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The Royals fire manager Billy Gardner, who replaced Dick Howser in spring training, and replace him with John Wathan

ByThis Day in Baseball

1987 – The Royals fire manager Billy Gardner, who replaced Dick Howser in spring training, and replace him with John Wathan, the former Kansas City catcher who was managing the club’s Triple A Omaha affiliate. In Wathan’s major league managerial debut, the Royals win, 3 – 2, on George Brett’s 10th-inning home run to move within three games of first-place Minnesota.

Dick Howser

Three days into spring training Dick Howser’s attempted comeback after undergoing brain tumor surgery comes to an end

ByThis Day in Baseball

Three days into spring training, Dick Howser’s attempted comeback after undergoing brain tumor surgery comes to an end when the frail-looking Royals manager finds he is physically too weak to continue. Third base coach Billy Gardner replaces the ill skipper, who will die three months later at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City.

Mickey Mantle - Sandy Koufax 1963 World Series
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Mantle booed and benched during a double header lose to the Senators

ByThis Day in Baseball

The Yankees lose a doubleheader to Washington and fall to 3rd place in the American League, a half game behind the Orioles and White Sox. P Camilo Pascual’s grand slam is the difference in a 5 – 4 first-game win. In the second game, Mickey Mantle, believing there are two outs, jogs to first base on a grounder to third. The Senators turn a double play, with New York’s Roger Maris suffering bruised ribs trying to break it up at second base. Maris will miss 18 games as a result. Mantle is heavily booed, and manager Casey Stengel replaces him with Bob Cerv. The clubs set a major-league record by using 17 pinch hitters – 9 by the Yankees – in the doubleheader (more than 18 innings), while playing a major-league record 24 errorless innings.