January 18
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
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| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on January 18.
Events[edit]
- 1887 - A new Kansas City club is founded to play in the Western League. The team vows to compete with the National League team in town, but that franchise will not return this year.
- 1896 - Long before Marvin Miller and Curt Flood attacked the reserve clause, John Montgomery Ward, who has not played or managed for the last two seasons, objects to being reserved by the New York Giants. At the National League meeting in February, his appeal is upheld, and Ward becomes a free agent.
- 1922 - The Chicago Cubs obtain outfielder Jigger Statz and pitcher Vic Aldridge from the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League for eight players and cash considerations.
- 1934 - Future Hall of Fame member Dizzy Dean predicts that he and his brother Paul will lead the St. Louis Cardinals to the National League pennant. Dean will prove to be a man of his word, as the starting pitcher brothers will combine for 49 victories in helping the Cardinals reach - and win - the 1934 World Series.
- 1938 - Pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander is elected to the Hall of Fame, as the only player to get the required 75 percent of the Baseball Writers Association of America votes. In a 20-season major league career, Alexander posted a 373-208 record with 2,198 strikeouts and a 2.56 ERA, including 30 or more wins in three seasons.
- 1947 - The Detroit Tigers sell All-Star first baseman Hank Greenberg to the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1946, Greenberg led the American League with 44 home runs and 127 RBI, but will slump to 25 home runs and 74 RBI with the Pirates and will retire after the season.
- 1950 - Ace pitcher Bob Feller tells the Cleveland Indians that he should receive a cut in pay after a subpar 15-14 season in 1949. The Indians agree to the suggestion, cutting the future Hall of Famer's pay by $20,000. Feller will receive a salary of $45,000 this year.
- 1952 - The Chicago White Sox accept the resignation of general manager Charlie A. Comiskey, Jr. after his request for more money is refused.
- 1969 - The last-place Washington Senators name former Boston Red Sox star Ted Williams as their new manager. Williams signs a five-year contract worth a reported salary of $75,000 per season. Under his leadership, the "new" Senators will finish with a record of 86-76, the best mark in the franchise's history in Washington.
- 1973 - The Boston Red Sox sign veteran slugger Orlando Cepeda to be their first designated hitter. The Red Sox become the first team to sign a player specifically for the role of DH, a new rule that will go into effect this season.
- 1985 - In a four-team trade, the Milwaukee Brewers send catcher Jim Sundberg to the Kansas City Royals and receive pitchers Danny Darwin from the Texas Rangers and Tim Leary from the New York Mets. The Mets receive pitcher Frank Wills from Kansas City, who also sends catcher Don Slaught to Texas, who sends catcher Bill Hance to Milwaukee.
- 1994 - Major league owners approve a new revenue-sharing plan keyed to a salary cap, which requires the players' approval. They will reject it, causing a strike.
- 1995 - Former major league umpire Ron Luciano dies at the age of 57, victim of an apparent suicide. An American League umpire for 11 seasons, Luciano gained fame as one of the most colorful and flamboyant arbiters in the game's history, and as the author of four best-selling books of anecdotes about the game.
- 1997 - Kazuhiro Sasaki is injured in a barroom brawl and requires 11 stitches to his forehead.
- 1999 - A fiberglass panel falls from the roof of Stade Olympique in Montréal, QC, home of the Expos, during the setup for an auto show. Five people are injured.
- 2001 - US President George W. Bush, in an interview with the Associated Press, says he is worried about baseball's labor contract, which expires on October 31st. Bush, once managing partner of the Texas Rangers, left the job to run for governor of Texas in 1994. He suggests, "Get rid of arbitration if possible and have, maybe, free agency occur at an earlier time, and if there's three shortstops and two bidders the price goes down, and vice versa, it goes up."
- 2002:
- The Seattle Mariners avoid arbitration with pitcher Freddy Garcia, who led the American League with a 3.05 ERA while posting a 18-6 record, by signing him to a one-year, $3.8-million deal.
- Pitcher Kerry Wood, who had a 12-6 mark with a 3.36 ERA and struck out 217 batters in 174 1/3 innings, avoids arbitration, agreeing a one-year deal with the Chicago Cubs believed to be worth between $3.5 and 4 million.
- Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Scott Rolen avoids arbitration, signing the largest contract in team history, a $8.6 million, one-year deal.
- Randomly selected from the crowd, Tampa Bay Devil Rays outfielder Randy Winn sinks a half court-shot at an NBA Los Angeles Clippers' game to win a Mitsubishi Lancer. Winn played some college hoops at Santa Clara University.
- 2005 - The New York Mets sign Carlos Beltran to play center field for the next seven years.
- 2006:
- Pitcher Danny Graves travels a long way to find his roots. Just a baby when he left Vietnam in 1974, the Cleveland Indians reliever returns for the first time to glean a sense of the country and teach baseball to kids.
- Third baseman Russell Branyan clears waivers and is released by the Milwaukee Brewers.
- The Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates are selected to play in the annual Hall of Fame Game, to be held this year on May 15th at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, NY.
- 2009 - The Chicago Cubs send former top prospect Félix Pie to the Baltimore Orioles for Garrett Olson and Henry Williamson.
- 2010:
- The San Diego Padres sign utility player Jerry Hairston to a one-year deal; he joins his brother Scott Hairston, re-acquired by the Padres in a trade two days earlier.
- The Cleveland Indians acquire infielder Brian Bixler from the Pirates for Class-A 3B Jesus Brito, who hit .353 in his first professional season in the United States last year.
- 2011:
- With the deadline for settling cases headed for salary arbitration looming, teams strike deals with most of their unsigned players. Most notable among these is the Brewers signing 1B Prince Fielder to a one-year, $15.5 million contract, the highest single-season contract ever for an arbitration-eligible player. Josh Hamilton and Jose Bautista are the two biggest names who remain unsigned.
- P Gil Meche of the Royals, whose career has been derailed by numerous injuries and who is facing another shoulder surgery, announces his retirement in spite of having one season left on his contract at a salary of $12 million. The Royals had been trying to trade him for prospects earlier this off-season.
- OF Milton Bradley is in trouble with the law once again. He is arrested this morning in Los Angeles, CA on unspecified charges and released late in the day, with a court appearance set for February 8th. The Mariners state that they are treating the situation "very seriously".
- 2012 - The Rangers sign Japanese P Yu Darvish to a six-year, $60 million deal. Combined with the record $51.7 million posting fee, Texas will shell almost $112 million to secure the services of Darvish.
- 2013 - The Criollos de Caguas win the opening game of the Puerto Rican League finals defeating Mayagüez, 5 - 4. Ramon Castro and Henry Ramos both go 3 for 4 for the winners, with Cole McCurry getting the win.
- 2015 - Reports circulate that the prime free agent of this off-season, P Max Scherzer, has agreed on a seven-year deal with the Washington Nationals. Terms of the deal released the next day indicate it is worth $210 million.
- 2016:
- The Tigers sign one the last remaining marquee free agents on the market, inking OF Justin Upton to a six-year deal worth $132.75 million.
- The 2015-2016 Venezuelan League awards are given out. Tiburones de La Guaira slugger Alex Cabrera becomes the league's first three-time MVP when the 44-year-old leads in homers and ties for the RBI lead. Cabrera is tied for the league's all-time home run lead at year's end. Bravos de Margarita youngster Jose Osuna (.330/.395/.519) wins Rookie of the Year while Raul Rivero (7-4, 2.03 for the Cardenales de Lara) is Pitcher of the Year. Navegantes del Magallanes fireman Hassan Pena becomes the first player to win three straight Closer of the Year awards after setting a new save mark.
- The Puerto Rican League also issues its seasonal awards. The MVP goes to Kennys Vargas of the Indios de Mayagüez, who led the loop in homers, slugging, total bases and OPS. Rookie of the Year is Joe Jiménez of the Gigantes de Carolina (0-2, 6 Sv, 2.80) while Adalberto Flores (5-2, 2.04) of the Santurce Crabbers is Pitcher of the Year. Other awards go to Jonathan Sánchez (Comeback Player of the Year) and Pat Kelly (Manager of the Year) while the All-Stars are C Johnny Monell Jr., 1B Vargas, 2B Jesmuel Valentin, SS Elmer Reyes, 3B T.J. Rivera, RF Anthony Garcia, CF Reymond Fuentes, LF Ruben Sosa, RHP Adalberto Flores, LHP Sánchez, RP Fernando Cabrera and DH Randy Ruiz.
- The Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame elects five members, its biggest class in ten years. Kimiyasu Kudoh, a eight-time Japan Series champion and four-time ERA leader, goes in on his first ballot. The sportswriter committee also picks Masaaki Saito, a three-time Sawamura Award winner and one-time MVP. The Expert Division picks the late Kihachi Enomoto, a 12-time All-Star and two-time batting champion. The Special Selection Committee names Takizo Matsumoto, who helped revive Japanese baseball after World War II, and Masatake Yamanaka, who set the Tokyo Big Six University League record for wins and managed Japan in the 1992 Olympics.
- Game 7 of the Mexican Pacific League semi-finals between the Águilas de Mexicali and Mayos de Navojoa ends in thrilling fashion, on a 16th-inning squeeze bunt dropped by C.J. Retherford on a full count, scoring Chris Roberson from third base. Mexicali wins the game and will face Mazatlan in the finals.
- 2017 - The Baseball Writers Association of America elects three players to the Hall of Fame: former Houston Astros 1B Jeff Bagwell receives 86.2% of the vote to make it on his seventh try, while lead-off man Tim Raines is just behind him with 86% in his tenth and final year of eligibility. C Ivan Rodriguez also makes it, on his first attempt, clearing the 75% threshold by four votes. Falling just short are RP Trevor Hoffman and OF Vladimir Guerrero, who miss by 5 and 15 votes, respectively.
- 2018 - Ignoring resistance from the Players Association, Commissioner Rob Manfred unilaterally announces two measures to speed up the pace of play: the introduction of a 20-second pitch clock with no runners on base, and a change to the definition of mound visits to include those made by the catcher or by an infielder. Previously, only visits by a manager or coach would count, with the second resulting in the automatic replacement of the pitcher by a reliever. The players' reluctance is seen as a reaction to the slow free agent market this off-season that has resulted in a number of top-notch players still being unsigned a month before the opening of spring training. On February 19th, the Commissioner will come to an agreement with the MLBPA not to introduce the clock, but to go ahead with other measures to speed up the pace of play.
- 2021:
- The Padres acquire their third starting pitcher of the off-season by landing Joe Musgrove from the Pirates in exchange for Joey Lucchesi and four prospects. Musgrove had very good numbers for the Bucs last season in spite of a 1-5 record, and he follows Blake Snell and Yu Darvish in joining the Friars.
- The Águilas Cibaeñas win their 22nd Dominican League title to tie for the most all-time. They top the Gigantes del Cibao, four games to three, in the finals. Luis Castillo gets the win and Dario Álvarez the save in the 7 - 4 win today. Johan Camargo doubles and homers to lead the offense against Wily Peralta and Cibao.
- 2022 - The Dodgers promote former pitcher Brandon Gomes to General Manager after he had spent the previous three seasons as assistant GM under the guidance of Andrew Friedman.
- 2023:
- The Tigres del Licey win their 23rd Dominican League title with a 2 - 1 win over Estrellas Orientales in Game 5 of the finals, breaking a tie with Águilas Cibaeñas for most in league history. A single by Mel Rojas Jr. in the bottom of the 10th brings home Ronny Mauricio with the winning run. Rojas collects three hits on the night and drives in both of his team's run, batting .353 for the series. The Estrellas' only run comes on a 6th-inning solo homer by Jeimer Candelario.
- Six major league teams are assessed luxury tax payments for overshooting payroll limits last season. The Dodgers lead the way, as they are assessed a tax of $32 million, getting an additional penalty as repeat offenders, ahead of the Mets, who actually had a higher payroll but land on the list for the first time in team history with a penalty of $30.8 million. Also penalized are the Yankees, Padres, Phillies and Red Sox, but in all four cases the penalty is below $10 million. The increased penalties come in a context in which total payroll increased by 12% in 2022, up to a record $4.56 billion.
- 2024 - The Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame announces the voting results of the 2024 Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame Election. Motonobu Tanishige (the third catcher to 2,000 NPB hits) and Hiroki Kuroda (who won 203 games between NPB and MLB) are voting in as players, while umpire Tomoichi Tanimura also wins selection. Just missing out on the expert division (veterans) ballot is former Hanshin Tigers slugger Masayuki Kakefu, whose 109 votes are two short of the cut-off.
Births[edit]
- 1814 - Walter Avery, pre-MLB player (d. 1904)
- 1839 - Al Barker, outfielder (d. 1912)
- 1844 - Lewis Martin, umpire (d. 1912)
- 1854 - Frank Heifer, infielder (d. 1893)
- 1855 - Charlie Eden, outfielder (d. 1920)
- 1871 - Vianello Drinkwater, minor league pitcher (d. 1952)
- 1874 - Zeke Wrigley, infielder (d. 1952)
- 1884 - Ralph Caldwell, pitcher (d. 1969)
- 1894 - Danny Clark, infielder (d. 1937)
- 1895 - George Hesselbacher, pitcher (d. 1980)
- 1896 - Babe Twombly, outfielder (d. 1974)
- 1898 - John Woods, pitcher (d. 1946)
- 1899 - Eddie Moore, infielder (d. 1976)
- 1903 - Nolen Richardson, infielder (d. 1951)
- 1904 - Len Koenecke, outfielder (d. 1935)
- 1911 - Pinky May, infielder; All-Star (d. 2000)
- 1913 - Danny Kaye, owner (d. 1987)
- 1917 - Fred Spearman, infielder (d. 2010)
- 1917 - Cotton Williams, pitcher/outfielder (d. 2000)
- 1920 - Kamekazu Yasui, NPB infielder (d. 1998)
- 1921 - Rube Wiggins, pitcher (d. 1967)
- 1922 - Ervin Fowlkes, infielder (d. 1994)
- 1924 - Jose Luis Garcia, minor league outfielder and manager (d. 2015)
- 1925 - Jesús Díaz, minor league outfielder; Salon de la Fama (d. 1988)
- 1925 - Bob McConnell, researcher (d. 2012)
- 1926 - Bob Scherbarth, catcher (d. 2009)
- 1929 - Bill Pinckard, NPB outfielder (d. 2018)
- 1929 - Jan Smidt, Hoofdklasse pitcher (d. 2019)
- 1931 - Laurin Pepper, pitcher (d. 2018)
- 1932 - Mike Fornieles, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1998)
- 1935 - Glenn Rediger, minor league infielder (d. 2013)
- 1936 - William Berzunza, minor league infielder; Salon de la Fama
- 1936 - Satch Davidson, umpire (d. 2010)
- 1937 - Toshiharu Ueda, NPB catcher and manager; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
- 1938 - Curt Flood, outfielder; All-Star (d. 1997)
- 1941 - Mickey McGuire, infielder
- 1942 - Dick Estelle, pitcher
- 1943 - Jim Bowen, college coach (d. 2009)
- 1943 - Mel Roberts, coach (d. 2007)
- 1944 - Carl Morton, pitcher (d. 1983)
- 1944 - Michihiro Takabatake, NPB outfielder (d. 2004)
- 1945 - Tom Harrison, pitcher (d. 2023)
- 1945 - Rich Severson, infielder (d. 2016)
- 1946 - Billy Grabarkewitz, infielder; All-Star
- 1947 - Sachio Kinugasa, NPB infielder; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 2018)
- 1948 - David Allen, minor league pitcher
- 1948 - Pat Skrable, minor league outfielder
- 1949 - Haruki Ihara, NPB manager
- 1950 - Marvin Lane, outfielder
- 1950 - Bill Sharp, outfielder
- 1950 - Henry Hyde Jr., minor league pitcher (d. 2005)
- 1951 - Bill Bryk, minor league pitcher and manager (d. 2021)
- 1954 - Scott McGregor, pitcher; All-Star
- 1955 - Dave Geisel, pitcher
- 1960 - Gibson Alba, pitcher
- 1960 - Thijs Vervaat, Hoofdklasse outfielder
- 1961 - John Bohnet, pitcher
- 1961 - Shinya Oda, NPB pitcher
- 1962 - Tim Arnsberg, minor league pitcher
- 1963 - Bill Sampen, pitcher
- 1964 - Brady Anderson, outfielder; All-Star
- 1964 - Daniel Newman, minor league pitcher
- 1964 - Lázaro Vargas, Cuban league infielder and manager
- 1969 - Cesar Bernhardt, minor league infielder
- 1969 - Kevin McGehee, pitcher
- 1969 - John Mozeliak, General Manager
- 1970 - Mike Bertotti, pitcher
- 1972 - Keith Glauber, pitcher
- 1972 - Bubba Hardwick, minor league pitcher
- 1972 - Mike Lieberthal, catcher; All-Star
- 1973 - Joe Kehoskie, agent
- 1973 - John Thompson, minor league pitcher
- 1974 - Darren Bush, coach
- 1977 - Leobardo Arauz, minor league outfielder
- 1977 - Franklin Nunez, pitcher
- 1978 - Fernando Alejos, minor league infielder
- 1978 - Brian Falkenborg, pitcher
- 1978 - Chin-Chih Huang, CPBL pitcher
- 1979 - Wandy Rodriguez, pitcher
- 1980 - Ray Aguilar, minor league pitcher
- 1980 - William Domero, minor league infielder
- 1980 - Hye-jeom Kim, South Korean womens' national team player
- 1981 - Brandon Fahey, infielder/outfielder
- 1981 - Klaus Hopfensperger, Bundesliga outfielder
- 1981 - Kazunari Sanematsu, NPB catcher
- 1981 - Ya-Lun Shen, CPBL infielder
- 1981 - Russell Triplett, college coach
- 1983 - Teng-Yuan Hsu, Taiwanese national team catcher
- 1984 - Justin Thomas, pitcher
- 1985 - Zachary Cole, minor league pitcher
- 1985 - Kelvin Garay, minor league pitcher
- 1985 - Clay Van Hook, drafted infielder
- 1986 - Yander Guevara, Cuban league pitcher
- 1987 - Jon Berger, minor league pitcher
- 1987 - Matt Timms, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Mike Dufek, minor league infielder
- 1988 - Yu-Kang Fu, CPBL pitcher
- 1988 - Luis Jimenez, infielder
- 1988 - Jerry Sullivan, minor league pitcher
- 1989 - David Gutiérrez, Panamanian national team outfielder
- 1989 - Kevin Miner, Hoofdklasse pitcher
- 1989 - Michael Pineda, pitcher; All-Star
- 1990 - Anthony Bemboom, catcher
- 1990 - Brett Lawrie, infielder
- 1990 - Gift Ngoepe, infielder
- 1991 - Jonathan Galvez, minor league infielder
- 1991 - Kyle Martin, pitcher
- 1991 - Alex Mejía, infielder
- 1991 - Joe Migliaccio, minor league coach
- 1992 - Xavier Batista, NPB infielder
- 1992 - Jaycob Brugman, outfielder
- 1993 - Jarlin García, pitcher
- 1993 - George Thanopoulos, minor league pitcher
- 1994 - Diego Castillo, pitcher
- 1994 - Max Fried, pitcher; All-Star
- 1994 - Shuhei Takahashi, NPB infielder
- 1995 - Cooper Goldby, minor league manager
- 1996 - Syed Shah, Pakistani national team pitcher
- 1996 - Yu-Pu Wang, CPBL pitcher
- 1996 - Bin Yang, CPBL pitcher
- 1999 - Alex Seidl, Austrian national team pitcher
- 1999 - Braiden Ward, minor league infielder/outfielder
- 2000 - Lyon Richardson, pitcher
- 2000 - Ben Rosengard, Israeli national team infielder
- 2002 - Dominic Pitelli, minor league infielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1899 - Billy Arnold, outfielder (b. 1851)
- 1905 - Fergy Malone, catcher, manager (b. 1844)
- 1911 - Dick Scott, pitcher (b. 1883)
- 1912 - John Russ, pitcher/outfielder (b. 1858)
- 1929 - Mike Scanlon, manager (b. 1843)
- 1933 - Dan Marion, pitcher (b. 1890)
- 1937 - Clyde Bateman, minor league infielder-pitcher (b. 1876)
- 1945 - Gene Lansing, pitcher (b. 1898)
- 1946 - Reeve McKay, pitcher (b. 1881)
- 1946 - Dave Wright, pitcher (b. 1875)
- 1953 - Newt Joseph, infielder (b. 1896)
- 1955 - Angus Grant, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1874)
- 1955 - Phil Morrison, pitcher (b. 1894)
- 1961 - Gene Woodburn, pitcher (b. 1886)
- 1967 - Goose Tatum, infielder; All-Star (b. 1921)
- 1969 - Ray Kennedy, pinch hitter (b. 1895)
- 1970 - Jack Richardson, pitcher (b. 1891)
- 1972 - Charlie Lewis, infielder (b. 1907)
- 1974 - Pete Appleton, pitcher (b. 1904)
- 1982 - Bob Barrett, infielder (b. 1899)
- 1982 - Johnny Tobin, infielder (b. 1921)
- 1984 - Leo Kiely, pitcher (b. 1929)
- 1989 - Bus Clarkson, infielder; All-Star (b. 1915)
- 1989 - Jim Odom, umpire (b. 1921)
- 1990 - Gabriel Atristain, minor league umpire; Salon de la Fama (b. 1898)
- 1991 - Herb Harris, pitcher (b. 1913)
- 1995 - Ron Luciano, umpire (b. 1937)
- 2002 - Quincy Smith, outfielder (b. 1918)
- 2008 - Al Montreuil, infielder (b. 1943)
- 2008 - Jean Weaver, AAGPBL player (b. 1933)
- 2009 - George Garcia, minor league pitcher (b. 1934)
- 2011 - George Crowe, infielder; All-Star (b. 1921)
- 2011 - Jerre DeNoble, AAGPBL outfielder (b. 1923)
- 2011 - Al Grunwald, pitcher (b. 1930)
- 2013 - Mike Spiers, scout (b. 1961)
- 2015 - Yasuaki Taiho, NPB infielder (b. 1963)
- 2017 - Red Adams, pitcher (b. 1921)
- 2017 - Harry Minor, scout (b. 1928)
- 2017 - Dick Starr, pitcher (b. 1921)
- 2020 - Morimichi Takagi, NPB infielder and manager; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1941)
- 2021 - Don Sutton, pitcher; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1945)
- 2022 - Vic Roznovsky, catcher (b. 1938)
- 2022 - Franco Verlezza, Italian Baseball League infielder (b. 1933)
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