Highlighted entries today are:
1995
The Yankees name Joe Torre as their new manager, replacing Buck Showalter.
At the time, Torre had managed three other teams. The Mets from 1977-1981. The Braves from 1982-1984. The Cardinals from 1990-1995. He went to the playoffs once, an NL West title in 1982 with the Braves. None of his teams won more than 90 games in a season.
The Cardinals fired him less than fifty games into the 1995 season. Then, the Yankees called after they lost to the Mariners in the 1995 AL Divisional Series. The rest is history.
1974
The Braves trade Hank Aaron to the Brewers for OF Dave May and a minor league pitcher to be named later. Aaron will finish his ML career in Milwaukee, where he started it in 1954. Meanwhile, Aaron, the home run king of American baseball, and Sadaharu Oh, his Japanese counterpart, square off for a home run contest at Korakuen Stadium. Aaron wins 10–9.
Welcome back, Hank. Also, I seem to remember the home run hitting contest between Aaron and Oh. It was on CBS Sports Spectacular? (that networks answer to ABC's Wide World of Sports). They used a pitching machine instead of a live pitcher? Darn kid. Why didn't you write that down and keep it in an easily accessable place for just this type of situation?
1913
Former St. Louis Browns manager George Stovall is the first ML player to jump to the Federal League, signing to manage Kansas City. With glib salesman Jim Gilmore as its president, and backed by several millionaires, including oil magnate Harry Sinclair and Brooklyn baker Robert Ward, the Feds declare open war two weeks later by announcing they will not honor the ML's reserve clause. It will prove a long, costly struggle, similar to the American League's beginnings, but with more losers than winners.
Federal League, USFL, WHA, ABA, XFL. That is just the short list. Probably more, but I don't have time to research it.
1887
The Athletics are sold to a syndicate headed by Henry C. Pennypacker. The three long time partners, Sharsig, Simmons, and Mason, still hold a sizable block of stock.
One question. Was there ever a more perfect name for a baseball owner than Pennypacker?
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