2019 – The Yankees sign their young ace Luis Severino to a four-year contract extension for $40 million, with an option for a fifth year at $12.25 million.
2018 – With spring training camps opening for major league teams, two more belated signings of free agents are announced. The Orioles sign P Andrew Cashner to a two-year deal worth $16 million and the Blue Jays add P Jaime Garcia for one year for $10 million.
“Baseball is known as our national pastime, but the game has deep roots and a rich history here in New York State. From the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in storied Cooperstown to the Mets and Yankees — the pinnacles of Major League Baseball, to our recently crowned Little League World Series champions from Maine-Endwell, New York State is clearly the epicenter of baseball greatness. It is time that we formally recognize baseball as our official state sport.” – JAMES SEWARD, New York state senator. New York State Sen. James Seward (R-Milford), thanks to a suggestion from a group of fourth-graders at Cooperstown Elementary School, announces he has introduced legislation (S.4288) to designate baseball as New York’s official state sport. In a press release, Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson says he “enthusiastically supports” the proposed bill, citing Cooperstown serves as the spiritual home of baseball.
2014 – P Mark Mulder’s comeback attempt after five seasons out of the game ends on the first day of spring training with the Angels, as he ruptures an Achilles tendon in routine flexibility drills.
Major League Baseball announces that it will void the contract reached by the Baltimore Orioles with teenage Korean pitcher Seong-Min Kim on January 30th. The Korea Baseball Association filed a formal protest after the signing, alleging that the O’s have breached protocol by inking Kim without obtaining prior clearance from Korean baseball authorities.
Major League Baseball sets up a vetting committee chaired by Bill Bartholomew, chairman emeritus of the Atlanta Braves and including six other major league owners, to evaluate the merits of the various bids to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers. 11 groups have cleared the initial round of qualification. The final choice is to be made by current owner Frank McCourt, who will first select five bidders to be submitted to the newly-formed committee for approval; the final sale also requires the approval of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross. The complex process must be completed by April 30th, when McCourt is required to pay a $131 million divorce settlement to his ex-wife Jamie.
On February 15, 2011 Stan Musial receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom, an award in which the honorees are selected by the sitting president, from Barack Obama. The Cardinals’ legend, who benefitted from the local grass-roots effort on his behalf, joins major leaguers Hank Aaron, Moe Berg, Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, and Ted Williams,…
2011 – The Mets bring back a figure from the past, signing reliever Jason Isringhausen to a minor league deal coupled with an invitation to spring training. Isringhausen is attempting a comeback from Tommy John surgery at age 38. He was part of the Mets’ vaunted “Big Three” in the mid-1990s along with Bill Pulsipher and Paul Wilson: the minor league standouts were supposed to anchor the Mets’ pitching staff for the next decade, but all three fell victim to arm injuries, and none of them had much success in the Big Apple.
The Rangers also add an outfielder renowned for his speed, inking Endy Chavez to a minor league deal. He is coming off knee surgery, the result of an on-field collision with SS Yuniesky Betancourt on June 19th that ended his 2009 season after 54 games; he is not expected to be ready for Opening Day.
Washington signs speedy outfielder Willy Taveras to a minor league contract. Coming off a disappointing season with the Reds in which he hit .240 with 1 home run and 15 RBI, Taveras was recently designated for assignment by the Athletics.