This day in baseball ● On this day
January 17
The record for January 17 in baseball history — 64 births and 33 deaths.
No milestones or firsts are on record for January 17 — but the players below were born and lost on it.
Born on this day
b. January 17, 1867 · Second baseman for the Chicago Colts, 1890 to 1893.
b. January 17, 1878 · Center fielder who batted .273 across three clubs, 1901 to 1908.
b. January 17, 1882 · Catcher across two clubs, 1914 to 1915.
b. January 17, 1882 · Second baseman for the Brooklyn Superbas, 1908 to 1908.
b. January 17, 1886 · Center fielder for the Kansas City Packers, 1914 to 1914.
b. January 17, 1889 · A catcher who drew crowds for hitting the ball a long way, thirteen of whose seventeen seasons fall outside the counted record.
b. January 17, 1889 · Left fielder who batted .352 across three clubs, 1914 to 1925.
b. January 17, 1896 · Catcher for the New York Yankees, 1913 to 1913.
b. January 17, 1911 · Center fielder who batted .288 across two clubs, 1933 to 1942.
b. January 17, 1925 · Baseball figure for the St. Louis Browns, 1943 to 1943.
b. January 17, 1931 · Shortstop who batted .235 across six clubs, 1954 to 1965.
b. January 17, 1935 · Catcher who batted .244 across four clubs, 1957 to 1965.
b. January 17, 1952 · Went into rehabilitation in the middle of his best years and was the World Series MVP two seasons later.
b. January 17, 1960 · Switch-hitting designated hitter who hit 350 home runs across six clubs, three times an All-Star.
b. January 17, 1975 · First baseman who batted .279 across four clubs, 1997 to 2004.
b. January 17, 1985 · Pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays, 2011 to 2012.
b. January 17, 1985 · Second baseman who batted .237 across three clubs, 2008 to 2016.
b. January 17, 1987 · First baseman for the San Diego Padres, 2015 to 2015.
b. January 17, 1989 · Pitcher for the Seattle Mariners, 2011 to 2014.
b. January 17, 1989 · Pitcher across three clubs, 2014 to 2017.
b. January 17, 1990 · Pitcher for the San Diego Padres, 2014 to 2015.
b. January 17, 1991 · Right-hander who won the 2020 National League Cy Young Award with Cincinnati and has not pitched in the majors since 2021.
b. January 17, 1994 · Pitcher across three clubs, 2019 to 2025.
b. January 17, 1995 · Catcher across two clubs, 2019 to 2025.
64 players were born on January 17; these are the 24 best known.
Died on this day
d. January 17, 1917 · Catcher across three clubs, 1893 to 1903.
d. January 17, 1932 · Catcher for the Cincinnati Reds, 1913 to 1913.
d. January 17, 1950 · Second baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1922 to 1925.
d. January 17, 1957 · Second baseman for the Washington Senators, 1915 to 1916.
d. January 17, 1961 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1932 to 1935.
d. January 17, 1964 · Pitcher for the St. Louis Browns, 1897 to 1897.
d. January 17, 1965 · Left fielder for the Milwaukee Bears, 1923 to 1923.
d. January 17, 1967 · Pitcher for the Boston Doves, 1908 to 1908.
d. January 17, 1970 · Pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, 1940 to 1940.
d. January 17, 1974 · Pitcher for the Baltimore Elite Giants, 1945 to 1946.
d. January 17, 1975 · First baseman across four clubs, 1937 to 1945.
d. January 17, 1976 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1905 to 1910.
d. January 17, 1977 · Pitcher for the St. Louis Browns, 1924 to 1927.
d. January 17, 1981 · Baseball figure for the Boston Braves, 1930 to 1930.
d. January 17, 1987 · Shortstop who batted .262 for the Philadelphia Athletics, 1943 to 1945.
d. January 17, 1987 · Shortstop for the Kansas City Monarchs, 1944 to 1944.
d. January 17, 1991 · Pitcher for the New York Yankees, 1939 to 1943.
d. January 17, 1993 · Third baseman across two clubs, 1937 to 1945.
d. January 17, 1995 · Pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, 1948 to 1948.
d. January 17, 2004 · Pitcher who won 133 games with a 2.92 ERA across two clubs, 1940 to 1953.
d. January 17, 2004 · Pitcher across three clubs, 1952 to 1958.
d. January 17, 2006 · Second baseman across two clubs, 1939 to 1942.
d. January 17, 2008 · First baseman for the Detroit Tigers, 1943 to 1948.
d. January 17, 2026 · Started 49 games in 1972 and 48 the next year, which nobody has come close to since.
33 players died on January 17; these are the 24 best known.