September 2
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Today in Baseball History |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on September 2.
Events[edit]
- 1880 - Using three towers illuminating light 100 feet above the playing field, teams from the department stores of Jordan Marsh and R.H. White stage the first night game in history.
- 1889 - In the afternoon game of a Labor Day doubleheader in Boston, Hardy Richardson hits a leadoff homer and P John Clarkson (36-13) makes it stand up for a 1 - 0 win.
- 1901 - Detroit sweeps a Labor Day doubleheader from Washington, picking up an American League record 21 infield assists in the second game. This is still the AL record. SS Kid Elberfeld has 12 assists to back up Roscoe Miller.
- 1902 - Cleveland pounds the Orioles, 23 - 7, collecting 23 hits off Bird pitcher Jack Katoll, a ten-game winner with the White Sox last season. Katoll goes the route.
- 1903 - Christy Mathewson walks three Superbas in the 1st inning and all score as Brooklyn beats their cross-town rivals, 4 - 1. Bill Reidy allows no Giants to score until the 9th.
- 1908 - In Philadelphia, Frank Corridon goes all the way to defeat Brooklyn, 2 - 1, in 17 innings. Corridon does not walk a batter.
- 1909:
- Boston's Cliff Curtis pitches his first major league game and beats the Pirates, 1 - 0.
- Detroit completes a sweep of every series against visiting eastern teams, winning its 14th in a row to regain first place by a half game en route to its third straight pennant.
- 1912:
- In a rainy doubleheader at the Polo Grounds, Red Sox ace Joe Wood tops the Highlanders in the nitecap, 1 - 0, for his 30th win and his 13th straight victory. It is Wood's eighth shutout and second in a row. Boston takes the opening squeaker, 2 - 1 to finish the year in New York with ten wins in ten tries. With three wins last year, and five wins in their first five road games with New York in 1913, Boston ties the major league record for most consecutive wins on the road against one team (18).
- Walter Johnson goes ten innings against the A's, who beat the Big Train, 9 - 7.
- Brooklyn's Tex Erwin cracks a 9th-inning homer off Grover Cleveland Alexander to tie and the Superbas tip the Phils, 2 - 1 in 11 innings. In the nitecap, Eppa Rixey outpitches Nap Rucker to give the Quakers a 2 - 1 win in 12 innings.
- At Boston, Christy Mathewson wins both games for the Giants in a 5 - 2, 6 - 1, sweep of the Braves. In the opener, Matty relieves Rube Marquard in the 9th with the score at 2 - 2 and tosses three shutout innings. Larry Doyle ends it with a three-run homer in the 12th. Matty coasts to his 19th win in the nitecap after the Giants chase Ed Doheny with five runs in the 3rd.
- 1914 - The National League lead seesaws. Beaten by Brooklyn, 6 - 2, while the Braves win twice, the Giants drop out of first place for the first time since May 30th. Tomorrow they will sweep two from Brooklyn and retake the top spot.
- 1915:
- Babe Ruth is hitless at bat, but pitches the Red Sox to an 8 - 3 win over the host Athletics. He strikes out five.
- The visiting Phillies sweep two from the Giants, winning, 3 - 1 and 2 - 0. Jeff Tesreau and Christy Mathewson take the losses, while Grover Alexander is the shutout winner in the nitecap.
- 1917 - The first-place White Sox take a pair from the Tigers, winning, 7 - 2 and 6 - 5. The Sox bunch four in the 1st and three more in the 3rd to make the shine ball's leading proponent, Ed Cicotte, a winner over Willie Mitchell. In the nitecap, the Sox snap a tie in the 9th when Eddie Collins, with one stolen base already, swipes second and third base after a walk. Joe Jackson's sac fly brings him home.
- 1918:
- In Washington, the Senators end the year on a light note, by splitting with the A's. Philadelphia wins the opener and the Nats take the nitecap, 8 - 3. The second game is Washington's traditional year-end laugher, and 43-year-old coach Nick Altrock finishes in relief, one of his five appearance this season. Altrock bats in the bottom of the 8th and Wickey McAvoy, a catcher playing first for the day, comes in to throw. Altrock finally lines one of his lobs into the outfield, rambles around the bases and neglects to touch second and third base. Ump Billy Evans calls Altrock safe at home for the only homer by a Senator hit at home this season. For Altrock, it's been 14 years since his last round-tripper. The game ends with General Peyton March, Army Chief of Staff, throwing out the last ball; he'll toss out the first next year.
- Brooklyn ends the abbreviated season by splitting a doubleheader with the Phils, losing the first game, 4 - 2, before taking the nitecap, 5 - 3.
- 1919 - The National Commission recommends a best-of-nine World Series. The lengthier series is seen as a sign of greed and is abandoned after three years.
- 1920 - Shaken by the possible effects of the scandal surrounding baseball, club owners begin a series of meetings to reform the game. Albert D. Lasker, a Chicago advertising man and minority stockholder, of the Cubs, proposes a three-man board of non-baseball men, with the chairman to be paid $25,000 year. Among the names mentioned: Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, former president William Howard Taft, General George Pershing, Senator Hiram Johnson, General Leonard Wood, and ex-treasury secretary William McAdoo.
- 1921 - In Cincinnati, the Cubs' Grover Alexander outpitches his former teammate Eppa Rixey to win, 7 - 0. Chicago is mired in seventh place.
- 1922:
- At Detroit, the Browns win their second in a row over the Tigers, 5 - 4. Hub Pruett allows three hits in four innings to win in relief. George Sisler hits in his 30th consecutive game.
- Behind Alex Ferguson and Bill Piercy, the Red Sox twice shut out the Senators, winning, 3 - 0 and 1 - 0.
- Carl Mays wins his American League record 23rd straight game over the Athletics, although the Mackmen knock him out of the box for the first time in his win streak. He leaves with one out in the 6th and the Yankees winning, 7 - 2. New York prevails, 11 - 6, in the first game, but the A's win the nitecap, 4 - 0.
- 1925 - After losing the first game by a 6 - 3 score to the Phils, the Giants unload in a nitecap, a 24 - 9 shelling. The hits keep coming - 30 to be exact in a record 58 at-bats - at the Baker Bowl. Four New Yorkers each collect four hits apiece, while a major league record-tying ten batters collect two hits each. Doc Farrell (2 for 3) who takes over for Travis Jackson at short in the 6th is the tenth. Ex-Phil Bob Meusel drives home nine runs, while rookie Fred Fitzsimmons allows 14 hits, including homers by Cy Williams, Johnny Mokan and Hal Carlson in the 8th frame. Phils starter Art Decatur is the loser.
- 1926 - In the first game of a twinbill between Chicago and St. Louis, Grover Alexander exacts revenge on the Cubs, whipping them, 2 - 0. Charlie Root is the loser. The Cards take the nitecap, 9 - 1.
- 1927 - The Cardinals bring Rabbit Maranville back from the minors, buying him from Rochester (International League).
- 1928 - The Senators top the Yankees, 2 - 0, as Firpo Marberry does it all, shutting down the Yanks and driving in both Nat runs. Bob Meusel's hit streak is stopped at six straight. The New York lead is now 1 1/2 games over the A's, winners of an exhibition game in Williamsport, PA.
- 1929 - The Cubs beat the Cards twice, 11 - 7 and 12 - 10, before 81,000 fans at Wrigley Field. A crowd of 38,000 sees the morning game and 43,000 watch the afternoon game. Rogers Hornsby has two home runs and Hack Wilson has one.
- 1932:
- The Yankees keep their scoring streak alive by scoring in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Senators, 1 - 0. Lou Gehrig triples off Firpo Marberry to score Babe Ruth.
- In St. Louis, the Cubs' win streak reaches 13 as Kiki Cuyler's fifth homer in six games leads the way to an 8 - 5 victory. Mark Koenig adds a round-tripper for Chicago.
- Lew Krausse of the A's shuts out the Red Sox, 15 - 0. Five days later Krausse will injure his arm in an exhibition game against the Stroudsburg Poconos and though only 20 years old, his big league career will be over. In 1961, Lew Krausse, Jr. will pitch a shutout for the Kansas City A's in his major league debut, giving the Krausses (father and son) back-to-back shutouts twenty-nine years apart.
- 1935:
- With the Cubs splitting two with the seventh-place Reds at Wrigley Field, Chicago is just two and a half games back of the Cards. Chicago wins, 3 - 1, in the opener as Lon Warneke tops Tony Freitas, then lose, 4 - 2, to Gene Schott. Bill Lee takes the loss.
- Veteran P Dick Coffman (5-11) and Browns manager Rogers Hornsby get into a shoving match shortly after their train leaves St. Louis for a road trip. Coffman is cut from the team and put off the train at Edwardsville, IL, and will not play again this year.
- The first-place Cards open a 30-game home stand by sweeping a Labor Day doubleheader from the Pirates. Paul Dean wins his 16th game, 4 - 3, in the opener, then Dizzy cops his 23rd in the nitecap, 4 - 1. The Cards are two games up on the rained-out Giants.
- 1937 - For the second time this season, the first two batters in a game - the White Sox's Boze Berger and Mike Kreevich - hit home runs.
- 1939:
- Nine players hit homers, as the Giants beat the Dodgers, 10 - 6, in the opener of a doubleheader at the Polo Grounds, falling one short of the record for two teams in one game set in 1923.
- When Babe Dahlgren strikes out while being given an intentional walk and George Selkirk and Joe Gordon try to steal home on successive pitches by trotting to the plate, Red Sox fans throw a barrage of garbage onto the playing field at Fenway Park to protest the Yankees making deliberate outs to take advantage of the 6:30 Sunday curfew. Umpire Cal Hubbard rules the Boston crowd's action makes it impossible to continue the game and awards the game as a forfeit to the Yankees with a 9 - 0 official score.
- 1948 - Commissioner Happy Chandler fines the Pirates $2,000 for violating the National League bonus rule. Pittsburgh signed M.L. Lynch as a scout while offering his son Danny Lynch a $6,000-a-year contract. Chandler interprets this as an attempt to influence the young second baseman's decision. Danny is declared a free agent and signs with the Cubs.
- 1950:
- Phil Cavarretta leads off the 9th with a single, the Cubs' lone hit against the Reds' Ewell Blackwell. The Whip strikes out ten in winning, 5 - 1.
- At Philadelphia, Mel Parnell registers his ninth straight win over the A's as the Red Sox win, 9 - 3.
- 1951:
- Tony Ponce of the Phoenix Senators (Southwest International League) hurls his 38th consecutive complete game in beating Yuma, 4 - 2, for his 25th win of the season.
- Ken Raffensberger fires a one-hitter at the Cubs to win, 7 - 0, and gain a split for the Reds. The only hit is a 3rd-inning scratch single by Eddie Miksis that arguably would have rolled foul. Bob Rush shuts out the Reds in the nitecap to top Howie Fox, 3 - 0.
- The Cleveland Indians' Harry Simpson, Al Rosen and Luke Easter hit consecutive home runs in the 1st inning, as Cleveland beats the Browns, 5 - 1.
- Don Mueller hits two more home runs, giving him five in two days, to tie a major league mark. His second homer, again off Phil Haugstad, comes a minute after he learns he is a new father. Bobby Thomson adds his 25th homer and Jim Hearn beats the Dodgers, 11 - 2. After Mueller's second homer, Haugstad decks Thomson and hits Willie Mays with a pitch, evoking a warning from umpire Al Barlick. Barlick had earlier thumbed Ralph Branca and Dick Williams in the 5th inning, Don Newcombe in the 6th when he objected to a call, and Jackie Robinson and rookie Clem Labine. Chuck Dressen then clears his bench to avoid any more thumbings. The Giants move to five games behind Brooklyn.
- 1952:
- Yankee hurlers Tom Gorman and Ewell Blackwell shut out the Red Sox, 5 - 0 and 4 - 0, in a doubleheader.
- In the second game of a doubleheader, Washington's Mike Fornieles makes his major league debut and pitches a one-hit, 5 - 0 shutout against the A's.
- 1954:
- Dodger Russ Meyer beats the Cubs for the 16th consecutive time, dating back to 1950.
- Mickey Vernon of the Senators gets his 2,000th hit. He also hits his 19th home run (he will add one more before the end of the season) for a team record for left-handers. Teammate Roy Sievers also sets a team record by hitting his 23rd homer. He will also hit one more before the end of the season.
- 1955:
- After sitting out since August 7th with a broken rib, SS Alvin Dark of the Giants falls and breaks his shoulder in a game against the Phillies.
- Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle celebrate Billy Martin's return from the army; Ford throws six innings of no-hit ball against Washington before Carlos Paula spoils it in the 7th with Washington's only hit. The Yanks win, 4 - 2, as Mantle hits his 36th home run, a three-run shot. Mantle is 10 homers ahead of rivals Al Kaline and Ted Williams. New York stays a half-game behind the White Sox, who beat the third-place Indians. Billy Martin will hit .300 in September, and New York will go on a 17-6 tear to win the pennant by three games.
- Cubs middle infielder Ernie Banks sets the record for home runs hit by a shortstop by hitting his 40th dinger in a 12 - 2 rout of the Cardinals. 'Mr. Cub' will extend the record finishing this season with 44 and will hit 48 in 1958.
- 1957 - The Braves sweep the Cubs, 23 - 10 and 4 - 0. The Braves' Bob Hazle has four hits in the first game, and teammate Frank Torre scores six runs to tie the major league record.
- 1958:
- At Yankee Stadium, New York snaps a scoreless tie with Boston when Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle crash back-to-back 6th-inning homers off Dave Sisler. Mantle has hit three this year off Sisler. New York wins, 6 - 1. Mantle, with 38 homers, leads the American League. Mantle and Berra will hit back-to-back homers 12 times together, and homer in the same game 50 times before they are through.
- Minneapolis, MN approves a $9 million bond issue to expand Metropolitan Stadium to 41,000 seats. City alderman Byron Nelson predicts it is a "dead cinch" that Washington will move there.
- 1960:
- Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams homers off Senator right-hander Don Lee. At the beginning of his career Williams hit several home runs off Lee's dad, Thornton.
- Milt Pappas stops New York on three hits - two by Tony Kubek - to give Baltimore a 5 - 0 lead in the first of a three-game showdown. The Orioles now trail New York by .003.
- 1961:
- Against Detroit's Frank Lary, Roger Maris doubles and takes third base on a misplay. Mickey Mantle, hurting from a pulled muscle in his forearm, lays down a perfect drag bunt to score Roger. Maris then blasts homers his next two trips to the plate, and Elston Howard adds a three-run homer, for a 7 - 2 win.
- Milwaukee manager Chuck Dressen (71-58) is axed and executive vice president Birdie Tebbetts becomes the new skipper.
- 1962 - Stan Musial's 3,516th hit jumps him over Tris Speaker and into second place behind Ty Cobb on the all-time list, but the Mets beat the Cards, 4 - 3. Although The Man will continue on to 3,630 hits, he cannot overtake Cobb and, in time, Pete Rose and Hank Aaron will surpass him.
- 1963:
- At the Polo Grounds, Pete Rose hits the first pitch of the game from Jay Hook for a homer. It's the only score as the Reds win, 1 - 0. Jim Maloney strikes out 13 Mets in the win.
- With the Senators ahead, 5 - 3, on 4th-inning homers by Don Zimmer and Ed Brinkman, Nats starter Ed Hobaugh hits his only career home run in the same frame off Cleveland's Jerry Walker. The Tribe knocks out Hobaugh but the Senators hold on to win, 8 - 7. Hobaugh's homer comes on his last official at bat; in his one further plate appearance, he draws a walk. Hobaugh joins Buster Narum this year as the first pitchers to have more homers than wins in a year. It will be matched this century by Dave Eiland in 1992.
- 1965:
- The Cubs beat St. Louis, 5 - 3, at Wrigley Field, as Ernie Banks hits his 400th home run, a three-run shot off Curt Simmons in the 3rd. Simmons teed up the 400th home run of Willie Mays in 1963. Banks will end the season with 28 home runs and 106 RBI. Ron Santo and Billy Williams will also knock in over 100 runs, the only team with three such sluggers, but the Cubs will still finish in eighth place.
- The Twins beat the Red Sox, 8 - 7, but get little help from Bob Allison who strikes out five times.
- The Dodgers' Claude Osteen tops the Pirates, 7 - 1, beating 14-game winner Bob Veale. The Bucs will next lose a pair to the Braves to drop Pittsburgh from the race.
- Mickey Mantle hits a 1st-inning homer with two on as New York scores five runs on their way to an 8 - 1 win over the Angels. Whitey Ford is the winner.
- 1966:
- Phillies ace Jim Bunning continues his whammy over the Mets by shutting them out, 6 - 0. It's Bunning's eighth complete game in as many starts against them, and his fifth shutout. The Mets have scored a total of four runs off Bunning.
- The Pirates behind Bob Veale take over first place by topping Fergie Jenkins and the Cubs, 7 - 5, on Roberto Clemente's opposite-field upper deck home run. Besides being his 2,000th career hit, Clemente's homer is his 23rd this season, tying his career high (he'll end with 29), and gives him 101 RBI for the year, the first time he's topped 100.
- 1967:
- Washington's Bob Priddy loses his 1 - 0 lead to the Yankees when Mickey Mantle clouts a two-run pinch homer in the 8th and New York wins, 2 - 1. Mel Stottlemyre is the winner, allowing six hits and no walks. For Mantle, it is his 14th game-winning hit of the year, eight of them home runs.
- Minnesota takes the American League lead on Dave Boswell's 5 - 0 victory over Denny McLain and Detroit.
- 1968:
- In the last Pacific Coast League game played in Seattle, Jim Bouton of the Seattle Angels tops Spokane, 4 - 1.
- With Julian Javier hitting a homer in the 10th, the Cardinals defeat the Reds, 1 - 0. Bob Gibson picks up his 12th shutout and 20th win. Gary Nolan pitches the first nine innings for the Reds, with Ted Abernathy taking the loss in relief.
- 1969 - Ralph Houk signs a new three-year contract with the Yankees at $65,000 a season, the highest managerial salary in either league, and Joe Pepitone is reinstated.
- 1970:
- In the first six innings, Indians starter Sam McDowell walks six Nats batters, five intentionally. Three of the intentional passes go to Frank Howard in his first three at bats, twice when he leads off the inning. McDowell moves to 1B in the 6th inning, with two on and no outs, and Dean Chance comes in, allowing both runners to score. McDowell comes back to the mound to finish, losing 4 - 1 to Dick Bosman.
- Detroit's Gene Lamont homers in his first major league at bat, but the Red Sox this time hold the lead and beat the Tigers, 10 - 1, in the nitecap. Cal Koonce is the complete game winner, adding two RBI with his second hit of the year. The Tigers win the opener, 6 - 4, scoring two unearned runs in the 8th.
- That old black magic works for Gary Nolan as he outpitches Juan Marichal to beat the Giants, 2 - 0. Before the game Reds teammate Angel Bravo gives Nolan a rubber ball to carry during the game, assuring him that he'll pitch a low-hit game as a result. Nolan allows three hits.
- 1971:
- Sonny Siebert hits and pitches the Red Sox to a 3 - 0 win over the Orioles. Siebert hits two home runs, the last American League pitcher to do so.
- Cesar Cedeno's 200-foot fly ball falls for a grand slam, following a collision of the Dodgers' second baseman and right fielder. The Astros win, 9 - 3.
- 1972:
- Rookie Dave Downs of the Phils stops the Braves, 3 - 0, in his first major league start.
- Milt Pappas of the Cubs hurls a no-hit game in beating the Padres, 8 - 0. Pappas has a perfect game until pinch-hitter Larry Stahl walks with two outs in the 9th inning. Pappas and C Randy Hundley both say of the pitches to Stahl, "They were so close I don't know how Stahl could take them, but they were balls." Pappas later comments on the plate umpire: "he had a chance to become famous as the umpire in the twelfth perfect game in history, but he blew it." Pappas retires former Cub Garry Jestadt to finish the game.
- Coming to bat in the top of the 8th inning trailing 8 - 0, the Mets score seven runs and add another four tallies in the 9th to stun the Astros, 11 - 8. It's the Amazin's biggest come-from-behind victory in franchise history.
- 1973:
- Montreal's Hal Breeden gets two triples and two home runs in a 12 - 0 win over Philadelphia.
- The Tigers fire Billy Martin due to continuous differences with the front office.
- 1974:
- A controversial call against the Reds helps the Astros win, 4 - 3. Johnny Bench's single in the 7th scores one run and the second baserunner, Joe Morgan, is called out, negating the tying run, though replays seem to show him safe. The Cincinnati City Council will pass a resolution stating their shock and dismay at the "atrocious call."
- Boston pitchers Luis Tiant and Bill Lee each allow just one run in a Labor Day doubleheader, yet both lose games to Baltimore. Ross Grimsley and Mike Cuellar toss twin 1 - 0 shutouts.
- 1975 - Johnnie LeMaster homers in his first major league at bat for the Giants during a 7 - 3 win over the Dodgers. In 12 years and 3,191 at bats, LeMaster will hit only 22 home runs, but this first hit is a record - an inside-the-park homer. Two years ago, Brian Downing was the first player to hit his first homer inside-the-park.
- 1978 - Ken Henderson's three-run pinch homer in the 12th paces the Reds to a 6 - 3 win over the Cardinals.
- 1979 - With his 145th career pinch-hit, Dodger Manny Mota sets a major league record.
- 1981 - The Indians' John Denny stops Oakland, 2 - 0, for his second straight shutout.
- 1985 - A's Jose Canseco strikes out in his first major league at-bat.
- 1986 - The Astros and Cubs play 14 innings and use a major league record 53 players in the game.
- 1987:
- In a game in which the Astros beat the Cubs, 10 - 1, Kevin Bass becomes the first National Leaguer to homer from both sides of the plate twice in one season.
- Tom Candiotti pitches his second one-hitter of the season, but also walks seven batters and makes an error as the Indians lose to Detroit, 2 - 1. Matt Nokes' single with two out in the 8th is the Tigers' only hit.
- The parent Phillies don't find Dave Bresnahan's potato gag this week funny either, and release him. Bresnahan, hitting .149, explains, "We were 27 games out, what the hell?" Tomorrow night, their last game of the season, the Williamsport Bills will admit any fan for a $1 and a potato. On each potato, Bresnahan autographs, "this spud's for you."
- 1990 - Blue Jay Dave Stieb pitches the ninth no-hitter of the season - a major league record -, beating the Indians, 3 - 0. Stieb had previously lost three no-hit bids after two outs were recorded in the 9th.
- 1991 - Three months after an operation that replaced a vein in his arm with one from his leg, White Sox pitcher Roberto Hernández holds the Royals hitless for six innings before Bill Pecota leads off the 7th with a double, the only hit Hernandez allows in Chicago's 5 - 1 win over Kansas City. In the same game, Bo Jackson makes his miraculous return to the majors following a career-threatening football injury. He hits a sacrifice fly to drive in a run against his former team. Bo will end the year hitting .225 in 23 games, with 3 homers and 14 RBIs.
- 1992 - Phillies P Terry Mulholland sets a major league record with his 14th pick-off of the season, as he catches Pete Incaviglia of the Astros off base in the 6th inning. Houston wins the game, 3 - 2.
- 1994 - According to acting commissioner Bud Selig, September 9th is the tentative deadline for canceling the rest of the season if no agreement is reached between the owners and players in the labor conflict.
- 1996:
- David Cone makes a dramatic return to the mound after his May operation to remove an aneurysm in his pitching arm, by pitching seven no-hit innings. The Yankees beat the A's, 4 - 0, as Mariano Rivera gives up one hit to Jose Herrera in the 8th.
- Mike Greenwell of the Red Sox, who has spent much of the year on the disabled list, drives in all nine runs in Boston's ten-inning, 9 - 8 win over the Mariners. No other player has ever driven in nine or more runs for his team's total score.
- It seems like old timers day as the Cardinals whip the NL Central-leading Astros, 8 - 7. Willie McGee, playing for Ron Gant, has four hits and three RBI, while Ozzie Smith has three hits, three RBI, and four runs.
- 1997 - Trailing 12 - 7, the Rangers score six runs in the bottom of the 9th to pull out a 13 - 12 victory over the Dodgers. Juan Gonzalez and Lee Stevens each poke four hits for Texas.
- 1998:
- Sammy Sosa hits home run #56 as the Cubs defeat the Reds, 4 - 2.
- At Pro Player Stadium, Cardinal slugging first baseman Mark McGwire hits home runs #58 and #59, surpassing Jimmie Foxx, who hit 58 in 1932 and Hank Greenberg who also hit 58 six years later.
- Nomar Garciaparra's 9th-inning grand slam gives the Red Sox a 7 - 3 victory over the Mariners. Boston's slugging shortstop joins Mark McGwire as one of only five players to hit 30 homers in each of his first two seasons.
- 1999:
- Setting off a very enthusiastic ovation at Camden Yards, Cal Ripken, Jr. becomes the 29th major leaguer to hit 400 career home runs. The Oriole third baseman connects off Devil Rays right-hander Rolando Arrojo.
- Well drilling in Toronto. Starter David Wells of the Blue Jays is opposed by Bob Wells of the Minnesota Twins who strikes out Jays rookie Vernon Wells. Toronto wins, 6 - 1.
- 2000 - The White Sox defeat the Angels, 13 - 6, as C Charles Johnson drives home seven runs on a three-run homer, a three-run double, and an RBI single.
- 2001:
- In the first game of a doubleheader, New Haven pitcher Jimmy Journell makes his first Eastern League start a memorable one, tossing a no-hitter to beat Bowie. Journell, co-pitcher of the year in the Carolina League, finishes the year with a 12-game win streak.
- In a 11 - 7 loss to Columbus, Toledo gives up three runs on an unusual four-base error. With runners on first and second, catcher Dave Lindstrom pounces on a sacrifice bunt by Kary Bridges, starts to throw to third, then stops and rushes a too-high throw to first. The ball goes through the Toledo bullpen area to the fence about 60 feet from the foul pole allowing Bridges to easily circle the bases.
- With two outs and two strikes, Red Sox pinch hitter Carl Everett singles in the bottom of the 9th to break up Mike Mussina's bid for a perfect game. The Yankee right-hander beats Boston, 1 - 0, for his fourth career one-hitter.
- 2002:
- The A's defeat the Royals, 7 - 6, for their 19th straight victory to match the longest winning streak in American League history. The 1906 White Sox and the 1947 Yankees both reached 19. The streak, which will extend one more game, will be a key feature of hit movie Moneyball (2011) based on the book of the same name.
- The Cubs beat the Brewers, 17 - 4, to salvage a split in their doubleheader after Milwaukee takes the opener by a score of 4 - 2 on solo homers by Ron Belliard (2), Eric Young and Jose Hernandez. Glendon Rusch wins his eighth straight over the Cubs. Chicago P Kerry Wood ties a major-league record in the second game by fanning four Brewers in the 4th inning. Wood also homers off Andrew Lorraine, one of five gophers he serves up. Another is Sammy Sosa's 494th homer, moving him ahead of Lou Gehrig on the all-time list.
- The Dodgers pummel the Diamondbacks, 19 - 1, with only a 9th-inning score preventing them from tying the team mark for most lopsided shutout ever. The 24 hits tie the mark for the team in Los Angeles. They score eight of their runs in the 7th inning. The last hit for L.A. is the first major league homer by Dave Ross, and it comes off Mark Grace, who pitches the 9th inning.
- 2003 - In an effort to make the perception of the team younger and hipper, the Blue Jays unveil the fourth logo in the franchise's 27-year history. The new look for the 2004 season adds black and silver trimming to a newly stylized bird, while eliminating the red maple leaf backdrop and the word "Blue". The new design will prove unpopular and the Blue Jays will return to their roots within a few years.
- 2007 - In a 5 - 3 win by the Orix Buffaloes, Tuffy Rhodes and Greg LaRocca both make history. Rhodes cracks his 400th home run, the 14th player and first foreigner in Nippon Pro Baseball history to reach that mark. LaRocca is plunked for the 23rd time this year to set a new Pacific League record.
- 2009:
- The Pirates fall, 5 - 3, to the Reds. It is the first time they have been swept in Cincinnati since 1975, in the days of the Big Red Machine. On a positive note for the Bucs, Garrett Jones hits the club's 10,000th home run since Pittsburgh joined the National League in 1887.
- Alex Rodriguez pick up the 2,500th hit of his career as his Yankees defeat Baltimore, 10 - 2, to complete a sweep at Camden Yards. Eric Hinske's home run is the Bronx Bombers' 20th at the park this season, the most by a visiting team since the ballpark opened in 1992. CC Sabathia earns his American League-leading 16th win.
- 2010 - Chase Utley hits a grand slam and drives in six runs as the Phillies use a nine-run 7th inning to defeat Colorado, 12 - 11, in a make-up game for a May rainout. Both teams need to travel to Denver just for the occasion. The Rockies collect 20 hits, including a homer by Carlos Gonzalez, who hits an extra-base hit for the tenth consecutive game, but they waste a good start by Jhoulys Chacin, who gives up a single earned run in 5 1/3 innings. The Rox bullpen is ripped apart by the Phillies' bats, with Manny Delcarmen giving up four hits and four runs while retiring only one batter in his first appearance after being acquired from Boston. Besides Utley, Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth hit homers for Philly, while Chris Iannetta and Dexter Fowler join Gonzalez for Colorado.
- 2011:
- The Giants begin a key series with the Diamondbacks with a 6 - 2 victory. Carlos Beltran goes 4 for 4 with a homer and Cody Ross homers as well while Matt Cain bests Joe Saunders. The win pulls San Francisco to within five games of Arizona.
- The Rangers crush the Red Sox, 10 - 0, to record a team-record 23rd shutout on the season. Derek Holland gives up only a pair of singles in seven innings, and relievers Merkin Valdez and Mike Gonzalez toss a hitless inning each to complete the job. The Rangers score six runs against loser Andrew Miller in the first two innings and never look back. The Rangers have scored an average of 7.52 runs per game in Holland's starts, giving him the best run support in the majors, and he is now 13-5.
- 2012:
- The Orioles move to within two games of the Yankees with an 8 - 3 win at New Yankee Stadium. Starter Chris Tillman has to leave the game after only three innings because of stiffness in his elbow, but the O's rally behind Mark Reynolds, who hits two homers and drives in four runs; they then add three more runs in the 8th, as the Yankees use five pitchers in the inning in a vain attempt to keep within striking distance. Randy Wolf is the winner in his first game for the Birds.
- Justin Verlander allows a homer to lead-off hitter Alejandro de Aza, but then settles down, as the Tigers win, 4 - 2, over the White Sox. They are now even with Chicago atop the AL Central. Delmon Young hits a three-run homer off Chris Sale, who is charged with the loss.
- 2013 - The Athletics defeat the Rangers, 4 - 2, to move into a tie with Texas for first place in the AL West. The game turns in the 5th inning, when David Murphy hits a game-tying two-run homer for Texas, only to see the A's Coco Crisp hit a ball in the bottom of the frame that hits the bottom of the left field foul pole and is ruled a two-run homer after a video review.
- 2015 - Clayton Kershaw strikes out 15 batters, tying a career best for most in a game and setting a new personal best with 251 on the season. He pitches a complete game as the Dodgers defeat the Giants, 2 - 1, to increase their lead in the NL West to 6 1/2 games. Kershaw ends the game by striking out Marlon Byrd with two runners on base.
- 2017:
- Back home at Minute Maid Park after having had to move their last series to Tropicana Field because of flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey, the Astros give their home city of Houston, TX some relief by sweeping a doubleheader from the Mets, 12 - 8 and 4 - 1.
- The Indians win their tenth straight game, 5 - 2 over Detroit behind the pitching of Corey Kluber who improves to 14-4.
- The first Women's Baseball Asian Cup begins. Hong Kong beats Pakistan, 17 - 2, in the opener of the tournament. Iram Khalid of Pakistan gets the first hit in Cup history, Hong Kong's Janice Chi-Kay Lau the first run and Wing-Hin Ng the first victory.
- 2018 - The Dodgers take over first place in the NL West as Matt Kemp hits a two-run game-ending double in the 9th for a 3 - 2 win over the Diamondbacks. Kemp victimizes Archie Bradley for the second straight night, as he had hit a go-ahead three-run homer off him in the 8th inning the previous day.
- 2019 - By shutting out the Yankees, 7 - 0, the Rangers put an end to a streak of 220 games during which the Bronx Bombers had not been shut out, the second longest in history, behind the Babe Ruth/Lou Gehrig team of 1931-1933 that still holds the all-time record with 308 games. Rangers ace Mike Minor does the bulk of the work, keeping the Yanks scoreless for 7 1/3 innings.
- 2020:
- The family of Hall of Famer Tom Seaver announces that he has passed away on August 31st at 75, after suffering from Lewy body dementia for some time, a condition aggravated by COVID-19. One of the greatest pitchers of all time, he remains the biggest icon in the history of the New York Mets.
- For the second straight game, a Braves batter hits three homers, Adam Duvall pulling off the trick one day after Marcell Ozuna in a 7 - 5 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. It is the first time in history that teammates have hit three homers in consecutive games.
- 2021 - Today's game between the Mets and Marlins starts off with a bang as both leadoff hitters - Miguel Rojas for Miami and Jonathan Villar for New York - homer on the first pitch they see, something unseen since at least 1985, which is the earliest year for which the Elias Sports Bureau has pitch-by-pitch records. The rest of the game is more tame, as the Mets prevail, 4 - 3.
- 2022 - Yu Darvish reaches a rare milestone with a strikeout of Cody Bellinger in the 5th inning of the Padres' 7 - 1 win over the Dodgers: this gives him 1,750 Ks in ten major league seasons, and a total of 3,000 when the 1,250 he amassed in seven seasons in Japan are added. Among all pitchers who have struck out 1,000 or more batters on both sides of the Pacific Ocean, only Hideo Nomo has preceded Darvish in reaching the mark.
Births[edit]
- 1848 - George Bechtel, outfielder (d. 1921)
- 1850 - Al Spalding, pitcher, manager; Hall of Famer (d. 1915)
- 1863 - John Henry, outfielder (d. 1939)
- 1865 - Harrison Peppers, pitcher (d. 1903)
- 1868 - Al Sauters, infielder (d. 1928)
- 1878 - Bill Yohe, infielder (d. 1938)
- 1879 - Rube DeGroff, outfielder (d. 1955)
- 1879 - Fred Payne, catcher (d. 1954)
- 1881 - Clyde Goodwin, pitcher (d. 1964)
- 1884 - Joe Ward, infielder (d. 1934)
- 1886 - Bennie Brownlow, minor league infielder and manager (d. 1944)
- 1889 - Bill Chouneau, pitcher (d. 1946)
- 1893 - Wray Query, minor league catcher and manager (d. 1959)
- 1894 - George Carr, infielder (d. 1948)
- 1896 - Paul Johnson, outfielder (d. 1973)
- 1898 - José Pérez, infielder (d. ????)
- 1896 - Harry Shriver, pitcher (d. 1970)
- 1900 - Joe Heving, pitcher (d. 1970)
- 1901 - Marty Griffin, pitcher (d. 1951)
- 1905 - Bernie James, infielder (d. 1994)
- 1907 - Andy Love, infielder (d. 1986)
- 1907 - Ben Sankey, infielder (d. 2001)
- 1908 - Monte Pearson, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1978)
- 1911 - Sukeichi Takeda, NPB infielder (d. ????)
- 1916 - Ichiro Yoshikuni, NPB commissioner; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 2011)
- 1917 - Jushiro Abe, NPB outfielder
- 1918 - Len Rice, catcher (d. 1992)
- 1920 - Dave Shury, Baseball Canada Executive; Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 2008)
- 1921 - Jay Beekmann, college coach (d. 2001)
- 1927 - Milo Hamilton, broadcaster (d. 2015)
- 1927 - Gene Rhodes, college coach (d. 2018)
- 1933 - Sue Kidd, AAGPBL pitcher (d. 2017)
- 1933 - Marv Throneberry, infielder (d. 1994)
- 1935 - David Glass, owner (d. 2020)
- 1935 - Gordon Massa, catcher (d. 2016)
- 1935 - Don Williams, pitcher (d. 1991)
- 1937 - Junro Anan, NPB player and manager (d. 2024)
- 1938 - Kiyohiro Miura, NPB pitcher (d. 2016)
- 1941 - Jerry Crider, pitcher (d. 2008)
- 1943 - Luke Walker, pitcher
- 1947 - Mel Behney, pitcher
- 1950 - Lamar Johnson, infielder
- 1951 - Dave Criscione, catcher
- 1951 - Mark Mueller, minor league infielder
- 1952 - Nate Snell, pitcher
- 1953 - Danny Goodwin, designated hitter
- 1954 - John Flinn, pitcher
- 1954 - Rick Manning, outfielder
- 1955 - Kazuhiro Yamakura, NPB catcher
- 1956 - Fred Howard, pitcher
- 1956 - Bill Foley, minor league catcher
- 1959 - Drungo Hazewood, outfielder (d. 2013)
- 1960 - Rex Hudler, infielder
- 1960 - Chen-Hsien Lin, CPBL outfielder
- 1961 - Jeff Russell, pitcher; All-Star
- 1962 - Johnny Paredes, infielder (d. 2020)
- 1965 - José Meléndez, pitcher
- 1966 - Terry Jorgensen, infielder
- 1966 - Ming-Hung Tsai, CPBL pitcher
- 1966 - Ying-Wei Wu, CPBL outfielder
- 1967 - Jamie McAndrew, pitcher
- 1968 - Tommy Bates, minor league player
- 1968 - Enrique Esteban Díaz, Cuban league infielder
- 1969 - Chang-Hao Hu, CPBL outfielder and manager
- 1969 - Hiroshi Takamura, NPB pitcher
- 1969 - Mike Thomas, pitcher
- 1970 - Shinji Ando, NPB infielder
- 1970 - Alvin Brown, minor league pitcher
- 1970 - Wen-Sheng Chiu, TML pitcher
- 1970 - Sean Lawrence, pitcher
- 1971 - Rich Aurilia, infielder; All-Star
- 1972 - Kenya Hunt, minor league outfielder (d. 2007)
- 1972 - Pat Watkins, outfielder
- 1973 - Ji-hoon Kim, KBO catcher
- 1974 - Matt Brunson, minor league infielder
- 1974 - Julio Parra, minor league pitcher
- 1975 - Vaughn Berriman, South African national team pitcher
- 1975 - Lisandro Corba, minor league pitcher
- 1975 - Faizel Moosa, South African national team outfielder
- 1975 - Corey Pointer, minor league outfielder
- 1976 - Stevenson Agosto, minor league pitcher
- 1977 - Yamid Haad, catcher
- 1977 - Ruslan Nabiev, First Division infielder
- 1979 - Ben Margalski, minor league player
- 1980 - Yu-Chung Leung, Hong Kong national team pitcher
- 1980 - Weiliang Li, Chinese national team pitcher
- 1981 - Noah Jackson, scout
- 1982 - Jason Hammel, pitcher
- 1982 - Rommie Lewis, pitcher
- 1982 - Wes Littleton, pitcher
- 1982 - Grant Psomas, minor league infielder
- 1983 - Gaby Sanchez, infielder; All-Star
- 1984 - Luis Córdova, Venezuelan national team infielder
- 1984 - Tsz-Chun Heung, Hong Kong national team pitcher
- 1984 - Adrian Martin, minor league pitcher
- 1984 - Dusty Ryan, catcher
- 1985 - Becky Hartley, Canadian women's national team outfielder
- 1985 - Hiroyuki Oze, NPB outfielder (d. 2010)
- 1986 - Evan Crawford, pitcher
- 1986 - Roman Pena, minor league player
- 1987 - Tomoyuki Kaida, NPB pitcher
- 1987 - Travis Turek, minor league player
- 1988 - Andy Ferguson, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Matt Leonard, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Austin Wates, minor league outfielder
- 1989 - Kuan-Wei Yang, Taiwan national team catcher
- 1991 - Christian Bethancourt, catcher
- 1991 - Juan Duran, minor league outfielder
- 1991 - Shawn Larry, Bundesliga outfielder
- 1991 - Willi Martin, minor league infielder
- 1991 - Ian Sommerville Jr., Chilean national team player
- 1992 - Ronald Torreyes, infielder
- 1992 - J.D. Underwood, minor league pitcher
- 1993 - Lindy Boland, Dutch women's national team outfielder
- 1993 - Urving Kemp, Hoofdklasse infielder
- 1993 - A.J. Minter, pitcher
- 1994 - Franchy Cordero, outfielder
- 1994 - Rob Kaminsky, pitcher
- 1994 - Luis Reynoso, minor league infielder
- 1995 - Willy Adames, infielder
- 1996 - Ryan Feltner, pitcher
- 1996 - Eric González, minor league catcher
- 1996 - Wen-Hua Sung, minor league pitcher
- 1996 - Aaron Whitefield, outfielder
- 1997 - Tyler Burch, minor league pitcher
- 1997 - Kerry Carpenter, outfielder
- 1997 - Oliver Dunn, infielder
- 1997 - Dominic Fletcher, outfielder
- 1998 - José Delgado, Bolivian national team infielder
- 1998 - Chun-Chang Su, CPBL pitcher
- 1999 - Max Hill, Elitserien player
- 1999 - Carson Lambert, minor league pitcher
Deaths[edit]
- 1911 - Lew Simmons, manager (b. 1838)
- 1914 - Al Metcalf, infielder (b. 1852)
- 1916 - Chick Evans, pitcher (b. 1889)
- 1926 - Arthur Duchesnil, minor league pitcher (b. 1891)
- 1926 - Ed McDonough, catcher (b. 1886)
- 1929 - Bert Blue, catcher (b. 1877)
- 1940 - Johnny Welch, pitcher (b. 1906)
- 1942 - Frank Martin, infielder (b. 1878)
- 1942 - Henry Thielman, pitcher (b. 1880)
- 1954 - Fred Osborn, outfielder (b. 1883)
- 1954 - Butler White, infielder (b. 1892)
- 1957 - Don Hanski, infielder (b. 1916)
- 1960 - Billy Maloney, outfielder (b. 1878)
- 1965 - Joe Hoover, infielder (b. 1915)
- 1966 - Bill McCabe, infielder (b. 1892)
- 1967 - Jack Ryan, outfielder (b. 1905)
- 1968 - Lee Meyer, infielder (b. 1888)
- 1968 - Nish Williams, catcher, manager (b. 1904)
- 1969 - Jim West, infielder; All-Star (d. 1911)
- 1970 - Herbert Hill, pitcher (b. 1891)
- 1972 - Jim Brillheart, pitcher (b. 1903)
- 1976 - Bud Heine, infielder (b. 1900)
- 1977 - Chucho Ramos, outfielder (b. 1918)
- 1981 - George Lowe, pitcher (b. 1895)
- 1985 - Pete Cooper, minor league catcher and manager (b. 1903)
- 1986 - Jim Wilson, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1922)
- 1987 - Cam Carreon, catcher (b. 1937)
- 1988 - Jim Bagby, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1916)
- 1988 - Marshall Riddle, infielder; All-Star (b. 1918)
- 1990 - Nathaniel Clifton, minor league infielder (b. 1922)
- 1990 - Mark Mauldin, infielder (b. 1914)
- 1995 - Peter Konyar, minor league infielder (b. 1927)
- 1996 - Wes Livengood, pitcher (b. 1910)
- 1997 - James Abernathy, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1918)
- 2006 - Victor Bernal, pitcher (b. 1953)
- 2006 - Jerry Dahlke, pitcher (b. 1929)
- 2008 - Todd Cruz, infielder (b. 1955)
- 2011 - Ichiro Yoshikuni, NPB commissioner; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1916)
- 2013 - Paul Dowd, minor league pitcher (b. 1946)
- 2013 - Todd Zacher, minor league infielder (b. 1959)
- 2016 - Don Minnick, pitcher (b. 1931)
- 2017 - Carlos Velásquez, Colombian national team infielder (b. ~1949)
- 2018 - Glenn Bott, minor league pitcher (b. 1981)
- 2019 - Chace Numata, minor league catcher (b. 1992)
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