2012 – Oft-injured P Chien-Ming Wang, slated to be the Nationals’ fifth starter, has to leave a Grapefruit League game after landing awkwardly when he fields a slow grounder off the bat of the Yankees’ Russell Martin in the 3rd inning. Wang crumples to the ground after touching first base and has to be assisted to leave the field.

Commissioner Bud Selig forms a twelve-person committee to study the origins of baseball, with newly-appointed official historian John Thorn as its chair. The issue has been rekindled with the publication this week of Thorn’s book, Baseball in the Garden of Eden, which casts doubt on the role of Alexander Cartwright in laying down the fundamental principles of the game. Ironically, Cartwright was promoted as the “real” founder of the game to counteract the unfounded legend that Abner Doubleday had laid down the first baseball diamond in Cooperstown, NY in 1839. Thorn argues that the game is in fact much older than once thought, with traces found in 18th century records.

A wild rumor sweeps across the Grapefruit League, carried by ESPN: the Cardinals and Phillies are talking about swapping their marquee sluggers, Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard, before they become free agents at the end of 2011. Both teams dismiss the rumor as groundless and nothing will come of it.

For the second time this spring, the Rangers’ Josh Hamilton has to leave work early because of injury. This time, he’s hit on the left arm by a pitch from the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner in the 3rd inning of an exhibition game. His bosses are concerned, since he missed half of 2009 with various ailments.

It’s a short outing for the Mariners’ prize winter acquisition, Cliff Lee, in his second start of the Cactus League season. He is ejected in the bottom of the 3rd inning by umpire Brian Knight for throwing at the Diamondbacks’ Chris Snyder. He gets the rest of his scheduled work in by throwing on a back field in the spring training complex. He will receive a five-game suspension, to be served at the beginning of the regular season, for his actions.

The Major League Baseball Players Association circulates an expanded list of “dangerous contaminated supplements”, which now contains 104 products. These nutritional supplements are legal but potentially contaminated, and could cause false positives under Major League Baseball’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

Georgia Southern University sets a NCAA record with 14 home runs in a 26 – 8 win over Columbia University. Alabama (1996) and Cal State Northridge (1999) had shared the NCAA Division I record of 13 while Wooster in Division III had also hit 13, back in 1986.