BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

2010 Troy Glaus and the Braves agree on a $1.75 million, one-year incentive-laden deal that will shift the four-time All-Star third baseman to first base. After arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder a year ago, the 33-year-old infielder appeared in only 14 games with St. Louis at the end of the season.

2010 After 22 big league seasons, playing for the Expos (3-4), Mariners (130-74), Astros (10-1), Diamondbacks (118-62), Yankees (34-19), and the Giants (8-6), five-time Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson announces his retirement. The 6-foot-10 'Big Unit' finishes his no-miss Hall of Fame career, which includes a World Series Most Valuable Player award, a perfect game, and two no-hitters, with a record of 303-166 and as the all-time left-handed strikeout leader with 4,875.

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2010 Kelly Shoppach (.214, 12, 40) and the Rays come to terms on a $5.5 million, two-year contract that includes a club option for a third season at $3.2 million or a $300,000 buyout. The Rays obtained the 29-year-old backup catcher from the Indians last month for a player to be named, which turns out to be right-hander Mitch Talbot.

2010 In a deal intended to strengthen Philadelphia's bullpen, right-handed reliever Danys Baez (4-6, 4.02) and the Phillies come to terms on a $5.25 million, two-year contract. The 32-year-old former Baltimore closer will be used with Ryan Madson and J.C. Romero as a setup man but could become an option to replace an unreliable Brad Lidge, who led the majors last season with 11 blown saves while compiling an 0-8 record along with a 7.21 ERA.

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2010 The Mets and R.A. Dickey agree to a one-year minor league deal reportedly worth $600,000 if the journeyman makes to the major league roster, along with the opportunity to earn $150,000 more in performance bonuses. The 35-year-old knuckleballer will become the first player in franchise history to win six of his first seven starts (6-0, 2.33 ERA).

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2011 After narrowly missing induction last year, second baseman Roberto Alomar and hurler Bert Blyleven are elected to the Hall of Fame by a wide margin. The right-hander, who waited 14 years before getting the nod, and the second baseman, considered a sure first-ballot inductee last season, join executive Pat Gillick, broadcaster Dave Van Horne, and writer Bill Conlin in Cooperstown next July.

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2011 Adrian Beltre agrees to a $96 million, six-year deal with the Rangers, the reigning American League champs. The acquisition of the All-Star third baseman will make incumbent Michael Young the team's designated hitter, giving Texas a potent lineup and a much-improved defense.

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2012 The Cubs trade Carlos Zambrano to the Marlins for right-hander Chris Volstad and cash. The 30-year-old right-hander will join fellow Venezuelan Ozzie Guillen, Miami's new manager, who has been publicly supportive during the combative hurler's controversial moments, including firing a ball into the outfield physically fighting with teammates.
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Today in Baseball History
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On January 5 in Baseball History...

• • 1920 - The Yankees announce the purchase of Babe Ruth. The deal had been delayed until Ruth agreed to terms believed to be $40,000 total for two years.
    
  • 1925 - During a European tour by the White Sox and Giants, the French Baseball Federation awards silver medals to John McGraw, Charlie Comiskey, and Hughie Jennings for their efforts to advance the game in France.
    
  • 1927 - Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis begins a three-day public hearing on the charges that four games played between Chicago and Detroit in 1917 had been thrown to the White Sox. The White Sox, Swede Risberg contends, returned the favor for two games in 1919. A week after the hearing opens, Landis clears all the accused due to a lack of evidence.
    
  • 1931 - Lucille Thomas purchases the Topeka franchise in the Western League. She becomes the first woman to buy a professional baseball team.
    
  • 1943 - Teams agree to start the season later than usual and prepare to train in northern areas because of World War II. Resorts, armories, and university facilities are chosen for training sites. The Dodgers will train at Bear Mountain, New York; the Cardinals hop to Cape Girardeau, Missouri; the Yankees try Atlantic City.
    
  • 1957 - Jackie Robinson retires rather than move across town from the Dodgers to the Giants, to whom he had been traded in December.
    
  • 1960 - The Continental League, a proposed third major league, gets an assurance of congressional support from New York Senator Kenneth Keating.
    
  • 1963 - Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby dies at age 66 of a heart ailment. Hornsby's .358 career batting average is the second highest in major league history.
    
  • 1989 - Three weeks after signing a record four-year, $1.1 billion network television contract with CBS, major league baseball signs a $400 million contract with ESPN. The deal will put 175 games per year on cable television beginning in 1990.
    
  • 1993 - Reggie Jackson is the lone player elected to the Hall of Fame. Jackson, whose .262 lifetime batting average is the lowest of any outfielder in the Hall, receives 93.6 percent of the vote. Jackson's 563 career home runs make him a hit with voters in his first year of eligibility.
    
  • 1998 - Don Sutton gets into the Hall of Fame on his fifth try. With 324 wins, he had the most victories of any eligible pitcher not in the Hall of Fame. He reached the postseason with three different clubs (Dodgers, Brewers, and Angels), and struck out 3,574 batters in 23 seasons. Sutton receives 386 votes of the record 473 ballots cast for 81.6 percent; Tony Perez falls short with 355 votes and Ron Santo, on the ballot for the 15th and final time, gains 204 votes.
    

Baseball Birthdays on January 5...

• • 1864 - Caruthers, Bob
  • 1865 - Moriarity, Gene
  • 1870 - Dahlen, Bill
  • 1875 - Hoffman, Izzy
  • 1879 - Harvey, Zaza
  • 1880 - Jordan, Dutch
  • 1880 - Hunter, Newt
  • 1880 - Byrnes, Jim
  • 1885 - Fletcher, Art
  • 1888 - Foster, Rube
  • 1890 - Kauff, Benny
  • 1892 - Wortman, Chuck
  • 1894 - Steele, Bob
  • 1895 - Delaney, Art
  • 1898 - Stephenson, Riggs
  • 1899 - Kinsella, Bob
  • 1899 - Hunnefield, Bill
  • 1901 - Sewell, Luke
  • 1908 - Leheny, Regis
  • 1911 - Petoskey, Ted
  • 1914 - Grace, Joe
  • 1914 - Salveson, Jack
  • 1918 - Kramer, Jack
  • 1924 - Marsh, Fred
  • 1928 - Oldis, Bob "I just wanted to play. It sure beat working. It's always been a fun game, and I’m a fun kind of a guy. I knew I would have to work hard to play, and play smart. But I was fortunate, lucky. I played for, or with, some of the best minds in baseball in the minors, and the majors. And I had a lot of fun." - Bob Oldis (Dan Even, SABR Baseball Biography Project
  • 1935 - Battey, Earl "Earl Battey was one of the finest catchers I have ever seen. I don't think we realized how great he was until a little after our game. He was not a very fast guy, as people will tell you, but he made up for it with a great arm and knowledge of how to handle pitchers, particularly young pitchers." - Killebrew, Harmon. Teammate / Hall of Famer. AP Wire. Battey was a four-time All-Star
  • 1936 - Robertson, Daryl
  • 1936 - Bloomfield, Bud
  • 1942 - Wolf, Wally
  • 1944 - Vinson, Charlie
  • 1944 - Kelley, Tom
  • 1947 - Vance, Sandy "I put my whole heart and soul into baseball. Then, one day it was all over. When you leave baseball you leave part of your childhood behind." - Sandy Vance
  • 1948 - Laxton, Bill
  • 1948 - Hough, Charlie
  • 1951 - Reece, Bob
  • 1953 - Gantner, Jim
  • 1954 - Littlefield, John
  • 1957 - Dernier, Bob
  • 1958 - Kittle, Ron
  • 1959 - Thompson, Milt
  • 1961 - Cotto, Henry
  • 1961 - Russell, John
  • 1961 - Samuels, Roger
  • 1962 - Jackson, Danny
  • 1963 - Davis, John
  • 1963 - Fassero, Jeff
  • 1965 - Nieves, Juan
  • 1966 - Shifflett, Steve
  • 1967 - Nabholz, Chris
  • 1971 - Bates, Jason
  • 1973 - Rath, Fred
  • 1974 - Minor, Ryan
  • 1974 - Minor, Damon
  • 1974 - Redman, Mark
  • 1976 - Witt, Kevin
  • 1979 - Quevedo, Ruben

Copyright � 2001-2007. All Rights Reserved.
Part of the Baseball Almanac family: 755 Home Runs | Around the Horn | Baseball Box Scores | Baseball Fever | Today in Baseball History.​

 

Joe Garragiola and Yogi Berra
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BIRTHDAYS

1864 Ban Johnson HOF executive (founder, President American League), born in Norwalk, Connecticut

1920 Early Wynn, Hall of Fame pitcher (Cy Young Award 1959 Chicago WS; MLB wins leader 1954, 59; 9 x MLB All Star; Cleveland Indians), born in Hartford, Alabama (d. 1999)


1926 Ralph Branca pitcher (MLB All-Star 1947–49; pitched “Shot Heard Round the World”), born in Mount Vernon, New York (d. 2016)


1936 Rubén Amaro, Sr (Philadelphia Phillies), born in Nuevo Laredo (d. 2017)


1951 Don Gullet born in Lynn, Kentucky


1963 Norm Charlton pitcher (Seattle Mariners), born in Fort Polk, California


1965 José DeJesús pitcher (Kansas City Royals), born in Brooklyn, New York


1969 Alvin Morman pitcher (Houston Astros), born in Rockingam, North Carolina

1970 Daniel Naulty pitcher (Yankees, Minnesota Twins), born in Los Angeles, California

1975 Laura Berg, American softball outfielder (Olympic gold 1996), born in Whittier, California


1978 Casey Fossum born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey

1982 Brian Bass born in Pinehurst, North Carolina

 

FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1914 To help the players pick up the ball as it leaves the pitcher's hand, baseball owners decrees all big-league parks must have a center-field wall that is green and blank. The safety measure that will evolve to be various colors, including blue, black, and red, will become known as the batter's eye.

1937 The Giants purchase the services of Tommy Thevenow from the Reds. The shortstop will never see action for New York when the team trades the 33-year-old to the Bees (Braves) for infielder Billy Urbanski, who will also never play a game for the club.

1942 Indians right-hander Bob Feller, who will serve for 44 months and compile eight battle stars, reports to Norfolk to begin his World War II enlistment in the Navy. The 23-year-old Rapid Robert, a 20-game winner for the Tribe for the last three seasons, enlisted in the United States Navy two days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

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1950 Charlie Grimm, uncomfortable with front office duties, leaves the Cubs as a vice president to manage the Dallas Eagles. 'Jolly Cholly', had who led the team to National League pennants in 1932, 1935, and 1945, signs for a record salary of $90,000 to be the skipper of the Texas League team

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1964 Charlie Finley stuns Kansas City when he announces signing a two-year deal to move the team to Louisville to play at the city's Fairgrounds Stadium, having the state of Kentucky's promise to spend a half-a-million dollars on enlarging the 20,628-seat facility by another 10,000 seats. The American League will veto the A's owner's attempt to shift the franchise, planned for this upcoming season, and the team stays put in the City of Fountains until after the 1967 campaign when permitted to move to Oakland.

 

1976 WTCG-TV owner Ted Turner purchases 100% of the Atlanta Braves at the bargain price of $12 million to provide sports programming for his local channel 17. In December, when the FCC permits the station, later rechristened WTBS, to use a satellite to broadcast shows on cable networks, the franchise becomes available to millions of subscribers across the country, making Atlanta become known as America's Team.

1981 By a vote of 6-2, the city council approves changing the name of San Diego Stadium to San Diego - Jack Murphy Stadium. The Padres ballpark's new moniker is in honor of the late sports editor of the San Diego Union, who is credited with getting the facility built in the late 1960s and with bringing major league baseball and football to the Southern California city.

1984 The Padres, outbidding a dozen teams, come to terms with Yankee free-agent Goose Gossage, agreeing to a five-year deal with the right-handed reliever reportedly worth more than $5.5 million. During his four seasons in San Diego as the team's closer, the 32-year-old will average close to 21 saves per season while winning 25 games, helping the Friars reach their first-ever World Series this year.

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1997 Knuckleballer Phil Niekro, who compiled a 318-274 record during his 24 major league career, becomes 227th player elected to the Hall of Fame. 'Knucksie,' who spent two-plus decades with the Braves, also had short stints with the Indians, Yankees, and Blue Jays.

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1997 The Dodgers are for sale, according to Peter O'Malley, who, with his sister, Terry Seidler, owns virtually 100 percent of the club. The franchise will be purchased by the Fox Entertainment Group, giving media mogul Rupert Murdoch control of the last family-owned major league team.

 

2006 With the largest signing bonus in a minor-league contract for a drafted player, who is not a free agent, the Diamondbacks come to terms with Justin Upton, the number one pick in the 2005 major league amateur draft. The 18-year-old Great Bridge HS (Chesapeake, VA) shortstop, selected as the best five-tool player in the nation by Baseball America, will get $6.1 million over the next five years just for agreeing to play with Arizona.

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2006 The Yankees, according to final figures released by the commissioner's office, finished the year with a record payroll of $207.2 million, $90 million more than the Red Sox, who spent the second-largest amount on playing personnel. The World Champion White Sox, by comparison, spent only $73.2 million, with the lowly Devil Rays writing checks for a mere $26.6 million, not much more than Alex Rodriguez makes as an individual playing third base for the Bronx Bombers.

2006 Corey Koskie, who became expendable when the Blue Jays acquired Troy Glaus from the Diamondbacks, is traded to the Brewers for minor league pitching prospect Brian Wolfe. The 32-year-old third baseman brings experience to a young Milwaukee infield, which includes first baseman Prince Fielder (21), second baseman Rickie Weeks (23), and shortstop J.J. Hardy (23).

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2006 The commissioner's office informs the press of a letter faxed from the International Baseball Federation informing Major League Baseball of their intent to withdraw the World Baseball Classic's sanction unless Cuba participates in the tournament. In mid-December, the Treasury Department had denied the necessary license for Castro's countrymen to compete on American soil due to the U.S. law, which restricts the financial gain of the communist nation in the United States.

2009 The Cubs acquire right-handed reliever Luis Vizcaino from the Rockies for starting pitcher Jason Marquis and cash. The deal, which frees up $9 million from Chicago's payroll in 2009, gives the club more financial flexibility to sign free-agent outfielder Milton Bradley.

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2010 In his ninth year on the BBWAA's ballot, Andre Dawson is the only player to receive 75% or more of the writers' votes (77.9) necessary for election to the Hall of Fame. The former National League Rookie of the Year (1977 - Montreal) and MVP (1987 - Chicago), an outfielder for the Expos, Cubs, Red Sox, and the Marlins is one of three players, along with Willie Mays and Barry Bonds, to exceed 400 homers and 300 stolen bases during his 21-year major league career.

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2015 Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Craig Biggio, and John Smoltz are elected into the Hall of Fame, marking the first time since 1955 that the selection of four players has occurred in the same year. Martinez (91.1%) and Johnson (97.3%) received the mandatory seventy-five percent of the writers' votes to qualify for induction in their first year on the ballot.

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2016 Alex Gordon agrees to a $72 million four-year deal to continue patrolling the outfield for the World Champion Royals. The contract is the richest in franchise history, surpassing the five-year, $55 million similar pacts signed by Gil Meche and Mike Sweeney.

2016 In his fourth year of eligibility, the BBWAA elects Mike Piazza into the Hall of Fame with his name appearing on 83% of the writers' ballots. Many consider the 12-time All-Star, best known for his time with the Dodgers and Mets, one of the most accomplished offensive catchers in the game's history but unfounded rumors of using illegal performance-enhancing drugs derailed his early Hall of Fame candidacy.

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2016 In his first year of eligibility, the Baseball Writers' Association of America name Ken Griffey, Jr. on 437 of 440 (99.32 percent) of their Hall of Fame ballots, surpassing the Hall of Fame record of 98.84 percent, set by Tom Seaver in 1992. Junior, a 13-time All-Star and the recipient of the AL MVP Award in 1997, finished his 22 years in the major leagues with 630 home runs and a .284 batting average playing for mostly the Mariners and Reds.

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2018 Trenton Thunder GM/COO Jeff Hurley announces team bat dog Derby, twenty days shy of his tenth birthday, has died after losing a battle with cancer. In addition to retrieving bats, the fan-favorite brought water to umpires on the hot days and made regular Meet & Greet appearances with the patrons at Arm & Hammer Park and various school and community events during the year.
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Search archives: Historical Events Baseball Birthdays Baseball Deaths
On January 6 in Baseball History...

• • 1936 - Giants President Charles A. Stoneham dies. He was the last surviving member of the trio that purchased the team in 1919.
    
  • 1942 - Bob Feller, winner of 76 games for the Indians in three previous seasons, follows Hank Greenberg into the military.
    
  • 1956 - A federal court bars former Little League Commissioner Carl Stotz from forming a rival group. He initiated the suit because he felt the league had grown too big, and that increasing team rosters to 15 players was preventing less able players from getting any real playing time.
    
  • 1964 - Charlie Finley signs a two-year pact to move the A's from Kansas City to Louisville, pending AL approval. He is later denied and the A's stay put in Kansas City until after the 1967 season.

Baseball Birthdays on January 6...

• • 1859 - Shoch, George
  • 1864 - Knox, Andy
  • 1865 - Daly, Sun
  • 1870 - Sullivan, Joe
  • 1878 - Slattery, Jack
  • 1881 - Lake, Joe
  • 1882 - Cole, Willis
  • 1886 - Purtell, Billy
  • 1890 - Duncan, Vern
  • 1895 - Blackburn, Charlie
  • 1897 - Crouse, Buck
  • 1897 - Speece, By
  • 1900 - Beck, Clyde
  • 1902 - Barnes, Bob
  • 1903 - Eichrodt, Ike
  • 1903 - Holland, Mul
  • 1903 - Grant, George
  • 1912 - Warnock, Hal
  • 1915 - Workman, Chuck
  • 1915 - Ferrick, Tom
  • 1916 - Masi, Phil
  • 1918 - Zinser, Bill
  • 1920 - Wynn, Early "That space between the white lines — that's my office, that's where I conduct my business. You take a look at the batter's box, and part of it belongs to the hitter. But when he crowds in just that hair, he's stepping into my office, and nobody comes into my office without an invitation when I'm going to work." - Wynn, Early. Red Smith on Baseball: The Game's Greatest Writer on the Game's Greatest Years.
  • 1923 - Hardy, Red
  • 1926 - Branca, Ralph "RALPH BRANCA: Ralph Branca spent a dozen years in the big leagues. Using his strong right arm he posted eighty-eight career wins, was named to three All-Star teams, and won a World Series game at the age of twenty-one. But all that was forever obscured, right or wrong, when he gave up The Shot Heard 'Round the World. According to two future Hall of Famers, Branca was expected to be a star when he arrived in the big leagues in the mid-1940s. 'He was real fast and there was a wide sweep to his curve,' said New York Giants manager Mel Ott in 1945. 'There was a slight deception to his delivery that had a tendency to throw the hitters off stride. He's a fine looking young pitcher.' That same year catcher Al Lopez said, 'Branca showed us a real fastball and a sharp curve. He has a chance to be one of the best right-handers in the National League.'" - Vincent, Fay. Author. We Would Have Played for Nothing: Baseball Stars of the 1950s and 1960s Talk About the Game They Loved. Simon & Schuster
  • 1928 - Lewandowski, Dan
  • 1931 - Tomanek, Dick
  • 1933 - Green, Lenny
  • 1933 - Walls, Lee
  • 1935 - Bauta, Ed
  • 1936 - Amaro, Ruben
  • 1940 - Jimenez, Elvio
  • 1950 - Staiger, Roy
  • 1951 - Gullett, Don "You want to try and trade arms. Sometimes you dream of some miraculous recovery. Sometimes, I dream that I came back as a right-handed pitcher - and then I would be Don Gullett, the right-handed pitcher. By some stretch of the imagination, I dream that when I wake up my left arm will be like it was. But, when I really do wake up, my left arm is always like it is." - Don Gullett in Baseball Digest
  • 1951 - Lovitto, Joe
  • 1952 - Adams, Bob
  • 1955 - Boyland, Doe "For many years I dreamed of what I might do on my first major league at bat. I dreamed of hitting a grand slam homer, even of striking out with two strikes and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, but I never thought I'd strike out on two strikes (Rennie Stennett hit for him after the Mets changed pitchers during the at-bat) - and be watching from the bench!" - Doe Boyland in Baseball Digest (December 1978)
  • 1963 - Davidson, Bob
  • 1963 - Charlton, Norm
  • 1965 - DeJesus, Jose
  • 1969 - Morman, Alvin
  • 1970 - Naulty, Dan
  • 1971 - Moody, Eric
  • 1974 - Anderson, Marlon

Copyright � 2001-2007. All Rights Reserved.
Part of the Baseball Almanac family: 755 Home Runs | Around the Horn | Baseball Box Scores | Baseball Fever | Today in Baseball History.​

 

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