Submitted by BTGrimes on Fri, 05/18/2012 - 5:00am |
Get me to the station BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - Dick Williams of the Baltimore Orioles hit a ninth-inning, game-tying solo home run against Chicago White Sox pitcher Paul LaPalme seconds before 10:20 p.m. on this date in 1957. If Williams had done anything else - taken a pitch, hit a foul ball, gotten a single, double or triple, struck out - any of those things, the game would have ended with the White Sox a winner because the Sox led and a curfew was about to put an end to the contest.
The curfew was an agreement by the two teams ahead of time so the White Sox could catch the last train out of Baltimore. With the game now tied, it was suspended and replayed from the beginning at a later date. Baltimore ended up winning the next time. Curfews were fairly common in the major leagues into the 1950's and 60's. The initial impetus was World War II, during which there were curfews to accommodate dim-outs (as in "dim" the lights) to save energy. Games all over the country had curfews putting a limit on how long a night game could last. By the 1970's night games could last as long as it took. CONTRIBUTING SOURCE: Koppett's Concise History of Major League Baseball, by Leonard Koppett, 1998
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Submitted by BTGrimes on Thu, 05/17/2012 - 9:00am |
The overly friendly confines
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - On this date in 1979 the Chicago Cubs scored 6 runs in the first, 3 in the fourth, 7 in the fifth, 3 in the sixth, 3 more in the eight and still lost. The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Cubs 23 to 22 in ten innings, but not before the Cubs made a miraculous comeback from a 21-9 deficit in the 5th to tie it 22-22 in the eigth.
There were eleven home runs on this windy afternoon at Wrigley Field, a record at the time. It's as though former NFL great Gale Sayers sneaked into the Chicago Bears old stomping grounds and ran off a few touchdowns.
The Cubs' Dave Kingman had three home runs. Teammate Bill Buckner had a grand slam and seven runs batted in. The Phillies Mike Schmidt hit two home runs, including the game winner.
The Cubs also have the record for the most runs scored, 36, against the Louisville Colonels on June 29, 1897. The Boston Red Sox scored 29 against the St. Louis Browns June 8, 1950 and the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City A's 29-6 on April 23, 1955.
CONTRIBUTING SOURCES: Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL, May 18, 1979 May 17, 1979 box score/play-by-play
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Submitted by BTGrimes on Wed, 05/16/2012 - 9:00am |
Into the night
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - On this date in 1939 the American League finally played a game under the lights - four years after the National League pioneered the trend. The game took place at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. The Cleveland Indians beat the home team Philadelphia Athletics (today's Oakland A's) 8-3 in ten innings.
Night games are so prevalent today, it's hard to imagine a time when all games were played during the day. That slowly began to change in 1935. The Cincinnati Reds played the first night game at Crosley Field in Cincinnati May 24, 1935. Crosley was the only park to have lights for more than 3 years.
Brooklyn was the next team to play under the lights on June 15, 1938. By coincidence, or maybe not, the Dodgers' first night game was the night Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds pitched his second consecutive no-hitter - the only time it's been done.
Here are the dates MLB teams first played under the lights:
NL AL Cincinnati Reds 1935 Brooklyn Dodgers 1938 Philadelphia Athletics 1939 Philadelphia Phillies 1939 Cleveland Indians 1939 Chicago White Sox 1939 New York Giants 1940 St. Louis Browns 1940 Pittsburgh Pirates 1940 St. Louis Cardinals 1940 Washington Senators 1940 Boston Braves 1946 New York Yankees 1946 Boston Red Sox 1947 Detroit Tigers 1948 Milwaukee Braves *1953 Baltimore Orioles *1954 Kansas City Athletics *1955 San Francisco Giants *1958 Los Angeles Dodgers *1958 Washington Senators **1961 Los Angeles Angels **1961 Minnesota Twins *1961 Houston Colt .45s **1962 New York Mets **1964 Atlanta Braves *1966 Oakland Athletics *1968 San Diego Padres **1969 Kansas City Royals **1969 Seattle Pilots **1969 Montreal Expos **1969 Milwaukee Brewers *1970 Texas Rangers *1972 Seattle Mariners **1977 Toronto Blue Jays **1977 Chicago Cubs 1988 Florida Marlins **1993 Colorado Rockies **1993 Tampa Devil Rays **1998 Arizona Diamondbacks **1998 Washington Nationals *2005
*Existing team in new location **Expansion team
CONTRIBUTING SOURCES: BASEBALL-ALMANAC The Associated Press (AP), Philadelphia, PA, May 17, 1939
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Submitted by BTGrimes on Tue, 05/15/2012 - 9:00am |
Cobb out of control NEW YORK, NEW YORK - Baseball superstar Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers got so ticked off at a heckler during a game on this date in 1912 that he charged into the stands after him. Cobb was not known for his gentlemanly demeanor, but this was different. The man he went after, Claude Lueker, was disabled. He'd lost one hand and three fingers on the other in an industrial accident. American League President Ban Johnson came down hard on Cobb by suspending him indefinitely, which ended up being until May 27th, twelve days. "The Georgia Peach" didn't seem to care that he rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. He wasn't afraid to get his spikes in the way of opposing players, was constantly fighting, and considered by many to be a racist. But Cobb could play ball. His numbers are among the best in the history of the game. Lifetime batting average: .366 (1st) Batting titles: 11 (1st) Career hits: 4,189 (2nd) Runs scored: 2,246 (2nd) Stolen bases: 892 (4th) He hit at least .320 for 23 straight seasons. He hit over .400 three times. Several times in his career he reached first and proceeded to steal second, third and home. He was among the first group of players elected into the Hall of Fame in 1936, and it wasn't because he was well liked.
CONTRIBUTING SOURCES: Ty Cobb BASEBALL GURU Major League Career Leaders
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Submitted by BTGrimes on Mon, 05/14/2012 - 9:00am |
Stampede kills fan PHILADELPIA, PENNSYLVANIA - A section of the stands at Philadelphia's Baker Bowl collapsed on this date in 1927 causing a stampede which killed a fan and injured more than 50. The 50-foot section of the lower deck seats down the first base line gave way during a Philadelphia Phillies - St. Louis Cardinals game throwing some 300 fans out of their seats.
According to newspaper reports at the time, "The collapse threw the crowd into a panic and it swarmed on the field..." (The Charleston Gazette, West Virginia). The game was suspended with the Phillies ahead 12-3. The ballpark was officially named National League Park, but gained its moniker Baker Bowl or Baker Field as a reference to one-time owner William F. Baker. Since the ball park had to be squeezed into Philadelphia's street grid there were some interesting dimensions. For example, the right field foul pole was just 275 feet from home plate. Right center was only 300 feet away. These softball-like distances required the erection of a wall 60 feet high in right field. By comparison, the "Green Monster" in Boston is 37 feet high.
CONTRIBUTING SOURCE: The Charleston Gazette, Philadelhia, PA, May 15, 1927
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