A week after throwing the ceremonial first pitch before Game 7 of the 2011 World Series, St. Louis Cardinals great Bob Forsch dies suddenly at 61. He is the third winningest pitcher in Cards history, with 163 wins, pitched two no-hitters for the team and played in three World Series, including the 1982 World Champions.
In one of the first moves of the new management team led by team President Theo Epstein, the Cubs fire manager Mike Quade. The long-time coach and minor league manager found success as Lou Piniella’s interim replacement at the end of the 2010 season, but 2011 was another story, as the Cubs finished 5th in…
Matt Wieters becomes the first Baltimore backstop to win the Rawlings Gold Glove Award. The 25 year-old All-Star catcher, who appeared in 132 games behind the plate last season for the Orioles, was voted by the American League managers and coaches as the best defensive player in his position.
The winners of the annual Silver Slugger Awards are announced. Atlanta C Brian McCann wins for the 4th straight year, and 5th overall, most among National Leaguers, while DH David Ortiz of Boston is also a five-time winner in the American League.
Matt Wieters becomes the first Baltimore backstop to win the Rawlings Gold Glove Award. The 25 year-old All-Star catcher, who appeared in 132 games behind the plate last season for the Orioles, was voted by the American League managers and coaches as the best defensive player in his position.
Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt comes to an agreement with Major League Baseball to sell his team through a court-supervised process. The agreement avoids a showdown in United States Bankruptcy Court.
The major league Gold Glove Awards are announced, with an unusually large turnover of recipients. Only P Mark Buehrle repeats as a winner in the American League, while 2B Brandon Phillips, C Yadier Molina and SS Troy Tulowitzki are repeat recipients in the National League. OF Ichiro Suzuki fails to win the award for the first time since moving to the United States in 2001.
The World Champion Cardinals announced that Tony La Russa, the team’s manager for the past 16 seasons, has decided to retire. The 67 year-old skipper, who is only 35 games behind John McGraw on the all-time list for second place for games won, compiled a 2,728-2,365 (.536) managerial record during his 33 seasons with the White Sox, A’s, and St. Louis.
Although offered approximately $4.5 million for a three-year extension, four times the amount of his previous salary, Theo Epstein decides to leave the BoSox after being the youngest general manager to lead a team to a World Championship. The split with team president Larry Lucchino, who hired the 18 year-old Yale undergraduate as an Oriole intern, gave him a position with the Padres before bringing the ‘Boy Wonder’ to Boston, takes the Red Sox Nation by surprise.
The Mets announce on their Twitter page that the team is planning to move the left- and right-field fences at Citi Field closer to home plate by as much as 12 feet and to also lower the home-run line to eight feet. The Amazins, who have hit the fewest home runs at home of any major league team since moving into their new ballpark in 2009, will see the number of round-trippers dramatically increase when the new dimensions result in 21 additional homers for the team and 24 more for opponents
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