⚾ On This Day in MLB History ⚾

mjp28

May 6. Ruth, Mays -but- no Indians classics today ? That's a first so far.

1915 - Babe Ruth, pitching for the Boston Red Sox, collects three hits, including his first major league home run when he connects off Jack Warhop of the New York Yankees at the Polo Grounds.
1931 - Willie Mays is born in Westfield, Alabama. After a brief career in the Negro Leagues, Mays will make his major league debut with the New York Giants in 1951. During a 22-year major league career, Mays will bat .302 with 660 home runs and 1903 RBI. Mays will gain Hall of Fame honors in 1979.
1941.- Hank Greenberg makes his last game before entering the U.S. military a memorable one as he hits two home runs with three RBI helping the Detroit Tigers to a 7 - 4 victory over the New York Yankees.
1955 - Roberto Clemente crashes Willie Mays's birthday party in his second visit to the Polo Grounds, by banging a 430-foot triple over the birthday boy's head in the midst of a decisive rally in a 3 - 2 Pirate win over the Giants. Jesse Abramson of the New York Herald Tribune reports: "Roberto Clemente tripled so far over Mays' head that even Willie on his charger, shedding the cap, couldn't catch it..."
1958 - Commemorating the three-year anniversary of his party-crashing heroics, Roberto Clemente again disrupts Willie Mays's birthday celebration, if not quite so dramatically. Bob Stevens of the San Francisco Chronicle reports: "Only a spectacular catch by Clemente on a 400-foot blast by Mays in the 6th with the bases loaded and George Witt on the mound prevented San Francisco from making a genuine rout of the thing." Circus catch notwithstanding, the Bucs' bats fail to ignite as they suffer a 7 - 0 whitewashing.
1982 - Gaylord Perry of the Seattle Mariners becomes the 15th major league pitcher with 300 victories when he defeats the New York Yankees, 7 - 3, at the Kingdome. Perry becomes the first pitcher to notch his 300th win since Early Wynn did it in 1963.

mjp28

May 7.

1917 - Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox allows only two hits as he outpitches Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators, 1 - 0, at Griffith Stadium. Ruth helps himself by driving in the winning run with a sacrifice fly.
1922 - Jesse Barnes of the New York Giants pitches the only no-hitter of the year, beating the Philadelphia Phillies, 6 - 0, at the Polo Grounds.
1925 - At Forbes Field, Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Glenn Wright turns an unassisted triple play in the 9th inning against the St. Louis Cardinals when he catches Jim Bottomley's line drive, steps on second base to double Jimmy Cooney, and tags Rogers Hornsby coming from first. Despite Wright's effort, the Cardinals win, 10 - 9.
1940 - The Brooklyn Dodgers become the first National League team to fly when they travel by air to Chicago from St. Louis.

I remember this next one when I was 6 years old Herb Score's picture was on the May 8 front page of our Youngstown Vindicator, it was awful.

1957 - Cleveland Indians pitcher Herb Score is hit on the right eye by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees' Gil McDougald in the 1st inning. The ball breaks Score's nose and damages his eye; he will miss the rest of the season.

1995 - Former All-Star outfielder Gus Bell dies at the age of 66. As the patriarch of a three-generation baseball family, Bell reached the 100-RBI mark four times while starring for the Cincinnati Reds. His son, Buddy, and his grandsons, David and Mike, later played in the major leagues.
1999 - In the biggest comeback in Jacobs Field history, the Cleveland Indians score 18 runs in the final three innings to overcome a 9 - 1 deficit and beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 20 - 11. Tampa Bay's first baseman Fred McGriff sets a major league record by homering in his 34th major league ballpark.
2009:. - The Dodgers' star outfielder, Manny Ramirez, is suspended for 50 games for testing positive for a banned substance. He is the most prominent player yet caught under Major League Baseball's PED policy implemented in 2005.
2009 - The Red Sox score 12 runs in the 6th inning before recording an out in their 13 - 3 win over Cleveland. Jason Bay drives in four of the runs with a double and a three-run homer in the record-tying scoring spree.
2014:.- Nolan Arenado of the Rockies matches a team record by extending his hitting streak to 27 games when he goes 3 for 5 in a 9 - 2 win over the Rangers; Michael Cuddyer had set the record only a year ago. Arenado does not have to wait long as he hits a two-run double off Colby Lewis in the 1st. In the game, Adrian Beltre hits his 100th homer as a member of the Rangers; he is only the 5th player to hit 100 or more homers with three different teams, having previously done so with the Dodgers and Mariners; the four others are Darrell Evans, Reggie Jackson, Alex Rodriguez and ★ Jim Thome.

mjp28

May 8.

1896: - The St. Louis Browns dismiss manager Harry Diddlebock for intoxication. Player Arlie Latham and owner Chris Von der Ahe manage two games apiece before Von der Ahe settles on Roger Connor.

1899 - Harry Wolverton's bases-loaded home run in the bottom of the 9th gives the Chicago Orphans an 8 - 7 victory over ★ Cleveland.
1902 - The Chicago Orphans again top the Giants, winning 10 - 4. Chicago manager Frank Selee comments that the distance from the pitcher's mound to the plate looks short. Horace Fogel, the Giants manager, measures the distance and finds the lane is 15 inches short. New York protests and it is upheld on June 3rd. The two games are ordered replayed.
1922: - Hasty makes wasty as ★ Cleveland hits a major league record-tying four triples in the 5th off the A's Bob Hasty and roll over Philadelphia, 14 - 4. George Uhle is the winner.
- Sam Breadon buys a controlling interest of 72% in the St. Louis Cardinals. He and Branch Rickey, who owns the rest of the stock, will combine to create one of baseball's most successful operations. Breadon demotes Rickey to vice-president, but allows him to remain as field manager.
1925 - Every National League city will have a Golden Jubilee Day. The first, between two of the original teams left from the 1876 season, at Boston, sees former Boston players from 1876 on hand. The Braves beat Chicago, 5 - 2.

1957: - The ★ Indians clout three homers to back Early Wynn's 10 - 4 win over the Yankees. Mickey Mantle has a homer and three RBIs for New York.

1964 - In ★ Cleveland, there are tornado warnings, but New York supplies the damage when Mickey Mantle cracks a three-run homer off Tommy John in the 4th inning to lead the Yanks to a 10 - 3 win.
2009 - In his first game of the season after missing six weeks because of hip surgery, Alex Rodriguez hits the first pitch he sees from Baltimore's Jeremy Guthrie for a three-run home.
2013.- Adam Rosales apparently hits a game-tying homer for the A's in the 9th inning of a game against ★ Cleveland, but the umpires rule it a double, and stick to their guns even after a video review. A's manager Bob Melvin gets tossed for arguing the call, but the A's lose, 4 - 3, as Rosales is stranded at second base. In a rare admission of an error, MLB Vice-President Joe Torre will state the next day that the umpires made an error in not granting Rosales a home run, but that the call would still stand.

mjp28

May 9. Oh those wacky old timers.

1896: - Washington defeats Pittsburgh, 14 - 9, in a beanball battle. Senators pitcher Win Mercer hits three Pittsburgh batters while Pirate Pink Hawley plunks three Washington batters in a disastrous 11-run 7th inning, tying a mark he set on July 4, 1894. Hawley retires in 1900 after only nine seasons with a still-standing National League record of 195 hit batters. All told, eight batters are plunked in the contest, a National League-record five by Hawley. The five Washington batters hit by pitches ties the NL mark and won't be matched till July 2, 1969.
- Baltimore's Hughie Jennings knocks down Reds 3B Charlie Irwin before he can catch Bid McPhee's throw. Jennings scores afterward to give the Orioles a controversial 6 - 5, 10-inning win over Cincinnati. Umpire Bob Emslie is escorted out of the ballpark by Cincinnati police.
- 1901 - In Cleveland, rookie P Earl Moore, purchased from Dayton for $1,000, allows two unearned runs but no White Sox hits through nine innings. Cleveland matches the White Sox with two runs of their own in the 3rd inning. In the 10th, with rain coming down, the Sox use singles by Sam Mertes and Dutch Hartman off Moore, "The Steam Engine in Boots", to score two runs and win, 4 - 2. The threatening weather keeps the crowd to 400 at League Park.
- 1903 - The Boston Americans top the visiting New York Highlanders, 12 - 5, with a little help from umpire Bob Caruthers, who tosses out New York P Jesse Tannehill and 2B Jimmy Williams for a ball call at home.
- 1930 - The Yankees' and the Tigers' outfielders make only two putouts for an American League record which has never been equaled. The National League record for outfield idleness is one chance (Pittsburgh versus Brooklyn on August 26, 1910). Detroit's George Uhle strikes out 8 in winning, 5 - 4, and dropping the Yanks to 7th place. Hank Johnson (7 innings) and George Pipgras are the New York hurlers.
- 1938 - At Boston, Jimmie Foxx drives in five runs on a pair of homers to pace the Red Sox to a 15 - 3 drubbing of ★ Cleveland. Jim Bagby is the winner.
- 1958:Roberto- Roberto Clemente's defensive gem and Ted Kluszewski's leadoff, walk-off, 12th-inning blast over Forbes Field's right field screen give Pittsburgh's Ron Kline a complete-game, 1 - 0 victory over Philly ace, and future Hall of Famer, Robin Roberts. Neither Kline's nor Klu's heroics, however, could have come to pass without Clemente's 4th-inning-ending eye-popper which turns what appears to be a sacrifice fly off the bat of Chico Fernandez into a double play. Clemente catches the ball and fires a perfect on-the-fly strike to the plate to nail a sliding Granny Hamner.
- After six straight home rainouts, the Yanks play their first home night game of the year, against Washington. Mickey Mantle breaks a 2 - 2 tie in the 3rd with an inside-the-park solo homer off Pedro Ramos. New York rolls to a 9 - 5 win.

1964 - At Cleveland, Pedro Ramos gives up four home runs to New York - Tony Kubek, Mickey Mantle, Joe Pepitone, and Hector Lopez - as the Yankees win, 6 - 2.
1965 - In the second game of a doubleheader, Cleveland and Boston combine for nine double plays, tying an American League record.
1995:- The Cleveland Indians tie a major league record by scoring eight runs in the 1st inning before making an out. Seven of the runs score as the results of home runs, including Kenny Lofton's leadoff round-tripper, Paul Sorrento's grand slam and Carlos Baerga's two-run blast. Cleveland goes on to a 10 - 0 victory behind Orel Hershiser and Paul Assenmacher.
High school star Shawn Gallagher is intentionally walked his last time up and goes hitless. Entering the game, Gallagher, from Wilmington, North Carolina, had hit safely in 51 straight games, tying the prep mark set by Stan Brown of Noblesville, Indiana.

mjp28

May 10. Some older Cleveland Indians players today.

1894 - For the first time in major league history, teammates combine for three straight home runs, as Frank Shugart, George "Doggie" Miller and Heinie Peitz of St. Louis hit consecutive roundtrippers in the 7th inning. In all, Shugart hits three home runs and Peitz two, giving St. Louis a total of six. However, their heroics are to no avail as their club falls to Cincinnati, 18 - 9.
1895 - During the course of a 14 - 4 win over St. Louis, Philadelphia slugger Sam Thompson becomes the third man in National League history to hit 100 home runs in a career.
1897 - ★ Nap Lajoie slugs two home runs and a double to lead the Phillies to a 13 - 1 rout of St. Louis. Lajoie continues the hitting streak he started on May 8th and will not go hitless until May 31st, a string of twenty games.
1918 - Pittsburgh's lefty Earl Hamilton is 6-0 with an 0.83 ERA after beating the Giants. He then enlists in the Navy.

1936 - Joe Sullivan, Detroit pitcher, weakens after 12 innings of scoreless relief and ★ Cleveland edges Detroit, 9 - 7. Sullivan takes over for Elden Auker in the 2nd and is splendid before losing in the 15th.

1944: - Mel Harder wins his 200th career game as ★ Cleveland defeats the Red Sox, 5 - 4. He is the 50th to reach this mark.

1956 - At Yankee Stadium, Bob Lemon gives ★ Cleveland a 7 - 2 win over the Yankees. Mickey Mantle has a solo homer in the 6th for New York. By the end of the month, Mantle will have hit his 20th homer and will be batting .425 with 50 RBIs.
1960 - Grand slams by Red Sox teammates Vic Wertz and Rip Repulski at Fenway Park give Boston a 9 - 7 win over Chicago. The National League veteran Repulski's 8th-inning shot off Don Ferrarese comes in his first American League at bat.
1962 - Minnesota's Lenny Green and Vic Power hit back-to-back home runs off ★ Cleveland's Jim Perry to start the game, tying a major league record. Cleveland comes back to win, 9 - 4. It will be another nine years before two leadoff batters in the American League belt homers, and it will be Perry teeing up those as well.
1965 - At Fenway Park, the 9th-place Yankees lose again, 3 - 2, when Carl Yastrzemski outhits a hobbling Mickey Mantle. Yaz hits a pair of homers and a sacrifice fly, while Mantle is 3 for 4 with a homer. After Mantle doubles with two outs in the 9th, starter Jim Lonborg is lifted and Dick Radatz gets the final out. It is Lonborg's first major league win.
1999: - Pete Rose, banned from all aspects of the game by Commissioner Giamatti in 1989, appears as a special instructor for the newly created Sacramento Steelheads. The team plays in the Western Baseball League which is independent, and therefore not governed by Major League Baseball.
2000 - The Twins defeat the ★ Indians, 10 - 9, overcoming an 8 - 1 deficit. It is the biggest comeback in Minnesota's 40-year history.
2001 - The Royals defeat the ★ Indians, 8 - 3, ending Cleveland's 10-game winning streak. Brian Meadows goes 6 2/3 innings for the win over Bartolo Colon. Mike Sweeney and Mark Quinn each have three hits.

mjp28

May 12. Guardians -OFF- today but so what baseball lives on !

1910 - Chief Bender of the Philadelphia Athletics pitches a 4 - 0 no-hitter against the ★ Cleveland Naps. Bender, who misses a perfect game by issuing a walk, will compile a 23-5 record during the season.
1932 - Carey Selph of the Chicago White Sox collects his ninth strikeout of the season. But it won't happen again. Selph will go another 89 games without striking out, to set a major league record, hitting .283 in 396 at-bats in his second and last season. Selph's record will last until 1958, when Nellie Fox sets a new mark with 98 consecutive games whitout striking out.
1958 - Willie Mays hits the first grand slam in the history of the San Francisco Giants. Mays also belts another home run in a 12 - 3 victory over the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. The Giants moved from New York to San Francisco prior to the season.
1959 - At Yankee Stadium, Yogi Berra commits an error as his errorless streak of 148 games for a catcher comes to an end in a New York 7 - 6 loss to ★ Cleveland.
2000: - Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez, who posted 17 strikeouts in his last start on May 6th against Tampa Bay, strikes out 15 in a 9 - 0 shutout over the Orioles, to tie an American League record set by the ★ Indians' Luis Tiant in 1968 for most strikeouts over two games.
2008 - In the second game of a doubleheader, the ★ Indians lose, 3 - 0, to the Blue Jays against Shaun Marcum and two relievers. The historic note goes to ★ Cleveland, which is involved in the 6th unassisted triple play in franchise history (3 for them, 3 against them) and the 14th overall in major league annals. In the 5th, Cliff Lee lets the first two men reach. Lyle Overbay hits a liner that is caught by a diving Asdrubal Cabrera at second. Cabrera steps on the bag to force Kevin Mench, then tags out Marco Scutaro to complete the trifecta. Also of note is that Ron Hansen, involved in a 1968 unassisted triple play against ★ Cleveland, is at the game as a Phillies scout.

Born.
1925 - Yogi Berra, catcher, manager; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 2015)
1935 - Felipe Alou, outfielder, manager; All-Star

And finally.... Deaths

1979 - Clyde Kluttz, catcher (b. 1917) <--- what a name for a catcher.

mjp28

May 13. A few ★ Cleveland Indians items here and there.

1911: - Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers hits his first grand slam. After six innings, Detroit leads the Boston Red Sox, 10 - 1. Boston comes back to win the game, 13 - 11, in 10 innings.

1923 - Joe Sewell of the ★ Cleveland Indians strikes out twice in one game for the first time in his career. Washington Senators rookie Cy Warmoth is the pitcher. In a 14-year career, Sewell will have only one other multiple strikeout game.
1929 - At Cleveland's League Park, the ★ Indians defeat the Yankees, 4 - 3, in the first game in major league history in which players from both teams wear numbers on the back of their jerseys.
1955 - At Yankee Stadium, Mickey Mantle hits home runs from both sides of the plate for the first time in his major league career. The New York Yankees slugger finishes the game with three home runs - two left-handed and one right-handed - and drives in all of his team's runs in a 5 - 2 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Whitey Ford is the winning pitcher and Steve Gromek the loser.
1958 - Teammates Willie Mays and Daryl Spencer each have four extra-base hits as San Francisco beats the Dodgers in Los Angeles, 16 - 9. Mays hits two home runs, two triples, a single and drives in four runs, and Spencer has two home runs, a triple, a double and six RBI for a combined 28 total bases.
- Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals collects his 3,000th career hit with a pinch double off Chicago Cubs pitcher Moe Drabowsky at Wrigley Field. The Cardinals win, 5 - 3.
- 1955 - At Yankee Stadium, Mickey Mantle hits home runs from both sides of the plate for the first time in his major league career. The New York Yankees slugger finishes the game with three home runs - two left-handed and one right-handed - and drives in all of his team's runs in a 5 - 2 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Whitey Ford is the winning pitcher and Steve Gromek the loser.
- 1993 - George Brett of the Kansas City Royals hits his 300th career home run in the 6th inning of a 7 - 3 victory over the Cleveland Indians. Brett is only the 6th major league player with at least 3,000 hits and 300 home runs.
- 2002 - 38 home runs shy of the exclusive 500 home run club, Jose Canseco retires at 37 age due to injuries sustained in recent years. The former American League MVP, who was cut by the Expos during spring training, had his best years in Oakland, forming with Mark McGwire one of the most feared one-two punches of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
- 2015: - Last year's AL Cy Young Award winner, Corey Kluber of the ★ Indians, finally gets his first win of the year after starting off 0-5. He strikes out 18 Cardinals batters and allows only one hit over 8 innings to lead Cleveland to a 2 - 0 win. The 18 strikeouts tie a club record set by Bob Feller in 1938 and are the most by any American League pitcher since Roger Clemens also struck out 18 in 1998.

mjp28

May 14. Kind of a slow day in baseball. Almost no Indians in the news.

1914 - Jim Scott of the Chicago White Sox pitches a no-hitter for nine innings, then loses to the Senators, 1 - 0, in the 10th. The first hit is batted by Chick Gandil, who scores the winning run on Howie Shanks' single. It is the first of three nine-inning no-hitters that White Sox catcher Ray Schalk will catch in his 17 years with the team.
1916 - At Robison Field, St. Louis Cardinals rookie Rogers Hornsby hits his first major league home run, off Brooklyn Robins pitcher Jeff Pfeffer.
1918 - Sunday baseball is made legal in Washington, DC; District commissioners rescind the ban in view of the large increase in the city's wartime population and the need for recreation and amusement facilities.
1920 - Washington Senators pitcher Walter Johnson records his 300th win with a 9 - 8 victory over the Detroit Tigers

1966 - Roberto Clemente's sixth and final career home run off Sandy Koufax is another no-doubter. It comes during Koufax's final season, the net result being one less shutout for Sandy and one more moon shot for Clemente. There was "only Bob Clemente's 9th-inning home run spoiling Sandy's bid for his 36th career shutout," writes Frank Finch of the Los Angeles Times. "One of the few people who wasn't fooled by Sandy's slants was Clemente, who at .325 is making a strong bid for his third consecutive league batting crown. 'I'm hitting the ball good,' said the temperamental Pirate star. 'I feel strong.' He certainly looked robust when he tied into an outside pitch and sent it into the upper deck in right field. Ron Fairly didn't even move, it was so solidly hit."
1967:
- Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees joins the 500 home run club when he connects against Stu Miller of the Baltimore Orioles. Mantle becomes the sixth major leaguer to reach 500. Mantle's home run helps New York to the 6 - 5 victory at Yankee Stadium.
- Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hits home run number 450, a 6th-inning solo shot in today's contest between the Braves and Pirates. Roberto Clemente responds almost immediately with his own "number 450". Les Biederman explains in the Pittsburgh Press: "Aaron whistled when he talked of the two shots Clemente drilled. One struck the left field wall and bounced back on the field for a double. The other traveled over Mack Jones' head in dead center (450 feet) and he got a triple." Both the two-out, 3rd-inning double and 6th-inning, leadoff triple are followed by RBI singles from Bill Mazeroski. In the 7th, Clemente singles home the insurance run in the Bucs' 5 - 2 win.
1972 - Willie Mays, playing his first game with the New York Mets, hits a game-winning home run against his former teammates, the San Francisco Giants. Just three days earlier, the Mets had acquired Mays from the Giants for a player, pitcher Charlie Williams, and cash.

1986 - California Angels slugger Reggie Jackson hits his 537th career home run to move past Mickey Mantle on the all-time list. Jackson delivers the milestone blast against Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox.
Rocky Colavito had won a game in relief for the Yankees in 1968, in the last of two career appearances on the mound.
1994 - In only his second major league appearance, ★ Cleveland Indians pitcher Paul Shuey strikes out four batters in the 9th inning of the Indians' 9 - 3 victory over Detroit. Shuey becomes only the 10th pitcher in American League history, and the first rookie, to strike out four in an inning.

mjp28

May 15. Oh those rowdy old-timers ! ★ And who can forget in 1981 at the Ol' Muni Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.

1862 - Baseball's first enclosed park, the Union Grounds, opens in Brooklyn, NY.mersm.

1893 - After tagging out St. Louis Browns OF Steve Brodie in a collision at the plate, Cincinnati Reds C Harry "Farmer" Vaughn throws a bat at Brodie, hitting him on the shoulder. Vaughn is ejected and fined $25 as St. Louis wins, 10 - 6, and moves past the @★ Cleveland Spiders and the Pittsburgh Pirates into first place.
1894 - In the aftermath of a fierce fight between Baltimore's John McGraw and Boston's Tommy Tucker in the 3rd inning, a devastating fire starts in the RF stands at Boston's South End Grounds. The fire destroys $70,000 worth of equipment as well as the park, the only truly double-decked grandstand Boston would ever have. The fire spreads to adjacent blocks and eventually destroys or severely damages 170 buildings. The team moves to the Congress Street ballpark for several months before returning to the rebuilt Walpole Street park.
1917 - In ★ Cleveland, pitcher Babe Ruth is lifted with one out in the 6th and the Red Sox leading 6 - 5. Dutch Leonard then shuts down the Indians to preserve the victory, and he is awarded the win by the official scorer. The decision is eventually reversed, giving Ruth his 8th straight win. The White Sox will stop his streak on May 18th.
1911: - Ring Lardner writes, "They are using a new ball this year. It's livelier and that means more hitting, and more hitting means longer games, and that's the devil. It appears to be impossible to finish a game in less than two hours."
1912 - Ty Cobb charges into the stands at Hilltop Park in New York and attacks a crippled heckler named Claude Lueker. Other fans and Tigers mix it up before order is restored. Ban Johnson suspends Cobb indefinitely for the incident.
1941 - Joe DiMaggio gets a single in four at bats against Eddie Smith of the Chicago White Sox to start his ★ 56-game hitting streak. Joe D's hit goes unnoticed as the Yankees lose, 13 - 1. Taffy Wright homers and drives in four White Sox runs, the 8th straight game he's driven in a run.
1946:- Mel Harder and Steve Gromek fire back-to-back shutouts over the A's as ★ Cleveland wins two, 3 - 0 and 5 - 0.
1976: - Mark Fidrych wins his first major league start, a complete-game two-hit, 2 - 1 victory over the ★ Indians. The Bird holds the Indians hitless for six innings, talks to the ball, and tamps down the mound before toeing the rubber each inning.

~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~

★ 1981 - ★ The Indians' Len Barker pitches the 9th perfect game in 20th century major league history, 3 - 0 over the Blue Jays before just 7,290 fans on a rainy night at Cleveland Stadium. Last year's American League strikeout leader, Barker fans 11. It is the 11th time in major league history the feat has been accomplished, and the first time in 13 years since it's been done, by Catfish Hunter in 1968. ★
~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~

1993: - In Milwaukee, ★ Cleveland starter Charles Nagy leaves the game with a shoulder injury after pitching to just two batters. Nagy will go on the disabled list in two days and undergo surgery on June 29th.
2003 - The Red Sox play before a sellout crowd at Fenway Park. They will continue to do so for almost a decade, breaking the record for consecutive sellouts (held by the ★ Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field) on September 8, 2008. The streak will not end until April of 2013.

mjp28

May 17. Not much baseball news.

1912 - Historic Fenway Park in Boston is officially dedicated, one month after hosting its first game, as the Red Sox host the Chicago White Sox. Playing in front of an overflow crowd, the Red Sox lose the game, 5 - 2.
1925 - At League Park, Tris Speaker of the Cleveland Indians collects his 3,000th hit off Tom Zachary of the Washington Senators. Zachary leads Washington to a 2 - 1 victory. George Uhle is the loser.
1945 - For the fourth time in four days, every American League game is postponed because of rain.
1961 - Roger Maris hits his first home run of the season at Yankee Stadium (and fourth overall) on his way to a major league season-record 61.
1963 - Don Nottebart of the Houston Colt .45s pitches the first no-hitter in franchise history, leading Houston past the visiting Philadelphia Phillies, 4 - 1.
1973 - California Angels center fielder Bobby Valentine tries to scale a wall to prevent a Dick Green home run during a 5 - 4 loss to the Oakland Athletics. Valentine catches his spikes in the wall and fractures his leg. The injury will ruin his career.

TexasAg1969

Tonight watching the Astros going into the top of the 2nd down 1-0 to Boston, they end up setting an all-time Astros record and tied a major league record of 5 HRs in one inning for a 9-1 lead. Two innings later now leading 9-3 Tucker hits his second HR of the game, a grand slam to take a 13-3 lead.

mjp28

May 18.

1929 - Babe Ruth hits an Ed Morris pitch over the right field bleachers, for one of the longest home runs ever at Fenway Park.
1931 - Babe Herman of the Brooklyn Robins hits for the cycle for the first of three times in his career, which will become a major league record. Brooklyn beats the Cincinnati Reds, 14 - 4.
1933 - The first All-Star Game is announced for July 6th at Comiskey Park. It will be played as part of the Chicago World's Fair celebration and is sponsored by the Chicago Tribune. Fans will pick the players.
1937 - Brooks Robinson is born in Little Rock, Arkansas. The perennial Gold Glove third baseman will make his debut with the Baltimore Orioles in 1955. In 1964, Robinson will win the American League MVP Award. Six years later, his defensive brilliance will lead the Orioles to a World Series victory.
1955 - At Fenway Park, the ★ Cleveland Indians score 11 runs in the 5th inning to beat the Boston Red Sox, 19 - 0, and give Herb Score an easy win over Willard Nixon. The big blow in the inning is a grand slam by Vic Wertz. It is the worst shutout pasting ever by Boston and the most runs ever in a shutout for the Indians.
1956 - Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees hits home runs from both sides of the plate for the third time in his career, setting a major league record. Mantle includes a perfect 4-for-4 day, helping New York to an 8 - 7 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
1946 - Reggie Jackson is born in Abington, Pennsylvania. Jackson will make his debut in 1967 with the Kansas City Athletics. He will finish his career with 563 home runs and earn election to the Hall of Fame.
1957 - Dick Williams of the Baltimore Orioles hits a 9th-inning, game-tying solo home run off Paul LaPalme of the Chicago White Sox seconds before 10:20 p.m., the curfew set so Chicago can catch a train out of Baltimore. If Williams had done anything else, the White Sox would have won. The game is later replayed from the beginning and Baltimore wins.
1958 - ★ Cleveland Indians outfielder Carroll Hardy pinch-hits for Roger Maris and responds with his first major league home run, a three-run shot off Billy Pierce, to give Cleveland a 7 - 4 victory over the Chicago White Sox. With the Boston Red Sox, Hardy will pinch-hit for Ted Williams on September 20, 1960, and will also pinch-hit for rookie Carl Yastrzemski on May 31, 1961, making him the only player to go in for both future Hall of Famers.

2011: - Five different games end in shutouts today. The most remarkable performance is a three-hitter thrown by Jake Peavy of the White Sox, making only his second appearance since undergoing shoulder surgery 10 months earlier. He wins 1 - 0 over ★ Cleveland, with Justin Masterson being saddled with the loss in spite a solid performance of his own.

mjp28

May 20. Kind of a slow day.

1919 - Babe Ruth wins a game pitching and batting as he hits his first career grand slam in the Boston Red Sox's 6 - 4 victory over the St. Louis Browns at Sportsman's Park.
1921 - Hal Newhouser is born in Detroit, Michigan. In 1939, Newhouser will make his major league debut for his hometown team, the Detroit Tigers. A left-handed pitcher, he will win 207 games over a 17-year career and will gain Hall of Fame honors in 1992.
1925 - The ★ Cleveland Indians score six runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to beat the New York Yankees, 10 - 9. Tris Speaker scores the winning run from first base on a single.
1978 - Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits a 535-foot home run off Montreal Expos pitcher Wayne Twitchell to highlight a 6 - 0 victory at Stade Olympique. It is the longest home run in the ballpark's history and is also Stargell's 407th career home run, tying him with Duke Snider on the career all-time list.
1985 - A game between the ★ Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers scheduled for Municipal Stadium is postponed due to rain, representing the first rainout of the season. The cancellation marks the latest point that the first rainout of a season has taken place. A record 458 games have been played prior to the initial rainout.
2006 - A uniform worn by Joe DiMaggio in his final World Series is sold for $195,500 during the second day of an auction of his memorabilia. The previous day, DiMaggio's 1947 American League MVP Award plaque was sold for $281,750, which included a 15 percent buyer's premium. It was his third MVP award, but it is the only plaque. The two-day auction features more than 1,000 items of DiMaggio memorabilia, also including a leather-bound album featuring autographs from DiMaggio's New York Yankees teammates and members of the Boston Red Sox, a typed note signed by Frank Sinatra, and a signed photo of DiMaggio's one-time wife, Marilyn Monroe. The auction is held by Hunt's Auctions Inc. in New York City. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood, Florida.
2012:
With his bench depleted with two outs in the 13th inning, Padres manager Bud Black turns to P Clayton Richard to pinch-hit against the Angels' David Pauley. Breaking out of an 0-for-16 slump for the season, Richard singles, then scores from first base when LF Howie Kendrick bobbles Will Venable's hit to give San Diego a 3 - 2 win. Kendrick is also playing in an unfamiliar role, having been moved from his usual 2B after injuries to OFs Vernon Wells and Ryan Langerhans.

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May 21. Get a load of some of these events. It's worth the read !

1880 - In Albany's Riverside Park, Lip Pike hits a ball over the wall and into the river. RF Lon Knight begins to go after the ball in a boat but gives up. Few parks have ground rules about giving the batter an automatic home run on a hit over the fence.
1892:
- George "Hub" Collins, 28-year-old Brooklyn OF and leadoff batter, dies of typhoid fever after a brief illness. He had led the American Association in doubles in 1888 and the National League in runs in 1890.
- Behind Bill Hutchison, Chicago wins its 13th straight game, 1 - 0, over Pud Galvin and the Pirates. Galvin surrenders only two hits in the loss, none before the 8th inning. The streak will stop the following day.
1896:
- Cy Young gets ★ Cleveland's 8th consecutive win with a 4 - 1 decision over Boston. The streak has helped the Spiders to solidify their hold on first place.
- 1901 - Giants fractious owner Andrew Freedman accuses umpire Billy Nash of incompetence and bars him from the Polo Grounds. The Pirates' Chief Zimmer and the Giants' John Warner are forced to officiate. Christy Mathewson then wins his 7th straight, 2 - 1, but his scoreless streak stops at 39 innings when the Bucs score an unearned run in the 9th.
- 1902 - At Pittsburgh, the Giants top the leading Pirates, 5 - 2, with Christy Mathewson winning in relief. Matty takes over for Dummy Taylor in the 7th, allows a tying run to score, then scores the winning run himself in the 8th.
- 1906:
  - In Chicago, the Giants' Hooks Wiltse, with relief help from Christy Mathewson, stops the leading Cubs, 6 - 4. Mathewson allows one run in his four innings.
  - An 11-game win streak by Philadelphia is stopped by ★ Cleveland, 2 - 1, in 13 innings. The Athletics, Cleveland Naps, and New York Highlanders juggle the top spot in American League standings.
  - 1919 - The Giants deal Jim Thorpe to Braves for the waiver price of $1,500. The Olympic star will play only 60 games in Boston and will finish his six-year major league career with a lifetime .252 average
  - 1923 - Formal transfer of T.L. Huston's interest in the Yankees to Jake Ruppert is completed for $1.5 million. Ten days later, Ruppert buys two more sets of uniforms so his players can wear a clean outfit every day, an unprecedented move.
  - 1919 - The Giants deal Jim Thorpe to Braves for the waiver price of $1,500. The Olympic star will play only 60 games in Boston and will finish his six-year major league career with a lifetime .252 average
  - 1923 - Formal transfer of T.L. Huston's interest in the Yankees to Jake Ruppert is completed for $1.5 million. Ten days later, Ruppert buys two more sets of uniforms so his players can wear a clean outfit every day, an unprecedented move.
  - 1957:
  - Boston baseball writers reaffirm their decision to bar women from the press box and refuse to allow Doris O'Donnell, a ★ Cleveland feature writer traveling with the Indians, to sit in the Fenway Park press area.

A whole lot more of other stuff on this day but not much Cleveland Indians.

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May 23. A lot of ★ Cleveland today.

1882 - Cleveland wins dramatically in the bottom of the 10th with 2 outs‚ 4 - 3, as 3 Buffalo players collide chasing Mike Muldoon's single.
1884 - Larry Corcoran limits Cleveland to one single in a 5 - 0 shutout for Chicago. Jim McCormick takes the loss.
1901: - Nap Lajoie of the Philadelphia Athletics receives the ultimate sign of respect from an opposing team when he is intentionally walked with the bases loaded by the Chicago White Sox.
- The Cleveland Blues rally for nine runs with two outs in the 9th inning to post an amazing 14 - 13 victory over the Washington Senators. The Blues collect six singles, two doubles, a walk, and a hit batsman during the rally.
1902 - Cleveland financier Charles Somers‚ who is also the president of the Boston club‚ meets with Nap Lajoie in Philadelphia and guarantees him a 4-year contract at $7‚000 per year no matter what the legal outcome of his case. Lajoie has played one game‚ then sat in the stands. In 1903‚ Cleveland fans will vote to rename the club the Naps in honor of Lajoie.
1931 - Cleveland's Earl Averill cracks 3 doubles and a home run in a 10 - 5 win over Chicago. Averill is the second Indian this year to hit 4 extra-base hits in a game. Joe Vosmik‚ who did it earlier‚ has a pair of doubles today.
1935 - Cleveland has an internal problem between manager Walter Johnson and two veterans‚ 3B Willie Kamm and Glenn Myatt. Judge Landis refuses to intervene‚ and Kamm is eventually made a scout while Myatt is released. Johnson continues his shaky tenure‚ which will not last the season.
1948 - Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees hits three consecutive home runs a 6 - 5 victory over the Cleveland Indians Two of his homers come off Bob Feller.

1980: - Five hours after the midnight deadline, Major League players and owners avert a strike by announcing a new four-year basic agreement. The new deal raises the minimum salary from $21,000 to $30,000 and increases the clubs' contributions to the players' pension fund, but the major issue of free agent compensation remains unresolved.

1989: - The Cleveland Indians lose to the Detroit Tigers, 7 - 2, to drop their record to 21-22, but remain in first place in the AL East by percentage points. It marks the latest point in a season a sub-.500 team has been in first place.

2003 - The Phillies edge the Expos‚ 4 - 2‚ as Philadelphia's Jose Mesa becomes the 10th player in history to reach 100 saves with two different teams. He also reached the century mark with the Cleveland Indians

2016 - The family of late Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn files a wrongful death lawsuit against the tobacco industry. Gwynn died in 2014 at age 44 of salivary gland cancer caused by using smokeless tobacco for over three decades.

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May 24.

1901: - At the Polo Grounds‚ Christy Mathewson wins his 8th straight‚ beating Cincinnati's Bill Phillips‚ 1 - 0. Matty gives up just 3 hits.
- Reversing the previous day's 9th-inning rally‚ the Washington Nationals‚ down 5 - 0 at the end of 8 innings‚ score 5 runs to tie the Blues. When Cleveland fails to score in the 9th‚ the game ends at 5 - 5.
1902 - Cleveland third baseman Bill Bradley becomes the first player in the American League to hit a home run in each of four consecutive games, a record not matched until Babe Ruth does it on June 25, 1918.
1918 - Stan Coveleski of the Cleveland Indians pitches a ★ 19-inning, complete game to defeat the New York Yankees 3 - 2. Former P Joe Wood hits a home run in the 19th inning - his second of the game - to end the 3:45 marathon. For New York‚ Home Run Baker's 11 assists tie the American League record for a third baseman in an extra-inning game.
1930 - Babe Ruth hits home runs in both games of a doubleheader, giving him nine homers in one week. New York sweeps‚ 10 - 6 and 11 - 1. Newly-acquired Red Ruffing is the easy winner in the nitecap.
1940: - The Cleveland Indians beat the St. Louis Browns, 3 - 2, in the first night game played at Sportsman's Park before 24,827. Bob Feller beats Elden Auker and adds a home run as well.
1951: - Cleveland whips the Senators, 16 - 0‚ with Bob Feller pitching a two-hitter. Larry Doby has a homer and 4 RBIs to lead the Tribe.
1952: - Jimmy Piersall and New York's Billy Martin first exchange insults before a game in Boston‚ then exchange punches in the tunnel under the stands. It takes coaches Bill Dickey and Oscar Melillo‚ along with starter Ellis Kinder‚ to break up the fight. Piersall goes to the clubhouse to change his bloody shirt and gets into another brawl with teammate Mickey McDermott. He sits as Ellis Kinder stops the Yanks‚ 5 - 2.
1956 - Mickey Mantle goes 5 for 5 with an intentional walk in an 11 - 4 win against the Tigers. Mantle is hitting .421. He combines with Joe Collins for back-to-back homers‚ off Duke Maas.
1970 - Cleveland's Tony Horton hits 3 home runs versus New York‚ but the Yankees win anyway, 8 - 7, in 11 innings.
2010: - Omar Vizquel, who already owns the record for most games played at shortstop, reaches another mark, tying Luis Aparicio's total for second-most hits at the position, 2764. This year, Vizquel is wearing Aparicio's uniform number 11, even though it has been officially retired by the White Sox, in tribute to his idol and countryman. The Yankees' Derek Jeter is first in hits, having himself passed Aparicio earlier this year, and he is steadily adding to his total. The day is doubly sweet for the Sox as they defeat the Indians, 7 - 2, handing Justin Masterson his 11th straight loss dating back to last season.
2020 - Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Nationals decide to hold a virtual ceremony to unveil their 2019 World Series rings. The date is selected as it marked the start of the team's remarkable turnaround in 2019, as they were 19-31 that day, but began to reverse course with a 12-10 win over the Marlins. The ceremony was to be broadcast on social media and cable television, but is postponed at the last minute as players object, preferring that the ceremony be held when the team can be physically reunited.

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May 25. Kind of a slow day.

1922 - After being thrown out at second base trying to stretch a single, New York's Babe Ruth throws dirt in the face of umpire George Hildebrand and then goes after a fan. Ruth is ejected, and eventually fined $500 and suspended one game by American League president Ban Johnson.
1935 - Babe Ruth shows flashes of his past glory by hitting the final three home runs of his career in the Boston Braves' 11 - 7 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. In addition to a 5th-inning single, Ruth hits homers in the 1st inning against Red Lucas, 3rd inning against Guy Bush and 7th inning off Bush again. In addition, his final homer is the first in Forbes Field's history to clear its right field roof.
1951 - Willie Mays debuts for the New York Giants, striking out in the 1st inning against Bubba Church. Mays goes 0 for 5, but makes three good plays in the field.
1964 - Ground is broken for a new park for the St. Louis Cardinals. The stadium is expected to be ready in time for the 1966 season.
1984 - The Boston Red Sox trade Dennis Eckersley and Mike Brumley to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Bill Buckner.
1989 - The Montreal Expos, hoping to add the last piece to a playoff contender, trade Brian Holman, Gene Harris, and 6' 10" Randy Johnson to the Seattle Mariners for Mark Langston. Mike Campbell will go to Montreal in July to complete the trade.
2008 - In a doubleheader loss to the Marlins, Giants shortstop ★ Omar Vizquel ties (in the first game) and then breaks (in the second) the major league record for career games played at the position. By reaching 2,584 games played, Vizquel passes a fellow Venezuelan, Luís Aparicio.
2009 - ★ Jim Thome passes Mike Schmidt for 13th on the all-time home run list, as the White Sox thump the Angels, 17 - 3.

2021: - By working home plate in a game between the Cardinals and White Sox, ★ " Cowboy " Joe West sets a new career record with 5,376 games as an umpire, passing Bill Klem, whose last game was in 1941. He already held the record for m

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May 27. Slow day.

1896 - The ★ Cleveland Spiders takes advantage of 13 bases on balls and three wild pitches by a severely discontrolled Jouett Meekin, to beat the New York Giants, 11 - 5.
1909 - In an American League game featuring a major league record-setting 44 assists by both teams, the ★ Cleveland Naps defeat the St. Louis Browns, 5 - 2. The National League-high assist marks of April 23, 1903 and May 15, 1909 (both between the New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds) fall short of today's record. ★ Addie Joss for Cleveland and Barney Pelty for St. Louis are the pitchers as each team records 22 assists.
1968 - Major League Baseball expands outside the confines of the United States as the National League announces expansion for the first time in seven years, awarding franchises to Montreal as well as San Diego, to begin play next season.
2000: - The St. Louis Cardinals pay tribute to Dizzy Dean by dedicating a statue of the Hall of Fame pitcher by sculptor Harry Weber outside Busch Stadium. Dean joins Stan Musial, Red Schoendienst, Enos Slaughter, Bob Gibson, and Lou Brock who have also been honored in such a manner.
2008 - The ★ Indians complete a triple steal during a 8 - 2 win over the ChiSox. It is the first in the majors in 21 years. With a 5 - 2 score in the 6th and the bases loaded, Ehren Wassermann tries to pick Jamey Carroll off first base. While Carroll is in a rundown, David Dellucci dashes for home and beats Paul Konerko's throw to Toby Hall. Grady Sizemore swipes third on the play while Carroll successfully makes it to second.

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May 28. Another slow day.

1927 - In his first starting assignment for the Yankees, Wilcy Moore loses a heartbreaker to the Senators, 3 - 2, in the nitecap of a doubleheader. Lou Gehrig is spiked at first base by Bucky Harris as Firpo Marberry scores the winning run. The Yankees win the opener, 8 - 2, as Babe Ruth hits his 12th home run of the year, a three-run shot. Tris Speaker plays most of Game One for the Senators despite fracturing his left thumb in batting practice.
1957 - With a unanimous vote, National League owners grant permission to both the Dodgers and Giants to relocate their clubs to the West Coast if they so desire.
1968 - American League owners agree to divide the circuit into two divisions and reduce its schedule to 156 games. The following divisional alignment is set for the 1969 season: Eastern Division: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, ★ Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Washington Senators. Western Division: California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Pilots.

1971 - Clete Boyer, involved in a dispute with Atlanta Braves general manager Paul Richards and manager Lum Harris over alleged silly rules and mismanagement, is released and retires. Boyer hit safely in the last nine games of his 16-season career, including five home runs and 14 runs batted in. A Gold Glove third baseman, Boyer was a .242 hitter with 162 home runs and 654 RBI in 1725 games for the Kansas City Athletics, New York Yankees, and Atlanta.

2000: - Homering in their 15th straight game, the Houston Astros set a team record in a 4 - 3 victory over the Braves, with Ken Caminiti and Lance Berkman helping Houston to establish the mark.
- 2000 - For the first time in franchise history, the Angels hit four home runs in one inning, with Darin Erstad, Mo Vaughn, Tim Salmon and Garret Anderson supplying the fireworks.

Births.

1887 - Jim Thorpe, outfielder (d. 1953)
1957 - Kirk Gibson, outfielder
1982 - Jhonny Peralta, infielder; All-Star

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May 29.

1882 - In yet another exciting game‚ Buffalo counters four Cleveland 9th-inning runs with two of their own to win, 9 - 8.
1892 - A benefit exhibition game for Hub Collins‚ who died of typhoid fever on May 21st‚ is played at Brooklyn's Eastern Park. The game between Collins' Brooklyn Grooms and the St. Louis Browns raises $2804.90 for Collins' widow.
1921 -
- The American League-leading ★ Indians complete a sweep of the four games with the Browns by winning‚ 11 - 9‚ behind George Uhle. Cleveland totals 15 hits in 8 innings against Urban Shocker. In all four wins the Tribe score in double figures. Jack Graney and Ken Williams each hit two homers‚ and Elmer Smith clubs one.
1922: ★ The United States Supreme Court finds that baseball is primarily a sport and not a business in its ruling on the Federal Baseball Club v. National League case. In using this argument, the court rules that baseball is not subject to antitrust laws nor to standard interstate commerce regulations.

1934: - The Yankees purchase — some would say rent — spitballer Burleigh Grimes from the Pittsburgh Pirates. After 10 appearances with the Yankees, the Yanks will release Grimes and the Pirates will reobtain him.

1951 - The ★ Indians sign high school star Billy Joe Davidson for a reported $150‚000‚ eclipsing the $100‚000 the Pirates paid to Paul Pettit in 1949. Several teams sought the services of the tall lefty‚ alleged to be the best Indians prospect since Bob Feller.Indians hurler Bob Lemon one-hits the Tigers, 2 - 1. The only Bengal hit is Vic Wertz's home run.

1951 - ★ Indians hurler Bob Lemon one-hits the Tigers, 2 - 1. The only Bengal hit is Vic Wertz's home run.

1955 - Larry Doby of the ★ Indians hits the first major league homer over the outer wall in Kansas City's Municipal Stadium‚ an estimated 500-foot clout in the 6th. The Indians win, 4 - 2, behind Herb Score‚ who is replaced in the 9th after singles by C Wilmer Shantz and PH Enos Slaughter. Wilmer's brother Bobby Shantz is the loser.
1981: - A's manager Billy Martin flies into a rage and heaves two handfuls of dirt on home plate umpire Terry Cooney's back after being ejected for arguing ball and strike calls. He will be suspended by American League president Lee MacPhail for 7 days.