December 12, 1998: The Los Angeles Dodgers sign free agent pitcher Kevin Brown to a contract worth $105 million over 7 years. It is the 1st contract in any of the "Big Four" North American sports leagues worth as much as $100 million. And it turns out to be a bad contract.
James Kevin Brown was born on March 14, 1965 in Milledgeville, Georgia, outside Macon. A white couple in Georgia, naming their son "James Brown"? No wonder he went by "Kevin" -- although Kevin Brown is also a very common name, even in sports: There's another baseball pitcher, a year younger, with the name.
This Kevin Brown won 211 games in the major leagues, against 144 losses, a very good percentage. He was a 6-time All-Star, twice led the National League in earned run average, pitched a no-hitter in 1997, and reached the postseason with 3 different teams -- and it probably would have been 4 times with 4 teams if the 1994 strike hadn't hit, denying the Texas Rangers the American League Western Division title. He won the World Series with the 1997 Florida Marlins, and another Pennant with the 1998 San Diego Padres. In 1999, the Dodgers thought he was worth a contract worth more than $100 million.
(UPDATE: With inflation factored in, that $105 million in 1998 would be worth $190 million in 2022.)
So why isn't he in the Baseball Hall of Fame? Mainly because of the 2004 season, his last full one in the majors. Known as a "Yankee Killer" during is time with the Rangers and the Baltimore Orioles -- but losing twice against them in the '98 World Series -- the Yankees traded for him, and became a bigger Yankee Killer than ever. During a September loss, he reacted to being taken out of the game by punching the dugout wall and breaking his pitching and. He returned in time to start Game 7 of the AL Championship Series, and turned in the worst postseason start in Yankee history. He got hurt again the next year, and retired.
He has been the subject of steroid rumors, which may also be keeping him out of the Hall. He lives in Macon, and does not work in baseball, in any capacity. No one seems to want him around.
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December 12, 1998 was a Saturday. Baseball was out of season. This was the weekend between college football's Conference Championship Games and its bowl games. And the NBA team owners had locked the players out, so the season hadn't started yet.
There were 11 games played in the NHL:
* The New York Islanders lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1 at the Nassau Coliseum. Former Islander Benoit Hogue scored the winning goal, with 48 seconds left in overtime.
* The New Jersey Devils beat the Colorado Avalanche, 5-3 at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands.
* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Boston Bruins, 4-1 at the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in Boston.
* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-0 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.
* The Calgary Flames beat the Florida Panthers, 4-2 at the National Car Rental Center (now the Amerant Bank Arena) in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Florida.
* The Montreal Canadiens and the Nashville Predators played to a tie, 2-2 at the Nashville Arena (now the Bridgestone Arena).
* The Phoenix Coyotes beat the Ottawa Senators, 2-0 at the Corel Centre (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa.
* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-0 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-3 at the Kiel Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis.
* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Vancouver Canucks, 3-0 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.
* The San Jose Sharks beat the Washington Capitals, 2-1 at the San Jose Arena (now the SAP Center).
* And the New York Rangers, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Dallas Stars, the Edmonton Oilers and the Anaheim Ducks were not scheduled.
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