March 2 in Tigers and mlb history:
1874: At the fourth meeting of the National Association of Professional Baseball Players in Boston, the batter's box is officially adopted. It is also decided that expulsion will be the penalty for any player betting on his own team and any player betting on any other team will forfeit his pay.
1888: The National League meets in New York and abolishes all discounts from the 50-cent minimum admission price. Despite the demands of the Brotherhood and the fact that the rule is practically a dead letter, the NL refuses to drop its $2,000 salary limit rule. The schedule committee recommends that the season go to 140 games from the current 126.
1899: At the National League meeting in New York, an attempt to expel the St. Louis Browns, who had a 39-111 record in 1898, fails by a 7-4 margin. It is also decided that no club may hold more than 18 players on its reserve list.
1909: Mel Ott is born in Gretna, Louisiana. He will make his major league debut with the New York Giants in 1926.
Over a 22-year career, Ott will hit 511 home runs with 1,860 RBI, 1859 runs, 2876 hits (1,071 extra-base hits) and a .304 batting average. Ott will receive Hall of Fame honors in 1951.
1927: Babe Ruth becomes the highest-paid player in major league history when the Yankees announce he will earn $70,000 per season for the next three years. Ruth will sign the historic contract on March 4.
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1941: In Havana, Cuba, the Brooklyn Dodgers complete a three-game sweep of their rival New York Giants. During the regular 1940 season the Giants held a 16-6 advantage over Brooklyn.
1949: Joe DiMaggio leaves the Yankees' spring training camp to have an ailing right heel examined at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He is told that no surgery is needed and he returns to Florida, but the heel will continue to bother him.
1966: Commissioner William Eckert voids the contract recently signed by collegiate star Tom Seaver. The Atlanta Braves had signed Seaver to a $50,000 bonus a week earlier, but Eckert cites a rule prohibiting teams from signing players while their college seasons are ongoing. A special draft will be held after the collegiate season to reassign Seaver's rights.
1988: Tigers come to grips with the loss of Kirk Gibson in free agency.
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1992: The highest-paid player tag now belongs to Ryne Sandberg of the Chicago Cubs. The All-Star second baseman signs a four-year contract extension worth $7.1 million per season.
1995: At a meeting in Chicago, major league owners accept the players' offer to return to work, bringing an end to the devastating strike which started last August.
1999: Players Orlando Cepeda and Negro Leagues Pitcher Smokey Joe Williams, manager Frank Selee, and umpire Nestor Chylak are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
2005: Thirty-two years after his death, Jackie Robinson receives the Congressional Gold Medal in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, the highest honor Congress can bestow. The medal is accepted by Rachel Robinson, his widow. Robinson joins Roberto Clemente, Joe Louis and Jesse Owens as the only athletes among about 300 Gold Medal recipients.
2007: The Detroit Tigers signed Andres Torres as a free agent.
2012: Major League Baseball confirms that starting this year, the postseason will be expanded from 8 to 10 teams, with an extra wild card team in each league. The two wild card teams in each league will play a one game playoff to determine which one will face the team with the league's best record in the Division Series.
2018: The Cincinnati Reds selected Jairo Labourt off waivers from the Detroit Tigers.
2019: The Phillies introduce their new marquee player in free agent OF Bryce Harper, just signed to a record-breaking 13-year deal worth $330 million.
Tigers players birthdays:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bradyji01.shtml
Jim Brady 1956.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Chico_Fernandez_(fernach01)
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fernach01.shtml
Chico Fernandez 1960-1963.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/nettlji01.shtml
Jim Nettles 1974.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/tobikda01.shtml
Dave Tobik 1978-1982.
Tigers players who passed away:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Dale_Alexander
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/alexada01.shtml
Dale Alexander 1929-1932.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/methasc01.shtml
Scat Metha 1940.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/labincl01.shtml?redir
Clem Labine 1960.
Baseball Reference
