⚾ On This Day in MLB History ⚾

mjp28

August 15. Again from baseball-almanac Fast/Facts.

1889 - The ★ Cleveland Spiders win 19-8 over the Boston Beaneaters, and become the first team in National League history to score in all nine innings of a single game.
1916 - In a classic pitching duel, Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox beat Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators, 1-0, in 13 innings at Fenway Park.
1939 - The White Sox beat the Browns 5-2 in the first night game at Comiskey Park. Johnny Rigney is the winner.
1945 - Commissioner Happy Chandler sells World Series radio rights for $150,000 to Gillette. Ford had been the World Series sponsor since 1934 paying $100,000 annually.
1955 - Pitcher Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves hit a home run off Mel Wright of the St. Louis Cardinals to give Spahn a home run in every National League park.
1964 - Mayor Daley declares "Ernie Banks Day" in Chicago and 26,000 fans cheer the Cubs' slugger. Banks then goes hitless as Pittsburgh wins 5-4.
1975 - Baltimore manager Earl Weaver was ejected twice by umpire Ron Luciano. Weaver was thrown out in the first game and was again before the second game of a doubleheader.
1983 - Braves slugger Bob Horner, who was hitting .303 with 20 home runs and 68 RBI, breaks his right wrist sliding into second base during a 4-0 loss to the Padres and will be sidelined for the rest of the season. In Atlanta, the injury is widely attributed to the ♠︎ "Chief Noc-A-Homa Jinx," ♠︎. In which seems to strike whenever the Braves remove their mascot's outfield teepee in order to sell more tickets.nd
1987 - At the Pan American games in Indianapolis, the U.S.A. and Cuba are tied with two outs in the ninth when Ty Griffin hits a two-run home run to win it. For Cuba it is their first loss in twenty years of Pan Am competition.
1989 - In his second start since returning to the major leagues after cancer treatment, Giants southpaw Dave Dravecky who played college ball at YSU breaks his pitching arm while throwing to Tim Raines in the sixth inning of a 3-2 San Francisco win. Dravecky will not pitch again in the major leagues. Sad story getting his arm amputated at the shoulder but still trying to play.

~And finally. ~

- 1990 - Philadelphia's Terry Mulholland pitched the record eighth no-hitter of the season as the Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-0. The season's eighth no-hitter surpassed the modern record of seven set in 1908 and 1917.

mjp28

August 16.

1920 - At the Polo Grounds ★ Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman, 29, is beaned by a Carl Mays pitch. A right-handed batter who crowds the plate, Chapman freezes and fails to get out of the way of the submarine delivery. He is carried from the field .and he dies the next day from a fractured skull.
1927 - Babe Ruth inaugurates the newly-constructed Comiskey Park grandstand roof by cranking a Tommy Thomas pitch over the addition
1954 - In a throwing contest between Jim Piersall and Willie Mays before a Red Sox-Giants charity game in Boston, Piersall hurts his arm. He starts the game but leaves midway. He wakes up the following morning with a sore arm that stays with him a year, and he will never throw quite as well again.
1964 - Curt Flood of the St. Louis Cardinals eight straight hits in a doubleheader against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers won the first game 3-0 and the Cardinals took the second, 4-0.
1964 - Sandy Koufax (19-5) hurts his elbow sliding into second base in a 3-0 win against St. Louis. He will miss the rest of the season. In the nightcap,

■~~~~~to be continued ~~~~~>

mjp28

August 17.

1920 — ★ Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman died from a beaning by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees on Aug. 16. This was the only on-field fatality in major league history.

1933 — Earl Averill of the ★ Cleveland Indians hit for the cycle in a 15-4 rout of the Philadelphia Athletics.

1933 — New York’s Lou Gehrig played in his 1,308th straight game to break Everett Scott’s record of 1,307. Gehrig’s single and triple didn’t prevent the last-place St. Louis Browns from beating the Yankees 7-6 in 10 innings at Sportsman’s Park.

1944 — Johnny Lindell of the New York Yankees hit four consecutive doubles in a 10-3 victory over the ★ Cleveland Indians.

1980 — George Brett went 4-for-4, raising his batting average to .401, in an 8-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Brett drove in five runs and extended his hitting streak to 29 consecutive games.

1980 — Al Oliver of Texas hit four home runs — one in the opener and three in the nightcap — as the Rangers swept a doubleheader from the Detroit Tigers, 9-3 and 12-6. Oliver also had a double and triple in the opener, giving him 21 total bases which tied the American League record for a doubleheader.

And a bunch of players hit for the cycle.....not much more from this service.

mjp28

August 18. Lodged in pocket ? What ? NO Indians highlights today.

1892 - In the course of a 13-4 win over Baltimore, Browns left fielder Cliff Carroll attempts to field a ground ball. He misjudges it, and the ball becomes lodged in his shirt pocket. Before he can extricate it, the Oriole batter makes it to third base. St. Louis owner Chris Von der Ahe is so incensed that he fines Carroll $50 and suspends him without pay for the rest of the season. The league rejects Carroll's appeal.
1931 - Lou Gehrig is hitless in Detroit, as he plays his 1,000th consecutive game. He is 307 short of Everett Scott's record streak.
1959 - Branch Rickey resigns as chairman of the Pirates to become president of the Continental League, which never plays a game.
1965 - Hank Aaron of Milwaukee hit Curt Simmons' pitch on top of the pavilion roof at Sportman's Park in St. Louis for an apparent home run. However, umpire Chris Pelekoudas called him out for being out of the batter's box when he connected. Nevertheless, the Braves won the game 6-2.
1967 - A baseball tragedy occurs when Tony Conigliaro of the Red Sox is beaned by the Angels' Jack Hamilton. Hit on the left cheekbone, just below the eye socket, Conigliaro will miss the rest of 1967 and all of 1968. He was hitting .267 with 20 home runs and 67 RBI in 95 games. I remember that, his picture was in the local paper, awful. Kind of ruined his career.
1982 - Pete Rose of the Philadelphia Phillies made his 13,941st plate appearance in a 5-3 victory over the Houston Astros to move into first place on the career list ahead of Hank Aaron.
1982 - The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 2-1 in a 21-inning game. It was the second longest game in Cubs' history and took two days to complete.
1983 - In the continuation of the ★Pine Tar Game, Hal McRae strikes out and Dan Quisenberry retires the Yankees in order in the bottom of the ninth to preserve Kansas City's 5-4 victory. The conclusion takes just 12 minutes (and 16 pitches) and, as the only game scheduled at the Stadium, is witnessed by a crowd of 1,245.

And finally......

1989 - Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. plays in his number 1,208 consecutive game to move past Steve Garvey into third place on the all-time list.

mjp28

August 19. And my old site is finally back, woo-hoo.

1911 - Thirty-five thousand gather at the not-yet-completed Polo Grounds to watch the Reds finally get to Christy Mathewson after 22 straight losses, beating him for the first time since May 1908.

1917 - Coaching at third base in a 1 - 1 game against Washington, Ty Cobb gives baserunner George Burns a shove when Burns stops at third on a long hit; Burns keeps going and scores the winning run. Clark Griffith protests, and Ban Johnson upholds him, as the rules now ban coaches from touching a runner. The game is replayed, and Washington wins, 2 - 0.
1918 - Walter Johnson beats St. Louis, 4 - 3, in 14 innings. The Big Train will work in 15 extra-inning games, including two of 18 innings, one of 16 innings, and another of 15 innings.
1920 ★ - The ★ Indians beat New York, 3 - 2. They leave town with a half-game lead over Chicago and 1 1/2 over the Yankees, in what will be the tightest race since 1908.
1921 - At the age of 34, Ty Cobb becomes the youngest player to collect 3000 hits when he singles off Red Sox hurler Elmer Myers. Ty Cobb was in a lot of highlights back then.
1941 - Pittsburgh Pirates manager Frankie Frisch is ejected by umpire Jocko Conlan from the second game of a doubleheader when he appears on the field with an umbrella to protest the playing conditions at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field. The rainy argument is later portrayed in a famous oil painting by artist Norman Rockwell.
1950:The Gillette Safety Razor Co. pays $800,000 for TV rights to the World Series. Radio rights will add another $175,000 more.
1951 - Wearing uniform number 1/8, forty-three inch tall Eddie Gaedel walks on four pitches from Bob Cain in his only major league appearance. Bill Veeck's idea of playing the midget was legal at the time but is later outlawed.
1957 - The New York Giants Board of Directors votes 9 - 1 in favor of moving the team to San Francisco.

1962 - ★ Cleveland Indians President Mike Wilson dies at age 74.

1969: - John Hollison dies in Chicago at age 99. He was the last surviving major league pitcher to throw from a mound 50 feet from home plate. He pitched in one game in 1892.

1983 - The Dodgers trade pitchers Dave Stewart and Ricky Wright to Texas for star pitcher Rick Honeycutt, who is 14-8 with an American League-best 2.42 ERA for the Rangers. Honeycutt will go 2-3 down the stretch for the Dodgers, but still wins the AL ERA title because his 174 2/3 innings pitched were already enough to qualify.

~And finally. ~

2009 - ★ Cliff Lee continues to dominate since the Phillies acquired him from Cleveland at the trading deadline. He pitches a two-hitter in an 8 - 1 win over Arizona, after taking a no-hitter into the 6th inning. It is his 4th win and 2nd complete game in four starts since the trade.

mjp28

August 20. Fighting, court stuff and a lot of unusual things in baseball today.

1915: - The Giants purchase the contract of George Kelly from Victoria for $1200. Kelly is the nephew of Bill Lange, 1890s star of the Chicago Nationals.
- The White Sox obtain Joe Jackson from ★ Cleveland in exchange for OF Braggo Roth, OF Larry Chappell, P Ed Klepfer, and $31,500 . Roth will lead the American League in homers this year at 7.
- 1923 - A four-piece bat used by Babe Ruth is banned by American League president Ban Johnson because of the glue used on it. A protest is made against the Browns' Ken Williams for using a bat with a wooden plug in it. Johnson rules that all bats must be one piece with nothing added except tape extending to 18 inches up the handle.
- 1931: - Tony Freitas, who will win 342 minor league games, is let out of jail to pitch for Sacramento (Pacific Coast League). wins, then returns to finish a 5 day sentence for speeding.
  - At St. Louis, Lou Gehrig hits his 33rd homer in the 4th to tie Babe Ruth for the major league lead, but the Babe answers in the 9th with his 34th, a grand slam over the RF roof, to give the Yanks a 7 - 3 win over the Browns. Lefty Gomez almost has New York's first shutout of the season,
  - 1938: - Remember this one. At Union ★ Terminal Tower, Frankie Pytlak and Hank Helf, catchers for the ★ Indians, establish record for catching baseballs dropped from a high altitude. The balls fall an estimated. 708 feet and travel an average speed of 140 mph during their 52-floor descent from ★ Cleveland's enduring landmark, the second-tallest building in the world.
  - 1938 - Lou Gehrig hits a 1st-inning grand slam, the 23rd and last of his career, setting a record that will last until 2013.
  - 1948 - ★ The largest crowd (78,382) ever to attend a night game sees ★ Satchel Paige become the fourth consecutive Indian to throw a shutout. The ageless wonder joins Gene Bearden, Sam Zoldak and Bob Lemon in blanking the opposition.
  - 1960 - ★ Ted Williams draws the 2,000th walk of his career in the Red Sox's split of a twi-night doubleheader with Baltimore. Williams joins Babe Ruth as the only batters to collect 2,000 walks. The Splendid Splinter also clouts home runs number 514 and 515 in the first game, an 8 - 6 Boston win. The O's win the nightcap, 6 - 0, but drop into 3rd place, two games behind the 1st-place Yanks.

1966: - Birdie Tebbetts (66-57) resigns as manager of the ★ Indians. George Strickland is named interim boss.
- 1966 - Gaylord Perry is the first 20-game winner of the year, pitching the Giants into first place with a 6 - 1 win against the Braves.
- 1971 - Ferguson Jenkins wins his 20th, beating Houston, 3 - 2. The win pulls the Cubs to 4 1/2 behind Pittsburgh. But following two losses to Houston, Leo Durocher and the players will square off in a clubhouse meeting on the 23rd. Durocher accuses Ron Santo of demanding that the team give him a day, and the third sacker has to be restrained from going after Leo. Leo will finally lip an. "I quit", but stay on through the season in a frosty relationship with the team.
- 1974 - Nolan Ryan of the California Angels whiffs 19 Tigers in a 1 - 0, 11-inning loss to the Tigers. It is the third time the "Ryan Express" has struck out 19 batters in one game this season. Ryan throws a ball clocked at 100.9 mph. making it the fastest pitch ever thrown in major league baseball.
1978 - At Shea Stadium, Dodger Blue becomes black and blue as pitcher Don Sutton and first baseman Steve Garvey begin fighting in the clubhouse prior to their 5 - 4 victory over the Mets.
1980: - George Brett pushes his average to .406 with a 3 for 3 outing in a 5 - 3 win over Texas.
- 1993 - The ★ Indians trade OF Glenallen Hill to the Cubs for OF Candy Maldonado.
- 1996 - ★ The Indians defeat the Rangers, 10 - 4, behind their powerful middle of the lineup: Manny Ramirez hits a grand slam, Albert Belle has a homer and two triples, and Jim Thome homers.
- ~ And finally. ~
2000 - ★ The Indians defeat the Mariners, 12 - 4, in a game delayed by a rogue squirrel. The loss is the 7th in a row in which Seattle has surrendered at least nine runs, tying a 99 year old MLB record set by the New York Giants on September 3-6, 1901. The Giants lost seven in a row allowing 10+ runs in each.

mjp28

August 24. Oh those rowdy old-timers at it again.

1901 - Irate Boston fans jump on umpire Joe Cantillon after a call goes against the Americans. Chick Stahl and Ted Lewis rescue the umpire.

1904 - In Chicago, Christy Mathewson blanks the Cubs on three hits and the Giants defeat Buttons Briggs, 3 - 0. The second game is called after 10 innings with the score 2 - 2. Chicago fans show their feelings towards the Giants by tossing bottles onto the field. RF George Browne is hit on the leg and is almost hit in the head while chasing a fly ball. John McGraw tells ump Bob Emslie that he will not allow his team to continue play until all the broken glass is cleared, and by the time that occurs it is too dark to continue play.

1910 - Atop the Washington Monument, White Sox pitcher Ed Walsh throws 23 balls before C Billy Sullivan snares one, then catches two more, 555 feet below. It duplicates Gabby Street's catch of August 21, 1908. The estimated speed of the ball is 161 feet per second oh those crazy old-timers.

■~~~~~> to be continued again later ~~~~~>

mjp28

August 27. - Happy Birthday Big Jim!

I901 - At Boston, Cy Young goes 15 innings to defeat Detroit, 2 - 1, for his 25th win of the year.

1929 - Rogers Hornsb. y has four hits and Sheriff Blake allows six to lead the Cubs to a 4 - 1 win over the Reds. Chicago now leads by 14 1/2 games, the greatest lead a National League team has enjoyed at this stage since the 1906 Cubs.

1938 - Joe DiMaggio has three triples in the first game of a doubleheader with ★ Cleveland, an 8 - 7 win in New York. Monte Pearson has a no-hitter in the second game, winning his tenth straight game, 13

1939 - In the second 1939 East-West Game, Josh Gibson drives in four and Ed Stone gets three hits to lead a 10 - 2 rout by the East.

1950: - The z★ Indians' Ray Boone and Clyde Vollmer of the Red Sox match grand slams today. Boone's comes in the seven-run 3rd to give ★ Bob Feller a 7 - 0 cushion. Vollmer's pinch slam against Al Benton in the Sox's six-run 7th helps Boston to an 11 - 9 win. It is the Red Sox's ninth slam of the season.

1955 - Dodger bonus baby Sandy Koufax fans 14 Redlegs in a 7 - 0 win, as the two-team total of 23 strikeouts ties a record.

1957 - Stan Musial, swinging at a 4th-inning pitch, tears a muscle and chips a bone ending his consecutive game streak. Four days later he will pinch-run in a game suspended on July 21st, officially giving him 895 consecutive games played.

1961: - Detroit's ★ Rocky Colavito ties an American League record with four home runs - three in the second game, in a doubleheader pummeling of the Senators, 7 - 4 and 10 - 1 at Washington.

1965: - The amazing Roberto Clemente - When one hears of a runner being "cut down going from first to third", what immediately springs to mind is probably not the following scenario, enacted in Houston's Astrodome by Pirate right fielder Roberto Clemente and recounted by The Sporting News' Les Biederman: "Clemente made an almost unheard-of assist in this game. With runners on first and second and Pirates charging for the plate, Bob Lillis pushed a bunt into the vacated shortstop position for one run. Walter Bond tried to go from first to third but Clemente, sizing up the situation quickly, came in from right field..." Second baseman Bill Mazeroski recalls: "Roberto raced in from right field, dove for the ball, and with his face in the dirt threw out the runner going to third base!" The dumbfounded Bond becomes the 8th frame's first out while Rusty Staub scores from second, building Houston's lead to two. Two more will score before the inning ends and yet another two in the top of the 9th. The Bucs then mount a furious 9th-inning comeback.

1997 - In honor of first baseman ★ Jim Thome's birthday, the ★ Indians begin pulling up their socks to just below the knees. The Tribe will win 17 of 27 games en route to clinching the American League Central flag while sporting this new look.

1999 - The ★ Indians take out some insurance, picking up DH Harold Baines from the Orioles for P Juan Aracena and a player to be named.

~ And finally. ~

Birthdays today - 1970 - Jim Thome, infielder; All-Star.

mjp28

I'm taking a break from "This Day in Baseball" ive been busy with football and other personal items.

Will return soon !

mjp28

...... edit 9/10..... Well before the season is over, 24 games left.

And now. ----to continue ---->

FairHooker11

Joe Carter came over from the cubs with Mel Hall in a trade for Rick Suttcliff I think?

just reminds me that the Indians had / HAVE top notch scouts who found guys like these.

Reminds me also of the huge haul we took from then Montreal trading (our draft pick) Bartolo Colon for

Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips - who later became trade bait with Cinci..

mjp28

@fairhooker11 said:

Joe Carter came over from the cubs with Mel Hall in a trade for Rick Suttcliff I think?

just reminds me that the Indians had / HAVE top notch scouts who found guys like these.

Reminds me also of the huge haul we took from then Montreal trading (our draft pick) Bartolo Colon for

Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips - who later became trade bait with Cinci..

I remember how the Cleveland manager at the time on a talk show said Philips was a trouble maker and he had to go.....but the rest of the deal was great.

At the time I liked Colon but the deal turned out well. Colon went on to pitch for a long time.

mjp28

September 16. And oh those rowdy old-timers. Some day for a return.

1903 - The Boston Americans whip Cleveland, scoring in each of the eight innings they bat to win, 14 - 7. Boston collects 23 hits to Cleveland's 12.
1920: - Chicago's Dickie Kerr tops the Yankees, 8 - 3, the loss dropping New York to 2nd place behind ★ Cleveland.
- Duster Mails delivers for the ★ Indians, canceling the Senators, 1 - 0,r his 4th win without a loss. Joe Sewell the lone run.
- 1922 - Pennant fever rages in St. Louis, as the Yankees come to town with a half-game lead. Bob Shawkey outpitches Urban Shocker, 2 - 1, as George Sisler ties Ty Cobb's 1911 record by hitting in his 40th straight game. While chasing a fly ball in the 9th, New York OF Whitey Witt is hit in the head and knocked cold by a soda bottle thrown from the bleachers. Ban Johnson will initially offer a $1,000 reward for the name of the bottle-thrower. Then, to calm the crowds, the American League offers the theory that Witt stepped on the bottle and it flew up and hit him. The incident leads to a ban on the sale of bottled drinks in ballparks.

1923 - The Cubs lose, 10 - 6, to the Giants in Chicago, despite the hitting of Hack Miller who collects three doubles and a triple. A riot occurs in the 8th inning when umpire Charlie Moran makes an out call at second base on Sparky Adams, Moran is pelted by hundreds of pop bottles ★ Judge Landis, in attendance at the game, shakes his cane at the angry mob and play is held up for 15 minutes. John McGraw and the umpires need a police escort at the conclusion.

1930 - Brooklyn's collapse begins. The Cardinals tie for first place when Bill Hallahan outduels Dazzy Vance, 1 - 0, in 10 innings. Flint Rhem returns to the Cardinals with an improbable story that he was kidnapped by gamblers and forced to. drink bootleg whiskey.
1940: - A ruhurb at Ebbets Field results in a suspension and fine for Leo Durocher for "inciting a riot." Perhaps better known from the game is the photo showing an obese Brooklyn fan astride George Magerkurth, pummeling the veteran umpire.

1948 - Joe DiMaggio. (the old time All Stars) hits his 300th career home run, joining Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mel Ott, Jimmie Foxx, Rogers Hornsby, Chuck Klein and Hank Greenberg as the only major leaguers to reach this milestone.
1951 - At Yankee Stadium, Joe DiMaggio's long triple off ★ Bob Feller scores two runs in the 5th and Allie Reynolds holds on for a 5 - 1 New York win. The Yanks take over first place for good by a margin of .003 over ★ Cleveland.
1969 - Juan Marichal blanks the Braves, 2 - 0, as the Giants regain first place.

1987 - ★ Cleveland's Joe Carter joins the 30/30 club, stealing his 30th base of the season in a 5 - 3 loss to Seattle.

2008 - In the last homestand at ♠︎.Yankee Stadium, Derek Jeter passes Lou Gehrig for the most career hits at the storied ballpark. He collects his 1,270th hit in the venue.

Births

1955 - Robin Yount, infielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer
1958 - Orel Hershiser, pitcher; All-Star
1959 - Tim Raines, outfielder; All-Star

FairHooker11

@mjp28 said:

I remember how the Cleveland manager at the time on a talk show said Philips was a trouble maker and he had to go.....but the rest of the deal was great.

At the time I liked Colon but the deal turned out well. Colon went on to pitch for a long time.

thinking Hargrove (without a google dive) - because of dealing with Albert Belle?

mjp28

@fairhooker11 said:

thinking Hargrove (without a google dive) - because of dealing with Albert Belle?

Absolutely Hargrove when they used to have those Indians Roundtable type shows on the various TV networks that covered the Tribe.

I missed those shows, 4 or more guys sitting around and talking Indians and sports stories......and the different announcers and guests. Some great stuff.

mjp28

@fairhooker11 said:

thinking Hargrove (without a google dive) - because of dealing with Albert Belle?

Absolutely Hargrove when they used to have those Indians Roundtable type shows on the various TV networks that covered the Tribe.

I miss those shows, 4 or more guys sitting around and talking Indians and sports stories......and the different announcers and guests. Some great stuff.

mjp28

On the top 10 trades in Cleveland Indians history according to one source shows :

10. Tito Francona Arrives....the father, a big reason we have Tito the manager now.

Date: March 21, 1959....I was 8 years old, saw my first Cleveland Indians game that year. Some extra trivia for you.
Trade Partner: Detroit Tigers
Players Acquired: Tito Francona
Players Traded: Larry Doby. ~ AND ~

3. Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Phillips Arrive

Date: June 27, 2002
Trade Partner: Montreal Expos
Players Acquired: Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips and Lee Stevens
Players Traded: Bartolo Colon and Tim Drew

In terms of how many quality players the Indians received in return, the haul Cleveland picked up in exchange for young ace Bartolo Colon in 2002 is their greatest ever. And while those players helped make up the core of a successful stretch of baseball, they were never able to put it all together and win the American League. Colon, who was a key member of Cleveland's 1997 World Series team, had become one of baseball's premier young pitchers in the early 2000s, and with that, would command a large contract in free agency after the 2003 season. The Indians opted to leverage his skills against the future, trading him to the Expos for three prospects to signal a total rebuild."We are clearly moving to a total rebuilding process aimed at 2004 and 2005," said Mark Shapiro, Cleveland's general manager. "We had to consider players who could bring back multiple pieces, so we can contend in that time frame" (Ocker, 2002).

Each prospect Cleveland received in return was highly touted, though the younger players in the deal would have the most impact in the 90+ win seasons of 2005 and '07.

Infielder Brandon Phillips had just been promoted to Triple-A before the trade, and Shapiro believed he had the athleticism to play second base, third base or shortstop. Phillips hit just .206 with the Indians, however, and was traded to the Reds, where he eventually became an All-Star and Gold Glove winner.
Pitcher Cliff Lee was leading the Eastern League with 105 strikeouts and was a Double-A All-Star when the trade was made. Six Cleveland scouts watched him, and he was projected as a No. 3 starter. He instead became the ace of the staff and won the 2008 Cy Young Award. Lee was 83–48 in eight years with the Indians before signing a $120 million contract with the Phillies.
Outfielder Grady Sizemore was Montreal's No. 3 prospect, despite only being in Class A. "This is a multi-tool guy who is doing a heck of a job competing in the Florida State League," Shapiro said. "We think he's a hitter of the Trot Nixon or Brad Wilkerson type" (Ocker, 2002). Once again, the Indians sold him short. Sizemore became arguably the best all-around player in baseball from 2006–08, as a three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winneColon went 10–4 down the stretch in 2002, but the Expos finished 19 games out of first place as runners-up in the East Division. He was traded to the White Sox after the season, and eventually developed a cult following by pitching through 2018 when he was 46 years old.

mjp28

OK you've seen #10 and #3 do you agree with that ? So who's #1 ?

A lot of the top ever trades were involved in the rebuilding of the once great Cleveland Indians into the 90s Indians dynasty and has carried over even to today’s well Guardians.

(And the unnecessary rebranding the INDIANS into something else. Fortunately the Tribe FO and manager Tito Francona have made a rebuilding year into an ALC contender......but that's another story.)

So who is (are) the Number 1 trade in Cleveland INDIANS history ? Visual ? Lofton ? Belle ? What do you think ?

1. Sandy Alomar Jr., Carlos Baerga Arrive

Date: Dec. 6, 1989 .... note the date 1989, Ol' Muni to Jacobs transition, pre-90s, low payroll, Lofton, Thome, others at near league minimums.
Trade Partner: San Diego Padres
Players Acquired: Carlos Baerga, Sandy Alomar Jr. and Chris James
Players Traded: Joe Carter ..... what ? Trade Joe Carter ? Are you nuts ? (no)

Joe Carter was one of several big bats in the middle of Cleveland's lineup in the late 1980s, but that offensive punch was not enough to turn the Indians into a winner. San Diego, meanwhile, was among the National League's top contenders but finished 1989 in the bottom half of the rankings when it came to scoring runs. That made the teams logical trade partners, and they put together a big deal after the 1989 season that saw the Indians reap rewards for years to come.

Trading away Carter wasn't the most popular decision at the time, considering he had blasted 151 home runs and stole 126 bases in six seasons as one of the American League's top up-and-coming stars. But catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. and second baseman Carlos Baerga were the first two building blocks in the foundation of arguably the greatest run of success in franchise history, which makes this the greatest trade the Indians ever made. Baerga had yet to appear in the Majors and Alomar had just eight games of Big League experience, but both became impactful rookies in 1990 (with Alomar taking Rookie of the Year honors) and for many seasons to come.

"I'll say this about Cleveland; they certainly. scouted us well. They got two of the best prospects in our organization," said Jack McKeon, San Diego's manager and vice president for baseball operations. "Our scouts were against giving up Carlos Baerga. When you get Joe Carter, though, you are going to have to give up something" (AP, 1989).

Alomar, who was blocked by Benito Santiago in San Diego, garnered a lot of interest from other teams after the Indians acquired him, but they ended up getting 11 seasons and six All-Star game appearances out of him. Baerga, meanwhile, teamed up with shortstop Omar Vizquel to form one of the best defensive middle infields in baseball history, and made three All-Star teams himself throughout his 6 1/2 years with the Indians. Chris James was also acquired in the trade, and was a solid contributor for Cleveland in 1990 and '91.

The deal didn't pan out as well for the Padres, who finished 75–87 in 1990 despite 162 games and 27 home runs from Carter. After the season, Carter was involved in an even bigger trade, which also was a losing deal for San Diego. The Padres sent Carter and Roberto Alomar to the Blue Jays in exchange for Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez. By 1993, the Padres were losers of 101 games, while the Blue Jays were back-to-back World Series champions.

mjp28

September 22. Some memorable events and moments in MLB.

1911 - Cy Young, at age 44, beats the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1 - 0, for his 511th and final major league. victory.
1925 - Burleigh Grimes of the Brooklyn Robins accounts for seven outs in just three plate appearances. The Dodgers pitcher hits into two double plays, then into a triple play.
1986 - Fernando Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers becomes the first Mexican pitcher to win 20 games in the majors.
1993: - Pitcher ● Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers faces just three Seattle batters before hurting his right elbow in what turns out to be the last appearance of his career. Ryan finishes with 324 wins, 5,714 strikeouts and seven no-hitters.
2000 - The major league record for home runs allowed in a season is 50, set by Minnesota's Bert Blyleven in 1986.
● 2013 - With most of the interest now focused on the wild card races, the ★ Indians compete a four-game sweep of the Astros with a 9 - 2 win to hold on to one of the two spots available in the American League. The Indians become the first team since the 1961 Yankees to record six four-game sweeps in one season.

2015 - Hall of Fame catcher ★ Yogi Berra, winner of three MVP Awards who also holds the all-time record by playing in 14 World Series, passes away at age 90. He is just as famous for his aphorisms, and one of them is appropriate for the occasion: "You should always go to other people's funerals, otherwise, they won't come to yours."

Births

1920 - Bob Lemon, pitcher, manager; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 2000)
1927 - Tommy Lasorda, pitcher, manager; Hall of Famer (d. 2021)
1960 - Mark Hirschbeck, umpire from ● Boardman, Ohio.
1995 - James Karinchak, pitcher.

Deaths

2015 - Yogi Berra, catcher, manager; All-Star, Hall of Fame (b. 1925)

mjp28

October 14. The World Series time.

1908: - Before the smallest crowd in World Series history (6,210), the host Detroit Tigers are tamed on three hits by Orval Overall, who strikes out 10 in a 2 - 0 triumph. The Chicago Cubs win the World Series in five games. Upset over seating arrangements at the World Series, sports reporters form a professional group that will become the Baseball Writers Association of America.
1911 - The Philadelphia Athletics go into the World Series minus their star rookie first baseman Stuffy McInnis. The veteran Harry Davis replaces him and drives in the first run as Chief Bender tries again to outpitch Christy Mathewson. The New York Giants are dressed in the same black uniforms they wore in their 1905 conquest of the Athletics, and this Series starts as their last meeting ended: Mathewson wins it, 2 - 1. The largest crowd ever to watch a ball game - 38,281 - is at the Polo Grounds. Gate receipts are $77,379.
1965 - Sandy Koufax pitches his second shutout to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 2 - 0 victory over the Minnesota Twins and the World Series in seven games.
1968 - The National League holds an expansion draft for two new teams: the Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres. The list of players taken in the draft includes future Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm and notables like Nate Colbert, Donn Clendenon, Cito Gaston, Dave Giusti, Mudcat Grant, Al McBean, Manny Mota and Maury Wills. The American League will hold its draft tomorrow.

2016 -★ The Indians win Game 1 of the ALCS, 2 - 0, over the Blue Jays, behind the combined ★ pitching of Corey Kluber, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen. Francisco Lindor accounts for both runs with a homer off Marco Estrada in the 6th.
2017:
- The Astros take a two games to none lead in the ALCS with a 2 - 1 defeat of the Yankees in Game 2. Justin Verlander pitches a masterful complete game and the Astros score the winning run in the bottom of the 9th as Jose Altuve runs all the way from first base on a double to right by Carlos Correa off Aroldis Chapman.