2019 – The two-act opera “The Fix”, composed by Joel Puckett, has its premiere at the Minnesota Opera in St. Paul, MN. It is inspired by events around the Black Sox Scandal, which marks its 100th anniversary this year.
2018 – News stories emerge that defending AL MVP José Altuve has signed a contract extension guaranteeing him $151 million over five years starting in 2020. The huge salary will compensate for the fact that Altuve has been a tremendous bargain for the Houston Astros until now, earning just $6 million this season.
The Dominican Republic gets back to its winning ways in the second round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic as six pitchers combine to shut out Venezuela, 3 – 0. Edinson Volquez starts things off with 4 1/3 scoreless innings then in the 5th Gregory Polanco homers off Jhoulys Chacin to give the D.R. the only run it needs. The Dominicans add a couple of insurance runs, with Nelson Cruz also going deep in the 8th, off Arcenio Leon, before Jeurys Familia strikes out the side around a pair of singles in the 9th to close out the win.
Investigators into the fatal boat accident that killed young Marlins star P Jose Fernandez last September have determined that he was piloting the speeding vessel when it crashed into a jetty in Miami, FL harbor. He was also above the legal limit for alcohol and had trace amounts of cocaine in his system at the time of his death.
Only eight days after pitching his final game for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic, Yadier Pedroso dies in a car crash on a highway outside Havana. Pedroso had beaten Yu Darvish in the finale of the 2004 World Junior Championship, been named Serie Nacional Rookie of the Year (2004-2005), had won a Silver Medal in the 2008 Olympics and had been the All-Star relief pitcher in both the 2010 Intercontinental Cup and 2011 Baseball World Cup.
P Andy Pettitte ends his retirement after one year when he signs a minor league contract with the New York Yankees. The 39-year-old is expected to join the Yankees’ starting rotation as soon as he has worked himself back into game shape.
The Phillies release P Dontrelle Willis, who was trying to make the team as a reliever.
2010 – Former All-Star second baseman Chuck Knoblauch pleads guilty to a charge of domestic violence, stemming from an assault on his common-law wife in their Houston, TX home last September. He is given a $1000 fine and probation time. Retirement has not been easy for Knoblauch; in 2007 he was named in the Mitchell Report for his use of performance-enhancing drugs as a player.
Roy Halladay (12-4, 2.41) agrees to a $40 million, three-year contract extension which could keep the ‘Doc’ with the Blue Jays through the 2010 season. The 2003 American League Cy Young winner’s season was cut short after getting drilled by a line drive hit by Ranger Kevin Mench, resulting in a broken leg.
2001 – Slugger Sammy Sosa signs a four-year contract extension with the Chicago Cubs. In the last three seasons the prolific home run hitter has averaged nearly sixty homers per year (179).