One of Atlanta’s divisional rivals moves from Canada to Washington D.C. and locks down their new identity.
MLB History
1890: At the American Association annual meeting in Louisville, the Philadelphia Athletics are expelled for violating the league’s constitution. A new team in Philadelphia is admitted, plus entries from Boston, Washington and Chicago, replacing Syracuse, Toledo and Rochester.
1954: The Pittsburgh Pirates draft outfielder Roberto Clemente from the AAA roster of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Although Clemente hit only .257 for the Montreal Royals in part-time duty last season, he will become a Hall of Fame member with the Pirates.
1960: The American League proposes that both leagues expand to nine teams in 1961 and begin interleague play. There will be expansion in the American League in 1961, but interleague play will not arrive until 1997.
1989: Free agent outfielder Kirby Puckett re-signs with the Minnesota Twins for $9 million over three years, making him the first major league player ever to sign a contract that calls for an average salary of $3 million per year.
2003: 46-year-old relief pitcher Jesse Orosco agrees to a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks and will earn an $800,000 salary if he is added to the big league roster. However, he will fail in his attempt and retire with a total of 1,252 games pitched, the all-time record.
2004: The recently relocated Washington National League franchise announces its new name, logo and colors. Using the official original name of the district’s team which was popularly known as the Senators from 1901 to 1960, the club, clad in red, white, blue and gold, will be known as the Nationals.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: In order to make this worth your while for checking out this article despite there being no Braves history being made on this day, here’s a video of Chipper Jones hitting three homers in one game against the Nationals.]
2017: According to a report in the magazine Forbes, Major League Baseball revenues in 2017 grew for the 15th consecutive year and passed the $10 billion threshold for the first time. The growing value of television rights and increasing ratings are the primary reasons behind this growth, in spite of a slight decline in attendance at ballparks.
2022: The winners of the Comeback Player of the Year Award are Justin Verlander, who won the AL Cy Young Award after missing almost two full seasons due to Tommy John surgery, and Albert Pujols, who recently announced his retirement after an excellent final season with the Cardinals.
Information for this article was found via Baseball Reference, NationalPastime.com and Today in Baseball History.