January 29
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 29.
Events[edit]
- 1889 - Veteran outfielder Joe Hornung is released by the Boston Beaneaters after eight years with that club. According to The Sporting News, "Ubbo's unruly tongue was the principal cause of his release."
- 1901 - After rejecting a proposal to ban the bunt, the newly-named Rules Committee composed of Connie Mack, John McGraw and Charles Comiskey recommends no changes at this time.
- 1930 - The Boston Red Sox sell former American League home run king Ken Williams to their rival New York Yankees for the waiver price. Williams, a lifetime .319 hitter, will be released prior to the start of the season and will never again play in the major leagues.
- 1943 - The New York Yankees trade second baseman Jerry Priddy and minor league pitcher Milo Candini to the Washington Senators for pitcher Bill Zuber and cash considerations. Zuber, classified 4-F in the draft, will not have a winning season in New York, while Candini will go 11-7 this year.
- 1948 - Commissioner Happy Chandler fines the Yankees, Cubs and Phillies $500 each for signing high school players.
- 1949 - The Pittsburgh Pirates buy All-Star pitcher Murry Dickson from the St. Louis Cardinals for $125,000.
- 1951 - Major League Baseball signs a six-year All-Star Game pact for TV and Radio rights calling for $6 million. A number of owners criticize Commissioner Happy Chandler, believing that in a couple of years, the broadcast rights will be worth much more than a million per annum.
- 1957 - With the advent of coast-to-coast air travel, Major League Baseball considers a plan creating a player pool to be used in the event of an air disaster.
- 1958:
- Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella suffers a broken neck in an early morning auto accident on Long Island. Campanella, who has won three National League MVP Awards, will be paralyzed for the remainder of his life.
- Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals signs a one-year contract worth $100,000. The deal makes Musial the highest-paid player in the National League. In 1957, Musial paced the NL with a .351 batting mark, while also hitting 29 home runs and driving in 102 runs.
- The Cleveland Indians buy first baseman Mickey Vernon from the Boston Red Sox for the waiver price.
- 1960 - The family feud continues in Chicago as a court rules in favor of Dorothy Rigney, sister of Charles Comiskey, Jr., allowing her to sell her mother's shares of the White Sox to Bill Veeck. Comiskey had brought suit in order to gain control of the club.
- 1961 - Billy Hamilton and Max Carey are selected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
- 1963 - James M. Johnston, James H. Lemon, and George M. Bunker purchase 80 percent of the Washington Senators, buying out five of the original owners, including club president Pete Quesada. Johnston is elected chairman of the board.
- 1964 - Pitcher-writer Jim Brosnan is given permission by the Chicago White Sox to make his own deal with another team. His in-season writing has been censured by White Sox owner Ed Short.
- 1967 - Former Brooklyn Dodgers executive Branch Rickey and Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Lloyd Waner are elected to the Hall of Fame by a unanimous vote of the Special Veterans Committee. In 1947, Rickey promoted Jackie Robinson to the Dodgers, effectively breaking the color line in the major leagues.
- 1969 - Washington Senators manager Jim Lemon is fired. he will be replaced by legendary hitter Ted Williams.
- 1970 - Pitcher Miguel Fuentes, at age 20, is shot and killed during a bar fight in Loiza Aldea, Puerto Rico. On October 2, 1969, against the Oakland Athletics, Fuentes pitched what will turn out to be the last inning in the history of the Seattle Pilots.
- 1971:
- The Pittsburgh Pirates acquire pitcher Nelson Briles and outfielder Vic Davalillo from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for outfielder Matty Alou and pitcher George Brunet. Briles and Davalillo will play important roles in the Bucs' 1971 World Championship.
- In accepting the Tris Speaker Award from Houston sportswriters, Roberto Clemente gives a speech which, apart from being called by many of those in attendance "the best talk any baseball player ever made," is the source of Clemente's most famous – if oft misquoted – assertion: "If you have an opportunity to accomplish something that will make things better for someone coming behind you, and you don't do that, you are wasting your time on this earth."
- 1981 - American League owners approve the sales of two franchises, the Chicago White Sox to Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn for $20 million, and 80 percent of the Seattle Mariners to George Argyros for $10.4 million.
- 1982:
- The New York Yankees name Graig Nettles team captain. Nettles becomes the first Yankees captain since Thurman Munson, who was killed in a 1979 plane crash.
- Pitcher Wayne Garland, the major leagues' first millionaire free agent, is waived by the Cleveland Indians with five seasons remaining on his 10-year contract. Garland posted a 3-7 record with a 5.79 ERA in 1981.
- 1987 - Boston Red Sox third baseman Wade Boggs avoids going to salary arbitration for the third consecutive year by signing a three-year contract worth over $5 million.
- 1988 - The Los Angeles Dodgers sign free agent outfielder Kirk Gibson to a three-year contract worth $4.5 million. Thanks in large part to Gibson's fiery leadership, the Dodgers will win the National League pennant this season. In Game 1 of the World Series against the Oakland Athletics, Gibson, too hobbled to play the field, will hit a dramatic, game-winning pinch-hit home run off Dennis Eckersley.
- 1989 - After nine years of use, the game-winning run batted in (GWRBI) is dropped as an official statistic. New York Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez will remain the all-time leader with 129.
- 1994 - Free agent relief pitcher Lee Smith is signed by the Baltimore Orioles.
- 1996 - The Boston Red Sox trade outfielders Lee Tinsley and Glenn Murray and pitcher Ken Ryan to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for pitcher Heathcliff Slocumb and two prospects.
- 1998:
- Former Chicago White Sox shortstop Ozzie Guillen signs a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles, who invite him to spring training as a non-roster invitee. Guillen will make the big team, but will be released on May 1st.
- The Cleveland Indians signs free agent DH-OF Gerónimo Berroa to a $2.2 million, one-year contract.
- 1999 - Fighting shoulder injuries, five-time All-Star pitcher Jimmy Key retires from baseball. The 37-year-old lefthander appeared in the postseason with all the teams he played for, which included the Blue Jays, Orioles and Yankees.
- 2000 - The New York Mets announce that singer Garth Brooks will participate in spring training with the team. Brooks worked out last spring with the San Diego Padres going 1 for 22 for a .045 batting average.
- 2002:
- The Houston Astros sign Lance Berkman (.331, 34, 126) to a $10.5 million, three-year contract. The All-Star outfielder hit .331 with 34 home runs and 126 RBI last season, including 94 for extra bases, the most ever by a switch-hitter in Major League history.
- The Chicago White Sox trade outfielder Chris Singleton to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for minor league second baseman Willie Harris.
- 2006 - The Oakland Athletics sign Mark Ellis to a two-year, $6 million contract, rewarding their second baseman for his strong comeback season last year from a major shoulder injury.
- 2008 - The Tigres de Aragua win their fourth Venezuelan Winter League title in the past five seasons under manager Buddy Bailey. Catcher Alex Delgado appears on his record 8th Venezuelan titlist. In game 5 of the finals, the Tigres rout the Cardenales de Lara, 9 - 2, behind 3 RBI apiece from Martin Prado and Ronny Cedeño and 3 hits from Edgardo Alfonzo. Jesus Silva tops Geremi Gonzalez.
- 2009 - At Estadio Latinoamericano, Jorge Alberto Martínez Roque of Matanzas faces the minimum 27 batters in shutting down the host Industriales. The right-hander entered the game with a career record of 10-20 but throws a no-hitter with no walks. The only baserunner, Serguei Pérez, is plunked and promptly erased on a double play. A three-run homer by Matanzas 1B Lázaro Herrera provides the game's offense. It is the 50th Cuban no-hitter of the Castro era.
- 2010:
- The Leones del Caracas win the Venezuelan League title with a 7 - 2 win over Magallanes in the decisive 7th game of their series. Caracas gets permission to add the popular Pablo Sandoval to its roster for the deciding game, and he goes 1 for 4, sending hometown fans into a frenzy.
- In the Puerto Rican League, Mayagüez beats Caguas, 8 - 6, in 11 innings, to claim the title. Angel Sanchez goes 4 for 6 for the winners.
- Members of the Florida Marlins are experiencing a different side of life as they visit troops in the field in Iraq. GM Larry Beinfest, manager Fredi Gonzalez, players Chris Coghlan and John Baker and four members of the team's cheerleading squad make up the touring party which travels by Black Hawk helicopters between bases in Iraq and Kuwait, bringing some cheer to soldiers deployed there.
- 2011:
- The Yaquis de Obregón are the Mexican Pacific League champions, thanks to a 5 - 1 win in the 7th game of the final series against the Algodoneros de Guasave. Marco Quevedo pitches 7 strong innings in the win, while Guasave is unable to break its 39-year title drought.
- The Tigres de Aragua tie up the finals of the Venezuelan League at three games apiece with a 4 - 1 win over the Caribes de Anzoátegui. Luis Maza is the hero with a 1st-inning homer, hit after P Manny Ayala starts the game by walking lead-off batter Hernan Iribarren. Aragua knots the series for the second time, having trailed 2 games to none, and 3 to 2.
- 2012:
- The Tigres de Aragua win their 9th Venezuelan League championship with a 3 - 1 victory over La Guaira, taking the finals, 4 games to 2. The team was rocked by the kidnapping of C Wilson Ramos and the tragic death of P Rosman Garcia in a car crash, but overcame these events. In the deciding contest, Yorman Bazardo gives up only 2 hits in 5 scoreless ininngs, while Hector Gimenez, Edgardo Alfonzo and Ramos drive in the three runs.
- The Dominican League finals will go to a deciding Game 9 after Aguilas Cibaeñas beat Escogido, 9 - 2, to tie the series at four wins apiece. Brandon Moss and Carlos Gomez both homer off losing pitcher Francisco Liriano for the winners.
- 2013:
- The Miami New Times reports that the names of at least seven major leaguers have turned up in an investigation of a recently closed clinic in Coral Gables, FL, Biogenesis Laboratories, which is suspected to have dealt in performance-enhancing drugs. Most prominent among those named is Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez. Three of those named - Bartolo Colon, Melky Cabrera and Yasmani Grandal - were suspended by Major League Baseball for testing positive for banned substances during the past year, lending additional credence to the report.
- Magallanes forces a seventh and decisive game in the Venezuelan League finals with a 7 - 3 win over Lara. Trailing 1 - 0 entering the bottom of the 2nd, Magallanes scores 4 runs, three on a homer by Mario Lissón. Pablo Sandoval adds another three-run shot in the 4th as Gustavo Chacin is the winner.
- 2014:
- The Naranjeros de Hermosillo take Game 7 of the Mexican Pacific League championship series to win it all over the Mayos de Navojoa. Luis Fonseca hits a two-run homer in the 3rd off Nathan Reed for Navojoa, but Hermosillo rallies for 7 runs in the bottom of the 6th. Zelous Wheeler's three-run dinger off Hugo Gutierrez is the big blow in an 8 - 3 win. Jerry Owens gets 3 hits for Hermosillo and Jason Urquidez gets the win, while Salvador Robles is the losing hurler.
- OF-1B Lance Berkman retires after a fifteen-year career, unable to overcome continuing problems with his right knee.
- 2015: The Cangrejeros de Santurce win their first Puerto Rican League title in 15 years. They beat the Indios de Mayagüez 4 games to 2 in the finals. In game 6, Santurce trails 3-1 entering the 8th but tie it off Jonathan Albaladejo. Fernando Cabrera relieves but serves up a two-run double to Jorge Padilla. Ricardo Gomez gets the win and Ruben Sosa is named finals MVP.
- 2016:
- The Cangrejeros de Santurce repeat as Puerto Rican League champions; it is their 14th title but their first successful title defense. As with last year, they top the Indios de Mayagüez 4 games to 2. Game 6 is a pitching duel between Jorge Martínez (Santurce) and Hiram Burgos (Mayagüez) with neither team scoring through five innings. In the 6th, Santuce gets two runs, as Jose Constanza drives in Ruben Sosa and is later driven in by Neftali Soto. Frank Del Valle (W), Luis Santos and Ricardo Gomez toss shutout ball for the next four frames.
- The Baseball Australia Hall of Fame announces its 2016 inductees: 1930s-1950s player Philip Brideoake, 1950s star Ernie Bolton, Peter Vogler (second in the Australian Baseball League in walks and steals for 1989-1999) and Micheal Nakamura (two-time Olympian who also starred in Japan).
- 2018:
- The Cleveland Indians announce that they will stop using the image of "Chief Wahoo" on their uniforms starting in 2019. The caricatural Indian mascot, deemed offensive by most Native Americans and by many others, has been used by the team since 1947, but has drawn increasing criticism in the last two decades, prompting Commissioner Rob Manfred to formally ask the team to phase it out.
- Anger over the slow pace of free agent signings is boiling over. Today, Agent Scott Boras accuses the current system of threatening the sport's integrity, as many teams have seemingly decided not to attempt to be competitive. Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto adds that certain teams would rather "win the top draft pick [in the amateur draft] than the World Series". A day earlier, Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen vented that players should consider going on strike even though a new collective bargaining agreement was just signed. The reason for this frustration is that a month before the opening of spring training, 130 free agents remain unsigned, including some of the highest-profile players on the market.
- 2019 - The 2019 Pan American Games Qualifier begins, but only one of the four originally-slated games is played to completion due to the late withdrawal of Venezuela caused by economic troubles, the late arrival of the Dominicans due to travel issues, and a rain delay of the game between Brazil and Nicaragua. In the lone finished game today, defending Pan American Games Gold Medalist Canada trails Panama, 1 - 0, after 5 innings but rallies for 4 runs in the 6th en route to victory. Wes Darvill and Kellin Deglan homer for Canada, while Ryan Kellogg gets the win in relief of Scott Richmond.
- 2020:
- The Astros announce that they have hired veteran manager Dusty Baker to replace A.J. Hinch, who was fired earlier this month for his role in the 2017 sign-stealing scandal.
- Kris Bryant loses his long-standing grievance against his team, the Cubs, in which he contended that, when he first reached the majors in 2015, they had deliberately kept him in the minors longer than necessary in order to delay the onset of his arbitration clock and of his being eligible for free agency. He will thus become a free agent the 2021 season.
- 2021 - Reporter Ken Rosenthal breaks out a story that the Rockies are about to trade franchise player Nolan Arenado to the Cardinals in return for prospects. Two elements of the deal need to receive approval to make it official, however: first, the Rockies want to include a sum of $50 million to cover part of the years remaining on Arenado's contract, and second the Cards would like part of the money to be deferred. The first requires MLB's approval, while the second needs the okay of the Players Association.
Births[edit]
- 1849 - Art Allison, outfielder (d. 1916)
- 1853 - George Meister, infielder (d. 1928)
- 1859 - Bill Krieg, catcher (d. 1930)
- 1860 - Bart Cantz, catcher (d. 1943)
- 1860 - John Coleman, pitcher (d. 1915)
- 1880 - Bill Burns, pitcher (d. 1953)
- 1885 - Hack Simmons, infielder (d. 1942)
- 1890 - Ed Conwell, infielder (d. 1926)
- 1891 - Esty Chaney, pitcher (d. 1952)
- 1894 - Otto Rettig, pitcher (d. 1977)
- 1897 - Pat Patterson, infielder (d. 1977)
- 1898 - Dick Burrus, infielder (d. 1972)
- 1899 - Scrip Lee, Negro League pitcher (d. 1974)
- 1900 - Ollie Voigt, pitcher (d. 1970)
- 1902 - Mose Eggert, infielder (d. 1971)
- 1904 - Ray Hayworth, catcher (d. 2002)
- 1905 - Frog Redus, Negro League outfielder (d. 1979)
- 1909 - Pancho Coimbre, Negro League outfielder (d. 1989)
- 1909 - Red Howell, pinch hitter (d. 1950)
- 1916 - Edwin Schweda, minor league outfielder (d. 1981)
- 1918 - Bill Rigney, infielder, manager; All-Star (d. 2001)
- 1919 - Hank Edwards, outfielder (d. 1988)
- 1919 - Bill Voiselle, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2005)
- 1921 - Clyde Dean, minor league pitcher (d. 1958)
- 1921 - Wendell Ringland, USA national team pitcher (d. 2013)
- 1923 - Frank Gravino, minor league star (d. 1994)
- 1928 - Jim Robertson, catcher (d. 2015)
- 1929 - Roy Chapman, Negro League pitcher (d. 2018)
- 1930 - Vince Magi, minor league outfielder and manager (d. 2016)
- 1931 - Jim Baumer, infielder (d. 1996)
- 1931 - Hy Cohen, pitcher (d. 2021)
- 1939 - Bobby Bolin, pitcher
- 1943 - Nick Avants, umpire
- 1945 - Dick Mills, pitcher (d. 2015)
- 1946 - Tony Pierce, pitcher (d. 2013)
- 1949 - Jim Tyrone, outfielder
- 1950 - John Fuller, outfielder
- 1950 - Francisco Galindo, scout (d. 2014)
- 1950 - Lonnie Keeter, minor league infielder and manager
- 1951 - Sergio Ferrer, infielder
- 1954 - Bill Evers, minor league catcher, infielder and manager
- 1960 - Steve Sax, infielder; All-Star
- 1961 - Mike Aldrete, outfielder
- 1961 - Sam Nattile, minor league infielder (d. 2011)
- 1963 - Brian Meyer, pitcher
- 1963 - Ramón Moret, Cuban league infielder and manager
- 1964 - John Habyan, pitcher
- 1965 - Chris Lombardozzi, minor league infielder
- 1968 - Kevin Roberson, outfielder
- 1969 - Sean Ryan, minor league infielder
- 1970 - Eric Myers, college coach (d. 2007)
- 1971 - Angelos Argyropoulus, Greek national team outfielder
- 1972 - Morgan Burkhart, infielder
- 1972 - Julio Mosquera, catcher
- 1973 - Brian Edmondson, pitcher
- 1973 - Terry Harvey, minor league pitcher
- 1973 - Shawn McNally, minor league player
- 1973 - Jason Schmidt, pitcher; All-Star
- 1975 - Miguel Ojeda, catcher
- 1979 - Lance Niekro, infielder
- 1980 - Chris O'Riordan, minor league infielder
- 1982 - Gregg Pleeter, minor league pitcher
- 1983 - John Coker, minor league outfielder
- 1984 - Ivan Araujo, minor league outfielder
- 1985 - Devery Van De Keere, minor league infielder
- 1986 - Jair Jurrjens, pitcher; All-Star
- 1986 - Chuck Lofgren, minor league pitcher
- 1987 - José Abreu, infielder; All-Star
- 1987 - Alex Avila, catcher; All-Star
- 1988 - Mike Bolsinger, pitcher
- 1988 - Hank Conger, catcher
- 1988 - Luis González, Puerto Rican national team outfielder
- 1992 - Seth Conner, minor league catcher-infielder
- 1992 - Brandon Dixon, infielder
- 1992 - Jan Tomek, Bundesliga pitcher
- 1993 - Josh Jones, Northern Mariana Islands national team pitcher
- 1994 - Tzu-Yang Li, Taiwan national team pitcher
- 1995 - Connor Brogdon, pitcher
- 1995 - Luis Martínez, minor league pitcher
- 1996 - Junior Garcia, minor league pitcher
- 1996 - Gui Yuan Xu, minor league outfielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1895 - Tony Suck, catcher (b. 1858)
- 1910 - Marty Barrett, catcher (b. 1860)
- 1915 - George Baker , catcher (b. 1857)
- 1935 - Ed Murphy, pitcher (b. 1877)
- 1937 - George Fisher, infielder (b. 1855)
- 1945 - Masami Nakamura, NPB utility man (b. 1924)
- 1946 - Ed Merrill, infielder (b. 1860)
- 1947 - Del Gainer, infielder (b. 1886)
- 1950 - Monroe Sweeney, umpire (b. 1892)
- 1955 - Zensuke Shimada, amateur catcher; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1888)
- 1958 - Harry Slate, minor league pitcher (b. 1905)
- 1963 - Lee Meadows, pitcher (b. 1894)
- 1966 - Homer Summa, outfielder (b. 1898)
- 1970 - Miguel Fuentes, pitcher (b. 1946)
- 1971 - Joe Torre Sr., scout (b. 1902)
- 1972 - Heinie Stafford, pinch hitter (b. 1891)
- 1975 - Steve White, pitcher (b. 1884)
- 1976 - Milt Galatzer, outfielder (b. 1907)
- 1976 - Harry Otis, pitcher (b. 1886)
- 1977 - Hod Ford, infielder (b. 1897)
- 1980 - Charlie Bates, outfielder (b. 1907)
- 1988 - Yoshihiro Aiba, NPB outfielder (b. 1943)
- 1998 - Anna May Hutchison, AAGPBL pitcher and catcher (b. 1925)
- 2001 - Larry Kimbrough, Negro League pitcher (b. 1923)
- 2005 - Argenis Gil, Venezuelan national team infielder (b. ~1929)
- 2007 - Art Fowler, pitcher (b. 1922)
- 2007 - Ralph Johnson, Negro League infielder (b. 1924)
- 2012 - Joe Keith, minor league pitcher (b. 1942)
- 2014 - Humberto Abimerhi, minor league executive (b. ~1929)
- 2016 - Adam Casillas, minor league infielder (b. 1965)
- 2016 - Rusty Rose, owner (b. ????)
- 2019 - Kenneth Caldwell, minor league infielder (b. 1949)
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