BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

1992 The Twins win their 523rd game with Tom Kelly as their manager when the team beats the Royals at the Metrodome, 4-0. The victory makes the Minnesota native the winningest skipper in team history, surpassing the standard set by Sam Mele from 1961 to 1967.

1993 Cubs' reliever Randy Myers tosses a perfect ninth inning to become the first National League pitcher to record 50 saves in a season when the team beats the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine, 7-3. The 30-year-old southpaw closer, best known for being one of the Reds' Nasty Boys, will finish the season with a major-league-leading 53 saves.

1993 Bo Jackson's three-run home run is the difference in Chicago's 4-2 win over Seattle. The victory enables the White Sox to clinch their first American League West title in ten years.

1993 Mike Piazza, who broke the major league rookie record for home runs by a catcher earlier in the month, sets another mark for round-trippers when he hits his 34th, surpassing the previous L.A. Dodger mark shared by Steve Garvey (1977) and Pedro Guerrero (1985). Duke Snider established the franchise record with 43 homers playing with Brooklyn in 1956.

1993 With a 2-0 victory over the Brewers in Milwaukee's County Stadium, the Blue Jays clinch their third consecutive American League East title. Toronto will beat the Phillies in six games, capturing their second straight World Series.

1996 Mark Wohlers sets a Braves record with his 39th save of the season. The right-handed reliever is less than perfect, throwing two wild pitches to give up a ninth-inning run, but hangs on to preserve Atlanta's 6-4 victory over the Expos at Montreal's Olympic Stadium.

1996 Baseball suspends Roberto Alomar for five games for spitting in the face of home plate umpire John Hirschbeck. After appealing the decision, the Oriole second baseman plays the next day, helping Baltimore clinch the wild card.

1996 In a 12-3 loss to the Rockies at Coors Field, Giants left fielder Barry Bonds swipes his 40th base to become only the second player in major league history to have 40 homers and 40 stolen bases in the same season. Jose Canseco became the 40-40 club's charter member in 1988, playing for the A's.

1998 In the season finale, Mark McGwire ends the historic season by hitting his 69th and 70th home runs in the Cardinals' 6-3 win over the Expos. Big Mac's #70, which he strokes his last at-bat off Expos' rookie Carl Pavano of Southington, Connecticut, also establishes a National League record for round-trippers hit at home with his 38th Busch Stadium blast.

1998 On the last day of the season, Detroit pinch-hitter Bobby Higginson homers with two outs off of Blue Jay Roy Halladay to spoil the 21-year-old rookie's bid for a no-hitter. The right-hander from Colorado comes within one out of throwing a no-no in his second major league start in the Blue Jays' 2-1 victory over the Tigers at the SkyDome.

1998 The 1998 Yankees win their seventh straight game to end the season with a .704 winning percentage. The Bronx Bombers (114-48) become the first team since the 1954 Indians (111-43) to play over .700 ball for the entire season.

1998 In the Reds' 4-1 victory over Pittsburgh, two sets of brothers appear in the same lineup for the first time in major league history. Stephen Larkin plays first base, Bret Boone covers second, Barry Larkin is the shortstop, and Aaron Boone plays third, making up the all-brother infield.

1998 Padres' reliever Trevor Hoffman ties the National League saves record as he gets three straight outs in a 3-2 victory over Arizona. His 53rd save (out of 54 chances) matches the standard set by current teammate Randy Myers, who did it for the Cubs in 1993.

1998 Greg Vaughn's eighth-inning two-run round-tripper is the difference in the Padres' 3-2 victory over Arizona at Bank One Ballpark. With his 50th home run, the San Diego left fielder joins Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Ken Griffey, Jr. in reaching the milestone, marking the first time four players have accomplished the feat in the same season.

1999 Gabe Kapler takes the field donning a numberless uniform during the last game at Tiger Stadium, with the other players in the starting lineup wearing uniform numbers corresponding to the fan-selected All-Time Detroit Tigers team members. The center fielder's back is blank as a tribute to Ty Cobb, who never wore a number.

1999 In the Tiger Stadium finale, Detroit catcher Robert Fick hits the last round-tripper, a grand slam, in the home team's 8-2 victory over the Royals. The contest marks the 6,873rd and final major league game played at the historic 87-year-old park on the corner of Trumbull and Michigan.

 

2000 The United States Olympic team, managed by former Dodger skipper Tommy Lasorda, stuns the world, beating the much-favored Cuban team to win its first gold medal in its national pastime. Ben Sheets ends Cuba's 21-game Olympic winning streak with a 4-0 shutout.

2000 Darin Erstad breaks the major league record for RBIs in a season by a leadoff batter. The Angels' outfielder collects his 99th RBI in a 9-7 loss to the A's, surpassing Nomar Garciaparra's total of 98 batting first for the Red Sox in 1997.

2001 In the first game at Wrigley Field since the September 11 terrorist attacks, Sammy Sosa proudly carries an American flag out to right field while making his customary pregame dash to his position to salute the bleacher fans, much to the delight of the Northside crowd. Later in the game, after hitting his 59th home run, the native of the Dominican Republic rounds the bases, displaying the flag again, waving the Stars and Stripes when crossing the plate and coming out of the dugout for a curtain call.

2002 In his first full season as a closer, John Smoltz, preserving a Braves' 3-1 victory over the Mets, converts his 54th save to establish a new National League mark. Randy Myers (Cubs - 1993) and Trevor Hoffman (Padres - 1998) had previously shared the record.

2002 At Cleveland's Jacobs Field, first baseman Jim Thome establishes a new single-season Indian home run record by hitting his 51st homer. Albert Belle hit 50 for the Tribe in 1995.

2003 At Veterans Stadium, Javy Lopez hit his 42nd home to break the major league record for home runs hit by a catcher. In 1996, Mets' backstop Todd Hundley hit 41 to surpass Roy Campanella's 1953 mark.

2003 Cubs' slugger Sammy Sosa blasts his 40th home run to establish a National League record by reaching the plateau for the sixth consecutive season, surpassing Ralph Kiner and Duke Snider. The Chicago right fielder needs another 40-homer season to equal Babe Ruth's major league mark, set from 1926 to 1932.

2003 With a startling rally, the Tigers avoid equaling the modern major league record of 120 losses set by the expansion 1962 Amazin' Mets. It takes one of the biggest comebacks in franchise history when Detroit beats the Twins on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth after trailing by eight runs, 9-8.

2005 The Braves back into their 14th straight division flag with the Mets beating the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, 3-2. The record streak started in 1991 when Atlanta played in the NL West.

2005 Jimmy Rollins extends his hitting streak to 32 games with a seventh-inning single off Mets reliever Juan Padilla. The Philadelphia shortstop breaks the 106-year-old Phillies record, surpassing Ed Delahanty, who hit safely in 31 consecutive games in 1899.

2006 Anibal Sanchez (10-3) tosses five innings, winning Florida's 7-2 victory over the Reds. The 22-year-old right-hander, along with Scott Olsen (12-9), Josh Johnson (12-7), and Ricky Nolasco (11-10), make the Marlins the first team in major league history to have four rookie pitchers win ten or more games.

2006 Accomplishing the milestone in only 77 gates, the Yankees surpass the four million in attendance for the second consecutive year. The Bronx Bombers join the 1991-93 Blue Jays as the only teams in baseball history to reach that mark in more than one season.

2007 Ryan Hanigan becomes the first person born in Washington, D. C. to play in the major leagues. The 27-year-old Reds rookie doubles off Brewers' ace Ben Sheets in his first big-league at-bat.

2007 In addition to pitching 6.1 innings of scoreless ball, Micah Owings goes 4-for-4 with three doubles and three RBIs in the Diamondbacks' 8-0 victory over the Pirates at PNC Park. The 24-year-old right-hander, who will collect the Silver Slugger award for his offensive prowess, is the first pitcher since Whitey Ford (Yankees - 1963) to have two four-hit games in one season.

2009 The Blue Jays appoint Paul Beeston for a three-year term as president and CEO of the team and the Rogers Centre, the home of the Toronto franchise. In October of 2008, the former MLB president took the interim position, replacing Paul Godfrey.

2010 "It's a tough situation for us. A lot of the visiting teams come in and wonder where are all the fans. It's actually a little bit embarrassing for us. We're one game away from clinching a postseason spot." - EVAN LONGORIA,Rays' third baseman, commenting on the team's low attendance.

With an opportunity to see their team clinch a postseason berth, only 12,446 fans attend the Rays game against Baltimore at Tropicana Field. Inspired by third baseman Evan Longoria's criticism of the low attendance figures, the club will make 20,000 free tickets available in the series finale to get more 'energy' into the domed ballpark.

2010 The Phillies capture their fourth consecutive NL East title when they beat Washington, 8-0, behind Roy Halladay's two-hit complete game. Unlike the previous seasons, when the Fightin' Phils' trademark was the big bats in the lineup, this year's squad excelled due to a strong starting rotation that included Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt, in addition to Halladay.

2011 After giving up five runs in the top of the tenth inning, the Diamondbacks score six times in the bottom of the frame in an amazing 7-6 come-from-behind victory over the Dodgers. Arizona infielder Ryan Roberts delivers the decisive blow in the Chase Field contest, a walk-off grand slam with two outs.

2012 In the Tigers' 5-4 victory over Kansas City at Comerica Park, Doug Fister establishes a new American League record when he strikes out nine consecutive batters, one shy of Tom Seaver's major league mark. Detroit's 6-foot-8 right-hander whiffs the last batter in the fourth frame, striking out the side in the next two innings, and continues the streak until Salvador Perez, his first victim, grounds out to the shortstop on a 1-2 pitch to end the seventh inning.

2012 With New York's 6-5 victory over Pittsburgh at Citi Field, R. A. Dickey becomes a 20-game winner, the first Mets hurler in 22 years to accomplish the feat. The 37-year-old knuckleballer is the sixth pitcher in the 50-year history of the franchise to reach the milestone, along with Tom Seaver (1969, 1971, 1972, and 1975), Jerry Koosman (1976), David Cone (1988), and Frank Viola (1990).

2012 Fernando Rodney sets a franchise record when he notches his 46th save of the season, throwing a scoreless ninth inning in the Rays' 3-2 victory over Chicago at U.S. Cellular Field. The 35-year-old right-handed closer surpasses the team mark established in 2010 by Rafael Soriano.

2015 With Houston's 4-2 victory over the Rangers, Dallas Keuchel becomes the first pitcher to win every start at his home park in a single season, going 15-0 at Minute Maid Park. The 27-year-old southpaw finishes the campaign with a 20-8 record and a 2.48 ERA for the second-place Astros.

2019 At Angel Stadium, Will Harris becomes the first Astro hurler to throw an immaculate inning since Brandon Backe accomplished the feat on April 14, 2004. In the bottom of the eighth inning in the team's 4-0 victory over the Halos, the right-hander reliever retires the only three batters he faces on nine pitches, getting Kaleb Cowart, Matt Thais, and Michael Hermosillo to all strike out swinging.

2020 Yankees' second baseman DJ LeMahieu becomes the first player to capture the batting title in both leagues, finishing the Covid-shorten season with a .364 BA to lead the American League. Four seasons ago, the 32-year-old infielder, while playing for the Rockies, batted .348 to take the Senior Circuit crown.

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SEPTEMBER 28 BASEBALL BIRTHDAYS
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1889 Jack Fournier 1912-27 (White Sox; Cardinals; Brooklyn Robins),


1895 Whitey Witt (NY Yankees, 1922-25),


1942 Grant Jackson pitcher (MLB All Star 1969; World Series 1979; Philadelphia Phillies; Baltimore Orioles; Pittsburgh Pirates


1959 Todd Worrell pitcher (MLB All-Star 1988, 95, 96; NL Rookie of the Year 1986; St. Louis Cardinals, LA Dodgers)


1961 Ed Vosberg pitcher (Texas Rangers)


1984 Ryan Zimmerman infielder (MLB All-Star 2009, 17; World Series 2019; Gold Glove Award 2009; Washington Nationals)

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Today in Baseball History
September 28th​

1897 Although he gives up 14 runs on 17 hits, Dave Wright of the Chicago Colts (Cubs) wins his first and only major league game. The 21-year-old Dennison, Ohio, native is the beneficiary of Chicago's 11-run fifth inning when the club beats the Pirates, 15-14.

The Colts

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1902 On the last day of the season at Sportsman's Park, the Browns and White Sox use an assortment of seven infielders and outfielders on the mound instead of relying on their pitching staff. Chicago's Sam Mertes earns the victory, and the Browns' Jesse Burkett takes the loss, marking the last time position players were the winning and losing pitchers until Orioles Chris Davis and Red Sox Darnell McDonald accomplish the feat in 2012.

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1919 In the first game of a twin bill on the last day of the season, the Giants need only 51 minutes to
defeat the Phillies, 6-1. The Polo Grounds contest is the shortest nine-inning game ever played in the major leagues.

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1920 The grand jury indicts eight White Sox players on charges of fixing last season's World Series against the Reds. The eight members involved in the 'Black Sox Scandal' will be cleared of the charges, but on the same day, they will be banned from baseball by Kenesaw Mountain Landis, baseball's first commissioner.

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1920 Jim Bagby wins his 30th game, en route to posting a 31-12 record, when the Indians beat the Browns, 9-5. The 30-year-old right-hander helps his cause by stroking two doubles and driving two runs in the Sportsman's Park contest.


1923 At Yankee Stadium, the Bronx Bombers beat the Red Sox, 24-4. En route to their one-sided victory, New York bangs out thirty hits in the game to set an American League record.

1924 Rogers Hornsby finishes the season with a .424 batting average to lead the National League. The Cardinal second baseman easily outdistances Zack Wheat, who finishes second in the race, batting .375 for the Dodgers.

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1925 The Senators, including future HOFers Walter Johnson, Goose Goslin, Sam Rice, and Stan Coveleski, celebrating consecutive pennants, become the first reigning champions to visit the White House. After President Calvin Coolidge welcomes Bucky Harris' team, 55 years will pass until the Pirates, the 1979 World Champs, become the second baseball team to enjoy a day at the president's home, thanks to an invitation extended by Jimmy Carter.

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1930 In a 13-11 season-finale victory over the Reds, Cubs outfielder Hack Wilson drives in his 189th and 190th run to establish a new single-season major league record. The total will be revised to 191 in 1999 after baseball historian Jerome Holtzman finds a missing RBI in a game played in July 1930.

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1930 As a Yankee, Babe Ruth returns to the mound after a nine-year absence at Fenway Park and pitches a complete game, beating the Red Sox at Fenway Park, 9-3. The last time the 'Bambino' took the mound, he defeated the A's at the end of the 1921 season.

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1938 With darkness descending at Wrigley Field, Gabby Hartnett homers in the ninth with two outs on an 0-2 pitch thrown by Mace Brown, giving the Cubs' a 6-5 walkout victory over the Pirates. The catcher's 'Homer in the Gloamin', giving the team its ninth consecutive win, proves significant in their quest for the National League pennant.


1939 The Reds, ending a 20-year title drought, clinch their first pennant since 1919 when the team beats the second-place Cardinals at Crosley Field, 5-3. Right-hander Paul Derringer goes the distance, giving up 14 hits en route to his 25th victory of the season.

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1941 On the season's final day, Ted Williams, batting .399955, elects to play against the A's rather than finish with a rounded-up .400 average. The 'Splendor Splinter' comes through by going 6-for-8 in the twin bill to finish the season with a .4057 mark (.406).


1947 Harry Walker, traded in May to the Phillies, hits .363 to win the National League batting title after appearing in just ten games at the start of the season with the eventual World Champion Cardinals. The Hat's older brother, Dixie, also won a batting crown in the Senior Circuit with a .357 BA for Brooklyn in 1944.

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1947 In front of 23,085 fans, the Yankees host the first Old-Timers' Day in major league history on the season's final day. The team's signature event, the brainchild of general manager Larry MacPhail and public relations director Red Paterson, pays tribute to an ailing Babe Ruth.

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1948 A crowd of 60,405 attends Joe Early Night at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. The 26-year-old night watchman wrote Bill Veeck asking why an average fan never gets a 'Day,' and the Indians' owner responded by giving the World War II veteran a spectacular day of his own

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1951 In the first game of a twin bill, Yankees right-hander Allie Reynolds no-hits the Red Sox, 8-0, setting the stage for the team to clinch their third consecutive pennant with a victory in the nightcap. 'Superchief,' one-quarter Creek, accomplishes his second no-hitter of the season on American Indian Day, getting Ted Williams to pop up for the second time in the same spot after Yogi Berra dropped the first foul ball for the final out of the game.

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1952 On the last day of the season at Ebbets Field, the Braves' 77 years of representing Boston is extended by three innings when Eddie Mathews' ninth-inning, two-out double ties the score. Darkness ends the contest in the 12th inning, resulting in a 5-5 tie with the Dodgers.


1953 The American League owners, reversing their decision from last season, unanimously agree on moving the Browns from St. Louis to Baltimore, where the franchise will become known as the Orioles. The 54-100 team finishes last in attendance, averaging only 3,860 fans a game at Sportsman's Park, including yesterday's crowd of 3,174 in the franchise finale in St. Louis.

1955 In the bottom of the second inning, Elston Howard, in his first World Series at-bat, knots the score at two to two when he homers off Dodgers' right-hander Don Newcombe. The round-tripper to deep left field at Yankee Stadium marks the first time a black batter has hit a home run off a black pitcher in the history of the Fall Classic.

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1958 On the last day of the season, Gus Triandos steals the first and only base of his 13-year major league career, swiping the bag off the rookie battery of Zach Monroe and third-string catcher Darrell Johnson, who are giving the Yankees regular battery a day off before the upcoming Fall Classic. The 28-year-old Orioles backstop will play a record 1,206 consecutive games without ever being caught stealing a base.

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1958 Red Sox outfielder, going 7-for-11 to end the season, Ted Williams becomes the first 40-year-old to lead the league in hitting and wins his sixth and final batting title. The 'Splendid Splinter's' .328 batting average beats out his teammate Pete Runnels, who goes 0-for-4 today and ends the campaign with a .322 mark.

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1958 Dave Philley establishes a big-league record on the last day of the season by getting his eighth consecutive pinch hit. The seventh-inning run-producing double helps the Phillies beat the Pirates at Forbes Field, 6-4.

 

1958 On the last day of the season at Pittsburgh's Forbes Field, Richie Ashburn goes 3-for-4, including a tenth-inning single, to capture his second batting crown. The Phillies' center fielder, who also led the league in 1955, ends the season with an average of .350, three points higher than Giants slugger Willie Mays.

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1959 The Braves, who ended the National League regular season in a first-place tie with the Dodgers, lose Game 1 of the three-game series, 3-2, in front of a sparse crowd of 18,297 at County Stadium. Milwaukee will lose tomorrow's game in L.A., spoiling their chance for a three-peat as NL Champs

 

1960 In his last major league appearance, an at-bat that will be immortalized by John Updike's Hub fans bid Kid Adieu, Ted Williams homers off Orioles' hurler Jack Fischer. The Boston writer explains the 41-year-old superstar did not acknowledge the Fenway faithful's thunderous ovation because "Gods do not answer letters."

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In 1960, Pete Runnels led all American League batters with a .320 batting average (Top 25). In 1962, Pete led them all again with a .326 batting average (Top 25). Both batting titles were won when Runnels wore Red Sox, making Pete the second player from Boston with two batting championships

1962 In front of only 595 fans at Wrigley Field, the Cubs (58-101) beat the Mets (39-118) in the first meeting in major league history between two 100-loss teams before the start of the series. The New York expansion team will split the remaining two games, finishing the season 40-120 to establish the record for the most losses in baseball's modern era.

1963 In his only major league at-bat, Roy Gleason, appearing as a pinch-hitter, doubles in the eighth inning of LA's 12 -3 loss to the Phillies at Chavez Ravine. The 20-year-old highly-touted bonus baby, the only major leaguer drafted into the US. Army during the Vietnam War era suffers injuries while on patrol on the front lines with the Ninth Infantry Division that effectively ends his career after he spends two years in the team's farm system to regain his skills.

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1965 Dave Morehead loses when the Angels beat the Red Sox at Fenway Park, 4-3. The decision is the right-hander's tenth consecutive defeat at the hands of the Halos, establishing a new American League record.

1966 At Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Larry Jaster throws a four-hitter, blanking Don Sutton and the Dodgers, 2-0. It's the southpaw's fifth shutout against LA this season, equaling a post-1900 major league mark held by the Senators' Tom Hughes (against the Indians in 1905) and Grover Cleveland Alexander of the Phillies (against the Reds in 1916).

1968 Blanked by the combined efforts of Angel hurlers Marty Pattin and Jim McGlothlin, the White Sox lose their ninth 1-0 decision of the season. The defeat ties an American League record, matching the mark established by the 1914 Yankees.

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1968 Although the future Hall of Famer gives up 16 hits, Giants' right-hander Gaylord Perry goes the distance, earning a 10-4 victory over the Reds at Crosley Field. Cincinnati's 14 singles and two doubles cannot overcome their two errors and a three-run poke by Willie McCovey.


1969 En route to the Mets’ eighth consecutive victory, Ron Gentry, Nolan Ryan, and Ron Taylor combine to blank the Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium, 2-0. The shutout contributes to the team setting a franchise mark of 42 scoreless innings.

1969 Bill Hands tosses a complete game limiting the Pirates to six hits in the Chicago’s 3-1 victory over the Pirates at Forbes Field. The 29-year-old right-hander joins teammate Ferguson Jenkins as 20-game winner making them the first pair of Cubs hurlers to accomplish the feat since Ron Warneke and Bill Lee reached the plateau in 1935.

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1974 At Anaheim Stadium, Angel Nolan Ryan strikes out 15 batters when he no-hits the Twins, 4-0. The Alvin (TX) native's third no-no is one of the seven he tosses during his career and the third of the four hitless games he hurls for the Halos.

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1975 On the final day of a regular season, Vida Blue (5), Glenn Abbott (1), Paul Lindblad (1), and Rollie Fingers (2) combined to no-hit the Angels, 5-0. The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum contest marks the first time a team has been hitless in the season's finale.The contest marks the first time four pitchers share a combined no-hitter.


1976 At Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Giants hurler John Montefusco no-hits the Braves, 9-0. The 'Count' is almost perfect, giving up just a leadoff walk to Jerry Royster in the fourth inning.

1979 Gary Templeton, batting right-handed, becomes the first major-league player to collect 100 hits from each side of the plate in one season with a bunt single off Mets' southpaw Pete Falcone in the Cardinals' 6-2 loss at Busch Stadium. With nine games left in the regular season, the 23-year-old switch-hitting shortstop, having 111 hits from the left side and 91 from the right, bats exclusively right-handed for the remainder of the season to accomplish the feat.

 

1982 Although the Twins stake Terry Felton to a 3-0 lead in the nightcap of a twin bill, the Blue Jays tie the score, knocking out the hard-luck pitcher from his last major league game. The no-decision leaves the 24-year-old right-hander with a lifetime mark of 0-16, a major league record for most career losses without a victory.

1982 At Toronto's Exhibition Stadium, right-hander Jim Clancy is perfect until he faces Randy Bush leading off the ninth inning. The Twins designated hitter ruins the bid for perfection with a broken-bat single to right field, and the Blue Jays starter has to settle for a one-hitter, beating Minnesota, 3-0.

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1983 At Wrigley Field, the Phillies clinch the National League East championship with a 13-6 victory over Chicago. The clincher is the team's 7000th win in franchise history.

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1987 Royals' Kevin Seitzer becomes the first rookie in 23 years to collect 200 hits in a season. Dick Allen and Tony Oliva both accomplished the feat in 1964.

1988 In Seoul, South Korea, Jim Abbott, born without a right hand, goes the distance en route to the United States' 5-3 victory over Japan to win the Olympic Gold medal. After the game, the Japanese players, in a display of great respect, line up to congratulate the former University of Michigan pitcher who had just beaten them.

1988 In his last start of the regular season, Dodger Orel Hershiser tosses ten shutout frames to extend his streak to 59, breaking Don Drysdale's record of 58 consecutive scoreless innings established in 1968.

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1990 The scoreboard at Old Comiskey Park 'explodes' for the last time when Frank Thomas goes deep off Randy Johnson in the seventh inning of a 13-4 loss to Seattle. The Monster, which has shot off fireworks whenever a White Sox player hits a home run since 1960, was an innovation of team owner Bill Veeck after being inspired by the design of a pinball machine.

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1995 A fan takes exception when a Cub reliever gives up a two-run, pinch-hit home run to James Mouton, giving the Astros an eighth-inning 9-7 lead. As the Houston pinch-hitter rounds the bases, the 27-year-old spectator leaves his seat and heads toward the mound, where Randy Myers, who, in addition to his pitching prowess, is well trained in the martial arts, immediately pins the trespasser to the ground.

1995 Greg Harris becomes the first post-1900 major leaguer to pitch ambidextrously. In his ninth-inning appearance, the Expos reliever blanks the Reds, facing four batters, two as a right-hander, his natural side, and the other two as a southpaw.

1996 The Rockies' Ellis Burks becomes the fourth player to hit 40 home runs and swipe 30 bases in a single season when he goes deep off Dan Carlson with an eighth-inning solo shot in the team's 8-5 loss to the Giants at Coors Field. The 32-year-old Colorado outfielder joins Hank Aaron (1963 Braves), Jose Canseco (1988 A's), and Barry Bonds (1996 Giants) in accomplishing the feat.

1996 The Devil Rays become the second team to sign a working agreement with a Japanese professional team. Tampa Bay signs a two-year contract with the Seibu Lions, including a four-year option extending the deal through 2002.

1997 With his 40th home run, catcher Mike Piazza sets a Los Angeles Dodger single-season record. Duke Snider holds the franchise record, slugging 43 round-trippers for Brooklyn in 1956.

1997 Tony Gwynn equals Honus Wagner's record by winning his eighth National League batting title when he finishes the season with a .372 batting average. The Padres outfielder becomes the first player to win four consecutive NL batting crowns since Rogers Hornsby accomplished the feat with the Cardinals, winning six straight titles between 1920 and 1925.

1997 Toronto's Roger Clemens goes 8⅓ innings against his former team but doesn't get a decision when the Blue Jays score two runs in the bottom of the ninth, beating Boston in a 3-2 come-from-behind victory. The right-hander will finish the season with a 21-7 record, the best winning percentage for a starting pitcher on a team that will finish last.


1998 In the first National League playoff since 1980, the Cubs beat the Giants, 5-3, in a one-game showdown to take the National League's wild-card berth. San Francisco makes the game interesting by scoring three runs in the ninth inning in front of a very anxious crowd at Wrigley Field.

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2000 The Blue Jays, matching the 1996 Orioles, become the second team in major league history to have seven players hit twenty or more homers during the season when DH Darrin Fletcher goes deep for the team's only tally in a 23-1 rout by the Orioles at Camden Yards. The other Toronto players to reach the milestone include Carlos Delgado, Tony Batista, Shannon Stewart, Jose Cruz, Raul Mondesi, and Brad Fullmer.

2000 The Brewers play the last game at Milwaukee County Stadium, bowing to the Reds, 8-1. Warren Spahn throws the ceremonial first pitch to Del Crandall, his Opening Day batterymate 47 years ago when the Future Hall of Fame southpaw Spahn and the Braves beat the Cardinals in 10 innings, 3-2, in 1953.

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2000 Troy Glaus hits his 44th, breaking the 47-year-old record for homers by an American League third baseman set in 1953 by Al Rosen, who played the hot corner for the Indians. The Angel infielder will lead the circuit with 47 round-trippers, including one hit as a designated hitter.

2001 Ranger infielder Alex Rodriguez becomes the 20th player and first shortstop in major league history to hit 50 home runs in a season. Angel hurler Ismael Valdes gives up the milestone blast in the first inning at Edison Field in an 11-2 Texas win.

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2001 Angels infielder David Eckstein breaks Frank Robinson's rookie record for getting hit by a pitch. Rangers' hurler Aaron Mayette's fifth-inning offering hits the freshman Halos' shortstop, making it the twenty-first time the 26-year-old gets plunked this season.

2001 On a night he hits his 68th round-tripper of the season in quest of Mark McGwire's single-season home run record, Barry Bonds is walked for the 163rd time, breaking Big Mac's 1998 National League record for bases on balls. The major league record is 170 walks held by Babe Ruth.

 

2003 Ron Santo, the team's radio color commentator, joins Hall of Famers Ernie Banks and Billy Williams, becoming the third player to have his number retired by the Cubs. The nine-time All-Star third baseman, who spent 14 of his 15-year career with Chicago (1960-73), will have his uniform #10 below Ernie Banks' on the left-field foul pole.

2003 At Turner Field in Atlanta, Jose Reyes becomes the second Mets player to hit a home run from both sides of the plate in one game. Lee Mazzilli was the first to go yard twice in Dodger Stadium on September 3, 1978.

2003 Following an emotional closing ceremony in front of 58,554 enthusiastic fans, the Braves beat the Phillies 5-2 in the final game at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. The two-hour festivities at the Broad Street ballpark include the All-Vet team's introduction and a eulogy given by Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas, who receives a standing ovation from the crowd.

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2005 Alex Rodriguez breaks Joe DiMaggio's 1937 single-season club record for home runs by a right-handed batter. The third baseman's 47th homer proves to be the difference when the Yankees edge the Orioles, 2-1.

2005 With the lowest winning percentage ever compiled by a division champion during a non-strike year, the Padres (79-79) win their fourth division flag in the franchise's 37-year history. San Diego will win three of their last four games to finish just above .500, accomplishes the feat, surpassing the Mets, who previously possessed the dubious record, by going 82-79 (.509) to win the NL East in 1973.

2006 For the third consecutive season, Kansas City will lose 100 or more games. The team's 2-1 defeat to the Twins in the Metrodome makes the Royals the 11th franchise in big league history to accomplish the dubious feat.

2006 At Coors Field in Colorado, James Loney collects four hits, including two homers, and drives in nine runs in the Dodgers' 19-11 victory over the Rockies. The rookie first baseman, who had one homer and eight runs batted in 93 previous at-bats with the team, ties the franchise RBI mark set by Gil Hodges in his 1950 four-homer game for Brooklyn and breaks the Los Angeles club mark held by Ron Cey.

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2008 On the season's final day, Mike Mussina becomes the oldest first-time twenty-game winner, reaching the milestone when he hurls six shutout innings in the Yankees' 6-2 victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. The 39-year-old right-hander accomplishes the feat in his final major league appearance, finishing his 18-year major league career 270-153 (.638) won-loss record.

2008 The Mets play their final game at Shea Stadium, a 4-2 loss to the Marlins, disappointing a sellout crowd by failing to qualify for the postseason on the season's last day for the second consecutive year. After the contest, former Mets, including Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Yogi Berra, and Tom Seaver, as well as Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, and Mike Piazza, but not any of the club's current players, take part in a ceremony to celebrate the history of the 45-year-old ballpark in front of the subdued spectators gathered to 'Shea Goodbye.' The melancholy preparations began one minute after the final out of the season. Mets fans, emotionally battered, stood at their seats, barely mustering a reflexive booing for the Florida Marlins, who had just put the Mets out of their misery by a 4-2 score late Sunday afternoon.

This was not nostalgia settling over Shea Stadium, which now awaits the final demolition. This was a bitter acceptance of what had been inevitable for weeks and weeks. The Mets have invoked ambiguity in this final September for Shea, as a bullpen full of latter-day Marvelous Marv Throneberrys — but not nearly as amusing — squandered one game after another.
Not to break a trend, the Mets’ bullpen fell apart for the final time in the final game in Shea. And one minute later, stadium workers began decorating the field, where old Mets would soon assemble for one more appearance. But nobody’s heart was in it, not after the end of this season, in heartbreaking Metsian fashion.
The Mets have often given their fans the general sense that they should not count on too much, that they are subject to forces beyond their control, as shown in the current financial crisis, where people are at the mercy of government and corporations that never had their best interests at heart.

Shea Stadium, 45 years old and never again to echo with chants of “Let’s Go Mets,” has always reflected the lumpen outer-borough pride of the franchise. Mets fans never have high expectations or haughty entitlement, as do fans from certain teams we could mention.

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2008 Pitching on a day's short rest, CC Sabathia tosses a complete game, defeating the Cubs, 3-1. The victory, along with the Mets' 4-2 loss to Florida an hour later, makes the Brewers the NL Wild Card and puts Milwaukee in the postseason for the first time since 1982.

2008 The Astros set a new National League mark for the fewest errors committed in one season. The 67 Houston miscues are one less than the record shared by the 1999 Mets and 2007 Rockies.

2008 For the first time in team history, the Red Sox draw over three million patrons at home. A crowd of 37,091 fans attending the first game of a day-night doubleheader on the season's last day brings the total to 3,010,801, marking the ninth straight year the attendance at Fenway Park has broken the franchise record.

 

2009 The Rays deal left-hander Scott Kazmir (8-7, 5.92) to the Angels for three prospects, Matthew Sweeney, Alex Torres, and Sean Rodriguez. The Rays traded the 25-year-old talented southpaw, who is in the first year of a three-year, $28.5 million contract, due to restrictions in the team's payroll.

2009 The Angels clinch their fifth AL West title in the last six years with their 11-0 win over Texas. Although the team has successfully reached the postseason four times in the six past seasons, Los Angeles has won just one playoff series since winning Game 7 of the 2002 World Series for their only championship.

2010 David Wright sets the all-time Mets record for strikeouts in a season with 157. The third baseman passes the infamous mark shared by Dave Kingman (1982) and Tommie Agee (1970).

2011 With their season-finale extra-inning victory over Atlanta, the Phillies set a team record with their 102nd win of the campaign. The 4-3 victory also moves skipper Charlie Manuel (646-488) past Gene Mauch for the most wins by a manager in the franchise's history.

2011 With a Tampa Bay loss looming, the Red Sox appear to need just a win to advance to the ALDS or go to Tampa Bay for a one-game playoff if they lose, become optimistic about their chances for a playoff spot with their 3-2 lead over Baltimore, and the Rays trailing New York, 7-0. Boston drops a 4-3 walk-off decision when the Birds score two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, just before seeing the season come to a crashing end when Evan Longoria's 12th-inning solo homer gives the Rays an unbelievable comeback victory and the AL Wild Card.

2011 On the last day of the season, the Braves become the first major league club to blow a lead of at least eight games in September when the team is eliminated from the playoffs when dropping a 4-3 decision to Philadelphia in 13 innings. On August 26th, Atlanta was ten games ahead of St. Louis, the eventual Wild Card team.

2011 Jose Reyes takes himself out of the season finale after laying down a bunt single off Edinson Volquez in the first inning of the Mets' 3-0 victory over Cincinnati at Citi Field. The infield hit, which will be his last for the Mets until returning to the club in 2016, raises the shortstop's average to a league-leading .337, nudging Milwaukee's Ryan Braun for the NL batting crown, the first in franchise history.

2011 Starlin Castro ( 21 years, 188 days) becomes the youngest player to lead the National League in hits, finishing the season with 207. The Cubs sophomore All-Star shortstop, who hit .307 in 158 games, reaches base for the 40th straight game with an eighth-inning double in the team’s 9-2 loss to Padres at Petro Park, extending his current hitting streak to 10 games.

2011 In the season's finale, the Brewers beat the Pirates, 7-3, for their 96th victory, breaking the franchise mark established in 1979 and tied in 1982. The National League Central Division champs finish the season 96-66, the second-best record in the circuit, trailing only Philadelphia.

2011 Eric O'Flaherty, who induces a double play from the only batter he faces in the Braves' 4-3 loss to Philadelphia, finishes the season with a microscopic 0.98 ERA. The 26-year-old southpaw's earned run average is the lowest ever posted by a pitcher with 75 or more appearances.

2011 In the season's finale, the Rays, trailing 7-0 going into the eighth, finish their storybook season with a ninth-inning, two-out, two-strike, game-tying pinch-hit solo home run hit by Dan Johnson and Evan Longoria's walk-off round-tripper in the 12th. Their victory and the Red Sox's 4-3 loss to Baltimore minutes before gives Tampa Bay the AL wild-card berth after being down by nine games at the beginning of the month.

2011 Ozzie Guillen, who signed a four-year, $10 million deal with Florida, is introduced before the season's finale as the club's new manager, replacing 80-year-old interim Jack McKeon. The outspoken former White Sox skipper is expected, in addition to putting a better product on the field, to help spark enthusiasm for the team as they start a new era playing in a new ballpark as the Miami Marlins. The Marlins attract 34,615 fans to their finale at Dolphin Stadium, now known as Sun Life Stadium, but will still post the National League's poorest attendance for the sixth consecutive year. The last-place club, having played in its current venue for the first 19 years of the franchise's existence, will play next season's home games in a new ballpark with a retractable roof located on approximately 17 acres of the historic 42-acre Orange Bowl site in the Little Havana section of Miami.

2014 Jordan Zimmermann throws the Nationals' first no-hitter, thanks to a remarkable game-ending catch by Steven Souza, Jr. in left field that preserves the 1-0 gem against the Marlins. The victory marks the fifth no-no in franchise history, but the first since the team relocated to Washington, D.C from Montreal in 2005.

2019 Justin Verlander becomes the 18th major leaguer to record 3,000 strikeouts when he fans Kole Calhoun, who reaches first base after swinging at a wild pitch for the third strike. The Astros right-hander whiffs 12 Angels to get a career-high 300 for the season, joining Gerrit Cole as the second set of mound mates to each have 300 strikeouts in the same season. Diamondback hurlers Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling became the first teammates to strike out 300 batters in the same year, accomplishing the feat in the 2002 season

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