Lefty

I'll try and post this every day.

Today In Baseball History

1888 - At a stormy meeting in Philadelphia, American Association owners finally vote to allow 25 cent admission again. They drop the percentage system of paying visitors and replace it with a $130-per-game guarantee.

1893 - Facing a left-handed Brooklyn pitcher, New York first baseman Roger Connor bats right-handed for the first time in his career and slugs out two homers and a single in a 10-3 win.

1907 - Walter Johnson pitched the first of his 416 victories as he led the Washington Senators over the Cleveland Indians 7-2.

1915 - As Brooklyn's rookie pitcher Ed Appleton steps to the mound, St. Louis manager Miller Huggins, coaching at third base, calls for the ball. The rookie tosses the ball to him, Huggins steps aside, and the Cardinal runner scores. A change in the rules will prevent such trickery in the future.

1922 - Ken Williams of the St. Louis Browns hit two home runs in the sixth inning of 16-1 victory over the Washington Senators.

1923 - Cleveland's Frank Bowerman went 6-for-6 with a double and five singles as the Indians routed the Washington Senators 22-2.

1950 - White players Lou Chirban, Stan Mierko, and Frank Dyle of the Chicago American Giants are barred by police from playing in the Negro American League against the Birmingham Black Barons.

1956 - The largest crowd in minor league history, 57,000, saw 51-year-old Satchel Paige of Miami beat Columbus in an International League game played in the Orange Bowl.

1968 - Joe Keough of the Oakland A's pinch hit a home run in his first major league at-bat in the eighth inning against the New York Yankees and the A's won 4-3 in 10 innings.

1971 - The New York Mets bombarded the Braves at Atlanta Stadium, 20-6. Ken Boswell led the Mets with four hits and five RBIs including a grand slam off Mike McQueen.

1978 - Eddie Mathews, Addie Joss, and Larry MacPhail are inducted at Cooperstown.

1985 - Commissioner Peter Ueberroth announced a tentative agreement ending a two-day strike. The season resumed Aug. 8.

1992 - The Giants announce that the team has been sold to Tampa Bay investors for a reported $110 million and will move to St. Petersburg for the 1993 season. Other owners will block the move in November, but one benefit is that the 1992 season finale becomes the first sellout at Candlestick since the 1989 World Series.

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Lefty

This Day in Baseball History

On August 8, 1973, future Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda of the Boston Red Sox bangs out four doubles in a 9-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals. The Red Sox’ designated hitter, running on bad knees near the end of an outstanding career, ties a major league record with the four two-baggers.

On August 8, 1965, Warren Spahn wins his first game as a member of the San Francisco Giants. The New York Mets had released Spahn earlier in the season.

On August 8, 1934, Hall of Fame manager Wilbert Robinson dies at the age of 71 after suffering a stroke. Robinson won a total of 1,399 games in 19 major league seasons. “Uncle Robbie” managed the Brooklyn franchise for 18 of those seasons, leading the team to National League pennants in 1916 and 1920.

On August 8, 1976, the Chicago White Sox become the first team in major league history to wear short pants in a game. The White Sox debut their Bermuda shorts - the brainchild of owner Bill Veeck - in the first game of a doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals. It will be the only regular season game in which the White Sox wear shorts.

On August 8, 1954, the Brooklyn Dodgers explode for 13 runs - after two outs with no one on - in the eighth inning of their 20-8 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Gil Hodges highlights the outburst with a home run and a triple. Pitcher Clem Labine, a career .100 hitter, draws two walks during the inning.

On August 8, 1988, lights are used for the first time in the history of Wrigley Field. The Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies play 3 1/2 before being rained out.

On August 8, 1903, tragedy strikes the Baker Bowl in Philadelphia when a walkway at the top of the stands suddenly collapses, killing 12 fans in attendance. The incident, which occurs when fans rush to the walkway to witness a street brawl, mars a doubleheader between the hometown Phillies and the Boston Braves.

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Lefty

This Day in Baseball History:

1916 The Philadelphia A's end their 20-game losing streak when Joe Bush beats the Tigers, 7-1.


1939 Yankee third baseman Red Rolfe begins an eighteen-game scoring streak. The Penacook, New Hampshire native will score thirty runs during this period of time.


1949 Hitless in his first four at bats against Yankee hurler Vic Raschi, Red Sox outfielder Dom DiMaggio's 34-game hitting streak comes to an end as his brother Joe makes a shoestring catch in the eighth inning to taking away a hit.


1973 Phil Niekro pitches the first no-hitter in Atlanta Braves history.


1975 Davey Lopes steals his 32nd consecutive base without being caught breaking Max Carey's 1922 record as the Dodgers defeat the Mets, 2-0


1976 Cal Hubbard, with his induction to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown as an umpire, becomes the first professional athlete to be elected into two Hall of Fames. In 1963 he was enshrined in the pro football's Hall of Fame.


1976 John Candelaria becomes the first Pirate since 1907 to throw a no-hitter in Pittsburgh. Nick Maddox threw the first and only Buc home no-hitter until the 'Candyman' beat the Dodgers at Three Rivers Stadium. (There was never a no-hitter pitched in the 61-year history of spacious Forbes Field)


1981 Major league baseball returns in a big way from its in-season strike as 72,086 fans attend the belated All-Star game in Cleveland. Vida Blue becomes the first pitcher to win an All-Star game for both leagues.


1988 The Cubs play their first ever night game at Wrigley Field defeating the Mets, 6-4.


1996 In a 4-3,10-inning loss to the White Sox, Cal Ripken records his 2,500th career hit, a single off White Sox Bill Simas.


1998 The Expos draw a total of 757 dogs during the team's Dog Day promotion. Montreal's 8-2 victory over the Devil Rays featured a pre-game parade of the dogs and their owners on the field.


1998 In Boston's 14-8 victory over the Rangers, Dennis Eckersley ties Kent Tekulve for second on the all-time list with 1,050 appearances by a pitcher. Hoyt Wilhelm is the over-all leader with 1,070.


1998 With his 244th victory, the Braves' Dennis Martinez passes Juan Marichal to become the winningest Latin American pitcher in major league baseball history. Martinez pitches a perfect eighth inning as the Braves beat the Giants, 7-5.


1999 For the first time in major league history, five grand slams are hit in a single day. Cardinal Fernando Tatis, Expo Jose Vidro, Marlin Mike Lowell, Yankee Bernie Williams and Mariner Jay Buhner all connect to set the record.


2002 Barry Bonds joins Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron as the only players ever to hit 600 home runs in the major leagues. The 38-year-old Giant left fielder hit the milestone homer in the sixth inning by lining 2-1 pitch thrown by Pirates starter Kip Wells over the center field wall at Pacific Bell Park.


2002 At the age of 26 years and 182 days, Vladimir Guerrero hits his 200th career home run tying the Expo right fielder with Ken Griffey, Jr. as the second-youngest player to reach 200 homer plateau. Alex Rodriguez is the youngest major leaguer to reach the 200 homer mark reaching the milestone in 25 years 290 days.

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Lefty

Today in Baseball History:

1889 1889 At the Seventh Street Park in Indianapolis, future 300 game winner Mickey Welch becomes the first pinch hitter in major league history. Although the Giants right-handed pitcher strikes out in his historic plate appearance, New York prevails beating the Hoosiers, 9-6.


1901 White Sox Frank Isbell of the Chicago White Sox strands eleven runners on the base paths to set an American League record.


1944 Braves' hurler Charles 'Red' Barrett throws only 58 pitches in beating the Reds, 2-0.


1957 Mickey Mantle blasts a 460-foot homer to become the first player to clear the center-field hedge at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore as the Yankees beat the Orioles, 6-3.


1969 For the second time this season, Twins' Cesar Tovar breaks up a no-hit bid by an Oriole pitcher by singling in the ninth inning. Mike Cuellar is the victim this time.


1971 At Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis, Harmon Killebrew becomes the tenth player to join the 500 home run club as hits the historic homer in the first inning off Mike Cuellar. Later in the game the 36-year old first baseman connects for #501, but 'Killer's' two round-trippers are to no avail as the Twins lose to the Orioles in 10 innings, 4-3.


1974 Jorge Lebron, the youngest professional player ever, makes his debut for the Phillies farm club Auburn. The fourteen-year old shortstop plays three games before returning to Puerto Rico to finish junior high school.


1981 The Phillies' Pete Rose passes Stan Musial as the all-time National League hit leader when he collects his 3,631st off Cardinal hurler Mark Littell.


1986 During Billy Martin Day at Yankee Stadium, the Bronx Bombers retire uniform #1 to honor their scrappy second baseman and four-time manager.


1989 After fifteen months of recovery from cancer surgery to his arm, Dave Dravecky pitches one-hit baseball for seven innings blanking the Reds to get the victory. The Giant bullpen holds on for a 4-3 win at Candlestick Park.


1995 The first forfeit in the majors in sixteen years occurs when the fans for the third time during the night throw promotional souvenir baseballs onto the Dodger Stadium field. At the time of the decision to halt the game, Los Angeles is trailing the Cardinals, 2-1 with one out in the bottom of the ninth.


1998 Joining Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth, Albert Belle becomes only the fourth player to drive in 100 runs and hit 30 homers for seven consecutive seasons.


2000 Winning for the first time in 16 starts, David Cone ends the worst slump of his career as the Yankees beat the A's, 12-6. Newly acquired Jose Canseco hits a three-run homer into the upper deck to help Cone stop the skid.


2001 In Kotna, Poland, Khovrio of Moscow becomes the first Russian team to qualify for the Little League World Series. The team, which is also the first to be made of all native Europeans, defeats the Tbilisi YMCA of Georgia, 12-2.


2002 Sammy Sosa hits three home runs in consecutive at bats in the third, fourth and fifth innings tying a Cubs' record with nine RBIs established by Heinie Zimmerman in 1911. With his sixth career three-homer game performance, the Chicago right fielder also ties the major league record set by Johnny Mize and he also becomes only the fifth player in big league history to homer in three straight innings.


2003 Rafael Furcal becomes the 12th player to turn an unassisted triple play in big league history. With runners on Cardinals on first (Orlando Palmeiro) and second (Mike Matheny) in the fifth inning, the Braves shortstop makes a leaping catch of pitcher Woody Williams' liner steps on second base to double up Matheny before tagging out Palmeiro who is attempting to get back to first base.


2004 Taking a cab to Shea Stadium from nearby LaGuardia Airport , Mets starting pitcher Tom Glavine is injured as the taxi collides with an SUV. The 38-year old two-time Cy Young Award winner loses his front two teeth and needs over 40 stitches to close facial lacerations.


2004 After signing American League Rookie of the Year to a five-year, possible $16 million deal on May 6, the Royals send Angel Berroa to the Wichita Wranglers, their Double-A affiliate in the Texas League. The struggling shortstop is hitting only .249 with five homers and 30 ribbies compared to last season’s award-winning performance when the 26-year old Dominican batted .287 with 17 homers and 73 RBIs in his first full season in the major leagues.

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Lefty

This Day in Baseball-August 11

1907 Cardinal Ed Karger pitches a seven-inning perfect game in game two of a doubleheader beating the Boston Braves 4-0. The contest was shortened by a prior agreement between the clubs.


1926 In a 7-2 loss to the White Sox, Tris Speaker hits his 700th career double, The Indian outfielder will establish a major league a record with 792 two-baggers.


1929 At League Park in Cleveland, Babe Ruth hits Willis Hudlin’s first delivery in the second inning over the right field fence to record his 500th career home run. The Bambino has more than twice the number of round-trippers than Phillies Cy Williams who is #2 on the all-time list with 237.


1946 Sweeping a doubleheader, the Phillies end the Dodgers' 18-game winning streak in Philadelphia, a major league record. The Dodgers hadn't lost in the City of Brotherly Love since May 5,1945.


1961 Braves lefty Warren Spahn scatters six hits to beat the Cubs, 2-1, for his 300th career victory.


1951 The Braves beat the Dodgers 8-1 in the first major league game to be televised in color.


1959 Gil Carter, a pitcher for the Carlsbad, New Mexico entry in the Sophomore Baseball League, reportedly hits a ball which travels 730 feet from home plate. This left field blast may be the longest home run ever hit.


1970 With a 6-5 victory over the Astros, the Phillies' Jim Bunning becomes the first pitcher since Cy Young to win 100 games in both leagues.


1970 With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, pinch-hitter Carl Taylor's grand slam caps a five-run rally giving the Cardinals a dramatic comeback victory over the Padres, 11-10.


1980 In the third inning of 3-1 Yankee victory over the White Sox, Reggie Jackson connects off of Britt Burns for his 400th career home run.


1986 Breaking Max Carey's mark, Cincinnati Reds' Pete Rose sets a National League record with his tenth five-hit game of his career. 'Charlie Hustle' singles four times and doubles in the 13-4 loss to the Giants.


1991 In only his second big league start, 21-year old White Sox southpaw Wilson Alvarez no-hits the Orioles, 7-0. Only Browns' hurler Bobo Holloman, who threw a no-hitter in his first major league start in 1953 accomplished the feat in fewer starts.


1994 Randy Johnson’s pitch to strike out A's Ernie Young will become the last ball thrown in the major league for seven and half month as the longest work stoppage in baseball history begins.


1998 The Devil Rays surpassed the two-million mark in home attendance in their inaugural season joining the Rockies, Marlins and Arizona as the only expansion teams to reach this mark.


1998 At Fenway Park, a moment of silence is observed in memory of Detective John Gibson, one of the police officers killed at the U.S. Capitol last month. The Waltham, Massachusetts resident was a lifelong Red Sox fan.


2001 Using fewest number of games anyone has ever needed to hit 50 homers in a season, Giant outfielder Barry Bonds reaches the milestone in 117 contests. In 1999, Sammy Sosa reached the mark in 121 contests.


2001 En Route to his 11th victory as the Giants beat the Cubs at Wrigley Field, 9-4, Livan Hernandez goes 4-for-4 including a home run. The Cuban right-hander has collected eight consecutive hits enjoying a 3-for-3 performance against the Phillies on August 5 and going 2-for-3 against the Pirates the last day in July.


2002 Keeping with the tradition of commemorating former players who are in the Hall of Fame, the Cardinals unveiled the 11th statue outside Busch stadium - an air-borne Ozzie Smith. The bronze likeness, created by sculptor Harry Weber, captures the former shortstop stretched horizontally to the ground, trying to field a grounder in the hole.


2002 Sammy Sosa's grand slam and run-scoring double against the Rockies gives the Cubs' slugger 14 RBIs over two games establishing a new a National League record. The previous mark was 13 shared by Nate Colbert (Padres-1972) and Mark Whiten (Cardinals -1993).


2003 By fanning Jeff Kent in the seventh inning at Wrigley Field, Kerry Wood became the fastest major leaguer to record his 1,000th career strikeout needing only 134 games to reach the milestone. It took 143 games for Roger Clemens to accomplish the feat.


2004 During the memorial service at St. Patrick's Cathedral in front of pews packed with Mets fans, team owner Fred Wilpon and former broadcaster partner Gary Thorne deliver eulogies remembering the late Hall of Famer Bob Murphy. At age of 79, ‘Murph’ who supplied 42 years of Happy Recaps for the Mets and spent a half of a century broadcasting big league games, lost his battle with lung cancer.

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Lefty

This Day in Baseball-August 12

1921: Philadelphia’s George Smith gave up 12 hits and still pitched a shutout in the Phillies’ 4-0 victory over the Boston Braves.

1948: In the second game of a doubleheader, the Cleveland Indians beat the St. Louis Browns 26-3 with a 29-hit barrage. The Indians set a major league record as 14 different players hit safely.

1964: Mickey Mantle hit a home run both left- and right-handed in a 7-3 win over the Chicago White Sox. It was the 10th time in his career and a major league record for switch-hit homers in a game.

1966: Art Shamsky of the Cincinnati Reds connected for three home runs in a 14-11, 13-inning loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Crosley Field. Two of the homers came in the 10th and 11th innings. The game featured 11 homers by both clubs.

1974: Nolan Ryan of the California Angles struck out 19 Boston Red Sox for a 4-2 victory.

1986: Don Baylor of the Boston Red Sox set an AL record when he was hit by a pitch for the 25th time for the season, breaking the record he had shared with Bill Freehan (1968) and Norm Elberfield (1911). Kansas City’s Bud Black was the pitcher as the Royals completed a doubleheader sweep with a 6-5 victory.

1988: The Boston Red Sox set an AL record with their 23rd straight victory at home, beating the Detroit Tigers 9-4. Boston surpassed the league mark of 22 set by the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics.

1994: Major league baseball players went on strike for the sport’s eighth work stoppage since 1972.

2001: Mark McGwire hit his 575th career home run and St. Louis beat the New York Mets 4-1. McGwire’s last 11 hits had been homers.

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Lefty

THIS DAY IN BASEBALL

AUGUST 13

1906: Jack Taylor of the Chicago Cubs was chased by Brooklyn in the third inning, ending a streak of 187 complete games and 15 relief games that Taylor had finished without relief help.

1910: The Brooklyn Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates played to an 8-8 tie. Each team had 38 at-bats, 13 hits, 12 assists, two errors, five strikeouts, three walks, one hit batsman and one passed ball.

1931: Tony Cuccinello of the Cincinnati Reds had six hits in six at-bats in the first game of a doubleheader in Boston. Cuccinello had a triple, two doubles and three singles to knock in five runs as the Reds won 17-3.

1948: Satchel Paige, 42, pitched his first major-league complete game against the Chicago White Sox. Paige gave up only five hits en route to 5-0 Cleveland victory.

1969: Jim Palmer of the Orioles, plagued by arm trouble the year before, threw an 8-0 no-hitter against the Oakland A’s in Baltimore.

1978: The Baltimore Orioles benefited from the rainout rule. The Orioles were leading New York 3-0 after six innings but the Yankees scored five runs in the top half of the seventh. Heavy rains ended the game in the bottom half of the inning and the score was reverted to the end of the last completed frame giving the Orioles the triumph. This rule was changed in 1980.

1979: St. Louis’ Lou Brock reached the 3,000 hit plateau with an infield hit off Chicago Cubs pitcher Dennis Lamp. St. Louis won the game 3-2.

2004: San Francisco’s J.T. Snow hit three home runs, had four RBIs, and scored five runs to power the Giants to a 16-6 rout of Philadelphia.

2004: Rookies Abraham Nunez and John Buck both hit grand slams to lead the Royals past the Oakland Athletics 10-3. It was the first time in club history the Royals have hit two grand-slams in one game — which also ties a major-league record. Buck and Nunez were the first rookie teammates to hit grand slams in the same game since the rookie rule went into effect in 1957.

Today’s birthdays: Corey Patterson 26; Roman Colon 26; Jarrod Washburn 31.

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Lefty

August 14:

1888 Tim Keefe's nineteen game winning streak ends when Gus Krock and the White Stockings defeat the Giants.


1919 In a total of two hours and seventeen minutes, the Dodgers and Cubs split a doubleheader. In the opener, the Cubs blank Brooklyn 2-0 in one hour and 10 minutes and in the nightcap it takes the Dodgers one hour and 7 minutes to shut out Chicago, 1-0.


1932 Brooklyn's 10-inning, 2-1 victory over the Giants at the Polo Grounds makes reliever John Quinn, at the age of 49, the oldest player to win a major league game. Johnny Frederick, who will only have a total of six home runs during the entire season, hits a ninth inning game-tying homer off Carl Hubbell, his fourth round-tripper as a pinch hitter establishing a new major-league record.


1933 Jimmie Foxx hits for the cycle and drives in nine runs breaking an American League record as the A's beat the Indians, 11-5.


1937 In a doubleheader against the Browns, the Tigers set a major league record scoring thirty-six runs in the twin bill. Pete Fox tallies eight times in the double dip.


1958 Indian Vic Power steals home twice in the same game; he will only have a total of three for the entire season.


1961 In a 9-2 defeat to the Cubs' Dick Ellsworth, the Phillies drop their seventeenth consecutive game and for the eleventh straight time the opposing pitcher throws a complete game against the team.


1969 The eventual World Champ Mets drop to third place nine and half games behind the front-running Cubs.


1971 Thanks to outstanding defensive plays by outfielder Jose Cruz and third baseman Joe Torre, Cardinal fireballer Bob Gibson no-hits the Pirates, 11-0.


1981 Jeff Burroughs hits three home runs as the Mariners defeat the Twins, 13-3 in the second game of a doubleheader.


1982 With his 12,365th career at-bat, Phillies' Pete Rose passes Hank Aaron to become the all-time leader of plate appearances.


1986 Reds' player-manager Pete Rose collects his 4,256th and final hit of off Giant reliever Greg Minton. (Thanks to Danny O'Brien for tracking down Greg Minton and Pete Rose to verify this fact)


1987 A's Mark McGwire hits his 39th round-tripper breaking the major league record for home runs by rookies surpassing Wally Berger and Frank Robinson. The freshman first baseman will finish the season with 49 homers to lead the American League.


1998 The A's Rickey Henderson's stolen base in the first-inning against the Tigers makes the thirty-nine year old the oldest player to steal 50 bases in a season.


1999 With Pudge's 20th stolen base in Chicago, Texas backstop Ivan Rodriguez becomes the first catcher in major league history with 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in the same season.


2003 Despite a massive blackout in the Northeast, the game between the Mets and the Giants at Shea Stadium is the only postponement on the major league schedule. Although Detroit, Toronto and Cleveland were without electricity, the Tigers, Blue Jays and Indians either had the day off or were playing on the road.


2004 The Florida State Leagues’ Daytona Cubs will be forced to shift their home games into away contests as Hurricane Charley causes extensive damage to their historic ballpark. The facility, which was built in 1914 and renamed for Jackie Robinson to commemorate the site where the future Hall of Famer and civil rights advocate played his first exhibition game with the Montreal Royals, was also damaged by Hurricane Donna (1966) and Hurricane Floyd (1999).

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Lefty

August 15.

1914 Philadelphia A's Rube Waddell pitches a five-inning no-hit game blanking the Browns, 2-0.


1914 With four sacrifices in one game, Dodger Jake Daubert sets a National League record.


1916 At Fenway Park, Red Sox hurler Babe Ruth defeats Walter Johnson and the Senators in 13 innings, 1-0.


1926 When Babe Herman doubles with the bases loaded, three Dodgers wind up on third base. The runner on second rounds third but decides to go back as the runner from first reaches the same base, and a few seconds later Herman slides in to join his two teammates.


1941 In spite of leading 6-3, the Senators forfeited the game to the Red Sox because the league ruled the home ground crew deliberately refused to cover the field when it started to rain.


1955 Brave hurler Warren Spahn hits a home run off Cardinal Mel Wright giving the crafty lefty at least one round tripper in every National League stadium.


1962 Met pinch hitters tie a major league record by hitting two home runs (Choo Choo Coleman in the sixth and Jim Hickman in the eighth) in the same game. The Amazin' Mets still manage to lose to the Phillies.


1970 Reds' Pete Rose, the defending National League batting champ, goes 0-for-7 including striking out five consecutive times as the Phillies defeat Cincinnati, 5-4.


1975 Earl Weaver is ejected twice by umpire Ron Luciano. The fiery Baltimore manager is thrown out in the first game of a doubleheader and is tossed again before the start of the second game.


1990 A dramatic game-winning grand slam by Mark McGwire gives the Oakland A's a ten-inning victory over the Red Sox, 6-2. 'Big Mac' becomes the first player to hit thirty home runs in each of his first four seasons.


1989 In his second start after coming back from cancer surgery, Giant Dave Dravecky suffers a broken arm beating Expos, 3-2. The Youngstown, Ohio native collapses to the ground and clutched his left arm in severe pain after throwing a wild pitch to Tim Raines.


1990 Phillie Terry Mulholland faces just twenty-seven hitters no-hitting the Giants 6-0 as a double play erases only batter to reach base due to third baseman Charlie Hayes' throwing error. It is the record eighth no-hitter of the season surpassing the previous record of seven set in 1908 and tied in 1917.


2000 Club owner Ted Turner and two-time National League MVP Dale Murphy are inducted into the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame joining Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Phil Niekro and Warren Spahn.

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Lefty

THIS DAY IN BASEBALL

THIS DAY IN BASEBALL

AUGUST 16

1920: Shortstop Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians was hit in the head with pitch in the fifth inning by New York’s Carl Mays. Chapman fractured his skull and died the next day. It is the only field fatality in major-league history.

1927: Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees became the first player to clear the roof at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Ruth’s home run came off White Sox pitcher Tommy Thomas in the 8-1 win.

1947: Ralph Kiner hit three successive home runs to become the first Pirates player to accomplish the feat as Pittsburgh beat the St. Louis Cardinals 12-7 at Forbes Field.

1948: Babe Ruth died of cancer in New York at 53.

1950: Hank Thompson hit two inside-the-park home runs in the Giants’ 16-7 rout of the Brooklyn Dodgers at the Polo Grounds.

1964: Curt Flood of the St. Louis Cardinals had eight straight hits in a doubleheader against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers won the first game 3-0 and the Cardinals took the second, 4-0.

1996: The San Diego Padres defeated the New York Mets 15-10 in Monterrey, Mexico, in the first major-league regular-season game played outside the United States or Canada.

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Lefty

THIS DAY IN BASEBALL

AUGUST 17

1904: Jesse Tannehill of the Boston Red Sox pitched a no-hitter, beating the Chicago White Sox 6-0.

1920: Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman died from a beaning by Carl Mays of the New York Yankees on Aug. 16. This was the only on-field fatality in major-league history.

1933: Lou Gehrig played in his 1,308th straight game to break Everett Scott’s record of 1,307.

1944: Johnny Lindell of the New York Yankees hit four consecutive doubles in a 10-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians. Lindell drove in two runs and scored twice.

1972: Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies won his 15th consecutive game with a 9-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

1990: Carlton Fisk broke Johnny Bench’s major-league record for catchers with his 328th homer as the Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers 4-2 for a split of a doubleheader.

1992: Kevin Gross pitched a no-hitter as Los Angeles beat San Francisco 2-0 at Dodger Stadium.

1999: Jesse Orosco set a major-league record by pitching in his 1,072nd game, breaking a tie with Dennis Eckersley atop the career list. The 42-year-old Orosco took the mound with two outs in the seventh inning of Baltimore’s victory over Minnesota.

2001: Jeff Frye became the second Toronto player to hit for the cycle as the Blue Jays beat Texas 11-3. Frye tripled in the second inning, doubled in the fifth, homered in the sixth and hit a shot to the right-center field gap in the seventh. With the game in hand, he held up at first.

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Lefty

This day in baseball.

August 18

1915 The Boston Braves open Braves Field defeating the Cardinals, 3-1. The concrete and steel facility, which took only five months to construct, becomes the first ballpark to seat more than 40,000 people.


1940 Jimmy Powers, sport editor of the Sunday New York Daily News, causes a flap when he suggests the Yankees poor play this season can be attributed to "a mass polio epidemic" contracted from Lou Gehrig. The former Yankee first baseman and his roommate, Bill Dickey, file suit and the newspaper retracts the story (9/26/40) and apologizes.


1956 In their 13-4 victory at Crosley Field, the Reds hit eight home runs (Bob Thurman [3] Ted Kluszewski [2] Frank Robinson [2] and Wally Post [1] ) to tie a major league mark. The Braves add two more to set a National League mark for total homers for a nine inning game.


1959 Long time baseball executive Branch Rickey is named president of the newly formed Continental League. The 77-year old former Dodger general manager is currently serving as an advisor with the Pittsburgh Pirates.


1965 After hitting a ball on top of the pavilion at Sportman's Park, Braves' Hank Aaron is denied a homer because umpire Chris Pelekoudas calls him out for being out of the batter's box.


1975 Earl Averill, Bucky Harris, Billy Herman, 'Judy' Johnson and Ralph Kiner are inducted into the Hall of Fame.


1982 Passing Hank Aaron, Pete Rose becomes the all-time leader in plate appearances when he steps up the plate for the 13,941st time.


1989 Bucky Dent replaces Dallas Green (5th place, 56-65) as Yankee manager. The 1978 play-off hero loses his managerial debut to the Tigers in Detroit, 7-3.


1989 The Orioles' Cal Ripken passes Steve Garvey for the third-longest consecutive games streak by playing in his 1,208th straight game.


1995 In spite of Brave rally in the ninth, Tom Henke records his 300th career save as the Cardinals edge Atlanta, 4-3. The Kansas City native becomes the seventh pitcher in major league history to reach this milestone.


1998 Greg Maddux wins his 200th career game as the Braves beat the Giants, 8-4. All of Atlanta's nine hits in the game were doubles.


2000 After beating out a potential double play ball to prolong a five-run ninth inning rally which ties the game, Angel flycatcher Darin Erstad makes a 10th inning game-saving catch and follows it with a game-winning homer in the 11th to beat Yankees, 9-8.


2002 In a pregame ceremony, Tommy Agee is inducted posthumously in to the Mets Hall of Fame. The Mets' center fielder (1968-72) is best remembered for two his great two catches in Game 3 of the 1969 World Series.


2004 The Spokane Indians (Texas Rangers) edge the Tri-City Dust Devils (Colorado Rockies) 2-1 In 23 innings. The Northwest League game, which lasted 6 hours, 37 minutes., was scoreless for 19 innings and suspended in a 1-1 tie in the 21st inning the previous night.

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Lefty

August 19.

1900 In Western League action, Rube Waddell throws two complete games as Milwaukee sweeps a doubleheader from the White Sox, 2-1 and 1-0. After throwing 17 innings in the first game, the colorful southpaw is coaxed by skipper Connie Mack, who promises him a few days off to go fishing to pitch the night cap, he hurls a five-inning one-hitter.


1909 The Phillies are rained out for an unprecedented tenth consecutive time.


1913 Grover Alexander is reached for nine straight hits and six runs as the Cubs defeat Phillies,10-4.


1921 At the age of 34, Ty Cobb becomes the youngest player to collect 3000 hits when he singles of off Red Sox hurler Elmer Myers.


1951 Forty-three inch tall Eddie Gaedel walks on four pitches in his only major league appearance. Bill Veeck's idea of playing the midget was legal at the time but is later outlawed.


1957 Giant Board of Directors vote 9-1 in favor of moving the team to San Francisco.


1965 At Wrigley Field, Reds' hurler Jim Maloney no-hits the Cubs 1-0 with the only run scoring on a Leo Cardenas homer in the tenth inning. Earlier in the season the Fresno native had also no-hit the Mets for ten innings, but lost the game in the eleventh when Johnny Lewis homered.


1969 At Wrigley Field, Ken Holtzman no-hits the Braves, 3-0 with Ron Santo's first inning homer providing all of the Cubs' runs.


1990 White Sox Bobby Thigpen records his 40th save as the Chicago White Sox beat the Rangers, 4-2. He becomes the only eighth reliever to reach this milestone in major league history.


1992 When Mariner second baseman Bret Boone, the grandson of Ray Boone (1948-60) and son of Bob Boone (1972-90) makes a start against the Orioles, he becomes part of the first three-generation family to play in the major leagues.


1995 The Devil Rays name Braves assistant general manager Chuck LaMar as the franchise's first general manager.


2000 For only the third time in major league history and the second this season by the Yankees, a team is credited with three sacrifice flies in one inning. Bronx Bombers Jorge Posada, Scott Brosius and Clay Bellinger join teammates Jose Vizcaino, Tino Martinez and Bernie Williams (June 29, 2000) and the White sox trio of Juan Pizarro, Nellie Fox and Al Smith who accomplished the feat against the Indians (July 1, 1962).

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Lefty

1938 At Union Terminal Tower, Frankie Pytlak and Hank Helf, catchers for the Indians, establish record for catching baseballs dropped from a high altitude. The balls fall an estimated 708 feet and traveled an average speed of 140 mph during its 52-floor descent from Cleveland's enduring landmark, the second-tallest building in the world.


1945 Dodger Tommy Brown becomes the youngest player (17 years, 8 months and 14 days) in major league history to hit a home run. 'Buckshot', who started his career as a 16 year-old high school student, connects off 30-year old Pirates' southpaw Preacher Roe.


1946 Prior to the start of the game against the Senators in Washington, using the U.S. Army's Sky Screen Chronograph, Bob Feller's fastball is clocked at 98.6 miles-per-hour breaking Yankees' hurler Donald's 1939 speed record of 94.7 mph.


1948 The largest crowd (78,382) ever to attend a night game sees Satchel Paige become the fourth consecutive Indian to throw a shutout. The ageless wonder joins Gene Bearden, Sam Zoldak and Bob Lemon in blanking the opposition.


1961 In the second game of a doubleheader, the Phillies snap a 23-game losing streak by beating the Braves,7-4. The victory establishes a new record for most consecutive losses by a major league team.


1974 In a 18-8 rout of the Cubs, Davey Lopes hits three home runs, a double and a single. The Dodger second baseman's 15 total bases is the most ever for a leadoff hitter.


1974 At Anaheim Stadium, Angel Nolan Ryan throws a ball clocked at 100.9 miles per hour making it the fastest pitch ever thrown in major league baseball.


1974 Angel Nolan Ryan of the California Angels whiffs 19 Tigers in a 1-0, 11-inning loss to the Tigers. It is the third time the 'Ryan Express' has struck out 19 batters in one game this season.


1978 At Shea Stadium, Dodger Blue becomes black and blue as pitcher Don Sutton and first baseman Steve Garvey begin fighting in the clubhouse prior to their 5-4 victory over the Mets.


1985 Mets' phenom Doc Gooden strikes out 16 Giants in a 3-0 victory over San Francisco becoming the first National League pitcher to strike out 200 or more batters in each of his first two seasons.


1989 It's a busy day on the trading block for the Mets as they send popular outfielder Mookie Wilson to the Blue Jays for pitcher Jeff Musselman and minor leaguer Michael Brady. New York also gets Frank Viola from the Twins for pitchers Rick Aguilera, David West, and Kevin Tapani and two minor leaguers.


1995 Setting a major league record, Indian Jose Mesa picks up his 37th save in as many opportunities as Cleveland beats the Brewers, 8-5.


1998 At Shea Stadium, Cardinal first baseman Mark McGwire becomes the first player in major league history to hit 50 home runs in three consecutive seasons. Mac's seventh inning solo shot helps to defeat the Mets, 2-0.


2000 The winningest pitcher in franchise history is honored by the Yankees during Whitey Ford Day ceremonies at Yankee Stadium. The crafty lefty holds the team record for victories (236) , innings pitched (3,170 1/3), strikeouts (1,956) and shutouts (45).


2002 A judge issues a temporary restraining order preventing the sale of Barry Bonds' 600th career home run ball hit into the Pacific Bell Park stands on August 9. Jay Arsenault, who allegedly promised friends after being given a game ticket to split any monetary gains if he caught the historic baseball, has been ordered to appear in court for hearing on September 5 along with the prized souvenir.

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Lefty

August 20.

1938 At Union Terminal Tower, Frankie Pytlak and Hank Helf, catchers for the Indians, establish record for catching baseballs dropped from a high altitude. The balls fall an estimated 708 feet and traveled an average speed of 140 mph during its 52-floor descent from Cleveland's enduring landmark, the second-tallest building in the world.


1945 Dodger Tommy Brown becomes the youngest player (17 years, 8 months and 14 days) in major league history to hit a home run. 'Buckshot', who started his career as a 16 year-old high school student, connects off 30-year old Pirates' southpaw Preacher Roe.


1946 Prior to the start of the game against the Senators in Washington, using the U.S. Army's Sky Screen Chronograph, Bob Feller's fastball is clocked at 98.6 miles-per-hour breaking Yankees' hurler Donald's 1939 speed record of 94.7 mph.


1948 The largest crowd (78,382) ever to attend a night game sees Satchel Paige become the fourth consecutive Indian to throw a shutout. The ageless wonder joins Gene Bearden, Sam Zoldak and Bob Lemon in blanking the opposition.


1961 In the second game of a doubleheader, the Phillies snap a 23-game losing streak by beating the Braves,7-4. The victory establishes a new record for most consecutive losses by a major league team.


1974 In a 18-8 rout of the Cubs, Davey Lopes hits three home runs, a double and a single. The Dodger second baseman's 15 total bases is the most ever for a leadoff hitter.


1974 At Anaheim Stadium, Angel Nolan Ryan throws a ball clocked at 100.9 miles per hour making it the fastest pitch ever thrown in major league baseball.


1974 Angel Nolan Ryan of the California Angels whiffs 19 Tigers in a 1-0, 11-inning loss to the Tigers. It is the third time the 'Ryan Express' has struck out 19 batters in one game this season.


1978 At Shea Stadium, Dodger Blue becomes black and blue as pitcher Don Sutton and first baseman Steve Garvey begin fighting in the clubhouse prior to their 5-4 victory over the Mets.


1985 Mets' phenom Doc Gooden strikes out 16 Giants in a 3-0 victory over San Francisco becoming the first National League pitcher to strike out 200 or more batters in each of his first two seasons.


1989 It's a busy day on the trading block for the Mets as they send popular outfielder Mookie Wilson to the Blue Jays for pitcher Jeff Musselman and minor leaguer Michael Brady. New York also gets Frank Viola from the Twins for pitchers Rick Aguilera, David West, and Kevin Tapani and two minor leaguers.


1995 Setting a major league record, Indian Jose Mesa picks up his 37th save in as many opportunities as Cleveland beats the Brewers, 8-5.


1998 At Shea Stadium, Cardinal first baseman Mark McGwire becomes the first player in major league history to hit 50 home runs in three consecutive seasons. Mac's seventh inning solo shot helps to defeat the Mets, 2-0.


2000 The winningest pitcher in franchise history is honored by the Yankees during Whitey Ford Day ceremonies at Yankee Stadium. The crafty lefty holds the team record for victories (236) , innings pitched (3,170 1/3), strikeouts (1,956) and shutouts (45).


2002 A judge issues a temporary restraining order preventing the sale of Barry Bonds' 600th career home run ball hit into the Pacific Bell Park stands on August 9. Jay Arsenault, who allegedly promised friends after being given a game ticket to split any monetary gains if he caught the historic baseball, has been ordered to appear in court for hearing on September 5 along with the prized souvenir.

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