1981 The players approved a split-season format necessitated by the seven-week strike. The Yankees, A's, Phillies, and Dodgers are declared the first-half champions, automatically qualifying for the divisional series. 1983 Eric Rasmussen throws a 4-0 shutout against the Red Sox in his first American League outing. The Royals starter, who also blanked the Padres as a Cardinal in his first-ever major league game in 1975, becomes the first pitcher to toss a shutout in his National League and American League debuts. 1985 As announced three weeks ago, the Players' Association follows through on its threat to strike. The second midseason baseball work stoppage lasts only two days, with the owners abandoning their plan for a salary cap, a concept also vehemently opposed by baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth. 1986 In the game that establishes a new record for bases-full homers in one game, Texas beats Baltimore, 13-11. Rangers' infielder Toby Harrah hits a second-inning grand slam, and Larry Sheets and Jim Dwyer go deep with the bases loaded in the Orioles' nine-run fourth frame. Sheets 1988 Jim Gott balks three times in the eighth inning, allowing two runners to score from third base. The Pirates' relief pitcher's poor form on the mound proves to be the difference in the Mets' 5-3 victory over the Bucs at Three Rivers Stadium.
1988 Goose Gossage becomes the second player in major league history to record 300 career saves when he faces one batter and gets the final out in the Cubs' 7-4 victory over Philadelphia at Wrigley Field. The future Hall of Fame right-handed reliever joins Rollie Fingers, who reached the milestone in 1982. 1988 Jose Canseco became the 11th player in major league history to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in a season. The A's outfielder, with 31 homers, joins the 30-30 club, taking second base with one out in the ninth inning for his 30th as Oakland beat the Mariners, 5-4. 1988 The dedication of a plaque takes place behind the home plate of the former Braves Field in remembrance of the departed National League team and the many historical events occurring in the ballpark. The historical marker, made possible through the efforts of Boston University, the Society for American Baseball Research, and the New England Sports Museum, includes references to the three World Series and one All-Star Game played there, as well as the longest game ever to take place in major league history. 1989 In a pregame ceremony at Fenway Park, the Red Sox retire Carl Yastrzemski's #8. 'Yaz,' recently inducted into the Hall of Fame, becomes only the fourth player in franchise history, joining Joe Cronin (4), Bobby Doerr (1), and Ted Williams (9), to be honored by having his uniform number retired by the club.
1992 Following a brief shouting match with Willie Wilson in the previous frame after the Oakland outfielder had tripled off him, Rangers right-hander Nolan Ryan hits him on the leg with a pitch with two outs in the eighth inning. The incident causes a ten-minute delay with benches emptying and fans littering the field with paper, resulting in the future Hall of Famer being ejected from a game for the first and only time during his 27-year major league career. 1993 Raising his average to .348, San Diego outfielder Tony Gwynn collects his 2000th career base hit, a single off Colorado hurler Bruce Ruffin in the team's 6-2 victory at Jack Murphy Stadium. Mr. Padre willreach the 3,000 hit milestone on the same date in 1999. LP) reach the 3,000 hit milestone on the same date 1999. 1998 Kevin McClatchy's vision of a baseball-only stadium in Pittsburgh becomes more of a reality when PNC Bank strikes a deal with the Pirates, naming the Bucs' new home PNC Park. The highly-touted new ballpark will host its first game in 2001. 1999 After Tony Gwynn singles off Expos' Dan Smith in the first inning to get his 3000th hit, ump Kerwin Danley, a college teammate, Vendella Gwynn, his mom on her 64th birthday, and 13,540 Olympic Stadium fans celebrate the milestone. The Padres outfielder finishes the night 4-for-5, passing Roberto Clemente into 21st place on the all-time career hit list.
2001 Boston's backstop Scott Hatteberg hits into a triple play, but the catcher redeems himself in his next at-bat by hitting a grand slam, putting the Red Sox ahead in a 10-7 win over the Rangers. The triple killing, the third in Texas history, occurs when Hatteberg lines to shortstop Alex Rodriguez, who flips to second base, doubling up the runner on second, with second baseman Randy Velarde tagging the runner arriving from first. 2001 A group made up of the Hall of Famers (61), recipients of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for writers (13), Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasters (13), and Veterans Committee members (3) replaces the Hall of Fame Veterans Committee. The new members will select players every two years and executives, umpires, and managers only once every four years. 2002 In his major league debut, former NBA player Mark Hendrickson allows five runs and three hits in one-third of an inning in relief of Roy Halladay in the Blue Jays' 14-12 victory over the Mariners at the SkyDome. The 28-year-old southpaw played for the Nets, 76ers, Kings, and Cavaliers, leaving the hardwood in 2000 to play baseball after a lackluster season with Cleveland. The 6-foot-9 rookie left-hander becomes the tenth major leaguer to have appeared in an NBA contest, joining Danny Ainge, Gene Conley, Dave DeBusschere, Dick Grat, Frankie Baumholtz, Cotton Nash, Ron Reed, Chuck Connors, and Steve Hamilton. 2002 Robb Nen becomes the 16th major leaguer to record his 300th career save when he closes the Giants' 11-10 win over the Cubs at Pacific Bell Park. The 32-year-old reliever, who will not pitch again after this season due to multiple surgeries for a torn rotator cuff, is the youngest closer to reach the milestone. 2003 Three weeks after trading for Armando Benitez with the crosstown Mets, the Yankees swap the much-maligned reliever to the Mariners. In return, the Bronx Bombers get back 36-year-old Jeff Nelson for his second tour with the team.
2005 The Rangers posthumously retire jersey #26 in honor of their former skipper Johnny Oates, who led the team to its first three division titles in 1996 and 1998-99. The 1996 Manager of the Year (an award shared with Joe Torres of the Yankees) compiled a 506-476 (.515) record, stepping down 28 games into the 2001 season after 6+ seasons with Kansas City. 2006 The Mets continue to commit to their young players, signing 23-year-old David Wright to a $55 million, six-year contract extension. The third baseman joins shortstop Jose Reyes, also 23, who inked a long-term contract extension deal with the club three days ago worth $23.25 million over four years. 2007 Batting eighth in Tony La Russa's batting order, Cardinals' starting pitcher Braden Looper collects two hits in the fifth inning when St. Louis ties a big-league record with ten straight hits. The Redbirds' consecutive safeties score all their runs when they beat the visiting Padres, 10-5. 2010 In a 15-minute pregame ceremony delayed by rain at Turner Field, the Braves retire Tom Glavine's uniform number 47. The southpaw, who won 244 of his 305 career victories with the organization, including five seasons with 20 or more wins, was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame at a luncheon earlier in the day. 2013 Ryan Lavarnway ties a major league record, shared by Ray Katt (1954 Giants) and Gino Petralli (1987 Rangers) when he allows four passed balls in the first inning of the Red Sox's 15-10 victory over the Astros at Minute Maid Park. The Boston backstop, whose woes in corralling Steven Wright's knuckleballer allows three runs, makes up for his first-frame failings with a two-out double in the fifth, putting the team ahead for keeps, 8-7.
2016 The Mariners retire jersey #24 worn by Ken Griffey Jr., who spent 13 of his 22 seasons with Seattle, earning 10 of his 13 All-Star berths and all 10 of his Gold Glove Awards while with the team. The Kid, elected to the Hall of Fame in a landslide this year, becomes the first player to have his digits immortalized by the club. 2016 Giancarlo Stanton drives a pitch thrown by Rockies starter Chad Bettis deep into the Rockpile seats, a 504-foot blast that becomes the longest round-tripper in the 21-year-old history of Coors Field. The Miami Marlins slugger's fifth-inning solo shot in the team's 12-6 loss surpasses the 496-footer hit in 1997 by Dodger catcher Mike Piazza off current Colorado bullpen coach Darren Holmes. 2019 Blue Jays' shortstop Bo Bichette becomes the first player to collect ten extra-base hits in his first nine major league games when he doubles off Ryan Yarbrough in the team's 7-6 loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field. Tomorrow, the 21-year-old rookie shortstop will hit another two-bagger, becoming the only major leaguer to stroke a double in eight-straight contests, breaking the mark established in 2000 by former Toronto first baseman Carlos Delgado. ****************** 245,574
45 Years Ago Today: After delivering the eulogy at Thurman Munson's funeral in Ohio, Bobby Murcer drives in all five runs of the New York #Yankees 5-4 comeback victory vs. the Baltimore #Orioles on an emotional night at Yankee Stadium! (August 6, 1979)
SAFE AT HOME: Great day in Wichita yesterday as a new statue of Jackie Robinson returned home to McAdam’s Park after the original one was stolen and destroyed earlier this year!
Today In 1973: Pittsburgh #Pirates legend Roberto Clemente is posthumously enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame
AUGUST 7 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS ************************************** 1916 E. Michael Burke, sports executive (President New York Yankees, New York Knicks, Madison Square Garden) 1926 Clem Labine, pitcher (MLB All-Star 1956, 57; World Series 1955, 59, 60; Brooklyn / LA Dodgers, Detroit Tigers 1941 Ray Culp, pitcher (MLB All Star 1963, 69; Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox) 1945 Andy Messersmith, Pitcher 1975 Victor Zambrano Pitcher Rays, Mets 1982 Justin Germano pitcher, Indians, Cubs. Jays *************************************
This Day in Baseball History August 7th1907 Senators' hurler Walter Johnson wins his first major league game, beating the Indians, 7-2. The 19-year-old right-hander will compile a 417-279 (.599) record, along with an ERA of 2.17, during his 21-year career. 1923 Indian first baseman Frank Brower goes 6-for-6, collecting a double and five singles. The 30-year-old infielder's offensive output helps Cleveland rout the Senators at Griffith Stadium, 22-2. 1943 The Giants tie a National League record when they leave eighteen players on base. The team strands two baserunners in each inning in their 9-6 loss to the Phillies at the Polo Grounds. 1950 At Rickwood Field, the Birmingham police bar three white players of the Chicago American Giants from playing in a Negro American League doubleheader against the Birmingham Black Barons. The local officers met Ted Radcliffe at the gate, informing the visiting manager that his 'non-black' players would have to watch the game from the 'whites only' grandstand due to the city's segregation laws. Giants Barons
1951 A crowd of 57,000 at the Orange Bowl, the largest ever to attend a minor league game, watches an ageless 51-year-old Satchel Paige hit a double and get the win when the Miami Marlins beat the Columbus Jets in International League action, 6-2. JETS
1962 The Mets' 7-5 loss to Los Angeles in Chavez Ravine mathematically eliminates the 29-81 team from finishing in first place. After the game, New York manager Casey Stengel calls a meeting and jokes with his players that they can loosen up and relax now that they are out of the pennant race, which they promptly do, winning just eleven more games during the last two months of the season. 1963 At the Polo Grounds, Jim Hickman becomes the first Met in franchise history to hit for the cycle, accomplishing the feat in the rare natural order. The New York leadoff batter's single in the first inning, double in the second, fourth-frame triple, and a sixth-inning solo shot contributes to the Amazins' 7-3 victory over St. Louis. 1968 In his major league debut, A's Joe Keough hits a home run in his first at-bat. The rookie goes deep off Lindy McDaniel as a pinch-hitter in the eighth, tying the score at 3-to-3 in Oakland's eventual 4-3 extra-inning victory at Yankee Stadium. 1969 At a hastily called news conference, Phillies' manager Bob Skinner resigns, citing a lack of support from the front office in his efforts to discipline Dick Allen, the team's temperamental superstar. Third-base coach George Myatt replaces the 37-year-old skipper, inheriting the fifth-place club with a 44-64 record.
1971 A's southpaw Vida Blue, en route to a 24-8 record in his first full year in the major leagues, becomes a 20-game winner when he goes the distance, blanking the White Sox, 1-0. The only run in the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum contest scores on a sixth-inning balk committed by Joe Horlen. 1972 The Hall of Fame inducts pitchers Sandy Koufax (1st yr, 86.9%), the author of four no-hitters, and three hundred game winner Early Wynn (4th yr, 76.0%). Yogi Berra (2nd yr, 85.6%), who retired as the AL leader for catcher putouts with 8,723, is also enshrined in Cooperstown. Thirty-six-year-old Sandy Koufax, who was voted in on 344 of 396 ballots, becomes the youngest player to ever be enshrined - LP) 1973 An ambulance rushes Oakland owner Charlie Finley to Chicago's Northwestern University Hospital after collapsing due to a heart attack. During the meddlesome owner's absence, the A's flourish, winning 13 of 14 games, including nine consecutive victories, to go into first place, a position they will not relinquish. 1976 A strike away from throwing a no-hitter, Steve Luebber gives up a single to Roy Howell, who advances to third base on an error in center field by Lyman Bostock. The 27-year-old right-hander will yield another hit and a run before being replaced on the mound by reliever Bill Campbell in the Twins' 3-1 victory over the Rangers at Arlington Stadium. 1978 Mel Allen and Red Barber become the Ford C. Frick Broadcasting Award's first recipients. The Hall of Fame voters, unable to choose between the two legendary voices, select each Yankee announcer to receive the honor, recognizing excellence among baseball broadcasters. Red Began at WRUF
1982 Jim Rice climbs into the Fenway Park stands from the dugout to assist a young boy hit by a savage line drive off the bat of Dave Stapleton. The Red Sox slugger's quick response of picking up the four-year-old boy and running through the dugout to a waiting ambulance possibly saved the child's life.\ 1983 The team honors Bobby Murcer by giving him a day at Yankee Stadium. The popular Oklahoman, who will become a long-time team broadcaster, played 13 seasons for the Bronx Bombers, compiling a .278 batting average while in pinstripes. 1985 A five-year agreement between the union and owners, which includes salary arbitration eligibility increasing from two to three years, ends the two-day midseason players' strike. The season will resume tomorrow, with the 25 games scheduled for yesterday and today made up later. 1987 Bill Mazeroski's uniform jersey #9 is officially retired from active service by the Pirates. The 1960 World Series hero joins Billy Meyer (1), Willie Stargell (8), Pie Traynor (20), Roberto Clemente (21), Honus Wagner (33), and Danny Murtaugh (40) to be honored by Pittsburgh in this manner. 1988 The Mariners establish a major league record with five sacrifice flies in their 12-7 victory over Oakland. Alvin Davis, Rey Quinones, Jay Buhner, Darnell Coles, and Jim Presley drive in a run with a long fly ball out in the Oakland Coliseum contest.
1993 In his first major league appearance since being involved in a tragic accident during spring training, Indian pitcher Bobby Ojeda receives a warm reception from the Orioles fans attending the Camden Yards contest. In March, the veteran southpaw sustained severe injuries at Little Lake Nellie in Clermont (FL) in a motorboat accident that claimed the lives of two teammates, relievers Tim Crews and Steve Olin. 1999 A major leaguer gets his 3000th hit for the second consecutive day when Wade Boggs homers in the sixth off Indian Chris Haney. The Devil Rays' third baseman, the first player to reach the milestone with a home run, rounds the bases pointing skyward and blowing a kiss in memory of his mom, and gets down on his knees to kiss home plate. 1999 The Royals honor George Brett's induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame with an on-field ceremony before the game against Minnesota. The former third baseman played his entire 21-year career in Kansas City, compiling a .305 lifetime batting average.
