February 1
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
| Standings on this day | |
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| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on February 1.
Events[edit]
- 1913 - Olympic hero Jim Thorpe signs with the New York Giants of the National League.
- 1914 - An exhibition game involving major league teams takes place in Cairo, Egypt. The game is part of a special 56-game world tour. The Chicago White Sox and New York Giants play to a ten-inning, 3 - 3 tie.
- 1917 - Eiji Sawamura is born. He will go on to a brilliant but brief career in Japanese Professional Baseball League before dying during World War II. The Sawamura Award will be named after him.
- 1919 - The Brooklyn Robins trade first baseman Jake Daubert to the Cincinnati Reds for outfielder Tommy Griffith. Daubert, a former National League MVP with Brooklyn, is shipped out shortly after receiving an out-of-court settlement from the Robins for the balance of his salary ($2,150) because the 1918 season ended a month early.
- 1926 - The New York Yankees sell first baseman Wally Pipp to the Cincinnati Reds. In 1925, an injury forced Pipp out of the Yankees lineup, resulting in his permanent replacement by future Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig.
- 1928 - Former standout Hughie Jennings dies at the age of 58. The future Hall of Famer batted .311 over a 17-year career, including a career-high .401 in 1896. Jennings also managed the Detroit Tigers to three consecutive American League pennants from 1907 through 1909.
- 1947 - Commissioner Happy Chandler announces the creation of a pension plan for major league players. Players who have accumulated five seasons in the major leagues will receive $50 a month starting at the age of 50. For each year of additional service, a player will receive an extra $10 per month, up to a maximum of $100.
- 1959 - Zack Wheat, a Brooklyn Robins favorite of the 1910s and 1920s, is elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. Wheat, a .317 hitter over his 19-year career, batted .300 or better 14 times.
- 1962 - The National League releases its first 162-game schedule.
- 1965 - The National League clubs adopt an emergency team replacement plan to restock any club struck by disaster.
- 1970 - The Veterans Committee selects former Commissioner Ford Frick and former players Earle Combs and Jesse Haines to the Hall of Fame. Haines won 210 games for the St. Louis Cardinals and pitched in four World Series. Although he played 100 games in a season just nine times, Combs accumulated 1,866 hits and batted .325. Frick was commissioner from 1951 to 1965, but he is best remembered for suggesting that an asterisk be placed next to the name of anyone who broke Babe Ruth's home run record during the eight additional games on the schedule in 1961.
- 1973 - Monte Irvin is elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues. Irvin becomes the fourth player to gain election through the committee, joining Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard. Irvin won two batting crowns for the Newark Eagles before joining the New York Giants.
- 1985 - In an effort to add some much-needed power to a lineup essentially composed of speedsters, the St. Louis Cardinals trade OF/1B David Green, SS Jose Uribe (who is still known as "Jose Gonzalez" at that time), P Dave LaPoint, and OF/1B Gary Rajsich to the San Francisco Giants for slugging OF/1B Jack Clark.
- 1988 - Kaoru Betto is elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.
- 1995 - Talks resume between the major league owners and the Players' Association in attempt to resolve the on-going strike. The owners agree to drop their demand for a salary cap, replacing it with a proposal for a luxury tax.
- 1999 - The New York Yankees trade highly-touted third base prospect Mike Lowell to the Florida Marlins for three minor league pitchers - Mark Johnson, Ed Yarnall and Todd Noel. Lowell, named minor league player of the year last season, is expendable after Scott Brosius' outstanding 1998 performance.
- 2001 - Postseason hero Jim Leyritz signs a $500,000, one-year minor league contract with the New York Mets. The former New York Yankees utility player has hit one home run per every 7.6 postseason at-bat, the third best performance for players with five or more postseason homers.
- 2002 - Six-time All-Star Kenny Lofton agrees to a $1.25 million, one-year contract with the Chicago White Sox. The 34-year-old center fielder, who has played with the Indians, Braves and Astros, has a .302 lifetime batting average in an 11-season career.
- 2003 - Boston Red Sox president Larry Lucchino announces four senators, Edward M. Kennedy, John F. Kerry, John McCain, and Tom Daschle, will file legislation nominating Jackie Robinson for the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor.
- 2005 - A web site claims Yogi Berra has filed a $10 million lawsuit against TBS due to a Sex and the City promotion which used Berra's name as a possible answer concerning the definition of yogasm. The choices included (a) a type of yo-yo trick, (b) sex with Yogi Berra and (c) what Samantha has with a guy from yoga class.
- 2008 - Johan Santana signs a six-year, $137.5 million deal with the New York Mets to become the highest-paid pitcher in major league history, breaking Barry Zito's record. The contract is the penultimate step in a trade of Santana to New York; only a physical remains and this will be passed a day later.
- 2010:
- Jon Miller, who has been broadcasting San Francisco Giants games since 1997, is this year's Ford Frick Award winner. Widely respected for his work, Miller broadcast games for four teams prior to working for the Giants, including those of the Baltimore Orioles from 1983 to 1996. Since 1990, he has described ESPN's nationally-televized Sunday night game in partnership with Joe Morgan.
- Teams round out their rosters with a flurry of late free agent signings. The Dodgers ink OF Reed Johnson, the Red Sox add reliever Joe Nelson, the Giants sign P Byung-Hyun Kim and Horacio Ramirez, and the Mariners reach a deal with 1B Ryan Garko.
- The Athletics send IF Aaron Miles to the Reds in return for OF Willy Taveras and IF Adam Rosales, then immediately designate Taveras for assignment.
- 2011:
- A judge in the Dominican Republic denies bail to P Alfredo Simon, who has been detained for a month for his implication in a fatal shooting on New Year's eve. The decision means that Simon is likely to stay in jail for another year while the investigation continues.
- The Padres claim P Samuel Deduno on waivers from the Rockies and designate utility player Oscar Salazar for assignment.
- 2012 - In signings today, 1B Dan Johnson goes to the White Sox; IF Carlos Guillen to the Mariners; P Juan Cruz to Pittsburgh; IF Jamey Carroll to Minnesota; and P Chad Durbin to Washington.
- 2013:
- More trouble for Alex Rodriguez in the wake of earlier reports of the superstar being a client of a clinic in Boca Raton, FL, Biogenesis Laboratories, which is under investigation for supplying PEDs. ESPN reports today that he has been receiving weekly injections at home from the director of the suspect clinic, Anthony Bosch.
- The 2013 Caribbean Series opens at newly-built Estadio Sonora in Hermosillo, Sonora, as Fernando Valenzuela throws the ceremonial first pitch before the game between Venezuela's Navegantes del Magallanes and the Dominican Republic's Leones del Escogido. Escogido wins, 7 - 2, as Francisco Pena hits a two-run homer as part of a four-run barrage in the 5th. In the second game, Yaquis de Obregón, representing the host Mexican Pacific League, shuts out the Criollos de Caguas from Puerto Rico, 3 - 0, as Luis Mendoza pitches six scoreless innings and Luis Ayala gets the save.
- 2014 - Cuba's return to the Caribbean Series begins on a rough note. Villa Clara falls to the Naranjeros de Hermosillo, 9 - 4, thanks to a five-run 5th. Chris Roberson, a long-time Series regular, gets four hits, including a three-run homer in the 5th off Robelio Carrillo, to lead the Hermosillo offense. Alfredo Despaigne scores twice and homers for Cuba. In the other game of the Caribbean Series played today, the Indios de Mayagüez win a 7 - 6 contest against ten-time Series champion Licey. Down 6 - 1 after four innings, Puerto Rico rallies to win with excellent relief and a balanced offense. Rey Navarro scores the winner in the 10th on a double off Guillermo Mota, a sacrifice hit and an error by Héctor Gómez.
- 2016:
- The Yankees suffer a blow as one of their best young hitters, 1B Greg Bird, who filled in very well when Mark Teixeira went down with a season-ending injury last August, needs to undergo surgery after re-aggravating a shoulder injury in off-season workouts. He will miss the entire season as a result.
- The 2016 Caribbean Series opens in Estadio Quisqueya in Santo Domingo. In the first game, 39-year-old Freddy Garcia pitches six strong innings to lead Aragua of Venezuela over Santurce of Puerto Rico, 2 - 1. A two-run triple by José Martínez provides the offense for the victors. In the second game, Mazatlan, representing Mexico, defeat Escogido, the hometown favorites from the Dominican League, 3 - 2. Justin Greene's two hits and two RBIs offset an inside-the-park homer by Leury Garcia.
- 2017 - On the first day of the 2017 Caribbean Series in Culiacán, Sinaloa, the Alazanes de Granma open hostilities with a 4 - 0 blanking of Tigres del Licey behind the pitching of Lazaro Blanco. In the second game, a two-run homer by Chris Roberson in the 7th inning gives host Aguilas de Mexicali a 4 - 2 win over Criollos de Caguas.
- 2018 - The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame announces its 2018 class, comprised of P Pedro Martinez, who starred for the Montreal Expos in the 1990s, OF Lloyd Moseby, formerly of the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1980s, and Historian William Humber.
- 2020 - The Colombian League has a team in the Caribbean Series for the first time. The Vaqueros de Montería lead the Cardenales de Lara, 3 - 0, going into the bottom of the 7th but Sugar Ray Marimon and Ronald Ramírez give up six runs that inning to cost them the day. In other action, the Toros del Este edge the Tomateros de Culiacán, 2 - 1, thanks to the fine pitching of Yuniesky Maya and four relievers, while the host Cangrejeros de Santurce beat the Astronautas de Chiriquí, 4 - 3, in ten innings when Jonathan Morales' sacrifice fly brings in Henry Ramos with the winning run.
- 2021 - Major League Baseball announces that the Players Association has rejected its proposal to delay the start of both spring training and the regular season by one month, reducing the season to 154 games, for health and safety reasons.
- 2022 - The round-robin portion of the Caribbean Series concludes with three games. The first two have little bearing on the final standings: the Criollos de Caguas manage to salvage a bit of dignity from their participation by finally winning a game, defeating Caimanes de Barranquilla, 6 - 2, while Gigantes del Cibao defeat Navegantes del Magallanes, 8 - 7, in the first extra-inning contest of the tournament. The key game is the third one, and it's a close call as Charros de Jalisco eliminate Astronautas de Los Santos with a 1 - 0 win. It's the third straight shutout by the Mexicans as Javier Solano pitches six scoreless innings in spite of not striking out anyone and ends up the winner as Esteban Quiroz drives in the only run with a single in the 5th.
- 2023 - The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame announces its class of 2023, which comprises four persons. Former Blue Jays outfielder Jesse Barfield and Canadian pitchers Denis Boucher and Rich Harden are elected as players, while Joe Wiwchar is honored for seven decades of work as an amateur coach and executive in his hometown of Winnipeg, MB.
- 2024:
- The Orioles and Brewers pull off a big trade as Milwaukee sends ace P Corbin Burnes to Baltimore in return for two top prospects, P DL Hall and IF Joey Ortiz and a Compensation Round A pick in the 2024 Amateur Draft, the #34 pick of that draft.
- The Gigantes del Rivas become the first Nicaraguan League team in a Caribbean Series. They drop the 2024 Caribbean Series opener, 5-2, to the Criollos de Caguas. In other action, the Curaçao Suns top the Naranjeros de Hermosillo, 6-5, on a 3-run triple by Didi Gregorius and homers by Jonathan Schoop, Ademar Rifaela and Wladimir Balentien. The Tiburones de La Guaira open with a 3-1 win over the defending champion Tigres del Licey as Miguel Romero and his bullpen pitch a fine game.
Births[edit]
- 1858 - Lew Brown, catcher (d. 1889)
- 1867 - Norris O'Neill, minor league player and executive (d. 1937)
- 1867 - Pete Wood, pitcher (d. 1923)
- 1874 - Harry Bemis, catcher (d. 1947)
- 1875 - Billy Sullivan, catcher, manager (d. 1965)
- 1878 - W.S. Borland, college coach (d. ????)
- 1878 - George Richardson. owner (d. 1948)
- 1878 - William Richardson, owner (d. 1942)
- 1882 - Joe Harris, pitcher (d. 1966)
- 1884 - Joe Connolly, outfielder (d. 1943)
- 1884 - Jim Kelly, outfielder (d. 1961)
- 1884 - Rosey Rowswell, announcer (d. 1955)
- 1884 - Candy Jim Taylor, infielder, manager (d. 1948)
- 1885 - Pete Harrison, umpire (d. 1921)
- 1887 - Doc Wiley, catcher (d. 1944)
- 1888 - Bob Couchman, minor league pitcher (d. 1948)
- 1890 - Earle Mack, infielder, manager (d. 1967)
- 1891 - Doc Bennett, scout (d. 1974)
- 1892 - Dixie McArthur, pitcher (d. 1986)
- 1892 - Tom McGuire, pitcher (d. 1959)
- 1893 - Walter Krueger, minor league infielder and manager (d. 1977)
- 1894 - Walt Golvin, infielder (d. 1973)
- 1894 - Rube Parnham, pitcher (d. 1963)
- 1895 - Frank Lane, general manager (d. 1981)
- 1896 - Carl Williams, minor league pitcher and manager (d. 1960)
- 1898 - Bud Messenger, pitcher (d. 1971)
- 1903 - Carl Reynolds, outfielder (d. 1978)
- 1905 - Jack Ridley, outfielder (d. 1952)
- 1908 - Vince Barton, outfielder (d. 1973)
- 1909 - Red Patterson, writer (d. 1992)
- 1910 - Dutch Lieber, pitcher (d. 1961)
- 1911 - Hal Sayles, minor league executive (d. 1980)
- 1915 - Woody Abernathy, pitcher (d. 1994)
- 1915 - Yoshinori Okoso, owner; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 2005)
- 1917 - Elmer Burkart, pitcher (d. 1995)
- 1917 - Eiji Sawamura, NPB pitcher; Japanese Baseball Hall of Famer (d. 1944)
- 1919 - Norm Brown, pitcher (d. 1995)
- 1920 - Giichi Hayashi, NPB pitcher and manager (d. 2008)
- 1921 - Dave Madison, pitcher (d. 1985)
- 1922 - Raymond Mazzucco, minor league pitcher (d. 2012)
- 1923 - Earl Lawson, writer (d. 2003)
- 1925 - Mary Nesbitt, AAGPBL pitcher and infielder (d. 2013)
- 1925 - Takumi Otomo, NPB pitcher (d. 2013)
- 1925 - Clarence Russell, minor league outfielder (d. 2009)
- 1930 - Chuck Churn, pitcher (d. 2017)
- 1930 - Bob Smith, pitcher (d. 2013)
- 1931 - Don Fracchia, minor league pitcher
- 1932 - Jun Hakota, NPB infielder
- 1934 - Bob Conley, pitcher (d. 2022)
- 1936 - Claus Helmig, minor league pitcher (d. 2016)
- 1937 - Minoru Tanimoto, NPB catcher (d. 2010)
- 1937 - Robert White, minor league pitcher
- 1940 - Eiji Fujii, NPB outfielder
- 1941 - Benno Niemeijer, Hoofdklasse pitcher (d. 2019)
- 1942 - Frans Mäkel, Hoofdklasse player (d. 2021)
- 1942 - Pedro Reinoso, minor league pitcher (d. 2023)
- 1943 - Ron Woods, outfielder
- 1944 - Paul Blair, outfielder; All-Star (d. 2013)
- 1944 - Hal King, catcher (d. 2019)
- 1945 - Yasuhiro Takai, NPB designated hitter (d. 2019)
- 1947 - Jim McKee, pitcher (d. 2002)
- 1947 - Kunikazu Ogawa, NPB pitcher
- 1947 - Danny Thompson, infielder (d. 1976)
- 1950 - Don Castle, designated hitter
- 1950 - Masami Fujimura, Japanese national team outfielder (d. 2007)
- 1952 - Stan Kasten, owner
- 1955 - Ernie Camacho, pitcher
- 1955 - Akira Shinya, NPB infielder
- 1955 - Mark Souza, pitcher
- 1956 - Geoff Combe, pitcher
- 1957 - Tom Wieghaus, catcher
- 1959 - Mike Barnett, coach
- 1959 - Katsuo So, NPB pitcher
- 1960 - Cecilio Guante, pitcher
- 1960 - Stan Holmes, minor league outfielder (d. 2011)
- 1961 - Jim Benedict, scout
- 1961 - Katsuhiko Kido, NPB catcher
- 1964 - Mark Germann, scout
- 1966 - Darrin Chapin, pitcher
- 1966 - Eduardo Zambrano, outfielder
- 1967 - Juan Guerrero, infielder
- 1967 - Tim Naehring, infielder
- 1967 - Hiromoto Okubo, NPB catcher and manager
- 1968 - Kent Mercker, pitcher
- 1970 - Edwin Hurtado, pitcher
- 1970 - Joe Vitko, pitcher
- 1970 - Fumihiro Yoshimoto, NPB umpire
- 1972 - Rich Becker, outfielder
- 1972 - Matt Haas, scout
- 1972 - José Pérez, Puerto Rican national team infielder
- 1975 - Nick Carter, Great Britain national team pitcher
- 1975 - Brian Manning, minor league outfielder
- 1976 - Phil Norton, pitcher
- 1978 - Erick Almonte, infielder
- 1978 - Dusty Bergman, pitcher
- 1978 - Koji Hirashita, NPB outfielder
- 1978 - Bradley LeCroy, college coach
- 1978 - Filip Van Der Meiren, First Division infielder and manager
- 1980 - Reid Casey, minor league player
- 1980 - Hector Luna, infielder
- 1980 - Alexander Toropov, minor league pitcher
- 1980 - Chang-Lung Yeh, CPBL outfielder
- 1982 - Matt Harrington, minor league pitcher
- 1982 - Matt Houston, minor league catcher
- 1982 - Jean Machi, pitcher
- 1982 - Ryan Wing, minor league pitcher
- 1982 - Jing Zhou, Chinese national team pitcher
- 1983 - Bryon Bell, minor league pitcher
- 1983 - Dane De La Rosa, pitcher
- 1983 - Serguey Linares, minor league pitcher (d. 2015)
- 1984 - Oscar Angulo, minor league infielder
- 1984 - Marcos Guimaraes, Brazilian national team outfielder
- 1984 - Yeo-sang Lee, KBO infielder
- 1985 - Colin Curtis, outfielder
- 1985 - Elian Herrera, infielder
- 1985 - Luis Nieblas, minor league catcher
- 1986 - Kristopher Negron, infielder
- 1986 - Justin Sellers, infielder
- 1987 - Marco Carrillo, minor league pitcher
- 1987 - Austin Jackson, outfielder
- 1987 - Joseph Mahoney, infielder
- 1987 - Robert Zarate, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Brett Anderson, pitcher
- 1988 - Chia-Chu Lee, CPBL outfielder
- 1988 - Allan de San Miguel, minor league catcher
- 1990 - Nate Orf, infielder
- 1990 - Stolmy Pimentel, pitcher
- 1990 - Rômulo Shindo, Brazilian national team pitcher
- 1991 - Darnell Sweeney, infielder
- 1992 - Tristan Gerdtommarkotten, Bundesliga infielder
- 1992 - Fernando Baez, minor league pitcher
- 1992 - Sean Manaea, pitcher
- 1992 - Adil Sardar, Pakistani national team pitcher
- 1993 - Alberto Baldonado, pitcher
- 1993 - Chang-min Shim, KBO pitcher
- 1993 - Theng Tour, Cambodian national team outfielder
- 1993 - Richard White, minor league pitcher
- 1995 - José Gómez, Venezuelan national team infielder
- 1995 - Rafael Moreno, minor league pitcher
- 1996 - Nicholas Arias, Palestinian national team outfielder
- 1996 - Jonathan DuForest, French national team player
- 1997 - Yuki Takahashi, NPB pitcher
- 1998 - Jazz Chisholm, infielder; All-Star
- 1998 - Ryne Nelson, pitcher
- 1999 - Chen Chiu, CPBL outfielder
- 1999 - Tyler Gentry, outfielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1890 - George Trenwith, infielder (b. 1851)
- 1908 - T.E. Fellows, umpire (b. 1845)
- 1912 - Jim Doyle, infielder (b. 1881)
- 1914 - Sam Weaver, pitcher (b. 1855)
- 1923 - John Shearon, outfielder (b. 1870)
- 1928 - Hughie Jennings, infielder, manager; Hall of Famer (b. 1869)
- 1929 - Walt Wilmot, outfielder (b. 1863)
- 1932 - Ed Poles, infielder (b. 1902)
- 1936 - Porter Dallas, infielder (b. 1904)
- 1945 - Tubby Spencer, catcher (b. 1884)
- 1946 - Dad Hale, pitcher (b. 1880)
- 1948 - Jim McCormick, infielder (b. 1868)
- 1949 - Sidney Brooks, infielder/outfielder (b. 1893)
- 1954 - Norman Plitt, pitcher (b. 1893)
- 1957 - Grover Seitz, minor league outfielder and manager (b. 1908)
- 1958 - Mysterious Walker, pitcher (b. 1884)
- 1965 - James Calleran, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1905)
- 1969 - Razor Ledbetter, pitcher (b. 1894)
- 1973 - Lou Bevil, pitcher (b. 1922)
- 1974 - Claude Berry, catcher (b. 1880)
- 1978 - Jack Saltzgaver, infielder (b. 1903)
- 1979 - Milt Byrnes, outfielder (b. 1916)
- 1980 - Greg Mulleavy, infielder (b. 1905)
- 1980 - Fred Walters, catcher (b. 1912)
- 1982 - Ed Edelen, pitcher (b. 1912)
- 1987 - Naoto Asahara, NPB outfielder (b. 1916)
- 1988 - Red Phillips, pitcher (b. 1908)
- 1996 - Don Stokes, minor league outfielder (b. 1921)
- 1999 - Paul Calvert, pitcher (b. 1917)
- 2001 - Sam Harshany, catcher (b. 1910)
- 2001 - Charley House, infielder (b. 1913)
- 2003 - Carrenza Howard, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1914)
- 2006 - Jake Wade, pitcher (b. 1912)
- 2007 - Ray Berres, catcher (b. 1907)
- 2008 - Whitey Ries, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1929)
- 2008 - Tom Venditelli, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1930)
- 2009 - Bob Carlson, USA national team pitcher (b. 1916)
- 2010 - Robert White, minor league pitcher (b. 1928)
- 2012 - Herb Adams, outfielder (b. 1928)
- 2013 - Jerry Welch, Panamanian national team outfielder (b. ~1941)
- 2014 - Joe Fishinghawk, minor league pitcher (b. 1933)
- 2017 - Mark Brownson, pitcher (b. 1975)
- 2018 - Bill Martin, minor league pitcher (b. 1928)
- 2019 - Alfredo Ríos, minor league infielder; Salón de la Fama (b. 1932)
- 2019 - Modesto Verdura, Cuban National League pitcher (b. 1936)
- 2020 - Phil Rizzo, minor league infielder; scout (b. 1929)
- 2024 - Mike Martin, minor league outfelder and college coach (b. 1944)
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