Portal:Baseball/Anniversaries/March 8

Events

 * 1900 - The National League votes to shrink to eight teams, paying Baltimore owners $30,000 for their franchise, with Charles Ebbets and Ned Hanlon reserving the right to sell the players. Cleveland, Louisville, and Washington receive $10,000 each, with Louisville owner Barney Dreyfuss sending most of his players to his Pittsburgh Pirates team.
 * 1913 - The Federal League is organized as a six-team outlaw circuit and elects John T. Powers president.
 * 1923 - Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis allows former New York Giant Rube Benton, who had admitted prior knowledge of the 1919 World Series fix, to return to the National League.
 * 1930 - Babe Ruth signs a two-year contract for $160,000 with the New York Yankees, making him again thehighest paid player of all time.
 * 1941 - Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Hugh Mulcahy becomes the first Major League Baseball player to be drafted into the Armed Forces.
 * 1966 - The Veterans Committee selects Casey Stengel to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
 * 1985 - Toronto Blue Jays Dave Stieb signs an unusual 11-year contract, which carries an estimated value of $25 million, based on deferred payments and incentives.

Births

 * 1869 - Jim Hughey, pitcher (d. 1945)
 * 1875 - Bob Brush, infielder (d. 1944)
 * 1879 - Josh Clarke, outfielder (d. 1962)
 * 1882 - Harry Lord, infielder, manager (d. 1948)
 * 1891 - Ollie O'Mara, infielder (d. 1989)
 * 1893 - Ray Francis, pitcher (d. 1934)
 * 1895 - Jack Bentley, pitcher (d. 1969)
 * 1896 - Lefty Clarke, pitcher (d. 1975)
 * 1898 - Phil Bedgood, pitcher (d. 1927)
 * 1909 - Pete Fox, outfielder; All-Star (d. 1966)
 * 1912 - Ray Mueller, catcher; All-Star (d. 1994)
 * 1917 - Bill Salkeld, catcher (d. 1967)
 * 1922 - Carl Furillo, outfielder; All-Star (d. 1989)
 * 1922 - Al Gionfriddo, outfielder (d. 2003)
 * 1924 - Toby Atwell, catcher; All-Star (d. 2003)
 * 1926 - Dick Teed, pinch hitter
 * 1930 - Bob Grim, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1996)
 * 1934 - Marv Breeding, infielder (d. 2006)
 * 1934 - Willard Hunter, pitcher
 * 1939 - Jim Bouton, pitcher; All-Star
 * 1940 - Jacques Doucet, announcer
 * 1942 - Dick Allen, infielder; All-Star
 * 1948 - Joe Staton, infielder
 * 1949 - Juan Jiménez, pitcher (d. 2008)
 * 1953 - Jim Rice, outfielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer
 * 1953 - Don Werner, catcher
 * 1954 - Win Remmerswaal, pitcher
 * 1957 - John Butcher, pitcher
 * 1957 - Bob Stoddard, pitcher
 * 1958 - Nick Capra, outfielder
 * 1960 - Kevin Hagen, pitcher
 * 1961 - Mark Salas, catcher
 * 1964 - Lance McCullers, pitcher
 * 1967 - Joel Johnston, pitcher
 * 1968 - Jim Dougherty, pitcher
 * 1973 - Mark Lukasiewicz, pitcher
 * 1973 - Justin Thompson, pitcher; All-Star
 * 1974 - Mike Moriarty, infielder
 * 1976 - Juan Encarnación, outfielder
 * 1976 - Ryan Freel, outfielder
 * 1976 - Hines Ward, drafted outfielder
 * 1982 - Craig Stansberry, infielder
 * 1983 - Chris Lambert, pitcher
 * 1983 - Mark Worrell, pitcher

Deaths

 * 1926 - Howard Armstrong, pitcher (b. 1889)
 * 1939 - Scott Stratton, pitcher (b. 1869)
 * 1977 - Sid Benton, pitcher (b. 1895)
 * 1978 - Red Smith, catcher (b. 1904)
 * 1984 - Bruce Cunningham, pitcher (b. 1905)
 * 1985 - Al Todd, catcher (b. 1902)
 * 1992 - Sherman Edwards, pitcher (b. 1909)
 * 1996 - Bill Nicholson, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1914)
 * 1999 - Joe DiMaggio, outfielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1914)
 * 2002 - Ted Sepkowski, infielder (b. 1923)
 * 2007 - Marty Martínez, infielder; manager (b. 1941)
 * 2007 - John Vukovich, infielder; manager (b. 1947)
 * 2008 - Ossie Álvarez, outfielder (b. 1933)