On This Day - May 12th

OTD - 1915 - White Sox hurler Red Faber hurls only 67 pitches in his complete-game 4-1 victory over the Senators. The future Hall of Fame right-hander's low-pitch count is assisted when he needs to throw only three pitches to retire the side in both the third and fifth innings.


OTD - 1926 - Walter Johnson wins the 400th game of his career, defeating the St. Louis Browns 7-4.


OTD - 1932 - Carey Selph of the White Sox strikes out for the ninth time this season. It won't happen again. Selph will go another 89 games, a major league-record, without whiffing, hitting .283 (in 396 at bats) in his second and last season.

Carey Selph - Third from left, middle row.

OTD - 1970 - Ernie Banks becomes the eighth member of the 500 home run club, connecting off Pat Jarvis during a 4-3 Cubs win over the Braves. It his 1,600th career RBI. Atlanta's Rico Carty, meanwhile, hits safely in his 30th consecutive game


OTD - 2004 - In one of the most remarkable at-bats in big league history, Alex Cora fouls off 14 consecutive pitches and then hits the 18th thrown to him by the Cubs’ Matt Clement's over the right-field fence for a two-run home run which doubles LA's lead to 4-0. The Dodger Stadium crowd cheered each foul ball as the total started to be displayed on the scoreboard.



Cheers,

On This Day - May 8th

OTD - 1929 - Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants pitched a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the first by a left-hander in the majors in thirteen seasons.


OTD - 1966 - Orioles right fielder Frank Robinson powers the first ball ever hit completely out of Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. The 451-foot shot ends Luis Tiant's scoreless-innings streak at 27. Baltimore wins 8-3 and ties Cleveland for first place.


OTD - 1973 - For the second time in his career, the Pirates' Willie Stargell poles one out of Dodger Stadium. His blast off Andy Messersmith hits the right field pavilion roof 470 feet away. His first such homer, a 506-foot shot, came off Alan Foster on August 5, 1969. No other player has hit one out of the stadium.


OTD - 1973 - Cubs manager Whitey Lockman is ejected during a 12-inning 3-2 win over the Padres. Coach Ernie Banks fills in for the last few innings, technically becoming the major leagues' first black manager.


OTD - 1994 - The Colorado Silver Bullets, the first women's team to play a pro men's team, lost 19-0 to the Northern League All-Stars. Leon Durham hit two homers and Oil Can Boyd started for the All-Stars. The Silver Bullets had two hits, struck out sixteen times and made six errors.



Cheers,