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This Day in Baseball History
July 18th

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44 Fact(s) Found
1882 Without wearing a fielder's glove, Louisville hurler Tony Mullane pitches with both arms in an American Association game against the Orioles. The natural right-hander's ambidextrous efforts are to little avail when the home team defeats the Eclipse at Baltimore's Newington Park.
1891 In a North Dakota Red River Valley League contest, the Fargo Red Stockings and Grand Forks Black Stockings each use one pitcher when they play to a 25-inning, 0-0 tie at the State Militia Training Grounds in Devils Lake, a neutral site selected to attract more fans. The umpire ends the longest scoreless game in history, a four-hour, ten-minute nightcap of a twin bill, after the bottom of the 25th to allow the players to catch a train.
1907 At South Side Park, Al Orth becomes the first pitcher to win 100 games in both the American and National League, tossing a two-hitter, beating future Hall of Famer Ed Walsh, who also throws a complete game in the Highlanders' 4-0 victory over the White Sox. The 34-year-old New York right-hander, known as the Curveless Wonder, broke in with Philadelphia, winning precisely 100 games during his seven seasons with the club, before jumping to the Junior Circuit in 1902, signing with the Washington Senators, along with many of his Phillies teammates.
1921 At Navin Field in Detroit, Babe Ruth becomes the all-time home run leader when he hits his 139th career blast as a major leaguer. The Yankee slugger's 36th homer of the season, a mammoth shot that travels over 500 feet, puts him ahead of nineteenth-century player Roger Connor, who connected for 138 round-trippers during his 18 years in the National League.
1923 Phillies' owner William Baker demands that the police arrest 11-year-old Robert Cotter for pocketing a foul ball hit into the Baker Bowl bleachers during the Phillies' game against the Cubs. After the young spectator spends the night in a house of detention for larceny, Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Brown frees him, saying the boy was "following his most natural instincts," leading to the team being the first to allow fans to keep balls hit out of play.
1927 Ty Cobb becomes the first major leaguer to collect 4,000 career hits. The 40-year-old A's outfielder reaches the milestone with a first-inning double off Sam Gibson in Philadelphia's 5-3 loss to the Tigers at Shibe Park.
1935 The Cardinals extend their winning streak to 14 games, beating Boston, 13-3, behind the five-hitter tossed by Paul Dean and the offensive output of Burgess Whitehead and Ripper Collins, both collecting four hits in the Redbirds' 18-hit barrage at Sportsman's Park. The fourteen victories mark the longest stretch of games without a loss in franchise history.
1939 The Red Sox send farmhand Pee Wee Reese to the Dodgers for $35,000, Red Evans, and three minor leaguers due to a less-than-enthusiastic scouting report by player-manager Joe Cronin, who deliberately downplayed the prospect's talent to keep his infield job. The Louisville Colonels' 21-year-old regular shortstop, a future Hall of Famer, will become a crowd favorite, helping Brooklyn win seven pennants during his 16 seasons with the team.


Dodger Shortstop Pee Wee Reese
1952 Bowman Gum Card
1947 The Yankees' American League record-tying nineteen-game winning streak, which began on June 29, ends at Briggs Stadium when Detroit right-hander Fred Hutchinson blanks New York, 8-0. The Bronx Bombers will run away with the Junior Circuit flag after compiling 31 victories during 34 games.
1948 Pat Seerey hits four home runs in the White Sox's 12-11 extra-inning victory over the A's. The Chicago outfielder's homer in the top of the eleventh inning proves the difference in the Shibe Park contest.
1948 After the first two Cubs get on base in the bottom of the ninth inning at Wrigley Field, Phillies 21-year-old rookie right-hander Robin Roberts appears to pitch out of trouble by getting the next two batters out. However, the future Hall of Famer plunks the next two batters, Phil Cavarretta and Andy Pafko, with a pitch, giving Chicago a 3-2 walk-off victory.
1949 Jackie Robinson testifies in front of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, reading a carefully worded statement with the help of Dodger GM Branch Rickey. The Brooklyn second baseman's remarks clarify he disagrees with singer and actor Paul Robeson's belief that American Negroes would refuse to fight in any war against Russia due to racial discrimination toward blacks.
1954 In the fifth inning at Sportsman's Park, Babe Pinelli forfeits the second game of the twin bill to the visiting Phillies. The umpire makes the rare call when the Cardinals, trailing 8-1 in the not-yet-official contest and darkness approaching, delay the game by bringing in three new pitchers during the inning.
1961 In consecutive doubleheaders played at Busch Stadium, Cardinal first baseman Bill White ties Ty Cobb's 49-year-old record by collecting 14 hits in four games when he goes 3-for-4 in both ends in today's sweep over the Cubs. Ironically, the future NL president started the streak on the day the Georgia Peach died, going 8-for-10 in yesterday's twin bill and against Chicago.

(Ed. Note: A question asked by J. Stevens inspired the entry. - LP)
1962 For the first time this century, teammates hit grand slams in the same inning when Bob Allison and Harmon Killebrew each go deep with the bases full in the first frame at Metropolitan Stadium. The Twins sluggers' four-baggers contribute to the 11-run inning, a team record, in the 14-3 rout of the Indians.
1964 At Crosley Field, Pete Rose blasts a grand slam, a fifth-inning shot off Dallas Green in the Reds' 14-3 rout of Philadelphia. The round-tripper will be Charlie Hustle's only bases-loaded home run among his major league record 4,256 hits.
1970 Giants outfielder Willie Mays, in his 2,639th major league game, singles off of Expos right-hander Mike Wegener for his 3000th hit. The 'Say Hey Kid' reaches the milestone in the second inning of San Francisco's 10-1 rout of Montreal at Candlestick Park.
1972 Denny Doyle's RBI single with two outs in the top of the ninth inning spoils San Diego Steve Arlin's bid for a no-hitter. The Philadelphia second baseman advances to second on a balk, scoring on Tim Hutton's single, but the 26-year-old right-hander gets Greg Luzinski to fly out to center, preserving the Padres' 5-1 victory at Jack Murphy Stadium.
1976 After the Red Sox dropped eight of 11 games, the fifth-place team (41-45) fires Darrell Johnson, naming third-base coach Don Zimmer to replace their manager, who led the team to the American League pennant last season. Although last year's AL's champs, posting a mediocre 41-45 record and trailing the division-leading Yankees by 13 games, climbed above the .500 mark earlier in the month, they couldn't overcome their poor start, when they lost 15 of their first 21 decisions.
1980 The Mets play their 3,000th game in franchise history, dropping an 8-3 decision in the nightcap of a twin bill sweep by Cincinnati at Riverfront Stadium. The Amazins have compiled a 1300-1694 (.434) record and six ties since playing their first game in 1962.
1983 The first-place Phillies, with an unimpressive 43-42 record, fire manager Pat Corrales and replace him with the team's general manager, Paul Owens. The 'Pope' will lead the 'Wheeze Kids' to the National League pennant.
1986 The Royals announce manager Dick Howser, who led the team to the World Championship last season, will undergo treatment for a brain tumor, missing the rest of the campaign. After attempting a comeback during spring training, the Kansas City skipper will lose his courageous battle against cancer in June.
1986 Jack Morris throws his third consecutive complete-game shutout, limiting Texas to two hits in Detroit's 5-0 victory at Tiger Stadium. The 31-year-old right-hander's scoreless streak, which spans 31 innings, will end when Kirby Puckett scores an unearned run thanks to two errors in the first frame of his next start.
1987 With his home run leading off the top of the fourth inning off Jose Guzman in the Yankees' 7-2 loss to Texas at Arlington Stadium, Don Mattingly ties Dale Long's 1956 major-league record by homering in eight consecutive games. Ken Griffey Jr. will equal the mark in 1993 with the Mariners.
1988 Mariners hurler Gene Walter balks four times in 2.1 innings during the team's 12-3 loss to Detroit at the Kingdome. The southpaw becomes the third AL pitcher this season to tie the major league record due to a new balk rule requiring a pitcher to come to a "single complete and discernible stop, with both feet on the ground," replacing the former edit of coming to a "complete stop."
1990 The Red Sox and Twins establish an American League record when the teams turn ten double plays at Fenway Park. After pulling off two triple plays in yesterday's contest, Minnesota completes six double killings in their 5-4 loss to Boston.
1993 The Braves trade Melvin Nieves, Vince Moore, and Donnie Elliott to the Padres to acquire Fred McGriff, who will help spark the team to a 51-19 record en route to the NL East Division title. None of the prospects sent to San Diego will prove to have a significant impact on their new organization.
1994 Trailing 11-0 after the first three innings, the Astros pull off a major comeback to defeat the Cardinals. Houston's 11-run frame in the sixth inning puts the team ahead in the 15-12 victory at the Astrodome.

1994 In Seattle, officials close the Kingdome after four ceiling tiles drop nearly 180 feet into the stands behind home plate. Due to the mishap, the Mariners embark on a 22-day road trip, cut short by the players' strike.
1995 Lee Smith becomes the third hurler in major league history to give up two game-ending grand slams in the same season when Albert Belle goes yard, giving the Indians a dramatic 7-5 victory over the Angels at Jacobs Field. At the end of last month, the 37-year-old closer yielded a walk-off four-run round-tripper to A's slugger Mark McGwire.
1998 The Red Sox hit four homers in the fourth inning to become the first American League team to accomplish this feat with two outs. Donnie Sadler and Darren Lewis go deep off Frank Castillo, with Nomar Garciaparra and Mo Vaughn clearing the fences off Dean Crow in the team's 9-4 victory over Detroit at Tiger Stadium.
1998 The late Ted Kluszewski, a four-time All-Star and a member of the Reds Hall of Fame since 1962, has his #18 retired posthumously by the club, and his widow, Elenor Guckel, throws out the ceremonial first pitch in a pregame ceremony at Cinergy Field. Unlike the other players on the Cinergy Field wall, the left-handed slugger's nine-foot replica jersey depicted is sleeveless because the first baseman needed to cut off the sleeves to make his massive upper arms fit into the tight flannel shirts the team wore.
1998 The Mariners' promotion "Turn Ahead the Clock Night" features the team donning futuristic uniforms with an oversized compass rose logo, caps worn backward, untucked jerseys, cut sleeves, and spray-painted metallic cleats. After Star Trek actor James Doohan arrives at the pitcher's mound in a DeLorean to toss the ceremonial first pitch, Seattle beats the visiting Royals, wearing yellow gold vests featuring royal blue sleeves and white pants trimmed in blue and gold.

1999 On Yogi Berra Day at Yankee Stadium, 36-year-old David Cone becomes the 16th pitcher in major league history and the third Yankee to toss a perfect game when he beats the Expos, 6-0. Don Larsen threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Yogi in pregame ceremonies, commemorating his 1956 World Series perfect game.

2000 Hitting four doubles in a game, which has occurred only 37 times in the last century, is accomplished twice today. In a 12-4 defeat of the Cubs, Royals leadoff hitter Johnny Damon accomplishes the rare feat, as does Shannon Stewart of the Blue Jays in an 11-7 loss to the Mets at the Skydome.
2001 The commissioner's office announces pitch counts and pitch-count averages will not be used "as measures of umpire performance." Baseball's reversal is in response to the World Umpires Association's grievance, which believed the proposed evaluation criteria attempted to get the umpires to reduce the number of pitches in a game by inducing them to call strikes on pitches that weren't strikes.
2001 The game between the Diamondbacks and Padres is halted at the end of the second inning after a Qualcomm Stadium transformer catches fire, causing a whole section of spotlights above centerfield to explode. The suspended game will resume tomorrow.
2001 Detroit's Roger Cedeno collects four extra-base hits, including a double, triple, and two home runs. The outfielder's offensive output enables the Tigers to defeat the Yankees, 12-4, in Game 2 of a day-night doubleheader at Comerica Park.
2006 After signing a one-day contract with the KC T-Bones and being 'traded' during the Northern League All-Star Game game to Fargo-Moorhead, 94-year-old Buck O'Neil walks twice, once for each team. The Negro League star becomes the oldest player to make a plate appearance, surpassing Jim Eriotes, 83, who struck out for the Sioux Falls Canaries but didn't break the mark of Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe, who threw one pitch for the Schaumburg Flyers in 1999 at the age of 96.
2006 With a 14-5 victory over the Cardinals, the Braves become the first team since the 1930 Yankees to score ten or more runs in five consecutive games. During the streak, which includes two 15-run victories, Atlanta has tallied 65 runs.

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2006 Jason Varitek, calling a 1-0 pitching gem thrown by rookie southpaw Jon Lester, establishes a new team record, catching his 991st game with the Red Sox. The Boston captain surpasses the mark previously held by Hall of Fame backstop Carlton Fisk (1969-80).
2008 Recently released Richie Sexson signs with the Yankees. The Bronx Bombers are hoping the former Mariners' first baseman, who has the lowest batting average in the major leagues, hitting just .218 overall but .344 against lefties, can add a potent bat when the club faces southpaws.
2008 In the last concert hosted at Shea Stadium, Billy Joel gets a little help from his friends as Paul McCartney joins him on stage and sings "I Saw Her Standing There," to a tremendous ovation from the 55,000 stunned fans. 'Sir Paul' tells the sold-out crowd the Beatles had a 'blast' playing at Shea that night in 1965, the year after the Mets home ballpark opened.
2009 In the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, the Marlins break ground for their long-awaited retractable-roof ballpark, scheduled to be completed by Opening Day 2012. The ceremony, attended by about 5,000 fans, includes Charlie Hough throwing a ceremonial pitch to Benito Santiago, the battery who threw and caught the first pitch in franchise history in 1993.
44 Fact(s) Found