August 7

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Stats of players who were born this day
Stats of players who died on this day
Standings on this day
Permanent link to Today's Entry
Sources
Baseball Library Chronology
Today in Baseball History

Events, births and deaths that occurred on August 7.

Events

• 1901:
  • Ban Johnson suspends Baltimore 1B Burt Hart for striking umpire John Haskell yesterday, stating: "This is the first time a player in the American League has struck an umpire, and it is an offense that cannot be overlooked." The 31-year-old Hart will never play again.
  • The hits keep coming. In Cleveland, Milwaukee manager Hugh Duffy hits umpire Al Mannassau when a fly ball nicking the foul line is called fair, scoring the winning runs in a 5 - 4 win for the Blues. Duffy is suspended indefinitely.
  • In Boston's 10 - 5 win in the first game of a twinbill at Baltimore, the Bostons pull off a triple play.
• 1902 - For the second time this year, Boston's Cy Young gives up 6 runs in the 1st inning and is lifted. This time, the Browns bomb him en route to a 12 - 4 victory in St. Louis. Young will complete 41 of 43 starts this year.
• 1903:
  • The Giants sweep the Phillies at the Polo Grounds, taking the opener, 7 - 5, behind Christy Mathewson. Matty surrenders five hits, but fans 10. Luther Taylor wins the nitecap, 6 - 2, to put the Giants back into second place.
  • Reds SS Tommy Corcoran sets a major league mark when he records 14 assists in Cincinnati's 4 - 2 regulation win over the Cardinals. Lave Cross, in 1897, racked up 15 assists in a 12-inning game.
• 1904 - The Giants swap outfielders sending rookie OF Moose McCormick (.266) west to the Reds who in turn send him to Pittsburgh for Jimmy Sebring (.269). The Reds ship Mike Donlin (.356) to the Giants. Turkey Mike, sitting out a month's suspension for drunken behavior in Chicago, will enjoy the New York life style and being reunited with John McGraw, for whom he starred at Baltimore in 1901. He'll help the Giants win two straight pennants.
• 1906 - On John McGraw's orders, umpire James Johnstone is refused admittance to the Polo Grounds, and the ump, standing outside the ballpark, forfeits the match to the Cubs. McGraw insists the game go on with a player from each team umpiring. McGraw picks reserve Sammy Strang, but Cubs manager Frank Chance refuses to go along, pointing out the game has already been forfeited. National League President Harry Pulliam will uphold Johnstone's decision the next day.
• 1907:
  • Senator hurler Walter Johnson wins his first major league game beating the Naps, 7 - 2. The "Big Train" will tally 416 victories during his 21-year career.
  • The A's Socks Seybold socks a homer off Ed Killian to beat the Tigers. Killian had not given up a homer since September 19, 1903 - 1001 innings. He lost that game as well, and will tee up just nine homers in his short career.
• 1909 - In St. Louis, the Giants shell Fred Beebe for 6 hits and 4 runs in the 1st inning, and Christy Mathewson coasts to a 7 - 1 win.
• 1911 - The match-up between Three Finger Brown and Christy Mathewson is something less than a pitching duel as Chicago bangs out 10 hits, including two singles, a double and a triple by Joe Tinker. Tinker also adds a steal of home. The Giants collect 13 hits, but Chicago wins the game, 8 - 6.
• 1912:
  • At Pittsburgh, the Pirates win their third straight against the leading Giants, belting Christy Mathewson for 15 hits and six runs in eight innings. Spitballer Marty O'Toole allows seven hits to win, 7 - 2.
  • Browns manager-1B George Stovall makes seven assists, topping Willard Brown's record of six in a game for Louisville in 1893.
• 1914 - Grover Cleveland Alexander (16-9) shuts out the Reds and leads the Phillies offense with four hits, including a double, and two runs scored.
• 1915:
  • In Chicago, the White Sox top the Senators, 6 - 2. Relieving for losing pitcher Jim Shaw is future Hall of Famer Sam Rice, who will pitch only eight more times before going to the outfield for two decades. Playing RF in the game for Washington is Walter Johnson, filling in for the injured Danny Moeller.
  • Another future Hall of Famer takes a turn on the mound, as George Sisler pitches to two Yankees in the 6th inning, hitting one and walking the other. The Browns-Yankees game is called at the end of 10 innings with the score tied, 4 - 4.
  • 1915 - For the second time in six weeks, Pirate hurler Al Mamaux combines to throw a doubleheader shutout. This time his partner is Bob Harmon, as Mamaux stops the Phils, 6 - 0, and Harmon follows with a 9 - 0 win.
  • As Brooklyn's rookie pitcher Ed Appleton steps to the mound, St. Louis manager Miller Huggins, coaching at third base, calls for the ball. The rookie obliges, Huggins steps aside, and the Cardinal runner scores. A change in the rules will prevent such trickery in the future.
  • At Fenway Park, Smoky Joe Wood fires a one-hitter, beating Cleveland, 2 - 0. Bill Wambsganss' single is the only Cleveland hit. For Wood, it is his fifth one-hitter, and the third over regulation distance.
• 1916:
  • At St. Louis, the Browns score two runs in the 7th against Nats starter Bert Gallia to tie the game. Doc Ayers relieves and Walter Johnson pitches the last 1 1/3 innings, allowing a tally in the 10th for a 3 - 2 St. Louis win. The official scorer kindly gives the loss to Gallia.
  • The Braves whitewash the Reds twice, winning 2 - 0 and 6 - 0. Jesse Barnes and Frank Allen are the winning pitchers.
• 1920 - Following an all-night drinking bout and a fight at the Lamb's Club in New York, John McGraw will be indicted for violating the Volstead (Prohibition) Act and charged with assault, but he will be acquitted. He will also be called to testify in Chicago hearings investigating gambling and bribery among players, including Hal Chase and Heinie Zimmerman.
• 1921 - The Cubs replace manager Johnny Evers with Bill Killefer.
• 1922:
  • Ken Williams hits two home runs (#29 and #30) in the 6th inning, off starter George Mogridge and reliever Eric Erickson, as the Browns score nine times against Washington in a 16 - 6 win. Williams is the first to do so since the 1890s. Both homers follow doubles by Baby Doll Jacobson, also tying a major-league record, as the Browns bang out a major-league record seven extra-base hits in the frame.
  • A record ten Pirates collect two or more hits as the Pirates tally 22 hits to pound the seventh-place Phillies, 17 - 10. The Phils knock out the Bucs ace Wilbur Cooper, scoring six runs in 2 2/3 innings, but the Pirates score eight in the 4th to take the lead. Three Pirate pitchers are 5 for 5 at the plate, including Whitey Glazner's home run, and the only Buc batter to not contribute two safeties is cleanup hitter Clyde Barnhart.
• 1923 - Hitting a double and five singles, Indian Frank Brower goes 6 for 6 as Cleveland routs the Senators, 22 - 2.
• 1929 - For the second game in a row, Babe Ruth hits a grand slam home run as the Yanks roll to a 13 - 1 win over the A's in the lidlifter. Mickey Cochrane homers in his one at bat for the A's only run as the Yankees score 10 runs in the first two innings. George Pipgras is the winner. The A's take the nitecap, 4 - 2, as George Earnshaw goes eight innings for the win.
• 1930 - Chet Brewer and Smokey Joe Williams duel in one of the most famous Negro League games ever. Brewer fans 19 and allows 4 hits, while Williams whiffs 25 and gives up one hit in a 12-inning, 1 - 0 victory.
• 1934 - Dizzy Dean becomes the first pitcher to reach 20 wins this season with a 2 - 0 shutout over the Reds.
• 1940 - A crowd of 53,997, a National League record for a night game, watches the Dodgers beat the Giants, 8 - 4, on Mel Ott Night at the Polo Grounds.
• 1943 - The Giants leave eighteen runners on base, exactly two each inning, in a 9 - 6 loss to the Phillies.
• 1948 - Before 66,000 fans, New York's Vic Raschi (14-4) allows four singles in stopping the Indians, 5 - 0. Joe DiMaggio has a pair of doubles, drives in three runs, and swipes home on the front end of a double steal.
• 1949 - Lineup juggling is a Casey Stengel forte as his Yankees suffer injury after injury. Against the Browns, 13 different Yankees score a run in the first game of a doubleheader.
• 1950 - Three white players of the Chicago American Giants are barred by police from participating in a Negro American League doubleheader against the Birmingham Black Barons.
• 1951:
  • Bobby Doerr suffers a severe sacroiliac pain that forces the future Hall of Famer into early retirement. The Red Sox regular second baseman for 13 seasons, Doerr will become a Red Sox coach.
  • The Phils shut out the Braves, 1 - 0, in 15 innings, in the second game of a doubleheader as reliever Ken Heintzelman bests Warren Spahn, also in relief. The Phils capture the opener, 3 - 1, on Robin Roberts' 15th win.
  • Senator Edwin C. Johnson backs the reserve clause in his testimony, citing his bill to exempt baseball from antitrust legislation.
  • In a day-night doubleheader the Dodgers sweep a pair from the Giants, taking the first game, 7 - 2, behind the solid relief of Carl Erskine. Gil Hodges, Duke Snider and Carl Furillo homer. Brooklyn takes the nitecap, 6 - 5, in 10 innings, after jumping on Sal Maglie for a 5 - 1 lead. Snider and Furillo homer again, while Bobby Thomson goes deep for the Giants. Billy Cox's RBI single wins it, giving the Dodgers an 11 1/2 game margin, the greatest lead in Brooklyn history.
• 1952 - Umpire Bill McGowan is suspended indefinitely by the American League. In a game in St. Louis, McGowan had thrown out Tiger P Billy Hoeft, who had been heckling him from the dugout. When St. Louis writers, who have had a stormy relationship over the years with the veteran McGowan, ask him to identify the player, the umpire refuses, then adds an obscene gesture. The writers' complaint results in a suspension.
• 1955 - After a 12-17 record in July, the Yankees are in a four-team race. Tiger Frank Lary beats New York, 4 - 2, in the first game, and New York then earns a critical, 3 - 2, 10-inning win on a Mickey Mantle homer off Babe Birrer. The Yanks finish the day in a virtual tie with Chicago, a half-game ahead of Cleveland, and 11 and a half games ahead of Boston.
• 1956:
  • The Boston Red Sox fine Ted Williams $5,000 for spitting at Boston fans, as the Red Sox edge the Yanks in 11 innings on Williams's bases-loaded walk. It's the serial spitter's third incident in three weeks; in the words of Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey: "It's got to stop, that's all." The costly saliva salvo comes after the crowd of 36,350, a record for a night game at Fenway Park, starts booing the Splendid but sensitive Splinter for muffing Mickey Mantle's wind-blown fly with two out in the 11th. Immediately thereafter, the jeers turn to cheers when Williams redeems himself with a leaping grab of Yogi Berra's drive against the scoreboard. The Splinter, however, is not so easily appeased. Thus, the fickle Fenway patrons find themselves the target of Teddy's spittle repeatedly as he makes his way towards the Red Sox dugout. A less publicized, but potentially more disastrous, incident is narrowly averted when, before the game, Red Sox RF Jackie Jensen has to be restrained by teammates from going into the stands after a heckler. The previous year Jensen had challenged a fan to come out of the stands.
  • The largest crowd in minor league history (57,000) sees Miami's 51-year-old Satchel Paige beat Columbus (International League) in the Orange Bowl.
• 1957 - Hank Bauer of the Yanks hits his second consecutive lead-off home run, against Washington, as the first-place Yankees lose, 3 - 2.
• 1960 - The White Sox win a pair from the Senators, with reliever Gerry Staley picking up two victories. Staley will be 13-8, all in relief, with both wins and losses topping American League relievers.
• 1962 - Yankees SS Tony Kubek, in his first at-bat after returning from military service, homers in a 14 - 1 Yankee win over the Twins.
• 1963:
  • In the Mets' 7 - 3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, Jim Hickman hits the first cycle in team history, doing it in order.
  • At Chicago, Sandy Koufax locks horns for the second time this year with Dick Ellsworth, a battle that ends in a 1 - 1 draw. Koufax is removed with one out in the 10th inning, while Ellsworth is replaced after the 10th. The Dodgers go on to win, 3 - 1, over the Cubs with neither starter getting a decision.
• 1964:
  • The tenth-place Mets send 1B Frank Thomas to the National League-leading Phils (1 1/2 games ahead of the Giants) for P Gary Kroll, OF Wayne Graham, and cash. Thomas, seemingly the answer to the Phils' first base problem, rides the Mets' team bus to Philadelphia, then finds out he has been traded. He then drives in two runs as the Phils top the Mets, 9 - 4. The Phils will take the next two games with Thomas collecting five RBIs in the sweep.
  • Steve Barber and Harvey Haddix beat the Yankees, 2 - 0, to boost the Orioles back into first place.
• 1966 - Lee Bales gets off to a shaky major league start, striking out four times, as the Braves beat the Phillies, 3 - 0. Bales equals the National League record first set by Billy Sunday (May 22, 1883) for most initial-game K's.
• 1968 - In his major league debut, A's Joe Keough hits a home run in his first at-bat.
• 1969 - Phils manager Bob Skinner quits, saying he had little front office support in his attempts to discipline slugger Dick Allen. Coach George Myatt will manage the team for the rest of the season.
• 1971 - Vida Blue becomes the first 20-game winner in the major leagues this season with a 1 - 0, three-hit gem over the White Sox. Joel Horlen balks in the game's only run.
• 1972:
  • When Cleon Jones misses a shoestring catch in the bottom of the 13th inning, Ted Sizemore races around with an inside-the-park homer to give the Cards a 3 - 2 win over the second-place Mets. Diego Segui, in relief of Bob Gibson who pitches 10 innings, is the winner. Mets 2B Ken Boswell has no fielding chances to tie a major-league record for an extra-inning game.
  • Ron Allen hits three home runs as the Yankees beat the Dodgers, 8 - 3, in the annual Hall of Fame Game. The contest is preceded by inductions of eight new members.
  • Eddie Mathews takes over as Braves manager following the dismissal of Lum Harris. Things don't change as the Reds squash the Braves, 9 - 1, at Riverfront Stadium.
  • A horde of grasshoppers invades the field at Midland (Texas League) after the first game of a doubleheader, causing the postponement of the second game.
• 1973:
  • In Cincinnati, Don Gullett pitches a two-hitter to beat the Cubs, 1 - 0. The only run is a home run by Joe Morgan.
  • Two days after Phil Niekro's no-hitter, the Braves purchase Joe Niekro, Phil's pitching brother, from the Tigers.
• 1974 - As part of a youth movement, the Tigers release 1B Norm Cash and sell OF Jim Northrup to Montreal.
• 1977:
  • Mike Torrez snaps a three-game Yankee losing streak with his third straight victory. The Yankees will win 20 of their next 23 games over Western Division opponents.
  • At Oakland, the Red Sox win their ninth straight on the road, beating the A's, 5 - 2. It is Boston's tenth win in a row altogether.
• 1978 - Eddie Mathews, Addie Joss, and Larry MacPhail are inducted at Cooperstown.
• 1983 - The Yankees honor Bobby Murcer by giving him a day at the Yankee Stadium.
• 1984 - The White Sox and Yankees split a doubleheader with Chicago's 6 - 3 triumph in the first game, stopping New York's eight-game win streak. LaMarr Hoyt is the winner. Ron Guidry strikes out 13 to win the nitecap, 7 - 0. He finishes with a flourish, striking out the side on nine pitches in the 9th.
  • Bill Buckner and Tony Armas each hit grand slams in the first two innings off Tigers ace Jack Morris to spark the Red Sox to a 12 - 7 victory in the first game of a doubleheader. Detroit takes the second game, 7 - 5, in 11 innings, after scoring a run in the 9th to tie. Lance Parrish's two-run homer ends it and Aurelio Lopez improves to 9-0.
  • The Cubs sweep a pair from the visiting Mets, winning 8 - 6 and 8 - 4. Rick Sutcliffe (9-1) beats Ron Darling (10-5) in the opener, benefiting from a six-run 5th inning. Keith Moreland hits a three-run home run and Ron Cey a two-run shot in the 5th. A five-run 4th in the second game propels Chicago to the win for reliever Tim Stoddard. Lee Smith notches his 25th save.
• 1985 - A five-year agreement between the union and owners, which includes salary arbitration eligibility increasing from two years to three years, ends the two-day mid-season players' strike. The season will resume tomorrow.
• 1987 - Bill Mazeroski's uniform jersey number 9 is officially retired from active service by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• 1988 - Darnell Coles, Alvin Davis, Jim Presley, Jay Buhner, and Rey Quinones all hit sacrifice flies in a 12 - 7 win over Oakland, giving the Mariners an American League record.
• 1990:
  • Dave Winfield collects his 2,500th career hit, a single off Tom Bolton, as California loses to Boston, 6 - 3.
  • The Expos send pitcher Zane Smith to the Pirates for rookie OF Moises Alou, P Scott Ruskin and 3B Willie Greene. Alou will turn out to be the best player in the deal, even if he has just 20 at bats this year and will miss all of next year because of shoulder surgery.
• 1991:
  • Deion Sanders makes the conversion from baseball to football, practicing with the Atlanta Falcons for the first time. Neon Deion hits .304 in 97 games with the Braves, and his 14 triples will lead the majors.
  • Schottzie, the St. Bernard mascot of the Cincinnati Reds, is put to sleep. The dog is buried at team owner Marge Schott's home, with a Reds' cap on its head.
• 1992:
  • Boston slugger Jack Clark files for bankruptcy, listing debts of $11,459,305.97 and assets of $4,781,780. Clark is in the middle of a three-year contract worth $8.7 million. Among other things, Clark owns 18 automobiles.
  • The Giants announce that the team has been sold to a group of Tampa Bay investors for a reported $110 million an the team will move to St. Petersburg for 1993. The move will be blocked by other investors.
  • As of today, the leading hitters in the American League and National League, Edgar Martinez and John Kruk, are both hitting .341. The second-leading hitters in each league, Kirby Puckett and Andy Van Slyke, are both hitting .331. The third-leading hitters in each league, Shane Mack and Gary Sheffield, are both hitting .329.
  • The Mets obtain OF Kevin Bass from the Giants for a player to be named.
• 1993:
  • The Mets' Bret Saberhagen injures his left knee and will miss the rest of the season.
  • Indians P Bob Ojeda returns to action following the spring training accident which took the lives of teammates Steve Olin and Tim Crews. He hurls two innings in Cleveland's 8 - 6 loss to the Orioles.
• 1994 - Pittsburgh SS Jay Bell strokes five base hits, including a pair of doubles, leading the Pirates to a 6 - 5 win over the Cardinals. His single in the bottom of the 9th brings home the winning run.
• 1995 - In a South Atlantic League game at Fayetteville, NC, four Fayetteville pitchers combine to strike out 19 batters but still lose to Savannah, 6 - 1. Scott Gardner strikes out five batters in the 7th inning, tying a record.
• 1998:
  • Pete Harnisch pitches six innings of shutout ball, and Stan Belinda and Todd Williams continue the whitewash as the Reds roll, 17 - 0, over Milwaukee. Reggie Sanders drives in three runs with two doubles and a homer. Sanders, Sean Casey and Aaron Boone all hit bases-loaded doubles in the 12-run 6th inning. Eddie Taubensee and Barry Larkin also homer in the game.
  • The Orioles pound the Twins, 16 - 9, as OF Brady Anderson gets five hits, including two doubles and two homers, drives home four runs and scores three.
  • Mark McGwire lines a single against the Cubs, driving in two runs. For Big Mac, they are his first runs driven in without a homer since June 7th. The Cards roll over the Cubs, 16 - 3, as Kent Bottenfield allows just three hits in seven innings. Ray Lankford has a three-run homer in the 1st for St. Louis off Dave Stevens, in relief of Steve Trachsel who lasts just a third of an inning.
  • The Indians' home run leader, Matt Williams, breaks his right hand when he is hit by a Wilson Alvarez pitch. Williams will not make another appearance till September 16th.
  • The Angels obtain P Jeff Juden from the Brewers in exchange for a player to be named.
  • Rookie OF Shane Spencer gets five hits, including two doubles and two home runs, while driving home three runs and scoring four in New York's 14 - 2 pasting of Kansas City in the second game of a doubleheader. The Yankees also took the first contest by a score of 8 - 2.
• 1999:
  • For the second consecutive day, a major leaguer gets his 3000th career hit as Wade Boggs homers in the 6th off the Indians' Chris Haney. The Devil Rays' third baseman, who is the first player to reach the milestone with a home run, rounds the bases pointing skyward blowing a kiss in memory of his mom and gets down on his knees to kiss home plate. Tony Gwynn also collected hit #3,000 yeaterday.
  • The Braves' infielders look inept when they let an infield pop-up drop between them in the 9th inning of a 15 - 4 victory over the Giants. But SS Ozzie Guillen turns the miscue into an unusual foul ball. The towering pop by J.T. Snow falls on the pitcher's mound when second baseman Bret Boone calls off the other infielders, then can't reach the ball. Guillen lets it bounce toward the third-base line. As soon as it is in foul territory, he grabs the ball, turning it into a foul. Snow then flies out.
• 2000 - The Yankees claim Jose Canseco off waivers from the Devil Rays.
• 2001:
  • Black Betsy, Shoeless Joe Jackson's 40-ounce warped hickory bat, is won by 30-year-old businessman Rob Mitchell in a 10-day eBay auction. The $577,610 price tag is believed to be the largest amount ever paid for a baseball bat.
  • Passing the mark of 68, established Christy Mathewson (with the Giants in 1913) and Randy Jones (with the Padres in 1976), Braves right-hander Greg Maddux sets the National League record for consecutive innings without allowing a walk as he pitches six innings without giving up a base on balls to extend the new record to 70 1/3 innings. The major league record with 84 1/3 innings was set in 1962 by A's hurler Bill Fischer.
  • Home plate umpire Angel Hernandez ejects Steve "Mongo" McMichael from Wrigley Field as the former Chicago Bears football player is about to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch. McMichael, presently a pro wrestler, tells the crowd over the P.A. system "he'll have a talk with the ump" concerning a close call made by Hernandez earlier in the game and then boos and blows a kiss toward the ump.
• 2002:
  • The Mariners upend the Blue Jays, 5 - 4, despite Toronto SS Chris Woodward's three home runs.
  • In a historic move, major league baseball players end their long-held opposition to mandatory drug testing by agreeing to be tested for illegal steroids beginning in 2003.
  • After piloting the club to a 45-45 record as the interim skipper, Clint Hurdle is given a two-year contract extension by the Rockies. The club's former hitting coach replaced Buddy Bell, who was fired April 26th.
• 2003:
  • Fireballer Eric Gagné ties the single-season record for consecutive saves to start a season established in 1995 by Jose Mesa of the Indians. The Dodgers closer strikes out the Reds side in the 9th inning for his 38th save this season, and 46th consecutive regular-season save overall.
  • Albert Pujols joins Jose Canseco as the only other players in major league history to hit 30 home runs and drive in 100 runs during each of their first three seasons.
• 2007:
  • Barry Bonds hits his 756th home run in the major leagues, breaking Hank Aaron's record. The decisive blow comes off Mike Bacsik Jr., whose father had faced Aaron after his last major league home run. Felipe Lopez goes 3 for 4 with the game-deciding double as Kevin Correia falls to 1-6 and Chris Schroder gets the win. Bonds has a 3-for-3 day with 3 runs.
  • Tuffy Rhodes reaches 3,000 total bases in Nippon Pro Baseball, the first gaijin to ever have so many.
• 2009:
  • The Yankees and Red Sox are locked in a scoreless tie for 14 innings until Alex Rodriguez hits a game-winning home run in the 15th off Junichi Tazawa, making his major league debut, for a 2 - 0 Yankee win. Tazawa took the place of veteran John Smoltz, who was designated for assignment earlier in the day after being roughed up in yesterday's 13 - 6 slugfest. Former Marlin teammates Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett set the tone for the game by pitching 7 and 7 2/3 scoreless innings respectively.
  • Everth Cabrera of the Padres hits a 9th-inning walk-off grand slam off Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez for a 6 - 2 win.
• 2010:
  • The Toronto Blue Jays, leading the majors in home runs, hit 8 in today's 17 - 11 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. C J.P. Arencibia hits two in his major league debut, including one on the first pitch thrown to him in the 2nd inning; Aaron Hill also has two, and José Bautista hits his major league-leading 34th. Adam Lind, Lyle Overbay and Edwin Encarnacion complete the long ball barrage; Rays starter James Shields surrenders 6 of the homers, tying a modern record.
  • For the first time since May, the major leagues' all-time save leader, Trevor Hoffman, gets the ball in a save situation. He disposes of the Astros in order on 8 pitches to preserve a 5 - 2 Brewers win for his 597th career save. Hoffman blew 5 of his first 10 save opportunities this year to earn relegation to the outer reaches of the Brewers' bullpen, while rookie John Axford has pitched extremely well since taking over as the team's closer. Randy Wolf is the winner and Rickie Weeks hits an inside-the-park homer leading off the game for Milwaukee.
  • Two days after learning that starting 1B Kevin Youkilis is done for the season with a thumb injury, the Red Sox sign veteran Carlos Delgado, who has not played at all this year, to a minor league contract. He will be assigned to AAA Pawtucket but will fail in his bid to return to the big leagues.
  • Cuba wins the 2010 World University Championship. Down 3 - 1 in the bottom of the 10th, Cuba rallies when Alfredo Despaigne hits a three-run homer off the USA's Noe Ramirez. Japan, the host nation, wins the Bronze Medal, as five pitchers combine on a four-hit, 15-strikeout shutout of South Korea.
• 2011:
  • The Red Sox win the rubber match of their three-game series against the Yankees, 3 - 2, to recapture first place by a game in front of New York in the AL East. Josh Reddick ends the game with a run-scoring single in the 10th inning, after the Sox rally against Mariano Rivera to tie the game in the 9th. The Yankees take a 2 - 1 lead on homers by Eduardo Nunez and Brett Gardner, but Marco Scutaro leads off the 9th with a double - his fourth hit of the game - then scores on a sacrifice fly to send the game into extra innings. Also of note, Jorge Posada is benched tonight amid talk that his job as the Yankees' starting DH may be in jeopardy.
  • Dan Uggla extends his hitting streak to 28 games as the Braves defeat the Mets, 6 - 5. He has to wait until the 8th inning to deliver a single to keep the streak alive; his teammate Freddie Freeman is not so fortunate, as an 0-for-4 day ends his streak at 20 games. It is the first time a pair of teammates have had simultaneous 20-game streaks since Mickey Rivers and Al Oliver with the 1980 Texas Rangers. The real hero for the Braves, though, is the man Mets fans love to hate, Chipper Jones, who drives in the winning run with a 9th-inning single off Bobby Parnell.
• 2012 - CF Roger Bernadina makes one of the best catches of the year to preserve Washington's 3 - 2 win at Houston. With two outs and two on in the bottom of the 12th, Brett Wallace hits a ball to deep center. On a full run, Bernadina leaps to grab the ball, disappearing momentarily behind one of the pillars protruding in front of the visitors' bullpen at Minute Maid Park, and emerges with the ball in his glove. Washington now has the best record in the majors at 67-43, a feat the team has not accomplished this late in a season since its predecessors the Montreal Expos were leading the majors at the start of the 1994 strike.
• 2013 - The Rangers move into a tie for first place in the AL West when they beat the Angels, 10 - 3, for their ninth win their last 10 games. The Rangers steal seven bases as their two table-setters, Leonys Martin and Elvis Andrus, reach base a combined 8 times and rack up 6 steals between them. The Rangers stole 6 bases yesterday, making them the second team since 1917 to steal six or more bases in consecutive games.
• 2014 - Concerned over the health of starting pitcher Josh Beckett, the Dodgers acquire P Roberto Hernandez from the Phillies in return for future considerations.
• 2015 - There are a couple of trades completed today, in spite of the trading deadline having passed a week ago: the Indians send veteran OFs Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher to the Braves in return for IF Chris Johnson, and the Red Sox send 1B Mike Napoli back to Texas for a player to be named later.
• 2016:
  • At a press conference, Alex Rodriguez announces that he will play his final game on August 12th and then retire with a year and half still left on his huge contract. A-Rod has been benched for the past month or so as his skills have badly eroded, and unless he goes on an unlikely power spree in his final week, will fall just short of 700 home runs, although he is still fourth on the all-time list. His announcement comes two days after teammate Mark Teixeira stated that he would retire at the end of the season.
  • Ichiro Suzuki of the Marlins becomes the 30th member of the 3,000 hit club with a 7th-inning triple off Chris Rusin of the Rockies in a 10 - 7 Marlins win. What makes it more remarkable is that Ichiro did not collect his first major league hit until he was 27. He is only the second player to reach the milestone with a triple, after Paul Molitor, and the hit comes on the day when the last player to join the club before him, Alex Rodriguez, announced his retirement.
  • Manny Machado has a chance to make history as he bangs three homers in the first three innings of Baltimore's 10 - 6 win over the White Sox, but he makes outs in his last three at-bats and has to settle for a 3-for-6 performance.
• 2018:
  • 45-year-old Bartolo Colon sets a new record for wins by a pitcher from Latin America as the Rangers defeat the Mariners for his 246th career victory, moving him past Dennis Martinez.
  • The Indianapolis Indians have two players hit for the cycle in a 12 - 5 win over Lehigh Valley in the International League. In the 8th inning, Kevin Newman completes a 5-for-5 day with a homer. Three batters later, Jacob Stallings hits his first triple in three years to complete his own cycle.
• 2019 - The Yankees put up some record numbers in completing a sweep of the Orioles at Camden Yards with a 14 - 2 win. The Yankees homer 5 times, to make it 16 during the three games, tying a record set by the 1977 Boston Red Sox. They have gone 10-0 at the Orioles' home this season, while hitting an astonishing 43 long balls. They have hit 52 dingers against the O's which is already a record for most against one team in a season with another four games left to play at New Yankee Stadium, and 11 different New York players have had a multi-homer game against the Birds. In the 5th inning, slumping Orioles slugger Chris Davis nearly comes to blows with manager Brandon Hyde in the dugout and is immediately replaced by a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the frame.
• 2020 - The Cardinals announce that two more of their players - OF Austin Dean and P Ryan Helsley - and an unidentified staff member have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of infected persons on the team to 16: 9 players and 7 staff members. They played their last game on July 29th, and their week-end series against the Cubs, scheduled to start today, is postponed as well.
• 2021:
  • Host nation Japan wins its first ever Olympic Gold Medal in baseball by defeating the U.S., 2 - 0, in the Gold Medal Game at the 2020 Olympics in Yokohama. The big blow is a homer by Munetaka Murakami off Nick Martinez in the 3rd inning, as Masato Morishita and four relievers combine to shut out the Americans. The Japanese add an insurance run on an error in the 8th and Ryoji Kuribayashi records his third save of the tournament to seal the win. Nick Allen has half of the US's six hits. Eddy Alvarez becomes the sixth athlete (and third American) to medal in both the Winter and Summer Games, having a speed skating medal from 2014.
  • In the Bronze Medal Game played earlier, the Dominican Republic wins the first Olympic team medal in the country's history by defeating defending champions (from 2008) South Korea, 10 - 6, thanks to a five-run rally against veteran reliever Seung-hwan Oh in the 8th. Melky Cabrera has four hits, while Julio Rodríguez, Juan Francisco and Johan Mieses homer and C.C. Mercedes gets the win with 3 1/3 shutout innings of relief.
• 2022 - In his second start of the season after an injury cost him four months of action, Jacob deGrom wins his first game as he leads the Mets to a 5 - 2 win over the Braves. He is perfect until two are out in the 6th inning, when he issues a walk to Ehire Adrianza and a two-run homer to Dansby Swanson. He strikes out 12 batters as three pitchers combine for 19 Ks. The Mets complete the rare five-game series with four wins over their closest rivals and have now won 12 of 14 to increase their lead in the NL East to 6 1/2 games.
• 2024 - Kyle Schwarber just about does it all by himself in leading the Phillies to a 9 - 4 win over the Dodgers. He hits the 42nd lead-off homer of his career to begin things, then adds two more long balls and a two-run double in going 4-for-4. Both the three homers and the seven RBIs tie career marks for Hulk.

Births

• 1853 - Henry Murphy, umpire (d. 1913)
• 1858 - Sparrow Morton, pitcher (d. 1917)
• 1859 - Al Bauer, pitcher (b. 1913)
• 1862 - Jim Gray, infielder (d. 1938)
• 1864 - Adonis Terry, pitcher (d. 1915)
• 1871 - Otis Stocksdale, pitcher (d. 1933)
• 1876 - Pat Carney, outfielder (d. 1953)
• 1876 - Lou Nordyke, infielder (d. 1945)
• 1883 - Tom Richardson, pinch hitter (d. 1939)
• 1885 - John Finner, pitcher (d. ????)
• 1885 - Joe Hewitt, infielder, manager (d. 1948)
• 1886 - Bill McKechnie, infielder, manager; Hall of Famer (d. 1965)
• 1887 - Chet Nourse, pitcher (d. 1958)
• 1895 - Ed Gill, pitcher (d. 1995)
• 1897 - Timothy Mena, Nicaraguan national team pitcher-outfielder (d. ????)
• 1898 - Oscar Levis, pitcher (d. 1983)
• 1899 - Guy Sturdy, infielder (d. 1965)
• 1899 - Ted Wingfield, pitcher (d. 1975)
• 1905 - Jim Cronin, infielder (d. 1983)
• 1906 - J. Kyle Anderson, college coach (d. 1989)
• 1907 - Clarence Heise, pitcher (d. 1999)
• 1908 - Clyde Hatter, pitcher (d. 1937)
• 1912 - Tom Drake, pitcher (d. 1988)
• 1913 - Masao Kitai, NPB pitcher (d. 1937)
• 1915 - Les Fleming, infielder (d. 1980)
• 1917 - Ladd White, pitcher (d. 1963)
• 1922 - Bob Alexander, pitcher (d. 1993)
• 1923 - Katsuji Kojima, NPB outfielder (d. 2001)
• 1925 - Hiroshi Yoshida, NPB catcher
• 1927 - Rocky Bridges, infielder; All-Star (d. 2015)
• 1927 - Bob Brunner, minor league pitcher (d. 2011)
• 1927 - Art Houtteman, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2003)
• 1927 - Kohei Sugiyama, NPB outfielder
• 1928 - Lawrence Jaros, minor league pitcher (d. 2018)
• 1929 - Don Larsen, pitcher (d. 2020)
• 1929 - Louie Letlow, minor league infielder (d. 2015)
• 1931 - Ray Crone, pitcher
• 1931 - Motoshi Fujita, NPB pitcher; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 2006)
• 1931 - Pete Lussier, minor league pitcher (d. 2018)
• 1932 - Jack Bloomfield, coach
• 1935 - Alfredo Lauri, Serie A1 pitcher
• 1936 - Ron Henry, catcher (d. 2016)
• 1936 - Jerry McNertney, catcher
• 1936 - Tex Nelson, outfielder (d. 2011)
• 1942 - Gary Dotter, pitcher (d. 2024)
• 1944 - Paul Speckenbach, minor league pitcher (d. 2014)
• 1950 - Mike Poepping, outfielder
• 1951 - Charlie Chant, outfielder
• 1951 - Jim Sadowski, pitcher
• 1954 - Steve Kemp, outfielder; All-Star
• 1955 - Steve Senteney, pitcher (d. 1989)
• 1956 - Kevin Mendon, minor league pitcher
• 1957 - Takao Obana, NPB pitcher and manager
• 1961 - Cayetano Barreto, Nicaraguan national team pitcher
• 1961 - Rayner Noble, college coach
• 1962 - Andy Araujo, minor league pitcher (d. 2000)
• 1962 - Paul Keyes, college coach
• 1962 - John Trautwein, pitcher
• 1963 - Gordie Hershiser, minor league pitcher
• 1963 - Greg LaFever, minor league pitcher (d. 2015)
• 1964 - Greg Ferlenda, minor league pitcher
• 1965 - Shinichi Sato, NPB outfielder
• 1967 - Jason Grimsley, pitcher
• 1968 - Clint Alfino, South African national team outfielder
• 1969 - Chris Anderson, minor league player
• 1969 - Brian Kowitz, outfielder
• 1969 - Stan Spencer, pitcher
• 1970 - Rich Croushore, pitcher
• 1970 - Bruce Dreckman, umpire
• 1970 - Sabino Loaiza, minor league pitcher
• 1970 - Greg Pirkl, infielder
• 1970 - Marc Pisciotta, pitcher
• 1971 - Robin Harriss, minor league catcher
• 1972 - James Betzsold, minor league outfielder
• 1972 - Kerry Lacy, pitcher
• 1972 - Daron Kirkreit, minor league pitcher
• 1973 - Danny Graves, pitcher; All-Star
• 1973 - Ross Atkins, minor league pitcher; General Manager
• 1974 - Junichi Sasaki, minor league pitcher
• 1974 - Bryan Warner, minor league outfielder
• 1975 - Geronimo Gil, catcher
• 1975 - Edgar Renteria, infielder; All-Star
• 1976 - James Johnson, minor league pitcher
• 1977 - Rodney Linares, minor league infielder and manager
• 1977 - Tyler Yates, pitcher
• 1978 - Shinji Takahashi, NPB catcher
• 1980 - Mayo Sakagami, Japanese national team infielder
• 1981 - Matt Righter, college coach
• 1983 - Bear Bay, minor league pitcher
• 1983 - José Cordero, minor league pitcher
• 1984 - Wade LeBlanc, pitcher
• 1984 - Jimmy Van Ostrand, minor league outfielder
• 1985 - Pyeong-ho Cho, KBO infielder
• 1985 - Lee Darracott, drafted infielder
• 1986 - Jordan Danks, outfielder
• 1986 - Daiki Enokida, NPB pitcher
• 1986 - Brandon Graves, minor league pitcher
• 1987 - Ryan Lavarnway, catcher
• 1987 - Kirk Nieuwenhuis, outfielder
• 1987 - Josh Smith, pitcher
• 1987 - Rafael Ynoa, infielder
• 1988 - Kyle Botha, Bundesliga catcher
• 1989 - Tommy Kahnle, pitcher
• 1989 - Joel Lima, minor league pitcher
• 1989 - Brock Stassi, infielder
• 1990 - Jathan Muña-Barnes, Guam national team infielder
• 1990 - Andy Burns, infielder
• 1990 - Carter Capps, pitcher
• 1990 - Jose Dominguez, pitcher
• 1990 - Tony Zych, pitcher
• 1991 - Andrea D'Amico, Italian Baseball League infielder
• 1991 - Guy Stevens, Israeli national team pitcher
• 1991 - Mike Trout, outfielder; All-Star
• 1992 - Blake Butera, minor league infielder
• 1992 - José De León, pitcher
• 1992 - Michael Perez, catcher
• 1992 - Kazuki Yabuta, NPB pitcher
• 1993 - James Harris, minor league outfielder
• 1993 - Jake Levin, Bundesliga player
• 1994 - Miguel Salud, Philippines national team pitcher
• 1995 - Tse-Chun Wang, CPBL pitcher
• 1997 - Kyler Murray, signed outfielder
• 1997 - Josh Smith, infielder
• 1997 - Kyle Rodrigo Villafaña Jr., Philippines national team infielder
• 1998 - Albin Käck, Elitserien outfielder

Deaths

• 1893 - John Kenney, infielder/outfielder (b. 1844)
• 1917 - Bill Loughran, catcher (b. 1862)
• 1922 - Bill Price, pitcher (b. 1863)
• 1926 - Moose Baxter, infielder (b. 1876)
• 1930 - Emmett Seery, outfielder (b. 1861)
• 1937 - Masao Kitai, NPB pitcher (b. 1913)
• 1945 - Bobby Veach, outfielder (b. 1888)
• 1948 - Jimmy Wacker, pitcher (b. 1883)
• 1951 - Will Wynne, pitcher (b. 1869)
• 1951 - Biff Wysong, pitcher (b. 1905)
• 1953 - Abner Powell, outfielder (b. 1860)
• 1956 - Hughie Tate, outfielder (b. 1880)
• 1959 - Ben Dyer, infielder (b. 1893)
• 1959 - Bill McGill, pitcher (b. 1880)
• 1962 - Bill Pierce, infielder (b. 1890)
• 1968 - Michael Donohue, umpire (b. 1895)
• 1970 - Christy Wilson, minor league pitcher/outfielder (b. 1883)
• 1972 - Red Anderson, pitcher (b. 1912)
• 1973 - Wilbur Cooper, pitcher (b. 1892)
• 1979 - Hal Wagner, catcher; All-Star (b. 1915)
• 1985 - Johnny Rucker, outfielder (b. 1917)
• 1991 - Jimmy Cooney, infielder (b. 1894)
• 1992 - Frank Finch, writer (b. 1911)
• 2003 - Ching-Chuan Chen, Taiwan Baseball Hall of Famer (b. 1923)
• 2003 - Mickey McDermott, pitcher (b. 1929)
• 2007 - Hank Morgenweck, umpire (b. 1929)
• 2007 - Mary Rountree, AAGPBL catcher (b. 1922)
• 2010 - Keith Drumright, infielder (b. 1954)
• 2014 - Luis Rosa, scout (b. 1946)
• 2016 - Lynn Boyer, minor league infielder (b. 1935)
• 2017 - Don Baylor, designated hitter, manager; All-Star (b. 1949)
• 2019 - Earl Harry, Negro League infielder (b. ~1936)
• 2020 - Katsunari Miyai, Japanese national team manager (b. 1926)
• 2021 - Johnny Groth, outfielder (b. 1926)
• 2023 - Jim Price, catcher (b. 1941)