Looking to add some badly needed thump to their lineup, the Yankees signed slugging outfielder Danny Tartabull to a five-year, $25 million contract on this day in béisbol, January 6, 1992. New York was coming off three straight losing years when they added Tartabull, who was coming off an all-star season with the Kansas City Royals with 31 homers, 100 RBI and a .316.397/.593 slash line. Tartabull, 29, son of former major leaguer Jose Tartabull, hit 25 home runs with 85 RBI in an injury-shortened first year in New York. Already known as a clubhouse malcontent, he soon wore out

The Red Sox signed future Hall of Fame third baseman Adrian Beltre to a one-year deal worth $9 million on this day in béisbol, January 4, 2010, as an expensive insurance policy for ailing 3B Mike Lowell. It proved to be money well spent. Beltre, 31, won the AL Silver Slugger Award with 28 homers, 102 RBI, and a .331 average, and led MLB with 49 doubles as the every day third baseman in his one season with Boston. Lowell, who was battling multiple maladies since the previous season including a bad hip and a torn right thumb ligament, made

A New Year’s Eve celebration turned into a tragedy involving Orioles closer Alfredo Simon, who surrendered to Dominican Republic police on this day in béisbol, January 3, 2011 for allegedly shooting a man dead and wounding another. Simon, 29, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and faced prison time after he he told cops he fired a gun into the air at midnight to ring in the new year. Bullets struck and killed a 25-year-old local man and wounded his 17-year old cousin when they descended, according to reports. The Santiago, D.R., native initially fled the scene but turned himself in

Months before making his MLB debut, centerfielder Luis Robert Jr. signed a $50 million, six-year contract with the Chicago White Sox on this day in béisbol, January 2, 2020. Chicago had taken the same risk on rookie outfielder Eloy Jimenez the previous year, signing the Dominican prospect to a six-year, $43 million contract that immediately paid off when the rookie slammed 31 homers. But serious injuries including a pectoral tendon rupture and a hamstring tear limited Jimenez’s playing time. Robert, a 22-year-old Cuban import, showed plenty of promise after playing just 56 games in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He hit

Long before Shohei Ohtani amazed the baseball universe with his two-way prowess as a hitter and pitcher, there was Martin Dihigo, whose exploits on the field were overshadowed by another two-way superstar named Babe Ruth. A Black Cuban who starred in the Negro Leagues and Latin American and Caribbean winter leagues from the 1920s to the ‘40s, Dihigo was also a player-manager for the New York Cubans of the Negro Leagues. On this day in béisbol, January 1, 1929, Dihigo was in the news for his role in a losing cause. Playing for Havana in the Cuban League, he was

The baseball world was shocked and stunned after news spread that Pittsburgh Pirates icon Roberto Clemente had been killed in an airplane crash on this day in béisbol, December 31, 1972. Clemente, 38, died along with four other passengers and crew on the four-engine DC-7, which slammed into the ocean shortly after 9 p.m. after taking off from San Juan, Puerto Rico. The baseball star, 38, was on a humanitarian mission to bring relief supplies to victims of an earthquake that had recently struck Nicaragua. A lifetime .317 hitter and outstanding right fielder who amassed 12 Gold Glove awards, Clemente

Fireballing Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman was traded to the Yankees for four minor leaguers on this day in béisbol, December 28, 2015. New York already had a formidable late-game bullpen combo in right handers Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances when they brought in Chapman, a lefty whose pitches routinely hit more than 100 mph. The Reds dumped Chapman after he had violated MLB's domestic violence policy. The Cuban-born import, 28, led the Yankees with 20 saves in 2016 despite being traded yet again to the Chicago Cubs at the July 31 trading deadline. New York, which was in the

Moises Alou leveraged an excellent season with the Cubs into a one-year, $7.25 million contract with the San Francisco Giants on this day in béisbol, December 27, 2004. The 37-year-old outfielder had one of his finest seasons in ’04, when he slammed 39 homers with 106 RBI and a .293 average for Chicago. He hit .321 for the Giants in 2005 and .301 the following season when an option year was picked up, but only averaged 20 homers in each season due to injuries. His time in San Francisco was highlighted by playing for his father, Felipe Alou, who also