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This Day in Baseball History
July 12th

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41 Fact(s) Found
1890 In his only major league game, Mr. Lewis (first name unknown) yields 13 hits, walks seven batters, and allows 20 earned runs during the three innings of his major league debut at Brooklyn's Eastern Park. The rookie's performance contributes to the last-place Buffalo Bisons' 28-16 loss to the Wonders in the Players' League contest.
1897 Louisville's Tom McCreery hits three home runs, providing the difference in the Colonels' 10-7 victory over the Phillies at the Baker Bowl. The outfielder's round-trippers are of the inside-the-park variety, and all are given up by Philadelphia right-hander Jack Taylor.
1901 At Boston's Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds, Cy Young of the Americans seven-hits the A's, 5-3, to win his 300th victory. The 34-year-old will win an additional 211 games to establish an amazing major league record of 511 career victories.
1906 At Robison Field, Sherry Magee establishes a franchise record by swiping four bases in the Phillies' 7-6 loss to St. Louis. The Philadelphia outfielder's mark, a feat he will repeat next month, will be equaled by Garry Maddox (1978) and Jayson Werth (2009).
1910 The legendary verse detailing the Cubs' double-play combination of Tinker to Evers to Chance, entitled That Double Play Again, is published for the first time. When the 'New York Evening Mail' republishes the same poem six days later, the newspaper will use the title by which the poem is best known, Baseball's Sad Lexicon.

1911 For the second time in his career, Ty Cobb completes the stolen base cycle in one inning when he steals second, third, and home in the first frame of the Tigers' 9-0 Bennett Park victory over Philadelphia. The 'Georgia Peach' will accomplish the feat four times, establishing a major league mark shared with Honus Wagner.
1931 Thanks to an overflow crowd at Sportsman Park, routine fly balls become ground-rule doubles when the ball lands among the fans ringing the outfield walls. After collecting nine two-baggers in the opener, the Cubs and Cardinals combined to hit another twenty-three, including a record 13 by the Redbirds, in the nightcap, setting a major league mark of thirty-two doubles in the twin bill.
1938 In a game against the Senators, Indian second baseman Odell Hale dramatically completes his cycle when his two-out, two-run round-tripper knots the score at eight runs apiece in the ninth inning. Washington wins the Griffith Stadium contest in the bottom of the frame, scoring the walk-off tally on a sacrifice fly delivered by Sam West.
1943 An Armed Forces All-Star team, managed by Babe Ruth and featuring Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams, plays a fund-raising game against the Braves in Boston. The All-Stars win on a Splendid Splinter's home run, 9-8.
1945 Tommy Holmes goes 0-for-4 in the Braves' 6-1 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field to end his consecutive-game hitting streak at 37, which sets a modern National League record. The mark will stand for 33 years until Pete Rose surpasses it in 1978 en route to establishing a new standard of 44, remaining a game shy of the record set by Willie Keeler's 45-game streak over the 1896 and 1897 seasons with the NL's Baltimore Orioles.
1946 Johnny Sain faces only 28 batters when the Braves beat the hometown Reds at Crosley Field, 1-0. The only blemish on the right-hander's performance in the 96-minute contest is Grady Hatton's first-inning, two-out double, a popup behind third base that drops among three fielders.
1949 The major league owners agree to install warning tracks made of cinder in front of outfield fences before the start of the season next year. The concept began at Yankee Stadium, where an actual running track, used in the ballpark's track and field events, helped fielders know their proximity to the outfield fence when attempting to make a play.
1949 The first All-Star Game featuring black players occurs at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field. Dodgers Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, and Don Newcombe represent the National League in an 11-7 loss to Indians outfielder Larry Doby and his AL teammates.
1951 At Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Yankee right-hander Allie Reynolds faces only 29 batters en route to no-hitting the Indians, 1-0, thanks to Gene Woodling's solo home run off Bob Feller in the seventh inning. The 'Chief' retires the last seventeen batters to face him, striking out Bobby Avila to end the game.
1955 At Milwaukee's County Stadium, Cardinal outfielder Stan Musial comes to bat, leading off the bottom of the 12th inning of a 5-5 All-Star deadlock. After Yankee catcher Yogi Berra complains about his feet hurting, 'The Man' tells him, "Don't worry, I'll have you home in a minute," then promptly hits a game-winning home run off Frank Sullivan on the next pitch.

1962 Exactly one month after accomplishing the feat for the first time, the Aaron brothers both homer again in the same game, giving Milwaukee an exciting 8-6 victory over St. Louis at Milwaukee's County Stadium. Behind 6-3 going into the bottom of the ninth, Tommie's solo shot cuts the deficit to two runs, and his older sibling Hank seals the deal four batters later with a walk-off grand slam.
1966 The National League All-Stars edge the AL, 2-1, in a game played at the newly-built Busch Stadium when hometown favorite Tim McCarver scores the winning run on Dodger shortstop Maury Wills's tenth-inning walk-off single, with Giants hurler Gaylord Perry getting the victory by tossing a scoreless ninth and tenth inning. The 105-degree weather and the 113 degrees on the playing surface cause nearly 150 people to need treatment for heat exhaustion.
1970 In the second inning of an eventual 7-3 win over the Orioles, the Tigers lay down a record-tying three sacrifice bunts and score a run on a sac fly. Baltimore muffs Cesar Gutierrez's and Mickey Lolich's attempts to give themselves up, resulting in both players advancing a runner and reaching first base without making an out.
1979 After an hour and 16-minutes delay, the White Sox forfeited the second game of a twi-night doubleheader against the Tigers when over 5,000 adolescents refuse to leave the field during Disco Demolition Night. Mike Veeck's promotion involves admitting fans for 98 cents with a disco LP or .45 and then collecting the vinyl records to blow up in center field.

1988 Terry Steinbach, a .217 hitter believed to be an All-Star selection due to A's fans stuffing the ballot box, hits a home run off Doc Gooden in his first at-bat as an All-Star. The Oakland backstop, named the game's MVP, drives in the American League's second run with a sac fly, accounting for both runs in the team's 2-1 victory over the Senior Circuit at Riverfront Stadium.

(Ed. Note: The A's catcher becomes the first major leaguer to have homered in his first major league at-bat (9/12/86) and the Midsummer Classic - LP)

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1989 Yankee left-hander Ron Guidry retires from baseball, compiling a 170-91 record with a 3.29 ERA during his 14-year career with New York. In 1978, Gator unanimously won the AL's Cy Young Award after enjoying one of the most incredible seasons in baseball history, posting a 25-3 record with an ERA of 1.74.
1990 In a six-inning rain-shortened game, White Sox starter Melido Perez no-hits the hometown Yankees, 8-0. His bother Pascual, watching from the New York bench, also hurled an abbreviated no-no for the Expos in 1988, holding the Phillies hitless for five innings at Veterans Stadium.
1992 In the Braves' 7-4 victory over Chicago at Wrigley Field, Jeff Blauser becomes the fourth shortstop to hit three home runs in a game, joining the ranks of Ernie Banks (Cubs, 1955), Barry Larkin (Reds, 1991), and Freddie Patek (Angels, 1980). The Atlanta infielder had hit only 39 homers in the past six seasons.
1993 Ken Griffey, Jr. becomes the first and only major leaguer to hit Baltimore's B&O Warehouse on the fly. The Mariner outfielder launches the estimated 460-foot shot during the All-Star Game Home Run Derby contest at Camden Yards.

1994 At the Pirates' Three Rivers Stadium, the National League ends its record six-game Mid Summer Classic slump when Tony Gwynn scores on Moises Alou's double in the tenth inning, giving the Senior Circuit an 8-7 victory. Fred McGriff is named MVP, earning the honor with his dramatic two-run home run off Lee Smith that tied the game in the bottom of the ninth.
1995 In a scene reminiscent of yesteryear, the first basemen leave their mitt in the field between innings throughout Montreal's 3-2 victory over the Cubs. The Expos' first baseman David Segui is sharing his glove with Chicago's Mark Grace, whose equipment did not arrive at Olympic Stadium due to a shipping error.
1997 Roger Clemens, pitching in Fenway for the first time as an opponent, strikes out sixteen when the Blue Jays defeat Boston, 3-1. During the game, the 34-year-old right-hander appears to be continually glaring into the general manager's suite at Dan Duquette in response to the GM's remarks during last year's contentious negotiations that he hoped to keep the Rocket in Boston during the 'twilight' of his career.
1997 In front of a full house at Three Rivers Stadium on Jackie Robinson Night, two Pirates pitchers throw the first extra-inning combined no-hitter in big-league history. Ricardo Rincon takes over in the tenth inning to preserve starter Francisco Cordova's effort, getting the win when Mark Smith pinch-hits a three-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the inning.

1998 Mark McGwire becomes the second player to hit 40 home runs in both leagues. The Cardinals' first baseman, who accomplished the feat three times with the A's, joins Darrell Evans, who hit 41 with the Braves (1973) and 40 with the Tigers (1985).
1999 At Fenway Park, Mariner outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. wins the 14th annual Home Run Derby, a feat he also accomplished in 1994 and 1998. Eliminated after the second of three rounds, the Cardinal slugger Mark McGwire hits a then-record 13 round-trippers in the first round, including a 488-foot blast that clears the Green Monster, the street, and a parking garage before hitting a billboard above the train tracks.

2000 In a six-player deal, the Reds trade Denny Neagle (8-2, 3.52) and outfielder Mike Frank to the Yankees for minor league third baseman Drew Henson, outfielder Jackson Melian, and pitchers Brian Reith and Ed Yarnall.
2000 The Phillies send hurler Andy Ashby to the Braves for pitcher Bruce Chen and Jimmy Osting. Atlanta gets the better midseason deal when Ashby wins eight games for his new club, compared to only three victories posted by Chen and none for Osting, who will never make the parent club.
2005 At the Home Run Derby in Detroit, Bobby Abreu shatters the records for a single round, the championship round, and the total for all three rounds of the derby by hitting 41 dingers into every part of Comerica Park. The Phillies outfielder, representing Venezuela in the event's new international format, goes deep 24 times in the first round, adds six more in the second round, and finishes with 11 more in the championship round.
2005 During the All-Star Game Town Hall discussion, Bud Selig, believing the designated hitter is a big part of the game, states the rule will remain in use for the foreseeable future. However, the commissioner makes it clear the National League will never adopt the 1973 addition to the American League rule book.
2006 The offensively-challenged Astros obtained Aubrey Huff from the Devil Rays in exchange for two minor league prospects, RHP Mitch Talbot and infielder Ben Zobrist, and cash. The team hopes the 30-year-old third baseman can provide some pop in the Houston lineup, which presently has the worst batting average in the league.
2009 The Red Sox dedicate the center-field flagpole to Dom DiMaggio by raising a banner just below the stars and stripes with the former center fielder's name. After the ceremony, his widow, Emily, throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the Fenway Park contest against Kansas City.
2011 A half-hour after the completion of the Midsummer Classic, the Mets send former All-Star reliever Francisco Rodriguez and cash to the Brewers for two players to be named later. K-Rod, an outstanding closer for the Mets and Angels, will be used primarily as a set-up man for Milwaukee's John Axford.
2016 Before the All-State Game at Petco Park, Major League Baseball announces that the leagues' batting championships will be named to honor two Hall of Famers known for their offensive prowess, Tony Gwynn (NL) and Rod Carew (AL). The late Padres' legend Gwynn, a career .338 hitter, shares the record with the Pirates' Honus Wagner with eight NL batting titles, and Carew, a lifetime .328 hitter, hit over .300 for 15 consecutive seasons (1969-83) while playing for the Twins and Angels.
2019 On the day before what would have been her son Tyler's 28th birthday, Debbie Skaggs throws a perfect ceremonial first pitch with his teammates wearing jersey #45 in honor of the left-hander, who was found dead in the Angels' hotel in Southlake (TX) on July 1. LA starter Taylor Cole (2) and reliever Felix Pena (7) combine to throw the 11th no-hitter in franchise history in the team's 13-0 victory over the Mariners before the players removed their jerseys, one by one, spreading them over the mound, covering the bump in crimson.

2021 Pete Alonso defends his Home Run Derby crown, hitting 23 home runs in the finals to defeat Orioles' first baseman Trey Mancini at Coors Field. The Mets' first baseman set a first-round record with 35 home runs, moving past Royals catcher Salvador Perez before eliminating Juan Soto, who, after two sets of tiebreakers, spoiled Shohei Ohtani's bid to advance to beyond the first round.
2021 The Diamondbacks select 17-year-old right-hander Jacob Steinmetz, the first known practicing Orthodox Jewish player chosen by a major league team, in the third round (77th overall) in the first-year player draft. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Long Islander, featuring a mid-to-upper-90s fastball with a devastating curveball, shared with the New York Post that he will walk to games rather than taking transportation on the Sabbath but will participate in games on Friday nights, Saturdays afternoons, and Jewish holidays.
41 Fact(s) Found