BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

2004 Major League Baseball announces each team, based on the comfort level of the franchise, will promote the movie Spider-Man 2 during the first weekend of interleague play, June 11th to 13. The promotion, seen as an opportunity to market the game to younger fans, will include placing a Spider-Man logo on all the bases.
MLB reverses its decision to have red-and-yellow ads appear on bases due to adverse fan reaction and the Yankees' lack of enthusiasm for the promotion, allowing the ads only during batting practice for just one game.

2004 Mets backstop Mike Piazza passes Carlton Fisk for most home runs hit by a catcher when he hits his 352nd round-tripper as a catcher. The Morristown (PA) native's 405-foot opposite-field historic homer comes off Jerome Williams' 3-1 fastball during the first inning of the Mets' 8-2 victory at Shea Stadium.

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2004 Roger Clemens moves ahead of Steve Carlton (4,136) into second place on the career strikeouts list when he gets Raul Mondesi swinging in the fifth inning of the Astros' 9-2 victory over Pittsburgh at Minute Maid Park. Nolan Ryan's all-time mark of 5,714 whiffs appears out of reach for the 41-year-old 'Rocket,' who would still need over 1500 to challenge the record.

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2008 At Coors Field, Derek Lowe throws 43 pitches before he retires the first Rockies batter of the game. The Dodgers starting pitcher never recovers from the 50-pitch, three-run first inning, leaving after the fifth of a 7-2 eventual loss to Colorado.

2008 In the 4,000th game played at Dodger Stadium, Joe Torre's Dodgers beat the Mets, 5-1. The Los Angeles skipper also managed the 1,000th game at the Astrodome (Mets - 1977) and Coors Field (Yankees - 2007), the 2,000th at Busch Stadium (Cardinals - 1991), the 3,000th at Angel Stadium (Yankees - 2003), and the 6,000th at Yankee Stadium (Yankees -2001).

 

2009 The Dodgers tie the major league record of 12 consecutive wins at home to start the season with their 3-1 victory over Arizona. L.A.'s 12-0 start at home equals the mark set by the Tigers in 1911.

2010 Satellite provider DirecTV and the Yes Network announce their plans to televise the first major league baseball game in three dimensions. The July 10th Safeco Field telecast between the Yankees and Mariners will be available to viewers with 3-D television sets in New York, Connecticut, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Montana, and Idaho.

2010 Boston honors their former All-Star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra with a special day before the Red Sox-Angels game at Fenway Park. During spring training, the two-time batting champ had signed a one-day contract to retire as a member of his original team.

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2015 Mitch Harris becomes the first graduate of any military academy to earn a major league victory when the Cardinals beat the Cubs at Busch Stadium, 7-4. The 29-year-old Redbird rookie right-hander, the first Naval Academy midshipman in 94 years to appear in a big-league game, sails through a scoreless fourth inning in relief to notch the historic decision.

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2021 John Means becomes the first individual Oriole hurler to throw a no-hitter since Jim Palmer accomplished the feat on Aug. 13, 1969. The lefty's gem, where he retires all 27 Mariners he faces, marks the first time a pitcher does not get credit for a perfect game due to the dropped-third-strike rule.


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Cy Young imparts some wisdom to young Bob Feller!
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MAY 6 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1931 Willie Mays Hall of Fame center fielder (24 x MLB All Star; 12 x Gold Glove Award; 660 career HRs, NL MVP 1954, 65; SF Giants, NY Mets)



1944 Masanori Murakami


1990 José Altuve second baseman (Houston Astros)

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This Day in Baseball History
May 6th​

1903 The White Stockings win the Southside Park contest, 10-9, with more errors (12) than hits (10), beating the Tigers in the Southside Park contest, 10-9. Chicago's dozen miscues tie the major league mark accomplished by the Tigers in 1901, and the teams combine to establish a new record with 18 errors, the most ever committed in a big-league game.

1906 At Pittsburgh's Exposition Park, the Pirates become the first team to cover the grass to prevent it from getting wet during a rainstorm. A canvas tarp keeps the infield dry for tomorrow's contest against the Cubs.

1915 At the Polo Grounds, Red Sox rookie pitcher Babe Ruth collects three hits, including his first home run. Homer number one, and his second round-tripper, hit two weeks later, comes off Yankees' hurler Jack' Crab' Warhop.


1917 For the second consecutive day, a Browns' hurler throws a no-hitter when Bob Groom keeps the White Sox hitless in the team's 3-0 victory in the nightcap. The 32-year-old right-hander also pitched two hitless innings in the first game of the twin bill, earning a save in the Sportsman's Park contest.

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1918 After Boston's GM Ed Barrow reluctantly agrees, Babe Ruth finally plays his first big-league game as a position player, starting at first base in the Red Sox's 10-3 loss to the Yankees. The 23-year-old southpaw, known for his prowess on the pitching mound, collects two hits in four at-bats, connecting for a two-run home run, the 11th of his career, off left-hander George Mogridge in the fourth inning of the Polo Grounds
contest.

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1925 Ty Cobb hits his fifth home run in two games, tying 1884 Cap Anson's record. The Tiger outfielder paces his club to an 11-4 victory over the Browns at Sportsman's Park.

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1929 The American League announces the discontinuation of the league's MVP award. In 1931, the Junior Circuit resumes the honor, naming A's southpaw Lefty Grove (31-4, 2.06) its most valuable player.

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1931 Future baseball legend Willie Mays is born in Westfield, Alabama, the son of Annie Satterwhite and William Mays. The Say Hey Kid's dad, called Cat due to his quick reflexes, was named after William Taft, the U.S. president elected in 1912, the same year Willie's father was born.

1934 At Fenway Park, Carl Reynolds, Moose Solters, Rick Ferrell, and Bucky Walters hit four consecutive triples. The quartet of three-baggers comes in the Red Sox' 12-run fourth inning en route to the team's 14-4 rout of Detroit.
Carl Reynolds Moose Solters

1937 Dodgers and Giants fans at the Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field are thrilled to have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the Hindenburg when the passenger airship appears over New York, nearing the end of its maiden voyage of the season from Germany. A few hours later, the majestic German zeppelin explodes on a landing strip in Lakehurst, N.J., killing 36 passengers.

 

1946 A's rookie Bobby Shantz is sensational in his second appearance, tossing nine hitless innings of relief in a 13-inning, 5-4 win over Detroit at Briggs Field. The 23-year-old southpaw, who made his major league debut five days ago, pitching two-thirds of an inning against Washington, gives up two hits and a run in his tenth inning of work but gets the victory because Wally Moses had a two-run home run in the top of the frame.

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1947 In a small office high up behind home plate at Ebbets Field, National League president Ford Frick meets with seven Cardinal players individually, revealing he is aware of their secret plan to strike as a protest to Jackie Robinson playing for the Dodgers. The usually non-confrontational leader of the Senior Circuit makes his position clear about their planned boycott, telling the Redbird conspirators they will encounter quick retribution from his office, including suspensions from baseball.

1951 Cliff Chambers becomes the first southpaw in franchise history to throw a no-hitter when he beats Boston, 3-0, in the nightcap of a doubleheader at Braves Field. The 29-year-old left-hander is also the first Buc hurler to accomplish the feat on the road.

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1953 In his first major league start, Alva Lee Holloman throws a no-hitter as a rookie, beating the A's in his first big league start, 6-0. The Browns' freshman will never pitch another complete game, and 'Bobo' will win just three games in his one-year career in the majors.

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1956 The Reds sweep the Phillies in a doubleheader at Crosley Field, 10-2 and 11-9. Cincinnati outfielder Gus Bell takes right-handed reliever Bob Miller deep in both ends of a doubleheader.

 

1962 Jim Bouton blanks the Senators at Yankee Stadium in his first major league start, 8-0. The right-handed rookie will describe the contest in his iconic book Ball Four as "the worst shutout in the history of the game," the 22-year-old, nearly removed from the game after 11 of his first 12 pitches missed the strike zone, gives up seven hits and walks seven.

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1964 Dave Nicholson hits a tape-measure home run, landing on the back of the left-field roof before bouncing out of Comiskey Park in the White Sox's 6-4 victory over Kansas City. The outfielder's monstrous shot becomes the source of a great exaggeration when unidentified team officials announce the ball traveled 573 feet, landing outside the Chicago south side ballpark.

1968 Larry Colton makes his only major league appearance, allowing one run on three hits in a two-inning relief stint for the Phillies in a 10-1 loss to Cincinnati at Crosley Field. The 25-year-old right-hander will author Counting Coup, a book detailing a true story of basketball and honor on the Little Big Horn that will earn a Pulitzer Prize nomination in 2000.

1968 Giants' reliever Lindy McDaniel sets a National League record, playing his 225th consecutive game without committing an error. The streak includes 108 chances handled successfully since June 16, 1964.

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1972 The Angels make quick work of Milwaukee, beating the visitors at Anaheim Stadium, 2-0. Andy Messersmith completes his two-hit masterpiece in one hour and thirty-one minutes, making the contest the quickest nine-inning game in franchise history.

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1974 A's pitcher Paul Lindblad's major league streak of 385 consecutive errorless games ends when he makes an errant pick-off throw in the first inning of a 6-3 loss to the Orioles. The southpaw will make only six errors during his 14 years in the major leagues, covering over 1200 innings on the mound.

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1978 Lee Lacy becomes the first major leaguer to pinch-hit home runs in consecutive at-bats when he homers leading off in the top of the ninth inning of the Dodgers' 3-2 loss to the Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium. The LA super-sub, who went deep as a pinch-hitter four days ago, continues the streak on May 17, hitting another round-tripper in his third straight appearance off the bench.

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1981 The Mariners replace manager Maury Wills, reportedly dealing with personal issues, with Rene Lachemann, the skipper of their Triple-A team in Spokane. The 48-year-old, the third black manager in major league history, compiled a 6-18 record this season, the worst start in the team's brief five-year history.

1981 In Rene Lachemann's first game as manager after replacing Murray Wills, the Mariners beat the Brewers at the Kingdome, 12-1. The victory stops right-hander Mike Parrott's 18-game losing streak, one loss shy of the AL record shared by Robert Groom (1909 Senators) and John Nabors (1916 A's).


1982 Gaylord Perry becomes the 15th major league player to win his 300th victory when he beats the Yankees at the Kingdome, 7-3. The 'Ancient Mariner' will end his 22-year career with 314 victories.

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1983 In a 4-2 California victory over Detroit at Tiger Stadium, Rod Carew, with his 3-for-4 performance, raises his current batting average to .500 (48-for-96). The Angels' first baseman will finish the season at .339, second-best in the A.L., when Wade Boggs leads the league with a .361 pace.

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1984 Cal Ripken becomes the second Oriole player to hit for the cycle, joining Brooks Robinson, who accomplished the feat in 1960. The Baltimore shortstop completes the rare event with a ninth-inning home run off Dave Tobik in the team's 6-1 victory over Texas at Arlington Stadium.

 

1994 The Cubs' 10-1 victory over the Pirates ends Anthony Young's 27-game losing streak as a starter and snaps Chicago's record 14-game drought at home. The hard-luck pitcher, who set a major league record with 27 consecutive losses while pitching for the Mets, 14 in a starting role and 13 as a reliever, had also made 27 straight starts without a win, although he threw 13 quality games in which his teams posted a 4-23 record.

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1998 In his fifth major league start, the Cubs’ rookie Kerry Wood, throwing 122 pitches, ties a major league record when he strikes out 20 batters in nine innings, limiting the Astros to one hit in the team's 2-0 win at Wrigley Field. In addition to matching Red Sox fireballer Roger Clemens' feat (Mariners-1986 and Tigers-1996), the 20-year-old Texan breaks the National League record of 19 strikeouts in a nine-inning game shared by Steve Carlton, David Cone, and Tom Seaver.

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2005 In a 6-5 win over the Cardinals, Trevor Hoffman becomes the third closer in major league history to save 400 games. The Padres reliever joins Lee Smith (478) and John Franco (424) as the other bullpen artists who have reached this milestone.


2007 The fans hear Roger Clemens will be a Yankee again, thanks to a dramatic seventh-inning announcement from the owner's box. The 44-year-old right-hander agrees to a one-year, $28-million contract, the highest single-season salary ever paid to a major-league player, to come out of retirement again and pitch in pinstripes for the remainder of the season.

2008 Tim Wakefield, 42, throws eight scoreless innings, and 41-year-old Mike Timlin does not allow a run in the ninth in the Red Sox' 5-0 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park. The game marks the first time in the post-1900 era two teammates over 40 years of age have combined to toss a shutout.


2008 Gavin Floyd loses his second no-hit bid in less than a month as Joe Mauer doubles with one out in the ninth in the White Sox' 7-1 victory over the Twins at U.S. Cellular Field. The Chicago right-hander, who leaves the contest to a standing ovation from the crowd with Bobby Jenks getting the last two outs, also flirted with a no-no 24 days ago against the Tigers, which ended when Edgar Renteria singled with one out in the eighth inning.

2009 With a 10-3 victory over Washington, the Dodgers break the major league mark for consecutive victories at home to open a season with their 13th straight win in L.A. The previous record of 12 was established in 1911 by the Tigers.

 

2010 Wade McGilberry wins a million dollars playing the video game Major League Baseball 2K10. The 23-year-old Mobile, Alabamian becomes the first gamer to pitch a perfect game in the Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.'s product, accomplishing the feat in just an hour and a half.

2010 From 7 a.m. till midnight, more than 10,000 Tigers fans, some of whom waited more than eight hours in line at Comerica Park, pay their respects to the beloved broadcaster Ernie Harwell. The open casket is placed near the ballpark's life-sized statue of the Hall of Famer, depicting the announcer with a microphone in his hand, with the inscription, "The Tigers' broadcasting legend and masterful storyteller for 42 seasons."

2011 The Royals sell ten thousand walk-up tickets on the day Royals' rookie Eric Hosmer makes his much-anticipated major league debut at Kauffman Stadium. The 21-year-old first baseman, who received the largest signing bonus in franchise history, goes hitless in his two official at-bats in a 3-2 loss to the A's, but he is walked twice and steals a base.

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2011 Jordan Zimmerman becomes the 30th National League hurler to throw an immaculate inning, needing only nine pitches to strike out the side in the second frame of the Nationals' 3-2 victory over the Marlins. The Washington right-hander, facing the 5-6-7 batters in the Sun Life Stadium contest, fans Giancarlo Stanton and Greg Dobbs swinging, getting a quick third out when John Buck looks at a third strike.

 

2012 For the first time since 1902, two position players get a decision in the same game with Chris Davis, who pitches two scoreless frames, winning the Orioles' 9-6 victory over the Red Sox. Boston outfielder Darnell McDonald is tagged with the loss when Adam Jones takes him deep for a three-run homer over the left-field wall for the eventual winning runs in the 17-inning contest at Fenway Park.

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2012 A performance of the Harvard baseball team lip-synching with choreographed dance moves to Canadian singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen's hit song "Call Me Maybe" is posted on YouTube. The video, made for their own entertainment to fight the boredom during road trips, will quickly go viral in a few days, bringing national attention to the players of the Crimson squad.

2012 After being drilled deliberately by Cole Hamels, Bryce Harper, gets even by swiping home plate when the Phillies starter makes a casual pick-throw to first base. Baseball suspends the left-hander, who admits his intention to hit the 19-year-old National rookie sensation, for five games for the incident with Washington's general manager Mike Rizzo fined for his incendiary comment when he labels Hamels as "gutless" for throwing at his player.

2012 Omar Vizquel becomes the oldest player to play shortstop in major league history when he starts in the Blue Jays' 4-3 loss to L.A. in Anaheim. The 45-year-old infielder surpasses Bobby Wallace, who played a dozen games with the Cardinals at 44 in 1918.

2014 The Pirates win the first instant-replay walk-off game in history when a replay review reverses umpire Quinn Wolcott's out call of Starling Marte trying to score, which, if correct, would have sent the game into extra innings. The PNC Park crowd enthusiastically cheers the Replay Operations Center's decision, giving the Bucs a dramatic 2-1 victory.

 

2015 "People who are listening to the ballgame, I know what you're thinking. He's ready for the home. He's cooked. It's finally happened. He's seeing ladders and doors without handles." - BOB UECKER, explaining being trapped radio broadcast booth's door for several innings thanks to a broken lock on its door.
Bob Uecker, fellow broadcasters Joe Block and Jeff Levering, longtime engineer Kent Sommerfeld, and his assistant, Mary Burns, become trapped for several innings due to a broken lock on the Miller Park's radio broadcast booth door. Using a ladder positioned on the loge level, a crew of workmen climbed into the booth to remove the door from its hinges while the announcers' play-by-play continued to detail the action of the Brewers and Dodgers game on the field.

2015 Bryce Harper becomes the youngest player (22 years, 202 days) to hit three homers in one game in 45 years when he goes deep three times in Washington's 7-5 win over the Marlins at Nationals Park. In 1969, Red Sox right fielder Joe Lahoud accomplished the feat at Minnesota's Metropolitan Stadium, 149 days younger than the Nats' slugger.


2019 At Great American Ball Park, Giants relievers Pat Venditte and Sam Dyson tie a major league record when they combine to plunk four batters in the sixth inning of the team's 12-4 loss to the Reds. San Francisco becomes the first team to hit four batters in the same inning since the Pirates accomplished the feat against the Boston Braves on Aug. 19, 1893.

2021 The Angels designate Albert Pujols, hitting .198 with five homers and 12 RBIs in 86 at-bats, for assignment, releasing the aging superstar after he clears waivers. The reigning World Champion Dodgers will sign the 41-year-old future first-ballot Hall of Famer to a one-year deal for the prorated share of the $570,500 league minimum, with the $30-million remaining in his 10-year, $240-million contract the responsibility of the Halos.
2021 In the sixth inning, three Barons relievers issue 13 base on balls, including at least one to each hitter in the visiting Biloxi Shuckers lineup, hit a batter, and throw two wild pitches, allowing 12 runs to score on just one hit. The Chicago White Sox farm team threw 87 pitches in the frame, 24 for strikes, in their 14-6 loss to the Brewers' Double-A team at Regions Field in Birmingham (AL).

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