January 17, 1970: The New York Yankees select 17 year-old Fred Lynn as the first round draft choice in the annual amateur draft; Lynn turned down the Yankees offer to attend USC instead and he signs with the Red Sox after they draft him in the second round of the 1973 amateur draft, advancing to the big league club late in the 1974 season. [...]

January 16, 2002: MLB approves the sale of the Boston Red Sox by the JRY Trust to a group headed by John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino; the vote is 29-0, with the New York Yankees abstaining, and John Henry is instructed to sell his controlling interest in the Florida Marlins and his 1% ownership interest in the New York Yankees. [...]

January 15, 1959: Bucky Harris, who had managed for 29 seasons in MLB, is promoted from Assistant GM to GM to replace Joe Cronin who had been named President of the AL; Harris accomplished little during his two seasons as GM, but he did fire Pinky Higgins in July 1959, and promote Pumpsie Green to the big league club as the team's first African-American play [...]

January 14, 2003: The Red Sox claim outfielder Kevin Millar, who is otherwise bound for the Chunichi Dragons in Japan, on waivers from the Florida Marlins; Millar rewarded the Red Sox for rescuing him from obscurity by slugging 25 home runs in 2003, and playing a major role with the 2004 World Championship team. [...]

January 13, 2009: The Red Sox sign long-time Atlanta Braves ace John Smoltz to a one-year contract with a $5.5 million base salary; Smoltz, who had won 210 games and saved 154 more as a closer during his 20 years in Atlanta, is released by the Red Sox in August after going 2-5 with an ERA of 8.33. [...]