THIS DAY IN BÉISBOL January 3: Orioles closer Alfredo Simon arrested in fatal shooting

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 accompanied by Orioles teammate Julio Lugo. Prosecutors could not prove the bullets came from Simon’s gun and he was cleared of charges later that year.

Simon, who had 17 saves in 2010 before losing his closer job, signed with the Cincinnati Reds in 2012 after being waived by Baltimore. He was converted to a starter in 2014 and went 15-10 with a 3.44 ERA, but injuries forced him out of the game two years later at age 35.

Also on this day: In 2005, MLB gives the Arizona Diamondbacks the green light to send future Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson to the Yankees for a package that includes pitcher Javier Vazquez, catcher Dioner Navarro and $9 million. The deal would be finalized a week later.

Keith Allison on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; LatinoBaseball.com illustration