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This Day in Baseball History
June 19th

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40 Fact(s) Found
1846 Alexander Cartwright's New York Knickerbockers plays its first game against an opposing club, losing 23-1 to the New York Nine at Elysian Fields in New Jersey. The contest was considered the first organized baseball game to use Cartwright's rules, which featured foul territory, outs made by tagging runners, and three outs per side.

(Ed. Note: Our thanks to Alexander Joy Cartwright IV for sharing this historical fact. -LP)
1903 In Manhattan's East Harlem neighborhood, a baby boy weighing nearly 14 pounds becomes the second child of four born to German immigrants Heinrich and Christina Gehrig. The parents name their only surviving child Lou, a future Hall of Fame first baseman for the Yankees, lauded for his exceptional play, durability, and courage in battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which will become synonymous with his name.
1927 Jack Scott becomes the last pitcher to go the distance in both ends of a doubleheader. The 35-year-old Phillies right-hander, who will compile a 9-20 record, beats Cincinnati in the opener, 3-1, but loses the nightcap, 3-0, in the Redlands Field twin bill.
1941 Joe DiMaggio goes 3-for-3 against the White Sox to extend his streak to 32 consecutive games with a hit. The Yankee Clipper's perfect day at the plate, which includes two singles and a home run, contributes to the Bronx Bombers' 7-2 victory over the Pale Hose at Yankee Stadium.
1942 Joe DiMaggio strikes out three times in a game for the first and only time in a career that spans 1,787 contests. Indians' hurler Mel Harder does the deed in the Tribe's 5-4 victory over the Yankees at Cleveland Stadium.
1942 Boston outfielder Paul Waner singles off Pirate Rip Sewell to collect his 3000th hit in the team's 7-6 loss to the Pirates at Braves Field. The 39-year-old 'Big Poison' becomes the seventh major leaguer to accomplish this feat and the first to do it since 1925.
1952 Carl Erskine throws a no-hitter against the Cubs in the Dodgers' 5-0 victory at Ebbets Field. A third-inning walk to the opposing pitcher, which accounts for the only runner to reach base, may have resulted from skipper Chuck Dressen telling the 25-year-old right-hander to speed up his pitches due to an impending storm.
1961 Roger Maris' homer leading off the ninth inning off Kansas City pitcher Jim Archer puts the Yankees up by a run, but the A's will score twice in the bottom of the frame for a 4-3 victory at Municipal Stadium. The 'Rajah's' 25th round-tripper of the season puts him seven games ahead of Babe Ruth's record pace.
1963 At Yankee Stadium, the Mayor's Trophy Game is revived, with the cellar-dwelling Mets beating the mighty Yanks, 6-2. Before leaving for the West Coast, the Dodgers would play the Bronx Bombers in the annual midsummer exhibition contest to raise money for sandlot baseball teams.
1963 In his first major league at-bat, Gates Brown delivers a pinch-hit home run in the Tigers' 9-2 loss to Boston at Fenway Park. The homer will be the first of 16 round-trippers the Tiger outfielder will hit coming off the bench during his 13-year career in Detroit.
1972 At Three Rivers Stadium, Roberto Clemente hits a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to become the Pirates' all-time RBI leader. The Pittsburgh right fielder's three ribbies in the 13-3 drubbing of the Dodgers gives the future Hall of Famer 1,274 runs batted in for the Bucs.
1973 The Reds' Pete Rose and Dodger Willie Davis collect their 2,000th career hit in different games. The Cincinnati infielder, known as 'Charlie Hustle,' reaches the milestone with a single against the Giants in the Reds' 4-0 victory at Candlestick Park, and the LA outfielder, known as 3-Dog, reaches the plateau in front of the home crowd with a two-run home run in the team's 3-0 victory over Atlanta.
1974 Steve Busby tosses his second no-hitter in 14 months, giving up just one walk, beating the Brewers, 2-0, in the first-ever no-no thrown by a Kansas City hurler at Royals Stadium. Last season, the 23-year-old right-hander, as a rookie, held Detroit hitless in a 3-0 complete-game victory at Tiger Stadium for the team's first no-hitter in franchise history.

1977 Before the game, White Sox first baseman Lamar Johnson sings the National Anthem, entertaining the hometown fans at Comiskey Park. The 26-year-old infielder continues to strike the right notes, collecting all of Chicago's hits, including two home runs and a double in the team's 2-1 victory over the A's.
1977 The Red Sox, with five home runs in an 11-1 win against the Yankees, set a major league mark by hitting 16 round-trippers in three consecutive games, including five yesterday and six the day before. The power surge at Fenway Park provides the energy needed for a three-game sweep of the Bronx Bombers, who do not hit any round-trippers during their trio of contests in Boston.
1989 Dwight Gooden, with the Mets' 5-3 victory over the Expos, wins his 100th career game. Doc's 100-37 career total at the century mark is second only to Hall of Famer Whitey Ford's 100-36 start with the Yankees in 1958.
1990 Gary Carter breaks a National League mark when he catches his 1,862nd career game in the Giants' 4-3 loss to San Diego. The 'Kid' surpasses Al Lopez, who had established the record for backstops in 1946, after playing 18 seasons in the Senior Circuit with the Dodgers, Braves, and Pirates.
1990 Don Robinson becomes the first hurler to pinch-hit a home run since 1971 when he goes deep off Padres' southpaw Bruce Hurst, batting for Ed Vosberg in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Giants' right-hander does not stay in the Candlestick Park contest to pitch, an eventual 4-3 loss to the Friars.
1994 Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inducts Wally Kaname Yonamine, a three-time batting champ and former Central League MVP, as the first American to be honored as a player. The Hawaiian native, who also played in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers, was the first American to join a team in Japan after World War II.
1994 In a 3-1 victory over the Blue Jays in Detroit, the Tigers tie the Yankees' major league record by homering in their 25th consecutive game. Mickey Tettleton's second-inning shot deep into the right-field upper deck equals the 53-year-old mark.
1995 Darryl Strawberry signs a one-year contract with the Yankees despite being under a sixty-day suspension for drug abuse. During his five seasons in the Bronx, the southpaw-swinging slugger will contribute to the team's success in the late '90s.
1996 Copper Kings infielder Jim Kerr hits the first home run in Devil Rays' history. The 21-year-old former Yankees farmhand goes deep in the Buttes Pioneer League opener against Idaho Falls.
1996 Cardinals infielder Ozzie Smith, considered the best all-time defensive shortstop, announces he will retire at the end of the season. The writers elect the 15-time All-Star infielder to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
1996 In the first game played by a minor league affiliate of Tampa Bay's new expansion team, the GCL Devil Rays lose to the GCL Yankees 10-1. A record crowd of 7,582 attend the contest at Al Lang Stadium to see 18-year-old right-hander Pablo Ortega throw the first pitch in franchise history.
1999 Before leaving to a standing ovation, 96-year-old Ted Radcliffe becomes the oldest player to ever play in a professional baseball game when he throws one pitch that bounced for the Northern League's Schaumburg Flyers, an independent league team in the Chicago suburbs. The former Negro League star, who pitched and caught earning the nickname the "Double Duty," will pass away in 2005 at the age of 103.
1999 Former Negro League legend Ted Radcliffe becomes the oldest player to appear in a professional baseball game. At the age of 96, in a Northern League game, 'Double Duty' takes the mound for the Schaumburg Flyers and throws one pitch to Fargo-Moorhead DH Matt Faulken before leaving the game to a standing ovation at Alexian Field.
2001 At Jacobs Field, Ellis Burks hits three solo home runs, beginning with one in the sixth, followed by an eighth-inning round-tripper, and then delivers once more in the bottom of the twelfth. Unfortunately, the Indians DH's home run heroics are not enough when Minnesota beats the Tribe, 10-9, in 12 innings.
2003 During a College World Series contest against Stanford, a pitch strikes Cal State Fullerton shortstop Justin Turner on the left side of his face as he attempts to bunt. Then, adding insult to injury, the future Mets infielder also suffers a broken ankle when he unsuccessfully tries to avoid getting hit by the 87-mph fastball thrown by Matt Manship.
2003 Reds hurler Paul Wilson, trying to lay down a sacrifice bunt, takes exception to a pitch that moves inside and glances off the catcher's glove. As the ball is retrieved, he starts jawing with Kyle Farnsworth and then charges the mound, where he is pummeled by the Cubs reliever, igniting a bench-clearing brawl.

2007 On the bus ride to Shea Stadium to take on the Mets in an interleague contest, Twins' color commentator Bert Blyleven says he will have his head shaved if tonight's starter, Johan Santana, throws a complete-game shutout. The left-hander from Venezuela will shave the broadcaster's head after going the distance in Minnesota's 9-0 victory over New York's National League team.
2008 The Braves set a major league mark when they drop their record 22nd straight one-run decision on the road when Texas rallies for a 5-4 victory at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The Royals established the previous record of 21 during a stretch spanning the 2000-01 seasons.
2008 At KeySpan Park, 22-year-old Staten Island Yankee ambidextrous hurler Pat Venditte Jr. pitches a scoreless ninth inning in his first minor league appearance, including striking out a frustrated Ralph Henriquez to end the game. After delaying the game to adjust his shin guard each time he changes batter boxes, the umpiring crew tells the Brooklyn Cyclones switch-hitter to select from which side of the plate he intends to hit, then tells the pitcher to declare which arm he will use to pitch.

2008 The Mariners fire manager John McLaren after the potential playoff team gets off to a 25-47 start. Bench coach Jim Riggleman becomes the club's fifth manager in the past six seasons, guiding the eventual fourth-place club to a 36-54 (.400) record for the remainder of the season.
2010 Due to his Facebook page criticism of the team's upper management, the Pirates fire a mascot participating in the in-game pierogi race. The 24-year-old, whom Pittsburgh will reinstate, was offered a position by the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League, an independent baseball organization, to become one of its racing hot dogs.

2011 After less than one season in the dugout, Edwin Rodriguez unexpectedly resigns as the manager of the struggling last-place Marlins, who have dropped 17 of 18 contests this month. During his brief tenure with Florida, the first Puerto Rican-born manager in major league history compiled a 78-86 record with the team.
2013 Mark Appel, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 first-year player draft, is introduced by the Astros at a Minute Maid Park press conference. The Stanford right-hander, a Houston native and a team fan growing up, will receive a $6.35 million signing bonus, significantly less than the assigned slot value of $7.8 million.
2015 After being suspended last season, Alex Rodriguez becomes the 29th major leaguer to collect his 3,000th hit when he blasts a first-inning solo home run off Detroit ace Justin Verlander in the team's 7-2 victory at Yankee Stadium. The Bronx Bombers' DH joins Derek Jeter, the last person to reach the magic number, and Wade Boggs as the only players to hit a round-tripper to reach the historic milestone.

2015

"@Yankeefan98 I'll give him the finger and a dummy ball. That man deserves favors from no one, least of all a fan." - Zack Hample, a Tweet from the fan who caught A-Rod's 3000th hit.

Zack Hample, the author of How to Snag Major League Baseballs: More Than 100 Tested Tips That Really Work, catches Alex Rodriguez's 3,000th hit, a first-inning solo home run to right field off Detroit ace Justin Verlander. Hample, not a big fan of the New York slugger, will hold on to the historic horsehide for a week, before receiving perks from the Yankees for catching the ball, including getting the team to donate a significant amount of money to Pitch In for Baseball, a charity that gives equipment to the underprivileged kids.

2019 🇯🇵 Shohei Ohtani becomes the first Japanese-born player to hit for the cycle. The 24-year-old DH singles in the seventh inning to complete the rare feat in the Angels' 5-3 victory over the Rays at Tropicana Field.

2019 To break out of a batting slump, Gerardo Parra, signed by the Nationals in May, changes his walkup music, choosing Pinkfong's Baby Shark, a favorite of his two-year-old daughter. After hitting a home run, the reserve outfielder stays with the children's song, starting a tradition at Nationals Park that finds thousands of fans and players in the dugout snapping their arms like the jaws of a shark in time with the music.

40 Fact(s) Found