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This Day in Baseball History
September 9th

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41 Fact(s) Found
1914 Braves hurler George Davis, a Harvard Law School student who will retire after four seasons in the major leagues with a 7-10 record, no-hits the Phillies, 7-0, giving him the distinction of being the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter at Fenway Park, the home of the American League Red Sox. Only Bumpus Jones (2) and Bobo Holloman (3) have fewer career victories for pitchers who have thrown no-hitters than the 24-year-old right-hander teammates call Iron.
1922 The Browns' 16-0 rout of the Tigers at Sportsman's Park marks the most lopsided victory in franchise history. The St. Louis outfielder Baby Doll Jacobson contributes to the romp, tripling three times en route to collecting 94 three-baggers during his 11-year career.
1936 The Yankees clinch their eighth pennant with a doubleheader sweep of the Tribe at Cleveland's League Park. The Bronx Bombers finish 19½ games ahead of Detroit, marking the team's largest lead at the end of a season in franchise history.
1945 🇨🇦 In the nightcap of a twin bill at Shibe Park, Dick Fowler gets his only victory of the season when he no-hits the Browns, 1-0, becoming the first Canadian to throw a major league no-hitter. The A's 24-year-old right-hander from Toronto will compile a 66-79 record during his ten-year tenure with the A's.
1948 At the Polo Grounds, 23-year-old right-hander Dodger Rex Barney no-hits the Giants, 2-0. Before completing the gem, the Brooklyn starter endures a one-hour rain delay and showers in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings.
1950 After leading off the first with a single, Dom DiMaggio swipes second base, advances to third on an error, and then scores the first run of the game on a groundout in the Red Sox' 11-3 rout of Philadelphia at Fenway Park. The stolen base is the final one the 'Little Perfesser' will get this season, but he will finish leading the American League with 15, the lowest total that has ever led either league.
1950 With the Phillies in the thick of a pennant race, their southpaw starter Curt Simmons will miss the rest of the season and the 1951 campaign because of his National Guard unit's activation due to the Korean conflict. The left-hander, granted leave from Indiana's Camp Atterbury, watches his team in the World Series, but Philadelphia decides not to request he be made eligible to participate.
1960 Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams hits career homer 511, tying him with Mel Ott for third on the all-time home run list behind Babe Ruth (714) and Jimmie Foxx (534). The historic homer, a two-out game-tying solo shot to deep right field, comes off Jim Perry in the fifth inning of a 6-3 loss to the Tribe at Cleveland Stadium.
1961 At the Stadium, Roger Maris hits his 56th home run of the season off Mudcat Grant in an 8-7 comeback Yankee victory over the Indians. The Fargo native and his roommate Mickey Mantle (52) now hold the record for most single-season home runs by two teammates (108), previously set in 1927 by another pair of Bronx Bombers, Babe Ruth (60) and Lou Gehrig (47).
1965

"And there's 29,000 people in the ballpark and a million butterflies." - VIN SCULLY, setting the stage in the ninth inning of Sandy Koufax's gem.

At Dodger Stadium, Sandy Koufax throws a perfect game against the Cubs, the southpaw's record fourth no-hitter, beating Bob Hendley's one-hit effort, 1-0. In the fifth inning, the Chicago left-hander gives up an unearned run, yielding the game's only hit in the seventh-inning double to Lou Johnson on a ball that barely rolls to outfield grass.

1968 The new American League expansion team hires Joe Gordon, giving the future Hall of Fame second baseman the distinction of managing his second major league team in Kansas City. In his only year with the club, the former A's manager leads the Royals to a fourth-place finish in the six-team AL West Division, finishing the team's inaugural season with a 69-93 record.
1977 At Fenway Park, shortstop Alan Trammel and second baseman Lou Whitaker make their major league debut for Detroit. The Tigers' new double-play combination will be teammates for 19 seasons, setting a major league record.
1978

"This is the first time I've seen a first-place team chasing  a second-place team." - TONY KUBEK, NBC Game of the Week color commentator remarking on the Yankees dominance of the Red Sox.

Behind Ron Guidry's gem at Fenway Park, the Yankees win the third of their four-game sweep against the Red Sox in a series that will become known as the Boston Massacre. After giving up two singles in the first inning, 'Gator' no-hits his opponents for the remaining 8⅔ innings, bringing the team within one game of the front-running BoSox, who once had a commanding 14-game lead earlier in the season.

1979 When Red Sox backup catcher Bob Montgomery takes his final at-bat, he becomes the last player to step into the batter's box without wearing a helmet. The Boston backstop, required to wear a protective plastic liner within his cap, is allowed to be helmetless due to a grandfather clause in Major League Baseball's edict enacted eight years ago, making helmets mandatory for all batters.
1987 Astros right-hander Nolan Ryan, beating the Giants, 4-2, strikes out 12 of the final 13 hitters he faces en route to a 16-K performance. The 'Ryan Express' notches his 4,500th career strikeout, whiffing Mike Aldrete to end the seventh inning.
1988 In his final major league game, Bruce Sutter, who missed last season due to shoulder problems, notches his 300th career save. The 35-year-old future Hall of Fame closer becomes the third reliever to reach the milestone when he retires the Padres in order in the 11th inning of the Braves' 5-4 win at Jack Murphy Stadium.
1989 Devon White steals second, third, and home in the sixth inning of the Angels' 8-5 victory over the Red Sox at Anaheim Stadium. The fleet outfielder also pilfers second base in the eighth frame, swiping his 43rd sack of the season.

1992 In front of a sellout crowd at County Stadium, Robin Yount becomes the 17th and third-youngest player to reach 3000 hits when he singles off Indian reliever Jose Mesa in a 5-4 Brewers. The 36-year-old Milwaukee center fielder also reached 1,000 and 2,000 hit plateaus against Cleveland.
1992 The owners select Bud Selig as the Major League Executive Council's chairman or the acting interim commissioner. Baseball will take nearly six years to name a permanent person for the post, and it will select Selig, the former owner of the Brewers, as the game's ninth chief executive.
1997 After broadcasting a Mets-Phillies game last night, Hall of Famer and beloved Phillies announcer Richie Ashburn, an excellent contact hitter who once fouled off 14 pitches in one at-bat, passes away from an apparent heart attack in his New York hotel room. 'Whitey' collected the most hits by any major leaguer during the decade of the 1950s.
1997 Red Sox rookie shortstop Nomar Garciaparra breaks the major league record for RBIs by a leadoff batter with his two ribbies in an 8-6 loss to the Yankees. Tiger Harvey Kuenn established the mark in 1956 with 85.
1998 The Yankees (102-41) move 20½ games ahead of the second-place Red Sox, clinching a flag with their 7-5 win over Boston at Fenway Park. The Bronx Bombers will set an American League record with their 112 victories this season.
1998 Thanks to Damion Easley's tenth-inning two-run walk-off homer, the Tigers beat Rick Aguilera and the Twins, 8-7. The game marks the third consecutive contest Detroit trailed going into the final inning but dramatically won in their last at-bat.
2001 For the second time in the season, Barry Bonds hits three home runs in a game. The Giants left fielder, whose offensive output gives him 63 homers, passes the major league season mark of 61 for homers hit left-handed, set by Roger Maris in 1961.
2002 On the third-earliest date since divisional play began in 1969, the Braves clinch the National League East for the eighth consecutive season. Atlanta will finish the season 19 games ahead of the second-place Expos.
2002 For the fifth straight season, Diamondback southpaw Randy Johnson records 300 strikeouts, breaking his own record of four consecutive years. The feat also ties the 'Big Unit' with Nolan Ryan, who had six 300-strikeout seasons.
2002 Barry Bonds' 610th career home run is the longest dinger ever hit in the three-year history of Pac Bell Park. The 491-foot homer sails over the fans' heads, waiting in line at a concession stand in the center field bleachers.
2002 Alex Rodriguez extends the home run record for shortstops after surpassing Ernie Banks' 1958 mark of 47 last season. The Ranger infielder slugs his major league-leading 52nd and 53rd home runs of the season, helping Texas defeat the Mariners, 12-7, at The Ballpark in Arlington.
2003 At Turner Field, Tomas Perez and Jason Michaels hit grand slams in the Phillies' 18-5 rout of the hometown Braves. The bases-full blasts come in the second and sixth innings, respectively.
2004 Joe Randa becomes the first player in American League history to collect six hits and score six runs in a nine-inning game. The Kansas City third baseman's offensive output contributes to the Royals' 26-5 rout over the Tigers.
2004 When Lino Urdaneta does not retire a batter, giving up five hits, one walk, and six earned runs, the Tiger rookie's first major league appearance results in an earned run average of infinity. The Mets, fortunately, will allow the right-hander to appear in two games in 2007, where he gives up one run in one inning of work to bring down his ERA to a much more respectable 63.00.
2006 In the shortest game ever recorded at Chase Field, Brandon Webb one-hits the visiting Cardinals, 3-0. The only hit the Diamondbacks right-hander gives up in the 1 hour and 54-minute game in the desert is Scott Rolen's two-out double in the fourth inning
2006 At Coors Field in Denver, Alfonso Soriano hit his 45th home run to set the Nationals' single-season franchise record. The previous club record was established in 2000 by Vladimir Guerrero, playing for the Montreal Expos.
2007 The Brewers become the third team in big league history to begin a game with three consecutive homers. In the Brew Crew's 10-5 victory over the Reds, Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy, and Ryan Braun start the Great American Ball Park contest with a bang.
2007 In the first inning at Detroit's Comerica Park, Curtis Granderson steals his 20th base of the season to become only the third major leaguer to belong to the 20-20-20-20 club. The Tigers center fielder joins Frank Schulte (1911 - Cubs) and Willie Mays (1957 - Giants) as the only players to record 20 home runs, 20 triples, and 20 doubles, as well as swiping 20 bases in a season.
2008 Derek Jeter passes the legendary Babe Ruth on the Yankees' all-time hits list, adding a first-inning single during the 7-1 victory over the Angels in Anaheim to run his career total to 2,519 hits. Lou Gehrig (2,721) is now the only Bronx Bomber with more hits than the club's current shortstop.
2008 Removed from the starting lineup when his cab became stuck in traffic, Dan Johnson, called up today from the Durham Bulls, pinch hits in the ninth inning with the Rays trailing 4-3 and belts a game-tying home run off closer Jonathan Papelbon in the Fenway Park contest. The homer, which comes in his first at-bat with the team and is his first pinch-hit in 16 major league attempts, is believed to be the turning point of Tampa Bay's season, as the timely round-tripper helps to snap a four-game losing streak and prevents the Red Sox from taking over first place.
2010 Ichiro Suzuki becomes the first major leaguer to have ten consecutive seasons with 200 hits. The Mariner right-fielder extends his own record with a fifth-inning single to center in the Mariners' 1-0 loss to Toronto at the Rogers Centre.
2012 Rays right-hander James Shields tosses a complete-game two-hitter, beating the first-place Rangers, 6-0. B.J. Upton knocks in half of Tampa Bay's runs when he hits three solo homers in the first, fourth, and sixth innings of the Tropicana Field contest.
2013 Juan Uribe homers in his first three trips to the plate in the Dodgers' 8-1 victory over Arizona. Los Angeles goes yard six times in the Chavez Ravine contest, falling two shy of the franchise record established in 2002.
2020 The Braves, shut out in yesterday's contest, set the modern (post-1900) National League record for runs scored in a game in their 29-9 victory over the Marlins at Truist Park. Atlanta, fueled by 23 hits, including seven homers, falls one run short of tying the major league mark established by the Rangers in a 2007 contest when they tallied thirty times against the Orioles but surpasses the franchise mark set in 1957 when the team beat the Cubs at Wrigley Field, 23-10.

(Ed. Note: Adam Duvall's second three-homer game in an eight-day span, accounting for nine RBIs, includes a two-run shot, a three-run shot and a grand slam, in that order, a feat never previously accomplished in major league history . - LP)

41 Fact(s) Found