A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content. Happy birthday to Javier Assad* and other Cubs. JR Richard has a stroke, lots of players find new teams, and other stories.
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a light-hearted, Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past, with plenty of the lore and various narratives to follow as they unfold over the course of time. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow along.
“Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly.
Today in baseball history:
- 1916 – The New York Times Book Review pans Ring Lardner’s baseball novel You Know Me Al, recently published by George H. Doran Company at $1.25. The reviewer says “the author was for some time sporting writer on a Chicago newspaper, and so may be supposed to know his subject thoroughly, but for the honor of the ‘national game’ we trust that his ‘busher’ is not typical of the majority of its players […] As it contains many accounts of baseball games strung together on the thinnest possible thread of plot, it may please the ‘fans.’” Notwithstanding the poor review, the novel will be recognized in time as a classic. (2)
- 1933 – Cardinals pitcher Dizzy Dean sets a modern major league record striking out 17 Cubs. Teammate catcher Jimmie Wilson also sets a new mark recording 18 putouts. Burleigh Grimes, nine days short of his 40th birthday, is released by the Cubs and signs with the Cardinals. (1,2)
- 1943 – Phil Cavarretta of the Chicago Cubs homers off the RF foul pole against Johnny Allen of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The ball is retrieved and Bill Nicholson hits the next pitch out of Wrigley Field. The result: one ball, one pitcher, two pitches, two home runs. The Cubs go on to beat the Dodgers, 13-2. (2)
- 1951 – Ty Cobb testifies before the Emanuel Celler committee, denying that the reserve clause makes peons of baseball players. National Association President George Trautman testifies, denying that minors hampered independent teams. (1,2)
- 1952 – Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick sets a waiver rule to bar inter-league deals until all clubs bid with the club lowest in the league to get the first pick. He sets the price at $10,000. He also bars all other deals after July 31st. (1,2)
- 1962 – Homers by Leon Wagner, Pete Runnels and Rocky Colavito power the American League past the National League, 9-4, in the second All-Star Game of 1962, at Wrigley Field. (1,2)
- 1980 – Houston Astros pitcher J.R. Richard had a stroke during a workout at the Astrodome, and doctors removed a blood clot behind his right collarbone. Before the stroke, Richard had complained of a dead arm several times. He will never pitch in the major leagues again. (1,2)
- 1989 – Mark Grace belts a two-out three-run homer off Rick Aguilera to give the Cubs a 6-4 win over the Mets. Les Lancaster is the winner as the Cubs sweep three from the Mets. (2)
- 1990 – In a surprisingly harsh ruling, Commissioner Fay Vincent orders Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to resign as the club’s general partner by August 20th and bans him from day-to-day operation of the team for life. The ruling is a result of Steinbrenner’s $40,000 payment to confessed gambler Howie Spira for damaging information about since-traded Yankee star Dave Winfield. (1,2)
- 1993 – The Yankees obtain P Paul Assenmacher from the Cubs in a three-way deal which sees P John Habyan go to the Royals and OF Karl Rhodes to the Cubs. (2)
- 2001 – The Cubs get P David Weathers and P Roberto Miniel from the Brewers for P Ruben Quevedo and OF Peter Zoccolillo. (2)
- 2006 – Bruce Sutter, relief pitcher for the Cubs, Cardinals, and Braves, is inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. (2)
- 2009 – The Pirates are still busy house-cleaning, sending Ps John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny to the Cubs, one day after trading three players on their 25-man roster. The Pirates receive P Kevin Hart and Jose Ascanio and minor league infielder Josh Harrison from their NL Central rivals. (2)
- 2010 – Leading 5-2 over the Cubs in the bottom of the 8th, the Rockies turn the game into a laugher when they bang out 13 hits — a record 11 of them consecutively — to run away with a 17-2 win. The consecutive hits and 12 runs all come with two outs, starting with Carlos Gonzalez’s RBI single. Ian Stewart and Dexter Fowler hit two-run homers while Troy Tulowitzki doubles twice during the string. (2)
- 2012 – The Cubs are busy, trading C Geovany Soto to the Rangers for Double-A P Jacob Brigham, and P Paul Maholm and OF Reed Johnson to the Braves for Ps Arodys Vizcaino and Jaye Chapman. (2)
- 2017 – The Cubs obtain C Alex Avila and P Justin Wilson from the Tigers for Jeimer Candelario and Isaac Paredes. (2)
- 2021 – Players changing teams today include Kris Bryant, who goes to the Giants from the Cubs, who complete a veritable fire sale by sending SS Javier Baez to the Mets and closer Craig Kimbrel to the White Sox. (2)
Cubs birthdays: Tod Brynan, Bill Merritt, Paul Minner, Bill Moisan, Steve Trout, Scott Fletcher, Todd Haney, Calvin Murray, Javier Assad*. Also notable: Casey Stengel HOF.
Today in History:
- 101 BC – Battle of Vercellae: Roman army under Gaius Marius defeats the Cimbri in Cisalpine Gaul, ending the Celto-Germanic threat on Italy’s border with over 100,000 Cimbri killed.
- 1419 – First Defenestration of Prague: Anti-Catholic Hussites, followers of executed reformer Jan Hus, storm Prague Town Hall and throw the judge, mayor, and several city council members out the windows. They die in the fall or are killed by the crowd outside.
- 1733 – Society of Freemasons opens first American lodge in Boston.
- 1928 – George Eastman shows the first amateur color motion pictures to guests at his New York house, including Thomas Edison.
- 1975 – US Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa disappears in suburban Detroit; Hoffa legally declared dead in 1982.
Common sources:
- (1) — Today in Baseball History.
- (2) — Baseball Reference.
- (3) — Society for American Baseball Research.
- (4) — Baseball Hall of Fame.
- (5) — This Day in Chicago Cubs history.
- (6) — Wikipedia.
- (7) — The British Museum.
- For world history.
*pictured.
Things are as near to the truth as we can get them. Some of these items spread from site to site without being fact-checked, and that is why we ask for verifiable sources, so that we can correct the record, if need be.
That said, this is for fun, and there are limits. Thanks for reading.