BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

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5/29
BIRTHDAYS
1962 Eric Davis outfielder (3-time Gold Glove 1987-99), born in Los Angeles, California


1976 Jerry Hairston Jr. LA, Cubs infielder/outfielder, broadcaster (Baltimore Orioles), born in Des Moines, Iowa


1982 Kim Tae-kyun 1st baseman (KBO Triple Crown 2005, 08), born in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province


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FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1905 According to legend, Dodger hurler Elmer Stricklett introduces the spitball, helping Brooklyn beat the Giants, 4-3. Before the 1921 season, the spitball will be banned, except for 17 existing spitballers who can keep throwing the slippery pitch legally until they are retired, including Burleigh Grimes, who will be the last player to throw a doctored pitch before retiring in 1934 legally.

Elmer Stricklett and Burleigh Grimes

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1909 Recently elected William Howard Taft joins 14,000 fans at Pittsburgh's Exposition Park to watch the Pirates play the Cubs, becoming the first sitting president to attend a baseball game outside of Washington, D.C. The Commander in Chief proves to be a bad luck charm when the Bucs drop an 8-3 decision to Chicago, marking the only time the team loses in 19 games.

1911 Riding the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Cubs complete their 191-mile journey from Columbus (OH) to their game in Pittsburgh in three hours and thirty-five minutes. The trip, which sets a land-speed record, will last 75-minutes longer than the time it will take Chicago to beat the Bucs at Forbes Field, 4-1.

1916 The Giants beat Boston for their 17th consecutive road win when Christy Mathewson scatters four singles to get the complete-game 3-0 victory at Braves Field. New York surpasses the major league mark established by the Senators, who had won 16 straight games as the visiting team in 1912.

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1922 The Supreme Court rules that organized baseball is a sport, not a business, exempting major league clubs from antitrust laws and interstate commerce rules. The unanimous court decision held that professional baseball did not meet the definition of interstate commerce because their travel between states is "incidental" to the business with all the revenue generated from the actual games.

1928 At Ebbets Field, Bill Terry hits for the cycle to pace the Giants to a 12-5 victory over the Robins (Dodgers). The New York first baseman is the first player in major league history to include a grand slam as part of the cycle.

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1941 The Cardinals collect their tenth consecutive win when the team beats the Reds, 10-9, thanks to shortstop Marty Marion's spectacular grab of Ernie Lombardi's line drive, doubling off Ernie Koy to end the contest. The Sportsman's Park victory marks the Redbirds' fifth straight one-run winning decision, including three back-to-back games in the team's last at-bat.

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1946 Edward Klep becomes the first white to play in the Negro leagues in a reverse integration role. In a game in Grand Rapids, the Erie (PA) native tosses seven innings for the Cleveland Buckeyes against the American Giants in his debut with the Negro American League team.

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1950 David Tracy resigns as the Browns' team psychologist due to the lack of cooperation from the players. The 8-22 last-place team loses confidence in their psychological guru when his use of hypnosis, used to relax the struggling players, fails to improve the club's on-field performance.

1951 Indians GM Hank Greenberg flies to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to preside over the signing ceremony of Billy Joe Davidson, a 17-year-old American Legion standout. The Marion southpaw, who reportedly agreed to a $150,000 deal to play for the Tribe, compiles a 54-53 record, including a no-hitter, during his six years in the minors but will never throw a pitch in the major leagues.

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1955 After Joe Pignatano bats out of order in the Fort Worth Cats lineup, the umpires nullify the Dodger farmhand’s second-inning round-tripper on appeal by the Shreveport Sports. When the correct number 7 batter, Maury Wills, loses his turn at the plate, the 25-year-old catcher, now hitting eighth, hits another homer.

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1956 Gus Bell connects for three consecutive home runs, helping the Reds beat the Cubs, 10-4. The Cincinnati center fielder collects 14 total bases, going 5-for-5 while collecting seven RBIs in the Wrigley Field contest.

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1956 In a 10-1 loss to the Dodgers at Forbes Field, Dale Long is held hitless by Don Newcombe, ending his consecutive-game home run streak. The Pirates' first baseman had established a new major league mark by homering in the last eight Pittsburgh contests.

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1962 Previously a scout with the Cubs, Buck O'Neil becomes the first black coach in major-league baseball. The future Hall of Famer was not assigned in-game base coaching duties and did not participate in the Chicago's College of Coaches system, a revolving managerial position.

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1965 Dick Allen's 529-foot blast clears the left-center field roof, over the Coke Sign, at Connie Mack Stadium. The Phillies' third baseman's two-run prodigious poke off Chicago's right-hander Larry Jackson proves to be the difference in Philadelphia's 4-2 victory.

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1966 For the second consecutive day, Ron Santo delivers a walk-off home run in extra-innings against Atlanta when his 10th-inning blast gives the Cubs a 3-2 victory at Wrigley Field. Yesterday, the third baseman ended the game with a three-run, 12th-inning homer, beating the Braves, 8-5.

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1976 In a pitching matchup that features the Niekro brothers facing one another, Astro Joe beat the Braves and Phil, 4-1. Adding insult to injury, Joe hits his first and only home run in his 22-year career off his older sibling.

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1978 In a 14-inning one-run loss to Pittsburgh, Phillies' outfielder Garry Maddox ties a franchise record when he swipes four bases. The Philadelphia fleet flychaser equals the mark set in 1906 by Sherry Magee, who accomplished the feat twice that season.

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1979 At Dodger Stadium, Dusty Baker, Rick Sutcliffe, Steve Garvey, Gary Thomasson, Derrel Thomas, Joe Ferguson, and Davey Lopes set a team record by hitting seven home runs as the Dodgers crush the Reds, 17-6.

 

1981 The Mets obtain Expos' right fielder Ellis Valentine for relief pitcher Jeff Reardon and Dan Norman, acquired in the 1977 Tom Seaver trade from the Reds. The former Montreal All-Star Gold Glover hits .261 during his two seasons in New York, with Reardon compiling 367 saves while playing for seven teams in his 16-year major league tenure.

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1982 LaMarr Hoyt's 14-game winning streak, which started with five victories last season, ends when the Indians beat the White Sox. The 27-year-old right-hander throws his fourth consecutive complete game, dropping a 5-2 decision at Cleveland Stadium.

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1985 The Phillies move Gold Glove third baseman Mike Schmidt to first base, replacing him at the hot corner with Rick Schu. The 23-year-old rookie will hit only .252, promoting Schmidt's return to third next season, with Schu becoming a backup for the future Hall of Fame infielder.

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1989 In a hastily called press conference in San Diego, Mike Schmidt tearfully informs the press of his immediate retirement. The fans will still select the Phillies' third baseman to start the All-Star Game, scheduled to be played at Anaheim Stadium in July.

1990 A's Rickey Henderson's theft of third base in the sixth inning of a 2-1 loss to the Blue Jays breaks the 62-year-old American League stolen base record of 892 held by Ty Cobb.

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1990 The Mets fire their manager Davey Johnson, citing the lack of team discipline in the talented team reaching the postseason only twice during his six years at the helm. Third base coach Bud Harrelson replaces the popular skipper, who averaged 96 victories a season, leading the club to the World Championship in 1986.

 

1996 Cal Ripken hits his 334th career round-tripper to move past Eddie Murray for first place on the Orioles' all-time list. The Baltimore shortstop goes deep over the left-field wall off Sterling Hitchcock in the sixth inning of the team's 9-8 defeat to Seattle at the Kingdome.

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1997 After acquiring Hideki Irabu from the Chiba Lotte Marines, the Padres send the Japanese right-hander to the Yankees, completing the trade that dealt Gordon Amerson (minors) and Homer Bush to New York for Rafael Medina, Ruben Rivera, and $3,000,000. The 28-year-old refused to sign with the San Diego, insisting he would only play with the Bronx Bombers, but often incurs owner George Steinbrenner's wrath during his three years in the Big Apple, where he posts a mediocre 29-20 record.

2000 At Yankee Stadium, Randy Velarde completes the tenth unassisted triple play in major league history. With runners on first and second, Shane Spencer hits a line drive to the A's second baseman, who catches the ball, tags out Jorge Posada coming from first base, and steps on second, tripling up Tino Martinez, who took off for third, to complete the rare event.

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2000 At the age of 104, Fred Roberts, the oldest living Dodger fan, makes his first visit to Dodger Stadium. Wearing a jersey with the number 104, the World War I veteran cheers as Shawn Green's sixth-inning grand slam helps to beat Al Leiter and the Mets, 4-1.

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2001 The Diamondbacks beat the Giants at PacBell Park, 1-0. The 18-inning contest, which takes five hours and fifty-three minutes to play, establishes a franchise mark for Arizona in both innings played and time.

2002 Yankee fireballer Roger Clemens becomes the third major leaguer to strike out ten or more batters in at least 100 games. Nolan Ryan (215) and Randy Johnson (175) are the other two hurlers to have accomplished the feat.

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2003 The Red Sox trade their All-Star third baseman Shea Hillenbrand (.303, 3, 38) to the Diamondbacks for 24-year-old reliever turned starter Byung-Hyun Kim (1-5, 3.56). The 24-year-old South Korean right-hander wins eight of 13 decisions, helping Boston capture the American League Wild Card.

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2010 Roy Halladay throws the 20th perfect game in major league history, outdueling Josh Johnson in the Phillies' 1-0 victory over the Marlins at Miami's Sun Life Stadium. The former American League Cy Young Award winner, obtained from Toronto in the off-season, joins Jim Bunning as the only other hurler in franchise history to accomplish the feat.

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2010 The Giants call up Buster Posey to start at first base, and the 23-year-old rookie responds by going three-for-four with three RBIs in a 12-1 rout of the Diamondbacks at AT&T Park. The eventual National League's Rookie of the Year does not become the team's starting catcher until the team trades Bengie Molina to Texas at the end of June.

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2010 Kendry Morales breaks his left ankle jumping on home plate while celebrating his walk-off grand slam that beat Seattle, 9-7. The freak injury results in the 26-year-old talented Angel first baseman missing the rest of the season.

2014 In the Blue Jays' 8-6 loss to Kansas City at the Rogers Centre, Edwin Encarnacion hits a pair of two-run homers, both off Royals right-hander James Shields, to set a franchise record for home runs in a month with 16. The Toronto first baseman now also shares the American League mark for most home runs in May with Yankees legend Mickey Mantle.

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2016 The Yankees, limited to only one hit, defeat the Rays, 2-1, thanks to Starlin Castro's seventh-inning home run off Jake Odorizzi at Tropicana Field. The last time New York won a game while being the victim of a one-hitter occurred 102 years ago when the team beat the Indians at the Polo Grounds, 1-0.

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2016 At The Ballpark at Harbor Yard, United States softball star Jennie Finch becomes the first woman to manage a pro baseball team when she leads the Bridgeport Bluefish to a 3-1 win over the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in an Atlantic League contest. The Olympic gold medal-winning pitcher, an All-American at Arizona, is married to Casey Daigle, who pitched briefly for the Diamondbacks and Astros.

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2021 At Target Field, Josh Donaldson, scoring from second on a first-inning ground-rule double by Nelson Cruz, tallies the two millionth run in baseball history. Unlike Bob Watson of the Houston Astros, who scored the one-millionth run 46 years ago, the Twins' third baseman was unaware of the historical significance of crossing the plate.

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81,502

 

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5/30
BIRTHDAYS
1871 Amos Rusie HOF pitcher (Triple Crown & NL wins leader 1894; 5 × NL strikeout leader; pitched no-hitter 1891; NY Giants), born in Mooresville, Indiana (d. 1942)


1878 Mike Donlin (NY Giants), born in Peoria, Illinois (d. 1933)


1972 Manny Ramirez outfielder (12 × MLB All-Star; World Series 2004 [MVP], 07; 9 × Silver Slugger Award; Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox), born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

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FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1894 After going 0-for-6 in the first game of a doubleheader, Beaneater Bob Lowe becomes the first major leaguer to hit four home runs in one game, helping Boston beat Cincinnati and Elton 'Icebox' Chamberlain, 20-11.

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1904 At Cincinnati's Palace of the Fans, 32-year-old Cubs' first baseman Frank Chance is plunked by a pitch five times during a doubleheader. In the first game of the twin bill, the future Hall of Famer loses consciousness briefly when one of the misguided pitches hits the Peerless Leader's head.

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1913 Red Sox outfielder and future Hall of Famer Harry Hooper becomes the first major leaguer to start both games of a doubleheader with a home run. The feat will not occur again until 1993 when A's leadoff hitter Rickey Henderson opens each game of a twin bill against Cleveland with a homer.

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1921 During an impressive Memorial Day ceremony at the Polo Grounds, the Eddie Grant Memorial, erected in memory of a former Giants player killed in World War I, is dedicated. Under the watchful eye of Baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the five-foot-high monument, located at the base of the clubhouse wall in center field, 465 feet from home plate, is unveiled by the Harvard-educated third baseman's sisters Florence Grant Robinson and Louise Grant Winters.

1922 Chicago outfielder Cliff Heathcote and Redbird right fielder Max Flack exchange their Cardinal and Cub uniforms after being traded for one another between games of a doubleheader. The fly chasers will both get hits for their new teams in the nightcap of the Cubs Park twin bill, in a sweep by the home team, 4-1 and 3-1.

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1925 Between games of a doubleheader against the Pirates at Forbes Field, second baseman Rogers Hornsby, who will continue to be an active player, replaces Branch Rickey as the Cardinals manager. Rickey will continue as the team's general manager until 1942.

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1927 Cubs' shortstop Jimmy Cooney completes an unassisted triple play as he snares Paul Waner's liner, steps on second to double up Paul's brother, Lloyd, and then tags Clyde Barnhart coming from first for the third out
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1930 Rogers Hornsby receives his MVP award and is given a thousand gold coins by National League president John Heydler at a ceremony at home plate before the Cubs' contest against St. Louis. Ironically, the 'Rajah' will break his ankle while advancing to third base during the Wrigley Field contest and will not play again until the middle of August.

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1932 After dropping a twin bill, some White Sox players accuse George Moriarty of deliberately blowing calls against their team. The umpire, a former Pale Hose player, challenges his accusers to a fight when he knocks down pitcher Milt Gaston with one punch, skipper Lew Fonseca and backstops Charlie Berry and Frank Grube even the score by thrashing the aggressive arbitrator.

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1932 In a pregame ceremony, the Yankees dedicate a plaque in memory of skipper Miller Huggins. Their former manager, who died near the end of last season, would be delighted with today's doubleheader sweep of the Red Sox, 7-5 and 13-3.

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1934 Ben Chapman breaks up Earl Whitehill's no-hitter at Yankee Stadium at the bottom of the ninth inning. Last season, after being provoked, the Bronx Bomber left fielder hit the right-hander with a punch in the passageway, causing a melee between the two teams, resulting in a 20-minute delay of the game before the police could restore order.

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1934 Burleigh Grimes notches the last victory by a pitcher legally allowed to throw a doctored pitch, tossing four innings of shutout ball in relief in the Yankees' 5-4 extra-inning triumph over the Senators in the Bronx. The 40-year-old spitballer, who records his 270th and final career win, is the last of the 17 hurlers who received permission to throw the banned pitches altered by a foreign substance after being outlawed in 1920.

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1935 At the Baker Bowl, Babe Ruth of the Boston Braves plays his final major league game, going hitless in a first-inning at-bat against the Phillies. On June 2, the former Yankees superstar will announce his retirement from baseball.

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1938 A new Yankee Stadium attendance record is set as 81,841 fans attend a Memorial Day doubleheader against the Red Sox. The Bronx Bombers sweep the twin bill, 10-0 and 5-4, with the nightcap ending on a wild throw by Boston's third baseman Pinky Higgins.

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1943 With contests played in Rockford (Illinois) and Racine (Wisconsin), the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League begins the first season of its 12-year existence. The original AAGPBL four-team circuit, which includes the war-production cities of Kenosha (Wisconsin) and South Bend (Indiana), will attract 176,612 baseball enthusiasts during the league's inaugural season.

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1946 In Boston's 10-8 victory over the Dodgers, Bama Rowell's long drive hits the Bulova clock above the right-field scoreboard, marking the first time a major leaguer reaches the famous Ebbets Field landmark. The crushing blow that shatters the face of the clock, causing the glass to cascade onto Dodgers' Dixie Walker, becomes the inspiration for Bernard Malamud to having Roy Hobbs, the hero of his 1952 novel, The Natural, belt a similar home run, which also rains glass over the diamond.

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1956 Mickey Mantle comes within 18 inches of becoming the first player to hit a home run out of Yankee Stadium. The prodigious poke off Senators' right-hander Pedro Ramos was still climbing when the ball struck the facade in the upper stands in right field.

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1956 At Yankee Stadium, Billy and his brothers attend their first big-league game with their dad, Jack Crystal. The future show biz superstar, who will write and perform a one-man play about his father and develop a movie script about the 1961 Yankees, tremendously enjoys watching his beloved Bronx Bombers sweep a mid-week doubleheader from the Senators, 4-3 and 12-5.