A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content, gathered from reputable sources. The Tokyo Series that wasn’t, and other stories for the discerning reader. Happy birthday to Jose Vizcaino* and other Cubs!
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:
- 1919 – With major league spring training again delayed in an attempt to cut down expenses, the Cardinals open training in St. Louis at Washington University’s Francis Field. (2)
- 1947 – Cleveland manager Lou Boudreau orders Jackie Price off the train at San Diego after Price lets loose two five-foot-long snakes on the trip from Los Angeles. A coach full of women returning from the American Bowling Congress are extremely upset by the prank. After Indians owner Bill Veeck says “either the snakes go or Price goes,” the 35-year-old infielder’s days are numbered. (2)
- 1951 – In an exhibition game at the University of Southern California, Mickey Mantle propels a home run estimated at 654 to 660 feet. The shot clears Bovard Field and then goes the width of a practice football field before landing. Mantle has two homers, a bases-loaded triple, and drives in seven runs as the Yankees flunk the Trojans, 15-1. (2)
- 1979 – The San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants announce that the 1980 exhibition series between the two teams will be played in Tokyo, Japan. Nevertheless, Giants owner Bob Lurie leaves the decision up to his players, who reject the agreement. (1,2)
- 2020 – On what should have been Opening Day in Major League Baseball, owners and the Players Association reach a deal on some of the issues stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. Players will receive an advance of $170 million on salaries over the next two months, which is equivalent to around 4 percent of the salary mass, and prorated salaries relative to the number of games that will be played when the season eventually starts. The players will keep the advance even if the season is canceled. Players will be credited with service time equivalent to that compiled in 2019, meaning that free agency will not be delayed for those eligible after the season. Finally, MLB now has the right to shorten the 2020 amateur draft to five rounds from the usual forty, and to twenty rounds in 2021. Bonuses for undrafted players who still want to sign will be capped to $20,000. (2)
Cubs birthdays: Jack McCarthy, Jimmy Lavender, Brad Hogg, Joe Klugmann, José Vizcaíno*, Jason Maxwell, Rob Zastryzny.
Today in History:
- 196 BC – Ptolemy V, aged 13, is crowned King of Ptolemaic Egypt at Memphis by the High Priest of Ptah; the Rosetta Stone is inscribed afterward to proclaim this event.
- 127 – Greek astronomer and mathematician Ptolemy begins his observations of the heavens (until 141 AD).
- 1663 – The Quebec Seminary established by François de Montmorency-Laval, First Bishop of New France. North America’s first institution of higher learning.
- 1812 – Earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale destroys 90 percent of Caracas, Venezuela and kills an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people.
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.
Some of these items spread from site to site without being verified. That is exactly why we ask for reputable sources if you have differences with a posted factoid. We are trying to set the record as straight as possible, but it isn’t brain surgery. We take it seriously, but there are limits.