Today in Baseball History
March 13th
1915 Dodger manager Wilbert Robinson, thinking he is going to catch a baseball dropped from a plane, is surprised and splattered when the sphere turns out to be a grapefruit.
1937 Lou Gehrig signs with the Yankees for $38,000 and $750 signing bonus
1944 It’s True, Cy Young’s middle name is not Tucumseh, as generally accepted, but the middle initial T really stands for True.
1953 Braves’ owner Lou Perini announces he will seek permission from the National League to move his franchise from Boston to Milwaukee. The day will become known as ‘Black Friday’ in Beantown.
1954 During an exhibition game against the Yankees, recently acquired Brave Bobby Thomson breaks his ankle in three places and will be sidelined until July 14.. The ’51 National League playoff hero is replaced by a promising prospect named Hank Aaron.
1960 The Chicago White Sox become the first team to feature road uniforms with the players’ names on the back. The innovation by Sox owner Bill Veeck makes it easier for American League fans to identify the visiting Pale Hose.
1986 In a Royal pre-season game, Hal McRae (age 39) and his son Brian (age 18) play together against the Phillies. Kansas City manager Dick Howser refers to the event as the ‘Big Mac Attack’.
1997 In their first ever minor league spring training game, the Rays defeated Philadelphia, 6-0. John Kaufman, Tom Bergan, Matt Williams, and Jamie Ybarra combine to throw a no-hitter in the exhibition contest against the major league team.
2001 Throwing 22 strikes out of 29 pitches over two innings of shutout ball in his surprise start against the Mets at Roger Dean Stadium, Rick Ankiel makes his first appearance since the 2000 playoffs in which he loss his control throwing seven wild pitches in three postseason appearances.
2006 Three pitches into the top of the seventh inning, the stadium lights at Tradition Field partially fail. With fifty percent of the lights not functioning, the exhibition game is ended, after a 15-minute delay, with the Mets leading the Nationals, 10-4.
2006 Cal Ripken Jr., Kent Hrbek and others share humorous anecdotes during a lighthearted ceremony at the Metrodome honoring the memory of Kirby Puckett. A crowd of 15,000 Twins fans pay their final respect to their beloved Hall of Fame outfielder who died last week at age 45 following a stroke suffered the day before at his home in Arizona.
2008 Joining the ranks of Garth Brooks and Tom Selleck as celebrities who have appeared in an spring exhibition game, Billy Crystal strikes out in the first inning as the Yankees’ leadoff batter. The comedian, who sign a one-day contract with the Bronx Bombers, wears the number sixty in honor of his 60th birthday which is tomorrow.
2008 The pitching-poor Cardinals bolster their rotation by agreeing to a preliminary one-year deal with Kyle Lohse (9-12, 4.62). The 29-year old right-hander, who pitched the Reds and Phillies last season, will make $4.25 million hurling for the Redbirds.
2009 Pat Burrell takes out ads in two of Philadelphia’s largest newspapers to thank Phillies fans for their support during his nine years with the team. The 32-year old slugging outfielder signed a free-agent deal in the off-season with the Rays, the club the Phils beat in last season’s World Series.
Baseball Birthdays
March 13th
Hank Greenburg 1911