June 6
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
| Standings on this day | |
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| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on June 6.
Events[edit]
- 1892 - Benjamin Harrison becomes the first U.S. President to attend a major league game as he watches the Cincinnati Reds defeat the hometown Washington Senators in 11 innings, 6 - 5.
- 1913 - The New York Yankees are defeated for the thirteenth consecutive time, losing 2 - 1 to the Cleveland Naps.
- 1918 - Casey Stengel, after being traded by the Brooklyn Robins in the offseason, makes his return to Ebbets Field a memorable one. In his first at-bat, Stengel calls time, steps out of the batter's box and doffs his cap. A bird flows out and the fans break into laughter.
- 1920 - The St. Louis Cardinals play their last game at Robison Field (renamed "Cardinal Field" in 1917), their home field since 1893, beating the Chicago Cubs, 5 - 2. One of new owner Sam Breadon's first decisions was to agree to a ten-year lease for $20,000 annually, allowing his team to move six blocks to share Sportsman's Park with the St. Louis Browns, and then using the money from selling the aging ballpark to finance Branch Rickey's idea of establishing a farm system by investing in a club affiliation with a minor league team in Houston.
- 1921 - Bill Gatewood of the Detroit Stars pitches the first no-hitter in the history of the Negro National League, defeating the Cuban Stars, 4 - 0.
- 1925 - Eddie Collins off the Chicago White Sox becomes the sixth major leaguer to collect 3,000 hits after hitting a double off Washington Senators pitcher Walter Johnson.
- 1930 - Denny Sothern hits a major league record four doubles in the Philadelphia Phillies' 14 - 5 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
- 1934 - Myril Hoag hits a major league record six singles in the New York Yankees' 15 - 3 rout of the Boston Red Sox.
- 1939:
- The New York Giants hit five home runs in the 4th inning to defeat the Cincinnati Reds, 17 - 3, at the Polo Grounds. With two out, Harry Danning, Al Demaree, Burgess Whitehead, Manny Salvo and Jo-Jo Moore connect as the Giants score eight runs in the inning.
- Bert and George Bebble and Carl Stotz form the Little League organization in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The three youth teams in the league have uniforms thanks to a $35 donation.
- 1941 - The New York Giants become the first team to wear protective headgear as they use plastic helmets in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pittsburgh wins the doubleheader, 5 - 4 and 4 - 3. In the nightcap, the Pirates' Rip Sewell sets a National League record by totaling 11 assists for a pitcher.
- 1944 - All major league games are canceled as the country's focus is turned toward Europe while allied forces land on the beaches of Normandy in occupied France.
- 1948:
- For the second time this season, the Boston Red Sox hit three consecutive home runs. Stan Spence, Vern Stephens and Ted Williams belt their homers in one inning, allowing the Red Sox to become the first team to accomplish this feat twice in the same season.
- Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Charlie Bicknell gives up four home runs to Erv Dusak, Red Schoendienst, Enos Slaughter and Nippy Jones in the 6th inning of a 11 - 1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
- 1958 - Ozzie Virgil, acquired from the New York Giants in January, becomes the first black player to appear in a Detroit Tigers game. The versatile Dominican will eventually play every position but pitcher during his nine-year major league career.
- 1965 - Switch-hitter Tom Tresh connects for three consecutive home runs in the New York Yankees' 12 - 0 rout of the Chicago White Sox. Tresh hits his first homer right-handed off Juan Pizarro in the 1st inning, then goes to the other side of the plate and hits two against Bruce Howard in the 3rd and 5th innings.
- 1971 - Willie Mays hits a 12th-inning home run off Joe Hoerner of the Philadelphia Phillies, his 22nd - and last - career extra-inning homer, a major-league mark.
- 1975 - Nolan Ryan's bid for a second no-hitter in a row is foiled by Hank Aaron's single in the 6th inning. Ryan gives up one other hit in overpowering the Milwaukee Brewers, 6 - 0.
- 1976 - After a storm drops seven inches of rain causing floods in Houston, twenty fans canoe to the Astrodome to get rain checks for the canceled game at the enclosed stadium.
- 1983 - The Minnesota Twins select pitcher Tim Belcher with the first pick in the annual June free-agent draft, but Belcher will reject their $125,000 signing bonus offer and pitch for Team USA in the Pan American Games instead. Belcher will be the first person selected in the January 1984 draft. The Cincinnati Reds select infielder Kurt Stillwell with the second pick and pitcher Roger Clemens is taken with the 19th pick by the Boston Red Sox.
- 1986 - San Diego Padres manager Steve Boros is ejected before the first pitch of the game with the Atlanta Braves when he tries to give umpire Charlie Williams a videotape of a disputed play in the previous night's 4 - 2 loss to Atlanta.
- 1990:
- Cecil Fielder hits three home runs in a game, as Detroit beats the Indians, 6 - 4. Fielder becomes the fourth American League player to have two three-homer games in a season.
- Stump Merrill replaces Bucky Dent as the Yankees manager.
- 1991 - Cleveland Indians outfielder Albert Belle is demoted to the minors for not running out a ground ball in a 2 - 1 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
- 1992 - At Pittsburgh, Eddie Murray of the Mets collects his 1,510th run batted in to pass Mickey Mantle as the all-time RBI leader among major league switch-hitters.
- 1993 - Cal Ripken of the Baltimore Orioles suffers a twisted right knee when his spikes catch in the infield grass in a contest against the Seattle Mariners. The resulting swollen knee the next day almost ends his consecutive streak after 1,790 games.
- 1995 - J.D. Drew of Florida State University hits a record-setting three home runs in his final three at-bats in a 16 - 11 loss to Southern California in the College World Series. Drew finishes 3 for 5 with 5 RBI and 12 total bases, also a series record.
- 1996 - For only the second time in major league history and first in the American League, a cycle and a triple play take place in the same game. John Valentin of the Boston Red Sox hits for the cycle, while the Chicago White Sox turn a triple play in Boston's 7 - 4 victory. In 1931, outfielder Chuck Klein of the Philadelphia Phillies hit for the cycle in a game in which Philadelphia turned a triple play against the Chicago Cubs.
- 1997 - At Fenway Park, Sandy Alomar of the Cleveland Indians hits four doubles in one game, tying a major league record.
- 1998 - Jason Lane's grand slam caps a five-run 9th inning as Southern California wins its first NCAA title in twenty years, beating Pac-10 rival Arizona State, 21 - 14, in the College World Series.
- 2000 - The Rally Monkey is born, thanks to the Anaheim Angels' video crew playing a clip from the 1994 film Ace Ventura, Pet Detective on the JumboTron. With the words Rally Monkey superimposed over a monkey jumping up and down in the Jim Carrey movie, the crowd goes wild as the Angels score two runs in the bottom of the 9th to beat the San Francisco Giants, 6 - 5.
- 2002 - The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission agrees to drop its lawsuit against the Minnesota Twins and Major League Baseball. The deal settles a lawsuit blocking baseball's contraction plan and removes the Twins from consideration for elimination for the 2003 season.
- 2003:
- Insisting the corked bat, designed to put on home run displays during batting practice, was accidentally used in a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa is suspended for eight games by Major League Baseball. Bob Watson, baseball's vice president of on-field operations, agrees that the Cubs outfielder's use of an illegal bat was an "isolated incident," but one that still deserves a penalty.
- In interleague play, the New York Mets end the Seattle Mariners' 13-game road winning streak with a 3 - 2 victory in the first meeting between the teams. It is the longest streak in the majors since the Detroit Tigers' 17 straight road wins in 1984.
- 2005 - Infielder Placido Polanco is sent by the Philadelphia Phillies to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for reliever Ugueth Urbina and utility infielder Ramón Martinez. Urbina, a two-time All-Star as a closer, will become the setup man for Billy Wagner in Philadelphia, and Polanco will become the starting second baseman in Detroit.
- 2006 - Jason Schmidt matches a 102-year-old Giants franchise record with 16 strikeouts, fanning his final three batters to escape a 9th-inning jam and preserve a 2 - 1 victory over the Florida Marlins.
- 2007:
- Trevor Hoffman pitches a scoreless 9th inning in a Padres win over the Dodgers for his 500th save. He is the first to reach this mark.
- Luis Castillo makes an error, ending a 143-game streak without a miscue. Castillo broke Ryne Sandberg's 17-year-old record of 123 games. He mishandles a throw from Jason Bartlett in the 1st inning.
- 2008 - Hanwha Eagles veteran Jin-woo Song, at age 42, becomes the first pitcher in Korea Baseball Organization with 2,000 career strikeouts. Song already holds the KBO records for wins, innings and strikeouts and is in his twentieth professional season. Amazingly, Song has attained those totals despite spending a fair chunk of his career as a relief pitcher.
- 2010:
- The Baltimore Orioles end a ten-game losing streak and give interim manager Juan Samuel his first victory as a major league skipper when they defeat Boston, 4 - 3, in 11 innings. Nick Markakis bloops a single to score Cesar Izturis from second base, making David Hernandez a winner.
- Major League Baseball is investigating an injury to under-performing Mets pitcher Oliver Perez, who was placed on the disabled list with tendinitis in his right knee on June 5th; he is 0-3, 6.28 this season. The suspicions come because the injury is very convenient to the Mets: Perez has refused an assignment to the minors, and manager Jerry Manuel has stated that he will not use him in games that have not already been decided. Had the injury not appeared, the Mets would have had to choose between two equally unpalatable options: release Perez and swallow the remainder of his $12 million a year contract; or waste a valuable roster spot on a player who cannot contribute to the team.
- 2011:
- In the 2011 amateur draft, Pittsburgh, picking first, selects right-handed pitcher Gerrit Cole from UCLA. The choice is somewhat surprising as Cole's college teammate, Trevor Bauer, who is picked third by Arizona, had a much better season this year. Sandwiched between the two Bruins is Danny Hultzen of the University of Virginia, picked second by Seattle. Cole had previously been picked 28th overall in the 2008 draft, by the Yankees, but declined their offer.
- The Reds send the Cubs to their seventh consecutive loss with an 8 - 2 win powered by Jonny Gomes' three-run homer, part of a four-RBI night. Mike Leake prevails against Matt Garza, who gives up four runs in his return from the disabled list.
- The Rockies need six pitchers to do it, but shut out the Padres, 3 - 0. Clayton Mortensen gets things started with six scoreless innings, four relievers work the 7th and 8th, and Huston Street takes care of the 9th for his 16th save.
- Tim Lincecum strikes out his 1,000th batter in the majors. He is the eighth pitcher since 1900 to do so within his first five seasons.
- The Brewers beat Florida, 7 - 3. It marks the Milwaukee Brewers' 1,000th win since joining the National League. They become the first franchise with 1,000 wins in both of the major leagues.
- 2012 - The Orioles retake sole possession of first place in the AL East with a 2 - 1 win over Boston. Wei-Yin Chen is the winner over Josh Beckett and Jim Johnson picks up his 18th save.
- 2013:
- The Astros take Stanford University pitcher Mark Appel with the first overall pick in the 2013 amateur draft; Appel was a first-round selection in the 2012 draft, by the Pirates, but failed to come to terms. The Cubs follow by taking third baseman Kris Bryant from the University of San Diego. 15 of the top 20 picks are spent on pitchers.
- Yasiel Puig continues to amaze in his first week in the majors, hitting a grand slam in the 8th inning of the Dodgers' 5 - 0 win over the Braves. Zack Greinke is the winner with seven innings of four-hit ball.
- 2015 - Clayton Kershaw has one of his best outings as he allows only one hit and strikes out 11 in eight innings to lead the Dodgers to a 2 - 0 win over the Cardinals. Yasiel Puig contributes an RBI double after missing 39 games to a strained hamstring.
- 2017 - Scooter Gennett of the Reds has a night for the ages as he homers four times and drives in ten runs in a 13 - 1 drubbing of the Cardinals. The usually light-hitting infielder goes 5-for-5 after entering the game with three homers on the year and having just come out of an 0-for-19 slump the day before. He starts things off innocently enough with a run-scoring single in the 1st, then hits a grand slam in the 3rd, a two-run shot in the 4th, a solo homer in the 6th and another two-run homer in the 8th. Gennett is the 17th player in major league history to perform the feat, the last having been Josh Hamilton in 2012.
- 2018 - Hall of Famer Red Schoendienst, a Cardinals icon who won World Series titles as both a player and a manager, passes away at the age of 95. He was the oldest living Hall of Famer, a title which now passes to Tom Lasorda.
- 2019:
- One day after the other top-rank free agent remaining on the market, Craig Kimbrel, has found a home, it is Dallas Keuchel's turn to come to an agreement with a team. According to reports, he will sign a one-year contract with the Braves for $13 million, now that compensation in the form of a pick in the amateur draft is off the table.
- Max Kepler becomes the latest player this season to have a three-homer game, connecting three times against the Indians to lead the Twins to a 5 - 4 win. He had been hitless in his previous 21 at-bats entering the game, before breaking out of his slump in a big way.
- 2021 - Jesse Winker of the Reds has his second three-homer game of the season in leading his team to an 8 - 7 win over the Cardinals.
- 2022 - Eduardo Escobar hits for the cycle in an 11 - 5 win over the Padres; he is the first Mets player to do so since Scott Hairston in 2012, and the first player for any team to accomplish the feat at Petco Park. Carlos Carrasco strikes out ten to pick up his major league-leading seventh win.
Births[edit]
- 1849 - Jim Devlin, pitcher (d. 1883)
- 1864 - Ed McKean, infielder (d. 1919)
- 1870 - Gus Creely, infielder (d. 1934)
- 1870 - Jake Hewitt, pitcher (d. 1959)
- 1871 - Bill Lange, outfielder (d. 1950)
- 1871 - Jim St. Vrain, pitcher (d. 1937)
- 1873 - Irv Hach, infielder (d. 1936)
- 1874 - Bill Mellor, infielder (d. 1940)
- 1882 - Ira Plank, college coach (d. 1951)
- 1890 - Harry Bauchman, infielder (d. 1930)
- 1890 - Dan Daniel, writer (d. 1981)
- 1892 - Joe Pate, pitcher (d. 1948)
- 1896 - José María Fernández, catcher, manager (d. 1972)
- 1897 - Ray Pierce, pitcher (d. 1963)
- 1902 - Dutch Dorman, minor league infielder and manager (d. 1988)
- 1902 - Fresco Thompson, infielder (d. 1968)
- 1907 - Bill Dickey, catcher, manager; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 1993)
- 1908 - Izzy Goldstein, pitcher (d. 1993)
- 1910 - Chet Morgan, outfielder (d. 1991)
- 1914 - Jesse Brown, pitcher (d. 1980)
- 1914 - Eddie Silber, outfielder (d. 1976)
- 1914 - Wild Bill Wright, outfielder; All-Star, Salón de la Fama (d. 1996)
- 1915 - Ray Stoviak, outfielder (d. 1998)
- 1916 - Dario Lodigiani, infielder (d. 2008)
- 1917 - Torbert MacDonald, minor league outfielder (d. 1976)
- 1917 - Tomosaburo Narita, NPB pitcher (d. 1989)
- 1918 - Jimmy Hill, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1993)
- 1920 - Jim Elam, pitcher (d. 1961)
- 1921 - Guillermo Garibay, minor league manager; Salon de la Fama (d. 1996)
- 1924 - Carlos DeSouza, minor league infielder (d. 2007)
- 1928 - Bob Talbot, outfielder (d. 2017)
- 1929 - Jack Concannon, minor league infielder (d. 2011)
- 1931 - Rudy Arias, pitcher (d. 2018)
- 1931 - Carl Willey, pitcher (d. 2009)
- 1933 - Freddy Buchner, Bundesliga player and manager (d. 2015)
- 1935 - Toshiharu Ai, NPB catcher
- 1939 - Hector Espino, minor league infielder; Salon de la Fama (d. 1997)
- 1942 - Bill Davis, infielder (d. 2023)
- 1943 - Merv Rettenmund, outfielder
- 1944 - Bud Harrelson, infielder, manager; All-Star (d. 2024)
- 1945 - Jimmy Garrett, minor league infielder
- 1945 - Larry Howard, catcher (d. 2019)
- 1946 - Gaylen Pitts, infielder (d. 2024)
- 1949 - Jim Deidel, catcher
- 1949 - Katsuhiro Nakamura, NPB infielder and manager (d. 2019)
- 1953 - Dave Bergman, infielder (d. 2015)
- 1955 - Angel Moreno, pitcher
- 1955 - Chris Nyman, infielder
- 1957 - Steve Fireovid, pitcher
- 1957 - Max Venable, outfielder
- 1959 - Doug Frobel, outfielder
- 1959 - Werner Hameleers, First Division infielder
- 1961 - Kazuto Nonaka, Indonesian national team manager
- 1961 - Gavin Solomon, South African national team catcher
- 1962 - Jeff Livin, college coach
- 1964 - Edgar Caceres, infielder
- 1967 - Ken Ramos, outfielder (d. 2016)
- 1968 - Mayron Wijman, Hoofdklasse infielder
- 1969 - Roger Sund, Elitserien outfielder
- 1970 - Tetsuya Kakiuchi, NPB outfielder
- 1972 - Tony Graffanino, infielder
- 1972 - Brooks Kieschnick, pitcher
- 1972 - Nick Sued, minor league catcher
- 1972 - Jeff Williams, pitcher
- 1973 - Takashi Muto, NPB infielder
- 1974 - Edward Martinez, Bundesliga infielder
- 1975 - David Lamb, infielder
- 1977 - Mark Ellis, infielder
- 1977 - Jesus Hernandez, minor league outfielder
- 1977 - Chris Wright, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - Jaime Bubela, outfielder
- 1978 - Julio Campos, scout
- 1978 - Matt Miller, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - James Ramshaw, Australian national team pitcher
- 1978 - Jeff Stockton, minor league infielder
- 1978 - Tzu-Sung Wang, CPBL infielder
- 1979 - Jeremy Affeldt, pitcher
- 1979 - Jesus Feliciano, outfielder
- 1980 - Matt Belisle, pitcher
- 1980 - Hongbo Zhang, Chinese national team outfielder
- 1981 - Eddie Bonine, pitcher
- 1981 - Derrick Van Dusen, minor league player
- 1982 - Maikel Azcuy, British national team outfielder
- 1983 - Irving Falu, infielder
- 1984 - Emiliano Fruto, pitcher
- 1984 - Noah Krol, minor league pitcher
- 1985 - Trystan Magnuson, pitcher
- 1986 - Collin Balester, pitcher
- 1986 - Kevin Ramos, minor league infielder
- 1986 - Junichi Tazawa, pitcher
- 1987 - Putra Yuhardiyanto, Indonesian national team outfielder
- 1988 - Jeremy Gould, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Yuki Saito, NPB pitcher
- 1989 - Fernando Graterol, Venezuelan national team outfielder
- 1989 - Ethan Martin, pitcher
- 1989 - Henry Moreno, minor league infielder-catcher
- 1990 - Tyler Collins, outfielder
- 1990 - Anthony Rendon, infielder; All-Star
- 1991 - Ryan Casteel, minor league catcher
- 1991 - Nolan Fontana, infielder
- 1991 - Ryota Ishibashi, NPB pitcher
- 1992 - Juan Madrigales, Panamanian national team catcher
- 1992 - Rando Moreno, minor league infielder
- 1993 - Cristian López, Costa Rican national team pitcher
- 1993 - Joey Lucchesi, pitcher
- 1994 - Brandyn Sittinger, pitcher
- 1995 - Will Vest, pitcher
- 1996 - Héctor Pérez, pitcher
- 1997 - Jimmy Osinga, Hoofdklasse pitcher
- 1997 - Avery Weems, minor league pitcher
- 1998 - Dylan Dodd, pitcher
- 1999 - Enmanuel Acosta, minor league pitcher
- 1999 - Alfredo Fadraga, Cuban league catcher
- 2001 - Orlando León, Ecuadorian national team pitcher
- 2001 - T.J. McCants, minor league outfielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1904 - Chippy McGarr, infielder; umpire (b. 1863)
- 1911 - Charley Jones, outfielder (b. 1852)
- 1915 - Tom Berry, outfielder (b. 1842)
- 1916 - Fred Siegel, infielder (b. 1861)
- 1923 - John Wilson, umpire (b. 1851)
- 1939 - Simmy Murch, infielder (b. 1880)
- 1940 - Marty Simpson, infielder (b. 1855)
- 1947 - Porfirio Martínez, minor league pitcher; Salon de la Fama (b. 1897)
- 1950 - Perry Sessions, minor league pitcher (b. 1878)
- 1950 - Walt Thomas, infielder (b. 1884)
- 1955 - Mike Kelley, infielder (b. 1875)
- 1958 - Bert Daniels, outfielder (b. 1882)
- 1963 - Charlie Mullen, infielder (b. 1889)
- 1966 - Bernie Henderson, pitcher (b. 1899)
- 1967 - Otis Brannan, infielder (b. 1899)
- 1968 - C.B. Burns, pinch hitter (b. 1879)
- 1969 - W.C. Tuttle, minor league executive (b. 1883)
- 1970 - Manuel Malpica, Venezuelan national team manager (b. 1909)
- 1973 - Fletcher Low, infielder (b. 1893)
- 1986 - John Carmichael, writer (b. 1902)
- 1987 - Barney Koch, infielder (b. 1923)
- 1989 - Whitey Glazner, pitcher (b. 1893)
- 1996 - Ben de Brouwer, Hoofdklasse pitcher (b. 1948)
- 1997 - Katsuki Tokura, NPB outfielder and manager (b. 1914)
- 2001 - Ford Garrison, outfielder (b. 1915)
- 2003 - Ray Medeiros, pinch runner (b. 1926)
- 2010 - Jerry Stephenson, pitcher (b. 1943)
- 2011 - Eleanor Dapkus, AAGPBL player (b. 1923)
- 2013 - Elmer Guckert, umpire (b. 1929)
- 2016 - Gene Menges, college coach (B. 1926)
- 2016 - Jimmy Williams, coach, Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1926)
- 2018 - Larry Owen, catcher (b. 1955)
- 2018 - Red Schoendienst, infielder, manager; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1923)
- 2019 - Dave Marshall, outfielder (b. 1943)
- 2020 - Bill Oster, pitcher (b. 1933)
- 2020 - Joe Pomponi, umpire (b. 1934)
- 2022 - Vinnie Degifico, minor league infielder (b. 1964)
- 2023 - Jack Baldschun, pitcher (b. 1936)
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