1914 – Ban Johnson’s efforts to strengthen the New York Yankees succeed when he arranges the purchase of the team by Colonel Jacob Ruppert and Captain Tillinghast L’Hommedieu Huston for $460,000 from Bill Devery and Frank Farrell. After Detroit Tigers owner Frank Navin refuses to let manager Hugh Jennings go, the new New York owners will name longtime Detroit pitcher Bill Donovan to manage the team. Under the new regime, the Yankees will make the most important trade in franchise history when they purchase Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox in 1920.
1949 – The 1940s is the only decade in Major League Baseball history in which no new stadiums are built. After the Cleveland Indians opened Cleveland Stadium in 1932, no new ballpark will be opened until Milwaukee County Stadium is unveiled by the Braves in 1953. The decade also will end with eight black players on major league rosters: three each on the Brooklyn Dodgers and Indians rosters, and two with the New York Giants. Although it will be another decade before all major league teams will be integrated, most teams will be playing blacks in the next two years. Finally, all but the St. Louis Browns, Chicago Cubs, and Cincinnati Reds set attendance records in the 1940s. There were 81 scheduled night games in 1940 and 384 in 1949. The change to playing under the lights is underscored by the release of the 1950 schedule: the St. Louis Cardinals have permission to open the season with the Pittsburgh Pirates in a night game.
1972 – Pittsburgh Pirates superstar Roberto Clemente dies in the crash of a four-engine plane over the Atlantic Ocean. The 38-year-old Clemente was supervising the delivery of relief supplies to the earthquake victims of Managua, Nicaragua. The cargo plane, a DC-7 that departed from San Juan Airport in Puerto Rico, crashes shortly after takeoff. In 18 major league seasons, Clemente batted .317, won the 1966 MVP Award, and led the Pirates to World Championships in 1960 and 1971. Shortly after his death, the Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors votes to waive the usual five-year waiting period for Clemente, paving the way for his election to Cooperstown in 1973.
Roberto Clemente is tragically killed when the four-engine DC-7 plane he chartered to bring much-needed supplies to the victims of the Nicaraguan earthquake crashes in the Atlantic Ocean after taking off from the coast of Isla Verde. Manny Sanguillen will be the only Pirates player not to attend the memorial service, traveling to Puerto Rico to dive into the waters in an effort to recover his teammate’s body, which is never found.
1984 – Despite six weeks of negotiations, the Basic Agreement between the players and owners that was reached after the 1981 strike expires. The players are now seeking increased contributions to their pension plan from the clubs’ additional television revenues, while the owners are hoping to slow the rapid growth of player salaries.
2004 – After the Devil Rays decline his 2005 $8 million contract option, free agent first baseman Tino Martinez, who hit .262 with 23 home runs and 76 RBI for Tampa Bay last season, signs a one-year, $3 million contract to rejoin the New York Yankees. Martinez played in New York from 1996 through 2001 before being replaced by Jason Giambi. This time, he is acquired as insurance in the event Giambi’s fragile health, suspected by some sportswriters to be the result of steroid use, continues to fail.
After the Devil Rays decline his 2005 $8 million contract option, Tino Martinez (.262, 23, 76) signs a one-year, $3 million contract to rejoin the Yankees. The popular 37 year-old first baseman, acquired as insurance in the event Jason Giambi’s (the player who replaced him) health continues to fail, played in the Bronx from 1996-2001.
2005 – Today, Roberto Clemente Jr. will head to Nicaragua to distribute humanitarian aid, mirroring a trip that claimed the life of his father 33 years ago. He had planned a similar effort last year, but the December 26th tsunami convinced him to direct the relief supplies collected to affected areas of the Pacific Rim.
The Cubs agree to a $15 million, three-year deal with Texas free-agent Marlon Byrd (.283, 20, 89) to fill the void in the outfield created when an agitated Milton Bradley was traded to Seattle. Chicago’s new outfielder will patrol centerfield, replacing Kosuke Fukudome, who will move over to right field.
The Red Sox, a team which has tried seven regular shortstops since trading Nomar Garciaparra to the Cubs in 2004, sign Marco Scutaro to a deal that guarantees the 34 year-old infielder to a $12.5 million, two-year deal to fill the void. The former utility player with the Mets and A’s had a career year last season for the Blue Jays after becoming their everyday shortstop with Toronto in 2008.
During year-end celebrations, a shooting takes place in Luperon, a town on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, leaving a 25-year-old man dead and his 17-year-old brother wounded. Three days later, police announce that the main suspect is Orioles pitcher Alfredo Simon, who claims his innocence but goes in hiding in his hometown of Santiago. He will surrender to police on January 3rd.
1966 – On New Year’s Eve, the Astros bring perennial All-Star Eddie Mathews to Houston along with utilityman Sandy Alomar and pitcher Arnie Umbach from the Braves for pitcher Bob Bruce and outfielder Dave Nicholson. It’s near the end of the line for Mathews, though, who plays just four months for the Astros.