Baseball History
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On July 29th, 1955, Smoky Burgess of the Cincinnati Reds hit three home runs and drove in nine runs in a 16-5 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates at Crosley Field. “Smoky Burgess did not possess the physique of a Greek god, nor even that of the average major leaguer. Standing in at a pudgy 5’8”, Burgess… Read more
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Yesterday I “reviewed” my recent trip to the South Side to see a Chicago White Sox game. Today I will “review” my Wrigleyville experience. I put “review” in quotes because I am uncertain that in either case I am truly providing a review so much as a few thoughts and feelings about the experiences. As… Read more
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On July 19th, future Hall-of-Famer Tony Gwynn played in his first Major League game. In his debut, he went 2 for 4, of course. How good was Tony Gwynn? He was a Hitter’s Hitter, a Pro’s Pro. He was the kind of hitting machine we do not see much in today’s game. The closest player… Read more
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On July 16th, 1969, Rod Carew stole home off Chicago’s Jerry Nyman in the Minnesota Twins’ 6-2 victory. It was Carew’s seventh steal of home for the year and last, one shy of the Major League & American League record set by Ty Cobb in 1912. I have only seen one steal of home in person in my Major League… Read more
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On July 15th, 1990, Chicago’s Bobby Thigpen became quickest to reach thirty saves in a season as the White Sox beat New York 8-5. Thigpen is one of those names that just sticks with you. Like: When I played fantasy baseball in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Thigpen was a highly coveted player. In the early… Read more
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On July 12th, 1987, Shortstop Walt Weiss played in his first Major League Game. I have said it here before, the most fun I have writing about baseball history on ClimbingSky is when I get to write about below-the-radar players that I think deserve to be more “remembered.” Walt Weiss is one of those kind… Read more
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On July 5th, 1987, Mark McGwire became the first rookie to hit 30 homers before the All-Star break and Jose Canseco homered twice, leading Oakland to a 6-3 victory over Boston The 1987 OAKLAND Athletics finished the season with a .500 record (81-81). But a year later they began a dynasty. In 1988, OAKLAND won 104 games and… Read more
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On July 2nd, 1963, at 12:31 A.M. in San Francisco, Willie Mays homered off Warren Spahn in the bottom of the 16th inning to give Juan Marichal a 1-0 victory in the National League’s longest game ended by a home run In 1963, my family lived in Santa Cruz, California. On the night of July 2nd when the Giants were playing… Read more
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On July 1st, 1951, Bob Feller pitched the third no-hitter of his career, tying the record of Cy Young and Larry Corcoran, as he beat Detroit’s Bob Cain 2-1. Hall of Famer Bob Feller began pitching in the Major Leagues for Cleveland while still a high school student in Van Meter, Iowa. He was considered one of the hardest throwers of… Read more
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On June 28th, 1987, Mark McGwire homered twice to tie a Major League record with five homers over two games as the OAKLAND Athletics beat Cleveland, 10-0. Mark McGwire won the 1987 American League Rookie of Year vote when he hit 49 HR. Born to hit homers (he hit 583 HR in his 16 year… Read more
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