Detroit Tigers Team Notes
January 21 in Tigers and mlb history :
1921 - Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis officially is signed as baseball commissioner, to a seven-year, $350,000 contract.
1947 - A rule change that allows voting only for players who were active after 1921 produces four new Hall of Fame members: catcher Mickey Cochrane, second baseman Frankie Frisch, and pitchers Lefty Grove and Carl Hubbell, all former Most Valuable Players and World Series winners.
Hubbell was forbidden by Ty Cobb to throw his screwball in Detroit's farm system, but used it to win 253 games for the New York Giants; Frisch went to the World Series eight times and batted .316 over 19 seasons; Grove won 300 games, and his battery-mate Cochrane retired with .320, the highest lifetime batting average of any catcher.
1993 - Hall of Fame second baseman Charlie Gehringer dies at the age of 89, one month after suffering a stroke. During a 19-year career with the Detroit Tigers, Gehringer posted a .320 batting average with 184 home runs and 1427 RBI. In 1937, he enjoyed arguably his finest season, leading the American League with a .371 average.
2000: The Detroit Tigers sign free agent pitcher Hideo Nomo to a one-year contract. Nomo's agent had declined a multi-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, expecting more on the open market.
Tigers players birthdays :
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/ledezwi01.shtml
Wil Ledezma 2003-2007.
Tigers players and executives who passed away :
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Charlie_Gehringer
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gehrich01.shtml
Charlie Gehringer 1924-1942, General Manager 1952-1953.
from baseball reference
