Baseball history unpacked, November 16

A wildly popular Cubs-centric look at baseball’s past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow along as we review select scenes from the rich tapestry of Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball history. We invite you to investigate the linked material, which will illustrate the bullets somewhat.

Today in baseball history:

• 1887 - The Joint Rules Committee does away with the four-strike rule and with the scoring of walks as hits. Five balls for a walk remains the rule. (3)
• 1954 - The Chicago Cubs trade future Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner to the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Sam Jones, minor league outfielder Gale Wade, and $60,000 in cash. Kiner will hit 18 home runs for the Indians in 1955, his final major league season. (3)
• 1962 - Lou Perini sells the Braves to the Chicago-based Lasalle Corporation, led by 34-year-old insurance broker William Bartholomay for $6.2 million. Team president John McHale, one of the primary stockholders in the purchase, will take the brunt of the wrath of the fanbase when the new ownership makes clear their intent to move the team out of Milwaukee. (1)

“The game itself is sound. What I like about it is the kids are playing it. You don’t hear much about soccer moms anymore. Girls are in Little League. This is good stuff. You see it in our fan base. The millennials like to come to our ballparks.” — Bill Bartholomay to Paul Sullivan {$}, earlier this year.

• 2002 - After piloting the Giants for ten years and winning this season’s National League pennant, Dusty Baker, leaves the organization, inking a four-year deal to manage the Cubs. Chicago, a franchise which hasn’t been to the World Series since 1945, made it clear that the 53- year-old three-time NL Manager of the Year was the team’s first choice to lead the way. (1)

“Jim’s (Hendry’s) first choice was Dusty Baker,” team President Andy MacPhail said. “His second choice was Dusty Baker and his third was Dusty Baker. So he kept after it.”

LA Times writeup. NY Times writeup.

• 2009 - Chris Coghlan edges Phillies southpaw J.A. Happ, the only player named on all 32 ballots, to become the third Marlin in franchise history, along with Dontrelle Willis (2003) and Hanley Ramirez (2006), to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award. The 24-year-old leadoff hitter, a second baseman in the minors, hit .321 in 128 games, playing mostly left field after being called up in May. (1)
• 2011 - Joe Maddon wins the American League Manager of the Year Award for the second time after guiding the Rays to a 91-71 record. Thanks to Boston’s late-season collapse, Tampa Bay overcame a nine-game deficit at the beginning of September to win the American League Wild Card. (1)
• Cubs birthdays: Joe Quest, Rollie Zeider, Tuffy Stewart, Clay Bryant, Garth Mann, Harry Chiti, Chris Haney.

Sources:

• (1) — The National Pastime.
• (2) — Today in Baseball History.
• (3) — Baseball Reference.
• (4) — Society for American Baseball Research.
• (5) — Baseball Hall of Fame.

Thanks for reading.