Author: Bill Grimes

I'm from Chicago. I worked in broadcast journalism for much of the 1970's and 80's. In 1990 I became a litigation consultant, retiring in 2017. Around 2005 I recall flipping through the sports section of the newspaper coming across "On this day in baseball history Willie Mays hit his 600th home run." I enjoyed the one-liners, but I wanted more. I wanted a story. I took my news reporting skills and started researching and telling baseball stories, one for every day of the year. TodayinBaseball.com is the result.

Dec 21, 2005 – LESS IS MORE

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA • ‘If you take away seats, they will come,’ seemed to be the intention when the Oakland A’s announced on this date in 2005 that they will no longer sell seats to the upper deck in McAfee Coliseum (now called Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum).

At a time when ballparks like Wrigley Field and Fenway Park are squeezing more seats into their venues, the A’s are trying to pretend an upper deck of empty seats doesn’t exist. The move reduced the A’s ballpark’s capacity, at the time, to the lowest in the major leagues.

It was another act in the drama playing out in the East Bay over a new place for the A’s to play. Team president Michael Crowley told reporters back in 2005, “Our goal is to create a more intimate ballpark atmosphere and bring our seating capacity in line to what we have proposed for our new venue.”

While the team seems to annually over-achieve on the field the A’s have struck out on a new ballpark deal. But as of December 2016 the A’s have restructured their leadership with the goal of making it happen this time.

Stay tuned.

Contributing sources:
Comcast SportsNet, “Futuristic, Transforming Stadiums offer Intriguing Solutions For Oakland,” by Andy Dolich, December 19, 2016
San Jose Mercury News, December 16, 2013

Comments are welcome

Dec 19: BLOW IT UP!

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS • A die-hard Chicago Cubs fan and restaurateur paid in excess of $106,000 on this date in 2003 for a baseball so he could have the pleasure of destroying it.

With all due respect to Cub fans who want to blame Bartman, none of the “fans” around him appeared to have the foresight to clear the way so Alou could catch the ball.

Grant Deporter got custody of the ball Chicago Cubs’ left fielder Moises Alou was trying to catch before Steve Bartman got in the way. Deporter, a managing partner of Harry Caray’s restaurant, had the ball blown to smithereens on the former Cubs announcer’s birthday in February ‘04 as an act of exorcism.

With all due respect to Cub fans who want to blame Bartman, none of the “fans” around him appeared to have the foresight to clear the way so Alou could catch the ball, and help the Cubs get to their first World Series in almost 60 years. Everyone was focused on the souvenir. Bartman just happened to be the closest to it.

Had Alou caught the ball, the Cubs would have been four outs from the World Series. The Florida Marlins would have had two outs in the eighth with a man on second and the Cubs ahead 3-0. Instead, the Marlins had one out and Luis Castillo had new life. He ended up walking, and then the flood gates opened, aided by a botched double play ball to the Cubs’ shortstop.

The Marlins ended up scoring 8 runs beating the Cubs 8-3. The Marlins won again the next night and took the series. For Cub fans, wait till next year, again.

The exorcising of the ball may have worked. It took another 13 years, but, as we all know, the Cubs not only made it to the World Series in 2016, they won it.

Contributing sources:
The Chicago Tribune, October 20, 2003
“Price surpasses even Buckner’s ball,” by Darren Rovell, ESPN, Dec 19, 2003

Comments are welcome:

November 11: FERNANDO-MANIA

NOVEMBER 11, 1981| LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA • Los Angeles Dodger phenom pitcher Fernando Valenzuela became the first rookie to win the Cy Young award on this date in 1981. The award goes to the best pitcher in either league, as determined by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Valenzuela took Southern California and the entire baseball world by storm that summer of ’81 with his composure (he was just a few days past his 21st birthday), enthusiasm and ability.

He finished the ’81 season 13 – 7, with a 2.48 ERA (earned run average). Valenzuela beat out Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton and Nolan Ryan for the award. Valenzuela played 17 years in the major leagues, winning 173 and losing 153.

Contributing Sources:
“Fairy Tale Ending to Fairy Tale season,” by Mike Littwin, Los Angeles Times, November 12, 1981
1981 Post-season awards

MARCH 12: THE YANKEES WERE NOT AMONG THE FIRST

MARCH 12, 1903 | NEW YORK, NEW YORK – The New York Yankees are synonymous with Major League Baseball, especially the American League. Did you know they were not one of the original American League teams (I digress. Actually they were, but why let the facts stand in the way of a good story?)

Let me explain:
This much is true; there was no American League team in New York City when the AL was established in 1901. New York officially got a team on this date in 1903 when the owners approved a franchise move.

The franchise that would become the New York Yankees existed in Baltimore as the Orioles, not the Orioles currently taking up residence by Chesapeake Bay. Those Orioles trace their origins back to Milwaukee as the Brewers, no not the current Brewers, the Brewers of old that became the St. Louis Browns, which then moved to Baltimore and became the current Orioles.

Clear as pine tar?
This list of the charter American League franchises of the inaugural year of 1901 and what became of them may help:

  • Cleveland Blues – name changed to Bronchos in 1902, Naps in 1903 and finally Indians in 1914.
  • Milwaukee Brewers – Franchise moved to St. Louis in 1902 and became the Browns, moved to Baltimore in 1954 and became the Orioles
  • Baltimore Orioles – moved to New York in 1903 and became the Highlanders. Name changed to Yankees in 1913.
  • Chicago White Stockings – officially became the White Sox in 1903
  • Boston Americans – became the Red Sox in 1906.
  • Philadelphia Athletics – moved to Kansas City in 1956. Moved to Oakland in 1968. Named reduced to A’s over time.
  • Washington Senators – moved to Minneapolis/St. Paul in 1961 and became the Minnesota Twins
  • Detroit Tigers – remain in Detroit as the Tigers

It appears the Detroit Tigers are the only charter franchise to neither move nor change its name in the slightest.

Contributing sources:
BASEBALL-REFERENCE
New York Yankees
Boston Red Sox,