Today in Baseball History
August 7th
1907 Senators' hurler Walter Johnson wins his first major league game, beating the Indians, 7-2. The 19 year-old right-hander will compile a 417-279 (.599) record, along with an ERA of 2.17, during his 21-year career.
1923 Hitting a double and five singles, Indian first baseman Frank Brower goes 6-for-6. The 30 year-old infielder's offensive output helps Cleveland to rout the Senators at Griffith Stadium, 22-2.
1943 The Giants tie a National League record when they leave eighteen runners on base. The team strands two base runners in each inning in their 9-6 loss to the Phillies at the Polo Grounds.
1950 At Rickwood Field, the Birmingham police bar three white players of the Chicago American Giants from playing in a Negro American League doubleheader against the Birmingham Black Barons. The local officers met Ted Radcliffe at the gate, informing the visiting manager that his 'non-black' players will have watch the game from the 'white only' grandstand, due to the city's segregation laws.
1951 A crowd of 57,000 at the Orange Bowl, the largest ever to attend a minor league game, watches an ageless 51 year-old Satchel Paige hit a double and get the win as the Miami Marlins beat the Columbus Jets in International League action, 6-2.
1962 The 29-81 Mets are mathematically eliminated from finishing in first place with their 7-5 loss to Los Angeles in Chavez Ravine. After the game, New York manager Casey Stengel calls a meeting and jokes with his players that they can loosen up and relax now that they are out of the pennant race, which they promptly do, winning just eleven more games during the last two months of the season.
1963 At the Polo Grounds, Jim Hickman becomes the first Met in franchise history to hit for the cycle, accomplishing the feat in the very rare natural order. The New York leadoff batter's single in the first inning, double in the second, fourth-frame triple, and a sixth-inning solo shot all contribute to the Amazins' 7-3 victory over St. Louis.
1968 In his major league debut, A's Joe Keough hits a home run in his first at-bat. The rookie goes deep off Lindy McDaniel as a pinch-hitter in the eighth, tying the score at 3-to-3 in Oakland's eventual 4-3 extra inning victory at Yankee Stadium.
1969 At a hastily called news conference, Phillies' manager Bob Skinner resigns, citing a lack of support from the front office in his efforts to discipline **** Allen, the team's temperamental superstar. The 37 year-old skipper will be replaced by his third-base coach, George Myatt, who inherits the fifth-place club with a 44-64 record.
1971 A’s southpaw Vida Blue, en route to a 24-8 record in his first full year in the major leagues, becomes a 20-game winner when he goes the distance, blanking the White Sox, 1-0. The only run of the game scores on a balk committed by Joe Horlen in the sixth inning of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum contest.
1973 A's owner Charlie Finley is rushed to Chicago’s Northwestern University Hospital after collapsing as the result of a heart attack. During the meddlesome owner's convalescence, Oakland flourishes on the field, winning 13 of 14 games, including a span of nine consecutive victories, to go into first place in the AL West, a position they will not relinquish for the remainder of the season.
1976 One strike away from throwing a no-hitter, Steve Luebber gives up a single to Roy Howell, who advances to third base on an error in center field by Lyman Bostock. The 27 year-old right-hander will yield another hit and a run before being replaced on the mound by reliever Bill Campbell in the Twins' 3-1 victory over Texas at Arlington Stadium.
1978 Mel Allen and Red Barber become the first recipients of the Ford C. Frick Broadcasting Award. Unable to choose between the two legendary voices, both Yankee announcers are selected by the Hall of Fame voters to receive the honor which recognizes excellence among baseball broadcasters.
1982 Jim Rice climbs into the Fenway Park stands from the dugout to assist a young boy who had just been hit in the head by a savage line drive foul off the bat of Dave Stapleton. The Red Sox slugger's quick response of picking up the four year-old boy and running through the dugout to a waiting ambulance is credited with possibly saving the child's life.
1983 The team honors Bobby Murcer by giving him a day at Yankee Stadium. The popular Oklahoman, who will become a long-time broadcaster for the team, played 13 seasons for the Bronx Bombers, compiling a .278 batting average while in pinstripes.
1985 A five-year agreement between the union and owners, which includes salary arbitration eligibility increasing from two years to three years, ends the two-day mid-season players’ strike. The season will resume tomorrow.
1987 Bill Mazeroski's uniform jersey #9 is officially retired from active service by the Pirates. The 1960 World Series hero joins Billy Meyer (1), Willie Stargell (
, Pie Traynor (20), Roberto Clemente (21), Honus Wagner (33), and Danny Murtaugh (40) to be honored by Pittsburgh in this manner.
1988 The Mariners establish a major league record with five sacrifice flies in their 12-7 victory over Oakland. Alvin Davis, Rey Quinones, Jay Buhner, Darnell Coles, and Jim Presley all drive in a run with a long fly ball out in the Oakland Coliseum contest.
1993 In his first major league appearance since being involved in a tragic accident during spring training, Indian pitcher Bobby Ojeda receives a very warm reception from the Orioles fans attending the Camden Yards contest. In March, the veteran southpaw was severely injured at Little Lake Nellie in Clermont, Florida in a motor boat accident that claimed the lives of two teammates, relievers Tim Crews and Steve Olin.
1999 For the second consecutive day, a major leaguer gets his 3000th hit as Wade Boggs homers in the sixth off Indian Chris Haney. The Devil Rays' third baseman, who is the first player to reach the milestone with a home run, rounds the bases pointing skyward, blowing a kiss in memory of his mom and gets down on his knees to kiss home plate.
1999 The Royals honor George Brett's induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame with an on-field ceremony prior to the game against Minnesota. The former third baseman played his entire 21-year career in Kansas City, compiling a .305 lifetime batting average.
2000 The Yankees claim Jose Canseco off waivers from the Devil Rays. The 35 year-old slugger will appear in just 37 games for the Bronx Bombers, primarily as a designated hitter, hitting .247 in 111 at bats.
2001 Home plate umpire Angel Hernandez ejects Steve 'Mongo' McMichael from Wrigley Field as the former Chicago Bear football player is about to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh inning stretch. McMichael, presently a pro wrestler, tells the crowd over the P.A. system "he'll have a talk with the ump" concerning a close call made by Hernandez earlier in the game and then boos and blows a kiss toward the ump.
2001 Black Betsy, Shoeless Joe Jackson's 40-ounce warped hickory bat, is won by 30 year-old businessman Rob Mitchell in a 10-day eBay auction. The $577,610 price tag is believed to be the largest amount ever paid for a baseball bat.
2001 Passing the mark of 68 established Christy Mathewson (Giants - 1913) and Randy Jones (Padres -1976), Braves right-hander Greg Maddux sets the National League record for consecutive innings without allowing a walk as he pitches six innings without a giving up a base on balls to extend the new record to 70 1-3 innings. The major league record is 84 1-3 innings without a free pass, established in 1962 by A's sinker-slider hurler Bill Fischer.
2002 Major leaguers agree to be checked randomly for illegal steroids starting next year. The proposal, which addresses a major issue in the current contract talks, ends the players' decades-old opposition to mandatory drug testing.
2002 After piloting the club to a 45-45 record as the interim skipper, Clint Hurdle is given a two-year contract extension by the Rockies. The club's former hitting coach replaced Buddy Bell, who was fired April 26.
2003 Albert Pujols joins Jose Canseco as the only other player in major league history to hit 30 home runs and drive in 100 runs during his first three seasons.
2003 Fireballer Eric Gagne ties the single-season record for consecutive saves to start a season established in 1995 by Jose Mesa of the Indians. The Dodger closer strikes out the Reds' side in the ninth inning for his 38th save this season and 46th consecutive regular-season save overall.
2004 In less than a masterful performance, Greg Maddux pitches five innings to register his 300th victory when the Cubs beat the Giants, 8-4. The 38 year-old is the 22nd pitcher to reach the plateau and many believe may be the last to reach this coveted milestone.
2005 In the battle of the Zambranos, the Mets' Victor is victorious when he defeats Carlos and the Cubs at Shea Stadium, 6-1. In addition to sharing the same last name, the two Venezuelan pitchers, who are not related, also wear the same number (3
, enter the game with same number of career wins (41), play for teams which started the series with the same record (54-54), as well as being both switch hitters and throwing right-handed.
2005 On the main concourse in left field at U.S. Cellular Field, the White Sox unveiled a life-sized bronze statue of Carlton Fisk. The Hall of Fame catcher, who played for the ChiSox from 1981 to the end of his career in 1993, joins team founder Charles A. Comiskey and Cuban legend Minnie Minoso, who have also been honored with statues in the Chicago ballpark.
2007 In front of a very supportive home crowd at AT&T Park, Barry Bonds surpasses Hank Aaron as the all-time home run leader when he connects on a 3-2 pitch for #756 off southpaw Mike Bacsik of the Nationals. During the 10-minute celebration following the historic homer, a surprise video message is played on the scoreboard in which Hammerin’ Hank congratulates the Giants' left fielder for breaking the 31 year-old record.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL3vNXIsEPM
2009 The first Yankees-Red Sox game to go beyond 14 innings without a run being scored in the fabled rivalry between the American League clubs ends dramatically when Alex Rodriguez blasts a two-run walk-off homer in the 15th. A-Rod's home run, the first the third baseman has hit since July 19th, ends the five-hour and 33 minute marathon.
2010 James Shields ties a major league record for dingers allowed in one game when he gives up six round-trippers in the Rays' 17-11 loss to Toronto at the Rogers Centre. 'Big Fly James', in his four innings of work, yields homers to Aaron Hill (2), Edwin Encarnacion, Adam Lind, Jose Bautista, and J.P. Arencibia.
2010 In a 17-11 slugfest against Tampa Bay at the Rogers Centre, J.P. Arencibia becomes the 28th player to hit a home run on the first pitch he sees as a major leaguer. The Blue Jays' rookie catcher will also hit a double, a single and another home run, finishing the contest just a triple shy of completing the cycle.
