This Weekend in Baseball History


November 12th, 2013: Clint Hurdle, who guided the Pirates to their first winning record in 21 years and pushed the Cardinals to the limit in the Division Series, is named the National League Manager of the Year.


November 12th, 2001: Albert Pujols, after hitting .329 with 37 home runs and 130 RBI, is named the National League Rookie of the Year.


November 12th, 1986: Roger Clemens, after going  24-4 record with 238 strikeouts and a 2.48 ERA, becomes the second unanimous winner of the AL Cy Young Award. He joins Denny McLain, who earned it for winning 31 games in 1968.


November 12th, 1956: Mickey Mantle, off his Triple Crown season (.353 BA, 52 HR, 130 RBI), is unanimously named the American League MVP.

The Mick would also win the MVP award in 1962.

His greatest game in that famous '56 season came on May 24th, an 11-4 Yankees win in Detroit. Mantle went 5-for-5, including a home run, and raised his batting average to .421.



November 12th, 1920: Federal judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis is named the first Commissioner of Major Leagues Baseball. His mission it to clean up the game's image in the wake of the Black Sox scandal. While deserving credit for that, his reputation was tarnished for his overt racism and blocking any chance for Negro League players to be signed by American or National League clubs.

Only after his death in 1944, under Commissioner Happy Chandler, did baseball grudgingly integrate. 

November 13th, 2008: Nick Swisher is traded to the Yankees by the White Sox in a five-player deal consisting mainly of prospects. The affable son of former Cubs catcher Steve Swisher will enjoy four productive seasons in New York.

 

November 13th, 2006: The Mets hold the groundbreaking ceremony for Citi Field. Located across the parking lot from Shea Stadium, the new venue will open in time for the 2009 season. 


November 13th, 1995: Greg Maddux, after going 19-2 season for the World Champion Braves, earns the 1995 National League Cy Young Award -- and becomes the only hurler to win it four consecutive seasons!


November 13th, 1984: Ryne Sandberg is named the National League MVP, becoming the first Cub to win the honor since Ernie Banks, 25 years earlier.


November 13th, 1979: Willie Stargell of the Pirates and Keith Hernandez of the Cardinals share the National League MVP award after finishing tied in the voting among writers.


November 13th, 1978: Luis Tiant leaves the Red Sox and signs a two-year free agent deal with the Yankees.


November 14th, 2019: Mike Trout of the Angels wins his third American League MVP, in a narrow win over Houston's Alex Bregman.


November 14th, 2013: Andrew McCutchen, after leading the Pirates to their first post-season appearance in 21 years, wins the National League MVP award.


November 14th, 2011: Mike Matheny is named to replace Tony LaRussa as Cardinals manager. Two years later, he'd lead them to the National League pennant.


November 14th, 1986: Just weeks after the Mets won the World Series, Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon buy out Doubleday Publishing's stake in the ballclub for $80 million.


November 14th, 1973: Reggie Jackson of the World Champion A's is the unanimous winner of the American League MVP.


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