What’s Happening in Baseball Today

The First Pitch: February 19, 2025

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. says that the window has shut on the Toronto Blue Jays’ chance to give him a lucrative extension, refusing to negotiate any further until the end of the 2025 season—when he becomes a free agent. Guerrero sets a 9:00 p.m. deadline for an offer from the Jays, but they get back to him an hour and a half later—and the 25-year-old first baseman wasn’t impressed with what they bid. “They have their numbers; I have my numbers,” he says, adding that the Jays’ numbers were lower than what he had in mind. 

Baring a catastrophic injury, it’s widely expected that Guerrero will be able to fetch a minimum of $500 million with a new contract this coming fall.

Justin Turner keeps on ticking. The 40-year-old infielder is hooking up with his seventh MLB team, agreeing to a one-year, $6 million deal with the Cubs. Turner played a full season split between Boston and Seattle in 2024, batting .259 with 11 home runs and 55 RBIs; he’s two homers short of 200 for a career that began in 2009.

It Was Whatever-Something Years Ago Today

1946: Giants outfielder Danny Gardella is the first player to jump to the ‘outlaw’ Mexican League, which will lure a number of other major leaguers from America and tempt stars such as Ted Williams, Stan Musial and Vern Stephens with abundant amounts of cash. Baseball will blacklist all players making the move south of the border; those players will eventually sue to get their jobs back. 

1953: While in combat in Korea, Red Sox superstar Ted Williams has his Panther fighter jet struck by enemy fire and makes a crash landing at an airbase, suffering only minor injuries. Williams could have ejected himself from the cockpit, but feared major damage to his knees that would have ended his baseball career. 

1970: Two-time reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Denny McLain is suspended by commissioner Bowie Kuhn for his involvement in criminal gambling. McLain will be banned for the first three months of the 1970 season before returning to the mound—where he’ll never be the same.

You Say It’s Your Birthday

Athletics pitcher JP Sears is 29; 2010s outfielder Josh Reddick is 38; 18-year pitcher Miguel Batista is 54; four-time 20-game winner Dave Stewart is 68. Born on this date is catcher/manager Russ Nixon (1935), wartime first baseman for the A’s Dick Siebert (1912), and 1880s first baseman John Morrill (1855).

Shameless Link of the Day

Our newest addition to the Ballparks section is St. Louis’ Sportsman’s Park, which lasted in various forms for 100 years and served as home for both the Cardinals and Browns in the 20th Century. Check out the history, backstories and personalities that made this busy ballpark come to life!

And Now For Something Completely Different From TGG Co-Founder Eric Gouldsberry

From 1975-78, my father, Ray Gouldsberry, took photographs of the original San Jose Earthquakes soccer team, an ingeniously marketed collection of colorful players embraced by a growing, sports-starved community which constantly sold out ancient, cozy Spartan Stadium. Shortly after my father’s passing in 2019, I took the negatives of all the precious, invaluable photos he snapped, scanned them, and put together Our Life & Times with the Earthquakes: Images and Memories from the Glory Days of San Jose’s Original Pro Soccer Team. It’s not only a tribute to the Earthquakes and the North American Soccer League, but to my father for capturing all the wonderful memories we shared during our time as season ticket holders of the team through its entire existence (1974-84).

Much like baseball’s Deadball Era, Our Life and Times with the Earthquakes looks at a similar era in soccer history when the game in America was boldly attempting to blaze its own trail clad in flamboyance and imperfection, giving the NASL vivid character. As with those early times of baseball, historical images from the NASL remain scarce and elusive, making Ray Gouldsberry’s photographic collection of the Earthquakes and other star NASL players all the more cherished.

Although the Earthquakes are the primary focus of Our Life and Times with the Earthquakes, the book also spotlights the vibrant and turbulent history of the NASL and its legendary list of stars such as Pelé, Giorgio Chinaglia and George Best (who briefly played for the Earthquakes), all through my father’s photos and the treasure trove of memorabilia I collected during those years.

Formatted at 8.25” x 8.25”, running 200 pages plus cover and containing over 200 photos, 100 images of memorabilia, and a foreword by former Quake and U.S. Soccer Hall of Famer Johnny Moore, Our Life and Times with the Earthquakes is available for purchase on Amazon. Read and enjoy!

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