January 30
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
| Standings on this day | |
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| Baseball Library Chronology | |
| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on January 30.
Events[edit]
- 1884 - Pitcher Tony Mullane, the first player to violate the National Agreement's reserve clause by signing with the St. Louis Maroons of the Union Association, signs a contract with the Toledo Blue Stockings, of the American Association.
- 1917 - Pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander announces he is ready to retire from professional baseball and join a semipro team if his salary demands are not met. Alexander wants a three-year contract at $15,000 per year.
- 1919 - The Cincinnati Reds hire Pat Moran as their manager, replacing Christy Mathewson. Cincinnati makes the decision after failing to hear from Mathewson during his winter trip to Europe. Moran will guide the Reds to 96 victories and the World Championship this season.
- 1922 - In an independent league game in Santiago de Cuba, an argument breaks out over an 8th-inning call at home. During the confrontation, Antonio Susini hits José Leblanc in the head with a bat; Leblanc suffers brain injuries and will die a day later. Susini will spend time in prison but will be back playing baseball in the US and Mexico by the late 1930s.
- 1923 - The Boston Red Sox continue to work on improving the New York Yankees, sending future Hall of Fame pitcher Herb Pennock, who is entering the prime of his career, to New York in exchange for infielder Norm McMillan, pitcher George Murray, outfielder Camp Skinner, and $50,000.
- 1926 - The Major League Rules Committee agrees that pitchers may have access to a rosin bag. On February 8, the American League will refuse to permit its use, but on April 28th, the league will give in and allow a rosin bag on the field, but discourage its use by players. The Committee also discusses the possible elimination of the intentional walk, a topic that has come up before, by making the pitcher throw to the batter. Calling a balk on the catcher if he steps out of his box has not eliminated the intentional walk as intended. No action is taken however.
- 1936 - The new owners of the Boston Braves conduct a survey of newspaper reporters, asking them to come up with a new nickname for the franchise. The reporters select the Bees, which will be used through the 1940 season. The new name fails to catch on, and the team will decide to switch back to "Braves".
- 1948 - Pitcher Herb Pennock collapses and dies from a heart attack. Pennock, who was 53, had been serving as the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies since 1944. His untimely demise will be a catalyst for his election to the Hall of Fame later this year.
- 1953 - Peter J. McGovern becomes the Little League's first full-time president and the league's office is moved to Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
- 1954 - The New York Giants trade Shot Heard 'Round the World hero Bobby Thomson and catcher Sam Calderone to the Milwaukee Braves for pitchers Johnny Antonelli and Don Liddle, infielder Billy Klaus, and $50,000 cash. Antonelli will go 21-7 and will lead the National League with a 2.30 ERA.
- 1958 - Commissioner Ford Frick announces that players and coaches, rather than the fans, will vote on selections for the All-Star Game. The vote will not return to the fans until 1970, when Commissioner Bowie Kuhn reverses Frick's action. The decision is a reaction to alleged ballot box stuffing by Cincinnati fans before last year's All-Star Game.
- 1959 - The Cincinnati Redlegs trade pitcher Harvey Haddix, catcher Smoky Burgess, and infielder Don Hoak to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for third baseman Frank Thomas, infielder-outfielder Jim Pendleton, outfielder Johnny Powers, pitcher Whammy Douglas and cash. The deal will turn out to be one on the worst in Cincinnati history.
- 1962 - The New York Mets sign Gil Hodges for $33,000. The veteran first baseman had been languishing on the Dodgers' bench for the past two seasons.
- 1964 - The United States Senate Subcommittee on Monopolies begins hearings on baseball.
- 1969 - Santiago Mederos strikes out 20 Camagüey batters to set a Cuban Serie Nacional record. This will last for 31 years before Faustino Corrales breaks it.
- 1977 - Edward W. Stack is elected president of the Hall of Fame. He succeeds Paul Kerr, who is retiring.
- 1978:
- Former pitcher Addie Joss and former executive Larry MacPhail are voted into the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee.
- Commissioner Bowie Kuhn cancels the recent trade that sent pitcher Vida Blue from the Oakland Athletics to the Cincinnati Reds for first baseman Dave Revering and $1.75 million in cash. Believing that the Athletics did not receive adequate compensation, Kuhn recommends that the trade be restructured. On February 25th, Oakland will acquire Revering in a different trade, this time for pitcher Doug Bair. On March 15th, the Athletics will once again trade Blue, this time to the San Francisco Giants for seven players and $400,000. Blue will win 18 games for the Giants this season.
- 1984 - After failing to trade him, the New York Mets give veteran slugger Dave Kingman his release. Kingman hit .198 with 13 home runs last year, but will find a new home as designated hitter with the Oakland Athletics, hitting 35 home runs this year, ranking second behind American League leader Tony Armas, who will finish with 43.
- 1987 - The Oakland Athletics acquire veteran third baseman Ron Cey from the Chicago Cubs for infielder Luis Quiñones. Cey will hit .221 for Oakland this year - his final major league season.
- 1994 - The Kansas City Royals sign free agent outfielder Dave Henderson to a one-year $750,000 contract.
- 1996 - Free agent catcher Benito Santiago is signed by the Philadelphia Phillies to a one-year $1.7 million contract.
- 2001 - Seibu Lions ace Daisuke Matsuzaka has his driver's license suspended. He will be later caught driving despite the suspension, earning a significant fine.
- 2002:
- Two free agents are offered one-year contracts: outfielder Ricky Ledee by the Philadelphia Phillies, and pitcher James Baldwin by the Seattle Mariners.
- The Pittsburgh Pirates sign free agent second baseman Pokey Reese to a two-year contract. Pittsburgh is the fourth team for Reese since the end of the 2001 season. He finished the year with Cincinnati, and then was traded to the Colorado Rockies and the Boston Red Sox in a span of three days in December. Boston did not offer him a contract, making him a free agent.
- 2003 - Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. joins his father Cal Sr. by becoming the 40th member of the Orioles Hall of Fame. Ripken Jr. is elected in his first year of eligibility by a unanimous vote of the media covering the team. The formal ceremony will be take place on September 6th, which marks the eighth anniversary of the night he broke the 56-year-old record of 2,130 consecutive games played set by Lou Gehrig.
- 2006 - Veteran Mike Piazza agree to a $2 million, one-year contract with the San Diego Padres, giving the defending NL West champions a 12-time All-Star catcher they think can still contribute.
- 2009 - The Tigres de Aragua take their fifth title in six Venezuelan League seasons, topping the Leones del Caracas, four games to three, in the finals despite a worse record in the regular season and in the playoffs. Victor Moreno improves to 4-0, 0.77 in the postseason, getting the victory in relief of Jeff Farnsworth. 3B Matt Tolbert's three-run homer is a key blow in the 7 - 3 victory.
- 2010:
- The Naranjeros de Hermosillo win the Mexican Pacific League title with a 1 - 0 victory over Mazatlan in the decisive game of the championship finals. Juan Delgadillo pitches 7 2/3 shutout innings for the win, outdueling Walter Silva, while veteran Vinny Castilla drives in the game's only run on a 1st-inning sacrifice fly. Hermosillo joins the Leones del Caracas (Venezuelan League), Indios de Mayagüez (Puerto Rican League) and Leones del Escogido (Dominican League) in the 2010 Caribbean Series, set to begin on February 2nd on Margarita Island, off the coast of Venezuela.
- The Cincinnati Reds sign free agent SS Orlando Cabrera to a one-year contract.
- The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette runs a front-page story that Pittsburgh Penguins owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle made an offer to buy the Pittsburgh Pirates from Bob Nutting in 2009. Pirates sources deny that there was a concrete offer and Nutting also indicates he has no interest in selling the team.
- 2011:
- The Caribes de Anzoátegui win the Venezuelan League title with an 8 - 7 win over Tigres de Aragua in the seventh game of the finals. Series MVP 1B Luis Jimenez and OF Cesar Suarez hit 1st-inning homers to give the Caribes the lead they will never relinquish, and C Josh Kroeger adds a three-run blast. Reliever Alex Herrera is the winner and José Cabrera gets the save.
- The Cubs sign two Cuban defectors who once played for the junior national team, OF Rubi Silva and C Yaniel Cabezas, both 21 and already veterans of the Serie Nacional.
- 2012 - Escogido wins the Dominican League championship, taking Game 9 of a tightly-fought finals by a score of 6 - 5 over Aguilas Cibaeñas. Andy Dirks drives in the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the 9th to give Escogido the 14th title in team history.
- 2013 - Magallanes wins the 11th Venezuelan League title in its history by disposing of Lara, 11 - 9, in the Game 7 of the finals. Pablo Sandoval is the hero, going 3 for 5 with a pair of doubles and a homer; the "Kung-Fu Panda" finishes the series with a .300 average, 3 homers and 9 RBI and is named MVP of the finals. Luis Jimenez opens the scoring with a 1st-inning homer for Lara, which takes a 2 - 0 lead, but Endy Chavez replies with a solo shot in the bottom of the frame, then Magallanes tallies three runs in each of the next three innings to run away with the score. Carlos Maldonado hits a three-run blast in the 2nd, Juan Rivera a two-run shot in the 3rd, Sandoval's homer goes for two runs in the 4th, and is followed by another long ball by Hector Gimenez that makes it 10 - 5. Lara scores a few late runs, but not enough to turn the game's tide. Reliever Jean Machi gets credit for the win.
- 2014 - P Mark Appel, the top pick in last year's amateur draft and one of the top prospects in the game, undergoes an emergency appendectomy. The Astros are confident he will have recovered in time for the start of spring training in two weeks, but he'll struggle in the first half of the season.
- 2015 - The Braves trade two pitchers, David Hale and Gus Schlosser, to the Rockies in return for two catching prospects, Jose Briceno and Chris O'Dowd.
- 2016 - The Diamondbacks acquire SS Jean Segura from Milwaukee in a deal for P Chase Anderson, 2B Aaron Hill and prospect Isan Diaz. P Tyler Wagner also heads to Arizona in the trade.
- 2017 - Commissioner Rob Manfred issues a ruling in the case of an employee of the St. Louis Cardinals caught for hacking into the scouting database of the Houston Astros. The Cards are fined $2 million, which they must pay to Houston, and also surrender two top picks in the upcoming amateur draft to the Astros. The guilty former employee, Chris Correa, incurs a lifetime ban. This is on the top of the 46-month prison sentence and $279,000 fine he received after pleading guilty to federal charges last July.
- 2021:
- The Tomateros de Culiacán defend their Mexican Pacific League title in dramatic fashion. Game 7 with the Naranjeros de Hermosillo goes ten innings; Jesse Castillo's homer off Fernando Salas ends the game, 7 - 6; it gives him two homers, three runs and three RBI on the day. Alberto Baldonado takes the loss.
- Darryl George of the Melbourne Monarchs hits two grand slams and drives in ten runs to set two Australian Baseball League records in a 22 - 2 win over the Brisbane Bandits. The old mark of 8 RBI was shared by Luke Hughes and Denny Almonte.
- 2022 - On Day 3 of the Caribbean Series, played in Santo Domingo, Charros de Jalisco get their first win by blanking heretofore undefeated Caimanes de Barranquilla, 1 - 0, behind the pitching of Wilmer Rios and a solo homer by Felix Perez. In the second game, Navegantes del Magallanes defeat Criollos de Caguas, 4 - 2, on a two-run single by Francisco Arcia in the 2nd and run-scoring doubles by Alberth Martinez and Danry Vasquez. The Puerto Ricans are now the sole winless team in the tournament. In the final game, the host Gigantes del Cibao beat Astronautas de Los Santos, 7 - 3, in the highest scoring game so far in the tournament, to improve to 3-0. Hanser Alberto goes 3 for 5 with 2 doubles and 2 RBIs to lead his team while José Siri adds an RBI triple.
- 2023:
- The Red Sox trade their longest-tenured player, P Matt Barnes, to the Marlins in return for lefty specialist Richard Bleier. Barnes was designated for assignment when the Sox signed free agent OF Adam Duvall one week ago, and while he has struggled for parts of the last two seasons, he is coming off a strong second half in 2022 that could make him a steal for Miami if he can keep it up.
- In the first sign of hope on the ballpark front for the Tampa Bay Rays in a number of years, the mayor of St. Petersburg, FL selects among four competing bids for the redevelopment of the 86-acre site on which the much-decried Tropicana Field currently sits one made by the team itself. The proposal includes a new ballpark in addition to other amenities that would attract fans and other visitors to what is now almost a dead zone around the concrete monstrosity. However, this is not the first time the Rays have claimed to have a solution for their chronic ballpark woes, and there is still a lot of work to be done to make this proposal a reality.
- The Leones del Caracas win their record 18th Venezuelan League title but first in 12 years, beating the Tiburones de la Guaira in six games. Harold Castro's 11th-inning homer off Johan Belisario is the winner; Silvino Bracho gets the victory, the 8th Caracas hurler of the day. Isaias Tejada is named finals MVP.
Births[edit]
- 1867 - Harry Dooms, outfielder (d. 1899)
- 1868 - General Stafford, infielder (d. 1923)
- 1872 - Charlie Heard, pitcher/outfielder (d. 1945)
- 1877 - Wiley Dunham, pitcher (d. 1934)
- 1886 - Doc Watson, pitcher (d. 1949)
- 1887 - Ernie Herbert, pitcher (d. 1968)
- 1888 - Vin Campbell, outfielder (d. 1969)
- 1889 - Doc Shanley, infielder (d. 1934)
- 1893 - Red Smyth, outfielder (d. 1958)
- 1897 - Robert Abel, minor league executive (d. 1981)
- 1900 - Hank Garrity, college coach (d. 1972)
- 1908 - Pete Beiden, college coach (d. 2000)
- 1911 - Herbert Gallagher, college coach (d. 1992)
- 1911 - Bob Katz, pitcher (d. 1962)
- 1911 - Link Wasem, catcher (d. 1979)
- 1917 - Mike Blazo, minor league catcher and manager (d. 1988)
- 1917 - Mickey Harris, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1971)
- 1917 - Al Veigel, pitcher (d. 2012)
- 1918 - Tom Fleming, umpire (d. 2003)
- 1922 - Mal Mallette, pitcher (d. 2005)
- 1923 - Walt Dropo, infielder; All-Star (d. 2010)
- 1924 - Kiro Osafune, NPB executive; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 2007)
- 1925 - Brooks Lawrence, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2000)
- 1929 - Bill Abernathie, pitcher (d. 2006)
- 1930 - Sandy Amoros, outfielder (d. 1992)
- 1930 - Mitchell Gegax, minor league pitcher (d. 2011)
- 1931 - Charlie Neal, infielder; All-Star (d. 1996)
- 1941 - Lewis Bishop, minor league outfielder (d. 2011)
- 1943 - Davey Johnson, infielder, manager; All-Star
- 1947 - Matt Alexander, outfielder
- 1948 - Dave Moates, outfielder
- 1949 - Gene Ammann, minor league pitcher
- 1950 - Art Demery, minor league pitcher
- 1952 - Roger Cador, minor league outfielder
- 1952 - Ted Brazell, minor league player, manager
- 1954 - Steve Anson, college coach (d. 2014)
- 1954 - Joe Kerrigan, pitcher; manager
- 1954 - Dave Stegman, outfielder
- 1956 - Bill Earley, pitcher
- 1958 - Jeff Morris, minor league pitcher
- 1959 - La Schelle Tarver, outfielder
- 1961 - Steve Johnson, minor league outfielder
- 1962 - Stephen Labay, minor league pitcher
- 1964 - Hipolito Pena, pitcher
- 1965 - Joel Davis, pitcher
- 1965 - Martin Hernandez, minor league pitcher (d. 2012)
- 1965 - Orlando Lind, minor league pitcher
- 1968 - Apolinar Garcia, minor league pitcher
- 1970 - Daniel Espino, minor league infielder-outfielder
- 1971 - Sean Cheetham, minor league pitcher
- 1971 - Hong-jip Kim, KBO pitcher
- 1973 - Bob Henley, catcher
- 1975 - J.D. Brammer, minor league pitcher
- 1975 - Cheng-Hsun Hsieh, CPBL pitcher
- 1977 - Takahiro Arai, NPB infielder and manager
- 1977 - Nate Buttenfield, minor league pitcher
- 1977 - John Lindsey, infielder
- 1978 - Eun-ok Park, South Korean womens' national team infielder
- 1978 - John Patterson, pitcher
- 1980 - Tim Gradoville, minor league catcher
- 1981 - Geoff Freeborn, minor league pitcher
- 1981 - Tomoyuki Kubota, NPB pitcher
- 1982 - Jorge Cantu, infielder
- 1982 - Harold Herrera, scout
- 1983 - Pavel Akishev, Russian national team pitcher
- 1984 - Yushi Aida, NPB pitcher
- 1984 - Jeremy Hermida, outfielder
- 1985 - Matt Kavanaugh, minor league catcher and manager
- 1985 - Ronald Ramirez, minor league infielder and manager
- 1986 - Robert Boothe, minor league pitcher
- 1986 - Nick Evans, outfielder
- 1986 - Nelson Feliú, Puerto Rican national team outfielder
- 1986 - Jordan Pacheco, catcher
- 1986 - Mark Rogers, pitcher
- 1987 - Matti Emery, Bundesliga catcher
- 1987 - Luis Garcia, pitcher
- 1987 - Tyler Moore, outfielder
- 1989 - Keith Butler, pitcher
- 1989 - Rien Vernooij, minor league infielder
- 1990 - Eddy Alvarez, minor league infielder
- 1990 - C.J. Riefenhauser, pitcher
- 1990 - Sebastiaan Vandesompele, First Division outfielder
- 1991 - Gus Benusa, minor league outfielder
- 1991 - Francesco Cozzolino, Italian Baseball League pitcher
- 1993 - Brett Graves, pitcher
- 1993 - Ben Meyer, pitcher
- 1993 - Kodai Senga, pitcher; All-Star
- 1995 - Victor Sanchez, minor league pitcher (d. 2015)
- 1996 - Nick Duron, pitcher
- 1996 - Ariel Jurado, pitcher
- 1996 - Mikael Lindqvist, Elitserien catcher
- 1999 - Brailyn Márquez, pitcher
- 2000 - Bryan Woo, pitcher
- 2004 - Tanguy Meurant, French Division I pitcher
Deaths[edit]
- 1910 - Pidgey Morgan, outfielder (b. 1853)
- 1917 - Cyclone Ryan, infielder (b. 1866)
- 1922 - Billy Rhines, pitcher (b. 1869)
- 1929 - John Wood, pitcher (b. 1872)
- 1930 - Rip Hagerman, pitcher (b. 1886)
- 1934 - Frank McGee, infielder (b. 1899)
- 1936 - Sam Mongin, infielder (b. 1884)
- 1944 - Ed Clough, outfielder (b. 1906)
- 1944 - James Groninger, minor league manager and executive (b. 1880)
- 1948 - Herb Pennock, pitcher; Hall of Famer (b. 1894)
- 1952 - Les Tullos, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1885)
- 1959 - Toots Shultz, pitcher (b. 1888)
- 1961 - Aaron Ward, infielder (b. 1896)
- 1962 - Ray Roberts, pitcher (b. 1895)
- 1963 - Win Ballou, pitcher (b. 1897)
- 1969 - Sam Bennett, catcher (b. 1884)
- 1973 - Scotty Alcock, infielder (b. 1885)
- 1978 - Margaret Donahue, executive (b. 1892)
- 1981 - Sid Keener, writer (b. 1888)
- 1981 - Marino Pieretti, pitcher (b. 1920)
- 1983 - Moose Woerber, minor league outfielder and manager (b. 1902)
- 1992 - Ed Taylor, infielder (b. 1901)
- 1992 - Coaker Triplett, outfielder (b. 1911)
- 1995 - Buddy Gremp, infielder (b. 1919)
- 1997 - Duane Josephson, catcher; All-Star (b. 1942)
- 2002 - Kozo Naito, NPB pitcher (b. 1916)
- 2006 - Manuel González Caballero, writer; Salon de la Fama (b. 1907)
- 2007 - Max Lanier, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1915)
- 2013 - Shirley Luhtala, AAGPBL infielder (b. 1933)
- 2013 - George Witt, pitcher (b. 1931)
- 2016 - Betty Francis, AAGPBL outfielder (b. 1931)
- 2016 - Ramon Ramirez, minor league infielder (b. 1992)
- 2018 - Ron Debus, minor league infielder (b. 1937)
- 2018 - Kevin Towers, General Manager (b. 1961)
- 2019 - A-Hai Chou, Taiwan national team outfielder (b. 1945)
- 2019 - Joe Pipak, minor league pitcher (b. 1928)
- 2022 - Jeff Innis, pitcher (b. 1962)
- 2023 - Rafael Avila, scout (b. 1930)
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