What’s Happening in Baseball Today

The First Pitch: January 24, 2025

The Atlanta Braves make their first big offseason acquisition, signing veteran outfielder Jurickson Profar to a three-year deal worth $42 million. The 31-year-old Curacao native earned his first All-Star appointment last season with San Diego, batting .280 with career highs in home runs (24), RBIs (85), runs (94), and walks (76); he also led the NL with 18 hit-by-pitches. As good as he was during the regular season, Profar made more of a buzz dealing with Dodger fans during the 2024 NLDS.

It Was Whatever-Something Years Ago Today

1962: The Southern Association disbands after 61 years. Falling attendance is to blame, but so perhaps is the circuit’s unwillingness to desegregate; only one African-American played in the league, and very briefly.

You Say It’s Your Birthday

Free agent pitcher Jose Quintana is 36; free agent infielder White Merrifield is 36; early Tampa Bay ace Scott Kazmir is 41; 1990 Nasty Boys closer Rob Dibble is 61. Born on this date is self-proclaimed “Ugliest Face in Baseball” Johnny Dickshot (1910), 105-game winner Flint Rhem (1901), and 1920s outfielder Cliff Heathcote (1898).

Shameless Link of the Day

Take a look at the 10 best hitters and pitchers from each league in 1926.

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!

Temporarily Hacked

Our This Great Game Facebook page remains in a frozen state following a recent hack, while we attempt to revive it amid a lack of customer support. (Facebook literally has no customer support. None.) Be aware of receiving any messages from the FB page, until we get it sorted out.

To Whom It May Concern

We are proud of what we have built at This Great Game, but we also admit it is not perfect. Occasionally, fans from all walks of life check in and point out errors, and we are grateful to these external editors. Our site is all the better because of you.

Also, we have had many folks chime in on our various lists in the Lists and Teams sections, many of them disagreeing with some of our choices. Since all lists are made to be argued, this is to be expected. If your arguments are respectful, we will respond in kind and join in a civilized debate—and we’ll often see your viewpoints, since no list should qualify as The Gospel. But if your responses contain the sort of vitriol found so often these days in social media circles, you’re going to get ignored. So please, respond respectfully, engage in polite conversation with us, and enjoy the site!