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This Day in Baseball History
August 29th

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44 Fact(s) Found
1918 Cubs southpaw Lefty Tyler tosses a gem, beating the Reds at Wrigley Field, 1-0. The victory clinches the National League pennant for Chicago, ending the season 10.5 games ahead of the second-place Giants.
1934 In the nightcap of a twin bill, Schoolboy Rowe, after sixteen straight victories, finally loses when the A's chase him after seven innings in a 13-5 final at Philadelphia's Shibe Park. In his last start, the Tiger right-hander tied the American League record for consecutive wins shared by Smoky Joe Wood, Walter Johnson, and Lefty Grove.
1939 Wheaties sponsors the first telecast of a baseball game when their ads air during the Ebbets Field contest between the Reds and the Dodgers. The commercial broadcast is available only in New York City, where approximately 500 people own television sets.
1948 Jackie Robinson hits for the backward cycle when he homers in the first inning, triples in the fourth, and doubles in the sixth, completing the rare event with a single in the eighth. In addition to his ten total bases, the Dodger second baseman drives in two runs, scores three times, and steals a base, helping Brooklyn beat the Cardinals at Sportsman's Park, 12-7.
1951 With his second home run of the game, the sixth time he has accomplished the feat this year, Gil Hodges hits his 36th round-tripper to establish a new franchise record for homers in a season. The Dodger first baseman's seventh-inning three-run blast in the team's 13-1 rout of Cincinnati at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field surpasses the 35 set by Babe Herman in 1930.
1951 The Yankees send rookie hurler Lew Burdette and $50,000 to the Braves for 33-year-old right-hander Johnny Sain. The trade will come back to haunt the Bronx Bombers when the right-hander throws three complete-game victories in the 1957 World Series, won by Milwaukee in seven games.
1965 Giants center fielder Willie Mays breaks Ralph Kiner's record for home runs in a month when the 'Say Hey Kid' hits a moon shot off Jack Fischer for his 17th round-tripper in an 8-3 victory over New York. The former Pirates outfielder, now a broadcaster for the Mets on WHN radio and WOR-TV, calls the four-bagger, breaking the monthly mark he established with 16 round-trippers in September of 1949.
1966 On a typically cool night at Candlestick Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants, the Beatles play their final concert, ending their half-hour set with Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally." The 'Fab Four's performance on a five-foot stage, located just behind second base surrounded by a six-foot-high wire fence, is less than stellar due to the ballpark's inadequate lighting, poor acoustics, and the group's growing disdain for doing live shows.

1966 Getting the Cubs' 4-2 win in relief, Robin Roberts becomes the first and only pitcher to beat the Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta Braves. On Independence Day in 1948, the future Hall of Famer went the distance to notch his third big league victory, beating the Boston Braves at Shibe Park in his rookie year with the Phillies.
1967 Kansas City's leadoff batter Bert Campaneris' three triples at the spacious Municipal Stadium are to no avail as the home team loses to Cleveland in ten innings, 9-8. The A's shortstop becomes the first American Leaguer to accomplish the feat since Ben Chapman tagged a trio of three-baggers in 1939 for the Tribe.
1971 Braves' outfielder Hank Aaron becomes the first player in the National League to drive in at least 100 runs in eleven seasons. The future Hall of Famer will collect 2297 RBIs during his 23-year Hall of Fame career to set an all-time major league mark.
1972 In a 3-0 victory, Giants' right-hander Jim Barr retires the first 20 Cardinals he faces today, setting a major league record of recording 41 consecutive outs, having put out the final 21 players in his previous appearance against the first-place Pirates.
1977 After four seasons and 1,382 major league at-bats, Duane Kuiper hits his first and only homer when he goes deep off Steve Stone in the Indians' 9-2 victory over the White Sox at Cleveland Stadium. The 27-year-old second baseman will come to bat 3,379 times during his 12-year career, establishing the modern major league record for most career at-bats with exactly one home run.
1977 At Jack Murphy Stadium, 39-year-old Cardinals outfielder Lou Brock swipes his 893rd bag, breaking Ty Cobb's 49-year-old major league career record for stolen bases. The Georgia Peach had established the mark in 1928 as a member of the Philadelphia A's at the age of 41.

1977 In a 6-1 loss at Baltimore, Angel starter Nolan Ryan, who will finish the season fanning 341 batters, strikes out 11 Orioles to pass the 300 mark for the fifth time in his career. The future Hall of Fame right-hander will retire as baseball's all-time leader with 5,714, averaging 9.5 K's per nine innings.
1985 Angels' hurler Kirk McCaskill's first-inning pitch hits Don Baylor. The Yankee DH's 190th HBP breaks, pardon the expression, the American League record established by Minnie Minoso in 1963 while playing with the White Sox.
1986 Down by eight runs in the bottom of the final frame, the Angels score nine times to beat the Tigers, 13-12. Dick Schofield, batting for the second time in the inning, completes the amazing comeback with a two-out walk-off grand slam off Willie Hernandez.

1986 Let's Go Mets Go!, a music video that features players, coaches, and fans, and a cameo appearance by Joe Piscopo, Howard Stern, and film critic Gene Shalit debuts on the Shea Stadium Diamondvision. Shelton Leigh Palmer, best known for writing the Meow Mix jingle, composed and produced the team's official theme song, which becomes a Gold Record, and directed the accompanying triple-platinum four-minute video.

1989 Giving up just three singles, recently acquired Mets southpaw Frank Viola outduels Orel Hershiser and beats the Dodgers, 1-0. The classic contest between two aces marked the first time in baseball history that the reigning winners of the Cy Young Award have faced one another in the regular season.
1993 Joining Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, George Brett becomes the third player in baseball history to swipe his 200th stolen base and collect 3,000 hits and 300 home runs. The Royals' third baseman's historic heist occurs during a 5-4, 12-inning victory over the Red Sox at Kauffman Stadium.
1995 With two out in the ninth inning at Three Rivers Stadium, Paul Wagner loses a no-hitter against the Rockies on an infield single by Andres Galarraga. The 27-year-old Pirates right-hander will win the game, 4-0, but will lead the National League in losses this season, posting a 5-16 record for Pittsburgh.
1996 The Orioles become the first major league team to have seven players hit 20 or more home runs in the same season when Bobby Bonilla goes deep off right-hander Bob Wells in the first inning of a 9-6 loss to Seattle at the Kingdome. The other Baltimore sluggers to reach the plateau are Rafael Palmeiro, Roberto Alomar, Cal Ripken, B.J. Surhoff, Brady Anderson, and Chris Hoiles.
1998 Derek Jeter hits his 17th home run to establish a new record for Yankee shortstops. The 24-year-old infielder surpasses Roy Smalley's 1982 mark when he goes deep to right field off Bob Wells in the team's 11-6 victory over Seattle in the Bronx.
1999 Tony Eusebio's home run in the top of the 13th inning is the difference in the Astros' 11-9 victory over the Braves in Atlanta. The Houston catcher's homer breaks the skid of eleven consecutive losses, a team record.
2000 On a night when every player in the Astros' starting lineup gets a hit, reserve catcher Tony Eusebio's hitting streak ends at 24 games, a franchise record. The backup backstop's accomplishment is the fifth-longest by a big-league catcher since 1900.
2000 Darin Erstad, going 3-for-5, gets his 200th hit in the Angels' 9-4 comeback victory over the Blue Jays at Edison Field. The Anaheim DH reaches the 200-hit plateau quicker than any other player since Cardinal outfielder Ducky Medwick accomplished the feat in 131 games in 1935.
2000 When the Braves come to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning, trailing the Reds, 4-2, a power spike causes most of the lights to go out at Turner Field, causing a 12-minute delay. The Atlanta crowd hears a rendition of the song "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia," waiting for the game to resume.
2001 The Cardinals score two runs on a strikeout when runners, breaking from first and second, score after pinch-hitter Bobby Bonilla throws his bat down the third-base line after striking out, causing the Padres' third baseman Phil Nevin to duck. At the same time, catcher Ben Davis's throw to an unmanned third base goes into left field, allowing Edgar Renteria to score from second, followed by Eli Marrero tallying from first as left fielder Rickey Henderson misplays the errant throw.
2002 To show their displeasure about tomorrow's impending strike, fans at the Devil Ray-Angel game throw trash and foul balls back onto the field. Adding new words to the traditional seventh-inning rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," many fans at Edison Field begin chanting, "Don't strike! Don't strike! Don't strike!".
2004 At Toronto's SkyDome, Blue Jays broadcaster Tom Cheek joins George Bell, Joe Carter, Tony Fernandez, Dave Stieb, Cito Gaston, and Pat Gillick as the seventh member of the club's Level of Excellence. The team's highest award for individual achievement comes as an emotional surprise for the play-by-play announcer, who called 4,306 consecutive regular-season games and another 41 postseason contests during the first 28 seasons of the franchise's existence.
2004 In the eighth inning of the Cardinals' 4-0 victory over the Bucs, Albert Pujols drives in a run with a solo shot at PNC Park, his 40th home run this season, to become only the fourth player to start a major league career with four consecutive seasons with at least 100 RBIs. The 24-year-old St. Louis first baseman joins Hall of Famers Al Simmons, Joe DiMaggio, and Ted Williams in accomplishing the feat.
2006 In a pregame ceremony at Coors Field, the Rockies unveil a five-sided commemorative plaque planned to mark the exact spot of Mile High Stadium's home plate, now in the parking lot. Although the team played just two seasons at the old ballpark, the structure, built in 1948, served as the home for the popular minor league Denver Bears, the precursor of a major league team arriving in 1993.
2006 Roy Oswalt and the Astros agree on a $73 million contract extension, keeping the two-time 20-game winner in Houston for five years. The right-hander signs the largest multi-season deal in franchise history on his 29th birthday.
2006 With his two homers (726, 727) in a 13-8 losing effort to the Braves at Miller Park, Giants slugger Barry Bonds passes Sammy Sosa into second place with 69 career multi-homer games. Babe Ruth hit two or more homers on 72 occasions during his 22-year career in the majors.
2006 The Astros center fielder Willy Taveras' consecutive game-hitting streak is stopped at 30, establishing a new franchise record. The 24-year-old Houston leadoff hitter plunked twice by Brewer starter Tomo Ohka goes 0-for-3 in the team's 10-3 victory at Minute Maid Park.
2007 With Bobby Abreu's at-bat and Derek Jeter on second base in the second inning at Yankee Stadium, visiting Red Sox manager Terry Francona is told to go to the dugout tunnel to show compliance with baseball's dress code. The Boston skipper, known not to wear his uniform jersey underneath his pullover, is upset with the timing of 'Shirtgate' because the inspection occurs during the game.
2008 The Rays record their first winning season in the 11-year-old history of the franchise by beating the Orioles, 14-3. Tampa Bay, presently in first place with an 82-51 record, had never won more than 70 games in a season.
2010 After initially ruling Brian McCann's drive a double, the umpires take only 86 seconds to overturn the call, making it the first time in baseball history a game ends with a walk-off home run thanks to a video review of a play. The backstop's ninth-inning round-tripper, which bounced off the top of the outfield wall and struck a second barrier, gave the Braves a 7-6 comeback victory over Florida.

2010 Nationals manager Jim Riggleman benches Nyjer Morgan for the outfielder's 'unprofessional' play during yesterday's 14-5 victory over St. Louis. After bowling over and severely injuring Bryan Anderson in the bottom of the eighth inning, even though the Cardinal catcher didn't have the ball, the ump called the center fielder out on the play when he neglected to touch home plate.
2010

In a pregame ceremony before their game against the Yankees, the White Sox retire Frank Thomas' jersey number 35. The 'Big Hurt,' a two-time American League MVP who played 16 of his 19 years in the big leagues in Chicago, retired in the offseason with a .301 lifetime batting average, 521 homers, and 1,704 RBIs.

2012 Darwin Barney sets a National League single-season record when he plays in his 114th straight errorless game at second base, established in 2010 by Padres' infielder David Eckstein when official scorer Bob Rosenberg changes his scoring of the mishandled throw. The 26-year-old Gold Glover originally received an error in the Cubs' 3-1 loss to the Brewers at Wrigley Field for his toss to Luis Valbuena, but the retired sportswriter changed his mind, giving the third baseman an error for muffing the catch.
2014 Minnesota, dating back to its origins in the nation's capital, becomes the 16th franchise in baseball history to reach the 10,000 home run plateau. The historic homer, struck by the Twin third baseman Trevor Plouffe, receives little fanfare, being the only tally the team scores in a 9-1 loss in Baltimore.
2017 Whit Merrifield's third-inning two-out home run off Rays right-hander Alex Cobb ends the Royals' franchise-record scoreless streak at 45 frames, three shy of the major league mark established by the 1968 Cubs and the 1906 A's. With their 6-2 victory at Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City snaps a five-game losing skid, staying in contention for the second American League Wild Card spot.
2022 Scoring six runs in back-to-back innings, the Diamondbacks stage the biggest comeback in franchise history. The dozen tallies collected in the fourth and fifth frames overcome a seven-run deficit in the team’s 13-7 victory over the Phillies at Chase Field.
44 Fact(s) Found