On April 2, 1982, Oakland A’s pitcher Steve McCatty walks to the plate during a spring training game carrying a 15-inch toy bat. A’s manager Billy Martin had ordered McCatty to use the toy bat as a protest of the rule preventing the use of the DH in National League ballparks. Umpire Jim Quick refuses to let McCatty use the bat.
On April 1, 1982, the New York Mets trade popular center fielder and teen idol Lee Mazzilli to the Texas Rangers for minor league pitchers Ron Darling and Walt Terrell. Darling will emerge as an important member of the Mets’ starting rotation and a key contributor to their 1986 World Championship…
On March 31, 1982, the Montreal Expos acquire first baseman-outfielder Al Oliver from the Texas Rangers for third baseman Larry Parrish and minor league first baseman Dave Hostetler. Oliver will enjoy a banner season in Montreal, capturing both the National League in hits, doubles, RBI, batting average, total bases, and RBI.
1982 – Pitcher Fernando Valenzuela ends his holdout and reports to the Dodgers spring training camp in Vero Beach, Florida. In 1981, Valenzuela captured the National League Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards after winning 13 games with a 2.48 ERA and 180 strikeouts during the strike-shortened season. After earning just $42,500 in his rookie season, Valenzuela had asked for a raise to $1 million this year. The Dodgers unilaterally renewed his contract for a reported $350,000 instead.
Ballantine Books publishes the first of seven annual Bill James Abstracts, bringing the author into the national spotlight for his statistical insight into the game. The sabermetrician’s original self-published efforts, written while working the night shift as a security guard at the Stokely-Van Camp’s pork and beans cannery, introduces baseball fans to new ways of measuring a player’s ability, using stats such as such Runs Created.
On March 10, 1982, shortstop Travis Jackson and former commissioner Happy Chandler are elected to the Hall of Fame. Jackson played 15 years for the New York Giants, batting .291 for his career. Chandler served as baseball’s leader for six years and oversaw the end of baseball’s color line in 1947, when Jackie Robinson debuted…
1982 – Needing just three wins to reach 300 for his career, pitcher Gaylord Perry signs a one-year contract with the Seattle Mariners.
March 3, 1982 Fernando Valenzuela rejects the Dodgers 1982 salary offer of $325,000 and says he’ll hold out until his salary demands are met. Coming off a Rookie of the Year season in which he reportedly made $42,300, Fernando is looking for a deal that would pay him close to $800,000 per season….
February 25, 1982 The Boston Red Sox sign Mark Fidrych as a free agent. The Bird goes 8-7 over two years in Pawtucket but never reaches the bigs. @ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@ Other Resources & Links [et_pb_signup provider=”getresponse” getresponse_list=”Thomas Hannon|zs45L” success_action=”redirect” success_redirect_url=”https://thisdayinbaseball.com/join-the-community/” success_redirect_query=”on|off|off|off|off” title=”Baseball history from Doubleday to Present Day” button_text=”Join us!” description=” This Day…
1982 – Bake McBride becomes the third starter from the 1980 Phillies’ World Championship squad to be traded or sold since Bill Giles bought the club last October. The Cleveland Indians get him in exchange for pitcher Sid Monge.
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