Template:Today in Baseball/January 21

July 5: Today's featured birthday is that of Jay Spurgeon, who turns 50.

• 1921 - Kenesaw Mountain Landis formally assumes the job of commissioner. He will be known as the most powerful commissioner in baseball history.
• 1938 - Joe DiMaggio starts a contract holdout which will last almost three months, wanting a raise to $45,000.
• 1950 - 19-year-old Ryohei Hasegawa (pictured) tries out for and makes the Hiroshima Carp. He will become one of the greatest pitchers in Hiroshima's history, a bright light in a dismal era.
• 1953 - Al Simmons and Dizzy Dean are voted into the Hall of Fame; Joe DiMaggio finishes eighth even though is not yet formally eligible, having retired only two years earlier.
• 1969 - Roy Campanella and Stan Musial are elected to the Hall of Fame.

Recent days: January 20 - January 19 - January 18