1954 – The Pirates drafted Roberto Clemente from the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Triple A roster.
1957 – Mickey Mantle defeated Ted Williams to win the American League MVP Award. Mantle hit .365 with 34 home runs. Williams led the AL with a .388 average, 38 home runs and a .731 slugging percentage. Two Chicago writers listed Williams ninth and tenth on their ballots.
1960 – The American League proposes that both leagues be expanded to nine teams and play interleague games in 1961. Expansion will occur in the American League in 1961, but interleague play will not occur until 1997.
1961 – Frank Robinson becomes the first Red player in 21 years to win the MVP Award.
1968 – Johnny Bench defeats Jerry Koosman for the NL Rookie of the Year Award. Bench is the third Reds player to win the award in the last six years.
1972 – Johnny Bench wins his second National League MVP Award.
1977 – Andre Dawson wins the Rookie of the Year Award by one vote over Steve Henderson.
1983 – The Players’ Association fires director Kenneth Moffett after just a year on the job and replaces him with Donald Fehr.
1989 – Kirby Puckett agrees to a three-year, $9 million contract with the Twins, becoming the first player with an average salary of $3 million per season.
2004 – The Washington National League franchise announces that its team will be known as the Nationals.
2010 – The Mets hire Terry Collins as their new manager to replace Jerry Manuel.
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