BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

1970 With his third-inning RBI single in the Braves' 5-3 victory over Pittsburgh, Rico Carty establishes an Atlanta team record by getting a hit in his 23rd consecutive game. The 30-year-old left fielder, who hasn't had a hitless game since Opening Day, will win the National League batting title with a .366 average.

​

1975 In the team's 8-6 loss to the Giants at Candlestick Park, the Astros' Bob Watson scores the major league's one-millionth run, winning $10,000 and one million Tootsie Rolls provided by the event's sponsor. The Houston first baseman crosses the plate on Milt May's homer just seconds ahead of the Reds' Dave Concepcion to earn the distinction, thanks to a teammate's awareness of the situation from a clubhouse TV, alerting the trotting baserunner to run home at full speed.

​

1976 Illinois Eugene F. Schlickman, a co-author of the House of Representative Resolution 747 declaring today as Rick Monday Day, will be in attendance when Los Angeles' GM Al Campanis presents Rick Monday with the flag about to be burned in the outfield at Dodger Stadium. Last month, the former Marine reservist ran in from his position, swiping the 'Stars and Stripes' away from a father and a son who intended to set the Stars and Stripes on fire.

​

 

1981 In the first inning, Jose Cruz's three-run home run proves to be the difference in the Astros' 5-4 win over Chicago. The Houston left fielder's brother, Hector, homers for the Cubs in the sixth frame of the Wrigley Field contest, making the natives of Arroyo (PR) the tenth different pair of siblings to go deep in the same game.


1981 Ron Davis establishes a major league mark for consecutive strikeouts by a reliever when he fans eight straight Angel batters in the Yankees' 4-2 victory over California. The right-handed reliever, entering the game in the bottom of the seventh inning, gets Don Baylor to pop up, and then he proceeds to strike out all of the other hitters he faces en route to his second save of the season.

​

1984 Dave Kingman's 180-foot pop-up enters a drainage valve located in the Metrodome roof, and much to the surprise of the Twins infielders waiting to make the catch, the ball doesn't fall into play. The A's slugger goes to second base with a ground-rule double, with the will ball staying in the dome's lining until tomorrow.

1985 Baltimore's Cal Ripken, en route to baseball's all-time mark for consecutive games, breaks Brooks Robinson's club record when he plays in his 464th straight contest. The Orioles shortstop marks the occasion by hitting a double and a home run in the Birds' 8-6 loss to the Twins at the Metrodome.

​

1989 Junior Felix becomes the 53rd player in major league history to hit a home run in his first at-bat. The Blue Jay rookie's initial blast comes off California's Kirk McCaskill in a 10-inning loss to the Angels, 3-2.


1989 At Arlington Stadium, before the Rangers' 11-7 loss to the Yankees, Barbara Bush, wife of the 41st president of the United States, becomes the first First Lady to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a regular-season major league game. George's spouse, the mother of George W., the team's managing general partner, does the honors after promoting her literacy program.

 

1991 At Shea Stadium, Mackey Sasser and Mark Carreon, the first two batters in the ninth inning, go deep as pinch-hitters off Jeff Brantley to knot the score at two runs apiece in the Mets' eventual 4-2 victory over San Francisco in 12 innings. It is the first time in the 30-year history of the franchise that two pinch-hitters have hit back-to-back round-trippers.

​

1991 Chris James establishes the club record for RBIs in a game by driving in nine runs with a pair of homers and two singles, helping the Indians crush the A's, 20-6. The first baseman's offensive output will account for 22% of the 41 runs he will drive in for Cleveland this season.

1996 A fifth-inning home run by Mark Lewis is the only hit Ranger right-hander Roger Pavlik yields in his 3-1 complete-game victory over Detroit. Teammate Ken Hill, who retired the last 26 batters he faced yesterday, also allowed only one hit, making Texas the first American League club in 79 years to have one-hitters thrown in consecutive games.

​

1999 After 6,136 at-bats without a bases-loaded homer, Mark Grace hits his first career grand slam in the Cubs' 12-11 victory over Colorado at Wrigley Field. The Chicago first baseman's accomplishment now leaves Reds' shortstop Barry Larkin as the only active player with the longest drought with the bases juiced, spanning 5,817
at-bats.

​

 

2000 Doug Glanville collects five hits in a game for the second time in his career in the Phillies' 14-1 pounding of Cincinnati at Veterans Stadium. The Philadelphia outfielder's first hit, a lead-off two-bagger, is the first of four consecutive doubles hit in the bottom of the first frame to start the game, tying a major league record.

2001 En route to a Blue Jay 8-3 victory over Seattle, Raul Mondesi strokes four extra-base hits, collecting 12 total bases. The outfielder's 4-for-4 performance includes two home runs, a pair of doubles, and six RBIs.

2005 The fifth pair of 300-game winners face off against each other when Cubs starter Greg Maddux (305) bests Roger Clemens (329) and the Astros at Minute Maid Park, 3-2. The other pair of milestone moundsmen includes Don Sutton vs. Steve Carlton (1987), Don Sutton vs. Phil Niekro (1987), Don Sutton vs. Tom Seaver (1986), and Tim Keefe vs. Jim 'Pud' Galvin (1892).

​

2006 In its May 8 issue, Forbes Magazine estimates the New York Yankees are the first baseball team worth more than $1 billion. At the opposite end of the economic study are the $209 million Devil Rays, valued the least among the 30 major league teams.

2006 On the first pitch he sees in his first major league at-bat, Mike Napoli hits a home run at Detroit's Comerica Park. The Angels catcher becomes the third player in franchise history to make such a dramatic debut, joining Don Rose (1972) and Dave Machemer (1978), who also accomplished the feat.

2006 The Nationals' new owners are on hand for the groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Washington ballpark, a venue they hope will be ready at the start of the 2008 season. Theodore Lerner, head of the ownership group chosen by MLB yesterday to buy the team, has already thought of changes for the $611 million neighborhood ballpark.

 

2007 Except for Nick Altrock's 1933 at-bat against the A's Rube Walberg, the second-inning Chase Field matchup of Mets first baseman Julio Franco against Diamondback fireballer Randy Johnson marks the oldest hitter-pitcher confrontation in big-league history. With a mere 92+ years of age between them, the nearly 49-year-old goes deep off the southpaw, who is four months shy of 44, to extend his record as the oldest player to homer, and with his ninth-inning swipe of second, he continues to be the most senior to steal a base.

​

The oldest matchup in MLB history occurred on the season's final day when 57-year-old pinch-hitter Nick Altrock, in his only plate appearance in 1933, faced Rube Walberg, 37, for a combined age of 94 years - 80 days.

2008 Yogi Berra is one of the 15 inaugural honorees inducted into the newly conceived New Jersey Hall of Fame. Although the Yankee legend considers fellow inductee Albert Einstein to be "a pretty smart guy," he is not convinced the Nobel Prize winner for physics would have made a good manager.

2009 With their 7-2 win over Arizona, the Dodgers establish a National League record for consecutive victories to open a season at home. Their 11-0 start surpasses the NL mark shared by the 1918 Giants, 1970 Cubs, and 1983 Braves and is one shy of the major-league record set by the Tigers in 1911.

2009 Ryan Howard's grand slam powers the Phillies past St. Louis at Busch Stadium, 6-1. The slugging first baseman's seventh career grand salami ties Mike Schmidt's franchise record.

​

2009 In the bottom of the second inning, with two runners aboard at Dodger Stadium, the Diamondbacks pull off their second triple play in franchise history. The 6-4-3 triple killing starts with shortstop Josh Wilson's backhanded grab of Casey Blake's scorching line drive (1), with his throw to Felipe Lopez doubling off Russell Marin at second (2), and Matt Kemp becoming the third out when the relay easily beats him back to first base (3).

 

2010 The Phillies announce the team is discussing with the Philadelphia Police Department the appropriateness of using a stun gun at Citizens Bank Park. Yesterday, a city police officer tasered a 17-year-old when the young fan jumped onto the playing field of Citizens Bank Park.

2010 During the seventh-inning stretch in a game against Detroit, the fans honor Ernie Harwell with a standing ovation upon hearing the broadcasting icon's death. In September, the 92-year-old Hall of Fame announcer, who started his major league career with Brooklyn in 1948 and spent 42 years broadcasting Tiger games, publicly shared his diagnosis of inoperable bile duct cancer.

2010 "He brings out the best in his players and exemplifies what the sport of baseball is supposed to be about -- hustle, grit, loyalty, and determination." - U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), praising Braves' manager Bobby Cox. At the United States Capitol, Senators Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) present Bobby Cox framed copies of their statements submitted into the Congressional Record on April 20, honoring the Braves' skipper. The 68-year-old skipper has announced he will be retiring at the end of the season after 51 seasons in professional baseball.

​

 

2012 A winning bid made at Heritage Auctions of items from the collection of LA songwriter Seth Swirsky includes an anonymous buyer paying $418,250 for the baseball hit by Mookie Wilson that rolled through the legs of Bill Buckner in Games of the 1986 World Series. Reggie Jackson's third home run ball from Game 6 of the 1977 Fall Classic ($65,725), the Ranger cap that Jose Canseco was wearing in 1993 when a ball bounced off his head over the wall for a homer ($11,950), and a 1965 baseball signed by the Beatles from the Shea Stadium concert ($65,725) also fetch record amounts.

2013 En route to his first major league win, Marlin rookie right-hander Jose Fernandez hurls one-hit ball, striking out nine in the team's 2-0 victory over Philadelphia. Mike Dunn's perfect eighth and closer Steve Cishek's save follows the 20-year-old's superb seven-inning outing to preserve the one-hitter at Citizens Bank Park.

2018 Angels' first baseman Albert Pujols records his 3,000th career hit when he singles off Mike Leake in the fifth inning of the team's 5-0 victory over the Mariners at Safeco Field. The historic base hit ties the ten-time All-Star for 31st on baseball's all-time hit list with Roberto Clemente, who he will pass with his second hit later in the contest.

​

************************************
195,656

 

​

 

Today In 1933: Brooklyn honors Pittsburgh #Pirates legend Honus Wagner! (Pictured L-R) Borough President Henry Hesterberg, Honus Wagner and boxing legend Jack Dempsey
​

 

May the 4th be with you, 1871.
First professional league game; Fort Wayne over Cleveland, 2-0.
​

 

66 topps​

 

Sammy Sosa
​

 

Reggie Jackson, Rod Carew, and Gary Pettis
​

 

CASEYisms
"The secret of managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided." "The Yankees don't pay me to win every day, just two out of three." "They got a lot of kids now whose uniforms are so tight, especially the pants, that they cannot bend over to pick up ground balls.


"The Yankees don't pay me to win every day, just two out of three."

"They say he's (Yogi Berra) funny. Well, he has a lovely wife and family, a beautiful home, money in the bank, and he plays golf with millionaires. What's funny about that?"

"They say some of my stars drink whiskey, but I have found that ones who drink milkshakes don't win many ball games."

"They told me my services were no longer desired because they wanted to put in a youth program as an advance way of keeping the club going. I'll never make the mistake of being seventy again."

"This club (1969 New York Mets) plays better baseball now. Some of them look fairly alert."

"We (the Mets) are a much improved ball club, now we lose in extra innings!"

"Well, that's baseball. Rags to riches one day and riches to rags the next. But I've been in it thirty-six years and I'm used to it." Source: The Sporting News (November 3, 1948)

"We've (1962 New York Mets) got to learn to stay out of triple plays."

​

 

MAY 5 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
**************************************
1857 Lee Richmond pitcher (first ever MLB perfect game 1880), born in Sheffield, Ohio (d. 1929)


1883 Charles "Chief" Bender HOF pitcher (only indigenous American in BHOF; World Series 1910, 11, 13; no-hitter 1910; Philadelphia A's)'


1925 Bob Cerv (Yankees)


1967 Charles Nagy pitcher (Olympic gold 1988; MLB All-Star 1992, 96, 99; Cleveland Indians)


1970 Juan Acevedo (Colorado Rockies) Pitcher


1981 Chris Duncan St Louis


******************

 

This Day in Baseball History
May 5th​

1904 Cy Young tosses the first perfect game in American League history, defeating Rube Waddell and the Philadelphia A's, 3-0. The Red Sox right-hander's gem is the first perfect game thrown in the majors since the decision to increase the distance between the mound and plate from 45 feet to 60 feet, six inches in 1893.

​

1913 American League president Ban Johnson suspends George Stovall indefinitely due to the Browns' manager spitting tobacco juice into Charlie Ferguson's face after being ejected by the umpire two days ago in the team's 11-8 loss to the Naps at Sportsman's Park. The banishment will last 17 days, ending on the condition the controversial skipper sends the arbitrator a letter of apology.

1917 Thanks to the St. Louis scorer's decision to turn Buck Weaver's first-inning questionable hit into an error, Browns' hurler Ernie Koob throws a no-hitter at Sportsman's Park. The southpaw beats Ed Cicotte and the White Sox, 1-0.

​

1925 At Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, Ty Cobb establishes an American League record with 16 total bases, lasting until 2012 when Rangers' outfielder Josh Hamilton collects 18. The Georgia Peach's 6-for-6 performance, which includes three homers, two singles, and a double, helps the Tigers defeat the hometown Browns, 14-8.


1929 In the first Sunday home game the Braves ever play, Milt Gaston, with his brother Alex behind the plate, relieves Red Ruffing in the seventh inning to become the second pair of siblings in American League history to be batterymates. Tommy and Homer Thompson appeared in one game together for the Yankees in 1912 and were the first.

​

1930 The Red Sox trade Red Ruffing to the Yankees for $50,000 and Cedric Durst, who will hit .245 in 102 games during his only season in Boston. New York's new right-hander, a future Hall of Famer, will post a 231-124 (.651) record and an ERA of 3.47 during his 15 seasons with the Bronx ball club.

​

 

1953 In the second game of a twin bill at Milwaukee's County Stadium, Braves' hurler Max Surkont strikes out the hitter for the third out of the second inning and will continue to fan batters until there is one out in the fifth inning en route to a 10-3 victory over the Reds. The eight consecutive strikeouts establish a new major league record, surpassing the seven straight shared by Dazzy Vance (Robins/Dodgers, 1924) and Van Mungo (Dodgers, 1936).

​

1955 In his first major league start, Dodger rookie Tommy Lasorda ties a record, throwing three wild pitches in the first inning of the team's 4-3 victory over St. Louis at Ebbets Field. During his one inning of work, the future Dodgers' Hall of Fame skipper will be spiked by Wally Moon, covering a play at home plate after uncorking one of his errant pitches.'

​

1955 The musical Damn Yankees, based on Douglass Wallop's novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant, opens on Broadway. The comedy, set in Washington, DC, during the Bronx Bombers' dominance in baseball in the 1950s, tells the tale of an aging Washington Senators fan's bargain with the devil to help his hapless team.

1958 Behind ten runs entering the final frame, the Giants score nine times in an unforgettable 11-10 loss to Pittsburgh. With the bases loaded, pinch-hitter Don Taussig pops out to end the game and San Francisco's remarkable comeback attempt at Seals Stadium.

 

1962 In his fourth big league start, Bo Belinsky throws the first hitless game in Angels history and the first one ever tossed at Dodger Stadium, beating the Orioles, 2-0. The 25-year-old southpaw is only the tenth rookie to throw a no-hitter.

​

1965 In a match-up of eventual Hall of Famers at Shea Stadium, Phillies' right-hander Jim Bunning beats the Mets, 1-0, for his sixth straight complete-game victory over the New Yorkers. The Philadelphia starter provides the game's lone run with a sixth-inning lead-off solo homer run off southpaw Warren Spahn, who also goes the distance, giving up just four hits.

​

1978 At Riverfront Stadium, Pete Rose becomes the 13th player in major league history to collect his 3000th hit, a single to left field off Montreal right-hander Steve Rogers. The Reds' legend reaches the milestone in his 16th major league season, quicker than any of the other dozen players who have accomplished the feat.

​

1980 For pushing his glove in the face of umpire Jerry Crawford, Bill Madlock is suspended for 15 days and fined $5,000 by National League president Chub Feeney. The fiery Pirates' infielder, called Mad Dog by his teammates, became upset after being called out on strikes with the bases loaded in the fifth inning of the Bucs' 2-1 victory over Montreal four days ago.

​

 

1995 Thirty-three years after Don Zimmer played third base in the franchise's first contest, Edgardo Alfonzo becomes the 100th player in Mets history to cover the 'hot corner.' Howard Johnson played the most games at the position, appearing in 835 games for New York in eight seasons.


1999 Beating the Cubs, 13-6, the Rockies become only the third team in the 1900s to score a run in every inning. The 1964 Cardinals accomplished the feat against the Cubs, and the Giants scored in every frame against the Phillies in 1923.

2000 Cardinals' first baseman Mark McGwire hits the longest home run in the 30-year history of Riverfront Stadium/Cinergy Field, but the 473-foot shot isn't enough as Ken Griffey Jr.'s homer leads the Reds past St. Louis, 3-2.

​

2000 For the first time in team history, the Rangers overcome an eight-run deficit, beating Oakland, 17-16. The teams tie an American League record when 18 different players scored, including every starter, first accomplished during a Reds/A's contest on June 29, 1950.

2000 "We came for the gold, and we got it." - TOMMY LASORDA, manager of U.S. Olympic team.
Former big-league skipper Tommy Lasorda, 72, is named manager of the United States Olympic baseball team. The Hall of Fame pilot, who won four National League pennants and two World Series titles with the Dodgers, will add a Gold Medal to his accomplishments when Team USA beats heavily-favored Cuba in the contest known as the Miracle on Grass.

​