This Date in Baseball - Magic Johnson's group wins bid to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers

March 27

1973 — Veteran pitcher Jim Perry of the Minnesota Twins becomes the first player in Major League Baseball to approve of being traded under the new “ten and five” rule. The Twins send Perry to the Detroit Tigers for a player and cash considerations. Perry, a 24-game winner in 1970, will win 14 games for the Tigers this year.

1987 — The New York Mets make one of the best trades in franchise history when they acquire pitcher David Cone from the Kansas City Royals for catcher Ed Hearn and two pitching prospects, Mauro Gozzo and Rick Anderson. Cone will blossom as one of the National League’s better starting pitchers, posting a 20-3 record for the Mets in 1988, while Hearn’s promising career will be ended by injuries.

2002 — Jose Canseco is given his release by the Montreal Expos after being told he would not be an everyday player. Canseco, who needs 38 home runs to reach 500, batted .258 and hit 16 homers for the Chicago White Sox last season while appearing in 76 games, but he will not play in the major leagues again.

2012 — The group led by former NBA star Magic Johnson and executive Stan Kasten emerges as the winner of the bidding process to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers from owner Frank McCourt under supervision of a bankruptcy court judge.

2016 — In the second of two games played in Mexico City, the Padres take advantage of favorable hitting conditions at Fray Nano Stadium and explode for five homers and 21 runs in defeating the Astros, 21 - 6. Jabari Blash, Adam Rosales and Jon Jay all go deep off Astros starter Brady Rodgers in the 1st. The Padres also score eight runs in the 7th, with Casey McElroy supplying a two-run blast, to seal the landslide win. For his part, Rodgers gives up eight runs in only two-thirds of an inning and reliever Brendan McCurry is also lit up for eight runs.

2022 — 42-year-old Albert Pujols, the majors’ active career leader in all sorts of offensive categories, signs a one-year contract for the Cardinals to finish his career where it all started back in 2001.

2025 — The Orioles start their season with a bang, smashing six homers in defeating the Blue Jays, 12 - 2, at the Rogers Centre. Cedric Mullins and Adley Rutschman both homer twice, while Tyler O’Neill extends his own record by homering in a sixth straight Opening Day game while going 3 for 3 with two walks.

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