BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

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4/23
OTD
BIRTHDAYS
1900 Jim Bottomley player, born in Oglesby, Illinois (d. 1959)

1921 Warren Spahn Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (17 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1957; Cy Young Award
1957; 8 × NL wins leader; Boston/Milwaukee Braves), born in Buffalo, New York (d. 2003) “Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.” -- A popular saying from the 1948 baseball season.

1924 Chuck Harmon player, born in Washington, Indiana

1967 Rhéal Cormier, Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (St. Louis Cardinals; Philadelphia Phillies; Boston Red Sox), born in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada (d. 2021) [1]

1977 Andruw Jones player, born in Willemstad, Curaçao

1981 Sean Henn player (NY Yankees), born in Fort Worth, Texas

 

FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1902 In his major league debut, Luis Castro plays second base for Connie Mack's Philadelphia's A's in an 8-1 victory over the Orioles at Oriole Park. The 25-year-old Medellin native is the first and last player from Colombia to appear in the big leagues until Orlando Ramrez breaks in with the Angels in 1974.
1903 The Highlanders, previously called the Orioles before their recent move from Baltimore, win their first game representing New York. Spitballer Harry Howell goes the distance, throwing a two-hitter to get the win when the team that will become known as the Yankees beats Washington at American League Park, 7-2.

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1919 Senator right-hander Walter Johnson records his fifth Opening Day shutout, beating the A's at Griffith Stadium, 1-0. The Philadelphia starter Scott Perry matches zeros with the 'Big Train' for a dozen frames until pinch-runner Mike Menosky scores the decisive run for Washington with one out in the bottom of the 13th inning.

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1921 Warren Spahn is born in Buffalo, New York, the son of a wallpaper salesman who had once played semi-pro baseball. The future Hall of Fame southpaw, a mainstay with the Braves in the 1950s, is named after Warren Harding, a right-hander recently sworn in as the president of the United States.
1924 On WMAQ, Hal Totten, a Chicago Daily News play-by-play reporter, does a play-by-play radio report of the 12-1 Cubs' victory over the Cardinals. The broadcast of every Cub and White Sox home game of the season marks the first time a team's games are aired regularly on the airwaves.

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1939 At Griffith Stadium, Senators' right-hander Alejandro Carrasquel faces the Yankees in his major league debut. The 26-year-old from Caracas becomes the first player from Venezuela to appear in a major league game.
1944 Hack Miller homers in his first major league at-bat, hitting a three-run shot off Indian southpaw starter Al Smith in the eighth inning of the Tigers' 4-3 victory over the Tribe at Cleveland Stadium. The 31-year-old rookie backstop, with only ten plate appearances, will hit .444 during a brief two-year stint with Detroit.

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1952 Both starters at Sportsman's Park toss a one-hitter, but Browns' southpaw Bob Cain gets the victory when he beats Bob Feller and the Indians, 1-0. The lone run of the contest scores in the bottom of the first frame when third baseman Al Rosen's error allows Bobby Young, who tripled to lead off the inning, to cross the plate.

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1952 At the Polo Grounds, Hoyt Wilhelm hits a home run in his first major league at-bat, a fourth-inning blast off Dick Hoover in the Giants' 9-5 victory over the Braves. During the next 21 years, covering 1070 games and 432 official at-bats, the knuckle-balling future Hall of Fame hurler will never homer again.

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1954 At Busch Stadium, Hank Aaron hits the first of his 755 career home runs in his seventh major league game. The Milwaukee outfielder's sixth-inning solo round-tripper comes on a pitch thrown by Cardinal right-hander Vic Raschi in the Braves' 7-6 extra-inning victory in St. Louis.

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1955 At Kansas City's Municipal Stadium, the White Sox tie a modern major league mark for most runs scored by a single team in a game when the team drubs the A's, 29-6. The Red Sox also scored 29 runs against the Browns in 1950.
1958 In a 7-6 loss to Chicago at the LA Coliseum, two Dodger mainstays from Brooklyn reach career milestones. First baseman Gil Hodges, who will finish his 18-year major league tenure with 370 home runs, hits his 300th career round-tripper, and Captain Pee Wee Reese, a future Hall of Fame shortstop, plays in his 2000th game.

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1961 Art Mahaffey sets a franchise record when he strikes out 17 batters in the Phillies' 6-0 victory over Chicago. The 23-year-old right-hander whiffs at least one hitter in each inning during the Connie Mack Stadium contest.

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1962 In the team's tenth attempt, the Mets win their first game in franchise history, defeating the Pirates at Forbes Field, 9-1. Jay Hook's five-hit complete-game victory snaps Pittsburgh's record-tying winning streak of 10 games from the start of the season without a loss.
1962 Colt Stadium, Ken Johnson becomes the first pitcher to lose a nine-inning no-hitter when the Reds beat the Colt .45's, 1-0. Pete Rose, attempting to bunt, reaches second on a throwing error by the pitcher, scores the game's lone run in the top of the ninth inning when Nellie Fox boots Vada Pinson's two-out ground ball to second base.

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1969 At Memorial Stadium, the Orioles walk off the Tigers, 3-2, in an extra-inning pitching duel that features Detroit's Denny McLain retiring 21 straight batters and Baltimore's Mike Cuellar getting 20 consecutive hitters. Mark Belanger's tenth-inning single plates Ellie Hendricks, who had doubled to start the final frame to snap the Detroit right-hander's streak, with the winning run for the Birds.

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1969 The Boston fans at Fenway Park warmly welcome back team legend Ted Williams when he emerges from the visitor's dugout to exchange lineups with the umpires. At home plate, the new Washington manager shakes hands with Red Sox coach and dear friend Bobby Doerr, much to the crowd's delight

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1972 Trailing by four runs at Candlestick Park, the Astros score ten times in the ninth inning to beat the Giants, 13-7. Seven hits, two walks, a passed ball, and an error fuel the fireworks in the final frame.
1978 Joe Morgan's major league record streak of 91 consecutive errorless games for a second baseman comes to an end. The Reds infielder's errant toss during a second-inning rundown is the first error he has committed since July 6, 1977.

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1985 Don Baylor collects his 999th and 1000th RBIs when he hits a two-run home run off Oil Can Boyd in the bottom of the sixth inning to put the Bronx Bombers on the board in New York's 5-4 extra-inning loss to Boston at Yankees Stadium. The 36 year-old outfielder/DH will end his 19-year career driving in 1276 runs.

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1990 White Sox utility player Steve Lyons plays all nine positions during an exhibition game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. 'Psycho,' however, will not join the small list of players, including Bert Campaneris(1965 A's) and Cesar Tovar (1968 Twins), who have accomplished the feat in a major league game.​

1995 In the Dodgers' 8-4 victory over the Mets at Holman Stadium, Henry Rodriguez becomes the first to hit four homers in a spring training game. The LA right fielder sends a 3-0 fastball from Josias Manzanillo over the fence, capping a perfect 4-for-4 performance at the plate, much to the delight of the Vero Beach (FL) crowd.
1999 Fernando Tatis becomes the only player in baseball history to hit two grand slams in one inning when he collects eight RBIs in one frame to breaks the old record of six. The Cardinal third baseman hits both off Dodger starter Chan Ho Park in an 11-run third of the team's 12-5 victory at Chavez Ravine

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2000 At Toronto's SkyDome, Yankees Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada, in a 10-7 victory over the Blue Jays, become the first teammates to each homer from both sides of the plate in the same game. Felipe Lopez and Tony Clark will become the second pair of teammates to accomplish the feat, also homering from each side of the plate for the Diamondbacks on Opening Day in 2009.

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2000 The Dodgers complete a sweep of the Reds to notch their 1,000th win over baseball's oldest professional franchise. Since 1970, Los Angeles is the only National League franchise to play over .500 ball (120-115) in Cincinnati (Riverfront Stadium/Cinergy Field).
2006 Keith Hernandez is reprimanded by Sportsnet New York, the Mets' television network, for comments made last night about the female in full uniform sitting in the Padres dugout. Spotting Kelly Calabrese, the Padres' full-time massage therapist, the Mets broadcaster remarked women "don't belong in the dugout" and apologized for his insensitive comments during the telecast.
2007 Riding as a passenger in a car near San Francisco, 73-year-old Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Halberstam dies in an auto accident. The prolific writer's books covered various topics in American history, including pennant races (The Summer of '49), World Series (October 1964), and ballplayers who were lifelong friends (Teammates).
2008 Joining the Giants, the Cubs become the second franchise in major league history to win 10,000 games, beating the Rockies in a ten-inning contest at Coors Field, 7-6. Chicago, which has won six in a row and is off to a 15-6 start for only the fourth time in the last century, has a 10,000-9,465 all-time won-loss record during their 122 years of existence in the Windy City.
2010 All-Star Ben Zobrist agrees to a three-year contract extension with the Rays that guarantees him $18 million for 2010-13. The team's MVP last season, obtained in 2006 from Houston in the Aubrey Huff trade, had agreed to a one-year deal in March worth $438,100.

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2010 The Rays' 10-2 victory over Chicago concludes a 9-1 road trip, making it the team's winningest road trip in the 13-year history of the franchise. Tampa's success on the road translates into a 12-4 record overall, their best start ever.

 

2013 Atlanta teammates Justin and B.J. Upton both hit home runs in the Braves' 10-2 rout of Colorado at Coors Field. The round-trippers mark the 27th time in major league history that brothers have homered in the same game but only the second time in consecutive at-bats since 1938 when Lloyd and Paul Waner went back-to-back for the Pirates.

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2014 Conrado Marrero, the oldest living former major leaguer, dies two days before his 103rd birthday. The 5-foot, 5-inch Cuban right-hander, named the American League All-Star team in 1951, compiled a 39-40 record with an ERA of 3.96 during his five seasons with the Senators.

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2014 Due to his effort to get a better grip on the baseball on a chilly spring night at Fenway Park, Michael Pineda, will be ejected in the second inning for using pine tar after trying to conceal the foreign substance on his neck. The Yankees right-hander will get a ten-day suspension for using the sticky material, which is usually overlooked by opponents when discreetly used since it does not affect the ball's flight.
2018 Jenny Cavna, the Rockies’ pre-and post-game host, becomes the first woman in 22 years to do televised play-by-play for a major league game when she details the action in the team's 13-5 loss against the Padres at Coors Field. At the Metrodome in 1996, Yankee commentator Suzyn Waldman, after being an analyst for the first two games of the series, described the action in the Bronx Bombers' 9-5 defeat of the Twins on a WPIX telecast.
2021 Jacob deGrom, fanning 15, becomes the first pitcher to strike out 50 batters through his first four games to start a season, breaking the mark of 48 established earlier this week by Indians' starter Shane Bieber. With his 6-0 complete-game victory over the Nationals, the 32-year-old Mets right-hander joins Pedro Martinez (Red Sox, 1999) and Gerrit Cole (Astros, 2019) as the only pitchers to strike out 14 or more batters in three consecutive starts.

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6,771

 

Today in Baseball History
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On April 23 in Baseball History...

• • 1903 - The New York Highlanders won their first major-league game with a 7-2 decision over the Washington Senators.
  • 1919 - Anticipating a poor season at the gate, the major leagues open a reduced 140-game season. Despite the lack of close races, attendance remains high all year and every club will show a profit.
  • 1936 - Carl Hubbell's first start of the season is a three-hitter against the Boston Bees. For the Giants ace, it is his 17th straight win, dating back to July 17 of 1935.
  • 1939 - Rookie Ted Williams went 4-for-5, including his first major-league home run, but the Boston Red Sox lost to Philadelphia, 12-8, at Fenway Park.
  • 1946 - Ed Head of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitches a 5-0 no-hitter against the Boston Braves at Ebbetts Field.
  • 1952 - Bob Cain of the Browns and Bob Feller of the Indians each pitch one hitters, with the Browns prevailing 1-0. This ties a major league record for the fewest hits by two teams in a game (since broken). Bobby Young hits a triple in the first inning and scores on an Al Rosen error as the Browns move into first place. The Indians only hit is a single by Luke Easter. For Feller, it is the fourth time he's tossed a one-hitter against the Brownies.
  • 1952 - Future Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm of the New York Giants wins his first major league game. He pitches five innings in relief in a 9-5 win and homers in his first at bat against the Braves' Dick Hoover. It is Wilhelm's only major league home run in 1,070 games.
  • 1954 - At Sportsman's Park, Hank Aaron hits the first of his 755 major league home runs off Vic Raschi of St. Louis. The Braves win in fourteen innings 7-5.
  • 1958 - Gil Hodges hits his 300th home run and Pee Wee Reese plays in his 2,000th game, but the Dodgers lose 7-6 to the Cubs.
  • 1962 - Jay Hook gives the New York Mets their first regular-season victory, a five-hit 9-1 win at Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is now 10-1 for the season, but the Bucs will lose 13 of their next 17 games.
  • 1964 - Houston's Ken Johnson becomes the first pitcher ever to lose a nine-inning no-hitter. Second baseman Nellie Fox's error allows the only run as Cincinnati wins 1-0.
  • 1978 - Reds second baseman Joe Morgan commits an error during a 2-1 win over the Giants, ending his major league record streak of 91 consecutive errorless games which began July 6, 1977.
  • 1989 - Nolan Ryan came within two outs of his sixth career no-hitter, losing it when Nelson Liriano tripled in the ninth inning as the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-1. Ryan finished with his 10th lifetime one-hitter.
  • 1994 - Orioles closer Lee Smith picks up his ninth save in Baltimore's 16th game to reach nine saves faster than anyone else in major league history.
  • 1999 - The St. Louis Cardinals crushed the Los Angeles Dodgers 12�5. Third baseman Fernando Tatis set a Major League record by hitting two grand slams in a single inning (the 3rd). He simultaneously set a record with eight RBIs in that inning. Dodger Pitcher Chan Ho Park became the first pitcher this century, and only the second ever, to surrender two grand slams in a single inning joining Bill Phillips of the 1890 Alleghenys.

Baseball Birthdays on April 23...

• • 1861 - Peltz, John
  • 1875 - Ganley, Bob
  • 1882 - Walsh, Connie
  • 1886 - Coveleski, Harry
  • 1888 - Scott, Jim
  • 1895 - Knowlson, Tom
  • 1896 - Vangilder, Elam
  • 1898 - Dorman, Charlie
  • 1900 - Kelly, Joe
  • 1900 - Bottomley, Jim
  • 1905 - Bean, Belve
  • 1906 - Starr, Ray
  • 1907 - Camilli, Dolph
  • 1915 - Brown, Walter
  • 1916 - Creel, Jack
  • 1917 - Lupien, Tony
  • 1921 - Spahn, Warren
  • 1923 - Meeks, Sammy
  • 1924 - Harmon, Chuck
  • 1925 - Peterson, Buddy
  • 1935 - Blackburn, Ron
  • 1937 - Carmel, Duke
  • 1939 - Fernandez, Chico
  • 1945 - Rubio, Jorge
  • 1947 - Jacquez, Pat
  • 1949 - O'Brien, Bob
  • 1955 - Dixon, Tom
  • 1957 - Cias, Darryl
  • 1967 - Cormier, Rheal
  • 1968 - Velasquez, Guillermo
  • 1977 - Tyner, Jason
  • 1977 - Jones, Andruw

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