January 12 in Tigers and mlb history:
1903 - Detroit Tigers pitcher Win Mercer, winner of 15 games in 1902, commits suicide by inhaling gas in a San Francisco hotel. Mercer had recently been named the Tigers' manager.
1921 - Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis takes over his new role as Commissioner of baseball. Landis, who is given wide-ranging powers, replaces the three-man National Commission that had been running the game for nearly two decades.
1924 - Outfielder Bobby Veach is sold by the Detroit Tigers to the Boston Red Sox.
1946: Boston Red Sox star Ted Williams receives his discharge from the U.S. Marine Air Corps after a three-year stint serving in World War II. In spite of the long absence from competitive baseball, Williams will return to the major leagues by hitting .342 with 38 home runs and 123 RBI this season.
1972: Detroit Tigers owner John Fetzer announces that the Tigers have signed a lease to build a $126 million domed stadium along the river in downtown Detroit. The complex will seat 52,000 for baseball, and 60,000 for football. Lawsuits, a failed bond issue, and the construction of the Silverdome in nearby Pontiac will eventually kill the idea.
1983 - The Baseball Writers Association of America elects two players to the Hall of Fame: Juan Marichal, the winningest Latin American pitcher in major league history, who won 20 or more games six times and had an ERA of 2.50 or less six times, and Brooks Robinson, a winner of 16 straight Gold Gloves and hero of the 1970 World Series, who becomes the 14th player elected in his first year of eligibility.
1991 - The Detroit Tigers obtain catcher Mickey Tettleton from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for pitcher Jeff Robinson.
2010: A devastating earthquake hits the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, located a few hundred miles off the coast of Florida. Major League Baseball quickly pledges $1 million to UNICEF to help with the relief effort. Teams like the New York Yankees and players such as Miguel Tejada also pledge their support. While Haiti is not a traditional source of players, unlike its neighbor to the east the Dominican Republic, there were 13 Haitian-born players in the minor leagues in 2009 and efforts are now directed to ascertain their well-being.
Tigers players birthdays:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lorenle01.shtml
Lefty Lorenzen 1913.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/reedbo01.shtml
Bob Reed 1969-1970.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/trujimi01.shtml
Mike Trujillo 1988-1989.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Dontrelle_Willis
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/willido03.shtml?redir
Dontrelle Willis 2008-2010.
Tigers players who passed away:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Win_Mercer
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mercewi01.shtml?redir
Win Mercer 1902.
from Baseball Reference
