Earle Combs Jesse Hainesare selected by the Special Veterans Committee to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Earle Combs Jesse Hainesare selected by the Special Veterans Committee to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

ByThis Day in Baseball

Earle Combs, a southpaw-swinging outfielder who spent his entire career with the Yankees, compiling a lifetime .325 batting average during his 12 years with New York, and Jesse Haines, a right-hander who posted a 210-158 (.571) record during his 18 years with the Cardinals, are selected by the Special Veterans Committee to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The group also elects former commissioner Ford Frick, who campaigned for a Hall of Fame that would honor baseball’s greatest baseball players when he became the National League president in 1934.

Pitcher Miguel Fuentes, at age 20, is shot and killed during a bar fight in Loiza Aldea, Puerto Rico

Pitcher Miguel Fuentes, at age 20, is shot and killed during a bar fight in Loiza Aldea, Puerto Rico

ByThis Day in Baseball

1970 – Pitcher Miguel Fuentes, at age 20, is shot and killed during a bar fight in Loiza Aldea, Puerto Rico. On October 2, 1969, against the Oakland Athletics, Fuentes pitched what will turn out to be the last inning in the history of the Seattle Pilots.

Phil Niekro

Phil Niekro is taken to a hospital to undergo an emergency appendectomy

ByThis Day in Baseball

On January 25, 1970, future Hall of Famer Phil Niekro is taken to a hospital to undergo an emergency appendectomy. In 1969, Niekro won 23 games for the Atlanta Braves and finished second in the National League’s Cy Young voting. Perhaps as a result of the surgery, Niekro will fall off to 12-18 in 1970.

Washington Senators select Bill Madlock in the 5th round of the 1970 amateur draft

Washington Senators select Bill Madlock in the 5th round of the 1970 amateur draft

ByThis Day in Baseball

  January 17, 1970: The Washington Senators select Bill Madlock in the 5th round of the 1970 amateur draft. As a September call-up in 1973, he bats .351 in 21 games for the Texas Rangers. In the offseason he is dealt to Chicago Cubs for legendary pitcher Ferguson Jenkins. He wins batting titles for the…

Willie Mays Sport News

The Sporting News names San Francisco Giants outfielder Willie Mays as its “Player of the Decade” for the 1960s. Mays beats out the likes of Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente in the voting.

ByThis Day in Baseball

The Sporting News names San Francisco Giants outfielder Willie Mays as its “Player of the Decade” for the 1960s. Mays beats out the likes of Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente in the voting.

Curt flood court

Curt Flood files a lawsuit challenging the reserve clause

ByThis Day in Baseball

  On January 16 1970 — Gold Glove outfielder Curt Flood files a lawsuit challenging the reserve clause, which binds major league players to teams perpetually. Flood had been traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies on October 7, 1969, but has refused to report to the Phillies. Flood contends that the…

The Oakland Athletics trade catcher Phil Roof, outfielder Mike Hershberger and pitchers Lew Krausse and Ken Sanders to the Seattle Pilots for first baseman Don Mincher and infielder Ron Clark.

The Oakland Athletics trade catcher Phil Roof, outfielder Mike Hershberger and pitchers Lew Krausse and Ken Sanders to the Seattle Pilots for first baseman Don Mincher and infielder Ron Clark.

ByThis Day in Baseball

1970 – The Oakland Athletics trade catcher Phil Roof, outfielder Mike Hershberger and pitchers Lew Krausse and Ken Sanders to the Seattle Pilots for first baseman Don Mincher and infielder Ron Clark.

Johnny Murphy Miracle Mets GM dies 3 months after the World Series

ByThis Day in Baseball

On January 14, 1970, New York Mets general manager, Johnny Murphy, age 61 dies of a heart attack 3 months after seeing the Miracle Mets rise from the National League cellar to win the 1969 World Series Championship. Murphy starred as a relief pitcher for the New York Yankees in the 1930s and early ’40s,…