January 6, 2004: Dennis Eckersley, who pitched for the Red Sox from 1978 to 1984, and then finished his career with Boston in 1998, is elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame; The Eck, who was a starting pitcher during his first seven seasons in Boston, finished his career with 197 wins and 390 saves. [...]

January 5, 1934: A general alarm fire raged at Fenway Park where extensive renovations were underway, burning the third base stands and damaging most of the ballpark; construction crews worked around the clock to get the park ready for Opening Day and Fenway Park was rebuilt along the footprint that exists today. [...]

January 4, 1947: The Red Sox begin installation of seven light towers with 1,120 bulbs that will allow the team top play at night in Fenway Park for the first time, joining the Braves who played night games in 1946; in addition, all of the advertisements are removed from the left-field wall and the wall is painted green to create the "Green Monster" as it is [...]

January 3, 1946: The Red Sox trade infielder Eddie Lake to the Detroit Tigers for veteran slugging first baseman Rudy York; York will be a significant contributor to the 1946 American League pennant-winning Red Sox, driving in 117 runs, and he will serve as the club's hitting coach under manager Pinky Higgins in the 1950s. [...]

January 2, 1992: The Red Sox sign free agent left-handed pitcher Frank Viola, who had won a Cy Young Award with the Minnesota Twins and most recently pitched for the New York Mets, to a three-year contract; a variety of injuries hampers Viola performance with Boston, and he compiles a 25-21 record between 1992 and 1994. [...]