May 15

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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 May 15.

Events

• 1862 - Baseball's first enclosed park, the Union Grounds, opens in Brooklyn, NY.
• 1893 - After tagging out St. Louis Browns OF Steve Brodie in a collision at the plate, Cincinnati Reds C Harry "Farmer" Vaughn throws a bat at Brodie, hitting him on the shoulder. Vaughn is ejected and fined $25 as St. Louis wins, 10 - 6, and moves past the Cleveland Spiders and the Pittsburgh Pirates into first place.
• 1894 - In the aftermath of a fierce fight between Baltimore's John McGraw and Boston's Tommy Tucker in the 3rd inning, a devastating fire starts in the RF stands at Boston's South End Grounds. The fire destroys $70,000 worth of equipment as well as the park, the only truly double-decked grandstand Boston would ever have. The fire spreads to adjacent blocks and eventually destroys or severely damages 170 buildings. The team moves to the Congress Street ballpark for several months before returning to the rebuilt Walpole Street park.
• 1899 - Willie Keeler, one of the smallest players and best bunters, drives the ball past startled LF Ed Delahanty of the Phillies for an inside-the-park grand slam and an 8 - 5 victory for Brooklyn.
• 1901:
  • The first shutout in American League history (during its time as a major league) is recorded as Watty Lee of the Washington Senators blanks the Boston Americans, 4 - 0.
  • Christy Mathewson (6-0) tosses his third straight shutout, outpitching Jack Taylor to beat the Orphans, 4 - 0. The Giants move into first place with the win over Chicago.
• 1903 - At Detroit, the Tigers pick on Boston outfielder Patsy Dougherty and collect five triples and two homers in winning, 8 - 6. Dougherty misjudges a number of fly balls.
• 1905 - Luther Taylor and the Giants edge the Chicago Cubs, 1 - 0, the first of three straight collars by Giants pitchers.
• 1906 - Hooks Wiltse of the Giants becomes the first pitcher of the modern era to fan four batters in a single inning, striking out the side in the 5th inning after the first Cincinnati batter, Jim Delahanty, reaches base on Roger Bresnahan's third-strike error. Wiltse also fans the side in the 4th inning to total seven batters punched out in just two innings, the first time this happens. Hooks K's 12 Reds overall en route to a 4 - 1 victory. However, the Giants suffer a major loss when Turkey Mike Donlin, breaks his leg sliding into second base after getting three hits.
• 1911:
  • Ring Lardner writes, "They are using a new ball this year. It's livelier and that means more hitting, and more hitting means longer games, and that's the devil. It appears to be impossible to finish a game in less than two hours."
  • With the score tied in the 10th inning, Boston's Smokey Joe Wood intentionally walks Ty Cobb, issuing one of two free passes the star will receive all season. Two batters later, Jim Delahanty drives in Cobb for Detroit's 5 - 4 win. With two safeties today, Cobb starts a 40-game hitting streak.
• 1912 - Ty Cobb charges into the stands at Hilltop Park in New York and attacks a crippled heckler named Claude Lueker. Other fans and Tigers mix it up before order is restored. Ban Johnson suspends Cobb indefinitely for the incident.
• 1915 - In the Federal League, Claude Hendrix pitches a 10 - 0 no-hitter for Chicago over Pittsburgh.
• 1917 - In Cleveland, pitcher Babe Ruth is lifted with one out in the 6th and the Red Sox leading 6 - 5. Dutch Leonard then shuts down the Indians to preserve the victory, and he is awarded the win by the official scorer. The decision is eventually reversed, giving Ruth his eighth straight win. The White Sox will stop his streak on May 18th.
• 1918:
  • In an 18-inning game, Senators legend Walter Johnson defeats Lefty Williams, who also pitches the entire game, and the White Sox, 1 - 0.
  • Former player-manager Patsy Tebeau commits suicide in St. Louis.
• 1919 - After 12 scoreless innings, Cincinnati scores ten runs in the 13th inning to beat Al Mamaux and the Robins, 10 - 0. Reds RF Alfred "Greasy" Neale has a record ten putouts. Hod Eller's scoreless string will end at 22, but he will go on to win ten in a row.
• 1922 - In a 4 - 1 win at New York, Ty Cobb beats out a grounder to SS Everett Scott. Veteran writer Fred Lieb scores it a hit in the boxscore he files with the Associated Press. But official scorer John Kieran of the New York Tribune gives an error to Scott. At the season's end, the American League official records, based on AP box scores, list Cobb at .401. New York writers complain unsuccessfully, claiming it should be .399, based on the official scorer's stats. Lieb will reverse himself at the end of the year, but Ban Johnson goes with the hit call.
• 1923 - At Boston, the Cards trim the Braves, 10 - 5. The Birds are led by Jim Bottomley's three triples.
• 1926 - Behind Pete Donohue, the Reds whip the Giants, 11 - 6, and move into first place. Led by the National League's two top contact hitters - C Bubbles Hargrave at .353 and OF Cuckoo Christensen at .350 - and the pitching of Donohue, Carl Mays and Eppa Rixey, they'll stay in first until mid-July.
• 1927 - In St. Louis, Bing Miller has his second four-hit day in a row, and Wally Schang is 3 for 3 with a grand slam to lead the Browns to an 8 - 6 win over the A's. Eddie Collins and Al Simmons homer for Philly.
• 1928 - The Giants turn six double plays against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, but lose, 10 - 7.
• 1933 - The major leagues advance the cut-down date by a month, limiting rosters to 23 players today instead of June 15th.
• 1934 - The Buffalo Bisons hit five home runs in one inning against the Albany Senators. A rookie, Jake Plummer, is beaned by Albany pitcher Art Jones after the fifth home run in a row, knocking him out cold.
• 1935 - Lou Gehrig steals home in a 4 - 0 Yankee win over the Tigers. It is his 15th and last steal of home, all of which were double steals.
• 1936 - Washington's Bobo Newsom strikes out 11 former teammates to hand the Browns their 23rd loss in their last 27 games. The Nats win, 10 - 5, behind a 17-hit attack. Les Tietje is the loser without retiring a batter.
• 1940:
  • 1B Art Mahan and 2B Ham Schulte establish themselves as regulars at their positions with the Phillies. Fewer than a dozen players have been 120-or-more-game regulars in their only season in the major leagues, and the Phillies, again locked in last place, have two of them in one season. Neither Phillie will hit .250, but Schulte will top second basemen in fielding.
  • In the Pirates' 5 - 2 loss to the Giants, only three Bucs bat in the 2nd, but all reach base. Maurice Van Robays singles and is picked off; Vince DiMaggio walks and is forced at 2B by Frankie Gustine, who is caught stealing.
• 1941:
  • Rip Radcliff, one of the top American League batters in 1940 for the Browns, is waived to the Tigers as a result of a sudden batting decline.
  • Joe DiMaggio gets a single in four at bats against Eddie Smith of the Chicago White Sox to start his 56-game hitting streak. Joe D's hit goes unnoticed as the Yankees lose, 13 - 1. Taffy Wright homers and drives in four White Sox runs, the eighth straight game he's driven in a run.
  • A single by Jimmy Bloodworth in the 7th is the only hit for the Senators as they lose to the Browns' Denny Galehouse, 7 - 0.
• 1944:
  • Frankie Hayes hits a grand slam in the 9th inning off the Tigers' Rufe Gentry, as the Athletics win, 6 - 2.
  • A day after the Reds pitch a one-hitter, Reds reliever Clyde Shoun, making his first start of the season, throws a no-hitter to nip the Boston Braves, 1 - 0. Only 1,014 see the 32-year-old lefty top Jim Tobin, who had thrown a no-hitter of his own back in April. Reds reserve 3B Chuck Aleno accounts for the sole run with his only home run of the season.
• 1946:
  • Mel Harder and Steve Gromek fire back-to-back shutouts over the A's as Cleveland wins two, 3 - 0 and 5 - 0.
  • Fireworks occur as Brooklyn starter Les Webber brushes back Enos Slaughter in the 1st inning, but the Cardinal outfielder retaliates by bunting up the first base line and flattening Webber as he tries to field the ball. Slaughter then silences the fans with two catches in the bottom of the inning and a throw to double off Carl Furillo. The Cards move into first place by edging the Dodgers, 1 - 0, behind Howie Pollet.
• 1948:
  • In a Pacific Coast League game, Seattle's Dick Barrett stops Sacramento, 2 - 0, with a seven-inning perfect game.
  • At Brooklyn, Jim Russell's 1st-inning home run is the only score as Boston's Warren Spahn beats Rex Barney, 1 - 0. It's the third shutout in a row for Brave hurlers.
• 1949:
  • White Sox hurler Bill Wight coasts to a 10 - 0 win over the Indians, and Al Gettel follows with a 2 - 0 whitewash of the Tribe.
  • Boston's Vern Bickford stops the Dodgers, 4 - 0, allowing just four singles. One is by Gil Hodges, extending his hitting streak to 17 games. Jim Russell switch-hits a homer and double to pin the loss on Morrie Martin. The Braves start Al Lakeman at 1B in place of Earl Torgeson, who separated his shoulder the previous day when he attempted to block Jackie Robinson on a double play. Torgeson will be operated on tomorrow and will be sidelined several months.
• 1951:
  • In a fine trade for Chicago, the White Sox send lefty Bob Cain to the Tigers for hurler Saul Rogovin.
  • At Fenway Park, the Red Sox celebrate the 50th anniversary of their first American League game in Boston. On hand are 29 old-timers who played, managed, or umpired in the AL in that first year including Connie Mack, Billy Hoy, Cy Young, Hugh Duffy, Clark Griffith, Tom Connolly, Billy Sullivan, Wid Conroy, Bill Bradley and Ollie Pickering. Eight of the 29 participated in the first AL game, played in Chicago on April 24, 1901. The game that follows the ceremony features dramatic home runs as Ted Williams hits the 300th homer of his career in the 4th inning against Chicago's Howie Judson. With Williams up in the 8th inning, White Sox manager Paul Richards moves reliever Harry Dorish to 3B and brings in Billy Pierce to pitch to Ted. Williams pops up against the lefty, and Dorish then returns to the mound. Boston ties the game against Dorish at 7 - 7, but little Nellie Fox, playing in his sixth season, cracks his first major league homer in the 11th to give Dorish a 9 - 7 victory. Ray Scarborough is the loser. The Sox will win their next 13 games.
  • At Crosley Field, Braves P Vern Bickford pitches a two-hitter, but Ewell Blackwell bests him by allowing one hit, as the Reds win, 1 - 0. Connie Ryan's 6th-inning hit is the first off Bickford, and Johnny Pramesa's homer in the 7th is the other. The only Boston hit is a 5th-inning double by Bob Elliott. The Reds tie the National League record (set in 1911) for nine innings by going to bat just 24 times.
• 1952 - After pitching four no-hitters in the minors, 33-year-old Virgil "Fire" Trucks of Detroit pitches his first in the major leagues, a 1 - 0 blanking of the Senators. Vic Wertz's dramatic two-out home run in the 9th off Bob Porterfield wins the game at Briggs Stadium. Trucks will throw a second no-hitter later this year.
• 1953 - At St. Louis, the Cardinals pound Preacher Roe for six runs in the 2nd en route to a 9 - 3 win over the Dodgers. It is the Cards' first win against Roe after ten straight losses; they last beat him August 28, 1950. Last night, they beat Carl Erskine after losing seven straight to the lefty.
• 1954 - With a pin in his shoulder, Ted Williams returns to action after breaking his collarbone in spring training and is hitless in two at bats against Baltimore. The O's win, 2 - 1, behind Joe Coleman.
• 1955:
  • Chicago's Dick Donovan tosses his third shutout of the season, beating the Senators, 3 - 0.
  • New York's Irv Noren hits an inside-the-park grand slam in an 8 - 4 victory over the A's. New York wins the nitecap to sweep the A's. Mickey Mantle is 4 for 9 for the afternoon and is hitting .311.
  • After the Braves win the lidlifter with the Phils, 6 - 5, Philadelphia comes back in the nightcap to win, 9 - 1, and break their 13-game losing streak. Robin Roberts is the victor. Billy Bruton's leadoff home run is the only run off Roberts.
• 1956 - The Dodgers buy P Sal Maglie from the Indians, who are eager to unload the veteran.
• 1957:
  • With today's deadline to cut rosters to 25 players, a number of veterans are handed their walking papers. Among them are: pitchers Ellis Kinder and Jim McDonald, OF Bob Kennedy (White Sox), 1B Preston Ward (Indians), and 1B Eddie Robinson (Tigers).
  • At Baltimore, the Indians rap Mike Fornieles for five hits and three runs in the 16th to defeat the Orioles, 11 - 8. The Tribe score three in the 8th after an error by Billy Gardner and three more in the 14th after an error by Wayne Causey. Gardner steals home in the 14th for one Bird run and the third run scores on Russ Nixon's wild throw.
• 1959 - Massachusetts marks the 100th anniversary of the first college baseball game, between Amherst and Williams. Teams reenact the original contest.
• 1960 - After being traded from the Phillies, Don Cardwell no-hits the Cardinals in his Cub debut. The Winston-Salem, NC native becomes the first pitcher to keep the opponents hitless in a first start after being traded.
• 1961 - The Alou brothers and Orlando Cepeda lead an 18-hit attack as San Francisco overpowers the Cubs, 14 - 1. Dick Ellsworth gives up six runs in the 1st without retiring a batter. Cepeda hits two homers and a double and drives in five runs, while Felipe Alou hits his first grand slam and brother Matty Alou his first major league homer. Matty will also combine with Jesus Alou in 1965 to homer in the same game. Mike McCormick is the easy winner.
• 1962 - Cubs P Barney Schultz ties Roy Face's major-league record by relieving in his 9th consecutive game for Chicago. Today's effort doesn't help as the Cubs lose, 6 - 5 in 13 innings against the Mets. Roger Craig, en route to a 10-24 year, is the winner, while Tony Balsamo loses to notch his only career decision.
• 1963 - Down 4 - 0 to the Twins, Mickey Mantle hits a two-run homer off Pedro Ramos to put the Yankees on the board. Mantle later scores the winning run as New York wins, 4 - 3.
• 1965:
  • Cubs P Dick Ellsworth throws a one-hitter at the Dodgers, but unfortunately the lone hit is a three-run pinch home run by Al Ferrara in the 8th inning that gives Los Angeles a 3 - 1 win.
  • At Memorial Stadium, Mickey Mantle slices an opposite field homer in the 8th inning off Dick Hall to give New York a 3 - 2 win over the Orioles.
• 1966 - Rocky Mount Leafs teammates Dick Drago and Darrell Clark each pitch seven-inning no-hitters against the Greensboro Yankees, Drago winning 5 - 0 in the opener. His roommate Clark wins, 2 - 0, in the nightcap.
• 1967 - Roberto Clemente clubs three homers to all fields plus a double off the scoreboard in left-center, driving in all seven Pittsburgh runs in the process. All this, alas, in a losing cause as all of Clemente's contributions can't quite keep pace with the Pirate pitchers' even more generous contributions to their opponents' final tally. After Bob Veale, Pete Mikkelsen and Juan Pizarro combine to give back every one of those seven runs, the 12-time Gold Glover comes up big in the 9th, scaling the right-field fence to prevent a walk-off homer from Reds reliever Gerry Arrigo, against whom Clemente himself has just gone deep. These heroics, however, only prolong the agony: before he can get one more crack at Arrigo, Clemente will watch Tony Perez's shot to right center carry far beyond his outstretched glove, carrying with it any hope of a Pirate win, as Pete Rose scores easily from first, giving Cincinnati the ten-inning, 8 - 7 decision.
• 1968:
  • The first American League game played in Milwaukee since 1901 is a 4 - 2 California win against Chicago before 23,403 fans. Rain shortens the game to five innings. This is the first of the nine games the White Sox will play in Milwaukee this year.
  • Steve Carlton outduels Steve Blass as St. Louis edges Pittsburgh, 1 - 0, giving the defending World Champs their fourth win in five tries and leaving them atop the National League at 20-10, 3 1/2 games ahead of San Francisco. In the next two weeks, the Cards will go into their only significant slump of the season; by May 29th, they'll have lost 11 of 13 and fallen to fourth place, three behind the league-leading Giants.
• 1969:
  • Willie Horton leaves the Detroit bench during a 2 - 1 win against Chicago and goes AWOL for four days.
  • With one out in the 9th, Cesar Tovar lines a single to stop Dave McNally's no-hit bid. The O's lefty ends with a one-hit, 5 - 0, win over the Twins.
• 1970 - After the Mets have a day off, ace Tom Seaver matches Gary Gentry by allowing one hit in beating the Phillies and Woodie Fryman, 4 - 0. The two consecutive one-hitters tie a major league record.
• 1971 - Fergie Jenkins (7-2) pitches and bats the Cubs to a 6 - 4 win over San Diego. Jenkins hits a two-run home run and finishes his seventh game in eight starts. Billy Williams connects for his 300th home run.
• 1973:
  • California's Nolan Ryan strikes out 12, including the side in the 1st, and hurls his first career no-hitter in beating Kansas City, 3 - 0. For C Jeff Torborg, it is his third no-hitter. SS Rudy Meoli preserves the no-no with a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch in the 8th. It is the first of a record seven no-hitters the "Ryan Express" will throw during his career, including another one in two months.
  • Milwaukee beats the Indians, 2 - 1, on Dave May's home run in the bottom of the 17th inning. It is May's tenth home run of the season, one more than he had in 1972.
• 1974 - At Riverfront Stadium, Reds pitcher Roger Nelson has his no-hitter broken up by Bobby Bonds, who clubs a two-run homer in the 8th. Chris Speier homers in the 9th for the other Giants hit and Nelson finishes with a 4 - 3 win.
• 1976:
  • Mark Fidrych wins his first major league start, a complete-game two-hit, 2 - 1 victory over the Indians. The Bird holds the Indians hitless for six innings, talks to the ball, and tamps down the mound before toeing the rubber each inning.
  • At Cincinnati, the Mets' Tom Seaver loses, 2 - 0, to the Reds as Santo Alcala pitches a four-hitter.
• 1978 - His 7th-inning, two-run homer moves Willie Stargell past the late Roberto Clemente into sole possession of second place on Pittsburgh's all-time RBI list, his total of 1,307 now trailing only Honus Wagner's 1,475. Stargell's blast takes a page out of his late mentor's book, going out to the opposite field. It concludes a four-run 7th, giving Pittsburgh starter Bert Blyleven a five-run cushion which proves inadequate as the Dodgers storm back with three-spots in the 7th and 9th, featuring, respectively, Reggie Smith's two-run home run and walk-off, two-run double.
• 1981 - The Indians' Len Barker pitches the ninth perfect game in 20th century major league history, 3 - 0 over the Blue Jays before just 7,290 fans on a rainy night at Cleveland Stadium. Last year's American League strikeout leader, Barker fans 11. It is the 11th time in major league history the feat has been accomplished, and the first time in 13 years since last being done, by Catfish Hunter in 1968.
• 1982 - Pirate pitcher Rick Rhoden makes his 12 - 9 win over the Reds a little easier when he doubles and homers in the Bucs' nine-run 3rd inning. Johnny Ray drives in five runs in the big inning. The Reds make it close with eight runs in the 8th and 9th.
• 1984 - It's a day for hitting pitchers. Good-hitting Tim Lollar leads the way by collecting all four RBIs for his team, but his Padres lose, 6 - 4. The Cards win, 9 - 1, over the Braves as Joaquin Andujar, a poor hitter, hits a grand slam. Just before his blast, Andujar looks into the Cards' dugout, then gestures to the right field stands.
• 1989:
  • The Blue Jays fire manager Jimy Williams and replace him with hitting coach Cito Gaston. Williams led the club to a 12-24 start and had several publicized run-ins with star slugger George Bell, who refused to be the designated hitter.
  • The Twins lose, 4 - 3, to the Royals and also lose Kent Hrbek, who dislocates his left shoulder diving for a ball. He'll be out till June 26th. Before the injury, Hrbek hits his seventh homer of the year.
• 1991:
  • England's Queen Elizabeth is President George Bush's guest at the A's-Oriole game played at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium.
  • The Red Sox defeat the White Sox by a 9 - 6 score in a night game at Fenway Park which takes 4 hours and 11 minutes to complete for a new American League record. The contest is nine minutes longer than the previous longest nine-inning night game.
  • Paul Molitor of the Brewers hits for the cycle in a 4 - 2 victory over Minnesota. Molitor triples in the 1st, singles in the 3rd, doubles in the 5th, and homers in the 7th.
• 1992 - The Mets' newly-acquired Bret Saberhagen pitches five innings before leaving with tendinitis in his pitching hand that will effectively sideline him for the rest of the year. He will not win another game this year following today's 4 - 1 decision over the Dodgers.
• 1993:
  • In Milwaukee, Cleveland starter Charles Nagy leaves the game with a shoulder injury after pitching to just two batters. Nagy will go on the disabled list in two days and undergo surgery on June 29th.
  • The Montreal Expos retire Rusty Staub's uniform number 10 prior to the game with the Mets.
• 1994 - Six Florida Marlins pitchers combine to shut out the Cubs, 3 - 0. Starter Chris Hammond gets credit for the victory.
• 1995 - Ramon Martinez, Rudy Seanez and Todd Worrell combine on a one-hitter as the Dodgers shut out the Pirates, 4 - 0, to move within two games of Colorado for the lead in the NL West.
• 1996:
  • The Mariners spot the Yankees four runs, then hammer starter Jimmy Key and five other pitchers for 19 hits to win, 10 - 5. Seven Mariners collect two or more hits, and Edgar Martinez drives in four runs. A wild Key takes his fifth straight loss, while Yankee reliever Mariano Rivera records four outs to stretch his runless innings to 21 2/3. The Yanks will place Key on the disabled list.
  • After a two-hour delay in Milwaukee because of fog, Frank Thomas leads the way with six RBI as the White Sox bang the Brewers, 20 - 8. This ties a 1975 mark for the most runs given up by Milwaukee in a game. The Sox, with 21 hits, score six runs in the 2nd and another six in the 6th.
  • Mo Vaughn cracks two of Boston's four home runs, and the Red Sox score in each of the first seven innings, to clip the Angels, 17 - 6. Mike Stanley matches Mo's four RBI.
  • Denny Neagle, allowing four hits in seven innings, wins his fifth straight game to give Pittsburgh a 3 - 0 win over the Braves. The Braves have now been shut out five times, one more than all of last year. The Braves lose more than the game when OF David Justice dislocates his right shoulder swinging at a pitch in the 2nd inning. The shoulder has never healed from an injury last year, and Justice will undergo surgery that will sideline him for the year.
  • The Yankees outbid four other American teams and sign Japanese P Katsuhiro Maeda to a $1.5 million contract. The Yanks obtain the fastballer from the Seibu Lions for more than $350,000. Maeda, who has his hair dyed orange, was 0-2 with the Lions from 1993 through 1995, but refused to sign for the 1996 season unless he was traded to a U.S. team.
• 1997 - The Chicago Cubs hit four triples - three in the same inning - to beat the visiting Padres, 8 - 2. The Cubs score four runs in the 7th off Tim Scott as Brian McRae, Doug Glanville and Sammy Sosa all triple.
• 1998 - In one of the biggest trades in recent years, the Dodgers send All-Star C Mike Piazza and 3B Todd Zeile to the Florida Marlins in exchange for outfielders Gary Sheffield and Jim Eisenreich, C Charles Johnson, 3B Bobby Bonilla and P Manuel Barrios.
• 1999:
  • Rangers P Esteban Loaiza breaks his hand when a car door slams on it. He's out indefinitely.
  • When SS Alex Arias of the Philadelphia Phillies snags Mike Piazza's line drive in the 6th inning, he starts the Phillies' 30th franchise triple play and their tenth against a team from New York City. It is just the second triple play turned in Veterans Stadium. Arias has participated in two triple plays for the Phils; he initiated one last season against the San Francisco Giants. The Mets still win, 9 - 7.
  • Marcel Joost becomes the first Hoofdklasse player to get 1,000 career hits. It will be 12 years before another player, Dirk van 't Klooster, also reaches that level.
• 2001 - The Brewers pound out 22 hits as they defeat the Phillies, 14 - 10. The Brewskis almost blow an eight-run lead before going ahead in the 10th inning on Richie Sexson's double. Tyler Houston gets five hits, including a double, for Milwaukee, while Devon White hits a grand slam.
• 2002 - Astros bench coach Tony Pena is named manager of the Royals replacing interim skipper John Mizerock, who had taken over the reins when Tony Muser was fired on April 29th. Buck Showalter and Bucky Dent were rumored to be candidates for the position.
• 2003 - The Red Sox play before a sellout crowd at Fenway Park. They will continue to do so for almost a decade, breaking the record for consecutive sellouts (held by the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field) on September 8, 2008. The streak will not end until April of 2013.
• 2005 - For the first time this season, the White Sox do not lead in a game as they are beaten by the Orioles, 6 - 2. The streak of being ahead in 37 straight games establishes a major league record from the beginning of a season and ties the 1934 Yankees and the 1942 Cardinals for the third-longest span in major league history.
• 2007 - Jesse Litsch sets a new Toronto Blue Jays record for the longest appearance in a debut, going 8 2/3 innings and allowing only one run on four hits.
• 2008 - The Indians beat the Athletics, 4 - 2. The Cleveland starting pitchers have a consecutive scoreless innings streak of 44 1/3 before Aaron Laffey's throwing error scores Bobby Crosby in the 2nd. It is the longest such streak since the 1974 Orioles starters had 54 straight goose eggs. The most recent Cleveland staff to match the feat was the 1948 Indians, who had 47 in a row.
• 2009:
  • Ryan Raburn and Brandon Inge hit grand slams as the Tigers defeat Oakland, 14 - 1. It is the first time that Detroit has hit two grand slams in one game since Jim Northrup did it all by himself on June 24, 1968.
  • Tampa Bay comes back from a 7 - 0 deficit to beat the Indians, 8 - 7. The Rays start their comeback with three runs in the 4th, tie it on Ben Zobrist's solo home run in the 8th and seal the win when B.J. Upton hits a walk-off blast to lead off the 9th inning off Luis Vizcaino. It it the biggest comeback in team history.
  • The LG Twins beat the Seoul Heroes, 22 - 17, to set a new Korea Baseball Organization record for combined runs in a game. Other records set included most hits (40), homers (11) and total bases (84) as well as most runs scored by a losing team. Roberto Petagine hits a grand slam for LG, while Jin-young Lee and Jae-kyun Hwang each hit three-run homers, Lee for the winners and Hwang for Seoul. Ji-man Song drives in seven for the losers.
  • The Uni-President Lions top the Sinon Bulls, 9 - 6. Bulls 3B Wilton Veras extends his hitting streak to 24 games by going 1 for 3, breaking Gary Burnham's Chinese Professional Baseball League record for a foreigner.
• 2010:
  • The Cincinnati Reds defeat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4 - 3, in the annual Civil Rights Game, that honors those who have worked for racial equality in the country. For the occasion, both teams sport their 1947 uniforms. Skip Schumaker is thrown out at the plate by a relay from LF Chris Heisey to SS Orlando Cabrera to C Ramon Hernandez to end the game. The Reds' Mike Leake, in his first professional season, is now 4-0.
  • Dodgers RF Andre Ethier, who leads or is tied for the lead in all three National League Triple Crown categories, fractures a finger in batting practice and will be out indefinitely.
  • The Tampa Bay Rays release designated hitter Pat Burrell, after his average falls to .202. A key member of the Phillies' World Championship team in 2008, Burrell never got his bat going in a season-and-a-half with the Rays, hitting a combined .218 with 16 home runs. To replace him, the Rays promote veteran Hank Blalock from the Durham Bulls.
• 2011:
  • The Braves defeat the Phillies, 3 - 2, in the annual Civil Rights Game at Turner Field. Both Phillies runs are the result of John Mayberry, Jr.'s 6th-inning homer, but Dan Uggla scores all three Atlanta runs, the game-winner coming on a solo homer off Roy Halladay in the 8th inning.
  • The red-hot José Bautista slams three more home runs, bringing his major league-leading total to 16, helping Toronto to an 11 - 3 drubbing of the Twins at Target Field. The Jays have now won five straight; for its part, Minnesota has lost 14 of 17 and has the worst record in baseball.
  • The Red Sox beat the Yankees, 7 - 5, at New Yankee Stadium, to complete a three-game sweep and bring their record to .500 for the first time after starting the year 0-6. Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz and Jarrod Saltalamacchia homer for the Sox. The Yankees have now lost nine of their last 12 as the standings in the AL East are completely bunched up, with all five teams within 3 1/2 games of each other.
• 2012:
  • The White Sox are ahead, 6 - 0, in the top of the 6th inning when the Tigers' bats get to work. Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Raburn and Austin Jackson all homer in an eight-run frame, as Detroit wins, 10 - 8. The Tigers get a scare in the bottom of the 9th, however, when closer Jose Valverde retires the first two Sox hitters, then begins to feel tightness in his back; he gives up a pair of hits and has to leave the game. Veteran Octavio Dotel steps in, and while he gives up a two-run double to Alexei Ramirez, he retires Dayan Viciedo to end the game and pick up his first save as a Tiger. He has now recorded a save for nine of the record 13 teams for which he has pitched.
  • Using his sinker almost exclusively, Derek Lowe records his first shutout in nearly seven years as he beats the Twins, 5 - 0, on a six-hitter. He is the first pitcher to throw a shutout without recording a strikeout since Scott Erickson in 2002. Now pitching for the Indians, Lowe led the National League in losses last season, but is reborn this year with a record of 6-1.
• 2013:
  • Zack Greinke makes a successful return to the mound after breaking his collarbone in a scuffle on April 11th. He gives up only one run in 5 1/3 innings and drives in a run himself as the Dodgers defeat the Nationals, 3 - 1.
  • Jeff Samardzija wins for the first time since Opening Day and hits a two-run homer off Jon Garland in the 2nd in leading the Cubs to a 6 - 3 victory over the Rockies.
  • The 2013 Salón de la Fama balloting results are announced. Long-time Mexican League pitching star Jesús Ríos easily takes home the most votes. Joining him in winning entry to the Salón de la Fama are Cornelio García, one of the top contact hitters in LMB history, 1960s-1970s pitchers Juan Suby and Alfredo Mariscal, and umpire Jesús Monter.
• 2014:
  • Johnny Cueto shuts out the Padres on three hits as the Reds win, 5 - 0. Cueto has now pitched at least seven innings and given up two runs or less in all nine of his starts this season; to find a pitcher with a longer such streak to start a year, one has to go all the way back to 1909 when Harry Krause did it for ten games for the Philadelphia Athletics in the heart of the deadball era.
  • In his first major league outing, Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom does something no other member of the pitching staff has been able to do yet this season: get a hit. His 3rd-inning single off Chase Whitley of the Yankees breaks a record 0-for-64 drought by Mets pitchers at the plate this season. DeGrom, who had been an infielder his first couple of years in college before becoming a pitcher, also pitches very well, allowing one run in seven innings, but is a hard-luck loser, 1 - 0, as Whitley, Dellin Betances, Adam Warren and David Robertson combine on a three-hit shutout. Whitley, who is also making his big league debut, gives up no runs in 4 2/3 innings and also collects his first hit, off deGrom.
• 2015 - The smokestacks at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, OH get a little hotter than expected, as a fire breaks out during tonight's Reds game against the Giants. Firemen control the blaze while the game continues and no one is hurt.
• 2016 - Emotions are still running high between the Blue Jays and Rangers, who met in a hard-fought Division Series last year. Today, things boil over in the 8th inning, when after being plunked by Matt Bush, Jose Bautista slides hard into second baseman Rougned Odor, Odor reacts by punching Bautista in the jaw, triggering a brawl that leads to four ejections: the two main protagonists, the Jays' Josh Donaldson and Texas coach Steve Buechele. Shortly afterwards, Jays P Jesse Chavez is tossed for throwing at Rangers DH Prince Fielder, leading to the ejection of coach DeMarlo Hale as well (Jays manager John Gibbons and coach Tim Leiper had been thrown out back in the 3rd inning). In the end, Texas wins the game, 7 - 6, with Bush earning his first career victory. On May 17th, MLB will hand out an eight-game suspension and a $5,000 fine to Odor, while Chavez and Gibbons get three-game suspensions, and Bautista, Leiper and Rangers SS Elvis Andrus one game each. Various other participants are issued fines.
• 2018:
  • Two days after being sidelined by a broken bone in his hand, 2B Robinson Cano of the Mariners is suspended for 80 days for testing positive for a banned substance in violation of Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
  • The Padres remain the only franchise in the majors never to have seen one of their pitchers throw a no-hitter, as the latest bid, by Jordan Lyles, falls short against the Rockies. He retires 22 straight batters, the last being a strikeout of Carlos Gonzalez to open the 8th inning, but sees his dream snapped when Trevor Story follows with a single to left. The Padres win, 4 - 0, and many believe the team has been cursed since July 21, 1970, when manager Preston Gomez took the fateful decision of lifting Clay Kirby for a pinch-hitter after allowing a run but no hit through eight innings against the Mets, only to see reliever Jack Baldschun allow two runs on three hits in the 9th to spoil the bid. Only two San Diego pitchers have made it as far as the 9th inning without allowing a hit since that day.
• 2019 - Pitcher Edwin Jackson makes history by playing for his 14th team when he starts today's game for the Blue Jays against the Giants. He was tied with Octavio Dotel for the record. Jackson is not involved in the decision as Toronto loses the game, 4 - 3.
• 2021:
  • The Dodgers are dealt a big blow when star SS Corey Seager suffers a fractured hand when hit by a pitch from Ross Detwiler of the Marlins. The Dodgers' promising start has been derailed by a number of injuries as they now find themselves in third place in the NL West; the injury comes on the same day that the Dodgers sign veteran slugger Albert Pujols, who has just been released by the crosstown Angels.
  • The Rays pull off a couple of trades, sending reliever Hunter Strickland to the Angels and IF Yoshi Tsutsugo to the Dodgers, both in return for future considerations. The Rays need to make room for the return of 1B Ji-Man Choi and pitchers Michael Wacha and Chris Archer, who are coming off the injured list.
  • In Jablonec Blesk’s initial year of play in the Czech Republic’s top professional league, Jimmy Smiley strikes out four in two innings of work against Olympia Blansko to earn the franchise’s first Extraliga save.
• 2022 - The Pirates defeat the Reds, 1 - 0, in spite of Hunter Greene (7 1/3 innings) and Art Warren (2/3 inning) keeping them hitless. They score their run in the bottom of the 8th when Rodolfo Castro draws a one-out walk. Greene then issues another walk to Michael Perez before giving way to Warren, who in turn walks Ben Gamel to load the bases. Ke'Bryan Hayes then hits into a force out to second base, but the Reds are unable to complete a double play. Three Pirates pitchers limit the Reds to four hits.

Births

• 1845 - William Medart, umpire (d. 1913)
• 1855 - Harry Salisbury, pitcher (d. 1933)
• 1856 - Fred Goldsmith, pitcher (d. 1939)
• 1858 - Jack Corcoran, catcher (d. 1935)
• 1860 - Tip O'Neill, outfielder (d. 1915)
• 1870 - Jack Tighe, minor league infielder and manager (d. 1942)
• 1879 - C.B. Burns, pinch hitter (d. 1968)
• 1881 - Emil Leber, infielder (d. 1924)
• 1884 - Rihachi Mizuno, sporting good company founder; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1970)
• 1885 - Mike Malloy, minor league outfielder and manager (d. 1952)
• 1885 - Sailor Stroud, pitcher (d. 1970)
• 1888 - Steve Yerkes, infielder (d. 1971)
• 1890 - Joe Kilhullen, catcher (d. 1922)
• 1890 - Harry Smith, catcher (d. 1922)
• 1890 - Ben Spencer, outfielder (d. 1970)
• 1890 - Claude Thomas, pitcher (d. 1946)
• 1891 - Karl Meister, outfielder (d. 1967)
• 1893 - Grace Comiskey, owner (d. 1956)
• 1893 - Sam Fishburn, infielder (d. 1965)
• 1893 - Jack Kotzelnick, minor league pitcher (d. 1952)
• 1894 - Eddie Stumpf, minor league catcher and manager (d. 1978)
• 1895 - Joe Evans, outfielder (d. 1953)
• 1895 - Isidro Fabré, pitcher/outfielder (d. ????)
• 1895 - Prudencio Martínez, pitcher (d. ????)
• 1895 - Jimmy Smith, infielder (d. 1974)
• 1905 - Chet Falk, pitcher (d. 1982)
• 1907 - Ed Baecht, pitcher (d. 1957)
• 1907 - Lloyd Bruce, pitcher (d. 1988)
• 1911 - Howie Storie, catcher (d. 1968)
• 1913 - Hal Doerr, minor league catcher (d. 1983)
• 1914 - Jimmy Wasdell, outfielder (d. 1983)
• 1915 - Julius Osley, pitcher (d. 1968)
• 1916 - Eddie Dixon, pitcher (d. 1993)
• 1919 - Shoichi Kunihisa, NPB infielder (d. 1945)
• 1919 - Caroll Peterson, minor league outfielder and manager (d. 1994)
• 1919 - Ed Wright, pitcher (d. 1995)
• 1923 - Dale Matthewson, pitcher (d. 1984)
• 1926 - Fred Baczewski, pitcher (d. 1976)
• 1926 - Jimmy Williams, coach, Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 2016)
• 1927 - Michael Fandozzi, minor league infielder and manager (d. 2012)
• 1933 - Carol Habben, AAGPBL outfielder (d. 1997)
• 1935 - James Stillwell, owner (d. 2014)
• 1936 - Robert Smith, college coach (d. 2021)
• 1938 - Al McBean, pitcher (d. 2024)
• 1945 - Makoto Fujiwara, NPB pitcher
• 1946 - Yoshio Abe, NPB outfielder (d. 2017)
• 1946 - Junichi Ikeda, NPB outfielder
• 1948 - Yutaka Enatsu, NPB pitcher
• 1948 - Billy North, outfielder
• 1948 - Fumio Takahashi, NPB outfielder
• 1949 - Steve Dunning, pitcher
• 1950 - Takashi Yamaguchi, NPB pitcher
• 1952 - Rick Waits, pitcher
• 1953 - George Brett, infielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer
• 1954 - Ki-man Bang, KBO pitcher
• 1958 - Mike Mahoski, minor league pitcher
• 1962 - Atsuhiro Motonishi, NPB outfielder
• 1965 - Jeong-sik Ko, KBO catcher
• 1965 - Isidro Marquez, pitcher
• 1965 - Olen Parker, college coach
• 1965 - Dave Turgeon, minor league infielder and manager
• 1967 - Rolando Petit, scout
• 1967 - John Smoltz, pitcher; All-Star; Hall of Fame
• 1969 - Takayoshi Eguchi, NPB pitcher
• 1969 - Hideki Irabu, pitcher (d. 2011)
• 1970 - Scott Watkins, pitcher
• 1972 - Brent Crowther, minor league pitcher
• 1973 - Allen Osborne, college coach
• 1974 - A.J. Hinch, catcher
• 1975 - Graham Koonce, infielder
• 1975 - Nikolai Petrov, Russian national team pitcher
• 1975 - Yoon-ho Shin, KBO pitcher
• 1975 - Steve Woodard, pitcher
• 1976 - Michael Bishop, drafted outfielder
• 1976 - Eric DuBose, pitcher
• 1976 - Jason Karnuth, pitcher
• 1976 - Dan McKinley, minor league outfielder
• 1976 - Tyler Walker, pitcher
• 1977 - Sean McGowan, minor league infielder
• 1978 - Robert Aaron, drafted pitcher
• 1978 - Clayton Andrews, pitcher
• 1978 - Jeff Haase, minor league player
• 1978 - Guillermo Rodriguez, catcher
• 1980 - Josh Beckett, pitcher; All-Star
• 1980 - Masaaki Koike, NPB outfielder
• 1980 - Carlos Mori, Venezuelan national team pitcher
• 1980 - Adi Susanto, Indonesian national team infielder
• 1981 - Chia-Wei Chen, CPBL infielder
• 1981 - Justin Morneau, infielder; All-Star
• 1982 - Rafael Perez, pitcher
• 1983 - Jorge Araiza, minor league infielder
• 1983 - Keith Beauregard, coach
• 1983 - Clint Sammons, catcher
• 1983 - Rickey Thomas, First Division infielder
• 1984 - Jean-Baptiste Couton, Division Elite outfielder
• 1984 - Zach Hammes, minor league pitcher
• 1984 - Kevin Roberts, minor league pitcher
• 1984 - Yuriy Shvets, Ukrainian national team outfielder
• 1984 - Everett Teaford, pitcher
• 1985 - Jim Adduci, outfielder
• 1985 - Joseph Esposito, minor league pitcher
• 1986 - Brandon Barnes, outfielder
• 1986 - Kenji Hagiwara, Division Elite outfielder
• 1986 - Kyle Shelton, minor league infielder
• 1986 - Steve Smith, minor league player
• 1987 - David Adams, infielder
• 1987 - Michael Brantley, outfielder; All-Star
• 1987 - Chih-Hao Chang, CPBL outfielder
• 1987 - Brian Dozier, infielder; All-Star
• 1987 - Claudia Kranendonk, Dutch women's national team catcher
• 1987 - Chuang Na, minor league outfielder
• 1989 - Luis Castillo, minor league outfielder
• 1989 - Cody Crutcher, college coach
• 1989 - Devin Shines, minor league outfielder
• 1990 - Yasniel González, Cuban league outfielder
• 1991 - Esmerling De La Rosa, minor league pitcher
• 1991 - Rafael Ortega, outfielder
• 1992 - Elviz Lara, Bolivian national team outfielder
• 1992 - Yao-Tsung Ou, CPBL pitcher
• 1992 - Justin Seager, minor league infielder
• 1993 - Trevor Richards, pitcher
• 1994 - Joe Cronin, minor league infielder
• 1995 - Juan Montes, minor league outfielder
• 1995 - Tomomi Nakada, Japanese women's national team outfielder
• 1996 - Alex Verdugo, outfielder
• 1998 - Osvaldo Hernandez, minor league pitcher
• 1998 - Gregg Mareels, First Division pitcher
• 1999 - Luis Oviedo, pitcher
• 2002 - Chieh-Sen Ma, CPBL infielder

Deaths

• 1900 - John Traffley, outfielder (b. 1862)
• 1924 - Ed Swartwood, outfielder; umpire (b. 1859)
• 1928 - Joseph Lannin, owner (b. 1866)
• 1935 - Blake Mapledoram, umpire (b. 1859)
• 1941 - William Lackey, pitched (b. 1870)
• 1942 - Larry Milton, pitcher (b. 1879)
• 1946 - Ed Mayer, infielder (b. 1865)
• 1959 - Jake Hewitt, pitcher (b. 1870)
• 1958 - Archie Stewart, pitcher (b. 1886)
• 1959 - Fred Johnston, infielder (b. 1899)
• 1961 - Tommy Gorman, minor league owner (b. 1886)
• 1961 - John Taff, pitcher (b. 1890)
• 1964 - Harley Boss, infielder (b. 1908)
• 1968 - Bill Drescher, catcher (b. 1921)
• 1969 - Shag Shaughnessy, outfielder (b. 1883)
• 1970 - Ed Gerner, pitcher (b. 1897)
• 1971 - Goose Goslin, outfielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1900)
• 1972 - John Milligan, pitcher (b. 1904)
• 1972 - Dixie Parker, catcher (b. 1895)
• 1974 - Lou North, pitcher (b. 1891)
• 1975 - Johnny Gooch, catcher (b. 1897)
• 1978 - Herman Dunlap, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1908)
• 1979 - Jerry Akers, pitcher (b. 1887)
• 1984 - Nick Goulish, outfielder (b. 1917)
• 1986 - Johnny Gottselig, AAGPBL manager (b. 1906)
• 1991 - Ken Jones, pitcher (b. 1903)
• 1994 - Showboat Fisher, outfielder (b. 1899)
• 1998 - Packy Rogers, infielder (b. 1913)
• 2005 - Daniel Rourke, minor league pitcher (b. 1918)
• 2013 - Fred White, announcer (b. 1936)
• 2016 - Ken Ramos, outfielder (b. 1967)
• 2017 - Bob Kuzava, pitcher (b. 1923)
• 2018 - Jo-Hui Feng, CPBL pitcher (b. 1978)
• 2020 - Dennis Pugh, college coach (b. 1946)
• 2021 - Frans Mäkel, Hoofdklasse player (b. 1942)