2002 – The Mets sign free agent shortstop Rey Sanchez to a contract.
2002 – The Mets sign free agent shortstop Rey Sanchez to a contract.
2002 – The Mets sign free agent shortstop Rey Sanchez to a contract.
The San Diego Padres sign free agent relief pitcher Alan Embree to a one-year contract.
The New York Mets continue to stay busy this off-season, acquiring slugging first baseman Mo Vaughn from the Anaheim Angels in exchange for starter Kevin Appier and cash. Vaughn will join Roberto Alomar, Roger Cedeño, and Shawn Estes as the newest members of the Shea Squad.
After 21 years being heard on WABC, the New York Yankees will broadcast their spring training, regular-season and postseason games on all-news station WCBS-AM which is owned by Infinity Broadcasting. The five-year deal with the Yankees’ YES Network, created earlier this year, is worth approximately $50 million.
On December 27, 1995, Hall of Fame umpire Al Barlick dies at the age of 80 in Springfield, Illinois. Known for his decisiveness and hustle, Barlick worked National League games from 1940 to 1972, and gained election to Cooperstown in 1989.
1994 – The Chiba Lotte Marines of the Pacific League announce that Julio Franco, Pete Incaviglia and Eric Hillman have been signed to contracts. Incaviglia and Hillman will play for their countryman Bobby Valentine, who in 2005 will become the first foreign manager to win the Japan Series.
New York Yankees sign free agent Ed Whitson to a five-year contract
1972 – Roberto Clemente’s final home run comes on his final swing during a batting demonstration in front of “300 admiring kids during a baseball clinic at the town of Aguadilla,” reports United Press International, according to whom Clemente hits “the fifth pitch about 350 feet out of left field at the local park.” Clemente’s fellow Pirate and fellow Puerto Rican Fernando Gonzalez is on hand and his recollections will later be recorded by Clemente biographer Kal Wagenheim: “That day in Aguadilla, he spent the whole afternoon under the sun – giving a clinic for the kids. At one point he was giving batting pointers, and there was a kid – about eighteen years old – pitching to him. The people in the stands kept yelling, ‘Roberto, bet you can’t hit a homer!’ Finally, on the last pitch, he smacked the ball right out of the stadium. He gave the kid the bat as a souvenir, and somebody else got the ball. Afterward, they erected a small monument to mark the spot where the ball fell. I think that was the last time Roberto swung a bat, and he hit a home run.”
Boston Red Sox star Jim Lonborg undergoes surgery on his left knee
Johnny Murphy becomes the Mets’ third general manager in franchise history when he replaces Bing Devine. During his tenure, the team begins to benefit from their talented farm system, especially its young pitching prospects which include Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Nolan Ryan, and Gary Gentry, all who will play a major role in the club’s World Championship in 1969.
Enjoy our free trial and start listening to games, interviews and shows! Ruth, Mantle, Aaron, and Seaver!