BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

1940 Harry Craft completes the cycle with his fifth-inning three-run home run in the Reds' 23-2 rout of Brooklyn at Crosley Field. The Cincinnati center fielder enjoys a 5-for-5 day at the plate, driving six runs in and scoring four times.

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1946 Red Barrett retires the first 22 batters he faces before his bid for a perfect game is broken up with an eighth-inning single by Delmar Ennis. The Cardinals' right-hander gains his first victory of the season with his 7-0 whitewashing of Philadelphia at Sportsman's Park.

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1950 After beating the Browns 20-4 with 23 hits yesterday at Fenway Park, the Red Sox set the major-league record for runs scored by one team as they maul St. Louis again, 29-4. Boston's two-day totals set consecutive-game records for hits and runs scored.

1951 White Sox reliever Marv Rotblatt becomes the first pitcher to be driven in from the bullpen when he enters the game in the 8th inning to face the Yankees in a 4-2 loss at Comiskey Park. At present, transportation to the mound is only for White Sox pitchers, but later in the season, the team will provide the visiting bullpen hurlers with a black Cadillac supplied by a local funeral home.

952 Before starting a twin bill against the Reds, Dodger manager Chuck Dressen tells Cal Abrams that the bench warrior needs to taunt the opposing skipper if he wants to stay with the team. After spending the opener of a doubleheader mocking his opponents, the outfielder is informed between games of his trade to Cincinnati, effective tomorrow, and will need to report to his new field boss, one furious Roger Hornsby.

1955 After only eight games and 13 innings of work, the Dodgers option rookie left-handed pitcher Tom Lasorda to Montreal to make room for a Sandy Koufax. The team's newest southpaw, a bonus baby, comes off the 30-day disabled list after injuring his ankle.

 

1961 Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron, Joe Adcock, and Frank Thomas hit four consecutive homers in an inning off Reds' pitchers Jim Maloney (2) and Marshall Bridges (2), making the Braves the first major league team to accomplish the feat. The seventh-inning big-fly barrage, another blast by Mathews, and one by Warren Spahn aren't enough when Cincinnati still manages to win the Crosley Field contest, 10-8.

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1961 The day after he graduates from high school, Lew Krausse, who hurled 19 no-hitters and struck out 24 batters in one game, signs with the A's as an amateur free agent for $125,000. Eight days from now, the 18-year-old fireballing phenom will throw a three-hit shutout against the Angels in his major league debut.

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1964 The A's ink Jim Hunter for $75,000 after other teams back off in their pursuit to sign the outstanding North Carolina high schooler when his brother, in a hunting accident, blows off his little toe. The youngest of ten children from Hertford (NC) will become a Hall of Fame hurler, better known as Catfish, a name invented by the club's owner Charlie Finley.

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1965 In the first major league free-agent draft of students and sandlot players, the A's select Rick Monday, making Arizona State star the first player ever to be drafted. Kansas City will also select his Sun Devil teammate Sal Bando in the sixth round.

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1965 As their first pick in the inaugural free-agent draft of high school and college players, the Mets select southpaw Les Rohr, who will compile only a 2-3 career mark pitching in parts of three seasons due to an arm injury the team. Later in the day, New York makes a better choice, selecting future Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan in the eighth round.

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1968 Defying commissioner William Eckert's decree that canceled games only in New York and Washington, Mets vote against playing their game in San Francisco out of respect for recently assassinated New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy. When the Amazins' refused to play on the day of RFK's funeral, even under the threat of forfeiting the contest, a decision fully supported by manager Gil Hodges and the organization, the Giants postponed Bat Day at Candlestick Park.

1968 Dodger right-hander Don Drysdale's scoreless streak ends at a record 58⅔ innings when Howie Bedell's sacrifice drives in Tony Taylor in the fifth inning. It will be the Phillies outfielder's only RBI for the season.

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1969 The Yankees retire uniform number 7 in front of a crowd of 60,096 on Mickey Mantle Day at the Bronx ballpark. The Mick also receives a plaque from Joe DiMaggio that will hang on the center field fence, and then he gives the 'Yankee Clipper' a similar plaque, telling the crowd, "His should be just a little bit higher than mine."

 

1971 At Municipal Stadium, Paul Splittorff earns his first major league victory when Kansas City defeats the Senators, 4-2. In 1969, the 23-year-old left-hander became the first player signed by the Royals to appear on the expansion team's major-league roster.

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1976 The Red Sox draft Dixie High School (St. George, UT) standout southpaw Bruce Hurst in the first round of the amateur draft, the twenty-second of 24 picks overall. Four of the first five selections, including top pick ASU's Floyd Bannister, are also left-handed hurlers, with the southpaw from Utah recording the most career victories (145) of the dozen hurlers selected.

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1977 For the fourth time in his career, Nolan Ryan strikes out 19 batters in a game. The right-hander matches the mark in ten innings of work, with 18 punch-outs during the first nine frames, in the Angels' eventual 2-1 victory.

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1979 During the free-agent baseball draft, the Kansas City Royals selected Dan Marino and John Elway fourth and seventeenth. The two future NFL Hall of Fame quarterbacks will never appear in the major leagues, but Elway will play 42 games for Oneonta in the New York-Penn League in 1982 after being redrafted by the Yankees, batting .318 with a .432 OBP.

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1986 The Orioles beat the Yankees 18-9 in the longest nine-inning game ever played in American League history. The Bronx ballpark contest, which features 36 hits, 16 walks, and two errors, takes four hours and sixteen minutes to complete.

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1987 Angels' hurler Don Sutton (312) loses to Phil Niekro (314), who throws seven and one-third scoreless innings for the Indians in a 2-0 win at Anaheim. It is the third time this century, occurring during the past two seasons, that two 300-game winners have started against one another.

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1989 After the Pirates take a 10-0 lead in Philadelphia by sending 16 batters to the plate in the first inning, Pirates' broadcaster Jim Rooker announces if the Bucs lose the game, he'll walk back to Pittsburgh. True to his word, the radio by-by-play man organizes a charity walk from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh after the season when the Phillies' come back and beat the Pirates, 15-11.

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1989 Steve Jeltz becomes the first player in the 106-year history of the franchise to homer from both sides of the plate when his two round-trippers help the Phillies overcome a 10-0 first-inning deficit to beat the Pirates at Veterans Stadium, 15-11. The switch-hitting shortstop will hit only five career home runs during his 1,749 big-league at-bats.

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1993 After serving as Milwaukee's mascot from 1973 to 1984, Bernie Brewer comes out of retirement after an eight-year absence. Once renown for sliding into a mug of beer after hometown homers, the mustachioed costumed character is brought back by popular demand when the fans vote for his reinstatement by an overwhelming 21,751 to 1,389 margin.


1996 With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and LSU down by a run, Warren Morris hits the first-ever College World Series-ending walk-off home run, giving the Tigers a dramatic come-from-behind 9-8 win over Miami. The second baseman, who missed 39 games this year due to a broken bone in his right wrist, hadn't hit a round-tripper this season.

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1997 En route to a 2-0 shutout of the Tigers, Mariners' southpaw Randy Johnson strikes out 15 batters. The Big Unit's performance marks the 74th time he has reached double digits in punch-outs in his career.

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2001 The two Texas teams play one another during the regular season for the first time in major league history. The Astros beat the Rangers, 5-4, in the first game of the Lone Star Series played in Arlington, Texas.

2001 Damion Easley becomes the ninth player in Tiger history to hit for the cycle and the first Detroit player since 1993 when Travis Fryman accomplished the feat. The New York City native's eighth-inning triple to right field completes the deed in the 9-4 victory over the Brewers.

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2001 In front of a record-setting crowd of 45,936 at the new Comiskey Park, the White Sox beat their North Side rivals in ten innings when Carlos Lee hits a two-out walk-off grand slam to give the Pale Hose a dramatic victory over the Cubs, 7-3.


2001 The Mariners establish the franchise's longest winning streak, collecting their 15th straight victory. The eventual AL West division champs' record improves to 47-12 after the team beat the Padres at Safeco Field, 7-1.

 

2005 The Phillies trade corner infielder Placido Polanco to the Tigers for right-hander reliever Ugueth Urbina and utility infielder Ramon Martinez. A two-time All-Star closer, Urbina will become the setup man for Billy Wagner in Philadelphia, and Polanco will become the starting second baseman in Detroit.

2005 Going yard twice in his 4-for-4 day, Alex Rodriguez becomes the 40th and youngest big leaguer to hit 400 career home runs. On the 316th day of the 29th year of his life, the Yankee superstar third baseman, who surpasses Ken Griffey Jr. for the honor, connects for a solo shot off Brewers' southpaw Jorge De La Rosa in the eighth inning for the milestone marker.


2007 In the third inning of a 10-3 loss to Boston at Chase Field, Julio Lugo tags out a surprised Alberto Callaspo, taking a lead off second base. The Diamondbacks' baserunner is the victim of the hidden ball trick when he doesn't realize the Red Sox shortstop had never returned the ball to the pitcher.

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2007 With their 3-0 victory over Detroit at Comerica Park, the Mets begin a span of 18 games to become the first team in baseball history to play six consecutive series against six different clubs that all participated in the previous playoffs season. During the stretch, New York will compile an 8-10 record while playing against the Tigers, Dodgers, Yankees, Twins, A's, and Cardinals.

2008 Rich Harden begins the game by striking out the side on nine pitches in the A's 7-3 victory over the Angels at Oakland's McAfee Coliseum. Maicer Izturis, Howie Kendrick, and Garret Anderson all go down swinging in the 33-year-old right-hander's immaculate inning.

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2010 The much anticipated major league debut of Stephen Strasburg lives up to its hype when the 21-year-old whiffs 14 batters in seven innings in the Nationals' 5-2 victory over the Pirates. Baffling Pittsburgh with a mix of 100-mph fastballs and devastating curves, the right-handed rookie's strikeout total is second only to Houston's J.R. Richard, who fanned 15 Giants in his 1971 debut.

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2010 Tim Wakefield tosses 7.1 innings in Boston's 3-2 victory over Cleveland at Progressive Field to become the Red Sox's all-time leader innings pitched. The 43-year-old right-handed knuckleballer surpasses Roger Clemens, who had established the mark during his 13 seasons with the club by throwing 2,776 frames.

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2010 At 20 years and 212 days, Mike Stanton becomes the second-youngest player to debut with the Marlins, with Miguel Cabrera remaining the youngest by 149 days. The rookie right fielder's impressive debut, 3-for-5 scoring two runs in Florida's 10-8 loss to Philadelphia, is overshadowed by the much-anticipated start of Washington's Wonder Boy, Stephen Strasburg, in the nation's capital.

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2011 The Mets choose Brandon Nimmo as the 13th overall player in the MLB June Amateur Draft, making him the first Wyoming student selected in the first round. The 18-year-old, who could not play for a Cheyenne East HS team because the Equality State does not offer high school baseball programs, batted .448 with fifteen home runs and 34 stolen bases in 70 games for his American Legion Post 6 club.

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2012 Six Mariners pitchers combine in the franchise's third no-hitter when starter Kevin Millwood leaves the game with an injury, and five relievers keep the Dodgers hitless in the team's 1-0 victory at Safeco Field. Brian Runge, the home plate umpire, was also behind the dish for Philip Humber's perfect game, making him the first ump to call balls and strikes for two no-hitters in one season since Drew Coble accomplished the feat in 1990.

2016 Kelly Johnson becomes the only second player in baseball history to be traded from one team to another in consecutive seasons when the Mets obtained him from the Braves for minor league right-hander Akeel Morris and cash. Backstop Chad Kreuter was dealt by the White Sox to the Angels in 1997 and then again in 1998.

2019 Joining Nolan Ryan (34), Johnny Oates (26), and Ivan Rodriguez (7), Adrian Beltre, who wore #29, becomes the fourth Ranger to have his uniform number retired by the team. In his eight seasons with the club, the Texas third baseman batted .304 with 199 homers and 699 RBI in 1098 games after joining the team as a free agent in 2011.

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nolan ryan​

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JUNE 9 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1893 Irish Meusel left fielder (World Series 1921, 22; NL RBI leader 1923; Philadelphia Phillies, New York Giants


1926 Roy Smalley Jr MLB shortstop (Cubs, Braves, Phillies, Twins, Yankees)


1951 Dave Parker 'the Cobra'Pittsburgh Pirates, NL MVP 1978


1974 Randy Winn outfielder (MLB All Star 2002; TB Devil Rays, Seattle Mariners, SF Giants


1984 Yulieski Gourriel


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This Day in Baseball History
June 9th​

1901 The Giants establish a major league record banging out 31 hits in a 25-13 rout of the Reds at Cincinnati’s League Park. New York’s left fielder Kip Selbach leads the attack, going 6-for-7 with two doubles, four singles, and scoring four times.

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1914 At the Baker Bowl, Honus Wagner becomes the second player in the game's history to collect 3000 hits when he doubles off Philadelphia's Erskine Mayer. Cap Anson is the only other major leaguer to amass as many hits.

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1919 Dodger standout pitcher Rube Marquard breaks his leg running the bases, ending his season with a 3-3 mark. The hard-throwing southpaw will finish his 18-year Hall of Fame career in 1925 after compiling a 201-177 record and an ERA of 3.08.

1929 Brothers and teammates Lloyd and Paul Waner hit a home run in the same game in the Pirates' 9-6 loss to the Robins at Ebbets Field. The homers mark the second of three times Big Poison and Little Poison will accomplish the feat.

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1934 In the eighth inning of the Senators' 8-1 victory over the Red Sox, Boston hurler Lefty Grove becomes the first pitcher in major league history to yield six doubles in one frame. The future Hall of Famer, ailing from a sore arm, gives up five consecutive two-baggers during Washington's barrage.

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1946 At Forbes Field, umpires Tom Dunn and George Magerkurth eject Giants manager Mel Ott from each end of a doubleheader. The usually mild-mannered skipper's protests are to little avail when his team drops both games to the Pirates, 2-1 and 5-1.


1946 Ted Williams clouts the farthest home run ever hit at Fenway Park, a shot estimated to have traveled 502 feet before striking the straw hat of a fan sitting in seat 21 in the 37th row of section 42 in right field. The Red Sox will paint the seat red to commemorate the location of the Splendid Splinter's Ruthian blast, although the area consisted of bleachers, not individual seats.

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1946 En route to becoming the first team to draw two million fans at home, the Yankees reach the one million mark at the earliest date in major league history. The Bronx Bombers, the first team to attract one million patrons as 1,289,422 go through the Polo Grounds turnstiles in 1920, will average 29,422 fans this season, 14,000 more a game than for any previous season at Yankee Stadium.

1949 In an eighteen-inning contest at Shibe Park, the Phillies walk off the Pirates, 4-3, when Jackie Mayo's one-out sacrifice fly plates Del Ennis, who had singled and moved to third on Andy Seminick's double. The intrastate rivals each have sixteen hits in sixty-eight at-bats, commit three errors, and make twenty-one assists.

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