BASEBALL
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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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When I was growing up in Townsend, Montana, we had a movie theatre that showed two movies a week. The first one on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday was always a newer one. By “newer” I mean released within the previous couple of years. (For example, it would take at least a year to a year-and-a-half… Read more
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Next week is the Midsummer Classic, otherwise known as the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The only other use of the term midsummer that comes readily to my mind is Shakespearian, A Midsummers Night Dream. In my mind that seems quite appropriate. I must confess that I often wonder about those who do not like… 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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On June 24th, 1979, Rickey Henderson made his major-league debut for Oakland in a 5-1 loss to Texas in the first game of a doubleheader. Henderson had a single and double in four at-bats and stole the first base of his big-league career. If you have ever watched a game when a rookie gets his… Read more
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On June 21st, 1917, “Scrappy” Moore, played his first Major League game for the St. Louis Browns vs. the Detroit Tigers. William Allen “Scrappy” Moore was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1892. He pinch hit and played 3B in a total of 4 major leagues games in his career, all in 1917. He also… Read more
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On June 18th, 1976, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn voided the A’s sales, totaling $3.5 million, of Joe Rudi and Rollie Fingers to the Red Sox and Vida Blue to the Yankees, saying they were ‘not in the best interest of baseball.’ A’s owner Charlie Finley filed a $10 million damage suit against Kuhn, and would refuse… Read more
