January 24
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 24.
Events[edit]
- 1900:
- Officials from the National League hold a secret meeting in Cleveland, supposedly to discuss dropping the Baltimore, Cleveland, Louisville and Washington, DC franchises from the league roster. Indeed, the four teams will be contracted before the start of the season.
- The A.J. Reach Company is granted a patent for protective headgear known as the "Reach Pneumatic Head Protector." It won't gain acceptance, though a few players, notably Roger Bresnahan, will occasionally wear it.
- 1913 - In a story in the New York Times, Detroit Tigers President Frank Navin blames the length of the games on the coaches' boxes. Navin, reacting to American League President Ban Johnson's complaint that too many games the previous season had taken two hours to play, says the boxes should be moved back so that the catcher can give the pitcher his signals more quickly. From where they are now, he said, the coaching players can detect the catcher's signals unless he takes a lot of time to hide them. Navin said this slow signalling is the reason for the longer games.
- 1915 - In a retreat in the face of competition from the Federal League, the Orioles of the International League move to Richmond, VA. Following the demise of the FL, the Orioles will return to Baltimore in 1916.
- 1922 - The Brooklyn Robins obtain shortstop Sam Crane from the Cincinnati Reds. Crane will play in three games and later be convicted of murder. He will be visited in prison by Connie Mack, who works for his parole and gives him a job.
- 1939 - Eddie Collins, Willie Keeler and George Sisler are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Sisler set a major league season-record (later broken by Ichiro Suzuki) with 257 hits in 1920 and batted .420 in 1922 on his way to a .340 career batting average. Collins batted an even .333 for his career and stole 744 bases as a member of four World Series Champions. Keeler, who "hit 'em where they ain't", batted .341 and collected 2,932 hits.
- 1950 - Jackie Robinson signs a contract for $35,000, reportedly making him the highest-paid player in Brooklyn Dodgers team history.
- 1955 - In an effort to speed up the game, Major League Baseball announces a new rule which requires a pitcher to deliver the ball within 20 seconds after taking a pitching position.
- 1961 - The Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Athletics agree on a six-player trade. The Orioles acquire outfielders Whitey Herzog and Russ Snyder from the Athletics in exchange for infielder Wayne Causey, pitcher Jim Archer, and outfielders Bob Boyd and Al Pilarcik.
- 1962 - The Southern Association announces that it is suspending operations. Plagued by dwindling attendance, the league lost franchises in Memphis and New Orleans during the past two seasons. Its refusal to accept integration is also a cause of its demise.
- 1973 - Left-handed pitcher Warren Spahn is elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA. Spahn, in his first year of eligibility, is named on 316 out of a possible 380 ballots. Spahn won a total of 363 games during a 21-year major league career.
- 1980 - Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon head a group of investors who purchase the New York Mets from Lorinda de Roulet for a reported $21.1 million, the highest price paid for a major league franchise up to that time. Doubleday, whose publishing company supplies 80 percent of the purchase price, and is also a relative of Abner Doubleday, will serve as chairman of the board, while Wilpon, a former teammate of Sandy Koufax's at Brooklyn's Lafayette High School, will serve as team president and chief operating officer.
- 1990 - Isao Harimoto, the only 3,000-hit man in Nippon Pro Baseball history, is voted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.
- 2000 - New York Yankees prospect D'Angelo Jimenez suffers a broken neck when a car he is driving in the Dominican Republic collides with a bus. Jimenez is not paralyzed but will miss this season. He figured to be the Yankees' reserve infielder, taking over the role that Luis Sojo, now with the Pittsburgh Pirates, filled last season.
- 2001 - In what is believed to be an historical first, 68 major league umpires participate in a pre-season session to practice calling strikes as defined by the rule book. With the help of minor league players wearing tapes nine inches above their belts, the men in blue get a good look at pitches, normally called balls, which now will considered a strike as the correct interpretation of the zone will be enforced this upcoming season.
- 2006:
- According the New York Daily News, the daughter of Jackie Robinson thinks Major League Baseball should not retire Roberto Clemente's number 21.
- Barry Bonds pulls out of the U.S. team for the World Baseball Classic, opting to skip the March tournament to focus on the next baseball season. It is also announced today that major league players preparing for the WBC may report to spring training as early as February 1st.
- Pitcher Casey Fossum avoids arbitration with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays when he agrees to a $4.55 million, two-year contract that includes a club option for 2008.
- The Chicago Cubs and starting pitcher Wade Miller agree to a one-year contract that will pay $1 million in salary and up to another $1 million in bonuses based on the number of starts he makes.
- Former Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Shigetoshi Hasegawa retires from baseball.
- 2011:
- The Tigers trade P Armando Galarraga, who lost a perfect game due to umpire Mike Joyce's blown call on June 2nd, to the Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league Ps Ryan Robowski and Kevin Eichhorn. The D-Backs also sign P Micah Owings, who started his career with the team, and announce they plan to use him both as a long reliever and as a pinch-hitter if he makes the team out of spring training.
- In other moves, the Nationals agree to terms with reliever Todd Coffey, and the A's sign 3B Adam LaRoche and acquire P Ethan Hollingsworth from Colorado for P Clayton Mortensen.
- The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame announces its 2011 class: former Toronto Blue Jays closer Tom Henke, 19th Century outfielder George Wood (who scored 100 runs three times) and Baseball America founder Allan Simpson.
- Also announcing 2011 inductees is Mexico's Salón de la Fama. Chosen are 200-game winner Mercedes Esquer, 1988 American League ERA leader Teddy Higuera, three-time Mexican League batting champion Jimmie Collins and executive Arturo León Lerma.
- 2012:
- More than 20 bids are received for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are being sold as a result of owner Frank McCourt's costly divorce settlement with his wife Jamie. It's a far cry from when McCourt was the sole bidder for the team in 2004 and underpaid through a highly-leveraged transaction: this time, the new owners will have a chance to auction the team's broadcast rights for a huge payout. Prominent among the bidders are Mark Walter, CEO of a financial firm, who is allied with former NBA great Magic Johnson; multi-millionaire Steven Cohen, allied with former deputy Commissioner Steve Greenberg; real estate developer Rick Caruso, allied with former Dodgers manager Joe Torre; talk show host Larry King; Peter O'Malley, the team's former owner; Allen Casden, another real estate tycoon, whose plan is to move the team to a downtown location while redeveloping the land around Dodger Stadium for housing; NBA owner Mark Cuban; and NHL owner Ron Burkle, a close friend of former President Bill Clinton.
- Rocked by the loss of DH Victor Martinez to an off-season injury last week, the Tigers react by signing the most prominent free agent remaining on the market, 1B Prince Fielder. It takes a nine-year, $214 million contract to land the big slugger. The move is doubly surprising because Detroit was not rumored to be among the teams bidding for Prince, and because they already have one the game's premium first basemen, Miguel Cabrera, signed to a long-term deal. Cabrera will move to third base to accommodate Fielder.
- In other signings today, the Giants agree to a two-year contract with star P Tim Lincecum for $40.5 million, avoiding a potential record payout via arbitration, and the Blue Jays add yet another veteran reliever, signing former Reds closer Francisco Cordero for one year.
- 2013:
- The brothers Upton will play together with the Braves next season after Arizona trades Justin to Atlanta as part of a seven-player deal, allowing him to join his older brother B.J., whom the Braves signed as a free agent earlier this off-season. Accompanying Justin is 3B Chris Johnson, while Ps Randall Delgado and Zeke Spruill, utility player Martin Prado and IFs Nick Ahmed and Brandon Drury head to the desert in return.
- The Mets sign free agent pitcher Shaun Marcum, while Marcum's teammate with the Brewers last year, OF Nyjer Morgan, heads to Japan, signing with the Yokohama BayStars of the Central League.
- Lara shuts out Magallanes, 3 - 0, in Game 2 of the Venezuelan League finals, behind P Maximo Nelson. Lara scores all three of its runs in the 5th, with Luis Valbuena opening hostilities with a solo homer off Gustavo Chacin. The series is tied at one win apiece.
- In the Mexican Pacific League finals, Obregon takes a two games to none lead with a 4 - 2 win over Mexicali. Rolando Valdez is the winner and Luis Ayala picks up his fifth save of the postseason.
- 2014 - The Naranjeros de Hermosillo stage a major comeback in Game 3 of the Mexican Pacific League finals. Down 5 - 0 in the 8th against the Mayos de Navojoa, they score six runs that frame, with a Daryle Ward grand slam being the key blow. Fernando Salas gets the win and Misael Valenzuela takes the loss.
- 2018 - Four players are elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA: 3B Chipper Jones and 1B Jim Thome both make it on their first attempt, while P Trevor Hoffman and OF Vladimir Guerrero, who had both missed induction by a handful of votes in 2017, make it over the 75% threshold this time.
- 2019 - The Dodgers sign OF A.J. Pollock for four years at $55 million. Most observers thought they were looking to sign another free agent, Bryce Harper, after trading OFs Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig earlier this off-season, but this signing means that they will cease pursuing Harper.
- 2021:
- The Pirates trade P Jameson Taillon, who has not pitched since the middle of 2019 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, to the Yankees in return for four prospects. Taillon is expected to be ready for Opening Day.
- The Nationals sign P Brad Hand as a free agent on a one-year deal.
- The Criollos de Caguas sweep the Indios de Mayagüez in four games in the Puerto Rican League finals; the two teams had been tied with a record 18 titles. In Game 4, Caguas rallies from a 6 - 5 deficit with two outs in the 9th, Vimael Machin singling off Yacksel Rios to score Kevin Santa with the winner. Joshua Torres gets the victory and Fernando Cruz the save.
- 2023:
- In the 2023 Hall of Fame Election, the BBWAA elects 3B Scott Rolen, who is named on 76,6% of the ballots after starting off with just above 10,2% in his first year of eligibility in 2018, completing a historic climb. 1B Todd Helton misses election by just 11 votes while OF Carlos Beltran is the best of the newcomers, being named on 46.5% of the ballots.
- The Royals trade IF Adalberto Mondesi to the Red Sox in return for reliever Josh Taylor and future considerations. The Sox need all the infield help they can find after losing SS Xander Bogaerts to free agency and 2B Trevor Story to an injury that will force him to miss almost the entire season.
- 2024 - The Naranjeros de Hermosillo sweep the Venados de Mazatlán in the Mexican Pacific League finals, the first time that has happened since 2013. Aaron Altherr wins finals MVP with two homers and five RBI. In the clincher, Zach Matson, Curtis Taylor, Fernando Salas and Luis Márquez combine on a 4-0 shutout.
Births[edit]
- 1872 - Whitey Guese, pitcher (d. 1951)
- 1872 - August Shaumeyer, minor league player and manager (d. 1952)
- 1873 - Ed Lewee, minor league infielder (d. ????)
- 1875 - Bunk Congalton, outfielder (d. 1937)
- 1877 - Pop Rising, outfielder (d. 1938)
- 1878 - Bill Richardson, infielder (d. 1949)
- 1879 - Dave Brain, infielder (d. 1959)
- 1879 - Robert Rhoades, minor league pitcher (d. 1956)
- 1881 - Henry Gehring, pitcher (d. 1912)
- 1882 - Ralph Yeazell, minor league pitcher (d. 1943)
- 1884 - Earle Gardner, infielder (d. 1943)
- 1888 - Ernie Gust, infielder (d. 1945)
- 1888 - Pinch Thomas, catcher (d. 1953)
- 1894 - Jimmy Payton, minor league player/manager (d. 1955)
- 1895 - Joe Cobb, pinch hitter (d. 1947)
- 1897 - George Ellison, pitcher (d. 1978)
- 1898 - Cliff Heathcote, outfielder (d. 1939)
- 1899 - Bob Berman, catcher (d. 1988)
- 1899 - Jim Lindsey, pitcher (d. 1963)
- 1901 - John Freeman, outfielder (d. 1958)
- 1901 - Grant Gillis, infielder (d. 1981)
- 1901 - Curly Ogden, pitcher (d. 1964)
- 1901 - Flint Rhem, pitcher (d. 1969)
- 1903 - Clay Touchstone, pitcher (d. 1949)
- 1904 - Neal Finn, infielder (d. 1933)
- 1905 - Rufus Smith, pitcher (d. 1984)
- 1906 - Stu Clarke, infielder (d. 1985)
- 1908 - Carl Kott, minor league infielder and manager (d. 1962)
- 1909 - Jean Yawkey, owner (d. 1992)
- 1910 - Johnny Dickshot, outfielder (d. 1997)
- 1914 - Ray Kelly, writer (d. 1988)
- 1915 - Nat Pollard, pitcher (d. 1996)
- 1916 - Jack Brickhouse, announcer (d. 1998)
- 1916 - Clem Dreisewerd, pitcher (d. 2001)
- 1916 - Walter Haas, owner (d. 1995)
- 1917 - Bobby Byrne Jr., minor league outfielder (d. 1993)
- 1917 - Danny Doyle, catcher (d. 2004)
- 1917 - Wally Judnich, outfielder (d. 1971)
- 1920 - Ivan Kuester, scout (d. 2006)
- 1931 - Al Scheel, umpire (d. 2007)
- 1932 - Ernie Oravetz, outfielder (d. 2006)
- 1934 - John Briggs, pitcher (d. 2018)
- 1936 - Lázaro Rivero, minor league pitcher (d. 2009)
- 1936 - Dick Stigman, pitcher; All-Star
- 1942 - Katsuhiko Kumazaki, NPB commissioner (d. 2022)
- 1942 - Jim Miller, college coach (d. 2016)
- 1947 - Warwick Dooland, Australian national team pitcher
- 1947 - Jumbo Ozaki, NPB pitcher and outfielder
- 1948 - Dave Arrington, minor league outfielder
- 1950 - Ron Dunn, infielder
- 1952 - John Scott, outfielder
- 1953 - Tim Stoddard, pitcher
- 1954 - Tim Jones, pitcher
- 1955 - Ted Cox, infielder (d. 2020)
- 1955 - Roy Kemp, Canadian national team outfielder
- 1957 - Eiji Kanamori, NPB outfielder
- 1958 - Neil Allen, pitcher
- 1958 - Atlee Hammaker, pitcher; All-Star
- 1958 - Randy Ingle, minor league manager
- 1961 - Tim Barrett, pitcher
- 1961 - Tom Zmudosky, minor league pitcher (d. 2014)
- 1963 - Deron McCue, minor league outfielder and manager
- 1963 - Freddy Tiburcio, scout
- 1964 - Rob Dibble, pitcher; All-Star
- 1965 - Alan Bloomfield, Great Britain national team player
- 1965 - Aleksandr Buyanov, USSR national team pitcher
- 1968 - Ross Powell, pitcher (d. 2017)
- 1971 - Cory Bailey, pitcher
- 1971 - Luis Galindez, minor league pitcher
- 1972 - Michel Perdomo, Cuban league outfielder
- 1972 - Jewell Walker, minor league pitcher
- 1973 - Mike Glavine, infielder
- 1973 - Hao-Jen Hung, CPBL pitcher (d. 2017)
- 1975 - Masayuki Yano, NPB pitcher
- 1976 - Hunter Bledsoe, minor league infielder
- 1976 - Christian Mura, Serie A1 pitcher
- 1977 - Hsien-Cheng Meng, CPBL pitcher
- 1978 - Carlos Alvarado, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - Jake Joseph, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - Kevin Tillman, minor league infielder
- 1980 - Lorenzo Buelna, minor league outfielder
- 1981 - Travis Hanson, minor league infielder
- 1982 - Keng-Hsin Liu, CPBL infielder
- 1984 - Jairo Cuevas, minor league pitcher
- 1984 - Scott Kazmir, pitcher
- 1985 - Cyle Hankerd, minor league outfielder
- 1985 - Miguel Lahera, Cuban leagues pitcher
- 1985 - Han Lin, Taiwan national team infielder
- 1985 - Niuman Romero, infielder
- 1985 - Jay Sborz, pitcher
- 1986 - Andy Dirks, outfielder
- 1986 - Tyler Flowers, catcher
- 1986 - Jose Jimenez, minor league player
- 1986 - Jose Martinez, minor league infielder
- 1986 - Franklin Morales, pitcher
- 1987 - Ben Guez, minor league outfielder
- 1987 - Josh Rickards, minor league pitcher
- 1987 - Yasiel Santoya, minor league infielder
- 1987 - Otgonbayar Shagdar, Mongolian national team outfielder
- 1988 - Ashur Tolliver, pitcher
- 1989 - Kaleb Fleck, minor league pitcher
- 1989 - Whit Merrifield, outfielder/infielder; All-Star
- 1989 - José Quintana, pitcher; All-Star
- 1989 - Daniel Rahn, Bundesliga pitcher
- 1990 - Jeffrey Rauh, minor league pitcher
- 1991 - Austin House, minor league pitcher
- 1991 - Tony Renda, infielder
- 1991 - Enny Romero, pitcher
- 1991 - Tyler Wagner, pitcher
- 1992 - Carson Cross, minor league pitcher
- 1992 - Adam Quintana, minor league pitcher
- 1992 - Jeff Roy, minor league outfielder
- 1993 - Sugath De Silva, Sri Lankan national team pitcher
- 1994 - Zack Erwin, minor league pitcher
- 1994 - Jared Koenig, pitcher
- 1994 - Darren Seferina, minor league infielder
- 1995 - Mark Contreras, outfielder
- 1996 - Frandy Delarosa, minor league infielder
- 1996 - Connor Seabold, pitcher
- 1997 - Carlos Sanabria, pitcher
- 2000 - Damiano Palmegiani, minor league infielder
- 2001 - Rubén Galindo, minor league pitcher
- 2001 - Makoto Kadowaki, NPB outfielder
- 2002 - Carson Tucker, minor league infielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1918 - Mike Gaule, outfielder (b. 1869)
- 1921 - Laurie Reis, pitcher (b. 1858)
- 1929 - Charlie Hautz, infielder (b. 1852)
- 1938 - Jim Mutrie, manager (b. 1851)
- 1941 - Tommy Bond, pitcher, manager (b. 1856)
- 1943 - Pat O'Connell, outfielder (b. 1861)
- 1952 - Angel Aragon, infielder (b. 1890)
- 1952 - Dick Wright, catcher (b. 1889)
- 1953 - Ben Taylor, infielder, manager; Hall of Fame (b. 1888)
- 1954 - Frank Blattner, infielder (b. 1890)
- 1955 - Monte Beville, catcher (b. 1875)
- 1958 - Bill Perkins, catcher; All-Star (b. 1906)
- 1958 - Admiral Schlei, catcher (b. 1878)
- 1959 - George Payne, pitcher (b. 1890)
- 1960 - Russ Ford, pitcher (b. 1883)
- 1965 - Ralph Young, infielder (b. 1889)
- 1969 - Tom Zachary, pitcher (b. 1896)
- 1970 - Hal McKain, pitcher (b. 1906)
- 1975 - Bobby Anderson, infielder (b. 1899)
- 1975 - Doc Dudley, outfielder (b. 1894)
- 1977 - Orinthal Anderson, outfielder (b. 1920)
- 1977 - Pete Turgeon, infielder (b. 1897)
- 1980 - Buck Etchison, infielder (b. 1915)
- 1982 - Ben Shields, pitcher (b. 1903)
- 1984 - Bill Moore, pitcher (b. 1902)
- 1986 - John Boozer, pitcher (b. 1938)
- 1988 - Johnny Reed, pitcher/outfielder (b. 1916)
- 1988 - Ray Rohwer, outfielder (b. 1895)
- 1989 - Earl Jones, pitcher (b. 1919)
- 1991 - Takeshi Doigaki, NPB catcher (b. 1921)
- 1994 - Ken Rudisill, minor league player and manager (b. 1921)
- 1995 - Herb Karpel, pitcher (b. 1917)
- 1998 - Doug Blosser, minor league infielder (b. 1976)
- 2000 - John Gaherin, labor negotiator (b. 1914)
- 2001 - Jorge Alarcón, writer; Salon de la Fama (b. 1918)
- 2002 - Irene Kotowicz, AAGPBL pitcher/outfielder (b. 1919)
- 2002 - Tommy Sampson, infielder, manager; All-Star (b. 1912)
- 2006 - Carlos Martinez, infielder (b. 1964)
- 2008 - Art Frantz, umpire (b. 1921)
- 2009 - Len Perme, pitcher (b. 1917)
- 2013 - Harry Taylor, pitcher (b. 1935)
- 2015 - Scott Kannenberg, minor league pitcher (b. 1963)
- 2016 - Clyde Mashore, outfielder (b. 1945)
- 2016 - Jose Rosario, minor league pitcher (b. 1995)
- 2017 - Morris Nettles, outfielder (b. 1952)
- 2018 - Marcos Carvajal, pitcher (b. 1984)
- 2018 - Julio Navarro, pitcher (b. 1934)
- 2019 - Jim McKean, umpire (b. 1945)
- 2020 - Ron Voerman, Hoofdklasse umpire (b. 1928)
- 2023 - Hiromitsu Kadota, NPB outfielder; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1948)
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