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This Day in Baseball History
August 12th

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40 Fact(s) Found
1921 In the nightcap of a twin bill, Phillies' right-hander George Smith gives up 12 hits but manages to pitch a shutout, blanking the Braves in Boston, 4-0. In the first game of the doubleheader, the Philadelphia hurler wasn't as fortunate, leaving in the second inning after yielding three runs on four hits.
1927 The PCL's Oakland Oaks trade infielders Lyn Lary and Jimmie Reese to the New York Yankees for $125,000. Reese will become Babe Ruth's roommate, famously quipping he really "roomed with Ruth's suitcase."
1948 The Indians set a major league record when 14 different players get a hit in the 26-3 rout of the Browns. The Tribe finishes the Sportsman's Park contest with 29 hits, including nine extra-base hits.
1964 At Yankee Stadium, Mickey Mantle goes deep from each side of the plate in the same game, helping rookie pitcher Mel Stottlemyre win his big league debut. The 'Mick' has homered batting left-handed and right-handed in the same game ten times, extending his major league record.
1965 At Candlestick Park, right fielder Jesus Alou homers in the sixth inning. Two innings later, another Giants outfielder playing right field, also named Alou, goes deep when Jesus' older brother, Matty, hits the decisive dinger in San Francisco's 4-3 victory over Pittsburgh in the first game of a twin bill.
1966 In a contest that featured 11 home runs, the Reds' Art Shamsky, who came in as a defensive replacement, hits three round-trippers in a 14-11, 13-inning loss to the Pirates at Crosley Field. Cincinnati's new left fielder's eighth-inning home run put the team ahead, and his shots in the 10th and 11th inning equaled the major league mark for dingers hit in extra innings
1969 Ed Kranepool becomes the Mets' all-time home run leader for the young franchise when he goes deep off Don Wilson in the fourth inning of the team's 8-7 loss to Houston at the Astrodome. The 24-year-old first baseman passes Jim Hickman, who had 60 round-trippers for the Amazins from 1962-66.
1973 Reaching Yankee closer Sparky Lyle and Tom Buskey for six runs, the A's knot the score at 11 in the top of the seventh inning. Oakland scores the eventual winning runs in the team's 13-12 victory in the next frame when New York commits its fifth error of the game.
1974 Angels' right-hander Nolan Ryan, en route to a 4-2 victory over the Red Sox, strikes out 19 batters, matching the modern-day record of Steve Carlt (1969) and Tom Seaver (1970). The right-hander's outing is the second of three 19-K performances this season for the fireballer from Alvin, Texas.
1976 The Directors of the new American League franchise in Toronto announce the team will be known as the Blue Jays. The selection comes from a list of ten names presented by a 14-member jury that garnered their nominations from the 4,000 suggestions and 30,000 entries submitted in the club's "Name the Team" contest.
1980 At Tiger Stadium, 48,361 fans witness the return of an injury-plagued Mark Fidrych. The Bird, giving up 11 hits and three earned runs in eight innings of work, loses the game against the Red Sox, 5-4, in a game that will mark his last real attempt at a comeback.
1984 The Hall of Fame inducts Dodger right-hander Don Drysdale, Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew, and perennial All-Star shortstop Luis Aparicio, the players selected by the BBWAA. Inductees also include the Veterans Committee's choices of catcher Rick Ferrell and Brooklyn's captain Pee-Wee Reese.
1984 The stage is set for a literal 'slugfest' when the first pitch of Atlanta's 5-3 victory, thrown by Braves' hurler Pascual Perez, hits Padres leadoff hitter Alan Wiggins. The fighting begins in the second inning when Ed Whitson throws behind the starter's head, with more brawls in the fifth, which includes several fans, and the eighth and ninth innings when the Friars continue to use Perez for target practice every time the pitcher steps to the plate. (Ed. Note: One of baseball's ugliest incidents resulted in 19 ejections, including both managers and their replacements. San Diego's skipper Dick Williams will be suspended for ten days, while Atlanta manager Joe Torre and five players each received three-game suspensions. Our thanks to frequent contributor W. Davis for adding to this entry. - LP)
1986

The Angels retire jersey #29, making Rod Carew the first player recognized with the gesture in franchise history. The perennial All-Star first baseman, who batted .314 in seven seasons and collected his 3000th hit with the team, joins Gene Autry as the second person to receive the honor.

1987 At Veterans Stadium, Juan Samuel hits a leadoff triple to right field off Rick Sutcliffe in the Phillies' 13-7 victory over Chicago. The Philadelphia second baseman's three-bagger makes him the first player to reach double digits in doubles, triples, home runs, and stolen bases during his first four seasons in the major leagues.
1987 The Tigers obtain Doyle Alexander from the Braves for right-handed prospect John Smoltz. The exchange will be ideal in the short run for Detroit when their new hurler goes 9-0 with a 1.53 ERA down the stretch to help the team win the AL East, but the minor leaguer they trade away will compile 213 wins and 154 saves during a stellar 21-year major league career.
1988 The Red Sox beat the Tigers 9-4 for their 23rd consecutive win at Fenway Park, establishing a new major league record [the streak will end after one more home victory]. The 1931 Philadelphia Athletics set the league mark with 22 straight home victories.
1990 The postponement of the White Sox-Rangers game occurs after a seven-and-a-half-hour rain delay, believed to be the longest in baseball history. Although owner Jerry Reinsdorf did not regret making fans wait for a game that never resumed, the team announces rain checks remained valid regardless of the team playing, serving drinks and sandwiches for five hours to the few hundred remaining fans.
1994 Baseball suffers its eighth and worst work stoppage in 22 years. The 232-day player strike will lead to the cancellation of the World Series and the delayed opening of next season.
1997 In tribute to Rex Barney, who died of cancer today, the Orioles play their game against Oakland at Camden Yards without a public address announcer. The team's beloved PA announcer, who became well-known for such phrases as "Give that fan a contract!" after a patron caught a foul ball on the fly and for saying "Thank youuuuu" to the fans at the end of the game, had entertained Baltimore patrons for 24 years.
2000 At Shea Stadium, the Giants get two unusual runs in the fourth inning as the Mets outfielder Benny Agbayani catches what he thinks is the third out and gives the ball to a kid in the stands. The mental lapse of not knowing his grab was the second out allows both runners on base to score, but the Mets will prevail, beating San Francisco, 3-2.

2000 The Expos induct Tim Raines, who broke in with the team in 1979 and represented Montreal in All-Star Games from 1981-1987, into their Hall of Fame. The BBWAA selects the 21-year veteran outfielder for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017.
2001 When Braves' manager Bobby Cox orders an intentional walk to Steve Finley, Greg Maddux's National League record of consecutive frames without giving up a base on balls ends at 72â…“ innings. The major league record is 84.1 innings, set in 1962 by A's hurler Bill Fischer.
2006 The Beavers honor Rodney McCray, the former Vancouver Canadian who gained everlasting notoriety in 1991 when he literally ran through the right-field plywood fence trying to catch Chip Hale's fly ball in Portland's Civic Stadium. The PCL team commemorates the memorable play with a bobblehead promotion, which features the moment of impact and renames the right field area of their current ballpark "McCray Alley."

2007 Bobby Jenks breaks David Wells's American League record (38) and ties the 1972 Giants right-hander Jim Barr's major league mark when he retires his 41st straight batter. The White Sox closer reached the record book by pitching a perfect ninth inning against the Mariners.

2007 The Astros honor Craig Biggio with a pregame ceremony for collecting 3,000 hits and his 20-year tenure with the team. The scrappy second baseman, who announced he plans to retire at the end of the season, adds to the special day by homering in the fifth inning of Houston's 6-4 victory over the Brewers.
2008 Over a thousand fans attend Skip Caray's public tribute at Turner Field on the day the play-by-play announcer would have celebrated his 69th birthday. Known for his witty and sometimes sarcastic style, the Braves' longtime nationally acclaimed broadcaster, who started broadcasting games for Atlanta in 1976, died on August 3rd. 
2008 After the Red Sox tally ten times in the first inning, powered by a pair of three-run homers by David Ortiz, the Rangers rally back and take a 15-14 lead with eight runs in the fifth and five in the sixth. Kevin Youkilis's eighth-inning three-run homer over Fenway Park's Green Monster gives Boston an eventual 19-17 victory, with the slugfest's 36 runs tying an American League record.

2010 During his 4-for-4 performance in the team's 8-4 victory over Arizona at Miller Park, Milwaukee's Casey McGehee's last hit, a seventh-inning single, establishes a franchise record. The Brewer infielder's ninth consecutive hit breaks the club mark set by teammate Ryan Braun in 2008 but is three shy of the major league record 12, accomplished by Pinky Higgins (1938) and Walt Dropo (1952).
2010 Major League Baseball suspends Cincinnati pitcher Johnny Cueto for seven games for his "violent and aggressive actions" when he kicked at players with his spikes after being pushed against the backstop during a recent brawl with the Cardinals. Other penalties include the suspensions of managers Tony La Russa and Dusty Baker, with fines handed out to the Reds' second baseman Brandon Phillips and pitcher Russ Springer and Redbird backstop Yadier Molina and right-hander Chris Carpenter.
2011 It's V-Day for Detroit when the Tigers' 4-3 victory in Cleveland snaps a 13-game losing streak at Progressive Field. The team avoids being swept by the Tribe thanks to starter Justin Verlander's 100th career win and Jose Valverde's 33rd consecutive save, breaking a team record established in 1984 by Guillermo Hernandez.
2012

The Rangers retire uniform #7 to honor Ivan Rodriguez, considered one of the best catchers in the game, who spent his prime years with the club from 1991-2002. The 1999 American League MVP, that teammates called Pudge, appeared in ten All-Star games representing Texas and won 10 of his 13 Gold Gloves and six of his seven Silver Slugger Awards wearing the Rangers cap.

2013 Charlie Manuel, the winningest pilot in 130 years of Phillies baseball, became the 58th manager in baseball history to win 1,000 games. During his 12-year managerial career, the 69-year-old skipper, who Ryne Sandberg will replace in six days, has compiled 780 wins with Philadelphia and had another 220 with the Indians to reach the plateau.
2014 Tim Pinkard, attending his first game at Minute Maid Park, catches two home runs balls, both off the bat of the Astros' DH Chris Carter, getting his first souvenir of the night when the ball rebounds off a sign in left field in the third inning of Houston's 10-4 victory over the Twins. Against astronomical odds, the Springfield (VA) resident catches the second round-tripper stroked by the same batter, a laser shot hit directly at his seat in the fifth frame.
2014 The Giants honored longtime fan and friend Robin Williams, a cultural icon who died yesterday. The team pays tribute to the 63-year-old legend of screen and stage by having a moment of silence before the game against the White Sox and playing a clip from the movie Mrs. Doubtfire on the AT&T Park scoreboard.

2015 Hisashi Iwakuma no-hits the Orioles, facing 29 batters in the Mariners' 3-0 victory at Safeco Field. The 34-year-old Japanese right-hander's 116-pitch gem is the franchise's fifth no-hitter and the first since Felix Hernandez threw a 1-0 no-no against the Rays in 2015.

2017

In a pre-game ceremony, the Mariners retire the #11 worn by Edgar Martinez, who spent his entire 20-year career with Seattle, making the team’s former designated hitter only the second player in franchise history to be honored with the distinction. The future Hall of Famer's (2019) digits join Ken Griffey Jr.'s No. 24 on Safeco Field’s center-field fence.

2018 David Bote hits a pinch-hit, walk-off grand slam, the first Cub player to accomplish the feat since Earl Averill's blast in 1959, delivering a Ryan Madison 2-2 pitch over the center-field wall in a nationally televised Sunday Night ESPN game. The 25-year-old infielder's sayonara slam, a walk-off round-tripper with the bases loaded and the home team down by three runs, gives Chicago a 4-3 victory over the Nationals in front of a frenzied crowd at Wrigley Field.

2021 The Romines become the first siblings to be batterymates since Dodgers' Norm and Larry Sherry (1960-62) when Andrew, an infielder by trade, takes the mound in a mop-up role, throwing the ball to his younger brother, Austin, in the Cubs' 17-4 loss to the Brewers at Wrigley Field. The sons of Kevin, an outfielder with the Red Sox (1985-1992), join Jim & Ed Bailey (1959 Reds) and Bobby & Billy Shantz (1954-55 A's), who also appeared in the same major league game as pitcher and catcher, playing at the same time in the contest.
2021

"But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come." - TERRACE MANN, a recluse author assuring farmer Ray Kinsella people will come to the ballpark built in the cornfield.

The Field of Dreams Game, the most-watched regular-season contest in 16 years, pays homage to the 1989 movie classic where farmer Ray Kinsella turns his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true. In Dyersville (IA), just a few feet from the filming site, the White Sox beat the Yankees, 9-8, thanks to Tim Anderson's two-run walk-off home run into the corn stalks.

40 Fact(s) Found