June 20

From BR Bullpen


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Stats of players who were born this day
Stats of players who died on this day
Standings on this day
Permanent link to Today's Entry
Sources
Baseball Library Chronology
Today in Baseball History

Events, births and deaths that occurred on June 20.

[edit] Events

1894:
- Denny Lyons scores the winning run in the 9th inning to lead Pittsburgh to a 7 - 6 win over Washington. Lyons gets into scoring position by running from first base to third base - across the pitcher's mound - on a fielder's choice. The umpire does not see Lyons's transgression, a common one in the 1890s.
- Cleveland's John Clarkson stops the visiting Colts, 7 - 3. Chicago's Bill Dahlen, hitting .257, goes 1-for-4 to start his hitting streak, which will reach a then-record 42 games.
1900 - One day after Brooklyn moved into the NL lead for the first time all year, Philadelphia regains first place with a 5 - 4 win over the Superbas.
1901 - Pittsburgh's Honus Wagner becomes the first 20th Century player to steal home twice in a single game, as Jack Chesbro blanks the Giants, 7 - 0.
1904 - New York coasts to a 12 - 4 win over Brooklyn, pounding out 13 hits to beat Bill Reidy. Christy Mathewson picks up his 11th win. Reidy's cause is not helped by nine Brooklyn errors, including five by ex-Giant SS Charlie Babb.
1905 - A young woman sues the Giants for injury suffered when a foul ball hits her. Judge M. Laughlin rules that patrons attend baseball games at their own risk.
1906 - At Exposition Park, Honus Wagner clubs one of the longest hits in park history, but only makes it to third base. Rounding first, the Pirates player is clipped by 1B Kid Gleason, and Wagner limps his way to a triple. A courtesy runner, Harry Smith, scores for the Pirates on a fly and the Phils then generously allow Wagner to return to SS. But the injury will force him to miss three games.
1911:
- In a 3 - 2 New York win against the Senators, Highlander 1B Hal Chase makes a major-league record 21 putouts.
- Ty Cobb breaks the American League hitting streak record with an infield single against Cleveland's Willie Mitchell. It is Cobb's 30th straight game with a hit. He adds two stolen bases to help Detroit win, 8 - 3.
1912:
- In a doubleheader at Cincinnati, Pittsburgh's Owen Wilson hits two triples in the opener, including one in the 10th with a man on, then hits another in the nitecap. It's his fifth straight game with a three-bagger. Wilson will hit an incredible 36 triples this season, a major league record.
- With no hint that a record is about to be set, the Giants coast to a 14 - 2 lead through eight innings at Boston, then score seven more in the 9th for a 21 - 2 lead. The Braves rally for 10 in the last of the 9th, but lose 21 - 12. The 17 runs are the NL post-1900 record scored by two teams in the 9th. Another 20th century mark set is the 11 stolen bases by the Giants - four by Josh Devore, including two in the 9th - and 14 swipes by both clubs. Thirteen Giants score runs, tying the ML record. The Giants' Ernie Shore makes his ML debut in this game and surrenders eight hits, a walk, and 10 runs (3 earned) in one inning, the 9th, of relief work, but is credited with a save for Hooks Wiltse. It is his only appearance in the NL. Buster Brown takes the loss.
1913 - After New York wins the opener, 9 - 3, Washington starter Bert Gallia hits three of the first four batters he faces in the first inning of the nightcap. Three more New York batters are plunked, by relievers Joe Engel (2) and Tom Hughes (1), for a record six. The outcome is the same as New York wins again, 9 - 3. New York leadoff hitter Bert Daniels puts his name in the record book when he gets hit three times.
1914:
- Cleveland SS Ray Chapman fumbles his way into the record books with four errors in the 5th inning.
- The Tigers lose the services of Ty Cobb when he breaks his thumb in a fight with a butcher's clerk. Cobb will be out until August 13th.
1916 - Tilly Walker's home run over the LF wall is the only home run the Red Sox will hit at Fenway Park this season, but it is the lone Boston score today as the Yankees win, 4 - 1. Inserted as a defensive replacement late in the game, Boston SS Everett Scott starts a string of 1,307 consecutive games, all played at SS. He will complete the streak as a Yankee on May 6, 1925. It will be the longest until Lou Gehrig's 2,130.
1925:
- The Reds infield turns six double plays against the Giants, winning 4 - 2 for Eppa Rixey's seventh straight win.
- At Forbes Field, Max Carey becomes the first switch-hitter to hit for the cycle. The Pirate outfielder's performance helps Pittsburgh to bash Brooklyn, 21 - 5.
1926 - A delegation of Coffeyville, KS fans comes to St. Louis to see their hometown hero, Walter Johnson, pitch against the Browns. Unfortunately, the Big Train cannot hold a 4 - 0 lead and loses his seventh game in a row 5 - 4.
1932 - Doc Cramer of the A's collects six hits in consecutive times at bat in a nine-inning game. Cramer will do this again in 1935, the only AL player to repeat the feat.
1933 - Danny Taylor, centerfielder for Brooklyn makes an unassisted douple play but it is little help as the Cardinals win, 15 - 4.
1934:
- At St. Louis, the Dodgers use 15 hits to down the Cards, 9 - 5. Danny Taylor, with three extra base hits, and Tony Cuccinello, with a 3-run homer, pace the fusillade. Van Lingle Mungo wins his 11th of the year, allowing 11 hits. Pepper Martin has two of the hits and a steal of home.
- The first-place Giants score seven runs in the 3rd to crush the Cubs, 12 - 7. Mel Ott leads the way with two homers - his 16th and 17th - and drives in six runs. Jo-Jo Moore has four hits including a homer and Fred Fitzsimmons, who weakens in the 8th, is credited with the win. Charlie Root, who got none out in the 3rd before retiring, is the loser. The Giants now lead the Cards by five games.
- The AL-leading New York Yankees trip the Indians twice, 3 - 2 and 3 - 0, at Yankee Stadium. New York ties the first game on Frank Crosetti's solo homer in the 8th of Bob Weiland, then wins it on Gehrig's 18th in the 9th. Lefty Gomez, in relief of Johnny Broaca, is the winner. In game 2, Hal Trosky Sr.'s single is the only hit off Red Ruffing, who also knocks in a run.
- The Browns rout the A's, 11 - 3, behind five RBIs by Rollie Hemsley. Hemsley is knocked out in a collision in the 4th inning, but stays in to triple with the sacks full in the 7th. Bob Johnson, leading the majors in homers, hits his 20th in the 9th inning.
- The Tigers score three in the 11th to defeat the Senators, 13 - 10. Heinie Manush, leading the AL in hitting, has four hits and two homers as Washington collects 17 hits. The Tigers get three-hit efforts from Marv Owen, Mickey Cochrane, Charlie Gehringer and Hank Greenberg, who includes a homer. Elden Auker is the winner over Tommy Thomas.
- New manager Pie Traynor paces the Pirates to a 6 - 5 win over the Braves, stopping a losing skein of five games. Traynor laces three doubles and a single and scores the winning run in the 9th inning. Arky Vaughan is 4-for-4 for the winners to raise his average to .363, two points off the leaders (Sam Leslie: .365; Joe Medwick: .365; and Bill Terry: .363). Wally Berger keeps the Braves in the game with a two-run homer in the first and a game tying homer in the 9th. Leon Chagnon, in relief of Red Lucas, is the winner.
1940:
- The Yankees lose to the White Sox 1 - 0 in 11 innings, their 6th straight loss, then protest a "catch" by Sox LF Moose Solters, contending he dropped the ball in the 2nd inning when he was reaching for his cap. Umpire George Quinn apparently missed the error and the protest is upheld. The game will be replayed September 18, but, for several years, all of today's records, including Monte Pearson's loss and Johnny Rigney's win, will count. It is the first time since 1919 that the Yankees have been shut out in extra innings by one pitcher: they lost on May 19, 1935 in extra innings to two pitchers, Lefty Stewart and Lloyd Brown.
- Boston loses a pair - and the four-game series -to the Browns, 2 - 1 and 11 - 4, and drops out of first place. The Indians take over first with a 12 - 1 drubbing of the Senators. The new issue of The Sporting News headline reads "'I'll be Nice if I Can,' says Ossie Vitt of Tribe Truce."
1946 - A Fortune magazine story gives some rare details of baseball finances, showing the Yankees had a revenue of $1.6 million and profit of $306,000, cut to $201,000 after minor league losses, the previous season. Of the gross income, $896,000 is from home ticket sales.
1947 - Yale bests Clemson 7 - 3 in the first game of the NCAA East Regional. Eli 1B George Herbert Walker Bush has a single in four at bats and steals a base. Winning pitcher Frank Quinn will sign a $50,000 bonus with the Boston Red Sox but never win a major-league game.
1948:
- Ralph Kiner hits home runs every Sunday for eight successive weeks in May and June. For the year he will hit 17 round trippers in 38 Sunday games.
- Cleveland draws 82,781 for a doubleheader, a major-league record for a regular season game that will be broken by the same club in 1954. The Indians will attract 2.6 million for the season, surpassing the 1947 Yankees attendance.
1951:
- Cleveland IF Bobby Avila hits three home runs going 5-for-6 against the Red Sox. His 15 total bases will stand as a team record until surpassed by Rocky Colavito in 1959. Before today, Avila had hit just one homer against the Bosox. Cleveland outslugs Boston to win 14 - 8, as Early Wynn earns the complete game win.
- Billy Southworth's first win as Braves manager is a breeze as Warren Spahn shuts out the Cubs, 9 - 0, and is 3-for-4 at the plate, including a home run.
1954 - Bobby Hofman, Wes Westrum and Dusty Rhodes hit consecutive home runs in the sixth inning, as the Giants defeat St. Louis to stay 1/2 game ahead of the Dodgers.
1956 - At Detroit's Briggs Stadium, Mickey Mantle poles two Billy Hoeft pitches into the right CF bleachers, something no other player had done since the bleachers were built in the late 1930s. New York wins 7 - 4.
1961 - Al Kaline plays 3B for the first time in his career. His two hits and two RBIs lead the Tigers to a 5 - 4 win over the Senators. Kaline will return to the OF and play 3B just once more in his career, in 1965.
1965:
- Jay Dahl, who pitched three innings in Houston's all-rookie lineup in September 1963, is fatally injured in a car crash. Dahl had won a game the previous day for the Salisbury Astros to up his record to 5 - 0. At 19, he is the youngest ex-major leaguer to die.
- The Atlanta-bound Braves ban sportswriter Lou Chapman from the clubhouse for his "stories of a negative nature" and their "disquieting" effect on players and management. The ban is rescinded a day later upon protest by Milwaukee BBWAA members.
- In the opener of two in Kansas City, the Tigers rally from an 8-run deficit in the 2nd inning to win 12 - 8. Al Kaline collects his 1,000th RBI with a 2-run single. Detroit loses the 2nd game to snap their 8-game win streak.
1967 - The Phillies' Larry Jackson gives up just one hit, a 2nd-inning double to Tommy Davis, in topping the Mets 4 - 0.
1968:
- The Cubs lose to the Cardinals, 1 - 0, for their 5th shutout in a row. During the streak, Fergie Jenkins allows one run in 18 innings, and comes away with a loss and a no-decision, possibly making him rue the low offensive levels of the Year of the Pitcher.
- Dodger rookie Jim Fairey makes his first ML homer a good one, a blast off Pittsburgh's Elroy Face to give LA a 3 - 2 win. The loss snaps Pittsburgh's 9-game win streak.
1970 - Brooks Robinson's 2,000th ML hit is a big one - a 3-run homer off Washington's Joe Coleman in the 5th inning. The drive snaps a 2 - 2 tie, and the Orioles hang on for a 5 - 4 victory.
1971 - Four grand slams are hit in the ML, by the Braves' Earl Williams, the Phillies' Deron Johnson, the White Sox' Rick Reichardt, and the Pirates' Willie Stargell. Williams' slam comes in a 5 - 4 loss, and the Braves drop a 2nd game, 2 - 0 to the Reds. The Pirates whip Montreal, 7 - 1, and the Sox pummel the Twins, 18 - 8. Johnson's slam, in the 11th, gives the Phils a split with the Mets.
1972 - Randy Hundley caps the scoring in the 1st inning with a grand slam as the Cubs score 7, all off Don Carrithers, en route to a 15 - 8 pasting of the Giants. The first three runs come on three walks, two wild pitches and three singles. Hundley singles in another run in the 5-run 4th as the Cubs win their 7th straight.
1973:
- Chicago's Cy Acosta becomes the first American League pitcher to bat since the DH rule went into effect. Acosta strikes out in the 8th inning, but is credited with an 8 - 3 victory over California.
- Bobby Bonds leads off with a home run, but the Giants lose 7 - 5 to the Reds. It is Bonds's 22nd leadoff home run, breaking Lou Brock's National League record.
- Red Sox leadoff and #2 batters Rick Miller and Reggie Smith belt homers off Milwaukee's Bill Parsons. In 1971, Smith also followed a leadoff homer with one of his own. Bill Lee makes the lead stand up in beating the Brewers 3 - 2.
1974 - In a Pacific Coast League game at Honolulu, Hawaii tops Spokane, 7 - 4, behind Ralph Garcia. He ties a PCL record by striking out 19 Indian batters.
1977 - Rick Wise shuts out the O's, striking out 10 batters and allowing two hits, to win, 4 - 0. Butch Hobson homers for Boston, their 22nd home run in six games.
1978 - Toronto is defeated for the third consecutive game by a Canadian-born pitcher. The Blue Jays lose to John Hiller of Detroit, after having previously tasted defeat at the hands of Ferguson Jenkins and Reggie Cleveland of the Texas Rangers.
1980:
- Leonard Smith, the man who killed Angels outfielder Lyman Bostock with a shotgun blast on September 23, 1978, but was later acquitted of the crime by reason of insanity, is released from Logansport State Hospital and allowed to return to his home in Gary, IN, because psychiatrists say he is no longer mentally ill.
- White Sox reliever Ed Farmer swears he will take criminal action against Detroit's Al Cowens following an on-field brawl in Chicago. Cowens hit a grounder to SS, and then charged the mound instead of running to first base. The action stemmed from an incident a year earlier when a Farmer pitch shattered Cowens' jaw. American League President Lee MacPhail will suspend Cowens for seven games. The Tigers win 5 - 3 in 11 innings.
- 5-foot, 4-inch Freddie Patek, one of the smallest players of his era, hits three home runs and a double in California's 20 - 2 rout of the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Patek will end the year with five homers.
1982:
- The Phillies' Pete Rose plays in his 3,000th ML game (a 3 - 1 loss to the Pirates), joining Ty Cobb, Stan Musial, Hank Aaron and Carl Yastrzemski as the only players to reach that plateau. It is also "Charlie Hustle"'s 523rd consecutive game played.
- Milwaukee's Ben Oglivie smacks three home runs in a 7 - 5 win over Detroit. It is the second 3-homer game of his career.
1983 - Yankee outfielder Bobby Murcer retires as an active player.
1984:
- At Detroit, Yankee reliever Jose Rijo falls to 1 - 7 when he serves up a 2-out three-run homer to Howard Johnson in the 13th inning. Detroit wins, 9 - 6. Alan Trammell, Lance Parrish and Chet Lemon also hit homers for the Tigers, who draw their 3rd straight 40,000+ crowd.
- Dave Kingman hits his 3rd grand slam of the season in the first inning of the A's 8 - 1 win over Kansas City. Kingman's 14 grand slams are the most among active players.
1985 - Reggie Jackson's 513th home run sparks the Angels to a 4 - 0 win over the Indians and moves him past Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews into 10th place on the all-time list.
1986 - After leading the club to a 26-38 record, Tony LaRussa is fired as manager of the White Sox and replaced by Jim Fregosi. LaRussa will be hired to manage the A's early next month.
1988 - In a 5 - 4 triumph over Milwaukee, Oakland's Mark McGwire hits a triple. His next and last ML triple will come in 1999 with the Cards.
1989 - The Yankees trade OF Rickey Henderson back to the A's for journeymen pitchers Eric Plunk and Greg Cadaret and OF Luis Polonia.
1992 - Kelly Saunders fills in for Baltimore's Rex Barney becoming only the second woman to be a public address announcer at a major league game.
1993 - In a 3 - 2 loss to Chattanooga, Knoxville Smokies manager Garth Iorg and P Travis Baptist are ejected for breaking a rule banning the use of tobacco in the dugout or clubhouse. Baptist is tossed for chewing it and Iorg for not stopping him. The rule has been in effect for all the minor leagues since June 15th.
1994:
- In a 7 - 1 defeat to the Indians, the Tigers' string of 25 straight games of hitting a home run ends. The streak tied the major league record set by the 1941 New York Yankees.
- Umpires Dana DeMuth, Tom Hallion, Paul Runge and Angel Hernandez work the Atlanta-NY game wearing shorts and Braves T-shirts and caps. The umps' regular equipment was lost in transit. The Braves win the game, 7 - 3.
1995:
- In Florida's 7 - 2 victory over Colorado, Marlins' relief pitcher Terry Mathews gets the win, and goes 3-for-3 at the plate, with two doubles, two ribbies, and a run scored.
- P Lee Smith saves the Angels' 3 - 2 win over the Royals to set a major league record with his 18th save in 18 opportunities. His streak will end on June 28.
1996 - The Indians win their 13th straight over the Red Sox, winning 5 - 4 on Kenny Lofton's bloop single in the 9th off Mike Stanton. Jim Thome hits a game-tying home run in the 8th, off Roger Clemens, the 17th straight game in which the Indians have gone deep, a team record. Clemens leaves after 157 pitches with no decision.
1997 - For their game against the Cards, the Reds bring up Aaron Boone from Indianapolis. That's the good news for the Boone clan. The bad news is they send brother Bret Boone (.205) down to make room for Aaron. Aaron has an RBI and a stolen base in his ML debut as the Reds win, 4 - 2. He also has his first ejection for throwing a helmet. Deion Sanders has a double and home run and his 31st stolen base, high in the ML.
1998:
- The Indians retire Bob Lemon's uniform number prior to the team's 5 - 3 loss to the Yankees.
- The Cubs' Sammy Sosa cranks out his 21st homer in the last 30 days, something no other slugger has ever done. The previous high was 20, set by Ralph Kiner in 1947 and tied by Roger Maris in 1961. Sosa's 30 days go from May 22 through June 22, .
- Former Dodger general manager Al Campanis dies of a heart attack at age 81. Campanis is credited with helping to build the Dodger clubs of the 1970s and 1980s.
1999 - The Mariners trade OF Matt Mieske to the Astros for P Kevin Hodges.
2001 - Hitting his 38th homer of the season, Barry Bonds breaks the major league mark established by Reggie Jackson (1969) and Mark McGwire (1998) for home runs hit before the All-Star Game. The Giants' left fielder still has 17 games to add to the record.
2001 - Using the long ball, the Cubs record their first win at Busch Stadium in 13 tries over last two seasons, beating the Cards, 9 - 4. Sammy Sosa belts a 2-run homer and a grand slam, and makes a diving catch to save a run. Gary Matthews, Jr. adds a 3-run homer.
2002:
- A 4 1/2 hour closed-casket public viewing is held at Busch Stadium for Jack Buck, the 77-year-old Hall of Fame broadcaster, who died from complications following lung surgery. The bronze statue depicting him at the microphone outside the stadium is stuffed with cards, stuffed animals, photographs and other memorabilia in memory of the KMOX legend.
- Luis Castillo extends his hitting streak to 34 games breaking the 1922 record established by Rogers Hornsby for the longest hitting streak by a second baseman. The Dominican infielder's streak, the 14th longest in major league history, also ties Benito Santiago's record set in 1987 for longest established by a Latin player.
2004 - On Father's Day with his dad present, Ken Griffey, Jr. nails a 6th inning fastball off Cardinal hurler Matt Morris over the right field wall at Busch Stadium for his 500th career home run. The Reds center fielder becomes the 20th major leaguer and the sixth-youngest (34) to reach the milestone.
2007 - Sammy Sosa cracks his 600th career home run, joining Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays at that level. Jason Marquis allows the shot for the Cubs. In a weird circumstance, Marquis is wearing uniform number 21, which Sosa had worn in his years with the Cubs.
2008 - In last place in the AL East, the Toronto Blue Jays fire manager John Gibbons and three of his coaches; he is replaced by former Jay manager Cito Gaston, who led the team to its two World Series titles in 1992 and 1993. Gibbons is the third manager fired in less than a week, following Willie Randolph of the Mets and John McLaren of the Mariners.
2009:
- Josh Beckett pitches his first regular-season shutout in a Boston Red Sox uniform as the Sox defeat the Braves 3 - 0. He did throw a shutout in Game 1 of the 2007 ALDS.
- Todd Helton hits a two-run homer in the 9th to lead Colorado to a 9 - 7 win over Pittsburgh. It is Colorado's 15th win in its last 16 games, as the club has caught fire after naming Jim Tracy as its manager on May 29. Before Helton's blow off Jesse Chavez, Chris Iannetta hits a game-tying three-run blast in the 8th while Ian Stewart drives in three runs.
- Chris Davis of the Rangers fans for the 100th time in 219 at-bats this year, becoming the fastest player to reach 100 strikeouts in a year. He is on pace to shatter Mark Reynolds' single-season strikeout record, but will be demoted to AAA on July 5.