BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

1992 At Tiger Stadium, Rick Aguilera pitches a scoreless ninth inning to notch his 35th save of the season in the Twins' 5-4 victory over Detroit. The save is the closer's 109th, making the right-handed reliever the franchise's all-time saves leader.

1998 Cardinal slugger Mark McGwire, in a 7-1 victory over Florida, homers twice to break Hack Wilson's National League single-season home run record of 56. Big Mac's seventh-inning shot ties the 1930 mark set by the Hall of Fame Cubs' outfielder, and he establishes a new record in the ninth, hitting a Don Pall pitch 472 feet over the center-field wall at Miami's Pro Player Stadium.

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1999 The Boones become the twelfth pair of siblings to homer in the same game when Aaron, the Reds third baseman, goes deep in the bottom of the eighth inning of the team's 8-7 loss to the Braves. In the Cinergy Field contest, brother Bret hit a third-inning two-run round-tripper off Cincinnati southpaw Ron Villon.

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1999 Due to the union chief Richie Phillips' ill-advised ploy to use mass resignations to force the owners into a new collective bargaining agreement, twenty-two of baseball's regular 68 umpires find themselves unemployed. In an understanding mediated by U.S. District Judge J. Curtis Joyner, the Umpires Association agrees to a deal, costing those members their jobs, but allows for an arbitration proceeding that could permit displaced umps to return to the game at some point.

 

2000 In an unusual play, the Orioles turn a triple play as shortstop Melvin Mora purposely lets a short fly drop in left field with runners at first and second. The runner at second (Travis Fryman) is tagged out, and the runner at first (Wil Cordero) is forced at second, with the batter (Sandy Alomar), thinking the umps invoked infield-fly rule, does not go to first and is called automatically out for going back to the dugout.

2000 Darin Erstad breaks the Angels' club record for total hits in a season when he doubles in the second inning of the team's 9-8 loss to the White Sox at Chicago's Comiskey Park. The 26-year-old Halo outfielder will finish the season with 240 hits, far surpassing Alex Johnson's mark of 202, established in 1970.

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2001 Cubs' slugger Sammy Sosa hits the longest home run in Turner Field history when his two-run shot, the outfielder's 53rd of the season, travels 471 feet to straightaway center field. The historic homer comes in the first inning off four-time Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux in the team's 5-3 victory in Atlanta.


2002 Thanks to Miguel Tejada's three-run ninth-inning walk-off home run, the A's beat the Twins, 7-5, extending their winning streak to 18. The dramatic victory marks the longest stretch in franchise history, established by the Philadelphia A's with 17 consecutive wins in 1931.

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2005 The Pacific Coast League announces the total attendance saw over seven million fans turn the turnstiles this season. The PCL had set a new single-season record in minor league history when the 16-team circuit passed the 6.8 million mark earlier in the month.

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2005 The first busload of Hurricane Katrina refugees, formerly housed at the Superdome in New Orleans, arrive at the Houston Astrodome. The Astros' former home will allow the displaced storm victims to escape the horrendous unhealthy conditions of their former shelter by supplying air conditioning, cots, food, and showers for 25,000 people expected to arrive from Louisiana.

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2006 The Pirates extend their franchise-record consecutive losing-season streak to 14 when the club drops their 82nd game to Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals, 3-1. The 1933-1948 Phillies own the big league mark, finishing with a losing record for 16 straight campaigns.

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2007 In only his second major league start, Clay Buchholz, using an assortment of fastballs, curves, and changeups, becomes the 20th rookie to throw a no-hitter, beating the Orioles in front of a supportive Fenway crowd, 10-0. The 23-year-old right-hander, called up from Triple-A Pawtucket to make the start, becomes the youngest of the seventeen players to have accomplished the feat in Red Sox history.

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2008 In his complete-game effort against the Pirates, CC Sabathia gives up only a questionable infield hit to Andy LaRoche in the fifth inning of the Brewers' 7-0 victory at PNC Park. The club plans to forward a DVD of the play to Major League Baseball, hoping somehow official scorer Bob Webb, the only person allowed to reverse his decision according to the rules, can be convinced to change the scoring of the grounder to the mound to an error.


2008 Cliff Lee shuts out the White Sox, 5-0, to become the Indians' 56th twenty-game winner in franchise history, but the first to accomplish the feat in 34 years. The last Tribe's moundsman to win as many games was Gaylord Perry, who posted a 21-13 record in 1974.

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2008 In Arizona's 8-6 comeback victory over the Cardinals, Stephen Drew singles in the first, triples in the third, homers in the fifth, and doubles in the seventh to complete the cycle. The Diamondbacks' shortstop becomes the third player in franchise history and the first major leaguer to accomplish the feat at Chase Field, formerly known as the Bank One Ballpark.

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2008 Adrian Beltre triples in the eighth inning off Rangers' right-hander Josh Rupe to become the fourth player in franchise history, joining Jay Buhner (1993), Alex Rodriguez (1997), and John Olerud (2001) to hit for the cycle. The rare event occurs twice today when Diamondbacks shortstop Stephen Drew also collects a single, double, triple, and home run against the Cardinals at Chase Field.

 

2009 In his first game back from the DL after suffering a torn right testicle when a bad-hop grounder hit him in the groin last month, Adrian Beltre hears the Nutcracker Suite when he steps into the batter's box. Mariner teammate Ken Griffey Jr. arranged to have the Safeco Field PA system play the waltz to have fun with the third baseman, who decided not to wear a protective cup until today.

2010 This is the major leagues. This is not college any more. You're not on scholarship. You're being paid to do the job and guys depend on you, and I think it's unfortunate that the Nationals and the team are in a situation here where this kid now, he feels any kind of arm pain, he's gonna call you out?... You give these guys (today's players) $15 million bucks, please. Get your butt out there and play every fifth day." - ROB DIBBLE, commenting as a Sirius XM Radio show host. The Nationals announce Rob Dibble will no longer serve as a TV analyst for the team's games on MASN, which telecasts the Washington games. As a Sirius XM Radio host, the former major league reliever severely chastises Stephen Strasburg for not pitching through pain before the rookie phenom's diagnosis of a torn elbow ligament.

2014 The Phillies become the eleventh team in baseball history to throw a combined no-hitter when four of their hurlers do not yield a hit in their 7-0 victory over the Braves. Philadelphia starter Cole Hamels goes the first six innings in the Turner Field contest, with relievers Jake Diekman, Ken Giles, and Jonathan Papelbon each tossing a perfect inning to accomplish the rare feat.

2019 Patrick Corbin joins teammates Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, recording his 200th strikeout on the season when he fans Garrett Cooper on three pitches in the Nationals' 9-3 victory over the Marlins. Washington becomes the second team in National League history to have three pitchers reach the milestone in the same season, a feat first accomplished in the Senior Circuit by the 1969 Astros behind the trio of Larry Dierker, Tom Griffin, and Don Wilson.

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: Four American League clubs have had at least three hurlers record 200 or more strikeouts, including the 2018 Indians, where four pitchers reach the plateau: Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, Corey Kluber, and Mike Clevinger.

2019 Justin Verlander throws his third career no-hitter, blanking the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre, 2-0. Astros rookie Abraham Toro hit a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning of the scoreless contest to allow the Houston right-hander to complete the no-no in the bottom of the frame, including his fielding of a ground out for the final out of the game.

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2019 Texas snaps the Yankees' run (pun intended) of not being shut out at 220 consecutive games, making the streak second only to the 1931-33 Bronx Bombers, who scored in 308 straight games. Mike Minor and a pair of Rangers relievers held New York to six hits in the team's 7-0 victory at the Bronx ballpark.


2021 In his first year of playing the position, Marcus Semien ties the major league record for the most homers by a second baseman in a single season. At Target Field, the Blue Jay infielder hits a sixth-inning solo shot in the team's 6-1 victory over the Twins for his 43rd dinger, equaling the mark set in 1973 by Braves' second sacker Davey Johnson.

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SEPTEMBER 2 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1850 A. G. Spalding HOF pitcher, manager and executive (NL wins leader 1871–76; President, co-owner Chicago White Stockings; co-founder of Spalding sporting goods company


1960 Rex Hudler, outfielder (NY Yankees, California Angels, Cardinals)


1937 Peter Ueberroth organizer of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and commissioner of baseball (1984-89)


1965 Doug Linton, pitcher (KC Royals)


1971 Rich Aurilia, infielder (SF Giants)


1982 Jason Hammel Pitcher


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This Day in Baseball History
September 2nd​

1880 At Strawberry Hill, located on the shores of Nantasket Beach in Hull, Massachusetts, the first baseball game played at night takes place under artificial light with teams made up of employees from the retail competitors of Jordan Marsh and R.H. White. The contest, illuminated by lights placed on three wooden towers erected five hundred feet apart by the Northern Electric Light Company, supplying the brightness of 90,000 candles, ends in a poorly played 16-16 tie when the players need to catch the last ferry back to Boston.

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1920 Warren G. Harding, who will serve as the next president of the United States, throws three pitches for the Kerrigan Tailors, a semi-pro team, in an exhibition game against the Cubs. The contest, in which the Giants, Reds, and Indians declined to participate, was arranged in the presidential candidate's hometown to make him more appealing to the voters.

1929 In the first game of a holiday doubleheader, Senator shortstop Joe Cronin completes the third cycle in franchise history, collecting five hits in the team's 10-7 victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. In 1940, the 33-year-old infielder will accomplish the feat for the Red Sox against the Tigers at Briggs Stadium.

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1932 In his final major league appearance, 20-year-old Lew Krausse Sr. shuts out the Red Sox in the nightcap of a twin bill at Philadelphia's Shibe Park, 15-0.

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In 1961, Lew Krausse Jr., 18, blanks the Angels 4-0 in his major league debut, giving the father-son duo back-to-back shutouts twenty-nine years apart.

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1937 The first two batters for the home team, Boze Berger and Mike Kreevich, both homer off Boston right-hander Johnny Marcum, giving the White Sox a quick 2-0 lead in the Comiskey Park contest. Chicago hits two additional round-trippers in the third inning, including Berger's second of the game and the other by Dixie Walker, accounting for all the runs in the team's eventual 4-0victory over the Red Sox.

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1939 After Babe Dahlgren strikes out during an intentional walk, and baserunners make outs trying to steal home on successive pitches by trotting to the plate, the fans throw garbage onto the field, protesting the Yankees making deliberate outs to take advantage of the 6:30 Sunday curfew. Umpire Cal Hubbard rules the Boston crowd's action makes it impossible to continue the Fenway Park contest and forfeits the game to New York, giving the Bronx Bombers a 9-0 'official' victory.

 

1944 Batting cleanup for the Dodgers, Dixie Walker completes a cycle when he hits a sixth-inning double off Rube Fischer in the team's 8-4 win over the Giants. The Brooklyn right fielder's four RBIs prove to be the difference in the Ebbets Field's contest.

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1952 In his major league debut, Washington's Miguel Fornieles tosses a one-hitter, beating the visiting A's at Griffith Stadium, 5-0. The Senators' 20-year-old rookie right-hander, traded to the White Sox in the offseason for Chuck Stobbs, finishes the season with a 2-2 record and posts an ERA of 1.37 in four games.

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1955 In the second inning of the Cubs' 12-2 rout of St. Louis at Wrigley Field, Ernie Banks sets the record for home runs hit by a shortstop when he hits a two-run, two-out shot off Redbird southpaw Paul LaPalme for his 40th round-tripper. 'Mr. Cub' will extend the mark to 44 homers this season and boosts the total to 48 in 1958.

 

1957 At Wrigley Field, the Braves sweep the Cubs, 23-10 and 4-0. In the opener, Frank Torre crosses the plate in the first, second, third, fourth, sixth, and ninth innings, tying a major league record by scoring six times in one game.

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1960 Ted Williams homers off Senator right-hander Don Lee at Fenway Park in the eighth inning of the Red Sox's 5-1 victory over Washington. As a rookie in 1939, the Boston outfielder also went deep off Lee's dad, Thornton.


1962 Stan Musial, with a ninth-inning pinch-hit single in the Cardinals' 4-3 loss to New York at Busch Stadium, moves past Tris Speaker on the all-time hits list into second place with his 3,516th hit. 'Stan the Man,' who will finish his career with 3630, he will remain far behind Ty Cobb's total of 4191, eventually surpassed by Pete Rose (4256) and Hank Aaron (3771).

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1965 During a pregame ceremony at Shea Stadium, the Mets retire Casey Stengel's uniform number 37. The team's first manager, who decided to resign shortly after fracturing his hip at the end of July, compiled a 175-404 record with the expansion team, never finishing higher than in last place.

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1965 In anticipation of the team's move to Anaheim next year, owner Gene Autry announces the Los Angeles Angels will now be known as the California Angels effective today, becoming the second major league team named after an entire state. The first to change its moniker during the season, the franchise eventually uses a logo incorporating an image of the Golden State and the team's iconic halo.

1965 Cubs' first baseman Ernie Banks hits his 400th career home run, a three-run round-tripper off Cardinal hurler Curt Simmons in the third inning, helping Chicago defeat St. Louis at Wrigley Field, 5-3. Mr. Cub will finish his 19-year career with 512 home runs, including 277 home runs stroked as a shortstop, the record at the time of his retirement.

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1969 Willie Davis, with his sixth-inning double in the team's 5-4 loss to New York at Dodger Stadium, breaks a 53-year-old franchise record by hitting safely in thirty consecutive games. The LA outfielder surpasses the streak established by Zack Wheat in 1916 when the team played in Brooklyn.

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1971 Cesar Cedeno hits an inside-the-park grand slam when Dodger second baseman Jim Lefebvre and right fielder Bill Buckner collide, trying to make the fifth inning catch. The 200-foot dropped bloop contributes to the Astros' 9-3 victory over LA at the Astrodome.

1972 Coming to bat in the top of the eighth inning trailing 8-0, the Mets score seven runs and add another four tallies in the ninth to stun the Astros, 11-8. The come-from-behind victory is the Amazins' biggest comeback in franchise history.

1972 With his 2,971st hit in a Pirates uniform, Roberto Clemente breaks Honus Wagner's record for the most hits in the franchise's history. The historic blow is a three-run homer off San Francisco hurler Sam McDowell in the bottom of the fourth inning in an eventual 6-3 victory for the Bucs at Three Rivers Stadium.

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1972 In his major league debut, Doug Rau throws a three-hitter, beating the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, 5-1. The 23-year-old Dodger southpaw, who will compile a respectable 81-60 record, helps his cause with a triple in his first big-league at-bat but never hits another three-bagger during a nine-year career.

1972 In his first major league appearance, Dave Downs throws a complete-game shutout, blanking the Braves, 3-0, in the nightcap of a twin bill at Atlanta Stadium. The 20-year-old Phillies' right-hander will never win another major league game when he develops a sore arm caused by tendonitis.

1972 After retiring twenty-six consecutive batters, Cubs starter Milt Pappas walks pinch-hitter Larry Stahl on a 3-2 pitch, losing a bid for a perfect game. 'Gimpy' retires the next batter, Gary Jestadt, to preserve his 8-0 no-hitter against the Padres at Wrigley Field.

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1973 After three stormy seasons with the team, the Tigers fire Billy Martin on the last day of his three-day suspension for ordering pitchers to throw spitballs. Jim Campbell, the team's general manager, announces the dismissal was made "for the good of the organization," citing the recent incident as a contributing factor but not the sole reason for releasing his manager.


1975 Johnny LeMaster becomes the second player to hit an inside-the-park home run in his first major league at-bat, dashing around the bases on a fourth-inning pitch thrown by Don Sutton in the Giants' 7-3 win over LA at Candlestick Park. The San Francisco shortstop joins Luke Stuart, who accomplished the feat at the Polo Grounds while playing for the 1921 Browns.

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1985 The Cardinals have agreed to a one-year contract with Yadier Molina, who surpasses Bob Gibson's 17 seasons with the club and second only to Stan Musial's 22 years of playing for the Redbirds. The 38-year-old nine-time All-Star backstop, since his debut in 2004, has played every game of his career with St. Louis, making the total of 2,025 contests the most of any catcher for just one team.


1986 The Astros and Cubs use a major league record 53 players in the game. Billy Hatcher's home run off Greg Maddux in the top of the 18th inning is the difference in Houston's 8-7 victory at Wrigley Field.

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1987 Kevin Bass becomes the first National Leaguer to homer from both sides of the plate twice in one season when he goes deep twice in the Astros' 10-1 rout of the Cubs at the Astrodome. The Houston right fielder also accomplished the last month against San Francisco.

 

1990 Dave Stieb pitches the major league record ninth no-hitter of the season, beating the Indians 3-0. Previously, the Blue Jay right-hander had lost three no-hit bids after getting the first two outs in the ninth inning.

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1993 In their 62nd home game, the Rockies draw a crowd of 47,699 to surpass the 1982 Dodgers, attracting 3,617,863 fans to Denver's Mile High Stadium to set a new National League single-season attendance record. The expansion club will also break the 1992 Blue Jays' major league mark of 4,028,318 before the end of the season.

1996 After his operation in May to remove an aneurysm in his pitching arm, David Cone dramatically returns to the mound when he hurls seven innings of no-hit ball. Mariano Rivera gives up the opponent's only hit, a one-out infield single in the ninth inning to Jose Herrera, in the Yankees' 5-0 victory over the A's at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

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1996 Mike Greenwell beats the Mariners single-handedly, driving in all nine runs in the Red Sox' 9-8 victory over Seattle. Having already collected a double, home run, and a grand slam, the Boston right fielder knocks in the decisive run with a 10th-inning single in the Kingdome contest.

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1998 At Pro Player Stadium, Cardinal first baseman Mark McGwire hits his 58th and 59th home runs, surpassing Jimmie Foxx's 58 for the A's in 1932, and Hank Greenberg, who also accomplished the feat six years later with the Tigers. The St. Louis slugger will finish the year with 70 homers, far surpassing the single-season mark of 61, established in 1961 by Yankee right fielder Roger Maris.

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1998 Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa hits his 56th homer of the season, tying the franchise record established in 1930 by Hack Wilson. The right fielder's solo round-tripper in the sixth inning of the Wrigley Field contest off Jason Bere contributes to Chicago's 4-2 victory over Cincinnati.

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1998 Nomar Garciaparra hits a ninth-inning grand slam, giving the Red Sox a 7-3 walk-off win over the Mariners at Fenway Park. The 25-year-old shortstop becomes one of only five players to hit 30 homers in each of his first two seasons, joining Rudy York (1937-38 Tigers), Ron Kittle (1983-84 White Sox), Jose Canseco (1986-87 A's), and Mark McGwire (1987-88 A's).

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1998 Cardinals starter Kent Mercker hits a grand slam en route to picking up the win in the Redbirds' 14-4 rout of the Marlins at Dolphin Stadium. The fourth-inning round-tripper off Jesus Sanchez will be the only career homer the St. Louis southpaw will hit in his 18-year tenure in the major leagues.

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1999 Cal Ripken, Jr. sets off a very enthusiastic ovation at Camden Yards when he becomes the 29th major leaguer to hit 400 career home runs. The Oriole third baseman connects for a three-run blast with two outs off right-hander Rolando Arrojo in the third inning of the Birds' 11-6 victory over Tampa Bay.

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2000 Elvis Pena becomes the first person named Elvis to appear in a major league game. The 23-year-old Dominican infielder, in his debut for the Rockies, strikes out swinging as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning of Colorado's 8-3 loss to Milwaukee at Coors Field.

2001 Carl Everett, pinch-hitting, singles in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and strikes, spoiling Mike Mussina's bid for a perfect game against the Red Sox. The Yankee right-hander retires the next batter for his fourth career one-hitter, a 1-0 victory.

2001 For the first time in major league history, four games end with only one run crossing the plate. The Yankees, Padres, Astros, and Blue Jays beat their opponents, respectively, the Red Sox, Diamondbacks, Brewers, and Tigers, 1-0.

2002 In the top of the ninth inning, Diamondback first baseman Mark Grace hurls an inning of relief with the team trailing the Dodgers, 18-0. The All-Star infielder retires three of the four batters he faces in the Bank One Ballpark, yielding a two-out home run to David Ross.

2003 To make the perception of a younger and hipper team, the Blue Jays unveiled their fourth logo in its 27-year history. The new look for the 2004 season adds black and silver trimming to a newly stylized bird while eliminating the red maple leaf backdrop and the word Blue.

2006 At Tropicana Field, the Devil Rays' second triple play in franchise history is the first time the ball never touches the bat. The 2-6-2 triple killing against the Mariners occurs when Raul Ibanez strikes out on a full count (1), with Adrian Beltre tagged out attempting to steal second (2) and shortstop Ben Zobrist returning the ball to catcher Dioner Navarro, nailing Jose Lopez trying to score from third (3).

2006 Joining Jeremy Hermida (Marlins, 2005) and Bill Duggleby (Phillies, 1898), Kevin Kouzmanoff becomes the third player in major league history to hit a grand slam in his first career at-bat. The Indians' 25-year-old DH, filling in for the injured Travis Hafner, who hit six bases-juiced homers this season, tying a major league record, is the first person to accomplish the feat on the first pitch he ever sees in the big leagues.

2008 New York starter Jonathon Niese, born on the day the Mets won their last World Championship, makes his major league debut against the Brewers in Miller Park. On his second pitch of the game, the 21-year-old southpaw gives up a home run to Rickie Weeks, making him the first rookie in franchise history to yield a home run to the first batter he faces in his career.


2012 Nineteen-year and 95-day-old second baseman Jurickson Profar becomes the sixth Ranger to launch a major league career with a home run, going deep off Indians' starter Zach McAllister in the team's 8-3 victory at Progressive Field. The Texas second baseman becomes the third teenager to accomplish the feat, following Whitey Lockman (1945 Giants -18y/345d) and Ted Tappe (1950 Cardinals - 19y/224d).

2017 In their return to Minute Maid Park, the Astros sweep a doubleheader from the Mets, 12-8 and 4-1, having played their last home series at the Rays' Tropicana Field. Extreme flooding in Houston caused by Hurricane Harvey necessitated a change of venue for the eventual World Champs.
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