- 1889 - A New York sporting goods house receives an order for bats, balls, and other baseball equipment from Mr. Hiroka of Tokyo , Japan . In his letter he says that baseball "has been played there for several months" and that a baseball association would soon be organized.
- 1918 - Although the major leagues optimistically keep the schedules at 154 games, the owners agree to halve the spring training time in an attempt to save money, as the St. Louis Cardinals open their camp at Hot Wells, Arkansas .
- 1953 - U.S. Senator Edwin C. Johnson offers a bill to give clubs the sole right to ban radio-TV broadcasts of major league games in their own territory. The Antitrust division of the Justice Department outlawed this practice in 1949. Johnson believes that it started the decline of baseball in small towns and cities throughout the country. His bill will restore the equity between large communities and the small areas.
- 1989 - Commissioner Peter Ueberroth announces that he has begun an investigation into the behavior of Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose . Ueberroth doesn’t identify the allegations against Rose, but the Reds’ skipper will eventually be banished for his alleged involvement with Gambling .
- 1995 - The Baltimore Orioles cancel the remainder of their spring training games because of the team's refusal to use replacement players.
- 2000 - The new World Umpires Association agrees to consolidate all umpires as part of an interim agreement with the commissioner's office. The umpires will merge beginning with this season.
- 2006 :
- ---Scoring four runs in the first inning with only one ball hit out of the infield and four more in the ninth without an extra-base hit, Japan defeats Cuba 10–6, to win the first World Baseball Classic . A sellout crowd of 42,696 packed PETCO Park for the finale to the 21⁄2-week tournament that fulfilled expectations of its organizers. Starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka , who defeated Cuba in the 2004 Olympics , earned his third victory and was named the most valuable player of the tournament. Mid-March time frame is likely to be repeated in three years.
- ---The Boston Red Sox trade pitcher Bronson Arroyo to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for outfielder Wily Mo Peña . Boston also announces that outfielder Juan González has agreed to a minor league contract.
- ---Two-time All-Star pitcher Al Leiter announces his retirement after a 19-season majors career.
- ---At spring training, 86-year-old Red Sox special instructor Johnny Pesky is injured when a foul ball broke a bone in his left ankle as he watched a college game.
- 1821 - Bill Cammeyer , manager (d. 1898 )
- 1865 - Mike Griffin , outfielder (d. 1908 )
- 1907 - Vern Kennedy , All-Star pitcher (d. 1993 )
- 1912 - Clyde Shoun , pitcher (b. 1912 )
- 1915 - Stan Spence , All-Star outfielder (d. 1983 )
- 1925 - Al Widmar , pitcher (d. 2005 )
- 1933 - George Altman , All-Star outfielder
- 1941 - Pat Corrales , catcher/manager
- 1952 - Rick Langford , pitcher
- 1954 - Paul Mirabella , pitcher
- 1954 - Steve McCatty , pitcher
- 1960 - Mike Young , outfielder
- 1966 - Blas Minor , pitcher
- 1971 - Manny Alexander , infielder
- 1979 - Wilfredo Rodríguez , piitcher
- 1935 - Bill Holbert , catcher (b. 1855 )
- 1938 - Bob Fothergill , outfielder (b. 1897 )
- 1943 - Heinie Wagner , infielder (b. 1880 )
- 1947 - Mike Mowrey , infielder (b. ( 1884 )
- 1952 - Harry Bay , outfielder (b. 1878 )
- 1966 - Johnny Morrison , pitcher (b. 1895 )
- 1968 - Clyde Shoun , pitcher (b. 1912 )
- 1981 - Gee Walker , All-Star outfielder (b. 1908 )
- 1984 - Stan Coveleski , Hall of Fame pitcher (b. 1889 )
- 1996 - Jim Pendleton , outfielder (b. 1924 )
- 2001 - Luis Alvarado , infielder (b. 1949 )
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