September 8

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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 September 8.

Events

• 1889 - Claiming they cannot count on their personal safety, the Browns fail to show up for the scheduled Sunday game with the Bridegrooms at Ridgewood, NY. The forfeit pushes the Browns four an a half games behind.
• 1901:
  • In a rare Sunday game (Sunday games are not outlawed in Chicago) before an estimated 20,000 fans, the largest American League crowd of the year, White Sox OF Billy Hoy laces a two-run single in the bottom of the 9th off Boston's Cy Young to give Chicago a 4 - 3 win.
  • The Players Protective Association instructs members to sign one-year contracts only, and not recognize the reserve clause.
• 1903 - New York's Christy Mathewson and Brooklyn's Bill Reidy hook up for the third time in a week, and the rubber game ends in a tie, 4 - 4. The match is called by ump Tim Hurst after eight innings because of darkness.
• 1904 - The visiting Phillies stop the Giants' win streak at 12 when the beat up Luther Taylor to win, 9 - 8. Bill Duggleby is the victor. New York then wins the nitecap, 4 - 1 as Christy Mathewson notches his 30th victory, over Tully Sparks. Darkness ends the game in the 7th inning.
• 1905 - Pittsburgh tallies 15 hits and eight walks against the Reds, but the Pirates leave a still-standing National League record 18 men on base. The Reds win, 8 - 3.
• 1906:
  • Boston's Irv Young acts like Cy, allowing just Sherry Magee's safety in a one-hitter against the Phillies.
  • Brooklyn blanks the Giants in two games, winning 6 - 0 and 1 - 0 at Washington Park.
• 1908:
  • Boston's Cy Young defeats Washington, 3 - 1, for his 20th win.
  • The Pirates set a major league fielding record against the Cardinals by making only two assists, both by 2B Charlie Starr. The Bucs win, 2 - 0, with Honus Wagner driving in both runs.
  • Christy Mathewson's 30th win is a gem - an 11-inning 1 - 0 win over the Superbas' Nap Rucker. A single by Al Bridwell drives home Cy Seymour with the winning tally. New York stays a half-game ahead of Pittsburgh.
• 1914 - Bill James allows just three hits in beat the Giants, 8 - 3, and dropping New York to the second spot.
• 1915:
  • Fred Clarke resigns as Pirates manager having won four pennants in 19 years.
  • In a twinbill at Philadelphia, the A's manage just one hit but beat Ernie Shore and the Red Sox, 1 - 0. The Sox are more patient in the second game, and walk 12 times off Cap Crowell to win, 13 - 2.
• 1916 - In front the smallest crowd in American League history, with 23 fans attending the game, A's catcher/outfielder Wally Schang becomes the first switch-hitter in major league history to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game.
• 1917:
  • The Yankees trade shutouts with the Senators, winning 2 - 0 before losing, 5 - 0. Doc Ayers wins the nitecap, his second shutout in a row over the Yankees and the third time he's beaten them in eight days. Nick Cullop takes the loss for New York. In the opening game, Ray Caldwell fires his only shutout of the year.
  • Following yesterday's loss to Chicago, Browns owner Phil Ball accuses his players of laying down on the job because they dislike manager Fielder Jones. SS Doc Lavan and 2B Del Pratt sue him for $50,000 damages for alleged slanderous statements in St. Louis newspapers. Both are in the lineup, however, when Detroit beats the Browns, 1 - 0, in 12 innings. Ty Cobb triples off the right field fence in the 12th and scores on a sacrifice fly.
• 1919 - Babe Ruth hits home run No. 26 off Jack Quinn in New York, breaking Buck Freeman's 1899 home run mark of 25.
• 1920 - On their way to Cleveland, the Yanks play an exhibition game against the Pirates and suffer injuries to starters, Muddy Ruel (split finger) and Ping Bodie (sprained ankle). With Carl Mays skipping the Indians series to avoid any scenes, New York is short-handed.
• 1922:
  • The Yankees go back on top, this time to stay, beating the Senators, 8 - 1, behind Carl Mays. New York's win is triggered by Wally Pipp's 6th inning three-run homer off Walter Johnson, the second homer Wally has dinged off the Senators' ace in nine days.
  • Detroit beats the Browns, 8 - 3, on Bobby Veach's two homers off Urban Shocker. First baseman Lu Blue pulls off two unassisted double plays, tying the American League record, and both are off line drives by Johnny Tobin.
• 1924 - Washington, with a two-game lead in the American League, beats the A's, 8 - 4. Despite giving up solo home runs by Joe Hauser and Bing Miller, Walter Johnson wins his tenth straight and his 20th of the year, For Hauser, trailing Babe Ruth in the home run race, it's his third four-bagger of the year off Johnson.
• 1925:
  • The Yanks top the Red Sox, 7 - 4, as Babe Ruth pounds his 300th career homer, off Buster Ross.
  • In the first game of a doubleheader, Dazzy Vance tosses a one-hitter over the Phils to give Brooklyn a 1 - 0 win. The Robins complete the sweep with a 4 - 3 win in the second game.
• 1926 - The Phils trail the Robins, 4 - 2, going into the last of the 9th but rally to win, 8 - 4. The winning blow is Cy Williams' grand slam, the second Philley slam in three days.
• 1928:
  • The Phils take two from the Braves, winning 10 - 6 and 4 - 0. Earl Caldwell, who reported to the Phils yesterday, tosses the shutout in his first major league start.
  • In Boston, the A's get cheered by the Sox fans as they sweep a pair from the Crimson Hose and take over first place in the American League by a half game.
  • Behind Babe Ruth's three-run homer, the Yankees take the Senators, 6 - 3, but it is not enough as the Yanks drop to second place.
• 1931 - Bill Harris, 31, who last pitched in the majors for the Reds, in 1924, makes his first appearance for Pittsburgh and shuts out Cincinnati, 3 - 0.
• 1932:
  • In the Pirates' 12 - 2 loss to Brooklyn, Bucs C Earl Grace makes a wild throw to end a streak of 110 consecutive errorless games. It is Grace's only error of the season for a National League record. Must be something in the air as seven E's are recorded.
  • The Yankees and Tigers replay their protested August 1st game as the nightcap of a doubleheader, but end in a 7 - 7 tie. After the game, Babe Ruth experiences abdominal pains he believes are an appendicitis attack. He will be out of the lineup indefinitely. Sammy Byrd, subbing for Ruth in the opener, collects five hits for the Yankees, including two home runs in a 5 - 4 win.
• 1935:
  • The Cards fail to increase their lead as they split with the Phils. In the opener, Dizzy Dean wins his 25th game, but the Birds lose, 4 - 2, in the nightcap when they strand 16 runners. St. Louis outhits the Phils, 13 to 4. Rain washes out the Cubs game at Wrigley Field.
  • In the second game of a twinbill, the A's Jimmie Foxx doubles in the 8th to break up Elden Auker's no-hit bid. Detroit rolls, 15 - 1 collecting 20 hits. Foxx has a pair of homers in the opener, again in vain, as the Tigers win, 7 - 5. Mickey Cochrane has three hits in each game for Detroit.
• 1939 - With his 12 - 1 victory over the Browns in St. Louis, Bob Feller becomes the youngest modern-era player to win 20 games.
• 1940 - Johnny Mize hits homers # 38, 39 and 40 in the first game of a doubleheader becoming the first player to hit three homers in one game four times in his career. Despite the "Big Cat"'s heroics, the Cardinals drop a pair to the Pirates, 16 - 14 and 9 - 4.
• 1946:
  • Dodger Pete Reiser, even though still as injury-prone as he was before the war, steals three bases, including home, in an 11 - 3 Dodger victory over the Giants. It is his seventh steal of home this year. He will lead the major leagues with 34 steals despite missing more than 30 games due to injuries.
  • With the Red Sox running away with the American League race, attention closes in on Bob Feller's strikeout pace. He reaches 300 today, a number reached by Walter Johnson and Rube Waddell twice each.
  • In the minor leagues Bill Kennedy of Rocky Mount (Coastal Plain League) will be credited with 456 strikeouts, breaking the former mark of 418 set by Virgil Trucks in the Alabama-Florida League in 1938.
• 1947 - Starting P Ox Miller of the Cubs hits a game-winning grand slam in a 4 - 3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, but does not go the required five innings to gain the win.
• 1950 - Russ Meyer snaps the Phils' five-game losing streak with a 4 - 3 victory over the Dodgers.
• 1951:
  • At an Old Timer's Day at Yankee Stadium, former manager Joe McCarthy is honored. With the game scoreless in the 7th inning, Mickey Mantle belts a Bob Porterfield pitch into the last row of the right field bleachers, some 460 feet away, to break the scoreless tie. Ed Lopat shuts out the Senators for 4 - 0 Yankee win.
  • The pennant race heats up, as Dodger ace Don Newcombe two-hits the Giants, 9 - 0, beating Jim Hearn. Jackie Robinson has three hits and three runs, scoring one run from third base when he provokes Hearn into wild pitching. Giants pitchers contribute ten walks.
• 1952 - Umpire Lee Ballanfant ejects Giants P Larry Jansen for throwing a beanball. Giants manager Leo Durocher is also suspended and fined $100. Jansen is fined just $25 because of his "excellent conduct record"; however, he will not pitch again this season due to back issues. Brooklyn splits the doubleheader, winning the opener, 10 - 2, and losing the nightcap, 3 - 2. The Dodger lead stays at five games.
• 1955 - With a 10 - 2 win over the Braves at Milwaukee's County Stadium, the Dodgers clinch the National League pennant with a 17-game lead. It is the earliest date in history in which a team has captured a flag.
• 1958:
  • In a special meeting of American League owners in Chicago, IL, Washington owner Calvin Griffith succumbs to pressure from other AL owners and that night advises Minneapolis, MN officials that he is staying in Washington, DC.
  • Pirates RF Roberto Clemente hits three triples in a 4 - 1 win over Cincinnati. Rookie pitcher Curt Raydon (8-4) collects his only major league hit in the 5th to ignite a three-run rally. This is also his last decision.
• 1961 - The Yanks rout the Indians, 9 - 1, as Mickey Mantle hits home run #52, off Gary Bell. The Yanks win for their ninth straight while Detroit loses their eighth in a row to drop ten games back. The Tigers purchase veteran Vic Wertz from the Red Sox to shore up their offense.
• 1962 - At Milwaukee, pitcher Chris Short, a career .126 hitter, has four hits against Warren Spahn as the Phillies top the ace lefthander, 4 - 2.
• 1963 - For the 13th and final time in his career, Braves' lefthander Warren Spahn has a 20-win season as he beats the Phillies, 3 - 2.
• 1964 - Phils' first baseman Frank Thomas fractures his right thumb sliding back into first base in the 3 - 2 loss to the Dodgers. The Phils are six games ahead, but Thomas's loss will be felt keenly when the Phils begin to slide. Art Mahaffey takes the loss, lasting just a third of an inning.
• 1965:
  • Against the Angels, A's Bert Campaneris becomes the first major leaguer to play all nine positions in a single game.
  • The Giants take over first place for the first time this season as reliever Masanori Murakami wins 3 - 1 in Los Angeles, dropping the Dodgers to second place by .002 percentage points. The Giants have now won four straight and will win their next ten.
• 1966 - The Red Sox fire manager Billy Herman (64-82) and Pete Runnels is named interim pilot. Herman will sign on as a scout for the California Angels.
• 1967:
  • The Tigers move into a first-place tie with the Twins, as Eddie Mathews and Jim Northrup hit home runs, and Mickey Lolich beats Tommy John, 4 - 1, at Chicago.
  • Despite a brilliant relief effort by Dick Kelley, the Braves lose a 4 - 1 decision at Philadelphia. Kelley ties the National League record for relievers with six consecutive strikeouts.
• 1969:
  • At Shea Stadium, the Mets top the Cubs, 3 - 2, on Tommie Agee's two-run home run. Jerry Koosman beats Bill Hands and strikes out 13 Cubs batters. Chicago has now lost five in a row and leads the Mets by one and a half games.
  • The Braves acquire veteran pitchers Hoyt Wilhelm and Bob Priddy from the Angels in exchange for minor league prospects Mickey Rivers and Clint Compton. Hoyt will only stay for a little while as the Braves will waive the knuckleballer to the Cubs in September 1970.
• 1972:
  • In the first game of a doubleheader with the Cardinals, the Mets win, 8 - 2, as John Milner collects a homer, a double, and three singles in five at-bats. Milner hits another home run in the 1st inning of the second game, but the Cards turn around, using a pair of homers in the 13th to win, 9 - 4.
  • Mickey Lolich wins his 20th game of the year as Detroit tips the Orioles, 4 - 3. The Tigers jump on Jim Palmer (18-8) for three runs in the 1st inning.
  • Beating the Phils, 4 - 3, Fergie Jenkins wins his 20th, the sixth consecutive year he's reached the mark. This ties the Cubs club record set by Three Finger Brown, from 1906 to 1911. Billy Williams' two-run home run in the 6th ties it at 3 - 3, and a pair of doubles in the 8th wins it.
• 1975:
  • Johnny Bench belts a two-run homer in the 8th as the Reds beat the Padres, 3 - 2.
  • The Astros outslug the Braves, 9 - 6, with Jose Sosa picking up his only career win. The loss goes to Frank LaCorte, making his major league debut.
• 1976 - In a twinbill, the Expos' Joe Kerrigan wins a pair from the Cardinals with two innings of relief work in both games, for the first two wins of his career. Montreal wins, 7 - 5 and 8 - 7.
• 1977:
  • Cubs relief pitcher Bruce Sutter strikes out the first six batters he faces including three men in the 9th on nine pitches.
  • At Toronto, Red Sox sluggers Carlton Fisk and George Scott club back-to-back homers in the 2nd inning, setting a record. It is the 16th time this season that Sox hitters have hit back-to-back homers, breaking the record of 15 set by the 1964 Twins. Boston wins, 7 - 2.
• 1978:
  • New York continues its rampage of Boston by scoring two runs in the 1st inning and six more in the 2nd inning. Boston makes seven errors to ease the Yankees to a 13 - 2 romp. Reggie Jackson hits a three-run homer and Lou Piniella adds a double, triple and homer to back Jim Beattie's pitching. Dwight Evans and Carlton Fisk both make a pair of errors. New York is now two games back.
  • In a 5 - 3 win at Wrigley Field, Phillies RF Bake McBride handles 11 chances, tying the National League mark for right fielders. It was last matched by the Cubs' Bill Nicholson, in 1945, in the same park.
• 1979:
  • Graig Nettles hits an 8th-inning home run to help the Yankees and Ron Guidry beat Detroit, 5 - 4. It is Guidry's tenth straight win.
  • In Oakland's 2 - 1 win over the White Sox, A's Rob Picciolo (.234 career) gets his only intentional walk as the Sox elect to pitch to rookie Rickey Henderson. Rickey walks in a run to beat the Sox. Picciolo will have just 25 career walks in nine seasons.
• 1980 - Commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspends Ferguson Jenkins as a result of the pitcher's drug arrest on August 25th. On September 22nd, the suspension will be overturned by arbitrator Raymond Goetz, the first time ever a commissioner's decision is overruled by an arbitrator.
• 1981:
  • Citing his "lack of communication" with the players, the Expos fire manager Dick Williams and replace him with Jim Fanning, who has been an executive with the club since it joined the National League in 1969.
  • Houston's Cesar Cedeno is fined $5,000 but not suspended after attacking a fan during the Astros' 3 - 2 loss to the Braves. Witnesses said that three men in the box seats had been loudly berating Cedeno's wife and making remarks about the 1973 incident in which he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the accidental shooting death of a young woman in the Dominican Republic.
• 1983 - Yankees OF Steve Kemp will miss the rest of the season with a fractured cheekbone after being struck in the face by an Omar Moreno line drive during batting practice in Milwaukee. Kemp hit just .242 with 12 home run and 49 RBI in the first year of his five-year, $5.45 million contract. New York wins today, 6 - 5.
• 1984 - The Yankees break a 4 - 4 tie with two runs in the 6th to roll over the Red Sox, 12 - 6. Toby Harrah paces the 15-hit attack with four hits, and Dave Winfield hits one of the game's 12 doubles to extend his hitting streak to 20 games, which is and will be a career high. Joe Cowley is the winner.
• 1985 - At Wrigley Field, off Cubs hurler Reggie Patterson, Pete Rose gets two hits, including a historic single to tie Ty Cobb's career record of 4,191 hits. The game is suspended due to darkness which will enable the Reds' player-manager to break the record at home.
• 1987 - With the Cubs in fifth place in the National League East (68-68, 13 games behind), the club fires manager Gene Michael and replaces him with Frank Lucchesi.
• 1988 - National League president Bart Giamatti is unanimously elected baseball's seventh commissioner, and will succeed Peter Ueberroth next season.
• 1989 - Kansas City's George Brett singles for his 2,500th career hit in a 6 - 0 win over the Twins.
• 1992:
  • Yankees OF Danny Tartabull goes 5 for 5 with two homers and a double, and drives in nine runs as New York defeats Baltimore, 16 - 4. Scott Sanderson is the winner.
  • The Blue Jays top the visiting Royals, 5 - 0, behind Jimmy Key's complete game shutout. Following the game, Toronto rookie C Mike Maksudian wins $800 from his teammates, who bet that he wouldn't eat a live locust. Maksudian, who claims to have eaten moths, grasshoppers, frogs, lizards, roaches and aquarium fish, swallows the 1 1/2-inch-long insect, but declines an offer of $2,000 to swallow a rat.
• 1993:
  • The Pirates trade OF Lonnie Smith to the Orioles in exchange for two minor league players to be named.
  • Houston's Darryl Kile no-hits the Mets, winning by a score of 7 - 1. He fans nine and walks one. Mets 3B Butch Huskey becomes the third player in history to make his major league debut on the losing end of a no-hitter. Byron Browne and Don Young of the Cubs did so in Sandy Koufax's perfect game in 1965.
• 1995:
  • The Indians defeat the Orioles, 3 - 2, to clinch the American League Central Division title in their 123rd game of the season. It is the fastest that any team has ever won a title. The Tribe now leads second-place Kansas City by 23 1/2 games.
  • The Tigers trade IF Juan Samuel to the Royals in exchange for a player to be named.
• 1996:
  • Todd Hundley joins Mickey Mantle as the only other switch hitter to hit 40 homers in a season. His 40th home run also breaks Darryl Strawberry's Met club record for most homers in a single season.
  • In the Indians' doubleheader split with the Mariners, Jim Thome knocks in his 100th run in the opener, a 15 - 4 win. Thome reaches the 30 homer, 100 runs, 100 RBI, 100 walks mark - just the second Indians player to ever do that; Al Rosen, in 1950, was the other. Charles Nagy (15-4) wins the first game, while the M's prevail, 6 - 5, in the nitecap.
  • A Gary Sheffield 5th-inning home run against the Expos' Pedro Martinez breaks the major league home run record for a season; the previous record of 4,458 was set 1987.
• 1998:
  • Mark McGwire breaks Roger Maris' single-season home run mark by clouting his 62nd of the year off Steve Trachsel in the 4th inning of the Cardinals' 6 - 3 win over the Cubs in St. Louis.
  • Phillies rookie Marlon Anderson hits a pinch home run in his first major league at bat to become the 14th player in history to do so. The Phils and Mets combine for nine homers - Philadelphia has a team-record seven - in the 16 - 4 Phils win. Four different players homer twice: Jermaine Allensworth for New York and Rico Brogna, Kevin Sefcik, and Bobby Estalella for the Phils.
• 1999:
  • Arizona defeats Milwaukee, 9 - 1, as OF Steve Finley strokes three home runs and drives home six runs.
  • The Astros score nine runs in the 6th inning on their way to a 10 - 2 victory over the Phillies.
• 2000:
  • The Astros defeat the Cubs, 13 - 10, as Houston 2B Julio Lugo has the first five-hit game of his career.
  • The Yankees beat the Red Sox, 4 - 0, behind Roger Clemens. A scary moment occurs in the 9th inning when Boston P Bryce Florie is hit in the face with a line drive off the bat of Ryan Thompson. The Red Sox hurler never loses consciousness and leaves the field with blood streaming down his face. Florie suffers a fractured cheekbone and a fracture of the orbital socket, the bone that surrounds the eye, and retinal damage. He will undergo surgery .
• 2001 - Shawon Dunston hits the Giants' 14th pinch home run of the season to tie the Diamondbacks for the big league record. San Francisco defeats Colorado, 7 - 3.
• 2002:
  • When Rafael Palmeiro goes yard against the Devil Rays in the 6th inning, the Rangers establish a new a major league record by hitting a home run in their 26th consecutive game.
  • The Mariners score eight runs in the 11th inning and go on to defeat the Royals, 16 - 9. This ties the American League mark for most runs by a team in the 11th frame, last tied in 1991.
• 2007 - Alex Rodriguez continues to lead the Yankees in their playoff hopes. He homers twice off Brian Bannister. The first of the homers is his 49th of the year and breaks the record for homers by a third baseman. Previously, Mike Schmidt (48 in 1980) and Rodriguez (2005) had shared the record. The Yankees win, 11 - 5. Rodriguez already holds the single-season record for shortstops, giving him the highwater mark at two positions.
• 2008:
  • Gary Sheffield hits a grand slam for the official 250,000th homer in major league history. The blow is Sheffield's second homer of the day and his 13th career grand slam. Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera and Mike Hessman also homer as the Tigers outslug the A's, 14 - 8.
  • The Red Sox move within half a game of first place in the AL East, beating division leader Tampa Bay for the seventh time in seven games at Fenway Park this season. Jason Bay's homer caps a three-run 1st inning for Boston and neither team scores again. Jon Lester (improving to 14-5) and Jonathan Papelbon, with his 36th save, combine on the seven-hit shutout, fanning 12. It is the 456th straight regular-season sellout at Fenway, breaking the record held by the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field (1995-2001). Johnny Pesky joins team owners and players in handing out the commemorative tickets.
  • Mark Saccomanno becomes the 20th player to homer on the first pitch he sees in the major leagues. Saccomanno pinch-hits for fellow September call-up Alberto Arias in the 5th inning of a scoreless game and smacks a fastball from Ian Snell to right field for a circuit clout.
• 2009:
  • Boston hits six home runs at home against Baltimore on its way to a convincing 10 - 0 win. Youngsters Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden combine on the shutout while David Ortiz hits his 269th homer as a designated hitter, tying Frank Thomas for the all-time lead at the position.
  • For their part, the Rangers, Boston's main rivals for the AL wild card, sweep a doubleheader on the strength of their bats, winning 11 - 9 and 10 - 5 over Cleveland. Marlon Byrd collects seven hits on the day.
  • The Phillies become the 12th team in major league history to have four players hit 30 home runs as Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez both reach the mark today. They become the second team to have done so with three left-handed batters among the quartet - the other club was also from Philadelphia, the 1929 Phillies.
• 2011:
  • Nettuno gets more bad news. Leading the 2011 Italian Series three games to two, they have now lost three players since Game 5. Shortstop Olmo Rosario, a former US minor leaguer, was suspended for a positive test for a banned substance while manager Ruggero Bagialemani and pitcher Carlos Richetti are both suspended for a confrontation with an umpire.
  • Ian Kennedy picks up his National League-leading 19th win as the Diamondbacks defeat San Diego, 4 - 1. He fans 11 batters in 7 2/3 innings in a dominating effort. J.J. Putz then picks up his 38th save as the D-Backs have now won 14 of their last 16.
  • The Braves sweep a doubleheader from the Mets at Citi Field, increasing their lead in the Wild Card race to seven and a half games. A pair of rookies pick up the wins, Mike Minor in the 6 - 5 defeat of New York in the opener, and Julio Teheran, with his first major league victory, as the Braves prevail, 5 - 1, in the nightcap. All four starters are in fact rookies (Chris Schwinden and Dillon Gee start for the Mets), the first time four rookie pitchers are the starters in a doubleheader since 1965.
• 2012:
  • The Nationals announce that they are shutting down ace pitcher Stephen Strasburg in order to limit his innings on the mound in his first full season since undergoing Tommy John surgery. While other teams have taken similar decisions in the past, it is the first time a team involved in a pennant race has deliberately taken one of its top pitchers out of action of its own volition. Strasburg is 15-6, 3.16, with 197 strikeouts in 159 1/3 innings. His absence will be sorely felt when the Nats drop a five-game NLDS series to the Cardinals next month, in large part because of a lack of pitching depth.
  • The Orioles defeat the Yankees, 5 - 4, to tie the Bronx Bombers for first place in the AL East once again, but the win is costly. RF Nick Markakis breaks his left thumb when hit by a CC Sabathia pitch in the 5th inning, putting him out for the remainder of the year. Mark Reynolds, Lew Ford and J.J. Hardy homer for the Orioles. Closer Jim Johnson almost blows a 5 - 3 lead when he loads the bases on three singles with none out in the 9th; Nick Swisher brings the Yankees within one on a force out, before Mark Teixeira is declared out when sliding head-first into first base while vainly trying to avoid a game-ending double play. Teixeira and manager Joe Girardi blast umpire Jerry Meals for his call after the game, to no avail.
• 2013:
  • Baseball once again fails in its bid to be reinstated as an Olympic sport, as wrestling wins a vote conducted at a meeting of the International Olympic Committee in Buenos Aires, Argentina with 49 votes; the combined bid of baseball and softball gathers 24 votes, while squash, seeking admittance for the first time, receives 22. The decision affects the program for the 2020 games, which have just been attributed to Tokyo. All observers agree that wrestling's win was a foregone conclusion, as the inclusion seven months earlier of the venerable sport, which traces its origins back to Antiquity, on the list of sports to be dropped from the program was universally condemned as a huge blunder, leaving baseball with little chance of regaining its Olympic status.
  • The Reds complete a three-game sweep of the Dodgers with a 3 - 2 win capped by Ryan Hanigan's game-ending double in the 9th, scoring Zack Cozart from first base. The Reds had last swept the Dodgers at home back in 1992.
  • The US wins the 2013 World Junior Championship, their first successful title defense in the event since 1989. In the finale, the US edges out Japan, 3 - 2, as Blake Aiken holds Japan to one run in seven innings. US closer Luis Ortiz is named the event's MVP. In the Bronze Medal game, Vladimir Gutierrez allows one hit in 6 1/3 relief innings as Cuba tops host Taiwan, 6 - 1.
  • The Rouen Huskies win their tenth French Division I title, three games to two, over the Templiers de Sénart. In the finale, youngster Yoann Vaugelade gets the win while Joris Bert drives in the winner.
• 2014 - A couple of franchise records are tied or broken in Miami's 6 - 4 win over the Brewers. Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo records his 1,207th career strikeout, passing Ben Sheets as the franchise's all-time leader, while for the Marlins, Giancarlo Stanton hits home run number 154, tying Dan Uggla as the team's all-time leader. For the Brewers, it's their 12th loss in 13 games, as they are slowly drifting out of postseason contention after occupying first place in the NL Central for most of the season.
• 2015:
  • Alex Rodriguez hits the 30th homer of his excellent comeback season with the Yankees. He ties Hank Aaron's record of 15 seasons of 30 or more home runs. It is his first time reaching the mark since 2010, before his career almost ended because of a string of injuries and a one-year suspension for PED use.
  • ASD Rimini completes a stunning sweep of Unipol Bologna in the 2015 Italian Series; Bologna had won eight of ten from Rimini in the regular season and had gone 38-12 overall to Rimini's 27-19. Alexis Candelario and Victor Moreno combine on a shutout in a 7 - 0 win in Game 4; Candelario is named Series MVP, having also tossed a gem in Game 1. Raul Rivero matches Candelario for six innings but fades in the 7th and his bullpen does not fare well. Riccardo Bertagnon drives in Alex Romero with the game's first run.
• 2017 - The Dodgers, who just a couple of months ago seemed poised to challenge the major league record of 116 wins in a season, lose again, their eighth straight defeat and 13th in 14 games, as they bow to the Rockies, 5 - 4. They blow an early 4 - 1 lead as D.J. LeMahieu hits a two-run double in the 5th to put Colorado ahead to stay. On a positive note, Yu Darvish records the 1,000th strikeout of his career, punching out Carlos Gonzalez in the 5th, becoming the fastest starting pitcher to reach the mark, in 812 innings over 128 games.
• 2018 - Jorge Lopez of the Royals pitches eight perfect innings against the Twins before allowing first a walk to Max Kepler to lead off the 9th, then a single to Robbie Grossman. Wily Peralta then comes in to close a 4 - 1 win.
• 2019:
  • The Astros annihilate the Mariners, 21 - 1. Gerrit Cole allows just one hit and no walks in eight innings while striking out 15; it is his third straight game of 14+ strikeouts, something accomplished by only one other pitcher since 1908, by Pedro Martinez during his otherworldly 1999 season. Rookie Yordan Alvarez continues to mash the ball, collecting six RBIs on four hits.
  • Taiwan wins the 2019 U-18 Baseball World Cup, beating the defending champion USA, 2 - 1, in the finals. It is their third time winning the event. Tourney MVP Chien Yu throws 6 2/3 shutout innings while LF Wei-Chieh Lo robs two players of extra-base hits and also drives in a run. Host South Korea trails Australia, 5 - 4, entering the 9th in the Bronze Medal Game before Ju-hyeong Lee's two-run homer makes them winners.
  • Wei-Lun Pan wins his 142nd game in the CPBL to break Yi-Hsin Chen's record for victories in Taiwanese pro ball.
• 2020 - Pat O'Conner, President of Minor League Baseball since 2007, announces that he will step down at the end of the calendar year. It is a difficult time for the minor leagues, as the whole system has been shut down by the Coronavirus pandemic, and 42 of the existing 160 teams are slated for contraction before next year. It is likely that O'Conner will not be replaced, as what remains of the non-independent minor leagues will become fully owned and operated by Major League Baseball.
• 2021 - Over two years since the last induction ceremony was held in July of 2019, four new Hall of Famers, all resulting from the 2020 Hall of Fame Election, are inducted in Cooperstown: Derek Jeter, Larry Walker, Ted Simmons and Marvin Miller. Attendance is limited and fans have to reserve their place in advance, but there is a sense of returning normalcy after long months dominated by the Coronavirus pandemic. It should be noted that no one was elected in the 2021 Hall of Fame Election, which would have posed a content problem had circumstances not forced organizers to combine the two classes in one ceremony.
• 2022 - By making their 324th start as a battery, P Adam Wainwright and C Yadier Molina of the Cardinals tie the all-time mark set by Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan of the Tigers in the 1960s and 1970s. Molina marks the occasion by going deep twice - his first long balls since May - but the Cards lose to the Nationals, 11 - 6. The pair will set the new record on the 14th.
• 2023 - Bologna sweeps the 2023 Italian Series, denying ASD San Marino's bid for a three-peat. Ricardo Paolini is named Series MVP and Cristopher Molina gets the win in the finale.
• 2024 - Pavin Smith has a three-homer game, including a grand slam off Justin Verlander, to lead the Diamondbacks to a 12 - 6 win over Houston. Having homered with none, two, and three men on in his first three at-bats, Smith has a chance to complete a supremely rare home run cycle - a feat unprecedented at the major league level - when he comes up with a runner on first base in the 7th inning, but he strikes out against Hector Neris, then draws a walk in his final plate appearance in the 9th, finishing with eight RBIs. Eugenio Suarez also homers for Arizona, and scores four times.

Births

• 1854 - Russ McKelvy, outfielder (d. 1915)
• 1858 - Fred Carl, outfielder (d. 1899)
• 1872 - Deke White, pitcher (d. 1957)
• 1875 - Zeke Rosebraugh, pitcher (d. 1930)
• 1884 - Al Demaree, pitcher (d. 1962)
• 1886 - Ray Rolling, infielder (d. 1966)
• 1887 - Bert Sincock, pitcher (d. 1946)
• 1888 - Joe Giannini, infielder (d. 1942)
• 1889 - William Carter, catcher (d. ????)
• 1890 - Press Cruthers, infielder (d. 1976)
• 1891 - Verne Clemons, catcher (d. 1959)
• 1892 - O'Neal Pullen, catcher (d. 1941)
• 1895 - Ted Kimbro, Negro League infielder (d. 1918)
• 1896 - Val Picinich, catcher (d. 1942)
• 1896 - Johnny Schulte, catcher (d. 1978)
• 1902 - Ernie Orsatti, outfielder (d. 1968)
• 1905 - Ed Grimes, infielder (d. 1974)
• 1905 - Jimmy Shields, pitcher (d. 1963)
• 1906 - Frank Stewart, pitcher (d. 2001)
• 1907 - Buck Leonard, infielder; All-Star; Hall of Fame (d. 1997)
• 1911 - Johnny Ray, outfielder (d. 1957)
• 1912 - Tadashi Kameda, NPB pitcher (d. 1976)
• 1913 - Slick Castleman, pitcher (d. 1998)
• 1915 - Len Gabrielson, infielder (d. 2000)
• 1916 - Jim Bagby, pitcher; All-Star (d. 1988)
• 1916 - Tom Turner, catcher (d. 1986)
• 1919 - Jimmie Armstead, outfielder (d. 2006)
• 1919 - Michael Bajo, minor league pitcher (d. 2008)
• 1919 - Greene Farmer, outfielder (d. 1982)
• 1921 - Masao Taki, college coach; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 2012)
• 1922 - Michael Rossi, minor league pitcher and manager (d. 1991)
• 1926 - Lou Sleater, pitcher (d. 2013)
• 1926 - Paul Tretiak, scout (d. 2014)
• 1932 - Casey Wise, infielder (d. 2007)
• 1938 - George Werley, pitcher (d. 2013)
• 1942 - Steve Hargan, pitcher; All-Star
• 1943 - Tadayoshi Okuma, NPB outfielder
• 1943 - Yasuo Otsuka, NPB catcher (d. 2008)
• 1944 - Elby Bushong, minor league catcher (d. 2017)
• 1944 - Santiago Mederos, Cuban National League pitcher (d. 1979)
• 1945 - Ossie Blanco, infielder
• 1946 - Ken Forsch, pitcher; All-Star
• 1951 - Steve Barr, pitcher
• 1952 - Larry McCall, pitcher
• 1954 - Don Aase, pitcher; All-Star
• 1954 - Jim Smith, infielder
• 1954 - John Valle, minor league outfielder
• 1955 - Chien-Chang Wu, Taiwanese national team pitcher (d. 2019)
• 1956 - Paul Gagliano, Serie A1 infielder
• 1959 - Glen Cook, pitcher
• 1960 - Bob Cummings, minor league catcher
• 1960 - Patrick Renard, First Division player
• 1960 - Shun-I Tsu, Taiwan national team manager
• 1962 - Al Pardo, catcher
• 1963 - Kevin Bradshaw, minor league infielder and manager
• 1964 - Rich Arena, scout
• 1965 - Chris Bennett, minor league pitcher
• 1965 - Chung-Kuang Tsai, CPBL pitcher
• 1966 - Albert Bracero, Puerto Rican national team outfielder
• 1966 - Chris Czarnik, college coach
• 1966 - Mike Dyer, pitcher
• 1967 - Hisanori Yokota, NPB pitcher
• 1968 - Shinichi Kondo, NPB pitcher
• 1969 - Ramon Martinez, scout
• 1970 - Carl Johnson, minor league player
• 1970 - Rick Steed, minor league pitcher
• 1971 - Mike Moyle, minor league player
• 1972 - Ramon Armendariz, umpire
• 1973 - Mike Halperin, minor league pitcher
• 1973 - Bob Wolcott, pitcher
• 1976 - Mike Rivera, catcher
• 1978 - Dan Kantrovitz, scout
• 1978 - Gil Meche, pitcher; All-Star
• 1978 - Tootie Myers, minor league infielder
• 1979 - Marlon Cabrera, Philippines national team catcher
• 1981 - Kennard Jones, minor league outfielder
• 1982 - Geno Espineli, pitcher
• 1982 - Donny Lucy, catcher
• 1982 - Gbenga Olayemi, minor league catcher
• 1983 - Julien Fachan, Division Elite infielder
• 1983 - Nick Hundley, catcher
• 1983 - Yong-woon Shin, KBO pitcher
• 1984 - Kenta Abe, NPB pitcher
• 1984 - Rob Delaney, pitcher
• 1984 - Bobby Parnell, pitcher
• 1985 - Kang-suk Kim, KBO infielder
• 1985 - Danny Payne, minor league outfielder
• 1986 - Logan Schafer, outfielder
• 1988 - Dustin Crenshaw, minor league pitcher
• 1988 - Daniel Duran, minor league infielder
• 1988 - Victor Estevez, minor league infielder
• 1988 - Chance Ruffin, pitcher
• 1988 - Alejandro Sanabia, pitcher
• 1990 - Gerrit Cole, pitcher; All-Star
• 1990 - Zachary Collier, minor league player
• 1990 - Kun-woo Park, KBO outfielder
• 1991 - Kai-Cheng Wang, CPBL pitcher
• 1992 - Dan Altavilla, pitcher
• 1993 - Nick Williams, outfielder
• 1994 - Sandy Bermúdez, Nicaraguan national team outfielder
• 1995 - Drew Carlton, pitcher
• 1995 - Orsen Josephina, minor league pitcher
• 1996 - Nicholas Eagles, South African national team infielder
• 1996 - Chien-Hsun Lee, CPBL pitcher
• 1996 - Brandon Walter, pitcher
• 1997 - Lars Nootbaar, outfielder
• 1997 - Nick Sogard, infielder
• 1998 - Leody Taveras, outfielder
• 2000 - Brennan Malone, minor league pitcher
• 2003 - Yu-Yen Kuo, CPBL pitcher

Deaths

• 1902 - George Prentiss, pitcher (b. 1876)
• 1919 - Jack Kerins, infielder, manager; umpire (b. 1858)
• 1936 - Bill Banks, pitcher (b. 1874)
• 1941 - Joe Boehling, pitcher (b. 1891)
• 1947 - Ralph Pond, outfielder (b. 1888)
• 1948 - Bill Byers, catcher (b. 1877)
• 1952 - Ed Hearne, infielder (b. 1888)
• 1955 - Dode Criss, pitcher (b. 1885)
• 1957 - Walter Frantz, minor league infielder/pitcher and manager (b. 1874)
• 1957 - Bill Miller, outfielder (b. 1879)
• 1959 - Roy Mitchell, pitcher (b. 1885)
• 1963 - Bill Knickerbocker, infielder (b. 1911)
• 1963 - Johnnie Williams, pitcher (b. 1889)
• 1964 - Buck Redfern, infielder (b. 1902)
• 1968 - Bill Kalfass, pitcher (b. 1916)
• 1977 - Oral Hildebrand, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1907)
• 1979 - Rick Joseph, infielder (b. 1939)
• 1988 - Rats Henderson, pitcher (b. 1896)
• 1990 - Joe Gleason, pitcher (b. 1895)
• 1991 - Clem Koshorek, infielder (b. 1925)
• 1991 - Lou Rosenberg, infielder (b. 1904)
• 1993 - Earl Mattingly, pitcher (b. 1904)
• 1999 - Hank Majlinger, college coach (b. ~1920)
• 1999 - Arthur Vicital, minor league pitcher (b. ~1930)
• 2006 - Erk Russell, college coach (b. 1926)
• 2011 - Jesse Jefferson, pitcher (b. 1949)
• 2012 - Kent Gerst, minor league outfielder (b. 1988)
• 2012 - Bob Hale, infielder (d. 1933)
• 2012 - Went Hubbard, minor league executive (b. ~1929)
• 2014 - Ken Staples, minor league catcher and manager (b. 1926)
• 2014 - George Zuverink, pitcher (b. 1924)
• 2015 - Joaquin Andujar, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1952)
• 2016 - Il-sung Ha, announcer (b. 1949)
• 2020 - Gene Budig, executive (b. 1939)
• 2020 - Jim Owens, pitcher (b. 1934)
• 2022 - Ted Schreiber, infielder (b. 1938)
• 2024 - Ed Kranepool, infielder; All-Star (b. 1944)