2004 – Baseball officials report that they are closer to an agreement on a drug-testing program that will incorporate more tests‚ and stiffer penalties. Donald Fehr says he expects the plan to be in place by spring training.
Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year issue, featuring the 2004 Red Sox as the magazine’s choice for its prestigious honor, arrives on the newsstands today. Since its inception in 1954, SI annually has named an “athlete whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement,” making the World Champions the first team to earn the distinction in the 50-year history of the award.
2004 – Receiving 21 of the 28 first-place votes, Vladimir Guerrero (.337, 39 HR, 126 RBI) wins the American League MVP Award. The 28-year old former Expos outfielder signed as a free agent with the Angels, after the Mets refused to guarantee his salary based on advice from their medical staff.
2004 – After spending $67 million to acquire its former president’s shares of the Seattle Mariners, Nintendo’s U.S. subsidiary now owns more than 50 percent of the franchise. Due to the presence of superstar Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle is one of the favorite major league teams in Japan.
After spending $67 million to acquire its former president’s shares of the Mariners, the Nintendo’s U.S. subsidiary now owns more than 50 percent of the Northwest franchise. Due to the presence of Japanese superstar Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle is one of the favorite U.S. major league teams in the Land of the Rising Sun.
2004 – After guiding the Dodgers to their first division title since 1995, the club signs manager Jim Tracy to a two-year extension. Tracy, who has had four consecutive winning seasons with the Dodgers, will resign before the 2006 season to manage the Pittsburgh Pirates.
At a lunchtime celebration at Union Station, which includes a protest, the recently relocated Washington National League franchise announces its new name, logo, and colors. Using the official original name of the district’s team which used the nickname the Senators from 1901-56, the club clad in red, white, blue, and gold will be known as the Nationals.
U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) introduces a resolution congratulating the Red Sox on their recent World Championship, a four-game sweep of St. Louis. The team had never won the World Series during the lifetime of the 72 year-old legislator.
2004 – The Los Angeles Angels trade outfielder Jose Guillen to the Washington Nationals for OF Juan Rivera and IF Maicer Izturis. Guillen, now playing for his sixth team in an eight-year career, was suspended by the Angels after throwing a batting helmet during a tirade caused by being taken out for a pinch runner last September.
Although the Expos may not know where they are playing next season (until the MLB approves the shifting the franchise to Washington, DC) or the team’s new name, the former Montreal franchise will know who is the club’s manager. After compiling a 233-253 record despite many restrictions and hardships, Frank Robinson will return to the helm for his fourth year as the skipper of this nomad ship.