January 21
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 January 21.
Events[edit]
- 1916 - The New York Yankees buy pitcher Nick Cullop from the Kansas City Packers (Federal League), infielder Joe Gedeon from the Salt Lake Bees (Pacific Coast League), and infielder Germany Schaefer from the Newark Peppers (FL). Schaefer will announce that he is changing his nickname to "Liberty" because of the war. He noticed that "sauerkraut" had been renamed "liberty cabbage".
- 1921 - Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis officially is signed as baseball commissioner, to a seven-year, $350,000 contract.
- 1933 - Future Hall of Fame pitcher Waite Hoyt is signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates after being waived by the New York Giants.
- 1936 - The Hollywood Stars, last-place finishers in the Pacific Coast League in 1935, move to San Diego, where they will become the Padres. The Stars were unable to pay the annual rent of $8,000 for Wrigley Field. They will return in 1938 when the San Francisco Missions move south to L.A.
- 1938 - Outfielder Joe DiMaggio begins a contract holdout that will last for nearly three months. After meeting with New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert and general manager Ed Barrow, DiMaggio rejects a one-year offer of $25,000. DiMaggio counters by asking for $45,000. The holdout will last until April 20th, two days after the start of the season.
- 1941 - Pitcher Bob Feller signs with the Cleveland Indians for a reported $30,000.
- 1947 - A rule change that allows voting only for players who were active after 1921 produces four new Hall of Fame members, breaking a logjam after years of the BBWAA electing hardly anyone: catcher Mickey Cochrane, second baseman Frankie Frisch, and pitchers Lefty Grove and Carl Hubbell, all former Most Valuable Players and World Series winners. Pie Traynor misses selection by two votes. Hubbell was forbidden by Ty Cobb to throw his screwball in Detroit's farm system, but used it to win 253 games for the New York Giants; Frisch went to the World Series eight times and batted .316 over 19 seasons; Grove won 300 games, and his battery-mate Cochrane retired with .320, the highest lifetime batting average of any catcher.
- 1950 - 19-year-old Ryohei Hasegawa tries out for and makes the Hiroshima Carp. He will become one of the greatest pitchers in Hiroshima's history, a bright light in a dismal era.
- 1953 - The Baseball Writers Association of America passes over Joe DiMaggio in his first year of eligibility and elects pitcher Dizzy Dean and outfielder Al Simmons to the Hall of Fame. Dean gathers 209 votes while Simmons' total of 199 is one more than needed. The colorful Dean had a .644 career winning percentage and won 120 games from 1932 through 1936, including 30 wins in 1934. Simmons, who drove in 100 runs in each of his first eleven major league seasons, was one of the most feared hitters of his time. Also joining DiMaggio, who finishes eighth in the voting, are in order Bill Terry, Bill Dickey, Rabbit Maranville, Dazzy Vance, Ted Lyons, Charles Bender (ninth) and Gabby Hartnett (tenth). All will eventually make it. DiMaggio's low total can be explained by the fact that there is no actual ballot, only write-in votes, and it is not clear whether DiMaggio is eligible since he played his last game only two years earlier.
- 1960 - In an unusual request, Stan Musial tells the St. Louis Cardinals management that he is overpaid and should have his salary reduced after a subpar 1959 season. He receives a pay cut from $100,000 to $80,000 a year.
- 1969 - Roy Campanella and Stan Musial are elected by the BBWAA to join the elite group of players enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
- 1971 - No player receives three-fourths of the necessary votes to be elected into the Hall of Fame, with Yogi Berra (242) and Early Wynn (240) coming the closest. Berra and Wynn will be elected in next year's vote.
- 1981 - Four-time Gold Glove Award winner Cesar Gerónimo is traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the Kansas City Royals for a minor league prospect, German Barranca.
- 1987:
- Free agent pitcher Vida Blue comes to terms with the Oakland Athletics, but will surprise the team next month by announcing his retirement.
- Free agent outfielder Gary Roenicke, who spent last season with the Yankees after eight years with Baltimore, is signed by the Atlanta Braves.
- 1993 - Hall of Fame second baseman Charlie Gehringer dies at the age of 89, one month after suffering a stroke. During a 19-year career with the Detroit Tigers, Gehringer posted a .320 batting average with 184 home runs and 1427 RBI. In 1937, he enjoyed arguably his finest season, leading the American League with a .371 average.
- 2000:
- The National Labor Relations Board refuses to overturn the election which removed Richie Phillips and the Major League Umpires Association from power. A new union will represent the arbiters.
- The Detroit Tigers sign free agent pitcher Hideo Nomo to a one-year contract. Nomo's agent had declined a multi-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, expecting more on the open market.
- The Mets sign free agent pitcher Rich Rodriguez to a two-year contract and reacquire pitcher Bill Pulsipher from the Brewers in exchange for infielder Luis Lopez.
- 2002 - In a complicated three-team, eleven-player trade, the New York Mets send Benny Agbayani and Todd Zeile to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Alex Ochoa, Ross Gload, Craig House and cash considerations. The third team in the deal, the Milwaukee Brewers, send Jeromy Burnitz, Jeff D'Amico, Lou Collier, Mike Sweeney, and cash to the Mets, in exchange for Lenny Harris, Glendon Rusch and Ochoa. The Mets have now replaced half of their 2001 roster.
- 2005 - Roger Clemens and the Houston Astros agree to an $18 million, one-year contract. Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, agrees to a deal that makes him the highest-paid pitcher for the fifth time, following deals with the Boston Red Sox in 1989 ($2.5 million) and 1991 ($5.38 million); with the Toronto Blue Jays before the 1997 season, and with the New York Yankees in 2000 ($15.45 million).
- 2009 - Jeff Kent retires. He hit 351 home runs as a second baseman in the majors, claiming the record for the position by 74 over his nearest competitor, Ryne Sandberg. A five-time All-Star and the 2000 National League MVP, he clubbed 377 homers overall and batted .290 in a 17-year career.
- 2010:
- The Phillies sign three-year contract extensions with centerfielder Shane Victorino and starting pitcher Joe Blanton. The two deals combined are worth $46 million.
- Free agent pitcher-turned-outfielder Rick Ankiel signs a one-year deal with Kansas City, while the Pirates sign reliever Octavio Dotel for a year with an option for a second season. Dotel will replace Matt Capps as the Bucs' closer.
- 2011:
- The Blue Jays trade veteran OF Vernon Wells to the Angels in return for OF Juan Rivera and C-1B Mike Napoli. Wells was considered untradeable because of his huge contract, but the Angels bite after Wells showed a return to form in 2010, topping 30 homers in his best season since 2006.
- The Rays sign two potentially useful players who had until now elicited little interest on the free agent market to one-year deals, OFs Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon. The two former teammates with the 2004 World Champion Boston Red Sox will share the LF and DH jobs in Tampa. The Cardinals also sign a player, veteran utility infielder Nick Punto.
- 2012:
- In a surprise move, the Red Sox trade their starting shortstop for the past two years, Marco Scutaro, to the Colorado Rockies in return for P Clayton Mortensen.
- The Indians sign IF Julio Lugo to a minor league contract.
- 2013 - SS Miguel Tejada, trying to return to the big leagues after a year away from the diamond, commits a costly error in the bottom of the 11th inning of Game 4 of the Dominican League Finals, allowing Jesus Feliciano to score the winning run and give Escogido a 3 - 2 win over the Aguilas Cibaeñas. With the bases loaded, Tejada fields Mauro Gomez's grounder cleanly, but throws the ball away to give Escogido a three games to one lead; Tejada had been his team's best player until then, going 3 for 4 with a double.
- 2019 - The Yankees get rid of an unwanted member of their pitching staff by sending veteran starter Sonny Gray to the Reds in return for minor league infielder Shed Long and a Compensation Round A pick in the 2019 amateur draft. They then turn around and trade Long to the Mariners for OF Josh Stowers. For their part, the Reds immediately sign Gray to a three-year contract extension worth $30.5 million and he will reward them with an All-Star season.
- 2020 - The results of the 2020 Hall of Fame Election are in, and as expected, Derek Jeter is elected easily, falling just one vote short of repeating long-time teammate Mariano Rivera's feat of being elected unanimously on his first presence on the ballot. Joining him is Larry Walker, in his tenth and final year of eligibility by the BBWAA, who clears the 75% threshold by six votes. It completes a remarkable journey for his candidacy, that had fallen to only 10% support after three years. before a concerted lobbying campaign on his behalf bore fruit. Walker is only the second Canadian elected to the Hall, after P Ferguson Jenkins.
- 2021 - Sebastián Elizalde is named Mexican Pacific League MVP after finishing second in homers and RBI; interestingly, it is not his best LMP campaign by any means as he had failed to win MVP in 2017-2018 and 2019-2020, both of which were better statistically.
- 2023 - The Criollos de Caguas win their 21st Puerto Rican League title. They top the Gigantes de Carolina, 5 games to 3, in the finals. Game 8 is a 4-1 victory as 45-year-old Ricardo Gómez saves it for Yacksel Ríos. Vimael Machín and Pedro León both go deep.
Births[edit]
- 1851 - Frank Sellman, infielder (d. 1907)
- 1862 - Art Sunday, outfielder (d. 1926)
- 1865 - Fred Hoey, manager (d. 1933)
- 1867 - Mike Tiernan, outfielder (d. 1918)
- 1872 - Con Harlow, minor league catcher and manager (d. 1953)
- 1872 - Irv Waldron, outfielder (d. 1944)
- 1873 - Frank West, pitcher (d. 1932)
- 1879 - Snake Deal, infielder (d. 1944)
- 1880 - Emil Batch, infielder (d. 1926)
- 1881 - Arch McCarthy, pitcher
- 1885 - Benny Meyer, outfielder (d. 1974)
- 1886 - Joe Benz, pitcher (d. 1957)
- 1890 - Russell Powell, catcher (d. 1961)
- 1892 - Bernie Boland, pitcher (d. 1973)
- 1895 - Ed Sperber, outfielder (d. 1976)
- 1898 - John Mohardt, outfielder (d. 1961)
- 1899 - Lew Fonseca, infielder, manager (d. 1989)
- 1900 - Willie Ludolph, pitcher (d. 1952)
- 1903 - Bert Dunne, minor league owner (d. 1966)
- 1905 - Larry Boerner, pitcher (d. 1969)
- 1906 - Glenn Chapman, outfielder (d. 1988)
- 1906 - Masaichi Nagata, NPB owner; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1985)
- 1909 - Bill Karlon, outfielder (d. 1964)
- 1913 - Fern Bell, outfielder (d. 2000)
- 1913 - Fred McDaniel, outfielder (d. 1990)
- 1914 - Blix Donnelly, pitcher (d. 1976)
- 1921 - John George, minor league pitcher and manager (d. 1956)
- 1921 - Ken Polivka, pitcher (d. 1988)
- 1922 - Sam Mele, outfielder, manager (d. 2017)
- 1923 - Bob Montag, minor league player (d. 2005)
- 1929 - Danny O'Connell, infielder (d. 1969)
- 1930 - Jim Robinson, college coach (d. 2020)
- 1933 - Bill Wrigley, owner (d. 1999)
- 1937 - Bill Graham, pitcher (d. 2006)
- 1938 - Yoshiyasu Tanebe, NPB pitcher
- 1939 - Norm Bass, pitcher
- 1940 - Rich Beck, pitcher
- 1946 - Johnny Oates, catcher, manager (d. 2004)
- 1947 - Bob Reynolds, pitcher
- 1947 - Bill Stein, infielder
- 1948 - Giulio Montanini, Serie A1 catcher and manager; Italian Baseball Hall of Fame
- 1948 - Dan Morrison, umpire (d. 2023)
- 1948 - Garth Neville, Canadian national team pitcher (d. 2005)
- 1951 - Jos Kevers, Dutch national team outfielder
- 1952 - Mike Krukow, pitcher; All-Star
- 1955 - Óscar Sánchez, minor league infielder
- 1955 - Dave Smith, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2008)
- 1955 - Mike Smithson, pitcher
- 1959 - Ricky Adams, infielder (d. 2011)
- 1959 - Brad Bennett, minor league outfielder
- 1959 - Jose Uribe, infielder (d. 2006)
- 1960 - Andy Hawkins, pitcher
- 1960 - Darryl Motley, outfielder
- 1962 - Ramón Longa, minor league outfielder
- 1964 - Georg Bull, Bundesliga catcher
- 1964 - Jeff Wedvick, minor league catcher
- 1965 - Matt Stark, designated hitter
- 1966 - Chris Hammond, pitcher
- 1967 - Hun-jae Choi, KBO outfielder
- 1968 - Chi-Feng Chen, CPBL infielder and manager
- 1968 - Russell Cormier, minor league player
- 1968 - Keith Shepherd, pitcher
- 1968 - Tom Urbani, pitcher (d. 2022)
- 1969 - Rusty Greer, outfielder
- 1970 - Jeff McCurry, pitcher
- 1971 - Brian Giles, outfielder; All-Star
- 1971 - Johnny Guzman, pitcher
- 1972 - Alan Benes, pitcher
- 1972 - Jim Bonnici, minor league infielder
- 1973 - Simon Flynn, Bundesliga pitcher
- 1975 - Josue Estrada, minor league outfielder
- 1975 - Brian Reid, scout
- 1976 - Patrick de Lange, Hoofdklasse pitcher
- 1976 - Jay Ryan, pitcher
- 1976 - Ron Wright, designated hitter
- 1979 - Byung-Hyun Kim, pitcher; All-Star
- 1979 - Yosuke Shimokubo, NPB outfielder
- 1980 - Darwin dela Calzada, Philippines national team pitcher
- 1980 - Matija Grofelnik, Croatian national team infielder
- 1980 - Milko Jaramillo, minor league infielder and manager
- 1980 - J.T. Stotts, scout
- 1980 - Jeff Winchester, minor league catcher
- 1981 - Wilfredo Ledezma, pitcher
- 1982 - Tomohito Yoneno, NPB catcher
- 1984 - Kyle Collina, minor league player
- 1984 - Jung-hwan Kim, KBO pitcher
- 1984 - Yong-geun Park, KBO infielder
- 1984 - Robert Ray, pitcher
- 1985 - Kyu-min Woo, KBO pitcher
- 1986 - Russell Olivier, South African national team outfielder
- 1987 - Brandon Crawford, infielder; All-Star
- 1987 - Chase d'Arnaud, infielder
- 1987 - Jake Diekman, pitcher
- 1987 - Roger Kieschnick, outfielder
- 1987 - Josh Wall, pitcher
- 1988 - Preston Claiborne, pitcher
- 1988 - Danny Lopez, minor league infielder
- 1988 - Jeff Pruitt, drafted outfielder
- 1988 - Josh Ravin, pitcher
- 1988 - Tim Wheeler, minor league outfielder
- 1989 - Shawn Zarraga, minor league catcher
- 1990 - Ssu-Han Huang, CPBL pitcher
- 1990 - José Ramírez, pitcher
- 1990 - Joe Wieland, pitcher
- 1991 - Diego Corvalan, Division Honor pitcher
- 1993 - Guillermo Aviles, Cuban Serie Nacional infielder
- 1993 - Wuilder Rodríguez, minor league pitcher
- 1994 - Jake Cronenworth, infielder; All-Star
- 1994 - Ryan Warner, minor league pitcher
- 1995 - Zach Plesac, pitcher
- 1995 - Antonio Senzatela, pitcher
- 1996 - Michel Baez, pitcher
- 1996 - Min-jae Shin, KBO infielder
- 1997 - Kevin Reyes, Honduran national team outfielder
- 1998 - Yuki Tsumori, NPB pitcher
- 1999 - Jaime Arias, minor league pitcher
- 1999 - Tetsuyuki Fujimura, Japanese national team pitcher
- 1999 - Matt Sauer, pitcher
Deaths[edit]
- 1895 - Frank Bowes, catcher (b. 1865)
- 1900 - Jim Rogers, infielder, manager (b. 1872)
- 1943 - Jim Brown, catcher, manager (b. 1892)
- 1947 - Jimmy Walsh, infielder (b. 1886)
- 1948 - Cy Boothby, minor league pitcher and manager (b. 1888)
- 1949 - Russ Ennis, catcher (b. 1897)
- 1953 - Lorenza Cobb, catcher (b. 1888)
- 1953 - Jose Rodriguez, infielder (b. 1894)
- 1959 - Hooks Wiltse, pitcher (b. 1879)
- 1961 - Komajiro Tamura, NPB owner; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1904)
- 1965 - Bert Whaling, catcher (b. 1888)
- 1969 - Dick Terwilliger, pitcher (b. 1906)
- 1970 - Casper Asbjornson, catcher (b. 1909)
- 1970 - Harry Shriver, pitcher (b. 1896)
- 1970 - Kerry Lamont Taylor, minor league pitcher (b. 1950)
- 1972 - Dick Loftus, outfielder (b. 1901)
- 1974 - Claude Cooper, outfielder (b. 1892)
- 1975 - Pat Tobin, pitcher (b. 1916)
- 1979 - Sam Leslie, infielder (b. 1905)
- 1980 - Clyde Barnhart, outfielder (b. 1895)
- 1980 - Gene Rye, outfielder (b. 1906)
- 1982 - Al Lefevre, infielder (b. 1898)
- 1989 - Carl Furillo, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1922)
- 1989 - Juan Lima, minor league umpire; Salon de la Fama (b. 1932)
- 1991 - Takeshi Kuwata, NPB infielder (b. 1931)
- 1992 - Chuck Rowland, catcher (b. 1899)
- 1993 - Charlie Gehringer, infielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1903)
- 1995 - Russ Bauers, pitcher (b. 1914)
- 1996 - Herschel Held, minor league infielder (b. 1923)
- 1996 - Dan Monzon, infielder (b. 1946)
- 1997 - Bill McWilliams, pinch hitter (b. 1910)
- 2003 - Bragg Stockton, minor league player, college coach (b. 1938)
- 2004 - Johnny Blatnik, outfielder (b. 1921)
- 2005 - Corky Valentine, pitcher (b. 1929)
- 2008 - Hirokazu Kato, NPB outfielder (b. 1951)
- 2010 - Bobby Bragan, infielder, manager (b. 1917)
- 2010 - Hal Manders, pitcher (b. 1917)
- 2010 - Curt Motton, outfielder (b. 1940)
- 2012 - Cliff Chambers, pitcher (b. 1922)
- 2012 - Knute Dobkins, minor league outfielder (b. 1921)
- 2012 - Troy Herriage, pitcher (b. 1930)
- 2014 - Tim Hosley, catcher (b. 1947)
- 2015 - Takashi Imoto, NPB pitcher (b. 1950)
- 2015 - William Morgan, historian (b. 1923)
- 2017 - Ken Wright, pitcher (b. 1946)
- 2017 - George Yanen, minor league pitcher (b. 1927)
- 2022 - Clark Gillies, minor league infielder (b. 1954)
- 2022 - Bill Harrington, pitcher (b. 1928)
- 2024 - Steve Staggs, infielder (b. 1951)
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