May 3

Events, births and deaths that occurred on May 3.

[edit] Events

• 1895 - In National League action, Bobby Lowe scores six runs and collects five hits, leading the Boston Beaneaters to a 27 - 11 rout of the Washington Senators.
• 1896:
  • The Louisville Colonels lose their 11th straight game, to the Cincinnati Reds, 5 - 3.
  • With an overflow crowd of 17,231 at West Side Grounds, the umpire rules that any ball hit into the crowd is a ground rule triple. The Chicago Colts take advantage and crack nine triples, including three by Bill Dahlen, to crush the St. Louis Browns, 16 - 7.
• 1897 - With the New York Giants leading 7 - 0 after two innings, the Washington Senators start delaying the game in hopes that the imminent rainstorm will wash the game out. Umpire Tom Lynch forfeits the game to New York.
• 1898 - Jimmy Sheckard of the Brooklyn Bridegrooms hits a home run, two triples, and a single in a 9 - 6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. The eleven total bases by Sheckard will be the season's one-game high mark.
• 1899 - Jack McCarthy of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits a game-winning three-run home run in the bottom of the 9th inning when his drive into the corner goes through a door that a fan then shuts before the fielder can reach it. The National League will eventually order this game to be replayed.
  • Tom O'Brien of the New York Giants receives perhaps the first intentional walk in major league history. In the 8th inning, with runners on second and third bases with one out, Ed Delahanty of the Philadelphia Phillies tells teammate pitcher Jack Fifield to walk O'Brien, who has hit well all day. Then next batter, Fred Hartman, hits into a double play.
• 1904 - Pitcher Charles (Red) Ruffing is born in Granville, Illinois. Ruffing will win 273 games during a 22-year career with the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox. He will gain election to the Hall of Fame in 1967.
• 1912 - Leading 18 - 5 after eight innings, Philadelphia Athletics pitchers give up a record 9th-inning outburst of 10 runs to the New York Highlanders before Eddie Plank stops them at 18 - 15.
• 1913 - The Philadelphia Phillies defeat the visiting New York Giants for the third time in a row, a come-from-behind 3 - 2 victory. The Phillies tie the score at two apiece when Gavvy Cravath hits a two-run pinch-homer in the 8th inning off Christy Mathewson. After the first two batters are retired in the 9th, Philadelphia pushes across a run to win.
• 1927 - In the first match-up of pitching brothers in major league history, Jesse Barnes defeats his brother Virgil Barnes in the Brooklyn Robins' 7 - 6 victory over the New York Giants.
• 1936 - Joe DiMaggio makes his major league debut for the New York Yankees and has three hits in a 14 - 5 victory over the St. Louis Browns.
• 1938 - Lefty Grove of the Boston Red Sox defeats the Detroit Tigers, 4 - 3, marking the start of a personal 20-game winning streak at his home field, Fenway Park. Grove will not lose a game there until May 12, 1941.
• 1941 - Hank Gornicki of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches a one-hitter in his major league debut, beating the Philadelphia Phillies, 6 - 0. Stan Benjamin's single is the lone hit. For the Cardinals, it is their eighth victory in a row.
• 1950 - New York Yankees pitcher Vic Raschi, troubled by the new rule that requires a one-second stop before delivery with men on base, balks four times in one game, a club record and two fewer than the single-season record. Nevertheless, Raschi wins, 4 - 3, over the Chicago White Sox. He will finish the season with six balks to tie the since-topped American League mark.
• 1951 - New York Yankees rookie Gil McDougald ties a major league record by driving in six runs in one inning. McDougald hits a grand slam and a two-run triple in the 9th inning of a 17 - 3 demolition of the St. Louis Browns at Sportsman's Park. The record will eventually be broken by Fernando Tatis of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1999.
• 1952 - The Cleveland Indians set a record when they use 23 players in a regular game against the Washington Senators, including the first black battery in American League history. Quincy Trouppe is the catcher when pitcher Sam Jones comes to relieve.
• 1959:
  • Charlie Maxwell of the Detroit Tigers hits four consecutive home runs in a doubleheader sweep of the New York Yankees, 4 - 2 and 8 - 2, at Briggs Stadium.
  • Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Hank Foiles makes a rare unassisted double play in a 2 - 1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
• 1961:
  • Another brilliant Warren Spahn performance is spoiled when left fielder Mel Roach's misplay costs the Milwaukee Braves' ace a second no-hitter in a row. Spahn settles for a two-hitter in topping the Dodgers, 4 - 1.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs play their home opener against the Jersey City Jerseys. Toronto outfielder Ellis Burton hits a two-run homer batting from the left side in the 8th inning - then hits a grand slam from the right side later in the frame. It is the first time in Organized Baseball history that a player has homered from both sides of the plate in one inning.
• 1963:
  • In his first and only at bat with the Baltimore Orioles, pitcher Buster Narum hits a home run off Don Mossi of the Cleveland Indians. Six days later, Narum will be optioned to Triple-A Rochester but will return to the majors next year with the Washington Senators, where he will hit two more home runs. Narum becomes the first pitcher to have more homers than wins in a season, but he will be matched on September 2nd by Ed Hobaugh, and in 1992 by Dave Eiland.
  • Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds hits his first major league home run off St. Louis Cardinals ace Ernie Broglio.
• 1964 - Sadaharu Oh of the Yomiuri Giants hits four home runs against the Hanshin Tigers, tying the Nippon Professional Baseball record for most home runs in a game (held by Yoshiyuki Iwamoto) and tying the major league record held by seven players.
• 1975 - Cincinnati Reds manager Sparky Anderson decides to switch Pete Rose from left field to third base, opening a lineup spot for promising slugger George Foster. Over the next four seasons, Foster will average 36 home runs, 117 RBI, and a .302 batting average to help the Reds to two World Championships.
• 1979 - Bobby Bonds of the Cleveland Indians hits his 300th career home run against Moose Haas in a 6 - 1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Bonds has collected 413 stolen bases at the time and becomes the second player, after Willie Mays, to have 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases.
• 1980:
  • Ferguson Jenkins of the Texas Rangers becomes the fourth pitcher in major league history to win 100 or more games in each league. Jenkins beats the Baltimore Orioles, 3 - 2 at Arlington Stadium, as he joins Cy Young, Jim Bunning and Gaylord Perry in the exclusive club.
  • Willie McCovey of the San Francisco Giants hits his 521st and final career home runs against Scott Sanderson of the Montreal Expos, helping the Giants to a 3 - 2 win. His shot ties him with Ted Williams on the all-time list. McCovey will enter the Hall of Fame in 1986.
• 1986:
  • Chicago Cubs third baseman Ron Cey hits his 300th and 301st career home runs and Chicago scores four times in the top of the 9th inning to beat the Giants, 6 - 5.
  • Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly connects for three sacrifice flies in a 9 - 4 victory over the Rangers. Mattingly becomes only the sixth major leaguer to accomplish this feat.
• 1992 - At the age of 25, Baltimore Orioles closer Gregg Olson becomes the youngest pitcher in major league history to record 100 saves.
• 1995 - Rookie third baseman David Bell makes his debut with the Cleveland Indians in a 14 - 7 victory over Detroit. His appearance represents the third generation of his family to play in the major leagues. David's father, Buddy, and his grandfather, Gus, previously starred in the big leagues. The Bells become the second three-generation family in major league history, joining the Boone family (Ray, Bob, Bret and Aaron). Gus Bell will die four days later.
• 1998 - Dan Wilson of the Seattle Mariners hits the first inside-the-park grand slam in the franchise's history.
• 1999:
  • For the first time, Cuba faces major league competition in the United States, and its national team defeats the struggling Baltimore Orioles, 12 - 6.
  • Creighton Gubanich of the Boston Red Sox hits a grand slam for his first major league hit in a 12 - 11, 10-inning loss to Oakland at McAfee Coliseum. Gubanich becomes the fourth major leaguer to accomplish the feat and the first since Seattle's Orlando Mercado did it on September 19, 1982.
• 2000 - The Colorado Rockies defeat the Montreal Expos, 16 - 7, setting a team record in the process by stroking 24 hits. Todd Helton goes 5 for 5 in the contest, while all nine Colorado starters get at least one hit and one RBI.
• 2001 - Johnny Oates resigns as the Texas Rangers manager and will be replaced by the team's third base coach Jerry Narron. A poor start of 11-17 due to a lack of pitching, and owner Tom Hicks's high expectations after signing prized free agent Alex Rodriguez, had led to speculation the Texas skipper would soon be fired.
• 2005:
  • With a 9-0 margin, a state legislative committee votes to approve a bill which will require the Los Angeles Angels, formerly known as the Anaheim Angels, to disclose on all promotional materials, including tickets, ads and team publications, that the team is based in Anaheim. Using the example of an orange juice company selling OJ that contains no oranges, California Assemblyman Tom Umberg, the bill's sponsor, says he is trying to promote truth in sports advertising.
  • The Chicago White Sox, with the best record in the majors, establish a big league record having led in all 28 games played to this point in the season.
• 2006:
  • A group led by local real estate magnate Theodore Lerner wins the bidding to own the Washington Nationals, Major League Baseball confirms, ending a long selection process involving eight contenders.
  • The Florida Senate approves an amendment that puts the Marlins back in the game for a new ballpark at a site in northwest Miami Dade County.
  • Jonathan Papelbon of the Boston Red Sox gives up his first run of the season since becoming Boston's closer, allowing Russ Adams' tie-breaking double in the 9th inning that gives the Toronto Blue Jays a 7 - 6 victory at Fenway Park. Papelbon was named the American League rookie of the month with 10 saves in 10 tries and a 0.00 ERA in April.
• 2008 - The Winston-Salem Warthogs beat the Wilmington Blue Rocks, 8 - 5. The game is notable for a three-homer performance by Winston-Salem DH John Shelby III. This ties the Carolina League single-game record. Shelby is in his second game back from a hamstring injury.
• 2009:
  • Alfredo Despaigne hits his 32nd homer of the 2008-2009 Serie Nacional season, breaking Alexei Bell's one-year old record. Despaigne accomplishes his feat on the final day of the season.
  • Carl Crawford steals 6 bases in Tampa Bay's 5 - 3 win over the Red Sox, tying a modern major league record, shared by Eddie Collins (twice), Otis Nixon and Eric Young.
  • Jose Lopez bloops an RBI single in the bottom of the 15th inning to give Seattle an 8 - 7 victory over Oakland in the longest game played this season so far. The Mariners rally to tie the game at 4-all on Kenji Johjima's home run in the 9th, then mount a three-run comeback in the 13th. Jason Vargas is the winner in his first major league appearance since 2007.
• 2010:
  • Ubaldo Jimenez becomes the first 6-game winner in the majors this year with a 5 - 2 win by the Rockies over San Diego. He strikes out a career-high 13 in the game, including All-Star 1B Adrian Gonzalez three times.
  • Brett Cecil, feeling dizzy and congested, pitches the best game of his career as he throws six perfect innings in Toronto's 5 - 1 win over Cleveland. A one-out walk to Grady Sizemore in the 7th breaks the perfecto and is followed by Jhonny Peralta's single. Cecil is the fourth different Blue Jays pitcher to carry a no-hitter into the 7th inning this year; he allows just the one hit in 8 innings and strikes out 10.
• 2011 - Francisco Liriano throws the first no-hitter of the season as the Twins beat the White Sox, 1 - 0. It is also the first complete game and shutout of his career. Jason Kubel's solo homer in the 4th off Edwin Jackson accounts for the game's only run.
• 2012:
  • The great Mariano Rivera, baseball's all-time save leader, suffers a torn ligament in his right knee while shagging fly balls during batting practice before the Yankees' game with the Royals. He is carted off the field, and at 42, the injury appears to be career-ending, but he will be back to pitch a final season in 2013.
  • Ryan Dempster of the Cubs and Homer Bailey of the Reds both celebrate their birthday by pitching against each other. It is believed to be the first time in major league history that opposing starting pitchers are both pitching on their birthdays.
  • Erik Bedard racks up 11 strikeouts over five innings on his way to leading the Pirates to tie a team-record 17 whiffs in a 6 - 3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
  • Rob Cordemans moves into third place on the all-time Hoofdklasse strikeout leader board in a 10-1 Amsterdam Pirates win over HCAW. He fans rookie Peter van Doesburg to tie Craig McGinnis at 1,571 then passes him later in the inning by whiffing Randy Reiph. Only Bart Volkerijk (1,942) and Peter Callenbach (1,636) are still ahead of Cordemans.

[edit] Births

• 1854 - George Gore, outfielder, manager (d. 1933)
• 1859 - Garry Herrmann, general manager (d. 1931)
• 1870 - John Hollison, pitcher (d. 1969)
• 1884 - Chief Bender, pitcher; Hall of Famer (d. 1954)
• 1891 - Eppa Rixey, pitcher; Hall of Famer (d. 1963)
• 1892 - Del Baker, catcher, manager (d. 1973)
• 1894 - Cliff Markle, pitcher (d. 1974)
• 1895 - Bob Pepper, pitcher (d. 1968)
• 1896 - Bob Hasty, pitcher (d. 1972)
• 1897 - Ray Shepardson, catcher (d. 1975)
• 1902 - Ralph Michaels, infielder (d. 1988)
• 1902 - Alejandro Reyes, writer; Salon de la Fama (d. 1961)
• 1905 - Red Ruffing, pitcher; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 1986)
• 1911 - Tsuneo Ikeda, writer; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 2002)
• 1912 - Paul Gehrman, pitcher (d. 1986)
• 1916 - Ken Silvestri, catcher, manager (d. 1992)
• 1917 - José Del Vecchio, promoter (d. 1990)
• 1917 - Stan Klores, minor league player, college coach (d. 1944)
• 1920 - Dan Bankhead, pitcher (d. 1976)
• 1921 - Goose Tatum, Negro League infielder (d. 1967)
• 1922 - Ernest Groth, pitcher (d. 2004)
• 1926 - Stan Jok, infielder (d. 1972)
• 1929 - Helen Kiely, AAGPBL pitcher (d. 2012)
• 1931 - Dewey Gray, minor league pitcher (d. 2010)
• 1933 - Bill Slack, minor league pitcher
• 1934 - Chuck Hinton, outfielder; All-Star (d. 2013)
• 1938 - Chris Cannizzaro, catcher; All-Star
• 1943 - Jack Dilauro, pitcher
• 1945 - Davey Lopes, infielder, manager; All-Star
• 1946 - Jimmy Williams, NPB outfielder; college coach
• 1953 - Keith Smith, outfielder
• 1959 - Tony Arnold, pitcher
• 1961 - Bob Buchanan, pitcher
• 1963 - Joe Kmak, catcher
• 1963 - Julius McDougal, minor league infielder
• 1966 - Alejandro Velasquez, Philippines national team infielder
• 1967 - Mike Bianco, college coach
• 1968 - Ivan Cruz, infielder
• 1969 - Dan Iassogna, umpire
• 1969 - Michael Kruger, South African national team infielder
• 1972 - Darren Dreifort, pitcher
• 1973 - Akira Okamoto, NPB pitcher
• 1974 - Denny Torres, minor league infielder
• 1975 - Kenny Graham, minor league coach
• 1975 - Gabe Molina, pitcher
• 1975 - John Tamargo Jr., minor league infielder and manager
• 1976 - Jason Hairston, minor league outfielder
• 1977 - Ryan Dempster, pitcher; All-Star
• 1978 - Mike Paradis, minor league pitcher
• 1982 - Chris De la Cruz, minor league player
• 1982 - Bob McCrory, pitcher
• 1982 - Nick Stavinoha, outfielder
• 1983 - Djionny Joubert, Netherlands Antilles national team infielder
• 1983 - Tim Pahuta, minor league infielder
• 1984 - Paul Mildren, minor league pitcher
• 1984 - Orlando Perdomo, minor league pitcher
• 1984 - Yunesky Sanchez, minor league infielder
• 1985 - Jeong-hoon Cho, KBO pitcher
• 1985 - Nate Spears, outfielder
• 1986 - Homer Bailey, pitcher
• 1988 - Chad Gross, minor league outfielder
• 1988 - Mark Hardy, minor league pitcher
• 1988 - Ben Revere, outfielder
• 1989 - John Schultz, minor league outfielder
• 1992 - Kellin Deglan, minor league catcher

[edit] Deaths

• 1894 - Bob Ferguson, infielder, manager (b. 1845)
• 1896 - George McVey, catcher/infielder (b. 1865)
• 1903 - Count Sensenderfer, outfielder (b. 1847)
• 1927 - Otto Schomberg, infielder (b. 1864)
• 1933 - Lefty James, pitcher (b. 1889)
• 1934 - Lew Graulich, catcher/first baseman (b. 1862)
• 1935 - Ted Breitenstein, pitcher (b. 1869)
• 1942 - John Buckley, pitcher (b. 1869)
• 1945 - Bill Stemmeyer, pitcher (b. 1865)
• 1950 - Jim Galloway, infielder (b. 1887)
• 1952 - Burt Keeley, pitcher (b. 1879)
• 1953 - Kewpie Pennington, pitcher (b. 1896)
• 1953 - Pete Scott, outfielder (b. 1898)
• 1954 - Philip Bartelme, minor league executive (b. 1876)
• 1955 - Newt Randall, outfielder (b. 1880)
• 1956 - Karl Kolseth, infielder (b. 1892)
• 1958 - Al Maul, pitcher (b. 1865)
• 1959 - Willy Fetzer, pinch hitter (b. 1884)
• 1964 - Gerry Shea, catcher (b. 1881)
• 1966 - John Gaddy, pitcher (b. 1914)
• 1968 - Ray Gardner, infielder (b. 1901)
• 1973 - Ray Perry, minor league infielder and manager (b. 1920)
• 1974 - Ralph McCabe, pitcher (b. 1918)
• 1976 - Ernie Nevers, pitcher (b. 1902)
• 1976 - Elmer Tutwiler, pitcher (b. 1904)
• 1979 - Tom Jenkins, outfielder (b. 1898)
• 1991 - Frank Leja, infielder (b. 1936)
• 1996 - Alex Kellner, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1924)
• 1999 - Joe Adcock, infielder, manager; All-Star (b. 1927)
• 2000 - Ed Chapman, pitcher (b. 1905)
• 2001 - Hank Schmulbach, pinch runner (b. 1925)
• 2004 - Darrell Johnson, catcher, manager (b. 1928)
• 2006 - Paul Penson, pitcher (b. 1931)
• 2013 - Joe Astroth, catcher (b. 1922)