Today in Baseball History -- May 24 -- from Mary Landers ... 1909 -- After beating the Cardinals a record 24 consecutive times, Giants legend Christy Mathewson finally loses to the Redbirds, 3-1. The winning streak spanned five years, starting in May of 1904. 1918 -- Indians right-hander Stan Coveleski hurls for 19 innings in the Tribes 3-2 victory over the Yankees at the Polo Grounds. Joe Woods home run proves to be the difference. 1935 -- At Crosley Field, the era of night time baseball begins as 25,000 fans watch the Reds beat the Phillies 2-1 in the first major league game ever played under the lights. During the pre-game ceremonies, President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushes a button at the White House to illuminate the field. 1936 -- At Shibe Park, second baseman Tony Lazzeri becomes the first major league player to hit two grand slams in the same game when the Yankees annihilate the As, 25-2. The bases-full homers enable the future member of the Hall of Fame to establish a new American League record with 11 RBIs. 1940 -- The Browns host the first major league game played in St. Louis under the lights. A Friday evening crowd of 24,827, the largest attendance figure in 18 years, watches Bob Feller and the Indians beat the home team at Sportsmans Park, 3-2. 1940 -- In the first night game played at the Polo Grounds, the hometown Giants beat Boston, 8-1. The Manhattan ballparks $125,000 lighting system works well, allowing the 22,260 patrons attending the game to follow the nocturnal contest without any difficulties. 1941 -- Big Poison Paul Waner is signed by the Braves after being released by Brooklyn. The former Dodger joins his brother Little Poison Lloyd on the Boston roster. 1947 -- Carl Furillo hits a three-run homer as a pinch-hitter in the first frame of the Dodgers 4-3 ten-inning loss to Philadelphia at Ebbets Field. The unusual substitution occurs when Phillies manager Ben Chapman uses his right-handed starter Al Jurisch to pitch only to Brooklyns first two hitters, Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson, and then brings in southpaw Oscar Judd, who had been warming up from the start of the game, to face the next three lefty hitters, Pete Reiser, Dixie Walker, and Gene Hermanski, the batter replaced by Furillo. 1950 -- Nat Clifton’s Harlem Globetrotter contract is purchased by the New York Knicks, making the talented athlete the first black to sign a deal to play in the National Basketball Association. Prior to his career in the NBA, Sweetwater played first base for the Chicago American Giants in the Negro Leagues. 1956 -- In Detroit, Mickey Mantle goes 5-for-5 with an intentional walk in the Yankees 11-5 victory over the Tigers. The Commerce Comets offensive output includes a homer and four singles. 1957 -- In his first big league at-bat, Frank Ernaga hits a third inning home run to deep left field off future Hall of Fame southpaw Warren Spahn in Chicagos 5-1 victory over Milwaukee. The rookie right fielder follows his Wrigley Field round tripper with a three bagger in the following frame to become the first Cubs player to have hit a home run and a triple in his major league debut. 1964 -- The major league mark for shutouts in one day is broken as seven of the twenty major league teams do not cross home plate. The Twins, White Sox, Yankees, Mets, Phillies, Cardinals and Pirates are all blanked. 1964 -- Harmon Killebrew tags the longest homer ever hit in Baltimores Memorial Stadium. The Twins left fielders 471-foot shot, which clears the hedge in left center field, is hit off Milt Pappas in the eighth inning of a 7-6 loss to the Orioles. 1964 -- After first being proposed in 1959, ground is finally broken for the Civic Center-Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. The development of the area, located in the midst of a blighted area near the core of city that includes Chinatown, is seen by city officials as the start of a new era in St. Louis. 1965 -- With glare of the sun shining through the roof making fly balls difficult to track during day games, the clear plastic panes of the Astrodomes ceiling are painted at a cost of $20,000. The decision to cover the roof, which reduces the ambient lighting by 40%, prevents the ballparks natural grass from growing and will lead to the use of Astroturf next season. 1967 -- Tommy McCraw drives in eight runs, including three home runs, to help the first-place White Sox beat the Twins, 14-1. 1969 -- For the first time since the start of the season, a span of forty-one games, Don Kessinger does not reach base. The Cubs Gold-Glove shortstop grounds out four times and hits into a fly-ball double play in his last at-bat during Chicagos 7-5 loss to the Padres at San Diego Stadium. 1972 -- At Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Don Rose homers on the first pitch he sees in his first major league at bat. The right-handers third inning round-tripper, which will be his only career round tripper and the last hit by an American League hurler for thirty years, proves to be the difference in the Angels 6-5 victory over the As, earning the 25-year old his only victory in the big leagues. 1973 -- In a 19-inning marathon, LA outfielder Willie Davis collects six hits in a 7-3 loss to the Mets at Dodger Stadium. The two clubs establish a National League mark by hitting into a combined nine double plays. 1976 -- Bert Campaneris steals five bases, one shy of the major league mark, in the As 12–7 victory over the Twins at the Oakland Coliseum. The fleet shortstop will swipe 54 bases, third best in the American League this season. 1978 -- In an inning which lasts over an hour, 15 runs score before the first out is recorded as the Florida State Leagues Tampa Tarpons beat Daytona Beach,18-2. 1984 -- Defeating the Angels in Los Angeles, 5-1, the Tigers equal the major league mark set by the 1916 Giants with their 17th consecutive road victory. The win, a Jack Morris four-hit complete game, also breaks the American League record of 16 established by the Senators in 1912. 1986 -- A “drunk” Billy Martin is fired as the co-host of Saturday Night Live by executive producer Lorne Michaels after slurring his lines during a skit. In retaliation, the often-unemployed Yankee manager sets fire to his dressing room at the end of the show, which is the season finale. 1990 — Chicagos Andre Dawson was walked intentionally five times by the Cincinnati Reds to break the record shared by Roger Maris and Garry Templeton. 1991 -- In an open letter read on WFAN, a New York sports-talk radio station, Gregg Jefferies, in response to the negative attention from Mets fans, pleads his case to be treated fairly. The embattled infielder wants the listeners to know, I can only hope that one day those teammates who have found it convenient to criticize me will realize that we are all in this together. If only we can concentrate more on the games than complaining and bickering and pointing fingers, we would all be better off. 1993 -- Indian starter Tom Kramer faces only 28 batters when he beats Texas at Cleveland Stadium, 4-1. The rookie right-hander, who will not return to the major leagues after this season, allows just one base runner, DH Julio Franco, who hits a fourth-inning home run. 1993 -- The Mets play their 5,000th game in team history, losing to Philadelphia at Veterans Stadium, 6-3. Although New York has a record of 527 wins and 473 losses in its last thousand games, the franchise is still 338 games under .500 since playing its first contest in 1962. 1994 -- At Busch Stadium, the Cardinals set a major league record when they leave 16 men stranded on the bases without scoring. The Phillies take advantage of the Redbirds lack of timely hitting and beat St. Louis, 4-0. 1994 -- In a 13-6 Oriole win over Milwaukee at County Stadium, Cal Ripken hits his 300th career home run. The milestone round-tripper is a three-run shot to deep left field off Teddy Higuera in the third inning. 1995 -- Tossing a scoreless ninth inning in the As 5-2 win over Baltimore, Dennis Eckersley records his 300th career save. The Oakland right-hander becomes the sixth reliever in major league history to reach the milestone. 1998 -- In Florida States 23-2 rout of Oklahoma in the NCAA Atlantic II Regionals, Matt Diaz hit four home runs. The freshmans offensive output, which includes seven RBIs, ties the school and tournament record for round trippers. 2000 -- Shawn Estes pitches a seven-hitter and becomes the first Giants pitcher in 51 years (Monte Kennedy-1949) to hit a grand slam en route to handing the Expos their worst defeat in franchise history, 18-0. The San Bernardino native just misses joining Tony Cloninger as the only major league pitcher to hit two slams in a game. 2000 -- Mark McGwire becomes the fastest player to hit 20 home runs in one season, reaching the mark in 35 games, six less than Mickey Mantle (1956) and his own record (1998). 2000 -- Sixteen Dodger players and three coaches are suspended by the commissioners office for going into the stands during the Wrigley Field scuffle with fans on May 16. The suspensions totaling 60 games for players and 24 games for coaches is the harshest penalty ever handed down by major league baseball. 2000 -- Ahead by seven runs after five innings of play at Enron Field, the hometown Astros find a way to lose to the Phillies, 9-7. Two days earlier, in Milwaukee, with a 9-2 advantage in the bottom of the ninth inning, Houston blew another seven-run lead in the eventual ten-inning, 10-9 loss to the Brewers at County Stadium. 2001 -- Cincinnati is finally shut out when Cubs starter Jon Lieber one-hits the Reds on 79 pitches, 3-0. The span of 208 of games without being blanked establishes a new National League record, with the 1931-33 Yankees (308) and the 1978-79 Milwaukee Brewers (212) being the only teams with longer streaks. 2001 -- Lana Blefary, the wife of former Oriole outfielder Curt Blefary, scatters the ashes of her husbands remains at Baltimores Memorial Stadium. Although little of the stadium remains as the site is being demolished, she is still able to fulfill her husbands last wishes. 2002 -- After a container is seen being dropped from a low-flying plane hitting and bouncing off the stadium roof onto the street, Seattle hazardous materials crews close off the roads around Safeco Field for about an hour. The object turns outs to be the remains of an unidentified mans cremated ashes. 2006 -- Helping the Devil Rays to beat the Blue Jays, 10-8, Carl Crawford goes 5-for-5, to tie the franchise record for hits in a game. The Tampa Bay left fielder collects five hits including a home run, scores five runs and steals four bases in his career night at the Rogers Centre. 2006 -- Swinging on the first pitch in his first major league at-bat, Adam Wainwright homers in the fifth inning of the Cardinals 10-4 win over San Francisco at AT&T Park. The 24-year old right-hander also tosses three innings in relief to record his second career victory. 2007 — John Smoltz of Atlanta pitched seven shutout innings and became baseballs first pitcher with 200 wins and 150 saves with a 2-1 win over the New York Mets. 2007 -- In his 1,000th major league game, Ichiro Suzuki goes 3-for-6, giving the Mariner outfielder a career total of 1,414 hits. Only Hall of Famer Al Simmons compiled more in a same span of games, collecting 1,443 from 1924-1931 for the Philadelphia As. 2009 — Milwaukees Mike Cameron homered in the Brewers 6-3 loss at Minnesota, becoming the 20th player in major league history to have 250 home runs and 250 steals. He has 291 career steals. 2011 -- Jo Jo Reyes makes his 28th straight start without recording a victory, tying the major league record shared by Cliff Curtis (1910-11, Braves, Cubs, Phillies) and Matt Keough (1978-79, As). The Blue Jays southpaw, who leaves the game trailing 5-0 to New York after just three innings of work, hasnt won a start since June 13, 2008. 2011 — Chicagos Carlos Quentin hit three home runs to lead the White Sox to an 8-6 win over Texas. The game was delayed nearly 3 hours by heavy rain and hail. Quentins third homer — a solo shot off Dave Bush in the ninth — made it 8-6. 2013 — Anibal Sanchez took a no-hitter into the ninth inning before Minnesotas Joe Mauer broke it up with a one-out single, and that was the only hit the Detroit right-hander allowed in the Tigers 6-0 victory over the Twins. Todays birthdays: Kevin Frandsen 32; Bartolo Colon 41.
Posted on: Sat, 24 May 2014 15:21:19 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015