. 2019)
- 1937 - Tom Roberts, scout
- 1939 - Chuck Anderson, college coach (d. 2003)
- 1940 - Hugh Evans, minor league infielder (d. 2022)
- 1940 - Joe Nossek, outfielder
- 1944 - Ed Kranepool, infielder; All-Star (d. 2024)
- 1947 - Gary Collins, college coach
- 1947 - Óscar Romero, Cuban league pitcher
- 1949 - Kozo Otagaki, Japanese national team manager
- 1952 - John Denny, pitcher
- 1952 - Jerry Remy, infielder; All-Star (d. 2021)
- 1953 - Joe Almaraz, college coach
- 1954 - Gary Lucas, pitcher
- 1956 - Buster Turner, USA national team catcher
- 1958 - Bobby Moore, pitcher (d. 2015)
- 1958 - Ed Reilly, minor league pitcher (d. 2019)
- 1958 - Paul Wilmet, pitcher
- 1962 - Marc Demolie, First Division outfielder
- 1962 - John Fishel, outfielder
- 1962 - Ronny Johnson, minor league pitcher
- 1962 - Rey Palacios, infielder
- 1963 - Hiroshi Fujimoto, NPB infielder
- 1963 - Dwight Smith, outfielder (d. 2022)
- 1963 - Andy Ghelfi, minor league pitcher
- 1965 - Jeff Blauser, infielder; All-Star
- 1967 - Eric Anthony, outfielder
- 1967 - Ty Hawkins, minor league outfielder
- 1967 - Henry Rodriguez, outfielder; All-Star
- 1968 - Jose Offerman, infielder; All-Star
- 1969 - Shane Halter, infielder
- 1969 - Chris Morrow, minor league outfielder
- 1972 - Maximilian Weber, Bundesliga player
- 1973 - Edgardo Alfonzo, infielder; All-Star
- 1974 - Chi-Pin Chiu, CPBL infielder
- 1974 - Ryan Folmar, minor league catcher and college coach
- 1975 - Makoto Kaneko, NPB infielder
- 1976 - Victor Alvarez, pitcher
- 1976 - Carlos Casimiro, designated hitter
- 1977 - Nick Punto, infielder
- 1978 - Pedro Diaz, minor league infielder
- 1978 - Zhicheng Liu, Chinese national team outfielder
- 1979 - Randy Burden, minor league pitcher (d. 2002)
- 1979 - Justin Pope, minor league pitcher and manager
- 1979 - Takashi Sasagawa, NPB catcher
- 1980 - Victor Marte, pitcher
- 1980 - Tatsuyuki Uemoto, NPB catcher
- 1981 - Argenis Landaeta, minor league pitcher
- 1981 - Osmani Tamayo, Cuban league pitcher (d. 2012)
- 1982 - Dennis Blackmon, minor league catcher
- 1983 - Soichiro Amaya, NPB outfielder
- 1983 - Chihiro Kaneko, NPB pitcher
- 1985 - Darwin Barney, infielder
- 1986 - Kuo-Hua Lo, CPBL pitcher
- 1987 - James Gillheeney, minor league pitcher
- 1987 - Bryan Shaw, pitcher
- 1987 - Misael Valenzuela, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Yasmani Grandal, catcher; All-Star
- 1988 - Matt Hoffman, minor league pitcher
- 1989 - Giancarlo Stanton, outfielder; All-Star
- 1989 - Mauricio Tabachnik, minor league pitcher
- 1989 - Blair Walters, minor league pitcher
- 1990 - Steven Chambers, Extraliga pitcher
- 1991 - Kiara Irizarry, Puerto Rican women's national team outfielder
- 1991 - Nick Kingham, pitcher
- 1991 - Esau Madrigal, minor league pitcher
- 1991 - Jordan Sechler, minor league pitcher
- 1992 - Deion Galvan, minor league outfielder
- 1995 - Kevin De Smedt, First Division pitcher
- 1995 - Kaj Timmermans, Hoofdklasse pitcher
- 1996 - Ljay Newsome, pitcher
- 1997 - Hiroki Ohnishi, NPB pitcher
- 1999 - Donny Breek, minor league pitcher
- 1999 - Mike Burrows, pitcher
- 2000 - Chirath Karunarathne, Sri Lankan national team pitcher
- 2000 - Sonny Vargas, minor league pitcher
- 2003 - Hua-Wei Lin, CPBL pitcher
Deaths[edit]
- 1894 - King Kelly, outfielder, manager; Hall of Famer (b. 1857)
- 1911 - Oscar Bielaski, outfielder (b. 1847)
- 1911 - Frank Gatins, infielder (b. 1871)
- 1912 - Cupid Childs, infielder (b. 1867)
- 1918 - Larry Chappell, outfielder (b. 1890)
- 1927 - Henry Mullin, outfielder (b. 1862)
- 1929 - Red Bittmann, infielder; umpire (b. 1862)
- 1931 - Sam Brown, catcher (b. 1878)
- 1931 - Frank Meinke, infielder (b. 1863)
- 1942 - Jim Handiboe, pitcher (b. 1866)
- 1951 - Claude Ritchey, infielder (b. 1873)
- 1954 - Carl Rolling, outfielder (b. 1893)
- 1957 - Fred Anderson, pitcher (b. 1885)
- 1957 - Joe Connor, catcher (b. 1874)
- 1962 - Alcibíades Palma, pitcher (b. 1904)
- 1963 - Roy Whitcraft, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1888)
- 1966 - Frank Anderson, college coach (b. 1882)
- 1966 - James Buford, infielder (b. 1906)
- 1970 - Ed Murray, infielder (b. 1895)
- 1972 - Harry Child, pitcher (b. 1905)
- 1973 - Bob Chipman, pitcher (b. 1918)
- 1975 - Les Backman, pitcher (b. 1888)
- 1975 - Vern Morgan, infielder (b. 1928)
- 1975 - Ray Shepardson, catcher (b. 1897)
- 1976 - Herbert Buster, infielder (b. 1914)
- 1977 - Jim Gladd, catcher (b. 1922)
- 1977 - Robert Griffith, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1912)
- 1977 - Bucky Harris, infielder, manager; Hall of Famer (b. 1896)
- 1978 - Otto Burns, minor league outfielder (b. 1886)
- 1978 - Steve Gerkin, pitcher (b. 1912)
- 1980 - Dale Jones, pitcher (b. 1918)
- 1989 - Johnny Lanning, pitcher (b. 1910)
- 1990 - Earl Torgeson, infielder (b. 1924)
- 1993 - Hank Leiber, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1911)
- 1995 - Joe Borich, minor league catcher and manager (b. 1920)
- 1999 - Coley Logan, pinch-hitter (b. 1912)
- 2002 - Masao Nishimura, NPB outfielder and manager (b. 1912)
- 2008 - Mary Beschorner, AAGPBL outfielder (b. 1929)
- 2009 - Jonathan Figueroa, minor league pitcher (b. 1983)
- 2010 - Bill Brooks, college coach (b. 1922)
- 2010 - Sam Holmes, Negro League player (b. 1915)
- 2012 - Lee MacPhail, executive; Hall of Famer (b. 1917)
- 2013 - Rod Miller, pinch hitter (b. 1940)
- 2014 - Don Allegrucci, minor league infielder (b. 1936)
- 2016 - Marlan Coughtry, infielder (b. 1934)
- 2017 - Don Prince, pitcher (b. 1938)
- 2018 - Milt Joffe, minor league outfielder (b. 1927)
- 2018 - Ron Negray, pitcher (b. 1930)
- 2020 - Bill Holmberg, scout (b. 1953)
- 2021 - Pedro Feliciano, pitcher (b. 1976)
- 2022 - Hank Paskiewicz, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1930)
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.