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83 Fact(s) Found
| 1893 | On the day he is honored by The Sporting News as America's most popular baseball player, Joe Quinn collects eight hits in the National League Browns' doubleheader, becoming the first player to accomplish the feat. The St. Louis second baseman, a mortician in the off-season, helps the team, who will change their name to the Cardinals after the 1899 season, sweep a twin bill from the Beaneaters, 17-6 and 16-4. |
| 1893 | On the last day of the season, Duff Cooley collects six hits in the National League Browns' 16-4 rout of Boston in the nightcap of a twin bill. The 20-year-old rookie accomplishes the rare feat by hitting four singles, a double, and a triple at the Robison Field in St. Louis. |
| 1904 | Doc White tosses his fifth shutout in eighteen days when he blanks the Yankees at Chicago's South Side Park, 4-0. The White Sox southpaw will pitch six of his seven shutouts in September. |
| 1907 | At Robison Field in St. Louis, 21-year-old rookie first baseman Ed Konetchy steals home twice in the Cardinals' 5-1 victory over Boston. The last-place Redbirds swipe home plate three times during the contest. |
| 1921 | At Sportsman's Park, the Cardinals and their fans celebrate Rogers Hornsby Day. The 25-year-old Redbird second baseman, who will lead the National League in hitting with a .397 batting average, delights the crowd with a home run and two doubles in the team's 12-4 victory over Pittsburgh. |
| 1923 | It's Zack Wheat Day at Ebbets Field, and the retiring Dodger outfielder collects two hits and receives an automobile. Cy Williams of the Phillies spoils the special day as he ties the score in the seventh inning with his 39th homer and his 40th in the 12th frame, which gives Philadelphia the victory, 6-4. |
| 1927 | At Yankee Stadium on the next-to-last day of the season off of Senators' starter Tom Zachary, Babe Ruth breaks his own 1921 home run record by hitting number 60, which lands just in fair territory in the right-field stands. As a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning, future Hall of Fame hurler Walter Johnson makes his last major league appearance in this game. |
| 1928 | In his major league debut, White Sox rookie Ed Weiland shuts out the A's at Comiskey Park, 1-0. The 6'4" fireballer from Chicago will finish his four-year tenure with his hometown team, compiling a 5-15 record before being traded to the Red Sox in 1932. |
| 1933 | At Sportsman's Park in the Cubs' 12-2 rout of the Cardinals, Babe Herman hits for the cycle, becoming the first player in baseball history to do it three times. The Chicago outfielder also accomplished the rare feat twice, playing for the Dodgers in 1931. |
| 1933 | In the season finale, the last-place White Sox lose to the Indians, 5-3, finishing the campaign with a 53-99 record, 47 games out of first place. Chicago did not throw a single left-handed hurler during the entire season. |
| 1934 | Babe Ruth plays his final game in pinstripes, going 0-for-3, including flying out to center field in his last at-bat in the Yankees' 5-3 loss to the Senators at Griffith Stadium. The Braves will acquire the 'Sultan of Swat" in late February, announcing, in addition to playing, he would become a team vice president and serve as assistant manager to Boston skipper Bill McKechnie. |
| 1934 | Dizzy Dean becomes the first pitcher to win 30 games since Jim Bagby accomplished the feat in 1920 for the Indians, and he will be the second of four hurlers this century, including Lefty Grove (1931 A's) and Denny McLain (1968 Tigers), to reach the lofty plateau. The 24-year-old Cardinal right-hander goes the distance to beat Cincinnati, 9-0, and clinches the pennant for the Redbirds. |
| 1934 | With a two-run round-tripper off Allyn Stout at Sportsman's Park in the Cardinals' 9-0 victory over Cincinnati, Rip Collins establishes a National League record when he blasts his league-leading 35th home run of the season as a switch hitter. The 30-year-old first baseman's mark will last until Howard Johnson goes deep from both sides of the plate 36 times in 1987 for the Mets. |
| 1945 | In the season's finale, Hank Greenberg hits a pennant-winning grand slam. The Tiger left fielder's ninth-inning bases-full homer beats the Browns, 6-3, clinching the American League flag for Detroit over the second-place Senators. |
| 1945 | Going the distance, Giants right-hander Don Fisher blanks Boston at Braves Field 1-0, thanks to Nap Reyes' homer in the top of the 13th inning. In his only career start, the victory proves to be the 29-year-old's final major league appearance. |
| 1947 | At 21-year, nine-month-old, Ralph Branca becomes the youngest player to start a World Series opener. The right-handed gives up two hits in four innings of work but allows all the runs in the team's 5-1 loss at Yankee Stadium. |
| 1951 | Knowing the Giants have won their game in Boston, the Dodgers rally from a five-run deficit to beat Philadelphia in 14 innings, 9-8, forcing a three-game playoff for the National League pennant. After Jackie Robinson makes a game-saving catch in the thirteenth to preserve an 8-8 tie, he hits a home run in the next frame, proving to be the difference in Brooklyn's victory at Shibe Park. |
| 1953 | George Shuba, best known as the Montreal Royal teammate who shook Jackie Robinson's hand after the rookie homered, becomes the third major leaguer and the first in the National League to pinch-hit a home run in the World Series. With his round-tripper off Allie Reynolds in the Dodgers' 9-5 Game 1 loss at Yankee Stadium, 'Shotgun' joins Yogi Berra (1947) and Johnny Mize (1952), who both accomplished the feat playing for the Bronx Bombers. |
| 1956 | On the season's final day at Kansas City's Municipal Stadium, 16-year-old southpaw Jim Derrington becomes the youngest pitcher to start a major league game this century. The teenager tosses six innings, taking the loss when the A's beat the White Sox, 7-6, but his single makes the Chicago bonus baby the youngest player to get a hit in the American League. |
| 1956 | Don Newcombe, a three-time twenty-game winner, goes the distance to earn his major-league-leading 27th victory when the Dodgers beat Pittsburgh at Forbes Field, 8-6, on the last day of the campaign. Newk's total is the most wins by an African-American pitcher in a season. |
| 1961 | The Angels win their 70th and final game when they defeat Cleveland at L.A.'s Wrigley Field, 11-6. The seventy victories are the most games won by an expansion team in their first year of existence. |
| 1962 | On the last day of the season, Gene Oliver's eighth-inning homer off Johnny Podres proves to be the difference in St. Louis' 1-0 victory over the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. The loss to the Cardinals and the Giants' 2-1 victory over Houston forces Los Angeles into a best-of-three-game playoff for the National League pennant, a series the team will lose to San Francisco. |
| 1962 | The Mets finish their inaugural season with 120 losses, a 20th-century record when the team drops a 5-1 decision to the Cubs at Wrigley Field. In his last career at-bat, New York catcher Joe Pignatano hits into an eighth-inning triple play with Richie Ashburn and Sammy Drake aboard, with the base runners also appearing in their last major league game. |
| 1962 | In the last at-bat of his career, Don Gile homers in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Red Sox a 3-1, season-ending victory over the Senators at Fenway Park. The Boston first baseman had been 0-for-34 before the dramatic at-bat. |
| 1962 | At Yankee Stadium, Mickey Mantle blasts his 30th home run of the season, a fourth-inning solo shot off White Sox's 20-game winner Ray Herbert, to extend his streak of having 30 or more round-trippers to eight seasons. The 'Mick,' who missed a month of the campaign because of a leg injury, bats leadoff in the team's final series to collect more at-bats. |
| 1964 | As a pinch-hitter in the top of the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium, Bill Roman hits his only big-league home run in his first major league at-bat. The 25-year-old rookie first baseman will accumulate only 37 career plate appearances during a brief two-year stint with the Tigers. |
| 1966 | At Comiskey Park in the top of the ninth inning, Roger Maris, in his last at-bat as a Yankee, slams a two-run home run as a pinch-hitter, putting the club ahead of the White Sox, 5-4. As the slugger contemplates retirement, the former two-time American League MVP is stunned and embarrassed when New York trades him to the Cardinals for utility player Charley Smith in the off-season. |
| 1969 | The Braves clinch the first-ever National League West division with their 3-2 win over the Reds at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The Lum Harris-led club will finish the season three games ahead of San Francisco before being swept by New York in the NLCS. |
| 1971 | For the second time in his career, Tom Seaver becomes a 20-game winner when the Mets beat St. Louis, 6-1, at Shea Stadium on the season's final day. En route to the complete-game victory, 'Tom Terrific' whiffs 13 Redbirds to end the campaign with a league-leading 289 strikeouts. |
| 1971 | Leading off the third inning In the season's finale, Bill Melton's homer off Bill Parsons proves to be the difference in Chicago's 2-1 victory over the Brewers at White Sox Park. The third baseman's 33rd round-tripper makes him the first Pale Hose player to lead the American League in home runs, putting him one ahead of A's slugger Reggie Jackson and Norm Cash, the Tigers' perennial power hitter. |
| 1971 | Don Mincher becomes the only player on the roster for both final games in Washington for each team known as the Senators. The lefty-swinging first baseman will also be the only person to play for the original Minnesota Twins and the original Texas Rangers, the franchises that left the nation's capital in 1960 and 1971. |
| 1971 | Willie Montanez sets the Phillies' rookie home run record when he strokes a two-run round-tripper off Nelson Briles in the team's 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh at Veterans Stadium. The freshman first baseman's 30 homers eclipse the mark established by Dick Allen in 1964. |
| 1972 |
Pirates outfielder Roberto Clemente doubles off Mets' southpaw Jon Matlack to become the 11th major leaguer to collect 3000 hits. The two-bagger, sadly, will be his last hit as he will die in a plane crash on New Year's Eve.
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| 1973 | In their final game at the 'old' Yankee Stadium, the fourth-place Bronx Bombers lose unceremoniously to the Tigers, 8-5. The team, which will play its home games for the next two seasons at Shea Stadium as the 50-year-old 'House that Ruth Built' undergoes extensive renovations, also loses their skipper, with Ralph Houk announcing his resignation. |
| 1973 | On the last day of the season, the second-place Red Sox (88-73) dismisses skipper Eddie Kasko. Boston names Triple-A Pawtucket pilot Darrell Johnson as the club's new manager. |
| 1973 | The American League's new designated hitter rule appears to have worked when the Junior Circuit's league's batting average increased by 20 points to .259, its highest point since 1956, outhitting the National League for the first time in a decade. The 614 complete games, 112 more than last season, are the most since 1928 in either league. |
| 1978 | At Three Rivers Stadium, the Phillies clinch their third consecutive N.L. East title, defeating the Pirates, 10-8. The victory features Randy Lerch, the winning pitcher, hitting two home runs and snapping Pittsburgh's 24-game home winning streak. |
| 1979 | In his last big-league game, Ed Kranepool pinch hits in the top of the seventh inning and doubles off Bob Forsch when the Mets beat the Cardinals in the season finale at Busch Stadium, 4-2. The James Monroe High School graduate, who debuted with the team in 1962 at 17, had been the last original Met left in the majors. |
| 1980 | In front of only 1,754 patrons, Mets southpaw Pete Falcone beats the Pirates in the season's last game at Shea Stadium, 3-2. The crowd is the smallest to attend a game at the Flushing ballpark, with 33 fewer fans than yesterday's meager gathering. |
| 1984 | Yankees' first baseman Don Mattingly wins the American League batting title with a .343 average, finishing three points higher than teammate Dave Winfield. The accomplishment marks the first of six consecutive seasons that 'Donnie Baseball' hits over .300, but the only one resulting in a batting crown during a 14-year major league career. |
| 1984 |
Mike Witt uses only 97 pitches on the season's final day to retire 27 consecutive hitters. The Angels' hurler throws the perfect game against the Rangers and beats Charlie Hough on an unearned run, 1-0.
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| 1985 | Based on attendance at the Kingdome, the King County Council tries to modify its deal with the team trying to circumvent the Mariners' escape clause. A proposed amendment, stating the club needs to play .500 ball, a mark the M's have never achieved, as a condition before a move from the domed stadium would be considered by the City Fathers, causing owner George Argyros to threaten to move the team out of Seattle. |
| 1987 | Dave Stewart becomes a 20-game winner when the A's beat Cleveland at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, 4-3. The thirty-year-old right-hander, who spent the first decade of his career in the bullpen, will also earn twenty or more victories in the next three seasons. |
| 1988 | President Ronald Reagan throws two ceremonial first pitches at Wrigley Field before the Cubs' 10-9 loss to the Pirates. 'Dutch,' a former play-by-play announcer, then participates in the broadcast with Harry Caray, spending the first inning and a half in the WGN booth. |
| 1988 | Dave Stieb loses his second consecutive no-hit bid when Jim Traber singles on a 2-2 count with two outs in the ninth in the Blue Jays' 4-0 victory over the Orioles at Exhibition Stadium. Six days ago, the 31-year-old right-hander yielded a ground ball hit up the middle to Indians' second baseman Julio Franco with two outs in the final frame for the Tribe's only safety. |
| 1988 | Joining Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, and Dwight Gooden, David Cone improves his record to 20-3, becoming the fourth pitcher in Mets history to win twenty games in a season. After his 4-2 complete-game victory against the Cardinals, the 25-year-old right-hander has a surprise visitor when former president Richard Nixon congratulates him in the Shea Stadium dugout. |
| 1989 | Ending a 43-year relationship with Major League Baseball, NBC airs its final regular-season Game of the Week. The contest, which features the Blue Jays clinching the A.L. East title with a 4-3 victory over the Orioles at the SkyDome, is the 981st broadcast of a weekly tradition started in 1947. |
| 1989 | After spending nearly three months in first place, Baltimore's playoff hopes end on the next-to-last day of the season when they suffer their second consecutive one-run loss to Toronto, allowing the Blue Jays to clinch first place in the American League East. Frank Robinson's young group of players, known as the "Why Not?! Orioles," improved in the standings by 32½ games from their last-place finish last season. |
| 1989 | In the ninth inning of a 2-0 three-hit loss to Nolan Ryan and the Rangers, Angels shortstop Dick Schofield strikes out looking, becoming the right-hander's 300th victim of the season. It is the sixth time the 'Ryan Express' has reached the plateau, but the first since striking out 341 batters in 1977. |
| 1990 | Kansas City infielders Frank White, playing in his last major league game after spending his entire 18-year career with the Royals, and fellow Royals third baseman George Brett establish a new mark when they appear in their 1,914th game together, the most by any American League teammates. |
| 1990 | In front of 42,849 fans, the original Comiskey Park hosts its last game, with the White Sox edging the Mariners, 2-1. The final regular-season won-loss record at the old ballpark is 3,024-2,926 (.508). |
| 1992 |
With his seventh-inning line-drive single over second base, his fourth hit in the Angels Stadium contest, 39-year-old George Brett collects his 3000th career hit, becoming the 18th player to reach the milestone. The Royals third baseman's celebration of the moment is short-lived when he is picked off and tagged by first baseman Gary Gaetti after stepping off the base to savor the accomplishment.
(Ed. Note: Nursing an injured right shoulder, Brett missed two games of the series and his playing status was in doubt before the game. - LP) |
| 1995 | Albert Belle becomes the first player in major league history to hit fifty home runs and fifty doubles in the same season. The left fielder accomplished the amazing feat in just 143 games due to a strike-shortened season, far exceeding any of the prior 40 and 40 marks achieved by just a dozen players in major league history. |
| 1998 | After doctors removed a tumor nine months ago, former Royal reliever Dan Quisenberry dies of brain cancer at 45. In 1983, 'Quizo,' known for his outstanding control, became the first closer to record 40 saves, ending the season with 45. |
| 1999 | Mets' shortstop Rey Ordonez plays in his 96th consecutive game without committing an error, breaking Cal Ripken's major league record for errorless games in that position. The flashy infielder will finish the season, extending the mark to 100 games. |
| 1999 | The largest regular-season Candlestick Park crowd, 61,389 fans, watch the Giants lose to the Dodgers, 9-4, in their last game at the 'Points.' Former franchise greats help mark the occasion with Juan Marichal tossing the ceremonial first pitch and Willie Mays throwing out the ballpark's final pitch. |
| 1999 | For the twenty-third time this season, Diamondback fireballer Randy Johnson K's at least ten batters to tie Nolan Ryan's 1973 major league record for the most double-digit strikeout games in a season. The tall left-hander whiffs 11 Padres in seven innings in a 5-3 victory to bring his season-ending total to 364, which ranks fourth all-time. |
| 2000 | In the highest-scoring game in A's franchise history, Oakland defeats the Rangers 23-2 to remain a half-game ahead of the Mariners for the Western Division lead as Seattle scores the most runs ever against the Angels, 21-9, assuring the team at least a tie for the American League wild card. |
| 2001 | With a third-inning double against Milwaukee, Rockies' first baseman Todd Helton becomes the first player in major league history to have consecutive 100 extra-base hits seasons. Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig and Chuck Klein also had two 100 extra-base hits seasons but did not accomplish the feat in successive years. |
| 2004 | Thanks to Bernie Williams's ninth-inning two-run homer, the Yankees beat the Twins, 6-4, to clinch their seventh straight American League East Division title. Their 100th victory makes the club the fourth team in history (Braves 1997-99; Orioles 1969-71; A's 1929-31) to have three consecutive 100-win seasons. |
| 2005 | The Devil Rays announce the team plans to buy out the last year of manager Lou Piniella's $13 million, a four-year contract he signed in 2002. The agreement, which pays 'Sweet Lou' $2.2 million of the $4.4 million deal, allows the 62-year-old skipper to seek employment with another team. |
| 2005 | Mariner outfielder Ichiro Suzuki becomes the first player in baseball history to collect 200 hits each of his first five seasons in the big leagues. The Japanese native, who was last season's AL batting champ, joins Willie Keeler (1894-1901), Wade Boggs (1983-89), Chuck Klein (1929-33), Al Simmons (1929-33), and Charlie Gehringer (1933-37) as the sixth major leaguer to have reached this plateau for at least five consecutive seasons. |
| 2005 | Albert Pujols's home run, a seventh-inning grand slam against the Reds, makes him the first Cardinal in the 114-year history of the team to hit 40 home runs in three consecutive seasons. His 200th career blast makes him the third-youngest to reach the milestone, following Mel Ott and Eddie Mathews. |
| 2005 | Delta Air Lines names one of its Boeing 757s' Big Papi' in honor of the Red Sox designated hitter. David Ortiz attends the dedication ceremony at Logan International Airport, including unveiling of the newly lettered Song Plane jet. |
| 2006 | In the Mets' 13-0 rout of Washington at RFK Stadium, Julio Franco, tying a career-high, drives in five runs, becoming the oldest major leaguer in history to accomplish the feat. The 48-year-old first baseman, with three hits, falls a triple short of completing the cycle. |
| 2006 | Five years and two cities after Frank Robinson, then the vice president in the commissioner's office in charge of on-field discipline, agrees to manage the MLB-owned Expos for a season, the franchise, now known as the Washington Nationals, will have a new skipper. Jim Bowden, the team's G.M., announces the search for a replacement for the 71-year-old Hall of Famer will begin after tomorrow's season finale against the Mets at RFK. |
| 2007 | With the help of New York losing 6 out of their seven last games (all at home) and squandering a seven-game lead with 17 to play, the Phillies clinch the NL. East title for the first time in 14 years by beating the Nationals on the last day of the season, 6-1. The Mets' colossal failure down the stretch is considered by many to be the worst collapse by a team in baseball history. |
| 2007 | With 13 victories in the last 14 games, the Rockies beat the Diamondbacks to force a one-game playoff with the Padres to determine the National League wild-card team. One strike away from clinching a postseason berth yesterday, San Diego loses again today to the Brewers, ending the season with the same record as Colorado, 89-73. |
| 2007 | Jimmy Rollins triples to become the fourth big leaguer to record 20 stolen bases, 20 homers, 20 triples, and 20 doubles in a season. The Phillies shortstop and MVP candidate joins Frank Schulte (1911 - Cubs), Willie Mays (1957 - Giants), and Curtis Granderson (2007 - Tigers) as the only players in major league history to accomplish the feat. |
| 2008 |
With its 1-0 tiebreaker win over the Twins, thanks to Jim Thome's seventh-inning homer, the White Sox become the first major league team to defeat three different opponents in three days. Chicago beat the Indians on the last scheduled day of the regular season to necessitate playing a previous rainout with the Tigers, won by the Southsiders 8-2, making today's game with Minnesota necessary to determine the A.L. Central divisional championship.
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| 2009 | Ricky Nolasco, en route to the Marlins' 5-4 victory over Atlanta in the season's finale, sets a franchise record with 16 strikeouts. The 26-year-old right-hander's performance includes whiffing nine consecutive batters, one shy of the major league record set by Tom Seaver with the Mets in 1970. |
| 2009 | The Phillies clinch their third straight division title with a 10-3 victory over Houston. If the team wins the World Series this year, the reigning World Champions will become the first National League team to win two consecutively since the Reds won Fall Classics in 1975-76. |
| 2009 | Francisco Rodriguez becomes the fourth pitcher in the game's history to yield two walk-off grand slams in the same season when Justin Maxwell goes deep, giving Washington a dramatic 7-4 victory over the Mets at Nationals Park. Last month, Everth Cabrera of the Padres also hit a game-ending four-run round-tripper, making K-Rod Rodriguez the only major leaguer to surrender two game-winning bases-loaded homers to a pair of rookies. |
| 2011 | The Red Sox do not pick up their option on Terry Francona's contract, severing ties with their manager for the past eight seasons. The former Boston skipper, who was at the helm for the team's 2004 and 2007 World Championships, could not halt the club's historic collapse in September, losing a certain playoff spot to Tampa Bay when the club, after posting a meager 7-20 record in the final month of the season. |
| 2012 | The Braves win for the 23rd straight time in a game started by Kris Medlen when they beat New York in the regular-season home finale at Turner Field, 6-2. The 26-year-old right-hander's streak surpasses the major league mark shared by Carl Hubbell (Giants, 1936-37) and Whitey Ford (Yankees, 1950-53). |
| 2012 | David Price becomes the first 20-game winner in franchise history when he goes seven innings in the Rays' 6-2 win over the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. The 27-year-old southpaw, the youngest American League pitcher to win 20 since Johan Santana reached the milestone with Minnesota in 2004, will edge Tigers ace Justin Verlander for the AL Cy Young Award. |
| 2012 | En route from Baltimore to Tampa Bay to play the Rays, the Orioles' charter makes an emergency landing in Jacksonville (FL) because of smoke on the plane. The cause of the fire is not immediately known, but there are no reported injuries. |
| 2012 | After beating Boston earlier in the day, the Orioles secure a postseason berth when Texas beats the Angels in the second game of a twin bill. Baltimore, whose last playoff appearance occurred in 1997, clinches, at the very least, one of the two American League wild-card spots. |
| 2013 | The Mets extend manager Terry Collins' contract for another two years, adding a club option for 2016. During his three-year tenure with New York, the 64-year-old skipper, who has also managed the Astros and Angels, has guided the team to a 225-261 record, the lowest winning percentage (.463) of his major league managerial career. |
| 2013 |
In a one-game tiebreaker to determine the AL's second wild-card team, Rays' ace David Price allows just seven hits en route to a complete-game 5-2 victory over the Rangers in Arlington. After winning its last seven contests of the regular 162-game season, Tampa Bay will take on the Indians for the Wild Card spot in the playoffs, and Texas will miss the postseason for the first time since 2009.
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| 2014 | In a one-game winner-take-all Wild Card Game, the Royals tally two runs in the bottom of the twelfth for an 8-7 walk-off win over the A's, thanks to Salvador Perez's single that plates Christian Colon. Kansas City had been trailing, 7-3, before rallying with three runs in the eighth and one in the ninth in the Kauffman Stadium contest to force extra innings. |
| 2018 | At Angel Stadium, Khris Davis goes 0-for-2 in the A's 5-4 loss to Anaheim. The Oakland DH finishes the season with a .247 BA for the fourth consecutive season. |
| 2020 |
The Twins extend their postseason losing streak to 18 games, the longest in North American professional sports history when the Astros sweep the best-of-three Wild Card Series. Minnesota set the mark yesterday, surpassing the Chicago Blackhawks, an NHL team that lost 16 straight playoff games from 1975 to 1979.
(Ed. Note: The 1986-95 Red Sox held the previous MLB mark, losing 13 consecutive postseason contests.)
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83 Fact(s) Found