What’s Happening in Baseball Today

January 18, 2021: The First Pitch

On a quiet baseball Sunday in the middle of January, the big news of the day had the Red Sox re-signing pitcher Martin Perez to a one-year contract worth $4.5 million with a team option for a second year at $6 million (or a $500,000 buyout). The left-hander who turns 30 shortly after the ‘scheduled until further notice’ Opening Day of April 1 was 3-5 with a 4.50 ERA in 2020, his first year with the Red Sox, numbers which aren’t far off line from his career totals of 56-61 and 4.71.

It Was Whatever-Something Years Ago Today

1947: The Pirates purchase Hank Greenberg from the Tigers. The aging slugger only agrees to the deal after learning that the Pirates are moving in the left-field fences at voluminous Forbes Field.

Shameless Link of the Day

Here’s a look at Forbes Field, the ballpark Hank Greenberg hesitated to call home until the Pirates reduced the dimensions.

You Say It’s Your Birthday

Atlanta pitcher Max Fried is 27; Minnesota pitcher Michael Pineda is 32; former Astros hurler Wandy Rodriguez is 42; two-time All-Star catcher Mike Lieberthal is 49; 50-homer leadoff guy Brady Anderson is 57; 138-game winner Scott McGregor is 67; TGG interview subject Billy Grabarkewitz is 75. Born on this date is pitcher Carl Morton (1944) and Gold Glove outfielder/reserve clause destroyer Curt Flood (1938),

Welcome to the New This Great Game

We’ve updated the look, the feel and the technology; mobile users will be pleased to know that the site is now responsive, which means no more pinching in or out. For more details on what we’ve done, check this out.