#this day in baseball
It only seemed right to end this the way it began. First post, last post. One of my all-time favorites. Rickey brought an intensity, a joyous exuberance to the game, which I think is how it should always be played. Thank you all so much for your support and kind words. You are proof that baseball fans are the best fans!
May 1, 1992 Rickey Henderson steals his 1000th base. Henderson already held the record for most career stolen bases. He broke the record previously held by Lou Brock with his 939th stolen base exactly one year earlier on May 1, 1991.
April 30, 1922
Charlie Robertson, in only his fourth career start, becomes the third modern pitcher to throw a perfect game when he beats the Tigers at Navin Field, 2-0. The White Sox pitcher, thanks to Johnny Mostil’s two outstanding catches in the outfield, is also just the fourth rookie to throw a no-hitter.
April 29, 1931
Cleveland pitcher Wes Ferrell no-hits the St. Louis Browns, including his brother Rick, 7-0. The pitching star also provided offense, knocking in four runs with a double, and a home run.
April 28, 1934
At Navin Field, Goose Goslin grounds into four consecutive double plays. The Tiger outfielder’s lack of offense doesn’t matter, as Detroit beats the visiting Indians, 4-1.
April 27, 1973
Kansas City’s 22-year-old starter Steve Busby becomes the 13th rookie to throw a no-hitter, beating Detroit, 3-0, at Tiger Stadium. It is the first ever no-hit game thrown by a Royals pitcher, and the former UCLA Bruin will pitch the second no-hitter in franchise history next season.
April 26, 2013
Anibal Sanchez breaks Mickey Lolich’s franchise record of 16 strikeouts when he retires the side on strikes in the eighth inning of the Tigers’ 10-0 rout of Atlanta. In his eight innings of work, the 29-year-old Venezuelan right-hander gives up just five hits en route to his 17-strikeout performance.
Ed. Note: This was the event that originally sparked the idea for this blog. As I watched the game, I thought, ‘That’s so cool. I never knew that. I wish there was something that combined baseball, history, and trivia in one place.” Five days later, this-day-in-baseball was launched.
April 25, 1937
Cliff Melton becomes the first rookie to fan at least ten batters in his major league debut, finishing with 13 strikeouts in a complete-game loss to the Braves at the Polo Grounds. The 25-year-old southpaw, who loses the 3-1 contest due to the weak defense of the Giants in the ninth inning, will hold the rookie record for K’s in his debut until Dodger freshman Karl Spooner strikes out 15 batters in his first major league start in 1954.
April 24, 2017
Dovydas Neverauskas, taking the roster spot of DL-bound Adam Frazier, becomes the second person born in Lithuania, but the first raised there, to appear in a major league game when he throws two innings of one-run ball for the Pirates in 14-3 loss to the Cubs at PNC Park. A’s outfielder Joe Zapustas, who played two games for the team in 1933, was also born in the Baltic state, but spent his childhood in Boston.
April 23, 2014
Conrado Marrero, the oldest living former major leaguer, dies two days before his 103rd birthday. The 5-foot, 5-inch Cuban right-hander, named to the American League All-Star team in 1951, compiled a 39-40 record with an ERA of 3.96 during his five seasons with the Senators.
April 22, 2018
Brandon Belt works one of the longest at-bats in modern major league history when he sees 21 first-inning pitches from LA’s Jaime Barria in the Giants’ 4-2 victory at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. The San Francisco first baseman’s 12 minute and 45-second plate appearance, in which he fouls off 16 balls - including 10 in a row - surpasses the 1998 duel between Indians right-hander Bartolo Colon and Astro infielder Ricky Gutierrez by one pitch.
April 21, 1898
In a game against the Giants, Philadelphia pitcher Bill Duggelby hits a grand slam in his first major league at-bat. Bobby Bonds will hit one in his first game in his third at-bat, but Duggleby’s feat will not be repeated until August 31, 2005, when Jeremy Hermida of the Marlins hits a bases-loaded homer.
April 21, 2018
Sean Manaea tosses the 12th no-hitter in A’s franchise history and the first since Dallas Braden’s perfect game in 2010, when he keeps the opponents hitless in the team’s 3-0 victory over the Red Sox. The 26-year-old southpaw’s performance ends Boston’s run of 3,987 games without being no-hit, a streak dating back Mariners’ Chris Bosio’s no-no against the club at the Kingdome on April 22, 1993.
April 19, 2000
Orel Hershiser ties a major league mark, equaled by 19 others, hitting four batters in one game. Astro Richard Hidalgo also ties a modern major league record by getting hit three times in a game, twice by Hershiser and a third time by Dodger reliever Matt Herges.
April 18, 1923
At South Field on Columbia’s campus in New York City, a collegiate pitcher strikes out seventeen batters from Williams to establish a school record but loses the game 5-1 due to wildness. Lou Gehrig, the young southpaw, will become better known for his hitting prowess with the Yankees.
April 17, 1945
Browns outfielder Pete Gray, playing with one arm, makes his major league debut with one hit in four at-bats in a 7-1 victory over Detroit at Sportsman’s Park. The 30-year-old St. Louis outfielder, who lost his right arm in a childhood accident, batted .333 last season as a minor leaguer.
April 16, 1929
In a 5-4 Opening Day victory over Detroit at League Park, Indians’ rookie center fielder Earl Averill homers on a 0-2 pitch off Detroit’s pitcher Earl Whitehill, becoming the first American Leaguer to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat. The ‘Earl of Snohomish’ will also be the first future Hall of Famer to accomplish the feat.
April 15, 1921
At Redland Field, Pirates right-hander Chief Yellow Horse makes his major league debut against the Reds. The Pittsburgh pitcher, a member of the Pawnee tribe, is believed by many baseball historians to be the first full-blooded Native American to play in the big leagues.
April 14, 1908
Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss offers Honus Wagner a contract with a proposed a salary of $6,000. The third baseman, who won his second consecutive NL batting crown last season, will eventually sign for $10,000, twice the amount of his previous pay, to become the first major leaguer to make a five-figure salary.
April 13, 1984
On the same date he got his first major league hit 21 years earlier, Pete Rose, as a member of the Expos, doubles off the Phillies’ Jerry Koosman for his 4000th hit, becoming the first player in the National League to reach the milestone. Montreal beats Philadelphia in the Friday the 13th game at Olympic Stadium, 5-1.
April 12, 1906
At Brooklyn’s Washington Park, Boston Beaneater rookie Johnny Bates becomes the first modern player to homer in his first major league at-bat. The 23-year-old outfielder connects off Harry McIntire in the top of the second inning in the team’s 2-0 Opening Day victory over the Superbas.
