May 17
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
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| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on May 17.
[edit] Events
- 1903 - Cool Papa Bell is born in Starkville, Mississippi. Bell will enjoy a successful career in the Negro Leagues from 1922 to 1946. An outfielder with blazing speed, Bell will be selected to the Hall of Fame in 1974, joining fellow Negro Leagues stars Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard and Monte Irvin.
- 1905 - Waseda University of Tokyo defeats Los Angeles High School, 5 - 3, in the first game of an American tour. It is the first baseball game ever played by Japanese outside Japan. Waseda started a powerhouse tradition at Japan's Big Six universities that continues to this day.
- 1912 - Historic Fenway Park in Boston is officially dedicated, as the Red Sox host the Chicago White Sox. Playing in front of an overflow crowd, the Red Sox lose the game, 5 - 2.
- 1915 - Chicago Cubs pitcher George "Zip" Zabel comes out of the bullpen with two outs in the first inning, and winds up with a 4 - 3, 19-inning victory over the Brooklyn Robins in the longest relief job ever in major league history.
- 1925 - At League Park, Tris Speaker of the Cleveland Indians collects his 3,000th hit off Tom Zachary of the Washington Senators. Zachary leads Washington to a 2 - 1 victory. George Uhle is the loser.
- 1939 - The first baseball game ever televised - Princeton against Columbia at the Baker Bowl - is watched by a handful of viewers via W2XBS in New York City. Bill Stern announces the ten-inning victory of visiting Princeton, 2 - 1. Reviewing the game the next day, the New York Times reports: "it is difficult to see how this sort of thing can catch the public fancy."
- 1941 - The city of Philadelphia and the state of Pennsylvania declare a legal holiday to honor the Philadelphia Athletics manager on Connie Mack Day at Shibe Park.
- 1945 - For the fourth time in four days, every American League game is postponed because of rain.
- 1961 - Roger Maris hits his first home run of the season at Yankee Stadium (fourth overall) on his way to a major league season-record 61.
- 1963 - Don Nottebart of the Houston Colt .45s pitches the first no-hitter in franchise history, leading Houston past the visiting Philadelphia Phillies 4 - 1.
- 1970 - During a 7 - 6 Atlanta loss to Cincinnati in the second game of a doubleheader, Hank Aaron collects his 3,000th career hit and his 570th home run. Aaron, the ninth man to amass 3,000 hits, is the first to also have 500 home runs.
- 1971 - Tommy McCraw of the new Washington Senators hits one of the shortest home runs in major league history. McCraw's 140-foot pop fly falls in between three Cleveland Indians, shortstop Jack Heidemann and outfielders Vada Pinson and John Lowenstein. When the three players collide, McCraw circles the bases for an inside-the-park home run.
- 1973 - California Angels center fielder Bobby Valentine tries to scale a wall to prevent a Dick Green home run during a 5 - 4 loss to the Oakland Athletics. Valentine catches his spikes in the wall and fractures his leg. The injury will ruin his career.
- 1977 - The Chicago Cubs hit seven home runs in beating the San Diego Padres, 23 - 6, at Wrigley Field. Larry Biittner (two), Gene Clines, Steve Ontiveros, Dave Rosello, Jerry Morales and Bobby Murcer homer for the Cubs, with Biittner, Morales, and Murcer hitting consecutive shots in the fifth inning.
- 1978 - Lee Lacy hits a pinch-home run to help the Dodgers to a 10 - 1 victory over Pittsburgh. It is Lacy's third consecutive home run in a pinch-hitting role, setting a major league record. His previous blasts were on May 2 and May 6.
- 1979 - With the wind really blowing out at Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies join in a wild ten-inning slugfest won by the Phillies, 23 - 22. Dave Kingman hits three home runs and collects six RBI for the Cubs while teammate Bill Buckner has a grand slam and seven RBI. Mike Schmidt belts two home runs, including the game-winner in the tenth inning. Bob Boone, pitcher Randy Lerch, and Garry Maddox also homer for the Phillies and Steve Ontiveros and Jerry Martin do it for the Cubs. The eleven home runs between the two teams tie a major league game record. The contest includes 50 hits.
- 1984 - Alan Wiggins of the San Diego Padres ties a National League record by stealing five bases in one game. Wiggins joins three others who have performed the feat: Dan McGann in 1904, Davey Lopes in 1974 and Lonnie Smith in 1982.
- 1985 - The Texas Rangers name Bobby Valentine as their new manager, replacing the departed Doug Rader. Under Rader, the Rangers had posted a record of 9-23, the worst in the major leagues. With Valentine at the helm, the Rangers will show some improvement, but will still finish last in the American League West.
- 1992:
- Catcher Gary Carter, back with the Montreal Expos, joins Bob Boone and Carlton Fisk in the exclusive 2,000 games caught club.
- The Toronto Blue Jays surpass one million in attendance earlier than any team in major league history. It takes the Blue Jays 21 dates to draw 1,006,294. The previous record was shared by the 1991 Blue Jays and the 1981 Dodgers.
- 1998 - David Wells pitches the 13th perfect game in modern major league history as the Yankees beat Minnesota, 4 - 0. Wells, whose perfecto is the first by a Yankees pitcher since Don Larsen in the 1956 World Series, also sets an American League record by retiring 37 batters in a row, dating back to his start on May 12 against Kansas City. Minnesota shortstop Pat Meares flies out to right fielder Paul O'Neill to complete the perfect afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
- 2001 - Ike Brown dies from cancer in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 59. A popular member of the Detroit Tigers for six seasons, Brown was one of the last Negro League players still active in the majors during the 1970s. The versatile Brown played every infield and outfield position but center field during his Tigers stint.
- 2002 - Erubiel Durazo hits three home runs with a double and nine RBI to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 12 - 9 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Bank One Ballpark.
- 2007 - Yukio Tanaka goes 3 for 4. The veteran Nippon Ham Fighters player tops the 2,000-hit level for his career, joining the meikyukai.
- 2009:
- An error by manager Joe Maddon in filling out the line-up card forces Tampa Bay to forego the designated hitter and bat pitcher Andy Sonnanstine third. He hits an RBI double in the 4th on his way to a 7 - 5 win over Cleveland.
- Scott Feldman pitches six scoreless innings and three relievers complete the whitewash as Texas beats Los Angeles to complete a sweep. David Murphy drives in the game's first run with a sacrifice fly in the 7th, then Ian Kinsler and Marlon Byrd hit RBI doubles to seal the affair. Texas has now won seven in a row, and 13 of its last 15 games.
- In a 2-0 win by the Giants over the Mets, New York hurler Mike Pelfrey balks 3 times. It had been 15 years since Al Leiter was the last pitcher to have three balks in a game.
[edit] Births
- 1852 - Sam King, infielder (d. 1922)
- 1857 - Billy Reid, infielder (d. 1940)
- 1858 - Henry Oberbeck, outfielder (d. 1921)
- 1860 - Frank Mountain, pitcher (d. 1939)
- 1865 - Al Mays, pitcher (d. 1905)
- 1868 - Fred Woodcock, pitcher (d. 1943)
- 1878 - Rube Vickers, pitcher (d. 1958)
- 1886 - Elmer Steele, pitcher (d. 1966)
- 1888 - Irv Porter, outfielder (d. 1971)
- 1892 - Hal Carlson, pitcher (d. 1930)
- 1894 - Frank Woodward, pitcher (d. 1961)
- 1899 - Del Webb, owner (d. 1974)
- 1903 - Cool Papa Bell Hall of Famer (d. 1991)
- 1906 - Al Eckert, pitcher (d. 1974)
- 1908 - Ted Norbert, minor league star (d. 1991)
- 1908 - Leo Norris, infielder (d. 1987)
- 1910 - Lou Chiozza, infielder (d. 1971)
- 1912 - Ace Parker, infielder
- 1917 - John Allyn, owner (d. 1979)
- 1927 - Jim McDonald, pitcher
- 1932 - Billy Hoeft, pitcher; All-Star
- 1932 - Ozzie Virgil, infielder
- 1939 - Dick Smith, outfielder
- 1946 - Dan Monzon, infielder (d. 1996)
- 1948 - Carlos May, outfielder; All-Star
- 1952 - Porfi Altamirano, pitcher
- 1957 - Don Nomura, agent
- 1957 - Pascual Perez, pitcher; All-Star
- 1962 - Greg Mathews, pitcher
- 1963 - Tom Newell, pitcher
- 1964 - Rob Nelson, infielder
- 1966 - Jack Voigt, outfielder
- 1966 - Brad DuVall, minor league pitcher
- 1969 - Rick Huisman, pitcher
- 1971 - Trey Forkerway, minor league infielder and manager
- 1973 - Xavier Civit, minor league pitcher
- 1973 - Seika Shiragi, announcer
- 1974 - Wiki Gonzalez, catcher
- 1974 - Keith Horn, minor league pitcher
- 1975 - Eriel Sánchez, Cuban leagues catcher
- 1975 - Scott Seabol, infielder
- 1976 - Marques Esquerra, minor league player
- 1976 - Jose Guillen, outfielder
- 1977 - Roddi Liebenberg, Great Britain national team pitcher
- 1978 - John Foster, pitcher
- 1978 - Carlos Pena, infielder; All-Star
- 1980 - Hiroshi Kisanuki, NPB pitcher
- 1982 - Nick Masset, pitcher
- 1983 - Gabriel Martinez, minor league infielder
- 1983 - Jeremy Sowers, pitcher
- 1983 - Josh Sowers, minor league pitcher
- 1985 - Dae-sung Choi, KBO pitcher
- 1985 - Todd Redmond, minor league pitcher
- 1989 - Yuliecer Arias, minor league outfielder
- 1989 - Jordan Jankowski, drafted catcher
- 1991 - Oscar Carlstedt, Elitserien pitcher
[edit] Deaths
- 1905 - John Abadie, infielder (b. 1854)
- 1908 - Harry Spence, manager (b. 1856)
- 1915 - Happy Hogan, minor league catcher (b. 1877)
- 1931 - Charlie Ferguson, pitcher (b. 1875)
- 1933 - Bill Van Dyke, outfielder (b. 1863)
- 1941 - Bill Husted, pitcher (b. 1866)
- 1954 - Roy Parker, pitcher (b. 1896)
- 1954 - Earl Tyree, catcher (b. 1890)
- 1957 - Dummy Deegan, pitcher (b. 1874)
- 1959 - Joe Donnelly, minor league executive (b. ????)
- 1961 - Otto Knabe, infielder, manager (b. 1884)
- 1961 - Barney Slaughter, pitcher (b. 1884)
- 1965 - Bill Bartley, pitcher (b. 1885)
- 1969 - Pants Rowland, manager (b. 1879)
- 1975 - Sig Broskie, catcher (b. 1911)
- 1979 - Bill Brenner, minor league pitcher/catcher and manager (b. ????)
- 1982 - Dixie Walker, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1910)
- 1989 - Specs Toporcer, infielder (b. 1899)
- 1995 - Catfish Metkovich, outfielder (b. 1920)
- 2001 - Ike Brown, infielder (b. 1942)
- 2002 - Joe Black, pitcher (b. 1924)
- 2004 - Buster Narum, pitcher (b. 1940)
- 2004 - Takahisa Suzuki, NPB outfielder (b. 1963)
- 2007 - Bill Wight, pitcher (b. 1922)
- 2009 - Frank Stanek, minor league pitcher (b. 1934)
