March 11th -

1893: Phils trade Roger Connor 1B/3B to the Giants for Jack Boyle C/1B, Jack Sharrott P/OF, and cash.

1903: Happy Birthday William Arthur 'Art' 'Speedy' Ruble 1934 Phillies OF 19 games

1933: Happy 75th Birthday Jack Russell Spring 1955 Phillies P 2 games

1950: Rest in Peace William Gallagher 1896 Phillies SS 14 games

1959: Happy 49th Birthday Phil Bradley 1988 Phillies OF 154 games



1970: Rest in Peace Wayman William 'Bill' Kerksieck 1939 Phillies 25 games

1974: Happy 34th Birthday Bobby Abreu 1998-2006 Phillies RF/CF 1353 games



1975: Phils trade Nellie Garcia (minors) to the Indians for Tom Hilgendorf P

1987: Rest in Peace Fred 'Fritz' Lucas 1935 Phillies OF 20 games

2003: Rest in Peace Alta Albert 'Schoolboy' Cohen 1933 Phillies OF 19 games

Other Baseball History-

1882: In retaliation for the "theft" of Sam Wise and Dasher Troy by the NL, the American Association creates a loophole allowing all players either blacklisted or expelled by the NL to join AA clubs after appealing to a special commission.

1882: Providence will be selling season tickets for $15 until March 15, when the price will be raised to $20.

1901: The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Baltimore manager John McGraw has signed a Cherokee Indian named Tokohoma. It is really black second baseman Charlie Grant, who McGraw is trying to pass off as an Indian, but the ruse does not work.

1933: The Rajah Returns. Rogers Hornsby joins the Cardinals in spring training as a player. Hornsby has been out of baseball since he was fired as the Cubs manager in August 1932. He will return to St. Louis as a second baseman after a six-year absence.



1933: The Chicago Cubs and New York Giants are playing an spring training game in Los Angeles when a strong earthquake interrupts play. Players from both teams rush to the second base area in fear of the stadium falling upon them. They remain huddled there until the tremors stop.

1953: Lou Perini, the owner of the Braves, proposes a ban on the move of any major-league franchise to that of a minor-league city until October 1.



1956: At Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, there are no maybes about it as Mickey Mantle hits a Grapefruit League pitch from Larry Jackson over the left field wall into the bay. The Yanks top the Cards 4?3. Musial contends, "no home run has ever cleared my head by as much as long as I can remember." He'll hit another at Al Lang Field on March 20th off Bob Mave to that also lands in the water. Mantle will clock a 500-foot shot in Miami on the 24th against the Dodgers.



1957: Representative Emanuel Celler, whose committee investigated baseball, calls Ford Frick a "czar" who wishes to "gag" officials; Frick had cautioned ML owners about commenting on the recent Supreme Court decision on pro football coming under antitrust rules.

1958: Starting this season, A.L. batters will be required to wear batting helmets.

1959: The Players Association drops its threat of a strike against the International League.

1960: Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees signs a one-year contract worth $65,000. The new deal is a $7,000 cut in pay for Mantle, who batted .285 with 31 home runs and 75 RBIs for the Yankees in 1959.

1970: Experimental, lively X-5 baseballs are used in all spring training games played in Arizona and Florida. The results are inconclusive.

1972: Hall of Fame outfielder Zach Wheat dies at the age of 83. A .317 lifetime batter, Wheat starred for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He batted a league-leading .335 in 1918 and possessed one of the most accurate throwing arms among outfielders.



1974: With Hank Aaron needing only one home run to tie Babe Ruth's career record (714), Atlanta plans to save the event for a home audience by benching him on the road. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn plans otherwise, ordering the Braves to start Aaron in at least two of the team's three season-opening games in Cincinnati.

1981: Johnny Mize and Rube Foster are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee. Mize hit .312 with 359 home runs in 15 major-league seasons for the Cardinals and Giants, while Foster was a star Negro League pitcher, manager, and Negro League organizer in the first quarter of the 20th century.

http://www.baseballha...

http://www.baseballha...

March 11th part 2 of 2-

1985: Righthander Mike Scott, coming off a 5-11 season, tests his new split-fingered fastball for the first time in live action. The two-inning stint against the Toronto Blue Jays is uneventful and Scott likes it that way. He hopes to earn the fourth spot in Houston's pitching rotation.

1988: Angel?s manager Gene Mauch, 62, takes a leave of absence for health reasons and is replaced by Cookie Rojas. Mauch will announce his retirement on March 27. Mauch leaves managing with 1,902 wins and 2,037 losses.



1991: Jim Palmer, who is in the Orioles camp as a non-roster player, has a shaky outing against the Red Sox, giving up five hits and two runs in two innings. Palmer, who retired in 1984, will retire again tomorrow, citing a hamstring injury.



1999: The Red Sox sign free agent P Ramon Martinez to a contract, uniting him with his brother, Pedro Martinez.

2001: Preston Wilson signs a $32 million, five-year contract with Florida. The 26-year old Marlin center fielder, the franchise's first 30-30 player, was obtained from the Mets in the Mike Piazza deal.

2001: The Yankees formally announce the signing of Cuban defector Andy Morales, a third baseman, to a 4-year contract. Morales will wash out and be waived from his minor league team by July. The Yanks will try and sidestep his contract with proof that his listed age of 26 years is really 29.

2002: The Red Sox hire Grady Little as their new manager.

2002: The Yankees release OF Ruben Rivera for stealing Derek Jeter's mitt out of his locker, and selling it on the black market for $2,500. There are rumors that Rivera also took other memorabilia items, such as things belonging to Roger Clemens, but Clemens denies it. Rivera had been signed to a one year contract for $1 million

2004: In the first game to be played at Petco Park, the San Diego Padres' new home, establishes a new record for the best attended game in college baseball history as 40,106 fans watch Tony Gwynn's San Diego State Aztecs beat University of Hawaii, 4-0. The previous mark of 27,673 was established in 2002 when state rivals LSU and Tulane met in theNew Orlean's Superdome.



2006: First baseman Nick Johnson (.289, 15, 74) and the Nationals agree to a $16.5 million, three-year contract extension. The 27-year first baseman, who signed a $3.2 million, one-year deal in January to avoid arbitration, has often been injured since making his big league debut with the Yankees five years ago.

2006: San Diego Padres relief pitcher Doug Brocail underwent angioplasty. Brocail had complained of chest tightness that radiated into both arms. He already was being treated for an abscessed tooth and asthma.

2006: The Kansas City Royals completed a five-year deal with outfielder David DeJesus, locking up one of the cornerstones of the Royals' youth movement through 2010.

March 12th-

1865: Happy Birthday Phil Knell 1892 Phillies P 11 games

1870: Happy Birthday William Franklin 'Billy' Hulen 1896 Phillies SS/2B/OF 88 games

1884: Happy Birthday George McAvoy 1914 Phillies PH 1 game

1885: Happy Birthday Charlie Johnson 1908 Phillies OF 6 games

1900: Senators assign Jimmy Slagle OF to the Phillies for $750 or $1500.

1916: Happy Birthday Rene Monteagudo 1945 Phillies OF/P 114 games

1939: Happy Birthday John Wesley 'Johnny' Callison 1960-69 Phillies OF 1432 games

http://home.onemain.c...



1945: Happy 63rd Birthday Horacio Pina 1978 Phillies P 2 games

1945: Rest in Peace Samuel Blair 'Sam' 'Sandow' Mertes 1896 Phillies OF 37 games

1956: Happy 43rd Birthday Dale Bryan 'All-American Boy' 'Murph' Murphy 1990-92 Phillies OF 228 games

1963: Rest in Peace Fred Beck 1911 Phillies OF 66 games

1980: Chuck Klein is elected to baseball's Hall of Fame by a vote of the special veteran's committee Klein batted .320 over a 17-year career with the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and Pittsburgh Pirates.

http://www.baseballha...

http://www.hickokspor...



1982: Rest in Peace Bill 'Andy' Andrus 1937 Phillies 3B 3 games

1991: At a gambling trial in Mississippi, Phils Lenny Dykstra OF admits to having lost $78,000 playing poker during the 1988 and 1989 off-seasons.

Other Baseball History-

1886: Louisville opens the spring training season by playing a game in Savannah, Georgia.

1889: The Tourists play their first game in England at the Surrey County Cricket Club in Kensington Oval, London, in the presence of the Prince of Wales.

1892: A bill before the New York State Assembly seeks "To prohibit the employment of females as baseball players."

1894: Pittsburgh issues free season tickets for ladies, good for Tuesday and Friday games.

1897: Brooklyn president Charles Byrne and treasurer Abell set a major-league record by offering $100,000 for the entire Cleveland franchise. The offer is rejected.

1898: Former umpire Tim Hurst arrives in St. Louis to take over management of the Browns. The team will have spring practice at West Baden Springs, IN.

1901: Ground is broken for Boston's first American League ballpark, the Huntington Avenue Grounds.



1902: Cincinnati outfielder "Turkey Mike" Donlin is arrested for assaulting actress Minnie Fields and her escort. Donlin will plead guilty and serve a 6-month sentence. Donlin will return to baseball in time to hit .287 in 34 games for the 1902 Reds. "Turkey Mike" got his nickname because of the way he strutted on and off the field between innings. He had a strong attraction for actresses that were not cured by Miss Minnie Fields "steppin' out" on him. - Donlin will later marry actress Mabel Hite in 1909 and go on tour with her vaudeville act. Donlin has some success as an actor, even breaking into a few early Hollywood silent movies. John McGraw called Mike Donlin one of the greatest natural hitters in the history of the game.

1903: The New York Highlanders (to be renamed Yankees in 1913) are officially approved as members of the American League.

1910: At the White Sox spring training camp in San Francisco, starting catcher Billy Sullivan steps on a rusty nail. Sullivan, who managed the team in 1909, skips going to a doctor and gets blood poisoning. He will be out of the lineup till July 1.

1921: Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis suspends eight members of the Chicago White Sox for their alleged involvement in the fixing of the 1919 World Series. The group includes outfielder Joe Jackson, who batted .375 in the Series. Others banned are Eddie Cicotte, Oscar 'Happy' Felsch, Arnold 'Chick' Gandil, Fred McMullin, Charles 'Swede' Risberg, George 'Buck' Weaver, and Claude 'Lefty' Williams



1934: St. Louis Cardinals rookie Paul 'Daffy' Dean ends his holdout. Dean will win 19 games for the Cardinals in his first major league season

1946: Negro Leagues pitching star and future Hall of Famer "Smokey" Joe Williams dies at the age of 69. According to some sources, Williams won 41 games in 1914. Williams will win election to the Hall of Fame in 1999

1951: Commissioner A.B. 'Happy' Chandler loses his bid to remain in office. Chandler is voted down, 9-7, in a tally of owners. Chandler, who started his term as commissioner in 1945, will be succeeded by Ford Frick.

1971: The Cubs' catcher Randy Hundley suffers a badly sprained knee and will play only nine games this season. In 1968, the venerable backstop caught 160 games for Chicago.

1973: Hall of Famer Frankie Frisch dies at the age of 74. Frisch batted .316 over a 19-year career. As player-manager for the St. Louis Cardinals, he led the team to the 1934 World Championship.

March 12th part 2 of 2-

1975: In spring training, Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk suffers a broken arm.

1980: Former Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey is elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee. Yawkey is the first club owner selected who never served as a player, manager, or general manager.

http://www.baseballha...

1991: Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer's attempted comeback at the age of 45 comes to an end when the newly elected Hall of Famer tears a hamstring during spring training.

1991: Commissioner Fay Vincent orders a ban on the use of smokeless tobacco in the Class A Appalachian and Northwest leagues and the rookie Pioneer and Gulf Coast leagues.

1992: Yankees VP and chief administrative officer Joseph Molloy, son-in-law of principal owner George Steinbrenner, is elected as new managing general partner of the club.
(Molloy would later, 2007, lose this position after charges of spousal abuse are levied against him.)

2001: Richard Hidalgo signs the third-richest contract in Astro history with a four-year $32 million, deal with the club. The outfielder's pact is less than teammate's Jeff Bagwell's $85 million (5 years), and Craig Biggio's $33 million (4 years).

2002: Baseball czar Bud Selig announced he's going to start enforcing the 60?40 rule, which says teams can't have an assets/debts ratio below that level. According to Doug Pappas, an expert on baseball finances, "At best, this is one more example of Bud's arbitrary and selective enforcement of MLB's rules, retroactively punishing owners who've spent more on players than Bud would like. At worst, it's yet another grotesque case of Selig, he of the permanent conflict of interest, twisting the rules for his own benefit. In 1995, his Milwaukee Brewers were so far in debt they couldn't borrow money to contribute to the construction of their new park. Forbes estimated that as of the 1997 season, the Brewers' debt had risen to an incredible 97% of franchise value. Selig said nothing about the 60/40 rule. But the Brewers' new park opened in 2001. The first-year attendance spike sent club revenues to a record $113 million.



2003: The second exhibition season bench-clearing brawl this week occurs as a raging Mike Piazza, after being hit by a pitch, charges the mound in pursuit of Guillermo Mota, who makes to the dugout without being caught. The incident may be a follow-up to an incident last spring which resulted in a shoving match after a similar event and the Mets' All-Star catcher waited for the Dodger reliever, who was coming off the field in the eighth inning and grabbed him by the jersey.

2006: In the World Baseball Classic the Second Round of play opens with: At Angel Stadium, Alex Rodriguez hit a bases-loaded, two-out single in the ninth inning, to give the United States a victory over Japan, 4 ? 3; South Korea beat Mexico, 2 - 1, for its fourth straight victory in the Classic; At Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Cuba capitalized with a five-run sixth inning in a 7 - 2 victory over Venezuela; and four Puerto Rico pitchers combined to shut down the Dominican Republic in a 7-1 victory

2008: In the Final Olympic Qualification Tournament: the South Korean national team clinches a spot in the 2008 Olympics by improving to 5-0;Taiwan comes close to clinching by beating Australia, 5-0, as Australia is almost eliminated; Canada also is just one win away from clinching an Olympic berth, as they shut out Spain, 11-0; Mexico wins 5-0 over South Africa behind the pitching of Francisco Campos. Mexico is eliminated from Olympic contention thanks to the wins by Taiwan and Canada.

March 13th -

1918: Happy Birthday Edward Charles 'Eddie' Pellagrini 1951 Phillies 2B/3B/SS 86 games

1928: Happy 80th Birthday Robert 'Bob' 'Greenie' Greenwood 1954-55 Phillies P 13 games

1929: Rest in Peace Sherwood Robert 'Sherry' Magee, died in Philadelphia, 1904-14 Phillies OF/SS/2B/1B 1577 games; member 1919 Reds World Series Champions;

Today we would call Sherry Magee a five-tool player: he could hit, run, field, throw, and hit with power. For more than a decade he was the Philadelphia Phillies' clean-up hitter and greatest offensive star, setting the all-time team record in stolen bases (387) and ranking among the top ten in almost every other category. Magee's defense was nearly the equal of his offense; sensational catches with his back to home plate were his trademark, and Pirates scout Frank Haller commented that his every throw was "on a line and right on target." He was undoubtedly the National League's most valuable player in 1910, and either he or Johnny Evers deserved the appellation in 1914. That season one Philadelphia writer called Magee "probably the best all-around ball player in the National League," and a Cincinnati reporter went a step further: "To my mind Sherwood Magee is one of the best all-around players the game has ever seen."

http://bioproj.sabr.o...



1959: Happy 49th Birthday Luis Aguayo 1980-88 Phillies SS/2B/3B 521 games



1961: Rest in Peace Joe 'Hodge' Berry 1902 Phillies C 1 game

1963: Happy 45th Birthday Mariano Duncan 1992-95 Phillies IF/LF 406 games



1986: Rest in Peace Jack Warner 1933 Phillies 2B/3B/SS 107 games

1986: The father-and-son team of Hal (39) and Brian (18) McRae appears together in an exhibition game for the Kansas City Royals against the Phils. Brian, who will be sent back to the minor leagues before the start of the season, will not make his major league debut until 1990. The following summer, Brian will play for his father, who takes over as Royals manager. Kansas City manager Dick Howser refers to the event as the 'Big Mac Attack'.

1987: Phils sign Lance Parrish C as a free agent



1999: Rest in Peace Bill Peterman, born and died in Philadelphia, buried in Hillside Cemetery Roslyn PA, 1942 Phillies C 1 game

2006: Ryan Howard hit his spring training-leading seventh home run, helping the Phils beat the Detroit Tigers 3 - 2.

March 13th part 2 of 3-

Other Baseball History-

1886: Via a transatlantic telegraph from Paris, 40-game winner Bob Caruthers agrees to terms with St. Louis Browns owner Von der Ahe. Caruther's well-publicized holdout will earn him the nickname "Parisian Bob."

1886: Frank Baker is born in Trappe, Maryland. A third baseman and left handed hitter, Baker will guide the Philadelphia Athletics to three World Series championships.
Nicknamed "Home Run" during the 1911 WS, in which he hit a go-ahead home run off Rube Marquard in Game Two and a ninth-inning game-tying home run off Christy Mathewson in Game Three, Baker will led the American League in home runs for four consecutive seasons, twice led the league in RBI, and bat .363 in six Series. Baker will earn Hall of Fame honors in 1955.



1887: After a week of conditioning in Macon, Georgia, the Detroit Wolverines (NL) begin a 6-week spring exhibition tour through the South and Midwest.

1915/1917: In an infamous exhibition at Daytona Beach, after hearing that Gabby Street had caught a ball dropped off the Washington Monument, Dodgers manager Wilbert Robinson bragged that he could catch a ball dropped from an airplane flying at an altitude of 525 feet, even though he was in his mid-50s and well above his playing weight. Ruth Law supposedly forgets to bring a baseball aloft and instead drops a grapefruit which splatters all over Robbie. Casey Stengel OF is assumed to have substituted a grapefruit for the baseball. Robinson circled unsteadily under the descending spheroid and actually got a glove on it before it splattered across his chest. Robinson felt the ooze, thought it was blood, and screamed that he was dying until he tasted the juice. He later conceded that he probably would have been killed if a real baseball had been dropped from the plane.

1937: Lou Gehrig signs with the Yankees for $38,000 and $750 signing bonus. He'll play his first game March 20 driving in two runs as the Yanks beat the Bees, 5-3.

1943: The major leagues approve an official ball which the Spalding Company starts to manufacture, the insides of which will be made from reclaimed cork and balata, materials not needed in the war effort, instead of the usual combination of cork and rubber. Officials insist the ball will have the resiliency of the 1939 ball, but the players will express with dismay that they cannot drive the new ball and point out the dearth of runs and homers in 1942 even with the old ball. (Maybe because so many men who can drive the ball are by now in the military.)

1953: Baltimore Mayor Tom D'Alesandro, father of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, reports that negotiations with Veeck are underway to move the Browns to Maryland.

1953: Braves' owner Lou Perini announces he will seek permission from the National League to move his franchise from Boston to Milwaukee. The day will become known as 'Black Friday' in Beantown.

1954: Newly acquired Bobby Thomson of the Braves breaks his ankle sliding into 2B under Woodie Held in an exhibition game with the Yankees at Al Lang Field. The injury, a trimalleor fracture, will keep Thomson out of action until July 14th. Thus opening the way for Hank Aaron to start in the outfield. Note- There is a conflict among sources here, some state that the game was against the Pirates and Thomson slid into third base.

1960: The Chicago White Sox unveil an important uniform innovation. The Sox' road uniforms feature players' names on the backs of the jerseys, marking the first time that players' names will appear on major league uniforms. The innovation will make it easier for fans watching games on television to identify the players on the field. The idea is yet another creation of colorful White Sox owner Bill Veeck.

1969: In addition to this year's lower mound and tightened strike zone, the majors try an experiment ball with 10% more resiliency for a spring training game between the Mets and Tigers in Lakeland. It has an all-rubber center instead of a cork and rubber core, and the seams are higher than the regular ball. The Mets' Don Cardwell surrenders three homers in the 4th to Dick McAuliffe, Norm Cash, and Gates Brown in the Tigers' 7-4 win. Tomorrow, in Phoenix, the same ball is used in the Giants 13?1 win over the Angels, with Bobby Bonds hitting the only two homers (off George Brunet). The players agree the ball is definitely livelier and sounded louder coming off the bat.

March 13th part 3 of 3-

1981: The California Angels sign free agent Rick Burleson to a six-year contract worth $4.2 million, making him the highest paid shortstop in the major leagues. The former Boston Red Sox standout will bat .293 in his first season with the Angels.

1995: Newly elected Hall of Famer Leon Day dies at the age of 78. The former Negro Leagues star-a star pitcher and hitter-had been elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee just one week earlier.

2001: Throwing 22 strikes out of 29 pitches over two innings of shutout ball in his surprise start against the Mets at Roger Dean Stadium, Rick Ankiel makes his first appearance since the 2000 playoffs in which he loss his control throwing seven wild pitches in three postseason appearances.

2006: At the World Baseball Classic- South Korea beats the US, 7-3 , and remains unbeaten. The US hopes of winning the title are now in jeopardy; the Dominican Republic beats Cuba, 7-3, after Odalis Perez pitched 4 2/3 shutout innings; and Venezuela defeated Puerto Rico, 6 - 0, as Victor Martinez hits a grand slam.

2006: Three pitches into the top of the seventh inning, the stadium lights at Tradition Field partially fail. With fifty percent of the lights not functioning, the exhibition game is ended, after a 15-minute delay, with the Mets leading the Nationals, 10-4.

2006: Cal Ripken Jr., Kent Hrbek and others share humorous anecdotes during a lighthearted ceremony at the Metrodome honoring the memory of Kirby Puckett. A crowd of 15,000 Twins fans pay their final respect to their beloved Hall of Fame outfielder who died last week at age 45 following a stroke suffered the day before at his home in Arizona.

2006: Legendary pitcher Bob Feller, who has been in the Hall of Fame longer than any other living player, said that controversial superstar Barry Bonds should be kept out of the exclusive club.


2006: MLB agreed to a five-year contract with the North American Sports Network to televise about 275 games live each season. NASN, which gained rights to the All-Star Game, the playoffs and the World Series, is televising the World Baseball Classic. The subscription network, based in Dublin, Ireland, broadcasts in Britain, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Iceland and the Netherlands. The deal is valued at $18 million to $20 million, according to Sports Business Journal.

2006: The Atlanta Braves have extended their manager Bobby Cox a contract through the 2007 season, the team announced on its Web site.

March 14th-

1878: Happy Birthday Willis J.H. 'Butch' Rementer, born and died in Philadelphia, buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, Yeadon; 1904 Phillies C 1 game

1957: Happy 51st Birthday Steve Lake 1989-92 Phillies C 165 games



1963: Phils purchase Ryne Duren P from the Angels

1973: Happy 35th Birthday Robert Dodd 1998 Phillies P 4 games

1978: Happy 30th Birthday Matt Kata 2005 Phillies 2B/RF/SS 10 games

1983: Sports Illustrated features smiling Phils 'Wheeze Kids' Tony Perez, Pete Rose, and Joe Morgan on the cover with the caption 'A Rosy Reunion'.

1984: Rest in Peace John 'Gentleman John' 'Johnny' Enzmann 1920 Phillies P/OF 17 games

1995: Rest in Peace Charlie Letchas 1939, 44, 46 Phillies 2B/3B/SS 134 games

Other Baseball History-

1883: In a Northwestern League meeting, Peoria moves to ban blacks in order to prevent Toledo from playing star C Moses Fleetwood Walker. After an "exciting discussion" the motion is withdrawn and Walker is allowed to play.

1894: U.S. Immigration Inspector De Barry will ask the Treasury Department if baseball is a "recognized profession" in order to determine if Buffalo has violated the alien contract labor law by signing two Canadians. Before De Barry gets a reply, Buffalo decides to play only Americans

1932: Catcher Ernie Lombardi comes to the Reds along with outfielder Babe Herman and third baseman Wally Gilbert, while infielders Joe Stripp and Tony Cuccinello and catcher Clyde Sukeforth are sent to the Dodgers. Herman bats .324 in one season in Cincinnati following the trade (he will later return to the club for two seasons), but Lombardi makes the trade a steal. Lombardi bats .311 in 10 seasons in Cincinnati, winning a batting title and MVP Award in 1938. Lombardi will star for the Reds over the next 10 seasons.



1953: St. Louis Mayor Joseph Darst vows to fight the move of the Browns to Baltimore. The announcement came one day after Baltimore Mayor Tom D'Alesandro reported that negotiations were underway with club owner Bill Veeck to move the team to Maryland. - Sadly, Darst and St. Louis would eventually lose the battle. The Browns would be gone from St. Louis following the 1953 season. They would be reborn in 1954 as the Baltimore Orioles. On June 6, 2003, the Cardinals and Orioles will meet in a retro uniform game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. In honor of the 50th anniversary of their last season, the two clubs will be decked out in the 1953 uniforms of the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns.

1954: Hank Aaron homers in his first start with the Braves in an exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox. The noise of the contact is so loud that Ted Williams runs out of the clubhouse to see who can make that sound with a bat. Aaron raps out three hits in an exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox. Aaron will eventually start for the Braves on Opening Day and will go on to hit a respectable .280 with 13 home runs and 58 RBIs in his rookie season



1956: Satchel Paige signs with the Birmingham Black Barons (Negro League) at age 50 to both play and manage.



1960: Future Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett is born in Chicago, Illinois. Puckett will make his major league debut in 1984, when he hits .296 for the Minnesota Twins. Over a 12-year career, Puckett will bat .318 with 207 home runs and 1,085 RBIs, helping the Twins to two World Championships. He will win election to the Hall of Fame in 2001.



1961: The National League expansion franchise in New York names future Hall of Famer George Weiss as team president. Weiss had retired as general manager of the New York Yankees in 1960.

1969: Former major leaguer Henry 'Heinie' Zimmerman dies at the age of 82. The onetime Triple Crown winner was banned from baseball in 1919 for his alleged involvement in fixing games.

1974: Alex Pompez, one of the most important figures in the history of the Negro leagues, dies in New York City. Pompez owned the Cuban Stars of the Eastern Colored League, and later the New York Cubans of the Negro National League. Following the demise of the Negro leagues, Pompez was hired as a scout for the New York and San Francisco Giants, where for 25 years he worked to open the door for Caribbean players to enter the major leagues. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006.

March 14th part 2 of 2-

1991: The Angels obtain DH Dave Parker from the Brewers in exchange for OF Dante Bichette and a player to be named later.

1993: The Reds announce that Schottzie 02, the St. Bernard owned by Reds president Marge Schott, is being banned from the field at Riverfront Stadium for the season



1995: The NLRB announces it will charge major league baseball owners with two counts of unfair labor practices.

1995: The players' union announces that it will not settle the strike if replacement players are used in regular season games, and if results are not voided.

2003: The Brewers' TV/radio play-by-play announcer, Bob Uecker is chosen to be honored as the recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award by the Hall of Fame. The 68-year-old former back-up catcher, who joined the Milwaukee broadcast crew in 1971, is best known for the humor he has brought to the game through his starring role in the cult movie Major League and the beer commercial in which the phrase "Must be in the front row!" has become a familiar cry in ballparks around the country



2003: Able to maintain the organization's "long standing philosophy", which lets Cablevision customers choose whether or not to receive paid programming'' , the cable giant agrees one-year interim deal to offer YES Network to New York Yankees fans for a fee ending a bitter and costly yearlong feud. The arrangement makes YES a premium channel instead of basic cable channel which the new network had previously mandated and would have made every subscriber pay for the channel regardless of the viewer's choice

2003: Vladimir Guerrero is suspended for three regular-season games and Marlin starter Brad Penny for five due to igniting an exhibition game bench-clearing brawl earlier in the week . After being hit in the chest by Marlins' starter first inning pitch, the Expo All-star outfielder, with his bat in his left hand swung his right fist around Matt Treanor, the Florida catcher trying to restrain him, missing Penny, who retaliated with punch which also missed its mark.

2003: Dependent on passing a physical, free agent Kenny Lofton agrees to a one-year pact to play the Pirates this season. The 35-year-old leadoff man would most likely start in center moving Brian Giles to left field with left fielder Reggie Sanders going to right.

2006: Terry Francona agrees a two-year contract extension keeping the skipper at the helm through 2008. The Red Sox manager replaced Grady Little in December 2003 and promptly brought Boston to its first World Championship in 86 years

2006: Washington D.C. officials unveil the designs for a new home for the Nationals scheduled to be opened in 2008. The glass-and-steel 41,000-seat ballpark, will feature pale stone chosen to complement the well-known skyline of the nation's capital. The Washington Nationals can keep their nickname. Major League Baseball has settled a lawsuit with a company that said it owned the trademark rights to the name Washington Nationals.

2006: At the World Baseball Classic- Japan beats Mexico, 6 - 1, to put the United States in danger of being eliminated before its next game. If Japan beats South Korea, the US team could be eliminated from contention even before playing Mexico; Dominican Republic wins over Venezuela, 2-1, to advance to the semifinals.

Match 15th-

1890: Happy Birthday Fred Mollenkamp 1914 Phillies 1B 3 games

1923: Rest in Peace Pete Wood 1889 Phillies P 3games

1944: Happy 64th Birthday Dave Watkins 1969 Phillies C 69 games

1949: Happy 59th Birthday Jim 'The Amazing Emu' Kern 1984 Phillies P 8 games

1960: Braves purchase Jim Bolger OF from the Phils

1968: Happy 40th Birthday Kimothy Emil 'Kim' Batiste 1991-94 Phillies SS/3B 197 games


2006: Reds claim Matt Kata 2B/OF/SS from Phils on waivers

Other Baseball History-

1885: A lower court in NY decides that playing baseball on Sunday is a crime. This decision will be overturned, but it will be appealed.

1901: Star third baseman Jimmy Collins jumps from the National League to the American League. The 28-year-old Collins leaves the Boston Beaneaters to sign a guaranteed $4,000 contract with the Boston Somersets.


Boston Nationals Infield of Bobby Lowe, Fred Tenney, Herman Long and Jimmy Collins

1917: The Red Sox lose to Brooklyn, 7-2 in the "Hot Springs World Series." Both teams are training in Arkansas and will barnstorm north together.

1925: Cubs SS Rabbit Maranville breaks his leg sliding into 3B in an exhibition game in Los Angeles. At 33, the injury threatens to end his career, but the Rabbit will be back in the lineup by May 24.

1941: In Monterrey, Mexico, 6000 fans watch the Browns top the Boston Bees, 6?3. Chet Laabs, fighting to win the RF spot, hits a 400-fit homer in the 7th

1944: In Maryland, the Senators start training with five knuckleballers likely to make the staff: Dutch Leonard, Roger Wolff, Mickey Haefner, John Niggeling, and Bill Lefebvre.

1945: With wartime travel restrictions still in effect, the Dodgers open spring training at Bear Mountain, New York with 15 players in camp. Seven teams ? the Browns, Tigers, Reds, Indians, Cubs, Pirates and White Sox - are training in Indiana, the most of any state. The Red Sox are at Tufts College while the Braves are prepping at the Choate School in Connecticut.

1945: Bert Shepard, a one-legged pitcher, begins a successful tryout with the Washington Senators. Shepard's leg was amputated after a World War II flying mission. Shepard will pitch in only one game for the Senators, but his stint will be impressive. On August 4, he will pitch five and one-third innings of one-run ball against the Boston Red Sox. The symbol of wartime baseball, outfielder Pete Gray of the Browns, will field and bat with only one arm.


1960: The New Orleans Pelicans cease operation as a member of the Southern Association. The Pels are replaced by a club from Little Rock, Arkansas.



1971: Female umpire Bernice Gera, a thirty-nine year old New York housewife, files a lawsuit against organized baseball. Mrs. Gera had completed an umpire school and signed a contract to umpire in the New York-Penn League, only to see the deal voided six days later with no explanation. Gera will eventually umpire one game before quitting.

1974: In Yuma, Arizona, Giant twenty-four game winner, Ron Bryant is hurt in a pool accident, his record will drop to 3-15 this season.

1975: The Dodgers sign free-agent pitcher Juan Marichal. After two poor outings, Marichal will retire on April 17, leaving a career record of 243-142, 52 shutouts, and a 2.89 ERA.



1977: The Pirates trade outfielders Tony Armas and Mitchell Page, and four pitchers, including Rick Langford, to the A's for second baseman Phil Garner, infielder Tommy Helms, and pitcher Chris Batton.

1978: The A's trade Vida Blue to the Giants for seven players and an estimated $390,000 in cash. In exchange for Blue, the A's acquire catcher Gary Alexander, infielder Mario Guerrero, outfielder Gary Thomasson, and pitchers Dave Heaverlo, Phil Huffman, John Henry Johnson, and Alan Wirth. Blue will win 18 games for the Giants in 1978.

1983: Cy Young Award winner Pete Vuckovich is found to have a torn rotator cuff in his pitching shoulder that will sideline him for almost the entire 1983 season



1991: The Kansas City Royals release Bo Jackson, who had injured his hip playing football for the Los Angeles Raiders. In April, Jackson will sign a contract with the Chicago White Sox.

2000: In spring training action, Red Sox star Pedro Martinez and five relievers combined on a perfect exhibition game beating the Blue Jays, 5-0.

2006: In the World Baseball Classic- South Korea beat Japan, 2 - 1, to clinch a spot in the semifinals. The United States, who would have been eliminated with a low-scoring win by Japan, can wrap up the other semifinal berth tomorrow by beating Mexico. South Korea went 3-0 in Round 2; the United States is 1-1, Japan finished 1-2, and Mexico is 0-2. The US beat Mexico 2-0 in the first round. South Korea (6-0) still as the only team undefeated; Cuba earned a berth in semifinals after defeating Puerto Rico, 4 - 3. After getting pounded 12 - 2 by Puerto Rico in the first round, Cuba won two of its last three games to advance. Puerto Rico, which won its first four games of the WBC, was eliminated.