What is the story about?
Free of charge for the discerning reader.
Happy birthday to Scott May, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 1987 – Jim Frey*, who managed the Chicago Cubs to the 1984 NL East division title, and spent last season as a broadcaster for the Cubs, is named the club’s director of baseball operations. His first major move will be to hire longtime friend Don Zimmer as manager on November 20th
, and other stories as well.Today in baseball history:
- 1891 – The National League meets and dismisses the charges of collusion and game throwing against the eastern clubs brought by the Chicago Colts, thereby formally giving the Boston Beaneaters the pennant. The league also plans its strategy for conquering the American Association by consolidating the four strongest Association clubs into a 12-team league for next year.
- 1899 – Chicago Orphans star outfielder Bill Lange returns to San Francisco, CA and vows he will never appear on the diamond again. He is only 28 and hit .325 this season.
- 1943 – The Most Valuable Player Awards for both leagues are named. Yankees pitcher Spud Chandler wins it in the American League and Cardinals outfielder Stan Musial in the National League.
- 1948 – Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees undergoes surgery for bone spurs on his right heel. DiMaggio will miss 65 games in 1949 because of continuing problems with his heel.
- 1970 – Baltimore Orioles first baseman Boog Powell, who batted .297 with 35 home runs and 114 RBI, is named American League Most Valuable Player, beating Tony Oliva of the Minnesota Twins by a 234-157 margin.
- 1981 – Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela becomes the first rookie ever to win a Cy Young Award, edging Tom Seaver of the Cincinnati Reds by a 70-67 margin for National League honors. Valenzuela was the first rookie since Herb Score in 1955 to lead his league in strikeouts with 180.
- 1986 – Mike Scott of the Astros beats Fernando Valenzuela of the Dodgers for the National League Cy Young Award, garnering 15 first-place votes to Valenzuela’s nine.
- 1987 – Roger Clemens becomes the first pitcher since Jim Palmer in 1975–1976 to win consecutive Cy Young Awards, collecting 21 of 28 first-place votes to easily beat runner-up Jimmy Key, for 1987 Cy Young honors.
- 1996 – John Smoltz, who won a major league-high 24 games for the Atlanta Braves, wins the 1996 National League Cy Young Award in a runaway. Smoltz, the NL leader in strikeouts (276), innings pitched (253.2), and winning percentage (.750), receives 26 of 28 first-place votes. Kevin Brown of the Florida Marlins, the major-league ERA leader (1.89), receives the other two first-place votes. Since 1991, five of the six Cy Young winners have been Braves.
- 1997 – Pedro Martinez of the Montreal Expos breaks the stranglehold the veteran Greg Maddux and the Atlanta Braves have on the National League Cy Young Award. Since 1991, either Maddux or a Braves pitcher has captured the award every year. Martinez posted a 17-8 record with 305 strikeouts, a 1.90 ERA, and 13 complete games, giving Canada a clean sweep of the Cy Young this year. Roger Clemens of the Toronto Blue Jays won the American League award a day earlier. It’s a bittersweet moment for Montreal, as Martinez will be traded away a week later.
- 2008 – Tim Lincecum wins the Cy Young Award in his first full season in the majors. Lincecum led the league in strikeouts and was second in both wins and ERA. Brandon Webb finishes second for the second consecutive season. The NL Western Division has now produced eight of the last ten NL Cy Young Award winners.
- 2013 – Pitcher Jose Fernandez of the Marlins is voted the National League Rookie of the Year, while OF Wil Myers of the Tampa Bay Rays, who was obtained in a big off-season trade, is the winner in the American League.
- 2019 – Winners of the Rookie of the Year Award are announced, with Mets 1B Pete Alonso, who led the majors with 53 homers, receiving the honor in the NL and Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez doing so in the AL. Alonso receives 29 of 30 first-place votes, while Alvarez is a unanimous choice.
- 2020 – After winning the Pitcher’s Triple Crown in the American League, Shane Bieber of the Indians is an unsurprising unanimous selection as the winner of the Cy Young Award, while Trevor Bauer, who led the National League in ERA, is the first Reds pitcher to ever win the National League Award.
Cubs Birthdays: Scott May, Bert Abbey.
Also notable: Rabbit Maranville HOF. Pie Traynor HOF.
Today in history:
- 1620 – Mayflower Compact is signed by Pilgrims at Cape Cod, establishing the first framework of government in the territory that is now the USA.
- 1675 – German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz demonstrates integral calculus for the first time to find the area under the graph of the function y = f(x).
- 1714 – A highway in Bronx is laid out, later renamed East 233rd Street.
- 1807 – Washington Irving‘s Salmagundi periodical, the first to associate the name “Gotham” with New York City, is published.
- 1918 – World War I Armistice signed by the Allies and Germany comes into effect, with hostilities ending at 11 a.m., “the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month”.
- 1921 – US President Warren G. Harding dedicates the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
- 1925 – American scientist Robert A. Millikan announces discovery of cosmic rays.
- 1926 – U.S. Route 66 is established from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California, spanning 2,448 miles.
- 1940 – Willys unveiled its General Purpose vehicle (“Jeep”).
- 1999 – Last upside-down date until January 1, 6000.
Today in music history:
- 1925 – Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five begin their first recording session at Okeh Records in Chicago.
- 1957 – Sun Record’s release single “Great Balls of Fire” by Jerry Lee Lewis; sells a million copies in first ten days.
- 1963 – Brian Epstein and Ed Sullivan sign a three-show contract for appearances by The Beatles.
- 1969 – Apple Records releases single “Get Back” by ‘The Beatles with Billy Preston‘ in UK.
- 1974 – Operatic soprano Maria Callas makes her final public appearance in Sapporo, Japan.
- 2003 – Reprise Records releases “Closer,” the second studio album by pop-opera singer Josh Groban; featuring his signature song “You Raise Me Up,” it goes to No. 1 on US charts and becomes his biggest seller.
- 2008 – Taylor Swift releases her second studio album “Fearless” (Billboard Album of the Year, 2009; Grammy Album of the Year, 2010, American Music Awards, 2009).
- 2022 – Columbia Records releases Bruce Springsteen‘s 21st studio album “Only The Strong Survive”, his covers of American 60s and 70s R&B and soul songs.
*pictured.
