January 13
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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| Baseball Library Chronology | |
| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on January 13.
Events[edit]
- 1883 - Both of the New York Major League clubs will play simultaneously at the Polo Grounds. Their fields will be separated by an 8-foot fence.
- 1922 - Former Chicago White Sox star Buck Weaver applies for reinstatement to baseball. Weaver, one of the eight "Black Sox" players banned for their involvement in throwing the 1919 World Series, is turned down by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis.
- 1939 - New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert dies from phlebitis at age 62. In 1919, Ruppert purchased the land on which Yankee Stadium would eventually be built.
- 1954 - Veteran pitcher Murry Dickson is traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Andy Hansen and infielder Jack Lohrke. Dickson led the National League in losses the past two years (21 and 19) and will lead it again in 1954 (20).
- 1958:
- The Spokane Indians, Salt Lake Bees, and Phoenix Giants join the Pacific Coast League.
- New York Senator Kenneth Keating proposes a ban within 100-mile radius on telecasts into minor league territories.
- 1959:
- New Jersey Senator Joseph W. Cowgill introduces a bill to build a stadium in Camden to induce the nearby Philadelphia Phillies to move to the state. This effort is based on statements by Phillies owner Bob Carpenter that he is thinking of moving the team unless he gets a new stadium.
- John Quinn resigns as general manager of the Milwaukee Braves and immediately accepts a similar post with the Phillies.
- 1964 - The Nankai Hawks work out a deal to send three players, including Masanori Murakami (pictured) to the San Francisco Giants to play in the minors, leading to an international brouhaha over the next two years.
- 1972 - Former umpire, now housewife, Bernice Gera wins her lawsuit against Organized Baseball, initiated on March 15, 1971. Gera is slated to umpire in the New York-Pennsylvania League starting in June. She will umpire just one game, making her point, before deciding to call it quits.
- 1978 - Hall of Fame manager Joe McCarthy dies in Buffalo, New York, at the age of 90. McCarthy was the first manager to win pennants with both National and American League teams, won nine league titles overall and seven World Series championships.
- 1982 - Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson win election to the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Aaron established a major league record with 755 home runs, while Robinson led the Baltimore Orioles to two World Championships and was named Most Valuable Player in both the American and National Leagues. Aaron falls nine votes shy of becoming the first-ever unanimous selection, and his 97.8 election percentage is second only to Ty Cobb's 98.2 percent in the inaugural 1936 election. Robinson was also the first African-American manager in major league history.
- 1988 - Longtime National League star Steve Garvey announces his retirement. Garvey played a total of 19 major league seasons, batting .294 with 272 home runs. Also a slick-fielding first baseman, Garvey helped the San Diego Padres to reach the 1984 World Series and contributed to National League pennants for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1974, when he was the National League MVP, 1977, 1978 and 1981, when they were World Champions.
- 1991 - While playing for the Oakland Raiders of the NFL, Bo Jackson suffers a career-threatening injury in an American Football Conference playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Originally diagnosed as a pulled thigh muscle, the Kansas City Royals learn of the severity of the injury just as spring begins. They will release Jackson shortly after, fearing that his baseball career is over, and he'll sign with the Chicago White Sox.
- 1993 - Free agent signings include outfielders Todd Benzinger and Mark Carreon by the San Francisco Giants and pitcher Craig Lefferts by the Texas Rangers.
- 1994 - The Anaheim Angels sign free agent pitcher Craig Lefferts while the Minnesota Twins sign pitcher Jim Deshaies.
- 1995 - Baseball's executive council approves the use of replacement players for spring training and regular season games. With the Players' Association on strike, the owners say they will look to retired players, minor leaguers and amateurs to fill out their rosters.
- 1996 - The Florida Marlins sign Cuban pitcher Livan Hernandez to a four-year $4.5 million contract, which includes a record $2.5 million bonus.
- 2000 - The Tampa Bay Devil Rays sign free agent pitcher Steve Trachsel to a one-year contract. Trachsel, who led the Cubs in innings pitched (206) and posted a 8-18 record, was expected to ink a multi-year contract.
- 2001 - Major League Baseball announces that the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays will open the season in Puerto Rico, marking the third straight year the season will begin outside the United States and Canada.
- 2005:
- The owners unanimously approve the $223 million sale of the Milwaukee Brewers to Mark Attanasio, a Los Angeles investor. The purchase of the team, formerly owned by the family of Commissioner Bud Selig, ensures Milwaukee will keep its team due to a thirty-year lease to play in newly-built Miller Park.
- Marvin Miller, the former executive-director of the Major League Baseball Players Association who helped to forever change the nature of the player-owner relationship, receives the "Fuchs Award" from the Boston Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. The honor, named in for Judge Emil Fuchs who owned the hometown Boston Braves from 1929 through 1935, is given for "long and meritorious service to baseball."
- Under the watchful eye of national lawmakers, Major League Baseball and the Players' Association agree in principle on a stricter steroid testing policy. The new program will randomly test players year-round, with first-time offenders suspended for 10 days and a fourth violation resulting in a one-year ban for the offending player. The punishments will later be increased significantly.
- The North Dakota House of Representatives approves a resolution proclaiming that native son Roger Maris should be elected to the Hall of Fame. The lawmakers' action, which is sponsored by Rep. Andy Maragos, orders the Secretary of State to send a copy of the resolution to the 85 members of the baseball Veterans Committee, which includes the 60 living members enshrined in Cooperstown.
- 2009:
- The Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame announces four new members. Tsutomu Wakamatsu, the all-time Nippon Pro Baseball leader in average (.319) by a Japanese native with 4,000+ AB, is the most notable pick. Also selected are 1950s star Noboru Aota, historian Ichiro Kimishima and owner Yoshinori Okoso.
- Trevor Hoffman, the all-time major league leader in games pitched for one team (the San Diego Padres) and the all-time save leader, finalizes a $6 million, one-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers. He replaces Salomon Torres, who retired, as the team's closer.
- Derek Lowe, 54-48 in 4 seasons for the Los Angeles Dodgers, gets a four-year, $60 million deal with the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta makes another big signing of a free agent pitcher, inking Kenshin Kawakami to a three-year deal. Kawakami was the Sawamura Award winner and Central League MVP in 2004 and pitched for Japan in the 2008 Olympics, losing the Bronze Medal game to Team USA.
- It's not all gains for the Atlanta staff as long-time ace John Smoltz, the franchise leader in strikeouts, finalizes a deal with the Boston Red Sox for one year and a $5.5 million base salary.
- 2010 - Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge undergoes arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, making him uncertain for Opening Day. He had been operated to remove bone chips from his right shoulder earlier this off-season.
- 2011 - The Yankees ink their first free agent of the off-season, signing reliever Rafael Soriano to a three-year contract worth $35 million. While Soriano will be the set-up man for Mariano Rivera this year, he excelled as the Rays' closer last season, and is expected to be in line to take over for the great Rivera when he eventually retires.
- 2012:
- The Yankees trade two of their top young players, C/DH Jesus Montero and P Hector Noesi, to Seattle in return for Ps Michael Pineda and Vicente Campos, although the trade will only be finalized on January 23rd, after all four players pass physical exams. They also sign free agent P Hiroki Kuroda for one year for $10 million.
- Two former Hiroshima Carp teammates are inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. 200-game winner Manabu Kitabeppu, a two-time Sawamura Award winner, is chosen. So is Tsunemi Tsuda, who saved 90 games in ten years before he died of a brain tumor at age 32. They helped Hiroshima win the 1984 Japan Series.
- 2014:
- Alex Rodriguez files a lawsuit in federal court against Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association seeking to overturn the 162-game suspension handed two days earlier by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz. He will drop the suit shortly and accept to serve his suspension.
- Wladimir Balentien, who set the Nippon Pro Baseball single-season home run record last season, is arrested in Miami, FL on domestic violence charges.
- 2018:
- The Astros complete a deal with the Pirates that had been rumored to be in the works for weeks, acquiring ace P Gerrit Cole in return for four players: Michael Feliz, Jason Martin, Colin Moran and Joe Musgrove. The Yankees were also rumored to be in the hunt for Cole, but it's the defending World Series champions who land the prize catch.
- Umpire Doug Harvey, a veteran of 13 seasons in the National League and over 4,600 major league games, dies at age 87. Considered by many as the best umpire ever and nicknamed "God" for his infallibility, he was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2010.
- 2020 - The hammer comes down hard on the Astros as Major League Baseball announces its punishment in relation with their use of technology to steal their opponents' signs during their World Series-winning campaign in 2017: GM Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch are both suspended for a full season, and the team will have to pay a fine of $5 million in addition to losing its top two picks in the next two amateur drafts. Team owner Jim Crane takes it one step further and fires both Luhnow and Hinch almost immediately after the announcement of the suspensions.
- 2022 - Five weeks after the start of the 2021-2022 lockout, the two sides finally meet face to face, via videoconference, to discuss some of the core economic issues at play. The owners claim that they have made important concessions on issues such as pay levels for players for players not yet eligible for salary arbitration and manipulation of service time, but the net result of the talks appear to have been very limited.
- 2023:
- The 2023 Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame Election results are announced. No foreign-born player had been elected in 29 years, but this year sees two (and no Japan-born players). Alex Ramirez, the only foreign player to 2,000 hits in Japan, and 1980s slugger Randy Bass both win entry, along with composer Yuji Koseki.
- The British Baseball Hall of Fame belatedly announces their class of 2022: players Ryan Trask, Frank Parker Jr. and Richard Klijn, manager Stephan Rapaglia, umpire Doreen Megson and scorer Brian Holland, bringing the membership of their Hall to 50.
Births[edit]
- 1855 - Tom Gillean, umpire (d. 1920)
- 1856 - George Fair, infielder (d. 1939)
- 1861 - Harry Clarke, outfielder (d. 1923)
- 1865 - John Kirby, pitcher (d. 1931)
- 1865 - Al Krumm, pitcher (d. 1937)
- 1866 - Tom Shibe, owner (d. 1936)
- 1869 - Louis Coues Page, owner (d. 1956)
- 1869 - Jud Smith, infielder (d. 1947)
- 1875 - Charlie Ziegler, infielder (d. 1904)
- 1878 - Ned Egan, minor league manager (d. 1918)
- 1880 - Goat Anderson, outfielder (d. 1923)
- 1887 - Ernie Calbert, minor league outfielder (d. 1966)
- 1888 - Luther Bonin, outfielder (d. 1965)
- 1889 - Mike Konnick, catcher (d. 1971)
- 1889 - Fred Sherry, pitcher (d. 1975)
- 1892 - Willie Curtis, infielder (d. 1972)
- 1899 - Cactus Keck, pitcher (d. 1981)
- 1901 - Fred Schulte, outfielder (d. 1983)
- 1904 - Bunny Hearn, pitcher (d. 1974)
- 1905 - Charlie Wilson, infielder (d. 1970)
- 1908 - Alonzo Boone, pitcher, manager (d. 1982)
- 1908 - Jimmy Jordan, infielder (d. 1957)
- 1909 - Spades Wood, pitcher (d. 1986)
- 1914 - Roberto Olivo, Venezuelan League umpire (d. 2005)
- 1915 - Mike Dejan, outfielder (d. 1953)
- 1915 - Mike Milosevich, infielder (d. 1966)
- 1916 - Bama Rowell, infielder (d. 1993)
- 1917 - Alberto Hernández, outfielder (d. ????)
- 1917 - Stan Wentzel, outfielder (d. 1991)
- 1918 - Everett Fagan, pitcher (d. 1983)
- 1918 - Steve Mesner, infielder (d. 1981)
- 1918 - Emmett O'Neill, pitcher (d. 1993)
- 1920 - Ben Guintini, outfielder (d. 1998)
- 1921 - Dick Azar, minor league owner (d. 2009)
- 1922 - Alvin Kluttz, minor league catcher and manager (d. 1985)
- 1923 - Eddie Locke, pitcher/outfielder (d. 1992)
- 1929 - Wilbur Lansing, pitcher (d. 2000)
- 1929 - Moe Savransky, pitcher (d. 2022)
- 1930 - Don Lundberg, minor league catcher, player-manager
- 1930 - Joe Margoneri, pitcher
- 1931 - Giancarlo Mangini, Serie A1 infielder; journalist; Italian Baseball Hall of Fame
- 1935 - Ron Bachman, college coach (d. 2015)
- 1939 - John Gracio, scout
- 1940 - Ron Brand, catcher
- 1944 - Larry Jaster, pitcher
- 1944 - Makoto Matsubara, NPB infielder
- 1948 - Les Cain, pitcher
- 1949 - Mike Buskey, infielder
- 1949 - Jim Foor, pitcher
- 1950 - Bob Forsch, pitcher (d. 2011)
- 1950 - Mike Tyson, infielder
- 1951 - Giacomo Bertoni, Serie A1 pitcher
- 1952 - Bob Galasso, pitcher
- 1952 - Bong-yun Kim, KBO batter
- 1953 - Odell Jones, pitcher (d. 2024)
- 1954 - Steve Comer, pitcher
- 1955 - Jon Secrist, minor league pitcher
- 1958 - Mike Madden, pitcher
- 1958 - Gene Roof, outfielder
- 1959 - Marco Antonio Guzman, minor league catcher and manager
- 1962 - Yi-Chuan Liu, CPBL pitcher
- 1962 - Kevin Mitchell, outfielder; All-Star
- 1963 - Kevin McClatchy, owner
- 1964 - Ron Gideon, coach
- 1964 - Jose Nunez, pitcher
- 1964 - Billy Jo Robidoux, infielder
- 1964 - Ray Williamson, minor league outfielder
- 1966 - Danilo Valiente, minor league coach
- 1969 - Chi-Cheng Chiu, CPBL pitcher
- 1969 - Kevin Foster, pitcher (d. 2008)
- 1969 - Orlando Miller, infielder
- 1969 - Kurt Peltzer, minor league pitcher
- 1970 - Ken Suzuki, NPB infielder
- 1971 - Elmer Dessens, pitcher
- 1972 - Teerasak Kongsabai, Thai national team infielder
- 1972 - Akinori Otsuka, pitcher
- 1975 - Tom Becker, minor league pitcher
- 1975 - Jason Childers, pitcher
- 1977 - Nate Fernley, college coach
- 1978 - Jorge Cordova, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - Jeff Heaverlo, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - Shawn Schwarz, South African national team player
- 1978 - Nate Silver, researcher
- 1979 - Pipat Hongsrisuwan, Thai national team pitcher
- 1980 - Jerry Amador, minor league outfielder
- 1981 - Juan Camacho, minor league infielder
- 1981 - Jose Capellan, pitcher (d. 2015)
- 1981 - Darrell Rasner, pitcher
- 1982 - Danny Desclouds, minor league pitcher
- 1982 - Jason Stokes, minor league infielder
- 1983 - Emerson Frostad, minor league infielder
- 1983 - Andrew Sisco, pitcher
- 1984 - Jesús Golindano, minor league catcher
- 1984 - Stephen Head, minor league infielder
- 1984 - Shane Livensparger, umpire
- 1986 - Dominic de la Osa, minor league utility man
- 1986 - Douglas Rodriguez, French Division I catcher
- 1987 - William Atwood, minor league pitcher
- 1987 - Oliver Drake, pitcher
- 1987 - Shota Ono, NPB catcher
- 1988 - Amy Collins, Australian women's national team pitcher
- 1988 - Reggie Keen, minor league outfielder
- 1988 - Eric Marzec, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Edgard Montiel, minor league infielder
- 1988 - Andy Orfanakos, Bundesliga pitcher
- 1989 - Drew Cumberland, minor league infielder
- 1989 - Heath Hembree, pitcher
- 1990 - Bobby Bundy, minor league pitcher
- 1990 - Jak Simonsen, Austrian national team pitcher
- 1991 - Mitch Delfino, minor league infielder
- 1991 - Hoby Milner, pitcher
- 1991 - John Polonius, minor league infielder
- 1992 - Yosue Castellano, minor league pitcher
- 1993 - Toshifumi Kaneko, Japanese national team infielder
- 1995 - Baasandorj Batsaikhan, Mongolian national team infielder
- 1995 - Deok-ju Ham, KBO pitcher
- 1995 - Jack Larsen, outfielder
- 1995 - Andre Scrubb, pitcher
- 1997 - Erling Moreno, minor league pitcher
- 1998 - Chuan Wei, CPBL catcher
- 1999 - Linus Holmberg, Elitserien infielder
- 1999 - Ryosuke Ohtsu, NPB pitcher
- 1999 - Shih-Hao Wu, CPBL pitcher
- 2000 - Joe Cedano De Leon, Bundesliga pitcher
- 2000 - Rider Zevallos, Peruvian national team infielder
- 2004 - Justin Crawford, minor league outfielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1890 - Buck Gladman, infielder (b. 1863)
- 1891 - Joe Connors, pitcher/outfielder (b. 1862)
- 1899 - Fred Carl, outfielder (b. 1858)
- 1903 - Pete Conway, pitcher (b. 1866)
- 1914 - Aaron Clapp, infielder (b. 1856)
- 1927 - Bob Ingersoll, pitcher (b. 1883)
- 1929 - Buck West, outfielder (b. 1860)
- 1932 - Geechie Meredith, infielder (b. 1899)
- 1933 - Jesse Hoffmeister, infielder (b. 1877)
- 1939 - Jacob Ruppert, owner; Hall of Fame (b. 1867)
- 1944 - Kid Elberfeld, infielder, manager (b. 1875)
- 1946 - Atsushi Kono, NPB owner (b. 1884)
- 1946 - Kid Speer, pitcher (b. 1886)
- 1951 - Charlie Miller, pinch hitter (b. 1877)
- 1954 - Clay Perry, infielder (b. 1881)
- 1955 - Bill Dineen, pitcher (b. 1876)
- 1965 - Brad Kocher, catcher (b. 1888)
- 1967 - Charlie Gelbert, infielder (b. 1906)
- 1968 - Ernie Herbert, pitcher (b. 1887)
- 1968 - Marty Lang, pitcher (b. 1905)
- 1968 - Art Schwind, infielder (b. 1889)
- 1977 - Red Ostergard, pinch hitter (b. 1896)
- 1978 - Bill Clowers, pitcher (b. 1898)
- 1978 - Merwin Jacobson, outfielder (b. 1894)
- 1978 - Joe McCarthy, catcher (b. 1887)
- 1980 - Charlie Sproull, pitcher (b. 1919)
- 1980 - Monty Swartz, pitcher (b. 1897)
- 1981 - Bobby Goff, scout (b. 1902)
- 1986 - Mike Garcia, pitcher (b. 1923)
- 1987 - Tom Morgan, pitcher (b. 1930)
- 1989 - Pat Ankenman, infielder (b. 1912)
- 1989 - Ray Morehart, infielder (b. 1899)
- 1990 - Roy Jarvis, catcher (b. 1926)
- 1993 - Richard Klaus, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1922)
- 1993 - Harlan Pyle, pitcher (b. 1905)
- 1994 - George Vico, infielder (b. 1923)
- 2003 - Ernie Rudolph, pitcher (b. 1909)
- 2004 - Mike Goliat, infielder (b. 1921)
- 2008 - Johnny Podres, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1932)
- 2009 - Preston Gomez, infielder; manager (b. 1922)
- 2013 - Michael Brown, minor league pitcher (b. 1976)
- 2013 - Enzo Hernandez, infielder (b. 1949)
- 2014 - Don Asmonga, minor league pitcher (b. 1928)
- 2014 - Joel Gibson, minor league pitcher (b. 1939)
- 2014 - Jeong-soo Kim, KBO infielder and manager (b. 1953)
- 2016 - Luis Arroyo, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1927)
- 2016 - Drew Overholser, minor league pitcher (b. 1969)
- 2018 - Doug Harvey, umpire; Hall of Famer (b. 1930)
- 2019 - Mel Stottlemyre, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1941)
- 2021 - Ben Hines, coach (b. 1935)
- 2021 - Bill Moon, college coach (b. 1947)
- 2022 - Cholly Naranjo, pitcher (b. 1933)
- 2023 - Bill Davis, infielder (b. 1942)
- 2023 - Bill McKeon, minor league catcher; scout (b. 1932)
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