Early rules, Lou Gehrig Day,and other stories.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow the various narrative paths.

“Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly, HoF Umpire.

Today in baseball history:

• 1884 – National League owners agree to provide two separate team benches to minimize fraternizing among opposing players during games. (2)
• 1886 – The National League meets and adopts the stolen base and the four foot by seven foot pitcher’s box. But the NL retains seven balls for a walk and rejects the American Association’s rule giving a batter first base on a hit by pitch. (2)
• 1907 – A judgment of $52,000 is awarded to the Baltimore club from Brooklyn. When Baltimore left the National League in 1900, Brooklyn agreed to pay $40,000 for the franchise but never did. The award includes interest. (1,2)
• 1913 – The New York Yankees become the first major league team to conduct spring training outside of the United States, when they begin the spring in Bermuda, where is projected a series of exhibition games. (1,2)
• 1925 – John Montgomery (Monte) Ward dies in Augusta, Georgia, just a day after his 65th birthday. During his illustrious career in the majors, Ward hit for a .371 batting average twice, won 40-plus games as a pitcher twice, including the second perfect game in history, and was be the captain and manager of the first and original New York Giants. Ward will gain election to the Hall of Fame in 1964. (2)
• 1941 – Grace Comiskey, widow of J. Louis Comiskey, is elected president of the Chicago White Sox. Her husband died on July 18, 1939. (2)
• 1943 – The woeful Philadelphia Phillies announce their new nickname – the Blue Jays. The winning entry in the contest was submitted by a Mrs. Elizabeth Crooks, and was chosen over a number of names ranging from Daisies to Stinkers. Team president Bob Carpenter says he hopes to have the farm system identified by the same blue color, with the Wilmington club called the Blue Rocks and possibly the new Bradford team as the Blue Wings. The Blue Jays will be the official team name in 1943 and 1944, but will be abandoned in 1945, though the team will still occasionally be referred to in newspaper accounts as the Blue Jays through 1949. Ms. Crooks wins a $100 war bond and a season ticket to the Blue Jays. (2)
• 1967 – Bullet Joe Rogan dies in Kansas City, Missouri, at age 77. One of the greatest pitchers in Negro league baseball, Rogan threw a devastating fastball which he complemented with a dizzying array of other pitches. He also played the outfield when he wasn’t pitching, and in 1922 led the Negro National League with 16 home runs. Rogan will receive Hall of Fame honors in 1998. (2)
• 2004 – Commissioner Bud Selig announces that Major League Baseball will celebrate “Jackie Robinson Day” in every ballpark on April 15th, the anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s debut as the first black player in the 20th Century. Robinson’s uniform number ”42” was retired for all time in a ceremony at Shea Stadium in April of 1997 to mark the 50th anniversary of his achievement. (2)
• 2021 – Commissioner Rob Manfred proclaims that June 2nd will now be Lou Gehrig Day, set to commemorate the life and legacy of Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig and to raise funds in the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the disease that claimed Gehrig’s life. (2)

Cubs Birthdays:Jim Korwan, Red Murray, Earl Tyree, Clyde McCullough, Dave Stevens*, Nick Castellanos. Also notable: Dazzy Vance HOF.

Today in history:

• 852 – Croatian Duke Trpimir I issued a statute, a document with the first known written mention of the Croats name in Croatian sources.
• 938 – Translation of the relics of martyr Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, the patron saint of the Czech state.
• 1215 – King John of England makes an oath to the Pope as a crusader to gain the support of Innocent III.
• 1461 – Edward Plantagenet lays claim to the throne of England as Edward IV in London.
• 1774 – First sighting of Orion nebula by William Herschel.
• 1791 – Vermont admitted as 14th state.
• 1837 – Chicago becomes incorporated as a city.
• 1902 – American Automobile Association (AAA) founded in Chicago.
• 1936 – First flight of the airship Hindenburg at Friedrichshafen, Germany.
• 1978 – Chicago Daily News, founded in 1876, publishes last issue.

Common sources:

• (1) — Today in Baseball History.
• (2) — Baseball Reference.
• (3) — Society for American Baseball Research.
• (4) — Baseball Hall of Fame.
• (5) — This Day in Chicago Cubs history.
• (6) — Wikipedia.
• (7) — The British Museum
• (8) — For world history.

*pictured.

Some of these items spread from site to site without being fact-checked, and that is why we ask for verifiable sources, in order to help correct the record.

Phillies News

• There is a little more clarity regarding Johan Rojas. Jon Heyman reported that Rojas failed a PEDs test and is appealing.
• Orion Kerkering is working on a splitter.
• Want to know how all of the Phillies in the WBC are doing?

MLB News

• Speaking of PEDs, Jurickson Profar could miss the entire 2026 season after failing his second drug test. However, the MLBPA is now involved and intends to challenge MLB’s intention to suspend Profar for the entire season.
• Former 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks left-handed reliever Joe Mantiply will sign with the Toronto Blue Jays on a minor league deal.
• Here is the projected Team USA pitching rotation for the WBC.

Good Morning Birdland,

The Orioles did play a game on Tuesday, but there are no highlights to share. The game, an exhibition against the Netherlands WBC team, was not broadcast anywhere. As far as I can tell, not even that awkward single camera angle from behind home plate—a trademark of spring games not shown on TV—was available.

All we can go on are first-person accounts and the box score. In that regard, it was not a good day for the Orioles.

Trevor Rogers started. He lasted 2.1 innings while giving up six runs on six hits, a walk, four strikeouts, and two home runs. Despite the ugly line, Rogers was encouraged by the outing, telling the media postgame that he thought he “got some good work out there.” It’s a process.

The Orioles had a rough game in the field. They made four errors, one each by Jeremiah Jackson, Bryan Ramos, Samuel Basallo, and Cobb Hightower. That sloppiness prompted Pete Alonso to call for an infield huddle in the second inning. The veteran slugger urged his teammates to “clean up” and play with more energy. The moment was praised by Rogers and manager Craig Albernaz.

Alonso had himself a fine afternoon. He went 2-for-2 with a two-run homer, just the latest impressive showing in what has been an impact spring for the newcomer.

Other performances of note included a solo homer for Jackson, two RBI for José Barrero, four shutout innings for Dean Kremer, and a two-strikeout inning for Grant Wolfram.

Team USA got its WBC preparations underway as well. They played a game against the Giants in Scottsdale, Arizona, and boy was it a walloping. Team USA prevailed 15-1, compiling 19 hits, eight walks, and 10 strikeouts. Alex Bregman and Roman Anthony both homered.

Gunnar Henderson also got into the game. Even though he did not start, the O’s star still managed to take four trips to the plate. He went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, two runs scored, and two RBI.

The Orioles will play the Astros in Grapefruit League play today at 1 pm ET. Team USA will take on the Rockies at 3:10 pm ET.

Links

At Orioles camp during a game that didn’t matter, accountability took center stage | The Baltimore Banner
Here’s more on Alonso’s decision to gather the infielders in the midst of a defensive fiasco. Does this stuff matter? Who knows. Alonso is definitely developing a culture of accountability and stepping into a veteran leadership void that we know existed post-trade deadline for this team last year.

Rogers allows 6 runs in Orioles’ 8-5 loss to Team Netherlands; Albernaz: ‘Sloppy game’ | Baltimore Baseball
Yeah, these aren’t the sorts of numbers you want to see from the pitcher that could potentially be your team’s Opening Day starter. But if we are going to disregard really good numbers, we can probably discount the really bad ones too. Or at least, that’s what I’m gonna tell myself.

Spring training leftovers for breakfast | Roch Kubatko
Quotes from all over the organization in this one. It sounds like Albernaz will be trotting out some different names at shortstop while Henderson is with Team USA. The fact that Jackson Holliday is also hurt does make this a bit tricky. They need to enter the season with a backup at the position, and right now it is not exactly clear who that would be.

For the homeland: These O’s are ready to rep their country in the Classic | MLB.com
Yet another roundup of where you can see some Orioles during the World Baseball Classic. Some of them are prospects or fringier talents, so you may not immediately recognize them.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Richard Rodríguez is 36 years old. He pitched in five games for the 2017 Orioles.
• Nerio Rodríguez is 55 today. From 1996-98, he made 20 total appearances for the O’s, mostly as a relief option.
• Jack Fisher celebrates his 87th birthday. The right-handed pitcher had a four-year stint in Baltimore from 1959 through ‘62. Over 634.1 total innings with the Orioles he had a 3.92 ERA and 1.8 bWAR.
• The late Bob Johnson (b. 1936, d. 2019) was born on this day. He spent five seasons on the Orioles infield from 1963-67. During those five years he played all four infield positions, accumulated 3.1 bWAR, and an 87 OPS+.

This day in O’s history

Not much has happened in Orioles history on this date, according to Baseball Reference. So here are a few happenings from beyond Birdland:

1913 – The United States Department of Labor is formed.

1917 – Jeanette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives

1918 – A case of influenza is recorded at Camp Fusion, Kansas, considered the beginning of the worldwide Spanish flu pandemic.

1933 – Frances Perkins becomes the first female member of the United States Cabinet. She is confirmed as Secretary of Labor and sworn in the same day.

1955 – An order to protect the endangered Saimaa ringed seal is legalized.

1957 – The S&P 500 stock market index is introduced, replacing the S&P 90.

1966 – In an interview with the London Evening Standard, John Lennon declares that The Beatles are “more popular than Jesus now.”

2020 – Nik Wallenda becomes the first person to walk over the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua.

1921
In the wake of the Black Sox, fortunes were going to turn hard against the fortunes of the South Siders — but don’t blame future Hall-of-Famer Harry Hooper. Charles Comiskey attempted to rebuild his team, making the acquisition of Hooper from the Red Sox as a cornerstone move.

The trade didn’t prevent the three-decade fall to come, but was a big win for the White Sox. Hooper, 33, still had five strong seasons in him, cementing the Hall case he built for himself in Boston. All told, Hooper was a .302/.383/.436 hitter in Chicago, good for 14.9 WAR total and 4.8 WAR in the penultimate season of his career. He was also a solid fielder, leading the AL in 1922 with 19 assists and 289 putouts.

Comiskey dealt two players, John “Shano” Collins and Harry “Nemo” Leibold, for Hooper, and neither would haunt the South Side. Both players, like Hooper, were active for five more seasons; however, Collins was washed (-3.3 WAR in that time) and Leibold was only about a third as effective as Hooper per WAR. 

1941
Daughter-in-law of team founder Charles Comiskey and widow of Louis Comiskey, Grace Comiskey was formally elected as team president by the White Sox board of directors, with daughter Dorothy installed as team secretary. With the move, Grace became the first team president in American League history, and would hold the role until her death in 1956.

1994
Basketball superstar Michael Jordan, who retired in October 1993 from the Chicago Bulls, made his Spring Training debut in a White Sox uniform. He played in his first game at the major league level against the Rangers in Sarasota. Facing lefthander Darren Oliver, Jordan tapped back to the mound and was tagged out by the pitcher.

Jordan collected his first Spring Training hit on March 14 against the Twins, a single off of pitcher Jeff Innes.

2011
After an unprecedented lat surgery, Jake Peavy returned to the mound to start a White Sox spring training game at the Angels.

The righthander threw just 26 pitches (16 for strikes) over two innings, allowing one walk and striking out two. It was Peavy’s first appearance on a mound since July 6, 2010. His hitless effort stretched the White Sox rotation’s streak to start the spring to 10 innings.

A fella named Brett Ballantini, then the CSN Chicago White Sox beat reporter and at the moment something else, was unable to get a wifi signal on press row and thus covered “Peavy Watch” and the game using his Blackberry from the roof of Tempe Diablo Stadium. It was there he caught the first foul ball of his life, from an Angels batter during Peavy’s outing — which happened to fall on the writer’s 42nd birthday.

The White Sox dropped the contest, 3-1.

2013
José Abreu’s grand slam paced a Team Cuba rout of China, 12-0, in the World Baseball Classic, in a game that ended early due to the mercy rule. Eight months later, Abreu signed with the White Sox.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Pirates fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

The Bucs are sitting at 9-2 in Grapefruit League action. Their offensive production is up, while the pitching is still performing how we’d like them to. So what we want to know is, based upon the Bucs hot start, are you any more excited for the start of the MLB season? You can also pick less excited or no change. Spring can be a hard time to get a full evaluation, as plenty of guys are playing that won’t see the light of day once the regular season gets going.

Cast your vote, tell us in the comments, and we’ll be back soon with the results.