Braves Franchise
1931 - The Boston Braves release veteran pitcher Johnny Cooney. Cooney will later return to the majors as an outfielder.
MLB History
1919 - The St. Louis Cardinals name team president Branch Rickey as the team’s new manager.
1932 - Cubs owner William Wrigley dies at the age of 70. Wrigley had owned the team since 1919. His son Philip inherits a controlling interest in the Cubs.
1951 - Mel Ott and Jimmie Foxx are voted into the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA. Ott hit .304 with 511 home runs during his career. Foxx hit .325 and slugged 534 home runs.
1963 - Major League Baseball’s Rules Committee increases the size of the strike zone. The new zone will stretch from the top of the batter’s shoulders to the bottom of the knees. The committee was hoping that the return of the 1950s style strike zone will suppress offense.
1994 - The Houston Astros sign free agent first baseman Sid Bream.
1995 - President Bill Clinton tells players and owners to resume bargaining and to reach an agreement and resolve the players strike by February 6.
2006 - Fidel Castro confirms that Cuba will take part in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.
2011 - The Yankees sign Bartolo Colon to a minor league contract. Colon didn’t pitch in 2010 but returned to the majors and put up a 4.00 ERA and a 3.83 FIP in 164 1/3 innings.
2021 - For the first time since 1960, no one was inducted into the Hall of Fame. The BBWAA failed to elect anyone and the Veterans Committee postponed its vote by a year.
2021 - The Blue Jays sign infielder Marcus Semien to a one-year, $18 million deal and the Phillies re-sign catcher J.T. Realmuto to a five-year, $115 million deal.
Talking Chop Archives
2011 - ESPN’s Keith Law ranks the Braves’ minor league system as the third best in the majors.
2016 - Reports suggest that the Braves are ‘planning to blitz’ the international free agent market in 2016. They did exactly as predicted, but it didn’t turn out well for John Coppolella.
2017 - Keith Law includes Ozzie Albies, Kolby Allard and Ronald Acuña Jr. in his Top 40 prospects.
2018 - Keith Law ranks the Braves’ farm system No. 1 in baseball.
2018 - Atlanta’s non-roster invitees to spring training include Kolby Allard, Mike Soroka, Kyle Wright, William Contreras, Austin Riley, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Cristian Pache.
2019 - Kyle Muller, Ian Anderson and Joey Wentz headline the Braves’ 2019 non-roster invitees to spring training.
2021 - The Braves hold a celebration of life for Henry Aaron at Truist Park
2021 - Atlanta signed infielder Ehire Adrianza to a minor league deal and invited him to Spring Training.