Baseball History

[67RedSox]

It was on this date in 1900 NL umpire supervisor John Day issues a notice to players to "refrain from endless kicking and fault finding with the umpires. as umpires are only human and just as liable to make errors as players." Other than the kicking, nothing much has changed in the 115 years since.

Detroit Tigers manager Ralph Houk upset kicking dirt on AL home plate... News Photo | Getty Images

It was on this date in 1906 that Boston Beaneaters ( later the Doves and Rustlers before settling on Braves in 1912 ) OF’er, Johnny Bates, becomes the first modern player to hit a homer in his first ML at-bat when he connects in the 2nd inning against the Brooklyn Superbas' Harry McIntire. There have been 114 ML’ers do it since…the last of which was Jorge Soler of the Cubs on August 27, 2014 (unless it has been done so far in 2015)

List of Major League Baseball players with a home run in their first major league at bat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

On this date in 1909 the first the first game is played in Philadelphia’s new Shibe Park ( Connie Mack Stadium ). There was a tragic aspect, albeit delayed, to the day as the first death of a MLB player in the 20th Century caused by an on-field injury occurs:

First a little on Shibe Park. In the early years of the 20th century, Baseball was popular enough in Philadelphia that Philadelphia Athletics president Ben Shibe found his team regularly turning away customers from their cramped Columbia Park ballpark even though it was just a few years old. When as many as 28,000 showed up to fill the 9,500 wooden bleacher seats, Shibe and partner Connie Mack decided the A's needed a new place to play. For the design and its execution, Shibe hired William Steele and Sons. Their engineering staff had worked with the new technology of steel-reinforced concrete, and designed and built the city's first skyscraper, the Witherspoon Building at Walnut and Juniper Streets. The Steele design for the Shibe façade was in the ornate French Renaissance style, including arches, vaultings, and Ionic pilasters. The grandstand walls were to be of red brick and terra cotta and featured elaborate decorative friezes with baseball motifs, while cartouches framed the Athletics' "A" logo at regular intervals above the entrances. The signature feature of the exterior design was the octangular tower on the southwest corner. The upper floors would accommodate the A's offices, those of Shibe's sons Jack and Tom, who ran the day-to-day business aspects of the team, and the domed cupola on the very top were to house the office of Connie Mack, manager of the team's baseball operations. On the ground floor was a main entrance lobby. Bobby Shantz, pitcher for the A's in their last years at Shibe, wrote that the corner tower entrance "looked almost like a church." It was called it "a palace for fans, the most beautiful and capacious baseball structure in the world." In more recent times, baseball author David M. Jordan wrote that it was "a splendid forerunner of others like it ... Ben Shibe and the Steeles initiated 'the golden age of ballparks'."

In the game future Hall of Famer and 300 Game winner, Eddie Plank, pitches the A's to an 8-1 win over the Boston Red Sox‚ allowing 6 hits. His catcher, Mike "Doc" Powers injures himself going after a foul pop‚ and after the game complains of intestinal pains. Apparently an existing intestinal ailment was aggravated on the play. The 38-year-old will be operated on the next day but dies two weeks later. Incidentally, his nickname was derived from the fact that he was a licensed physician as well as a ballplayer. During a brief stint with the New York Highlanders in 1905, Powers caught while Jim "Doc" Newton pitched, creating the only known example of a two-physician battery in Major League history.


Doc Powers - BR Bullpen

In the early years of Post 1900 MLB it was common for there to be playing-managers. It was considered an economic necessity. The further into the 20th Century one got the less likely this would be the case. It was on this date in 1922 the National League season opens and for the first time all Managers are bench Managers. It wouldn’t be until 1930 that the American League would open a season with no playing-managers.

List of Major League Baseball player-managers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Team baseball uniforms are as old as the New York Knickerbockers who first wore them on April 4, 1849. Some are/have been wonderful while others are/have been horrible. The Rockies are not the first team to feature purple as a primary uniform colour. That distinction belongs to the NY Giants who, on this date in 1916, introduce their purple plaid uniforms. It just happened to be the same season the cross-town Dodgers sported a checkered uniform. They are both deemed to be pretty bad and will not make a return in 1917. Certainly in 1916 New York could not claim to be a fashion capital except for outrageous baseball uniforms.

Baseball Eras Blog: 10 Ugliest Uniforms in Baseball History

1916 ny giants brooklyn dodgers uniforms - Google Search


Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

Can you name the last “Tom”, “Dick” , “Fred” or “Eddie” to manage a World Series winner…they are all Post WWII.

The answer to yesterday’s question…David Price (It doesn’t happen often but generally when it does it’s by a very good pitcher like Bob Feller, Robin Roberts, Mickey Lolich or Steve Carlton. Can you name the pitcher, who in 2014, led his League (and the Majors) in both Hits Allowed and Strikeout

 

[67RedSox]

It was on this date in 1891 the ML team in Washington, then known as the Statesmen, open their new National Park before a crowd of 4‚365 as Boston wins‚ 6-0. This site at 7th Street and Georgia Avenue‚ N.W.‚ will serve ML Baseball in the nation's capital through 1961‚ except for one 4-year period (1900-1903). Initially hewn from a forest‚ in this first year of play the field is surrounded by overhanging trees that cause many drives that would have been homers to rebound back onto the playing field. The original park had a capacity of 6,500. Professional baseball in Washington, DC dates back to the 1870s when baseball was played at ballparks known as Swampoodle Grounds, Athletic Park and Capitol Grounds but this site in its various forms over the years is where HOF players like Walter Johnson, Sam Rice, Goose Goslin, Joe Cronin and even Harmon Killebrew would call home. It was also the site of the longest HR ever hit by Mickey Mantle in 1954. A fire ignited by a blowtorch on March 17, 1911 destroyed the ballpark. In its place a new ballpark, built of steel and concrete, was erected in just three weeks. On April 12, 1911, the new ballpark, named National Park, was partially completed as the Senators hosted the Boston Red Sox. For almost four months work continued on the ballpark when the team was out of town. It was completed on July 24, 1911 with a seating capacity of 27,410. A double decked grandstand extended from behind home plate to the first and third bases. The lower grandstand stretched to each foul pole and bleachers stretched from left field to centerfield.

In 1920 National Park was renamed Griffith Stadium after the owner of the Senators, Clark Griffith. The same year, the stadium was expanded for the only time during its existence as the grandstand was double decked to both the left and right field foul poles. The new second deck of Griffith Stadium did not connect to the original grandstand because the original stands were graded differently. This addition increased the seating capacity to over 30,000.

Griffith Stadium changed little throughout the rest of its life. Not only was it one of the smallest ballparks in baseball, but one of the hardest ballparks to hit a homerun at. Original dimensions were 407'-L, 421'-C and 320'-R with a 30 foot high fence stretching from the right field foul pole to center field that included the scoreboard. The fence in centerfield jutted into the playing field because the team was unable to purchase five houses and a large tree when the ballpark was constructed. Dimensions at Griffith Stadium were shortened slightly in 1956 when a 6 foot high fence was added in front of the left field fence shortening the distance to 388 feet. The bullpens were located in right centerfield and the first night game at Griffith Stadium was on May 28, 1941. Griffith Stadium had one unique feature that no other stadium had, a Presidential box. A special luxury box was constructed next to the first base dugout for the President of the United States. Every President, starting with William Howard Taft in 1910 until John F. Kennedy in 1961 threw a ceremonial first pitch at Griffith Stadium.

The demise of Griffith Stadium began in the 1950s. When the St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore in 1954 part of the Senators fan base instantly became Orioles fans and stopped attending games at Griffith Stadium. A year later Clark Griffith died and his nephew/adoptive son, Calvin Griffith, became majority owner of the team. By 1958 he began looking to relocate the team to cities including Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis and Toronto. In October 1960 Griffith announced that the Senators were moving to Minneapolis's, Metropolitan Stadium and becoming the Twins, even though a new stadium was under construction in Washington. Although the Senators left after the 1960 season, MLB under fear the politicians would re-look at the Reserve Clause, awarded Washington, DC an expansion franchise that began playing in 1961. The new Washington Senators played at Griffith Stadium for one season in 1961 before moving again, this time to the new D.C. Stadium. The last baseball game played at Griffith Stadium was on September 21, 1961 as 1,500 fans watched the old Senators, the Minnesota Twins, defeat the new Senators.


It was on this date in 1900, at the request of club owners in Cincinnati and New York‚ that the NL bans umpire Tim Hurst‚ considered the most colorful and cantankerous umpire‚ from working in cities whose club owners "object to having a man of that type associated with their grounds‚ where ladies and gentlemen watch the games." He ended up umpiring in the American League until 1909 when he was fired. Hall of Fame umpire Bill Klem later called him "the toughest umpire of them all"; "he was so tough that if a ballplayer did not like one of his decisions and challenged him on the field, Tim would say 'OK, we'll stop the game and go right under the stands and settle it now.'"

Tim Hurst - BR Bullpen

It was on this date in 1926 in the last of his 14 Opening Day starts‚ Walter Johnson takes on A's knuckleballer Eddie Rommel in baseball's greatest Opening-Day pitchers' duel‚ a 15-inning battle won by the Senators 1-0. Johnson gives up 6 hits‚ fans 12‚ and allows no runner past 1B in a game he considers his greatest. Rommel allows 9 hits will fanning 5. Bucky Harris singles and scores the lone run‚ coming home after a Goose Goslin double and a Joe Harris single.

April 13, 1926 Philadelphia Athletics at Washington Senators Play by Play and Box Score | Baseball-Reference.com

It wascommon for New York teams to have a final tune-up series just before the regular season began. On this date in 1939 in an exhibition game against the Dodgers Yankee 1B Lou Gehrig goes deep twice despite apparent muscle loss especially around the shoulders. The home runs will be the last round trippers the ‘Iron Horse’ will ever hit and he will play in only 8 games that season before his career ends.

Lou Gehrig: The Daily News photos - NY Daily News

It was on this date in 1954 Hank Aaron makes his ML debut going hitless in 5 trips to the plate in a 9-8 loss to the Redlegs. His first ML game coincided with the Baltimore Orioles first game when they played and lost 3-0 to the Tigers in Detroit.

April 13, 1954 Milwaukee Braves at Cincinnati Redlegs Play by Play and Box Score | Baseball-Reference.com

April 13, 1954 Baltimore Orioles at Detroit Tigers Play by Play and Box Score | Baseball-Reference.com

It was on this date in 1962 that just 12‚447 Mets' fans welcome the return of NL baseball to New York. Sherman Jones drops a 4-3 decision to the Pirates at the Polo Grounds‚ which sparkles after a $350‚000 face-lift.

Opening Day for the Mets in 1962 at the Polo Grounds - Photos - The first home opener for the Mets - NY Daily News

It was on this date in 1963 after 11 hitless at-bats‚ Cincinnati 2B Pete Rose records his first ML hit‚ a triple off Pittsburgh's Bob Friend. In the same game a ML record 7 balks are called.

April 13, 1963 Pittsburgh Pirates at Cincinnati Reds Box Score and Play by Play | Baseball-Reference.com

Ever hear of Vean Gregg…he was born on this date in in 1885. Ty Cobb knew who he was. As a 26-year-old rookie in 1911 pitching for Cleveland he won 23 games and led the American League with a 1.80 ERA. Both Cobb and Eddie Collins called him the best left-hander in the League. He was the only 20th Century pitcher to win at least 20 games in his first three years in the Majors.

Vean Gregg Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

Who could ever forget Mark “The Bird” Fidrych if you ever saw him pitch. His rookie season, 1976, would fill a highlight reel all by itself. He died on this date in 2009 at the age of 54. At the time of his death he worked as a contractor hauling gravel and asphalt in a ten-wheeler. He died when working under the truck and his clothes became tangled in the truck's power takeoff shaft.


Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

I’m the last Arizona Diamondback to win a Cy Young Award

The answer to yesterday’s question…Tom Kelly-1991 Twins, Dick Howser-1985 Royals, Fred Haney-1957 Braves, Eddie Dyer-1946 Cardinals. (Can you name the last “Tom”, “Dick” , “Fred” or “Eddie” to manage a World Series winner…they are all Post WWII.)

List of World Series champions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[67RedSox]

It was on this date in 1908 Boston adopts the nickname, “Red Sox” dropping the nickname the “Americans”.

Boston Red Sox

I’ve been known to comment on the odd ballpark once in a while but since they contribute so much to the Grand Old Game’s history it’s pretty hard not to. Today, it’s the Polo Grounds or as it was commonly referred to in its time, “The Bathtub”. On this date in 1911 a fire of unknown origin swept through the Polo Grounds horseshoe-shaped grandstand, consuming wood and leaving only steel uprights in place. The gaps between some sections of the stands saved a good portion of the outfield seating and the clubhouse from destruction. Giants owner John T. Brush decided to rebuild the Polo Grounds with concrete and steel, renting Hilltop Park from the Yankees during reconstruction.
Progress was sufficient to allow the stadium to reopen just three months later, June 28, 1911, the date some baseball guides date the structure. As configured, it was the ninth concrete-and-steel stadium in the Majors and fourth in the National League. Unfinished seating areas were rebuilt during the season while the games went on. The new structure stretched in roughly the same semicircle from the left field corner around home plate to the right field corner as prior but was extended into deep right-center field. The surviving wooden bleachers were retained basically as is, with gaps remaining on each side between the new fireproof construction. The Giants rose from the ashes along with their ballpark, winning the National League Pennant that year as well as the following two seasons, 1912 and 1913. The team tried to rename the new structure Brush Stadium in honor of their then-owner John T. Brush, but the name did not stick.
The remaining old bleachers were demolished during the 1923 season when the permanent double-deck was extended around most of the rest of the field and new bleachers and clubhouse were constructed across center field. This construction gave the stadium its familiar bathtub style shape, as well as a new nickname, "The Bathtub."
This version of the ballpark had its share of quirks. The "unofficial" distances (never marked on the wall) down the left and right field lines were 279 and 258 feet respectively, but there was a 21 foot overhang in left field, which often intercepted fly balls which would otherwise have been catchable and turned them into home runs. Contrasting with the short distances down the lines were the 450 distances in deepest left and right center (the gaps), with the base of the straightaway centerfield clubhouse standing 483 feet distant from home plate, up a 58 foot fairway from the grandstand corners on either side of the clubhouse, which were themselves 425 feet from home plate. The famous photo of “The Catch” made by Willie Mays in the 1954 World Series against Vic Wertz of the Cleveland Indians occurred immediately in front of the "batter's eye", a metal screen atop the grandstand wall directly to the right of the centerfield fairway. Because centerfield was so vast long fly balls to its outer reaches that would be caught were easy HRs in most every other ballpark. As an illustration of just how far it was out there Vic Wertz claims the ball that resulted in “The Catch” was the hardest he hit in his career yet it resulted in nothing other than an out…and that from a man who hit 266 HRs in his career.

1911 rolo grounds fire - Google Search

Polo Grounds - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Where were you 95 years ago…It was on this date in 1920 at Shibe Park‚ Babe Ruth makes his Yankee debut‚ lacing two hits‚ but dropping an easy fly in center that allows two runs to score in the 8th. The A's Scott Perry is the beneficiary of Babe's error‚ winning‚ 3-1 over Bob Shawkey.

April 14, 1920 New York Yankees at Philadelphia Athletics Play by Play and Box Score | Baseball-Reference.com

You would think if a team knocks out 20 hits and scores 14 runs they win the game. That would likely be the case for every team other than the hapless St. Louis Browns. It was on this date in 1925 the St. Louis Browns started a season worse than any other team before or since despite scoring those 14 runs. The Cleveland Indians scored 21 runs that day for a they were defeated 21-14 by the Cleveland Indians who established the ML mark for the most runs scored by one club on Opening Day.

April 14, 1925 Cleveland Indians at St. Louis Browns Box Score and Play by Play | Baseball-Reference.com

It was on this date in 1955 Elston Howard becomes the first black player to wear the Yankee uniform. He singles in his first at bat‚ against the Red Sox‚ as the Yanks lose‚ 8-4.

Classic Yankees: Elston Howard | Bronx Baseball Daily

It was on this date in 1964 the Giants purchase Duke Snider from the Mets‚ answering the trivia question: Who played for the Brooklyn and LA Dodgers‚ the Giants‚ and the Mets?

duke snider sf giants - Google Search

Also, on this date in 1964 besides the Beatles Can’t Buy Me Love Sandy Koufax pitched in his only Opening Day game as a starter defeating the Cardinals 4-0. He tossed a Complete Game and did something he often did…did not allow a walk.

April 14, 1964 St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers Play by Play and Box Score | Baseball-Reference.com


Did you ever notice the wire fencing atop the 11 foot outfield walls at Wrigley Field and wonder why it was there. It was on this date in 1970 Ken Holtzman pitches the Cubs to a 5-4 win over the Phillies. At the end of the game‚ hundreds of fans swarm the field‚ many of them climbing over the wall in right field. The melee prompts the Cubs management to install the wire fencing to prevent such acts happening again.

wrigley field outfield screen - Google Search

Some birthdays today…HOF’er Greg Maddux was born on this date in 1966. Non-HOF’er Pete Rose was born on this date in 1941 and if you want to go back a bit farther Don Mueller was born on this date in 1927. Maddux and Rose you know but in case Mueller isn’t familiar he was an OF’er with the Giants in the 1950s. He played RF for the Giants and was beside Willie Mays in the field when Mays made “The Catch” in the ’54 World Series. That 1954 was Mueller’s best. He led the NL that season with 212 hits. Going into the season's final day, he narrowly paced the circuit with a .343 batting average (with teammate Willie Mays right behind at .342). He went 2-for-6 off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Robin Roberts in the last game, but Mays went 3-for-4 and won the crown .345 to .342.

Don Mueller - BR Bullpen

Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

In the two decades, 1960-1979 there was only one player in the NL and one player in the AL to win back-to-back MVP Awards. Can you name them.

The answer to yesterday’s question…Brandon Webb-2006 (I’m the last Arizona Diamondback to win a Cy Young Award)

 

[67RedSox]

In 1857 baseball games were a daily spectacle in Cleveland's Public Squares. City authorities tried to find an ordinance forbidding it, to the joy of the crowd, they were unsuccessful. Cleveland was among several cities which established professional baseball teams following the success of the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first fully professional team and by 1879 Cleveland had a team playing in the National League and by 1899 it was known as the Spiders. The history of Cleveland as a NL team turned ugly in 1899 when the owner, the Robinson brothers who also owned the St. Louis Browns/Perfectos, decided to run the team as a “sideshow” after transferring most of its good players to their St. Louis team. With a decimated roster, the Spiders made a wretched showing. They finished with a dismal won-lost record of 20–134 (.130), the worst in baseball history, 84 games behind pennant-winning Brooklyn and 35 games behind the next-to-last (11th) place Washington Senators and were contracted at season’s end.

The team we know in Cleveland today has no relation to former NL teams in the City. It grew out of the Western League’s Cleveland Bluebirds. The Western league became the American League in 1901 which gained ML status in 1903. Cleveland was a charter member of the AL but it would take 14 years before the nickname “Indians” would be adopted. It was first the Bluebirds, then Bronchos, then Naps until it was on this date in 1915 “Indians” becomes official when after team owner Charles Somers Somers asked the local newspapers to come up with a new name, and based on their input, the team was renamed the Cleveland Indians. Despite legends to suggest otherwise research indicates that the new name was a play on the name of the Boston Braves, then known as the "Miracle Braves" after going from last place on July 4 to a sweep in the 1914 World Series.

The Newspaper that Invented the Cleveland Indians' Name Comes Out Against the Logo - The Wire

It was on this date in 1899 John McGraw‚ 26‚ makes his managerial debut‚ and leads the Baltimore Orioles to a 5-3 win over the Giants. It would be the first of 33 seasons managing in the Majors and 31 would be with the NY Giants, 1902-1932. He didn’t give up on managing or get fired but had to resign due to poor health and was 60 years old when he died at his home in New Rochelle, New York, on February 25, 1934, of prostate cancer and uremia. His career record as a Manager was 2,763 – 1,948 has only Connie Mack ahead of him in career Wins.

John McGraw - BR Bullpen

On this date in 1918 the AL season opens with Boston's Babe Ruth pitching a 4-hit‚ 7-1‚ victory over the A's‚ his 3rd opening day victory in a row. Red Sox manager Ed Barrow will start Ruth's conversion to slugger by working him into 72 games as OF-1B.

April 15, 1918 Philadelphia Athletics at Boston Red Sox Play by Play and Box Score | Baseball-Reference.com

If you’re a Giants or Dodgers fan here’s something significant. It was on this date in 1958…on Opening Day… the transplanted New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers play the first Major League game on the West Coast. The California contest sees Ruben Gomez blanking Los Angeles and Don Drysdale at San Francisco's Seals Stadium, 8-0 before 23,448 fans.

seals stadium 1958 - Google Search


Not a Giants or Dodgers fan? How about a Cardinals fan then? On this date in 1959 RH’er Bob Gibson makes his ML debut at LA Memorial Coliseum, tossing the final two innings in the 5-0 loss to the Dodgers. The 23-year old rookie becomes the first future Hall of Fame hurler to give up a home run to the first batter he faces in the major leagues when third baseman Jim Baxes takes him deep in the seventh inning.

April 15, 1959 St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score and Play by Play | Baseball-Reference.com

It was on this date in 1921 that Pirates right-hander Moses “Chief” YellowHorse makes his ML debut against the Reds at Redland Field. A member of the Pawnees, he is believed by many baseball historians to be the first full-blooded American Indian to play in the Majors. Other Native Americans who played MLB such as Chief Bender, Chief Meyers, and Lou Sockalexis were not believed to have been full-blooded natives. His career was brief… derailed by injuries, alcohol and carousing however Ty Cobb remembered him well. Off the mound he was easygoing manner and had a great sense of humour. On the mound though he was all business and took no prisoners. On September 26, 1922 YellowHorse was facing Cobb in an exhibition game. Cobb as usual was crowding the plate and according to witnesses was hurling racist remarks at YellowHorse, who shook off four pitches and then sent a fastball that hit Cobb between the eyes.

Chief Yellow Horse - BR Bullpen

Another pitcher, Schoolboy Rowe, made his MLB debut on this date in 1933. The Tigers rookie tosses a six-hitter blanking the White Sox, 3-0. He received his nickname, "Schoolboy," while playing on a men's team as a fifteen-year-old high school student. During his 15-year career, playing also with the Dodgers and Phillies, Rowe would win 158 games. He became a vital member of the Tigers in their World Series years. In their back-to-back World Series seasons Rowe won 24 in 1934 (including an AL record 16 consecutive wins) and 19 games and then in 1940 he led them to the Series again with a record of 16-3. He was a power pitcher with remarkable control.

Schoolboy Rowe became a fan favorite in Detroit. He was known as a superstitious player who carried amulets, talismans, and charms in his pockets, always picked up his glove with his left hand and even talked to the ball.

Rowe was loved particularly by female fans for his good looks and devotion to his high-school sweetheart, Edna Mary Skinner. During a September 13, 1934, nationally broadcast interview on the Eddie Cantor radio show, Rowe asked his fiancee, "How'm I doing, Edna honey?" The line became famous, as Cantor recycled the line over and over on his broadcasts. The incident endeared Schoolboy to women across the country, but led to relentless heckling from fans and opposing players, who enjoyed taunting him with his own words: "How'm I doing, Edna?"

Schoolboy Rowe - BR Bullpen

Ernie Padgett died on this date in 1957. His MLB career was brief and consisted of one full season which accounted for more than one-half of his career. At the tail end of the 1923 season the Boston Braves brought Padgett up to play in the team’s final games of the season. Padgett achieved Baseball history when, in just the second game of his ML career, the Braves' final game of the 1923 season, he executed the fourth unassisted Triple Play on October 6, doing so against the Philadelphia Phillies. In the fourth inning of the game, Padgett, playing shortstop, caught Walter Holke's line drive, stepped on second base to retire Cotton Tierney, and then tagged outfielder Cliff Lee before he was able to return to first base. Although this was the fourth unassisted Triple Play in MLB, it was the first recognized Triple Play to be accomplished in the National League.

Ernie Padgett - BR Bullpen

On this date in 1972…Opening Day in Oakland, A’s outfielder Reggie Jackson becomes the first player in fifty-eight years to wear a mustache during the regular season. The last time facial hair was worn in a ML game was in 1914 when Wally Schang had hair above his lip catching for Philadelphia Athletics.

reggie jackson 1972 - Google Search

Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

There are 75 pitchers enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Among them can you name the pitcher to give up the fewest number of HRs. He also has the lowest Lifetime ERA among HOF pitchers who played Post 1930.

The answer to yesterday’s question… AL - Roger Maris in 1960 & 1961. NL – Joe Morgan 1975 & 1976 (In the two decades, 1960-1979 there was only one player in the NL and one player in the AL to win back-to-back MVP Awards. Can you name them.)

 

[67RedSox]

It was on this date in 1896 at Philadelphia’s Baker Bowl, the Boston Beaneaters ( Braves ) defeat the Phillies, 7-3, in front of 24,500 which is the largest Opening Day crowd of the 19th century. When Baker Bowl was first opened, it was praised as the finest baseball palace in America. By the time it closed in 1938 and was abandoned, it had been a joke for years. The Chicago Tribune ran a series of articles on baseball parks during the summer of 1937, and the article about Baker Bowl was merciless in its ridicule of this park. Still, it would be on my list of old ballparks I’d like to watch a game in.

The Best Baker Bowl Photos on the Internet, Part 1 Philly Sports History

Happy Birthday to Piggy Ward who was born on this date in 1867. Aside from the nickname he’s remembered for something he shares with Earl Averill (mentioned below)… the MLB record of the most consecutive plate appearances resulting in officially getting on base (through either a walk, a base hit or being hit by a pitch) in MLB history. From June 16 to June 19 in 1893, Ward officially reached base a record 17 times in 17 consecutive plate appearances, getting 8 hits, drawing 8 walks and being hit by a pitch once. Ward also holds the record for the youngest non-pitcher to play in the National League… he made his debut in 1883 aged 16 years, 1 month and 27 days in 1883 with Philadelphia.

Piggy Ward - BR Bullpen

It was because of the weather that on this date in 1929 the Cleveland Indians became the first MLB team to permanently wear uniform numbers. It’s Opening Day and the Indians wear numbers on the back of their jerseys when they edge Detroit at League Park, 5-4. The Tribe beat the Yankees in becoming the first team to don digits on a regular basis when the Bronx Bombers' contest against Boston is washed out in New York. The above isn’t the only first for the game. Indians' rookie center fielder Earl Averill homers on an 0-2 pitch off Tigers' hurler Earl Whitehill to become the first AL player to hit a home run in his first ML at-bat. The 'Earl of Snohomish' will become the first player to accomplish the feat who will be also be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

1929 Cleveland Indians Roster by Baseball Almanac

Uniform number (Major League Baseball) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

On this date in 1935 with the band playing Jingle Bells at Boston's Braves Field on a snowy day with near freezing temperatures, Babe Ruth makes his National League debut as he homers and singles off Giants' legend Carl Hubbell and the Braves beat New York, 4-2. There is silent film footage of the occasion.

In an attempt to make his dream come true to manage, Babe Ruth came to the Braves in February 1935. He was hired as vice-president and assistant manager, and team owner Emil Fuchs promised Ruth a share of team profits. Ruth was only a shadow of his former self, as years of high living had made a shambles of his conditioning. He couldn't run, and his fielding was so terrible that three of the Braves' pitchers threatened to go on strike if Ruth was in the lineup. A month into the season, Ruth stopped hitting as well. It soon became obvious that Ruth's titles as vice-president and assistant manager were mere window dressing, and that he was only on the team due to the attention he commanded. He also discovered that rather than give him a share of the Braves' profits, Fuchs expected him to invest some of his money in the team. Seeing a team in utter collapse and realizing he was finished as a player, Ruth retired on June 1, days after he had had what remains one of the most memorable afternoons in baseball history. He clouted what turned out to be the last three home runs of his career in a game at Forbes Field. He'd wanted to quit as early as May 12, but Fuchs wanted him to hang on so he could play in every NL park. Fuchs lost control of the team soon afterward.



Jim Lonborg, the first Cy Young Award winner in Boston Red Sox history, was born on this date in 1942. His childhood dream wasn’t to be a ML pitcher but a surgeon. Even as a rookie he was looking at his life after baseball. When his pitching career ended he pursued a medical career and graduated from Tufts University’s Dental School and established a thriving less than 30 miles from Fenway Park where he had achieved his pitching success.

Jim Lonborg Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

Connie Ryan played 12 seasons in the Big Leagues from 1942-1954. He was a 2nd baseman and a very good fielder and that probably kept him in the Majors because his bat produced neither HRs ( 56 during the course of his career ) nor a high batting average ( .248 ). The majority of his ML service was in the employ of the Boston Braves in the 1940’s so it’s ironic that this light hitting 2nd baseman who would play only one full season with the Phillies would set an offensive record for them that still stands 60+ years later. It was on this date in 1953 he collects 6 hits in a game against the Pirates at Forbes Field…4 singles and 2 doubles and to this day it is the record for the most hits in one game for the Phillies. He’s remembered as well for something he did in a game in 1949. It was September 29th at Braves Field during a meaningless end-of-season Ladies Day game. The skies darkened and and the rain began. Ryan donned a raincoat while waiting to bat in the on-deck circle. Home plate umpire George Barr saw Ryan’s coat and threw him out of the contest for his not-so-subtle suggestion that the game be called. As Ryan later recounted: “They wouldn’t listen to us when we hollered at them from the bench that it was raining too hard to play. They wouldn’t even take a hint when we built a little fire out of programs and newspapers in front of the dugout. I thought I’d try to convince them some other way, that’s all.”

Connie Ryan | SABR

On this date in 1946, on Opening Day, Mel Ott hits his 511th and final home run of his career in the Giants’ 8-4 victory over Philadelphia at the Polo Grounds, a ballpark in which he has hit 63% of his round-trippers. He was truly the NL’s supreme slugger as the 37 year-old player-manager has 200 more HRs than any other National Leaguer and will retire 3rd on the all-time list, trailing only Babe Ruth (714) and Jimmie Foxx (534).


Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

In the Live-Ball Era (1920 – Present)… can you name either the pitcher with the most Innings Pitched in a single season, 373 or the pitcher with the most Innings Pitched in a career, 5,404. The former is not in the HOF while the latter was enshrined in 1997. Their careers overlapped.

The answer to yesterday’s question…Babe Ruth. Ruth gave up only 10 HRs as a pitcher and had a lifetime ERA of.228. (There are 75 pitchers enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Among them can you name the pitcher to give up the fewest number of HRs. He also has the lowest Lifetime ERA among HOF pitchers who played Post 1930.) The way I asked the question might have been misleading although I did not intend for that. It suggests the pitcher’s career was entirely post-1930 and of course Ruth’s wasn’t. Ruth was a pitcher, and pitched in 10 different seasons in the Majors so it’s O.K. to include him in questions about pitchers. With Tim Hudson and CC Sabathia falling by the wayside last year Babe Ruth is the only pitcher in MLB history to have a career that spanned at least 10 years pitching in the Majors and having a winning record in every season.

 

[67RedSox]

In the early days of the Grand Old Game it’s invention was credited to Abner Doubleday, a career United States Army officer and Union general in the American Civil War. He did fire the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter, the opening battle of the War, and he did have a pivotal role in the early fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg. In San Francisco, after the war, he did obtain a patent on the cable car railway that still runs there. However, he never did invent the game in 1839… and he never claimed that he did. Years after Doubleday’s death in 1893 and years of controversy the invention of America's "national game" was attributed to Abner Doubleday by the Mills Commission (1905–1907). Some Baseball historians immediately cried foul and additional research clearly revealed Doubleday was not responsible for either the invention of the Game or the development of the Game as it is played today.
If not Doubleday then who is responsible for the Grand Old Game as we know. I find it interesting that the “inventor” of Baseball is someone who lived almost his entire adult life thousands of miles from the United States, 2,400 miles to be precise. It was on this date in 1820 that the “Father of Baseball”, Alexander Cartwright was born in New York City. As a teenager he worked first as a clerk in a Wall Street, then as a bank clerk and bookseller. While he was doing this he did two other things…he was a volunteer fireman and as firemen often have to find things to do in their idle time Cartwright played bat-and-ball games in the streets of Manhattan with other volunteer firefighters.
Cartwright led the establishment of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club (after the Knickerbocker Fire Engine Company) in 1842. The Knickerbockers played a brand of bat-and-ball game called town ball on a field at 4th Avenue and 27th Streets.
In 1845 Cartwright and a committee from his club drew up rules converting this playground game into a more elaborate and interesting sport to be played by adults. The original 14 rules were somewhat similar to but not identical to the English sport of rounders. Three exceptions devised by Cartwright included the stipulations that the playing field had to be laid out in a diamond-shape rather than a square used in rounders, foul territories were to be introduced for the first time, and the practice of retiring a runner by hitting him with a thrown ball was forbidden. Cartwright is also credited for introducing flat bases at uniform distances, three strikes per batter, and nine players in the outfield.
The first clearly documented match between two baseball clubs under these rules took place on June 19, 1846, at Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey. Shortly thereafter the gold rush struck California and like many men of the time Cartwright, then married, headed to California to make his fortune but he didn’t stop in California…he kept heading West until he arrived in Honolulu, Hawai’i then a Kingdom under King David Kalākaua and Queen Emma. Cartwright would spend the rest of his life in Hawaii and is buried there. Cartwright served as the fire chief of Honolulu from 1850 through June 30, 1863. He set up a baseball field on the island of Oahu at Makiki Field, now called Cartwright Field. As advisor to King David Kalākaua and Queen Emma he encouraged the growth of Baseball on the islands until his death on July 12, 1892, a year before the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893.

Alexander Cartwright - BR Bullpen

It was on this date in 1869 the Cincinnati Red Stockings defeat the rival Amateurs, 24-15, in Baseball's first professional game. Team captain Harry Wright had put all of his players under contract making the club that will later be known as the Reds, the first professional team in sports history.

1869 cincinnati red stockings - Google Search

On this date in 1934 Casey Stengel manages the first of the 3,747 games he will manage in the Majors between the Dodgers, Braves, Yankees and Mets.

Lot Detail - 1934 Casey Stengel -signing contract to be Brooklyn Dodgers Manager

April 17, 1934 Boston Braves at Brooklyn Dodgers Play by Play and Box Score | Baseball-Reference.com

On this date in 1951 Mickey Mantle, batting 3rd in the Yankee line-up, grounds out to 2B in his first ML at-bat in a game against the Red Sox. There were 8 future Hall of Famers playing in that game...Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Johnny Mize, Phil Rizzuto, Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr and Lou Boudreau. Two years later to the day, on this date in 1953 Mantle blasts a reported 565-foot homer off southpaw Chuck Stobb in the Yankees' 7-3 victory over Washington at a windy Griffith Stadium.

April 17, 1951 Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees Box Score and Play by Play | Baseball-Reference.com

mantle griffith stadium - Google Search

On this date in 1955 Roberto Clemente singles off Dodger pitcher Johnny Podres in his first ML at-bat. The first of 3,000 he would collect.

April 17, 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers at Pittsburgh Pirates Box Score and Play by Play | Baseball-Reference.com

It was on this date in 1956 Don Drysdale makes his ML debut.

April 17, 1956 Philadelphia Phillies at Brooklyn Dodgers Play by Play and Box Score | Baseball-Reference.com

The San Diego Padres and Montreal Expos entered the Majors on the same day in 1969. On this date in 1969, in only the 9th game of the franchise's history, Expos hurler Bill Stoneman, who had never thrown a complete game in the Majors nor won a game as a starter, tosses a no-hitter defeating the Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium, 7-0. It’s been 46 years since that game and the Padres are still waiting for a pitcher to toss a no-hitter…the only team in the Majors not to have a n-hitter to their credit. On the other end of the no-hitter spectrum Dodger pitchers have thrown 25 no-hitters, Red Sox and White Sox pitchers have tossed 18.

April 17, 1969 Montreal Expos at Philadelphia Phillies Box Score and Play by Play | Baseball-Reference.com

No-hitters by Major League Baseball franchise | Baseball no-hitters at NoNoHitters.com

It was on this date in 2012 throwing seven strong innings in the Rockies' 5-3 victory over San Diego, Jamie Moyer becomes the oldest pitcher to win a ML contest. The 49-year, 150 day old southpaw surpasses Brooklyn's Jack Quinn, who was almost three months younger when he got the victory pitching five frames in relief against St. Louis in 1932.



Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

What team did these Hall of Famers make their MLB debut with…Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Ryne Sandberg and Lou Brock.

The answer to yesterday’s question…Mickey Lolich and Phil Niekro. (In the Live-Ball Era (1920 – Present)… can you name either the pitcher with the most Innings Pitched in a single season, 373 or the pitcher with the most Innings Pitched in a career, 5,404. The former is not in the HOF while the latter was enshrined in 1997. Their careers overlapped.)

 

[67RedSox]

Hall of Famer, Wahoo Sam Crawford, was born on this date in 1880. He was one of the greatest sluggers of the Dead-Ball Era and still holds the Major League records for triples in a career (309) and inside-the-park home runs in a season, 12 . He finished his career with 2,961 hits and a .309 batting average, and became the first player to lead both American League and the National League in home runs (1901 and 1908).
Crawford and Ty Cobb were teammates for parts of 13 seasons. They played beside each other in right and center field, and Crawford followed Cobb in the batting order year after year. Despite the physical closeness, the two had a complicated relationship. Initially, they had a student-teacher relationship. Crawford was an established star when Cobb arrived, and Cobb eagerly sought his advice. Cobb told of studying Crawford’s base-stealing technique and of how Crawford would teach him about pursuing fly balls and throwing out base runners. Cobb said he would always remember Crawford’s kindness. The student-teacher relationship gradually changed to one of jealous rivals. Cobb was unpopular with his teammates, and as he became the biggest star in Baseball, Crawford was unhappy with the preferential treatment given Cobb. Cobb was allowed to report late for spring training and given private quarters on the road – privileges not offered to Crawford. The competition between the two was intense. Crawford recalled that, if he went three for four on a day when Cobb went hitless, Cobb would turn red and sometimes walk out of the park with the game still on.
In retirement, Cobb wrote a letter to a writer for The Sporting News accusing Crawford of not helping in the outfield and of intentionally fouling off balls when Cobb was stealing a base. Crawford learned about the letter in 1946 and accused Cobb of being a “cheapskate” who never helped his teammates. He said that Cobb had not been a very good fielder, “so he blamed me.” Crawford denied intentionally trying to deprive Cobb of stolen bases, insisting that Cobb had “dreamed that up.” When asked about the feud, Cobb attributed it to jealousy. He felt that Crawford was “a hell of a good player,” but he was “second best” on the Tigers and “hated to be an also ran.” Cobb biographer Richard Bak noted that the two “only barely tolerated each other” and agreed with Cobb that Crawford’s attitude was driven by Cobb’s having stolen Crawford’s thunder.
Although they may not have spoken to each other, Cobb and Crawford developed an uncanny ability to communicate nonverbally with looks and nods on the base paths. They became one of the most successful double steal pairings in baseball history.

sam crawford - Google Search


On this date in 1906 a devastating earthquake, known as the great 70-second earthquake, resulted from the rupture of over 270 miles of the San Andreas Fault, from San Juan Bautista to Eureka, centered immediately offshore of San Francisco. The quake is estimated to have had a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale. Water mains ruptured throughout San Francisco, and the fires that followed burned out of control for days, destroying approximately 80% of the city, including almost all the downtown core. The official death toll at the time was 478, although it was officially revised in 2005 to 3,000+. The initial low death toll was concocted by civic, state, and federal officials who felt that reporting the actual numbers would hurt rebuilding and redevelopment efforts, as well as city and national morale.
Another casualty of the quake is Recreation Park‚ home of the Pacific Coast League’s San Francisco Seals as well as the League offices. The Seals (9-2) are leading the League. Oakland C Pat Donohue breaks both his legs when he jumps from a hotel window during the quake. The Seals finished the 1906 season playing home games at Freeman's Park in Oakland. Following is a remarkable video depicting street travel in San Francisco at the time

recreation park, san francisco - Google Search


It’s a balmy day in New York as Yankee Stadium opens on this date in 1923 with Babe Ruth hitting the park's first home run. The stadium is the first to feature three decks. The debut is a huge success with an announced attendance of 74‚217. Another 25‚000 are turned away. Police arrest two for scalping: one man for trying to sell a $1.10 grandstand ticket for $1.25‚ while another tries to get $1.50.

The Original Yankee Stadium - Photographs and Memories - Stuff Nobody Cares About

On this date in 1925 Charles Ebbets, the owner and president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, dies of heart failure at the age of 65 prior to a game with the NY Giants. The game goes on as scheduled however on the day of his funeral, three days later, all NL games are postponed. At the rainy funeral‚ Ed McKeever‚ appointed as the new club president to replace Ebbets‚ will catch a cold that turns into pneumonia and he dies six days later.

Charlie Ebbets | SABR

Jack Crimian was a relief pitcher for three teams and all of 74 games in the 1950s. His record was forgettable at 5-9 with an ERA of 6.36. However, Roger Maris would never forget him. On this date in 1957, at Detroit‚ Cleveland rookie Roger Maris hits his first ML homer‚ a grand slam in the 11th‚ to pace the Tribe to an 8-3 win over the Tigers. Jack Crimian walks 3 before Maris connects.

April 18, 1957 Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers Box Score and Play by Play | Baseball-Reference.com

Across the country in San Diego while Maris was going deep for the first time Bill Sweeney who played 3 seasons in the Majors between 1928-1931 facing a different fate. He was a 1st baseman, mostly with the Red Sox. After his ML career was over he played another 11 years in the Minors with the final 7 years playing in the Pacific Coast League where he hit at a .300 clip. When he went to the Pacific Coast League in 1936 he went as a player-manager and with the Portland Beavers. Over the course of the next 21 years he would manage in the Pacific Coast League for all but a couple of those seasons mostly in Portland but also with the Los Angeles Angels, Hollywood Stars and Seattle Rainiers. He must have been one dedicated baseball guy because he died virtually with his uniform on. On this date in 1957 he dies in a San Diego hospital following an operation for a perforated stomach ulcer. Sweeney, who was managing Portland took ill during a game the previous night against the Padres but refused to leave the coach's box till the game was over.

Bill Sweeney Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

57 years ago today, on this date in 1958, the Dodgers play their first home game in Los Angeles at the LA Memorial Coliseum. Following a downtown parade in the morning‚ the Giants-Dodgers game in Los Angeles sets a NL single-game record with 78‚682 fans in attendance ‚ as the Dodgers prevail 6-5. Hank Sauer hits 2 HRs for the Giants‚ including the first at the Coliseum. After Jim Davenport scores what would have been the tying run in the 9th‚ he is called out for failing to touch 3B. Carl Erskine is the winner over Al Worthington with Clem Labine picking up the Save.

Dodgers first game in Los Angeles - Framework - Photos and Video - Visual Storytelling from the Los Angeles Times

It was on this date in 1964 that Sandy Koufax does something no other NL pitcher had ever done and only Lefty Grove had accomplished…strike out the on 9 pitches for the second time.

April 18, 1964 Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles Dodgers Play by Play and Box Score | Baseball-Reference.com

It was on this date in 1987 Mike Schmidt bangs out his 500th HR.



Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

Can you name the two RH’ers from the Dodgers to win Cy Young Awards for the Dodgers between LH’ers Fernando Valenzuela winning in 1981 and Clayton Kershaw in 2011

The answer to yesterday’s question…Montreal Expos, LA Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs (What team did these Hall of Famers make their MLB debut with…Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Ryne Sandberg and Lou Brock.)

 

[67RedSox]

There have been only 2 Mauers play Major League Baseball…Fred Mauer was the first when he played for the original New York Mets (Metropolitans) back in 1886 and Joe Mauer who you’ve likely heard of who won 3 Batting Crowns and an MVP Crown by age 26. The two are not related so if you thought they were brothers, you’re wrong. They do however have something in common…a birthday. Fred was born on this date in 1862 and Joe on this date in 1983. The story isn’t quite over yet…Fred Mauer did something that few do…he died on this date in 1922…on his birthday.

Fred Mauer Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

Joe Mauer - BR Bullpen

A while ago I mentioned the now Los Angeles Dodgers underwent a number of nicknames since their birth in 1883 as the Brooklyn Atlantics, taking the name of a defunct team that had played in Brooklyn before them. They were not always a National League team…they were originally part of the American Association, a sister Major League, to the National League and they rose to the top of that League by winning the AA Championship in 1889. It was then that they switched the National League and on this date in 1890 they played their first game as a National League team and were by then called the Brooklyn Bridegrooms. They lost that first game to the Beaneaters (Braves) at Boston's South End Grounds, 15-9 however they didn’t fare too badly in the National League that year as they promptly became League Champions in their first season.

Brooklyn Dodgers Pictures (1890-1957)

Welcome to the Majors…no need to be nervous! Words that fell on deaf ears as far as 29 year old Bob Ewing. It was on this date in 1902 he makes his ML debut and ties a NL record by walking 7 batters in one inning. 87 years later in 1989 the Montreal Expos and Los Angeles Dodgers play a 22 inning game without a single base on balls, and yes, thereby set the Major League record for longest game (innings) without a walk by either team.
Ewing rebounded quite nicely from that first outing as he became the workhorse of the Cincinnati Reds' staff, becoming their winningest pitcher of the Dead-Ball Era and the most significant spitball pitcher in the history of the franchise. Toiling for six managers in eight years on a succession of teams that never finished within 15 games of first place, Ewing led the Reds in complete games twice, victories and strikeouts three times each. He has the lowest career E.R.A. (2,000 or more innings) in franchise history at 2.37 and ended up winning 124 ML games despite his late start.
Ewing died of cancer in 1947, at age 74 but his wife of 42 years, survived him by a quarter-century. She also remained an avid Reds fan, living to meet Pete Rose and Johnny Bench and to see the dawn of the Big Red Machine dynasty of the 1970s. She attended more than 60 consecutive Opening Day games in Cincinnati before her own death in 1972 at age 91.

Bob Ewing Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

Here’s one for you…wonder if it would happen today? On this date in 1930 a line drive by the Cards Jim Bottomley is botched by Cubs LF Riggs Stephenson who allows the ball to bound into the crowd. Nevertheless‚ umpire Charles Evans makes an out call‚ stating that the fans made too much noise and verbally interfered with the play. The Cards protest the ruling‚ but NL Prexy John Heydler backs up Evans' interpretation on the call.

Interference (baseball) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It was on this date in 1949, on Opening Day, the Yankees unveil a monument in centerfield honouring the legendary Babe Ruth, eight months after his death. The "Bambino' joins Lou Gehrig and Miller Huggins, who were also awarded posthumously with cenotaphs, the team's highest honor of all.

Across town in Brooklyn it’s also Opening Day and just as the Yankees honour one of their greats, Babe Ruth the Dodgers honour one of theirs… before a record opening-day crowd of 34‚530 in Brooklyn‚ the Dodgers pay tribute to Jack "Shorty" Laurice‚ the "number one" fan and leader of the Ebbets Field "Sym-phony" band. Laurice died in 1948.

ruth monument - Google Search


He would hit 512 HRs in his career, tied with Ernie Banks and it was on this date in 1952 that Eddie Mathews hits his first in Philadelphia’s Connie Mack Stadium. Mathews, by the way, is the only player to play for the Braves in each of the three cities they have called home…Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta.

April 19, 1952 Boston Braves at Philadelphia Phillies Play by Play and Box Score | Baseball-Reference.com

On this date in 1960, Opening Day at Fenway Park, Roger Maris plays his first game in a Yankee uniform. How does he do? Not bad…as the Yankees lead-off hitter he raps 4 hits including 2 HRs…just a sign of things to come in the first of his back-to-back MVP seasons.

April 19, 1960 New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox Play by Play and Box Score | Baseball-Reference.com

It was on this date in 1966…the first regular season game at Anaheim Stadium and the Angels drop a 3-1 decision to the White Sox before 31‚660 fans. Rick Reichardt hits the Angels' first regular-season HR in the new facility.

Angels get their stadium - Framework - Photos and Video - Visual Storytelling from the Los Angeles Times


Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

For the past 134 years there have been only 3 players who can claim to be the ML leader in lifetime RBIs. The first held the record from 1881 – 1932, the second 1932 – 1974 and the third from 1975 to the present day. Who are the three? Two of the three have the same last initial.

The answer to yesterday’s question… Orel Hershiser, 1988 and Eric Gagne, 2003 (Can you name the two RH’ers from the Dodgers to win Cy Young Awards for the Dodgers between LH’ers Fernando Valenzuela winning in 1981 and Clayton Kershaw in 2011)

 

[67RedSox]

103 years ago today saw two MLB ballparks open…one is still around and the other, despite its obstructed views, is regrettably gone.

It was on this date in 1912 the ballpark we knew either as Briggs Stadium / Tiger Stadium opened…then as Navin Field. It would serve the Tigers well for 87 years and the Tigers would celebrate winning two World Series there, the first in 1935 versus the Cubs and the last in 1984 against the Padres. When first built it had a capacity of about 23,000 but would expand to over 52,000 by 1937.

Also, a little further east, Fenway Park opened on this date in 1912 and is still going strong. There have been a number of changes made to Fenway over the years but its capacity has remained almost the same from 35,000-37,000.

The intimate configurations of both stadiums, both conducive to high-scoring games featuring home runs, prompted baseball writers to refer to them as "bandboxes" or "cigar boxes" (a reference to the similarly intimate Baker Bowl).

The cost of constructing both Tiger Stadium and Fenway Park in those days was probably slightly lower than the cost of building them today. The bill for Tiger Stadium was $300,000.00 and Fenway was a whopping $650,000.00.

Tiger Stadium - history, photos and more of the Detroit Tigers former ballpark

Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox's ballpark - Ballparks of Baseball

Four years later, on this date in 1916 the Chicago Cubs play their first game at Weeghman Park. Today we know it as Wrigley Field, a name it didn’t take on until 1926. It was built in 1914 for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales. It was built at a cost of $250,000.00 and although it’s been the home of the Cubs since 1916, it has yet to see the Cubs win a World Series, even though it has hosted several…1929, 1932, 1935, 1938, and 1945, the last time the Cubs appeared in a World Series. Wrigley Field follows the jewel box design of ballparks that was popular in the early part of the 20th century. Perhaps being lost in the renovations are two recessed wall areas, or "wells", located both in left and right field, give those areas a little more length than if the wall were to follow the contour from center field. It is also in those wells, when cross winds are blowing, that balls have a habit of bouncing in all sorts of interesting directions. In 1927 an upper deck was added, and in 1937, Bill Veeck, the son of the club president, planted ivy vines against the outfield walls.

Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs ballpark - Ballparks of Baseball

It was on this date in 1939 the Red Sox show off their prize rookie Ted Williams, in his first ML game, before 30‚278 in the opener in New York‚ delayed two days because of rain. After striking out twice‚ Williams collects a double off Red Ruffing‚ who wins 2-0. Gehrig makes an error‚ goes hitless‚ and lines into two double plays in the only game featuring the two great sluggers. Other notables in what will become a historic box score include Joe DiMaggio‚ Bill Dickey‚ Jimmie Foxx‚ Joe Cronin‚ Bobby Doerr‚ Red Rolfe‚ and losing pitcher Lefty Grove. The Yanks score their first run on a homer by Dickey and their 2nd tally on an error by Jimmie Foxx. Boston has baserunners in each inning‚ but Ruffing tosses just the 2nd Opening Day shut out in Yankee history. Four umpires work the game including 3B ump George Pipgras‚ the starting pitcher for the Yankees in the 1929 Opener; his opponent for the Red Sox that day was Red Ruffing.

April 20, 1939 Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees Box Score and Play by Play | Baseball-Reference.com

It was on this date in 1944, 26 year old Elmer Gedeon‚ a part-time outfielder with the Senators in 1939‚ is killed when his plane is shot down over France. Gedeon's baseball career was cut short when he was drafted by the United States Army in early 1941. He trained as a bomber pilot, and was decorated for bravery after his plane crashed on a training flight in 1942. He is the first of two ML’ers killed in WWII and was the nephew Joe Gedeon. That raises the question…who was Joe Gedeon?

Joe Gedeon was a second baseman in the Majors for the Washington Senators, New York Yankees, and St. Louis Browns. He was an above-average defensive player, leading all American League second basemen in assists once (1918) and fielding percentage twice (1918 and 1919). In 1920, he led the AL in sacrifice hits with 48; this total is still a Browns/Orioles single season record. Unfortunately, Gedeon - who was a friend of Black Sox conspirator Swede Risberg - was present during a meeting with gamblers, as they were discussing the plot to fix the 1919 World Series. He was later called as a witness in the Black Sox trial. On November 3, 1921, Gedeon was banned for life from organized baseball for "having guilty knowledge" of the Black Sox Scandal by Judge Landis..

On April 20, 1944, Elmer Gedeon piloted one of 36 B-26's that left Boreham in the late afternoon to attack a V-1 "buzz bomb" site being constructed at Esquerdes, a village in the Pas-de-Calais near Saint-Omer. Led by Capt. Darrell Lindsey, it was the group's thirteenth mission. Attacking after dusk from 12,000 feet, the group encountered intense and accurate anti-aircraft fire, and Gedeon's plane was hit by flak below the cockpit just after bombing. Gedeon's co-pilot, his clothes on fire, was able to parachute from the bomber as it plunged towards the ground, but Gedeon and five other crew members were killed. Gedeon was initially reported as missing in action and it was not until May 1945 that his family received word that his grave had been located in a small British army cemetery at Saint-Pol, France. Gedeon's body was later returned to the United States, and he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Of the 500-plus ML players who served in the military in WW II, Gedeon and Harry Mink O'Neill of the Philadelphia Athletics, killed at Iwo Jima, were the only Major League Baseball players killed in World War II, both at age 27. The two have become symbols of "baseball's sacrifice" in the war effort. As the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum proclaims: "Ballplayers, like every other American citizen, understand the importance of giving one's self for their country."

Elmer Gedeon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

Other than the NY Yankees who have done it 19 times can you name the only other MLB team who has won at least 100 games in a season as many as 10 times.

The answer to yesterday’s question…Cap Anson, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron (For the past 134 years there have been only 3 players who can claim to be the ML leader in lifetime RBIs. The first held the record from 1881 – 1932, the second 1932 – 1974 and the third from 1975 to the present day. Who are the three? Two of the three have the same last initial.)

 

[67RedSox]

I see where the first player to hit a Grand Slam in their first ML at-bat was, naturally, a pitcher. It was on this date in 1898 that Frosty Bill Duggleby, of the Phillies, accomplished the feat. He hit it off of NY Giants pitcher, Cy Seymour, who won 25 games that season. It must have turned Seymour off pitching though because he soon traded the pitching mound to playing in the outfield. In 1905 he won the NL Batting Crown with a .377 BA and 219 base hits. 107 years after Duggleby did it a position player finally matched Duggleby’s feat by hitting a Grand Salami in their first ML at-bat…Jeremy Hermida turned the trick in 2005. Kevin Kouzmanoff and Daniel Nava have since done it as well.

Frosty Bill Duggleby Goes Yard Philly Sports History

Gary Peters was born on this date in 1937. For Peters persistence paid off. In 1959 he made his ML debut when the White Sox called him up for a couple of games at the end of the season. In 1960 he was back again with the White Sox but only for a couple of games. In 1961 back he came again with the White Sox for a couple more games and in 1962 the White Sox called him up again but only for a few games. Guess what…he was back again in 1963 with the White Sox…his 5th season of playing in the Majors and this time he stuck. Not only that but he pitched well enough to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award going 19-8 with a League leading ERA of 2.33. While Sandy Koufax was weaving his magic in the NL in the final years of his career he was easily the best pitcher in all of Baseball by a wide margin. Forgotten because of all the Koufax headlines is Gary Peters… who was arguably the best pitcher in the AL as he averaged 230 Innings, 15 Wins and a 2.50 ERA in those mid 1960s years which allowed the White Sox to average 92 Wins a season in the 5 years 1963-1967…but never enough to win an AL Pennant even when they won 94 games in 1963, 98 in 1964 and 95 in 1965. If there was any argument the best pitcher in the AL wasn’t Peters it would have to be his teammate, Joel Horlen who had a 5 year run of averaging 224 Innings, 13 Wins and an ERA of 2.31.

Gary Peters Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

From 1927 to 1949 Ad Liska played professional baseball. He was a pitcher and five of those years were spent at the Major League level, 1929-1933 where he won 17 games but pitched mostly out of the bullpen. He was a submarine pitcher, not by choice, but because he was injured in a boyhood accident and was unable to throw overhand. However when his ML career ended he excelled with Portland in the Pacific Coast League from 1936-1949 winning 198 games there and 248 overall in the Minor Leagues. It was on this date in 1946 he tosses a No-Hitter against Hollywood 13 years removed from the Majors and just shy of age 40. He is a member of the Pacific Coast League’s Hall of Fame. Impossible for stuff like this to happen today…a quick glance back to the way it was.

Adolph J. Ad Liska by Retro Images Archive

It was on this date in 1961 the Minnesota Twins play their first game at home, Metropolitan Stadium. The Twins, formerly known as the Washington Senators before moving to Minnesota lose their first home game to the 'new' expansion Washington Senators, 5-3 in front of a crowd of 24,606 at Metropolitan Stadium. The club's move to the North Star State will attract 1,256,723 fans, third best in the American League, and far better than their last season in the nation's capital, where the team drew only 743,404 fans, the worst gate in the League.

metropolitan stadium 1961 - Google Search


Time to talk about a couple of other Baseball stadiums…one that hosted ML games, but not in the lifetime of any of us and the other a College field that merits a mention because of its uniqueness.

If you’re familiar with college baseball in Texas you may know the former home ballpark of the Longhorns in Austin…Clark Field. It was used by the baseball Longhorns for 46 years from 1928 to 1974. It is considered one of the most novel ballparks ever conceived thanks to its location. There was a limestone cliff in the outfield that created havoc for outfielders and made baseball games exciting. The cliff was between 12 – 30 feet high and ran from left-center to center field that made playing the outfield adventurous. The cliff could only be accessed via a goat path in the left-centerfield. Centerfield was nicknamed "Billy Goat Hill." There was a scoreboard on top of the hill in the field in front of the fence that could cause even more weird bounces for outfielders. Clearly, this gave the Longhorns a home field advantage over visiting teams. For example, the Longhorns could easily get an inside-the-park home run when a ball was hit in the direction of the cliff because the opposing outfielders were perplexed by its caroms and how to make plays by using the cliff. Longhorn outfielders could typically hold batters to a double or triple because of their familiarity with the cliff. Half of the team's outfielders purportedly chose to play on top while the other half chose to play in front of the cliff. According to legend, Lou Gehrig hit a towering 550-foot (170 m) home run over "Billy Goat Hill" and the 40-foot high fence in centerfield during a 1930 exhibition game.

clark field, baseball - Google Search

We head to Cleveland for the 2nd ballpark…League Park it was called. For most of the 20th Century the Indians played either at League Park or Municipal Stadium (commonly referred to as the Mistake on the Lake) and for years the Indians used both ballparks during the same season. League Park was originally built in 1891 and could seat 9,000 spectators on wooden seats. The NL's Cleveland Spiders played there until going out of business after a disastrous 20–134 season in 1899. However, that’s not the League Park remembered most today. In 1901, the Cleveland Indians were a charter member in the new American League, which became a Major League. The park was rebuilt and re-opened on this date in 1910 as a concrete-and-steel stadium and had a seating capacity of over 21,000.

In 1931 Municipal Stadium was opened. It was huge…with a capacity for 78,000 for baseball. The field itself was huge as well… it was 470 feet from home plate to the bleachers in straightaway center field. No player ever hit a home run into the center field bleachers. From July 1932 through the 1933 season, the Indians played at the new Municipal Stadium. However, the players and fans complained about the huge outfield, which reduced the number of HRs. Moreover, as the Great Depression worsened, attendance at the much larger facility plummented. In 1934 the Indians moved most of their games back to League Park. In 1936, the Indians began splitting their schedule between the two parks, playing Sunday and holiday games at Cleveland Stadium during the summer and the remainder at League Park. Beginning in 1938, they also played selected important games downtown at Cleveland Stadium. By 1940, the Indians played most of their home schedule at Municipal Stadium, abandoning League Park entirely after the 1946 season.

Here’s some highlights for League Park over the years:

- Cy Young delivers the first pitch in the Park.

- In 1908 Addie Joss tossed a Perfect Game against the Chicago White Sox.

- In the 1920 World Series Cleveland right fielder Elmer Smith hits the first Grand Slam in the history of the Series. In the same game Cleveland second baseman Bill Wambsganss executes the first (and only, so far) unassisted triple play in Series history.

- In 1929 Babe Ruth hits his 500th career home run, the first player to achieve that milestone.

- In 1941 the final game of Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak. The streak would be snapped the following night across town at Cleveland Stadium

- League Park never installed permanent lights and when it closed in 1946 it did so with never having hosted a ML night game…the last ML ballpark that can make that claim.

league park cleveland - Google Search

Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

Who is the only active Manager in the Majors who has won both the NL and AL Manager of the Year Award.

The answer to yesterday’s question… Athletics – 5 times in Oakland, 5 times in Philadelphia (Other than the NY Yankees who have done it 19 times can you name the only other MLB team who has won at least 100 games in a season as many as 10 times.)

 

[67RedSox]

The third largest of the five New York boroughs but the least populated is Staten Island. All five of those boroughs including Staten Island have been home to a MLB team in their history. The Bronx claims the Yankees, Brooklyn claims the Dodgers or even the Mutuals if you want to go back to the inaugural NL season in 1876, Manhattan claims the Giants and the first version of the Metropolitans, Queens claims the Mets. So, what team does that leave Staten Island to claim. The answer to that is the original version of the New York Metropolitans who played from 1883 to 1887. The first three seasons they played in the Polo Grounds however for their final two they moved to Staten Island. It was on this date in 1886, 128 years ago the Mets' lavish new ballpark on Staten Island, the St. George Cricket Grounds is opened. The stadium was built along the lines of a typical horse race track grandstand. The Metropolitans folded after the 1887 season but at leaszt while there fans could keep one eye on the ballgame and one on the Statue of Liberty being constructed. The Giants played some games there from April 29 – June 14, 1889, while awaiting construction of the new Polo Grounds and that was the end of MLB on Staten Island.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/StGeorgeCricketGrounds1.JPG

It was on this date in 1903 the New York Yankees play their very first game and lose to Washington. They were known as the Highlanders then because they played their games in a ballpark built on high ground…how original. Because they played in the American League their ballpark was called either Highland Park / Hilltop Park or American League Park…also original.

1903 ny highlanders - Google Search

1903 ny highlanders - Google Search

A player and Hall of Famer few remember today…Mickey Vernon, was born on this date in in 1918 ( so was Ted Williams born in 1918 ). Aside from being one of the most popular ballplayers of the 1940s and 1950s some of his accomplishments include 2 AL Batting Crowns - .353 in 1946 after missing the previous two seasons due to the War and .337 in 1953, no one in ML history was involved in more double plays than his 2,044, one of 29 players to play in 4 decades (1939-1960…as was the case with Ted Williams) and the 1st Manager of the Washington Senators expansion team in 1961 (Ted Williams would also manage the Senators).

ted williams and mickey vernon - Google Search

Wow…can David Clyde, who was born on this date in 1955 is 60 years old today! How time flies. For those that don’t know the name he was billed as the next Sandy Koufax after a sensational High School career and then being drafted with the first overall pick in the 1973 MLB Draft. Rangers owner Bob Short decided to keep the 18 year old on the roster for monetary purposes. He was criticized for doing so but his Rangers were in deep financial trouble and near bankruptcy. The Rangers were in the midst of a 105 Loss season and averaging a mere 7,000 fans per game at the ballpark. Except for a couple of games late in the season when all was lost for the Rangers as they were close to 40 games behind the Athletics in the standings Clyde's starts would bring 25,000 – 35,000 to the Park. Despite some saying he saved the franchise there was a cost as he became the "poster-boy" for bringing up young players prematurely and dealing with arm injuries. He was named by journalist Randy Galloway as among the worst cases of "mishandling" a young player in Baseball history. After an uneventful 1974 campaign, he developed shoulder trouble and was sent down to the Minors in 1975 after compiling a 7-18 record in his time with the Rangers. After 3 seasons in the Minors he was traded to the Cleveland Indians in 1978, and played two seasons before being demoted and seeing his MLB career come to an end at age 24.

The David Clyde Story | You Stink!

The 1927 New York Yankees, a team known as Murderers’ Row, is considered by most to be the greatest team in the history of the Grand Old Game. Babe Ruth was at his zenith and he was flanked by others Hall of Famers like Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, Earl Combs, Waite Hoyt and Herb Pennock. Often lost among those giants of the game is the anchor of their infield… Shortstop, Mark Koenig who died on this date in 1993 and has the distinction of being the last surviving member of the ’27 Yankees, Murderers’ Row. Koenig remained as the Yankees’ SS until 1929 when he was traded away after Leo Durocher pushed him out of the job. In 1932 he was a member of the 1932 Chicago Cubs and as a result played against the Yankees in the World Series that year…when Ruth “ called his shot”…or did he.

The Unofficial 1927 New York Yankees Home Page

I know this isn’t the first time I’ve posted this picture but when I saw it again I thought it deserved to be seen again…it’s such a great shot of a fabulous pitcher if he was always the dreaded enemy. I saw a great picture of Bob Gibson ( a classic of him falling off the mound toward 1B ) and was going to do a blurb on it and realized there was an article went with it. I was familiar with the Jim Ray Hart story, my personal favourite, of which a small portion is in the article but I had never heard the Pete LaCock story so the whole thing is here if you’re interested. Listen to Gibson tell the Ron Fairly story…wonderful stuff.

Bob Gibson Quotes, Stories and Anecdotes | Mop Up Duty


Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

Since WWII there have been 5 pitchers win 3 games in one World Series…can you name 3 of the 5?

The answer to yesterday’s question… Bob Melvin – Oakland 2012, Arizona 2007 (Who is the only active Manager in the Majors who has won both the NL and AL Manager of the Year Award.)

 

[67RedSox]

Hall of Famer “Sunny Jim” Bottomley was born on this date in 1900. Bottomley was a 1st Baseman for 16 ML seasons, 1922 – 1937, mostly with the Cardinals and earned his keep as a hitter. He never won a Batting Crown but did have seasons hitting .371, .367 and .348. His best season was in 1925 when he was the NL’s MVP leading the League in Triples, HRS and RBIs. Leading the League in both Triples and HRs is unusual but not unheard of. In more recent times Mickey Mantle has done it and so has Willie Mays and Jim Ed Rice. Bottomley, who picked up his nickname because he was friendly and always had a smile on his face died in 1959. Bottomley was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame posthumously in 1974 by the Veterans Committee. It was at a time, the early 1970s, that the Baseball Writers Association of America charged the Veterans Committee was not selective enough in choosing members. Charges of cronyism were levied against the Veterans Committee. When Bottomley was elected, the Veterans Committee included Frankie Frisch, a teammate of Bottomley's with the Cardinals and as a result Bottomley’s election has that negative aspect attached to it.

Jim Bottomley - BR Bullpen

Warren G. Harding was the 29th President who took Office in March of 1921 and would die suddenly in Office a scant couple of years later. Despite that in the 3 Season Openers for the Washington Senators that occurred while he was in office…1921, 1922 and 1923 he attended at Griffith Stadium for each and tossed out the 1st pitch. He not only played baseball, he co-owned a Minor League team, often invited Babe Ruth to the White House and was an expert at keeping score at a ballgame, an ability that has eluded me. His Presidency was not highly rated in the years immediately following it but history has been kinder toward it.
A few weeks after Harding took Office, on this date in 1921, the 5th winningest pitcher in MLB history was born in Buffalo…Warren Spahn and he was named after President Harding. Spahn’s father who played semi-pro baseball in his day struggled to raise his family on his meager salary as a wallpaper salesman. He wanted for his son what he could not have… a career in the Major Leagues. To that end he built a mound in the backyard because Warren was left-handed and the best route to the Majors for a lefty was pitching. He taught him how to pitch and how deception ( thus the high leg kick ) and control, control, control were the secrets to success. I guess he was right.

warren harding, baseball - Google Search

warren spahn - Google Search

It was on this date in 1924 that the Cardinals visit the Cubs at Wrigley Field ( then called Cubs Park ). The game itself was “just another game” as they say except for one thing. It began a practise that is still with us today 90 years later, thank heavens. The Cubs scored 4 in the 1st and 4 more in the 2nd on way to a 12-1 win over the Cardinals then managed by Branch Rickey. What was noteworthy about this game is Hal Totten, a Chicago Daily News play-by-play reporter, does a play-by-play radio report of the 12-1 Cubs' victory over the Cardinals. It will be the first broadcast of every Cub and White Sox home game of the season, marking the first time a team's games have been on the airwaves on a regular basis.

Hal Totten, WMAQ's First Sportscaster

It was on this date in 1952 Hall of Famer pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm of the NY Giants homers in his first ML at-bat. In the second Big League game that he came to the plate in two days later he hit a three-bagger, but during the next 21 years, covering a span of 1070 games, the knuckle-balling hurler will never triple or homer again.

April 23, 1952 Boston Braves at New York Giants Play by Play and Box Score | Baseball-Reference.com

It was on this date in 1954 at Busch Stadium, Hank Aaron hits the first of his 755 career home runs in his 7th Major League game. The Braves outfielder's sixth-inning solo round-tripper is hit on a pitch thrown by Cardinal right-hander Vic Raschi in the Braves 7-6 extra-inning victory in St. Louis.

April 23, 1954 Milwaukee Braves at St. Louis Cardinals Play by Play and Box Score | Baseball-Reference.com

It was a Saturday in Kansas City on this date in 1955 and what could be better than attending a Major League Baseball game. Well, that’s what 18,338 fans thought so off they went to Municipal Stadium to watch the Athletics play the White Sox. They got to see history in the making. The White Sox tie a modern ML mark for most runs scored by a single team in a game as they drub the A's, 29-6. ( The Red Sox also scored 29 runs against the Browns in 1950 ). The game despite multiple runs and hits took about the same amount of time to play as the average game today.

April 23, 1955 Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Athletics Box Score and Play by Play | Baseball-Reference.com

It took 10 tries but on this date in 1962 the NY Mets win their first game in franchise history defeating the Pirates at Forbes Field, 9-1. Jay Hook's five-hit complete game snaps Pittsburgh's record-tying winning streak of 10 games from the start of the season without a loss.

April 23, 1962 New York Mets at Pittsburgh Pirates Play by Play and Box Score | Baseball-Reference.com

In 1969 Detroit’s Denny McLain and Baltimore’s Mike Cuellar share the AL Cy Young Award. It was on this date in 1969 the Tigers and Orioles hook up in a game in Baltimore…McLain versus Cuellar that may have had something to do with that. It was a classic pitching duel that one often saw in the 1960’s. Denny McLain retiring 21 straight batters and Baltimore's Mike Cuellar getting 20 consecutive hitters…is finally won by Cuellar and the Orioles, 3-2, when Mark Belanger's single plates Ellie Hendricks, who had doubled to start the final frame.

April 23, 1969 Detroit Tigers at Baltimore Orioles Box Score and Play by Play | Baseball-Reference.com

Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

Only 12 players in the history of the Game have collected 100 Extra Base Hits in a season. Only three players did it twice… Lou Gehrig did it twice, Chuck Klein did it twice. Who is the only other player to have 2 seasons with 100 Extra Base Hits and he’s the only player to do it in back-to-back seasons.


The answer to yesterday’s question…

Harry Brecheen of the St. Louis Cardinals against the Boston Red Sox in 1946.

Lew Burdette of the Milwaukee Braves against the New York Yankees in 1957.

Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals against the Boston Red Sox in 1967.

Mickey Lolich of the Detroit Tigers against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1968.

Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks against the New York Yankees in 2001 ( 1 Win in Relief )

(Since WWII there’s been 5 pitchers win 3 games in one World Series…can you name 3 of the 5?)

 

[67RedSox]

Howard Ehmke was born on this date in in 1894. He pitched 15 seasons in the Majors retiring after the 1930 season with a record of 166-166. He won a Ring with one of the greatest teams of all-time the 1929 Philadelphia Athletics. Ehmke started and pitched a complete game and struck out a then-World Series record 13 batters in a 3-1 win over Chicago. At the time, Ehmke also set a record for lowest win total during the regular season by a World Series game 1 starter. He was 7-2 during the regular season. This record would stand until 2006 when St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Anthony Reyes started Game 1 of the 2006 World Series after having gone 5-8 during the regular season.

Howard Ehmke - BR Bullpen

This is a memorable day in the history of the Junior Circuit, the American League. It was on this date in 1901 the first game in the history of the League was played in Chicago’s South Side Park III. The White Sox defeated the Cleveland Blues ( Indians ) by a score of 3-1. The game took all of 90 minutes to play.

Baseball History in 1901: The American League

There have been 11 No-Hitters thrown by NY Yankee pitchers…the last by David Cone in 1999. It was on this date in 1917 the first is thrown by George Mogridge against the Boston Red Sox in Boston making it the first also to be tossed in Fenway Park. George Mogridge is likely a name you’ve never heard before despite his pitching 15 years in the Majors spread over both the Dead-Ball and Live-Ball Eras. Just as the Red Sox were stocking the Yankees roster with players like Babe Ruth the Yankees traded him to Washington and he won a Ring there in 1924 when the Senators went to the World Series by winning the AL Pennant by 2 games over the Yankees.

George Mogridge - BR Bullpen

It was on this date in 1920…95 years ago that despite a full slate of games there were no HRs hit making it the last day in ML history that this has happened. It hasn’t happened since, at least one player has touched them all on one swing of the bat.

1920 Major League Baseball season - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Babe Ruth has the most multiple HR games in the history of the Majors with 72. Of those 68 games were 2 HR games and 4 were of games where he hit 3 HRs. No one has more 3 HR games than Johnny Mize who accomplished it 6 times. It was on this date in 1947 that Mize of the New York Giants hits 3 successive HRs in a 14-5 loss in Boston. It was a ML-record 5th time in his career that Mize hit 3 HRs in one game; he will do it a 6th and final time with the Yankees in 1950. Mize did not get into the HOF just because he was a HR hitter (4 HR Crowns and 359 lifetime HRs). He was one of the Game’s greatest Run producers of his time with one of the most graceful swings the Game has ever seen. He hit for average (.312 lifetime) and won a Batting Crown. He attributed his success to his careful study of each and every pitcher he faced “keeping a book” on them all.

Multiple Home Run Games Records by Baseball Almanac

Everyone is aware that Harvey Haddix flirted with immortality when he tossed 12 perfect innings against the Braves in 1959 only to lose his no-hitter and the game in the 13th inning. Armando Galarraga, in 2010, lost a perfect game because of a blown umpire call and Haddix and Galarraga became famous for what they didn’t do. Add another name to that list. After an undistinguished 5 years in the Majors as a reliever Elmer Singleton ended up back in the Pacific Coast League and became a starter at the age of 34. Over the next six seasons he averages 16 Wins a season. On this date in 1952 Singleton pitching for the San Francisco Seals pitches a no-hitter for 12 innings against Sacramento. Alas, Singleton is touched for 3 hits in the 13th and loses‚ 1-0.

Elmer Singleton - BR Bullpen

On this date in 1956 AL umpire Frank Umont is the first to wear glasses in a regular season game‚ between Detroit and Kansas City. 13,963 fans were in Municipal Stadium that day…I wonder if any comments were directed his way.

frank umont - Google Search

It was on this date in 1957 the Cincinnati Reds defeat the Chicago Cubs, 9-5 at Crosley Field. The Reds did something that you would think is near impossible to do. They score 7 runs in an inning…with only I hit. The Reds send 13 men to the plate and score 7 runs in the 5th inning to seal the win…the Cubs setting a ML record by walking 9 batters enables the 1-hit, 7-run inning.

April 24, 1957 Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati Redlegs Box Score and Play by Play | Baseball-Reference.com

Elio Chacon died on this date in 1992 in his native Venezuela at the age of 55. He played three years in the Majors. The first two were as a utility infielder for the Reds in 1960 and 1961 however he started 3 of the 5 games of the 1961 World Series for the Reds, playing 2B. The New York Mets selected him with the 4th pick in the 1961 expansion draft and he would end up being the Mets Shortstop in their first season. There are a number of stories from the Mets first year, some have been embellished over the years. One of my favourites involves Chacon and I don’t believe it has been embellished…It seems that in 1962, Chacon and CF Richie Ashburn were having a communications problem. On short fly balls they would inevitably collide even after Ashburn would scream "I got it!" After the third or fourth time this happened Ashburn takes Chacon aside and asks him, "Elio, how do you say 'I got it!' in Spanish?" Chacon replies, "yo la tengo!" So the next day a batter hits a short fly to center field. Chacon runs out and Ashburn runs in and Ashburn yells, "yo la tengo! yo la tengo!" So Chacon backs off. Ashburn gets set to make the catch -- and left fielder Gus Bell smashes into him! 1962 would be Chacon’s last season in the Majors.

Elio Chacon Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com


Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

Can you name the last 3rd Baseman to lead the NL in base hits in a season…he did it in back-to-back seasons. His ML career lasted 15 seasons and ended after the 1998 season. Note: Matt Carpenter played primarily at 2B in 2013 when he led the League.

The answer to yesterday’s question… Todd Helton, 2000 – 2001 (Only 12 players in the history of the Game have collected 100 Extra Base Hits in a season. Only three players did it twice… Lou Gehrig did it twice, Chuck Klein did it twice. Who is the only other player to have 2 seasons with 100 Extra Base Hits and he’s the only player to do it in back-to-back seasons.)

 

[67RedSox]

Russ Ford was born on this date in 1883. He pitched but 4 seasons plus one game in a fifth for the NY Highlanders (Yankees) during the Dead-Ball Era but made the most of his time winning 26 games as a rookie in 1910 with an ERA of 1.65 and picked up 22 Wins in his sophomore season. His early success was all about a baffling new pitch never before seen in professional baseball. Using a piece of emery board hidden in his glove, Ford roughed up one side of the ball, causing it to break at odd angles depending on how he threw it. For two seasons, Ford used the emery ball to dominate the American League, all the while hiding the origin of his new discovery. "He kept his secret a long time by pretending he was pitching a spitter," Ty Cobb later recalled. "He would deliberately show his finger to the batter and then wet it with saliva." Though Ford's signature pitch was banned by 1915, his invention set the precedent for a long line of scuff ball artists, including contemporaries of Russ Ford Cy Falkenberg and Eddie Cicotte and Hall of Famers Whitey Ford and Don Sutton.

Russ Ford - BR Bullpen

Fred Haney was born on this date in 1896. Haney touched all the bases in a 65-year Baseball career that led him from athletic stardom in high school to the GM’s office of the Los Angeles Angels. Along the way, he was a player, coach, scout, World Series winning manager and broadcaster. On the field, Fred was a fierce competitor, disputing calls and plays with opponents, umpires and fans. Off the field, he was a devoted family man, with many lifelong friends, and a heart for charitable works, particularly those involving youth, veterans, and baseball.
After his playing career he spent three seasons managing the hapless St. Louis Browns and then spent time with some success managing the Hollywood Stars in the Pacific Coast League. That success caused Branch Rickey, then running the Pittsburgh Pirates, to bring Haney in as the manager of the Pirates, the worst team in MLB. In a word his results in Pittsburgh, like in St. Louis, were woeful. In the five full seasons he managed those clubs they lost an average of 100 games a season. Haney spent three tough years managing the Pirate “Kiddie Corps.” Rickey had signed a large number of players and instructed Fred to play the kids even if they were not the best so as to build for the future. They finished a dismal last each year. On September 25, 1955, Fred received a registered letter from Branch Rickey dismissing him as Manager. Fred’s contract would have automatically renewed if he had not been notified by midnight on that day. Haney was bitter over being coldly dismissed by letter when Rickey had promised him a face-to-face meeting.
When the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee for the 1953 season Charlie Grimm ended up as their Manager and the Braves began to play some pretty good ball and were consistent winners. Future HOF’ers playing for the Braves were Warren Spahn, Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron. Despite their success under Grimm they just couldn’t climb above the Dodgers or Giants. After being dismissed by Pittsburgh Haney took a job as a coach with the Braves for the 1956 season. Shortly into the season with the Braves floundering under Grimm the Braves decided to make a change…Grimm was out and Haney in as Manager. The rest as they say, is history. Under Haney the Braves won the NL Pennant in both 1957 and 1958 losing the 1959 Pennant to the Dodgers in a Play-Off. Despite the success he enjoyed in Milwaukee he resigned after the 1959 season likely as a result of a dispute he had with the Braves’ owner over the level of authority he would have on baseball matters.
When Gene Autry won the Los Angeles franchise of the AL at the Winter Meetings in December 1960, he quickly hired Haney as the GM. Eight years later at the age of 70 Haney’s active career ended.

Fred Haney - BR Bullpen

The Detroit Tigers are a charter member of the AL, one of the eight original AL teams that started play in 1901 and since then have played more games than any other AL team, 17,840 games to be precise. The one particular game that I want to talk about is the very first game they ever played. In that game, on this date in 1901, the Tigers did something no other team has ever done… What is the largest deficit a team has come back from in the bottom of the ninth inning to win a ball game? Yes, you guessed it - the Tigers scored 10 runs in the 9th inning to beat Milwaukee, 14-13. They went to the bottom of the 9th inning trailing 13-4 and won the game which supports the 4thefences theory on attending a ballgame…stay until it’s over. Below are some pictures of that 1901 team and some of the Tigers teams that followed including some Ty Cobb teams.

Detroit Tigers Team Photos Collection

Speaking of some remarkable Baseball photos here are some from Life Magazine. My all-time favourite baseball picture is included in this group of photos. It’s the second picture and is a view students at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) had from the Cathedral of Learning of the 1960 World Series. I get queasy (heights) just looking at the picture. There’s also some classic pictures from the Dodgers Spring Training site in Vero Beach from 1948…if you want a feel for what Spring Training was like before we were born.

Baseball: Classic Photos of the National Pastime From LIFE Magazine | LIFE.com

Brooklyn Dodgers: Rare Photos From Spring Training, Dodgertown, 1948

The record for most base hits by a player in their first MLB game is 4. It has been done 12 times and that list includes 2 HOF‘s, Willie McCovey and Kirby Puckett. Surprisingly, it also includes a pitcher. It was on this date in 1933 Russ Van Atta makes his ML debut as the starting pitcher for the Yankees in a game against the Washington Senators. With 6 future HOF’ers on the field with him ( Ruth, Gehrig, Combs, Lazzeri, Sewell and Dickey ) Van Atta tosses not only a Win but a Shutout as the Yankees win 16-0. The icing on the cake is the Van Atta collects 4 hits at the plate to become just the second ML’er to do so and the first and still only pitcher to do so.

April 25, 1933 New York Yankees at Washington Senators Box Score and Play by Play | Baseball-Reference.com

It was on this date in 1967 Whitey Ford wins his 236th and last ML game. In front of 6,318 fans at Yankee Stadium the Ford tosses a Complete Game and beats Tommy John and the White Sox , 11-2.

Whitey Ford Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

It was on this day in 1976 that Cubs OF’er Rick Monday saves the American flag from being burned in a game at Dodger Stadium. It’s often referred to as “Baseball’s Greatest Play”.


Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

He is the last ML’er to lead his League in On Base % and the leader among all active MLB players with a lifetime On Base % mark of .418 ahead of Albert Pujols .402 and Joe Mauer .400 the only other players with a mark of .400 or better. Can you name this player who is better than anyone else in the Game today for getting on base.

The answer to yesterday’s question…Terry Pendleton, 1991/1992 (Can you name the last 3rd Baseman to lead the NL in base hits in a season…he did it in back-to-back seasons. His ML career lasted 15 seasons and ended after the 1998 season. Note: Matt Carpenter played primarily at 2B in 2013 when he led the League.)

 

[67RedSox]

Jack McCarthy must have been a pretty good ballplayer because he lasted 12 years in the Majors. He was an outfielder and played most of his career in the National League, more with the Cubs than any other club. He’s remembered today only because of two things, one would be described as an accomplishment, the other just the opposite. It was on this date in 1905, playing for the Cubs, he accomplished something no other ML outfielder had done or has done since…he threw out three runners at the plate in one game…and each resulting in a double-play. You have to believe the 3rd guy caught might have been sent to the Minors after the game. The other thing McCarthy is still in the books about is his inability to hit a HR. He did hit 8 in his career but they all came in bunches and in his first two full seasons while playing for Pittsburgh. His last home run was hit in 1899, and from 1900 to the present no one has had more at-bats without a home run: 2,736.
McCarthy was born in Hardwick, Massachusetts in 1869. The Gilbertville district of the town of Hardwick is the site of one of the oldest covered bridges in the State which was built in McCarthy’s youth. McCarthy is one of the few ML’ers whose death has never been confirmed. Records show his date of death to be September 11, 1933 but considering he played in a Cubs Oldtimer’s game in Chicago in 1933 chances are he didn’t die in 1931. I’m not saying he’s alive, at age 146, but local legend has someone living in the rafters of the covered bridge…maybe it’s him.

Jack McCarthy Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

Life, On A Bridged: Ware-Hardwick Covered Bridge, Ware-Hardwick, MA

Are there any firefighters out there…it was on this date in 1900 New York Giants George Davis‚ Kid Gleason‚ and Mike Grady spot smoke rising from an apartment building and rush to help with the rescue. Davis climbs a fireman's ladder to rescue a woman who fainted in the heat‚ and Gleason and Davis help a woman and child down a fire escape. Forty-five families are left homeless from the major blaze. With their work done they continue on to the game. On the same day the Giants players were being heroes HOF’ er, Hack Wilson, who would make his ML debut with the Giants in 1923 was born. In 1930 he set two records…56 HRs, a NL record at the time and 191 RBIs, a MLB record that still stands. The mighty Hack stood all of 5’ 6” but squeezed 190 lbs into his frame.

1900 New York Giants season - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1900 new york city apartments wash day - Google Search

Hack Wilson

It was on this date in 1909 the popular Philadelphia Athletics catcher, Doc Powers, dies at the age of 38. On April 12, 1909, Powers was injured during the first game played in Philadelphia's Shibe Park, crashing into a wall while chasing a foul pop-up. He sustained internal injuries from the collision and died two weeks later from complications from three intestinal surgeries, becoming likely the first Major Leaguer to suffer an on-field injury that eventually led to his death. The immediate cause of death was peritonitis arising from post-surgery infections.

Doc Powers - BR Bullpen

It was on this date in 1996 Milt Gaston died at the ripe old age of 100. At the time of his death he was just the 8th ML’er to reach 100 and the only one who played in the Majors for at least 10 years. If you are judged by the company you keep, and not your baseball achievements, Gaston would be in the Hall of Fame. He pitched in the AL, 1924 – 1934 with a career record of 97-164 which makes him the ML record holder for most games under .500 in a career.. Twice he led the AL in Losses with 18 in 1926 pitching for the Browns and with 20 in 1930 pitching for the Red Sox. His first roommate in the Majors was Lou Gehrig and he had 18 Hall of Fame teammates and managers‚ more than any player in history.

milt gaston - Google Search

The Cubs may have been the last ML teams to install lights for night games but on this date in 1941 Wrigley Field becomes the first ballpark to employ an organ to entertain fans.


It was on this date in 1959 Willard Schmidt becomes the first ML’er to be hit by a pitch twice in one inning. The odd thing about it…he’s a pitcher. The Reds hurler is the third inning target of Braves’ pitchers Bob Rush and Lew Burdette as Cincinnati beats the Braves, 11-10.

April 26, 1959 Milwaukee Braves at Cincinnati Redlegs Box Score and Play by Play | Baseball-Reference.com


Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

Three different Phillies pitchers won the NL’s Cy Young Award in the 1980s. Can you name them?

The answer to yesterday’s question…Joey Votto ( He is the last ML’er to lead his League in On Base % in 4 consecutive seasons and the leader among all active MLB players with a lifetime On Base % mark of .418 ahead of Albert Pujols .402 and Joe Mauer .400 the only other players with a mark of .400 or better. Can you name this player who is better than anyone else in the Game today for getting on base.)

 

[67RedSox]

It was on this date in 1891 the Brooklyn Bridegrooms play their home opener at Eastern Park in the East New York section of Brooklyn‚ a 6-5 loss to New York. It’s possible the Park is familiar because baseball lore suggests the Park was responsible for the team’s eventual nickname, the “Dodgers”. It was originally the home of the Brooklyn Ward's Wonders of the Players' League in 1890. After the one-year Players' League experiment, the Park became the part-time home of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1891 and then full-time during 1892–1897, between their stints at the two versions of Washington Park. Some sources erroneously say that it is here that the nickname "Trolley Dodgers", later shortened to "Dodgers", first arose, due to the need for fans to cross various trolley lines to reach the ballpark. Although the Dodgers played at Eastern Park in 1895 when the name "Trolley Dodgers" was first used, the name was based on the dangers of trolleys in Brooklyn, generally, and not trolley lines that needed to be crossed to get to the game as there were no trolley lines near Eastern Park at the time.

BrooklynBallParks.com - Eastern Park

Yes…it has happened and did happen on this date in 1902 Cubs rookie lefthanded pitcher Jim St. Vrain‚ batting righthanded at the urging of manager Selee‚ grounds to Pittsburgh SS Honus Wagner. But then‚ the confused St. Vrain runs toward 3B as the astonished Wagner throws him out at 1B.

Jimmy St. Vrain | SABR

It was on this date in 1926 HOF’er Mel Ott makes his ML debut in the only uniform he ever wore, that of the NY Giants. He strikes out as a pinch-hitter. It would be 22 seasons and 511 HRs later before he would call it a career, after many said he was too small to play in the Majors. At the time he retired in 1947 he was the NL’s Home Run leader…by how many you ask…his 511 was 200 more than any other NL player had hit. Ott held National League career records in RBIs (1,860), Runs scored (1,861) and bases on balls (1,708) all of them later surpassed. He was also considered the best National League right fielder for most of his career. On top of that he was one of the Game’s most popular players. Among all the stats one could throw out on his marvelous career my favourite is that he led the Giants in HRs for 18 consecutive seasons. No player has ever led his team in HRs for such a lengthy period.

Incidentally, the headlines that day went to Walter Johnson who won his 400th career game that day. I suspect there was nary a mention of Ott’s pinch-hitting duties that day other than in the box score.



April 27, 1926 Boston Red Sox at Washington Senators Play by Play and Box Score | Baseball-Reference.com

The only Dudley I know is the Angel ( Cary Grant ) from The Bishop’s Wife. There was a Dudley who played in the Majors with the Dodgers, Phillies and Pirates from 1929-1933. It was on this date in 1929, at Philadelphia’s Baker Bowl, Clise Dudley becomes the first player in MLB history, Post-1900, to hit a home run on the first pitch thrown to him. Wouldn’t you know it…he was a pitcher!

Clise Dudley - BR Bullpen

It was on this date in 1932 Cardinals Manager Gabby Street was fined by the NL for breaking the rule prohibiting talking with spectators. Street holds the record for the longest gap between Major League games - 19 years (1912–1931). He was Walter Johnson’s favourite catcher in his playing days.

Gabby Street - BR Bullpen

This was a big day in Yankee Stadium on this date in 1947. It’s Babe Ruth Day at all MLB parks. A crowd of 58‚339 at Yankee Stadium honours the ailing slugger. A frail Babe‚ choking back tears‚ tells the "kids of America" that‚ "the only real game in the world is baseball. In this game you have to come up from youth. You've got to start way down at the bottom‚ if you're going to be successful like those boys over there." pointing to the Yankee dugout. "There's so many lovely things said about me‚ I'm glad I had the opportunity to thank everybody." The program was broadcast nationwide and piped into all the ball parks. Ruth receives a bronze plaque with his image on it from the AL: the NL's gift is a leather book with signatures of all the players in the League.


It was on this date in 1956 a ruling by Pacific Coast League President Leslie O'Connor that the stripes on Portland's shirts did not distract batters‚ Sacramento players appear on the field with white polka dots on their shirts. Umpire Chris Pelekoudas disallows them saying they are sewn on. I couldn’t find a picture of the polka dot uniforms but I love their 1940 home jersey.

sacramento solons - Google Search

1956 sacramento solons - Google Search

It was on this day in 1961 the Los Angeles Angels ( American League version ) play their first ever Home Opener in front of a disappointing crowd of 11,931 at Wrigley Field, West. Ty Cobb throws out the first pitch…it would be his last appearance at a ballpark as he would die just 2 ½ months later.

1961 la angels opening day - Google Search

It was on this date in 1971 Hank Aaron joins Babe Ruth and Willie Mays as the only ML players to hit 600 career home runs. His historic homer, a 350-foot drive over the left field wall, comes off Gaylord Perry in the third inning of a 6-5 ten-inning loss to the Giants at Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium.

It was on this date in 1981 "Fernandomania" hits fever pitch at Dodger Stadium as a sellout crowd watches the 20-year-old rookie pitch his 4th shutout in 5 starts 5-0 versus the Giants. Valenzuela is 5-0 with a 0.20 ERA and is batting .438.

It was on this date in 1983 Astros' fireballer Nolan Ryan breaks Walter Johnson's 56-year old record by whiffing Expo pinch-hitter Brad Mills on a 1-2 curveball in the eighth inning for his 3,509th career strikeout. Ryan would finish his career with 5,714 whiffs, a mark that is likely to stand forever. Despite 88 years having passed since Johnson last threw a pitch in the Majors he is still among the Top 10 in Strikeouts all-time (9th).


Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

On May 7, 2010 this 20 year old made his ML debut and established a new MLB record by driving in 6 runs in his first ML game. The following season he would set another record by becoming the youngest player ( age 21 ) to lead the National league in hits with 207. Can you name this infielder?

The answer to yesterday’s question…Steve Carlton 1980 and 1982, John Denny 1983, Steve Bedrosian 1987 (Three different Phillies pitchers won the NL’s Cy Young Award in the 1980s. Can you name them?)

 

[67RedSox]

I must have been bad because I haven’t been able to post here for several days. Whatever I did, whoever I offended I have apparently been forgiven for…assuming you see this Post.


Woodcutting is a traditional printmaking process dating back to the 15th century. To create a woodcut, an artist selectively carves a block of wood so that some areas are raised and others are recessed. When ink is spread across the surface of the wood and paper is pressed to its surface, only the raised areas will transfer ink. Newspapers used this process in the early days of photographs and anyone can do it today with Photoshop. On Opening Day, this week in 1886 in the National League, the New York World carries woodcuts of live action photographs taken by a "detective" camera‚ perhaps the first "live" pictures of Baseball ever taken. You’ve likely seen dozens of woodcuts with realizing what they were. A sample of a woodcut from 1886 follows.

baseball woodcuts - Google Search

Here’s one you’d never see today. This week in 1913 the Reds are defeated by the Cubs, 7-2, at Chicago's West Side Park. If the Cubs were confused as to who they were playing it’s understandable because the Reds played that game wearing Chicago White Sox uniforms. Cincinnati forgot to pack uniforms for their trip to Chicago so they had to don those worn by their opponents' crosstown rivals. In the team picture below the caption reads “Nationals” because the Reds were of the “National” League.

1913 cincinnati reds - Google Search

It was on this date in 1925 Jimmie Foxx makes his ML debut as a 17 year old pinch-hitter for the Philadelphia Athletics. 20 years later after 3 MVPs, 534 HRs and a .325 lifetime batting average he’ll retire.

May 1, 1925 Philadelphia Athletics at Washington Senators Box Score and Play by Play | Baseball-Reference.com

It’s not very often you win a game by the score of 16-1 but on this date in 1938 the San Francisco Seals visit San Diego to play a doubleheader against the Padres. The Padres win both games by a score of 16-1.

lane field 1938 - Google Search

This week in 1939, Lou Gehrig plays his last MLB game. It was a chilly Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, Lou Gehrig comes to the plate in the fourth inning and singles off Washington hurler Ken Chase for his 2,721st and last hit of his ML career. He would play one more game the following day, go 0 for 4, and realize he can no longer go on playing thanks to the early stages of ALS he is suffering from. His 2,721 base hits will stand as the Yankee team record for 70 years until Derek Jeter surpasses the mark in 2009.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/04/sports/baseball/04gehrig.html?_r=2&

It was on this date in 1951 that Mickey Mantle hits his 1st ML home run at Chicago’s Old Comiskey Park.

May 1, 1951 New York Yankees at Chicago White Sox Box Score and Play by Play | Baseball-Reference.com

Joe Adcock was best known as a first baseman and right-handed slugger with the powerful Milwaukee Braves teams of the 1950s, whose career included numerous home run feats. A sure-handed defensive player, he also retired with the third highest career fielding percentage by a first baseman (.994). Adcock was often overshadowed both by his own teammates Aaron and Eddie Mathews, and by the other slugging first basemen in the league, Ted Kluszewski and Gil Hodges. On July 31, 1954, Adcock accomplished the rare feat of homering four times in a single game, against the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. Another notable home run was the blast that ended the epic duel between Lew Burdette and Harvey Haddix on May 26, 1959, in which Haddix took a perfect game into the 12th inning. Adcock did not get credit for a home run, however, because Adcock passed Hank Aaron, who was on first, on the base paths. It was this week in 1953 that Adcock did something no other player had ever accomplished in the 42 years the final version of the Polo Grounds had been in existence …he became the first ML player to homer into the CF bleacher seats in the Polo Grounds‚ over 475 feet away. Two other players would later do it, Hank Aaron and the 170 lb. Lou Brock but Adcock was the first. Great photo of the long-gone Polo Grounds below.

http://www.elysianfielders.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/play_wasbaseball_07.jpg

It was almost 80 years ago when Joe “Ducky” Medwick, in 1937, became the last NL’er to win a Triple Crown Award. His stats that year were .374 / 31 / 154. There has only been one player since who has collected more than 150 RBIs in a season (NL) who was not saturated with steroids…that was Tommy Davis of the LA Dodgers in 1962 when he had 153. Davis won back-to-back Batting Crowns in the NL in 1962 and 1963 and his 230 hits in 1962 is the most in the NL since 1930 aside from Matty Alou’s 231 in 1969. Davis seemed ready to have his ticket punched for Cooperstown as he entered his ball-playing prime. An instant on the basepaths on this date in 1965 took him down a very different road. With the Giants in town, Davis was going from first to second on a grounder to Orlando Cepeda. Cepeda flipped to Gaylord Perry for the out at first. Tommy, not knowing whether there would be a play on him, made an awkward slide and snapped his ankle. His ankle was broken so badly his foot was pointing in the opposite direction it should be. His season was not only over but his career as he knew it was although he would play another 11 years. The photo below, one of my favourite baseball pictures is one of Tommy Davis’ teammate, Willie Davis, sliding into 2B at Dodger Stadium…taken from a 2B camera. The play must have looked something like this, just more awkward.

Photo of the Day: Willie Davis slides into second - CBSSports.com


Baseball Trivia:

I am the only NL Rookie of the Year Award winner to be elected to the Hall of Fame since the 1968 Award winner, Johnny Bench. I went in wearing the cap of a team that no longer exists.

The answer to Monday’s question…Starlin Castro (On May 7, 2010 this 20 year old made his ML debut and established a new MLB record by driving in 6 runs in his first ML game. The following season he would set another record by becoming the youngest player ( age 21 ) to lead the National league in hits with 207. Can you name this infielder?)

 

[67RedSox]

Hall of Famer, Eddie Collins was born on this date in 1887. An excellent place-hitter, slick fielder, and brainy base-runner, Eddie Collins epitomized the style of play that made the Dead-Ball Era unique. At the plate, the 5'9", 175-pound left-handed batter possessed a sharp batting eye, and aimed to hit outside pitches to the opposite field and trick deliveries back through the box. Once on base, Collins was a master at stealing, even though his foot speed wasn't particularly noteworthy. A believer in the principle that a runner steals off the pitcher and not the catcher, Collins practiced the art of studying pitchers. His 741 lifetime steals was 4th highest when he retired in 1930 and currently 8th highest all-time. Collins coached and managed in the Majors after retiring as a player. He also served as General Manager of the Boston Red Sox. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.

Eddie Collins Minor League Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com

It was on this date in 1930, the first night professional baseball game, played under permanent lights, was held at the Western League Park in Des Moines, Iowa. The Des Moines Demons defeated the Wichita Aviators 13-6 before a crowd of nearly 12,000. The evolution of night baseball in a previously daytime only sport had begun. ( There are some great old time photos if you scroll through the pictures below using the “Next” button in the upper right hand corner )

Holcomb Park - Des Moines Iowa - Former Home of the Des Moines Demons... Boosters

It was on this date in 1939 Lou Gehrig’s 2,130 consecutive game streak and ML career come to an end in Detroit when Gehrig tells his manager, Joe McCarthy, that he is benching himself "for the good of the team". For the next month, Gehrig traveled with the Yankees, but he did not play. With his condition continuing to worsen, Eleanor contacted the famed Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. A team of doctors headed by Charles William Mayo himself reviewed Gehrig’s case. After six days of intensive testing, the doctors diagnosed Gehrig with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

May 2, 1939: Lou Gehrig's streak ends in Detroit | SABR

As Gehrig was taking himself out of the line-up in Detroit a big day was in store for West Coast baseball. It was also on this date in 1939 that Gilmore Field opens in Tinsel Town, the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League home field. The stars are in the stands as well including a number who own stock in the team: Gracie Allen‚ Gene Autry‚ George Burns‚ Gary Cooper‚ Cecil B. DeMille‚ George Raft‚ Gary Cooper‚ William Powell and Robert Taylor. Gilmore Field served as home to the Hollywood Stars from 1939–57 when they, along with their intra-city rivals, the Los Angeles Angels, were displaced by the transplanted Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. The ballpark site was abandoned after 1957. Gilmore Field was razed in 1958, and much of the site is now occupied by a parking lot at CBS Television City.

gilmore field - Google Search

It was on this date in 1954 Stan Musial hits 5 HRs in a doubleheader with the Giants in St. Louis. In attendance is 8-year-old Nate Colbert‚ who will be the only other player in MLB history to accomplish this feat and the only person to be present on both occasions.

Enduring record: Stan Musial and his 5 home runs in a day | RetroSimba

I think the greatest pitched game ( both pitchers ) in ML history took place in Dodger Stadium on September 9, 1965 when Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers beat Bob Hendley and the Cubs, 1-0. Koufax tossed a Perfect Game and Hendley a 1-hitter. However, some may feel it was instead on this date in 1917 at Weeghman Park ( later to be re-named Wrigley Field ) when Fred Toney of the Reds and Hippo Vaughn of the Cubs throw no-hitters against one another through the first nine innings. The double no-hitter is broken in the 10th inning with Toney and the Reds winning 1-0, Toney preserving his extra-inning no-hitter.

May 2, 1917 Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs Box Score and Play by Play | Baseball-Reference.com

September 9, 1965 Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score and Play by Play | Baseball-Reference.com

The record for most times striking out in a 9-inning game is 5 ( Platinum Sombrero ). It’s been done 31 times in the American League and 28 times in National League games. It was on this date in 1956 the Cubs and Giants hook up at Wrigley Field and Don Hoak Chicago's 3rd Baseman strikes out a record-tying six times in an extra-inning game and against six different New York pitchers. That’s tough to do and Hoak became only the second player, the first since 1913 to do so. Six players since have done it since.

Strikeout Records for Hitters by Baseball Almanac


Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

Mike Trout is the reigning American League MVP. Can you name the previous Angels to also win the Award…there were two!

The answer to yesterday’s question… Andre Dawson (I am the only NL Rookie of the Year Award winner to be elected to the Hall of Fame since the 1968 Award winner, Johnny Bench. I went in wearing the cap of a team that no longer exists.)

 

[67RedSox]

It was on this date in 1936 that Joe DiMaggio plays in his first ML game and collects 3 hits and scores 3 run as the Yankees defeat the St. Louis Browns 14-5. The old master, Lou Gehrig, doesn’t want the kid getting too cocky so he bangs out 4 hits and scores 5 runs.

May 3, 1936 St. Louis Browns at New York Yankees Play by Play and Box Score | Baseball-Reference.com

It’s time for the Yankees to beat up on the Browns again. This time it was on this date in 1951 the Yankees defeat the Browns 17-3. Gil McDougal ties a ML record by driving in 6 runs in an inning. In his first at bat he clubs a Grand Slam and his second time up he hits a 2-run triple. Not bad for two swings of the bat.

May 3, 1951 New York Yankees at St. Louis Browns Box Score and Play by Play | Baseball-Reference.com

HOF’er Eppa Rixey was born on this date in 1891. His pitching career spanned the Dead-Ball and Live-Ball Eras, 1913-1933 winning 266 games with the Phillies and Reds. Without his unforgettable name, Eppa Rixey might be one of the more forgotten members of the Hall of Fame. His 266-251 won-lost record doesn't stand out, yet his win total stood as the National League record for lefthanders until Warren Spahn surpassed it in 1959. Rixey greeted the moment with characteristic humor, saying he was glad Spahn had broken his record because it reminded everybody that he had set it. Conversely, his 251 losses are the most ever for a lefthander ( Spahn with 245 and Steve Carlton with 244 stopped just shy of that mark ). Unlike most ballplayers of his time who grew up on a farm or doing manual labor Rixey came from wealth and aristocracy and lived a very comfortable life going to privates school and then the University of Virginia where he graduated with a degree in Chemistry and taught Latin in the winters months and wrote poetry. When elected to the Hall of Fame in 1963 he joked…”They're really scraping the bottom of the barrel, aren't they?" He died of a heart attack on February 28, 1963, one month after his election to the Hall of Fame, becoming the first player to die between election and induction to the Hall of Fame.

Eppa Rixey Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

Another Hall of Famer, Red Ruffing of NY Yankee fame, was born on this date in 1905. He pitched 22 seasons in the Majors between 1922 and 1947 some with the Red Sox, his final season with the Red Sox but mostly with the Yankees (1930-1946) where he picked up 231 of his 273 career Wins. He won 6 World Series Rings with the Yankees. In his first 7 seasons with the Red Sox Ruffing gave no indication that he would ever get into Cooperstown unless he bought a ticket. He twice led the AL in Losses and his career record was 39-96 but a trade to the Yankees in 1930 changed all of that. Bob Shawkey, a former pitcher who managed the Yankees in 1930, said he had noticed that Ruffing could dominate for four or five innings while he was with the Red Sox, but tired and lost his stuff because he was "pitching all with his arm." Shawkey revamped the pitcher’s delivery. That wasn’t the only reason for the dramatic improvement; Joe McCarthy took over as manager the next year, and McCarthy consistently fielded strong defensive teams—a pitcher’s best friend. His 231 victories for the Yankees were a club record until Whitey Ford surpassed him. He probably would have gotten to 300 if he had not lost two-and-a-half seasons to military service.
Many analysts regard Ruffing as a decent pitcher who rode to glory on the coattails of the Yankee dynasty. His reputation rests primarily on his 273 victories and his four 20-win seasons as the ace of one of the most powerful clubs in history. Looking beyond wins and losses, his 3.80 ERA is the worst by any Hall of Fame pitcher. Regardless, he did make it to the Hall of Fame in 1967 and although the last 12 years of his life were spent in a wheelchair due to a stroke he made the annual migration to Cooperstown for the Hall of Fame ceremonies every year.

Red Ruffing Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

You don’t have to be a Hall of Famer to have been born on May 3rd. Don Bankhead was born on this date in 1920. Now most of you would know that when he made his ML debut in 1947 he would be the 7,999th player in ML history but what some may have forgotten is that Bankhead was the first African-American to pitch in the Majors…like Jackie Robinson he was brought to the Majors with the Dodgers by Branch Rickey. His ML career was brief and really uneventful thanks to control issues and an old injury. He played in 52 games in his career, 13 as a starter and had a career record of 9-6 with 4 Saves.

Dan Bankhead | SABR

Now, you want to feel old. Davey Lopes, the Dodgers 1st Base Coach, was born on this date in 1945…he is now in his 70s. He played 16 seasons in the Majors, 10 with the Dodgers where he won a WS Ring in 1981 and has been coaching or managing almost since he retired after the 1987 season. He could steal a base with the best of them.

Davey Lopes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

There has been 1 Cy Young winner in the National League and 1 in the American League who didn’t have a first name…so to speak. Can you name the two pitchers who use their initials rather than first given names.

The answer to yesterday’s question…Don Baylor 1979, Vladimir Guerrero 2004 (Mike Trout is the reigning American League MVP. Can you name the previous Angels to also win the Award…there were two!)

 

[67RedSox]

Charles “Old Hoss” Radbourn made his MLB debut on this date in 1881. I know for most that’s pushing the envelope too far back to be of any interest but Radbourn is a HOF’er for good reason and one of the most important players in 19th Century Baseball and part of the foundation upon which the Grand Old Game is built. Radbourn’s pitching achievements were hailed by contemporaries and sportswriters for decades as some of the greatest feats in the Game. Radbourn was a tireless worker who didn’t seek the limelight. As one observer noted, he “never worked the press or catered to the grandstand, and was, in fact, so indifferent to applause or criticism that people who didn’t know him well, regarded him as surly and capricious.” Year after year, he just took his turn in the rotation and produced what many of the era considered the finest career of all the hurlers. That included the 1882 season when he won 48 games and in 1883 he set the ML record for Wins in a season with 59. His ERA that year was 1.38. He always finished what he started…73 Starts in 1883 and 73 Complete Games and 678 Innings Pitched. I know times are different but his contribution was real and still in the record books.

Baseball History: 19th Century Baseball: The Players: Charles “Old Hoss” Radbourn

He never played in the Majors and he never managed in the Majors but he was called “The Connie Mack of the Minors” and the “King of the Bushes” during his managerial career but he was a Baseball guy and worthy of a note. Edward Francis “Ned” Egan was born in Minnesota in 1878 and died on this date in 1918 in a Chicago Hotel from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Ned Egan | Baseball History Daily

In 1922 Ty Cobb was the playing-manager of the Detroit Tigers and despite it being his 18th season in the Majors he could still hit with the best. In fact, he hit .401 that season in over 600 Plate Appearances. There was a game played on this date in 1922 that shows just how important winning was to Cobb. The St. Louis Browns were in Detroit to play the Tigers and going into the bottom of the 9th inning were not only leading the Tigers 6-0 but the Tigers were being no-hit by Bill Bayne. Cobb sends up 5 straight pinch-hitters‚ the first of whom breaks up the no-hitter. One of the pinch hitters Cobb inserts is Bob Fothergill‚ who bats for Cobb and strikes out‚ but becomes the only man ever to pinch hit for the Georgia Peach. The Browns win the game, 6-1.

Retrosheet Boxscore: St. Louis Browns 6, Detroit Tigers 1

Nervous, maybe. It was on this date in 1955 that Tommy Lasorda makes his ML debut as a starting pitcher in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals and has to leave after 1 inning because of a spike wound he receives from Wally Moon of the Cardinals in a play at the plate. He also ties a ML record by throwing 3 wild pitches in the inning and will later blame his wildness on his catcher‚ Roy Campanella.

May 5, 1955 St. Louis Cardinals at Brooklyn Dodgers Box Score and Play by Play | Baseball-Reference.com

It was on this date in 1975 that the Oakland A’s release Herb Washington. Washington‚ managed to play in 104 ML games without batting‚ pitching‚ or fielding‚ stole 30 bases‚ and scored 33 runs. How did he manage to do that…he was the Game’s only “designated” runner (pinch runner).

Herb Washington Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com

It was on this date in 1978 that Pete Rose singles off Montreal's Steve Rogers for career hit 3‚000.

May 5, 1978 Montreal Expos at Cincinnati Reds Play by Play and Box Score | Baseball-Reference.com

Frank Williams pitched six seasons in the Majors, 1984-1989 and was a very good relief pitcher appearing in a total of 333 games or an average of 55 games a season. It was on this date in 1984 that he makes the lone start of his ML career and shutouts out the Cardinals, in a rain shortened game, making him just the 4th and last pitcher to toss a shutout during the 20th Century in his only ML Start.

May 5, 1984 San Francisco Giants at St. Louis Cardinals Play by Play and Box Score | Baseball-Reference.com

Eddie Cicotte died on this date in 1969. Though he didn’t invent the pitch, Eddie “Knuckles” Cicotte was perhaps the first ML pitcher to master the knuckleball. Chances are no remembers him for that. Cicotte also led the AL in Wins with 28 in 1917 and with 29 in 1919. Chances are no one remembers him for that either. Eddie Cicotte was one of eight players permanently banned from professional baseball for his alleged participation in the Black Sox scandal in the 1919 World Series and everyone remembers him for that.

Eddie Cicotte - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Baseball Trivia: ( Answer Tomorrow )

Who is the only pitcher to lead both the Al and NL in shutouts… in the same season.

The answer to Monday’s question…NL - R.A. Dickey 2012, AL - CC Sabathia, 2007 (There has been 1 Cy Young winner in the National League and 1 in the American League who didn’t have a first name…so to speak. Can you name the two pitchers who use their initials rather than first given names.)