On This Day - May 13th

OTD - 1942 - Pitcher Jim Tobin of the Boston Braves slams three successive home runs to beat the Chicago Cubs at Braves Field. Tobin is the only major league pitcher to accomplish this. He had a pinch-hit homer the day before.


OTD - 1952 - In a Class D Appalachian League game, Bristol (Virginia) pitcher Ron Necciai strikes out twenty-seven batters when he no-hits Welch (West Virginia). The catcher missed a third strike allowing one batter reach base to ruin the perfect-perfect bid.


OTD - 1958 - Stan Musial got his 3,000th hit with a pinch-double off Chicago's Moe Drabowsky at Wrigley Field. The Cardinals won 5-3.


OTD - 1982 - Allen Ripley and Lee Smith combine to shut out Houston in Chicago's 5-0 victory at the Astrodome. The Cubs' win is their 8,000th victory in franchise history.


OTD - 1993 - One day before his 40th birthday, George Brett hits his 300th career home run joining Hank Aaron, Stan Musial, Carl Yastrzemski, Willie Mays and Al Kaline as the only players with 300 HRs and 3000 hits. The Royals' third baseman historic ball is picked up by a fan on a veterans' hospital outing who happens to be blind.



Cheers,

On This Day - May 2nd

OTD - 1909 - Honus Wagner steals his way around the bases in the first inning of a game against the Cubs. It is the fourth time he has performed this feat, an N.L. record.


OTD - 1939 - Lou Gehrig voluntarily benches himself for the good of the team. His consecutive-game string stops at 2,130. Babe Dahlgren, his replacement, has a home run and double as the Yankees rout Detroit 22-2.


OTD - 1954 - Stan Musial hits five home runs in a doubleheader with the Giants in St. Louis. In attendance is eight-year-old Nate Colbert, who will eventually be the only other player in history to match this feat. The Cards win the first game 10-6 and the Giants win the nightcap 9-7.


OTD - 1988 - Reds manager Pete Rose is suspended for 30 days by N.L. president Bart Giamatti. This is the stiffest suspension ever levied against a manager for an on-field incident. On April 30 Rose shoved umpire Dave Pallone in the ninth inning of a 6-5 loss to the Mets, inciting a near riot among Cincinnati fans.




Cheers,