This Day In Baseball March 24

Fernando

Baseball history on This Day In Baseball March 24 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.

 

Major League Baseball This Day In Baseball March 24

1889 – The minor league season opens with the California League in San Francisco and Stockton. This year’s new rules include the first legal substitution rule and the reduction of balls for a walk from 5 to 4. The substitution rule, which allows a team to designate one man to be put into the game at the captain’s discretion at the end of any inning, will soon be modified.

Helene Hathaway Britton becomes the first female owner in major league history.

1939 Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig Type II Photo Lou Gehrig Day, Tony Cuccinello Est.

Babe Ruth, another victim of the Great Depression, takes a pay cut of $23,000 from his previous salary of $75,000.

1936 – Pitcher Paul Dean follows his brother Dizzy into the fold and signs with the St. Louis Cardinals for $10,000.

Joe McCarthy and Jacob Ruppert at spring training in St. Petersburg, Florida - 1939.

Joe McCarthy and Jacob Ruppert at spring training in St. Petersburg, Florida – 1939.

1947 – In a meeting at the Sarasota Terrace Hotel, in Florida, former Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher admits to Commissioner Happy Chandler that he sometimes bets on card games with the team’s pitcher, Kirby Higbe.

1952 – During spring training, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Slaybaugh is hit in the left eye with a line drive and subsequently loses the eye. The young pitcher will return to the mound in 1953 and again in 1954 before he retires from professional baseball.

Gil Hodges straps on the catcher's gear

Gil Hodges straps on the catcher’s gear

1953 – Larry Raines, on leave from military service, plays his first game for the Hankyu Braves. He will stay for the 1954 season, return in 1962, and will end his Japanese baseball career with a .302 batting average.

Ernie Banks to start his first full season with the Cubs

Ernie Banks to start his first full season with the Cubs

The Cleveland Indians sign veteran OF/1B Sam Mele, just released by the Boston Red Sox.

The Cleveland Indians sign veteran OF/1B Sam Mele, just released by the Boston Red Sox.

A photo of Pete Whisenant taken before an exhibition game played against the Dodgers in Havana, Cuba, shows the Reds outfielder toting a machine gun. The weapon shown in the posed picture belongs to a rebel from Fidel Castro's revolutionary army.

A photo of Pete Whisenant taken before an exhibition game played against the Dodgers in Havana, Cuba, shows the Reds outfielder toting a machine gun. The weapon shown in the posed picture belongs to a rebel from Fidel Castro’s revolutionary army.

1959 – In Havana, Cuba, the Cincinnati Redlegs and Los Angeles Dodgers play an exhibition game. For a pre-game photo, Reds outfielder Pete Whisenant swaps his glove for a Fidel Castro rebel’s machine gun.

1960 – Commissioner Ford Frick says he will not allow the planned Continental League to pool players in the Western Carolinas League, as it would violate existing major-minor league agreements.

The NY State Senate approves $55 million in funding to build a new stadium in Flushing Meadows Park for the new National League’s expansion team. Until the Queens’ ballpark is completed, which will become known as Shea Stadium, the Mets will play in the Polo Grounds during the first two years of their existence.

In Mesa, Arizona, left fielder Orlando Cepeda gives the Cubs two runs with an error, then hits a three-run home run as the Giants defeat the Cubs, 13 – 12.

1961 – Houston holds their first rookie camp in Jacksonville, FL. Farm director Bobby Bragan conducts the camp for young players under contract with the newly-named Colt .45s. 

1962 – Third baseman Andy Carey, who was traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Philadelphia Phillies on December 15th, refuses to report to his new team and is sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two minor leaguers.

Radio Broadcast - Exhibition Game New York Mets vs Kansas City A's 1962

Radio Broadcast – Exhibition Game New York Mets vs Kansas City A’s 1962

1966 – Roberto Clemente’s prodigious pre-season blast beats the still mediocre Mets, proving that his March 14th moon shot was no mirage. This has to make Harry Walker one happy camper, as the Pirate skipper had called for increased power numbers before the exhibition season began. According to UPI, “Clemente hit a tape-measure home run, estimated at 500 feet, over the center-field fence to crack the 5 – 5 tie in the 8th.” Thirty-some-odd years later, this vicious shot remains vividly etched in its victim’s consciousness. Darrell Sutherland recalls: “I threw a fastball a foot inside and he hit it on a dead line. It was still going up as it went over the center field fence.”

1967 – In a trade of infielders, the Houston Astros send Sandy Alomar to the New York Mets in exchange for Derrell Griffith.

1970 – Commissioner Bowie Kuhn orders a halt to the use of X-5 balls, which are much too lively for major league play.

1972 – The Cincinnati Reds send pitcher Tony Cloninger to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for second baseman Julian Javier.

Cleveland Indians trade former All-Star catcher Ray Fosse to the Oakland A’s

Cleveland Indians trade former All-Star catcher Ray Fosse to the Oakland A’s

Kirk Gibson young Tigers outfielder graces the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Kirk Gibson graces the cover of Sports Illustrated

valenzuela_fernando

Fernando Valenzuela ends his holdout and reports to the Dodgers spring training camp in Vero Beach, Florida

1983 – The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee agrees to stage a six-team exhibition baseball tournament as part of the 1984 Olympics to be held in Los Angeles, California.

Detroit Tigers acquire reliever Willie Hernandez and first baseman Dave Bergman from the Philadelphia Phillies

Detroit Tigers acquire reliever Willie Hernandez and first baseman Dave Bergman from the Philadelphia Phillies

1995 – Braves replacement player Dave Shotkoski is held up while out for his daily walk in West Palm Beach, FL during spring training. Shotkoski is murdered by his assailant. Fellow replacement player Terry Blocker will help the police track down Neal Douglas Evans, who was out on parole. Evans will wind up with a 27-year jail sentence after a guilty plea.

1996 – At Tampa’s Legends Field, Yankees infielder Tony Fernandez fractures his right elbow in an exhibition game against the Astros, and is placed on the 60-day disabled list.

During an exhibition game against the Giants, Diamondback hurler Randy Johnson’s fastball hits and instantly kills a dove flying in front of home plate. The bird appears to explode as the National League Cy Young winner’s pitch sends it over catcher Rod Barajas’ head.

2001 – Durable pitcher Tim Belcher announces his retirement. In a 14-season majors career, Belcher posted a 146-140 record with 1,519 strikeouts and a 4.24 ERA in 2,442.2 innings for seven teams. He was the first overall choice of the 1983 amateur draft but failed to come to terms with the Minnesota Twins.

At Mickey Mantle’s restaurant in New York City, the U.S. Postal Service unveils the “Baseball Sluggers” postage stamps which will be issued on July 15 at Yankee Stadium before the game against the White Sox. The four featured Hall of Famers all have roots in New York with Mickey Mantle (Yankees), Mel Ott (Giants), and Roy Campanella (Dodgers) playing their entire careers in the Big Apple, and the fourth, Hank Greenberg, setting schoolboy records at James Monroe High School in the Bronx.

Minor league umpires plan to strike when the season starts next month and file an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board.

The Arizona Diamondbacks release reliever Felix Heredia, and the Boston Red Sox claim first baseman Hee-Seop Choi off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Kansas City Royals will start the season without pitcher Zack Greinke, and it remains uncertain when he will return. Greinke left spring training February 26th for unspecified personal reasons to return to his home in Orlando, Florida. He is later diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, but will make a remarkable comeback after undergoing treatment which will cause him to miss most of this season, and will win the 2009 American League Cy Young Award.

The Twins agree to a new deal with their All-Star closer, signing Joe Nathan (1.88, 37 saves) to a $47 million, four-year contract, which includes a 2012 club option. The 33 year-old right-hander’s 160 saves over the past four seasons is tied with Mariano Rivera of the Yankees for most in the American League.

Former Cy Young Award winner Dwight Gooden is back in trouble with the law. He faces charges of driving under the influence of drugs, child endangerment, and leaving the scene of an accident, after a 9:00 am crash in Franklin Lakes, NJ. Gooden’s problems with substance abuse in the 1980s and 1990s were well-publicized, but he had apparently turned his life around in recent years, serving as a senior vice-president of the Atlantic League’s Newark Bears until last November.

The probation sentence of Orioles 3B Miguel Tejada is extended by six months because he failed to complete the required 100 hours of community service in due time. Tejada was handed the sentence a year ago as a consequence of misleading Congress and withholding information during testimony regarding the use of steroids in baseball in 2005; he agreed to a $5000 fine and to community service in lieu of a prison sentence.

Major League Baseball announces that it will organize “El Torneo Supremo” (the Great Tournament) in the Dominican Republic starting April 11th. The event will feature four teams of unsigned prospects who will get an opportunity to enhance their skills and showcase their talent in front of scouts, while also receiving in-classroom education and being taught some life skills. Moises Alou is named Tournament Director, while the managers are Juan Bell, Nelson Norman, Jorge Meran and Nelson Silverio. Mel Rojas and Ben Rivera will serve as pitching instructors.

Rangers starting pitcher Tommy Hunter leaves today’s Cactus League game against the Reds in the 2nd inning. He is diagnosed with a groin injury and is expected to be out 6 weeks to allow the injury to heal properly.

In other injury news, Braves 3B Chipper Jones, who has just announced that this season will be his last, will start the year on the disabled list, as he needs to undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee.

P Ryan Madson, signed as a free agent to be the Reds’ closer, will have to undergo Tommy John surgery and will not pitch this season.

At the 2012-2013 Cuban All-Star Game, the West rolls in a 13-9 slugfest, with 3 runs and 3 RBI from Yasmani Tomás and 3 runs from José Miguel Fernández to overcome a two-homer, three-RBI day from Yoelvis Fiss. Carlos Juan Viera allows 7 runs in the last 1 1/3 innings to take the loss for the East.

The Yankees acquire veteran OF Vernon Wells from the Angels, adding a much-needed major league bat to a line-up depleted by injuries and departures via free agency. However, Wells is still owed $42 million for the last two seasons on his huge multi-year contract, and has put up dismal OBPs since the Angels acquired him from Toronto two seasons ago; as part of the deal, the Angels will remain on the hook for the majority of the money owed him. The deal will officially be completed in two days, with the Yankees giving up two low-level minor league players in return for Wells.

2015 – Cuban defectors continue to find lots of suitors for their services, as today IF Héctor Olivera Jr. signs a six-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers worth $62.5 million. In contrast with other recent signees, Olivera is already 29 years old and coming off some injuries at the end of his tenure in Cuba. When healthy, he was one of the top players on the island however, and the Dodgers are betting that he will age well.

Nip Winters Marker Installed in Delaware

Nip Winters Marker Installed in Delaware

2016 – Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes tries to convince umpire C.B. Buckner that an A.J. Reed drive to center is unplayable at the outfield fence but Buckner is not fooled. Reed jogs home with an inside-the-park homer to start an 8-5 victory. Dallas Keuchel tosses five shutout innings. 

2017 – Eight Angels pitchers combine to no-hit the Mariners, 4 – 0, in a Grapefruit League game. They need three diving defensive stops in the 9th to complete the feat, as 1B C.J. Cron, RF Shane Robinson and 3B Sherman Johnson pull out all the stops to help Abel De Los Santos close out the win. The other hurlers who see action are Bud Norris, Jose Alvarez, Cam Bedrosian, Andrew Bailey, Austin Adams, Drew Gagnon and Justin Anderson.

Major League Baseball Birthdays on March 24 

 

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