Cleveland Indians fan favorite infielder Carlos Baerga is born.

Baerga was signed by the San Diego Padres in 1985 and remained with the club in the minors until he was dealt in 1989 with Sandy Alomar and Chris James to the Indians for outfielder Joe Carter. He made his debut as a utility infielder for the team in 1990 as a 21-year-old, hitting .260.

By 1992, he was named to the first of his three All-Star teams and reached the 200-hit plateau for the first time in his career. He was the first Indians player to achieve the mark since Carter in 1986 and he would do it again the following season, becoming just the fourth player in club history (joining Joe Jackson, Charlie Jamieson, and Dale Mitchell) and the first since 1949 with consecutive 200-hit seasons for the club. He was named the Cleveland BBWA Man of the Year in both 1991 and 1992. He was awarded the American League Silver Slugger in 1993 and 1994 and was a two-time AL Player of the Week during the 1993 season. He was on pace to destroy most career numbers when the strike ended the 1994 season prematurely.

He spent from 1990 to 1996 on the Indians roster until he was dealt to the New York Mets. After a return to San Diego, he rejoined the Tribe for 22 games in 1999. He also spent time with Boston, Arizona, and Washington at the tail end of his career.

Also on this date in Tribe history:

1933 – Tito Francona is born.

1955 – Denton True “Cy” Young passes away at the age of 88. The baseball legend spent nine seasons in Cleveland with the National League’s Spiders from 1890 to 1898 and returned to the city from 1909 to 1911 with the Naps.

1982 – The Indians hire Mike Ferraro, previously a coach for the New York Yankees, as their new manager on a two-year contract. He will not last the season in the role.

1993 – Indians pitcher Cliff Young is killed in a car accident in Texas. He had appeared in 21 games for Cleveland in his only season with the club. He is the third Indians pitcher to die this year.

1999 – Larry Dolan agrees to purchase the Indians from Richard Jacobs for $320 million, which would be a record sale of an MLB franchise.