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This Day in Baseball History
September 1st

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51 Fact(s) Found
1890 On Labor Day at Brooklyn's Washington Park, the Bridegrooms, later known as the Dodgers, win all three games against Pittsburgh in the first tripleheader ever played. The home team sweeps the visiting Alleghenys, who will become the Pirates next season, 10-9, 3-2, and 8-4.
1906 In the longest game in American League history, Philadelphia beats the Red Sox in 24 innings, 4-1. Each starter goes the distance when A's hurler Jack Coombs, who fans 18 batters, bests Boston's Joe Harris in the Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds contest.
1909 Bill O'Hara, inserted as a pinch-runner, becomes the first major leaguer to steal two bags in the same inning when he swipes second and third base in the Giants' 9-6 victory over St. Louis at the Polo Grounds. The 28-year-old New York outfielder will end the season with 31 stolen bases, duplicating the feat tomorrow against the same opponents.
1918 The major league regular season, scheduled to end today due to World War I, is extended when the owners decide to play through Labor Day. The Browns want the Indians fined and believe Cleveland should forfeit the two games for refusing to play the additional contests.
1931 Lou Gehrig hits a grand slam for the third time in four days. The Bronx Bomber first baseman's third-inning base-loaded home run off Ed Morris proves to be the difference in New York's 5-1 victory over Boston at Yankee Stadium.
1945 Philadelphia outfielder Vince DiMaggio's bases-loaded home run paces the Phillies to an 8-3 victory over Boston at Braves Field. Joe and Dom's older brother ties a major league mark with his fourth grand slam this season.
1947 The Giants surpass the 1936 Yankees' mark for the most home runs hit in a season by a team. The three Polo Grounds homers, including one by Bill Rigney and a pair by Jack Lohrke in today's doubleheader sweep over Boston, raise the record total to 185, and the New York National League club will finish the season with 221 round-trippers.
1950 To save the Phillies a 24-hour train trip to play the Braves, Philadelphia's GM Bob Carpenter charters his team's first plane flight. The TWA Lockheed Constellation, delayed due to mechanical problems, makes a precarious landing during a severe thunderstorm, with players cheering the pilot for their safe arrival in Boston.
1953 The Cardinals tie a major league mark, hitting five homers in a 12-5 loss to Brooklyn at Ebbets Field. The solo shots hit by Stan Musial, Harry Elliot, Rip Repulski, and Steve Bilko (2), all off starter Preacher Roe, aren't enough to offset the Dodgers' 17-hit attack, which includes six doubles but no round-trippers.
1958 Cardinal southpaw Vinegar Bend Mizell beats Joe Nuxhall and the Reds, 1-0, thanks to an unearned run in the second inning at Busch Stadium. The future U.S. Congressman, born in Leakesville, Mississippi, on the other side of the Alabama state line near neighboring Vinegar Bend, establishes a National League record by walking nine batters without giving up a run.


Vinegar Bend Mizell

1961 In his first major league at-bat, Cuno Barragan hits his only big-league home run, taking Dick LeMay deep over the left-field fence at Wrigley Field in the second inning of the Cubs' 4-3 loss to San Francisco. The 29-year-old catcher will play in 69 games for Chicago over three seasons.
1963 Cardinal starter Curt Simmons becomes one of the few pitchers to steal home with his second-inning dash to the plate in the team's 7-3 victory over the Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium. The 34-year-old southpaw, who had tripled, scores on an aborted squeeze play when Chris Short uncorks a pitch that Julian Javier cannot bunt.
1964 🇯🇵 At Shea Stadium, Masanori Murakami becomes the first native-born Japanese player to appear in the U.S. major leagues when he throws a scoreless eighth inning that includes striking out Charlie Smith and Ed Kranepool in the Giants' 4-1 loss to the Mets. The 20-year-old southpaw, scheduled to play only minor league ball until June as an 'exchange player,' will be allowed to stay and play in one full season with San Francisco before returning to the Nankai Hawks, ending his brief American stint with a 5-1 record and an ERA of 3.75.
1966 Tim McCarver's third-inning triple, his 13th and final one of the season, plates Orlando Cepeda in the Cardinals' 7-4 victory over Atlanta at Busch Stadium. The 22-year-old Memphis (TN) native will become the first backstop to lead the National or American League in three-baggers.
1967 Amid his franchise record-setting of pitching 40 consecutive innings without allowing a run, Gaylord Perry extends his scoreless streak when he hurls 16 innings of shutout ball in the Giants' 1-0 victory over the Reds. Frank Linzy keeps Cincinnati scoreless for the final five frames, getting the victory for San Francisco in the 21-inning Crosley Field contest.
1967 After 20 scoreless innings, which equals the major league mark, Dick Groat draws a bases-loaded walk, giving the Giants a 1-0 victory over the Reds. In 1918, the Braves and Pirates also matched zeros for twenty frames until the Bucs scored two runs in the top of the 21st for an eventual 2-0 victory in the Boston ballpark.
1969 At Dodger Stadium, Willie Davis ties the franchise record by getting a hit in 29 consecutive games with his second-inning single in LA's 10-6 victory over New York. Zack Wheat established the mark in 1916.
1971 In a 10-7 victory against the Phillies at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, the Pirates become the first major league team to start an all-black/Latino squad. The lineup includes infielders Al Oliver (1b), Rennie Stennett (2b), Jackie Hernandez (ss), Dave Cash (3b), and outfielders Willie Stargell (lf), Gene Clines (cf), Roberto Clemente (right field), with Dock Ellis (p) and Manny Sanguillen (c) making up the battery.
1975 On Labor Day at Shea Stadium, 30-year-old Tom Seaver, when he whiffs Pirate Manny Sanguillen on three straight fastballs in the top of the seventh inning, becomes the first pitcher to strike out at least 200 batters in eight consecutive seasons. The 3-0 complete-game victory is also 'Tom Terrific's' 20th of the season, marking the fourth time the right-hander has reached the plateau.

(Ed. Note: Tom Seaver extends his record to nine when he fans 235 batters next year. - LP)

1979 Carney Lansford hits three consecutive home runs in California's 7-4 victory over the Tribe at Cleveland Stadium. The Angels' third baseman's trio of round-trippers comes in the first, third, and fifth innings, each with the bases empty.
1980 PawSox infielder Wade Boggs loses the International League batting title on the season's final day when he grounds out to first base in his last plate appearance. The Mud Hens, ahead 6-0, issue a two-out intentional walk to light-hitting Ray Boyer, who goes around the bases unchallenged and scores on a deliberate error, forcing Boggs to bat and, after making an out, putting him .007 of a percentage point behind Dave Engle, an outfielder for the opponents.
1980 Ed Farmer, who had been accosted on the mound in June by Al Cowens, agrees to drop the assault charges brought against the Tiger center fielder by the Illinois authorities in exchange for a handshake and an apology from his attacker. Before the Comiskey Park contest, the two former combatants bring out the lineup cards, smile, and shake hands. The White Sox fans continue to boo the Detroit player, and a "Coward Cowens" banner will express the Southsiders' sentiments.
1983 Entering the game with 286 strikeouts, Lynchburg right-hander Dwight Gooden strikes out a dozen batters in the first six frames of a scheduled seven-inning against Hagerstown, needing two more in the last frame to record 300 for the season. After the leadoff batter grounds out, the 18-year-old phenom whiffs the next two Suns hitters to secure the 1-0 victory, reaching the lofty plateau in 191 innings.
1984 At 42 years and 110 days, Tony Perez becomes the oldest player to hit a walk-off pinch-hit home run when he goes deep off Don Robinson in the Reds' 7-5 victory over the Pirates at Riverfront Stadium. Jason Giambi will accomplish the feat twice for the Indians in 2013, setting the mark when he was 159 days older than the Cincinnati veteran.
1987 During the fourth inning of the Astros' 3-2 loss at Wrigley Field, Billy Hatcher has his infield hit taken away and is immediately ejected from the game after his shattered bat reveals cork. The Houston left fielder, suspended for ten days, claims he mistakenly picked up Dave Smith's bat, which the pitcher used during batting practice before the game.
1992 At Tiger Stadium, Rick Aguilera pitches a scoreless ninth inning to notch his 35th save of the season in the Twins' 5-4 victory over Detroit. The save is the closer's 109th, making the right-handed reliever the franchise's all-time saves leader.
1998 Cardinal slugger Mark McGwire, in a 7-1 victory over Florida, homers twice to break Hack Wilson's National League single-season home run record of 56. Big Mac's seventh-inning shot ties the 1930 mark set by the Hall of Fame Cubs' outfielder, and he establishes a new record in the ninth, hitting a Don Pall pitch 472 feet over the center-field wall at Miami's Pro Player Stadium.
1999 The Boones become the twelfth pair of siblings to homer in the same game when Aaron, the Reds third baseman, goes deep in the bottom of the eighth inning of the team's 8-7 loss to the Braves. In the Cinergy Field contest, brother Bret hit a third-inning two-run round-tripper off Cincinnati southpaw Ron Villon.
1999 Due to the union chief Richie Phillips' ill-advised ploy to use mass resignations to force the owners into a new collective bargaining agreement, twenty-two of baseball's regular 68 umpires find themselves unemployed. In an understanding mediated by U.S. District Judge J. Curtis Joyner, the Umpires Association agrees to a deal, costing those members their jobs, but allows for an arbitration proceeding that could permit displaced umps to return to the game at some point.
2000 In an unusual play, the Orioles turn a triple play as shortstop Melvin Mora purposely lets a short fly drop in left field with runners at first and second. The runner at second (Travis Fryman) is tagged out, and the runner at first (Wil Cordero) is forced at second, with the batter (Sandy Alomar), thinking the umps invoked infield-fly rule, does not go to first and is called automatically out for going back to the dugout.
2000 Darin Erstad breaks the Angels' club record for total hits in a season when he doubles in the second inning of the team's 9-8 loss to the White Sox at Chicago's Comiskey Park. The 26-year-old Halo outfielder will finish the season with 240 hits, far surpassing Alex Johnson's mark of 202, established in 1970.
2001 Cubs' slugger Sammy Sosa hits the longest home run in Turner Field history when his two-run shot, the outfielder's 53rd of the season, travels 471 feet to straightaway center field. The historic homer comes in the first inning off four-time Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux in the team's 5-3 victory in Atlanta.
2002 Thanks to Miguel Tejada's three-run ninth-inning walk-off home run, the A's beat the Twins, 7-5, extending their winning streak to 18. The dramatic victory marks the longest stretch in franchise history, established by the Philadelphia A's with 17 consecutive wins in 1931.
2005 The Pacific Coast League announces the total attendance saw over seven million fans turn the turnstiles this season. The PCL had set a new single-season record in minor league history when the 16-team circuit passed the 6.8 million mark earlier in the month.
2005 The first busload of Hurricane Katrina refugees, formerly housed at the Superdome in New Orleans, arrive at the Houston Astrodome. The Astros' former home will allow the displaced storm victims to escape the horrendous unhealthy conditions of their former shelter by supplying air conditioning, cots, food, and showers for 25,000 people expected to arrive from Louisiana.
2006 The Pirates extend their franchise-record consecutive losing-season streak to 14 when the club drops their 82nd game to Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals, 3-1. The 1933-1948 Phillies own the big league mark, finishing with a losing record for 16 straight campaigns.
2007 In only his second major league start, Clay Buchholz, using an assortment of fastballs, curves, and changeups, becomes the 20th rookie to throw a no-hitter, beating the Orioles in front of a supportive Fenway crowd, 10-0. The 23-year-old right-hander, called up from Triple-A Pawtucket to make the start, becomes the youngest of the seventeen players to have accomplished the feat in Red Sox history.

2008 In his complete-game effort against the Pirates, CC Sabathia gives up only a questionable infield hit to Andy LaRoche in the fifth inning of the Brewers' 7-0 victory at PNC Park. The club plans to forward a DVD of the play to Major League Baseball, hoping somehow official scorer Bob Webb, the only person allowed to reverse his decision according to the rules, can be convinced to change the scoring of the grounder to the mound to an error.
2008 Cliff Lee shuts out the White Sox, 5-0, to become the Indians' 56th twenty-game winner in franchise history, but the first to accomplish the feat in 34 years. The last Tribe's moundsman to win as many games was Gaylord Perry, who posted a 21-13 record in 1974.

2008 In Arizona's 8-6 comeback victory over the Cardinals, Stephen Drew singles in the first, triples in the third, homers in the fifth, and doubles in the seventh to complete the cycle. The Diamondbacks' shortstop becomes the third player in franchise history and the first major leaguer to accomplish the feat at Chase Field, formerly known as the Bank One Ballpark.

2008 Adrian Beltre triples in the eighth inning off Rangers' right-hander Josh Rupe to become the fourth player in franchise history, joining Jay Buhner (1993), Alex Rodriguez (1997), and John Olerud (2001) to hit for the cycle. The rare event occurs twice today when Diamondbacks shortstop Stephen Drew also collects a single, double, triple, and home run against the Cardinals at Chase Field.
2009 In his first game back from the DL after suffering a torn right testicle when a bad-hop grounder hit him in the groin last month, Adrian Beltre hears the Nutcracker Suite when he steps into the batter's box. Mariner teammate Ken Griffey Jr. arranged to have the Safeco Field PA system play the waltz to have fun with the third baseman, who decided not to wear a protective cup until today.
2010

"This is the major leagues. This is not college any more. You're not on scholarship. You're being paid to do the job and guys depend on you, and I think it's unfortunate that the Nationals and the team are in a situation here where this kid now, he feels any kind of arm pain, he's gonna call you out?... You give these guys (today's players) $15 million bucks, please. Get your butt out there and play every fifth day." - ROB DIBBLE, commenting as a Sirius XM Radio show host.

The Nationals announce Rob Dibble will no longer serve as a TV analyst for the team's games on MASN, which telecasts the Washington games. As a Sirius XM Radio host, the former major league reliever severely chastised Stephen Strasburg for not pitching through pain before the rookie phenom's diagnosis of a torn elbow ligament.

2014 The Phillies become the eleventh team in baseball history to throw a combined no-hitter when four of their hurlers do not yield a hit in their 7-0 victory over the Braves. Philadelphia starter Cole Hamels goes the first six innings in the Turner Field contest, with relievers Jake Diekman, Ken Giles, and Jonathan Papelbon each tossing a perfect inning to accomplish the rare feat.

2019 Patrick Corbin joins teammates Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, recording his 200th strikeout on the season when he fans Garrett Cooper on three pitches in the Nationals' 9-3 victory over the Marlins. Washington becomes the second team in National League history to have three pitchers reach the milestone in the same season, a feat first accomplished in the Senior Circuit by the 1969 Astros behind the trio of Larry Dierker, Tom Griffin, and Don Wilson.

(Ed. Note: Four American League clubs have had at least three hurlers record 200 or more strikeouts, including the 2018 Indians, where four pitchers reach the plateau: Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, Corey Kluber, and Mike Clevinger. - LP).

2019 Justin Verlander throws his third career no-hitter, blanking the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre, 2-0. Astros rookie Abraham Toro hit a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning of the scoreless contest to allow the Houston right-hander to complete the no-no in the bottom of the frame, including his fielding of a ground out for the final out of the game.
2019 Texas snaps the Yankees' run (pun intended) of not being shut out at 220 consecutive games, making the streak second only to the 1931-33 Bronx Bombers, who scored in 308 straight games. Mike Minor and a pair of Rangers relievers held New York to six hits in the team's 7-0 victory at the Bronx ballpark.
2020 In the Giants' 23-5 Giants' rout of the Rockies at offensively friendly Coors Field, Alex Dickerson blasts homers in the first, second, and sixth innings and doubles in the fourth and ninth. The 30-year-old left fielder's 16 total bases equal the franchise mark established by Willie Mays when he hit four round-trippers in a 1961 contest against the Braves. 

(Ed. Note: Joining Kris Bryant (Cubs-2016) and Matt Carpenter (Cardinals- 2018), Dickerson becomes the third major leaguer to hit a trio of homers and pair of doubles in a game. LP)

 
2021 In his first year of playing the position, Marcus Semien ties the major league record for the most homers by a second baseman in a single season. At Target Field, the Blue Jay infielder hits a sixth-inning solo shot in the team's 6-1 victory over the Twins for his 43rd dinger, equaling the mark set in 1973 by Braves' second sacker Davey Johnson.
2024 With 24 games remaining, the White Sox establish a franchise mark when the team drops a 2-0 decision to the Mets for their 107th loss of the season. The Pale Hose, going 0-10 to end the homestand and dropping 40 of their last 40 decisions, surpasses the futility of the 1970 squad, who established the previous record on the last day of the season.
2024 Longtime manager Dusty Baker's son, Darren, collects a hit on the first pitch he sees in the major leagues, pinch-hitting in the Nationals' 14-1 loss to the Cubs in Washington. The 25-year-old September call-up first gained notoriety as a three-year-old bat boy for the Giants, who J.T. Snow saved after he crossed paths with Bengie Molina trying to score in Game 5 of the 2002 World Series. 
51 Fact(s) Found