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.
[edit] Events
- 1885 - The recently disbanded Cleveland Blues team of the National League release their 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.
- 1920 - The secret deal made on December 26 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.
- 1944 - Chicago White Sox shortstop Luke Appling reports for duty at Camp Lee, Virginia. Appling was the American League batting leader last season, finishing second in the Most Valuable Player Award voting.
- 1946 - The Boston Red Sox get Rudy York from 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.
- 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 stadium.
- 1977 - The Kansas City Royals release pitcher Lindy McDaniel, ending his career after 21 years. He had 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 agreed 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 likely will 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 the Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson to the New York Yankees in exchange 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.
- 2007 - The Oakland Athletics make their second trade of an established player for prospects of the off-season. They send former 35-home-run hitter Nick Swisher to the Chicago White Sox for Fautino De Los Santos, Gio Gonzalez and Ryan Sweeney.
[edit] Births
- 1848 - Jimmy Williams, manager (d. 1918)
- 1856 - Barney Gilligan, catcher (d. 1934)
- 1874 - Roy Brashear, infielder (d. 1951)
- 1874 - Lou Mahaffey, pitcher (d. 1949)
- 1880 - Ed Kippert, outfielder (d. 1960)
- 1883 - Buck Hopkins, outfielder (d. 1929)
- 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)
- 1894 - John Fluhrer, outfielder (d. 1946)
- 1894 - Tom Whelan, infielder (d. 1957)
- 1897 - Pete Turgeon, infielder (d. 1977)
- 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 - Gus Suhr, infielder; All-Star (d. 2004)
- 1910 - Frenchy Bordagaray, outfielder (d. 2001)
- 1912 - Cliff Melton, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1986)
- 1915 - Sid Hudson, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2008)
- 1916 - Chico Hernandez, catcher (d. 1986)
- 1919 - Ed Sauer, outfielder (d. 1988)
- 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)
- 1932 - George Piktuzis, pitcher (d. 1993)
- 1936 - Eddie Einhorn, owner
- 1941 - John Sullivan, catcher
- 1942 - Epy Guerrero, coach
- 1943 - Adrian Garrett, designated hitter, coach and minor league manager
- 1943 - Bob Gebhard, pitcher
- 1944 - Dick Colpaert, pitcher
- 1945 - Larry Barnett, umpire
- 1946 - Archie Reynolds, pitcher
- 1947 - Terry Pollreisz, minor league outfielder and manager
- 1949 - Ike Brookens, pitcher
- 1949 - Gary Lavelle, pitcher; All-Star
- 1950 - Jim Dwyer, outfielder
- 1950 - Bart Johnson, pitcher
- 1951 - Jim Lett, coach
- 1957 - Mark Riggins, coach
- 1958 - Brian Allard, pitcher
- 1960 - Randy Hunt, catcher
- 1961 - John Leister, pitcher
- 1962 - Darren Daulton, catcher; All-Star
- 1964 - Howard Hilton, pitcher
- 1964 - Luis Rivera, infielder
- 1964 - Russ Swan, pitcher
- 1965 - Mark Dewey, pitcher
- 1965 - Luis Sojo, infielder
- 1967 - Jimmy Rogers, pitcher
- 1969 - Cris Colon, infielder
- 1971 - Sam Hence, minor league outfielder
- 1973 - Min-Jae Kim, KBO infielder
- 1973 - Da Rond Stovall, outfielder
- 1974 - Jon Macalutas, minor league player and manager
- 1977 - A.J. Burnett, pitcher
- 1977 - Mike Crudale, pitcher
- 1977 - Zach Sorensen, infielder
- 1978 - Delvin James, pitcher
- 1979 - Kevin Martin, minor league player
- 1979 - Rosman Garcia, pitcher
- 1979 - Carlos Maldonado, catcher
- 1979 - Michael Restovich, outfielder
- 1980 - Brad Salmon, pitcher
- 1980 - Nick Moran, minor league pitcher
[edit] Deaths
- 1917 - Rynie Wolters, pitcher (b. 1842)
- 1919 - Art Rico, catcher (b. 1895)
- 1919 - Al Schellhase, catcher (b. 1864)
- 1929 - Charlie Smith, pitcher (b. 1880)
- 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)
- 1965 - Luther Bonin, outfielder (b. 1888)
- 1974 - Red Snapp, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1888)
- 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 - Jim Westlake, pinch hitter (b. 1930)
- 2004 - Taylor Duncan, infielder (b. 1953)
- 2004 - Leon Wagner, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1934)
- 2007 - Bob Milliken, pitcher (b. 1926)
