May 29
From BR Bullpen
| 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 May 29.
[edit] Events
- 1905 - Brooklyn Robins right-hander Elmer Stricklett throws a "mystery pitch" - believed to be a spitball - during a game against the New York Giants. Some historians regard the five-foot, six-inch Stricklett as the first pitcher to throw a spitball in a major league game.
- 1916 - Christy Mathewson pitches a 3 - 0 shutout over the Boston Braves, leading the New York Giants to their 17th consecutive victory, all on the road. In spite of their impressive winning streak, the Giants will finish second to the Dodgers in the National League pennant race.
- 1922 - The United States Supreme Court finds that baseball is primarily a sport and not a business. In using this argument, the court rules that baseball is not subject to anti-trust laws and standard interstate commerce regulations.
- 1968 - The defending World Champion St. Louis Cardinals continue to struggle, losing their 11th out of 13, 2 - 1, to Juan Marichal and the Giants. In the past two weeks, they have virtually traded places with today's opponent, falling from 1st place on May 15, 3_1/2 games ahead of San Francisco, to 3 games behind today (actually in 4th place behind Philly and Atlanta as well). From this point forward, however, the Cards will catch fire; by August 1, a 2 - 1 win will give them 49 out of their last 64 and leave them 15 games ahead of their nearest NL competitor.
- 1972 - Morris (Moe) Berg dies in Belleville, New Jersey, at the age of 70. In addition to playing 15 years in the major leagues, the multitalented Berg also gained distinction as an attorney, linguist, mathematician, and most curiously, as an American secret agent during the World War II.
- 1976 - Houston Astros pitcher Joe Niekro hits the only home run of his 22-year major league career. Strangely enough, Niekro enjoyed his feat against his brother, Phil, the ace pitcher of the Atlanta Braves. With his unexpected home run, Niekro led the Astros to a 4 - 3 victory over Atlanta.
- 1990 - Rickey Henderson of the Oakland Athletics becomes the American League's all-time stolen base king. In swiping third base against the Toronto Blue Jays, Henderson steals his 893rd base to surpass the long-standing record set by Ty Cobb.
- 1992 - Tim Raines of the Chicago White Sox collects his 700th major league career stolen base.
- 1993 - Texas Rangers outfielder Jose Canseco, who three days earlier had a ball hit by Carlos Martinez bouncing off his head for a home run, voluntarely pitches an inning in a 15 - 1 blowout to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. As the result, Canseco will have a season-ending elbow surgery from his ill-advised outing.
- 2000 - Oakland Athletics second baseman Randy Velarde turns an unassisted triple play, just the 11th in major league history, on a line drive hit by Shane Spencer of the New York Yankees. With runners on first and second bases running with the pitch, Velarde tags Jorge Posada as he nears second base, then touches the base to retire Tino Martinez. In 1995 spring training, while with the Yankees, Velarde turned an unassisted triple play against the Dodgers.
- 2002 - In an article in Sports Illustrated, former National League MVP Ken Caminiti claims that about 50 percent of current major league players used some form of steroids.
- 2006 - Albert Pujols hits his 25th home run of the season, a three-run blast, in the St. Louis Cardinals 3 - 1 victory over the Houston Astros. Pujols became the third-fastest big-leaguer to 25 homers, reaching it in 51 games played. Barry Bonds required 47 games in 2001 and Mark McGwire needed 50 in 1998. Pujols also increases his major league lead to 64 runs batted in.
- 2009 - On the road, the Yankees top the 2009 Indians 3-1. Mariano Rivera saves an Andy Pettitte win for the 58th time, setting a new record for a pitcher duo; the old mark had been held by Dennis Eckersley and Bob Welch.
[edit] Births
- 1869 - Marty Honan, catcher (d. 1908)
- 1875 - Dave Fultz, outfielder (d. 1959)
- 1885 - Jack Lively, pitcher (d. 1967)
- 1899 - Hal Elliott, pitcher (d. 1963)
- 1899 - Art Reinhart, pitcher (d. 1946)
- 1901 - Jim Stroner, infielder (d. 1975)
- 1903 - Bob Hope, owner (d. 2003)
- 1907 - Phil Gallivan, pitcher (d. 1969)
- 1910 - George McQuinn, infielder; All-Star (d. 1978)
- 1915 - Vance Dinges, infielder (d. 1990)
- 1917 - Loel Passe, announcer (d. 1997)
- 1918 - Bill Burich, infielder
- 1919 - Al Brancato, infielder
- 1921 - Ferris Fain, infielder; All-Star (d. 2001)
- 1922 - Fred Tschudin, minor league catcher (d. 1952)
- 1924 - Pepper Davis, AAGPBL catcher
- 1926 - Gene Manzer, minor league pitcher (d. 2009)
- 1927 - Ken Guettler, minor league outfielder (d. 1977)
- 1928 - Joe Camacho, coach
- 1928 - Willard Schmidt, pitcher (d. 2007)
- 1929 - Roberto Vargas, pitcher
- 1931 - John Baumgartner, infielder
- 1936 - Fred White, announcer
- 1938 - Fay Vincent, commissioner
- 1938 - Dale Willis, pitcher
- 1941 - John Kennedy, infielder
- 1942 - Akira Takahashi, NPB pitcher (d. 2006)
- 1945 - Clyde Mashore, outfielder
- 1945 - Blue Moon Odom, pitcher; All-Star
- 1945 - Yoshiro Sotokoba, NPB pitcher
- 1946 - Dyar Miller, pitcher
- 1952 - Fred Holdsworth, pitcher
- 1953 - Mike Dupree, pitcher
- 1958 - Jamie Allen, infielder
- 1958 - Mike Stenhouse, outfielder
- 1959 - Gerry Groninger, minor league catcher and manager
- 1962 - Eric Davis, outfielder; All-Star
- 1964 - Grady Hall, minor league pitcher
- 1965 - Charlie Hayes, infielder
- 1967 - Bill Risley, pitcher
- 1968 - Brian Griffiths, minor league pitcher
- 1969 - Toby Borland, pitcher
- 1973 - Dmitry Lukin, Russian national team infielder
- 1973 - Trever Miller, pitcher
- 1975 - Cirilo Cruz, minor league infielder
- 1975 - Sean Spencer, pitcher
- 1976 - Jerry Hairston, infielder
- 1977 - Kent Karlsson, Elitserien pitcher
- 1977 - Chris Olean, minor league pitcher
- 1979 - John Rheinecker, pitcher
- 1980 - Cha Seung Baek, pitcher
- 1982 - Tae-kyun Kim, KBO infielder
- 1982 - Matt Macri, infielder
- 1983 - Sébastien Hervé, French national team infielder
- 1984 - Jose Camarena, minor league catcher
- 1984 - Garrison Campfield, minor league pitcher
- 1987 - Henry Henry, minor league infielder
- 1988 - Robert Brooks, minor league player
- 1988 - Darling Read, minor league outfielder
- 1989 - Angel Antonio Cuan, minor league pitcher
[edit] Deaths
- 1876 - Tom Miller, catcher
- 1910 - Bill Hassamaer, outfielder (b. 1864)
- 1932 - Frank Lobert, infielder (b. 1883)
- 1939 - Bill McCarthy, pitcher (b. 1882)
- 1943 - Pat Wright, infielder (b. 1865)
- 1949 - Doc Scanlan, pitcher (b. 1881)
- 1952 - Doc Lavan, infielder (b. 1890)
- 1955 - Ray Brown, pitcher (b. 1889)
- 1959 - Dutch Ussat, infielder (b. 1904)
- 1963 - Fred Herbert, pitcher (b. 1887)
- 1964 - Eli Cates, pitcher (b. 1877)
- 1965 - Mike McNally, infielder (b. 1892)
- 1966 - Hippo Vaughn, pitcher (b. 1888)
- 1972 - Moe Berg, catcher (b. 1902)
- 1978 - Carl Reynolds, outfielder (b. 1903)
- 1982 - Erv Palica, pitcher (b. 1928)
- 1985 - Billy Zitzmann, outfielder (b. 1895)
- 1987 - Jack Sheehan, infielder (b. 1893)
- 1993 - Alex Kampouris, infielder (b. 1912)
- 2002 - Sam Page, pitcher (b. 1916)
