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This Day in All Teams History
June 8th

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25 Fact(s) Found
1927 Tony Lazzeri becomes the first Yankee to hit three home runs in one game, including a ninth inning blast that ties the game. The four-bagger closes a five-run deficit, and New York goes on to beat the White Sox in the 11th inning at the Stadium, 12-11.
1939 At Shibe Park, the Yankees, using the long ball, rout the hometown A's 22-3. The Bronx Bombers set a franchise record hitting eight home runs during the contest, a mark which will not be tied for 68 years.
1950 After beating the Browns 20-4 with 23 hits yesterday at Fenway Park, the Red Sox set the major-league record for runs scored by one team as they maul the St. Louis again, 29-4. Boston’s two day totals set consecutive games records for hits and runs scored set records.
1955 After only eight games and 13 innings of work, the Dodgers option rookie left-handed pitcher Tom Lasorda to Montreal to make room for a bonus baby who is also a southpaw. Sandy Koufax, who had injured his ankle, comes off the 30-day disabled list.
1961 Becoming the first major league team to accomplish the feat, Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron, Joe Adcock and Frank Thomas hit four consecutive home runs for the Braves in the seventh inning off Reds' pitchers Jim Maloney (2) and Marshall Bridges (2) at Crosley Field. The home run barrage that also includes another by Mathews and one by Warren Spahn, isn't enough when Cincinnati still manages to win the game, 10-8.
1965 In the first major league free-agent draft of students and sandlot players, the A's select Arizona star Rick Monday making him the first player ever to be drafted.
1965 In the inaugural free-agent draft of high school and college players, the Mets' first pick is southpaw Les Rohr, who due arm injury compiles only 2-3 career mark pitching for the team in parts of three seasons. Later in the day, New York makes a better choice selecting future Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan in the eighth round.
1968 Don Drysdale's scoreless streak ends at a record 58 2/3 consecutive innings when Phillies' Tony Taylor is driven in by Howie Bedell's sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. It will be the outfielder's only RBI for the season.
1969 On Mickey Mantle Day, the Yankees retire uniform number 7 in front of a crowd of 60,096 at the ballpark in the Bronx. The Mick, also receives a plaque from Joe DiMaggio that will be hung on the center field, and, then in turn, he gives the 'Yankee Clipper' a similar plaque, telling the crowd, "His should be just a little bit higher than mine."
1977 For the fourth time in his career, Nolan Ryan strikes out 19 batters in a game. The right-hander matches the mark in ten innings of work, with 18 punch outs coming during the first nine frames, in the Angels' eventual 2-1 victory.
1979 Dan Marino and John Elway are selected fourth and seventeenth, respectively, by the Kansas City Royals during the free-agent baseball draft. The two future NFL Hall of Fame quarterbacks will never play a day of professional baseball.
1986 The Orioles beat the Yankees 18-9 in in the longest nine inning game ever played in American League history. The contest takes four hours and sixteen minutes to complete.
1987 Angels' hurler Don Sutton (312) loses to Phil Niekro (314), who throws seven and one-third scoreless innings for the Indians in a 2-0 win at Anaheim. It is the third time this century, all occurring during the past two seasons, that two 300-game winners have started against one another.
1989 After the Pirates take a 10-0 lead in Philadelphia by sending 16 batters to the plate in the first inning, Pirates' broadcaster Jim Rooker announces if the Bucs lose the game he'll walk back to Pittsburgh. True to his word, the radio by-by-play man organizes a charity walk from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh after the season as a result of the Phillies comeback win over the Pirates, 15-11.
1989 Steve Jeltz, homers from both sides of the plate helping the to Phillies overcome a 10-0 first inning deficit and beat the Pirates, 15-11. The switch-hitting shortstop had only five home runs in during his entire big league career which included 1,749 at-bats.
1997 En route to a 2-0 shut out of the Tigers, Mariners' southpaw Randy Johnson strikes out 15 batters. It is the 74th time in the career of the 'Big Unit' he has has reached double digits in punch outs.
2001 For the first time in major league history, the two Texan teams play one another during the regular season. The Astros beat their interstate rivals, the Rangers, 5-4, in the first game of the Lone Star Series played in Arlington, Texas.
2001 Damon Easley becomes the ninth player in Tiger history to hit for the cycle, and the first Detroit player since 1993 when Travis Fryman accomplished the feat. The New York City native's eighth inning right-field triple completes the deed in the 9-4 victory over the Brewers.
2001 In front of a record-setting crowd of 45,936 at the new Comiskey Park, the White Sox beat their North Side rivals in ten-innings when Carlos Lee hits a two-out walk-off grand slam to give the Pale Hose a dramatic victory over the Cubs, 7-3.
2005 The Phillies trade infielder Placido Polanco to the Tigers for right-hander reliever Ugueth Urbina and utility infielder Ramon Martinez. Urbina, a two-time All-Star closer, will become the setup man for Billy Wagner in Philadelphia and Polanco will become the starting second baseman in Detroit.
2007 In the third inning of a 10-3 loss to Boston at Chase Field, a surprised Alberto Callaspo is tagged out by Julio Lugo after he takes a lead from second base. The Diamondbacks’ base runner is the victim of the hidden ball trick when he doesn’t realize the Red Sox shortstop had never returned the ball to the pitcher.
2007 With their 3-0 victory over Detroit at Comerica Park, the Mets begin a span of 18 games to become the first team in baseball history to play six consecutive series against six different clubs that all participated in the playoffs the previous season. New York will compile an 8-10 record during the stretch playing against the Tigers, Dodgers, Yankees, Twins, A's, and the Cardinals.
2010 The much anticipated major league debut of Stephen Strasburg lives up to its hype when the 21-year old whiffs 14 Pirate batters in seven innings in the Nationals 5-2 victory in Washington, D.C. Baffling Pittsburgh with a mix of 100-mph fastballs and devastating curves, the right-handed rookie’s strikeout total is second only to Houston’s J.R. Richard, who fanned 15 Giants in 1971 during a 5-3 complete-game victory against San Francisco.
2010 Tim Wakefield tosses 7.1 innings in Boston’s 3-2 victory over Cleveland at Progressive Field to becomes the Red Sox all-time leader in innings pitched. The 43-year old right-handed knuckleballer surpasses Roger Clemens, who had established the mark during his 13 seasons with the club by throwing 2,776 frames .
2010 At the age of 20 years and 212 days, Mike Stanton becomes the second-youngest player to debut with the Marlins with Miguel Cabrera remaining the youngest by 149 days. The rookie right fielder’s impressive debut, 3-for-5 scoring two runs in Florida’s 10-8 loss to Philadelphia, is overshadowed by the much-anticipated start of Washington’s Wonder Boy, Stephen Strasburg in the nation’s capital.
25 Fact(s) Found