This Weekend in Baseball History
November 5th, 1996: Derek Jeter is the unanimous selection for American League Rookie of the Year. The 22-year-old shortstop helped lead the Yankees to their first World Series championship in 18 years and becomes the club's eighth to be so honored -- ending a 15 year gap since Dave Righetti in 1981.
November 5th, 1976: Jim Palmer, with 22 victories with an ERA of 2.51, wins his second consecutive AL Cy Young Award. The future Hall of Famer gets 19 of the 24 votes, with he others going to Tigers rookie standout Mark Fidrych.
November 5th, 1940: Walter Johnson's bid to build a political career fizzles out. The Senators longtime ace loses to incumbent William D. Byron in the election for Maryland's sixth congressional district.
November 6th, 2007: Greg Maddux wins a record 17th Gold Glove, breaking a tie with Brooks Robinson and veteran Jim Kaat for the most in a career. The future Hall of Famer, had been named the top fielding pitcher in the National League every year since 1990, except for 2003, when Mike Hampton of the Braves took the honor.
November 6th, 2007: General managers approve the limited use of video replays to determine questionable home run calls.
November 6th, 2002: Mike Scioscia, after leading the Angels to the club's first World Series championship, is named the American League Manager of the Year.
November 6th, 2002: Randy Johnson wins his fifth Cy Young Award, after winning 24, with 334 strikeouts, and a 2.32 ERA for the Diamondbacks. The future Hall of Famer is the first National League hurler since Dwight Gooden in 1985 to win the pitching equivalent of the triple crown.
November 6th, 2001: Commissioner Bud Selig receives approval to begin the process of eliminating two of the 30 major league franchises. While speculation centers on the Expos and Twins, contraction never takes place.
November 6th, 1984: Willie Hernandez of the World Champion Tigers joins Rollie Fingers as the only other relievers to win the MVP and the Cy Young Award the same season.
November 6th, 1955: Branch Rickey steps down as the Pirates executive vice president and general manager. After building winning organizations with the Cardinals and Brooklyn Dodgers, Rickey hadn't brought Pittsburgh back to contention -- though during his five-year tenure, he plants the seeds of future success. Rickey drafted Roberto Clemente out of the Dodger farm system and signed future Pittsburgh stars Bill Mazeroski, Dick Groat and Elroy Face.
November 7th, 2017: Roy Halladay is killed when his small, single-engine aircraft crashes off the Florida coast into the Gulf of Mexico. The two-time Cy Young winner and eight-time All-Star was just 40.
November 7th, 2007: Brad Lidge is traded by the Astros to the Phillies, where he'll post a career-best season and help lead his new team to its second World Championship. The five-player deal sends outfielder Michael Bourn and prospects to Houston.
November 7th, 1995: FOX signs a deal to become MLB's team partner, showing a Saturday game of the week, plus playoffs and the World Series.
November 7th, 1978: Jim Rice of the Red Sox edges out Yankee ace Ron Guidry for the American League MVP.
November 7th, 1972: Johnny Bench of the Reds -- after hitting .270 with 40 homers and 125 RBIs -- is named National League MVP for the second time. He joins Mickey Cochrane (1928 A's, 1934 Tigers), Yogi Berra (1951, '54, '55 Yankees), and Roy Campanella (1951, '53, '55 Dodgers) as the only catchers to win the award multiple times.
November 7th, 1964: The Braves receive permission to move the franchise to Atlanta, which they will, following a lame duck season in Milwaukee. A new multi-purpose stadium is being built to bring baseball to the Southeast, while lucrative broadcast and sponsorship deals are already in place.
The Braves biggest star, Hank Aaron expresses personal doubts about playing in the South, where racial equality was more a goal than reality. The Alabama native was a son of the old, ugly South, having grown up in the era of Jim Crow segregation. But as the best player on the team, Aaron's leadership on the field and in the community made it clear that baseball was part of the New South.
November 7th, 1963: Elston Howard (#32) of the pennant-winning Yankees becomes the first Black player to be voted the American League's Most Valuable Player. The all star catcher and gold glove recipient belted 28 homers and drove in 85 -- and held the lineup together in a season where Roger Maris missed more than 70 games and Mickey Mantle played in just 65. Howard continues the Yankees lockhold on the honor, following teammates (#9) Maris (1960-61) and Mickey Mantle (1962).
Comments