Highlighted entries today are:
1997
In what Bud Selig says is Phase one of a realignment of the major leagues, his Milwaukee Brewers move from the American League to the National League.
They took that thing National! Remember the rest of the realignment that happened? About the only detailed plan that I can find on-line is from and ELItorial in an April 2000 edition of the Yale Herald.
When the 30 MLB owners meet in Houston, the realignment of leagues and divisions will be at the top of their agenda. Selig, whose daughter owns the Brewers, will present his realignment plan to the owners, delighting a few and alienating several others. Under the plan, the Diamondbacks and the Devil Rays would switch leagues, much to the chagrin of Arizona, which has proven very successful in the NL. The NL would contain four divisions of four teams each, eliminating the Wild Card from the playoff picture. Even though the AL would keep its three divisions, there would now be two divisions of four teams each, and one of six teams.
To casual baseball fans, this realignment might seem minor, a slight adjustment that would not have a tangible effect on the game. On the contrary, Selig's crackpot plan will send baseball spiraling back down the pit it dug itself into during the '94 strike. The key to increasing baseball's popularity is keeping fans' interest alive late in the season and maintaining key regional rivalries. Realignment will eliminate much of baseball's appeal in September and create small, lackluster divisions that send mediocre teams to the playoffs.
Like the NL Central Champion St. Louis Cardinals....Oops. Well, that was written almost seven years ago.
The words "crazy" and "insane" are also used by the writer, Laurie Randell. But nothing could top "spiraling back down the pit of despair" line. That's gold, Jerry. Gold!
Also from 1997
Davey Johnson resigns as manager of the Orioles just hours before he is named the American League Manager of the Year. Baltimore owner Peter Angelos had refused to give Johnson a vote of confidence after saying earlier that Johnson would be back in 1998.
And how have the Orioles done since then? I'm seeing a lot of fourth place finishes and no playoffs. Same kind of thing happened with Johnson in Cincinnati. The Reds made the playoffs in 1995 with Johnson as the manager. But, Marge Schott decided that she wanted Ray Knight to be the manager for 1996. The Reds finished 81-81 in 'that season and Knight lost the managerial job with a record of 43-56 99 games into the 1997 season. But, the Reds have bounced back to at least make the playoffs since Johnson left. Not the Orioles though.
1976
New American League franchises in Seattle and Toronto fill up their rosters by selecting 30 players apiece from unprotected players on other AL rosters. OF Ruppert Jones (Seattle) and IF-OF Bob Bailor (Toronto) are the first choices.
Some of the other players taken by the Mariners in that expansion draft included: Pete Broberg from Milwaukee, Glenn Abbott from Oakland, Steve Braun from Minnesota, and Julio Cruz from California.
Some of the other players taken by the Blue Jays in that expansion draft included: Garth Iorg for the Yankees, Pete Vukovich from the White Sox, Jim Clancy from the Rangers, and Rico Carty from the Indians.
Just over a month later the Blue Jays traded Carty back to the Indians for Jon Lowenstein and Rick Cerone. Then, on March 29, 1977, Toronto traded Lowenstein back to Cleveland and got Hector Torres.
Also from 1976
The Pirates trade C Manny Sanguillen and an estimated $100,000 to the A's for manager Chuck Tanner.
Let's see how that trade worked out. Sanguillen played 152 games for the A's in 1977. Oakland missed the playoffs that year. Oakland traded Sanguillen back to Pittsburgh on April 4, 1978 for Migule Dilone, Elias Sosa, and Mike Edwards.
Tanner, who had managed the A's for one season and led them to a second place finish in the AL West, went to Pittsburgh and finished in second place in the NL East 1977 and 1978. Then, in 1979 the Pirates won the East, the NL pennant, and the World Series. He would spend seven more seasons in Pittsburgh.
Pirates 1, Oakland 0.
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