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This Day in Baseball History
September 20th

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61 Fact(s) Found
1902 The White Sox's first no-hitter in franchise history is tossed by Jim Callahan when he defeats the Tigers, 2-0. The right-handed utility player, called Nixey by his teammates, will accumulate 99 victories on the mound but will pitch in only eight of his 13 seasons in the major leagues.
1907 Nick Maddox no-hits the Dodgers at Exposition Park in Pittsburgh, 2-1. The Pirates hurler becomes the youngest pitcher and the second rookie to throw a no-hitter, accomplishing the feat at 20 years and 10 months.
1908 In the bottom of the ninth inning at South Side Park, Freddy Parent, while being walked intentionally by Eddie Plank, reaches out and pokes a shallow sac fly to right field. The unexpected sacrifice scores the winning run in the White Sox' 1-0 walk-off victory over the A's and gives Frank Smith, who held the A's hitless, his second career no-hitter.
1911 Bill Bergen ends his major league career with the lowest lifetime batting average for a position player in major league history by hitting an anemic .170 during his 11-year tenure with the Reds and Dodgers. The 33-year-old backstop, who had only one year of batting above .200, also holds the record for lowest season batting average for a regular season, hitting .139 in 1909 for Brooklyn, including the longest streak of at-bats without a hit (46 in 1909), a mark since surpassed by Chris Davis, who goes 0-for-54 over 2018-2019 with Orioles.
1912 Smoky Joe Wood, losing to Detroit, 6-4, fails to break the mark of 16 consecutive victories, established by Walter Johnson earlier in the season. Joe Lake gets the win, pitching the last five innings after replacing starter Bill Covington, who allowed only one hit through four innings when he was tossed out of the game by the umpire in the fifth.
1919 On Babe Ruth Day in Boston, the Bambino scores the winning run in both ends of the doubleheader when the Red Sox sweep the White Sox, 4-3 and 5-4. Ironically, the contests mark the last time the future Hall of Famer player dons a Red Sox uniform in Fenway Park before being dealt to the Yankees in the off-season.

(Ed. Note: En route to establishing a new major league mark with his 28th home run four days later at the Polo Grounds, Babe Ruth ties Ned Williamson’s major league record with a walk-off round-tripper giving Boston a 4-3 victory in the opener of the twin bill. - LP)

1924 The 37-year-old righty Grover Cleveland Alexander goes the distance to earn his 300th victory when the Cubs beat the Giants in 12 innings, 7-3. 'Old Pete' will collect 373 wins during his 20-year career with National League teams, including stops in Philadelphia and St. Louis.
1931 For the first time in 19 years, Gabby Street appears in a major league game. The 48-year-old Cardinal skipper is 0-for-1, but the backstop displays his old catching skills when he nails Brooklyn runner Babe Herman trying to steal a base.
1932 The Cubs clinch the National League pennant when they beat Pittsburgh, 5-2, thanks to Kiki Cuyler's seventh-inning bases-loaded triple. The Wrigley Field contest features rookie second baseman Billy Herman's 200th hit of the season.
1951 Ford Frick, replacing "Happy" Chandler, is selected by the owners as the sport's third commissioner. The former National League president, best remembered for suggesting the single-season home run records of Babe Ruth and Roger Maris be listed separately based on the season's length, will hold the position for fourteen years.
1953 Gene Baker, the other half of the Kansas City Monarchs double-play duo along with Ernie Banks, joins his former Negro League teammate, making his major league debut with the Cubs as a pinch-hitter against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. In 1961, Pittsburgh will name the former Chicago second baseman the Class D Batavia Pirates (NY) skipper, making him the first black manager in organized baseball.
1954 The Giants clinch the pennant when they beat the Dodgers at Ebbets Field, 7-1. The National League champs, finishing the season five games ahead of second-place Brooklyn, will sweep Cleveland in the Fall Classic.
1954 At Cleveland Stadium, fans support their once embattled GM Hank Greenberg by wearing "We're Witcha Hank" buttons. Anyone donning the silver plastic ball charm, distributed by a local laundry earlier in the season, received two tickets for tonight's game, the Tribe's 11th consecutive victory and the 109th win overall for the eventual American League champs.

1955 Willie Mays becomes the seventh player to hit fifty home runs in a season when he connects off Pittsburgh's Vern Law for the second time in the Giants' 14-8 victory at the Polo Grounds. The round-tripper is the 24-year-old center fielder's seventh in six consecutive games.
1958 Thanks to Gus Triandos' eighth-inning home run, recently acquired Oriole knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm no-hits the Yankees at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, 1-0. The contest will mark the last time the Yankees fail to get a hit in a game in this century.
1959 The San Francisco Giants, bowing to the Dodgers, 8-2, play their last game at Seals Stadium. The transplanted New York team, who compiled a 163-145 record in their two-year stay in the former PCL park, will move to the newly constructed Candlestick Park next season.
1961 In a 13-inning contest, Sandy Koufax goes the distance, beating the Cubs, 3-2, in the last regular-season game played at the LA Memorial Coliseum, a venue originally built for the 1932 Olympics. The Dodgers are leaving the only home they have known since moving from Brooklyn four seasons ago to play in a brand new stadium in Chavez Ravine, located a few miles from downtown Los Angeles.
1966 The Mets' 3-0 victory over Houston, their 63rd win, assures the team will lose less than a hundred games in a season for the first time in the franchise's five-year history. The Amazins', who will finish in ninth place with a 66-95 record, averaged 113 losses a season during their first four years in the National League.


BaseballReference
1966 In his second major league game, Tom Phoebus hurls his second straight shutout in the Orioles' 4-0 victory over the A's. In his major league debut five days ago, the 24-year-old right-handed rookie also blanked the Angels, earning a 2-0 complete-game victory at Memorial Stadium.
1966 Sandy Koufax becomes the first National League hurler in 31 years to record 25 or more victories in two straight seasons when he goes the distance in LA's 11-1 rout over the Phillies at Dodger Stadium. In 1935, Cardinals' right-hander Dizzy Dean posted a 28-12 record after winning 30 of 37 decisions in the previous campaign.
1968 Mickey Mantle hits his final home run, a solo shot in the third inning, finishing his 18-year major league career third on the all-time home run list with 536 round-trippers behind only Babe Ruth and Willie Mays when he retires at the end of the season. Jim Lonborg gives up the homer to the 36-year-old slugger in a 4-3 loss to the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.
1969 Giving the Pirates their third win in two days against the eventual World Champs, Bob Moose no-hits the first-place Mets at Shea Stadium, 4-0. The 21-year-old right-hander will compile a 14-3 record with a 2.91 ERA for the third-place Bucs this season.
1971 In completing a suspended game that started in Cleveland six days ago, the 'visiting' Senators beat the Indians in Washington DC, 8-6. The 20-inning victory at RFK Stadium will be the team's final 'road' win before the franchise shifts to Texas next season.
1972 After scoring all their runs in the second inning, the Braves put it on cruise control, beating the Astros, 13-6. Only 2,062 fans are on hand at Atlanta Stadium to enjoy the big inning, which features the team collecting a dozen hits off five Houston hurlers.


BaseballReference
1972 With a 6-2 complete-game victory over Montreal at Wrigley Field, Milt Pappas wins his 200th major league game. The Cubs' right-hander becomes the first hurler to reach the milestone without benefiting from a 20-win season.
1973 The Pirates miss scoring in the top of the 13th inning when Dave Augustine's 'home run' bounces off the top of the fence into the glove of left fielder Cleon Jones, who relays the ball to Wayne Garrett in time for the third baseman to nail Richie Zisk at the plate. Mets rookie catcher Ron Hodges ends the Shea Stadium contest in the bottom of the frame, which will become known as the 'Ball on the Wall Game,' with a one-out single off Bucs' reliever Dave Giusti, plating John Milner for the 4-3 victory.

1973 After sharing the news on the Today Show, Willie Mays officially announces his retirement at a press conference held at Shea Stadium's Diamond Club. The Mets will honor the aging superstar in five days with a pre-game ceremony at the ballpark.
1973 Billy Jean King's brother, Randy, is not in attendance to watch her win the 100,000 winner-take-all tennis match against Bobby Riggs at the Astrodome. Moffit is at another ballpark, getting a key out in relief when the Giants beat the first-place Reds at Candlestick Park.
1980 The Yankees dedicate a bronze plaque in memory of Thurman Munson in the ballpark's Memorial Park. The 32-year-old team captain Munson died last season while attempting to land his Cessna Citation at Akron-Canton Airport.

Munson Plaque small

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1980 In a 9-0 defeat to the A's at Royals Stadium, George Brett goes hitless in four plate appearances, grounding out three times and popping out to third base, to drop his average below .400. The Kansas City third baseman will go 14-for-42 in the remaining 12 games, finishing the season at .390.
1980 Baltimore hurler Steve Stone ties a club record for the most wins in a season when he beats the Blue Jays for his 24th victory. The Orioles' right-hander matches the 1970 totals of Mike Cuellar and Dave McNally.
1983 In the first inning of a 14-1 rain-shortened five-inning victory over the Orioles, the Tigers stroke ten consecutive hits, scoring 11 runs. Detroit's opening offense ties the American League record for runs scored to start a game established by the Boston Americans in 1901. 
1984 The Padres win their first division crown with a 5-4 victory over San Francisco at Jack Murphy Stadium. In addition to winning the clincher, Tim Lollar hits a three-run home run in the second inning to help his cause.
1986 In the team's 10-6 loss to Houston at the Astrodome, Padres outfielder Tony Gwynn has become the only fifth player since 1900 to steal five bases in a game. During his 20-year career, the .338 lifetime hitter will average only 16 stolen bases per season.
1988 Wade Boggs becomes the first player in this century to get 200 hits in six consecutive years. The 30-year-old Red Sox third baseman, who also joins Lou Gehrig by collecting 200 hits and 100 base-on-balls for three straight seasons, will extend the streak to seven campaigns in 1989 with 205 hits.
1992 Phillies' second baseman Mickey Morandini catches Jeff King's line drive, steps on second, doubling up Andy Van Slyke, and tags Barry Bonds to complete an unassisted triple play in a 3-2 loss to the Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium. The triple killing is the first in the National League since 1927 when Cubs' shortstop Jimmy Cooney accomplished the rare feat in a contest against the Pirates.

1995 The Rockies, who collect 23 hits, equal a franchise record for runs scored when the team routs the Padres, 20-1. Colorado outfielder Matt Holliday also ties a club mark, accomplished three times previously, with an eight-RBI day, homering twice in the Coors Field contest.
1995 The Padres play their one-thousandth home game without having a rainout. The streak, which began on April 20, 1983, will end on May 12, 1998, with 1,184 contests over 15 years.
1996 Michael Lasky buys Eddie Murray's 500th home run ball for $280,000, and it could be worth as much as $500,000 thanks to a 20-year annuity. The new owner, the Psychic Friends Network founder, plans to put the Camden Yards souvenir on public display for "the people of Baltimore."
1998

"Let's end it in the same place it started. In my home state. In front of friends and family. In front of the best fans in the world."- Cal Ripken, JR., commenting on ending his consecutive streak.

After nearly 16 years of not missing a game, Cal Ripken, quietly and without fanfare, takes himself out of the lineup after playing in a major-league record 2,632 consecutive games. In a nationally televised ESPN Sunday night game, the Orioles shortstop's streak ends when Baltimore drops a 5-4 decision to the Yankees at Camden Yards.

1998 At Milwaukee's County Stadium, Mark McGwire extends his home run record to 65, missing his 66th when the umpires rule his fly ball a ground-rule double, which video replays clearly show fan interference as the wrong call. The Cardinals' first baseman's first-inning round-tripper, his 32nd hit as a visiting player, breaks George Foster's 1977 National League and ties 1927 Babe Ruth's records for home runs hit on the road.
2002 Oriole infielder Mike Bordick sets a major league record when he plays his 102nd successive game at shortstop without committing an error. The Mets' middle infielder Rey Ordonez had established the previous mark over the 1999-2000 seasons.
2002 With a 9-3 victory over the Astros at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals clinch the Central Division of the National League. An emotional on-field celebration includes Albert Pujols carrying Darryl Kile's #57 jersey onto the field, paying tribute to the pitcher who died unexpectedly in June.
2003 Unlike this season, when the Expos played twenty-five percent of its home games in San Juan, the players vote to play their 2004 home schedule in Montreal. The MLB owners, who collectively own the franchise, have been considering moving the team permanently to Washington, D.C., Portland (Oregon), or Monterrey (Mexico) or continuing the present format by having the club split home games between different locations (Puerto Rico or Mexico and Montreal).
2003 When Marcus Giles sends Brad Penny's 3-2 pitch into the stands, the Braves tie the National League record by having six players hit at least 20 home runs in a season. The Atlanta infielder joins Javy Lopez, Gary Sheffield, Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones, and Vinny Castilla to equal the mark established by the 1965 Milwaukee team: Eddie Mathews (32), Hank Aaron (32), Joe Torre (27), Felipe Alou (23), Mack Jones (31), and Gene Oliver (21).
2005 At Coors Field, the Rockies tie a franchise record established in 2003 for runs scored in their 20-1 rout of the Padres, who endure the most lopsided loss of their 36 years of existence. Matt Holliday leads Colorado's 23-hit attack with two home runs, driving in eight runs to equal a team record shared by three players.
2006 KC skipper Buddy Bell, after a Royals 3-0 loss to the Angels, announces he needs to take a medical leave to treat a growth in his tonsils and will be replaced in the dugout by bench coach Billy Doran. The manager's wife, Gloria, has also battled tonsil cancer.
2006 Although the team bows to the Blue Jays at the Stadium, the Yankees capture their ninth consecutive AL East title thirty minutes later when the Twins defeat the second-place Red Sox. This week, the Bronx Bombers become the second team in the Big Apple to pop the champagne, joining the Mets, who clinched the NL East Division two days ago.
2007 With his 4-for-4 performance and HBP with the bases loaded, 23-year-old rookie catcher J.R Towles establishes a franchise-record eight RBIs when the Astros rout the Cardinals, 18-1. The September call-up's outstanding offensive output, who started the season with the Single-A Salem Avalanche, helps Houston produce its most lopsided victory in team history.
2008 With a 5-4 win over the Cardinals at Wrigley Field, the Cubs clinch their second straight National League Central Division championship. The victory marks the club's first appearance in consecutive postseasons since the 1906-08 teams played in the World Series.

2008 At the Ballpark in Arlington, Francisco Rodriguez, facing one batter, extends his major league record when he saves his 60th game, getting Nelson Cruz to fly out for the final out in the ninth inning. The Angels' 7-3 victory over the Rangers assures the 95-59 team of having the home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
2009 The Cubs suspend Milton Bradley for the rest of the year, a day after the turbulent outfielder criticized the team in a newspaper interview, citing there wasn't a "positive environment" in the organization, and he could see why the club hadn't won a championship in the last century. According to manager Lou Piniella, Chicago's decision to bring back the 32-year-old, with two years remaining on a three-year free-agent $30-million contract he signed last offseason, will be general manager Jim Hendry's call.
2010 The Bronx Bombers pay tribute to George Steinbrenner, unveiling a 7-by-5-foot, 760-pound monument of bronze atop a granite base in Monument Park. Estranged former manager Joe Torre, making his first visit to the new Yankee Stadium, attends the ceremony honoring the late Yankee owner.
2010 Matt Diaz subdues a teenage fan wearing a red spandex suit with a red mask after the intruder runs onto the field and eludes a security guard during the Braves-Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park. The Atlanta left fielder tackles the costumed 17-year-old released from juvenile detention tomorrow afternoon with the parents apologizing for their son's actions.

2011 Clayton Kershaw becomes the Dodgers' first 20-game winner since Ramon Martinez accomplished the feat in 1990. Allowing just one run in 7.1 innings, the southpaw earns the victory when the team beats the visiting Giants, 2-1.
2012 The White House announces President Barack Obama's approval of the 'Let Teddy Win' movement. The 44th Chief Executive, a long-time fan of Theodore Roosevelt, lends his bipartisan support in response to Republican Senator John McCain's call for a congressional investigation about the mascot for Teddy Roosevelt never winning the race among the presidents at National Park.
2012 Washington secures a playoff spot when they beat the Dodgers at Nationals Park, 4-1. The last time postseason baseball happened in the nation's capital occurred 79 years ago when player-skipper Joe Cronin and the Senators lost to the Giants in five games in the 1933 World Series.
2013 Yankee designated hitter Alex Rodriguez establishes a major league record with his 24th career grand slam, going deep off George Kontos in the team's 5-1 victory over the Giants in the Bronx. The two-out seventh-inning bases-loaded round-tripper surpasses the mark established in 1938 by fellow Bronx Bomber Lou Gehrig.

2014 Oliver Perez records the first four-strikeout inning in Diamondback history when a dropped third strike allows the first batter to reach base in the seventh frame of the team's 5-1 loss to Colorado at Coors Field. The 33-year-old Arizona southpaw becomes the 69th different major league hurler to accomplish the feat.

2019 In the Mets' 8-1 victory at Great American Ball Park, Pete Alonso goes deep in the eighth inning against Reds' reliever Sal Romano for his major-league-leading 50th home run. The 24-year-old right-handed slugging first baseman, two homers shy of Yankees Aaron Judge's 2017 rookie record, is the first player to hit 50 round-trippers during his major league debut season.
2022 With his ninth-inning blast in the Yankees' 9-8 victory over the Pirates, Aaron Judge becomes the sixth major leaguer to hit 60 homers in a season. The 30-year-old Bronx Bomber joins Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and Barry Bonds in reaching the milestone.
61 Fact(s) Found