| << Yesterday | This Day in Baseball History |
Tomorrow>> |
43 Fact(s) Found
| 1889 | At Indianapolis' Seventh Street Park, future 300-game-winner Mickey Welch becomes the first pinch-hitter in major league history. Although the Giants' right-handed pitcher strikes out in his historic plate appearance, New York prevails, beating the Hoosiers, 9-6. |
| 1901 |
At Cleveland's League Park, the Blues (Indians) beat Chicago, 11-7. White Sox right-hander Frank Isbell strands eleven runners on the basepaths to set an American League record.
Library of Congress - Benjamin K. Edwards Collection |
| 1929 | At the Baker Bowl, 42-year-old right-hander Grover Cleveland Alexander earns his final career win, pitching the final four innings of the Cardinals' 9-7 victory over the Phillies. 'Old Pete' will retire next season tied with fellow Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson for the most wins in the National League history with 373, including a league-leading ninety shutouts. |
| 1944 | In a night game at Crosley Field, 29-year-old Braves' right-hander Red Barrett throws only 58 pitches, beating the Reds, 2-0. The nine-inning pitching duel, which features 64 plate appearances, takes only seventy-five minutes to play. |
| 1946 |
Although Tiny Bonham gives up two hits in the first frame, he retires the side on four pitches in the Yankees' 7-5 victory over the Red Sox.
|
| 1957 | Mickey Mantle becomes the first player to clear the center field hedge at Memorial Stadium with his 460-foot homer in the Yankees' 6-3 victory over the Orioles. Baltimore's Boog Powell (1962) and Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew (1964) will also accomplish the feat. |
| 1961 | With his twenty-first pinch hit of the season, Dave Philley breaks an American League record established by Ed Coleman of the Browns in 1936. The 41-year-old Texan, coming off the bench to hit for Dick Williams in the eighth inning, sets the new pinch-hitting mark when he doubles to right field in the Orioles' 8-0 win over Kansas City at Memorial Stadium. |
| 1963 | Boog Powell becomes the first Oriole to hit three home runs in the same game. The Baltimore first baseman's offensive output accounts for half of the runs in the Birds' 6-5 victory over Washington at D.C. Stadium. |
| 1969 | Cesar Tovar breaks up a no-hit bid by an Oriole pitcher for the second time this season when his ninth-inning single stops Mike Cuellar's streak of 35 consecutive retired batters, spoiling the southpaw's attempt for the no-no. In May, the Twins' utility player broke up Dave McNally's hitless game with a one-out single in the final frame. |
| 1971 | At Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis, Harmon Killebrew becomes the tenth player to join the 500 home run club when he hits the historic homer in the first inning off Mike Cuellar. Later in the game, the 36-year-old first baseman connects for #501, but Killer's two round-trippers are in vain when the Twins lose to the Orioles in 10 innings, 4-3. |
| 1971 | Juan Marichal limits the Expos to two hits, recording his 50th career shutout in the Giants's 1-0 walk-off victory at Candlestick Park. After doubling in the ninth inning, the Dominican hurler scores the winning run on Tito Fuentes' RBI single off Montreal's starter Bill Stoneman. |
| 1974 | In front of an overflow crowd at Falcon Park, 14-year-old Jorge Lebron, an infielder from Pattillas (PR), becomes the youngest professional player ever, debuting for the Auburn Phillies, Philadelphia's short season-A affiliate. The 5-foot-10, 132-pound shortstop plays two games before returning to Puerto Rico to finish junior high school. |
| 1979 | Dodger hurler Don Sutton sets a franchise record with his 50th shutout, blanking the Giants at Candlestick Park, 9-0. The 34-year-old right-hander has previously shared the mark with Don Drysdale. |
| 1980 | Steve McCatty goes the distance in the A's extra-inning loss to Seattle. The Oakland right-hander joins Matt Keough, Mike Norris, and Rick Langford in becoming the fourth hurler on the team this season to throw a 14-inning complete game, fueling the criticism that manager Billy Martin overworks his pitching staff. |
| 1981 | Attempting to break Stan Musial's National League record for hits, Pete Rose hits a wicked infield grounder to Garry Templeton that the official scorer rules as an error rather than giving the Phillies' first baseman his historic hit. Amidst the loud booing by the sizeable vocal crowd at Veterans' Stadium, fireworks begin as an anxious stadium engineer ignites the planned celebration prematurely, thinking he heard Bill Giles say 'go' into the walkie-talkie when the Phillies president had said 'no.’ |
| 1981 | After tying the mark in June in the last game played before the two-month baseball strike, Pete Rose becomes the all-time National League hit leader when he singles off Cardinal hurler Mark Littell for his 3,631st hit. The Phillies' first baseman is congratulated on the field by Stan Musial, who previously held the mark, in front of 60,561 enthusiastic fans at Veterans Stadium. |
| 1986 |
"I may not have been the greatest Yankee to put on the uniform, but I am the proudest." - BILLY MARTIN, on his day at Yankee Stadium.
|
During Billy Martin Day at Yankee Stadium, the Bronx Bombers retire uniform #1 and dedicate a plaque in Monument Park that reads, 'There has never been a greater competitor than Billy.' The team's former scrappy second baseman and four-time manager tells the sold-out crowd, "I may not have been the greatest Yankee to put on the uniform, but I am the proudest."
| 1989 |
After fifteen months of recovery from cancer surgery on his arm, Dave Dravecky pitches one-hit baseball for seven innings, blanking the Reds to get the victory. The Giant bullpen holds on for a 4-3 win at Candlestick Park.
|
| 1991 |
At Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, there is a five-minute delay in the game between the Astros and Braves when Astros trainer Dave Labossiere needs to remove a moth lodged in Mike Simms's ear with a pair of tweezers. The insect, which comes out of the ordeal alive, has a better night than the right fielder, who goes hitless in four plate appearances in the team's 4-0 loss to the Braves.
|
| 1994 | In his last appearance of the year, two-time Cy Young Award recipient Brett Saberhagen picks up his 14th and final victory of the campaign when the Mets beat the Phillies at Veterans Stadium, 6-2. The 30-year-old right-hander, in his 24 starts, will finish the strike-shortened season with more wins than walks (13) and home runs allowed (13). |
| 1994 | Winning for the 20th time in their last 22 games, the Expos blanked the Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium, 4-0, putting the team 35 games over .500, a franchise record. Unfortunately, the victory will be Montreal's last due to the impending players' strike that will eventually end the season. |
| 1995 |
For the third time during the night, the fans throw promotional souvenir baseballs onto the Dodger Stadium field, resulting in the first forfeit of a major game in sixteen years. The umps' decision to end the game comes with the home team trailing the Cardinals, 2-1, with one out in the bottom of the ninth.
|
| 1998 | Joining Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, and Babe Ruth, Albert Belle becomes only the fourth player to drive in 100 runs and hit 30 homers for seven consecutive seasons. The White Sox left fielder, who played in every game this season, will continue the streak next year with the Orioles. |
| 1998 | At Qualcomm Stadium, Harry Wendelstedt and his son, Hunter, become the first father-son combination to umpire a major league baseball game. Dad is behind the plate calling balls and strikes, and his son, who will remain on the same crew for the remainder of the season, makes the calls at third base when the last-place Marlins beat the first-place Padres, 3-2. |
| 2000 | Winning for the first time in 16 starts, David Cone ends the worst slump of his career as the Yankees beat the A's, 12-6. Newly acquired Jose Canseco hits a three-run homer into the upper deck to help Cone stop the skid. |
| 2001 | 🇷🇺 In Kotno, Poland, Khovrio becomes the first Russian team to qualify for the Little League World Series. The Moscow squad, the first made up of all native European youngsters, defeats the Tbilisi YMCA of Georgia, 12-2. |
| 2002 | Sammy Sosa hits three home runs in consecutive at-bats in the third, fourth, and fifth innings, tying a Cubs' record with nine RBIs, established by Heinie Zimmerman in 1911. With his sixth career three-homer game performance, the Chicago right fielder also ties the major league record set by Johnny Mize and becomes only the fifth player in big league history to homer in three straight innings. |
| 2002 | Barry Bonds breaks another Giant slugger's major league record when he receives his 46th intentional walk of the season, surpassing the mark established in 1969 by Willie McCovey. The third of the three free passes issued by the Pirates to the San Francisco left fielder proves costly when Benito Santiago follows with a grand slam, putting the home team ahead, 8-3. |
| 2003 |
Rafael Furcal becomes the 12th player to turn an unassisted triple play in big league history. With Cardinals runners on first and second in the fifth inning, the Braves shortstop makes a leaping catch of pitcher Woody Williams' liner and steps on second base to double up Matheny before tagging out Palmeiro, attempting to get back to first base.
|
| 2004 |
At Great American Ball Park, Adam Dunn crushes a ball to dead center field that clears the wall by over 100 feet before bouncing into the Ohio River. The Reds' first baseman's Ruthian blast off LA's Jose Lima, believed to have traveled 535 feet, is the longest home run ever hit in the Cincinnati ballyard.
|
| 2004 | Taking a cab to Shea Stadium from nearby LaGuardia Airport, Mets starting pitcher Tom Glavine is injured as the taxi collides with an SUV. The 38-year-old two-time Cy Young Award winner loses his front two teeth and needs over 40 stitches to close facial lacerations. |
| 2004 | After signing the American League Rookie of the Year to a five-year, reported $16 million deal on May 6, the Royals send Angel Berroa to the Wichita Wranglers, their Double-A affiliate in the Texas League. Compared to last season's award-winning performance, when the 26-year-old Dominican batted .287 with 17 homers and 73 RBIs in his first full season in the major leagues, the struggling shortstop is hitting only .249 with five homers and 30 ribbies. |
| 2005 |
Mike Lowell employs the hidden ball trick on an unsuspecting baserunner for the second consecutive season. Representing the tying run in the eighth inning, Diamondbacks outfielder Luis Terrero is the Marlins' third baseman's latest victim.
|
| 2005 | Jackie Robinson's former Negro League roommate, 103-year-old Ted Radcliffe, dies after a long battle with cancer. The 1943 Negro American League MVP was dubbed 'Double Duty' by Damon Runyon after catching a shutout in the opener of a 1931 Negro League World Series doubleheader at Yankee Stadium and then hurling one of his own in the nightcap. |
| 2005 | After being released from the hospital, an 18-year-old fan appears in court to face criminal charges of trespassing, reckless endangerment, and criminal mischief stemming from his 40-foot plunge last night from the upper deck of Yankee Stadium into the netting behind home plate. Team owner George Steinbrenner called the incident "... the only exciting thing that happened today,'' after his struggling club lost to the first-place White Sox, 2-1. |
| 2005 | KNBR dismisses Larry Krueger after the radio talk show host made inappropriate racial remarks that caused an uproar in the team's clubhouse. During a postgame rant on the Giants' flagship station, the controversial on-air personality said the club had too many "brain-dead Caribbean hitters" and told his listeners that manager Felipe Alou's mind "has turned to Cream of Wheat." |
| 2006 | In the finale of the three-game sweep by the Royals, Red Sox ace Curt Schilling surrenders ten extra-base hits, tying an American League record. The nine doubles and homer equal the dubious mark shared by Dale Gear (1901 Senators) and Luis Tiant (1969 Indians). |
| 2007 | The Indians pay tribute to Larry Doby on his day at Jacobs Field by collectively wearing his number 14 on their uniforms. In 1947, the future Hall of Fame outfielder became the first black to play in the American League, making his debut in Detroit with Cleveland as a pinch-hitter. |
| 2008 | The first-place Rays, with their 11-3 rout over the Mariners at Safeco Field, improve their record to 71-46. The victory establishes a record for wins in the 11-year history of the franchise. |
| 2009 |
The White Sox claimed former Blue Jay right fielder Alex Ríos off waivers. In June, the 28-year-old outfielder, on the day he struck out in all five of his plate appearances, walked past a young seeking an autograph while leaving a fundraising gala for the Jays Care Foundation, cursing a heckler who called him out for his behavior. (Ed. Note: Ríos publicly apologized, calling the incident "something that I should've never done and it was just a bad reaction on my side." -LP) |
| 2009 |
Troy Tulowitzki collects five hits, completing the cycle with a three-bagger in the seventh inning of the Rockies' 11-5 victory over the Cubs at Coors Field. The Colorado shortstop is the fifth player in franchise history to accomplish the feat and the sixth major leaguer this season to have a single, double, triple, and a homer in the same game.
|
| 2010 |
In an ugly first-inning brawl at Great American Ball Park, Cardinals' backstop Jason LaRue suffers a mild concussion and bruised ribs, with Chris Carpenter, his batterymate, also receiving bruises on his back during the seven-minute scrum. Baseball suspends Reds' starting pitcher Johnny Cueto for seven games for kicking the Redbirds' catcher and pitcher, drawing his opponents' wrath for lashing out with his spikes during the altercation.
|
| 2014 | After rallying from a 5-0 deficit, the Blue Jays win the longest game in franchise history when Jose Bautista's single in the bottom of the 19th inning drives in Munenori Kawasaki, giving Toronto a 6-5 walk-off victory over Detroit. Jose Reyes's ninth-inning single with two outs off Joba Chamberlain sent the Rogers Centre contest into overtime. |
43 Fact(s) Found