BB On this Date ~ Events & Birthdays #2

FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1894 After going 0-for-6 in the first game of a doubleheader, Beaneater Bob Lowe becomes the first major leaguer to hit four home runs in one game, helping Boston beat Cincinnati and Elton 'Icebox' Chamberlain, 20-11.

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1904 At Cincinnati's Palace of the Fans, 32-year-old Cubs' first baseman Frank Chance is plunked by a pitch five times during a doubleheader. In the first game of the twin bill, the future Hall of Famer loses consciousness briefly when one of the misguided pitches hits the Peerless Leader's head.
1913 Red Sox outfielder and future Hall of Famer Harry Hooper becomes the first major leaguer to start both games of a doubleheader with a home run. The feat will not occur again until 1993, when A's leadoff hitter Rickey Henderson opens each game of a twin bill against Cleveland with a homer.

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1921 During an impressive Memorial Day ceremony at the Polo Grounds, Eddie Grant Memorial, erected in memory of a former Giants player killed in World War I, is dedicated. Under the watchful eye of Baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the five-foot-high monument, located at the base of the clubhouse wall in center field, 465 feet from home plate, is unveiled by the Harvard-educated third baseman's sisters Florence Grant Robinson and Louise Grant Winters.

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1922 Chicago outfielder Cliff Heathcote and Redbird right fielder Max Flack exchange their Cardinal and Cub uniforms after being traded for one another between games of a doubleheader. The fly chasers will both get hits for their new teams in the nightcap of the Cubs Park twin bill, in a sweep by the home team, 4-1 and 3-1.
1925 Between games of a doubleheader against the Pirates at Forbes Field, second baseman Rogers Hornsby, who will continue to be an active player, replaces Branch Rickey as the Cardinals manager. Rickey will remain in his role as the team's general manager until 1942.

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1927 Cubs' shortstop Jimmy Cooney completes an unassisted triple play as he snares Paul Waner's liner, steps on second to double up Paul's brother, Lloyd, and then tags Clyde Barnhart coming from first for the third out.

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1930 Rogers Hornsby receives his MVP award and is given a thousand gold coins by National League president John Heydler at a ceremony at home plate before the Cubs' contest against St. Louis. Ironically, the 'Rajah' will break his ankle while advancing to third base during the Wrigley Field contest and will not play again until the middle of August.

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1932 After dropping a twin bill, some White Sox players accuse George Moriarty of deliberately blowing calls against their team. The umpire, a former Pale Hose player himself, challenges his accusers to a fight, but after he knocks down pitcher Milt Gaston with one punch, skipper Lew Fonseca and backstops Charlie Berry and Frank Grube even the score by thrashing the aggressive arbitrator.
1932 In a pregame ceremony, the Yankees dedicate a plaque in memory of skipper Miller Huggins. Their former manager, who died near the end of last season, would be delighted with today's doubleheader sweep of the Red Sox, 7-5 and 13-3.

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1934 Ben Chapman breaks up Earl Whitehill's no-hitter at Yankee Stadium at the bottom of the ninth inning. Last season, the Bronx Bomber left fielder, after being provoked, hit the right-hander with a punch in the passageway, causing a melee between the two teams that resulted in a 20-minute delay of the game before the police could restore order.

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1934 Burleigh Grimes notches the last victory by a pitcher legally allowed to throw a doctored pitch, tossing four innings of shutout ball in relief in the Yankees' 5-4 extra-inning triumph over the Senators in the Bronx. The 40-year-old spitballer, who records his 270th and final career win, is the last of the 17 hurlers who received permission to throw the banned pitches altered by a foreign substance after being outlawed in 1920.

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1935 At the Baker Bowl, Babe Ruth of the Boston Braves plays his final major league game, going hitless in a first-inning at-bat against the Phillies. On June 2, the former Yankees superstar will announce his retirement from baseball.

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1938 A new Yankee Stadium attendance record is set as 81,841 fans attend a Memorial Day doubleheader against the Red Sox. The Bronx Bombers sweep the twin bill, 10-0 and 5-4, with the nightcap ending on a wild throw by Boston's third baseman Pinky Higgins.

 

1943 With contests played in Rockford (Illinois) and Racine (Wisconsin), the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League begins the first season of its 12-year existence. The original AAGPBL four-team circuit, which includes the war-production cities of Kenosha (Wisconsin) and South Bend (Indiana), will attract 176,612 baseball enthusiasts during the league's inaugural season.

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1946 In Boston's 10-8 victory over the Dodgers, Bama Rowell's long drive hits the Bulova clock located above the right-field scoreboard, marking the first time a major leaguer reaches the famous Ebbets Field landmark. The crushing blow, that shatters the face of the clock causing the glass to cascade onto Dodgers' Dixie Walker, is the inspiration of Bernard Malamud having Roy Hobbs, the hero of his 1952 novel, The Natural, belt a similar home run, which also rains glass over the diamond.

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1956 Mickey Mantle comes within 18 inches of becoming the first player to hit a home run out of Yankee Stadium. The prodigious poke off Senators' right-hander Pedro Ramos was still climbing when the ball struck the facade in the upper stands in right field.

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1956 At Yankee Stadium, Billy and his brothers attend their first big-league game with their dad, Jack Crystal. The future show biz superstar, who will write and perform a one-man play about his father and develop a movie script about the 1961 Yankees, tremendously enjoys watching his beloved Bronx Bombers sweep a mid-week doubleheader from the Senators, 4-3 and 12-5.
1962 The Mets complete their first-ever triple play when shortstop Elio Chacon snags Willie Davis's liner and flips the ball to Charlie Neal to double off Maury Wills at second, with the third out coming on a ball thrown to Gil Hodges to catch Jim Gilliam off first base. New York will be the victim of the only other triple killing this season when Joe Pignatano, in his final major league at-bat, pops out to Cubs second baseman Ken Hubbs, who starts a 4-3-6 play in the eighth in the season finale played a Wrigley Field.
1962 Frank Thomas strokes a double off Sandy Koufax in the Mets' 13-6 loss to Los Angeles, extending his franchise mark of consecutive games with a hit to 18 for the expansion team. The streak, which will be only one shy of Maury Wills' league-leading total for the season, is halted when the New York left fielder goes 0-for-4 in the nightcap of the Dodgers' sweep at the Polo Grounds.

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1967 After retiring the first 21 batters he faces, Cardinal starter Dick Hughes gives up two runs in the eighth inning in an eventual 2-1 loss to the Reds at Crosley Field. After the Redbirds mount a rally in the top of the ninth when Orlando Cepeda and Tim McCarver open the frame with singles, the game ends abruptly when Phil Gagliano hits into a 6-4-3-2 triple play, with the last out being recorded at the plate when Cepeda attempts to score from third base.

 

1970 The fans, using new computerized punch cards as ballots, will again select the All-Star squads. For the past twelve seasons, managers, coaches, and players decided on the rosters after the Reds rooters stuffed the ballot box in 1957, electing all but one of their starting position players to the Midsummer Classic.
1974 Sadaharu Oh becomes the first Japanese player to hit 600 career homers, joining American big-leaguers Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Willie Mays in reaching the milestone. The 34-year-old Yomiuri Giants' first baseman will hit 868 round-trippers during his 22-year career, a world record.

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1976 The Astros bang out 25 hits, a franchise high, beating the Braves in the nightcap of an Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium twin bill, 16-5. Twenty-three of Houston's safeties are singles, a National League record.
1977 Twenty-two-year-old Indian right-hander Dennis Eckersley throws a 12-strikeout no-hitter, beating the Angels at Cleveland Stadium, 1-0. The lone run scores in the first inning when Duane Kuiper, who had tripled thanks to the ball skipping under Gil Flores' glove in center field, is squeezed in by Jim Morris.

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1982 Cal Ripken's 2,632 record consecutive game streak, which will span 17 seasons, begins with the Oriole rookie going 0-for-2, batting eighth in a 6-0 loss to Toronto at Memorial Stadium. The 21-year-old infielder plays third base, his position for the first 27 games of the streak, before becoming the team's everyday shortstop, en route to surpassing Lou Gehrig's remarkable feat in 1995.

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1986 In a 6-4 loss to the Dodgers at Three Rivers Stadium, future home run king Barry Bonds goes 0-for-5 in his major league debut. The Pirates center fielder, batting leadoff, strikes out three times.
1987 Eric Davis becomes the first National League player to hit three grand slams in a month. The 25-year-old outfielder's 19th homer of the season proves to be the difference in the Reds' 6-2 victory over Pittsburgh.

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1992 Yankees right-hander Scott Sanderson beats the Brewers, 8-1, to become the ninth pitcher to defeat all 26 teams in the majors. Nolan Ryan, Tommy John, Don Sutton, Mike Torrez, Rick Wise, Gaylord Perry, Doyle Alexander, and Goose Gossage accomplished the feat previously.

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1998 In an emotional on-the-field ceremony, Dan Quisenberry becomes the sixteenth member of the Royals Hall of Fame. The sinkerball pitcher with a submarine delivery was diagnosed with a Grade IV malignant astrocytoma and underwent brain surgery to remove the tumor in January.

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1998 Mark McGwire hits his 27th home run to establish a major league record for the most homers hit before June. Last season, Ken Griffey Jr. set the previous mark with 24 round-trippers in the first two months of the season.
2001 After ending a streak of five straight losses to the Yankees, Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez makes light of the Curse of the Bambino by suggesting someone should wake up the Babe so he could drill him with a pitch. Boston will not beat the Bronx Bombers again during their final seven meetings of the season.
2001 At Pac Bell, the game lasts five hours, 53 minutes, and 18 innings before the Diamondbacks defeat the Giants, 1-0. Erubiel Durazo's double plating Steve Finley accounts for the game's only run.
2001 Barry Bonds hits career homer No. 522, passing Willie McCovey and Ted Williams to #11 on the all-time list and making him the number one lefty home run hitter in National League history. The round-tripper is the 17th hit by the Giant outfielder in May, breaking the record set by Mickey Mantle (1956) and Mark McGwire (1998).
2003 At Shea Stadium, the Braves go deep four times off former teammate Tom Glavine to tie a National League record by hitting 55 home runs in a calendar month. The New York Giants (July, 1947) and the Cardinals (April, 2000) are the other teams to accomplish the feat.
2007 Toronto's third baseman Howie Clark, believing he hears teammate John McDonald calling to make the play, allows Jorge Posada's ninth-inning pop fly to land on the ground untouched for an RBI single. The Blue Jays, convinced it was baserunner Alex Rodriguez's voice, which caused the infielder to back off the play, become incensed, describing the Yankee superstar's behavior as bush league.
2010 Max Scherzer becomes the first hurler since 1900 to strike out 14 batters in less than six innings. The Tigers right-hander reaches the total in five and two-thirds shutout frames en route to a Detroit 10-2 victory over Oakland at Comerica Park.

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2013 Jacoby Ellsbury sets a single-game franchise record when he swipes five bases in the Red Sox' 9-2 victory over Philadelphia. The 29-year-old center fielder led the American League in stolen bases in his first two seasons in the majors, but injuries during the recent years have slowed down the Boston speedy leadoff hitter.

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Today in Baseball History
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Search archives: Historical Events Baseball Birthdays Baseball Deaths
On May 30 in Baseball History...

• • 1913 - John McGraw joins Fred Clarke, Cap Anson, Frank Selee, and Connie Mack as managers who have won 1,000 games.
  • 1921 - A memorial to Captain Eddie Grant, killed in action in the Argonne Forest October 20, 1918, is unveiled at the Polo Grounds.
  • 1925 - Rogers Hornsby is named manager of the Cardinals, replacing Branch Rickey, who remains as general manager. Hornsby will be the only player-manager to win the Triple Crown, which he does by topping .400 for the third time in four years, hitting .403 with 39 home runs and 143 RBI.
  • 1927 - Walter Johnson's first appearance of the season is the occasion of the last shutout of his career, number 113, in a 3-0 win over Boston.
  • 1932 - A plaque in memory of Miller Huggins, former Yankee manager, is dedicated at Yankee Stadium. It is the first of an array of monuments erected in the ballpark.
  • 1935 - Babe Ruth plays only the first inning of the opener of a doubleheader between the Boston Braves and Philadelphia Phillies at Baker Bowl. It is his final major league appearance.
  • 1938 - The largest crowd in Yankee Stadium history, 83,533, sees Red Ruffing end Lefty Grove's eight-game winning streak in a 10-0 victory over the Red Sox. Approximately 6,000 fans are turned away, and 511 are given refunds because there is no place to sit. The Yankees also take the nightcap, 5-4, in a game made famous for a fight between Yankees outfielder Jake Powell and Boston player-manager Joe Cronin. Both players are fined and suspended for ten days.
  • 1946 - In a play that anticipates a scene in The Natural by Brooklyn-native Bernard Malamud, the Braves' Bama Rowell smashes a home run in the second inning of the second game of a doubleheader at Ebbets Field. The ball shatters the Bulova clock high atop the right-field scoreboard at 4:25 P.M., showering glass down on the Dodgers right fielder Dixie Walker. An hour later the clock stops.
  • 1956 - Mickey Mantle hits one of the most memorable home runs in his career, in the second game of a doubleheader with the Washington Senators. He tags a pitch from Pedro Ramos that comes within 18 inches of leaving Yankee Stadium, something never accomplished by any major leaguer. The ball was still climbing when it caromed off the upper-stand facade, about 396 feet from home plate. Estimates are that the ball could have traveled more than 600 feet. It is Mantle's 20th home run of the season � no one else has ever hit 20 home runs before June.
  • 1967 - Whitey Ford, nearing 41, announces his retirement from baseball because of an elbow injury. His final appearance was a start in Detroit on May 21, but he lasted just one inning for the Yankees. The stylish lefthander closes out with 236 career wins and only 106 losses for a .690 percentage.
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  • 1970 - All-Star voting is returned to the fans, as computerized punch-card ballots appear in stores and ballparks coast to coast. Since 1958 the All-Star squads had been selected by managers, coaches, and players.
  • 1971 - Willie Mays hits his 638th career home run for the Giants, adding in the process his N.L. record 1,950th run scored. Stan Musial had been the record holder with 1,949 runs.
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  • 1977 - Twenty-two-year-old Dennis Eckersley fires a no-hitter as the Indians top the Angels 1-0. Frank Tanana, with three shutouts in his last four games, takes the loss.
  • 1992 - The Yankees Scott Sanderson becomes the ninth pitcher to defeat all 26 major league teams. Also on the list: Nolan Ryan, Tommy John, Don Sutton, Gaylord Perry, Rick Wise, Doyle Alexander, and Rich "Goose" Gossage.

Baseball Birthdays on May 30...

• • 1864 - Proeser, George
  • 1870 - Frank, Charlie
  • 1870 - Fitzgerald, John
  • 1870 - Von Fricken, Tony
  • 1871 - Rusie, Amos
  • 1873 - Stimmel, Archie
  • 1878 - Donlin, Mike
  • 1879 - Whiting, Jesse
  • 1881 - Dougherty, Tom
  • 1884 - Oldring, Rube
  • 1885 - Misse, John
  • 1894 - Twining, Twink
  • 1894 - Mamaux, Al
  • 1897 - Kimmick, Wally
  • 1902 - McEvoy, Lou
  • 1906 - Willingham, Hugh
  • 1922 - Hooper, Bob
  • 1924 - Lown, Turk
  • 1926 - Upright, Dixie
  • 1936 - Nelson, Mel
  • 1936 - Rakow, Ed
  • 1941 - Miller, John
  • 1942 - Felske, John
  • 1946 - Sadek, Mike
  • 1956 - LaCoss, Mike
  • 1956 - Loviglio, Jay
  • 1961 - Steels, Jim
  • 1968 - Oquist, Mike
  • 1970 - Courtright, John
  • 1972 - Eyre, Scott
  • 1972 - Ramirez, Manny

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Part of the Baseball Almanac family: 755 Home Runs | Around the Horn | Baseball Box Scores | Baseball Fever | Today in Baseball History.​

 

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5/31
OTD
BIRTHDAYS
1962 Joe Orsulak outfielder (Florida Marlins), born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey

1967 Kenny Lofton outfielder (Cleveland Indians), born in East Chicago, Indiana

1971 Troy Malave outfielder (Boston Red Sox), born in Cumana, Venezuela

1972 Dave Roberts player and managers (LA Dodgers), born in Naha, Japan

1973 Marty Janzen pitcher (Toronto Blue Jays), born in Miami, Florida

1977 Phil Devey baseball player Ragin' Caguns HOF

1981 Jake Peavy player (San Francisco Giants), born in Mobile, Alabama

 

FROM MLB's This Day in Baseball History+​

1869 The first rainout involving a professional baseball team occurs when heavy rain postpones the Red Stockings' tune-up game against the Antioch Nine, a Yellow Springs, Ohio college team. Aaron B. Champion, Cincinnati's owner, had been a student at the school in the 1850s.
1914 At Comiskey Park, three fourth-inning White Sox errors ruin the shutout, but Joseph Benz still no-hits the Naps (Indians), 6-1. It will take the right-hander known as 'Blitzen,' only one hour and 45 minutes to accomplish the deed.

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1927 Although it will be another 42 years before the next one, an unassisted triple play is made for the second consecutive day in the major leagues when John Neun accomplishes the rare play in the ninth inning, saving the Tigers' 1-0 victory. The first baseman catches Homer Summa's line drive, tags Charlie Jamieson, the runner on first, and then beats Glenn Myatt to second base, making it the first time the last three outs of a game result from a solo triple killing.

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1937 In Game 1 of a Memorial Day doubleheader, Carl Hubbell's consecutive-game winning streak, compiled over two seasons, ends at 24 when the Dodgers, led by Babe Phelps' 5-for-6 performance, defeat the Giants at the Polo Grounds, 10-3. 'King Carl' is honored between games when Babe Ruth presents the southpaw with the 1936 National League's MVP Award.

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1938 Lou Gehrig plays in his 2000th consecutive game, collecting an RBI single in the Yankees' 12-5 victory over Boston in the Bronx ballpark. The 34 year-old first baseman will play in another 130 straight games before amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) shortens his Hall of Fame career.

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1941 Chuck Aleno establishes the longest hitting streak to start a career when he extends his string to 17 games with a single and a triple in the Reds' 5-2 victory over St. Louis at Crosley Field. The 24-year-old third baseman, who is hitting .485, begins the record run with four consecutive multi-hit games.

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1944 At Briggs Stadium, Al Unser, whose son Del will play in the major leagues, hits a pinch-hit grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Tigers a 6-2 walk-off victory over New York. The game-winning round-tripper will be the second baseman's only home run this season.

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1948 Tommy Lasorda, best known as the Dodgers' Hall of Fame skipper, strikes out 25 batters and collects the game-winning hit when the Schenectady Blue Jays defeat the Amsterdam Rugmakers, 6-5, in 15 innings. The promising southpaw, who goes the distance in the CanAm minor-league contest played in McNearney Stadium, believes he probably threw more than 300 pitches during the game.

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1949 Charley Lupica announces from a twenty-foot platform atop a flagpole that he will remain on the perch until the Indians are eliminated from the race or win another pennant. Although the local grocery store owner abandons his post in late September with the Tribe in fourth place, Cleveland owner Bill Veeck will reward the loyal fan with a souvenir 50-foot flagpole and a brand new car.

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1961 Carroll Hardy, batting for Carl Yastrzemski, bunts for a single in the eighth inning of Boston's 7-6 loss to the Yankees. The Red Sox outfielder will be the only player to pinch-hit for both Captain Carl and Ted Williams.
1964 In the nightcap of a doubleheader at Shea Stadium, Gaylord Perry pitches ten extra-inning frames in relief, getting the victory when the Giants beat the Mets in the longest game ever played to a decision in baseball history, 8-6. The future Hall of Famer reportedly threw his first spitball in a major league game during the 23-inning, seven-hour, and 23-minute marathon.

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1964 The Mets execute an unusual 6-6-3 triple play in the 14th frame of a 23-inning 8-6 loss to the Giants when shortstop Roy McMillan snares Orlando Cepeda's line drive, tags second base to double off Jesus Alou, and then throws to first, catching Willie Mays off base for the third out. The play is the team's second triple-killing in the franchise's brief history, pulling one off against the Dodgers in 1962, the team's inaugural season.

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1965 For the first time in history, an all-switch-hitting infield starts a big-league game. In the nightcap of a twin bill, the Dodgers, with Wes Parker at first base, Jim Lefebvre at second, Maury Wills at shortstop, and Jim Gilliam at third, lose to the visiting Reds, 6-1.
1966 In a 14-5 thrashing of the Twins at Metropolitan Stadium, Orioles first baseman Boog Powell scores from second on a wild pitch. The 6' 4", 240-pound infielder, not known for his speed, will be thrown out in each of four attempts to steal a base this season.

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1966 Ron Santo establishes a National League record when he appears in his 364th consecutive game at third base. The Cubs infielder's streak, which started on April 19, 1964, will end at 390 contests after Jack Fisher fractures his cheek with a pitch.

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1968 Don Drysdale's shutout streak stays intact when home plate umpire Harry Wendelstedt rules that Dick Dietz, hit by a pitch, did not attempt to get out of the way of the right-hander's delivery with the bases loaded in the ninth inning. The Giants catcher finishes the at-bat by popping up, and the next two batters also make outs to give 'Big D" his fifth straight shutout, tying a major league established by White Sox hurler Doc White in 1904.

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1975 The Astros establish a team record by scoring twelve runs in the eighth inning of a 15-3 rout of Philadelphia. Cliff Johnson, appearing as a pinch-hitter during the frame, doubles and hits a home run, but his round-tripper does not count as a pinch-hit since he batted earlier in the inning.
1975 For the fifth time in his career, Cesar Tovar gets his team's lone hit in a game when he breaks up Catfish Hunter's bid for a no-hitter with a sixth-inning single in the Rangers' 6-0 loss to the Yankees. The Texas DH also accomplished the feat against Barry Moore (1967 Senators), Dave McNally (1969 Orioles), Mike Cuellar (1969 Orioles), and Dick Bosman (1970 Senators).
1976 In his final start, after basically forcing the Twins to trade him, Bert Blyleven is serenaded by fans with a "Bye, Bye, Blyleven" chant. The unpopular right-hander will be reacquired by Minnesota in 1985, helping the team to win a World Series two seasons later before becoming a very popular broadcaster in the Twin Cities after he retires.
1976 After an error sets up a six-run rally for the Padres in the eighth inning, Ted Turner, the new Atlanta owner, invites the 2,994 fans watching the Braves lose to San Diego, 10-7, to come back the next night as his guests.
1979 Pat Underwood, in his major league debut, blanks the Blue Jays for 8.1 innings, earning the victory when the Tigers beat Toronto, 1-0, thanks to Jerry Morales' eighth-inning solo home run. The 22-year-old rookie's mound opponent is his older brother Tom, now winless in seven decisions, who goes the distance in the Exhibition Stadium contest.
1980 Ken Landreaux's 31-game hitting streak ends when he goes hitless in four at-bats in Minnesota's 11-1 loss to Baltimore at Metropolitan Stadium. The 33-year-old outfielder's accomplishment, the longest span in the American League since Dom DiMaggio's 34 for the Red Sox in 1949, establishes the record for the most consecutive games with a hit in Twins history.

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1980 Gary Carter hits the second of his two career inside-the-park home runs, and, an inning later, the Expos catcher adds an out-of-the-park homer as well. The pair of two-run shots is to no avail when Montreal drops the Busch Stadium contest to the Redbirds, 8-6.

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1991 The Mets and Padres swap middle infielders, with second baseman Tim Teufel going to San Diego in exchange for shortstop Garry Templeton, who will retire at the end of the season. The Friars' new keystone sacker will hit .232 during his two-plus seasons with the club.
1997 Ila Borders becomes the first woman to play in a minor league game. The St. Paul Saints reliever gives up three runs to Sioux Falls without recording an out but redeems herself the next day by striking out the side.

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1999 After consulting a TV monitor in the dugout, Frank Pulli becomes the first umpire to use instant replay to make a call, changing Cliff Floyd's fifth-inning home run to a ground-rule double in the Marlins' 5-2 loss to the Cardinals. After the Pro Player Stadium contest, the National League officials clearly state that using technology to reverse the call should not have occurred.
2000 At Bank One Ballpark, Cardinals' slugger Mark McGwire hits a fly ball snagged by Diamondback's center fielder Steve Finley (1), who relays the ball to home to get Placido Polanco out trying to score (2), with backstop Damian Miller continuing the play by firing the ball to third base where shortstop Tony Womack tags out Edgar Renteria advancing from second (3). The 8*-2*-6* play in the fifth inning of the team's 6-2 victory over the Redbirds marks Arizona's first triple play in franchise history.
2001 For the first time in over a year since Pedro Martinez scoffed at the 'Curse,' the Red Sox finally beat the Yankees in their eighth attempt. The right-hander was 7-1 when he said, "Wake up the damn Bambino and have me face him -- Maybe I'll drill him in the ass," but after the comment, he makes seven winless starts, marking the first time he did not earn a win in seven starts since his first seven major league appearances as a rookie.
2001 After 25 years in the organization, manager Felipe Alou, 66, is fired by the Expos and replaced by Jeff Torborg, an old friend of Jeffrey Loria, the team's owner. The former Montreal skipper is the winningest manager in franchise history, compiling a 691-717 record during his nine-year tenure.

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2001 The Padres pound the Mets, 18-6, setting a new scoring record for Petco Park. The team's total number of tallies surpass the previous mark set in the 17-2 victory over Atlanta in the home opener played in April.
2004 Sister Susanna Helms wins $10,000 from U.S. Bank and WLW when Barry Larkin and Sean Casey hit back-to-back home runs in Cincinnati's 9-7 victory over the Marlins at Pro Player Stadium. The nun will donate the cash she won in the Reds' radio promotion when the team hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning to the Sisters of Saint Francis in Oldenburg (IN) to help the order meet expenses.

 

2005 Buddy Bell, who formerly managed the Tigers (1996-98) and the Rockies (2000-2002), becomes the first Kansas City manager in 19 years with previous experience to be hired as the team's skipper. With the worst record in baseball, the Royals will respond by sweeping a three-game series with the Yankees.
2006 After the Royals get off to a slow start, the team replaces general manager Allard Baird with former Braves assistant Dayton Moore. During his seven-year tenure, the club compiled a 381-576 record, including one winning season and three 100-loss seasons.
2006 The Astros announced that Roger Clemens is coming out of retirement to pitch for the team for the remainder of the season, after coming to terms with the right-hander on a deal worth $22,000,022 (#22 is his uniform number), prorated approximately to $12.25 million due to his midseason start. The 43-year-old right-hander will finish the season with a 7–6 record, a 2.30 ERA, and a 1.04 WHIP, averaging just under six innings per start. which includes never pitching into the eighth.
2007 In a crisp, one-hour, fifty-minute contest at Rogers Centre, the Blue Jays beat Chicago, 2-0. Roy Halladay becomes the quickest pitcher in franchise history to record 100 victories, needing just 200 starts to reach the milestone.

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2008 In front of many visiting Red Sox fans at Camden Yards, Manny Ramirez becomes the 24th and 12th-youngest major leaguer to hit 500 career home runs. The historic ball, thrown in the seventh inning by Orioles right-hander Chad Bradford, is caught in the stands by Damon Woo, who presents the Boston slugger with the ball after the game.

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2009 Carlos Pena becomes the first player to hit a ball into the "A" ring, the highest catwalk at Tropicana Field. The Rays' first baseman's 190-foot pop fly, considered in play, is caught off the rebound by Jose Mijares, but the Twins' left-hander has to roll onto his stomach to hold onto the ball for the out.
2012 At Coors Field, Carlos Gonzalez sets a franchise record and becomes the 22nd major league to hit a home run in his fourth straight at-bat. The Rockies outfielder's first frame three-homer off Houston pitcher Bud Norris comes on the heels of CarGo's three round-trippers in the fifth, sixth, and eighth innings of yesterday's contest.

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2012 With their 6-2 victory, the Brewers beat the Dodgers for the fourth consecutive day, making the Brew Crew the first visiting team to sweep a four-game series at Chavez Ravine since the Rockies accomplished the feat in August of 1993. The victories also mark the first time the franchise has ever swept the LA team.
2015 Derek Fisher, the Astros' 2014 first-round draft pick, dramatically makes his California League debut, hitting a solo home run and two grand slams in his first three at-bats for the Lancaster Jethawks, Houston's Class-A Advanced affiliate. The former Virginia Calavier outfielder establishes a new league mark when he clears the bases in the seventh inning with a bases-loaded double to raise his RBI total to 12 in the team's 16-3 victory.

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Today in Baseball History
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Search archives: Historical Events Baseball Birthdays Baseball Deaths
On May 31 in Baseball History...

• • 1937 - A Memorial Day crowd of 61,756, the second-largest crowd in Polo Grounds history, sees the Dodgers end Carl Hubbell's consecutive-game winning streak at 24 over two seasons. Brooklyn routs King Carl in the fourth inning and wins 10-3.
  • 1942 - Before 22,000 at Griffith Stadium, Satchel Paige pitches five innings to defeat the Dizzy Dean All-Stars 8-1. Dean pitches just the first inning. The game a week earlier, in which Paige won 3-1 at Wrigley Field, drew 29,000. Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis will prohibit a scheduled July 4 matchup because the first two games outdrew major-league games.
  • 1948 - A lefthander for Schenectady (Canadian-American League) named Tom Lasorda strikes out 25 in a 15-inning game against Amsterdam.
  • 1964 - After Juan Marichal's 5-3, first-game win, San Francisco holds a 6-1 lead in the nightcap until New York rallies for five runs to tie it in the seventh. Eventually, with two down in the 23rd inning, pinch-hitter Del Crandall delivers a run-scoring double off Galen Cisco, and the Giants prevail 8-6 after a record seven hours and 22 minutes. Gaylord Perry pitches ten scoreless innings to get credit for the win. Thirty-two innings and an elapsed time of nine hours and 50 minutes are doubleheader records, as are 47 strikeouts.
  • 1975 - The Royals beat the Brewers 7-5 in a game bridging the generation gap. Hank Aaron and Harmon Killebrew are in their 22nd major-league seasons and winning pitcher Lindy McDaniel is in his 21st. All three were playing in the majors before Brewers shortstop Robin Yount was born.
  • 1979 - Pat Underwood makes his major league debut for Detroit, pitching 8 1/3 innings in shutting out Toronto 1-0. The losing pitcher is Pat's brother, Tom.
  • 1980 - Ken Landreaux goes 0-for-4 in Minnesota's 11-1 loss to the Orioles to end his hitting streak at 31 consecutive games. Baltimore southpaw Scott McGregor does the honors. It is the longest streak in the A.L. since Dom DiMaggio's 34-game stretch in 1949.
  • 1981 - Playing before their tenth consecutive home sellout, the Dodgers pound the Reds 16-4 and raise their season attendance to 1,026,725 in 22 dates. It is the earliest any team has cracked the one million attendance barrier.
  • 1983 - A.L. President Lee MacPhail suspends Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for one week, citing "repeated problems" with the outspoken owner's public criticism of umpires. Steinbrenner, who had been fined $50,000 by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn during spring training for berating some N.L. umpires, cannot attend games or be in his Yankee Stadium office during the suspension.
  • 1984 - Mario Soto is suspended for five days by N.L. president Chub Feeney for his role in a 32-minute melee that marred the Reds-Cubs game on May 27. After shoving third base umpire Steve Rippley, who had signaled that Ron Cey's long fly ball was a three-run home run (it was later ruled foul), a bat-wielding Soto then tried to attack a park vendor who had thrown a bag of ice at him. Soto will be suspended again for five more days later in the season for his June 16 fight with Claudell Washington.
  • 1996 - Albert Belle uses a forearm to break up a double play and nearly breaks Milwaukee second baseman Fernando Vina's nose in the process. The Cleveland slugger is suspended for two games.

Baseball Birthdays on May 31...

• • 1859 - Shaw, Dupee
  • 1873 - Leith, Bill
  • 1884 - Foxen, Bill
  • 1892 - Smith, George
  • 1894 - Sullivan, John
  • 1905 - Davis, Peaches
  • 1912 - Fehring, Dutch
  • 1938 - Washburn, Ray
  • 1943 - Brown, Jackie
  • 1950 - Martinez, Tippy
  • 1952 - Bernard, Dwight
  • 1954 - Erardi, Greg
  • 1955 - Owen, Larry
  • 1960 - Schaefer, Jeff
  • 1962 - Orsulak, Joe
  • 1967 - Lofton, Kenny
  • 1969 - Faneyte, Rikkert
  • 1969 - Van Egmond, Tim
  • 1970 - Torres, Dilson
  • 1971 - Malave, Jose
  • 1972 - Roberts, Dave
  • 1973 - Janzen, Marty
  • 1975 - Suzuki, Mac

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