Template:Today in Baseball/May 17

December 19: Today's featured birthday is that of Chito Martinez, who turns 59.

• 1905 - In the first game by a Japanese baseball team outside of Japan, Waseda University beats Los Angeles High School by a 5-3 score.
• 1971 - Tommy McCraw hits a 140-foot home run when Jack Heidemann, John Lowenstein and Vada Pinson (pictured) collide while trying to catch a pop-up.
• 1984 - Alan Wiggins becomes the fourth player in the 20th Century to swipe five bases in a game; Lonnie Smith had done so just two years earlier.
• 1998 - David Wells sets an American League record by retiring 37 straight batters, 27 of them today in his perfect game.
• 2019 - Kris Bryant hits three homers in consecutive innings - the 7th, 8th and 9th - to lead the Cubs to a 14 - 6 win over the Nationals.

Recent days: May 16 – May 15 – May 14