A M-W-F digest, replete with #Cubs, #MLB, and #MiLB content, gathered from reputable sources. Craig Counsell is named Cubs manager 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:
- 1938 – The brothers Joe, Vince and Dom DiMaggio play together for the first time, making up an outfield for an All-Star team in a West Coast charity game. (1,2)
- 1974 – Mike Marshall of the Los Angeles Dodgers becomes the first relief pitcher to win the Cy Young Award. Ironman Marshall set major league records that still stand with 106 appearances and 208 innings pitched in relief. (2)
- 1984 – Willie Hernandez wins the American League Most Valuable Player Award, joining Rollie Fingers as the only relief pitchers to be named MVP and Cy Young Award winners in the same season. (1,2)
- 1996 – In Chicago, the MLB owners decisively reject a proposed labor agreement that would have ended a three-year stalemate. The 18-12 vote threatens to plunge baseball back into full-fledged hostilities between the owners and players’ union. (2)
- 1997 – Milwaukee is back in the National League 31 years after the Braves left the city for Atlanta. The Brewers are the first team to ever switch from the American League to the National League. With an expansion team joining each league in 1998, the move keeps an even number of teams in both leagues to allow interleague play to occur at selected times of the season. (1,2)
- 1998 – Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Kerry Wood, who posted a 13-6 record, wins the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Wood held batters to a NL best .196 average and finished third in the league in strikeouts with 233 in just 166 2/3 innings pitched. (2)
- 2007 – The 2007 Gold Glove Awards are announced. Greg Maddux is honored for the 17th time, setting a new record for most Gold Gloves. (2)
- 2023 – In an unexpected move, the Cubs announce that they have hired Craig Counsell*, who until now was the manager of their rivals the Milwaukee Brewers, to replace David Ross as their skipper. Ross’s position was not considered to be in danger after he had led the Cubs back into respectability following a re-build this past season. (2)
Cubs Birthdays: Danny Green, Charles Tolson, Joe Munson, Bob Addis, Don Wengert, Justin Speier. Also notable: Walter Johnson HOF.
Today in History:
- 1528 – Shipwrecked Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca becomes the first known European to set foot in Texas.
- 1928 – Colonel Jacob Schick patents the first electric razor.
- 1947 – NBC’s “Meet the Press” debuts — US’s longest running TV show.
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.
- 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.
Also, the ‘history’ segment is highly edited for space and interest. Of course a great many other things happened on those days. We try to follow up on the interesting or unfamiliar ones.
Thanks for reading.