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This Day in Baseball History
August 15th

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40 Fact(s) Found
1905 Philadelphia A's Rube Waddell pitches a five-inning no-hit game, blanking the Browns, 2-0. The shortened masterpiece, which isn't officially considered a no-hitter, includes the southpaw striking out nine of the 15 St. Louis batters he faces before a torrential rain washes out the Columbia Park contest.
1914 Brooklyn's Jake Daubert sets a National League record with four sacrifices in one game. The first baseman's efforts aren't enough when the Dodgers drop an 8-7 decision to Philadelphia at Ebbets Field.
1916 At Fenway Park, Red Sox southpaw Babe Ruth defeats Walter Johnson and the Senators in 13 innings, 1-0. After holding Boston to just four hits over the first twelve frames, Washington's 'Big Train' yields three more in the 13th, allowing Jack Barry to score the game's lone run.
1926 When Babe Herman doubles with the bags full, three Dodgers wind up on third. The runner on second base rounds third but decides to return to the bag when the runner from first reaches the same base, and a few seconds later, Herman slides in to join his two teammates.


Dodger Outfielder Babe Herman
1933 Goudey Baseball Card
1941 Although leading Boston, 6-3, when the game ends at the start of the eighth after a 40-minute rain delay, the Senators will lose the game. Washington forfeits the contest when the American League upholds Red Sox manager Joe Cronin's protest that the home ground crew deliberately refused to cover the field when it started to rain.
1951

"I don't compare 'em, I just catch 'em."- Giants outfielder Willie Mays

With one out in the eighth and a runner on third base in a 1-1 tied game, Willie Mays makes an incredible catch of Carl Furillo's drive to deep centerfield and then turns counterclockwise to throw a perfect strike to home to nail a surprised Billy Cox at home to complete the double play. Some believe the catch inspired the team's incredible comeback from an 11½ game deficit to win the National League pennant. 

1954 The Orioles lose their 27th consecutive game as the visiting team in Cleveland with a 3-1 nightcap loss to the Indians. The record losing streak on the road against one opponent started in August two seasons ago, when the franchise played as the St. Louis Browns.
1955 At Sportsman's Park, Braves starting pitcher Warren Spahn hits a home run and a triple in his 12-1 complete-game victory over the Redbirds. The crafty left-hander, who will hit 35 homers in his 21-year career, has now homered in every National League stadium.
1962 In the first game of a Polo Grounds doubleheader, Don Demeter hits home runs off two different pitchers named Bob Miller. The outfielder's third-inning round-tripper off Mets' right-handed starter Robert Lane Miller and his homer in the ninth off southpaw Robert Gerald Miller contributes to the Phillies' 9-3 victory over the Amazins.
1962 Choo Choo Coleman and Jim Hickman tie a major league record by pinch-hitting home runs as teammates in the same game. The Amazin' Mets still drop the nightcap to the Phillies, an 8-7 defeat in 13 innings at the Polo Grounds.
1963 En route to a 25-5 record and a league-leading 1.88 ERA, Sandy Koufax has his shortest outing of the season in the Dodgers' 7-5 victory over Milwaukee at County Stadium. After being spotted to a three-run lead in the top of the first, the southpaw retires the first Brave he faces but pitches only a third of an inning when he gives up three consecutive singles and a home run to the next four hitters that score four earned runs. 
1965

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, honored by their country, decorated by their Queen, loved here in America, here are the Beatles!”- ED SULLIVAN, Variety show host introducing the Beatles.

With Beatlemania in full force, the Fab Four play Shea Stadium, the Mets' home, marking the first time a rock band headlines a stadium venue. Screams drown out the band's memorable performance in front of a sold-out crowd of 56,000 that features a 30-minute set of 12 songs.

1965 🇯🇵 With pregame festivities celebrating his appearance as the first Japanese player in a major league game completed, Masanori Murakami, normally a reliever, starts the game. In a Giants' 15-9 win over the Phillies at Candlestick Park, the southpaw from Otsuki pitches 2.1 innings, allowing four hits and three earned runs while striking out four.
1965 In the nightcap of a Cleveland Stadium doubleheader, Indians' pinch-hitter Max Alvis hits a two-run homer in the ninth to knot the score at 3-3, and two innings later, Leon Wagner, also pinch-hitting, blasts a two-run round-tripper to beat the Twins, 6-4. The two pinch-hit home runs in one game tie a major league record.
1970 With the bases loaded and one gone in the bottom of the ninth with a 2-1 lead, Tom Seaver strikes out Bob Tillman for the apparent second out, but Jerry Grote's passed ball allows Tony Gonzalez to score the tying run for the Braves. In his effort to cut down the runner at home, the Mets catcher overthrows Seaver, who is covering the plate, bringing in Rico Carty home from third base with the winning tally, giving Atlanta a stunning 3-2 victory, thanks to the two runs scored on a called third strike.
1970 Reds' right fielder Pete Rose goes 0-for-7, striking out five consecutive times. Cincinnati beats the Phillies, 5-4, despite the defending National League batting champ's platinum sombrero.

(Ed. Note: The Olympic Rings or platinum sombrero refers to a batter striking out five times in a game. -LP)
1975 In a twin bill against the Rangers at Memorial Stadium, Orioles' skipper Earl Weaver is ejected twice by umpire Ron Luciano. The fiery Baltimore manager is thrown out in the first game of a doubleheader and gets tossed again before a pitch is thrown in the nightcap when the sworn enemies begin feuding once more while the teams exchange lineup cards at home plate.
1989 In his second start after coming back from cancer surgery, left-hander Dave Dravecky breaks his arm when he throws a wild pitch to Tim Raines in the sixth inning of the Giants' 3-2 victory over Montreal at Olympic Stadium. The 33-year-old Youngstown, Ohio native, credited with the win, collapses to the ground, clutching his left arm in severe pain after the humerus bone snaps midway between his shoulder and elbow, with the sound of the breaking bone heard throughout the ballpark.
1990 A dramatic game-winning grand slam by Mark McGwire off Rob Murphy gives the Oakland A's a ten-inning victory over the Red Sox at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, 6-2. With his Sayonara Slam, 'Big Mac' becomes the first player to hit thirty home runs in his first four seasons.

1990 Phillies southpaw Terry Mulholland faces just twenty-seven hitters, no-hitting the Giants, 6-0, as a double play erases the only batter to reach base due to third baseman Charlie Hayes' throwing error. The gem is the first nine-inning no-hitter ever thrown at the Philadelphia ballpark and is the eighth no-no of the season, surpassing the previous, set in 1908 and tied in 1917.

1993 Nolan Ryan wins the 324th and last victory of his 27-year career when the Rangers beat Cleveland, 6-4. The 46-year-old right-hander, who will lose his next four games, sees his career come to an end two starts sooner than he planned when a torn ligament forces him to leave the mound in the first inning in what will prove to be his worst big league outing and final major league appearance.
1995

"For a huge portion of my generation, Mickey Mantle was that baseball hero. And for reasons that no statistics, no dry recitation of facts can possibly capture, he was the most compelling baseball hero of our lifetime. And he was our symbol of baseball at a time when the game meant something to us that perhaps it no longer does."- BOB COSTAS, delivering the eulogy at Mickey Mantle's funeral.

At the request of the Mantle family, Bob Costas delivers the eulogy at Mickey's funeral. The popular broadcaster, known for his love of the game and his admiration of the Yankee superstar, describes the Hall of Famer as "a fragile hero to whom we had an emotional attachment so strong and lasting that it defied logic."

1995 The Royals designated Vince Coleman for assignment, although he is hitting .287 and has 26 stolen bases in 75 games. After acquiring the available 33-year-old fleet outfielder, the Mariners compile a 26-14 record, with their new leadoff hitter being a key factor in the team capturing the American League Wild Card.
1999 In the first frame of Anaheim's 10-2 victory in Detroit, Chuck Finley becomes the first major league hurler to strike out four batters in one inning twice in his career. The Angels' southpaw also accomplished the feat on May 12 against the Yankees.
2005 In the Giants' 7-3 victory over the Reds, Randy Winn becomes the twenty-first player in franchise history to hit for the cycle. The fleet flychaser, obtained from the Mariners two weeks ago, singles in the first, homers in the third, doubles in the fourth, completing the feat with a triple in the sixth inning in the Great American Ball Park.

2005 Felix Hernandez becomes the first teenager to strike out at least ten batters since Dwight Gooden accomplished the feat with the 1984 Mets. The 18-year-old Mariner rookie righty K's 11 batters as the Mariners rout the Royals, 11-3.
2006 The Dodgers, with their 4-0 blanking of the Marlins, win their sixth consecutive game and 17th in the last 18 contests. The stretch is the team's best run since the Brooklyn Superbas went 20-1 in 1899.
2006 Joining Jim Hickman (1965), Dave Kingman (1978), Caudell Washington (1980), Darryl Strawberry (1985), Gary Carter (1985), and Edgardo Alfonzo (1999), Jose Reyes, in an 11-4 loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, becomes the seventh Mets player to hit three homers in a game. Like all his predecessors, his trifecta takes place on the road.
2006 In a contest that takes five hours and 21 minutes to complete, the Diamondbacks beat the Rockies at Coors Field, 2-1. The 18-inning game ties the D-Back franchise record for the most innings played in a contest and the longest in Colorado history for both frames played and the time of the game.
2007 The Devil Rays come to terms with their first overall selection in the June first-year player draft, left-handed pitcher David Price. The Vanderbilt University (11-1, 2.63) southpaw signs a six-year major league contract worth as much as $11.25 million if he sticks in the bigs for the length of the deal.
2008 Buster Posey, the fifth overall pick in the June amateur draft, gets the largest up-front bonus in major league history when he agrees to a $6.2 million signing deal with the Giants. The highly touted catcher gets slightly more than infielders Tim Beckham (first pick/shortstop), who receives $6.15 million from the Rays, and Pedro Alvarez (second pick/third baseman), who gets $6 million from the Pirates.
2011 Jim Thome becomes the eighth player to reach the 600 career home runs plateau when he hits a two-run homer in the sixth (599), followed by a three-run blast an inning later off Detroit's Daniel Schlereth. Needing fewer at-bats to reach 600 than anyone except for Babe Ruth, the 40-year-old Twins slugger accomplishes the feat in his 8,167th at-bat, compared to the Bambino's 6,921.

2011 At Petco Park, Jason Isringhausen becomes the 23rd major league pitcher to record 300 career saves when the Mets defeat San Diego in 10 innings, 5-4. The 38-year-old right-handed closer is the third pitcher, along with John Franco (1996) and Billy Wagner (2006), to achieve his 300th save wearing a Mets uniform.
2012 Joining Philip Humber (White Sox) and Matt Cain (Giants), Felix Hernandez becomes the third hurler to throw a perfect game this season, marking the first time in major league history that three spotless gems occur in the same year. "King Felix's" 1-0 victory over the Rays at Safeco Field is the first perfect game and the fourth no-hitter in Mariner history, which includes hitless games tossed by Randy Johnson (1990) and Chris Bosio (1993) and the combined effort of six pitchers in June.

2012 Baseball suspends Giants' left fielder Melky Cabrera for 50 games for testing positive for high levels of performance-enhancing testosterone, causing the All-Star Game's MVP to miss the rest of the season. The second-leading hitter in the National League, 13 points behind Andrew McCutchen, is one plate appearance shy of qualifying for the batting title but could win the crown if he were to have the circuit's best average after the addition of a theoretical at-bat.
2013 A proposal that would dramatically increase the number of reviewable plays is presented at the quarterly Owners Meetings by a committee consisting of Braves president John Schuerholz and former major league skippers Joe Torre and Tony La Russa. The rule change, to be formally voted on in November, allows a manager to ask an umpire to initiate a play review, with one challenge permitted in the first six innings and two more through the end of the game, without any provision to cover a missed call after a team uses all of its challenges.
2015 David Denson becomes the first player affiliated with a major league organization to come out as gay, sharing his sexual orientation in an interview with the Journal Sentinel. The 20-year-old first baseman/outfielder had previously shared his ground-breaking news with his Helena Brewers teammates before going public after much soul-searching and consulting with Billy Bean, a former big-leaguer who came out of the closet after he retired.
2015 In Boston's 22-10 rout of the Mariners at Fenway Park, Jackie Bradley Jr. becomes the youngest player and first Red Sox to collect five extra-base hits in a game. The 25-year-old outfielder's 5-for-6 performance, which included five runs scored and seven RBIs, consists of three doubles and two home runs. 
2020 Max Muncy hits the first leadoff sac fly in baseball history when he flies out to deep right field, scoring Chris Taylor, the Dodgers' ghost runner who stole third base on the second pitch of the tenth inning. Angels' reliever Keynan Middleton, who throws a perfect 1-2-3 inning, is tagged with the loss when the run proves to be the difference in the team's 6-5 loss in Anaheim.
2024 Needing a double to complete the tenth cycle in Phillies history, and only the second one at Citizens Bank Park, Weston Wilson hits a line drive to right field that ricochets off a diving Alex Call's glove for a two-bagger in the eighth inning of the team's 13-3 rout of the Nationals. The 29-year-old, playing only in his 24th major league game, is the first Phillies rookie to accomplish the feat and the second freshman to do it this season, marking the first time two first-year players have hit for the cycle in the same season.

(Ed. Note: Ranger rookie Wyatt Langford collected a single, double, triple, home run in a contest against the Orioles on June 30. - LP)

 
40 Fact(s) Found