BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

1952 Pacific Coast League's Sacramento manager, former major league All-Star second baseman Joe Gordon, pinch-hits homers in both ends of a doubleheader. The first one, a grand slam, wins the game, 4-1.


1953 A fact-finding committee appointed by the American League approves the relocation of the St. Louis Browns but does not specify any city for the new home for the franchise. In March, by a 5-2 vote, the Junior Circuit thwarted Bill Veeck's plan to shift the club to Baltimore, eventually approving the transfer when the controversial owner agreed to give up his interest in the team.

1955 In the eighth inning of the A's 13-7 victory over Chicago, Kansas City infielder Alex George makes his major league debut at Municipal Stadium. The 16-year-old shortstop handles two chances cleanly and strikes out in his only at-bat.

 

1960 Warren Spahn pitches a no-hitter, beating the Phillies at County Stadium, 4-0. The 39-year-old southpaw sets an all-time Braves record with 15 strikeouts en route to his 20th victory of the season, marking the tenth time he has reached the plateau.

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1963 After winning 19 of their last 20 games, the Cardinals face the first-place Dodgers, needing a victory to tie their opponent in the standings. In front of an enthusiastic Busch Stadium crowd, Stan Musial's seventh-inning home run, the 475th and last big-league round-tripper of his career, ties the game at 1-1, but LA scores two runs in the ninth to win the game en route to sweeping the three-game series to clinch the pennant.

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1965 In front of only 1,247 fans at Fenway Park, Red Sox right-hander Dave Morehead, the league leader in losses this season with 18, no-hits the visiting Indians, 2-1. On the same day, ninth-place Boston, who will lose 100 games, fire their general manager, Pinky Higgins.

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1966 Bob Gibson notches his 20th victory when he goes the distance to beat Chicago at Wrigley Field, 3-1. The Cardinal right-hander becomes the first pitcher in over forty years to have consecutive 20-win seasons for a second-division team.

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1967 In the 11th inning at Connie Mack Stadium, Rick Joseph hits a walk-off grand slam in the Phillies' 8-4 victory over the Dodgers. Two batters are walked intentionally by Ron Perranoski to face the weak-hitting Philadelphia pinch-hitter, who responds with his first career home run and his only round-tripper this season.

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1968 American League President Joe Cronin fires umpires Al Salerno and Bill Valentine, citing their incompetency for their dismissal. The veteran men in blue claim the firings were due to their efforts to organize the Junior Circuit arbitrators after the pair met with their National League counterparts who had formed a union in 1963.

 

1969 The Red Sox fire skipper Dick Williams with one year left on his contract due to several things, including a lack of communication with the players, according to General Manager Dick O'Connell. As a rookie manager in 1967, Williams led Boston to their Impossible Dream American League pennant.

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1972 Phillies' rookie third baseman Mike Schmidt hits his first career home run, breaking Expos' Balor Moore's 25 consecutive scoreless inning streak. Michael Jack Schmidt will finish his 18-year career with 548 round-trippers.

1972 Glen Beckert goes 0-for-6 in the Cubs' 18-5 victory over the Mets at Wrigley Field, leaving 12 men on base to set a new major league mark. The Chicago second baseman strands the bases loaded in the first and seventh, leaves two runners on twice when he bats two times in the team's seven-run third and fails to plate other teammates in the fifth and seventh, the first of his two plate appearances in the frame.

 

1975 Rennie Stennett ties a major league mark established in 1892 with his 7-for-7 performance in a nine-inning game. The Pirates' second baseman gets two hits in one inning twice, the first and fifth frames, in the Bucs' 22-0 rout of the Cubs at Wrigley Field, the most one-sided shutout since 1900.

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1975 Mike Vail fails to break the major league rookie record for consecutive games with a hit shared by Richie Ashburn (1948, Phillies) and Alvin Dark (1948, Braves). The 23-year-old freshman left fielder has plenty of opportunities to hit safely in his 24th straight game, coming to the plate eight times in the Mets' 18-inning marathon with Montreal, a 4-3 victory over the Expos at Shea Stadium.

1979 At Yankee Stadium, the Bronx Bombers hold Catfish Hunter Day to honor their future Hall of Fame pitcher, who will retire at the end of the season at 33. A 20-year-old left-hander named Dave Righetti makes his major league debut for the hometown team, giving up three runs on three hits while issuing six walks in five innings against the Tigers.

 

1980 Mike Norris, en route to a 22-9 record with the second-place A's, gets his 20th victory of the season when Oakland beats Texas at Arlington Stadium, 4-2. The 25-year-old right-hander will compile a 58-59 career mark during his ten years in the major leagues with Oakland.


1987 Indian first baseman Joe Carter, swiping his career-high 30th base, becomes the tenth major leaguer to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season. Four players, including Mets teammates Howard Johnson and Darryl Strawberry and A's slugger Jose Canseco, become the newest members of the 30/30 club this season, an accomplishment previously attained only eleven times.


1988 On a wet, dreary night in a game delayed by two hours and 27 minutes, Tom Browning pitches the first perfect game in Reds' history, striking out eight and allowing only eight balls to leave the infield in his 1-0 victory against the Dodgers. Over three starts, including the perfect game, the 28-year-old southpaw retires 40 consecutive batters - one shy of the major league record established in 1972 by Giants' right-hander Jim Barr.

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1991 Darren Lewis scores four runs and steals three bags without getting a hit. In four of his five plate appearances, the Giants' leadoff hitter reaches base via a walk in San Francisco's victory over the Braves at Candlestick Park, 8-5.

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1993 At the age of 41, Twins' Dave Winfield becomes the 19th major leaguer to collect 3000 hits when he singles to left off A's ace Dennis Eckersley in the bottom of the ninth of a 5-4 extra-inning victory over Oakland at the Metrodome. Joining Al Kaline, the Minnesota DH becomes the second player to reach the milestone, having never played a day in the minors.

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1996 A fifth-inning triple off Royal southpaw Jose Rosado gives Twins Paul Molitor his 3000th hit, becoming the first major leaguer to accomplish the feat with a three-bagger. The 'Ignitor' reaches this milestone in the same season in which he also collects 200 hits, making him the only player to accomplish both feats in the same campaign.

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1996 Benito Santiago hits a trio of home runs in his three first at-bats in the Phillies' 6-1 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The 31-year-old native of Ponce, Puerto Rico, also went deep in his last at-bat in yesterday's contest in Chicago, giving the Philadelphia backstop four consecutive homers in four at-bats.

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1997 Phillies hurler Curt Schilling, in a 3-2 victory at Veterans Stadium, whiffs nine Mets to become the thirteenth pitcher in major league history since 1900 to record 300 strikeouts in a season. The right-hander also reaches the milestone next year with Philadelphia and in 2002 with the Diamondbacks.

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1998 Tom Gordon ties Jose Mesa's major league single-season record established in 1995 with his 38th consecutive save. The 30-year-old right-handed closer also set a franchise mark with his 41st save when the Red Sox beat Baltimore, 4-3.

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1998 Cleveland's Manny Ramirez ties a major league record with homers in four straight at-bats and five in two games. The Indian right fielder, who homered in his final three at-bats last night, goes deep in the first off Twin Bob Tewksbury and takes a 3-2 pitch to left in the fifth for his fifth homer in six at-bats.

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1998 Four batters strike out in one inning for only the 30th time in major league history, marking only the 12th time the feat occurs consecutively. Thanks to Randy Knorr's passed ball, Marlin rookie Kirt Ojala accomplishes the deed in the fourth inning of the Marlins' 3-2 defeat to the Expos.

1998 In front of 49,891 patrons at San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium, Sammy Sosa ties Mark McGwire by hitting his record-setting 63rd home run. The 434-foot eighth-inning two-out blast off Brian Boehringer is a tie-breaking grand slam, with 'Slammin' Sammy collecting all six RBIs when the Cubs beat the Padres, 6-3.

1999 Doug Glanville collects five hits, including a double and a home run, in the Phillies' 8-6 victory at the Astrodome, ending Houston's win streak at 12, a franchise record. The 29-year-old center fielder will enjoy another five-hit performance next season against Cincinnati.

 

2000 With a sixth-inning blast in a 7-6 loss to the hometown Cardinals, Cub outfielder Sammy Sosa joins Mark McGwire (1997-99) as the only major leaguer to hit 50 home runs in three straight seasons. Babe Ruth had three 50+ homer seasons but did not accomplish the feat in consecutive years.​

2002 Giant left fielder Barry Bonds walks three times, breaking his own record for bases on balls in a season with 178. Approximately one-third of the free passes given to the San Francisco slugger have been intentional (60 out of 178).

2004 The Red Sox become the fourth team in big league history to sell out an 81-game home season. The Indians (1996-2000), Rockies (1996), and Giants (2000) are the other clubs that have accomplished the feat.

2005 Youppi!, who got his start at Olympic Stadium, is named the first official mascot of the Montreal Canadiens, becoming the first to switch from Major League Baseball to the NHL. The acquisition, reportedly at the cost of six figures, is made possible when the Expos leave the hairy orange arm-waving giant behind in favor of an eagle called "Screech" when they moved to Washington, D.C. to become the Nationals.

2006 Angels center fielder Chone Figgins, in a 12-6 loss to the Rangers in Texas, triples in the ninth inning to become the fifth player in franchise history to hit for the cycle. 'Figgy' joins Jeff DaVanon (2004), Dave Winfield (1991), Dan Ford (1979), and Jim Fregosi (1964, 1968) to accomplish the feat for the Halos.

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2006 The Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston's grand reopening ceremony for its Roxbury facility, which underwent a $7-million renovation, has some community leaders upset with its new name unveiled at the event. The previous Red Sox owner, Tom Yawkey, created the foundation that donated $3 million to renovate the facility, but some in the minority neighborhood believe it's wrong to name the clubhouse after him because of his racially motivated policies, including not signing Jackie Robinson and the team becoming the last to integrate.

2006 Stealing second base in the first inning in an 8-5 victory over the Brewers at RFK, Alfonso Soriano becomes the fourth player in major league history to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in a single season. The Nationals' outfielder joins Jose Canseco (1988), Barry Bonds (1996), and Alex Rodriguez (1998) as the only players to record 40-40 seasons.

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2007 Todd Jones becomes the 21st major leaguer to record 300 career saves. The milestone doesn't come easy as the Tigers' closer gives up three hits and a run in Detroit's 6-4 win over the Twins at the Metrodome.

2007 David Wright, homering in the seventh inning of a 10-6 loss to Philadelphia at Shea Stadium, becomes the 30th member of the 30-30 club. The New York third baseman, returning to the dugout, is greeted by hitting coach Howard Johnson, who, along with Darryl Strawberry, are the other Mets to have stolen thirty bases and hit 30 homers in the same season.

2007 In a dramatic at-bat, Jim Thome becomes the third major leaguer this season and the 23rd overall to hit 500 career home runs. The historic homer comes in the bottom of the ninth on a full count as the White Sox DH strokes a two-run walk-off round-tripper to beat the Angels at U.S. Cellular Field, 9-7.

2007 Washington announces that the press box in Nationals Park, the team's new home scheduled to open next season, will be named the "Shirley Povich Media Center," in honor of the late Hall of Fame Baseball writer. The Washington Post's long-time sports columnist and reporter covered the Senators' first World Series championship in 1924 and continued to write for the paper until he died in 1998.

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2008 Derek Jeter becomes the all-time hits leader at the soon-to-be-demolished Yankee Stadium. The team's shortstop and captain surpass Lou Gehrig's record with a first-inning single in a 6-2 loss to the White Sox, bringing his total to 1,270 at the 85-year-old ballpark.

2009 The Tigers pay tribute to 91-year-old Ernie Harwell, their long-time broadcaster (1960-2002), who recently revealed he has inoperable cancer. During the 4-3 victory over Kansas City, a ceremony in the third inning includes a three-minute video tribute followed by the Hall of Fame announcer thanking the admiring and supportive fans attending the game at Comerica Park.


2010 Nyjer Morgan, following appeals, will serve an eight-game suspension in place of the two original bans that totaled 15 games. Nationals outfielder, initially given a seven-game suspension for deliberately throwing a ball into the stands, is suspended for another eight games the following week for instigating a brawl with Florida.

2012 The Orioles, with their 9-5 victory over Oakland, are assured of having their first winning season since the team finished first in the AL East in 1997. The Birds will finish the campaign with a 93-69 record for a second-place finish but will earn a spot in the postseason as the play-in Wild Card team.

2014 With an 8-2 win over the Blue Jays, the Orioles cop their first AL East crown since 1997, when Davey Johnson managed the club to 98 victories. The Camden Yards victory marks the earliest Baltimore has clinched a division title (151st game) since 1971 and the first time the Birds had captured the flag at home in 35 years.
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Gary Sheffield
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You show up to your local mustache contest and see Tim Blackwell on your side of the bracket…save the entry fee and call it a day
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SEPTEMBER 17 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1879 Rube Foster HOF manager and executive (Negro National League pennant 1920–22, 26; Chicago American Giants)


1882 Frank Schulte outfielder (NL MVP 1911; Chicago Cubs)


1897 Earl Webb outfielder (MLB Record: 67 doubles, single season 1931; Boston Red Sox)


1900 Hughie Critz player (Cincinnati Reds)

1937 Orlando Cepeda HOF first baseman (11 × MLB All-Star; World Series & NL MVP 1967 St. Louis Cardinals; NL Rookie of the Year 1958 SF Giants)


1960 John Franco pitcher (NY Mets)


1980 Danny Haren Pitcher A's,Cardinals,DBacks

1981 Casey Janssen Pitcher Jays, Nationals, Red Sox, Padres


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This Day in Baseball History
September 17th​

1900 At Philadelphia Park, Tommy Corcoran leaves his shortstop position and digs around the third base coaching box with his spikes. The Reds' captain uncovers a metal box with an electrical device with attached wires inside, most likely used by the Phillies in a sophisticated scheme to steal signs.

1903 In a game shortened due to darkness, the Americans clinch their first AL pennant when they beat the Cleveland Naps at the Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds, 4-3. Boston will defeat the Pirates, five games to 3, in the first World Series the fledgling circuit plays against an established National League foe.

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1912 At Brooklyn's Washington Park, Casey Stengel makes an impressive major league debut when he collects four hits, drives in two runs, and swipes a pair of bases in the Dodgers' 7-3 victory against the Pirates. The likable outfielder from Kansas City finishes the season with a .316 batting average (18/57) in his first 17 games with Brooklyn.

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1916 George Sisler outduels the Senators' legend Walter Johnson, 1-0. The game will mark Gorgeous George's last big-league pitching victory; however, the former Browns' hurler will become a member of the Hall of Fame as a first baseman, finishing his 15-year major league career with a .340 lifetime batting average.

Browns' George Sisler

JOHNSON
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1920 For the first time in major league history, two players hit for the cycle on the same day when Tigers outfielder Bobby Veach, who goes 6-for-6, and Giants first baseman George Burns accomplish the unique feat. This rare event will not occur on the same day again until 2008 when Diamondback shortstop Stephen Drew and Mariner third baseman Adrian Beltre each collect a single, double, triple, and a home run in different games played on September 1.
Veach

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1930 Earl Averill, with three consecutive home runs, drives in eight runs in the Indians' 13-7 victory over the Senators at Cleveland's League Park. The Tribe's 28-year-old center fielder adds another homer in the nightcap to set an American League record with 11 RBIs in the twin bill.

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1938 In the top of the seventh inning of the Cubs' 4-0 victory over New York at the Polo Grounds, Ripper Collins hits his last career home run, finishing with 135 round-trippers during his nine-year tenure in the major leagues. The Chicago first baseman remains the all-time switch-hitter home run leader for 18 years until Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle surpasses his total in 1956.

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1939 American League President Will Harridge overturns umpire Cal Hubbard's decision to award the Yankees a 9-0 forfeited victory over the Red Sox, ordering the contest replayed from the seventh inning. The Red Sox fans, protesting the deliberate outs New York was making to take advantage of the 6:30 Sunday curfew, had thrown a barrage of garbage onto the playing field, making it impossible to continue the Fenway Park contest.

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1941 In front of only 3,585 fans in St. Louis, twenty-year-old Stan Musial makes his major league debut against Boston, going 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. 'Stan the Man' will collect 3,630 hits during his 22-year Hall of Fame career, 1815 at home and 1815 on the road.

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1947 Not waiting for the end of the season, The Sporting News, in a full-page splash in today's issue, names Dodger Jackie Robinson as the publication's Rookie of the Year. Although the Brooklyn infielder faced the challenges of being the century's first black big-leaguer, 'The Bible of Baseball' makes the selection based on his hitting, running, defensive play, and value to the team, according to the article written by legendary publisher J.G. Taylor Spink.

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1951 In the bottom of the ninth, Joe DiMaggio scores the winning run on a squeeze bunt by Phil Rizzuto off Cleveland starter Bob Lemon, giving the Yankees a 2-1 walk-off victory. The dramatic win breaks the tie for first place with the Tribe, and the Bronx Bombers will stay in front for the rest of the season.

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1953 Ernie Banks becomes the first black player to appear in a Cubs game. The former Kansas City Monarch infielder, who makes an error and is hitless in three at-bats, will hit 512 home runs and win the MVP award twice during his 19-year Hall of Fame career.

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1953 Reds GM Gabe Paul announces he has fired manager Rogers Hornsby without explaining the dismissal of the 57-year-old Hall of Famer. The Rajah, who has lost six managerial positions during his long baseball career, will be replaced on an interim basis by coach Buster Mills, who will take over the 64-82 club with eight games left to play in the season.

1954 The California community of Avila names Bobby Avila, finishing the campaign with a league-leading .341 for the eventual American League champs, as the town's honorary mayor in recognition of the Indian second baseman's outstanding contributions to the team's success this season. The thirty-year-old infielder does become the mayor of his home city of Veracruz in 1980 before serving two three-year terms in the Mexican Congress.

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1957 In his first at-bat in 17 days, Ted Williams homers off KC's Tom Morgan, pinch-hitting in the eighth inning of the Red Sox' 9-8 victory at Fenway Park. Boston's 'Splendid Splinter' had been sidelined with pneumonia since September.

1963 Dodger ace Sandy Koufax tosses a four-hitter, blanking St. Louis at Sportsman's Park, 4-0. The southpaw's scoreless effort establishes a National League record for shutouts thrown by lefties in a season with 11, five shy of Grover Cleveland Alexander's major league mark set in 1916 with the Phillies.

1964 Seattle mayor J.D. Dorm Braman publicly admits his attempt to bring the Indians to the Emerald City. Other suitors for the disgruntled franchise, whose board of directors will vote to keep the team in Cleveland next month, include Oakland and Dallas.

1964 Thanks to the efforts of Charlie Finley seen wearing a wig, the Beatles, who had planned for a day of rest in New Orleans on the only free date scheduled during their American tour, play a concert in Kansas City's Municipal Stadium. The group's manager Brian Epstein, who had initially turned down the A's owner's offers of $50,000 and $100,000 to have the lads from Liverpool perform in the City of Fountains, agrees on $150,000, about six times the going rate, enabling the Fab Four to earn $4,838 per minute, the largest sum ever paid for a musical concert.

Back of Beatle ticket for '64 concert in KC
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1965 In front of a capacity crowd at the Bronx ballpark, the Yankees pay tribute to Mickey Mantle in the first of three special days held in his honor. Before appearing in his 2000th career game, 'The Mick' tells the fans that he hoped to play another 15 years, but in reality, he will play his last major league contest in 1968.

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1966 At Yankee Stadium, New York celebrates Bobby Richardson Day in honor of their All-Star second baseman, retiring at the end of the season. After leaving the playing field in his prime to spend more time with his family, the 31-year-old infielder returns to the game in 1970 to become the head baseball coach at the University of South Carolina, where he will compile a 221-92-1 record with the Gamecocks.

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1968 At Candlestick Park, Giants' hurler Gaylord Perry (14-14) no-hits the Cardinals and Bob Gibson, 1-0, with the game's only run scored on Ron Hunt's first-inning home run. For the first time in major league history, the feat is accomplished in successive games when Redbird hurler Ray Washburn returns the favor tomorrow by no-hitting San Francisco, 2-0.

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1968 With their 98th victory, Detroit clinches the American League pennant for the first time in 23 years, beating the Yankees, 2-1, when Don Wert's ninth-inning single plates Al Kaline for the walk-off win at Tiger Stadium. Twenty-six-year-old right-hander Joe Sparma goes the distance, limiting the third-place Bronx Bombers to five hits.

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1973 Rick Waits makes his major league debut when he pitches the ninth inning of the Rangers' 10-3 victory over Chicago at Arlington Stadium. Although the 21-year-old right-hander starts the frame with an eight-run lead, he inexplicably gets credit for a save.

1975 Mets right-fielder Rusty Staub, in a 5-2 loss to Chicago at Shea Stadium, homers off Ray Burris in the fourth frame for his 98th RBI of the season, establishing a new team record. 'Le Grand Orange' surpasses the franchise mark set by Donn Clendenon in 1970.

1977 With his third-inning round-tripper off Jim Crawford at Tiger Stadium, Yankees DH Dave Kingman becomes the first player to homer for four teams in one season. The much-traveled veteran will hit a total of 26 home runs this year, playing for the Mets (9), Padres (11), Angels (2), and the Bronx Bombers (4).