January 20
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
| Standings on this day | |
| Permanent link to Today's Entry | |
| Sources | |
| Baseball Library Chronology | |
| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on January 20.
Events[edit]
- 1871 - The first franchise in the yet-to-be formed National Association of Professional Baseball Players is born. The Boston Red Stockings, the league's charter franchise, will be managed by Harry Wright, who founded and managed the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first professional baseball team. The ancestors of the future National League's Braves franchise are born and in two months, the National Association will officially open for business.
- 1882 - The Kentucky Legislature modifies a recently-passed law which inadvertently prohibited the playing of baseball games in the commonwealth.
- 1885 - The American Association is reorganized, with clubs from St. Louis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Brooklyn, Louisville, New York and Baltimore.
- 1916 - The New York Giants buy center fielder Edd Roush from the Newark Peppers of the defunct Federal League for $7,500. Roush will hit just .188 in New York before being packaged to Cincinnati, where he will blossom into a Hall of Famer.
- 1930 - Commissioner Landis bans boxing for all players following the brief boxing career of Chicago White Sox first baseman Art Shires. His challenge to slugger Hack Wilson purportedly prompts the ban. Shires fought several suspected bouts that resulted in his being suspended by the boxing commissions of 32 states but loses a desultory five-rounder to Chicago Bears center George "The Brute" Trafton. Shires did win a punch-out with Sox manager Lena Blackburne and two hotel detectives late last season.
- 1931 - Joe Sewell, released by the Cleveland Indians after last season, signs with the New York Yankees. The future Hall of Fame shortstop will finish his 14-season career in 1933.
- 1946 - In a classic pitching matchup played in the newly-constituted Venezuelan League, Alex Carrasquel of Magallanes beats Roy Welmaker and the Equipo Vargas club, 3 - 2, in 17 innings. In the six-and-a-half-hour marathon, Carrasquel is good enough to silence the bats of Roy Campanella and Sam Jethroe. Both pitchers go the distance in one of the greatest winter league matchups ever.
- 1947 - Negro Leagues legend Josh Gibson dies from a brain tumor at the age of 35. Considered by many to be the greatest home run hitter in the history of the Negro Leagues, Gibson will eventually gain election to the Hall of Fame in 1972, when he is selected by the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues.
- 1954 - The Cleveland Indians and Washington Senators trade catchers with Joe Tipton going to Washington for Mickey Grasso.
- 1965 - The Cleveland Indians re-acquire popular slugger Rocky Colavito from the Chicago White Sox in an eight-player, three-way trade involving the Kansas City Athletics. In the deal, the White Sox send a player to be named later (pitcher Fred Talbot) and outfielders Jim Landis and Mike Hershberger to Kansas City in exchange for Colavito. Chicago also sends catcher Cam Carreon to the Indians and receives catcher Johnny Romano, outfielder Tommy Agee and pitcher Tommy John from Cleveland. In 1960, the Indians had traded Colavito to Detroit for Harvey Kuenn, drawing the wrath of Cleveland fans.
- 1966 - The Baseball Writers Association of America elects former Boston Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams to the Hall of Fame. Williams, the last major league batter to hit .400, receives 282 of a possible 302 votes. He won the Triple Crown twice, the American League MVP Award twice, and produced the highest career on-base percentage of all time (.483), even though he lost five years to military service.
- 1970 - Shortstop Lou Boudreau achieves election to the Hall of Fame, receiving 232 of a possible 300 votes from the BBWAA. Boudreau led the American League eight times in fielding percentage, won a batting title, and was named AL Most Valuable Player as player-manager of the 1948 World Champion Cleveland Indians.
- 1977 - The Yankees obtain outfielder Paul Blair from Baltimore for two prospects. Blair will prove a fine defensive addition to the Yankees.
- 1984:
- The Montreal Expos sign 42-year-old free agent Pete Rose. The veteran first baseman batted only .245 in 1983, the last of his five seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies. Rose will play only 95 games for the Expos before being traded to the Cincinnati Reds, where he will become player-manager.
- The Chicago White Sox claim 39-year-old pitcher Tom Seaver from the New York Mets as compensation for the loss of free agent pitcher Dennis Lamp to the Toronto Blue Jays. The Mets left Seaver off their protected list assuming (wrongly) that no team would want to select the aging star, who finished 1983 with a 9-14 record and a 3.55 ERA. But Seaver will improve to 15-11 with the White Sox this season.
- 1989 - Katsuya Nomura, the greatest catcher in Nippon Pro Baseball history, is elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.
- 1996:
- Free agent IF/OF Tony Phillips and the Chicago White Sox agree to a $4.3 million, two-year contract.
- The Milwaukee Brewers sign free agent starter Ben McDonald to a $7 million, two-year contract.
- 1997 - Former All-Star outfielder Curt Flood, who challenged baseball's reserve system all the way to the Supreme Court and made possible today's mega-salaries, dies at age 59.
- 1998 - Veteran reliever Lee Smith and third baseman Terry Pendleton sign minor league contracts with the Kansas City Royals, who invite them to spring training as non-roster players.
- 2000 - The 30 major league owners vote to give all their Internet rights to the Commissioner's office. This decision allows for the creation of mlb.com, which will become a model of success for other professional sports leagues. Bud Selig will parcel out monies earned from the venture in equal amounts, creating an important new source of revenue for all teams.
- 2005 - Eric Gagné and the Los Angeles Dodgers agree to a $19 million, two-year deal. The 2003 National League Cy Young Award winner, who set a major league record with 84 consecutive saves from August, 2002 to July, 2004, made $5 million last year after arbitrators ruled in favor of the club's offer over the $8 million request made by the Los Angeles closer.
- 2006:
- Cuba will be allowed to play in the World Baseball Classic after all. President Bush's administration issues a license allowing the Cubans to participate in the 16-team tournament.
- Less than three months after resigning as the team's general manager, Theo Epstein returns to the front office of the Boston Red Sox in the same role.
- Pitcher Bronson Arroyo agrees to a three-year contract with the Boston Red Sox, and the San Diego Padres claim first baseman Walter Young off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles.
- 2010:
- The Angels sign free agent starting pitcher Joel Pineiro to a two-year deal worth $16 million. Pineiro went 15-12 with a 3.49 ERA for the St. Louis Cardinals last season.
- The Brewers sign their second free agent left-handed starting pitcher of the off-season, inking Doug Davis to a one-year deal a month after adding Randy Wolf. Davis pitched for the Brew Crew from 2003 to 2006 before spending the last three seasons with Arizona.
- The Blue Jays purchase reliever Merkin Valdez from the Giants. The hard-throwing righty was designated for assignment last week to make room on San Francisco's 40-man roster.
- 2011 - The Yankees sign OF Andruw Jones to a one-year contract. Jones almost washed out of baseball after a terrible 2008 season that saw him hit .158 with no power, but he has since bounced back to being a useful player again, although his days of stardom are over.
- 2012:
- The Indians acquire P Kevin Slowey from the Rockies in exchange for P Zach Putnam. For Slowey, it's a second trade this off-season, having gone from Minnesota to Colorado on December 6th.
- In signings today, the Rays repatriate 1B Carlos Pena with a one-year contract; Pena played for Tampa Bay from 2007 to 2010 before spending last season with the Cubs. Also, the Rangers add OF/1B Brad Hawpe on a minor league contract and the Indians sign OF Ryan Spilborghs, also to a minor league contract.
- 2013:
- P Nelson Figueroa leads the Leones del Escogido to a 9 - 0 win over the Aguilas Cibaeñas and a three games to none lead in the Dominican League finals. Figueroa pitches eight scoreless innings, while Jorge Cantu hits a two-run homer in the 2nd to start the Lions' attack.
- Daniel Ortiz and Randy Ruiz hit back-to-back homers off Javier Vazquez in the 1st as Mayagüez wins, 2 - 1, to cut Caguas' lead to two games to one in the Puerto Rican League finals. Randy Fontanez is the winner.
- 2015 - One day after trading CF Dexter Fowler, the Astros sign free agent Colby Rasmus to a one-year deal worth $8 million.
- 2016 - To celebrate its 75th anniversary, the California League announces the California League Hall of Fame. The initial class is composed primarily of Hall of Fame players who appeared in the league, but does include some players who did star in the Cal League such as league hit record holder Vada Pinson, 2001 league MVP Xavier Nady and league co-founder Sam Lynn.
- 2019 - The Santurce Crabbers win their 16th Puerto Rican League title, topping the Indios de Mayagüez four games to one in the finals after a 25-9 record in the regular season and semifinals. Fernando Cruz saves David Richardson's 4 - 3 win. Rey Fuentes singles off Jonathan Sanchez to bring in Jan Hernandez with the winning run in the 6th.
- 2022:
- Major League Baseball puts the final nail in the coffin of the innovative plan put together by Stephen Bronfman to have the Tampa Bay Rays split their season between St. Petersburg, FL and Montreal, QC, by stating such a move would never receive approval. While MLB does not give a reason, it is clear that the league prefers a permanent solution to the chronic ballpark problems in Tampa, while the Players Association was always unlikely to approve a plan that forces some of its members to maintain two separate in-season homes.
- The Criollos de Caguas win their record 20th Puerto Rican League title, beating the Indios de Mayagüez, four games to one. In Game 5, they win, 4 - 3, with series MVP Johneshwy Fargas driving in the winner off Fernando Cabrera. Alexis Diaz gets the win and 43-year-old Ricardo Gómez notches the save.
- 2023 - The Twins and Marlins swing a trade in which both clubs deal from an area of strength to address a glaring need. Minnesota gives up IF Luis Arraez to obtain P Pablo Lopez and a couple of younger prospects. Arraez is the first reigning batting champion to be traded since the Twins dealt Rod Carew to the Angels before the 1979 season, and he will repeat the feat in the National League in his first season with the Fish.
- 2025 - After falling short in their pursuit of top-ranked free agents over the past few years, the Blue Jays finally land one, signing OF Anthony Santander to a five-year deal worth $92.5 million.
Births[edit]
- 1845 - Everett Mills, infielder, manager (d. 1908)
- 1859 - Tony Mullane, pitcher (d. 1944)
- 1860 - Pete Galligan, infielder (d. 1917)
- 1873 - Frank Cross, outfielder (d. 1932)
- 1874 - Steve Bloomer, BNBL first baseman (d. 1938)
- 1875 - Harry Barton, catcher (d. 1955)
- 1875 - Ernie Courtney, infielder (d. 1920)
- 1875 - C.I. Taylor, infielder, manager (d. 1922)
- 1877 - William Veeck, executive (d. 1933)
- 1886 - Bill Schardt, pitcher (d. 1964)
- 1887 - Bill James, pitcher (d. 1942)
- 1887 - Sec Taylor, writer (d. 1965)
- 1887 - Bill Zimmerman, outfielder (d. 1952)
- 1891 - Earl Smith, outfielder (d. 1943)
- 1893 - Al Gould, pitcher (d. 1982)
- 1893 - Cliff Hill, pitcher (d. 1938)
- 1904 - Denny Sothern, outfielder (d. 1977)
- 1905 - Ike Danning, catcher (d. 1983)
- 1906 - Charlie Craig, pitcher (d. 1931)
- 1907 - Bob Adams, pitcher (d. 1970)
- 1907 - Jesse Hill, outfielder (d. 1993)
- 1907 - Herm Holshouser, pitcher (d. 1994)
- 1909 - William Eckert, commissioner (d. 1971)
- 1909 - Manuel Malpica, Venezuelan national team manager (d. 1970)
- 1910 - Frank Makosky, pitcher (d. 1987)
- 1913 - Jimmy Outlaw, outfielder (d. 2006)
- 1917 - Joe Dobson, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1994)
- 1920 - Sammy Hairston, catcher/infielder; All-Star (d. 1997)
- 1922 - Gale Pringle, minor league pitcher (d. 2012)
- 1923 - Betty Emry, AAGPBL pitcher and infielder (d. 1995)
- 1924 - Dutch Neuman, minor league pitcher (b. 2014)
- 1926 - Tony Campos, minor league infielder (d. 2002)
- 1929 - Gale Wade, outfielder (d. 2022)
- 1930 - Ritsuo Horimoto, NPB pitcher (d. 2012)
- 1931 - Hirofumi Naito, NPB infielder
- 1933 - Gene Stephens, outfielder (d. 2019)
- 1934 - Camilo Pascual, pitcher; All-Star
- 1936 - Jesse Gonder, catcher (d. 2004)
- 1937 - Ikuhara Akihiro, Japanese Baseball Hall of Famer (d. 1992)
- 1938 - Eusebio Elizalde, minor league pitcher and manager
- 1941 - Steve Gruwell, scout (d. 2003)
- 1944 - Carl Taylor, catcher
- 1945 - Dave Boswell, pitcher (d. 2012)
- 1946 - Mártires Astacio, Dominican national team infielder
- 1947 - Gerry Schoen, pitcher (d. 2021)
- 1948 - Toshio Kato, NPB catcher
- 1950 - Tim Steele, minor league infielder (d. 2022)
- 1957 - Bob Turcio, Serie A1 pitcher
- 1958 - Bill Scherrer, pitcher
- 1960 - Dave McLaughlin, minor league outfielder
- 1963 - Gary Bedingfield, Great Britain national team catcher
- 1963 - Cecil Espy, outfielder
- 1964 - Ozzie Guillen, infielder, manager; All-Star
- 1964 - Rolando Pino, minor league infielder and manager
- 1965 - Brad Brink, pitcher
- 1965 - Kevin Maas, designated hitter
- 1966 - Chris Finwood, college coach
- 1968 - Ramon Manon, pitcher
- 1969 - Ramón Pacheco, minor league infielder
- 1969 - Sung-ki Park, KBO pitcher
- 1970 - Marvin Benard, outfielder
- 1970 - Tim McDonnell, scout
- 1972 - Matt Beech, pitcher
- 1972 - Tim Kubinski, pitcher
- 1973 - Julio Santana, pitcher
- 1974 - Roman Goloubkhine, Russian national team catcher
- 1975 - David Eckstein, infielder; All-Star
- 1975 - Danny Peoples, minor league infielder
- 1976 - Jon Schaeffer, minor league catcher
- 1976 - Jiangtao Wang, China Baseball League infielder
- 1977 - Soo-keun Jung, KBO outfielder
- 1978 - Chris Mears, pitcher
- 1978 - Rafael Pujols, minor league catcher
- 1978 - John Rodriguez, outfielder
- 1978 - Jon Weber, minor league outfielder
- 1979 - Brent Shelton, college coach
- 1980 - Ryan Cullen, minor league pitcher
- 1980 - Franklyn German, pitcher
- 1980 - Luis Martinez, pitcher
- 1981 - John Baker, catcher
- 1981 - Min-Yen Chang, CPBL outfielder
- 1981 - Freddy Guzman, outfielder
- 1981 - Brennan King, minor league infielder
- 1981 - Alec Zumwalt, minor league pitcher
- 1983 - Matt Albers, pitcher
- 1983 - Yu-Liang Cheng, CPBL pitcher
- 1983 - Miguel Pinango, minor league pitcher
- 1983 - Geovany Soto, catcher; All-Star
- 1984 - Juan Lucena, minor league infielder
- 1984 - Andrea Sgnaolin, Serie A1 infielder
- 1985 - Fabio Castro, pitcher
- 1985 - Luis Pérez, pitcher
- 1986 - Jeffrey de Vrieze, minor league catcher
- 1986 - David Lough, outfielder
- 1987 - John Aber, minor league pitcher and manager
- 1987 - Jason Codiroli, minor league outfielder
- 1987 - Kelvin Diaz, minor league player
- 1987 - Luis Exposito, catcher
- 1987 - Sim Ruts, First Division outfielder-pitcher
- 1987 - Aaron Thorne, minor league pitcher
- 1989 - Travis Taijeron, outfielder
- 1990 - José Acosta, minor league pitcher
- 1990 - Jennel Hudson, minor league pitcher
- 1990 - Vincent King, First Division infielder
- 1991 - Cam Maron, minor league catcher
- 1991 - Marvin Martínez, Nicaraguan national team infielder
- 1991 - Tara Sliwkanich, Canadian women's national team pitcher
- 1992 - Mike Ahmed, minor league infielder
- 1992 - Raoell Kortstam, minor league outfielder
- 1993 - Iago Januario, minor league infielder
- 1994 - Ricardo Pinto, pitcher
- 1995 - Long-Yin Wong, Hong Kong national team outfielder
- 1997 - Sarah Hudek, US women's national team pitcher
- 1997 - Ali Sánchez, catcher
- 1998 - Igor Januário, minor league pitcher
- 2002 - Andy Owen, minor league pitcher
- 2003 - Ratchanon Khrueaprommin, Thai national team pitcher
- 2003 - Phongsathon Nituthon, Thai national team infielder
- 2005 - Hsun-Chieh Lee, CPBL infielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1914 - Pat Lyons, infielder (b. 1860)
- 1916 - Emmet Heidrick, outfielder (b. 1876)
- 1916 - Dick McBride, pitcher, manager (b. 1847)
- 1930 - Jumbo Schoeneck, infielder (b. 1862)
- 1936 - Sam McBirney, minor league player and manager (b. 1877)
- 1938 - Herb Goodall, pitcher (b. 1866)
- 1940 - Wally Andrews, infielder (b. 1859)
- 1941 - Jack Lelivelt, outfielder (b. 1885)
- 1947 - Josh Gibson, catcher; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1911)
- 1952 - Ollie Pickering, outfielder (b. 1870)
- 1954 - Bunny Madden, catcher (b. 1882)
- 1956 - Archie Osborne, minor league pitcher (b. 1881)
- 1956 - Robert Rhoades, minor league pitcher (b. 1879)
- 1957 - Billy Laval, college coach (b. 1886)
- 1960 - Gibby Brack, outfielder (b. 1908)
- 1963 - Jimmy Wiggs, pitcher (b. 1876)
- 1965 - Nick Altrock, pitcher (b. 1876)
- 1966 - Leslie O'Connor, general manager (b. 1889)
- 1974 - Homer Hillebrand, pitcher (b. 1879)
- 1974 - George Hockette, pitcher (b. 1908)
- 1976 - Tom Dunn, umpire (b. 1900)
- 1978 - George Ellison, pitcher (b. 1897)
- 1980 - Waddy Macphee, infielder (b. 1899)
- 1986 - Remy LeBlanc, minor league outfielder (b. 1925)
- 1987 - Hank Behrman, pitcher (b. 1921)
- 1990 - Barney Kremenko, writer (b. 1909)
- 1992 - Mario Ariosa, outfielder; Salón de la Fama (b. 1925)
- 1994 - Paul Dixon, outfielder (b. 1907)
- 1995 - Marc Filley, pitcher (b. 1912)
- 1997 - Curt Flood, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1938)
- 1998 - Lou List, minor league outfielder (b. 1965)
- 2000 - Ron Herbel, pitcher (b. 1938)
- 2000 - Nobukazu Iwamoto, NPB pitcher and umpire (b. 1921)
- 2003 - Sidney Hatfield, minor league pitcher (b. 1929)
- 2004 - Lloyd Merriman, outfielder (b. 1924)
- 2004 - Marie Wegman, AAGPBL pitcher and infielder (b. 1925)
- 2007 - Vern Ruhle, pitcher (b. 1951)
- 2009 - Jay North, scout (b. 1962)
- 2010 - Dewey Gray, minor league pitcher (b. 1931)
- 2011 - Lamar North, scout (b. 1929)
- 2011 - Jose Ortiz, outfielder (b. 1947)
- 2011 - Gus Zernial, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1923)
- 2013 - Ron Fraser, college coach (b. 1933)
- 2014 - Vern Benson, infielder, manager (b. 1924)
- 2014 - Guillermo Valenzuela, minor league pitcher (b. 1962)
- 2015 - Freddy Buchner, Bundesliga player and manager (b. 1933)
- 2017 - Argelio Córdoba, Nicaraguan national team manager (b. 1934)
- 2017 - Clyde Golden, pitcher (b. 1928)
- 2018 - Bill Johnson, pitcher (b. 1960)
- 2018 - Moose Stubing, pinch hitter, manager (b. 1938)
- 2020 - Jay Hankins, outfielder (b. 1935)
- 2021 - Mike Sadek, catcher (b. 1946)
- 2021 - Juanchy Sánchez, executive (b. ~1957)
- 2023 - Sal Bando, infielder; All-Star (b. 1944)
- 2025 - Bobby Cuellar, pitcher (b. 1952)
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