This Day In Baseball February 28

Baseball history on February 28 includes Major League baseball players born that day of the year, Major League baseball players who died on that date, baseball players who made their Major League debut on that date, and Major League baseball players who appeared in their final game that date.

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Jud “Boojum” Wilson is born in Remington, Virginia

Jud “Boojum” Wilson is born in Remington, Virginia

John McGraw and Wilbert Robinson sign contracts with the Baltimore Orioles of the National League

John McGraw and Wilbert Robinson sign contracts with the Baltimore Orioles of the National League

1903 – A syndicate headed by Pittsburgh Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss and James Potter buys the Philadelphia Phillies from John Rogers and A. J. Reach for $170,000. It will be another seven years before ownership interest in more than one team is prohibited.

Arriving for spring training, a chastened John McGraw announces that he is through with the real estate business. McGraw’s involvement with Pennant Park last year cost him more than $100,000.

At Crescent City, Florida, a train carrying several Cleveland Indians players derails. No players are injured and pitcher George Uhle sleeps through the incident.

1929 – The Chicago White Sox send veteran outfielder Bibb Falk to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for catcher Chick Autry. Falk will hit over .300 in each of his three years with Cleveland.

1931 – Ban Johnson dies in St. Louis, at age 57. Johnson had served as the founder and first president of the American League from 1901 to 1927. He was a dynamic and dictatorial leader until subdued by the advent of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who took office as the first Baseball commissioner in January 1921. Johnson will gain election to the Hall of Fame in 1937.

Ban_Johnson,_1905

Ban Johnson dies after a long illness

1941 – The Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants open the spring training schedule with a 4 – 3 Brooklyn victory in Havana, Cuba. Pitcher Paul Dean takes the loss.

1946 - Alex Carrasquel, Chicago White Sox pitcher, signs a three-year contract with the Mexican League - the first shot in the event that will dominate baseball even more than the return of World War II veterans.

1946 – Alex Carrasquel, Chicago White Sox pitcher, signs a three-year contract with the Mexican League – the first shot in the event that will dominate baseball even more than the return of World War II veterans.

Jackie Robinson in Cuba 1947

Jackie Robinson in Cuba 1947

1955 – The National League fines the Milwaukee Braves $500 for opening their spring training camp before the official March 1st date.

1959 – Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees ends his holdout after one day. Mantle agrees to a salary of $72,000 and a bonus of $2,000. He had been asking the Yankees for $85,000 after batting .304 with 42 home runs and 97 RBI in 1958.

Mickey Mantle

Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees ends his holdout after one day

Hall of Fame pitcher Eppa Rixey dies at the age of 71

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Refusing to report to spring training, Dodger pitchers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale begin their joint holdout

1968 – Lena Blackburne dies in Riverside, New Jersey, at age 81. A former major league infielder and manager, Blackburne has been the source for his eponymous rubbing mud, used by umpires in both leagues to rub down new balls. He leaves the mud business to his boyhood friend, John Haas.

New York Mets acquire slugging first baseman-outfielder Dave Kingman from the San Francisco Giants for cas

The Mets purchase slugger Dave Kingman from the Giants. The 26 year-old first baseman/outfielder was drafted by San Francisco as the team’s first pick in the initial round of the secondary phase of the 1970 amateur draft.

Rick Reuschel signs as a free-agent with the Pirates, spending the first two months in the minors. After being called up in May, 'Big Daddy' will win 14 games and be named the National League's Comeback Player of the Year by the Sporting News.

Rick Reuschel signs as a free-agent with the Pirates, spending the first two months in the minors. After being called up in May, ‘Big Daddy’ will win 14 games and be named the National League’s Comeback Player of the Year by the Sporting News.

1985 – Pitcher Rick Reuschel signs as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He will spend the first two months of the season in the minors. After being called up in May, Reuschel will win 14 games for Pittsburgh and gain the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Commissioner Peter Ueberroth suspends seven players for their involvement with illegal drugs

1986 – In Major League Baseball’s sternest disciplinary move since the 1919 Black Sox were banished for life, Commissioner Peter Ueberroth gives seven players who were admitted drug users a choice of a year’s suspension without pay or heavy fines and career-long drug testing, along with 100 hours of drug-related community service. Joaquin Andújar, Dale Berra, Enos Cabell, Keith Hernandez, Jeffrey Leonard, Dave Parker, and Lonnie Smith will be fined 10 percent of their annual salaries to drug abuse programs. The commissioner also doles out lesser penalties to 14 other players for their use of drugs.

Red Schoendienst, who spent 19 years in the major leagues and managed the Cardinals to a world championship in 1967, and Al Barlick, a 29-year veteran umpire, best known for his booming voice, are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. The pair joins last month’s BBWAA selections Johnny Bench and Carl Yastrzemski.

1989 – The Veterans Committee elects Red Schoendienst and Al Barlick to the Hall of Fame. Schoendienst served as a second baseman and manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, and Barlick was a major league umpire for over 29 seasons.

1999 – Diamondbacks pitcher Kenny Robinson is killed in a car crash. Teammate John Rosengren is arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the alcohol-related accident. Robinson pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals from 1995 through 1997.

“In the end, I could not ignore Darryl’s past infractions and concluded that each of us must be held accountable for his or her actions. I am hopeful that he will use this time away from the game productively and will care for himself and his family.” – BUD SELIG,commissioner of baseball, commenting on his decision to suspend Darryl Strawberry. Yankee outfielder/DH Darryl Strawberry is suspended for one year after testing positive for cocaine last month. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig does not make any provision for an early return to the game of the eight-time All-Star from the suspension based on good behavior.

2000 – American League umpire John Hirschbeck is elected as the first president of the World Umpires Association, which was recognized by the National Labor Relations Board a few days ago.

2002 – Major League Baseball announces it has rehired five umpires who had resigned during the 1999 season as part of the ill-fated strategy concocted by Richie Phillips and the Major League Umpires Association. They are Gary Darling, Bill Hohn, Larry Poncino, Larry Vanover and Joe West. Four other umpires, Drew Coble, Greg Kosc, Terry Tata, and Frank Pulli, are allowed to retire.

The U.S. government places a plaque at Jackie Robinson's former apartment in Montreal

The U.S. government places a plaque at Jackie Robinson’s former apartment in Montreal

Cardinals hurler Adam Wainwright undergoes Tommy John surgery and will miss the season.

Some notable names make their spring training debuts. 2010 amateur draft #1 pick Bryce Harper fans twice in a Nationals win over the Mets. Miguel Cabrera makes his first appearance since his drunk driving arrest and goes 0 for 2 with a walk in a Tigers victory.

Wally Yonamine dies of cancer. Yonamine was the first American to play in Nippon Pro Baseball after World War II and later was the first American to manage in NPB. Yonamine was also the first Japanese-American to play in the National Football League, doing so in 1947, four years before he would become a pioneer in Japan.

2013 – Elvis Andrus adds his name to the list of baseball’s most bizarre injuries, as he is scratched from the Rangers’ line-up before a Cactus League game because of “sensivity and muscle soreness” in his left shoulder, the result of an elaborate tatoo commemorating his late father, reaching from the top of his shoulder to his biceps.

2015 – The Australian Baseball League has its Baseball Gala. Aaron Miller of the Adelaide Bite wins the Helms Award given to the circuit’s most valuable player after leading the 2014-2015 ABL in average, OBP and slugging, while Perth Heat infielder Joey Wong takes home the Gold Glove.

2016 – One of the last unsigned free agents on the market, Ian Desmond, finds at least a temporary home by signing a one-year deal with the Rangers for $8 million. It’s a major pay cut for Desmond, who turned down a $15.8 million qualifying offer from the Nationals before realizing the demand for his services was much less than he anticipated. However, he will make the best of a bad situation by earning an All-Star berth as a centerfielder for the Rangers.

2017 – The Nationals and Astros cut the ribbon on their new shared spring training facility, the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, FL. Commissioner Rob Manfred is on hand for the inauguration of the state-of-the-art $150 million facility.

2018 – Boston Red Sox owner John Henry officially petitions the city of Boston, MA to rename Yawkey Way, which is located just outside Fenway Park. The street was named after former owner and Hall of Fame member Tom Yawkey, but history has not been kind to its namesake’s memory, as he is widely blamed for delaying the integration of the team, making them the last major league franchise to have am African-American player in its line-up, 12 years after Jackie Robinson broke the color line.

2017 – The Astros are the visiting team in their first game held at their new spring training home in West Palm Beach, FL. That’s because the opponent was the facility’s other tenant, the Washington Nationals. The Nats won it, 4-3, on a walk-off home run by Michael Taylor in the ninth. 

1997 – Larry Dierker’s managerial debut with the Astros is an 8-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians. Shane Reynolds delivers two shutout innings but the Tribe get to Mike Hampton, Jose Lima and Ramon Garcia for the decisive runs. 

1991 – Former major leaguers, Bob and Ken Aspromonte, now local beer distributors, announce they are seeking to buy the Astros from Dr. John McMullen but still need additional partners. Bob Aspromonte played for the team from 1962 to 1968. 

1986 – Former Astros Joaquin Andujar, Enos Cabell and Jeff Leonard are among eleven players suspended by Commissioner Peter Ueberroth in the aftermath of the drug-dealing trial of Curtis Strong in Pittsburgh. Future Astro Dale Berra is also suspended. All the players agree to a stiff fine, community service and random drug tests in exchange for lifting the suspensions. 

1975 – Ricky Stone is born in Hamilton, OH. The righthander plays a valuable set-up role in the bullpen, with a 10-8 record and two saves over four seasons (2001-04) before being released and claimed by San Diego.

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