BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1890 The Giants and the Pittsburgh Alleghenys established a National League record when the teams combine to steal seventeen bases in a single game. New York will win the Polo Grounds contest, 17-10.

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1901 Scoring nine runs in the bottom of the ninth at Cleveland's League Park, the Blues, later known as the Indians, stun the Senators, 14-13. The incredible comeback, consisting of six singles, two doubles, a walk, a hit batsman, and a passed ball, comes after two outs.

1901 White Sox reliever Clark Griffith, the team's pitcher-manager, decides to walk Napoleon Lajoie intentionally with the bases loaded. The strategy proves successful when he induces the next three batters to ground out to complete the 11-9 victory at Chicago's South Side Park.

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1910 In the top of the ninth inning in a game against Boston, Cincinnati's outfielder Dode Paskert steals second base, third base, and home plate. The thievery proves to be the margin of victory when the Reds edge the Doves, 6-5.

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1918 Provost Marshal Enoch Crowder issues a "work-or-fight" order, initially setting July 1st as the deadline for players to enter the needed war workforce or face induction into military service. Secretary of War Newton D. Baker, ignoring Woodrow Wilson's letter stating that the president saw "no necessity" for curtailing play, allows the major leaguers to compete through Labor Day, with rosters staying intact for the shortened season and the World Series.

1924 Senator right-hander Walter Johnson strikes out 14, including six consecutive batters to tie an AL mark, en route to tossing a 4-0 one-hitter over Chicago. A fourth-inning single by Harry Hooper spoils the Big Train's bid for his second career no-hitter.

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1935 In Cincinnati, rain postpones the first-ever scheduled major league night game, but the team will face the Phillies tomorrow night. The Reds will play eight evening contests this season, including one against every club in the National League.

1936 With the Reds trailing by three runs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning at Crosley Field, Sammy Byrd hits Cy Blanton's pitch for a game-ending home run, giving Cincinnati an incredible come-from-behind 4-3 victory. The 29-year-old outfielder becomes the third major leaguer to hit an ultimate grand slam, A round-tripper in the home team's final at-bat, and erases a three-run deficit, resulting in a one-run victory.

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1945 The Braves send pitcher Red Barrett and $60,000 to the Cardinals for Mort Cooper, who had threatened to leave St. Louis over a salary dispute. After the early season swap, the newest Redbird goes 21-9 for his team, while Boston's newcomer, a twenty-game winner for the previous three seasons, posts a modest 7-4 record for the sixth-place club.

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1948 Yankees' slugger Joe DiMaggio hits three consecutive home runs, the first two off future Hall of Famer Bob Feller. The trio of round-trippers helps the Bronx Bombers defeat the Tribe, 6-5.

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1954 The White Sox send infielder Grady Hatton, obtained from Cincinnati in April, and $100,000 to the Red Sox in exchange for George Kell, the 1949 American League batting champion. Chicago acquires the 31-year-old six-time All-Star third baseman, who started the season with a .311 lifetime batting average, as a significant upgrade, both defensively and offensively, at the hot corner.

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1962 Joe Pepitone homers twice to become the second player in Yankee history to hit two home runs in the same inning when the Bronx Bombers score nine times in the eighth inning of a 13-7 rout of Kansas City. In 1936 as a rookie, Joe DiMaggio became the first pinstriper to accomplish the feat.

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1963 Mets' first baseman Gil Hodges is immediately named the Senators' manager, replacing Mickey Vernon when the teams complete the deal that sends Waterbury (CT) native Jimmy Piersall to New York. The 33-year-old part-time outfielder, who will bat only .194 in 40 games for his new team, will be released in July after drawing the ire of manager Casey Stengel for running the bases backward to celebrate his 100th career home run.

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1965 Mets' outfielder Ron Swoboda takes his position wearing a batting helmet - on his foot. After kicking the protective headgear, which gets stuck on his spikes, manager Casey Stengel orders the young player to go out to the field.

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1965 In the first inning of a 5-2 loss to San Francisco, Jimmy Wynn cannot catch Jim Ray Hart's two-out routine fly ball when he loses the ball in the glare of diffused Texas sunlight streaming through plastic panes of the newly-opened Astrodome. The base-clearing inside-the-park three-run home run results in painting the ballpark's ceiling, leading to the use of Astroturf next season because the grass will be unable to be grown due to the reduced amount of light.

 

1970 After a 17-16, 15-inning loss, the Giants replace manager Clyde King with Charlie Fox, their Phoenix PCL affiliate skipper. The 19-23 club recovers to go 14 games over .500, finishing third under their new field boss.

1980 In the early morning hours of the players' planned walkout, the MLBPA and the owners reach a preliminary four-year agreement, allowing the matter of free agency to be reopened the following season. The unresolved issue over free-agent compensation will lead to a 50-day strike next year, resulting in the loss of 712 games.

1984 The Tigers win their 16th consecutive road game, defeating the Angels, 4-2. Detroit's victory ties an American League record established by the Senators in 1912.

1991 In front of a sparse Olympic Stadium crowd of 8,833, Tommy Greene, making his 15th start as a major leaguer, no-hits the Expos, 2-0. The Phillies' right-hander joined the rotation replacing Danny Cox, who had suffered a pulled groin in his last start.

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1991 At the Metrodome, Kirby Puckett strokes five singles and a triple in the Twins' 10-6 loss in 11 innings to Texas. The outfielder's performance marks the second time he collects six hits in a game, making him the fourth post-1900 major leaguer, along with Doc Cramer, Jim Bottomley, and Jimmie Foxx, to have accomplished the feat twice during their career.

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1991 With his fourth-inning swipe of second base at Shea Stadium, Andre Dawson becomes the third member of the 300/300 club with his 300th stolen base. The 36-year-old Cubs outfielder, who has also hit 354 home runs, joins Bobby Bonds and Willie Mays in reaching the milestone.

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1993 The Royals Hall of Fame inducts team owner Ewing Kauffman. The public appearance at the stadium will be the philanthropist's last trip to the Kansas City ballpark, which will be renamed in his honor shortly before his death on the first day in August.

1998 Carl Pavano pitches seven strong innings in his major-league debut for the Expos, allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits while striking out six in the team's 3-2 walk-off win over the Phillies at Olympic Stadium. Montreal acquired the 22-year-old Southington, Connecticut native in the Pedro Martinez trade with the Red Sox and a player named later (Tony Armas).

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1998 David Wells extends his American League record consecutive outs streak to 38 when Boston leadoff hitter Darren Lewis grounds out to begin the contest. The Yankee southpaw, who authored a perfect game in his last outing, had also retired the final ten Kansas City batters he faced in the start before the 'perfecto.'

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1999 Brady Anderson gets hit twice by a pitch in the same inning to set an American League record. The Oriole leadoff man, the third major leaguer to accomplish the feat, scores twice when the Birds tally ten runs in the first inning, routing the Rangers at Camden Yards, 16-5.

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2000 Mariners outfielder Rickey Henderson draws his 2,000th career walk, becoming only the third player in baseball history to reach the milestone. Hall of Famers Babe Ruth and Ted Williams are the only other major leaguers to have accomplished the feat.

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2002 Shawn Green hits four home runs in one game to become the 14th player in major league history, the second this month, to accomplish the feat. The Dodger right fielder's 6-for-6 performance in Milwaukee's Miller Park, which includes a single and double, breaks Joe Adcock's 1954 mark for total bases by one, with a total of 19.

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2002 The Dodgers set a franchise mark when the team hits eight homers in one contest, bashing the Brewers, 16-3. Shawn Green's four round-trippers account for half of the record-breaking barrage, with Brian Jordan, Hiram Bocachica, Adrian Beltre, and Dave Hansen contributing home runs in the Miller Park contest.

2004 Mets shortstop Kaz Matsui surpasses Tommie Agee's 1969 team record when he sets a franchise mark with his fifth leadoff home run of the season, becoming the first Mets player to accomplish the feat in consecutive games. The 28-year-old Japanese infielder is also the first big leaguer to have his first five career round-trippers when batting first in the first inning of a game.

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2004 The River City Rascals, a member of the independent Frontier League, announce a 'Sports Criminals Night,' which will turn T.R. Hughes Ballpark into a giant cell block, complete with a 'dugout jail' for fans during the June 2nd game against the Rockford Riverhawks. After the community's protests, the team cancels the event, intended to humorously poke fun at the media's coverage of athletes in trouble.

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2008 Six weeks after his successful thyroid cancer surgery, Diamondback hurler Doug Davis allows just one run over seven innings in an 11-1 win over the Braves at Turner Field. The 32-year-old southpaw joins Red Sox starter Jon Lester, who threw a no-hitter earlier this week to serve as an inspiration for cancer patients and their families.

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2009 At Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Jason Giambi hits his 400th career home run. The A's designated hitter goes deep off Dan Haren leading off the fourth inning in an 8-7 loss against Arizona to become the 44th major leaguer to reach the milestone.

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2011 In a profile piece written by Jeffrey Toobin for The New Yorker, Fred Wilpon makes some very candid comments about some of the 'stars' on his payroll. The embattled Mets owner is critical of the often injured Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran and calls David Wright a nice kid but "not a superstar."

2011 Chasing a sixth-inning foul pop near the Rangers dugout in the sixth inning, A.J. Pierzynski nearly makes contact with George W. Bush, who is sitting in the owner's box with his wife, Laura. The ball drops harmlessly into the stands, but the former president takes the opportunity to converse with the startled White Sox catcher.


2011 In the Brewers' 11-3 win over the Nationals at Miller Park, Corey Hart hit his first three homers of the season and drives in seven runs, tying both franchise records. The Milwaukee right fielder goes deep with two-run blasts in the first and fifth off Washington starter Tom Gorzelanny to reach the 100th career homer run milestone and then adds a two-out three-run shot in the eighth, becoming the tenth Brewers player to hit three in one game.

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2020 The Nationals scrap their virtual World Series ring ceremony, planned for airing on television and streaming online when the players decide they would rather wait to be together in person to receive their championship jewelry. The team will still unveil the ring's design tomorrow, the day initially selected for the presentation, because the date marks the anniversary of Washington's turnaround from a 19-31 record to a Game 7 victory in the Fall Classic.
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5/24
BIRTHDAYS
1968 Jerry Dipoto pitcher (NY Mets), born in Jersey City, New Jersey


1972 Danny Bautista outfielder (Atlanta Braves), born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic


1974 Masahide Kobayashi born in Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan


1978 Brad Penny (Los Angeles Dodgers), born in Blackwell, Oklahoma


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FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1909 After beating the Cardinals a record 24 consecutive times, Giants legend Christy Mathewson finally loses to the Redbirds, 3-1. The winning streak spanned five years, starting in May of 1904.

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1918 Indians right-hander Stan Coveleski hurls for 19 innings in the Tribe's 3-2 victory over the Yankees at the Polo Grounds. Joe Wood's home run proves to be the difference.

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1918 A day after Secretary of War Newton D. Baker issues the work-or-fight edict, American League president Ban Johnson announces that the circuit would cease operation for the duration of WW I. The team's owners defy their once-formidable leader, having their teams play until Labor Day.

1935 The era of nighttime baseball begins as 25,000 fans watch the Reds beat the Phillies 2-1 in the first major league game ever played under the lights. At the White House, President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushed a gold telegraph key during the Crosley Field pregame ceremonies, sending an electric signal to a table near first base, where MacPhail flips the switch to illuminate the stadium.

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1936 At Shibe Park, second baseman Tony Lazzeri becomes the first major league player to hit two grand slams in the same game when the Yankees annihilate the A's, 25-2. The bases-full homers enable the future member of the Hall of Fame to establish a new American League record with 11 RBIs.

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1940 The Browns host the first major league game played in St. Louis under the lights. A Friday evening crowd of 24,827, the largest attendance figure in 18 years, watches Bob Feller and the Indians beat the home team at Sportsman's Park, 3-2.

1940 The hometown Giants, in the first night game played at the Polo Grounds, beat the Braves, 8-1. The Manhattan ballpark's $125,000 lighting system works well, allowing the 22,260 patrons to follow the nocturnal contest without any difficulties.

1941 The Braves sign 'Big Poison' Paul Waner after Brooklyn releases the 38-year-old right fielder. The former Dodger joins his younger brother' Little Poison' Lloyd on the Boston roster.

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1947 Carl Furillo hits a three-run homer as a pinch-hitter in the first frame of the Dodgers' 4-3 ten-inning loss to Philadelphia at Ebbets Field. The unusual first-frame substitution results from Phillies manager Ben Chapman using right-handed starter Al Jurisch to pitch to the first two Brooklyn hitters before bringing in southpaw Oscar Judd to face the next three lefty hitters, including Gene Hermanski, the batter replaced by Furillo.

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1950 Nat Clifton's Harlem Globetrotter contract is purchased by the New York Knicks, making the talented athlete the first black to sign a deal to play in the National Basketball Association. Before his career in the NBA, 'Sweetwater' played first base for the Chicago American Giants in the Negro Leagues.

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1956 In Detroit, Mickey Mantle goes 5-for-5 with an intentional walk in the Yankees' 11-5 victory over the Tigers. "The Commerce Comet's" offensive output includes a homer and four singles.

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1957 With scouts from all the major league teams watching the game, 18-year-old New Britain (CT) High School senior Steve Dalkowski, author of two scholastic no-hitters last month, strikes out 24 New London batters. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound standout will sign with the Orioles, one of nine clubs to show interest in the southpaw, for the maximum allowable $4,000 bonus but may have received another unreported $12,000 and a new car.

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1957 During an off-day at Fenway Park, Ted Williams, using his shotgun, shoots approximately 35 pigeons, sitting on a chair in front of the bullpen of the empty ballpark, predictably upsets the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. However, Red Sox owner and avid sportsman Tom Yawkey's participation in the Kid's target practice helps quell the outrage directed at the superstar ballplayer.

1957 In his first big-league at-bat, Frank Ernaga hits a third-inning home run to deep left field off future Hall of Fame southpaw Warren Spahn in Chicago's 5-1 victory over Milwaukee. The rookie right fielder follows his Wrigley Field round-tripper with a three-bagger in the next frame to become the first Cubs player to have hit a home run and a triple in his major league debut.

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1964 Seven of the twenty major league teams do not cross home plate, setting the mark for shutouts in one day. The Twins, White Sox, Yankees, Mets, Phillies, Cardinals, and Giants do not score a run against their opponents.

1964 Harmon Killebrew tags the longest homer ever hit in Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. The Twins left fielder's 471-foot shot, which clears the hedge in left-center field, is hit off Milt Pappas in the eighth inning of a 7-6 loss to the Orioles.

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1964 After being first proposed in 1959, a groundbreaking ceremony finally marks the start of construction of the Civic Center-Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. The development of the area, located amid a blighted area near the city's core that includes Chinatown, is seen by city officials as the start of a new era in St. Louis.

1965 With the sun's glare making fly balls challenging to track during day games, the team paints the Astrodome's clear plastic panes. The $20,000 decision to cover the roof, which reduces the ambient lighting by 40%, prevents the ballpark's natural grass from growing and will lead to the use of Astroturf next season.

1967 Tommy McCraw, with eight RBIs, drives in more than half of the runs in the White Sox' 14-1 rout of Minnesota at Metropolitan Stadium. The Chicago first baseman's offensive output includes a pair of three-run homers and a two-run round-tripper.

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1969 For the first time since the start of the season, a span of forty-one games, Don Kessinger does not reach base. The Cubs Gold Glove shortstop grounds out four times and hits into a fly-ball double play in his last at-bat during Chicago's 7-5 loss to the Padres at San Diego Stadium.

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1972 At Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Don Rose homers on the first pitch he sees in his first major league at-bat. The right-hander's third-inning round-tripper, his only career home run, and the last hit by an American League hurler for thirty years proves to be the difference in the Angels' 6-5 victory over the A's, earning the 25-year-old his only win in the big leagues.

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1973 In a 19-inning marathon, LA outfieldhe twoer Willie Davis collects six hits in a 7-3 loss to the Mets at Dodger Stadium. The clubs establish a National League mark by hitting into a combined nine double plays.

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1976 Bert Campaneris steals five bases, one shy of the major league mark, in the A's 12-7 victory over the Twins at the Oakland Coliseum. The fleet shortstop will swipe 54 bases, the third-best in the American League this season.

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1978 In an inning which lasts over an hour, 15 players score before the first out is recorded when the Florida State League's Tampa Tarpons beat Daytona Beach, 18-2.

1984 The Tigers equal the major league mark set by the 1916 Giants with their 17th consecutive road victory when the team defeats the Angels at Anaheim Stadium, 5-1. The win, a Jack Morris four-hit complete game, breaks the American League record of 16, established by the Senators in 1912.

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1986 A "drunk" Billy Martin is "fired" as the co-host of Saturday Night Live by executive producer Lorne Michaels after slurring his lines during a skit. In retaliation, the often-unemployed Yankee manager "sets fire" to his dressing room at the end of the show, which is the season's finale.

 

1991 "I can only hope that one day those teammates who have found it convenient to criticize me will realize that we are all in this together. If only we can concentrate more on the games than complaining and bickering and pointing fingers, we would all be better off." - Text from Gregg Jefferies' Open Letter. In an open letter read on WFAN, a New York sports-talk radio station, Gregg Jefferies, in response to the negative attention from Mets fans, pleads his case to be treated fairly. The embattled infielder's plea leads to a players-only meeting, prompting David Cone to agree with the 23-year-old second baseman that the anonymous derisive quotes from teammates are unfair and should be banned. "I can only hope that one day those teammates who have found it convenient to criticize me will realize that we are all in this together. If only we can concentrate more on the games than complaining and bickering and pointing fingers, we would all be better off."

1993 Indian starter Tom Kramer faces only 28 batters when he beats Texas at Cleveland Stadium, 4-1. The rookie right-hander, who will not return to the major leagues after this season, allows just one baserunner, DH Julio Franco, who hits a fourth-inning home run.

1993 The Mets play their 5000th game in team history, losing to Philadelphia at Veterans Stadium, 6-3. Although New York has a record of 527 wins and 473 losses in the last thousand games, the franchise is still 338 games under .500 since its first contest in 1962.

1994 At Busch Stadium, the Cardinals set a major league record when they leave 16 men stranded on the bases without scoring. The Phillies take advantage of the Redbirds' lack of timely hitting and beat St. Louis, 4-0.

1994 In a 13-6 Oriole win over Milwaukee at County Stadium, Cal Ripken hits his 300th career home run, a three-run shot to deep left field off Teddy Higuera in the third inning. The 33-year-old future Hall of Fame infielder will finish his career in 2001 with 431 round-trippers.

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1995 Tossing a scoreless ninth inning in the A's 5-2 win over the Orioles at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Dennis Eckersley records his 300th career save. The Oakland right-hander becomes the sixth reliever to reach the milestone in major league history

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1998 In the NCAA Atlantic II Regionals, future major league outfielder Matt Diaz hits four home runs in Florida State's 23-2 routing of Oklahoma. The Seminoles freshman's offensive output, including seven RBIs, ties the school and tournament record for round-trippers.

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