1988 – For the first time since 1956, the Special Veterans Committee does not elect anyone to the Hall of Fame. Phil Rizzuto, Leo Durocher, Joe Gordon and Gil Hodges, are among the candidates passed over.
1987 – Reliever Charley Kerfeld declares he will buy up 3,000 tickets per game to give away to charity causes. Without a discount, which the Astros didn’t discuss, the cost for the seats would total as much as $1.6 million dollars. Unable to afford that on a $110,000 salary, Kerfeld backs down from the offer.
Charlie Kerfeld and the Astros finally agree on a one-year contract worth $110,037.37 and 37 boxes of orange Jello, planned to be used future pranks. The Houston reliever, who wears number 37, insisted he earned more than right-hander Jim DeShaies, and the reliever’s new deal pays him $37.37 more than his teammate.
1976 – Chicago White Sox owner Bill Veeck opens training camp in Sarasota, Florida, but participation is limited to non-roster players because of the ongoing lockout.
Roberto Clemente takes the mound in this 1971 spring training photo op, having always joking with teammate Steve Blass he’d be a better pitcher.
1971 – Willie Mays signs a two-year contract with the San Francisco Giants for $165,000 per season.
1969 – New York Yankees legend Mickey Mantle announces his retirement. Mantle, who slumped to a .237 batting average in 1968, finishes his 18-season career with 536 home runs and a .298 average, numbers that would have certainly been higher if not for persistent knee injuries. The Yankees offer Mantle a coaching position on manager Ralph Houk’s staff.
1967 – Commissioner William Eckert approves the Baseball Writers Association of America’s plan to select a Cy Young Award recipient from both the National and American Leagues. The honor, which was initiated in 1956, had been given to just one pitcher in the major leagues each season, a position strongly supported by former commissioner Ford Frick.
1965 – Future Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente misses the first day of spring training because of a bout with malaria. The Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder will sit out a full month of training camp with the disease, which he contracted during the off-season. Clemente will recover to bat .329, but will hit only 10 home runs with 65 RBI, his worst totals since 1959.
March 1, 1961 – Six weeks after leaving the Oval Office, former President Dwight Eisenhower jokes with the Angel players prior to an intra-squad game. Ike will sit in the dugout with the newly established expansion team during its five-inning scrimmage.
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