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37 Fact(s) Found
| 1916 | The Browns' 23-year-old southpaw Ernie Koob pitches a complete game, going all 17 innings of the scoreless tie. Carl Mays pitches the first 15 innings of the Fenway Park contest for the Red Sox, with Dutch Leonard finishing the 0-0 game. |
| 1934 |
At Detroit's Navin Field, the Yankees have lumbago-stricken Lou Gehrig bat leadoff, listing him as the team's shortstop. After singling in the first inning, the 'Iron Horse' leaves the game without fielding as the Tigers bang out 11 doubles to edge the Yankees, 12-11.
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| 1934 | In the opener of a twin bill, the Phillies score 11 runs in the second inning, coasting to an 18-0 rout of the Reds at the Baker Bowl. Philadelphia will sweep the doubleheader with a 5-4 victory in the nightcap. |
| 1938 | In Toledo, the American Association All-Star Squad becomes the first team to experiment with uniforms designed for wear during night games. The design of red, white, and blue shiny satin uniforms may reflect the light during the evening contests. |
| 1946 | Despite a home run and a quartet of doubles by Lou Boudreau, the Indians still lose to the Red Sox,11-10, thanks to Ted Williams' three round-trippers and eight RBIs. In the nightcap of the twin bill, player-manager Boudreau will become the first skipper to employ the 'Williams' Shift,' which puts all the infielders and two outfielders on the right side of the field. The 'Splendid Splinter,' amused by the unusual alignment, doubles in his first at-bat against the new defense. |
| 1948 | The Indians host the Brooklyn Dodgers in the second half of a home-and-home exhibition series to raise funds for the Cleveland Baseball Federation. The 64,877 fans attending the Tribe's 4-3 victory in 11 innings over Brooklyn are delighted when 43-year-old Satchel Paige tosses the three-hitless frames, including striking out the side on 12 pitches in the seventh. |
| 1952 | Walt Dropo, acquired from the Red Sox in June, collects five singles in the Tigers' 8-2 victory over New York at Yankee Stadium. The 29-year-old first baseman's 5-for-5 performance begins a string of a dozen consecutive hits. |
| 1956 | Mel Parnell, in the final year of his career, throws the first no-hit game in the American League in three seasons when he defeats the White Sox at Fenway Park, 4-0. The 34-year-old southpaw becomes the first Red Sox hurler to throw a no-hitter since Howard Ehmke accomplished the feat against Philadelphia in 1923. |
| 1964 | The Cubs overcome making five errors in the top of the third inning and beat the Mets, 4-2. The Chicago miscues, including shortstop Andre Rodgers and catcher Dick Bertell committing two each and first baseman Ernie Banks contributing to the total by dropping a pop fly, account for all of New York's scoring at Wrigley Field. |
| 1967 |
Against Giants' right-hander Juan Marichal at Candlestick Park, Eddie Mathews hits home run #500 as an Astro. The former Brave third baseman, who hit 493 homers playing for the franchise in Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta, becomes the seventh major leaguer to reach this plateau.
via Astrosdaily.com |
| 1968 |
Hank Aaron hits home run #500 off Mike McCormick, becoming the eighth major leaguer to reach this milestone. 'Hammerin' Hank's three-run homer over the left-center field fence proves to be the difference as the Braves beat the Giants at Atlanta Stadium, 4-2.
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| 1968 |
In the nightcap of a twin bill, Don Wilson strikes out eighteen batters in a nine-inning game to tie a major league record, shared by Bob Feller (Indians, 1938) and Sandy Koufax (Dodgers, 1959 and 1962). The Astros right-hander fans future Hall of Famer Johnny Bench for the last out of his 6-1 victory over the Reds on a wind-swept night at Crosley Field.
via Astrosdaily.com |
| 1968 | In a 6-1 Astros victory over the Reds at Crosley Field, backstop John Bateman ties the major league record with nine consecutive putouts from the start of a game. The Houston catcher equals the mark established by Art Wilson, playing for the Giants in 1911. |
| 1969 |
At Wrigley Field, Bill Hands and the Cubs edge Tom Seaver and the Mets, 1-0. After the game's last out, Ron Santo jumps up and clicks his heels for the first time, a move the third baseman will repeat each time Chicago wins for the rest of his career.
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| 1970 |
In the twelfth inning of the All-Star Game, Pete Rose bowls over Ray Fosse at the plate to score the deciding run in an exciting 5-4 National League victory at Riverfront Stadium. The injured Indian catcher, whose career will end prematurely due to the collision, entertained 'Charlie Hustle' as a dinner guest the previous night.
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| 1970 | Gaylord and Jim Perry become the first brothers to pitch in the same AllâStar Game, representing the Giants and Twins in the Midsummer Classic. The siblings hurl two innings each for their team, allowing three runs on five hits collectively in the National League's 5-4 victory over the Junior Circuit at Riverfront Stadium. |
| 1972 | Detroit catcher Tom Haller looks over his shoulder and sees his brother Bill, the home plate ump - a major league first. The arbitrator plays no favorites when his younger brother's team loses 1-0 to Kansas City in the Tiger Stadium contest. |
| 1991 | Kip Gross takes the first of his two defeats today when the Reds lose to the Pirates at Riverfront Stadium, 10 - 6. Two time zones and 1,164 miles away, the 26-year-old Reds' right-hander is tagged with another loss when the team's Triple-A Nashville Sounds lose to the Zephyrs in the completion of a game he started suspended by rain in Denver on May 15. |
| 1995 | Ramon Martinez throws the 22nd no-hitter in franchise history when he beats the Marlins at Dodger Stadium, 7-0. The Dodger right-hander, booed by the home crowd in his last outing, walks Tommy Gregg on a 3-2 pitch with one out in the seventh inning, spoiling his bid for a perfect game. |
| 2000 | John Olerud has a game-tying double disallowed in the top of the sixth inning when first base umpire Jim Wolf had called time before the pitch because a baseball had come out into fair territory from the visitors' bullpen. The Mariner first baseman's disappointment is short-lived after he hits Brian Meadow's 1-0 pitch for a three-run homer, giving Seattle a 4-2 lead in their eventual victory over the Padres at Qualcomm Stadium. |
| 2000 | Major League owners vote on returning to an unbalanced schedule (teams play more games against teams in their division) than the presently used scheme of playing approximately the same number of games against all clubs within the league. The American League has used a balanced slate since 1977, and the National League started in 1993. |
| 2000 | A report presented to owners, The Commissioner's Initiative: Women and Baseball, finds women make up 46 percent of the average crowd at a big-league game and urges teams to market more to women patrons. According to the same study, forty-three percent of women could not name a player on their home team's roster. |
| 2001 | Bobby Valentine wins his 1,000th career game as a manager when Glendon Rusch and closer Armando Benitez combine to throw a one-hitter in the Mets' 2-0 victory over the Red Sox. Trot Nixon's first-inning bunt single, resulting from the New York starter's inability to cover first base, is Boston's only hit in the Shea Stadium contest. |
| 2002 | Nelson Barrera, Mexico's career home run and RBI leader, is electrocuted trying to free metal roofing from high-tension wires. The 44-year-old 'Admiral,' who hit 455 home runs during his 26-year Mexican Baseball League tenure, had hoped to continue playing to be the career Triple Crown by reaching the record for the most hits. |
| 2004 | Houston fires Jimy Williams and names Phil Garner, a former Astro, as the interim manager through the rest of the season. The 60-year-old former skipper, who had a .515 (215-197) winning percentage in his three years at the helm, including this season's 44-44 record, was roundly booed by the hometown Minute Maid Park crowd at yesterday's All-Star Game. |
| 2005 | Defeating their historical arch-rivals, the Giants become the first team to win 10,000 games as a franchise by edging the Dodgers in LA, 4-3. The Giants, who started as the New York Gothams in 1899, have posted a 10,000-8,511 record during the club's 123 seasons in the National League. |
| 2005 | The first-known baseball card, part of a children's educational game, illustrating several boys playing together in a field as one tosses a ball to another holding a bat, makes its public debut at the Smithsonian Institution. The discovery of the historical card in a Maine attic dates back to the early 19th century, predating other known cards by several decades. |
| 2008 |
Including going deep 13 consecutive times, Josh Hamilton hits a record-setting 28 home runs in the first round of the Home Run Derby but falls short in the finals, losing to Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, 5-3. With 71-year-old former coach Clay Council pitching, the Rangers outfielder breaks Bobby Abreu's mark of 24 set in 2005.
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| 2009 | The American League extends its unbeaten streak to 13 games (12-0-1) with a 4-3 victory over the NL at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Rays' outfielder Carl Crawford, who robs Brad Hawpe of a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning, is named the MVP of the Midsummer Classic. |
| 2009 |
In his White Sox jacket, Barack Obama becomes the first Commander-in-Chief to throw out the ceremonial first pitch in the Midsummer Classic since Gerald Ford tossed the ball at the beginning of the 1976 contest. After warming up in the White House Rose Garden before arriving at Busch Stadium, the 44th president's pitch barely reaches the plate without bouncing, thanks to Cardinals' hometown hero Albert Pujols, who moves up from home and reaches out to scoop the low throw.
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| 2010 | The Blue Jays trade shortstop Alex Gonzalez and minor leaguers Tim Collins and Tyler Pastornicky to the Braves for infielder Yunel Escobar and southpaw Jo-Jo Reyes. The Braves' new infielder is probably best known for his role in Florida's improbable World Series win over New York, which includes a walk-off home run in the 12th inning of Game Four, giving the Marlins a 4-3 victory and a 2-2 tie in the Fall Classic. |
| 2011 | Reggie Walton, the presiding judge in the Roger Clemens perjury case, declares a mistrial due to evidence revealed to the jury he believed would be prejudicial against the former major league right-hander. During the brief two days of the proceedings, the U.S. District Judge had scolded prosecutors twice during the trial for violating his orders not to reveal specific evidence to the jury, saying their non-compliance could jeopardize the whole case. |
| 2011 | At the Rogers Centre, Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the Yankees' 16-7 loss to Toronto, appear together in their 1,660th regular-season game, the most for two players in franchise history. Lou Gehrig and Tony Lazzeri had set the previous team mark in 1937. |
| 2012 |
Antonio Mendez's bronze statue of Jim Palmer becomes the third sculpture in a series of six unveiled at Camden Yards this season, joining the likenesses of Frank Robinson and Earl Weaver at the ballpark's Legends Park. The three-time Cy Young Award winner pitched for 19 seasons for the Orioles, winning 268 regular-season games.
posted on Flickr by Mark Nelson |
| 2013 | Chris Davis ties Reggie Jackson's 1969 American League record for home runs before the All-Star break when he hits his 37th round-tripper, the best in the majors, in the Orioles' 7-4 victory against Toronto at Camden Yards. The Baltimore first baseman ends the first half with home runs in his last four games, the same way he started the season. |
| 2015 | Before the 86th All-Star Game at the Great American Ball Park, MLB announces the selection of Hank Aaron, Johnny Bench, Sandy Koufax, and Willie Mays as the sport's greatest living players. The pregame program also unveils the fans' choices of the "Franchise Four," naming impactful players who best represent each franchise, including the hometown Reds with Johnny Bench, Barry Larkin, Joe Morgan, and Pete Rose, who receives a loud ovation from the Cincinnati fans. |
| 2018 | Following a lackluster 8-2 home loss to the Reds at Busch Stadium, the third-place Cardinals (47-46) dismiss Mike Matheny 93 games into his seventh season as the team's manager. The unexpected departure of the 48-year-old Redbird's skipper, who replaced future Hall of Famer Tony La Russa in 2011, marks the franchise's first in-season managerial change in two decades. |
37 Fact(s) Found