BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1903 In a 13-7 rout of the Corsicana Oil Cities, Paris Parasites left fielder Clyde Bateman hits four home runs to become the second player in Texas League history to accomplish the feat, joining Oil Cities' Jay J. Clarke. In less than two months, the 26-year-old slugger, who will lead the circuit in hitting and homers, makes history again when he throws a no-hitter for the Steers (the franchise's new name after moving to Waco on June 26th) against the Fort Worth Panthers.

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1911 The Red Sox come back to beat the Tigers, 13-11, overcoming a nine-run deficit in the Bennett Park contest. Duffy Lewis' tenth-inning grand slam proves to be the difference in the game that also features Ty Cobb's first bases-loaded round-tripper.

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1911 In the bottom of the first inning, en route to a 19-5 rout of the Cardinals, the Giants score 13 runs, tallying a record ten times before the first batter is retired in the Polo Grounds contest. In New York's first-frame offensive barrage, Fred Merkle collects six RBIs, including a three-run inside-the-park round-tripper.

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1929 Both teams wear numbers on their jerseys for the first time in major league history when the Indians host the Yankees at League Park in Cleveland. The numerals will become a permanent fixture on each club's attire.

Indians

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1942 Braves' pitcher Jim Tobin, en route to a 6-5 victory over the Cubs, becomes the first modern-day hurler to hit three home runs in one game, equalling the feat of Guy Hecker, who hit three inside-the-park round-trippers playing for Louisville in 1886. 'Ironsides,' who pinch-hit a homer in the eighth inning of yesterday's contest, would have hit five consecutive blasts if his first-inning fly ball against the fence had gone out.

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1947 During the pregame infield practice, a barrage of racial slurs is directed at Jackie Robinson by the Cincinnati fans during the Dodgers' first visit to Crosley Field this season. Brooklyn shortstop Pee Wee Reese, a Southerner from Kentucky with friends attending the game and captain of the team, converses with the black infielder, putting his arm around his teammate's shoulder, a gesture that stuns and silences the crowd.

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1952 "He grabbed me by the shoulder and said, 'Larry, you're going to be in the big leagues and the first time you hit a home run, I'm going to be the announcer to tell the world about it.' Can you imagine that? He's 15 years old. I'll be damned if it didn't happen." - LARRY MIGGINS, recalling his prep school friend's prediction during a school assembly. , who had shared his dreams of being a big leaguer with a Fordham Prep buddy, hits the first of his two major league round trippers, going deep off Preacher Roe in the fourth inning of the Cardinals' 14-8 loss to the Dodgers at Ebbets Field. The friend turns out to be Brooklyn's play-by-play announcer Vin Scully, the 15-year-old classmate with aspirations of being a baseball broadcaster who had predicted he would call his friend's first big-league homer during that conversation.

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1952 At Shaw Stadium, 19-year-old Bristol (VA) pitcher Ron Necciai strikes out twenty-seven batters when he no-hits Welch (WV) in a Class D Appalachian League game. In the ninth inning, catcher Harry Dunlop, encouraged by the fans, deliberately mishandles the third strike, allowing the hitter to reach base, giving the Gallatin (PA) native a chance to strike out 27 when he whiffs four batters in the frame.

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1954 In an 8-1 victory over the Reds at Connie Mack Stadium, Robin Roberts gives up a leadoff home run to third baseman Bobby Adams. The 27-year-old right-hander then proceeds to retire the next 27-consecutive batters in one of the most memorable games of his Hall of Fame career.

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1955 For the first time in his major league career, Mickey Mantle hits home runs from both sides of the plate, finishing the game with three round-trippers - two from the left side and one batting right-handed. The switch-hitting slugger drives in all of his team's runs in the 5-2 victory over Detroit at Yankee Stadium.

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1958 As a pinch-hitter, Stan Musial collects his 3000th hit in the sixth inning off Moe Drabowsky in the Cardinals' 5-3 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. 'The Man,' the youngest player to reach the milestone, is the eighth major leaguer to accomplish the feat.

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1958 San Francisco teammates Willie Mays and Darryl Spencer have four long hits each, driving in four and six runs, respectively, in the team's 16-9 victory over the Dodgers at LA's Memorial Coliseum. The Giants' center fielder and shortstop combine for 28 total bases, with Mays hitting two homers, two triples, a single, and Spencer adding two round-trippers, a three-bagger, and a double to the offensive outburst.

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1958 Phillies right-hander Robin Roberts gives up six hits in a complete-game effort, beating the Braves at Connie Mack Stadium, 5-2. The win marks the 31-year-old hurler's 191st career victory, which sets a franchise record, surpassing the mark established in 1930 by Pete Alexander.

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1960 The Phillies drop their third consecutive 1-0 decision, losing to Jim O'Toole and the Reds at Crosley Field. In the previous two days, giants' hurlers Jack Sanford and Sam Jones had shut out Philadelphia at Candlestick Park.

1969 With his daughter Jan and her classmates in attendance at chilly Wrigley Field, first baseman Ernie Banks drives in seven runs with two three-run homers and a double in the Cubs' 19-0 rout of San Diego. Following the consecutive no-run performances by Ferguson Jenkins and Ken Holtzman, Dick Selma adds another, making it the first time in 60 years that the team has shut out its opponents in three consecutive games.

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1970 With two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning at Wrigley Field, Gary Gentry gives up his only hit, a short fly hit by Ernie Banks that outfielder Dave Marshall gets a glove on, but he cannot hold on to the ball. The Mets right-hander settles for a one-hit 4-0 victory over the Cubs, just missing the opportunity of being the first hurler in franchise history to throw a no-hit game if official scorer Jim Enright had ruled differently on the blooper to left field.

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1976 For the sixth consecutive game, Royals' third baseman George Brett collects at least three hits, batting an incredible .692 during the span. The 18-for-26 spree against the Orioles, Twins, and White Sox raises his season's batting average from .277 to .396 with his torrid pace at the plate.

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1980 In the eighth inning of the Red Sox's 10-5 victory over the Twins, Fred Lynn's run-scoring triple completes the 13th cycle in franchise history. The Boston outfielder, who collected four RBIs, hit a double in the first inning, drove in two with a fourth-inning round-tripper, and pushed across another run with a single in the sixthframe of the Fenway Park contest

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1982 The Cubs become the first major league team to win 8,000 games when Allen Ripley and Lee Smith combine to shut out Houston in the team's 5-0 victory at the Astrodome. The milestone comes in the 15,337th contest in the 107-year history of the franchise.

1985 After trailing by eight runs, going into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Yankees rally to beat the Twins 9-8. Don Mattingly's ninth-inning two-out, three-run walk-off home run at the Bronx ballpark is the finishing touch.

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1985 A day before his 43rd birthday, Tony Perez becomes the oldest player to hit a grand slam when he goes deep off Phillies' reliever Dave Rucker in the sixth inning of the Reds' 7-3 victory at Riverfront Stadium. The 42-year-old pinch-hitter breaks the seventy-year-old record held by Pirates' third baseman Honus Wagner, and the new mark will last until Julio Franco, 46, hits a base-loaded round-tripper in 2004.

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1991 In the broadcast booth at Wrigley Field, Skip Caray and Chip Caray, the Braves' play-by-play announcers, join Cubs legend Harry Caray, the patriarch of the three-generation broadcasting family. The 77-year-old grandfather, known for his warm relationship with the Chicago fans, takes tremendous pride that his son and grandson have chosen to be baseball broadcasters. Holy Cow!

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1993 One day before his 40th birthday, George Brett hits his 300th career home run, joining Hank Aaron, Stan Musial, Carl Yastrzemski, Willie Mays, and Al Kaline as the only players with three hundred homers and three thousand hits. A fan on a veterans' hospital outing, who happens to be blind, picks up the Royals' third baseman's historic ball.

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2000 Todd Stottlemyre limits the opponents to one run in six innings to earn his 136th career victory when the Diamondbacks beat San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium, 6-2, making the Stottlemyres the first father and son to combine for 300 wins. The 35-year-old Arizona right-hander plans to give the game ball to his dad, Mel, who began chemotherapy early this season for bone marrow cancer.

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2000 The Mets release a disgruntled Rickey Henderson a day after failing to hustle, turning a likely double into a single. When released, the 41-year-old stolen base leader is batting .219 with no homers and two RBIs.

2001 Still angry with umpire Mike Winters' ninth-inning check-swing call the night before, Devil Rays' manager Hal McRae gets thrown out before the game's first pitch when he steps out of the dugout to pick up his lost cause.

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2001 Alex Rodriguez becomes fifth-youngest (25 years, 289 days) player to hit his 200th career homer. Mel Ott accomplished the feat in 1934 at the youngest age (25 years, 144 days), followed by Eddie Mathews (25 years, 243 days), Jimmie Foxx (25 years, 267 days), and Mickey Mantle (25 years, 280 days).


2002 Thirty-eight home runs shy of the exclusive 500 mark, one-time 'Bash Brother' Jose Canseco, 37, retires due to injuries sustained in recent years. The former American League MVP, released by the Expos during spring training, had his best years in Oakland as a teammate of Mark McGwire.


2007 In the comeback, which will become known as the Mother's Day Miracle, the Red Sox rally for six runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat Baltimore at Fenway Park, 6-5. Before the final frame, Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie had blanked the opponents on three hits before Boston crossed the plate six times, thanks to two singles, two doubles, three walks, and two errors.

2008 Along with the Red Sox' loss, the Rays' 2-1 victory over the Yankees in 11 innings puts the team in sole possession of first place for the first time in franchise history. The win makes Tampa Bay seven games over .500 (23-16), a mark never accomplished during the first 11 seasons of the club's existence.

 

2009 Ryan Zimmerman's Nationals-record consecutive hit streak comes to an end at 30 games when he grounds into a ninth-inning force play, ending the day 0-for-3 with two walks in the team's 6-3 victory at AT&T Park. Only two Washington ballplayers, Hall of Famers Heinie Manush and Sam Rice, have had longer hit streaks than the Nats' third baseman.

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2010 Trey Hillman, who compiled a 152-207 record in his two-plus years with the club, is fired by the Royals. The popular and well-respected 47-year-old, who piloted the team to a 12-23 record this season, including today's victory, will be replaced by the team's current baseball operations assistant and former Brewers manager, Ned Yost.

2013 Thanks to a seventh-grade history class project, a three-mile stretch of the Kansas K-79 highway, from K-16 highway to Circleville, is designated by the Kansas legislature as the Barnes Brothers Memorial Highway in honor of Ozzie and Virgil. The McAlister middle schoolers' research about the siblings, who grew up in the community and played with the Braves, Giants, and Dodgers in the 1910-20s, brought to light many of their major league accomplishments, including being participants in the first brother matchup in big-league history.

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2013 Justin Upton, playing In his first game at Chase Field since the January trade that sent him to Atlanta in a seven-player deal, collects four hits, including a home run and a double. The first overall pick by Arizona in the 2005 amateur draft receives a mixed reaction from the crowd, with slightly more cheers than boos during Atlanta's 10-1 rout of the Diamondbacks.

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2015 Corey Kluber becomes one of five pitchers to strike out 18 or more batters without issuing a walk, joining Luis Tiant, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, and Kerry Wood. The 29-year-old right-hander, who goes eight innings to get the victory when the Indians beat St. Louis 2-0 in the Progressive Field contest, also ties Johnson for the most strikeouts in a start lasting less than nine innings.

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2016 Chris Heisey's pinch-hit home run, his third this season, marks the first time the Nationals have had two pinch-hitters go deep in the same game. Earlier in the contest, Stephen Drew, coming off the bench, blasted a game-tying two-run shot in the sixth inning of Washington's eventual 5-3 victory over Miami.

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5/14
BIRTHDAYS
1878 J. L. Wilkinson, HOF executive (founder All Nations Baseball club 1912 & NgL Kansas City Monarchs 1920), born in Algona, Iowa (d. 1964)


1881 Ed Walsh HOF pitcher (World Series 1906; no-hitter 1911; MLB record 1.82 career ERA; Chicago White Sox) and manager (Chicago WS 1924), born in Plains Township, Pennsylvania (d. 1959)


1899 Earle Combs HOF center fielder (9 × World Series 1927, 28, 32, 36–39, 41, 43; New York Yankees), born in Richmond, Kentucky (d. 1976)


1937 Dick Howser shortstop (MLB All Star All-Star 1961, 61²; KC A's) and manager (World Series 1977, 78 NY Yankees; KC Royals 1985), born in Miami, Florida (d. 1987)


1942 Tony Pérez HOF infielder (7 x MLB All Star; World Series 1975, 76 Cincinnati Reds) and manager (Cincinnati Reds 1993, Florida Marlins 2001), born in Ciego de Ávila, Cuba


1947 Dick "Dirt" Tidrow pitcher, 1972-84 (Cleveland Indians; New York Yankees and 3 other teams), and executive (Asst GM, San Francisco Giants), born in San Francisco, California


1948 Dave LaRoche, baseball pitcher (NY Yankees)

1955 Dennis Martínez baseball pitcher (Orioles, Expos, Indians), born in Granada, Nicaragua


1963 Pat Borders, catcher (California Angels), born in Columbus, Ohio


1964 Suzy Kolber, American sportscaster
1965 Joey Cora infielder (Seattle Mariners)
1976 Brian Lawrence, American baseball player

1977 Roy Halladay HOF pitcher (8 x MLB All-Star, Cy Young Award 2003, 10; perfect game 2010; postseason no-hitter 2010; Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies), born in Denver Colorado (d. 2017)

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FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1883 The Quakers, later known as the Phillies, win their first game in franchise history when they rout the Cubs, called White Stockings at the time, at Chicago's Lake Front Park. Philadelphia had lost its first eight games before today's 12-0 victory and will finish the season in last place in the eight-team National League with a dismal 17-81 (.173) record.

1904 The Senators establish a major league record by starting the season 0-13 when the team drops a 6-3 decision to New York at Hilltop Park. Washington will be 11 games out of first place before the club wins its first contest this year.

1913 Walter Johnson's streak of 55.2 scoreless innings ends when he gives up a run in the bottom of fourth in the Senators' 10-5 victory against the Browns at Sportsman's Park. The right-hander's record will last until 1968, when Don Drysdale surpasses the mark, tossing 58.2 blank frames for the Dodgers.

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1914 Jim Scott pitches nine innings of no-hit ball against the Senators but loses when he gives up two hits in the 10th inning. Howie Shanks' bad-hop triple off the White Sox right-hander scores Chick Gandil, who singled leading off the final frame, giving Washington the walk-off 1-0 victory at Griffith Stadium.

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1918 With the anticipation of crime rates decreasing in the city, officials in Washington D.C. lift the prohibition on playing baseball on Sunday in the nation's capital. In five days, 17,000 enthusiastic fans, the largest crowd in the history of Griffith Stadium, will be treated to a dramatic 1-0 extra-inning victory against Cleveland in the first contest played on a Sunday in the District.

 

1920 The Giants inform the Yankees, tenants since 1913, that they are not renewing the Bronx team's lease to play at the Polo Grounds at the end of the season. There is speculation that the National League team, deciding later to continue sharing their home until the completion of the American League club's new stadium in 1923, may have been reacting to the team's recent acquisition of Babe Ruth.

1920 Beating the Tigers in relief at Griffith Stadium 9-8, Senator right-hander Walter Johnson registers his 300th victory. Although the 'Big Train' hurled for mostly losing teams during his 21-year career, he compiled 417 victories, including winning 20-games or more for ten consecutive seasons (1910-1919).

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1927 In the top of the seventh in the Phillies' game against St. Louis, a section of the right-field stands of the Baker Bowl collapses, causing hundreds of fans to fall on the patrons below. Although there are many injuries, the only fatality is a victim of the stampeding crowd.

1939 During the Indians' 9-4 victory over Chicago at Comiskey Park, a woman sitting in the stands near the visitor's dugout becomes injured when Marvin Owen's foul ball strikes her just above the right eye. The Indians' starting pitcher, her 20-year-old son Bob, threw the pitch that resulted in Mrs. Feller needing seven stitches on Mother's Day.

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1950 Johnny Hopp helps the Pirates crush the Cubs, 16-9, when he goes 6-for-6, including a pair of homers, in the nightcap of a doubleheader sweep at Wrigley Field. The 33-year-old All-Star first baseman is called 'Hippity' by his teammates.

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1956 The Orioles, taking a gamble, purchase sore-armed Billy Loes from the Dodgers for a reported $25,000. The 26-year-old right-hander will be selected for American League All-Star team next season and posts a 21-30 (.412) record during his four years with Baltimore.

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1965 Carl Yastrzemski drives in five runs, hitting for the cycle with an additional home run. However, Yaz's effort isn't enough when the seventh-place Red Sox lose to Detroit at Fenway Park, 12-8.

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1967 Keeping a promise to his wife Merlyn, Mickey Mantle hit his 500th career home run on Mother's Day, a shot into the lower deck in the right-field corner at Yankee Stadium. The 'Commerce Comet', now the sixth big leaguer to reach the milestone, hits the historic homer off Stu Miller, helping New York defeat the Orioles, 6-5.

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1972 After twenty-one seasons with the Giants, 41-year-old Willie Mays, playing first base and batting leadoff, makes a dramatic return to New York in his debut with the Mets. In the fifth inning, the Say Hey Kid hits a home run off Don Carrithers, his 647th career round-tripper, breaking a 4-4 deadlock and helping to defeat his former team, 5-4, at Shea Stadium.

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1976 In an unusual promotion, visiting player Mike Schmidt makes many of the fans attending the game in Houston very happy. The promise of free beer for the Astrodome crowd if the Phillies' third baseman strikes out happens when the slugger whiffs in the top of the fifth inning of the 5-1 team's victory.

1977 Jim Colborn becomes the first Kansas City hurler to throw the first no-hitter at Royals Stadium and second overall in that park, following California's fireballer Nolan Ryan recording the first hitless game in the ballpark during its inaugural season in 1973. The 31-year-old right-hander faces only 28 batters, issuing one free pass in the 6-0 victory.

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1977 In an 18-2 rout of the Indians, White Sox's first baseman Jim Spencer collects a two-run single, a two-run homer, and his first major-league grand slam, driving in eight runs before being lifted in the fifth inning of the Comiskey Park contest. The 29-year-old infielder's eight RBIs tie a franchise single-game record established by Shoeless Joe Jackson in 1920.

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1978 In a contest best remembered for Tommy Lasorda's postgame rant, Dave Kingman hits three home runs, accounting for eight RBIs against the Dodgers in the Cubs' 10-7 victory at Chavez Ravine. The third-year manager takes exception to radio reporter Paul Olden asking his opinion about the Chicago slugger's performance, responding with an obscenity-laced tirade that has become legendary.

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1981 With a 3-2 win over Montreal in front of the largest Dodger Stadium crowd in seven years, rookie sensation Fernando Valenzuela improves his record to 8-0. The 20-year-old southpaw, who has started the season with five shutouts and a minuscule ERA of 0.50, gets the victory when right fielder Pedro Guerrero hits a leadoff game-ending home run off Steve Ratzer in the bottom of the ninth inning at Chavez Ravine.

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1986 Angels’' DH/outfielder Reggie Jackson homers off Red Sox hurler Roger Clemens to surpass Mickey Mantle on the all-time home run list with 537. The future Hall of Famer will retire next season, finishing his 21-year career sixth on the all-time list with 563 round-trippers.

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1988 Jose Oquendo becomes the first non-pitcher to get a major league decision, losing to the Braves in nineteen innings, 7-5. After pitching three scoreless innings in an extra-inning marathon against Atlanta, the Cardinals' utility man gives up a two-run double to Ken Griffey in the nineteenth to suffer the loss at Busch Stadium.

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1989 In his first at-bat as a Cub, Lloyd McClendon hits a three-run homer in a 4-0 victory over Atlanta at Wrigley Field. The 30-year-old utility player, obtained in an off-season trade from Cincinnati for Rolando Roomes, plays a vital role for the division champs, hitting .286 and 12 home runs in 259 at-bats.

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1993 Jay Gainer becomes the fifth National Leaguer and 12th major leaguer to hit a home run on the first major league pitch he saw. The 26-year-old Rockies' first baseman accomplishes the feat in the second inning off Tim Pugh in the team's 13-5 loss to the Reds at Riverfront Stadium.

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1994 The Royals retire jersey #5 in tribute to George Brett, a .305 lifetime hitter who played his entire 21-year career with the franchise. The 13-time All-Star third baseman won the MVP award in 1980, batting .390 for the American League champs, and led the team to its first world championship in 1985.

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1996 Dwight Gooden becomes the eighth Yankee to hurl a no-hitter when he throws 135 pitches, beating the Mariners at the ballpark in the Bronx, 2-0. The 31-year-old right-handed 'Doc,' nearly released last month after starting the season poorly, hadn't won a game in almost two years.

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