<< Yesterday

This Day in All Teams History
April 29th

Tomorrow>>
59 Fact(s) Found
1913 Wearing White Sox uniforms, the Reds drop a 7-2 decision to the Cubs at Chicago's West Side Park. Cincinnati forgot to pack uniforms and had to don those worn by their opponents' crosstown rivals.
1922 The Giants hit four inside-the-park home runs at Braves Field in their 15-4 rout of Boston. George Kelly hits a pair, with Ross Youngs and Dave Bancroft accounting for the other two 360-foot dashes around the bases.
1924 Future Yankee starter, schoolboy Bump Hadley throws a perfect game against the Hadley-Lynn team of Massachusetts. The Mercersburg Academy standout will strike out 26 of the 27 batters he faces.
1930 In today's seven major league games, an average of 17+ runs a game cross the plate. After the dust settles, players from 14 teams score 123 times.
1931 Indians' hurler Wes Ferrell no-hits the St. Louis Browns, including his brother Rick, 7-0. The pitching star also provided the offense, knocking in four runs with a double and a home run.
1933 Senator catcher Luke Sewell tags out two Yankees runners trying to score on the same play. Lou Gehrig and Dixie Walker are the victims at home plate.
1934 The Pirates and the Phillies become the last two major league franchises allowed to play home games on Sundays when the Bucs beat Cincinnati, 9-5, at Pittsburgh's Forbes Field, and Philadelphia dropping an 8-7 decision to Brooklyn at Philadelphia's Baker Bowl. Games on the Lord's Day are no longer prohibited in Pennsylvania because the state modified its blue laws, which formerly prevented such events over religious concerns.
1936 Although the game had been played professionally in Japan since the 1920s, Nagoya defeats Dai Tokyo, 8-5, in the country's first game played in a professional league. The new seven-team Japanese Baseball League dedicates itself to the ideals of fair play and improving the national spirit.
1939 On a chilly Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, Lou Gehrig comes to the plate in the fourth inning and singles off Washington hurler Ken Chase for his 2,721st and last hit, the most ever in franchise history. The Iron Horse's record will stand for over 70 years until Derek Jeter, another 35-year-old team captain, surpasses the mark in 2009.
1948 Ted Wilks loses his first game in 77 consecutive appearances, dating back to September 8, 1945. The Cardinal right-handed reliever, known as Cork to his teammates, was 12-0 during the streak, including four appearances as a starting pitcher.
1952 Cleveland left fielder Jim Fridley goes 6-for-6 when the Indians beat the A's, 21-9. 'Big Jim' only plays briefly with Cleveland, with stops in Baltimore and Cincinnati, respectively, in 1954 and 1958, collected six singles in the Shibe Park contest.
1953 Little-Bigger League, a baseball program for boys aged 13 to 15, becomes the Babe Ruth League, honoring the Yankee legend's commitment to children. Claire Merritt Ruth, the Babe's widow, met with the Hamilton-based (NJ) organization and permitted the youth circuit to bear her late husband's name. 
1953 Braves first baseman Joe Adcock, with his 475-foot third-inning blast in the team's 3-2 win over the hometown Giants, becomes the first player in a major league game to homer into the Polo Grounds' center field bleachers. The Coogan's Bluff feat, which will occur for the third and final time when Hank Aaron and Lou Brock go deep on consecutive days in 1962, was first accomplished by Luke Easter, playing for the Homestead Grays in a 1948 Negro League contest.
1955 The visiting Orioles snap their 27-game losing streak as the away team in the Forest City, finally beating Indians, 5-2. The record-losing streak on the road against one opponent started on August 13, 1952, when the franchise played as the St. Louis Browns.
1960 Stan Musial plays in his 1,000th game at first base, making him the first major leaguer to reach that milestone at two different positions. The Cardinals' legend has also played 1,513 games in the outfield for the Redbirds.
1962 During the seven-run fourth inning at the Polo Grounds, Frank Thomas ties a major league mark by being hit twice with a pitch in one inning. Art Mahaffey and Frank Sullivan plunk the Mets outfielder in the Phillies' 8-0 loss.

(Ed. Note: In 1959, Reds hurler Willard Schmidt, a teammate of Frank Thomas, became the first major leaguer to be hit by a pitch twice in one inning when plunked by Bob Rush and Lew Burette in the third inning of Cincinnati's 11-10 victory over the Braves at Crosley Field. - LP)

1962 Russ Snyder accomplishes the rare feat of getting two hits in one inning as a pinch-hitter in the Orioles' 8-3 victory at Kansas City's Municipal Stadium. Leading off the top of the seventh, the Oriole outfielder, batting for Wes Stock, ties the score at 3-3 with a solo home run, and he will add a two-out RBI single before the end of the frame.
1962 Left-hander Al Jackson hurls the first shutout in franchise history, blanking the Phillies, 8-0, at the Polo Grounds. The 26-year-old southpaw's victory, which marks the first time the Amazins' have won consecutive games, is one of four whitewashes the team will accomplish in their inaugural season, all thrown by the 'Little Lefty' from Waco, Texas.
1972 Don Zimmer, who replaced the recently fired Preston Gomez, gets the first of his 885 victories as a big-league manager when the Padres blank the Phillies at San Diego Stadium, 4-0. The win is improbable as Steve Arlin, who will lead the league in losses with 21, bests eventual Cy Young Award winner Steve Carlton, the major league leader with 27 victories.
1978 The Cardinals tie a franchise record for the quickest nine-inning game in their history, taking only one hour and thirty-three minutes to beat the Dodgers at Busch Stadium, 1-0. The contest marks Ken Boyer's managerial debut, replacing Vern Rapp, the Redbird skipper fired four days ago.
1981 Philadelphia's Steve Carlton becomes the sixth major league pitcher to strike out 3,000 batters when he fans the Expos' Tim Wallach in the first inning en route to a 6-2 complete-game victory over Montreal at Veterans Stadium. The Phillies southpaw, known simply as 'Lefty,' becomes the first left-handed hurler to accomplish the feat.
1983 After a 7-2 loss to L.A. at Wrigley Field, Cubs manager Lee Elia launches into an obscenity-laced tirade that will become a much-reported story on the airwaves and in print for days. The Chicago skipper's rant clearly shows his frustration with the team's fan base, "the (bleepers) don't even work. That's why they're out at the (bleeping) game. They oughtta go out and get a (bleeping) job and find out what it's like to go out and earn a (bleeping) living. Eighty-five percent of the (bleeping) world is working. The other 15 come out here. A (bleeping) playground for the (bleepers). Rip them (bleepers)! Rip them (bleeping) (bleepers) like the (bleeping) players!"
1984 Strawberry Sunday, former World Series hero Jerry Koosman is greeted warmly by the Mets' faithful in his first start at Shea Stadium since 1978 when he faces his old team for the first time. Before the 6-2 victory over Philadelphia, Carvel Ice Cream treats the fans to strawberry sundaes in honor of Darryl Strawberry, last season's National League Rookie of the Year.
1986 Roger Clemens becomes the first major league hurler to strike out 20 batters in a nine-inning game, strikes out 20 batters in a nine-inning game when he fans Phil Bradley with two outs in the ninth in the Red Sox' 3-1 victory over Seattle at Fenway Park. Steve Carlton (1969), Tom Seaver (1970), and Nolan Ryan (1974) shared the previous mark of 19.

1986 Reds starting pitcher Mario Soto ties a major league record, surrendering four home runs in one inning of the team's 7-4 loss to the Expos. The Dominican right-hander becomes the 11th big-leaguer hurler to accomplish the dubious feat when Andre Dawson‚ Hubie Brooks‚ Tim Wallach‚and Mike Fitzgerald take him deep in the fourth frame of the Riverfront Stadium contest. 
1987 Andre Dawson hits for the cycle in the Cubs' 8-4 victory over San Francisco at Wrigley Field. The 'Hawk,' who enjoys a five-hit day, completes the feat with a sixth-inning triple, one of only two he will collect for the entire season.
1988 After 21 tries, the Orioles finally win their first game of the season, beating the White Sox, 9-0, at Chicago's Comiskey Park. The 1-21 'Birds' get the victory thanks to a combined four-hitter thrown by Mark Williamson and Dave Schmidt.
1990 After five appearances with the Giants, Dan Quisenberry retires, deciding not to go on the disabled list for a torn rotator cuff. The 37-year-old right-handed reliever leaves the game after 12 seasons as the all-time American League save leader with 238.
1994 Kirk Rueter becomes the first pitcher in 13 seasons to begin his major league career with a 10-0 record when the Expos beat San Diego at Olympic Stadium, 3-2. In 1981, Dodgers southpaw Fernando Valenzuela started the year with eight victories to improve his overall record to 10-0 for the Dodgers, somewhat similar to the Montreal left-hander, who began his streak last season with an 8-0 mark before winning his first two decisions this year.
1995 Royals' rookie John Nunnally hits a home run in his major league first at-bat, going deep off Melido Perez in the team's 10-3 loss to New York. The 23-year-old outfielder becomes the 73rd major leaguer to accomplish the feat.
1995 Unlike yesterday's Opening Day crowd, which was supportive, some of the 28,244 fans at today's Wrigley Field game display their displeasure with the recent baseball strike by littering the field with magnetic souvenir schedules. In the eighth inning of the Cubs' 5-4 victory over Montreal, the incident delayed the contest by five minutes.
1996 John Franco becomes the first left-hander to record 300 saves, allowing just a hit and no runs in the top of the ninth inning in the Mets' 3-2 victory over Montreal at Shea Stadium. The southpaw recorded his first save precisely 12 years ago on this date while wearing a Reds' uniform. 
1997 Chili Davis becomes the 75th major leaguer to hit 300 home runs. The Royals' DH joins Al Kaline and Harold Baines as the only players to accomplish the feat without having a 30-home run season.
1997 Each Angel outfielder throws out a runner in California's 5-4 victory over Boston. Orlando Palmeiro (cf), Tim Salmon (rf), and Garret Anderson (lf) all get an assist in the Fenway Park contest.
1999 Japanese hurler Hideo Nomo signs a free-agent deal with the Brewers. The 'Tornado' will have a comeback season with Milwaukee, posting a 12-8 record in 28 starts.
1999 At the Kingdome, the Mariners set a team scoring record by beating the Tigers, 22-6. Half of the M's runs score in the 11-run fifth inning, which includes a grand slam hit by center fielder Ken Griffey, Jr. 
2000 The Pirates and Reds combine to tie a major league record by hitting five sacrifice flies. Cincinnati's three run-scoring fly balls account for the difference in the team's 6-5 victory over the Bucs at Three Rivers Stadium.
2000 For the first time in seven tries, the Giants win at Pacific Bell Park as San Francisco becomes the first franchise to lose six games to start a season in a newly constructed ballpark. Barry Bonds' eighth-inning home run proves to be the difference in a 2-1 victory over the Expos.
2001 In the Brewers' 10-0 rout of Montreal at Miller Park, Geoff Jenkins homers twice, tying a major league record with five homers in two games. The Milwaukee left fielder is the 22nd player to accomplish the feat and the first NL player since Reds' shortstop Barry Larkin's 1991 power surge.
2002 Brian Sprout, a Division III All-American, becomes the first and only player in the recorded history of the national pastime to hit for the home run cycle in order. The St. Olaf College Ole hits a solo shot, a two-run and a three-run homer, and a grand slam in four consecutive at-bats during a 39-4 rout of Augsburg.
2004 At Indianapolis' Victory Field, the International League's contest between the hometown Indians and Louisville Bats is delayed for twenty minutes before the fourth inning when a maintenance crew works to free first baseman Jeff Liefer from a dugout bathroom. Upon returning to the field, the first baseman is greeted with a standing ovation and receives a roll of toilet paper as a gift from the opposing dugout. 
2005 The Nationals exercise Jose Guillen's $4 million contract option for 2006. The sometimes angry 28-year-old outfielder, acquired in a trade with the Angels after feuding with manager Mike Scioscia, appears to have found a home in Washington thanks to a very pleased general manager, Jim Bowden.
2005 Although Eric Gagne is on the disabled list and hasn't thrown a pitch this season, he is suspended for two games and fined for violating Rule 3.17, which states players on the disabled list may not participate in any activity during the game. Although MLB warned the Dodgers closer, he continued to dress and participate in-game activities, including being ejected on April 6 for heckling home plate umpire Bill Hohn.
2005 Skippers Lou Piniella (one game) and Terry Francona (one game) round out the six suspensions given to the Red Sox and Devil Rays for their roles in two April 24 bench-clearing incidents in the beanball-laden contest at Tropicana Field. Boston's 11-3 victory, which also featured six ejections, resulted in multi-game suspensions for Bronson Arroyo (6), Dewon Brazelton (5), Lance Carter (5), and Trot Nixon (2).
2005 In a matchup of 300-game winners, Greg Maddux bests Roger Clemens as the Cubs edge the Astros at Minute Maid Park, 3-2. The last showdown occurred in 1987 when Angels' hurler Don Sutton defeated Twins southpaw Steve Carlton.
2006 Albert Pujols sets a major league mark for homers in April when his 14th of the month, a solo shot off Jon Rauch in the eighth inning, is the difference in the Cardinals' 2-1 victory over Washington at Busch Stadium. The slugging first baseman breaks the record he shared with Ken Griffey Jr. (1997, Mariners) and Luis Gonzalez (2001, Diamondbacks).
2006 The Bronx Bombers rout the Blue Jays, 17-4, becoming the sixth American League club to score in all eight innings the team bats. The only other time the Bronx Bombers scored in every inning of a full game occurred in July 1939 when they pummeled the Browns at Yankee Stadium, 14-1.
2007 Cardinals reliever Josh Hancock dies on impact in an early morning automobile accident when his 2007 Ford Explorer slams into a parked tow truck in the westbound lane of Highway 40 in St. Louis. Out of respect to the well-liked 29-year-old pitcher, MLB postpones the nationally televised game scheduled for tonight against the Cubs.
2007 Trevor Hoffman appears as a pitcher in his 803rd game for the Padres, establishing a new record for games pitched for one team. Walter Johnson (Senators, 1907-27) and Elroy Face (Pirates, 1953-68) shared the previous mark.
2007 At Coors Field, during a 9-7 Colorado victory over the Braves, Troy Tulowitzki turns the 13th unassisted triple play in big-league history. With the baserunners on first and second on the move in the top of the seventh, Rockies shortstop Tulowitzki catches Chipper Jones' line drive (1), steps on second to retire Kelly Johnson (2), and then tags Edgar Renteria (3) returning to first base.

2008 At the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Brandon Boggs becomes the first player to start his career with a hit from each side of the plate. Entering the 9-5 loss to the Royals in the bottom of the fifth, the 25-year-old switch-hitting rookie singles to left field off Ron Mahay as a right-handed batter and then two innings later singles to center field off Ramon Ramirez batting as a lefty.
2009 In Kansas City's 11-3 victory over Toronto at Kauffman Stadium, Vernon Wells' first-inning two-out RBI single ends Zack Greinke's streak of not allowing an earned run at 43 consecutive innings. The Royals right-hander, improving his record to 5-0, had not given up an earned run in his last six starts, dating back to September 13.
2009 With a double off Philadelphia's Brett Myers, Ryan Zimmerman breaks his own Nationals team record by extending his hitting streak to 18 games. The Washington third baseman established the previous mark of 17 in 2006.
2010 Roy Halladay loses his third consecutive 1-0 complete game, suffering the defeat to the Red Sox at Boston's Fenway Park. The hard-luck Blue Jays right-hander is the first pitcher to accomplish the dubious feat since Diamondbacks' southpaw Randy Johnson dropped three straight complete-game decisions in 1999, becoming the first Toronto hurler since Jim Clancy had a similar streak during the 1982 season.
2010 At Wrigley Field, scores of protesters wave signs and chant, "Boycott Arizona! Boycott Arizona!" on the sidewalk outside the ballpark during the Diamondbacks' game against the Cubs. The demonstration is in response to the state's recently enacted illegal immigration law, and organizers hope the movement will inspire baseball fans to stay away from contests that feature the team from The Grand Canyon State. 
2013 Donald Lutz, who left the U.S. as an infant, becomes the first German-developed player to appear in the major leagues when he grounds out to second as a pinch-hitter in the Reds' 2-1 victory over St. Louis at Busch Stadium. The 24-year-old outfielder, a member of the German National Team that competed in the 2013 WBC, joins Seattle's Alex Liddi as the second graduate of the Major League Baseball International European Academy to make a big-league team.
2013 Brandon Moss's walk-off two-run homer in the 19th inning ends a six-hour and 32-minute contest, the longest game by time in A's history. Oakland's 10-8 victory over Los Angeles features 5.1 innings of solid relief by Brett Anderson, who entered the game in the 13th frame after being scratched from his scheduled start to rest a sore right ankle.
2015 In a game closed to the public due to Baltimore's civil unrest resulting from Freddie Gray's death, the Orioles beat the White Sox in an afternoon contest at an empty Camden Yards, 8-2. MLB postponed the first two games of this series to save the much-needed law enforcement resources in the affected Charm City neighborhoods, moving the scheduled weekend series against the Rays to St. Petersburg (FL).

2016 In his 16th career start, Marlins left-hander Adam Conley, four outs away from a no-hitter, is replaced by reliever Jose Urena, who gives up the Brewers' first hit with one out in the ninth of the team's 6-3 victory at Milwaukee's Miller Park. Miami manager Don Mattingly decided to go to the bullpen after the 25-year-old southpaw needed 16 pitches to get the first two outs of the eighth inning, bringing his total pitch count to 116, ten more than the southpaw's previous career-high.

59 Fact(s) Found