January 11

From BR Bullpen


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Stats of players who were born this day
Stats of players who died on this day
Standings on this day
Permanent link to Today's Entry
Sources
Baseball Library Chronology
Today in Baseball History

Events, births and deaths that occurred on January 11.

[edit] Events

1881 - The first of a series of Tuesday games on ice is played in Chicago, Illinois, using professional and amateur players. These games would be a regular winter feature.
1909 - The National Commission approves owner Charles Murphy's payment of a $10,000 bonus to his Chicago Cubs players for their 1908 World Series triumph.
1913 - With the Philadelphia Phillies franchise in disarray following the expulsion of President Horace Fogel, William H. Locke and his cousin William F. Baker buy the club.
1915 - Jacob Ruppert and Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston buy the New York Yankees from Frank Farrell and Bill Devery for $460,000. Ruppert, who owns a brewery, is thinking of renaming the team the Knickerbockers to promote his product, but is dissuaded by newspaper men.
1926 - The Pacific Coast League shifts two franchises, moving the Vernon Tigers to San Francisco, where it becomes the Mission Reds, and the Salt Lake Bees from Utah to Hollywood, where they become the Hollywood Stars.
1932 - Bill Terry sends his $13,500 contract back to the New York Giants, telling writers he is "thoroughly disgusted." Terry, who just missed the National League batting title, led the league in runs (121) and triples (20), and collected a second-best 254 hits, was offered a $9,000 cut from his 1931 contract of $22,500. The Giants counter by saying that the combined salaries of Chick Hafey and Jim Bottomley, the two Cardinals who joined Terry in the batting race, is only $24,000. Hafey, the champion bat, finished with 0.34888 ahead Terry (0.34860) and Bottomley (.34816).
1934 - The St. Louis Cardinals send catcher Bob O'Farrell and pitcher Syl Johnson to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Glenn Spencer and cash. The Phillies immediately name O'Farrell as player-manager.
1949 - The Story Quarry site is selected as the site for the new Milwaukee County Stadium. Construction will begin on October 19, 1950.
1955:
- Before an exhibition game in San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Francisco Giants outfielder Willie Mays and teammate pitcher Ruben Gómez get into a brawl. It starts when Gómez slips into the batting catch ahead of Mays, and batting practice pitcher Milt Ralat then refuses to throw. The sulking Gómez sits down on the plate, and Mays then steps to the side and directs the pitcher to throw to him there. Ralat then throws an insulting slow pitch which Mays barehands and fires back. Mays and Ralat exchange words and when Mays walks towards the mound, Gómez, brandishing a bat, attempts to interfere. Mays drops him with a right. The two later apologize to each other.
- The St. Louis Cardinals trade P Ben Wade to the Pittsburgh Pirates for P Paul LaPalme.
1958 - US Representatives Kenneth Keating and Patrick Hillings drop their plan to bring baseball under the nation's antitrust laws.
1960 - The Philadelphia Phillies send outfielder Richie Ashburn to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for infielders Alvin Dark and Jim Woods, and pitcher John Buzhardt.
1968:
- Ewing Kauffman becomes owner of the new Kansas City Royals club of the American League.
- In a trade of outfielders, the St. Louis Cardinals send Alex Johnson to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Dick Simpson.
1965 - Wally Pipp, the predecessor of Lou Gehrig at first base for the New York Yankees, dies in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Pipp, who in 1925 had asked out of the Yankees lineup with a headache, was 71 years old. After giving way to Gehrig, Pipp never again played a game at first base for New York.
1969 - The Chicago Cubs acquire veteran reliever Ted Abernathy from the Cincinnati Reds for three minor league players. The trade marks the return of the side-arming Abernathy to Chicago, where he led the National League with 31 saves in 1965.
1971 - 27-year-old Detroit Tigers reliever John Hiller suffers chest pains that doctors will later diagnose as a heart attack. Hiller will miss the entire 1971 season but will make an incredible comeback in 1973, saving a major league record 38 games.
1973:
- Major League owners approve one of the game's most controversial rules: the designated hitter. The owners decide to allow American League teams to implement the rule on an experimental three-year basis, but the rule will become a permanent addition to the AL.
- Attorney Louis Nippert assumes control of the Cincinnati Reds when he purchases 51% of the stock from the Gamble and Williams families. Nippert was part of the group that bought the Reds in 1966.
1977 - The Chicago Cubs trade outfielder Rick Monday to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a five-man deal that brings Bill Buckner and Ivan DeJesus to the Windy City. In 1976, Monday gained national fame when he saved an American flag from being burned during a game in Los Angeles. The trade solidifies the Cubs infield for the next five years, and Buckner will hit .300 for the team over the next seven seasons, but the Dodgers will win three National League pennants in that span.
1983:
- The New York Yankees name Billy Martin their manager for the third time in eight years. Martin takes over for Clyde King, who is bumped up to the Yankees front office. Martin will lead the Yankees to a record of 91-71 in 1983.
- Ellis Burks is one of the few good players to be drafted and also signed in the January free agent draft. Burks is picked on the first round by the Red Sox as the Yankees pick and sign a Canseco, Ozzie, with their fourth pick.
1993 - The Rev. Jesse Jackson tells baseball owners that unless a plan to hire more minorities for front-office jobs is in place by April 5, he will call for selective boycotts.
1997 - Free agent pitcher Steve Avery is signed by the Boston Red Sox.
1999 - The Milwaukee Brewers sign free agent outfielder Rich Becker to a contract.
2000:
- Bob Lemon died at the age of 79. Lemon was a seven-time 20-game winner with the Cleveland Indians. He teamed with Bob Feller, Early Wynn and Mike Garcia to form one of the game's greatest starting rotations. In 1954, Lemon went 23-7 and helped the Indians to a 111-win season. After retiring in 1958, he worked for the Indians organization as a scout and manager. In 1970, Lemon became a major league manager for the first time when he assumed leadership of the Kansas City Royals. He later managed the Chicago White Sox before enjoying his greatest success with the New York Yankees. On July 25, 1978, Lemon replaced Billy Martin and helped the Yankees orchestrate a miraculous comeback. Under Lemon's calming hand, the Yankees won their second straight World Championship in 1978. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1976.
- Carlton Fisk, in his second year of eligibility, and Tony Perez, on his ninth try, are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
2001 - David Cone agrees to a one-year contract with the Boston Red Sox. The former Cy Young Award winner could make between $4 million and $5 million with Boston, compared to $500,000 guaranteed-offer made by the Yankees, if he makes the roster and pitches regularly during the season. He will win just nine games in 25 starts.
2002:
- After a one-year experiment, the Baltimore Orioles plan to return Camden Yards to its original dimensions by moving in the fences. The team, which hit only 58 homers at home - 44 less than in the previous season, said the fences are returning to their initial distances because the new configuration "adversely affected the viewing angle of the batter's eye."
- Two free agent pitchers sign one-year contracts, Todd Jones with the Colorado Rockies and Shigetoshi Hasegawa with the Seattle Mariners.
2005 - The Arizona Diamondbacks trade five-time Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson to the New York Yankees in a three-team deal that includes the Los Angeles Dodgers. Shawn Green, Javier Vazquez and Dioner Navarro also move in the transaction. Arizona receives Vazquez, Navarro and Brad Halsey from the Yankees, and later sends Navarro and three minor league prospects to Los Angeles for Green.
2006: The Tampa Bay Devil Rays agreed to a $1.4 million, two-year contract with Japanese relief pitcher Shinji Mori, who was posted earlier in the year.
2008 - The Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame announces its three newest members. Slugger Koji Yamamoto of the Hiroshima Carp and pitcher Tsuneo Horiuchi of the Yomiuri Giants are chosen as well as amateur star Seiichi Shima, who was killed in World War II.