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Happy birthday to Tony Barnette*, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 1976 – The Oakland Athletics give future Hall of Famer Billy Williams his unconditional release, ending his 18-year major league career. Williams, who spent all but two seasons with the Chicago Cubs
, retires with 426 home runs, 1,475 RBI, 2,711 hits, and a .290 batting average, and other stories as well.Today in baseball history:
- 1912 – Frank Chance is sold by the Chicago Cubs to the Cincinnati Reds. When all National League clubs waive claims to him in December, the Reds free Chance to manage the Yankees.
- 1935 – Pitcher Bob Gibson is born in Omaha, Nebraska. Gibson will make his major league debut in 1959, marking the start of a 17-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals and an election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.
- 1937 – St. Louis Cardinals Triple Crown winner Joe Medwick is named National League Most Valuable Player by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
- 1950 – The BBWAA name Sam Jethroe of the Boston Braves as the National League Rookie of the Year. At 31 years, 2 months, 18 days of age, Jethroe becomes the oldest rookie to win the award. He has been one of the best Negro Leagues players of his time.
- 1950 – After twenty-one years with the club, shortstop and future Hall of Famer Luke Appling is released by the Chicago White Sox allowing him to become the manager of the Memphis Chicks of the South Atlantic League.
- 1960 – In an extremely close vote (225 points to 222), Roger Maris beats Yankees teammate Mickey Mantle for the AL MVP Award.
- 1982 – Robin Yount, who hit .331 for the Milwaukee Brewers and led the American League in hits (210), doubles (46), and slugging percentage (.578), is a unanimous choice as AL Most Valuable Player. The future Hall of Famer captures all 27 first-place votes easily beating runner-ups Eddie Murray and Doug DeCinces.
- 1998 – Hall of Fame pitcher Jim “Catfish” Hunter announces that he is suffering from Lou Gehrig‘s disease. The fatal disease, known medically as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, attacks the nerves in the spinal cord and the brain and leads to a loss of motor skills. Hunter will succumb to the disease less than a year later.
- 1999 – Kansas City Royals outfielder Carlos Beltran is named the American League Rookie of the Year. Beltran became the first rookie with 100 or more RBI since Mike Piazza had 112 in 1993 and the first in the AL since Mark McGwire had 118 in 1987. Beltran is also the first rookie with a 100 run-100 RBI season since Fred Lynn in 1975.
- 2010 – The winners of the 2010 American League Gold Glove Awards are announced. Mariners OF Ichiro Suzuki wins his tenth Gold Glove in as many years, tying Al Kaline and Ken Griffey Jr. for the most Gold Gloves by an AL flyhawk.
- 2020 – Kyle Lewis of the Mariners is the unanimous winner of the 2020 American League Rookie of the Year Award, while, in a sign of how the game has evolved, pitcher Devin Williams of the Brewers is the winner in the National League in spite of not recording a single save. However, his total dominance over 27 innings was enough to win him the award, after having earlier been named the recipient of the Trevor Hoffman Award as best reliever in the league.
- 2022 – The winners of the Hank Aaron Award given to the best overall hitter in the two major leagues are announced. Aaron Judge, who set a new American League record with 62 homers is the winner in the AL, while Paul Goldschmidt, who led the National League in slugging percentage and OPS, wins in the senior circuit.
Cubs Birthdays: Michael Busch, Rowan
Wick, Tony Barnette*, Walt Lanfranconi, Harvey Hendrick. Also notable: Bob Gibson HOF. Whitey Herzog HOF.
Today in history:
- 1492 – After a month of delays off the English coast and about two months at sea, the Mayflower spots land (Cape Cod).
- 1904 – First airplane flight to last more than five minutes, when Wilbur Wright flies the Wright Flyer II for five minutes and four seconds, covering 2.75 miles (4.4 km).
- 1906 – Theodore Roosevelt is the first US President to visit another country, traveling to Panama and Puerto Rico.
- 1907 – The Cullinan Diamond, the largest ever discovered and weighing 3,106 carats, is presented to King Edward VII at Sandringham House on his 66th birthday.
- 1960 – American bass baritone Paul Robeson gives the first performance at the Sydney Opera House, singing to workers from the scaffolding during construction of the building.
- 1973 -Columbia Records releases “Piano Man,” singer-songwriter Billy Joel‘s second studio album.
- 1989 – East Berlin opens its borders at the Bornholmer Strasse crossing when thousands arrive after East German government official Günter Schabowski mistakenly announces that restrictions on travel to the West will be lifted “immediately, without delay”. The next day, German crowds begin demolishing the Berlin Wall, quickly followed by officials with bulldozers.
- 1996 – Evander Holyfield upsets Mike Tyson in 11th-round knockout in Las Vegas to regain WBA heavyweight boxing title; second boxer, after Muhammad Ali, to win a heavyweight title 3 times.
- 2006 – British rocker David Bowie performs on stage for the final time – three songs at a charity concert in New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom: “Wild Is the Wind”, “Fantastic Voyage”, and a duet of “Changes” with Alicia Keys.
- 2007 – Alicia Keys releases her 3rd studio album “As I Am” (Grammy Award Best Female R&B Vocal Performance 2008, 2008 Billboard Album of the Year).
*pictured.
