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This Day in Baseball History
August 14th

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36 Fact(s) Found
1888 Tim Keefe's nineteen-game winning streak ends when Gus Krock and the White Stockings defeat the Giants at the Polo Grounds, 4-2. The future Hall of Fame right-hander, who will amass 342 career victories, finishes the season with a 35-12 record.
1919 The Robins and Cubs split a doubleheader, needing only two hours and seventeen minutes to complete the contests. In the opener, the Cubs blank Brooklyn, 2-0, in one hour and ten minutes, and their opponents take one hour and seven minutes to blank shut them out in the nightcap, 1-0. 
1932 Brooklyn's 10-inning, 2-1 victory over the Giants at the Polo Grounds makes reliever John Quinn, at 49, the oldest player to win a major league game. Johnny Frederick, who will have only six home runs during the entire season, hits a ninth-inning game-tying homer off Carl Hubbell, his fourth round-tripper as a pinch-hitter, establishing a new major-league record.
1933 Jimmie Foxx hits for the cycle with his two-run single off Belve Bean in the sixth inning of the A's 11-5 victory over the Indians at Cleveland Stadium. The Philadelphia first baseman's offensive output drives in nine runs to establish a new American League record, breaking the previous mark of 8 set in 1911 by Highlander outfielder Topsy Hartsel.
1937 At Navin Field, the Tigers sweep a doubleheader against the visiting Browns, 16-1 and 20-7. The thirty-six Detroit runs, including eight scored by Pete Fox, establish a new American League record for tallies in a twin bill, a mark not broken until the Rangers score 39 times in two games on August 23, 2007.
1939 In an evening event that attracts over 30,000 Windy City patrons to Comiskey Park, the White Sox beat the Browns, 5-2, in the first major league night game ever played in Chicago. Their crosstown rivals will take another 49 years before play under lights when the Cubs finally install illumination in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field under the threat of not being able to play postseason contests in their home ballpark.
1953 In their home in Fairfield (CT), David N. Mullany and his 13-year-old son create the first successful prototype of a ball that is easy to throw with a curve, saving the arms of young backyard hurlers attempting to snap off a breaking ball. The design of the Wiffle Ball, that still exists today, consists of a perforated plastic sphere that wieghs two-third of an ounce with eight oblong slots cut in the top.

(Ed. Note: The name Wiffle Ball, registered as a trademark in 1981, is derived from 'whiff,' a slang word referring to a batter striking out. - LP)

1958 Vic Power, who will have only three stolen bases this season, becomes the first player in seventy years to steal home twice in one game. After swiping the dish in the eighth, the third baseman's tenth-inning two-out theft of the plate ends the game, giving the Indians a 10-9 'slide-off' victory over the Tigers at Cleveland Stadium.
1960 The fans at Yankee Stadium boo Mickey Mantle, benched by Casey Stengel, for not running out a routine ground ball that results in an 'ugly' inning-ending double play in a 6-3 nightcap loss in a doubleheader sweep by the Senators. The team loses Roger Maris when he bruises his ribs, sliding hard into second baseman Billy Gardner's knee to break up the twin killing.
1961 The Phillies drop their seventeenth consecutive game, a 9-2 defeat to the Cubs' Dick Ellsworth, and, for the eleventh straight time, the opposing pitcher throws a complete game against the team. The last-place club, extending their losing skein to 23 contests, finishing with a 47-107 record, 46 games behind the league-leading Reds.
1962 For the third time this season, the Aaron brothers hit home runs in the same game. Tommie and Hank's solo round-trippers in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, prove to be the difference in the Braves' 5-4 victory over Cincinnati at Crosley Field.
1962 Al Jackson goes the distance in the Mets' 15-inning loss to the Phillies. The hard-luck lefty, throwing an astounding 215 pitches, gives up only six hits, including a two-run single to third baseman Mel Roach in the fifteenth frame, which proves to be the difference in his 3-1 defeat at the Polo Grounds.
1964 In a battle of teenagers at Shea Stadium, 19-year-old first baseman Ed Kranepool homers twice off 18-year-old Phillies' starter Rick Wise. The young Philadelphia right-hander prevails, earning the victory in the team's 6-4 decision over the Mets.
1971 Bob Gibson doesn't allow a hit when the Cardinals beat the Pirates, 11-0, the largest margin of victory ever in franchise history for a no-hitter. The first no-hitter in Pittsburgh in 64 years, and the first in the year-old Three Rivers Stadium, is made possible thanks to outstanding defensive plays made by outfielder Jose Cruz and third baseman Joe Torre.
1981 Dave Kingman's home run, a monstrous blast estimated to have traveled 515 feet, will remain the longest round-tripper ever hit in the 44-year history of Shea Stadium. Kong's tape-measure home run, a solo shot over the left-center wall, comes in the fourth inning off Larry Christenson in the Mets' 8-4 loss to Philadelphia.

1981 In the Mariners' 13-3 defeat over Minnesota in the nightcap, Jeff Burroughs hits three home runs off three different pitchers. The M's right fielder drives in six runs with his two-run, three-run, and a solo round-tripper in the Metropolitan Stadium contest to help salvage a split of the twin bill.
1982 Phillies first baseman Pete Rose, with his 12,365th trip to the plate, passes Hank Aaron to become the all-time leader of career at-bats. The all-time hit king will end his 24-year tenure in the major leagues with an amazing total of 15,890 ABs.
1987 Mark McGwire's 39th round-tripper breaks the major league mark for home runs by a rookie shared by Wally Berger (1930, Red Sox) and Frank Robinson (1956, Reds). The A's freshman first baseman, who will finish the season with an American League-leading 49 homers, hits his record-breaking round-tripper off Don Sutton, giving up the freshman's two-run sixth-inning blast in the Angels' 7-6 loss to Oakland at Anaheim Stadium.
1993

The Yankees retire Reggie Jackson's uniform number 44. 'Mr. October', recently inducted into the Hall of Fame, played as an embattled right fielder for the Bronx Bombers from 1977-81, helping the club reach the postseason four times, including winning two world championships.

1995 The Twins retire Kent Hrbek's uniform #14 as a tribute to their former first baseman, who spent his entire career with the team. The Minneapolis (MN) native, growing up less than a mile from Metropolitan Stadium, hit .282 during his 14-year tenure in the Twin Cities, which included world championships in 1987 and 1991.
1998 The A's Rickey Henderson's stolen base in the first inning against the Tigers makes the thirty-nine-year-old the oldest player to steal 50 bases in a season. The veteran outfielder will end the season with a major league-leading 66 stolen bases.
1998 In a 15-3 rout of the Indians at Jacobs Field, Chris Hoiles becomes the ninth player in major league history and the only catcher to hit two grand slams in the same game. The Orioles backstop goes yard with the bases full in the third inning off Charles Nagy and does it again in the eighth off Ron Villone.
1999 Ivan Rodriguez becomes the first catcher in major league history to compile 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in the same season. The Texas backstop reaches the milestone when he swipes second base off Brook Fordyce in the team's 8-7 loss to the White Sox at Comiskey Park.
2001 In the top of the ninth, Boston closer Derek Lowe allows the tying run to score when he gives up three consecutive singles to the only three batters he faces in Seattle's eventual 6-3 victory in 11 innings at Fenway Park. The Red Sox fans show their displeasure about the blown save by tearing and throwing onto the field pieces of the giveaway they received as a promotion for attending tonight's game, a Derek Lowe poster.
2003 Despite a massive blackout in the Northeast, the game between the Mets and the Giants at Shea Stadium is the only postponement on the major league schedule. Although Detroit, Toronto, and Cleveland were without electricity, the Tigers, Blue Jays, and Indians either had the day off or played on the road.
2004 The Florida State League's Daytona Cubs shift their home games into away contests when Hurricane Charley causes extensive damage to their historic ballpark. The facility, built in 1914 and renamed for Jackie Robinson to commemorate where the future Hall of Famer and civil rights advocate played his first exhibition game with the Montreal Royals, was also damaged by Hurricane Donna (1966) and Hurricane Floyd (1999).
2006 Matt Diaz ties a National League record and establishes a club mark by collecting a hit in ten consecutive at-bats. The Braves’ 28-year-old left-fielder, who goes 4-for-5 in Atlanta's 10-4 victory over the Nationals at RFK, surpasses teammate Marcus Giles, who held the previous franchise mark with nine straight safeties in 2003.
2007 Atlanta skipper Bobby Cox is ejected from a major league game for the 132nd time in his career, breaking John McGraw's all-time ejections record. The Braves manager takes only 28 seasons to set the new mark, compared to the 42 years in which Mugsy compiled his tosses, including 14 as a player.

2007 Former Yankees second baseman Phil Rizzuto, the oldest living Hall of Famer, dies in his sleep at a New Jersey nursing home from complications of pneumonia at the age of 89. Scooter became a popular icon in New York for his unique broadcasting style, appearances in numerous commercials, and lending his voice on Meat Loaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" rock hit, which won a Grammy.

2007 After being arrested for hitting two players with a bat, former big-leaguer Jose Offerman is suspended indefinitely by the independent Atlantic League for the assault during a Bluefish and Long Island Ducks game. The incident, triggered when a pitch drills the former All-Star, results in Bridgeport backstop John Nathans sustaining a concussion and starter Matt Beech suffering a broken finger.
2008 In the sixth inning of a 9-2 rout of the Royals, the White Sox become the sixth team in major league history to hit four consecutive home runs in an inning. Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, and Alexei Ramirez go deep off KC reliever Joel Peralta, with Juan Uribe completing the record-tying feat by taking Robinson Tejeda yard at Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field in the sixth inning of a 9-2 rout of the Royals.

2008 Mark Kotsay joins Albert Hall as the only Atlanta player to complete the cycle when he strokes a seventh-inning double, his 1,500th career hit. The outfielder's 5-for-5 performance isn't enough, with the Cubs beating the Braves, 11-7, to give Chicago their first season sweep of the Braves in franchise history, which dates back to 1876.

2010 Mike McClendon becomes the first rookie in Brewers' history to retire the first nine batters he faces. The 25-year-old right-hander is perfect in the sixth, seventh, and eighth frames in Milwaukee's eventual 5-4, ten-inning victory over Colorado at Coors Field.
2015 The Padres' Matt Kemp hits a ninth-inning triple to complete the cycle, making him the first player in the 35-year history of the franchise to accomplish the feat. The San Diego outfielder's home run in the first, single in the third, and double in the seventh contributes to the team's 9-5 victory over Colorado at Coors Field.

2021 Joining Theodore Breitenstein (1891), Bumpus Jones (1892), and Bobo Holloman (1953), Arizona southpaw Tyler Gilbert becomes the fourth pitcher to hurl a no-no in his first big league start when he beats the Padres at Chase Field, 7-0. The Diamondbacks' 27-year-old freshman becomes the 24th rookie to throw a no-hitter, with his gem being the eighth no-hitter of the season, equaling the big-league record set in 1884, the first year of overhand pitching.
2024 In the eighth inning of the Yankees' 10-2 victory over the White Sox, Aaron Judge hits a three-run blast to become the quickest player in MLB history to reach 300 career home runs, both in terms of the fewest games and at-bats. The 32-year-old Bronx Bomber accomplishes the feat in 955 games, surpassing Ralph Kiner (1,087), and does it with 400 fewer at-bats than Babe Ruth, who needed 3,831 ABs to reach the milestone.
36 Fact(s) Found