This day in sports: Mike Piazza is traded to the Marlins and big names become Dodgers

Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla and Charles Johnson donned Dodgers uniforms for the first time on this date in 1998, officially sealing one of the biggest trades in baseball history that sent All-Star catcher Mike Piazza to the Florida Marlins in a seven-player transaction.

A formal announcement was delayed until late the night before because Sheffield, who had a no-trade clause in his contract, had to approve the deal.

The Dodgers also sent third baseman Todd Zeile to Florida and received first baseman-outfielder Jim Eisenreich and rookie right-hander Manuel Barrios.

The move was orchestrated by members of the Dodgers new ownership, Fox Group, bringing the O’Malley family era to a close.

In sports events canceled or postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 145th running of the Preakness Stakes was scheduled for Saturday at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. The second jewel of the Triple Crown is expected be run later this year.

The Dodgers were set to play the second of three games at Kansas City against the Royals. The Angels would have celebrated Country Weekend with the Oakland Athletics at Angel Stadium.

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Here is a look at memorable games and outstanding sports performances:

1964 — Northern Dancer, with Bill Hartack in the saddle, wins the Preakness Stakes by 2 1/2 lengths over The Scoundrel. The feisty colt with the small muscular frame was the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He raced next at the Belmont Stakes where he finished third in a bid to win the Triple Crown.

1980 — The Lakers beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 123-107, to win the NBA title in six games. Rookie Magic Johnson plays all five positions, including center for an injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Johnson scores 42 points, grabs 15 rebounds and hands out seven assists as the series’ most valuable player. The 42 points are the most by a rookie in an NBA Finals game.

1982 — The New York Islanders win the Stanley Cup for the third year in a row, completing a four-game sweep of the Vancouver Canucks with a 3-1 victory at Vancouver. Former Kings center Butch Goring scores in the first period and Mike Bossy adds two power-play goals in the second for the Islanders.

1987 — Kentucky Derby winner Alysheba, with Chris McCarron in the irons, finishes a half-length ahead of Bet Twice to win the Preakness Stakes. Bet Twice was also the Kentucky Derby runner-up. Alysheba does something that his father Alydar couldn’t do in 1978, finish first in the Derby and the Preakness.

1992 — America3, billionaire Bill Koch’s high-tech racing boat, wins the America’s Cup yacht races 4-1 with a 44-second victory over Italy’s Il Moro di Venezia in the waters off San Diego. Koch sails with the crew even though he is an amateur and is assisted by Buddy Melges and other veteran sailors.

1996 — Steve Yzerman scores at 1:15 of the second overtime as the Detroit Red Wings advance to the Western Conference finals with a 1-0 win over the St. Louis Blues in Game 7. It’s the second time in NHL history a Game 7 is scoreless heading into overtime. Yzerman’s goal comes on a 55-foot shot that hits the crossbar and bounces into the net.

1998 — Kentucky Derby winner Real Quiet, with Kent Desormeaux up, wins the Preakness Stakes, beating Victory Gallop by 2 1/4 lengths. Trainer Bob Baffert is the first to oversee Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winners in successive years. In 1997, Baffert won the Derby and Preakness with Silver Charm. Real Quiet lost the Triple Crown when Victory Gallop beats him by a nose in the Belmont Stakes.

2007 — The Atlanta Braves are sold by Time Warner Inc. to Liberty Media Corp. Braves chairman Terry McGuirk values the franchise at $450 million and the deal is unanimously approved by major league owners at a special meeting called to beat a midnight change in tax laws.

2009 — Rachel Alexandra is the fifth filly to win the Preakness Stakes, and the first since Nellie Morse in 1924 when she holds off a late charge by Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird. Jockey Calvin Borel, who rode Mine That Bird in the Derby, switches to Rachel Alexandra and guides her to a sixth straight victory.

2010 — Running on a straight track, American sprinter Tyson Gay breaks a 44-year-old record for 200 meters at a meet in Manchester, England. Gay finishes in 19.41 seconds into a slight headwind on a specially constructed track, shaving 0.09 off the mark set by Tommie Smith in May 1966 at San Jose.