BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

2016 In front of 2,000 fans at Fayetteville's JP Riddle Stadium, the Coastal Plain League's SwampDogs became the first team to play nine starters at nine different positions when the team rotates the players during the nine-inning game. The exhibition game against the Carolina-Virginia Collegiate League's Kernersville Bulldogs ends in a 5-5 ten-inning deadlock when both sides run out of players.

2016 At Progressive Field, the Indians induct Jim Thome, Albert Belle, Charlie Jamieson, a 1920 World Series contributor, and Frank Robinson, baseball's first African-American manager, into the team's Hall of Fame. Over 13 seasons with Cleveland, Thome established a franchise record, hitting 337 home runs and provided much of the offense, along with Belle, during the Tribe's success in the mid-1990s.

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2016 "With all due respect to Tom Hanks, there is crying in baseball." - MIKE PIAZZA, responding to his emotional state about being inducted into the Hall of Fame and having his number retired by the Mets. Mike Piazza, considered the greatest-hitting catcher in baseball history, has his number retired by the Mets, a team he played with for eight seasons, batting .296 and slugging 220 home runs. The 2016 Hall of Fame inductee is the second person, along with right-hander Tom Seaver (41), honored for what he accomplished as a player for the team, joining managers Gil Hodges (14) and Casey Stengel (37) and baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson's (42).

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2016 The Indians induct Jim Thome, Albert Belle, Frank Robinson, and Charlie Jamieson into the team's Hall of Fame, bringing the number of honorees enshrined to 44. Thome, the team's all-time home run leader; Belle, the first 50-50 major leaguer; Robinson, the first black manager in baseball history; and Jamieson, a .303 hitter during his 18 years with the Tribe, are feted during a ceremony at Progressive Field.

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2016 After being selected on a record 99.32 percent of ballots cast, Ken Griffey, Jr., who spent 22 big-league seasons with the Mariners, Reds, and White Sox, joins Mike Piazza as a Hall of Fame inductee. The 13-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove center fielder becomes the highest draft pick (#1) selected as a Hall of Famer.
KGJ's fellow inductee, Mike Piazza, was the lowest draft pick (#1,390) ever inducted in Cooperstown.

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2017 Texas third baseman Adrian Beltre collects his 3000th hit when he doubles in the fourth inning in the Rangers' 10-6 loss to the Orioles at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The twenty-year veteran, who has also spent time with the Dodgers, Mariners, and Red Sox, is the first-ever Dominican-born player to reach the coveted milestone.

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2017 Ryan Zimmerman becomes Washington D.C.'s all-time home run leader with his 238th career round-tripper, surpassing former Senator outfielder and first baseman Frank Howard. The Nationals' first baseman's third-inning 341-foot dinger, a three-run shot, ties the score in the team's eventual 10-6 loss to the visiting Rockies in the first game of a twin bill.

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2020 Indian right-hander Shane Bieber matches a major league mark for strikeouts through two starts in a season, equaling Dodger Karl Spooner's record, who fanned 27 batters in consecutive games at the beginning of his rookie season in 1954. The 25-year-old Cleveland hurler, who whiffed 14 batters on Opening Day, punches out another 13 batters en route to throwing eight shutout innings in the team's 2-0 victory over the Twins at Target Field.

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2021 The Western Division's leading Giants acquires Kris Bryant from the Cubs for minor league prospects, outfielder Alexander Canario and right-hander Caleb Kilian. The 29-year-old All-Star third baseman, the 2016 NL MVP who helped Chicago capture their first World Series title in 108 years, becomes emotional in the visitors' dugout in Washington upon learning of the deal.

2023 Josh Palacios celebrates his 28th birthday with a two-run shot in the bottom of the 10th inning, giving the Pirates a 6-4 walk-off victory over the Phillies at PNC Park. The Pittsburgh outfielder, a triple shy of the cycle, joins Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, and Andruw Jones as the fourth player this century to hit a walk-off home run on the day of his birth.
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How good was Willie Mays at Wrigley Field? Seriously good! He hit .342, slugged .664, hit 54 HRs, drove in 146 & scored 148 runs in 691 ABs
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Ted Williams, Eddie Pelligrino, John F Kennedy and Hank Greenberg
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Mick & Roger
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JULY 31 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1886 Larry Doyle second baseman (NL MVP 1912, NL batting champion 1915; NY Giants)


1914 Elmer Riddle pitcher (NL wins leader 1943; Cincinnati Reds


1916 Billy Hitchcock infielder, manager, official (Detroit Tigers; president Double-A Southern League 1971–80

1922 Hank Bauer infielder, manager (8-time World Series champion; NY Yankees, Baltimore Orioles)


1939 Vic Davalillo outfielder (MLB All Star 1965, Gold Glove 1964 Cleveland Indians; World Series 1971, 73 Pittsburgh Pirates


1957 Leon Durham 1st baseman, outfielder (Chicago Cubs; MLB All Star 1982-83


1959 Mike Bielecki pitcher (Atlanta Braves)


1975 Mike Lincoln relief pitcher, 1999-2010 (Pittsburgh Pirates, and 3 other teams

1979 J. J. Furmaniak player infield, Cubs, Pirates, Rays, Padres

1992 José Fernández player (Miami Marlins, Rockies. Nationals)

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This Day in Baseball History
July 31st​

1897 John Grimes, who appeared in only three games during his one-year career with the St. Louis Brown Stockings, establishes a major league mark by hitting six batters in a nine-inning game. The post-1900 record is four hit batsmen, a dubious feat many pitchers share.

1908 After successfully swiping second at the Polo Grounds, Fred Tenney returns to first base on the next pitch because Dummy Taylor had remained at third during their attempted double steal. This time, hoping to coax a throw from the catcher to give the runner on third another opportunity to score, he steals second base for the second time in the inning, but his teammate still stays put in the Giants' 9-2 victory over the Cardinals.

1912 Ty Cobb goes 1-for-4 in Detroit's 4-1 victory over Washington at Navin Field. The Tiger outfielder's single is his 68th hit in 137 at-bats (.535) during July, the most ever collected in a single month by a major leaguer.

 

1930 The Yankees edge the Red Sox, 14-13, thanks to Lou Gehrig's offensive output. The 'Iron Horse' collects eight RBIs with a grand slam and two doubles in the Fenway Park contest.

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1932 In front of a major league record crowd of 80,184, the Indians play their first game at Lakefront Stadium, losing to Philadelphia and Lefty Grove, 1-0. Except for the 1933 season, the Tribe, who prefer League Park, will not play a full schedule at their new colossal horseshoe home until 1947, when the ballpark is known as Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

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1935 Avid Reds' fan Kitty Burke, annoyed at Ducky Medwick's retort to her heckling by telling her she couldn't get a hit if she were swinging at an elephant, grabs Babe Herman's bat as he comes to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning, comes on to the field demanding a turn at-bat. After some consternation, Cardinal pitcher Paul Dean complies by tossing the ball underhanded to the popular local nightclub blues singer, who grounds out to the pitcher, much to the delight of the cheering crowd.

 

1951 The Yankees send Cliff Mapes to the Browns for Bobby Hogue, Kermit Wahl, Tom Upton, and Lou Sleater. The trade opens an outfield spot for Mickey Mantle, who is returning from a 40-game stint with the Triple-A Kansas City Blues. With Mapes's departure, the rookie takes the opportunity to wear uniform #7.

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1954 At Ebbets Field, using a borrowed bat, Joe Adcock hits four home runs in one game and a double, which misses by inches of being his fifth round-tripper, in the Braves' 15-7 victory over the Dodgers. The Milwaukee first baseman's 18 total bases, collected on seven pitches, set a major league record, surpassing the mark established in 1950 by Brooklyn's Gil Hodges.

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1955 The Indians obtain Sal Maglie off waivers from the Giants, who released the 38-year-old right-hander because of his ailing back. The 'Barber,' who will be used sparingly in Cleveland, will become a major cog next season in the Dodgers' National League championship after being acquired by the team in May for $100.

Jackie Robinson, Sal Maglie and Carl Furillo

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1959 Earl Wilson, the first black pitcher to play for the Red Sox, hurls 3⅔ innings, walking nine, but leaves the game with a 4-0 lead in the team's eventual 6-5 victory over Detroit at Briggs Stadium. The Louisiana native will post a 56-58 record along with an ERA of 4.10, primarily as a starter, during his seven seasons with Boston.

Earl & Pumpsie
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1961 Due to heavy rain, the second 1961 All-Star Game ends in a 1-1 tie at Fenway Park, with Rocky Colavito's home run accounting for the American League's only run. Jim Bunning, the American League starter, pitches three perfect innings again (he also did it in 1957), making him the only All-Star hurler to accomplish the feat twice.

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1963 At Cleveland Stadium, the Indians hit four consecutive homers in an inning when Woodie Held, Pedro Ramos, Tito Francona, and Larry Brown go deep in the sixth with two outs off Paul Foytack, recently acquired by the Angels. In Cleveland's 9-5 victory over the Halos, the former Tiger right-hander becomes the first major league pitcher to allow a team to go deep in four straight at-bats in a single frame.


1965 The Orioles release 38-year-old Robin Roberts after he compiles a 5-7 record during the first four months of the season. Next week, the Astros will select the right-hander as a free agent, and the future Hall of Famer will finish the season winning five of seven decisions, posting an ERA of 1.89 for his new team.

Roberts & Larry Dierker
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1971 Orioles right-hander Pat Dobson wins his eighth decision of the month, blanking the Royals, 4-0. The shutout is the 12th consecutive victory for the Depew (NY) native since June 16th.

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1971 In a game that sees at least one team score every inning until the ninth, the Giants beat Pittsburgh at Candlestick Park, 15-11. San Francisco's rookie first baseman Dave Kingman's seventh-inning grand slam proves to be the difference.

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1972 Chicago slugger Dick Allen becomes the seventh major leaguer, the first since 1939, to hit two inside-the-park home runs in one game. The round-trippers pace the White Sox over the Twins at Metropolitan Stadium, 8-1.

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1981 The fifty-day baseball strike, wiping out a third of the regular season, is settled when the owners and players agree on a pooling system to compensate free agents. The All-Star Game will end baseball's first-ever midseason work stoppage.

1982 Phillies' second baseman Manny Trillo boots Bill Buckner's grounder to end his errorless streak at 479 chances, setting a major league record. The eighth-inning miscue does not lead to a run in Philadelphia's 2-0 victory over Cubs at Veterans Stadium.

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1983 The Hall of Fame inducts Orioles Gold Glover Brooks Robinson, ten-time American League All-Star infielder George Kell, and long-time Dodger skipper Walter Alston. Dominican Dandy Juan Marichal, also an inductee, becomes the first Latin American player enshrined at Cooperstown.

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1989 On the same day, the Blue Jays select Lee Mazzilli off waivers from the Mets, Toronto trades reliever Jeff Musselman and pitching prospect Mike Brady for Mookie Wilson, made expendable when New York obtained Juan Samuel from Philadelphia. After a slow start, Toronto's new outfielder will play a vital role in the team's return to the postseason for the first time since 1985, batting .298 in 54 games.

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1989 The Mets obtain Frank Viola, last season's American League Cy Young Award winner, from the Twins for Rick Aguilera, Tim Drummond, Kevin Tapani, Jack Savage, and David West. 'Sweet Music' hits a sour note in New York, posting a 38-32 record in 82 starts with a team failing to make the playoffs during his two-and-a-half-year tenure in the Big Apple.