Gaylord Perry is the only pitcher in MLB history with exactly 314 wins.
Reggie Smith is the only hitter in MLB history with exactly 314 home runs.
In his career against Perry, Smith recorded:
• 3 doubles
• 1 home run
• 4 RBI
Happy Pi Day to those who observe.
Born on this day in 1942 was Hall of Famer Dick Allen. The Wampum Walloper was a perennial leader among major league players in both swagger and general badassery.
Infielders in major league history with at least 300 HR, 500 2B and 1500 RBI — fewer than 2800 career games played:
• Lou Gehrig (2164 GP)
• Rogers Hornsby (2259)
• Jeff Kent (2298) 🎂
• Chipper Jones (2499)
• George Brett (2707)
• Tony Pérez (2777)
🎂 Happy 58th Birthday!
3/1/1954: Ted Williams fractures his collarbone during the first day of Spring Training. The undaunted slugger will make his first starts that season in a May 16th doubleheader, going 8 for 9 with 2 HR and 7 RBI. That season Ted would lead the league in walks, OBP, SLG + OPS…because Ted.
Player A/Player B:
2B - 208/203
3B - 90/50
HR - 38/77
RBI - 623/728
BA - .358/.350
OBP - .407/.434
SLG - .502/.524
Player A is Ty Cobb (first 911 games).
Player B is Jud Wilson (911 career games).
Both men served in World War I.
Wilson was born on this day in 1894.
Born in Elba, Nebraska on this day in 1887 was Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander. In his storied career Old Pete recorded 122 complete games with ZERO walks, most in AL/NL history.
92 complete games have been recorded among all MLB pitchers since 2023.
Over a span of 12 starts from 6/2 - 7/30 of 1968, Bob Gibson recorded 12 complete games, 12 wins, and 8 shutouts.
Since 2022, no major league team has more than 11 complete games or 6 shutouts.
In 2025, 12 MLB teams did not feature a pitcher with 12 or more wins.
2/21/1986: Rollie Fingers turns down a spring training invitation from the Reds, stating he will not part with his iconic mustache due to team policy.
The audacity…
2/21/1969: Hall of Fame outfielder Ted Williams signs on to manage the Washington Senators and suddenly there’s quite the cache of coaching star power in our nation’s capital.
2/20/1923: Christy Mathewson becomes president and owner of the Boston Braves. As a player Matty posted a 1.14 ERA with 411 strikeouts against the franchise (the latter being a Modern Era record), so nothing really changes.
2/19/1953: Ted Williams crash-lands his F9F Panther jet following a mission in Korea, resulting from anti-aircraft fire.
The Splendid Splinter would hit 13 home runs and bat .407 over 37 games after returning to the diamond that August.
Dave Stewart recorded 36 or more starts in every season from 1987 through 1990. Among major league pitchers since 1999 only Tom Glavine (2002), Roy Halladay (2003), and Greg Maddux (2003) have recorded at least 36 starts in a single season.
Smoke turns 69 years young today.
2/17/1943: Joe DiMaggio enlists in the U.S. Army Air Forces. Joltin’ Joe is 1 of 3 batters in major league history to record 350+ HR and 1300+ RBI with an average above .300 while losing 3 or more seasons devoted to military service.
The other two are Ted Williams and Johnny Mize.
Born on this day in 1866 was Hall of Fame outfielder Billy Hamilton. Sliding Billy would become the first of two players in major league history with at least 600 stolen bases and 600 bases on balls before turning 30 — the other (to the surprise of no one) is Rickey Henderson.
Ted Williams says
2/12/1878: Harvard University Baseball Club captain Frederick W. Thayer patents the catcher’s mask, two years before Edison receives a patent for the light bulb.
2/12/1954: Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente both go yard to secure a win for the All-Star North team in the Puerto Rican Winter League annual fund-raiser.
In the ‘55 major league season, Mays leads all batters in triples and home runs; Clemente makes his debut for the Pirates.
Red Sox centerfielder Dom DiMaggio was born on this day in 1917. Overshadowed by some talented connections, the Little Professor was a lifetime .298 hitter over eleven major league seasons, seven of which featured All-Star recognition.
2/11/1994: Robin Yount calls it a career. The future first-ballot Hall of Famer is one of four major league batters to record at least 125 triples, 250 home runs, 500 doubles, and 3000 hits. The other three are Stan Musial, Willie Mays, and fellow 1999 HOF inductee George Brett.
2/10/1945: Jimmie Foxx signs with the Philadelphia Phillies. The days of prodigious power now squarely in the past, Foxx will see action on the mound. Double X posted an ERA of 1.59 over 22.2 innings in what would be his final major league season.
2/9/1976: Oscar Charleston is selected for Hall of Fame induction by the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues. A career .365 hitter over 18 seasons, Charleston would post a 162-game average of 25 home runs, 151 RBI and 37 stolen bases.
2/8/1991: Roger Clemens signs a four-year contract extension with the Red Sox. The Rocket will accumulate more strikeouts, bWAR and ERA titles in his Boston tenure alone (13 seasons) than HOF hurler Jim Palmer in his entire 19-year career.
2/7/1908: St. Louis (AL) purchases Rube Waddell from the Philadelphia Athletics for $5000. Waddell would strike out 232 batters and post a 1.51 FIP in his 1908 campaign. Since 1911, only Pedro Martínez has bested these marks in a single season (313 K/1.39 FIP in 1999).
Babe Ruth’s slugging percentage by month (career):
.638 - April/March
.702 - May
.710 - June
.712 - July
.664 - August
.679 - Sept/Oct
324 MLB hitters recorded 200 or more at bats in 2025 — only Judge slugged above .630.
Ruth, born OTD in 1895, had at least 640 at bats in any given month.
Hank Aaron recorded 20 seasons with 20+ home runs — only five players in MLB history (including Aaron) recorded more than 20 seasons with 100+ games played.
To me, Aaron’s most enduring attribute was his poise in the presence of adversity; a beacon of humanity.
Hammer was born OTD in 1934.
Left-handed batters to slash 300/400/580 or better at Fenway Park (min 600 PA):
• Babe Ruth
• Lou Gehrig
• Ted Williams
• Fred Lynn 🎂
• David Ortiz
Lynn slashed 347/420/601 over 1833 plate appearances at Fenway.
🎂 Happy 74th Birthday!
2/3/1979: The Minnesota Twins trade Rod Carew, who will post a .393 on-base percentage with the California Angels (second only to Mike Trout in franchise history among batters with ≥ 3500 PA).
Carew posted a (tied) franchise-best .393 on-base percentage over 6980 PA with the Twins.
1/31/1952: Harry Heilmann is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Over a span of 17 major league seasons, the four-time batting champ never struck out more than 54 times in any of them.
In the 2025 MLB season, nine batters recorded 54 or more games with multiple strikeouts.
1/31/1965: James Francis Galvin is selected for Hall of Fame induction by the Special Veteran’s Committee. In his 1883 campaign, Pud notched 72 complete games over 75 starts.
There have been 57 complete games in the majors since the 2024 season began (a span of 9718 starts).
It is unconscionable that January 31st is not a national holiday.
