February 25 in Tigers and mlb history:
1919 - Monte Irvin is born in Columbia, Alabama. Irvin will become a star in the Negro Leagues before joining the New York Giants in 1949. He will gain election to the Hall of Fame in 1973.
1940 - Ron Santo is born in Seattle, WA. He will be one of the greatest third basemen in history, playing 14 of his 15 major league seasons with the Chicago Cubs and hitting 342 home runs. He will elected to the Hall of Fame in 2011, barely a year after his death from diabetes.
1946: Back from the military, Ted Williams hits the first spring training pitch he sees for a home run.
1951 - Smokey Joe Williams dies in New York City at age 62. Williams has been considered by many historians to be one of the game's greatest pitchers, even though he never played a game in the major leagues. He spent his entire 27-year career (1905-1932) pitching in the Negro Leagues, Mexico and the Caribbean, but his path to the majors was barred by the color line.
During his stellar career, he defeated five Hall of Fame pitchers in exhibition competition: Grover Alexander, Chief Bender, Waite Hoyt, Walter Johnson and Rube Marquard. In 1999, after extensive research on the early years of black baseball reveal his outstanding numbers, Williams will gain Hall of Fame honors himself.
1957 - The United States Supreme Court decides 6-3 that baseball is the only professional sport exempt from antitrust laws. The issue arises when pro football seeks similar protection from the laws.
1969 ? A pension plan for Major League Baseball is agreed on, with players to receive $5.45 million per year. They also get a percentage of television revenues, a reduction in the years necessary to qualify for a pension from five to four (retroactive to 1959), and a lowered minimum age for drawing a pension from 50 to 45.
1973 - Players and owners come to terms on a three-year collective bargaining agreement. The new deal allows teams to open spring training on March 1st. Among the provisions of the agreement are a $15,000 minimum salary, salary arbitration, and the "ten and five" trade rule, which permits a player with ten years in the major leagues, the last five of which are with his current team, to veto any trade involving him.
1981 - The Executive Board of the Players' Association votes unanimously to strike on May 29th if the issue of free agent compensation remains unresolved. That deadline will be extended briefly, however, when the Players' Association's unfair labor practices complaint is heard by the National Labor Relations Board.
1999 - Frank Robinson is hired by Major League Baseball to handle on-field disciplinary matters. Previously, such matters were handled by the individual league offices.
2002: 84-year-old Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell announces this season will be his last as Detroit Tigers radio play-by-play announcer. The winner of the 1981 Ford C. Frick Award for baseball broadcasting excellence has worked for the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants and Baltimore Orioles before moving to Detroit during his 62-year career behind a microphone.
2012: Oft-injured fireballing reliever Joel Zumaya suffers another setback, after throwing only 13 pitches in a batting practice session for the Twins. He leaves the mound in obvious pain and will be diagnosed tomorrow with a torn ligament in his elbow, putting him out for the season, and possibly ending his career.
Tigers players birthdays:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/szotkke01.shtml
Ken Szotkiewicz 1970.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rowlari01.shtml
Rich Rowland 1990-1993.
from Baseball Reference
