Baseball History
This Day in Baseball History
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On August 3rd, 1987, Twins pitcher Joe Niekro was caught with a file on the mound and was ejected during Minnesota’s 11-3 win over the Angels. He ended up being suspended for ten games by American League president Bobby Brown, who doesn’t buy Niekro’s story that he had been filing his nails on the bench and stuck the file… Read more
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On August 2nd, 1979, Yankees catcher Thurman Munson, 32, died when the plane he was piloting crashed in Canton, Ohio. A crowd of 51,151 attended the memorial tribute at Yankee Stadium the following day (August 3rd).. In August of 1979, I was home in Dillon, Montana, preparing to return to my sophomore year at Concordia College… Read more
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On August 1st, 1994, Baltimore’s Cal Ripken, Jr. became only the second major leaguer to play 2,000 straight games as the Orioles beat Minnesota, 1-0. There are a handful of historic baseball games that I have had the privilege of attending in person. The Twins-Orioles game on August 1st, 1994, is one of those games. My brother… Read more
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On July 31st, 1897, John Grimes, who appeared in only three games during his one-year career with the St. Louis Brown Stockings, established a major league record by hitting six batters in a nine-inning game. The post-1900 record is four hit batsmen in nine innings, a dubious mark shared by many pitchers. According to Baseball… Read more
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On July 30th, 1906, a New York State Supreme Court judge ruled that, despite “voluntary contributions” instead of paid admissions, Brooklyn was conducting a business enterprise and thus violating the law prohibiting Sunday baseball in New York. Sunday baseball in Brooklyn would not be legal until 1919. Sunday Blue Laws have always been a strange concept to me. I say that… Read more
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On July 29th, 1915, 41-year-old Honus Wagner became the oldest player in the history of the modern era to hit a grand slam. Honus Wagner is probably most famous now for the being the player featured on the world’s most expensive baseball card, his 1909 T-206 card. In a 2022 auction someone paid $7.25 million… Read more
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On July, 26th, 1984, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn announced that free-agent pitcher Vida Blue will be suspended for the remainder of the season as a result of his conviction on cocaine possession charges in November 1983. In July of 1984, I was living in Houston, Texas, and going to Astros games. I was a child of the 1970s… Read more
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On July 25, 1998, Jesse Orosco pitched in his 1,000th career game in relief for the Baltimore Orioles. The visiting Seattle Mariners won the game 4-2. Orozco pitched a scoreless inning with one strikeout. Jesse Orosco pitched in an astounding 1252 Major League games in four different decades. No one else has pitched in so many… Read more
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On July 24th, 1983, in the memorable Pine Tar Game at Yankee Stadium, George Brett hits an apparent 2-run home run off Rich Gossage to give the Royals a 5-4 lead with two outs in the ninth inning. But Yankees manager Billy Martin points out that the pine tar on Brett’s bat handle exceeds the seventeen inches allowed in the rules. As a… Read more
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On July 23rd, 1991, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Rob Dibble, who was just back from a three-game suspension, was ejected for throwing at, and hitting, Chicago Cubs baserunner Doug Dascenzo in an 8-5 Reds loss. The model professional ballplayer is even-tempered and steady. In other words, kind of boring. Think Mike Trout, Derek Jeter, and Aaron Judge. Great… Read more
