"Super Joe" Charoneau won AL Rookie of the Year in 1980 with 23 home runs and 87 RBIs playing for the Cleveland Indians, but he only played 70 more games in the big leagues after that.

Charboneau, it was said, used his eye sockets to pry the caps off beer bottles.

Back injuries ended his career, but not before he was a legend for one of the kookiest personalities ever in baseball

http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2017/02/02/214075418/the-legend-of-super-joe-charboneau

BU84BEAR said:

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"Super Joe" Charoneau won AL Rookie of the Year in 1980 with 23 home runs and 87 RBIs playing for the Cleveland Indians, but he only played 70 more games in the big leagues after that.

Charboneau, it was said, used his eye sockets to pry the caps off beer bottles.

Back injuries ended his career, but not before he was a legend for one of the kookiest personalities ever in baseball

http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2017/02/02/214075418/the-legend-of-super-joe-charboneau

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1980 was a rough year for Rookies of the Year--NL ROY was Steve Howe, who subsequently snorted his way in and out of baseball numerous times, but not before, on one of his later comeback attempts, an opponent's PA announcer got fired (Indians, I think) for playing Billy Joel's "Big Shot" as he came into the game ("You've got the Dom Perignon in your hand and the spoon up your nose").

whitetrash said:

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BU84BEAR said:

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"Super Joe" Charoneau won AL Rookie of the Year in 1980 with 23 home runs and 87 RBIs playing for the Cleveland Indians, but he only played 70 more games in the big leagues after that.

Charboneau, it was said, used his eye sockets to pry the caps off beer bottles.

Back injuries ended his career, but not before he was a legend for one of the kookiest personalities ever in baseball

http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2017/02/02/214075418/the-legend-of-super-joe-charboneau

---

1980 was a rough year for Rookies of the Year--NL ROY was Steve Howe, who subsequently snorted his way in and out of baseball numerous times, but not before, on one of his later comeback attempts, an opponent's PA announcer got fired (Indians, I think) for playing Billy Joel's "Big Shot" as he came into the game ("You've got the Dom Perignon in your hand and the spoon up your nose").

---

Whitetrash, thanks. I always appreciate other participation in the thread.

Babe Ruth only won four World Series in 15 seasons with the New York Yankees.

Yogi Berra won 13 World Series in 18 seasons with the Yanks.

Cool Story For My Bro's:

This is an article about homeruns at Coors Field, including the longest ones hit.

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/06/10/coors-field-home-runs-who-hit-the-longest-and-who-hit-the-most/

One of those listed was hit by Barry Bonds during his 73 homerun season in 2001. Specifically it was hit during a 3 run homer game by Bonds on September 9, 2001. I encourage you to read the article as it is kind of interesting to discuss the history of homeruns at a Park. But I digress.

On September 9, 2001, Barry Bonds hit his 61st, 62nd, and 63rd homers of his 73 homerun season surpassing Roger Maris and Babe Ruth in his quest to beat Sosa and Aaron. The feat was done vs the Colorado Rockies at Colorado's Coors Field.

Here is the story of the feat:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/09/10/bonds-hits-3-homers/72c73d49-64c6-4f1a-b6dc-5c5029d19f95/?utm_term=.11d1293e6231

My son's kid baseball coach had played in the Ranger's minor league system and during that stint had played with one of the Rockies' bench coaches. The Rockies coach had arranged for my son's coach, wife, and son + one friend to attend the 9/9/2001 game, sit on the bench for the game, and catch batting practice.

The coach and his son picked my son to go with them.

We couldn't pass that opportunity up, so we let him miss a day of school for travel.

How amazing for him to have gotten to shag fly balls for that historic game and watch Bonds hit 3 homers during his record breaking season. A couple of the players were impressed at his fielding ability and told him so during batting practice. He watched Bond's 3 homeruns from the Rockies' bench. It was a great day for a kid who loved baseball.

The year before that Rockies coach arranged for my son's entire team to shag batting practice and to provide pregame entertainment at the Oklahoma City ballpark when the Oklahoma minor league team was the Rangers AAA team. My son's team took infield in full uniform on the Oklahoma City Field before the official AAA game between the Rangers and Rocky affiliates. The kids were all in junior high at the time.

All of the starters on that team went on to start on a high school baseball team with some winning district or higher honors. So, it was a pretty good team. And the coach had made them learn to take a very efficient and professional-like infield over the course of his coaching. So, the kids wowed the crowd, and received a standing ovation as they left the field.

Cool memories triggered by a news photo I saw tonight on the internet.

Kevin Rhomberg, Indians 1982-1984



Rhomberg had a brief major league career, playing in just 41 games over three seasons with the Indians. However, he made his mark as what may have been the most OCD player in baseball history.

Regardless of the situation, whenever someone touched Rhomberg, he had to touch them back. Be it a fielder tagging him out, an umpire patting him on the back or a teammate playing a joke on him, he went out of his way, sometimes well out of his way, to touch anyone who touched him.

With the Indians, it would be the pot calling the kettle black when Mike "The Human Rain Delay" Hargrove who had the most intricate ritual of anyone in the batter's box ever would nickname Kevin "Touch Me, Touch Me" for his most notorious quirk.

Other superstitions of Rhomberg:

Author Mike Blake described Kevin's approach to the plate: "Rhomberg would do things in multiples of four. Four squirts of water at the water cooler before he left the dugout, four taps of the bat on the ground, four taps of the bat on his helmet, four taps of his cleats with his bat, a left turn into the batter's box and four practice swings."

Kevin would not make a right turn because, as he later told author Russell Schneider, "There are no right turns in baseball, are there?" Rhomberg said, "I finally forced myself to quit it when I realized my kids had become aware of what I was doing. We were in a shopping mall and they started making left turns in order to make a right turn. When my family started getting involved in it, I figured it was time to end it.

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/b9fc86d1

With some help from YouTube Red's Prank Academy, Mike Trout and his Angels teammates pulled off a prank for the ages on pitcher Garrett Richards last April Fools' Day.

Here's the setup: Richards, Trout, Jered Weaver, Kole Calhoun and C.J. Cron were out to dinner during Spring Training when a female fan approached the table, asking for advice on how to break up with her boyfriend. Moments later, a man walks up, explaining that he was about to propose to his girlfriend, who just so happened to be Richards' No. 1 fan. The man asked if Richards would deliver the engagement ring, and that's when things went hilariously off the rails.

Immaculate innings

Eighty-four pitchers have struck out the side on the minimum nine pitches. The feat has occurred 89 times, with three pitchers having done it twice** -- and Sandy Koufax accomplishing the feat three times.

The most recent was 8/9/17 by Rick Purcello of the Red Sox vs the Rays in the 5th inning.

The 1st was on 6/4/1889 by John Clarkson of the Boston Beaneaters in the 3rd vs the Philadelphia Quakers (National League).

Having only happened 89 times in all these years, it has happened 8 times to date in 2017 alone!!!!

**
Lefty Grove, Randy Johnson, and Nolan Ryan

1889
1902
1914
1921
1923
1924
1928 twice
1953
1956
1959
1962
1963 twice
1964 twice
1967
1968
1969
1971 three times
1972
1977
1979 three times
1984
1985
1987
1989
1990
1991 three times
1992
1994 twice
1995
1997 three times
1998 five times
1999 twice
2000
2001
2002 four times
2004 three times
2006
2007
2008 twice
2009 twice
2010
2011 twice
2012 twice
2013 twice
2014 seven times
2015 twice
2016

The Most Frequent Scores in Baseball History
as of June 1, 2011:

There have been approximately 611 unique final scores (from many instances of 0-0 up to one game on June 28, 1871 that ended 49-33

June 28, 1871, National Association

Philadelphia Athletics - 2 4 3 7 9 8 3 5 8 - 49 42 10
Troy Haymakers - 1 2 3 10 4 4 2 4 3 - 33 32 10).

Here is the top 10 (combined totals based on either team winning):

SCORE HOME VISITOR TOTAL
3-2 6,511 4,382 10,893

4-3 6,341 4,180 10,521

2-1 5,288 3,545 8,833

5-4 5,143 3,122 8,265

4-2 3,554 3,449 7,003

3-1 3,333 2,976 6,309

5-3 3,016 3,046 6,062

6-5 3,720 2,316 6,036

5-2 3,031 2,687 5,718

4-1 2,932 1,408 4,340

The 1-run games should and do favor the home team (from 1901-2011, they've won 61% of such games), as any tie game in the ninth (or beyond) need only see the home team push across a single run. The situation of the road team winning the slight majority of 5-3 games is actually well within the realm of possibility, as road teams have won 50.15% of 2 run games since 1901..

http://valueoverreplacementgrit.com/2011/06/01/the-most-popular-scores-in-baseball-history/

http://www.houghfamilyblog.com/summer-lovin-my-man-crush-on-r-a-dickey/how-to-pitch-knuckleball/

On this day in 2001,....

but I must first digress.

Longtime head pitching consultant for the Kansas City Royals Bill Fischer had been a decent pitcher from when he made the White Sox out of spring training in 1956 through the 1960 season, but not good enough. He was traded a few times and spent time in triple A.

THE STREAK

Fischer struggled with a 4.91 ERA for the Senators in 1960, and was traded to Detroit on July 22 for pitcher Tom Morgan. He improved his ERA to 3.44 with Detroit and finished 8-8, but slumped again in 1961, going 3-2 with a 5.01 ERA. He was traded to Kansas City with infielder Ozzie Virgil for infielder Reno Bertoia and pitcher Gerry Staley on August 2.34 Fischer spent the early part of the 1962 season at Triple-A Portland (Pacific Coast League). He was recalled at the end of May and was used mostly out of the bullpen, going 1-0 with a 4.22 ERA at the end of July. Then the streak began.

On August 3 Fischer walked Cleveland third baseman Bubba Phillips leading off the bottom of the first inning. Fischer lost the game, 1-0. More significant is that Fischer did not walk another batter until the last game of the season, on September 30. His 84 consecutive innings without allowing a walk shattered Christy Mathewson's record of 68 innings.

"Nobody even noticed it until I pitched a game in Chicago," Fischer remarked decades later. "I got taken out of the game in the seventh inning and they put up on the scoreboard, 'Fischer has now gone 60 innings without a walk.' It was the first I knew of it. Then they started blowing it up a little bit."

Bookends- TWO GUYS NAMED BUBBA

The record was broken against Baltimore, as Fischer got Brooks Robinson to ground into a force out at second. The streak ended when Fischer walked Detroit center fielder Bubba Morton, so the streak began and ended with two guys named Bubba.

CHARLES FINLEY---ERRR, ABOUT THAT BONUS....

Kansas City owner Charlie O. Finley had promised Fischer a $1,000 bonus if he broke the record, and an extra $100 for every walkless inning thereafter. But Finley claimed he made a mistake with the offer. "You're going to pay me that bleeping money," Fischer insisted. Finley did pay, but months later took the amount out of Fischer's next contract.37 Despite the record, Fischer was winless after August 17, one loss being to Jack Kralick's 1-0 no-hitter for Minnesota. Fischer finished 4-12 with a 3.95 ERA.

BACK TO THIS DAY IN 2001

On this date (August 12) in 2001, future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux and his Braves faced off against the hard-hitting Arizona Diamondbacks in Atlanta. Maddux was having a typical season taking the mound with a 15-6 record and a 2.68 ERA.

He was also in hot pursuit of Bill Fischer's record of 84 1/3 consecutive innings pitched without issuing a walk (1962 Kansas City Athletics).

Maddux' last free pass had come on June 20th 70 innings ago.

Little did Maddux know, as he took the mound in the bottom of the first inning, that it would be a very un-Maddux-like afternoon and that his walkless streak would end at 72 1/3 innings (still the NL record) on the orders of manager Bobby Cox.

Over the first two innings, Maddux gave up one run, but did not look sharp. He was touched for three singles and hit a batter but had not issued a walk. Then in the third inning, things really went awry, as the Diamondbacks actually batted around against "The Professor." It went like this, SS and leadoff hitter Greg Counsell singled and stole second; 2B Junior Spivey singled, with Counsell going to third; LF Luis Gonzalez singled, scoring Counsell and sending Spivey to third; 1B Mark Grace hit a sacrifice fly scoring Spivey (Maddux' walkless streak now at 72 1/3 innings); and 3B Matt Williams doubled, scoring Gonzalez.

Now, with Williams on second and one out, Cox made the traditional baseball move ordering Maddux to intentionally walk CF Steve Finley to set up the double play. With that strategic move, Maddux' streak was over and Fischer's MLB record was safe.

(Maddux went 11 2/3 innings before his next unintentional free pass, which would still have left him 1/3 of an inning short of Fischer's record.)

On June 24, 2017, three Oakland A's rookies all hit their first major league home run in the same game, duplicating something that had not happened since 1914.

Standing in as the second batter of the day, RF Matt Olson blasted a two-run shot to give the A's a lead in the 1st inning.

Next on the docket was CF Jaycob Brugman, who went yard in the 2nd inning.

Finally, there was Franklin Barreto, the A's current top prospect,, playing 2B in his MLB debut. He launched one to left in the third.

Olson also hit a homer in the 7th for his first multi-homer game. The two home runs will forever be known as The Olson Twins .

Daniel Garrett pitched his first major league win.

Nachos didn't appear in ballpark concession stands until 1976, where Frank Liberto sold them at a Texas Rangers game. "The Father of Nachos" revolutionized baseball game snacks by creating a cheese sauce that could be served quickly from a pump and on the cheap. Liberto's condensed cheese formula only required water and leftover juice from jalapeo toppings; this mixture doubled the amount of cheese and profits. Liberto initially had a hard time getting his cheese-covered chips into stadiums since concession operators feared nachos would be too successful and detract from other snack foods. Their fears were validthe first year of offering nachos at Arlington Stadium brought in $800,000, compared to $85,000 in popcorn sales.

Don't miss the article linked in the above paragraph for more on non baseball nacho history.

Only one major league player has been killed by a pitched ball. Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians was fatally hit in the head on August 16, 1920, by a ball thrown by Yankee pitcher Carl Mays.

Mays was not well liked and was known for being a headhunter. He had a running baseball feud with Ty Cobb, and had once hit a heckling fan in the stomach with a thrown ball. His lack of remorse for hitting Chapman was well documented and likely kept him out of the Hall of Fame when his candidacy was considered by the Veteran's committee in 2008.

Chapman on the other hand was well liked among both fans and players. His wife was pregnant.

Sad story.

A Brief History of the Spitter

The spitball evolved in the late 19th century as pitchers discovered that spit (or any number of other wet foreign substances) could alter a baseball's trajectory toward the plate. A good pitcher could get extra break on his pitches, and the baseball would get progressively dirtier and harder to see as the game went on.

The spitball grew in popularity as pitchers dominated in the early 20th century. Ed Walsh, one of the premier spitballers of the era, still holds the major league record with a career 1.82 ERA.

The attitude toward the spitball began to shift in 1919. Entering the twenties, the so-called "dead ball" era was giving way to rules that favored hitting over pitching. The league first enacted a partial ban that limited each team to a maximum of two designated pitchers who would be allowed to throw spitballs.

Then, in August of 1920, a spitball from Carl Mays struck Ray Chapman in the temple. Eyewitnesses said Chapman apparently never picked up the ball because he didn't even move to avoid the pitch. He tried to walk off the field, collapsed, and died in a hospital 12 hours later. Following that season, the league banned the spitball altogether.

There was a loophole, though. The league exempted 17 active spitball pitchers, who would be allowed to keep throwing the pitch as long as they continued to play. One of those pitchers was Burleigh Grimes.

Grimes was the National League leader in the following categories for the following years:

National League Leader
Strikeouts: 1921
Shutouts: 1928
Wins: 1921, 1928
Games Pitched: 1918, 1928
Innings Pitched: 1923, 1924, 1928
Complete Games: 1921, 1923, 1924, 1928

Grimes was the last of a dying breed in baseball. By 1930, only four of the 17 exempt pitchers remained in the big leagues. Clarence Mitchell retired in 1932; Jack Quinn and Red Faber followed suit in 1933. On September 20, 1934, Grimes made his last appearance as a relief pitcher in a 9-4 loss to the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. He would retire that season as the last legal spitballer in major league history.

The list of players banned from baseball include Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson. But did you know that Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle were banned from baseball in 1980 and 1983 respectively?

Say it aint so....

It was true. Both were banned by Bowie Kuhn for accepting positions as casino greeters. However, both were reinstated by Peter Ueberroth in 1985.

The largest margin of victory in modern ( post 1900) MLB history was that of the Texas Rangers over the Baltimore Orioles 30-3

The last place Texas Rangers squared off against the Baltimore Orioles on August 22 in 2007 and everyone at the ballpark and the millions watching at home were treated to an astonishing game. What makes the 30-3 score even more unbelievable is the fact that the Orioles were ahead 3-0 at one point in the game. The Rangers then pummeled five runs in the fourth innings, nine in the sixth, ten in the eighth and then capped it off by hitting another six in the ninth. The Orioles were shell shocked and they weren't the only ones. It was the first time in AL that a team had managed to score thirty runs. Not only that, but the last time a team in MLB scored thirty runs was a hundred and ten years ago. Astonishing stats for a truly astonishing game.

Interesting enough, the game's margin surpassed that of a game on April 19, 1996 ( which I attended) which had been the largest margin of victory involving a save in MLB history.

That game was also between the Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles. Texas' Ed Vosberg came on in relief and pitched the final one and a third innings in a 26-7 victory over Baltimore. Vosberg entered the game with a three-run lead therefore the save situation but the Rangers then proceeded to score 16 runs in the bottom of the eighth to make Vosberg's job a little easier.

Carlos Beltran was the first switch hitter to hit 300 home runs and steal 300 bases.

BU84BEAR said:

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Carlos Beltran was the first switch hitter to hit 300 home runs and steal 300 bases.

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Interesting. I wonder what qualifies as a switch hitter? If someone had a single hr (or even a strikeout) left handed, does that count as a switch hitter? Ha.

WILLIS said:

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BU84BEAR said:

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Carlos Beltran was the first switch hitter to hit 300 home runs and steal 300 bases.

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Interesting. I wonder what qualifies as a switch hitter? If someone had a single hr (or even a strikeout) left handed, does that count as a switch hitter? Ha.

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I believe they just looked at the list of players who had done both and found that Beltran was the only switch hitter on the list:

"Carlos Beltran of the St. Louis Cardinals became the first switch hitter in history Friday night (June 15, 2012) to hit 300 home runs and steal 300 bases.
In the second inning against the Kansas City Royals, Beltran led off the inning with a single to right field. He stood pat at first base until David Freese and Yadier Molina had both struck out swinging. With Matt Adams at the plate, Beltran broke for second and made history.
His 300th stolen base puts him in elite company alongside the likes of Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonds, Andre Dawson, Steve Finley, Willie Mays, Alex Rodriguez and Reggie Sanders. He is the only switch-hitter on the list.

BU84BEAR said:

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Carlos Beltran was the first switch hitter to hit 300 home runs and steal 300 bases.

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Surprised it wasn't Mantle. But then I looked up his stats and he wasn't even close (153 career SB). I'm sure some of that had to do with his health...only 29 SB in his 30s.

Mantle was assigned uniform #6, signifying the expectation that he would become the next Yankees star, following Babe Ruth (#3), Lou Gehrig (#4) and Joe Dimaggio (#5).

On June 23, 1917: Ernie Shore turned in an astounding relief-pitching effort.

The Boston Red Sox defeat the Washington Senators, 4-0.

Babe Ruth was Boston's starting pitcher but was ejected before recording a single out by umpire Clarence "Brick" Owens for arguing about a leadoff walk on four straight balls. Starting catcher Chester Thomas is also tossed. Ernie Shore, a physically imposing 6 ft. 4 in, 220-lb. hurler, relieves Ruth and before he retires a batter, backup catcher Sam Agnew throws out Ray Morgan as he attempts to steal second base. Shore then proceeds to put down the next 26 Senators, thus recording the first combined no-hitter in major-league history, and nearly a perfect game.

- The game took just 1 hour and 40 minutes to play.

- Shore's pitching record that season was 13-10.

- Although this was considered a "perfect game" at the time, the official definition was later changed, stripping it of its "perfect" status.

Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown



Mordecai Peter Centennial Brown
Inducted to the Hall of Fame in: 1949
Primary team: Chicago Cubs
Primary position: Pitcher

"I always felt if I had had a normal hand, I would have been a greater pitcher." Mordecai Brown
For any other pitcher, a right-hand mangled in a childhood accident might have derailed a career before it started.

But for Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, the incident on a local farm became the genesis of a Hall of Fame career.

"It was a great ball, that downward curve of his," said Ty Cobb, owner of the game's best career batting average (at the time) , of the curveball that evolved from Brown's misshapen fingers. "I can't talk about all of baseball, but I can say this: It was the most deceiving, the most devastating pitch I ever faced."

Born Mordecai Peter Centennial Brown on Oct. 19, 1876 in Nyesville, Ind., Brown's life changed when as a five year old he got his right index finger caught in a machine designed to separate grain from stalks and husks. The digit was sliced off, leaving only a stump. The next year, Brown damaged the hand again in a fall breaking the remaining fingers. The bones healed, but the fingers were left at permanently odd angles.
Brown, however, showed baseball aptitude into his teen years and hooked on with semi-pro teams near his home. By 1901, Brown was dominating hitters with Terre Haute in the Three-I League. He surfaced in the big leagues with the Cardinals in 1903, but struggled to a 9-13 record while trying to harness his movement-laded pitches.

The Cubs acquired Brown following the 1903 season, and the next year at the age of 27 Brown found success with a 15-10 record and 1.86 earned-run average. Over the next seven seasons, Brown averaged almost 24 wins a season while leading the Cubs to the World Series title in 1907 and 1908. In 1906, Brown posted a 1.04 ERA for a Cubs team that won a record 116 games the lowest National League figure of the modern era among qualifying pitchers.

In 1908, Brown won the replayed game against the Giants following the "Merkle Boner" game, giving the Cubs the pennant. In nine career World Series games, Brown was 5-4 with a 2.97 ERA.

He pitched for the Cubs through 1912 before moving to Cincinnati. Brown then jumped to the upstart Federal League in for the 1914 and 1915 seasons before ending his career back with the Cubs in 1916.

His final totals: 239-130, with a 2.06 ERA and 55 shutouts.

Bill Doak

Through the early 20th century, baseball players used gloves only slightly larger than their hands. Doak, who pitched 16 seasons in the majors between 1912 and 1929, helped create the modern glove. As noted in his Society for American Baseball Research biography, Doak approached the Rawlings Sportings Good Co. of St. Louis in 1919, suggesting a glove with webbing between the thumb and first finger. The glove Doak helped design remained in use for three decades and the general concept can be seen in baseball to this day.

Sandy Koufax had one of the greatest seasons possible for a pitcher in 1965. I believe he accomplished almost every major feat for a pitcher in that one season. More about that in a later post.

In the mean time, here he is pitching in the 1965 World Series on 2 days rest. Highlights and post game interview:



He says his curveball was not working that day. Watch at 1:04. I'd hate to see one that worked.

Any pitcher that achieves a perfect game, a Cy Young award, a 20 win season, earns a season's pitching Triple Crown, and is named World Series MVP over the course of a career is likely one of the greatest pitchers in history.

Sandy Koufax achieved all of these..... in one season. Moreover, it was the 2nd to last season of his career and he was suffering from an arthritic elbow.

In 1965, Koufax was 26-8. He pitched a then record 4th no hitter with a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs. He was the winning pitcher in the All Star game. He set then record for strikeouts in a season. He was the unanimous winner of his 2nd Cy Young award and was the runner up in the 1965 MVP voting. He led the Dodgers to their first World Series win since they moved to Los Angeles with 2 wins in the series, including the 7th game. He was named the 1965 World Series MVP.

In 1965, Koufax led the league in wins, winning percentage .765, ERA 2.04, complete games 27, innings pitched 335.2, and strikeouts 382. He appeared in 43 games, starting 41. He allowed only 216 hits, walked only 71, and threw 8 shutouts. Opponent batting average was just .179. And, he even had 2 saves.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1971.

Great "stuff".

In situations where baseball fields are flooded beyond the capacity of the drainage system, but still potentially playable, teams often enlist the help of:



along with the use of drying agents mixed into the infield dirt material.

Sept 1,

1890

On Labor Day at Brooklyn's Washington Park, the Bridegrooms, later to be known as the Dodgers, win all three games against Pittsburgh in the first tripleheader ever played. The home team sweeps the visiting Alleghenys, who will be renamed the Pirates next season, 10-9, 3-2, and 8-4.

1906

In the longest game in American League history, Philadelphia beats the Red Sox in 24 innings, 4-1. Each starter goes the distance when A's hurler Jack Coombs bests Boston's Joe Harris in the Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds contest.

1909

Bill O'Hara, inserted as a pinch runner, becomes the first major leaguer to steal two bags in the same inning when he swipes second and third base in the Giants' 9-6 victory over St. Louis at the Polo Grounds. The 28 year-old New York outfielder, who will end the season with a total of 31 stolen bases, will duplicate the feat tomorrow against the same opponents.

1945

Philadelphia outfielder Vince DiMaggio's bases-loaded home run paces the Phillies to an 8-3 victory over Boston at Braves Field. Joe and Dom's older brother ties a major league mark with his fourth grand slam of the season.

1953

The Cardinals tie a major league mark, hitting five homers in a 12-5 loss to Brooklyn at Ebbets Field. The solo shots hit by Stan Musial, Harry Elliot, Rip Repulski, and Steve Bilko (2), all off starter Preacher Roe, aren't enough to offset the Dodgers' 17-hit attack, which includes six doubles but no round-trippers.

The New York Highlanders (renamed the Yankees in 1913) had a record of 10-0 over the period of August 30 - September 4, 1906, having played 5 double headers in 6 days.

Baseball Hall of Famer Charles Leo "Gabby" Hartnett signing a ball for Al Capone's son.





The photo was taken on September 9, 1931, at Comiskey Park. Al Capone took his son to the ball game. The game was between the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs. It was a game to raise funds for charity. The Cubs won 3-0.

Hartnett played catcher in the majors for 20 seasons (1922-41), 19 as a Cub. He died on December 20,1972, exactly on his 72nd birthday.

Gabby was criticized for this gangster aimicable autograph display. Hartnett defended himself to Baseball Commissioner Kennesaw Landis saying he would sign that ball for any man's son, yes, even Al Capone's. Landis ordered Hartnett to no longer pose for photos with gangsters. Hartnett supposedly replied to the baseball commissioner that he can go tell Capone himself of this newly adopted rule.
(Star Tribune May 20, 1932).

Twenty-three fans attending the 9/7/1916 game against the Yankees at soaked Shibe Park, the smallest crowd in American League history, witness A's switch-hitter Wally Schang become the first player in major league history to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game. The feat, not well publicized because reporters thought the heavy rain would postpone the game and did not attend.

2006 St Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals had no business winning the World Series in 2006.
Only five games over .500 at the end of the regular season, the Cardinals got hot at the right time.
The Cardinals lost 10 of their last 14 games to close the regular season, edging Houston by 1.5 games.
Albert Pujols (.331) was the only player who hit over .300, while he and Scott Rolen were the only players with more than 20 home runs.

Pitching-wise, all but one starter (Chris Carpenter) had an ERA over 4.00.

However, once it got to the playoffs, the Cardinals were all business, winning three of four over the Padres in the divisional round, before winning the NLCS over the Mets in seven games.

A five-game masterpiece over the Tigers in the World Series sealed the deal for the Cardinals.

Yu Darvish added a note to his resume that no other pitcher in history can boast.

The 31-year-old right-hander collected the 1,000th strikeout of his young career Friday night against the Colorado Rockies at the expense of Carlos Gonzalez, becoming the fastest pitcher to reach the benchmark in MLB history.

Darvish achieved the feat in his 128th career game and 812th inning of work, surpassing Kerry Wood, who collected his 1,000th K in his 134th game.

Just last week, Chris Sale became the fastest pitcher to reach the 1,500-strikeout milestone, achieving the feat in 1,290 innings

Heading into Friday's contest against the Rockies, Darvish boasted an 11.06 K/9 over his career while punching out 29.6 percent of the batters he faces.

Bob Feller still owns the record for youngest pitcher to record their 1,000th strikeout, after notching it in 1941 at just 22 years old.

Darvish began his career with the Texas Rangers. After 782 2/3 innings with the Rangers, the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired the ace in the waning moments of the trade deadline.

Jerry Hairston Jr. played one of the cruelest jokes on catcher Gerald Laird during the spring of 2007, even getting approval from Rangers manager Ron Washington before doing so.

Hairston arranged for two police officers to show up in the clubhouse and issue a warrant for Laird's arrest on charges of unpaid child support.

Laird lost it as the officers cuffed him, removed him from the clubhouse and even placed him in the back of the squad car before those in on the prank would finally come clean.