Template:Today in Baseball/December 18

March 7: Today's featured birthday is that of Jim Howarth, who turns 78.

• 1918 - The Boston Red Sox send Duffy Lewis, Ernie Shore and Dutch Leonard to the New York Yankees for Ray Caldwell, Slim Love, Roxy Walters, Frank Gilhooley and $15,000 in a very opsided trade.
• 1956 - Phil Rizzuto is hired as announcer for the New York Yankees and will hold the job for decades.
• 1980 - A Canadian court convicts Ferguson Jenkins for cocaine possession but erases the sentence for "exemplary" conduct.
• 1993 - Top prospect Brien Taylor (pictured) injures his shoulder in a bar fight. He will not pitch in 1994 and will not rebound well.
• 2004 - The Oakland Athletics make a trade criticized as a salary dump but which will make sense in retrospect. They send Mark Mulder to the St. Louis Cardinals for Dan Haren, Kiko Calero and Daric Barton.

Recent days: December 17 – December 16 – December 15