August 18th

[Panzram]

http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/chronology/today/AUGUST18.stm

2002
» The Rangers stop the Blue Jays, 10–7, as SS Alex Rodriguez ties an major-league record by becoming the 4th player to hit six home runs in a 3–game span. His two round–trippers give him the American League lead with 44.

2001
» The Rangers pound the Blue Jays, 12–5, scoring eight runs in the 9th inning. C Ivan Rodriguez's grand slam is the big blow for Texas.

Danny Almonte, pitching for the Bronx Little League entry, the Rolando Paulino all-stars, hurls the first perfect game since 1957 in the Little League World Series, beating the eventual winner, Apopka, FL, 2–0. The Bronx team will win next week, but all the victories will be stripped from them when an investigation proves a number of rules infractions, not the least of which is that Almonte is too old. His brother, who pitched last year, will also be shown to be too old.

2000
» The Angels defeat the Yankees, 9–8 in 11 innings. Anaheim scores five runs in the 9th to tie the game before Darin Erstad's home run wins it in the 11th. It is the 1st time in 12 years that the New Yorkers blow a 5-run lead in the 9th inning.

1999
» Tampa Bay defeats Detroit, 4-0, as Wilson Alvarez (6 innings) and Albie Lopez (3 innings) combine on a 1-hitter. OF Gabe Kapler's triple is the only Tiger hit.

1B Dale Sveum hits home runs from both sides of plate to power Pittsburgh to a 12-6 win over Cincinnati.

The A's obtain OF Rich Becker from the Brewers in exchange for a player to be named.

1998
» Greg Maddux wins his 200th game as the Braves double up the Giants, 8–4. Maddux allows one earned run to lower his National League best ERA to 1.65. In a rarity, the Braves collect nine hits—all doubles. Gerald Williams, Danny Bautista and Walt Weiss have two apiece, while Eddie Perez drives in three runs with another.

Detroit edges Seattle, 7–6, despite five hits by Mariners' SS Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez hits two doubles and a pair of homers and drives in two runs in a losing cause.

1997
» The Rangers defeat the Brewers, 2-0, behind a combined 1-hitter by Rick Helling (8 innings) and John Wetteland (1 inning). Francisco Vina's single is Milwaukee's only hit.

The Dodgers trade P Pedro Astacio to the Rockies in exchange for 2B Eric Young.

1996
» Cleveland 3B Jim Thome strokes four hits, including a pair of homers, and drives home six runs to lead the Indians to an 11–3 victory over the Tigers.

In a wild contest in New York, the Mariners jump out to an 8-0 lead over the Yankees. The New Yorkers strike back with seven runs in their half of the 4th inning to edge within 1. Seattle scores twice in the 6th, but the Yankees ties the score in the bottom half of the inning with three runs of their own. The score remains tied at 10-10 going into the 12th inning. Seattle scores three in the top half of the inning, two on 1B Paul Sorrento's 2nd homer of the game. New York fights back with two in the bottom of the inning, but falls one shy, losing, 13-12. The Yankees remain five 1/2 games ahead of Baltimore in the American League East, while Seattle stays six games behind Texas in 2nd place in the AL West.

1995
» In a slugfest at new Coors Field, the Cubs defeat the Rockies by a score of 26-7. A two 1/2 hour rain delay interrupted the contest which takes more than six hours to play. OF Luis Gonzalez drives home six runs for Chicago while Sammy Sosa goes 4-for-4, with four RBIs and four runs scored. Several ML records are tied by the Cubs: nine teammates each score two or more runs (Scott Servais and Sosa score 4, while Mark Grace plates 3); 14 Cubs hit safely, and 26 RBIs (ties the National League mark) are collected. The Cubs now have scored 20 or more runs 39 times, extending their ML record. Kevin Foster pitches the first three innings for Chicago, allowing only a Andres Galarraga homer before departing to rest with the Cubs up 9–1. Anthony Young picks up an easy win with one 1/3 innings of relief.

Mariners' 3B Mike Blowers hits a grand slam and a 3-run homer in his first two at bats to plate seven runs, in Seattle's 9-3 win over Boston. Blowers earlier drove in eight runs in a game.

Cards reliever Tom Henke earns a save in a 4–3 win over the Braves. It is his 300th save, making him just the 6th pitcher to reach that mark.

Yankees announcer, and former SS, Phil Rizzuto retires as team broadcaster after 39 years at the mike, reportedly because WPIX-TV refused to allow him to miss a game to attend teammate Mickey Mantle's funeral. Rizzuto eventually will return for the 1996 season.

1993
» Boston P Danny Darwin hurls a 1-hit, 5-0 shutout over the visiting White Sox. Dan Pasqua's triple with one out in the 8th inning is Chicago's only safety.

1991
» Toronto's first two hitters -- Devon White and Roberto Alomar -- hit home runs off Detroit's Bill Gullickson in the Blue Jays' 4-2 win. Gullickson teed up leadoff homers once before, in the National League.

1989
» Andre Dawson gets his 2,000th career hit in the Cubs' 6–5 loss to Houston. Houston scores twice in the 9th against four Cub relievers. After the game, the Astros trade Billy Hatcher, who had a pinch single in the 9th today, to the Pirates for Glenn Wilson.

Dallas Green is fired as manager of the Yankees and replaced by former SS Bucky Dent. It is the 17th time the Yankees have changed managers since George Steinbrenner took over the club in 1973.

In a 9–2 Toronto win, Baltimore SS Cal Ripken plays in his 1,208th consecutive game, passing Steve Garvey for the 3rd longest streak in ML history, George Bell leads Toronto with two singles, a double and a home run.

1984
» Detroit's Juan Berenguer goes eight 1/3 innings and strikes out 12 to give the Tigers a 4–3 victory over the Mariners. Kirk Gibson drives in three runs with his 20th homer of the year, and becomes the first Tiger ever to reach 20-20 in homers and steals. Gibson's homer is his 15th game-winning RBI this year.

1983
» In the continuation of the "Pine Tar Game," Hal McRae strikes out for the last KC out and Dan Quisenberry retires the Yankees in order in the bottom of the 9th to preserve the Royals' 5–4 victory. The conclusion takes just 12 minutes (and 16 pitches) and, as the only game scheduled at the Stadium, is witnessed by a crowd of 1,245. An odd feature of the game is lefty Don Mattingly playing 2B and pitcher Ron Guidry in CF, as the Yanks try to cover all the options.

1982
» In the completion of a game suspended the previous day after 17 innings, the Dodgers beat the Cubs 2–1 in 21 innings despite running out of position players and having to use pitchers Fernando Valenzuela and Bob Welch in the outfield. Jerry Reuss pitches the final four innings for the win, then starts the regularly scheduled game and wins again 7–4.

The Reds play 14 innings and overcome a 5–1 Mets lead to win 7–6. Cesar Cedeno singles in the winning run. Tomorrow, they will win in the 10th against the Mets, 3–1, on Ron Oester's home run.

[Panzram]

1979
» After six straight wins, the 3rd place Brewers lose to Texas 7–3. But the 49,172 fans give Milwaukee a new season record. They'll finish in 2nd place with a team record 1,918, 343 in attendance.

The Yankees sell Ray Burris (1–3) to the Mets.

1977
» Dodger P Don Sutton throws his 5th one-hitter, tying the National League record, as he blanks the Giants, 7–0. The lone hit is Marc Hill's two-out single in the 8th.

1976
» The Angels nip the Tigers 5–4 in 11 innings. Nolan Ryan works the first 10, fanning 17.

In the Yankees 8–6 win over the Rangers, Roy White homers from each side of the plate.

1972
» Mickey Lolich regains first place for the Tigers as he bests the Angels and Nolan Ryan 2–0. It is Lolich's 19th win.

The Orioles trade C Elrod Hendricks to the Cubs for OF/1B Tommy Davis.

1968
» In the opener of a doubleheader at Wrigley Field, umpire Chris Pelekoudas calls three illegal pitches on Cubs P Phil Regan, twice allowing a retired batter to hit again. Pete Rose singles after a called 3rd strike. Pelekoudas can't find any evidence on Regan and bases his calls on "the flight of the ball." The Cubs, who lose both games, 2–1 and 6–3, protest the ump's calls. The next day Warren Giles meets with Cubs' officials and orders Pelekoudas to apologize to the church-going Regan, whom he calls a "fine Christian gentleman." However, at the ML winter meetings, the Rules Committee will further amend the spitball rule to allow an ump to call an illegal pitch based on the flight of the ball.

Pitching for Hawaii (PCL) Bo Belinsky twirls a no-hitter, defeating Tacoma 1–0. Bo will fail next year in a comeback attempt with the Cardinals.

1967
» A baseball tragedy occurs when Tony Conigliaro of the Red Sox is beaned by the Angels Jack Hamilton. Hit on the left cheekbone, just below the eye socket, Conigliaro will miss the rest of 1967 and all of 1968. He was hitting .267 with 20 home runs and 67 RBI in 95 games. Despite the loss of Tony C, the Red Sox will sweep the 4-game series with the Angels. The sweep will still leave Minnesota in 1st place, with Boston, Detroit, and Chicago all within two games.

Lew Krausse of the A's is suspended by owner Charlie Finley for rowdyism and conduct unbecoming a ML player.

1966
» Pittsburgh 3B Jose Pagan ties the modern National League record for errors in an inning with 3, but Pittsburgh coasts to a 9–3 win over the Mets.

1965
» The Braves take first place when Tony Cloninger beats St. Louis, 5–3. Hank Aaron of the Braves hits a home run off Curt Simmons, but has it nullified when umpire Chris Pelekoudas says Aaron stepped out of the batter's box when he made contact.

In a 3–2 Orioles' win over the Red Sox, Brooks Robinson hits into his 3rd triple play, tying the record of George Sisler, who banged into triple plays in 1921, 1922, and 1926.

1962
» Kansas City tops the Yanks for the 2nd day in a row, 5–4. Again, Mickey Mantle homers in the losing cause.

1961
» Ron Kline, purchased from the Angels on August 10, blanks the Red Sox on four hits to give the Tigers a 5–0 win. Bill Monbouquette fails for the 9th time to win his 9th, lasting just four innings and gives up homers to Billy Bruton and Rocky Colavito.

1960
» Facing just 27 batters, Lew Burdette pitches a 1–0 no-hitter against the Phillies. Tony Gonzalez, the only Phil to reach base, is hit by a Burdette pitch in the 5th inning but erased on a DP. The Milwaukee pitcher also scores the only run of the game.

Bob Sprout sets a Midwest League record with 22 strikeouts, and pitches a 7-inning no-hitter as Decatur defeats Waterloo 3–0. The 18-year-old lefty needs a dropped foul ball for his chance at the record. Sprout will pitch just one game in the ML, with the Angels in 1961.

1959
» At Milwaukee, the Dodgers stake Don Drysdale to a 5–1 lead after five innings, but the Braves chip away and finally tie it with a run in the 9th. The Dodgers make it 6–5 in the 11th but Hank Aaron takes Drysdale deep to tie it up. Drysdale is finally relieved and LA wins it in the 13th, 7–6.

Branch Rickey resigns as chairman of the Pirates to become president of the Continental League.

1956
» Redlegs OF Bob Thurman hits three consecutive HRs; Ted Kluszewski and Frank Robinson add two each, and Wally Post, one, in a 13-4 win over Milwaukee at Crosley Field. The eight HRs tie a major-league record.

1952
» The NL suspends Leo Durocher for five days and fines him $100 for a row with an umpire.

1950
» A's lefty Lou Brissie gives up just one Yankee hit in the last five innings, but it's a critical one. With the score 2–2 in the top of the ninth, Joe DiMaggio cracks his 22nd HR of the year to give the third place New Yorkers a 3–2 win and hand the Mackmen their sixth straight loss.

[Panzram]

1948
» At Philadelphia, Rex Barney fires a one-hitter, beating the Phils, 1–0. The lone hit is a looping single by Ralph Caballero that just eludes a diving Duke Snider. Barney completes his victory by striking out the side in the 9th. The 2nd-place Bums score their lone run in the first when Robin Roberts wild pitches home Brooks from 3B.

The Pirates halt the Cubs, 7–4, behind rookie Bob Chesnes. Chesnes helps his own cause with two singles in the Bucs' 6-run 8th inning to pin the loss on Russ Meyer. Stan Rojek has four hits for the Pirates, while Pafko drives home three runs on three hits for Chicago.

The Giants crush the first-place Braves, 8–2, behind Sheldon Jones. Sid Gordon hits his 24th and John Mize his 29th, both off Vern Bickford, to pace the New Yorkers. The Braves lead Brooklyn by a game.

1945
» Scheduled demonstrations at the Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field to end segregation in organized baseball are called off.

1943
» In a trade that will benefit Wasington, the Senators send Ellis Clary, Ox Miller and cash to the Browns for Johnny Niggeling and Harlond Clift. Niggeling will split 48 decisions as a Senator, while Miller will win just three in St. Louis.

1942
» After going 1–6 before the All-star break, Carl Hubbell posts his 8th straight win, beating the Braves 10–2. The 39-year-old veteran is backed by Mel Ott's three hits, including a home run into the LF stands at the Polo Grounds.

1940
» The Sunday New York Daily News publishes a shocking article written by its sports editor, Jimmy Powers, suggesting that the 5th place Yankees, had been hit by a "mass polio epidemic." Powers charges that Lou Gehrig's "infantile paralysis" had infected the other Yankees, accounting for the team's uncharacteristic reversal of form. The article immediately causes a sensation among readers and fans. At Gehrig's request, Milton Eisenberg, a Brooklyn attorney, brings suit for $1 million against Powers and newspaper charging that Gehrig's reputation and credit had been hurt and that the article had caused him considerable mental anguish. Other angry Yankees, including Bill Dickey, also file suit against the News, causing the newspaper to issue a public apology on September 26, The three and a half column story appears under the headline "OUR APOLOGIES TO LOU GEHRIG AND THE YANKEES." In his apology, Powers admits he had no business getting 'snarled up in medical controversy," stating "Gehrig has no communicable disease and was not suffering from the mysterious polio germ that supposedly played havoc with the Yankee ball club." Lou is a personal hero, Powers adds. "Hurting his feelings was far from my mind.'

1938
» When Detroit's Billy Rogell walks his first time up, it is his seventh consecutive base on balls, a new AL record.

Carl Hubbell is forced to leave the mound in a 5-3 loss to the Dodgers when he experiences sharp elbow pains in his pitching arm.

1931
» In New York's 5–4 loss at Detroit, Lou Gehrig is hitless as he plays his 1,000th consecutive game. He is 307 short of Everett Scott's record streak.

Paul Waner chalks up five hits to lead Pittsburgh to a 14–5 win over the Phils.

1930
» Woody English scores five runs and Hack Wilson hits his 42nd home run, as the Cubs crush the Phillies 17–3. Pat Malone contributes another home run and goes the distance for the win.

1929
» Washington hurlers Bump Hadley and Lloyd Brown combine to whitewash the Tigers in a doubleheader, winning 2–0 and 1–0.

Forty-year-old Braves catcher Hank Gowdy, who last appeared in the majors in 1925, goes 4-for-4 to lead the Braves to a 10–9 win over the Reds.

1915
» The new Braves Field opens in Boston. An estimated 46,500 jam the park to see the Braves and Dick Rudolph beat the Cards, 3–1.

Good job. Wilbur Good becomes the only Cub ever to steal 2B, 3B, and home in the same inning. He does it in the 6th frame of a 9–0 beating of Brooklyn.

Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper, sponsors the first National High School baseball tournament. It is an instant success and will continue every August (except during W W II) to the present. It will often be called the Koshien Tournament, after the stadium near Osaka where the games will be played starting in 1924.

The Browns send pitchers Bill James and Grover Lowdermilk to the Tigers for 1B Babe Doll Jacobson.

1914
» The Braves express slows as the Reds beat Dick Crutcher, 3–1.

1913
» Philadelphia's Erskine Mayer sets an NL mark by surrendering nine consecutive hits to the Cubs in the 9th inning of their game. The Cubs score six runs to win, 10–4.

1912
» In New York, the Tigers beat the Yankees, 9–4. Ty Cobb steals home in the 1st inning, the 3rd time this season he's swiped home and all in the first inning.

1911
» The Tigers whip the Red Sox, 9–4, with Ty Cobb swiping home in the first inning.

1910
» In a Three-I League game at Davenport, Red Faber of Dubuque pitches a 3-0 perfect game against Davenport. The 21-year-old Faber is still three years away from the majors.

1909
» Giants player-coach Arlie Latham steals 2B in the Giants' 14-1 laugher over the Phillies. At 50, he is the oldest player to swipe a base.

For the second time in eight days, Cubs P Ed Reulbach wins his 16 consecutive game from an opponent, this time beating the Reds. His streak against Cincinnati (according to historian Ed Hartig) started on April 15, 1906.

1907
» Detroit's first Sunday game at home since 1902, and the first at Bennett Field, is a 16-3 win over New York.

Boston's Rube Kroh wins his only game of the year, a complete game 2-1 victory over the Browns.

1906
» The Cubs turn back the visiting Giants, 6-2 behind Three Finger Brown. Christy Mathewson has an off day for New York, allowing 12 hits, three by his nemesis Joe Tinker.

Wee Willie Keeler is struck out for only the 2nd time this season, both times by spitballer Ed Walsh of the White Sox.

1902
» The first unassisted triple play ever in a professional game is executed by 1B Hal O'Hagan, of the Rochester Broncos (IL) against Jersey City.

Christy Mathewson shuts out Chicago, 5-0, to give New York its 4th straight win over the host Windy City squad. Jack Taylor takes the loss.

1900
» Veteran manager Pat Tebeau resigns from the Cards. When 3B John McGraw refuses the job, the Robison brothers, the St. Louis owners, pick Louie Heilbroner, the 4' 9" Cardinals business manager, to run the team for the remainder of 1900. Many of the players refuse to take orders from the diminutive Heilbroner, and it will be McGraw who is really in command. Heilbroner will return to the front office the following year and in 1910 he will begin publishing The Baseball Blue Book.