January 24

Events, births and deaths that occurred on January 24.

[edit] Events

• 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. With 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 the DeRoulet family 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.
• 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.
  • 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.
  • Major league players preparing for the World Baseball Classic may report to spring training as early as February 1st.
  • 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.
  • More than 1,000 items of Joe DiMaggio memorabilia, including his 1947 American League MVP Award plaque and a signed photo of Marilyn Monroe, will be auctioned in May.
• 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 Steve 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.
  • 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 5th save of the postseason.

[edit] Births

• 1872 - Whitey Guese, pitcher (d. 1951)
• 1872 - August Shaumeyer, minor league player and manager (d. 1952)
• 1875 - Bunk Congalton, outfielder (d. 1937)
• 1877 - Pop Rising, outfielder (d. 1938)
• 1878 - Bill Richardson, infielder (d. 1949)
• 1879 - Dave Brain, infielder (d. 1959)
• 1881 - Henry Gehring, pitcher (d. 1912)
• 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)
• 1898 - Jim Lindsey, pitcher (d. 1963)
• 1899 - Bob Berman, catcher (d. 1988)
• 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)
• 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)
• 1932 - Ernie Oravetz, outfielder (d. 2006)
• 1934 - John Briggs, pitcher
• 1936 - Dick Stigman, pitcher; All-Star
• 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
• 1958 - Neil Allen, pitcher
• 1958 - Atlee Hammaker, pitcher; All-Star
• 1958 - Randy Ingle, minor league manager
• 1961 - Tim Barrett, pitcher
• 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
• 1968 - Ross Powell, pitcher
• 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
• 1976 - Christian Mura, Serie A1 pitcher
• 1978 - Carlos Alvarado, minor league pitcher
• 1978 - Kevin Tillman, minor league infielder
• 1980 - Lorenzo Buelna, minor league outfielder
• 1981 - Travis Hanson, minor league infielder
• 1984 - Scott Kazmir, pitcher
• 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 - Franklin Morales, pitcher
• 1987 - Ben Guez, minor league outfielder
• 1987 - Otgonbayar Shagdar, Mongolian national team outfielder
• 1989 - José Quintana, pitcher

[edit] Deaths

• 1918 - Mike Gaule, outfielder (b. 1869)
• 1921 - Laurie Reis, pitcher (b. 1858)
• 1925 - Jim Mullin, infielder (b. 1883)
• 1929 - Charlie Hautz, infielder (b. 1852)
• 1934 - Harry Hogan, outfielder (b. 1876)
• 1936 - Henry Youngman, infielder (b. 1865)
• 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. 1890)
• 1953 - Ben Taylor, Negro League infielder; Hall of Fame (b. 1888)
• 1955 - Monte Beville, catcher (b. 1875)
• 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)
• 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 - Ray Rohwer, outfielder (b. 1895)
• 1989 - Earl Jones, pitcher (b. 1919)
• 1991 - Takeshi Doigaki, NPB catcher (b. 1921)
• 1995 - Herb Karpel, pitcher (b. 1917)
• 1998 - Doug Blosser, minor league infielder (b. 1976)
• 2001 - Jorge Alarcón, writer; Salon de la Fama (b. 1918)
• 2002 - Irene Kotowicz, AAGPBL pitcher and outfielder (b. 1919)
• 2006 - Carlos Martinez, infielder (b. 1964)
• 2008 - Art Frantz, umpire (b. 1921)
• 2009 - Len Perme, pitcher (b. 1917)
• 2013 - Harry Taylor, pitcher (b. 1935)