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.