1954 – Brooklyn Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella injures his left hand in an exhibition game against the Yankees. Though he will hit two home runs on Opening Day, Campanella will have surgery in early May for the bone chips, returning on May 30th. The injury started earlier when he was hit on the hand in the 1953 World Series.
On March 14, 1954, future Hall of Famer Hank Aaron makes his first spring training start for the Milwaukee Braves. Aaron, taking advantage of an injury suffered by starting outfielder Bobby Thomson, he raps out three hits, including a home run.in an exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox. Aaron will eventually start for the Braves…
1954 – Milwaukee Braves outfielder Bobby Thomson breaks his ankle while sliding into a base during a spring training game. The 1951 National League playoff hero is replaced by a promising prospect named Hank Aaron. Thomson will be out until July 14th.
1954 Montreal Royals Roberto Clémente Chico Fernandez Clyde McNeil @ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@ Play by Play, Box Scores, News Paper Reports and other links Other Resources & Links Baseball-Reference Box Score
New York Yankees sell pitcher Vic Raschi
1954 – 19-year-old Roberto Clemente signs with the Brooklyn Dodgers for one year at $5,000 with a $10,000 signing bonus. The Dodgers thus beat out a number of other clubs in the Clemente sweepstakes. They’ve outspent the prior two entrants, their cross-river rivals in Manhattan and the Bronx, and simply beaten the Milwaukee Braves to the punch. By far the biggest spenders of the bunch (by all accounts exceeding Brooklyn’s offer by at least 150%), the Braves were just a tad tardy, Clemente having already accepted the Dodgers’ terms. The Dodgers may have won the first battle, but they will lose Clemente’s services in one year when they fail to protect him in the 1954 Rule V Draft.
In their first significant trade since moving from St. Louis, the Orioles, formerly known as the Browns, exchange outfielders with the Senators, sending Roy Sievers to Washington for Gil Conan. Sievers will spend five solid seasons in the nation’s capital, making the All-Star squad twice, and Conan, playing less than two seasons in Baltimore, compiles a .266 batting average with three home runs, appearing in 155 games.
February 13, 1954 Relief pitcher Donnie Moore was born on this day in 1954 in Lubbock, Texas, and was the cousin of MLB player Hubie Brooks. Moore attended Paris Junior College and Ranger College before he was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the first round of the January secondary phase of the 1973 Major…
1954 – Roberto Clemente’s smash to straight-away center provides the margin of victory in Puerto Rico’s 1 – 0 victory over the Virgin Islands in game one of a three-game exhibition inter-island tourney. Clemente’s clout combines with Tellito Lopez’s 5-hit shutout to relegate Walter “Mahoo” James to the ranks of runner-up, although the latter does record 12 strikeouts en route to his hard-luck loss.
February 6, 1954 – Jim Wilson, right-handed pitcher whose 1953 record was an unspectacular 4-9, signed his 1954 contract, the 20th Brave to do so. Four months later on June 12, 1954 Wilson became the first Milwaukee Brave to hurl a no-hitter.
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