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40 Fact(s) Found
1896 | Phillies outfielder Ed Delahanty hits four home runs in one game in a 9-8 loss to the hometown Colts. The future Hall of Famer's quartet of round-trippers at the West Side Grounds are the inside-the-park variety. |
1922 | Cardinal right-hander Bill Doak loses his no-hitter when he forgets to cover first base, turning Curt Walker's seventh-inning grounder to first baseman Jack Fournier into an infield hit. The Redbirds' star spitballer settles for a one-hitter, his second of the season, and a 1-0 victory over the Phillies at Sportsman's Park. |
1934 |
Babe Ruth, in the top of the third inning at Detroit's Navin Field, wallops Tommy Bridges' 3-2 pitch far over the right-field wall for his 700th career home run. The 4-2 victory over the Tigers puts the Yankees back into first place, but Lou Gehrig will be helped off the field in the first frame, suffering from a severe bout of lumbago, which threatens to end his streak at 1,426 consecutive games.
(Ed. Note: At the time of Ruth's milestone home run, Lou Gehrig has the second-most career round-trippers with 323, less than half of the Bambino's total. - LP) |
1940 | In a twin bill against St. Louis, Joe DiMaggio hits three homers and drives in nine runs. The Yankee outfielder's offensive outburst contributes to the Bronx Bombers' sweep of the Browns in New York, 10-4 and 12-6. |
1943 | Thanks to a three-run home run by Red Sox second baseman Bobby Doerr, the American League defeats the National League in the first night All-Star Game, 5-3. In a game broadcast to GIs via shortwave radio, Pirates' outfielder Vince DiMaggio shines for the Senior Circuit, hitting a single, triple, and home run. |
1948 | At Sportsman's Park, the American League defeats the National League for the 11th time in 15 All-Star contests, 5-2. Vic Raschi pitches three scoreless innings to pick up the win in addition to hitting a two-run single. |
1954 | In front of 68,752 fans, the second-largest crowd in the history of the Midsummer Classic, the NL and AL combine for an All-Star record six home runs in the Junior Circuit's 11-9 victory at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. Indians' third baseman Al Rosen, hitting with a broken finger, accounts for two round-trippers, helping the American League snap a four-game losing streak. |
1954 | At Cleveland's Municipal Stadium, Senators hurler Dean Stone does not deliver a pitch but gets the win in the American League's 11-9 All-Star victory. The Senators' southpaw throws out Red Schoendienst when he attempts to steal home in the eighth inning for the third out before facing his first batter in relief. |
1956 | At Wrigley Field, Ernie Banks plays in his 394th consecutive contest to tie Al Simmons' mark for straight games played after breaking in as a rookie. Mr. Cub's single drives in the decisive run in the Cubs' 7-6 victory over Pittsburgh. |
1960 | The Yankee Stadium hosts the All-Star Game, the second played in three days. The contest marks the return of Willie Mays to New York as the San Francisco Giants superstar goes 3-for-4, including a homer and a single off American League starter Whitey Ford, pacing the National League to a 6-0 victory. |
1962 | Tying a major league mark, Orioles catcher Charlie Lau strokes four doubles in Baltimore's 10-3 victory over the Indians at Memorial Stadium. The future hitting guru's quartet of two-baggers also establishes a new team record. |
1962 | Rookie right-hander Cal Koonce one-hits the Reds, yielding only a fourth-inning single to Don Blasingame in the Cubs' 1-0 victory at Wrigley Field. The hit by the Cincinnati second baseman marks the first of four times, one shy of the major league record shared by Cesar Tovar and Eddie Milner, that he will collect his team's only hit in a game. |
1963 | At 43, Early Wynn pitches the first five innings to record his 300th victory when the Indians down the Kansas City A's, 7-4. The win will be the future Hall of Famer's last in the major leagues, and he will finish his 23-year career with a 300-244 record. |
1965 | For the first time in All-Star history, the National League takes the lead in games won over the American League, beating the Junior Circuit, 6-5, at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington (MN). Bob Gibson, pitching two innings in relief, strikes out Harmon Killebrew and Joe Pepitone to end the game with Tony Oliva in scoring position, who doubled in the ninth inning, giving the Senior Circuit an 18-17 advantage in ASG contests. |
1966 | After being released by Houston earlier in the month, 39-year-old Robin Roberts signs as a free agent with the Cubs. The right-hander will finish the season 2-3 for his new team, ending his 19-year Hall of Fame career with 286 victories. |
1969 | Assisting a young man who fell from the Wrigley Field bleachers, Chicago outfielder Willie Smith provides a boost to help the fan climb back into the stands and avoid a $25 fine. Next season, the Cubs will install a three-and-half-foot chain-link fence atop the left-field wall. |
1971 | Frank Robinson, who hit a two-run home run in the Midsummer Classic, is named the MVP of the contest won by the American League at Tiger Stadium, 6-4. The Orioles' right fielder joins teammate Brooks Robinson as the second player named the Most Valuable Player of a league (1961-NL, 1966-AL), a World Series (1966), and an All-Star Game. |
1971 |
In a game featuring six home runs, including Reggie Jackson crushing a Dock Ellis pitch off the power generator located on the Tiger Stadium right-field roof 520 feet from home plate, the American League beats the NL, 6-4, the Junior Circuit's only win from 1963 to 1982. All the sluggers, J. Bench, H. Aaron, R. Clemente, F. Robinson, H. Killebrew, and Reggie, will become members of the Hall of Fame.
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1972 | The Cardinals waste no time in blanking the Braves, 2-0, behind the two-hit pitching performance of Reggie Cleveland at Busch Stadium. The contest lasted only 93 minutes, becoming the quickest nine-inning game in Redbird history. |
1973 | At Atlanta Stadium, Hal Breeden of the Expos becomes only the second major leaguer to pinch-hit home runs in both ends of a doubleheader. In 1943, Red Sox player-manager Joe Cronin accomplished the feat in a twin bill against the Philadelphia A's. |
1973 | Bobby Murcer hits three homers off Gene Garber, which accounts for all RBIs in the Yankees' 5-0 victory over the Royals. The Friday the Thirteenth contest at Yankee Stadium takes only one hour and 51 minutes to play. |
1976 |
The last segment of Connie Mack Stadium, formerly known as Shibe Park, is demolished when the corner tower and its domed cupola of the A's and Phillies' former home come down. In 1991, the Deliverance Evangelistic Church, an independent Pentecostal congregation, will construct a church building on the site.
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1976 | At Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium, Tiger right-hander Mark Fidrych becomes only the second rookie pitcher to start an All-Star Game, joining freshman Senator Dave Stenhouse, the starter of the second ASG in 1962. George Foster, one of seven Reds position players on the team, is named the MVP of the 7-1 National League victory over the Junior Circuit, who have dropped 13 of the last 14 of the Midsummer Classics. |
1977 |
In a game against the Cubs with New York third baseman Lenny Randle at the plate in the sixth inning, Shea Stadium goes dark when the Big Apple suddenly experiences a blackout that eventually suspends the contest. During the delay, the Mets' players drive their cars onto the field, amusing the crowd by performing various antics in front of the headlights. (Ed. Note: My thanks to Anthony Ventarola for submitting this event -LP). |
1982 | In the first All-Star Game played outside the United States, the National League cruises to its 11th straight win, beating the American League at Montreal's Olympic Stadium, 4-1. Dave Concepcion's second-inning two-run homer off Red Sox starter Dennis Eckersley proves to be the turning point. |
1988 | After replacing John McNamara as the Red Sox manager, Joe Morgan makes an excellent first impression when the team wins nineteen of the first twenty games with him at the helm. Boston will finish the season with an 89-73 record, finishing first in the American League East before losing the ALCS to Oakland. |
1990 | Dave Johnson retires 27 of the last 29 batters he faces but loses his complete-game effort to Minnesota, 3-1. The Oriole starter's undoing is a two-run home run hit by John Moses in the first, an inning that takes the right-hander 33 pitches to complete, in contrast to the 83 tosses he will make finishing the Memorial Stadium contest. |
1991 | At Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, four Oriole hurlers combined to throw a no-hitter, blanking the A's, 2-0. Starting pitcher Bob Milacki holds the home team hitless for the first six innings, followed by Mike Flanagan, Mark Williamson, and Gregg Olson, who throw one inning each of no-hit ball. |
1993 |
In a game best remembered for John Kruk's non-at-bat against fireballer Randy Johnson, the AL All-Stars beat the NL rivals at Baltimore's Camden Yards, 9-3. As the Phillies' first baseman flails at the Big Unit's fastballs comically, Kirby Puckett's double and home run earn the Twins outfielder the Midsummer Classic's MVP Award.
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1999 |
Red Sox right-hander Pedro Martinez whiffs five of the first six batters he faces in the 70th Midsummer Classic at Fenway Park. Before the American League's 4-1 victory over the Senior Circuit, the players pay an impromptu emotional on-field tribute to an aging Ted Williams.
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2004 | Having earned the All-Star MVP award as a 23-year-old for pitching three perfect innings at the Astrodome in 1986, the 41-year-old Roger Clemens gives up six runs during the first inning of the 75th Midsummer Classic. Before starting the fifth inning of the American League's eventual 9-4 victory at Houston's Minute Maid Park, the much chagrined 'Rocket' receives the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award from Bud Selig for his outstanding 21-year career. |
2006 | In an eight-player deal, the Nationals send pitchers Gary Majewski, Bill Bray, and Daryl Thompson, along with infielders Brendan Harris and Royce Clayton, to the Reds in exchange for outfielder Austin Kearns, shortstop Felipe Lopez, and right-hander Ryan Wagner. Washington's GM Jim Bowden, formerly with Cincinnati, is familiar with all his new acquisitions, having played a role in their presence with the Reds. |
2009 | On the day before the All-Star Game, acting GM Mike Rizzo, citing the team has underachieved, announces the Nationals have fired Manny Acta. Washington names bench coach and former major league manager Jim Riggleman as the interim skipper of the 26-61 club. |
2009 | At Busch Stadium, Prince Fielder outslugs Rangers' outfielder Nelson Cruz in the final round, 6-5, to win the All-Star Home Run Derby. The Brewers' first baseman's power surge included a stunning shot estimated to have traveled over 500 feet. |
2010 | The National League wins its first All-Star Game since 1996, beating their AL rivals at Angel Stadium, 3-1. Braves catcher Brian McCann, the Midsummer Classic's MVP, hits a three-run double with two outs in the seventh inning to break the Senior Circuit's 14-year drought. |
2012 | Zack Greinke becomes the first pitcher to start three consecutive games in the same season since Red Faber turned the hat trick with the White Sox in 1917. The Brewer right-hander, the starting pitcher in the team's final game before the All-Star break due to his ejection for arguing a call at first base after throwing just four pitches the day before, makes it three straight starts when he takes the mound to begin the second half of the season. |
2013 |
Giants' right-hander Tim Lincecum hurls the 15th no-hitter in franchise history, the seventh since the team shifted to San Francisco in 1958, when he blanks the Padres, 9-0, in front of a very enthusiastic crowd at Petco Park. The 'Freak' throws 148 pitches en route to his history-making performance, the second most needed to accomplish the task.
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2014 |
Backstop Buster Posey and southpaw Madison Bumgarner become the first batterymates in major league history to hit grand slams in the same game, accounting for all the runs in the Giants' 8-4 victory over the Diamondbacks at AT&T Park. The left-hander's grand salami marks only the second time a hurler has hit two in a season, a feat also accomplished by Tony Cloninger, who hit his four-baggers during the same game in 1966.
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2017 | In the rare trade between the crosstown rivals, the defending World Champion Cubs, 5½ games behind the Brewers in the NL Central, acquire the White Sox's No. 1 starter Jose Quintana for highly-rated prospects Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease, plus minor league infielders Bryant Flete and Matt Rose. The deal marks the first time the crosstown rivals had swapped players since 2006, when the White Sox sent Neal Cotts to the friendly confines of Wrigley Field for David Aardsma and Carlos Vasquez. |
40 Fact(s) Found