By Veronica An Nolan Ryan became the highest paid athletes in MLB history when the Houston Astros signed him for a four-year, $4.5 million contract in 1979. Ryan began his professional career in 1966 with the New York Mets. It wasn’t until 1971 that he became a regular season pitcher after begin traded to the…
Category: Baseball
Today in Sports History: November 18
By Veronica An Jackie Robinson, famous for breaking the color barrier in major league baseball, became the first African American to win the MVP award in 1949. Despite opposing teams threatening to strike and animosity from fans, Robinson made history as a first baseman and later second baseman. He held a .980 fielding percentage, .296…
Today in Sports History: October 11
By Veronica An Major League Baseball (MLB) gave its first-ever MVP award to Ty Cobb in 1911 – a full ten years after the National League and American League merged. Although this award was different than the current MVP accolade, this was the start of individual player recognition. According to Bleacher Report, the 1911 MVP…
Today in Sports History: October 4
By Veronica An In 2005, Jon Daniels became the youngest general manager in MLB history. Former manager John Hart resigned from the Texas Rangers after four years with the team. 28-year-old Daniels made his first trade by swapping Alfonso Soriano to the Washington Nationals for Brad Wilkerson, Terrmel Sledge, and Armando Galarraga. Daniels received criticism…
Today in Sports History: October 2
By Veronica An The voice of the Dodgers, Vin Scully, broadcast his final game at Oracle Park in San Francisco. Unfortunately, this game ended in a 7-1 loss for the Dodgers. Scully’s legendary career included over 9,000 games including, 21 no-hitters and three perfect games, over 67 years. The game ended with Scully singing a…
Today in Sports History: September 29
Barry Bonds, #25 of the San Francisco Giants, set a new season mark for on-base percentage with a .582 OBP in 2002. He also became the oldest first-time winner of a batting title at 38 by hitting .370. Bonds broke the .553 OBP 60-year record set by Ted Williams in 1941. A few months later,…
Today in Sports Histor: September 27
By Veronica An Tommy Lasorda, former Dodgers team manager, leads the United States Olympic team to victory in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. This marked the first year MLB players were allowed on the Olympic team; previously only collegiate players were selected. According to NBC Sports, the final team was not selected until 10…
Today in Sports History: September 26
By Veronica An “Baseball broadcasting hero, Milo Hamilton, called his final game in 2012. After a 63-year career as a sportscaster, Hamilton called his final game in the Astros broadcasting booth, a 2-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Hamilton worked for the Astros for 28 years, he previously did play-by-plays for the Browns, Cardinals,…
Today in Sports History: September 22
By Veronica An Wade Boggs, No. 26 of the Red Sox, got his 200th hit in five straight seasons in 1987. Boggs maintained a .401 batting average over a 162 game span from June 9, 1985 to June 6, 1986 and finished his career with 3,010 hits. Boggs was inducted into the Hall of Fame…
Today in Sports History: September 19
By Veronica An In 2001, Roger Clemens was the first major league pitcher to start a season with a 20-1 record. He went 6.1 innings in the Yankees’ 6-3 victory over the White Sox at Comiskey Park. Over his MLB career, Clemens earned the nickname, “Rocket,” for his legendary power pitching and was the first…
