BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

1976 Reggie Smith drives in five runs in the Cardinals' 7-6 victory over Philadelphia at Veterans Stadium. The St. Louis switch-hitter's third homer of the game, a two-out solo shot in the ninth, proves to be the difference.

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1977 The Red Sox (6) and Brewers (5) collectively hit 11 home runs, tying a major league record in Boston's 14-10 victory at Fenway Park. The round-tripper riot equals the total collected by the Yankees/Tigers in 1950 and matched by the Cubs/Mets in 1967.

1981 After an 11-25 (.306) start, the Twins make a managerial change, replacing Johnny Goryl with Billy Gardner. The former major league infielder gets his first opportunity to manage a big-league club after being a very successful minor league skipper, winning six championships in 13 seasons

1982 In his last major league at-bat, Mario Mendoza, who will become a minor league hitting instructor, reaches first on a fielder's choice, ending his nine-year career with a .215 batting average. The Ranger infielder's name will become infamous, as players struggling at the plate will become known as performing below the 'Mendoza Line.'

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1983 Cliff Johnson ties Jerry Lynch's major league mark when he hits his 18th career pinch home run. The eighth-inning solo shot comes off Tippy Martinez in the Blue Jays' 5-0 victory over Baltimore at Exhibition Stadium.

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1985 Pete Rose becomes the all-time leader in the National League for runs scored when he crosses the plate for the 2,108th time in his career. The Reds' player-manager surpasses Hank Aaron when he tallies a run in the sixth inning of a 7-4 loss to Chicago at Wrigley Field.

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1990 During the Cubs' 2-1 victory against the Reds in a 16-inning contest at Wrigley Field, Andre Dawson is walked five times intentionally to set a major league record. Yankees outfielder Roger Maris established the previous mark of four free passes in a game on this date in 1962 and then equaled by Padres shortstop Gerry Templeton in 1985.

1992 Felipe Alou becomes the Expos manager, replacing Tom Runnels, who compiled 68-81 (.456) records during his one-plus seasons at the helm. The new 57-year-old skipper, who will manage the team for a decade, leads the 17-20 Montreal club to an eventual second-place finish in the National League East.

1995 After a brawl between the Durham Bulls and Winston-Salem Warthogs, taking more than 30 minutes to sort out, the umpires eject ten players during 'Strike Out Domestic Violence Night' at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The president of the Carolina League will hand down 124 days of suspensions, including every player in uniform, for a specified amount of time.

1998 Brian Cox enjoys a 6-for-6 performance, including a grand slam in the team's ten-run third inning when Florida State demolishes Delaware 27-6 in the NCAA Atlantic II Regionals. Matt Diaz, a freshman for the Seminoles, contributes three home runs to the routing of the Fightin' Blue Hens.

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1998 The Mets send Preston Wilson, Geoff Goetz, and Ed Yarnell to the Marlins for Mike Piazza. Florida had acquired the All-Star catcher last week from the Dodgers and Todd Zeile for Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, Charles Johnson, Jim Eisenreich, and Manuel Barrios.

1998 At Busch Stadium, Mark McGwire becomes the first player to launch a ball into Big Mac Land, a section of the ballpark in left field named after him due to the frequency of his home runs landing there. Thanks to the Cardinal slugger's sixth-inning two-run poke off Giants' right-hander Mark Gardner, the 47,579 ticket holders attending the game receive a coupon for a free Big Mac at McDonald's restaurants.


1999 Mark McGwire becomes the third player to launch a ball out of Dodger Stadium when one of his two home runs travels 483 feet in the Cardinals’ 10-7 victory at Chavez Ravine. The slugging first baseman joins Willie Stargell, who accomplished the feat twice in 1969 and 1973, and Mike Piazza, whose Ruthian blast cleared the ballpark two seasons ago.

1999 After a stint on the disabled list and a rainout, Yankees' right-hander Roger Clemens finally breaks the American League record for consecutive victories with 18, previously shared by Johnny Allen (Indians, 1936-37) and Dave McNally (Orioles, 1968-69). The somewhat anticlimactic accomplishment includes ten no-decisions.

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2000 Scoring seven times in the bottom of the ninth, the Brewers make their biggest comeback in franchise history, knotting the score at nine before only 3,913 fans at County Stadium. Jose Hernandez's solo homer completes the come-from-behind victory in the next inning when Milwaukee beats the Astros, 10-9.


2001 For the second time this season, Barry Bonds homers in six consecutive games, collecting nine to establish a National League mark. In 1968, Senators slugger Frank Howard's hit ten homers in six games, setting the major league record.

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2002 The A's deal a stunned Jeremy Giambi to the Phillies in exchange for pinch-hitter John Mabry. The former Oakland outfielder is four years younger than the Phillies' utility man, but he doesn't meet the 'Moneyball' approach preached by GM Billy Beane.

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2002 Governor Jesse Ventura approves a $120 million financing framework for a $330 million open-air stadium for the Twin Cities. The bill has only lukewarm support because they are unsure if they'll find the required down payment and get a guarantee from major league baseball that a team will play in Minnesota for at least 30 years.

2003 Arturo Moreno purchases the World Champion Angels from Walt Disney for $184 million to become the third owner in the 43-year history of the franchise. The 56-year-old outdoor advertising tycoon, a fourth-generation Mexican-American, is the first Hispanic to have a controlling interest in a major league club.
2004

Oakland retires Reggie Jackson jersey number 9, honoring the slugger who played his first nine Hall of Fame seasons with the A's, helping the team capture three consecutive World Series (1972-74). The former Athletics' right fielder, who had his #44 retired by the Yankees in 1993, becomes the eighth player to have his digits retired by two or more teams.

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2006 In a 3-1 loss to the Braves at Petco Park, Jake Peavy fans 16 batters to set a Padres regular-season record for strikeouts, helping the team reach a franchise mark for a nine-inning game with 18 Ks. The 24 -year-old right-hander, striking out every batter in the starting lineup at least once, loses the game when the only fly ball he allows is Ryan Langerhans' second-frame two-run homer.

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2008 J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell hit grand slams when the Red Sox beat Kansas City, 11-8. Daisuke Matsuzaka, who gives up three runs in 5⅓ innings, remains unbeaten with the Fenway Park victory, improving his record to 8-0.

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2008 Blue Jays southpaw Jesse Carlson, entering the game at the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded, whiffs Sean Rodriguez, Maicer Izturis, and Gary Matthews in the eventual 4-3 victory over the Angels at the Rogers Centre. The 27-year-old Berlin (CT) native becomes the first pitcher since Jack Sanford in 1960 to come into a game with the bases full, then strike out the side.

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2009 With a broken-bat triple in the sixth inning, Michael Cuddyer completes the cycle in the Twins' 11-3 victory over Milwaukee at the Metrodome. In his first three turns at-bat, the Minnesota right-fielder hit a three-run home run in the first inning, doubled to the gap for a ground-rule two-bagger in the third, and singled in the fourth frame.

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2010 After setting the mark in his previous game, Mike Redmond's major league record errorless streak behind the plate ends when his throw to second base, trying to thwart a would-be base stealer, skips past Mark Grudzielanek. The Indians catcher's spotless performance started on July 22, 2004, covering 253 games.

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2010 Matt Stairs ties a major league mark when he homers for his eleventh team in San Diego's 2-1 interleague victory in Seattle. The Padres designated hitter's fourth-inning homer off Ian Snell ties Todd Zeile's record, who accomplished the feat by going deep in an Expo uniform in 2003.

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2012 Ricky Nolasco becomes the franchise leader in career wins when Miami beats Colorado at Marlins Park, 7-6. The 29-year-old right-hander, who hit a double to put his team ahead, surpasses Dontrelle Willis for the most team victories, improving his record to 69-53 for the South Florida squad.

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2014 Barack Obama becomes the first U.S. president to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown. During his visit, the Commander in Chief, a White Sox fan, holds FDR's green-light letter and a pair of spikes worn by Chicago's "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, who was one of the eight players banned from the game for their alleged role in fixing the 1919 World Series.

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2019 Josh Bell, for the second time in two weeks, reaches the Allegheny River on the fly, hitting PNC Park's fifth 'splash' home run since the ballpark opened in 2001. The Pirates' first baseman accomplishes the feat when he blasts a second-inning Jon Gray changeup 454 feet over the Clemente Wall in right field in the team's 9-3 loss to the Rockies.


2021 In his major league debut, Taylor Walls collects a pair of two-baggers, doubling as a righty in the fifth and then as a lefty in the ninth in the Rays' 3-1 victory over the Blue Jays at TD Ballpark. The 24-year-old switch-hitting shortstop joins Rich Becker (1993 Twins, two doubles) and George Wright (1982 Rangers, double/home run) as the third player to break in with an extra-base hit from both sides of the plate.

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2022 In his tenth career start, Reid Detmers becomes the 25th rookie to throw a no-hitter, blanking the Rays at Angel Stadium, 12-0. The 22-year-old southpaw out of the University of Louisville throws 108 pitches, the most in his professional career, completing the 12th no-no in franchise history.

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MAY 23 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1862 William "Dummy" Hoy outfielder (most accomplished deaf player in MLB history; NL stolen base leader 1888; Washington Senators, Cincinnati Reds


1888 Zack Wheat Hall of Fame outfielder (NL batting champion 1918; Brooklyn Superbas / Dodgers / Robins 1909–26


1924 Clyde King pitcher, coach, manager and executive (Brooklyn Dodgers; New York Yankees


1956 Buck Showalter manager (AL Manager of the Year 1994, 2004, 14; NY Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles) and analyst (ESPN, YES network), born in DeFuniak Springs, Florida


1961 Kevin Romine


1969 Ramon Caraballo Phils, Braves


1971 Marshall Boze pitcher Brewers


1978 Mike González
1979 Kirk Saarloos
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This Day in Baseball History
May 23rd​

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 secondbase, 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 defensively and offensively upgrade 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.

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.

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, going 14 games over .500 and finishing third under their new field boss.

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

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, 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 (CT) native in the Pedro Martinez trade with the Red Sox and a player named later (Tony Armas).


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.


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.


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.

 

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.


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.

2004 The River City Rascals, a member of the independent Frontier League, announces 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.


2008 Giving up just one run in 6.1 innings in the Giants' 8-2 victory over the Marlins, southpaw Barry Zito avoids becoming the first starter in franchise history to start a season 0-9. The former Cy Young Award winner, who signed a $126 million deal with San Francisco before last season, has posted a 12-22 record since donning the orange and black.
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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 by Jeffrey Toobin for The New Yorker, Fred Wilpon comments candidly 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, , 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.