BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

2010 Jeff Francoeur is traded to the Rangers by the Mets in exchange for infielder Joaquin Arias. The rifle-armed right fielder will be a right-handed bat off the bench and defensive replacement for the playoff-bound Texas team.

​

2010 Aroldis Chapman makes his much-anticipated major league debut, tossing a perfect inning in the Reds' 8-4 victory over Milwaukee. The 22-year-old Cuban defector lives up to the hype, throwing four pitches at 100 mph or better.
2010 The Dodgers swap a player to be named (infielder Tony Abreu) to the Diamondbacks for starter Jon Garland. The 31-year-old right-hander will post a 3-2 record with a 2.72 ERA in his six late-season starts with the team before signing as a free agent with San Diego.
2011 Craig Kimbrel sets a rookie record with his 41st save when he retires the side in order in the Braves' 3-1 victory over Washington at Turner Field. The 23-year-old Atlanta closer, who will finish the season with 46, surpasses Neftali Feliz's saves record established last season with the Rangers.

2011 In a stretch-run trade with Pittsburgh, the Braves acquired Matt Diaz for a player to be named and cash considerations. The 33-year-old outfielder, who played with Atlanta for five years, left the organization after the 2010 season when he inked a two-year, $4.25 million free-agent deal with the Pirates.
2011 The Diamondbacks set a team record with their 12th consecutive victory at home when they beat Colorado at Chase Field, 4-2. The streak surpasses the mark established by the 2000 and 2003 clubs.
2012 Bob Uecker, known for his humor on and off the diamond, is honored by the Brewers in a light-hearted dedication ceremony outside Miller Park that unveils a seven-foot bronze statue of the team's popular broadcaster. The sculpture, depicting the smiling "Mr. Baseball" with his hands in his pockets, joins the likenesses of Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Robin Yount, and Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig in front of the ballpark.

​

2014 In the Japanese National High School Rubber Baseball Tournament semifinals, Chukyo finally breaks the scoreless tie that had captured a nation's attention, tallying three runs in the 50th inning to beat Sotoku High School. Both starting pitchers, Chukyo's Taiga Matsui and Jukiya Ishioka of Sotoku, go the distance, throwing 709 and 689 pitches in the contest that takes four days to complete and avoiding the winner being decided with a random drawing if the tie remained after 54 innings.
2014 At the waiver deadline, the White Sox trade Adam Dunn to the A's for 23-year-old minor-league pitcher Nolan Sanburn, who is 3-1 with a 3.28 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 71.1 innings hurling for Class A Stockton. Oakland hopes their new slugger, a 34-year-old two-time All-Star with 460 career homers, can provide some offensive punch for the contending team, which recently has been slumping.
2019 The Rangers retire seven-time All-Star infielder Michael Young's uniform #10. During his 12 years in the Texas lineup, the second baseman turned shortstop becomes the franchise's career leader in runs, hits, doubles, triples, and total bases.

​

***********
27,037

 

Today in Baseball History
Home | Contact | Baseball Almanac | Baseball Box Scores | Baseball Fever | Advertise | Support
August 31 all
Search archives: Historical Events Baseball Birthdays Baseball Deaths​

On August 31 in Baseball History...
1906 - Beset by injuries, the Tigers call 46-year-old Sam Thompson out of retirement. He drives in two runs in a 5-1 win over the Browns. Thompson last played in the majors in 1898. He appears in eight games and bats .226.
1909 - The A. J. Reach Company is granted a patent for a cork-centered baseball, which will replace the hard rubber-cored one. This change will be particularly apparent in the NL in 1910-11.
1937 - Detroit's rookie Rudy York sets a new record for home runs in a month, hitting his 17th and 18th to eclipse Babe Ruth's mark set in September 1927. Sammy Sosa will break that mark in 1998.
1935 - Vern Kennedy of the Chicago White Sox pitched a no-hitter to beat Cleveland 5-0. Kennedy also had a bases-loaded triple.
1950 - Brooklyn's Gil Hodges tied a major league record by hitting four homers against the Boston Braves in the Dodgers' 19-3 rout. Hodges also added a single for 17 total bases.
1954 - The Indians beat the Yanks 6-1 to record their 26th win of the month, tying the 1931 Philadelphia A's.
1959 - Sandy Koufax breaks Dizzy Dean's National League mark and ties Bob Feller's major league record of 18 strikeouts in a game against the Giants as 82,974 fans watch. He also totals 31 strikeouts for two consecutive games to set a new major league mark. (The major league record for strikeouts in a game is now shared by Roger Clemens and Kerry Wood, while Wood holds the record with 33 strikeouts over two games.)
1964 - Ground is broken for Anaheim Stadium, future home of next year's Angels.
1968 - Steve Blass gets the first out against the Braves, and then moves to left field as Roy Face relieves. Face retires Felix Millan and ties Walter Johnson's major league record of 802 pitching appearances with one club. Blass comes back in and the Pirates go on to win 8-0. Later in the game, the Pirates announce the sale of Face to the Tigers.
1979 - The Phillies fire Danny Ozark, the club's skipper since 1973. Farm director Dallas Green takes over.
1981 - Royals manager Jim Frey is fired and replaced by Dick Howser, whose Yankees lost to Frey's Royals in last season's American League Championship Series.
1989 - Arbitrator Thomas Roberts orders the major league owners to pay $10.5 million in damages as a result of their collusion against free agents after the 1985 season.
1990 - The Ken Griffeys, Griffey, Jr. in center field and Ken (Sr.) in left field, become the first father-and-son combination in major league history to play as teammates, and they each go 1-for-4 in Seattle's 5-2 win over the Royals. The Mariners had signed the elder Griffey after he was waived by the Reds.
Baseball Birthdays on August 31...

1850 - Kimball, Gene
1866 - Clarkson, Dad
1866 - Farrell, Duke
1868 - Ehret, Red
1869 - Cross, Monte
1874 - Bruyette, Ed
1875 - Chambers, Rome
1875 - Plank, Eddie
1880 - Fitzgerald, Matty
1881 - Brown, Buster
1883 - Smith, Syd
1885 - Gaiser, Fred
1888 - Rehg, Wally
1893 - Currie, Murphy
1898 - Connally, Sarge
1905 - Pearce, Frank
1905 - White, Jack
1907 - Berres, Ray
1907 - Burns, Jack
1910 - Hutchinson, Ira
1913 - Copeland, Mays
1916 - Mack, Ray
1916 - Litwhiler, Danny
1917 - Dasso, Frank
1919 - Wallaesa, Jack
1922 - Andrews, Hub
1925 - Hinrichs, Paul
1927 - Dozier, Buzz
1935 - Robinson, Frank
1937 - Stallard, Tracy
1940 - James, Cleo
1940 - Hernandez, Ramon
1942 - Dukes, Tom
1942 - Webster, Ray
1947 - Day, Boots
1953 - Bernhardt, Juan
1953 - Nahorodny, Bill
1954 - Perconte, Jack
1954 - Washington, Claudell
1957 - Candiotti, Tom
1958 - Hayes, Von
1960 - Madden, Morris
1961 - Hartley, Mike
1962 - Tubbs, Greg
1966 - Frye, Jeff
1967 - Royer, Stan
1968 - Howell, Pat
1968 - Nomo, Hideo
1969 - Minchey, Nate
1975 - Kapler, Gabe
1978 - Drew, Tim
1979 - Raines, Jr., Tim

Copyright � 2001-2007. All Rights Reserved.
Part of the Baseball Almanac family: 755 Home Runs | Around the Horn | Baseball Box Scores | Baseball Fever | Today in Baseball History.​

 

​

 

9/1
OTD
BIRTHDAYS
1850 Jim O'Rourke HOF left fielder (NL HR leader 1880 Boston Red Caps; NY Giants) and manager (Buffalo Bisons 1881-84, Washington Sens 1893), born in East Bridgeport, Connecticut (d. 1919)

1964 David West pitcher, 1988-98 (Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, and 3 other teams), born in Memphis, Tennessee (d. 2022)

1973 Gillian Boxx catcher (Olympic gold 1996; 4 x All-American), born in Fontana, California

 

FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1890 On Labor Day at Brooklyn's Washington Park, the Bridegrooms, later known as the Dodgers, win all three games against Pittsburgh in the first tripleheader ever played. The home team sweeps the visiting Alleghenys, who will become the Pirates next season, 10-9, 3-2, and 8-4.
1906 In the longest game in American League history, Philadelphia beats the Red Sox in 24 innings, 4-1. Each starter goes the distance when A's hurler Jack Coombs, who fans 18 batters, bests Boston's Joe Harris in the Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds contest.

​

1909 Bill O'Hara, inserted as a pinch-runner, becomes the first major leaguer to steal two bags in the same inning when he swipes second and third base in the Giants' 9-6 victory over St. Louis at the Polo Grounds. The 28-year-old New York outfielder will end the season with 31 stolen bases and duplicates the feat tomorrow against the same opponents.

1918 The major league regular season, scheduled to end today due to World War I, is extended when the owners decide to play through Labor Day. The Browns want the Indians fined and believe Cleveland should forfeit the two games for refusing to play the additional contests.
1931 Lou Gehrig, for the third time in four days, hits a grand slam. The Bronx Bomber first baseman's third-inning base-loaded home run off Ed Morris proves to be the difference in New York's 5-1 victory over Boston at Yankee Stadium.

​

1945 Philadelphia outfielder Vince DiMaggio's bases-loaded home run paces the Phillies to an 8-3 victory over Boston at Braves Field. Joe and Dom's older brother ties a major league mark with his fourth grand slam of the season.

​

1947 The Giants surpass the 1936 Yankees' mark for the most home runs hit in a season by a team. The three Polo Grounds homers in today's twin bill sweep over Boston raise the record total to 185, and the New York National League club will finish the season with 221 round-trippers.
1950 Philadelphia's GM Bob Carpenter, to save the Phillies a 24-hour train trip from to play the Braves, charters his team's first plane flight. The TWA Lockheed Constellation, delayed because of mechanical problems, makes a precarious landing during a severe thunderstorm on a rainy, foggy day in Boston, resulting in the anxious players loudly cheering the pilot for their safe arrival.
1953 The Cardinals tie a major league mark, hitting five homers in a 12-5 loss to Brooklyn at Ebbets Field. The solo shots hit by Stan Musial, Harry Elliot, Rip Repulski, and Steve Bilko (2), all off starter Preacher Roe, aren't enough to offset the Dodgers' 17-hit attack, which includes six doubles but no round-trippers.
1958 Cardinal southpaw Vinegar Bend Mizell beats Joe Nuxhull and the Reds, 1-0, thanks to an unearned run in the second inning at Busch Stadium. The future U.S. Congressman, born in Leakesville, Mississippi, on the other side of the Alabama state line near neighboring Vinegar Bend, establishes a National League record by walking nine batters without giving up a run.

​

 

1961 In his first major league at-bat, Cuno Barragan hits his only big-league home run, taking Dick LeMay deep over the left-field fence at Wrigley Field in the second inning of the Cubs' 4-3 loss to San Francisco. The 29-year-old catcher will play in 69 games for Chicago over three seasons.
1963 Cardinal starter Curt Simmons becomes one of few pitchers ever to steal home with his second-inning dash to the plate in the team's 7-3 victory over the Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium. The 34-year-old Redbird southpaw, who had tripled, scores on an aborted squeeze play when Chris Short uncorks a pitch that Julian Javier cannot bunt.

​

1964 Masanori Murakami becomes the first native-born Japanese player to appear in the U.S. major leagues when he throws a scoreless eighth inning in the Giants' 4-1 loss to the Mets at Shea Stadium. The 20-year-old southpaw, scheduled to play only minor league ball until June as an 'exchange player,' will be allowed to stay and play in one full season with San Francisco before returning to the Nankai Hawks, ending his brief American stint with a 5-1 record and an ERA of 3.75.
1966 Tim McCarver's third-inning triple, his 13th and final one of the season, plates Orlando Cepeda in the Cardinals' 7-4 victory over Atlanta at Busch Stadium. The 22-year-old Memphis (TN) native will become the first backstop ever to lead the National or American League in three-baggers.

​

1967 Amid his franchise record-setting of pitching 40 consecutive innings without allowing a run, Gaylord Perry extends his scoreless streak when he hurls 16 innings of shutout ball in the Giants' 1-0 victory over the Reds. Frank Linzy keeps Cincinnati scoreless for the final five frames, getting the victory for San Francisco in the 21-inning Crosley Field contest when Dick Groat draws a bases-loaded walk, giving the Giants a 1-0 victory over the Reds. In 1918, the Braves and Pirates also matched zeros for twenty frames until the Bucs scored two runs in the top of the 21st for an eventual 2-0 victory in the Boston ballpark.

​

1969 At Dodger Stadium, Willie Davis ties the franchise record by hitting in 29 consecutive games with his second-inning single in LA's 10-6 victory over New York. Zack Wheat established the mark in 1916.

​

1971 In a 10-7 victory against the Phillies at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, the Pirates become the first major league team to start an all-black squad. The lineup includes infielders Al Oliver (1b), Rennie Stennett (2b), Jackie Hernandez (ss), Dave Cash (third base), and outfielders Willie Stargell (lf), Gene Clines (cf), Roberto Clemente (right field), with Dock Ellis (p) and Manny Sanguillen (c) making up the battery.
1975 Tom Seaver, when he whiffs Pirate Manny Sanguillen in the top of the seventh inning, becomes the first pitcher to strike out at least 200 batters in eight consecutive seasons. The 3-0 victory is also 'Tom Terrific's' 20th of the season, making it the fourth time the right-hander has reached that plateau in his career.

1979 Carney Lansford hits three consecutive home runs in California's 7-4 victory over the Tribe at Cleveland Stadium. The Angels' third baseman's trio of round-trippers comes in the first, third, and fifth innings, each with the bases empty.
​

 

1980 PawSox infielder Wade Boggs loses the International League batting title on the final day of the season when he grounds out to first base in his last plate appearance. The Mud Hens, ahead 6-0, issue a two-out intentional walk to light-hitting Ray Boyer, who goes around the bases unchallenged and scores on a deliberate error, forcing Boggs to bat, and after making an out, puts him .007 of a percentage point behind Dave Engle, an outfielder for the opponents.
1980 Ed Farmer, who had been accosted on the mound in June by Al Cowens, agrees to drop the assault charges brought against the Tiger center fielder by the Illinois authorities in exchange for a handshake and an apology from his attacker. Before the Comiskey Park contest, the two former combatants bring out the lineup cards, smile, and shake hands. The White Sox fans continue to boo the Detroit player, and a "Coward Cowens" banner will express the Southsiders' sentiments.
1983 Entering the game with 286 strikeouts, Lynchburg right-hander Dwight Gooden strikes out a dozen batters in the first six frames of a scheduled seven-inning against Hagerstown, needing two more in the last frame to record 300 for the season. After the leadoff batter grounds out, the 18-year-old phenom whiffs the next two Suns hitters to secure the 1-0 victory, reaching the lofty plateau in 191 innings.

​

1984 At the age of 42 and 110 days, Tony Perez becomes the oldest player to hit a walk-off pinch-hit home run when he goes deep off Don Robinson in the Reds’ 7-5 victory over the Pirates at Riverfront Stadium. Jason Giambi will accomplish the feat twice for the Indians in 2013, setting the mark when he was 159 days older than the Cincinnati veteran.

1987 During the fourth inning of the Astros' 3-2 loss to Chicago at home, Billy Hatcher has an apparent infield hit taken away and is immediately ejected from the game after his shattered bat reveals cork. The Houston left fielder, suspended for ten days, claims he mistakenly picked up Dave Smith's bat, which the pitcher used during batting practice before the game.
1992 At Tiger Stadium, Rick Aguilera pitches a scoreless ninth inning to notch his 35th save of the season in the Twins' 5-4 victory over Detroit. The save is the closer's 109th, making the right-handed reliever the franchise's all-time saves leader.

​

1998 Cardinal slugger Mark McGwire, in a 7-1 victory over Florida, homers twice to break Hack Wilson's National League single-season home run record of 56. Big Mac's seventh-inning shot ties the 1930 mark set by the Hall of Fame Cubs' outfielder, and he establishes a new record in the ninth, hitting a Don Pall pitch 472 feet over the center-field wall at Miami's Pro Player Stadium.
1999 The Boones become the twelfth pair of siblings to homer in the same game when Aaron, the Reds third baseman, goes deep in the bottom of the eighth inning of the team's 8-7 loss to the Braves. Earlier in the Cinergy Field contest, brother Bret hit a third-inning two-run round-tripper off Cincinnati southpaw Ron Villon.
1999 Due to the union chief Richie Phillips' ill-advised ploy to use mass resignations to force the owners into a new collective bargaining agreement, twenty-two of baseball's regular 68 umpires find themselves unemployed. In an understanding mediated by U.S. District Judge J. Curtis Joyner, the Umpires Association agrees to a deal, costing those members their jobs, but allows for an arbitration proceeding that could permit some of the displaced umps back into the game at some point.

 

2000 In an unusual play, the Orioles turn a triple play as shortstop Melvin Mora purposely lets a short fly drop in left field with runners at first and second. The runner at second (Travis Fryman) is tagged out, and the runner at first (Wil Cordero) is forced at second, with the batter (Sandy Alomar), thinking of the infield-fly rule, does not go to first and is called automatically out for going back to the dugout.
2000 Darin Erstad breaks the Angels' club record for total hits in a season when he doubles in the second inning of the team's 9-8 loss to the White Sox at Chicago's Comiskey Park. The 26-year-old Halo outfielder will finish the season with 240 hits, far surpassing Alex Johnson's mark of 202, established in 1970.

​

2001 Cubs' slugger Sammy Sosa hits the longest home run in Turner Field history when his two-run shot, the outfielder's 53rd of the season, travels 471 feet to straightaway center field. The historic homer comes in the first inning off four-time Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux in the team's 5-3 victory in Atlanta.
2002 Thanks to Miguel Tejada's three-run ninth-inning walk-off home run, the A's beat the Twins, 7-5, extending their winning streak to 18. The dramatic victory marks the longest stretch in franchise history, established by the Philadelphia A's with 17 consecutive wins in 1931.
2005 The Pacific Coast League announces the total attendance saw over seven million fans turn the turnstiles this season. The PCL had set a new single-season record in minor league history when the 16-team circuit passed the 6.8 million mark earlier in the month.
2005 The first busload of Hurricane Katrina refugees, formerly housed at the SuperDome in New Orleans, arrive early this morning at the Houston Astrodome. The Astros' former home will afford the displaced an opportunity to escape the horrendous unhealthy conditions of their former shelter by supplying air conditioning, cots, food, and showers for eventually 25,000 people to arrive from Louisiana.
2006 The Pirates extend their franchise-record consecutive losing-season streak to 14 when the club drops their 82nd game to Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals, 3-1. The 1933-1948 Phillies own the big league mark, finishing with a losing record for 16 straight campaigns.
2007 In only his second major league start, Clay Buchholz, using an assortment of fastballs, curves, and changeups becomes the 20th rookie to throw a no-hitter, beating the Orioles in front of a very supportive Fenway crowd, 10-0. The 23-year-old right-hander, who was called up from Triple-A Pawtucket to make the start, becomes the youngest of the seventeen players to have accomplished the feat in Red Sox history.

​

2008 In his complete-game effort against the Pirates, CC Sabathia gives up only a questionable infield hit to Andy LaRoche in the fifth inning of the Brewers' 7-0 victory at PNC Park. The club plans to forward a DVD of the play to Major League Baseball, hoping somehow official scorer Bob Webb, the only person allowed to reverse his decision according to the rules, can be convinced to change the scoring of the grounder to the mound to an error.
2008 Cliff Lee shuts out the White Sox, 5-0, to become the Indians' 56th twenty-game winner in franchise history, but the first to accomplish the feat in 34 years. The last Tribe's moundsman to win as many games was Gaylord Perry, who posted a 21-13 record in 1974.

​

2008 In Arizona's 8-6 comeback victory over the Cardinals, Stephen Drew singles in the first, triples in the third, homers in the fifth, and doubles in the seventh to complete the cycle. The Diamondbacks' shortstop becomes the third player in franchise history and the first major leaguer to accomplish the feat at Chase Field, formerly known as the Bank One Ballpark.

2008 Adrian Beltre triples in the eighth inning off Rangers' right-hander Josh Rupe to become the fourth player in franchise history, joining Jay Buhner (1993), Alex Rodriguez (1997), and John Olerud (2001) to hit for the cycle. The rare event occurs twice today when Diamondbacks shortstop Stephen Drew also collects a single, double, triple, and home run against the Cardinals at Chase Field.

2009 In his first game back from the DL after suffering a torn right testicle when a bad-hop grounder hit him in the groin last month, Adrian Beltre hearsThe Nutcracker Suite when he steps into the batter's box. Mariner teammate Ken Griffey Jr. arranged to have the Safeco Field PA system play the waltz to have some fun with the third baseman, who decided not to wear a protective cup until today's game.

 

2010 "This is the major leagues. This is not college any more. You're not on scholarship. You're being paid to do the job and guys depend on you, and I think it's unfortunate that the Nationals and the team are in a situation here where this kid now, he feels any kind of arm pain, he's gonna call you out?... You give these guys (today's players) $15 million bucks, please. Get your butt out there and play every fifth day." - ROB DIBBLE, comments as a Sirius XM Radio show host *The Nationals announce Rob Dibble will no longer be employed as a TV analyst for the team's games on MASN, which telecasts the Washington games. As a host on a Sirius XM Radio show, the former major league reliever severely chastises Stephen Strasburg for not pitching through pain before the rookie phenom's diagnosis of a torn elbow ligament.
2014 The Phillies become the eleventh team in baseball history to throw a combined no-hitter when four of their hurlers do not yield a hit in their 7-0 victory over the Braves. Philadelphia starter Cole Hamels goes the first six innings in the Turner Field contest, with relievers Jake Diekman, Ken Giles, and Jonathan Papelbon, each tossing a perfect inning to accomplish the rare feat.
2019 Justin Verlander throws his third career no-hitter, blanking the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre, 2-0. Astros rookie Abraham Toro hit a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning of the scoreless contest to allow the Houston right-hander to complete the no-no in the bottom of the frame, including his fielding of a ground out for the final out of the game.

​

2019 Texas snaps the Yankees' run (pun intended) of not being shut out at 220 consecutive games, making the streak second only to the 1931-33 Bronx Bombers who scored in 308 straight games. Mike Minor and a pair of Rangers relievers held New York to six hits in the team's 7-0 victory at the Bronx ballpark.
2021 In his first year of playing the position, Marcus Semien ties the major league record for the most homers by a second baseman in a single season. At Target Field, the Blue Jay infielder hits a sixth-inning solo shot in the team's 6-1 victory over the Twins for his 43rd dinger, equaling the mark set in 1973 set by Braves' second sacker Davey Johnson.

​

***********
27,221

 

Today in Baseball History
Home | Contact | Baseball Almanac | Baseball Box Scores | Baseball Fever | Advertise | Support​

​

September 1 all
Search archives: Historical Events Baseball Birthdays Baseball Deaths​

On September 1 in Baseball History...
1902 - Tinker, Evers, and Chance appear together in the Chicago Cubs lineup for the first time, but not in the positions that will earn them immortality. Johnny Evers, a New York State League rookie, starts at shortstop, with Joe Tinker at third base, Frank Chance at first base, and Bobby Lowe at second base.
1906 - The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox 4-1 in twenty-four innings. Jack Coombs of the Athletics and Joe Harris of the Red Sox pitched all twenty-four innings. Coombs fanned eighteen.
1918 - Ty Cobb pitches two innings against the Browns while the Browns' George Sisler pitches one scoreless inning. The Browns win 6-2 as Sisler hits a double off Cobb.
1931 - Lou Gehrig hits his third grand slam in four days. It is the sixth consecutive game in which the Yankees slugger has homered and it helps New York beat the Red Sox.
1954 - Redlegs slugger Ted Kluszewski hits two home runs to break his own club mark of forty homers in a 9-3 loss to Philadelphia. He will wind up with forty-nine for the season.
1958 - Vinegar Bend Mizell of the St. Louis Cardinals set a National League record by walking nine batters and pitching a shutout. Mizell beat Cincinnati 1-0.
1963 - Curt Simmons of the St. Louis Cardinals allowed six hits, drove in two runs with a triple and stole home plate in a 7-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Simmons' steal of home is the last by a pitcher.
1964 - Southpaw relief pitcher Masanori Murakami becomes the first Major League player from Japan. He debuts in a 4-1 San Francisco loss at New York. His first eleven innings will be scoreless ones.
1975 - Tom Seaver struck out Manny Sanguillen in the seventh inning to become the first to strike out at least two-hundred batters in eight consecutive seasons. Seaver recorded 10 strikeouts in the Mets' 3-0 triumph over Pittsburgh.
1987 - Williamsport (Eastern League) Bills catcher Dave Bresnahan introduces a new wrinkle to baseball, the hidden potato. With a Reading runner, Rick Rudblad, on third base, Bresnahan returns from a time out with a shaved potato hidden in his mitt. On the next pitch he throws the potato wildly on a pickoff attempt. When the runner trots home, Bresnahan tags him out with the real ball. The umpire, unamused, rules the runner safe, gives the catcher an error, and fines him $50. He is released the following day. But that night, their last game of the season, the Bills admit any fan for $1 and a potato. On each potato, Bresnahan autographs, "This spud's for you."
1989 - Eight days after banning Pete Rose from baseball for life, Commissioner Bart Giamatti dies suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 51.
1995 - Tigers manager Sparky Anderson manages his four-thousandth Major League game, but the Indians are 14-4 winners.
1998 - Mark McGwire broke Hack Wilson's sixty-eight year-old National League record for home runs in a season, hitting his 56th and 57th in the St. Louis Cardinals' victory over the Florida Marlins.
Baseball Birthdays on September 1...

1850 - O'Rourke, Jim
1863 - O'Brien, Darby
1874 - Adkinson, Henry
1876 - Wiggs, Jimmy
1882 - Druhot, Carl
1885 - Rose, Chuck
1888 - Wolfe, Polly
1889 - Tompkins, Chuck
1890 - Brenegan, Sam
1891 - Walsh, Austin
1894 - Nicholson, Fred
1899 - Goebel, Ed
1900 - Pruett, Hub
1903 - Moncewicz, Freddie
1903 - Edwards, Foster
1912 - Wilborn, Claude
1912 - Schulte, Ham
1913 - Marty, Joe
1917 - Campbell, Paul
1918 - Mallory, Jim
1919 - Hopper, Jim
1921 - Erautt, Joe
1922 - Barnhart, Vic
1922 - Astroth, Joe
1924 - Samcoff, Ed
1927 - DiPietro, Bob
1927 - Burgess, Tom
1927 - Boyer, Cloyd
1930 - Stone, Dean
1938 - Nippert, Merlin
1939 - Carty, Rico
1940 - House, Pat
1943 - Rath, Fred
1946 - Montgomery, Monty
1947 - Skok, Craig
1948 - Lange, Dick
1949 - Ignasiak, Gary
1949 - Maddox, Garry
1953 - Wilfong, Rob
1957 - Rucker, Dave
1964 - West, David
1964 - Lopez, Luis
1971 - Wallace, Derek
1972 - Orie, Kevin
1976 - Davis, Lance

Copyright � 2001-2007. All Rights Reserved.
Part of the Baseball Almanac family: 755 Home Runs | Around the Horn | Baseball Box Scores | Baseball Fever | Today in Baseball History.​

 

​