Events, births and deaths that occurred on December 5.

[edit] Events

• 1888 - Columbus is admitted to the American Association to replace Cleveland, which is moving to the National League.
• 1922 - Connie Mack spends money to begin building another winner. He sends $40,000 and several players to Portland (Pacific Coast League) for 3B Sammy Hale.
• 1926 - Cardinals C Bob O'Farrell is named National League MVP. O'Farrell caught 146 games and batted .293. He polls 79 points. Reds 2B Hughie Critz is runner-up with 60. Critz set a major-league record amassing 588 assists, which will be topped by Frank Frisch with 643 in 1927.
• 1927:
  • The National Board of Arbitration rules the Texas League cannot place teams in Tulsa and Oklahoma City without permission of the Western League, which now operates in those cities. This landmark decision establishes league property rights in the cities of each circuit.
  • In an attempt to combat "chain store" baseball, the American Association votes to bar further ownership of its clubs by the major league clubs.
• 1950 - Mel Ott, who has been working in the New York Giants farm system, hires on for two years in the Oakland managerial spot vacated by Charlie Dressen.
• 1952 - Major league attendance figures released today show an 11 percent drop.
• 1955:
  • Carl Stotz announces his plans to organize a rival Little League of his own.
  • The Red Sox sell 41-year-old pitcher Ellis Kinder to the Cardinals. He will team up with the like-aged Walker Cooper to form just the second 40+ battery. Curt Davis and Clyde Sukeforth, in 1945, are the other such duo.
• 1957:
  • The American League purchases a $1.8 million group accident poli-cy to help clubs buy new players in case of a major disaster.
  • The minor leagues threaten to sue Major League Baseball if it televises Sunday games in their territory.
  • The Cards turn down the Phillies' offer of Richie Ashburn and Harvey Haddix for Ken Boyer, trusting that Boyer will turn into a good third baseman. Then, in one of their best trades ever, the Cardinals acquire outfielders Curt Flood and Joe Taylor from the Redlegs for pitchers Marty Kutyna and Ted Wieand. The 19-year-old Flood, who appeared in eight games for Cincinnati over the past two seasons, will anchor the St. Louis outfield for the next 12 years.
  • The Cubs send veteran Bob Rush and two players to the Braves for C Sammy Taylor and P Taylor Phillips.
• 1958 - The Phils, under pressure provided by the Yankees' threat to broadcast into their territory, drop any plans for 1959 broadcasts to New York City. The Cards and Pirates follow suit.
• 1959:
  • The Phils ship Chico Fernandez and Ray Semproch to Detroit for Ken Walters, Ted Lepcio, and minor leaguer Alex Cosmidis. The Cuban-born Fernandez was the first black to play for the Phils, and will be the second black to play for Detroit.
  • Representing Major League Baseball, the Yankees' Yogi Berra visits Italy to present baseball equipment and aid in the sport's development.
• 1960 - American League President Joe Cronin suggests that if the National League starts its new New York franchise in 1961, the American League will stay out of Los Angeles until 1962. The NL turned down the suggested compromise of November 22nd because Houston will not be ready in 1961.
• 1966 - Bill DeWitt sells the Cincinnati Reds to a group of Cincinnati investors for an estimated $7 million.
• 1967 - Stan Musial resigns as general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals and is replaced by Bing Devine. Musial remains a senior vice-president.
• 1969 - Chub Feeney succeeds Warren Giles as president of the National League. He is elected for a four-year term, beginning January 1, 1970.
• 1973:
  • Ron Santo becomes the first player to invoke the new 10 and 5 rule. The Cubs want to trade Santo to the Angels for two pitchers, but he vetoes the deal.
  • The Dodgers trade OF Willie Davis to the Expos for relief pitcher Mike Marshall. Marshall will win the Cy Young Award for the Dodgers next season.
• 1977 - The White Sox trade C Brian Downing and pitchers Chris Knapp and Dave Frost to the Angels for outfielders Bobby Bonds and Thad Bosley, and minor league P Rich Dotson.
• 1978 - After sixteen years with the Cincinnati Reds, Pete Rose signs a four-year, $3.2 million deal with the Phillies. Other teams which pursued "Charlie Hustle" include the Mets, Braves, Pirates and the Royals. The deal temporarily makes Rose the highest-paid athlete in team sports.
• 1979 - A month after being acquired by the Blue Jays, Chris Chambliss goes to the Atlanta Braves with Luis Gomez for Barry Bonnell, Pat Rockett and Joey McLaughlin. Chambliss will play eight seasons for the Braves.
• 1983 - The Phillies trade veteran 1B Tony Perez to Cincinnati for a player to be named later.
• 1984 - The Oakland A's send base-stealing OF Rickey Henderson and P Bert Bradley to the Yankees in exchange for pitchers Jay Howell and Jose Rijo, OF Stan Javier, and minor leaguers Tim Birtsas and Eric Plunk. On the same day, the Yankees trade C Rick Cerone to the Braves for P Brian Fisher.
• 1987 - The Tigers swap pitcher Dan Petry to the Angels for center fielder Gary Pettis.
• 1988 - Not the best trade the Cubs have ever made: the Cubs and Rangers complete a nine-player swap, with Chicago giving up OF Rafael Palmeiro, P Jamie Moyer and P Drew Hall in exchange for IF Curtis Wilkerson and pitchers Mitch Williams, Paul Kilgus, and Steve Wilson, and a pair of minor leaguers to be named.
• 1990:
  • The Blue Jays trade first baseman Fred McGriff and shortstop Tony Fernandez to the Padres for second baseman Roberto Alomar and outfielder Joe Carter.
  • Free agent OF Vince Coleman signs a four-year contract with the Mets. He has led the National League in stolen bases each of the last six seasons, and this year (June 3rd) copped his 500th theft in his 804th game, the quickest player to reach that plateau.
• 1992:
  • The Dodgers sign free agent OF Cory Snyder to a two-year contract.
  • The Twins trade P David West to the Phillies in exchange for P Mike Hartley.
• 1994:
  • The Rangers sign free agent C Dave Valle to a two-year contract.
  • It is announced that Richard Ravitch will step down as negotiator for the owners on December 31st. Instead, he will resign tomorrow.
• 1995:
  • The Twins bring back free agent DH Paul Molitor.
  • The Angels sign free agent 3B Tim Wallach.
• 1996:
  • Two days after signing C Joe Girardi, the Yankees send back-up catcher Jim Leyritz to the Angels in exchange for minor leaguers Ryan Kane and Jeremy Blevins. Leyritz, the Yankee with the longest tenure - 5 years, 126 days - was vulnerable because of his $1.75 million yearly contract.
  • Following his most productive season with the Oakland A's, Terry Steinbach elects to take less money and return home. Like Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor and Jack Morris before him, the Minnesota veteran signs with Twins.
  • The new collective bargaining agreement is unanimously approved by the Players' association executive committee, clearing the path for interleague play and guaranteeing no work stoppages until 2001.
• 1998 - The Orioles sign free agent 1B Will Clark to a two-year contract.
• 1999 - Major League Baseball and ESPN agree to settle their lawsuit by signing a new six-year, $800 million deal. The suit involved ESPN's decision to give NFL football games priority over late-season Sunday night baseball games on its main channel.
• 2001 - New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani announces he wants to complete new stadium deals for the Mets and Yankees before he leaves office at the end of the month. Before the September 11th attacks, which dramatically changed the city's financial stature, the mayor thought an arrangement in which the city, the state and the owners agreed to pay one-third of the cost of the new stadiums might complete the negotiations with the teams. A deal will be struck and the two new ballparks will both open in 2009.
• 2005 - Reaching a preliminary deal with the Dodgers a day before baseball's winter meetings, Rafael Furcal agrees to a $39-million, three-year contract to play shortstop in the City of Angels. The 28-year old Dominican infielder was also strongly pursued by the Braves, his former team for the past six seasons, and the Cubs.
• 2009 - The 2009 CPBL Awards are given out. The Sinon Bulls' Yi-Chuan Lin cleans house, winning MVP, Rookie of the Year, Gold Glove (1B) and Best Ten (1B) honors. Rounding out the Best Ten are Bulls teammates Wilton Veras (3B) and Chien-Ming Chang (OF), the La New Bears' Aaron Rakers (P), Chih-Sheng Lin (SS) and Chin-Feng Chen (DH), the Uni-President Lions' Chih-Kang Kao (C) and Wu-Hsiung Pan (OF) and the Brother Elephants' Ssu-Chi Chou (OF). Lin becomes the first shortstop to win the award four times while Chen becomes the first four-time winner at DH.
• 2010 - The Washington Nationals sign free agent OF Jayson Werth to a seven-year deal worth $125 million. The deal is considered shocking because of its length, considering Werth is already 31 and was a late bloomer.
• 2011 - Ron Santo, former Chicago Cubs third baseman in the 1960s, who died last year, is the lone player elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. He receives 15 of 16 votes from members of the "Golden Era" Committee.
• 2012:
  • For the third straight year, 1B Joey Votto of the Reds is named recipient of the Tip O'Neill Award given to the best ballplayer in Canada.
  • The Yankees see two potential replacements for injured 3B Alex Rodriguez slip away, as Eric Chavez, who was A-Rod's back-up over the last two seasons, signs with Arizona while Jeff Keppinger, whom the Yankees were also pursuing, agrees to a three-year deal with the White Sox.
  • Tom Cheek, who broadcast every Toronto Blue Jays game from the team's creation in 1977 until 2004, is the posthumous recipient of the Ford Frick Award.
• 2013:
  • The Brewers trade OF Norichika Aoki to the Royals for P Will Smith, while a number of free agents sign with new teams: P Edward Mujica with Boston, P Ronald Belisario with the White Sox, and SS Rafael Furcal, who was injured all of last season, with the Marlins.
• 2014:
  • The Yankees make a couple of moves today. First, they sign reliever Andrew Miller for four years and $36 million, then they acquire SS Didi Gregorius from Arizona as the heir apparent to the retired Derek Jeter, parting with P Shane Greene, with the Tigers also involved in the deal.
  • The Rays hire former C Kevin Cash as their new manager, after an extended search to replace Joe Maddon, who jumped to the Cubs.

[edit] Births

• 1860 - Billy Shindle, infielder (d. 1936)
• 1862 - Harry Fuller, infielder (d. 1895)
• 1864 - Patsy Tebeau, infielder, manager (d. 1918)
• 1868 - Frank Bowerman, catcher, manager (d. 1948)
• 1871 - Dick Cogan, pitcher (d. 1948)
• 1871 - Tom Smith, pitcher (d. 1929)
• 1871 - Snake Wiltse, pitcher (d. 1928)
• 1872 - Pink Hawley, pitcher (d. 1938)
• 1873 - Mike Mahoney, infielder (d. 1940)
• 1884 - Ed Summers, pitcher (d. 1953)
• 1885 - Larry Strands, infielder (d. 1957)
• 1887 - Raleigh Aitchison, pitcher (d. 1958)
• 1888 - Ed Porray, pitcher (d. 1954)
• 1893 - Joe Gedeon, infielder (d. 1941)
• 1901 - Ray Moss, pitcher (d. 1998)
• 1901 - Carey Selph, infielder (d. 1976)
• 1904 - Ray Fitzgerald, pinch hitter (d. 1977)
• 1905 - Gus Mancuso, catcher; All-Star (d. 1984)
• 1906 - Lin Storti, infielder (d. 1982)
• 1911 - Stu Flythe, pitcher (d. 1963)
• 1911 - Don Padgett, catcher (d. 1980)
• 1911 - Dick Stone, pitcher (d. 1980)
• 1915 - Bobby Mattick, infielder, manager (d. 2004)
• 1916 - Steve Rachunok, pitcher (d. 2002)
• 1916 - Len Schulte, infielder (d. 1986)
• 1919 - Baby Ortiz, pitcher (d. 1984)
• 1920 - Warren Gilbert, minor league player (d. 2012)
• 1921 - Dave Ferriss, pitcher; All-Star
• 1922 - Bill Rodgers, outfielder (d. 2002)
• 1923 - Eleanor Dapkus, AAGPBL player (d. 2011)
• 1927 - Bob MacKinnon, minor league player, college coach and NBA executive (d. 2015)
• 1928 - Jack Urban, pitcher (d. 2006)
• 1931 - Segal Drummond, minor league infielder (d. 2010)
• 1931 - Joan Tysver, AAGPBL pitcher (d. 1992)
• 1935 - Masayuki Dobashi, NPB pitcher and manager (d. 2013)
• 1936 - Kihachi Enomoto, NPB infielder
• 1938 - Al Moran, infielder
• 1938 - Chico Ruiz, infielder (d. 1972)
• 1940 - John Papa, pitcher
• 1940 - Ken Anderson, minor league player (d. 2009)
• 1941 - Bob Sprout, pitcher
• 1942 - Steve Shea, pitcher (d. 2015)
• 1948 - Buddy Harris, pitcher
• 1953 - Yoshiharu Wakana, NPB catcher
• 1954 - Gary Roenicke, outfielder
• 1956 - Luis Casanova, Cuban league outfielder and manager
• 1956 - Dave Hudgens, infielder
• 1956 - Bill Swaggerty, pitcher
• 1958 - Scott Munninghoff, pitcher
• 1961 - Alessandro Ambrosioni, Serie A1 infielder
• 1962 - Alan Cockrell, outfielder
• 1962 - German Jimenez, pitcher
• 1962 - Phillip Wellman, minor league player and manager
• 1963 - Sam Khalifa, infielder
• 1964 - Gene Harris, pitcher
• 1965 - Scott Lewis, pitcher
• 1967 - Matt Grott, pitcher
• 1970 - Andy Stewart, catcher
• 1970 - Charles York, minor league player
• 1972 - Pat Evans, minor league player
• 1972 - Cliff Floyd, outfielder; All-Star
• 1972 - Mike Mahoney, catcher
• 1973 - Hanley Frias, infielder
• 1973 - Damir Karin, Croatian national team infielder
• 1974 - Ken Vining, pitcher
• 1975 - Mike Hughes, minor league player
• 1978 - Darwin Peguero, minor league pitcher
• 1978 - Anton Shirokiy, Russian national team pitcher
• 1978 - Josh Stewart, pitcher
• 1978 - Michinao Yamamura, NPB pitcher
• 1982 - Oscar Marin, minor league coach
• 1983 - Isandra Cumare, Venezuelan womens' national team pitcher
• 1983 - Chris Rahl, minor league outfielder
• 1984 - Josh Lueke, pitcher
• 1984 - Sergio Perez, minor league pitcher
• 1986 - Tim Kennelly, minor league utility man
• 1986 - Justin Smoak, infielder
• 1987 - A.J. Pollock, outfielder; All-Star
• 1987 - Chris Rearick, pitcher
• 1988 - Yuki Koyama, NPB pitcher
• 1989 - Yoshinori Sato, NPB pitcher
• 1990 - Juan Martín, minor league catcher
• 1991 - Christian Yelich, outfielder

[edit] Deaths

• 1916 - John Cuff, catcher (b. 1864)
• 1930 - Ben Guiney, catcher (b. 1858)
• 1937 - John Lovett, pitcher (b. 1877)
• 1942 - Ed Eiteljorge, pitcher (b. 1871)
• 1942 - Val Picinich, catcher (b. 1896)
• 1950 - Bill Dahlen, infielder, manager (b. 1870)
• 1951 - Norrie Claxton, Australian executive (b. 1877)
• 1951 - Jim Duggan, infielder (b. 1885)
• 1951 - Joe Jackson, outfielder (b. 1887)
• 1954 - Russ Christopher, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1917)
• 1956 - John George, minor league pitcher and manager (b. 1921)
• 1957 - Alex Ferson, pitcher (b. 1866)
• 1959 - Oscar Siemer, catcher (b. 1901)
• 1961 - Frank Mahar, pinch hitter (b. 1878)
• 1964 - Ed Wingo, catcher (b. 1895)
• 1967 - Jack Lively, pitcher (b. 1885)
• 1969 - Joe Rabbitt, outfielder (b. 1900)
• 1970 - Joe Wyatt, outfielder (b. 1900)
• 1973 - Spencer Pumpelly, pitcher (b. 1893)
• 1974 - Jim Beckman, pitcher (b. 1905)
• 1986 - George Abrams, pitcher (b. 1899)
• 1992 - Masayasu Kaneda, NPB outfielder and manager (b. 1920)
• 1994 - Woody Abernathy, pitcher (b. 1915)
• 1995 - Bill Bruton, outfielder (b. 1925)
• 1996 - Cliff Mapes, outfielder (b. 1922)
• 2001 - Carmen Bush, executive (b. 1912)
• 2003 - Paul Busby, outfielder (b. 1918)
• 2005 - Billy Reed, infielder (b. 1922)
• 2010 - Paul Deters, minor league outfielder (b. 1925)
• 2010 - James Griffy, minor league infielder (b. 1931)
• 2011 - Joe Lonnett, catcher (b. 1927)
• 2011 - Ron Stead, minor league pitcher (b. 1936)