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This Day in Baseball History
September 23rd

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78 Fact(s) Found
1901 The Superbas establish a new franchise record for runs scored in a game when routing the Reds, 25-6. Brooklyn tallies 11 times in the fifth inning during the League Park contest played in Cincinnati.
1905 In Detroit's 8-5 loss to Washington, 18-year-old Tiger rookie outfielder Ty Cobb hits a three-run homer off Washington's Cy Falkenberg. The American League Park inside-the-park round-tripper becomes the first of the 117 home runs for Georgia Peach, who will lead the league only once during his 24-year career, hitting 9 in 1909.
1908 When Fred Merkle fails to touch second base after an apparent game-winning hit, scoring McCormick from third costs the Giants a 2-1 win over the Cubs, with the ump calling him out and ruling the game a tie. The play, dubbed 'Merkle's Boner,' will eventually cost the Giants the flag.
1916 Allowing only one walk during a twin bill with the Cincinnati Reds, Grover Cleveland Alexander of the Phillies wins both ends of a doubleheader, 7-3 and 4-0, to establish a National League record. The future Hall of Famer will repeat the feat on September 3, 1917, against the Brooklyn Robins at Ebbets Field.
1930 In a slugfest played at Philadelphia's Baker Bowl, the Cardinals set a franchise record, collecting 26 hits in a 19-16 victory over the Phillies. It will be another seventy-eight years before the Redbirds match the safeties in a game.

1933 Tom Oliver strikes out as a pinch-hitter in his final major league at-bat, ending his four-year career with 2,073 homerless plate appearances. The 30-year-old Red Sox outfielder's long-ball drought sets a modern record, but nineteenth-century catcher Bill Holbert, who also never went deep throughout his entire career, made 2,396 trips to the plate without hitting a home run.
1939 In the first game of a twin bill, Brooklyn's third baseman Cookie Lavagetto reaches base seven consecutive times as the Dodgers rout the Phillies, 22-4. The 26-run Shibe Park contest takes only two hours and five minutes to complete.
1947 Before the game against the Giants in a sold-out Ebbets Field, the Dodgers staged Jackie Robinson Day. The Brooklyn rookie, who endured much grief this season as the game's first black player in modern times, is touched when his teammates crowd around home plate to participate in the ceremony.
1949 With the Indians eliminated from the pennant race, team owner Bill Veeck and a few players, serving as pallbearers, hold a funeral service for the 1948 pennant, using a horse-drawn hearse to take the casket containing the 14-by-20-foot flag for burial behind the center-field fence. The buried item at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium disappeared, causing some superstition fans to believe the missing pennant explains why the Tribe hasn't won a World Series since the ceremony.
1950 In the sixth inning of the A's 16-5 rout of the Senators, Joe Astroth drives in six runs with a grand slam and a two-run single. In the one frame of the Griffith Stadium contest, the Philadelphia backup catcher collects a third of his RBIs for the season.
1952 The Dodgers clinch the National League pennant with a 5-4 victory over the Phillies in the opener of a twilight twin bill at Ebbets Field. Brooklyn becomes the first team since 1948 to capture the Senior Circuit flag before the season's final game.
1955 The Yankees clinch their 21st American League pennant by beating Boston in the nightcap at Fenway Park, 3-2. The team, who will lose the World Series to Brooklyn in seven games, will finish the season three games ahead of Cleveland.
1956 🇩🇴 Ozzie Virgil, who will see his son Ozzie be a catcher in the big leagues, becomes the first Dominican to play in the majors. The 23-year-old Monte Cristi native plays third base in the team's 6-2 loss to Curt Simmons and the Phillies at the Polo Grounds.
1956 Due to the enforcement of a curfew, the Sunday contest between the Dodgers and Pirates is postponed with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, sending the 44,932 fans, the largest crowd in Forbes Field's history, home. The teams will complete the game tomorrow, with Brooklyn maintaining their 8-3 advantage over Pittsburgh.
1957 Ted Williams extends his consecutive on-base streak to a major league record 16 when he reaches base five straight times in the Red Sox' 9-4 victory over Washington at Griffith Stadium. During his run, the 'Splendid Splinter' has collected two singles, four home runs (in consecutive at-bats), and nine walks and reaches base when hit by a pitch.
1957 The Braves clinch the National League pennant, defeating the Cardinals 4-2 thanks to Hank Aaron's 11th-inning home run. Milwaukee's accomplishment marks the first time since 1950 that a New York team hasn't finished first in the National League.
1962 In his first major league start, 17-year-old first baseman Ed Kranepool gets his first hit, an eighth-inning double at the Polo Grounds in the Mets' 2-1 walk-off victory over Chicago. When the former James Monroe High School standout retires, he will be the franchise leader in eight offensive categories, including collecting 1,418 hits during his 18 seasons with the team.


Ed Kranepool - 1963 Baseball Digest.

1965 In an 11-5 complete-game victory at Wrigley Field, Jim Bunning breaks the Phillies' season record for strikeouts when Cubs shortstop Jimmy Stewart becomes his 242nd victim. The right-hander, who finishes the campaign fanning 268 batters, surpasses the mark established in 1915 by Pete Alexander.
1969 In an 8-3 win over the Yankees at Fenway Park, Red Sox's first baseman Carl Yastrzemski hits his 200th career home. Yaz, who will hit 452 homers during his 23-year tenure in the major leagues, blasts Yankee starter Mel Stottlemyre's third-inning pitch to reach the milestone and then adds #201 in the eighth off Lindy McDaniel.
1969 Exactly one year after their manager suffered a heart attack, the Mets give Gil Hodges a reason to relax when the team clinches a tie for the NL East flag, beating the Cardinals, 3-2, on a Bud Harrelson's11th inning walk-off single off Bob Gibson. Before the Shea Stadium victory, Linton H. Bishop, Jr., the skipper's cardiologist, had sent him a telegram that read, "Happy to see you're No. 1. Hope your team does as well as your heart."
1969 In his last major league at-bat, John Miller homers, making the Dodger only the second player, joining Cubs' backup catcher Paul Gillespie's accomplishment in 1945 to hit a home run in his first and last plate appearance in the major leagues. In 1966, as a Yankee, he went deep in the first of only 61 big league career at-bats in which he would collect only ten hits, including the two memorable round-trippers, to start and end his 32-game career.
1973 The A's clinched their third straight AL West division title, beating Chicago at Comiskey Park, 10-5. Vida Blue notches his 20th victory, joining teammates Ken Holtzman (21) and Catfish Hunter (21) as a 20-game winner, with White Sox right-hander Wilbur Wood suffering his 20th defeat, bringing the knuckleballer's record to 24-20.
1975 At San Diego Stadium, Randy Jones becomes the first 20-game winner in the franchise's seven-year history when the Padres beat the Dodgers, 6-5. Two seasons ago, the 26-year-old southpaw led the National League in losses with 22 defeats hurling for the Friars.
1977 Reds' outfielder George Foster becomes the tenth major leaguer to hit 50 home runs in a season and the first since Willie Mays accomplished the feat in 1965 with the Giants. En route to finishing with 52 round-trippers, the National League's eventual MVP hits the milestone blast off Buzz Capra with two outs in the ninth inning in the team's 5-1 win over the Braves at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
1978 While riding as a passenger in a car, Lyman Bostock is killed by the estranged husband of Barbara Smith, who mistakenly shoots the 27-year-old Angel outfielder in the right temple while attempting to murder his wife. After the first trial results in a hung jury, Leonard Smith, the perpetrator, is found not guilty by reason of insanity and will serve only seven months after the verdict, prompting the Indiana legislature to change the state's laws regarding insanity.
1979 In a ten-inning 7-4 Cardinal victory over New York, Lou Brock steals his 938th and final base to surpass Billy Hamilton's mark established last century. In 1977, the St. Louis outfielder broke Ty Cobb's modern major league record of 892 thefts.
1983 With a 6-2 win over the team that traded him, Phillies' southpaw Steve Carlton records his 300th victory, beating the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The Redbirds traded the future Hall of Fame left-hander, who will compile a 241-161 (.600) record during his 15-year tenure with his new club, to Philadelphia for Rick Wise in 1972.
1984 At Tiger Stadium, Willie Hernandez establishes a franchise record when he converts his 32nd consecutive save opportunity, holding the Yankees to one run over two innings in Detroit's 4-1 victory. The closer's mark stands for 27 years until Jose Valverde surpasses the accomplishment in 2011.
1984 The Tigers defeat the Yankees, 4-1, making Sparky Anderson the first manager to win 100 games in a season in each league. As skipper of the 'Big Red Machine,' his team won 108 games in 1975 and 102 in 1976.
1986 En route to tossing a two-hit shutout with ten strikeouts, Astros rookie southpaw Jim Deshaies sets a major league record by striking out the first eight batters. The 26-year-old left-hander streak ends in the top of the third inning when Dodger pinch-hitter Larry See, batting for the opposing pitcher, pops out to second baseman Bill Doran.
1987 Albert Hall, needing a three-bagger to complete the cycle, hits a bases-empty, two-out triple in the bottom of the ninth inning and scores the decisive run on Dave Smith's wild pitch, giving Atlanta a 5-4 walk-off victory over Houston. The 29-year-old outfielder is the first Braves player to hit for the cycle since 1910 when Bill Collins accomplished the rare feat.

1988 Jose Canseco of the A's becomes baseball's first 40-40 player when he swipes his 39th and 40th base in a 14-inning victory over the Brewers, 9-8. Besides finishing this campaign with 42 homers and 40 stolen bases, the Oakland slugger never again achieves a 30-30 season in his 17 years in the major leagues.
1992 Leadoff hitter Bip Roberts ties the National League record with his tenth consecutive hit, a first-inning single in the Reds' 3-0 victory over Los Angeles at Chavez Ravine. The Cincinnati left fielder's streak ends when he grounds out in the fifth inning, facing Dodger starter Pedro Astacio.
1996 Atlanta beats the Expos, 8-2, to clinch the National League East. The Braves become the first National League team to take five straight division titles.
1997 The Mariners break the record for the most home runs by a major league team in a season when Jay Buhner goes deep for the club's 258th round-tripper in the first inning of the 4-3 victory over Anaheim at the Kingdome. The eventual AL Division Champs will have six players hit at least 20 homers, breaking the record established last year by the Orioles and extending the mark to 264 round-trippers by the end of the season.
1997 The Marlins clinch their first-ever postseason berth with a 6-3 victory over the Expos at Montreal's Olympic Stadium. Florida reaches the playoffs in its fifth year of existence, becoming the youngest franchise to win a World Championship.
1998 With an 8-4 victory over the Indians, the 1998 Yankees tie the 1927 team for the most wins in franchise history. The Bronx Bombers' 110 victories pull them within one game of the American League's 111 wins by the 1954 Indians.
1998 With his team ahead 7-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning with the bases full of Brewers and two outs, Cubs' outfielder Brant Brown drops Geoff Jenkins's routine long fly ball to left field, allowing three runs to score, giving Milwaukee an 8-7 walk-off win at County Stadium. The infamous error will be immortalized by Ron Santo's radio call when the broadcaster mournfully exclaims, "Nooooooooo!!!!!" as the ball rolls toward the ivy-covered wall.

1998 Craig Biggio becomes the first player since Tris Speaker in 1912 to accumulate 50 stolen bases and 50 doubles in the same season. The Astros second baseman reaches the milestone when he swipes second in the top of the sixth inning in the team's 7-1 victory over St. Louis in Busch Stadium.
1998 In Chicago's 8-7 loss at Milwaukee, Cubs' outfielder Sammy Sosa goes deep, hitting his 64th and 65th homers to tie Mark McGwire in the historic home run race. After both sluggers blast their 66th in two days to stay even, 'Big Red' will collect four more round-trippers in the season's final two days to finish with 70.
1999 In a 12-4 Orioles victory over the A's at Camden Yards, Albert Belle becomes only the third player in baseball history to hit four doubles in one game twice during his career and the first to do so in one season. Along with the Baltimore designated hitter, Gavvy Cravath and Bill Werber are the two other major leaguers who accomplished the feat.
1999 With a crowd of 27,549 fans, the Yankees break the New York City season attendance record with 3,072,009 patrons attending games at the Bronx ballpark. The Mets previously held the record when 3,047,724 turned the turnstiles in 1988.
2000 Joining Frank Robinson, Devil Rays' Fred McGriff becomes only the second player in major league history to hit 200 homers in the American and National League. The Crime Dog reaches the milestone when he goes deep off Roy Halladay in the team's 7-6 loss to the Blue Jays at the SkyDome.
2000 Surpassing the major league team mark shared by the 1997 Braves and the 1999 Indians for grand slams in a season, Ben Grieve's seventh-inning home run with bases loaded gives the A's a record-breaking 13 grand slams. The four-run homer off Mariner's right-handed reliever Jose Paniagua fuels the team's 8-4 victory at Safeco Field.
2000 Rafael Palmeiro becomes the 32nd major leaguer to hit 400 career homers as he hits a three-run shot in the fifth inning of a 15-4 defeat to the Angels at the Ballpark in Arlington (TX).
2001 Sammy Sosa sets a major league record with his third three-homer game of the season, hitting 56th, 57th, and 58th off Astros' rookie Tim Redding. Slammin' Sammy also accomplished the feat against the Rockies (August 9) and the Brewers (August 22).
2001 Alex Rodriguez's 48th home run breaks Ernie Banks' major league record for most in a season by a shortstop, which 'Mr. Cub' established in 1957. The homer also ties the Rangers' infielder with Frank Howard (1969 as a Senator) for the season's franchise record for home runs.
2001 At Camden Yards, Yankee closer Mariano Rivera establishes a franchise single-season record when he saves his 47th game, a 5-4 victory over Baltimore in 10 innings. Dave Righetti set the previous mark in 1986.
2001 In the Giants' 11-2 rout of the Padres, Barry Bonds ties Sammy Sosa for the second-most home runs in a season, hitting his 66th round-tripper off San Diego's rookie Jason Middlebrow in the second inning of the Qualcomm Stadium contest. The left fielder also set a major league record with 34 road homers, passing Babe Ruth (1927) and Mark McGwire (1998), who had 32 dingers away from home.
2002 In the last public event in 32-year-old Cinergy Field, over 40,000 fans attend a softball game featuring Reds greats of the 'Big Red Machine' against an all-star team of players from the same era. Banned by major league baseball, Pete Rose participates in the non-affiliated MLB game, receiving a tremendous ovation from Cincinnati fans.
2004 In the Cubs' 6-3 victory over the Pirates, Greg Maddux tosses six innings to pick up his 15th victory, reaching the total for the 17th consecutive season. Last season, the 38-year-old right-hander surpassed Cy Young’s record of accomplishing the feat for 15 straight seasons.
2005 Jimmy Rollins' first-inning single makes the shortstop's 28-game hitting streak the longest by a Phillies player in over one hundred years. Ed Delahanty got at least one hit in 31 consecutive contests for the National League franchise during the 1899 season.
2005 Due to the merger of Bank One and JP Morgan Chase & Company, the Diamondbacks' home field, Bank One Ballpark, is renamed Chase Field. Arizona fans, who have affectionately come to call the stadium 'Bob,' will be comforted to know the team will continue to employ D. Baxter Bobcat as the team's mascot.
2006 In Milwaukee's Miller Park, Barry Bonds hits his 734th career homer, surpassing Hank Aaron, and establishes a new all-time National League home run mark. The historic long ball hit by the unpopular 42-year-old Giants slugger receives little fanfare in the city where 'Hammerin' Hank,' a former player for the Braves and Brewers, is a local legend.
2006 With one home game left on the schedule, the Dodgers break their single-season attendance record established in 1982 as the team sells 3,708,723 tickets to its games played in Chavez Ravine. The actual turnstile count set the previous record of 3,608,881, the method formerly used by the National League to count fans.
2006 At Camden Yards, Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons hits a foul ball straight back over the screen, hitting a fan in the rib cage. The injured patron is the batter's wife, Laura.
2007 At Petco Park, the Rockies beat the Padres, 7-3, for their 84th win of the season to break a club record. Jeff Francis, who gives up seven hits and two runs in his eight innings of work, ties Kevin Ritz (1996) and Pedro Astacio (1999) for club victories and establishes a new franchise mark for left-handers, winning his 17th game of the campaign.
2007 Mike Mussina becomes the 45th pitcher in major league history to win 250 games when the Yankees beat the Blue Jays in the Bronx, 7-5. 'Moose' insists that the game ball goes to Joba Chamberlain, the rookie phenom who picks up his first career save.
2007 In front of the largest crowd of the season, the Nationals, in the last major league game played at RFK, beat Philadelphia, 5-3, to finish their three-year stay at the 41-year-old Washington, D.C. stadium with a home win-loss record of 122-121. The ballpark, the former home of the expansion Senators and the NFL's Redskins, had served as the Nats' home since 2005, when the franchise shifted from Montreal to the District of Columbia.
2007 Milton Bradley tears an anterior cruciate ligament when his manager Bud Black spins him to the ground, preventing him from going after umpire Mike Winters in the eighth inning of a 7-3 loss to the Rockies. The Padres' left fielder will miss the rest of the season due to the injury, and baseball suspends the first base ump for the remainder of the season without pay for his actions during the confrontation.
2008 With a 5-4 victory over the Indians at Fenway Park, the Red Sox earn at least a wild-card playoff berth. Boston's win eliminates the Yankees, who had appeared in 13 consecutive postseasons, spanning Derek Jeter's entire career.
2008 The Tigers, bowing to the Royals, 5-0, fall into last place in the American League Central Division, getting blanked for the 13th time this season. After making significant moves in the offseason, Detroit appeared to be one of the best teams in baseball.
2008 For the third consecutive season, the Marlins establish a new franchise record for home runs. Josh Willingham's second-inning round-tripper, the club's 202nd, sets the new mark in Florida's 9-4 loss to the Nationals.
2008 Tim Lincecum sets the Giants' single-season record with 252 strikeouts. The San Francisco right-hander whiffs nine Colorado batters in 4.1 innings to surpass Jason Schmidt, who had 251 K's in 2004.
2008 Jose Reyes collects his 200th hit of the season with a bases-loaded triple in a much-needed Mets 6-2 victory over the Cubs at Shea Stadium. The 25-year-old shortstop joins Lance Johnson (1996) as one of the only two players in franchise history to reach the esteemed plateau.
2009 After signing him to a one-year contract extension for 2010, the Braves announce that Bobby Cox will retire next season as the team's manager. The 68-year-old skipper has led the team to 14 consecutive postseason appearances and a world championship during his 24-year tenure in Atlanta.
2009 Trailing 8-0 at Dodger Stadium, the Giants take the lead, scoring nine runs in the top of the seventh inning. Although L.A. will come back twice to tie the score with clutch two-out hits in the eighth and ninth, San Francisco tallies four runs in the top of the tenth frame for the 14-10 victory.
2010 The lone run in the Blue Jays' 1-0 victory over Seattle at the Rogers Centre scores in the first inning when Jose Bautista hits his 50th home run of the season, making the right-fielder the 26th player to reach the coveted plateau. Prince Fielder (50) and Alex Rodriguez (54) most recently reached the milestone in 2007.

2010 Ichiro Suzuki, with his fifth-inning single off Toronto's Shawn Hill, becomes the first major leaguer to compile ten consecutive 200-hit seasons, breaking the record he shared with Willie Keeler. The Mariner outfielder now has more 200-hit seasons than any player in AL history, surpassing Ty Cobb, and joins Pete Rose as the only other player with ten seasons with 200 or more hits.
2011 Starlin Castro collects his 200th hit with a leadoff single off Chris Carpenter in the team's 5-1 victory over the Cardinals to become only the 10th player to accomplish the feat before the age of 22 years old and the youngest Cub in franchise history to do so in a single season. En route to finishing the season with a league-leading 207, Chicago's 21-year-old shortstop reaches the milestone, two years younger than Billy Herman (1932) and Augie Galan (1935), who were both 23.

2011 The Brewers win their first division title in 29 years when they beat Florida 4-1. The decisive blow in the Miller Park clincher is Ryan Braun's eighth-inning three-run home run that breaks the 1-1 deadlock.
2011 The Rangers' 5-3 victory over Seattle, coupled with a Halos' loss, clinches the AL West division. The title is the second in a row for Texas and the fifth in franchise history.
2011 The Diamondbacks beat San Francisco, 3-1, to win the NL West division for the first time in four years. Arizona, who finished 65-97 last season, clinched their worst-to-first title with an eighth-inning rally, much to the delight of the cheering fans at Chase Field.
2013 Alex Rios triples to right-center field in the sixth inning to complete the cycle in the Rangers' 12-0 rout of Houston at the Ballpark in Arlington. The Texas outfielder doubled in the first inning, beat out an infield single in the third, and went deep with his 18th homer in the next frame.
2013 With their 2-1 win over Chicago thanks to Starling Marte's ninth-inning homer and Washington's defeat in St. Louis, the Pirates will appear in the postseason for the first time since 1992. The victory assures the Bucs one of the two wild-card berths, with a division title still within reach.
2014 The Diamondbacks select Dave Stewart as the team's fourth general manager in franchise history. The former All-Star big league pitcher, a 20-game winner for four consecutive seasons beginning in 1987, will report to the Diamondbacks' chief baseball officer Tony La Russa, who was his manager when he posted a 119-78 record (.604) during his eight seasons with the A's.
2017

"At the end of the day, this is the best country on the planet. My hand over my heart symbolized that I am, and will forever be, an American citizen. But my kneeling is what's getting the attention because I'm kneeling for the people that don't have a voice." - BRUCE MAXWELL, explaining why he knelt while the National Anthem played.

Oakland catcher Bruce Maxwell becomes the first major leaguer to take a knee during the National Anthem in protest of racial injustice and the provocative comments of President Donald Trump, who believes owners should fire athletes for the gesture. In a show of support, A's outfielder Mark Canha puts his hand on his kneeling teammate's shoulder.

2020 Facing his former team, Bryce Harper has a historic game, stroking two solo home runs, crossing the plate four times, driving in two runs, and receiving four intentional walks in the Phillies' 12-3 victory over Washington at Nationals Park. The 27-year-old DH joins Claudell Washington (1980 Mets ), David Wright (2007 Mets), and Albert Pujols (2013 Angels) as the only players to have a two-homer, three-IBB game.
78 Fact(s) Found