Today in baseball history: January 12

In the major leagues' 100+ year history, just over 23,000 players have appeared in an official game. If every one of them were in the league’s smallest stadium, it would be barely two-thirds full.

Just 63 of them were born on January 12.

Ten of those have totaled 10+ WAR through their careers:

• Bill Madlock, infielder, 38.3

• Henry Larkin, infielder/outfielder, 28.7

• Dontrelle Willis, left-handed pitcher, 19.7

• Randy Jones, left-handed pitcher, 17.7

• Ed Swartwood, outfielder, 17.2

• Togie Pittinger, right-handed pitcher, 14.0

• Alex Wood, left-handed pitcher, 13.5

• Joe Hauser, first baseman, 12.5

• Iván Nova, right-handed pitcher, 11.6

• Mike Marshall, outfielder/first baseman, 10.1

Coincidentally, so too, was my mini-me, my son. Happy birthday, buddy!

I don’t envision he’s on course for a career in the major leagues, but stranger things could happen. 🙂 

Some highlights and events that took place on this day:

1921: Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis assumes his new role as MLB’s first Commissioner.

1946: Ted Williams receives his official discharge from the Marine Air Corps following three years of service. He would bat .342/.497/.667 and win the AL MVP Award in his first season back with the Boston Red Sox.

1972: Detroit Tigers owner John Fetzer announces plans to build a $126 million domed stadium in downtown Detroit, thinking the facility would be shared with the Lions. Various challenges including lawsuits and a failed bond measure (i.e. limited public funding) would cause the plan to collapse. The Tigers would not build a new stadium until the 2000 season.

1982: For years the MLB Draft had been split into two phases, June and January. In one of the final installments of the January draft (which ran from 1966 to 1986), the Minnesota Twins strike gold by selecting Kirby Puckett with the third overall selection.

1983: Juan Marichal, one of the winningest Latin American pitchers in history, and Brooks Robinson, one of the most talented defensive players in history, are elected to the Hall of Fame.

1988: Willie Stargell is elected to the Hall of Fame.

1993: A group led by Peter Magowan agrees to purchase the San Francisco Giants for $100 million. Prior ownership had an agreement in place to sell the team to a group led by Jeffrey Loria who wanted to relocate the team to Tampa Bay, but National League owners voted against the sale in November. Magowan’s purchase keeps the Giants in the Bay Area.

1994: Steve Carlton is elected to the Hall of Fame.

1997: The rights to sign Japanese right-handed pitcher Hideki Irabu are awarded to the San Diego Padres, only Irabu refuses to sign with the team. He will be traded to the Yankees in April.

1999: The ball from Mark McGwire’s 70th home run in 1998 sells at auction for a record $2.7 million.

2009: Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice are elected to the Hall of Fame.

2024: Chien-Ming Wang is among five elected to the Taiwan Baseball Hall of Fame.