2002 – Houston Astros RF Richard Hidalgo is shot in the left forearm during a carjacking in Venezuela. He is released from the hospital and will go to Houston for more tests.
In the earliest-scheduled season opener in major league history, the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners will start the season in Tokyo, Japan, on March 25, 2003. The two-game series will feature recent American League Rookies of the Year Kazuhiro Sasaki (2000) and Ichiro Suzuki (2001).
The Montreal Expos may play approximately twenty-five percent of their home games (22 of 81) in San Juan, Puerto Rico next season. Away “home games” are not unprecedented as the Brooklyn Dodgers played seven games in Newark, NJ in 1956 and 1957, and the Chicago White Sox, filling a void when the Braves left, played nine games in Milwaukee, WI in 1968 and another 11 in 1969.
2002 – Jesse Orosco, agrees to a one-year contract with the San Diego Padres estimated at $800,000. Orosco started his major league career in 1979 with the New York Mets (traded by the Minnesota Twins for Jerry Koosman). He will retire next season at age 45, after setting a major league record with 1,252 games pitched.
The Braves, Marlins, and the Rockies complete a three-team trade which sends starting pitcher Mike Hampton and outfielder Juan Pierre to Florida with backstop Charles Johnson, outfielder Preston Wilson, southpaw reliever Vic Darensbourg, and infield prospect Pablo Ozuna to the Colorado. The Marlins then sent Hampton to the Braves in exchange for righty reliever Tim Spooneybarger and pitching prospect Ryan Baker.
After piloting the Giants for ten years and winning this season’s National League pennant, Dusty Baker, leaves the organization, inking a four-year deal to manage the Cubs. Chicago, a franchise which hasn’t been to the World Series since 1945, made it clear the 53 year-old three-time NL Manager of the Year was the team’s first choice to lead the way.
The Atlanta Braves, Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies begin a three-team trade which sends starting pitcher Mike Hampton and outfielder Juan Pierre to Florida with catcher Charles Johnson, outfielder Preston Wilson, reliever Vic Darensbourg and infielder Pablo Ozuna to Colorado. The Marlins will send Hampton to the Braves on November 18th in exchange for pitching prospects Tim Spooneybarger and Ryan Baker.
The New York Yankees and the Yomiuri Giants sign an agreement to form a working relationship. The organizations, being the most successful teams in their respective leagues, hope to establish scouting and marketing ties which will benefit both teams.
Diamondbacks bench coach Bob Melvin is selected to be the Mariners’ twelfth manager in franchise history. The 41 year-old former major league catcher is replacing Lou Piniella, who asked to be released from his contract with Seattle to take a job closer to his home as the Devil Rays’ skipper next season.
2002 – The San Francisco Giants select former Montreal Expos veteran skipper Felipe Alou to replace Dusty Baker as their new manager. The 67-year-old Dominican Republic native compiled a 691-717 record during his ten years at the helm with Montreal and was selected as the National League Manager of the Year in the 1994 strike-shortened season.
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