On December 21 in Baseball History...

    1918 - The Red Sox trade hurler Ernie Shore and Dutch Leonard as well as outfielder Duffy Lewis to the Yankees for relatively unknown players and $15,000. The group includes Frank Gilhooley, Slim Love, Ray Caldwell, and Roxy Walters.

    1932 - The Giants sign former outfielder Billy Southworth as a coach. Southworth, who was a .297 career hitter, will have a .597 percentage in 13 years as a manager. All 1,044 wins will come with the Cardinals and Braves-he never takes the reigns in New York.

    1944 - In an even closer vote than occurred in the AL, where Hal Newhouser won by four points, the NL MVP award goes to fielding wizard Marty Marion. The Cardinals shortstop tallies one more vote than Cubs slugger Bill Nicholson. Led by Marion at shortstop, the Cardinals erred only 112 times and averaged.982. Both marks top the previous records held by the 1940 Reds.

    1959 - After Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh rejects the A's offer to deal Roger Maris for shortstop Dick Groat, Pittsburgh obtains Gino Cimoli along with Tom Cheney from the Cardinals for right-hander Ron Kline. Maris, who is dealt to the Yankees, will enjoy the first of his two consecutive MVP years in New York, but Groat will play a key role for the World Champion Bucs next season, and he also will be named the most valuable player of his league.

    1960 - Cub owner P.K. Wrigley announces the club will not have a manager next season, but will instead use a college of coaches. The 'faculty' for the upcoming campaign will include El Tappe, Charlie Grimm, Goldie Holt, Bobby Adams, Harry Craft, Verlon Walker, Ripper Collins and Vedie Himsl, with each serving as "head coach" for part of the season.

    1978 - Sports cartoonist Willard Mullin, creator of the lovable caricature known as the 'Brooklyn Bum', dies in Corpus Christi at the age of 76. The cartoon featured a low-brow, working class character who would proudly represent the borough of Brooklyn, quickly becoming a favorite of the Dodger fans.

    1995 - After considering an attractive offer from the Orioles, David Cone re-signs with the Yankees as a free agent. The 'hired hand' inks a three-year deal worth $18 million.

    1995 - The Orioles sign Toronto free-agent Roberto Alomar to a three-year $18 million contract. The second baseman will be selected as an all star all three seasons he is with the team, and the 27-year old infielder will also win two Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger award during his stay in Baltimore.

    2000 - Hoping to pick it up where his success started, 41-year old outfielder Tim Raines agrees to a minor league contract with the Expos, the team he broke in with in 1979. After retiring in Yankee camp during spring training with a .295 career batting average, he failed to make this year's U.S. Olympic team.

    2002 - After declining their club option, the Diamondbacks decide to retain veteran first baseman Mark Grace (.252, 7, 48). The lifetime .305 hitter agrees to a one-year deal which includes a club option for the 2004 season.

    2005 - With the announcement Oakland will no longer sell tickets for the third deck of McAfee Coliseum, the A’s home becomes the smallest park in the major leagues. The seating capacity, reduced 44,073 to 34,179, is less than Fenway Park, which has been recently increased to accommodate 38,805 denizens of Red Sox Nation.

    2005 - After trying to sign the all-star outfielder twice as a free agent, the Giants finally acquire Steve Finley (.222, 12, 54) in a trade with the Dodgers which sends third baseman Edgardo Alfonzo (.277, 2, 43) to Los Angeles. The veteran infielder appeared in only 109 games last season due to injuries.

    2007 - In an effort to replace LaTroy Hawkins's role in the bullpen, the Rockies sign free-agent Luis Vizcaino (8-2, 4.30) to a $7.5 million, two-year deal. The 33-year old right-hander, who pitched for the Yankees last season, will be used as a middle-inning reliever by the National League champs.

    2007 - Josh Hamilton (.292, 19, 47) is traded by the Reds to the Rangers for pitchers Edinson Volquez and Danny Herrera. The 26-year old outfielder, who became a fan favorite due to his overcoming a history of substance abuse, played in 90 games for Cincinnati and was named the National League Rookie of the Month for April.

    2009 - Although he left Turner Sports three weeks ago under a storm of criticism, Chip Caray says he has been hired to be the Braves play-by-play announcer on Fox Sports South and SportsSouth. The 44-year-old broadcaster, son of the late Atlanta broadcaster Skip Caray and grandson of fabled Harry Caray, is replacing ESPN-bound Jon Sciambi, and is expected to call approximately 105 games next season.

    2009 - The Yankees are assessed with a luxury tax of $25.69 million for its spending in 2009. The World Series champion club is the only team to be penalized this year for crossing the salary threshold, as it has in all seven years since the tax was initiated by the collective bargaining agreement in 2002.

    2010 - The Red Sox and Bobby Jenks agree to a two-year, $12 million deal bringing the former White Sox closer to Boston as a set-up man for Jonathan Papelbon. The two-time All-Star reliever, who did not pitch after saving both ends of a doubleheader against his new team in early September, saved 27 games for Chicago, but lost his job at the end of the season when he struggled because of difficulties with his forearm.  Due to continuing injury problems, Jenks will pitch only 15 2/3 innings over the two years of the contract with a ERA of 6.32 and a WHIP of 2.234.  His poor performance along with being paid what turned out to be over $750K per inning pitched make Jenks one of the worst free agent signings in Theo Epstein's career as Boston's GM.

    2012 - The Cleveland Indians signed Scott Kazmir as a free agent.



    Baseball Birthdays on December 21...

    1858 - Dunn, Steve
    1859 - Traffley, Bill
    1861 - Maskrey, Harry
    1861 - Darling, Dell
    1865 - Zinn, Frank
    1869 - Harrington, Joe
    1878 - Gill, Warren
    1882 - Weeden, Bert
    1884 - White, Steve
    1887 - Williams, Cy
    1888 - Curry, George
    1897 - Haid, Hal
    1898 - Scott, Pete
    1900 - Hamann, Doc
    1905 - Koster, Fred
    1907 - Muller, Freddie
    1911 - B0ngiovanni, Nino
    1913 - Heltzel, Heinie
    1920 - Werle, Bill
    1923 - Difani, Jay
    1925 - Peterson, Kent
    1925 - Rush, Bob
    1927 - Daniels, Jack
    1930 - Kravitz, Danny
    1936 - Lumenti, Ralph
    1936 - Reed, Howie
    1941 - Casanova, Paul
    1942 - Charton, Pete
    1947 - Maddox, Elliott
    1948 - Kingman, Dave
    1949 - Bradford, Larry
    1950 - Wright, Jim
    1952 - Andujar, Joaquin
    1957 - Henke, Tom
    1960 - McDowell, Roger
    1960 - Van Slyke, Andy
    1966 - Swingle, Paul
    1970 - Hope, John
    1972 - Hawkins, LaTroy
    1972 - Hermanson, Dustin
    1976 - Cogan, Tony
    1977 - Carlyle, Buddy
    1977 - Jimenez, D'Angelo
    1977 - Sanchez, Freddy
    1978 - Gonzalez, Dicky
    1980 - Ring, Royce
    1982 - Humber, Phil
    1983 - Mayberry, Jr., John
    1983 - Teagarden, Taylor
    1984 - Gamboa, Eddie
    1985 - Easley, Ed
    1985 - Mangini, Matt
    1985 - Schlitter, Brian
    1987 - Davis, Khris
    1988 - Duffy, Danny
    1988 - Stanley, Cody
    1988 - Wojciechowski, Asher
    1989 - Rollins, David
    1990 - Clevinger, Mike
    1990 - Graveman, Kendall




    Baseball Deaths on December 21...

    1912 - Gilman, Jim
    1936 - Gunkle, Fred
    1942 - Davis, Ira
    1943 - Cudworth, Jim
    1943 - Warner, John
    1946 - Evans, Bill
    1949 - Kearns, Teddy
    1950 - Lytle, Dad
    1957 - Berghammer, Marty
    1963 - Williams, Harry
    1963 - Townsend, Happy
    1964 - Brown, Delos
    1970 - Dean, Chubby
    1976 - Lynch, Walt
    1978 - Mathes, Joe
    1980 - Jacobs, Tony
    1985 - Genewich, Joe
    1987 - Sherman, Joe
    1988 - Kamm, Willie
    1989 - Schwamb, Blackie
    1993 - Kish, Ernie
    1993 - Schulte, Ham
    2005 - Hendricks, Elrod
    2007 - Lamabe, Jack
    2007 - Scheel, Al
    2011 - Bloomfield, Bud
    2012 - Bartley, Boyd