The real Roy Hobbs

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Eddie Waitkus was shot by a deranged fan on this date in 1949. The event became the inspiration for The Natural, first a novel, then a movie. The book was written by Bernard Malamud in 1952.

The movie came out in 1984 starring Robert Redford. The character in the book and movie, Roy Hobbs, was out of baseball for a while after being shot, but eventually made a dramatic comeback. Eddie Waitkus didn't make quite as dramatic a comeback, but was back in the Phillies lineup in 1950, and went on to play six more years in the majors.

Waitkus started out his career with the Chicago Cubs in 1941, but World War II interrupted and he ended up in the Philippines. He didn't return to the Cubs until 1946. It was during this time that a young Chicago secretary named Ruth Ann Steinhagen became obsessed with Waitkus. The Cubs first baseman was oblivious to the attraction.

Waitkus was traded to the Phillies before the 1949 season. The Phillies played one game in Chicago in May, but a three-game series in June brought Waitkus closer to Steinhagen for an extended period for the first time since he left the Cubs. She got a room at the upscale Edgewater Beach Hotel where the Phillies were staying. She lured him to her room by using the name of a former high school friend of his. When he arrived Steinhagen shot him in the chest. He was close to death several times before the bullet was successfully removed.

Ruth Ann Steinhagen was never put on trial for the shooting, instead she was committed to a mental institution.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
More on Eddie Waitkus
The Natural by Bernard Malamud, published by Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1952

Yankees, Tigers incite fans

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - You think fans get out of control today? Few events of this generation would match what occurred in Detroit on June 13th in 1924. The New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers got into a melee that became a full blown riot involving fans at Detroit's Navin Field. Neither the umpires nor the police could control the crowd in a reasonable amount of time, so the Tigers had to forfeit the game 9-0.

Tensions between the Tigers, led by Ty Cobb, and the Yankees, led by Babe Ruth, came to a head in the 9th inning. The Yankees' Bob Meusel was batting. He got hit by a pitch from Detroit's Bert Cole and proceeded to charge the mound. Numerous fights broke out among players, and then the fans joined in.

Newspaper reports say bad blood between the two teams had carried over from a fight between two players the last time the Tigers visited Yankee Stadium.

After the dust settled, the American League suspended Bert Cole and Bob Meusel, and fined Ruth.

Contributing Sources:
Indianapolis Star, June 14, 1924
Greater Astoria Historical Society
Michigan History Online

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‘Take me for a trip...'

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis no-hit the San Diego Padres on this date in 1970. Sometime later the flamboyant right-hander claimed he pitched the masterpiece while under the influence. It wasn't like he'd had a few beers before the game. He says he was trippin' on acid, LSD - Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, the hallucinogenic preferred drug of the hippy generation. Ellis won the game 2-0, but he was hardly perfect, walking eight. Willie Stargell provided all the scoring for the Pirates, hitting two solo home runs.

Ellis isn't real clear on the timing, but according to Keven McAlester of The Dallas Observer, he arrived in San Diego a day or so before a series with the Padres. Once there, he made a side trip to see friends in Los Angeles. He seemed to have lost track of time during a day or two of booze, pot, various other drugs and some sleep. After waking up around noon, he took a hit of acid. McAlester writes, "Dock Ellis would frequently drop acid on off days." He'd "lock himself" in a room and "listen to Jimi Hendricks and Iron Butterfly for days."

Not long after taking the LSD, one of his fellow partiers, while flipping through a newspaper, said, "Dock, you're supposed to pitch today." Dock said he wasn't scheduled to pitch until Friday. "It is Friday," he was told.

Ellis scrambled to get to San Diego for a start about 5 hours later. The effects of an LSD trip were apparently still with him when he took the mound.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
The Dallas Observer, June 16, 2005, Keven McAlester
June 12, 1970 Retrosheet box score/plays
Dock Ellis plus

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Vander Meer out-hits Boston

CINCINNATI, OHIO - Cincinnati Red Legs pitcher Johnny Vander Meer got more hits than the entire Boston Braves team on this date in baseball history - one. Vander Meer no-hit the Braves 3-0 in the first of his two consecutive no-hitters.

There are records in baseball many believe will never be broken; Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak, Cy Young's 511 career wins, Don Larsen's World Series perfect game (it may be tied, but broken? Unlikely). What about this one? What are the odds someone will throw THREE no-hitters in a row? It's highly unlikely the record will ever be tied.

Vander Meer walked three and struck out four in his first no-hitter. He was down right wild in the second consecutive no-hitter, walking eight and striking out seven. Vander Meer created some drama in the 9th by walking the bases loaded before inducing the Dodgers' Leo Durocher to fly out to center .

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
June 11, 1938 box score/stats
June 15, 1938 box score/stats
The Image of Their Greatness, by Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig, 1979
Consecutive no-hitters

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Colavito muscles 4 out of the park

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - Rocky Colavito hit four home runs against the Baltimore Orioles at Baltimore Memorial Stadium on this day in 1959. He became the eighth major leaguer to jack four in a 9-inning game. His Cleveland Indians won 11 to 4.

Rocky Colavito. What a name! He could have been a prize fighter if he wasn't a ball player. He was born Rocco Domenico Colavito in New York City in 1933. He was signed by the Indians in 1951. Colavito hit 374 home runs in his relatively short 13 year major league career, which puts him 71st (as of June 10, 2013) on the all-time list.

Colavito was never a threat to the career home run record, but in one eleven year span he averaged 33 home runs, which is not far off from annual pace of career leaders Henry Aaron (37) and Willie Mays (36). Babe Ruth averaged 46 home runs per 162-games. Barry Bonds averaged 41.

Colavito, a 6-time all-star, bounced around the majors a bit. Besides Cleveland, he played for the Detroit Tigers, and had short stints with the Kansas City A's, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. His best year was 1961 with the Tigers when he hit .290 with 45 home runs and 113 RBI.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
More on Rocky Colavito 
Career HR leaders

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