January 17
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 17.
Events[edit]
- 1885 - The New York Clipper reports that Paul Hines has canceled his Washington Monument ball-drop exhibition. "The experiment of trying to catch a ball thrown from the top of the Washington Monument has proved to be a failure. The ball reaches the ground with such great speed that it indents the ground almost as much as a heavy cannon ball would dropped from a proportionate height. The fact is that, independently of the difficulty of judging the ball falling from such a height, the speed is too great to allow of any one holding it when it nears the ground."
- 1888 - The Kansas City Cowboys franchise is admitted to the American Association to replace the New York Metropolitans. Even though the Mets were bought out by the Brooklyn Grays, their franchise is only considered suspended until suitable playing facilities in Manhattan can be found.
- 1915 - According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the American League hometown franchise will now be known as the Indians replacing the nickname the Naps - a change due to Napoleon Lajoie, the player-manager for whom the team is presently named, leaving for the Philadelphia Athletics. Team owner Charles W. Somers asked the city's baseball writers, who in turn asked their readers for suggestions. A false rumor claims that the origin of the name was former Cleveland Spiders outfielder, Chief Sockalexis.
- 1916 - The New York Giants purchase three stars from the defunct Federal League: pitcher Fred Anderson, outfielder Benny Kauff, and catcher Bill Rariden.
- 1922 - Benny Kauff's suit for an injunction to restrain the decision to keep him out of baseball is rejected by the appellate court. Kauff was acquitted of auto theft in 1921, but Commissioner Landis still barred him from baseball, stating, "That acquittal was one of the worst miscarriages of justice that ever came under my observation."
- 1934 - National League MVP Carl Hubbell comes to contract terms with the New York Giants. Hubbell, who won league honors unanimously in 1933, will earn $18,000 for the upcoming season.
- 1936 - The New York Yankees trade Jimmie DeShong and Jesse Hill to the Washington Senators for Bump Hadley and Roy Johnson.
- 1937 - The Cleveland Indians receive Moose Solters, Ivy Andrews and Lyn Lary from the St. Louis Browns, for Joe Vosmik, Bill Knickerbocker and Oral Hildebrand. The three departing Brownies are termed "real playboys" by manager Rogers Hornsby. Solters and Andrews were also the RBI and ERA leaders for St. Louis.
- 1939 - The New York Yankees elect Ed Barrow as president. Barrow replaces Jacob Ruppert, who died four days earlier. Barrow will remain as the Yankees president until 1945, when the team is bought by Dan Topping and Del Webb.
- 1952 - Detroit Tigers owner Walter Briggs dies at the age of 74. His son will succeed him in the presidency.
- 1953:
- The Brooklyn Dodgers send Andy Pafko to the Milwaukee Braves for Roy Hartsfield and $50,000.
- Martin Aarjen Jole, a Dutch player, gets a tryout with a Cincinnati Reds farm club, the Columbia Reds. The 22-year-old, reputed to be a power hitter, wrote to Rogers Hornsby, the new Reds manager, asking for a tryout. He'll never appear in a professional game, however.
- 1970:
- The Sporting News names San Francisco Giants outfielder Willie Mays as its "Player of the Decade" for the 1960s. Mays beats out the likes of Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente in the voting.
- Major league teams select a record 357 players in the January phase of the annual free agent draft, including top pick Chris Chambliss, by Cleveland, and Chris Speier. Fred Lynn, drafted by the Yankees in the first round, will not sign.
- In the Puerto Rican Winter League, Fred Beene of Santurce pitches a 6 - 0 no-hitter over Arecibo.
- 1977 - The Kansas City Royals release veteran outfielder Tommy Davis, ending his 18-year career. In 1962, Davis led the National League in batting average with a .346 mark, and in RBI with 153. In 1963, Davis again won the batting crown, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers to capture the World Series. Two years later, he fractured an ankle, curtailing his production for the rest of his career.
- 1979 - Danny O'Brien signs a contract as president and chief executive officer of the Seattle Mariners, nine days after resigning as the Rangers' General Manager.
- 1983 - Bob Horner agrees to a four-year contract with the Atlanta Braves that will pay him up to $6 million, including $400,000 in bonuses if he keeps his weight below 215 pounds.
- 1989 - Free agent Claudell Washington leaves the Yankees to sign a three-year contract with the Angels.
- 1995 - The Great Kobe earthquake damages five Nippon Pro Baseball stadiums and kills over 6,000 people.
- 2000 - Free agent catcher Dave Nilsson signs a contract to play with the Chunichi Dragons of the Central League. This will allow him to play for Australia in the upcoming 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
- 2002:
- Commissioner Bud Selig indicates that the Washington, DC area is a "prime candidate" to get a team if a franchise relocates in the near future. The nation's capital has two lost major league teams, the original franchise shifted to Minnesota and became the Twins in 1961 and were replaced by the expansion Senators who moved to Texas a decade later, becoming the Rangers.
- Avoiding arbitration, OF/1B Darin Erstad and the Anaheim Angels agree on a one-year contract worth $6.25 million. The Angels also obtain designated hitter Brad Fullmer from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for pitcher Brian Cooper.
- OF Jermaine Dye agrees to a three-year extension worth $32 million to stay with the Oakland Athletics. Oakland is counting on Dye to fill the void created by the departure of Jason Giambi to the New York Yankees.
- 2003
- The Cincinnati Reds give pitcher Danny Graves a three-year deal, avoiding arbitration. The former Reds closer is slated to join the starting rotation this season.
- Despite his ban from the Hall of Fame, Pete Rose is nominated for induction into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. Rose banged out his 4,000th career hit, a double off pitcher Jerry Koosman, as a member of the 1984 Montreal Expos squad. Rose was named by the chairman of the newly-formed Canadian Baseball League, Tony Riviera, but the nomination will be rejected.
- Gold Glove outfielder Torii Hunter, who hit .289 with 29 home runs and 94 RBI in 2002, agrees to a four-year, $32 million deal to stay with the Minnesota Twins.
- 2005:
- With the Houston Astros offering $13.5 million, Roger Clemens asks for $22 million in salary arbitration. The amount, which would make Clemens the highest-paid pitcher in major league history, surpasses the previous record amount submitted for arbitration of $18.5 million by New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter in 2001.
- Former major leaguer Ray Cunningham celebrates his 100th birthday. The oldest living major league player, who made his debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1931, played in 14 games during two seasons hitting .154 in 26 plate appearances.
- 2006:
- After witnessing an exodus of leading players, the Florida Marlins secure the services of ace starting pitcher Dontrelle Willis on a one-year deal worth a reported $4.35 million.
- Team USA unveils an All-Star line-up for the 2006 World Baseball Classic, with a roster that includes slugger Barry Bonds and pitcher Roger Clemens. The team will not win the tournament despite the high hopes.
- 2008 - Major League Baseball owners unanimously vote to extend commissioner Bud Selig's contract through the 2012 season. The contract extension will make Selig baseball's second-longest-serving commissioner, behind only Kenesaw Mountain Landis. The vote comes in a week when Selig has been criticized by the U.S. Congress for not cracking down hard enough on steroids.
- 2011:
- The Nationals acquire P Tom Gorzelanny from the Cubs in return for three minor leaguers, OF Michael Burgess and Ps A.J. Morris and Graham Hicks.
- The Blue Jays sign reliever Jon Rauch to a one-year contract. He will compete for the vacant closer job with Octavio Dotel, who was signed earlier this off-season.
- 2012:
- A record is set as eligible players file for salary arbitration today. Giants P Tim Lincecum asks for a salary of $21.5 million - which is not a record - and his team offers him $17 million - which is. Roger Clemens had requested $22 million from the Astros before the 2005 season. Meanwhile, some 80 eligible players sign deals with their teams, the largest being the $15 million agreed to between the Phillies and P Cole Hamels.
- Bad news for the Tigers as they learn that DH/C Victor Martinez suffered a torn ACL during off-season training and will miss the entire season. Also on the injury front, Boston's Carl Crawford has surgery on his left wrist and is doubtful for Opening Day.
- The Brewers agree to a two-year contract with Norichika Aoki, a three-time batting champion in Japan. The Brewers had won the right to negociate with Aoki through the posting system and the contract agreement just beats a 4 p.m. deadline to reach a deal, barring which Aoki would have returned to the Yakult Swallows.
- 2013 - Rosters for the 2013 World Baseball Classic are officially announced. The tournament will once again be star-studded, with reigning American League MVP Miguel Cabrera playing for Venezuela, Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey pitching for Team USA, and All-Stars such as Robinson Cano, Carlos Beltran, Adrian Gonzalez and Yadier Molina all committing to their respective national teams. Among players donning less familiar uniforms will be P Bruce Chen, who will toil for China after representing his native Panama in previous editions of the tournament, and 1B Anthony Rizzo who will be suiting up for Italy.
- 2014 - The Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame announces three inductees for 2014: Kazuhiro Sasaki, Hideo Nomo, Koji Akiyama and Choichi Aida. Sasaki and Nomo become the first major leaguers to be inducted other than Lefty O'Doul, who was not inducted for his playing career. Sasaki had been the Central League MVP in 1998 and had once been the Nippon Pro Baseball career save leader; he went on to win the AL Rookie of the Year and be a two-time All-Star in the US. Nomo was the Sawamura Award winner and Pacific League MVP in 1990, the 1995 NL Rookie of the Year and a 100-game winner in the US. Nomo is the youngest inductee and joins Sadaharu Oh and Victor Starffin as the only people picked on the first ballot. Akiyama was the second player in NPB history to 400 career homers/300 career steals and won the Matsutaro Shoriki Award as a player and a manager, only the second person to do so. Aida coached Waseda University in the 1940s.
- 2018 - Las Tunas wins its first Cuban Serie Nacional title, defeating Villa Clara, four games to one, in the finals. In Game 5 today, Las Tunas wins, 8 - 4, as Alexander Ayala goes 4-for-4 (a triple shy of the cycle) with two runs and two RBI and Jorge Jhonson has four RBI and three hits. Yadián Martínez gets his second win in a row while veteran Yoalkis Cruz saves it.
- 2024 - The Blue Jays are reported to have signed Yariel Rodriguez, who last pitched for the Cuban national team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, to a multi-year deal. Before that, Rodriguez spent three seasons in Japan with the Chunichi Dragons.
Births[edit]
- 1853 - Holly Hollingshead, outfielder, manager (d. 1926)
- 1856 - Carey Snoddy, umpire (d. 1905)
- 1858 - Jim Roxburgh, catcher (d. 1934)
- 1861 - Milt Scott, infielder (d. 1938)
- 1867 - Bob Glenalvin, infielder (d. 1944)
- 1873 - Kohly Miller, infielder (d. 1951)
- 1878 - Harry Bay, outfielder (d. 1952)
- 1881 - Ed Bolden, Negro leagues owner (d. 1950)
- 1882 - Doc Kerr, catcher (d. 1937)
- 1882 - Harry Pattee, infielder (d. 1971)
- 1884 - Sam Mongin, infielder (d. 1936)
- 1886 - Cad Coles, outfielder (d. 1942)
- 1889 - Blainey Hall, outfielder, manager (d. 1975)
- 1889 - Pete Johns, infielder (d. 1964)
- 1889 - Louis Santop, catcher; Hall of Fame (d. 1942)
- 1889 - Ollie Welf, pinch runner (d. 1967)
- 1890 - Burt Shipley, minor league player and manager (d. 1976)
- 1892 - Roy Grover, infielder (d. 1978)
- 1893 - Luke Glavenich, pitcher (d. 1935)
- 1895 - Joe Lewis, catcher (d. 1986)
- 1896 - Harry Hanson, catcher (d. 1966)
- 1899 - Tripp Sigman, outfielder (d. 1971)
- 1905 - Ray Cunningham, infielder (d. 2005)
- 1908 - Les Willis, pitcher (d. 1982)
- 1911 - Hank Leiber, outfielder; All-Star (d. 1993)
- 1915 - Augie Guglielmo, umpire (d. 1996)
- 1915 - Lum Harris, pitcher, manager (d. 1996)
- 1915 - Mayo Smith, outfielder, manager (d. 1977)
- 1916 - Al Krupski, minor league pitcher (d. 2002)
- 1917 - Jocko Thompson, pitcher (d. 1988)
- 1919 - Larry St. Thomas catcher (d. 1992)
- 1920 - Jay Heard, pitcher (d. 1999)
- 1922 - Jack Mele, minor league catcher and manager (d. 2017)
- 1922 - Jack Merson, infielder (d. 2000)
- 1925 - Jean Faut, AAGPBL pitcher (d. 2023)
- 1925 - Hank Schmulbach, pinch runner (d. 2001)
- 1927 - Tom Cooper, infielder/outfielder (d. 1985)
- 1927 - Jim Tracy Sr., minor league pitcher (d. 2006)
- 1929 - Eilaine Roth, AAGPBL player (d. 2011)
- 1929 - Elaine Roth, AAGPBL pitcher (d. 2007)
- 1931 - Don Zimmer, infielder, manager; All-Star (d. 2014)
- 1933 - V. Jerry Blue, National Baseball Congress executive (d. 2014)
- 1933 - Jay Porter, catcher (d. 2020)
- 1934 - Haskell Sinclair, college coach (d. 2014)
- 1935 - Dick Brown, catcher (d. 1970)
- 1941 - Ray Arra, college coach (d. 2018)
- 1943 - Denny Doyle, infielder (d. 2022)
- 1949 - Keith Lieppman, minor league player and manager
- 1949 - Antonio Muñoz, Cuban National League infielder
- 1950 - Gerald Aanonsen, minor league infielder
- 1951 - Robert White, minor league outfielder
- 1952 - Pete LaCock, infielder
- 1952 - Darrell Porter, catcher; All-Star (d. 2002)
- 1953 - Mark Littell, pitcher (d. 2022)
- 1953 - Turtle Thomas, college coach
- 1954 - Jerry Turner, outfielder (d. 2023)
- 1956 - Doug Simunic, minor league catcher and manager
- 1957 - Steve Douglas, minor league outfielder
- 1959 - T.R. Bryden, pitcher
- 1959 - Chih-Hsien Yeh, Taiwan national team manager
- 1960 - Chili Davis, outfielder; All-Star
- 1962 - Grant Weir, scout
- 1963 - Omar Malavé, minor league infielder and manager (d. 2021)
- 1964 - Jeff Tabaka, pitcher
- 1966 - Carl Keliipuleole, minor league pitcher
- 1968 - Rex de la Nuez, minor league outfielder
- 1969 - Tom Van Tiger, minor league outfielder
- 1971 - Tyler Houston, infielder
- 1972 - Mikael Boström, Elitserien pitcher
- 1972 - Walt McKeel, catcher (d. 2019)
- 1973 - Danny Buxbaum, minor league infielder
- 1973 - Buck McNabb, minor league outfielder
- 1973 - Henry Santos, minor league pitcher (d. 2003)
- 1974 - Guillermo Mercedes, minor league infielder
- 1975 - Brad Fullmer, designated hitter
- 1975 - Scott Mullen, pitcher
- 1977 - Rob Bell, pitcher
- 1977 - Shih-Kai Chang, CPBL pitcher
- 1977 - Troy Gingrich, minor league outfielder
- 1977 - Patrick Naude, South African national team infielder
- 1978 - Mark Malaska, pitcher
- 1980 - T.J. Bohn, outfielder
- 1980 - Yuan-Chia Chen, CPBL outfielder
- 1980 - Mike Rabelo, catcher
- 1981 - Tobias Siegrist, Swiss national team catcher
- 1982 - Ben Wigmore, Australian national team catcher
- 1983 - Vladimir Baños, Cuban National League pitcher
- 1983 - Dan Floyd, minor league outfielder
- 1983 - Sandy Patrone, Serie A1 pitcher
- 1984 - Paul Rutgers, minor league outfielder
- 1984 - Aaron Hartsock, minor league pitcher
- 1985 - Chad Beck, pitcher
- 1985 - Emmanuel Burriss, infielder
- 1985 - Matt Meyer, minor league player
- 1985 - Jai Miller, outfielder
- 1986 - Łukasz Snopek, Polish national team pitcher
- 1987 - Leonaldo Abad, minor league pitcher
- 1987 - Jeff Beliveau, pitcher
- 1987 - Victor Burgos, minor league outfielder
- 1987 - Cody Decker, infielder
- 1987 - Tanner Scheppers, pitcher
- 1987 - Chung-Shou Yang, NPB infielder
- 1988 - Joey Eijpe, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Kei Hosoya, NPB infielder
- 1989 - Dario Alvarez, pitcher
- 1989 - Blake Beavan, pitcher
- 1989 - Taylor Jordan, pitcher
- 1989 - Antonio Ngiralmau, Palauan national team pitcher
- 1990 - Frank Garces, pitcher
- 1991 - Trevor Bauer, pitcher; All-Star
- 1991 - Matt Heidenreich, minor league pitcher
- 1992 - Luis Gonzalez, NPB pitcher
- 1992 - Lonnie Kauppila, minor league infielder
- 1992 - Diego Madero, minor league infielder
- 1992 - Jake Skole, minor league outfielder
- 1992 - Seth Wheeler, college coach
- 1992 - Eri Yoshida, minor league pitcher
- 1994 - Kazuki Kamizato, NPB outfielder
- 1994 - Colin Poche, pitcher
- 1995 - David Denson, minor league infielder
- 1995 - Randy Dobnak, pitcher
- 1995 - Michael Hermosillo, outfielder
- 1995 - Joe Jimenez, pitcher; All-Star
- 1995 - Yohander Mendez, pitcher
- 1995 - Dom Nunez, catcher
- 1995 - Jhon Romero, pitcher
- 1995 - Saúl Salazar, Bolivian national team infielder-pitcher
- 1996 - Sven Schüller, minor league pitcher
- 1997 - Félix Arosemena, minor league infielder
- 1997 - Kyle Tucker, outfielder; All-Star
- 2000 - Eun-won Jung, KBO infielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1917 - Pat McCauley, catcher (b. 1870)
- 1923 - John Meister, infielder (b. 1863)
- 1925 - Ashley Lloyd, owner (b. 1851)
- 1932 - Mark Stewart, catcher (b. 1889)
- 1945 - Justin Fitzgerald, outfielder (b. 1891)
- 1945 - Roy Radebaugh, pitcher (b. 1884)
- 1945 - Rube Ward, outfielder (b. 1879)
- 1950 - Jewel Ens, infielder, manager (b. 1889)
- 1950 - Roy Sanders, pitcher (b. 1892)
- 1952 - Walter Briggs, owner (b. 1877)
- 1952 - Bill Salisbury, pitcher (b. 1876)
- 1957 - Carl Sawyer, infielder (b. 1890)
- 1957 - Tom Stanton, catcher (b. 1874)
- 1961 - Bud Tinning, pitcher (b. 1906)
- 1964 - John Grimes, pitcher (b. 1869)
- 1965 - Fred Bostick, outfielder (b. 1895)
- 1967 - Charlie Maloney, pitcher (b. 1886)
- 1970 - Alex Mustaikis, pitcher (b. 1909)
- 1971 - Todd Allen, pinch-hitter; manager (b. 1885)
- 1974 - Archie Hinton, pitcher (b. 1926)
- 1975 - Jim Canada, infielder (b. 1912)
- 1976 - Ed Kinsella, pitcher (b. 1882)
- 1977 - Ernie Wingard, pitcher (b. 1900)
- 1981 - Owen Kahn, pinch runner (b. 1903)
- 1987 - Ed Busch, infielder (b. 1917)
- 1991 - Marv Breuer, pitcher (b. 1914)
- 1992 - Red Durrett, outfielder (b. 1921)
- 1993 - Nick Polly, infielder (b. 1917)
- 1995 - John Hall, pitcher (b. 1924)
- 1999 - Claire Schillace, AAGPBL outfielder (b. 1921)
- 2004 - Harry Brecheen, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1914)
- 2004 - Hersh Freeman, pitcher (b. 1928)
- 2006 - Bob Repass, infielder (b. 1917)
- 2007 - Betty Trezza, AAGPBL infielder (b. 1925)
- 2008 - Giichi Hayashi, NPB pitcher and manager (b. 1920)
- 2008 - John McHale, infielder; general manager (b. 1921)
- 2010 - Shigeru Kobayashi, NPB pitcher (b. 1952)
- 2010 - Zenón Ochoa, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1912)
- 2010 - Mike Sakovich, minor league infielder (b. 1918)
- 2011 - Carroll Beringer, minor league pitcher, coach (b. 1928)
- 2011 - Perry Currin, infielder (b. 1928)
- 2012 - Marty Springstead, umpire (b. 1937)
- 2013 - Kelly Lunn, minor league infielder (b. 1924)
- 2013 - Billy Jack Wynns, minor league infielder (b. 1926)
- 2014 - Joe Menarchek, minor league pitcher (b. 1928)
- 2014 - Bill Shewey, minor league outfielder and manager (b. 1916)
- 2017 - Will Green, drafted infielder (b. 1972)
- 2022 - Roger Samuels, pitcher (b. 1961)
We're Social...for Statheads
Every Sports Reference Social Media Account
Site Last Updated:
Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction?
Subscribe to our Free Email Newsletter
Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREE
Your All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database
Do you have a sports website? Or write about sports? We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Find out more.