1889 – John Ward arrives in New York, having left the world tour early, and states that he might consent to play with the Washington Nationals if he receives a major portion of the $12,000 sale price. On April 2nd he will kill the deal with the Giants by refusing to play for Washington.

1900 – The Brooklyn Superbas sell John McGraw, Wilbert Robinson and Bill Keister to the St. Louis Cardinals for $15,000. McGraw and Robinson refuse to report.

1936 – Pitcher Dizzy Dean ends his well-publicized holdout and signs a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. Dean agrees to a one-year deal that will pay him $24,000 for the upcoming season.

dean dizzy

Dizzy Dean ends his well-publicized holdout and signs a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals

1938 – Commissioner Landis frees 74 St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguers, among them Pete Reiser, in yet another attempt to halt the farm system cover-up. Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Larry MacPhail makes a pact with his St. Louis counterpart, Branch Rickey, to take the as-yet unknown Reiser and swap him back in the future, but the young outfielder’s ability is too great to hide.

1941 – New York Yankees outfielder Joe DiMaggio, a holdout and late arrival in spring training, plays his first exhibition game.

1942 – The Brooklyn Dodgers reobtain Frenchy Bordagaray, buying the veteran first baseman from the New York Yankees.

1951 – The Brooklyn Dodgers sign a 21-year lease with the city of Vero Beach, Florida, for use of their spring training facilities there.

1955 – 160-something pound rookie Roberto Clemente flashes some of his under-publicized power in the form of a triple, “425 feet to the fence in center,” according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Jack Hernon. In the process, Clemente hits a laser to the deepest part of the ballpark in the Pirates’ spring training home, Terry Park, in Fort Myers, FL, in the 3rd inning of an exhibition game against the Chicago White Sox. However, as Pittsburgh Press writer Les Biederman recounts, (Clemente) “then was an easy out at the plate when he tried to stretch the drive into an inside-the-park homer.”

1957 – At Los Angeles’s Wrigley Field, Willie Mays belts two home runs to lead the Giants to a 9 – 3 Cactus League win over the Cleveland Indians. Giants general manager Bill Rigney fines Hank Thompson $150 for missing last night’s exhibition win over the Indians in San Diego.

mccovey cepeda and mays

Giants trade Bill White to make room for Orlando Cepeda and McCovey

1959 – The San Francisco Giants clear space for future Hall of Famers Orlando Cepeda and Willie McCovey by trading first baseman Bill White to the St. Louis Cardinals. Cepeda won the 1958 National League Rookie of the Year Award after batting .312 with 25 home runs and 96 RBI. McCovey, a top prospect in the Giants’ farm system, will make his major league debut this season.

1962 – William DeWitt buys the Cincinnati Reds from the Crosley Foundation for $4.625 million.

1968 – In a spring training game, Chicago Cubs pitcher Jim Ellis creates the “Lip Pass” by going to his mouth on a 3 and 1 count to issue an intentional walk. Cubs manager Leo Durocher, who was opposed to the new strict enforcement of the rule preventing pitchers from going to their mouth while on the rubber, is warned not to repeat the Lip pass or he’ll be fined. He doesn’t, but the rule is relaxed.

Al Lopez Day in Tampa bay

Al Lopez Day in Tampa bay

The Chicago Cubs send All-Star outfielder Jim Hickman to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for pitcher Scipio Spinks.

The New York Yankees purchase outfielder Elliott Maddox from the Texas Rangers for $60,000. Maddox will prove to be a great defensive outfielder as well as hitting .303 this year.

1978 – The New York Mets trade popular shortstop Bud Harrelson to the Philadelphia Phillies for minor leaguer Fred Andrews.

Howard Spira, who was paid $40,000 by George Steinbrenner in January to dig up dirt on outfielder Dave Winfield, is arrested by the FBI for trying to extort money from the Yankees owner. Commissioner Fay Vincent bans the Boss from playing any role in the team’s day-to-day operations for thirty months, upon learning about the arrangement with the Bronx gambler.

1990 – Gambler Howard Spira is arrested for extorting money from New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who paid Spira $40,000 in January. The Commissioner will suspend Steinbrenner because of his relationship with the unsavory caracter.

National League announces that president Bill White will step down

National League announces that president Bill White will step down

1992 – The National League announces that president Bill White will step down at the end of his term in 1993. A former St. Louis Cardinals star, White became the first African-American league president in 1989.

1996 – In a Grapefruit League game at Clearwater’s Jack Russell Stadium, the Philadelphia Phillies and Cleveland Indians meet for the first time in their history, with the Indians prevailing, 8 – 2.

All-Star outfielder Tim Raines announces his retirement after 21 major league seasons. But he will return in 2001 to play two more seasons.

The Chicago Cubs send relief pitcher Rodney Myers to the San Diego Padres in exchange for outfielder Gary Matthews, Jr.

The St. Louis Cardinals obtain All-Star centerfielder Jim Edmonds from the Anaheim Angels in exchange for pitcher Kent Bottenfield and second baseman Adam Kennedy.

A panel of veteran baseball writers, historians and executives selects a roster of the Top 100 Greatest Cleveland Indians Players, as part of the club’s 100th Anniversary Celebration.

The Cincinnati Reds announce the retirement of first baseman Hal Morris. In a 13-season major league career, Morris was a .304 hitter with 76 home runs and 513 RBI in 1246 games.

According to a new book, San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds tried to keep his name out of the BALCO scandal, sending his lawyer into meetings with company representatives to ask for protection.

Alfonso Soriano ends his brief stand-off with the Washington Nationals, agreeing to move to left field and abandon his perch at second base.

Thanks to Mariners’ Ichiro Suzuki’s two-out, two-run single in the top of the 10th inning, Japan defeats South Korea, 5-3, to win its second consecutive World Baseball Classic title. South Korea, the reigning Olympic champion, had tied the game 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth on Lee Bum-ho’s two-out RBI single off Japanese closer Yu Darvish in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 54,846 at Dodger Stadium.

The Miami-Dade County commissioners approve the final documents necessary to move forward on the Marlins’ new 37,000-seat home, planned to be located on the present grounds of Miami’s Orange Bowl. The long-anticipated retractable-roof ballpark will become a reality in 2012, with the team breaking ground this July.

Curt Schilling announces his retirement on his blog. He pitched 23 seasons in the major leagues and won three World Series (2001, 2004 and 2007), sharing World Series MVP honors in 2001. He went 216-146 with 3116 strikeouts in the majors. He made six All-Star teams and was a 3-time runner-up for the Cy Young Award. He retires 15th all-time in strikeouts and first in K:BB ratio for players from the 20th Century or later.

Japan wins the 2009 World Baseball Classic, its second World Baseball Classic title in the two times the tournament had been held. As in 2006, Daisuke Matsuzaka is named MVP after going 3-0. In the finale, Japan beats the South Korean national team, 5 – 3 ,in 10 innings, with a 2-run single by Ichiro Suzuki off Chang-yong Lim being the winning hit. Suzuki goes 4 for 6 in the game. Yu Darvish gets the win after blowing a save opportunity in the 9th.

2010 – The Brewers advise P Scott Schoeneweis that he will not make their opening day roster and that they plan to release him on March 25th. Schoeneweis is attempting a comeback after a trying 2009 season both on and off the field and will find a job a few days later with the Boston Red Sox.

Japan’s Central League announces that it will delay its opener, scheduled for March 25th, until at least April 12th in the wake of the devastating March 11th earthquake and tsunami. The Pacific League has already announced a delay in its opener, and both leagues will refrain from playing night games in April in order to ease the strain of the country’s battered power grid.

On the last day of the Cuban Serie Nacional 2010-2011 regular season, José Dariel Abreu cracks his 33rd home run. Despite missing about a quarter of the season with an injury, Abreu wins two legs of the Triple Crown. He and Yoennis Céspedes both break Alfredo Despaigne’s two-year old home run record of 32. Cuban baseball has seen increased home run outputs in recent years with the more lively Mizuno 150 baseball being used.

Phillies P Roy Oswalt is hit behind the ear by a line drive off the bat of the Rays’ Manny Ramirez in a spring training game in Port Charlotte, FL. He is immediately removed from the game, but suffers no significant injury – only a bruise to his neck.

Boston reliever Bobby Jenks is arrested in Fort Myers, FL for driving under the influence, destruction of property and leaving the scene of an accident. Jenks argues that the cause of his erratic driving is because “I took too many muscle relaxers.” After further questions from police, he confesses that “I was just leaving Babes (nightclub) because I hit a car. I just had to get out of there.” Jenks had problems with alcohol in past years but claimed in 2010 that he had stopped drinking altogether.

Joe Torre returns to his job as Vice-President of Major League Baseball, three months after resigning to join a group bidding to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers. The group has since dropped out of the process.

Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain dislocates his ankle while playing on a trampoline with his son. Already recovering from Tommy John surgery, he undergoes emergency surgery for an open dislocation. Doctors report that he lost so much blood that there was concern for his life and that he will need to stay hospitalized for several days. While the injury is thought to be season-ending, Joba will be back pitching for the Yankees on August 1st.

2013 – The Dodgers complete a two-game sweep of the Diamondbacks in Sydney, Australia with a 7 – 5 win. They jump to a quick 6 – 0 lead against Trevor Cahill thanks to a combined 6 hits by their first two hitters, Dee Gordon and Yasiel Puig. The D-Backs score 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th, including a two-run homer by Mark Trumbo off Kenley Jansen, but it’s not enough to reverse the early deficit.

2015 – Hillerich & Bradsby, which has manufactured the iconic Louisville Slugger bats for 130 years, sells the brand to the rival Wilson Sporting Goods company for $70 million. The bats will continue to be produced in Louisville, KY and the Louisville Slugger Museum will also remain open.

2016 – In his first professional pitching appearance since being freed from prison after serving 51 months for driving under the influence, driving without a licence and causing grievous bodily injury, former Number One Pick in the 2004 amateur draft Matt Bush has a spectacular outing, flashing a fastball that hits 98 mph and a devastating curveball in pitching two hitless innings for the Rangers against the Cubs.

2018 – A few lines in a 2,000 page, $1.3 trillion spending bill passed by Congress exempts Major League Baseball from certain terms of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The consequences are that minor leaguers need no longer be paid for spring training, off-season workouts or any overtime during the season. The change, misnomingly entitled the “Save America’s Pastime Act”, is the result of active lobbying by MLB to preempt a lawsuit filed four years ago in a U.S. District Court in San Francisco, CA by former minor league player Garrett Broshuis on behalf of three active players that accuses teams of systematically violating labor laws.

2005 – The burnt orange Hummer owned by Koby Clemens’ father is stolen from the Memorial High School parking lot. It is recovered later in a southwest Houston apartment complex, apparently unharmed. The Hummer was a gift from the New York Yankees to celebrate father Roger’s 300th major league win. The elder Clemens returns from the Astros’ spring training camp to aid in the investigation. Koby is later drafted and signed by the Astros as an infielder. 

1943 – Lee May is born in Birmingham, AL. The powerful first baseman slugs 81 homers in three seasons with the Astros and represents them in the 1972 All-Star Game. 

1942 – Danny Coombs is born in Lincoln, ME. Coombs’ big league debut comes in the “All-Rookie” game in 1963 but he’s never able to cement a job with Houston. Still, the lefty reliever compiles an 8-7 record with two saves as an Astro in parts of seven seasons.