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This Day in Baseball History
September 30th

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66 Fact(s) Found
1893 On the day he is honored by The Sporting News as the most popular baseball player in America‚ Joe Quinn collects eight hits in the doubleheader becoming the first player to accomplish the feat. The St. Louis second baseman, a mortician in the off-season, helps the National League Browns, who will change their name to the Cardinals after the 1899 season, sweep a twin bill from the Beaneaters, 17-6 and 16-4.
1893 On the last day of the season, Duff Cooley collects six hits in NL Browns' 16-4 nightcap rout of Boston. The 20 year-old rookie accomplishes the rare feat by hitting four singles, a double, and a triple at the Robison Field in St. Louis.
1904 White Sox pitcher Doc White pitches his fifth shutout in eighteen days. The southpaw pitches six of his season total of seven shutouts in September.
1907 Cardinals' first baseman Ed Konetchy steals home twice in the same game. St. Louis swipes home plate three times during the contest.
1923 It's Zack Wheat Day at Ebbets Field and the retiring Dodger outfielder collects two hits and is given an automobile. Cy Williams of the Phillies spoils the special day as he ties the score in the seventh inning with his 39th homer and his 40th in the 12th frame gives Philadelphia the victory, 6–4.
1927 At Yankee Stadium on the next-to-last day of the season off of Senator's starter Tom Zachary, Babe Ruth breaks his own 1921 home run record by hitting number 60, which lands just in fair territory in the right field stands. As a pinch hitter in the ninth inning, future Hall of Famer hurler Walter Johnson makes his last major league appearance in this game.

1928 In his major league debut, White Sox rookie Ed Weiland shuts out the A's at Comiskey Park, 1-0. The 6'4" fireballer from Chicago will finish his four year tenure with his hometown team compiling a 5-15 record before being traded to the Red Sox in 1932.
1933 At Sportsman's Park in a 12-2 Cubs rout of the Cardinals, Babe Herman hits for the cycle becoming the first player in baseball history to to do it three times. The Chicago outfielder playing for the Dodgers also accomplished the feat on two other occasions in 1931.
1933 In the season finale, the last-place White Sox lose to Cleveland, 5-3, finishing the campaign with a 53-99 record, 47 games out of first place. Chicago did not throw a single left-handed hurler during the entire season.
1934 With a two-run round-tripper off Allyn Stout at Sportsman's Park in the Cardinals' 9-0 victory over Cincinnati, Rip Collins establishes a National League record when he blasts his league-leading 35th home run of the season as a switch hitter. The 30 year-old first baseman's mark will not be broken until Howard Johnson goes deep from both sides of the plate 36 times in 1987 for the Mets.
1945 Hank Greenberg hits a pennant-winning grand slam on the final day of the season. The Tiger left fielder's ninth-inning bases-full homer beats the Browns, 6-3, clinching the American League flag for Detroit over the second-place Senators.
1947 Ralph Branca becomes the youngest player to start a World Series opener. At Yankee Stadium, the 21-year and 9 months old right hander and the Dodgers lose to the Bronx Bombers, 5-1.
1951 Knowing the Giants have won their game in Boston, the Dodgers rally from a five-run deficit to beat Philadelphia in 14 innings, 9-8, forcing a three-game playoff for the National League pennant. After Jackie Robinson makes a game-saving catch in the thirteenth to preserve an 8-8 tie, he hits a home run in the next frame that proves to be the difference in Brooklyn's victory at Shibe Park.
1956 At the age of 16, Jim Derrington becomes the youngest pitcher to start a major league game this century. The teenager loses to the A's 7-6, but singles becoming the youngest player to get a hit in the American League.
1956 Don Newcombe, a three-time twenty-game winner, goes the distance to earn his major-league leading 27th victory when the Dodgers beat Pittsburgh at Forbes Field, 8-6, on the last day of the campaign. Newk’s win is the most ever in a season by an African-American pitcher
1961 The Angels win their 70th and final game of the season when they defeat Cleveland at L.A.'s Wrigley Field, 11-6. The seventy victories are the most games ever won by an expansion team in their first year of existence.
1962 The Mets end their inaugural season with their 120th loss, a 20th century record. Joe Pignatano hits into an eighth inning triple play in his last career at-bat.
1962 In his last at-bat of his career, Don Gile homers in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Red Sox a 3-1, season-ending victory over the Senators at Fenway Park. The Boston first baseman had been 0-for-34 before the dramatic at-bat.
1964 As a pinch hitter in the top of the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium, Bill Roman hits his only big league home run in his first major league at-bat. The 25-year old Tiger rookie first baseman will accumulate only 37 career plate appearances during a brief two-year stint in Detroit.
1966 At Comiskey Park in the top of the ninth inning, Roger Maris, in his last at-bat as a Yankee, slams a two-run home run as a pinch-hitter putting the club ahead of the White Sox, 5-4. As the slugger contemplates retirement, the former two-time American League MVP is stunned and embarrassed when New York trades him in the off-season to the Cardinals for utility player Charley Smith.
1969 The Braves clinch the first ever National League West division with their 3-2 win over the Reds at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The Lum Harris led club will finish the season three games ahead of San Francisco, but will be swept by New York in the NLCS.
1971 Tom Seaver, for the second time in his career, becomes a 20-game winner when the Mets beat St. Louis, 6-1, at Shea Stadium on the final day of the season. En route to the complete game victory, 'Tom Terrific' whiffs 13 Redbirds to end the campaign with a league-leading 289 strikeouts.
1971 Don Mincher becomes the only player to be on the roster for both final games played in Washington for each team known as the Senators. The lefty-swinging first baseman will also be the only person to play for both the original Minnesota Twins and the original Texas Rangers, the franchises that left the nation's capital, respectively, in 1960 and 1971.
1971 Willie Montanez sets the Phillies' rookie home run record when he strokes a two-run round-tripper off Nelson Briles in the team's 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh at Veterans Stadium. The freshman first baseman's 30 homers eclipse the mark established by Dick Allen in 1964.
1972 Pirates outfielder Roberto Clemente doubles off Met Jon Matlack to become the 11th major leaguer to collect 3000 hits. The two-bagger, sadly, will be his last hit as he will die in a plane crash on New Year's Eve.

1973 Playing in their final game at the 'old' Yankee Stadium, the fourth-place Bronx Bombers lose unceremoniously to the Tigers, 8-5. The team, which will play its home games for the next two seasons at Shea Stadium as the 50-year old ‘House that Ruth Built’ undergoes extensive renovations, also loses their skipper with Ralph Houk announcing his resignation.
1973 After posting an 88-73 record, Eddie Kasko is fired as manager of the second place Red Sox on the last day of the season. Triple-A Pawtucket pilot Darrell Johnson is named as next season's skipper.
1978 At Three Rivers Stadium, the Phillies clinch their third consecutive NL East title defeating the Pirates, 10-8. The victory, which features winning pitcher Randy Lerch hitting two home runs, snaps Pittsburgh’s 24-game home winning streak.
1979 In his last big league game, Ed Kranepool pinch hits in the top of the 7th inning and doubles off Bob Forsch as New York beats the Cardinals in the season finale at Busch Stadium, 4-2. The James Monroe High School graduate, who made his debut with the team in 1962 at the age of 17, had been the last original Met left in the majors.
1979 In his final major league at-bat, Ed Kranepool pinch hits a double off Bob Forsch in New York’s 4-2 win over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The 35-year old veteran, who broke in with the Mets as a 17-year old in 1962, has the longest tenure in franchise history playing 18 seasons with the club.
1980 In front of only 1,754 patrons, Mets southpaw Pete Falcone beats the Pirates in the season's last game at Shea Stadium, 3-1. It is the smallest crowd ever to attend a game at the Flushing ballpark, 33 less fans than yesterday.
1984 Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly wins the American League batting title with a .343 average, finishing three points higher than teammate Dave Winfield. It the first of six consecutive seasons that 'Donnie Baseball' will finish hitting over .300, but will prove to be his only batting crown during a 14-year major league career.
1984 On the final day of the season, Mike Witt uses only 97 pitches to retire 27 consecutive hitters. The Angels' hurler throws the perfect game against the Rangers and beats Charlie Hough on an unearned run, 1-0.
1985 Trying to circumvent the Mariners' 'escape clause' which is based on attendance at the Kingdome, the King County Council attempts to modify the deal it made with the team. A proposed amendment, making it necessary for the club to play .500 ball before a move could be considered, a record the M's have never achieved, angers owner George Argyros so much he threatens to move the team out of Seattle.
1987 Dave Stewart becomes a 20-game winner when the A’s beat Cleveland at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, 4-3. The thirty-year old right hander, who spent the first decade of his career in the bullpen, will also earn twenty or more victories in the next three seasons.
1988 Joining Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and Dwight 'Doc' Gooden, David Cone improves his record to 20-3 becoming the fourth pitcher in Mets history to win twenty games in a season. After his 4-2 complete-game victory against the Cardinals, the 25-year old right-hander is congratulated by a surprise visitor to the Shea Stadium dugout, former president Richard Nixon.
1988 At Wrigley Field, President Ronald Reagan throws out two first ceremonial first pitches prior to the Cubs' 10-9 loss to the Pirates. 'Dutch', a former play-by-play announcer, then participates in the broadcast with Harry Caray spending the first inning and a half in the WGN booth.
1989 In the ninth inning of a 2-0 three-hit loss to Nolan Ryan and the Rangers, Angels shortstop Dick Schofield strikes out looking becoming the right-hander's 300th victim of the season. It is the sixth time the 'Ryan Express' has reached the plateau, but the first since striking out 341 batters in 1977.
1989 Ending a 43-year relationship with Major League Baseball, NBC airs its final regular season Game of the Week. The contest, which features the Blue Jays clinching the AL East title with a 4-3 victory over the Orioles at the SkyDome, is the 981st broadcast of a weekly tradition which began in 1947.
1989 Baltimore, after spending nearly three months in first place, is eliminated from the pennant race on the next-to-last day of the season when they suffer their second consecutive one-run loss to Toronto, allowing the Blue Jays to clinch first place in the AL East. The young group of players known as the "Why Not?" Orioles, led by Frank Robinson, improved in the standings by 32.5 games from their last-place finish last season.
1990 The final game is played at old Comiskey Park with the White Sox edging the Mariners, 2-1. The final regular-season won-loss record at the old ballpark is 3,024-2,926 (.508).
1990 Kansas City infielders Frank White, playing in his last major league game after spending his entire 18-year career with the Royals, and George Brett establish a new mark when they appear their 1,914th game together, the most by any American League teammates.
1992 With his fourth hit of the game, a single off LA's southpaw Tim Fortugno, George Brett collects his 3000th hit of his career. The Royals' third baseman's celebration of the milestone moment is short-lived when he is picked off and tagged by first baseman Gary Gaetti after stepping off the base to savor the accomplishment.
1995 Albert Belle becomes the first player in major league history to hit fifty home runs and fifty doubles in the same season. The accomplishment, which is more amazing because it is completed in only 143 games due to a strike-shorten season, far exceeds any of the prior 40-40 marks achieved by just a dozen players in major league history.
1998 After the removal of a tumor nine months ago, former Royal reliever Dan Quisenberry dies of brain cancer at the age of 45. In 1983, 'Quiz', known for his outstanding control, became the first closer to record 40 saves, ending the season with 45.
1999 Mets' shortstop Rey Ordonez plays in his 96th consecutive game without committing an error breaking Cal Ripken's major league record for errorless games in that position. The flashy infielder will finish the season extending the record to 100 games.
1999 The largest regular-season crowd in Candlestick Park history, 61,389 fans, watches the Dodgers beat the home team, 9-4 in the last baseball game to ever be played at the 'Point'. Giant greats help mark the occasion with Juan Marichal tossing out the ceremonial first pitch before the game and Willie Mays throwing out the ballpark's final pitch after the game.
1999 For the twenty-third time this season, Diamondback fireballer Randy Johnson K's at least 10 batters to tie Nolan Ryan's 1973 major league record for the most double-digit strikeout games in a season. The tall left-hander whiffs 11 Padres in seven innings in a 5-3 victory to bring his season ending total to 364 which ranks fourth all-time.
2000 In the highest scoring game in A's franchise history, Oakland defeats the Rangers 23-2 to remain a half-game ahead of the Mariners for the Western Division lead as Seattle scores the most runs ever against the Angels, 21-9 assuring the team at least a tie for the American League wild card.
2001 With a third-inning double against Milwaukee, Rockies first baseman Todd Helton becomes the first player in major league history to have consecutive 100 extra-base hits seasons. Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig and Chuck Klein also had two 100 extra-base hits seasons, but did not accomplish the feat in successive years.
2004 Thanks to Bernie Williams’s ninth inning two-run homer, the Yankees beat the Twins, 6-4, to clinch their seventh straight American League East Division title. It is also their 100th victory of the season making the club only the fourth team in history (Braves 1997-99; Orioles 1969-71; A’s 1929-31) to have three consecutive 100-win seasons.
2005 The Devil Rays announce the team will buy out the last year of manager Lou Piniella’s $13 million, four-year deal signed in 2002. The agreement, which pays ‘Sweett Lou’ $2.2 million of the $4.4 million he is owed, allows the 62-year skipper to seek employment with another team.
2005 Mariner outfielder Ichiro Suzuki become the first player in baseball history to collect 200 hits each of his first five seasons in the big leagues. The Japanese native, who was last season’s AL batting champ, joins Willie Keeler (1894-1901), Wade Boggs (1983-89), Chuck Klein (1929-33), Al Simmons (1929-33), and Charlie Gehringer (1933-37) as the sixth major leaguer to have to reached this plateau for at least five consecutive seasons.
2005 Albert Pujols’s 40th home run, a seventh inning grand slam against the Reds, makes him the first Cardinal in the 114-year history of the team to hit that many home runs in three consecutive seasons. The homer, which was also the 200th of his career, makes the first baseman the third-youngest player to reach the milestone with only Mel Ott and Eddie Mathews accomplishing it sooner.
2005 Delta Air Lines names one of its Boeing 757s 'Big Papi' in honor of the Red Sox designated hitter. David Ortiz attends at the dedication ceremony at Logan International Airport where the company unveils the newly lettered jet, a Song Plane.
2006 Five years and two cities after Frank Robinson, then the vice president in the commissioner's office in charge of on-field discipline, accepts Bud Selig's offer to take the MLB-owned Expos' manager job for just one season, the franchise, now known as the Washington Nationals, will have a new skipper. Jim Bowden, the team's GM, announces the 71-year-old Hall of Famer will be replaced with the search for a new field boss beginning after tomorrow's season finale against the Mets at RFK.
2007 With the help of New York losing 6 out of their 7 last games (all at home) and squandering a seven game game with 17 to play, the Phillies clinch the NL East title for the first time in 14 years by beating the Nationals on the last day of the season, 6-1. The Mets' colossal failure down the stretch is considered by many to be the worst collapse by a team in baseball history.
2007 With 13 victories in the last 14 games of the season, the Rockies beat the Diamondbacks to force a one-game play-off with the Padres to determine the National League wild card team. San Diego, who was one strike away from clinching a post-season berth yesterday, loses again today to the Brewers ending the season with the same record as Colorado, 89-73.
2007 Jimmy Rollins triples to become only the fourth big leaguer to record 20 stolen bases, 20 homers, 20 triples and 20 doubles in a season. The Phillies shortstop and MVP candidate joins Frank Schulte (1911 -Cubs), Willie Mays (1957 - Giants) and Curtis Granderson (2007 -Tigers) as the only players in major league history to accomplish the feat.
2008 With its 1-0 tiebreaker win over the Twins, the White Sox become the first team in major league history to defeat three different opponents in three days. Chicago beat the Indians on the last scheduled day of the regular season to necessitate the playing of a previous rain out with the Tigers, which the Southsiders won 8-2, making today's game with Minnesota necessary to determine the AL Central divisional championship.
2009 In the Marlins' 5-4 victory over Atlanta, Ricky Nolasco sets a franchise record with 16 strikeouts. The 26-year old right-hander's performance includes whiffing nine consecutive batters, one shy of the major league record set by Tom Seaver with the Mets in 1970.
2009 The Phillies clinch their third straight division title with a 10-3 victory over Houston. If the team wins the World Series this year, the reigning World Champions will become the first National League team to win two in row since the Reds won consecutive Fall Classics in 1975-76.
2009 Francisco Rodríguez becomes the fourth pitcher in the history of the game to yield two walk-off grand slams in the same season when Justin Maxwell goes deep giving Washington a dramatic 7-4 victory over the Mets at Nationals Park. Last month, Everth Cabrera of the Padres also hit a game-ending four-run four-bagger making K-Rod Rodríguez the only major leaguer to surrender two game winning grand slams to a pair of rookies.
2011 The Red Sox do not pick up their option on Terry Francona’s contract, severing ties with their manager for the past eight seasons. The former Boston skipper, who was at the helm for the team's 2004 and 2007 World Championships, could not halt the club's historic collapse in September, losing a certain playoff spot to Tampa Bay when the team posts a meager 7-20 record in the final month of the season.
2012 The Braves win for the 23rd straight time in a game started by Kris Medlen when they beat New York in the regular-season home finale at Turner Field, 6-2. The 26 year-old right-hander's streak surpasses the major league mark shared by Carl Hubbell (Giants, 1936-37) and Whitey Ford (Yankees, 1950-53).
2012 David Price becomes the first 20-game winner in franchise history when he goes seven innings in the Rays' 6-2 win over the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. The 27 year-old southpaw, the youngest American League pitcher to win 20 since Johan Santana reached the milestone with Minnesota in 2004, will edge Tigers ace Justin Verlander for the AL Cy Young Award.
66 Fact(s) Found