August 9th
In 1979, Walter O’Malley the long time owner of the Dodgers passed away at 75. O’Malley is most known for moving the Dodgers from Brooklyn to LA back in the 1957. Most older fans especially those like my father still hate O’Malley for the move. Watch this video presented by ESPN Classic “Top 5 Reasons Why You Can’t Blame: Walter O’Malley.”
August 10th
Back in 1971, SABR or the Society for American Baseball Research was born with its most notable leader being Bill James. Saber metrics as they are now called have become very popular over the last decade in baseball driving the decisions of most major league teams across the league. Some purists feel the use of Saber metrics is the downfall of baseball others view it as the secret to victory. The Simpsons have a funny sketch outlining the highs and lows of Saber Metrics.
August 11th
In 1982, Terry Felton loses, dropping his career record to 0-13, the worst individual start in major league history. During Felton’s 4 year MLB career he would never win a game going 0-17 lifetime making him the worst pitcher in baseball history.
August 12th
In 1994, the players went on strike. Most fans equate the issue with the players being greedy and wanting more money and that there was no reason to have the strike from the beginning. The 1994 strike hurt the game of baseball tremendously turning a lot of fans away from the game. Bill Clinton even made a public briefing about the 1994 strike asking for congress to assist with binding arbitration.
August 13th
In 1979, Lou Brock of the St. Louis Cardinals hits number 3,000 etching his name forever in the halls of baseball.
August 14th
In 1982 – Pete Rose during his tenure as a Philly against the the Montreal Expos, passed Hank Aaron moving into first place on the all-time at-bat list with 12,365. Below in my opinion is the one of the best pieces of baseball video you can watch as Pete Rose breaks down hitting to A-Rod and Frank Thomas both of which are blown away showing just how great of a hitter Pete Rose truly was.
August 15th
In 1989, SF Giant Dave Dravecky in his second start since returning to the game from a fight with cancer he breaks his pitching arm in the middle of a game. Dave would never pitch again in the majors.
We would like to thank http://www.todayinbaseballhistory.com/ for providing the historical information provided on this post.
