June 3

Events, births and deaths that occurred on June 3.

[edit] Events

• 1888 - The poem Casey at the Bat is first printed in the San Francisco Examiner under the pen name "Phin". Its author will later be revealed to be Ernest Lawrence Thayer.
• 1902 - St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Mike O'Neill hits the first pinch grand slam ever in the majors, against the Boston Beaneaters. He also becomes the first pitcher in the National League to hit a grand slam in the 20th century.
• 1907 - Stoney McGlynn of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches both games in a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds, winning a 1 - 0 five-hitter in the opener. The Reds win the nitecap, 5 - 1.
• 1911 - Chicago Cubs slugger Frank Schulte hits a grand slam off Rube Marquard to beat the New York Giants, 8 - 4. Schulte will slam four this season, a record tied by Babe Ruth in 1919 and topped by Ernie Banks' five in 1955.
• 1918 - Dutch Leonard of the Boston Red Sox pitches his second career no-hitter, beating the Detroit Tigers, 5 - 0.
• 1932 - Lou Gehrig hits four consecutive home runs and narrowly misses a fifth, and Tony Lazzeri hits for the cycle as the Yankees beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 20 - 13. The Yankees set a major league record for total bases with 50 and both teams set a still-standing record for extra bases with 41.
• 1952 - In a blockbuster trade, the Boston Red Sox send Walt Dropo, Don Lenhardt, Johnny Pesky, Fred Hatfield and Bill Wight to Detroit for George Kell, Hoot Evers, Dizzy Trout and Johnny Lipon.
• 1957 - Forbes Field's vast centerfield expanse provides the setting for one of Willie Mays' greatest catches, coming at the expense of his young friend, admirer, protégé and rival, Roberto Clemente. Clemente hits a ball that seems headed towards a light tower in left center. The New York Times's Roscoe McGowen recounts what happens next: "In the first inning, with two Pirates on base and one out, Roberto Clemente whacked a terrific drive toward the screen surrounding the light tower in left center field, more than 440 feet from home plate. Willie astonished the players, as well as the fans, by leaping high against the screen and making a glove-twisting catch. Most observers thought the ball had bounced off the screen." Clemente then almost compounds his misfortune the following inning: "Clemente got into the catching act in the Giants' 2nd inning. Going almost to the wall for Daryl Spencer's long drive, Roberto saw the ball bounce out of his glove as he was making one of his 'basket catches.' But he snared the ball before it could drop to the ground."
• 1961 - Roberto Clemente hits a 1st-inning home run and has a 4th-inning outfield assist, in Pittsburgh's 5 - 2 win over Philly. In the United Press International's account, Clemente's name and nationality undergo unnerving transformations: "Alberto, whose first inning homer was his seventh of the year, was banished in the 8th inning in a spectacular arm-waving argument with first base umpire Ed Sudol. The fiery Cuban insisted he beat out a grounder to short but was overruled. Before leaving the field, Clemente tossed a cap high above the Pirate dugout."
• 1969 - Hit No. 2,417 for Roberto Clemente? A game-tying three-run homer which pushes him past two Hall of Famers on Pittsburgh's hit list. UPI reports: "Jim Merritt yielded all the Pirates' runs in the 6th when Pittsburgh tied the game, 3 to 3, on Clemente's homer following singles by Matty Alou and Willie Stargell. It was hit no. 2417 of his career, moving Clemente into third place on the all-time Pirate list ahead of Max Carey and Pie Traynor." Phil Musick of the Pittsburgh Press speaks with Merritt: "'I gambled with a little dew-drop on the first pitch to Clemente,' he said. 'But I got it too high.' Clemente's shot cleared the wall between the scoreboard and the foul pole."
• 1971 Ken Holtzman of the Chicago Cubs pitches his second career no-hitter, defeating the Cincinnati Reds, 1 - 0.
• 1978 - Davey Johnson becomes the first major leaguer to hit two pinch-hit grand slams in a season as the Phillies beat the Dodgers, 5 - 1.
• 1995 - Pedro Martinez of the Montreal Expos pitches nine perfect innings against San Diego before giving up a leadoff double to Bip Roberts in the 10th inning of the Expos' 1 - 0 win. Martinez becomes the second pitcher in history, after Harvey Haddix, to have a perfect game broken up in extra innings.
• 2003:
  • Sammy Sosa is ejected in the first inning of Cubs' 3 - 2 victory over Tampa Bay after umpires find cork in his shattered bat.
  • New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter is named the 11th captain in club history.
• 2004 - At Turner Field, the 45-year old Julio Franco hits a home run with the bases loaded in the 1st inning, to became the oldest player in major league history to hit a grand slam as the Braves beat the Phillies, 8 - 4.
• 2006 - In a long day at Shea Stadium, rookie catcher Eliezer Alfonzo hits a two-run home run for his first major league hit, helping the San Francisco Giants to a 6 - 4 victory over the New York Mets in the first game of a doubleheader, which ends after 3 hours, 12 minutes. In the second game, already delayed 2 1/2 hours by rain, the Mets win 3 - 2, in the bottom of the 11th inning, when Lastings Milledge scores the winning run on a short sacrifice fly by Chris Woodward. The twin bill ends close to 11 p.m. ET.
• 2008 - Randy Johnson moves into second place on the all-time major league strikeout leaderboard. He strikes out 8 in 6 1/3 innings, most importantly getting Mike Cameron in the 1st to pass Roger Clemens for second place with 4,673. The 44-year-old "Big Unit" trails only Nolan Ryan but will not catch him.
• 2009 - The Pirates deal All-Star CF Nate McLouth, to the Braves for CF prospect Gorkys Hernandez and pitchers Charlie Morton and Jeff Locke.
• 2010:
  • A few days before he is expected to become the first overall selection in the 2010 amateur draft, Bryce Harper, playing for Southern Nevada, is ejected from a game in the National Junior College World Series in Grand Junction, CO for showing up an umpire and arguing balls and strikes. The ejection comes with an automatic two-game suspension, meaning Harper's amateur career is over unless his team manages to reach the tournament final without its star hitter. While Harper's playing talent has never been in doubt, there have been frequent questions about the make-up and maturity of the 17-year-old catcher.
  • The Braves extend their winning streak to 9 games with a 4 - 3 win in Los Angeles. The Dodgers come into the game with a record of 18-8 at home, but an excellent start by Kris Medlen, coupled with Troy Glaus's fourth homer in 5 games, propels Atlanta to the win. Jonny Venters, filling in for the unavailable Billy Wagner and an injured Takashi Saito, records his first major league save.
  • Cumberland University wins the 2010 NAIA College World Series for their second national title, topping Lee University, 4 - 3. David Fanshawe drives in all four runs while Aaron Wilkerson allows only four hits in eight innings for the win.
• 2011:
  • Jered Weaver, who had won 6 games in April, earns his first win since then in beating the Yankees, 3 - 2. The Angels starter is now 7-4.
  • Jason Vargas tosses a four-hitter for his first career shutout as the Mariners defeat the Rays, 7 - 0. Adam Kennedy and Miguel Olivo hit back-to-back homers off Andy Sonnanstine in the 5th inning to ice the win, following Justin Smoak's 1st-inning blast.
• 2012:
  • The Mets complete a three-game sweep of the Cardinals with a 6 - 1 win to reach a virtual tie for first place in the NL East. Jon Niese strikes out a career-high 10 batters in 6 innings before leaving because of an accelerated heart beat. Kirk Nieuwenhuis hits a homer and drives in 3 runs. The Cards lost the first two games of the series by shutout, including Johan Santana's no-hitter on June 1st, and finally end their 26-inning scoring drought in the 8th, on an RBI single by Adron Chambers.
  • Carlos Zambrano hits his 24th career homer as the Marlins beat the Phillies, 5-1. That ties him with Bob Gibson for second-most dingers by a pitcher in the post-1962 era, still 9 behind leader Earl Wilson.

[edit] Births

• 1863 - Woody Wagenhorst, infielder (d. 1946)
• 1867 - Wild Bill Widner, pitcher (d. 1908)
• 1875 - John Dobbs, outfielder (d. 1934)
• 1881 - Charlie Hanford, outfielder (d. 1963)
• 1888 - Jesse Baker, pitcher (d. 1972)
• 1890 - John Taff, pitcher (d. 1961)
• 1890 - Tom Wilson, catcher (d. 1953)
• 1891 - Bill McTigue, pitcher (d. 1920)
• 1892 - Howard Lohr, outfielder (d. 1977)
• 1895 - Johnny Bassler, catcher (d. 1979)
• 1899 - Urbane Pickering, infielder (d. 1970)
• 1900 - Harry Baldwin, pitcher (d. 1958)
• 1903 - Chappie Geygan, infielder (d. 1966)
• 1908 - Don Osborn, coach (d. 1979)
• 1910 - Carl Fairly, minor league infielder (d. 1977)
• 1913 - Jim Sheehan, catcher (d. 2003)
• 1916 - Max Wilson, pitcher (d. 1977)
• 1924 - George Armstrong, catcher (d. 1993)
• 1928 - Dick Young, infielder
• 1934 - Jim Gentile, infielder; All-Star
• 1934 - Perry Pelekoudas, minor league umpire
• 1937 - Phyllis Baker, AAGPBL pitcher (d. 2006)
• 1939 - Steve Dalkowski, minor league pitcher
• 1940 - Dick McLaughlin, minor league outfielder-infielder and manager
• 1942 - Eizo Goda, NPB pitcher
• 1942 - Duane Josephson, catcher; All-Star (d. 1997)
• 1943 - Ron Keller, pitcher
• 1946 - Mike Floyd, minor league outfielder
• 1948 - Makoto Kurata, NPB pitcher
• 1953 - Ed Glynn, pitcher
• 1954 - Stan Jakubowski, minor league pitcher
• 1955 - Jim Gaudet, catcher
• 1956 - Julio Valdez, infielder
• 1960 - Barry Lyons, catcher
• 1960 - Steve Lyons, infielder
• 1961 - Jose Tolentino, infielder
• 1964 - Nelson Liriano, infielder
• 1967 - Satoshi Iriki, NPB pitcher
• 1970 - Earl Cunningham, minor league outfielder
• 1971 - Carl Everett, outfielder; All-Star
• 1971 - Craig Griffey, minor league outfielder
• 1971 - Aaron Ledesma, infielder
• 1971 - Izzy Molina, catcher
• 1972 - Bryan Rekar, pitcher
• 1973 - Robert Machado, catcher
• 1975 - Daisuke Hayakawa, NPB outfielder
• 1975 - Jose Molina, catcher
• 1975 - Carlos Ros, minor league pitcher
• 1977 - Travis Hafner, designated hitter
• 1978 - John Ogiltree, minor league pitcher
• 1978 - Juan Rivera, outfielder
• 1978 - Steve Smyth, pitcher
• 1980 - Dimitrios Douros, Greek national team outfielder
• 1980 - Tjerk Smeets, Hoofdklasse catcher
• 1981 - Munenori Kawasaki, infielder
• 1981 - Chandler Rose, college coach
• 1981 - Rich Rundles, pitcher
• 1984 - Bobby Carrington, minor league pitcher
• 1984 - Oleh Shkatula, Ukrainian national team catcher
• 1985 - Lucas Harrell, pitcher
• 1986 - Zach Lutz, infielder
• 1986 - Adam Reifer, minor league pitcher
• 1987 - Kazuhito Futagami, Japanese national team pitcher
• 1988 - Cory Brownsten, minor league catcher
• 1988 - Marcus Lemon, minor league infielder
• 1990 - Augustin Avila, minor league player
• 1990 - Harry Glynne, Bundesliga pitcher
• 1991 - Yordano Ventura, minor league pitcher

[edit] Deaths

• 1904 - Bill Pfann, pitcher (b. 1863)
• 1911 - Dad Clarke, pitcher (b. 1865)
• 1923 - Harry Billiard, pitcher (b. 1883)
• 1930 - George Hemming, pitcher (b. 1868)
• 1936 - Billy Shindle, infielder (b. 1860)
• 1940 - Billy Kelly, catcher (b. 1886)
• 1941 - Andy Cooper, Negro League pitcher; Hall of Fame (b. 1896)
• 1950 - Dan Griner, pitcher (b. 1888)
• 1952 - Roswell Hildebrand, minor league pitcher (b. 1889)
• 1954 - Zaza Harvey, outfielder (b. 1879)
• 1956 - Roxy Walters, catcher (b. 1892)
• 1960 - Ed Kippert, outfielder (b. 1880)
• 1962 - Art Stokes, pitcher (b. 1896)
• 1969 - Cobe Jones, infielder (b. 1907)
• 1970 - Jakie May, pitcher (b. 1895)
• 1971 - Vern Spencer, outfielder (b. 1894)
• 1972 - Ikushi Yamanouchi, author; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1902)
• 1973 - Jack Mills, infielder (b. 1889)
• 1976 - Paul Chervinko, catcher (b. 1910)
• 1976 - Dwight Stone, pitcher (b. 1886)
• 1977 - Bob Glenn, pitcher (b. 1894)
• 1978 - Marv Rickert, outfielder (b. 1921)
• 1980 - Fred Lieb, writer (b. 1888)
• 1997 - Pidge Browne, infielder (b. 1929)
• 2004 - Joe Cleary, pitcher (b. 1918)