1999 – Fighting shoulder injuries, five-time All-Star pitcher Jimmy Key retires from baseball. The 37-year-old lefthander appeared in the postseason with all the teams he played for, which included the Blue Jays, Orioles and Yankees.
1999 – Free agent pitcher Jim Abbott is signed by the Milwaukee Brewers, and the St. Louis Cardinals sign second baseman Carlos Baerga.
New York Mets games this season will be broadcast by WPIX, Channel 11, after being aired on WOR, Channel 9, since the club’s inception in 1962. The New York Yankees’ games, which had been aired for nearly 50 years on Channel 11, will now be seen on Channel 5, a FOX affiliate.
Free agent outfielder Tim Raines is signed by the Oakland Athletics to a $600,000 contract. Raines hit .290 for the World Champion New York Yankees last season and has a .296 career batting average.
1999 – Houston signs four players to minor league deals but all will see action with the Astros. Pitchers Brian Williams and Jeff McCurry come to terms along with outfielders Alex Diaz and Ryan Thompson. Williams, in his second tour as an Astro, plays the biggest role going 2-1 in 50 games out of the bullpen. For McCurry, it was a nice 29th birthday present, having been born in Tokyo, Japan on this day in 1970.
1999 – A fiberglass panel falls from the roof of Stade Olympique in Montréal, QC, home of the Expos, during the setup for an auto show. Five people are injured.
1999 – Two free agent relief pitchers are signed, Heathcliff Slocumb by the Baltimore Orioles, and Mike Mohler by the St. Louis Cardinals.
1999 – The Cincinnati Reds sign free agent first baseman Hal Morris, and the Detroit Tigers obtain catcher Brad Ausmus and pitcher C.J. Nitkowski from the Houston Astros in exchange for catcher Paul Bako and four prospects.
The Astros swap catcher Brad Ausmus and pitcher C.J. Nitkowski to Detroit for five players including catcher Paul Bako and pitcher Brian Powell. Ironically, both players Houston traded away would return to the Astros organization.
1999 – Setting an all-time record, the ball that Mark McGwire hit for his 70th home run is sold at an auction for $2.7 million by Guernsey’s Auction House in Manhattan. The buyer is later revealed to be Todd McFarlane, creator of the Spawn comic books series. The price tag surpasses the record $126,500 which bought a Babe Ruth home run ball last year.
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