BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

2008 Marlins' second baseman Luis Castillo, who has stolen seven bases in his last two games, is one theft shy of tying a National League mark. Walt Wilmont set the record of eight pilfered bags in consecutive contests playing for the Chicago Colts (Cubs) in 1894.

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2008 A pitchout and a perfect throw by Brewers catcher Jason Kendall finally catches Jacoby Ellsbury attempting to steal a bag, snapping the 24-year-old rookie's string of 25 consecutive stolen bases to start his big league career. The Red Sox outfielder is second all-time to Tim Raines, who recorded 27 straight thefts with the Expos before being caught in 1981.

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2009 Jason Kendall collects his 2000th career hit when he singles in the Brewers' 8-4 victory over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The 34-year-old backstop becomes the 254th player, but only the eighth to be primarily a catcher to reach that milestone.

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2012 Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander misses pitching his third career no-hitter when he allows a single to Josh Harrison with one out in the top of the ninth inning. The reigning MVP and Cy Young winner completes the one-hitter, beating Pittsburgh, 6-0, in front of a wildly enthusiastic Friday night crowd at Detroit's Comerica Park.

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2012 Kerry Wood ends his major league career on his terms when he strikes out the one batter he faces before walking off the mound into an embrace from his six-year-old son in front of the Wrigley Field dugout. The 35-year-old much-injured Cubs' right-hander, an All-Star as both a starter and closer, believes today's final strikeout to be the most significant and the most memorable moment of his 14-year career.

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5/19
BIRTHDAYS
1929 Curt Simmons pitcher (3 x MLB All-Star; World Series 1964 St. Louis Cardinals; Philadelphia Phillies), born in Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania (d. 2022)


1954 Rick Cerone, catcher (Seton Hall, Yankees/Red Sox/Mets/Expos), born in Newark, New Jersey


1955 Ed Whitson, pitcher (NY Yankees, San Diego Padres)


1977 Brandon Inge


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FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1915 Pirates player-manager Fred Clarke files a patent for flip-down sunglasses designed for outfielders. In addition to the sunglasses, which he believes are "good for motorists, too," the future Hall of Famer also creates and will be issued patents for a sliding pad and a mechanical method of positioning the tarpaulin.

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1918 The Senators play the District's first Sunday game, beating Cleveland in a dramatic, 1-0 twelve-inning contest in front of the largest crowd in the history of American League Park. The 17,000 spectators packed into the Washington D.C. ballpark include several U.S. Senators, a Supreme Court Justice, and 2,000 soldiers invited by the team.

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1929 At Yankee Stadium in a section known as Ruthville, two fans die, a 17-year-old college sophomore and a sixty-year-old truck driver, and another seventy-five fans reported hurt when an unusually violent storm causes the crowd to stampede trying to seek cover. The incident in the right-field bleachers occurs when the sudden cloudburst makes it obvious the contest will end with New York ahead of the Red Sox, 3-0, at the end of four and a half innings, making it an official game.

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1933 For the first time in major league history, brothers on opposite teams homer in the same game. Red Sox catcher Rick Ferrell takes his brother Wes deep, but the Indians' righty returns the favor as he homers in the third on a pitch called by his sibling.

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1954 Bob Carpenter apologizes to second baseman Granny Hamner for having him followed by a detective. Although his team is one game behind from first place, the Phillies' owner suspected his players were not ready to play mentally or physically.

1956 Dale Long's eighth-inning Forbes Field's two-run round-tripper against Chicago is the first in a string of eight consecutive games in which the Pirates' first baseman will homer. Don Mattingly (Yankees, 1987) and Ken Griffey Jr. (Mariners, 1993) will match the Adam, MA native's major league mark.

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1962 Cardinal Stan Musial singles for his 3,431st career hit, establishing a National League record. 'Stan the Man' delivers the historic hit as a pinch-hitter, something he will accomplish coming off the bench 14 times in 19 at-bats (.735) this season.

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1968 At Tiger Stadium, Earl Wilson stops Senator Frank Howard's home run streak. The 'Capital Punisher' established the major league mark by hitting ten home runs in the previous six games.

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1972 In an exchange of outfielders, Cincinnati trades Bernie Carbo, their number-one pick in the 1965 draft, to the Cardinals for Joe Hague. Unknown at the time, the move resulted from an ugly incident when the spring training hold-out becomes physical with Reds' GM Bob Howsam during a contentious negotiation session.

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1976 The day after Carl Yastrzemski passes Boston legend Ted Williams for the most games played in a Red Sox uniform, he enjoys a memorable day a the plate, going 4-for-4, including three home runs and four RBIs. Yaz's offensive output contributes to the team's 9-2 victory over the Tigers in the Motor City.

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1979 After a bitter strike, the major league umpires return to work when the MLUA and MLB agree on a contract allowing umps to have in-season vacations, the institution of a 401(k) plan, increases in salaries, pensions, and per diems, and a return to merit-based assignments for post-season games. During the six-week work stoppage, amateur arbiters replaced the men in blue.

1981 After giving up a single to leadoff hitter Terry Harper, Pirates' hurler Jim Bibby retires the next 27 Braves en route to a 5-0 one-hitter. The right-hander threw a no-hitter as a rookie with the Rangers.

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1984 Joining the club in St. Louis, Reds' rookie Eric Davis makes his major league debut, grounding out to short as a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning of the Reds' 9-1 loss to the Cardinals. When Cincinnati forgets to pack an extra road uniform, the 22-year-old rookie wears a numberless jersey.

 

1993 With the team record mired at 13-25, Jeff Torborg is replaced by Dallas Green as the Mets skipper. The 1990 American League Manager of the Year with the White Sox posted an 85-115 record (.425) during his brief stint with New York.

1994 The first 'Jay Buhner Buzz Cut Night,' which will become a popular recurring promotion, is held at the Kingdome. Mariners fans, willing to have their heads shaved to emulate the team's right fielder, who plays an active role by encouraging fans to participate and giving a few haircuts himself, receive free admission to seats in right field to cheer on 'Bone.'

1998 For the second time this season and fourth time in his career, Mark McGwire hits three homers in a game. 'Big Mac' becomes the 12th player to have two three-homer games in a season when he smacks three two-run round-trippers against the Phillies.

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1998 After giving up an eighth-inning three-run homer to Bernie Williams, Armando Benitez nails Tino Martinez between the shoulder blades, igniting a bench-clearing brawl. Graeme Lloyd races in from the Yankee bullpen to punch the O's closer, and Alan Mills bloodies Darryl Strawberry's face after the New York outfielder ends up in the Baltimore dugout also trying to get a shot at Benitez.

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2000 In the park's final year, Jason Kendall became the first Pirate to hit for the cycle in Three Rivers Stadium. The Pittsburgh backstop has a two-run homer in the first inning, a single in the second, a double in the third, and a two-run triple in the eighth to join Giant Jeff Kent (1999) as the only other player to accomplish the feat in the stadium's 31-year history.

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2001 Reversing their original decision, the Elias Sports Bureau, major league baseball's official statistician, will now list Randy Johnson's 20 strikeouts as tying a record. Although the game went extra innings, the Big Unit's nine-inning performance now ranks with Roger Clemens and Kerry Wood's 20K outings in the record book.

2002 Cubs' first baseman Fred McGriff's two-run homer at Miller Park ties Ellis Burks' record of homering in 40 different major league parks. The Crime Dog's eighth-inning blast knots the score 3-3 in an eventual 4-3, 11-inning victory over the Brewers, snapping Chicago's nine-game losing streak.

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2004 Brad Thompson breaks a 97-year-old minor league record set in 1907 by Irvin Wilhelm, hurling 57 consecutive scoreless innings. The 22-year-old Cardinals farmhand, playing in the Southern League for the Tennessee Smokies, falls just two innings short of Orel Hershiser's professional mark of 59 established in 1988.

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2004 Yankee spokesman Jason Zillo announces Cracker Jack, baseball's most famous snack for over 100 years, will not be sold at Yankee Stadium, being replaced by a product known as Crunch 'n Munch. According to team officials, the short-lived change, due to the fans' adverse reaction, is being made because Crunch 'n Munch tastes better but may have happened due to Frito-Lay's decision to package the game's well-known treat in only bags and not boxes.

2004 Julio Franco, breaking a record he set two weeks ago, becomes the oldest player to hit a pinch-hit home run. The Braves first baseman is 45 years, 269 days old when he accomplishes the feat.

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2008 Jon Lester, diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma two seasons ago, no-hits the Royals, 7-0, becoming only the third lefty in franchise history to throw a no-no at Fenway Park. The 24-year-old's batterymate, Jason Varitek, also makes the record books as the first backstop to catch four no-hitters in the majors.

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2009 Dontrelle Willis wins his first game in nearly 20 months, limiting the opposition to one hit in 6+ innings in the Tigers' 4-0 victory over Texas. The former 2003 National League Rookie of the Year, who signed a three-year deal worth $29 million with Detroit last season, was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder during spring training.

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2010 After being benched for criticizing Fredi Gonzalez, who pulled him from the previous game for loafing, Hanley Ramirez, at the prompting of Hall of Famers Andre Dawson and Tony Perez, apologizes to his manager and his teammates before today's contest in St. Louis. Amidst being booed by the Busch Stadium fans, the visiting All-Star shortstop and reigning National League batting champ collects three hits and drives in a run in the Marlins' 5-1 victory over the Cardinals.

2010 Mets center fielder Angel Pagan initiates the tenth triple play in franchise history when he snags Nationals' Cristian Guzman's sinking liner with first and second base occupied. Backstop Henry Blanco fields the outfielder's overthrown ball over the infield, throwing it to shortstop Jose Reyes, doubling up the runner at second, with the infielder relaying the ball to Ike Davis to triple up the runner at first, completing the first major league 9-2-6-3 triple killing.

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2011 In the Rockies' 7-1 victory over Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park, 40-year-old Jason Giambi becomes the second-oldest player to hit three homers in a game. In 1962, Stan Musial became the oldest major leaguer to accomplish the feat when he hit a trio of round-trippers at the age of 41, facing the Mets in the Polo Grounds.

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2013 After pinch-runner Cliff Lee becomes a pickoff victim at first base in the bottom of the ninth inning, Phillies catcher Erik Kratz, who did not start the contest, ties the game with a solo home run to left field off Cincinnati flame thrower Aroldis Chapman. The next batter, Freddie Galvis, blasts a home run to complete the improbable Citizens Bank Park comeback, giving Philadelphia a dramatic 3-2 walk-off victory.

2016 At U.S. Cellular Field, Chris Sale, with a four-hit complete-game 2-1 victory over the Astros, improves his record to 9-0 to become the first White Sox pitcher in nearly a century to win his first nine starts of the season. Ed Cicotte also accomplished the feat during the infamous 1919 Black Sox season.

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2018 The Rays employ an opener for the first time when the team uses veteran closer Sergio Romo to throw one inning against the Angels to start the game in Anaheim. This season, the strategy will account for a combined 93 innings, resulting in a 3.97 ERA, slightly better than the league average ERA of 4.15. Sergio Romo makes the debut of the innovative concept memorable when he faces three batters, striking out the side in his brief appearance on the mound.
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5/20
BIRTHDAYS
1921 Hal Newhouser HOF pitcher (7 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1945; AL MVP 1944, 45; Triple Crown 1945; Detroit Tigers), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1998)


1931 Ken Boyer (d. 1982)


1946 Bobby Murcer (5-time MLB All Star), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (d. 2008)


1963 David Wells pitcher (perfect game 1998; World Series 1992, 98; MLB All Star 1995, 98, 2000), born in Torrance, California


1964 Jeff Schwarz pitcher (California Angels, Chicago White Sox)
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1970 Missy Cress catcher (Colo Silver Bullets), born in Burbank, California


1976 Ramón Hernández


1976 Tomoya Satozaki

1977 Chad Muska

1980 Austin Kearns

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FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1878 In a 3-1 National League loss to the White Stockings at Chicago's Lake Front Park, right-hander Jim McCormick of the Indianapolis Blues becomes the first player born in Scotland to appear in a major league game. Next season, as a 23-year-old, the Glasgow native will manage the team, which will move to Cleveland, making him the youngest skipper in the history of the game.

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1918 In what will become a precursor of a tragic event, Indian outfielder Tris Speaker is struck on the head by a pitch thrown by Red Sox hurler Carl Mays. The submarine pitcher, who will fatally bean Ray Chapman with a ball in 1920 as a member of the Yankees, denies Speaker's allegation that the pitch was intentional.

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1919 Red Sox southpaw Babe Ruth 
hits the first of his 16 career grand slams. The bases-loaded home run proves to be the difference when Boston and the 'Bambino' beat the Browns at Sportsman's Park, 6-4.

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1920 The Chicago police, dressed as soldiers and farmers, raid the Wrigley Field bleachers, arresting two dozen Cub fans for gambling. All bets are off when Grover Cleveland Alexander blanks Philadelphia, 6-0.

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1925 Tris Speaker, scoring from first base on a single, plates the winning run in the Indians' 10-9 walk-off win over the Yankees. The Tribe scores six times in the bottom of the ninth to accomplish the incredible comeback.

1932 Paul Waner, known as Big Poison to his teammates, strokes four doubles in one game, tying a major league record shared with 11 other players. The 29-year-old future Hall of Fame outfielder's quartet of two-baggers enables the Pirates to beat the Cardinals at Sportsman's Park, 5-0.

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1940 Tiger slugger Pinky Higgins hits three consecutive home runs at Briggs Stadium, going deep in the fourth, fifth, and seventh innings. The 31-year-old third baseman's offensive output includes a three-run homer and a pair of two-run round-trippers, accounting for seven of the runs in Detroit's 10-7 victory over the Braves.

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1945 Pete Gray leads the St. Louis Browns to a doubleheader sweep of the Yankees, scoring the winning run in the nightcap and collecting three hits in the opener. During the Sportsman's Park twin bill, the one-armed left fielder makes ten putouts in the outfield.

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1947 In a game that features no extra-base knocks, the Pirates defeat the Braves at Forbes Field, 4-3. The teams compile a total of 22 hits, all singles, with Pittsburgh collecting a dozen.

1947 A's catcher Buddy Rosar drops Walt Judnich's pop-up, ending his record-setting errorless game streak at 147 games. The All-Star backstop's perfect fielding included the span of the 117 games he played for Philadelphia last season, handling 605 chances without a miscue during the entire campaign.

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1948 In front of only 5,001 fans in Chicago, Joe DiMaggio strokes four extra-base hits for the fourth time in his career when he hits for the cycle for the second time in a 13-2 rout of the White Sox. The 'Yankee Clipper' paces the Bombers' 22-hit attack with two homers, a triple, a double, and a single and drives in six runs.

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1951 Philadelphia center fielder Richie Ashburn, who will lead the NL in hits this season, goes 4-for-6 and 4-for-5 during the Phillies' sweep of a twin bill from Pittsburgh. The eight hits that Whitey collects during the Forbes Field's 17-0 and 12-4 victories are all singles.

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1953 In just their thirteenth home game of the season, the Milwaukee Braves attendance surpasses the entire total of 281,278 fans attending their 77 contests in Boston last year. The team will set a National League record for attendance when 1,826,397 patrons pass through the turnstiles this season, more than the combined total of the last three years in the Massachusetts capital.

1958 The Cardinals trade Alvin Dark to the Cubs in exchange for hurler Jim Brosnan. Both players will be productive on their new teams during the remainder of the season, with 'Blackie' hitting .297 in 114 games for Chicago, and the newest Redbird right-hander will compile an 8-4 record for St. Louis.

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1959 The Yankees slip into last place when the team drops a 13-6 decision to Detroit in the Bronx. The Bronx Bombers' position in standings marks the first time in 19 years that the club has occupied the basement of the American League.