BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

1961 The sixth-place Cardinals (33-41) fire the unpopular Solly Hemus, replacing him at the helm with Johnny Keene, the team's third-base coach. The new manager plays a pivotal role in the emergence of Bill White, Bob Gibson, and Curt Flood, allowing the young black players to play consistently for the club.

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1961 Cardinals' first baseman Bill White collects 14 total bases when he hits three home runs and a double. The 27-year-old infielder's offensive output helps the Redbirds rout the Dodgers at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, 9-1.

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1962 The Mets sign 19-year-old outfielder Cleon Jones for $1,000, but the football and baseball collegian standout returns to Alabama A&M due to the lateness of the signing in the season. The Mets Hall of Famer, who spent a dozen seasons in New York, including the World Champion team, retires after playing for the White Sox in 1976.

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1965 Dave Boswell and Jim Perry are the winning pitchers as the Twins sweep a doubleheader from Boston, 6-2 and 2-0, at Metropolitan Stadium to move into first place for good. Sam Mele's club will finish the season with a 102-60 (.630) record, seven games ahead of the second-place Pale Hose.

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1966 Three seasons after trading future Hall of Famer Lou Brock to the Cardinals for Ernie Broglio, the Cubs send the beleaguered right-hander to their PCL farm team in Tacoma (WA), never returning to the major leagues. During his dismal tenure with Chicago, the former 20-game winner compiled a woeful 7-19 record and an ERA of 5.40.

 

1969 The Orioles break a three-game losing streak when Dave McNally (12-0) wins his 14th straight game, defeating Detroit, 9-3. Tigers' outfielder Mickey Stanly plays his 220th consecutive errorless game.

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1985 Garry Templeton is intentionally walked four times by the Pirates, tying a major league record set in 1962 by Yankee outfielder Roger Maris. The fourth free pass, issued in the 12th inning, leads to the Padres shortstop scoring a run, but Pittsburgh comes back with three tallies in the bottom of the frame to win the Three Rivers Stadium contest, 5-4.

1987 In a seven-player trade, the Giants swap southpaws Keith Comstock and Mark Davis, right-hander Mark Grant, and third baseman Chris Brown to the Padres for infielder/outfielder Kevin Mitchell and left-handers Dave Dravecky and Craig Lefferts. Mitchell, obtained by San Diego in an off-season blockbuster trade with the Mets, will be the NL's Most Valuable Player in 1989, helping the Giants to capture the circuit's pennant.

1987 The A's first baseman Mark McGwire becomes the first rookie to hit 30 homers before the All-Star Game as Oakland defeats the Red Sox, 6-2. The Oakland infielder will finish the season with 49 round-trippers, establishing a new freshman mark previously shared by Wally Berger and Frank Robinson with 39.

1989 Mark McGwire hits his 100th career home run off Royals' hurler Charlie Liebrandt at the Oakland Coliseum. Big Mac's third-inning three-run home run ties the score at 5-5, but the A's fall short, losing to Kansas City in extra innings, 12-9.

1989 Barry Bonds pinch-hit three-run round-tripper in the bottom of the ninth inning of the Pirates' 6-4 loss to the Giants at Three Rivers Stadium puts the future career homer leader and his dad, Bobby, first on the all-time father and son list with 408 dingers. The Bells (Gus and Buddy) and the Berras (Yogi and Dale) had previously shared the mark.

 

1991 In a unanimous vote, the baseball owners give final approval for the Rockies and the Marlins to join the National League in 1993. The addition of the new franchises brings the Senior Circuit total to 14, with the placement of Colorado in the West Division and Florida joining the NL East.

1993 At Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, A's outfielder Rickey Henderson becomes the second player in major league history to open both games of a twin bill with a home run. In a 1913 doubleheader played in Washington, Red Sox outfielder and future Hall of Famer Harry Hooper was the first to accomplish the feat.


1997 The Expos retire Andre Dawson's uniform number 10 before their game with Atlanta at Olympic Stadium. During his 11-year tenure with Montreal, the
future Hall of Fame outfielder once set the single-season club records for home runs (32), RBIs (113), extra-base hits (78), and sacrifice flies (18).

1998 Needing only 75 pitches, Andy Ashby throws a five-hit complete game, beating the Rockies at Qualcomm Stadium, 7-2. In the two-hour and one-minute contest, the 30-year-old Padres' right-hander faces 30 batters, strikes out two, walks no one, and adds to his cause with an RBI double.


1998 Defeating the Orioles 1-0, the Yankees improve their record to 61-20, equaling the best 81-game start in major league history. The Bronx Bombers' first-half results equal the campaigns of the 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates and the 1907 Chicago Cubs.

1998 Blue Jay right-hander Roger Clemens strikes out Devil Rays' outfielder Randy Winn to record his 3000th career strikeout. The 'Rocket' is the 11th pitcher in major league history to reach the coveted milestone.

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1998 Juan Gonzalez becomes the second player in major league history to go over the 100 RBI mark before the All-Star Game. The Rangers designated hitter's major league-leading total of 101 RBIs is second only to Tiger slugger Hank Greenberg, who had 103 in 1935 and finished the season with 170.

 

2000 Mets' right-handed reliever Eric Cammack triples in his only major league at-bat, joining Charlie Lindstrom (1958), Eduardo Rodriguez (1973), and Scott Munninghoff (1980) as the only players to accomplish this unlikely feat. The 24-year-old Nederland (TX) native, who will appear in only eight big-league games, all with the Amazins', legs out his three-bagger off Ron Mahay in the top of the ninth inning during the team's 11-2 loss to the Marlins at Pro Player Stadium.

2000 Luis Gonzalez becomes the first Diamondback to hit for the cycle, contributing to the team's 12-9 comeback victory over Astros at Enron Field. The Arizona outfielder doubled in the first inning, singled in the third, tripled in the eighth, and completed the feat with a homer off Doug Henry with two outs in the top of the ninth inning.

2001 Pirates' skipper Lloyd McClendon is fined $1,000 for walking off the field with first base in the June 26 Brewers game. The assessment marks the first time a manager pays the penalty for 'stealing' a bag.

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2002 Baseball legend Ted Williams, considered by many the greatest hitter in the game's history, dies of cardiac arrest at 83. The first-ballot Hall of Famer, a lifetime .344 hitter, won the MVP award and Triple Crown twice and led the American League in batting for six seasons, including hitting .406 in 1941 during his 19-year career with the Red Sox.

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2004 To honor local military personnel, the Twins give away a GI Joe action figure to the first 5,000 children attending the game against Kansas City. To appease protesting peace groups, who see the promotion as glorifying war, the team asks Hasbro, the toy's manufacturer, to remove the standard gun with the soldier's hand grenades still visible.

2004 At Dodger Stadium, Diamondback third baseman Chad Tracy's ninth-inning run-scoring single on an 0-2 changeup ends Eric Gagne's record streak of 84 consecutive saves. The new mark established by the Los Angeles closer is 30 more than the previous standard set by Tom Gordon for the Red Sox in 1999.

2005 Manny Ramirez hits his 20th career grand slam off Chris Young in the Red Sox's 7-4 victory over the Rangers at Ameriquest Field. The Red Sox left fielder's round-tripper puts him past Eddie Murray on the all-time list for the second-most four-run homers in major league history, trailing only Yankee legend Lou Gehrig, who holds the major league record with 23.

2007 At Dodger Stadium, Chipper Jones' two solo home runs are the difference in the Braves' 8-6 victory over Los Angeles. With his pair of round-trippers, the team's third baseman surpasses Dale Murphy for the Atlanta team record of 372 homers.

2014 The Brooklyn Cyclones, attracting a sellout crowd of 8,241 fans at MCU Park in Coney Island, celebrate the 25th anniversary of the debut of Seinfeld, an iconic sitcom about nothing that initially ran for nine seasons on NBC from 1989 to 1998. The tribute to the iconic television series includes players taking batting practice in puffy pirate shirts, a low-talker announcer, a 'Magic Loogie' bobblehead of Keith Hernandez giveaway, and renaming the foul poles the Festivus poles.

2022 After allowing a game-tying or go-ahead home run in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings, the Orioles walk off the Rangers, 10-9. Baltimore gives up six runs on the long in the final three frames of regulation, but Cedric Mullins doubles home the ghost runner in the tenth frame to end the Camden Yards contest.

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JULY 6 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1947 Lance Clemons (Kansas City Royals, Red Sox,Cardinals)


1954 Willie Randolph second baseman (6 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1977 NY Yankees) and manager (NY Mets 2005-08)


1967 Omar Olivares pitcher (Detroit Tigers, Cardinals, Pirates, Nationals )

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This Day in Baseball History
July 6th​

1929 The first two pitchers for Philadelphia never record an out, and before the home team comes to bat in the bottom of the first inning, they are trailing the Redbirds, 10-0. The Cardinals, who tally ten runs in the first and fifth frames, will pound the Phillies at the Baker Bowl, 28-6, to set the modern National League record for the most runs in one game by one team.

1930 Bill Veeck Sr.'s popular Ladies' Day promotion at Wrigley Field reaches new heights when more than 30,000 female fans attend the Cubs' doubleheader against Cincinnati. An over-capacity crowd packs the small ballpark with thousands of others, including late-arriving regular paying patrons who cannot gain admission into the North Side venue.


1932 Violet Valli shoots Cubs shortstop Billy Jurges, her ex-boyfriend, twice at the Hotel Carlos. The 24-year-old infielder will return to the lineup two weeks later, continuing to contribute to the team's pennant-winning season.
A week after the shooting, the judge dismissed the case against the showgirl when the Chicago ball player appeared in court, stating that he would not testify and wanted the charges dropped.

1933 At Chicago's Comiskey Park, the first-ever All-Star Game is played. Babe Ruth's third-inning two-run home run off Bill Hallahan proves to be the difference when the American League defeats the Senior Circuit, 4-2.

 

1936 After the first batter makes an out trying to bunt, 17-year-old right-hander Bob Feller, a farm boy from Van Meter, Iowa, strikes out eight consecutive batters in three innings during an All-Star break exhibition game against the Cardinals' Gas House Gang. The contest marks the Indian rookie's first appearance in a big-league uniform.


1938 At Crosley Field, Yankees' hurler Lefty Gomez loses for the first time in four All-Star starts when the National League beats the Junior Circuit, 4-1. Leo Durocher gets a 'home run' single when Jimmie Foxx tosses his sacrifice bunt into right field, and Joe DiMaggio overthrows catcher Bill Dickey, scoring Frank McCormick and Durocher, who keeps running until he reaches home.

 

1941 The Yankees unveil a center field monument dedicated to Lou Gehrig. The memorial, similar to the honor bestowed on the team's late skipper Miller Huggins in 1932, is a tribute by his teammates to their beloved captain, who died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) last month.

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1942 Powered by first-inning home runs by Indians' shortstop Lou Boudreau and Tigers' first baseman Rudy York, the American League All-Stars defeat the National League, 3-1. The Polo Grounds contest also features the first and only starting sibling battery in All-Star history as losing pitcher Mort Cooper throws to backstop Walker Cooper, his brother.



1945 Tommy Holmes hits safely in his 34th consecutive game, surpassing Rogers Hornsby's modern National League record set in 1922. The Braves outfielder will extend the streak to 37, with the new mark lasting 33 years until broken by Pete Rose in 1978.

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1949 Walker Cooper goes 6-for-7, helping the Reds rout the Cubs at Crosley Field, 23-4. The 34-year-old Cincinnati catcher, acquired in a trade with the Giants last month, collects three home runs and three singles, scores five runs, and drives in ten runs.
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1953 In his first major league start, 24-year-old right-hander Al Worthington throws a two-hitter, blanking the Phillies, 6-0. The Giants' rookie, known as 'Red,' will become the first National League freshman to throw consecutive shutouts at the start of a career when he repeats the feat in his next outing, blanking the Dodgers, 6-0.

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1956 Jim Busby hits his second grand slam on consecutive days to beat the A's, 4-2. In a 13-7 loss yesterday, the Indians' outfielder hit a first-inning bases-loaded homer off Detroit's right-hander Frank Lary.

 

1958 A day after he walks outfielder Willie Kirkland with the bases loaded to give the Giants a 5-4 victory, Cardinal reliever Larry Jackson hits Jim Davenport with the bases full in the ninth inning to again force in the winning run.
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1962 Rod Kanehl, appearing as a pinch-hitter, hits the first grand slam in Mets history, going deep off Bobby Shantz in the eighth inning of the team's 10-3 victory over the Cardinals. The Polo Grounds bases-loaded round-tripper comes in the 79th game of the franchise.


1962 At the Polo Grounds, Gil Hodges homers off Cardinal hurler Ray Sadecki for the 370th and final home run of his career, finishing tenth on the all-time list and the most ever hit by a right-handed batter in the National League. Eight-year-old Howie Rose, the team's future radio voice at his first major league game, and broadcaster Ralph Kiner, who reminds the first baseman on his show, Kiner's Korner, he established the right-handed NL home run mark in 1954, witnessed the moment.


1966 Boog Powell, tying an American League record, knocks in 11 runs in a doubleheader. In Game One, the Baltimore first baseman hits two homers, including a grand slam, two doubles, and a sacrifice fly, driving in seven runs in the Orioles' 11-0 victory over the Kansas City A's, adding four more RBIs in the nightcap.

 

1970 At Shea Stadium, Mets' center fielder Tommie Agee hits a seventh-inning triple off Frank Linzy, completing the second cycle in franchise history. The lead-off batter's four hits pace the team's 10-3 victory over the Cardinals.


1970 Ron Santo drives in ten runs, helping the Cubs sweep a doubleheader against Montreal at Wrigley Field. The third baseman's two-run homer in the opener gives the team a 3-2 victory, and his eight RBIs, including another two round-trippers, contribute to the club's 14-2 rout in the nightcap.

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1970 At Atlanta Stadium, Braves' second baseman Felix Millan goes 6-for-6, becoming the first player in franchise history to collect six hits in one game. The 26-year-old infielder, called the Cat by his teammates, contributes to the team's 12-4 victory over the Giants with four singles, a double, and a triple.

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1977 After 1,887 plate appearances without a home run from the start of his career, Cubs outfielder Greg Gross finally goes deep when he homers off Don Stanhouse, a three-run shot to left field with two outs in the sixth inning, in the team's 8-6 victory over the Expos at Wrigley Field. The 24-year-old's homerless drought establishes a new major league record, far surpassing runner-up Duane Kuiper, who recorded his first round-tripper needing 355 fewer trips to the plate to accomplish the feat.

 

1983 On the Midsummer Classic's 50th anniversary, Fred Lynn hits the first grand slam in All-Star competition en route to the American League, setting a record for runs scored by one team in a game in their 13-3 victory, including a record seven-run third inning. The Junior Circuit's victory at Chicago's Comiskey Park, the site of the first All-Star Game in 1933, halts the National League's 11-game winning streak.

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1986 At Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, first baseman Bob Horner becomes the eleventh major leaguer to hit four home runs in one game. However, three of the four homers are solo shots, allowing the Expos to beat the Braves, 11-8.

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1989 Mike Schmidt becomes the first retired player elected to start an All-Star Game. The Phillies' third baseman, who announced his retirement on May 29, is hitting only .203 this season and has decided not to participate in the Midsummer Classic.

 

1991 In a 9-7 loss to Oakland, Danny Tartabull hits three home runs, one off Gene Nelson and two off Bob Welch. The right-fielder becomes the first Kansas City player to accomplish the feat at Royals Stadium.

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1992 Commissioner Fay Vincent, using his 'in the best interest of baseball' power, mandates the National League's realignment next season, forcing teams to be more geographically correct in their respective divisions. The plan, approved by 12 of the 14 NL owners in March, but blocked by Tribune Co., owner of the Chicago franchise, will send the Cubs and the Cardinals to the West Division, with the Braves and Reds moving to the East.

2000 Cardinal rookie Keith McDonald, who homered pinch-hitting in his first big league appearance, hits a round-tripper off Reds' hurler Osvaldo Fernandez, becoming only the second player in history to homer in his first two major league at-bats. Bob Nieman is the other major leaguer to accomplish the feat, having gone deep twice in his 1951 debut with the Browns.

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2000 Vin Scully, 72, is voted the No. 1 sportscaster of the 20th century by members of the American Sportscasters Association. The Dodger veteran broadcaster's 51-year career has included play-by-play of 25 Fall Classics and a dozen All-Star Games.

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2001 The Cubs, playing in the 101st different park since 1876, beat the Tigers in Comerica Park 15-8. For the first time in 56 years, dating back to Game 3 of the 1945 World Series when Claude Passeau threw a 3-0 shutout in Briggs Stadium, the team in Detroit.

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2002 Daryle Ward becomes the first player in the brief history of Pittsburgh's PNC Park to hit the Allegheny River on the fly, helping the Astros rout the Pirates, 10-2. PGA legend Arnold Palmer, also known for long drives, is on hand to watch the Houston left fielder's fifth-inning towering grand slam, estimated to have traveled 479 feet before making a splash.

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2002 During Old Timers' Day ceremonies at Yankee Stadium, the Bronx Bombers dedicate a plaque in Monument Park honoring Reggie Jackson. During his tenuous five-year tenure with the team, the slugging outfielder helped the club reach the postseason four times, including winning two consecutive world championships in 1977 and 1978.

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2003 Devil Rays' skipper Lou Piniella becomes a blonde, keeping his promise to dye his hair if his last-place Devil Rays won three in a row at any point this season. Last night's 3-2 victory over the White Sox gave Tampa Bay their first three-game winning streak since last September.

2004 Recently acquired outfielder Richard Hidalgo establishes a club record, homering in five straight games for the Mets. In 16 games with New York, the former Astro has eight home runs, compared to hitting just four with Houston in 56 games.

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2005 Starting in the third inning, Marlins' hurlers retire 28 consecutive Brewers en route to a 5-4 extra-inning victory over Milwaukee at Dolphins Stadium. The club sets a franchise mark with 22 strikeouts, with A.J. Burnett contributing a career-high 14, establishing a team record in six innings.

 

2007 The Twins sweep a twin bill from the White Sox, beating the home team 20-14 and 12-0 at Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field. The 32 runs tallied by Minnesota are the most scored by one club in a twin bill since the Red Sox crossed the plate 35 times in their double victory over the Philadelphia A's on July 4, 1939.

2008 In the ninth inning of a tied game at Yankee Stadium, Manny Ramirez, appearing as a pinch-hitter, upsets the citizens of Red Sox Nation when he strikes out on three consecutive fastballs thrown by Mariano Rivera without swinging the bat. Citing knee pains, proven baseless by MRIs ordered by the team's management, Boston's disgruntled outfielder had asked to be left off the starting lineup for the critical series with New York.

2009 In the most lopsided loss in Reds history, the Phillies rout the team at Citizens Bank Park, 22-1. The previous dubious mark was a 20-run differential, established in 1892 when the Reds lost 26-6 to Philadelphia.

2009 The settlement of a federal lawsuit brought by a fan kicked out of Yankee Stadium by a police officer for allegedly leaving his seat to use the men's room during the playing of 'God Bless America' results in the resident of Queens receiving $10,001 from New York City. The Yankees claim patrons have always had freedom of movement, with ushers blocking some exits in previous years after complaints that spectators showed a lack of respect by leaving their seats while the patriotic song played.

2010 Down six runs in the bottom of the ninth, the Rockies score nine runs in the final frame to beat the stunned Cardinals, 12-9. Seth Smith's two-out, three-run homer off Ryan Franklin deals the fatal blow in Colorado's amazing come-from-behind walk-off victory at Coors Field.


2013 With a late surge of support from the Nationals fans, Bryce Harper is selected as an All-Star, making the 20-year-old outfielder the youngest National League starter in the history of the Midsummer Classic. Four days ago, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year trailed the Braves left fielder Justin Upton by 15,000 votes for the final spot in the outfield.

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2016 In the Marlins' 4-2 loss to the Mets, Giancarlo Stanton's home run in the sixth inning, his second of the game off Jacob deGrom, gives him four homers in four at-bats, with a base on balls between the second and third round-trippers. The Miami masher went deep twice in his last two at-bats in yesterday's contest, contributing to 17 dingers at Citi Field, the most by any visiting player.

 

2017 At Busch Stadium, Ichiro Suzuki becomes the all-time major league hits leader for foreign-born players when he collects an eighth-inning single in the Marlins' 4-3 loss to the Cardinals. The Miami right fielder's 3,054th hit surpasses Rod Carew, who hails from Panama.


2019 Andrew Heaney, making his first start since the untimely death of fellow Angel southpaw and close personal friend Tyler Skaggs, delivers a slow overhand curveball as his first pitch, the signature toss of his late buddy. George Springer intentionally takes the offering before lining out to deep right field on a 3-1 court, leading off in the Astros' 4-0 loss at Minute Maid Park.

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