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This Day in Baseball History
August 24th

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46 Fact(s) Found
1905 At Philadelphia's Baker Bowl, Ed Reulbach goes the distance when the Cubs defeat the Phillies in 20 innings, 2-1. The 22-year-old right-handed rookie will finish the season with an 18-14 record (.563) and an ERA of 1.42.
1910 Billy Sullivan snags three baseballs dropped by batterymate Ed Walsh atop the 555-foot Washington Monument. The White Sox catcher, feeling the 200-to-300 pounds of force the objects gain in their vertical descent, nixes the idea of trying to catch a ball tossed from a plane.
1919 In his first start as a member of the Indians since being traded from the Red Sox, right-hander Ray Caldwell is knocked unconscious after being struck by lightning with two outs in the top of the ninth inning. The 31-year-old free-wheeling spitballer, out for about five minutes, refuses to leave the game, needing just one more out for the complete-game victory records the final out for the 2-1 win over Philadelphia at Cleveland's League Park.
1928 The A's close within three games to the Yankees when Rube Walberg blanks the Indians, 1-0, completing a four-game sweep of their opponents at Shibe Park. Philadelphia's 32-year-old southpaw tallies the contest’s only run, scoring on Mickey Cochrane's third-inning single.
1940 In Detroit's 12-1 blowout of the team, Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams pitches the last two innings of the first game of a doubleheader at Fenway Park. The 'Splendid Splinter,' who strikes out Rudy York on three pitches, allows only one run on three hits.
1941 During a doubleheader against the Cardinals, a ragtag group of five musicians, dubbed the Dodger SymPhony by announcer Red Barber, makes their Ebbets Field debut. None of the members can read music, but the band performs their zany antics at evening and weekend games.
1945 After signing a contract with the Indians yesterday for approximately $40,000, WW II veteran Bob Feller throws a 4-2 complete-game victory over the Tigers in his first appearance since serving 44 months in the Navy. 'Rapid Robert,' wearing his familiar uniform number 19, not worn by another Tribe player in his nearly four-year absence, faces 37 batters, striking out 12 while giving up four hits in the two-hour-and-17-minute Cleveland Stadium contest.
1951 A thousand fans, sitting behind the Browns dugout, using yes and no signs, vote on decisions made by the coaching staff. Owner Bill Veeck's idea appears to work as St. Louis beats the A's, 5-3. Ned Garver picks up the win.
1951 After being demoted to the minor leagues six weeks ago, Mickey Mantle returns to the Yankee lineup, going 1-for-4 with a first-inning single off Early Wynn in the team's 2-0 victory in Cleveland. The game marks the first time the future Hall of Famer wears the iconic #7 after the team gives his original #6 to infielder Bobby Brown, who had worn the numeral in previous seasons.
1955 A telegram sent to Brooklyn president Walter O'Malley by the Patchogue Chamber of Commerce offers the team "thirty acres or more of dry flat land in open country in the heart of Long Island's densest Dodger fan concentration." The village's attempt to attract the fleeing franchise to the south shore of Suffolk County will not materialize, with the club, after exploring many different venues as an alternative to Ebbets Field, leaving the East Coast in 1958 to play in Los Angeles.
1956 Johnny Kucks needs only 73 pitches to blank the Pale Hose, 2-0, on four hits in a two-hour contest played at Yankee Stadium. The 24-year-old All-Star right-hander, who improves his record to 17-7, has become the team's #2 starter, behind Whitey Ford, for the eventual World Champs.
1957 In a 13-3 loss to Milwaukee at Ebbets Field, the Dodgers use eight pitchers in one game, tying a major league record. Johnny Podres gives up three home runs in the fourth frame when Nippy Jones, Hank Aaron, and Andy Pafko go deep off the Brooklyn starter.
1960 During a dull game, Vin Scully, the play-by-play voice of the Dodgers, knowing that many fans in the stands follow the game on transistor radios, asks his listeners to help him surprise third base umpire Frank Secory. His ballpark audience responds when the veteran broadcaster tells them, "Let's have some fun. As soon as the inning is over, I'll count to three, and on three, everybody yell, 'Happy birthday, Frank!'".
1963 ABC's Wide World of Sports airs the first telecast of the Little League World Series. The network provides ‘the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat’ when Grenada Hills (CA) beats Stratford (CT) in the championship game, 2-1.
1969 The Pilots trade Jim Bouton to the Astros for Roric Harrison and Dooley Womack. The reinvented knuckleball pitcher, who posted a 2-1 record and an ERA of 3.91 in his 57 games with the Northwest expansion team, will continue to chronicle the 1969 season for his controversial book Ball Four.
1971 At Wrigley Field, Ernie Banks hits the final home run of his career in the Cubs' 5-4 loss to Cincinnati. Mr. Cub's 512th round-tripper, tying him for seventh place on the all-time list with Eddie Mathews, comes in the fourth frame off right-hander Jim McGlothlin, a two-out solo shot to left field that ties the score at 3-3.
1973 Sitting in the top row of the bleachers at Cleveland Stadium, John Adams begins a tradition that continues to this day when he bangs on his drum to cheer on the Tribe. In 2011, the team paid tribute to the fan-favorite in a pregame ceremony commemorating his 3000th game, including Adams taking a ceremonial swing with his drum at a pitch thrown by Joe Charboneau.
1974 Davey Lopes steals five bases, tying a National League record established in 1904 by Giants first baseman Dan McGann. The Dodger second baseman's quintet of stolen bags adds to the team's franchise mark of eight stolen bases in their 3-0 victory over the Redbirds at Chavez Ravine.
1975 Ed Halicki, in the second game of a doubleheader sweep, no-hits the Mets, 6-0. The Candlestick Park masterpiece includes ten strikeouts by the Giants right-hander, who will never have a winning season in San Francisco and will post a 55-66 record during his seven-year career.
1975 Dave Lopes steals his major league record 38th consecutive base, but the streak will be stopped by Montreal backstop Gary Carter when he attempts to swipe another bag in the Dodger Stadium contest. The second baseman streak ends in the 12th inning of the team's 5-3 loss in fourteen frames.
1976 At Tiger Stadium, Bill Freehan hits his 200th and final home run in a 12-7 loss to the White Sox. The Detroit catcher will finish his career hitting 100 homers at home, with the other 100 dingers coming on the road.
1979 The Phillies retire the uniform No. 1 in honor of Hall of Fame outfielder Richie Ashburn, considered one of the best leadoff hitters and defensive players during his 12 years with the Phillies. After brief stints with the Cubs and the expansion Mets, 'Whitey' returned to Philadelphia, becoming a beloved broadcaster for the team until he died in 1997.
1980 Gene Mauch resigns as the Twins manager, leaving a team with a 54-71 record and 26 games out of first place. The 'Little General' will be replaced by third base coach John Goryl, given a one-year contract after he guides the club to 23 victories, including a 12-game winning streak, in the final 36 games of the season.
1982 John Wathan breaks Ray Schalk's 1916 record for stolen bases in a season by a catcher with his 31st stolen bag. The Royals backstop accomplishes the feat when he swipes third base in the seventh inning of Kansas City's 5-3 victory over Texas at Arlington Stadium.
1983 Orioles' southpaw Tippy Martinez picks off three runners in the tenth inning when the Blue Jays baserunners take long leads, trying to take advantage of his new batterymate, Len Sakata, an infielder pressed into service behind the plate. The converted catcher gets revenge when his three-run homer in the bottom of the frame wins the game, 7-4.
1985 Don Baylor ties an American League record after being hit by a pitch thrown by Mariner southpaw Mark Langston in the first inning of the Yankees' 4-3 victory at the Kingdome. The New York DH gets plunked for the 189th time in his career, tying him with Minnie Minoso, who established the mark in 1963 with the White Sox.
1989

"In the absence of a hearing and therefore in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, I am confronted by the factual record of the Dowd report, and on the basis of that, yes, I have concluded that he bet on baseball." - A. BARTLETT GIAMATTI, commissioner commenting on Pete Rose's lifetime banishment.

"Regardless of what the commissioner said today, I did not bet on baseball." - PETE ROSE, defending himself at Riverfront Stadium news conference.

Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti, stating he believed that Pete Rose had bet on games, including those of the team he managed, announces an agreement that bans Mr. Rose permanently from baseball. The five-page agreement, signed by the commissioner and the Reds manager, does not indicate the suspension is specifically for betting on baseball games and does not include language that Rose wagered bets on specific contests.

1993 Kevin Reimer, joining Johnny Briggs, who accomplished the feat twenty years ago, becomes the second Brewer to go 6-for-6 in a game, collecting two doubles and four singles. After singling in the final frame, the Milwaukee DH/right fielder scores the winning run in the team's 7-6 walk-off victory over the A's in 13 innings at County Stadium when Dave Nilsson ends the contest with a two-out hit to left field.
1999 Ken Griffey Jr. joins Babe Ruth, Ralph Kiner, Duke Snider, Ernie Banks, Harmon Killebrew, and Mark McGwire as the only players to hit 40 homers in four consecutive seasons. The Mariner outfielder goes deep in the team's 5-0 victory over the Tigers at Safeco Field.
2000 In his fifth rehabilitation start in the minors, Devil Rays' 26-year-old pitcher Tony Saunders' left arm breaks again while uncorking a wild pitch. The Devil Ray southpaw first broke his left humerus on May 26th, 1999, on a 3-2 count in a game against the Rangers at Tropicana Field.
2001 The wives of the three ironworkers who died in 1999 when a crane collapsed during the construction of Miller Park unveil Teamwork, a three-figured, 12-foot high bronze statue honoring their husbands, Jeffery Wischer, William De Grave, and Jerome Starr. The $250,000 sculpture, depicting a trio of construction workers wearing hard hats and carrying the tools of their trade, was commissioned by Milwaukee's Habush, Habush, and Rottier Charitable Foundation.

Miller Park Teamwork

2004 Bud Selig, citing how disruptive a delay in the schedule would be on pennant races, says it is unlikely that major league players will ever be able to participate in the Olympics. The baseball commissioner hopes a World Cup, which begins in 2006, will be a substitute for the Summer Games.
2005 After fouling off three Jose Valverde full-count fastballs, Mike Jacobs goes deep at BOB to become the only player to hit four home runs during the first four games of a major league career. The Mets rookie, who hits two round-trippers in the 18-4 rout of the Diamondbacks, has homered four times, including his first big-league at-bat, in his first 13 plate appearances.
2006 Sean Casey probably becomes the first player in baseball history to ground out to left field. The unique 5-7-3 play is the result of the batter starting to head back to the dugout, thinking his liner is caught on the fly, when the ball glanced off White Sox third baseman Joe Crede's glove, reaching left fielder Pablo Ozuna, whose throw to first base barely beats the runner to the bag.

2007 A day after protests concerning the sale of gang-related items occur in East Harlem, MLB's official cap manufacturer, New Era, announces the removal of the offending headwear, which bears the colors and symbols of the Bloods, the Crips, and the Latin Kings. Unknown to the Yankees, white team caps, wrapped with red and blue bandannas, appeared to represent the Bloods and Crips, with a black hat bearing the iconic interlocking NY, embroidered with a crown symbolic of the Latin Kings, also being available.
2007 After waiting four hours and one minute to start the contest because of rain, the Yankees and Tigers begin an 11-inning marathon, which takes four hours and 24 minutes to complete. The last pitch, resulting in a three-run walk-off round-tripper by Detroit's shortstop Carlos Guillen, is thrown at 3:30 am, sending the several thousands of fans at Comerica Park home listening to Lionel Richie's All Night Longas they exit the ballpark.
2007 Padres starter Greg Maddux becomes the first pitcher to win ten games in twenty consecutive seasons when he tosses seven solid innings in the team's 14-3 rout of Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park. The right-hander compiled a 339-196 record during the streak, with 196 victories earned while hurling for the Braves.
2008 Scoring at least one run in every inning, Hawaii wins the Little League World Series, beating Mexico, 12-3. To advance to the championship game, Waipahu scored six runs in the last frame (sixth) to overcome a four-run deficit to beat Lake Charles (LA) in the semi-finals, 7-5.
2008 Home plate umpire Brian Gorman tosses Denard Span for throwing his bat and helmet. The ejection comes after the contest ended, with the rookie's called third strike being the final pitch of the Twins' 5-3 loss to the Angels.
2009 Ryan Spilborghs becomes the first Rockie to hit a walk-off grand slam in team history, a 14th-inning opposite-field blast that beats the Giants at Coors Field, 6-4. The Colorado outfielder sprints around the bases, competing his "Spilly Slam" in a speedy 16.37 seconds.

2010 Former Brewer owner and baseball's current commissioner, Bud Selig, is honored with a seven-foot bronze statue at Miller Park. Brian Maughan's piece of art, which portrays Selig with his right arm extended with his hand holding a baseball, joins the sculptures of Robin Yount and Hank Aaron in front of the Milwaukee ballpark.
2013 For the first time, the All-Star Game starters face each other in the same regular season when Mets' right-hander Matt Harvey and the Tigers' Max Scherzer are opposing pitchers in Detroit's 3-0 victory at Citi Field, the site of this year's Midsummer Classic. The historic matchup ends with the New York starter, who gives up 13 hits in 6.2 innings, going on the DL for season-ending surgery, and his opponent becoming just the third pitcher to start a season with a 19-1 record, joining Rube Marquard (1912 Giants) and Roger Clemens (2001 Yankees).
2013 After the teams combine for 137 at-bats, 35 hits, 32 strikeouts, and 28 walks, the Diamondbacks beat the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, 12-7. The 18-inning contest takes seven hours and six minutes to complete, making it the longest game in history, in terms of time, for both franchises.
2014 Joc Pederson becomes the fourth player in the Pacific Coast League's history to have a 30-30 season and the first to accomplish the feat in 80 years when he steals his 30th base for the Isotopes. The 22-year-old Albuquerque slugger, who has 32 home runs and a .432 slugging percentage in 116 games this season, will join the Dodgers when rosters expand next week.
2015 In a 15-7 victory over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, the Mets set franchise marks with eight home runs and 14 extra-base hits, including David Wright's second-inning blast in his first plate appearance since April due to a bad back. Wilmer Flores (2), Yoenis Cespedes, Juan Lagares, Travis d'Arnaud, Daniel Murphy, and Michael Cuddyer also contribute to the team's new round-tripper record.

2016 David Ortiz becomes the oldest player to hit 30 home runs in a season when he blasts a first-inning two-run homer in the Red Sox's eventual 4-3 loss to the Rays in 11 innings at Tropicana Field. The DH's round-tripper off Matt Andriese accounts for his 100th RBI and marks the tenth time the 40-year-old has collected 30 home runs and 100 RBIs, setting a franchise record.
46 Fact(s) Found