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42 Fact(s) Found
| 1929 | The first two pitchers for Philadelphia never record an out, and before the home team comes to bat in the bottom of the first inning, they are trailing the Redbirds, 10-0. The Cardinals, who tally ten runs in the first and fifth frames, will pound the Phillies at the Baker Bowl, 28-6, to set the modern National League record for the most runs in one game by one team. |
| 1930 |
Bill Veeck Sr.'s popular Ladies' Day promotion at Wrigley Field reaches new heights when more than 30,000 female fans attend the Cubs' doubleheader against Cincinnati. An over-capacity crowd packs the small ballpark with thousands of others, including late-arriving regular paying patrons who cannot gain admission into the North Side venue.
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| 1932 |
Violet Valli shoots Cubs shortstop Billy Jurges, her ex-boyfriend, twice at the Hotel Carlos. The 24-year-old infielder will return to the lineup two weeks later, continuing to contribute to the team's pennant-winning season.
(Ed. Note: A week after the shooting, the judge dismissed the case against the showgirl when the Chicago ball player appeared in court, stating that he would not testify and wanted the charges dropped.- LP) |
| 1933 | At Chicago's Comiskey Park, the first-ever All-Star Game is played. Babe Ruth's third-inning two-run home run off Bill Hallahan proves to be the difference when the American League defeats the Senior Circuit, 4-2. |
| 1936 | After the first batter makes an out trying to bunt, 17-year-old right-hander Bob Feller, a farm boy from Van Meter, Iowa, strikes out eight consecutive batters in three innings during an All-Star break exhibition game against the Cardinals' Gas House Gang. The contest marks the Indian rookie's first appearance in a big-league uniform. |
| 1938 | At Crosley Field, Yankees' hurler Lefty Gomez loses for the first time in four All-Star starts when the National League beats the Junior Circuit, 4-1. Leo Durocher gets a 'home run' single when Jimmie Foxx tosses his sacrifice bunt into right field, and Joe DiMaggio overthrows catcher Bill Dickey, scoring Frank McCormick and Durocher, who keeps running until he reaches home. |
| 1941 |
The Yankees unveil a center field monument dedicated to Lou Gehrig. The memorial, similar to the honor bestowed on the team's late skipper Miller Huggins in 1932, is a tribute by his teammates to their beloved captain, who died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) last month.
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| 1942 | Powered by first-inning home runs by Indians' shortstop Lou Boudreau and Tigers' first baseman Rudy York, the American League All-Stars defeat the National League, 3-1. The Polo Grounds contest also features the first and only starting sibling battery in All-Star history as losing pitcher Mort Cooper throws to backstop Walker Cooper, his brother. |
| 1945 | Tommy Holmes hits safely in his 34th consecutive game, surpassing Rogers Hornsby's modern National League record set in 1922. The Braves outfielder will extend the streak to 37, with the new mark lasting 33 years until broken by Pete Rose in 1978. |
| 1949 | Walker Cooper goes 6-for-7, helping the Reds rout the Cubs at Crosley Field, 23-4. The 34-year-old Cincinnati catcher, acquired in a trade with the Giants last month, collects three home runs and three singles, scores five runs, and drives in ten runs. |
| 1953 | In his first major league start, 24-year-old right-hander Al Worthington throws a two-hitter, blanking the Phillies, 6-0. The Giants' rookie, known as 'Red,' will become the first National League freshman to throw consecutive shutouts at the start of a career when he repeats the feat in his next outing, blanking the Dodgers, 6-0. |
| 1956 | Jim Busby hits his second grand slam on consecutive days to beat the A's, 4-2. In a 13-7 loss yesterday, the Indians' outfielder hit a first-inning bases-loaded homer off Detroit's right-hander Frank Lary. |
| 1958 | A day after he walks outfielder Willie Kirkland with the bases loaded to give the Giants a 5-4 victory, Cardinal reliever Larry Jackson hits Jim Davenport with the bases full in the ninth inning to again force in the winning run. |
| 1962 | Rod Kanehl, appearing as a pinch-hitter, hits the first grand slam in Mets history, going deep off Bobby Shantz in the eighth inning of the team's 10-3 victory over the Cardinals. The Polo Grounds bases-loaded round-tripper comes in the 79th game of the franchise. |
| 1962 | At the Polo Grounds, Gil Hodges homers off Cardinal hurler Ray Sadecki for the 370th and final home run of his career, finishing tenth on the all-time list and the most ever hit by a right-handed batter in the National League. Eight-year-old Howie Rose, the team's future radio voice at his first major league game, and broadcaster Ralph Kiner, who reminds the first baseman on his show, Kiner's Korner, he established the right-handed NL home run mark in 1954, witnessed the moment. |
| 1966 | Boog Powell, tying an American League record, knocks in 11 runs in a doubleheader. In Game One, the Baltimore first baseman hits two homers, including a grand slam, two doubles, and a sacrifice fly, driving in seven runs in the Orioles' 11-0 victory over the Kansas City A's, adding four more RBIs in the nightcap. |
| 1970 |
At Shea Stadium, Mets' center fielder Tommie Agee hits a seventh-inning triple off Frank Linzy, completing the second cycle in franchise history. The lead-off batter's four hits pace the team's 10-3 victory over the Cardinals.
(Ed. Note: At the Polo Grounds in 1963, Jim Hickman became the first Met in franchise history to hit for the cycle, accomplishing the feat in the rare natural order. - LP) |
| 1970 | Ron Santo drives in ten runs, helping the Cubs sweep a doubleheader against Montreal at Wrigley Field. The third baseman's two-run homer in the opener gives the team a 3-2 victory, and his eight RBIs, including another two round-trippers, contribute to the club's 14-2 rout in the nightcap. |
| 1970 | At Atlanta Stadium, Braves' second baseman Felix Millan goes 6-for-6, becoming the first player in franchise history to collect six hits in one game. The 26-year-old infielder, called the Cat by his teammates, contributes to the team's 12-4 victory over the Giants with four singles, a double, and a triple. |
| 1977 | After 1,887 plate appearances without a home run from the start of his career, Cubs outfielder Greg Gross finally goes deep when he homers off Don Stanhouse, a three-run shot to left field with two outs in the sixth inning, in the team's 8-6 victory over the Expos at Wrigley Field. The 24-year-old's homerless drought establishes a new major league record, far surpassing runner-up Duane Kuiper, who recorded his first round-tripper needing 355 fewer trips to the plate to accomplish the feat. |
| 1983 |
On the Midsummer Classic's 50th anniversary, Fred Lynn hits the first grand slam in All-Star competition en route to the American League, setting a record for runs scored by one team in a game in their 13-3 victory, including a record seven-run third inning. The Junior Circuit's victory at Chicago's Comiskey Park, the site of the first All-Star Game in 1933, halts the National League's 11-game winning streak.
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| 1986 |
At Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, first baseman Bob Horner becomes the eleventh major leaguer to hit four home runs in one game. However, three of the four homers are solo shots, allowing the Expos to beat the Braves, 11-8.
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| 1989 | Mike Schmidt becomes the first retired player elected to start an All-Star Game. The Phillies' third baseman, who announced his retirement on May 29, is hitting only .203 this season and has decided not to participate in the Midsummer Classic. |
| 1991 | In a 9-7 loss to Oakland, Danny Tartabull hits three home runs, one off Gene Nelson and two off Bob Welch. The right-fielder becomes the first Kansas City player to accomplish the feat at Royals Stadium. |
| 1992 | Commissioner Fay Vincent, using his 'in the best interest of baseball' power, mandates the National League's realignment next season, forcing teams to be more geographically correct in their respective divisions. The plan, approved by 12 of the 14 NL owners in March, but blocked by Tribune Co., owner of the Chicago franchise, will send the Cubs and the Cardinals to the West Division, with the Braves and Reds moving to the East. |
| 2000 | Cardinal rookie Keith McDonald, who homered pinch-hitting in his first big league appearance, hits a round-tripper off Reds' hurler Osvaldo Fernandez, becoming only the second player in history to homer in his first two major league at-bats. Bob Nieman is the other major leaguer to accomplish the feat, having gone deep twice in his 1951 debut with the Browns. |
| 2000 | Vin Scully, 72, is voted the No. 1 sportscaster of the 20th century by members of the American Sportscasters Association. The Dodger veteran broadcaster's 51-year career has included play-by-play of 25 Fall Classics and a dozen All-Star Games. |
| 2001 | The Cubs, playing in the 101st different park since 1876, beat the Tigers in Comerica Park 15-8. For the first time in 56 years, dating back to Game 3 of the 1945 World Series when Claude Passeau threw a 3-0 shutout in Briggs Stadium, the team in Detroit. |
| 2002 |
Daryle Ward becomes the first player in the brief history of Pittsburgh's PNC Park to hit the Allegheny River on the fly, helping the Astros rout the Pirates, 10-2. PGA legend Arnold Palmer, also known for long drives, is on hand to watch the Houston left fielder's fifth-inning towering grand slam, estimated to have traveled 479 feet before making a splash.
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| 2002 | During Old Timers' Day ceremonies at Yankee Stadium, the Bronx Bombers dedicate a plaque in Monument Park honoring Reggie Jackson. During his tenuous five-year tenure with the team, the slugging outfielder helped the club reach the postseason four times, including winning two consecutive world championships in 1977 and 1978. |
| 2003 | Devil Rays' skipper Lou Piniella becomes a blonde, keeping his promise to dye his hair if his last-place Devil Rays won three in a row at any point this season. Last night's 3-2 victory over the White Sox gave Tampa Bay their first three-game winning streak since last September. |
| 2004 | Recently acquired outfielder Richard Hidalgo establishes a club record, homering in five straight games for the Mets. In 16 games with New York, the former Astro has eight home runs, compared to hitting just four with Houston in 56 games. |
| 2005 | Starting in the third inning, Marlins' hurlers retire 28 consecutive Brewers en route to a 5-4 extra-inning victory over Milwaukee at Dolphins Stadium. The club sets a franchise mark with 22 strikeouts, with A.J. Burnett contributing a career-high 14, establishing a team record in six innings. |
| 2007 | The Twins sweep a twin bill from the White Sox, beating the home team 20-14 and 12-0 at Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field. The 32 runs tallied by Minnesota are the most scored by one club in a twin bill since the Red Sox crossed the plate 35 times in their double victory over the Philadelphia A's on July 4, 1939. |
| 2008 | In the ninth inning of a tied game at Yankee Stadium, Manny Ramirez, appearing as a pinch-hitter, upsets the citizens of Red Sox Nation when he strikes out on three consecutive fastballs thrown by Mariano Rivera without swinging the bat. Citing knee pains, proven baseless by MRIs ordered by the team's management, Boston's disgruntled outfielder had asked to be left off the starting lineup for the critical series with New York. |
| 2009 |
In the most lopsided loss in Reds history, the Phillies rout the team at Citizens Bank Park, 22-1. The previous dubious mark was a 20-run differential, established in 1892 when the Reds lost 26-6 to Philadelphia.
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| 2009 | The settlement of a federal lawsuit brought by a fan kicked out of Yankee Stadium by a police officer for allegedly leaving his seat to use the men's room during the playing of 'God Bless America' results in the resident of Queens receiving $10,001 from New York City. The Yankees claim patrons have always had freedom of movement, with ushers blocking some exits in previous years after complaints that spectators showed a lack of respect by leaving their seats while the patriotic song played. |
| 2010 |
Down six runs in the bottom of the ninth, the Rockies score nine runs in the final frame to beat the stunned Cardinals, 12-9. Seth Smith's two-out, three-run homer off Ryan Franklin deals the fatal blow in Colorado's amazing come-from-behind walk-off victory at Coors Field.
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| 2013 | With a late surge of support from the Nationals fans, Bryce Harper is selected as an All-Star, making the 20-year-old outfielder the youngest National League starter in the history of the Midsummer Classic. Four days ago, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year trailed the Braves left fielder Justin Upton by 15,000 votes for the final spot in the outfield. |
| 2016 | In the Marlins' 4-2 loss to the Mets, Giancarlo Stanton's home run in the sixth inning, his second of the game off Jacob deGrom, gives him four homers in four at-bats, with a base on balls between the second and third round-trippers. The Miami masher went deep twice in his last two at-bats in yesterday's contest, contributing to 17 dingers at Citi Field, the most by any visiting player. |
| 2017 | At Busch Stadium, Ichiro Suzuki becomes the all-time major league hits leader for foreign-born players when he collects an eighth-inning single in the Marlins' 4-3 loss to the Cardinals. The Miami right fielder's 3,054th hit surpasses Rod Carew, who hails from Panama. |
| 2019 | Andrew Heaney, making his first start since the untimely death of fellow Angel southpaw and close personal friend Tyler Skaggs, delivers a slow overhand curveball as his first pitch, the signature toss of his late buddy. George Springer intentionally takes the offering before lining out to deep right field on a 3-1 court, leading off in the Astros' 4-0 loss at Minute Maid Park. |
42 Fact(s) Found