January 3
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 3.
Events[edit]
- 1885 - The recently-disbanded Cleveland Blues team of the National League releases its players.
- 1911 - At Laughery club house, near Rising Sun, IN, the National Commission adopts a rule that bars World Series winners from playing post-season exhibition games. This obscure rule will lead to a direct confrontation between Babe Ruth and Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis in 1921.
- 1914 - The White Sox defeat the Giants, 5 - 4, before 10,000 spectators in an exhibition game at the Sydney Cricket Ground part of the two teams' world tour. The major leagues will next return to Australia one hundred years later, when the Dodgers and Diamondbacks open the 2014 major league season in the historic stadium.
- 1920 - The secret deal made on December 26th to sell Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000 (twice the amount ever paid previously for a player) is announced publicly. Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee also secures a $350,000 loan from the Yankees as part of the deal.
- 1923 - The Yankees pluck two rookies from the Red Sox, pitcher George Pipgras and outfielder Harvey Hendrick, in exchange for backup catcher Al DeVormer.
- 1942 - Ramón Bragaña finally allows a run, ending a streak of 39 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings. This is the all-time Cuban Winter League record.
- 1944 - Chicago White Sox shortstop Luke Appling reports for duty at Camp Lee, VA. Appling was the American League batting leader last season, finishing second in the Most Valuable Player Award voting.
- 1945 - Tommy de la Cruz of Almendares no-hits Habana in a 7 - 0 win.
- 1946 - The Boston Red Sox get Rudy York from the Detroit Tigers in a trade for Eddie Lake.
- 1955 - The Baltimore Orioles purchase veteran outfielder Hoot Evers from the Tigers.
- 1961 - Frank Lane quits as General Manager of the Cleveland Indians to take the same post with the Kansas City Athletics.
- 1962 - Ground is broken for the Astrodome in Houston, TX.
- 1973 - A group of investors, headed by shipbuilder George Steinbrenner, purchases the New York Yankees from CBS for $10 million. Incredibly, this is less money than CBS paid for the team back in 1964.
- 1974 - The Yankees sign Bill Virdon as manager. Although the former Pittsburgh Pirates skipper will manage for two years in New York, he will never win a game at Yankee Stadium because the Yankees will play home games at Shea Stadium due to renovations at their ballpark.
- 1976 - The Kansas City Royals release pitcher Lindy McDaniel, ending his career after 21 years. He has appeared in 987 games, second only to Hoyt Wilhelm's 1,070.
- 1996 - Free agent first baseman Paul Sorrento is signed by the Seattle Mariners.
- 2001 - The Houston Astros agree to terms with free agent pitcher Kent Bottenfield on a one-year contract.
- 2005:
- Hoping to make the team appeal to a broader marketplace, the Angels announce the franchise will now be known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Officials from Anaheim, CA threaten to file a lawsuit to block the change, believing the new name violates the terms of the team's 33-year lease with the city.
- Commissioner Bud Selig approves the potential trade of Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson to the New York Yankees for pitcher Javier Vazquez, catcher Dioner Navarro, outfielder Brad Halsey and $9 million dollars. Arizona will then send Navarro and much of the cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers to obtain Shawn Green, another deal approved by the commissioner's office because of the amount of money changing hands.
- 2007 - The Oakland Athletics make their second trade of an established player for prospects of the off-season. They send Nick Swisher, who once hit 35 home runs, to the Chicago White Sox for Fautino De Los Santos, Gio Gonzalez and Ryan Sweeney.
- 2011 - Accompanied by teammate Julio Lugo, Orioles P Alfredo Simon surrenders to police in a courthouse in Puerto Plata in relation to a fatal shooting on new year's eve in the Dominican Republic. Simon concedes that he fired celebratory shots into the air to mark the new year near the two victims, but denies that these were the fatal shots; ballistics tests will be performed to confirm his story. He is detained and faces up to two years in jail for involuntary manslaughter, but will be released when investigators fail to find conclusive evidence linking his weapon to the deaths.
- 2012:
- Star Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish, who is being courted by the Texas Rangers since they won the exclusive right to negotiate with him thanks to a record bid via the posting system last month, makes a high-profile visit to the Dallas-Fort Worth area to meet with the Rangers' top brass. The two parties have until January 20th to come to an agreement.
- Off-season dealings continue, with reliever Fernando Rodney signing a one-year contract with Tampa Bay, the Pirates adding P Jo-Jo Reyes, and the Orioles purchasing OF Jai Miller from Oakland and sending 1B Brandon Snyder to Texas.
- 2013 - Reliever Jason Frasor signs a one-year contract with the Rangers for $1.5 million.
- 2014 - Fifth Third Ballpark, home of the West Michigan Whitecaps in the Midwest League, burns down although the team announces it plans to rebuild in time for the start of the season.
- 2015 - The Melbourne Aces beat the Canberra Cavalry, 9 - 8, behind two homers apiece from Adam Engel and Kellin Deglan. That gives Deglan 16 home runs on the year, breaking the Australian Baseball League record (for the ABL's second run, when the schedule was shorter than its first decade). His record-setting dinger comes off Jake Brown.
- 2017 - The Arizona Diamondbacks file a lawsuit against Maricopa County, owner of Chase Field, seeking to break the team's lease which normally runs to 2028, unless the county performs "urgent repairs" to the facility, evaluated at $187 million. The County replies that a significant portion of the repairs are of a cosmetic nature and should therefore be the responsibility of the team.
- 2019 - The Phillies sign free agent reliever David Robertson for two years and $23 million. He is expected to become the team's closer.
- 2022 - A few weeks after taking over the licensing deals for baseball cards that had been previously granted to Topps by MLB and the Players Association once they expire in the coming years, Fanatics announces that it is acquiring the venerable sports card company as a whole, for a reported price of $500 million. This will ensure that it has the expertise required to implement its new mandate.
- 2024 - The Padres sign Korean reliever Woo-suk Go to a two-year contract.
Births[edit]
- 1845 - Bill Lennon, catcher (d. 1910)
- 1856 - Barney Gilligan, catcher (d. 1934)
- 1873 - Ichizo Kobayashi, NPB executive; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1957)
- 1874 - Roy Brashear, infielder (d. 1951)
- 1874 - Lou Mahaffey, pitcher (d. 1949)
- 1883 - Buck Hopkins, outfielder (d. 1929)
- 1884 - Charles Fanning, minor league pitcher (d. 1968)
- 1884 - Kirby White, pitcher (d. 1943)
- 1891 - John Dowd, infielder (d. 1981)
- 1891 - Charlie Harding, pitcher (d. 1971)
- 1892 - Roland Howell, pitcher (d. 1973)
- 1892 - Julio Molina, minor league pitcher; Salon de la Fama (d. 1952)
- 1893 - George Shively, outfielder (d. 1962)
- 1894 - Warren Brown, writer (d. 1978)
- 1894 - John Fluhrer, outfielder (d. 1946)
- 1894 - Tom Whelan, infielder (d. 1957)
- 1897 - Pete Turgeon, infielder (d. 1977)
- 1898 - Codie Spearman, infielder/outfielder (d. 1965)
- 1899 - Buzz Arlett, outfielder (d. 1964)
- 1902 - Jim McLaughlin, infielder (d. 1968)
- 1903 - Herb Bradley, pitcher (d. 1959)
- 1904 - Bill Cissell, infielder (d. 1949)
- 1906 - Clarence Simpson, outfielder (d. 1959)
- 1906 - Gus Suhr, infielder; All-Star (d. 2004)
- 1907 - Charlie Lewis, infielder (d. 1972)
- 1908 - Clarence Moore, infielder (d. 1992)
- 1909 - Juan Reggeti, Venezuelan League owner (d. 1969)
- 1910 - Frenchy Bordagaray, outfielder (d. 2001)
- 1912 - Cliff Melton, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1986)
- 1913 - Eudie Napier, catcher (d. 1983)
- 1915 - Sid Hudson, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2008)
- 1916 - Chico Hernandez, catcher (d. 1986)
- 1916 - Yong-Chang Jian, writer; Taiwan Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 2012)
- 1919 - Ed Sauer, outfielder (d. 1988)
- 1921 - Lucella MacLean, AAGPBL catcher (d. 2012)
- 1922 - Virgil Stallcup, infielder (d. 1989)
- 1923 - John Andre, pitcher (d. 1976)
- 1926 - Harry Fisher, pitcher (d. 1981)
- 1927 - Chris Van Cuyk, pitcher (d. 1992)
- 1930 - Jim Reinebold, minor league manager (d. 2017)
- 1932 - George Piktuzis, pitcher (d. 1993)
- 1935 - Lee Handley, minor league outfielder (d. 2014)
- 1936 - Eddie Einhorn, owner (d. 2016)
- 1937 - José Antero Núñez, author
- 1941 - Hisanobu Mizutani, NPB pitcher
- 1941 - John Sullivan, catcher (d. 2023)
- 1942 - Epy Guerrero, coach (d. 2013)
- 1943 - Adrian Garrett, designated hitter, coach and minor league manager (d. 2021)
- 1943 - Bob Gebhard, pitcher
- 1944 - Dick Colpaert, pitcher (d. 2021)
- 1945 - Larry Barnett, umpire
- 1946 - Archie Reynolds, pitcher
- 1946 - Bob Turzilli, scout
- 1947 - Mike McDonald, college coach (d. 2015)
- 1947 - Terry Pollreisz, minor league outfielder and manager
- 1948 - Dan Stoligrosz, minor league infielder
- 1949 - Ike Brookens, pitcher
- 1949 - Gary Lavelle, pitcher; All-Star
- 1950 - Jim Dwyer, outfielder
- 1950 - Bart Johnson, pitcher (d. 2020)
- 1951 - Jim Lett, coach
- 1957 - Mark Riggins, coach
- 1958 - Brian Allard, pitcher
- 1959 - Kwang-soo Kim, KBO infielder and manager
- 1960 - Randy Hunt, catcher
- 1961 - John Leister, pitcher
- 1962 - Darren Daulton, catcher; All-Star (d. 2017)
- 1963 - Eddie Castro, minor league infielder and manager
- 1964 - Howard Hilton, pitcher (d. 2011)
- 1964 - Ming-Shan Kang, CPBL pitcher
- 1964 - Luis Rivera, infielder
- 1964 - Russ Swan, pitcher
- 1965 - Mark Dewey, pitcher
- 1965 - Luis Sojo, infielder
- 1967 - Jimmy Rogers, pitcher
- 1968 - Darin Kracl, minor league pitcher
- 1969 - Cris Colon, infielder
- 1971 - Sam Hence, minor league outfielder
- 1971 - Troy Hughes, minor league outfielder
- 1973 - Rey Isaac, Cuban league outfielder
- 1973 - Min-Jae Kim, KBO infielder
- 1973 - Da Rond Stovall, outfielder
- 1974 - Jon Macalutas, minor league player and manager
- 1974 - Luis Rodriguez, minor league catcher
- 1974 - Shih-Wei Tsai, CPBL player
- 1977 - A.J. Burnett, pitcher; All-Star
- 1977 - Mike Crudale, pitcher
- 1977 - Omar Lopez, coach
- 1977 - Zach Sorensen, infielder
- 1978 - Takashi Iwamoto, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - Delvin James, pitcher
- 1979 - Jason Aspito, minor league outfielder
- 1979 - Rosman Garcia, pitcher (d. 2011)
- 1979 - Carlos Maldonado, catcher
- 1979 - Kevin Martin, minor league player
- 1979 - Michael Restovich, outfielder
- 1980 - Nick Moran, minor league pitcher
- 1980 - Brad Salmon, pitcher
- 1981 - Sean Thompson, college coach
- 1984 - Leonel Pérez, minor league catcher and manager
- 1985 - Clifford Flagello, minor league pitcher
- 1985 - Carlos Rivas, minor league pitcher
- 1985 - Giuseppe Spinelli, Italian Baseball League catcher
- 1986 - Samuel Estrada, Nicaraguan national team pitcher
- 1988 - Miguel Vargas, Division de Honor pitcher
- 1988 - Sofie van de Wiel, Dutch women's national team catcher
- 1989 - Kevin Munson, minor league pitcher
- 1989 - Tobias Schermer, Austrian national team outfielder
- 1990 - Hunter Cervenka, pitcher
- 1990 - Alex Meyer, minor league pitcher
- 1990 - Mike Wright, pitcher
- 1991 - Michael Johnson, minor league pitcher
- 1992 - Victor Diaz, minor league coach
- 1992 - Ozney Guillen, minor league outfielder and manager
- 1992 - Sam Moll, pitcher
- 1992 - Petr Síla, Extraliga outfielder
- 1992 - Amin Touahri, Division Elite catcher
- 1993 - Nikki Boyd, Canadian women's national team outfielder
- 1993 - Rodrigo Vigil, minor league catcher
- 1995 - Jan Hernandez, minor league outfielder
- 1996 - Brendan Kelly, minor league coach
- 1996 - Jakson Reetz, catcher
- 1998 - José Suarez, pitcher
- 2000 - Noriyuki Hashimoto, Japanese national team outfielder
- 2000 - Shunsuke Sato, NPB pitcher
- 2001 - Landon Sims, minor league pitcher
- 2002 - Jackson Miller, minor league catcher
- 2003 - Anson Fung, Hong Kong national team infielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1899 - Doc Adams, executive (b. 1814)
- 1917 - Rynie Wolters, pitcher (b. 1844)
- 1919 - Art Rico, catcher (b. 1895)
- 1919 - Al Schellhase, catcher (b. 1864)
- 1927 - Ham Avery, umpire (b. 1854)
- 1929 - Charlie Smith, pitcher (b. 1880)
- 1940 - John Haskell, umpire (b. 1869)
- 1940 - Mike Mahoney, infielder (b. 1873)
- 1940 - Park Swartzel, pitcher (b. 1865)
- 1943 - Bid McPhee, infielder, manager; Hall of Famer (b. 1859)
- 1945 - George Stone, outfielder (b. 1877)
- 1953 - Joe Houser, pitcher (b. 1891)
- 1953 - Chuck Workman, outfielder (b. 1915)
- 1954 - Gus Dorais, college coach (b. 1891)
- 1965 - Luther Bonin, outfielder (b. 1888)
- 1968 - Rich Gee, catcher (b. 1894)
- 1973 - Donald Reeves, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1911)
- 1974 - Red Snapp, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1888)
- 1978 - Daisuke Miyake, NPB manager; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1893)
- 1980 - Bob Geary, pitcher (b. 1891)
- 1981 - Lou Fette, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1907)
- 1986 - Chico Hernandez, catcher (b. 1916)
- 1991 - Luke Appling, infielder, manager; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1907)
- 1991 - Tom Baker, pitcher (b. 1913)
- 1992 - Jorge Blanco, writer; Salon de la Fama (b. 1923)
- 1992 - George Meyer, infielder (b. 1909)
- 1995 - Ollie Bejma, infielder (b. 1907)
- 1995 - Bob Darnell, pitcher (b. 1930)
- 1995 - Mickey Haefner, pitcher (b. 1912)
- 1995 - Jim Tyack, outfielder (b. 1911)
- 1996 - Connie Ryan, infielder, manager; All-Star (b. 1920)
- 1998 - Wayne Ambler, infielder (b. 1915)
- 2001 - Alex Sabo, catcher (b. 1910)
- 2002 - Al Smith, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1928)
- 2003 - Joe Ostrowski, pitcher (b. 1916)
- 2003 - Harry Smith, scout (b. 1927)
- 2003 - Jim Westlake, pinch hitter (b. 1930)
- 2004 - Taylor Duncan, infielder (b. 1953)
- 2004 - Leon Wagner, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1934)
- 2005 - Itsuro Honda, NPB outfielder and manager (b. 1931)
- 2007 - Bob Milliken, pitcher (b. 1926)
- 2008 - Milt Dunnell, writer (b. 1905)
- 2010 - Bobby Wilkins, infielder (b. 1922)
- 2012 - Chuck Schramm, minor league player (b. 1917)
- 2014 - Larry Arndt, infielder (b. 1963)
- 2014 - Nick Balodimas, minor league player (b. 1943)
- 2015 - José Rayle, minor league pitcher (b. 1930)
- 2017 - Hao-Jen Hung, CPBL pitcher (b. 1973)
- 2018 - Rob Picciolo, infielder (b. 1953)
- 2019 - Gary Fischer, minor league pitcher (b. 1942)
- 2019 - David Sullivan, minor league catcher (b. 1958)
- 2021 - Vince Pesky, minor league player (b. 1921)
- 2024 - Billy Gardner, infielder, manager (B. 1927)
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.