This day in baseball ● On this day
January 21
The record for January 21 in baseball history — 61 births and 37 deaths.
No milestones or firsts are on record for January 21 — but the players below were born and lost on it.
Born on this day
b. January 21, 1851 · Third baseman across five clubs, 1871 to 1875.
b. January 21, 1862 · Right fielder for the Brooklyn Ward's Wonders, 1890 to 1890.
b. January 21, 1873 · Pitcher for the Boston Beaneaters, 1894 to 1894.
b. January 21, 1880 · Third baseman who batted .251 for the Brooklyn Superbas, 1904 to 1907.
b. January 21, 1881 · Pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, 1902 to 1902.
b. January 21, 1885 · Right fielder who batted .265 across four clubs, 1913 to 1925.
b. January 21, 1892 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1915 to 1921.
b. January 21, 1895 · Right fielder for the Boston Braves, 1924 to 1925.
b. January 21, 1906 · Left fielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers, 1934 to 1934.
b. January 21, 1909 · Left fielder for the New York Yankees, 1930 to 1930.
b. January 21, 1913 · Center fielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1939 to 1940.
b. January 21, 1914 · Shortstop for the Philadelphia Stars, 1937 to 1938.
b. January 21, 1914 · Pitcher across three clubs, 1944 to 1951.
b. January 21, 1937 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1966 to 1967.
b. January 21, 1947 · Second baseman who batted .267 across four clubs, 1972 to 1985.
b. January 21, 1947 · Pitcher across six clubs, 1969 to 1975.
b. January 21, 1955 · Pitcher with 216 career saves across two clubs, 1980 to 1992.
b. January 21, 1960 · Pitcher across three clubs, 1982 to 1991.
b. January 21, 1960 · Right fielder who batted .243 across two clubs, 1981 to 1987.
b. January 21, 1966 · Was out of baseball for a year at thirty-five, came back as a reliever, and had a 0.95 earned run average in 2002 at thirty-six.
b. January 21, 1972 · Pitcher across three clubs, 1995 to 2003.
b. January 21, 1987 · Shortstop who batted .249 across two clubs, 2011 to 2024.
b. January 21, 1987 · Shortstop who batted .222 across six clubs, 2011 to 2018.
b. January 21, 1995 · Pitcher for the Colorado Rockies, 2017 to 2025.
61 players were born on January 21; these are the 24 best known.
Died on this day
d. January 21, 1895 · Catcher for the Brooklyn Gladiators, 1890 to 1890.
d. January 21, 1943 · Catcher who spent almost his entire career with the Chicago American Giants across eighteen seasons.
d. January 21, 1959 · Pitcher who won 139 games with a 2.47 ERA across two clubs, 1904 to 1915.
d. January 21, 1965 · Catcher who batted .225 for the Boston Braves, 1913 to 1915.
d. January 21, 1969 · Pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, 1932 to 1932.
d. January 21, 1970 · Catcher across two clubs, 1928 to 1932.
d. January 21, 1970 · Pitcher for the Brooklyn Robins, 1922 to 1923.
d. January 21, 1972 · Right fielder for the Brooklyn Robins, 1924 to 1925.
d. January 21, 1974 · Left fielder who batted .260 across three clubs, 1913 to 1917.
d. January 21, 1980 · Left fielder who batted .295 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1920 to 1928.
d. January 21, 1980 · Left fielder for the Boston Red Sox, 1931 to 1931.
d. January 21, 1982 · Shortstop for the New York Giants, 1920 to 1920.
d. January 21, 1989 · Brooklyn and Los Angeles right fielder who batted .299 with 1,910 hits, twice an All-Star.
d. January 21, 1992 · Catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics, 1923 to 1923.
d. January 21, 1993 · Nineteen seasons at second base for Detroit and for nobody else, played so quietly that his own teammates called him the Mechanical Man.
d. January 21, 1995 · Went 26-20 with four shutouts across his two busiest seasons for Pittsburgh.
d. January 21, 1996 · Second baseman for the Minnesota Twins, 1972 to 1973.
d. January 21, 1997 · Baseball figure for the Boston Red Sox, 1931 to 1931.
d. January 21, 2005 · Pitcher for the Cincinnati Redlegs, 1954 to 1955.
d. January 21, 2010 · Shortstop who batted .240 across two clubs, 1940 to 1948.
d. January 21, 2010 · Left fielder who batted .213 across three clubs, 1967 to 1974.
d. January 21, 2010 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1941 to 1946.
d. January 21, 2012 · Pitcher across three clubs, 1948 to 1953.
d. January 21, 2022 · Pitcher across two clubs, 1953 to 1956.
37 players died on January 21; these are the 24 best known.