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Happy birthday to Joe Tinker, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 2012 – Wally the Green Monster, the Red Sox’s mascot, goes missing before today’s game with the Yankees, making the team suspect a dastardly deed by Yankee fans. Boston Police issue an all-points bulletin looking for a “green and furry [character] … and sporting a permanent grin to the face on an extremely large head.” It turns out to be a misunderstanding as Wally is located
a few hours later, taking an unauthorized tour of his home city, and other stories as well.
Today in baseball history:
- 1927 – Mel Ott, 18 years old, hits his first major-league home run, an inside-the-park round-tripper. It is the only inside-the-park homer he will hit of his 511 career homers.
- 1928 – At Chicago’s Comiskey Park, A’s outfielder Ty Cobb starts for the last time in a regular-season game. The 41-year-old “Georgia Peach” singles and doubles before he is hit in the chest with a pitch and leaves the game hitting .332.
- 1938 – Hank Greenberg of the Tigers, who had hit home runs his last two at bats the day before, homers his first two times up to tie the major league record of four in a row. Greenberg has a record-setting eleven two-home run games during the season.
- 1961 – The Giants’ Juan Marichal fires his first shutout of the year, stopping the Pirates, 2-0, on five hits. Manager Alvin Dark says before the game that “Marichal will go all the way” and keeps his relief pitchers in the dugout to emphasis the point. Bob Stevens of the San Francisco Chronicle writes: “Later, Dark explained to questioning reporters: ‘I’m sick and tired of watching pitchers bow their necks for four-five innings and then look around for Stu Miller to bail them out.’ As far as press box historians could guess, last night was the first time in modern baseball history that a major league bullpen was left unattended.”
- 1966 – In Los Angeles, Jim Bunning and Sandy Koufax battle for 11 innings before both exit with the score locked at 1-1. Koufax allows four hits and fans 16, while Bunning gives up six hits and strikes out 12. Los Angeles eventually tops the Phillies, 2-1, in 16 innings.
- 1968 – In Baltimore, Denny McLain shuts out the Orioles, 9-0, for his 20th win of the season, against three losses, for the first-place Tigers. McLain is only the third pitcher in the 20th Century to win his 20th this early; the others were Rube Marquard on July 19, 1912 and Lefty Grove on July 25, 1931.
- 1982 – Against California, Oakland’s Rickey Henderson steals his 95th base but gets caught stealing three times in an 8-7, 13-inning California win. Not since 1916 has an American Leaguer been thrown out three times in a game. Rickey will be thrown out 42 times this year, breaking the mark of 38 caught stealings set by Ty Cobb in 1915.
- 1983 – While picking up his first win as a member of the Royals, Gaylord Perry joins Nolan Ryan and Steve Carlton as the third pitcher this season to reach 3,500 career strikeouts, fanning four Indians in a 5-4 victory to raise his total to 3,501.
- 2011 – The Giants get one of the top players available at the trading deadline, Mets All-Star CF Carlos Beltran, who is set to become a free agent at the end of the season. The Giants send top pitching prospect Zack Wheeler to New York, but the Mets will be responsible for a significant portion of Beltran’s remaining salary.
Today in Cubs history:
- 1945 – The Cubs purchase P Hank Borowy from the New York Yankees in an unexpected waiver deal. Borowy, 10-5 with the Yankees, was put on waivers, apparently to solve a roster problem, and was passed over by 15 teams. The Cubs snatch him for $97,500, and he will help the Cubs win the pennant with an 11-2 record, including three wins over the Cardinals down the stretch
- 1972 – Marking the debut of manager Whitey Lockman, Fergie Jenkins allows one hit in the Cubs’ 4 – 0 win over the Phillies. Willie Montanez‘s fourth-inning double is the only hit. Reliever Jack Aker falters in the nitecap, and the Phils win, 4-1.
- 1977 – The Cubs’ Rick Reuschel tosses his second shutout in a row, beating the Reds, 3-0, on a five-hitter.
- 1979 – The Cubs top the Mets at Shea Stadium, 4-2, behind Dave Kingman‘s two home runs.
- 1992 – In his first start at Wrigley Field since his announcement that he’s leaving Chicago, Greg Maddux beats the Pirates, 3-2. In the eighth inning, the Wrigley faithful give the ace pitcher a standing ovation.
- 1998 – Sammy Sosa hits his 248th career homer – and his first grand slam – as the Cubs beat the Diamondbacks, 6-2. Sosa went to bat 4,428 times before drilling the sacks-full homer. His 247 homers without a slam is a major league record: the previous mark was 210 homers by Bob Horner. Sosa also tops the 100 RBI mark with his four ribbies, to back Steve Trachsel‘s pitching.
- 2001 – The Cubs get 1B Fred McGriff from the Devil Rays in exchange for P Manny Aybar and a player to be named later. The Cubs’ first try for McGriff on the 16th had been nixed by the slugger who said he did not want to uproot his family. His first game will be a night contest at Wrigley Field on the 29th, a 7-5 Cubs win.
Cubs Birthdays: Brad Keller, Yoervis Medina, Enrique Wilson, Tom Goodwin, Bump Wills, Larry Biittner, Jack Hiatt. Zack Taylor, George Yantz, Jack Doscher. Also notable: Leo Durocher HOF. Biz Mackey HOF. Joe Tinker* HOF.
Today in history:
- 1586 – Walter Raleigh brings the first tobacco to England from Virginia.
- 1866 – First transatlantic telegraph cable comes ashore at Heart’s Content, Newfoundland, after being laid out 1,686 miles by Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s Great Eastern steamship.
- 1890 – Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh shoots himself in Auvers-sur-Oise and dies of his injuries 2 days later.
- 1921 – Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolate insulin at the University of Toronto.
- 1940 – Billboard publishes its first singles record chart; “I’ll Never Smile Again” by Tommy Dorsey, with vocals by Frank Sinatra, is ranked No. 1.
- 1940 – Bugs Bunny, Warner Bros. cartoon character created by Tex Avery and Bob Givens for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series, debuts in “A Wild Hare”.
- 1981 – Modern/Atco Records releases “Bella Donna,” the debut solo album by singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac; hit singles include “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” with Tom Petty, “Edge of Seventeen,” and “Leather and Lace” with Don Henley.
- 2021 – American gymnast and four-time Olympic gold medallist Simone Biles withdraws from the women’s team final at the Tokyo Games citing need to focus on her mental health; also misses individual finals.
*pictured.
