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45 Fact(s) Found
| 1903 | Waco Steers hurler Clyde Bateman makes baseball history again this season when he fires a no-hitter, beating the Fort Worth Panthers, 2-0. In May, the 26-year-old Texan hit four home runs to become only the second player in Texas League history to accomplish the feat. |
| 1914 | Red Sox hurler Babe Ruth, making his major league debut, beats the Indians, 4-3. Duffy Lewis, pinch-hitting for the 19-year-old rookie southpaw, singles in the seventh inning, giving the future slugger the first of his 94 victories in 140 decisions. |
| 1925 | At Sportsman's Park, George Sisler becomes a one-man wrecking crew when he comes to the plate with the bases loaded in back-to-back frames in the Browns' 10-5 victory over Washington. The St. Louis first baseman drives in seven runs in two innings, tripling with the bases jammed in the third and hitting a grand slam in the fourth. |
| 1939 | All three runs in the American League's 3-1 All-Star Game victory are driven in by a Yankee player when their ballpark in the Bronx hosts to the Midsummer Classic. The 20-year-old Indians fireballer Bob Feller steals the show at Yankee Stadium when he hurls 3â…” scoreless innings. |
| 1944 | At Pittsburgh's Forbes Field, Phil Cavaretta sets an All-Star Game record by reaching base five consecutive times. The 27-year-old Cub first baseman's triple, single, and three walks helped the National League beat the Junior Circuit, 7-1. |
| 1950 |
The Midsummer Classic returns to Comiskey Park, the game's first venue, with the National League winning, 4-3, thanks to Red Schoendienst's 14th-inning home run. The All-Star Game features many firsts:
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| 1953 | At Ebbets Field, Giant rookie Al Worthington throws a four-hitter, blanking the Dodgers, 6-0, marking the only game this season Brooklyn does not score a run and ends Brooklyn's record NL streak of homering in 24 consecutive games. The 24-year-old right-hander's whitewashing makes the National League freshman the first to throw successive shutouts at the start of a career, a feat that Karl Spooner will also match next season. |
| 1954 |
Jim Command, known as Igor to his teammates, gets his first major league hit, a grand slam off Carl Erskine, and in the nightcap, he doubles in another run. The 25-year-old infielders' offensive output during the twin bill will account for five of the six major league RBIs of his brief 14-game career, with the final one recorded in a July 15 contest.
(Ed. Note: Our thanks to frequent contributor D. Karpinski for correcting the date of the twin bill and the occurrence of Igor's final RBI. -LP) |
| 1954 | In the first game of a doubleheader, Giants right fielder Don Mueller hits for the cycle in the team’s 13-7 victory over the Pirates at the Polo Grounds. 'Mandrake the Magician,’ who homers in his final at-bat to complete the deed, will be the only major league player to accomplish the feat this season. |
| 1958 |
The Los Angeles city council declares today 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game Day' to celebrate the iconic baseball song's fiftieth anniversary. In a pregame ceremony at the LA Memorial Coliseum, the Dodgers honor lyricist Jack Norworth, presenting him with a lifetime pass to any American or National League game.
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| 1961 | On a windy day at Candlestick Park, the NL beats the American League, 5-4, in the first two All-Star Games. The contest features a record seven errors and the memorable sight of a 165-pound pitcher Stu Miller balking after being blown off the mound by a gust of wind, an exaggerated fact perpetrated over the years, according to the right-hander. |
| 1967 |
Reds' first baseman Tony Perez's homer off A's right-hander Catfish Hunter gives the Senior Circuit a 2-1 All-Star victory over the American League. The 15-inning Anaheim Stadium contest is the longest Midsummer Classic contest ever played.
(Ed. Note: Mets freshman Tom Seaver, the National League’s eventual Rookie of Year, tosses a scoreless fifteenth frame to save Don Drysdale’s victory. - LP) |
| 1968 | A ground-breaking ceremony for the Harry S. Truman Sports Complex in Kansas City will feature separate side-by-side stadiums built explicitly for baseball and football. Arrowhead Stadium, home of the NFL's Chiefs, will open in 1972, followed by the debut a year later of Royals Stadium, the new home ballpark of the American League's franchise in the City of Fountains. |
| 1968 | After whiffing in the first inning, Bill Hands grounds out in his next at-bat, ending his major league record-setting streak for consecutive strikeouts. The Cubs' right-hander, who goes the distance, blanking New York at Shea Stadium, 2-0, sets the dubious mark when he strikes out in fourteen straight plate appearances. |
| 1968 | Rick Renick becomes the first Twin player to homer in his first major league at-bat when he goes deep off Mickey Lolich in Minnesota's 5-4 victory over Detroit at Metropolitan Stadium. The 24-year-old shortstop's second-inning solo shot will be the first of 20 round-trippers he'll hit during his five-year career, spent entirely with the Twin Cities team. |
| 1972 |
After collecting three hits in the first game of a twin bill at Wrigley Field, Billy Williams adds five safeties in the nightcap, going 8-for-8 in the doubleheader split with the Astros. The Cub outfielder's accomplishment falls short of the major league mark of nine, shared by nine players, with Lee Thomas of the Angels the last to accomplish the feat in 1961.
(Ed. Note: En route to 22-for-38 performance at the plate, Sweet Swingin' Billy continues his torrid hitting streak by collecting seven hits in ten at-bats in his next two contests. - LP) |
| 1973 | Jim Northrup knocks in eight runs, scoring three times when the Tigers rout the Rangers, 14-2. The 3-for-4 performance by the Tigers' leadoff hitter helps him record his career's 500th run and RBI. |
| 1976 | Hank Aaron becomes the oldest major leaguer (42 years, five months, seven days) to hit a walk-off homer when he goes deep in the bottom of the tenth inning off Steve Foucault in the Brewers' 5-4 victory over Texas at County Stadium. The 'Hammer' will hold the elderly distinction until Cleveland's Jason Giambi hits a pinch-hit game-winning round-tripper in 2013, who is a month and 15 days older than Henry when he accomplishes the feat. |
| 1976 | At Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, thirty-four couples marry at home plate, and a wrestling championship match takes place in a promotion billed as Headlocks and Wedlocks. The Braves take down the Mets, 9-8. |
| 1978 | Steve Garvey becomes the first two-time MVP in All-Star history. The Dodger first baseman's game-tying, two-run single, and a triple help the National League beat the AL, 7-3, in the Jack Murphy Stadium contest. |
| 1980 | Rangers General Manager Eddie Robinson considers the deal a bargain when he obtains an underachieving Charlie Hough from the Dodgers at the waiver wire price of $20,000. The 32-year-old knuckleballer will not disappoint, spending 11 seasons with Texas, posting a 139-123 record and an ERA of 3.68. |
| 1985 |
At the Astrodome, Astros starter Nolan Ryan fans Mets outfielder Danny Heep to become the first major leaguer to record 4000 career strikeouts. The 'Ryan Express' will end his 27-year Hall of Fame career whiffing 5,714 batters, establishing a major league mark unlikely to be challenged.
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| 1987 | Billy Ripken debuts with the Orioles, making his dad, Cal Sr., the first major league baseball skipper to manage two of his sons in the same game. The rookie second baseman and his brother Cal Jr., the team's shortstop, collectively go 0-for-7 in Baltimore's 2-1 loss to the Twins at Memorial Stadium. |
| 1989 |
In a contest best remembered for the Ruthian blast by Bo Jackson, the game's MVP who will join Willie Mays as the second player to hit a home run and steal a base in an All-Star Game, the American League beats the NL's best players, 5-3, at Anaheim Stadium. During the first inning of the Midsummer Classic, former US President and one-time baseball announcer Ronald Reagan joins Vin Scully in the NBC broadcast booth.
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| 1994 | Handling four chances in the 8-1 defeat to the Rockies, Cardinal infielder Ozzie Smith passes Luis Aparicio and moves into the top spot on the all-time list for assists by a shortstop. 'The Wizard of Oz' ends his 19-year career in 1996 with 8,375 assists. |
| 1995 |
"Don't be like me, God gave me a body and ability to play baseball. I had everything, and I just..." - MICKEY MANTLE, Yankee legend lamenting the effects of his hard living. Mickey Mantle makes his first public appearance since undergoing a liver transplant in June. The frail-looking Yankee legend, who will die next month, tells the dozens of people attending the Baylor University Medical Center press conference that he is not a hero but an example of the worst sort. |
| 1995 |
At the Ballpark in Arlington, Marlins outfielder Jeff Conine, the tenth player to homer in his first All-Star at-bat, Craig Biggio, and Mike Piazza go deep for the Senior Circuit. Frank Thomas becomes the first White Sox player to hit a round-tripper in the Midsummer Classic when the NL out-homers the American League, 3-2.
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| 1996 |
The United States Postal Service issues' Mighty Casey", commemorative that depicts the title character of Ernest L. Thayer's immortal poem, 'Casey at the Bat.' The maligned Mudville outfielder joins Paul Bunyan, John Henry, and Pecos Bill in a pane of four postage stamps commemorating American folk heroes.
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| 1998 | Padre reliever Trevor Hoffman, brother of Dodger manager Glenn Hoffman, saves the Padres' 4-1 victory at Chavez Ravine. The reliever's appearance marks the first time a player has faced his sibling as the opposing team's skipper in major league history. |
| 1999 | The first MLB Futures Game provides a stage for future major-league All-Star Alfonso Soriano to shine when the Yankees farmhand goes 2 for 3, hitting two of the game's three home runs in the World's 7-0 victory over the USA at Fenway Park. The former Hiroshima Carp infielder, who now plays shortstop for the Columbus Clippers, is named the contest's MVP. |
| 2000 | At Turner Field, the AL beats the National League, 6-3, in the 71st All-Star contest, dubbed the All-Scar game due to the many stars absent from both lineups because of injuries. Yankees' shortstop Derek Jeter and Braves' third baseman Chipper Jones provide the offensive punch, each going 3-for-3. |
| 2002 | The Marlins are busy on the trading block, making separate deals with the Expos and the Reds. Florida deals Ryan Dempster to Cincinnati for Juan Encarnacion, getting four players, Carl Pavano, Graeme Lloyd, Mike Mordecai, and prospect Justin Wayne from Montreal for Cliff Floyd, Wilton Guerrero, and prospect Claudio Vargas. |
| 2002 | The Indians fire Charlie Manuel and name third-base coach Joel Skinner as the interim manager, releasing their skipper after he issued an ultimatum to the front office about his status. Before his dismissal, the 58-year-old guided the team to a 39-47 record, 9.5 games behind the first-place Twins in the AL Central. |
| 2004 | Carlos Beltran, selected to be an American League All-Star, will now have an opportunity to patrol the NL outfield instead. The former Royals' flycatcher, traded to the Astros last month, was invited by Senior Circuit skipper Jack McKeon to replace Ken Griffey, Jr., on the star-studded roster. |
| 2006 | Against the St. Joe (Mo.) Blacksnakes, Jim Eriotes leads off and strikes out for the Sioux Falls Canaries, including fouling off one of the four pitches he sees. The at-bat makes the 83-year-old former minor leaguer the oldest man to play in a professional baseball game. |
| 2006 | One strike away from ending the American League's decade of dominance, Trevor Hoffman yields a two-run triple to Michael Young of the Texas Rangers, giving the American League a come-from-behind 3-2 All-Star Game victory at Pittsburgh's picturesque PNC Park. The timely three-bagger off the National League closer keeps the Junior Circuit unbeaten in the Midsummer Classic since 1997, compiling a 9-0-1 record. |
| 2006 |
Before starting the fifth inning of the All-Star Game in Pittsburgh's PNC Park, Vera Clemente is escorted onto the field by 1960 World Series hero Bill Mazeroski to accept the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award on behalf of her late husband. With the scoreboard showing Roberto's replays, tears flowing from AL skipper Ozzie Guillen, and the heartfelt ovation from the crowd, the ceremony honoring the Pirates' Hall of Famer becomes a truly memorable moment in the history of the Midsummer Classic.
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| 2009 |
On a rare 9-2 put out, Red Sox's right fielder JD Drew forces KC's backstop Miguel Olivo at home plate in the sixth inning. The unusual play dampens the Royals' comeback attempt in their eventual 15-9 loss to Boston at Fenway Park.
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| 2010 | After firing Sean Berry as the club's hitting coach, the struggling Astros name Jeff Bagwell to fill the position for the remainder of the season. The former All-Star first baseman, who retired with a lifetime .297 batting average, is the all-time team leader with 449 home runs and 1,529 RBIs. |
| 2010 |
At Wilmington's (DE) Frawley Stadium, the Carolina League's Blue Rocks, the Royals' minor league A+ affiliate, celebrate Mr. Celery's tenth birthday, the team's beloved mascot known for only appearing when the team scores. The inception of the 'stalker,' known for his CEL-ebratory dances to Blur's 'Song 2' (Woo Hoo), stems from the discovery of a dusty celery costume housed in a warehouse for years.
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| 2010 | Longtime Yankees public address announcer Bob Sheppard dies at 99. The 'Voice of God,' a nickname bestowed by Reggie Jackson, informed patrons of the lineups and the players coming to bat in over 4,500 contests during his 56 years behind the ballpark's microphone in the Bronx. |
| 2011 | Robinson Cano, the fourth straight left-handed swinger to win the competition, beats Adrian Gonzalez with 12 dingers in the final round of the Home Run Derby. The highlight of the three-hour-long contest comes when the Yankee slugger gives his father, a former major league hurler with the Astros, a huge bear hug on the mound and tells his pitcher, "I love you, Dad," after he ties the Red Sox first baseman for the lead. |
| 2015 |
On her 108th birthday, Evelyn Jones becomes the oldest person to throw the first ceremonial pitch when she tosses the ball a short distance from home plate to Felix Hernandez. The fans serenade the centenarian, wearing a Seattle jersey featuring her name and the number 108, to a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday at Safeco Field.
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| 2021 | Pablo Lopez breaks the major league record for most strikeouts at the start of a game, whiffing the first nine Braves batters he faces in the Marlins' 7-4 victory at loanDepot park. The 25-year-old right-hander, marking a year since his father died unexpectedly of a heart attack, surpasses the previous mark of eight shared by Jim Deshaies (1986 Astros), Jacob deGrom (2014 Mets), and German Marquez (2018 Rockies). |
| 2021 | Successfully defending his Home Run Derby crown, Pete Alonso blasts 23 home runs in the finals, defeating Orioles' first baseman Trey Mancini. The Mets slugger established a first-round record with 35 home runs in the Coors Field contest. |
45 Fact(s) Found