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November 14
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
Today's November 14 Daily Highlights
November 14 Daily Highlights →
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Willie Hernandez would have turned 72 tomorrow. Born November 14, 1954, in Aguada, Puerto Rico, he was the seventh of eight kids in what he called a poor but happy family. He started out as a third baseman and outfielder. One day his manager needed a pitcher, Willie threw a seven-inning shutout, and that was the end of playing third.
The Phillies signed him in 1973, and the Cubs grabbed him in the Rule 5 draft. He spent most of seven years in Chicago pitching in Bruce Sutter’s shadow, and Cubs fans loved to boo him. Things turned around when Mike Cuellar taught him a screwball in winter ball, which he paired with a cut fastball. The Cubs traded him to the Phillies in May 1983, and he helped them win the pennant. In the 1983 World Series he pitched four hitless, scoreless innings against the Orioles.
Five days before Opening Day 1984, the Phillies traded him to Detroit. Nobody expected much. He had never saved more than 10 games in a season. When he got to camp he told reporters he’d start, relieve, DH or steal bases, whatever they wanted. “I’m a winner,” he said. “I want to play ball in October.”
Then he went out and had one of the greatest seasons a reliever has ever had. Pitching for Sparky Anderson, Hernandez appeared in a league-leading 80 games, went 9-3 with a 1.92 ERA, and converted 32 of 33 save chances. He didn’t blow one until September 27, after the Tigers had already clinched. Detroit won 104 games, swept the Royals, and beat the Padres in five. Willie pitched in every postseason game a Tigers starter didn’t finish and went three for three in save chances.
He won the Cy Young and the AL MVP. Only Sandy Koufax and Denny McLain had won the Cy Young, the MVP and the World Series in the same year before him.
Willie followed up with 31 saves in 1985 and made three straight All-Star teams. But the fans turned on him as the team slipped. In 1988 he dumped a bucket of ice water on columnist Mitch Albom, and he asked to be introduced by his real name, Guillermo. He pitched his last game in 1989 and went home to Puerto Rico to run a construction business and later a cattle ranch. He died in 2023 at 69.
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We have 58 Willie Hernandez broadcasts in the Classic Baseball Broadcasts library. Relive the 1984 Tigers, one of the best teams of the decade, and hear the season that won him the Cy Young and the MVP.
Members get the whole library, so when you’re done with Willie there’s plenty more waiting.
Take a quick walk down memory lane with this video . . .
Hear history for yourself.
Every ALCS & NLCS from 1969 - 1999 and Every World Series Game from 1939 to 1999 is on Classic Baseball Broadcasts for you to enjoy.
Members can listen anytime at classicbaseballbroadcasts.com.
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Todays Trivia . . .
Who is the only player to win 150+ games as a pitcher and collect 2,000+ hits as a batter?
Hint: #1 He did not play in the PGA Masters golf tournament just before his death at age 65.
Hint: #2 He once pitched complete games in seventy-three consecutive starts.
Quote of the day:
“I’m a winner. I want to play ball in October.”
Willie kept that promise.
Game of The Day:
Game of the Day — October 14, 1984 World Series Game 5 San Diego Padres vs Detroit Tigers
🎧 CLASSIC BROADCASTS — MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
⚾ Games, 2795 total
🧑 Player Pages we are now over - 5,246total
📰 News Reels 3,369 total
This week we added 100 new games, bringing our total library to 2,785 also we keep adding new player pages we are up to 5,226 as of October 22.
Members can listen to these gems:
Larry Bowa Interview (Passed Ball Show)
Bill Stern Sports Newsreel November 14, 1947 with Eddie Rickenbacker
Team Highlights – Minnesota Twins from 1991-11-14
Todays Podcast
November 14 highlights and Historic Days!
Brought to you by: This Day In Baseball
This day in baseball has a deeper dive into every event from November 14
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November 14, 1929 — Former pitching star Joe McGinnity dies at the age of 58. McGinnity, nicknamed “Iron Man”, posted 246 wins in only 10 major league seasons. He will enter the Hall of Fame in 1946.
November 14, 1946 — Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox wins his first American League Most Valuable Player Award. Williams had hit .406 and led the league in home runs in 1941, but had lost the MVP race to Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees. He won the Triple Crown a year later, but lost the MVP to Joe Gordon of the New York Yankees. This time, Williams (.342, 38, 123) beats out Detroit Tigers ace pitcher Hal Newhouser, a two-time winner of the MVP award who finishes second in the balloting. The Red Sox outfielder missed the last three seasons due to serving in the military during World War II.
November 14, 1957 — The BBWAA selects Hank Aaron as the National League’s Most Valuable Player. The Milwaukee Braves outfielder, with 239 points from the writers, narrowly edges out Stan Musial and his Cardinal former teammate, Giants infielder Red Schoendienst, who collect 230 and 221, respectively.
November 14, 1973 — Baltimore Orioles right-hander Jim Palmer, runner-up for the AL MVP honors, is named as the 1973 American League’s Cy Young Award winner. The 28-year-old future Hall of Famer compiled a 22-9 record along with an ERA of 2.40 for the first-place Birds this season.
November 14, 1979 — Don Baylor of the California Angels wins the MVP Award in the American League. The league leader in both runs scored (120) and runs batted in (139), Baylor also hit .296 with 36 home runs, helping the Angels win the AL West Division and reach the postseason for the first time in franchise history.
November 14, 1985, Milwaukee Brewers release 39-year-old Rollie Fingers, who struggled with a 5.04 ERA during the season. The long-time relief ace will contemplate a comeback with the Cincinnati Reds before deciding to retire. Thus bringing an end to his 17-year Hall of Fame career. At the time he was the all-time major league leader in saves with 341, he won the American League MVP and Cy Young awards four seasons ago.
He will be enshrined in Cooperstown in 1992.
November 14, 1986 — The Doubleday Publishing Company agrees to sell the World Champion New York Mets to Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon for $80.75 million. The company had purchased the Mets for a then-record $21.1 million in 1980.
Milestones November 14
🎙️ Did you know?
Born on this day Jimmy Piersall broke in as a centerfielder but switched to shortstop at the major league level in 1952 after posting .346 and .339 averages for Boston’s minor league affiliate at Birmingham. His season was curtailed by a nervous breakdown, recounted in Piersall’s book, Fear Strikes Out, which was later made into a movie.Piersall’s comeback with Boston in 1953 was marked by a 6-for-6 performance on June 10, 1953 and a new philosophy for dealing with fans who taunted him about his well-publicized illness: “Give ’em their money’s worth.” His career was characterized by numerous zany stunts, including hiding behind the monuments at Yankee Stadium while with the Indians and running backward around the bases after hitting his 100th career homer as a Met in 1963.Piersall became the Red Sox’ regular centerfielder in 1954, taking over for Dom DiMaggio. Playing the shallowest centerfield in the majors, he won two Gold Gloves. Piersall’s best years at the plate included a league-leading 40 doubles, 91 runs, 87 RBI, and .293 average for the 1956 Red Sox; 19 HR and 103 runs for the Red Sox in 1957; 18 HR, 66 RBI, and a .282 average for Cleveland in 1960, with a career-high 18 steals, fifth in the league; and a .322 average, fourth in the league, for the 1961 Indians.
Piersall joined Cleveland in exchange for Vic Wertz and Gary Geiger after the 1958 season, and the Senators gave up three players to get him two years later. Waived to the Mets in 1963, Piersall averaged .194, irked manager Casey Stengel, and was released. He hit .314 for the Angels in 1964 as a part-timer before retiring in 1967. He became an outspoken and controversial broadcaster with the White Sox and was ultimately fired for criticizing their management.
Hear Jimmy Piersall for yourself
We have 35 Jimmy Piersall games, 2 interviews in the Classic Baseball Broadcasts library.
Birthdays:
Notable: Jim Brewer
Passings:
Notable: Lindy McDaniel
New From Around the League!
ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA
TRIVIA ANSWER: JOHN MONTGOMERY WARD
- Ans. Ward ended with a pitching record of 164-103 and 2,107 hits as a batter.
- #1 In early 1925, Ward traveled to Augusta, Georgia to play golf. While there, he went on a hunting trip, caught a severe chill & collapsed with pneumonia. His death in Augusta on 04-Mar-1925, is 1 day after his 65th birthday. His story frequently is often linked to the famous Masters tournament first played there beginning 9 years after his death.
- #2 The streak began with his major league debut on 15-Jul-1878 until he was relieved in the 4th inning of a game exactly 1 year later.
Thank you Horsehide Trivia
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