May 4
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 | |
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| Baseball Library Chronology | |
| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on May 4.
[edit] Events
- 1869 - The Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first all-professional baseball team, start their first regular season with a 45 - 9 victory over the Great Westerns of Cincinnati.
- 1871 - A National Association contest between the Cleveland Forest Citys and Fort Wayne Kekiongas is officially the first Major League game ever played. Fort Wayne is the winner, 2 - 0, behind a four-hit shutout by pitcher Bobby Mathews. Al Pratt is the losing pitcher. Cleveland's catcher, Deacon White, is 3-for-4, including the first hit (a double) and also is the first to hit into a double play. Bill Lennon becomes the first catcher to throw a runner out trying to steal second base. In the 127 games during the 1871 season, there are a total of four shutouts.
- 1910 - Not wanting to offend either club, U.S. President William Howard Taft attends two games in one day. After watching part of a game between the hometown St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds at Sportsman's Park, he travels cross-town to watch the remainder of the game between the St. Louis Browns and Cleveland Naps at Robinson Field.
- 1931 - In an effort to put less strain on his leg, Babe Ruth plays first base as Lou Gehrig moves to right field. Gehrig commits a costly error in the outfield helping the Washington Senators beat the Yankees, 7 - 3.
- 1939 - In his first-ever at-bat in the city of Detroit, Boston Red Sox rookie Ted Williams becomes the first player to hit a home run which totally clears the right field seats at Briggs Stadium.
- 1943 - National League President Ford C. Frick demonstrates that the revised balata ball is livelier than the previous year's ball by bouncing it on a carpet in his office. The major leagues have turned to the balata ball because of wartime restrictions on the supplies used to make standard baseballs.
- 1946 - Cecil Travis of the Washington Senators collects six straight hits before having his streak ended by Steve Gromek of the Cleveland Indians. Travis' performance marks one of the few highlights of his career after World War II, where he suffered frozen feet.
- 1954 - The Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals set a major league record by using a whopping 42 players in an 11-inning marathon. The Phillies win the game, 14 - 10.
- 1956 - Boston Red Sox manager Pinky Higgins accepts the first Red Sox schedule ever printed in braille from the National Braille Press.
- 1963 - Bob Shaw of the Milwaukee Braves sets a major league record by committing five balks. In the third inning, Shaw walks Billy Williams and sends him home with three straight balks. Shaw lasts five innings before he is ejected for arguing. The Chicago Cubs beat Milwaukee, 5 - 3.
- 1966 - Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants establishes a new National League record for most career home runs when he hits his 512th, surpassing the total of former New York Giants great Mel Ott. Mays' blast against Claude Osteen, which puts him fourth on the all-time list, helps the Giants beat the Dodgers, 6 - 1.
- 1969 - The Houston Astros set a National League record by turning seven double plays against the San Francisco Giants, with first baseman Curt Blefary taking part in all of them. The many twin killings help the Astros to win the game, 3 - 1.
- 1975 - Bob Watson of the Houston Astros races around the bases on Milt May's home run and crosses the plate at Candlestick Park in time to score the one millionth run in major league history, seconds ahead of Dave Concepción of the Cincinnati Reds to earn the distinction.
- 1976 - The Illinois Legislature declares today as Rick Monday Day because of his patriotic gesture on April 25 of saving the American flag from being burned by two spectators at Dodger Stadium.
- 1980:
- Chicago White Sox first baseman Mike Squires catches the final inning of an 11 - 1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, becoming the first left-handed catcher to play in major league baseball since Dale Long in 1958.
- Toronto Blue Jays desginated hitter Otto Vélez hits four home runs in a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians at Exhibition Stadium. In the first game, he hit a grand slam in the first inning, followed by a two-run homer in the eighth, and a game winning solo shot in the tenth. In the following contest, he clubbed a three-run home run in the first inning. Overall, he had 10 runs batted in that day.
- 1981 - New York Yankees relief pitcher Ron Davis strikes out eight consecutive batters in the 4 - 2 victory over the California Angels at Anaheim Stadium, tying an American League record set by Nolan Ryan.
- 1984 - At the Metrodome, Dave Kingman of the Oakland Athletics is awarded a ground rule double when the ball he hits disappears. The Athletics slugger's towering fly ball goes through a drainage hole in the stadium roof and never returns to the playing field.
- 1989 - Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Junior Felix becomes the 53rd player in major league history to hit a home run in his first at-bat with a third-inning drive off Kirk McCaskill as Toronto loses 3 - 2 to the California Angels in 10 innings.
- 1991 - Chris James of the Cleveland Indians drives in nine runs with two home runs and two singles, breaking a club record for RBI and leading the Indians to a 20 - 6 victory over the Oakland Athletics.
- 1996:
- The Texas Rangers become the first American League team in 79 years to pitch consecutive one-hitters as Roger Pavlik holds the Detroit Tigers to a fifth-inning home run in a 3 - 1 win. Ken Hill one-hit Detroit on May 3, retiring the last 26 batters he faced.
- The Colorado Rockies bang out 21 hits, including a pair of three-run home runs by Andres Galarraga, to hook the Florida Marlins, 17 - 5. The Rockies score seven runs in the first inning when they hit three of their five home runs. Galarraga collects seven RBI for the day.
- 2000 - The Philadelphia Phillies crush the Cincinnati Reds, 14 - 1, as Doug Glanville collects five hits. The Phillies also tie a major league record by hitting four consecutive doubles in the first inning.
- 2001 - Raúl Mondesi of the Toronto Blue Jays goes 4-for-4, with two home runs, two doubles and six RBI, leading Toronto to an 8 - 3 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
- 2002
- Barry Bonds hits his 400th home run with the San Francisco Giants in a 3 - 0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Ryan Jensen relieves Giants starter Jason Schmidt in the first inning and carries a no-hitter into the eighth before surrendering a single to Jason LaRue.
- Pinch-hitter Shea Hillenbrand hits a two-out grand slam in the ninth inning, off Victor Zambrano, to give the Boston Red Sox a 7 - 5 win over the host Tampa Bay Devil Rays. It is the third straight game in which Tampa Bay has blown a lead in the ninth.
- 2009:
- Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals records his MLB-leading 6th win when he shuts out the White Sox 3 - 0, striking out 10 and walking none. He lowers his ERA to 0.40 for the year.
- The Dodgers defeat Arizona 7 - 2 for their 11th straight home victory, setting a National League record for most consecutive wins at home to start a season. Manny Ramirez homers and drives in three runs, while Eric Stults picks up the win. Arizona pulls off the second triple play in franchise history in the second, but to no avail.
[edit] Births
- 1854 - Flip Lafferty, outfielder (d. 1910)
- 1862 - Billy Otterson, infielder (d. 1940)
- 1872 - John Malarkey, pitcher (d. 1949)
- 1875 - Lou Gertenrich, outfielder (d. 1933)
- 1876 - Dave Murphy, infielder (d. 1940)
- 1879 - Larry Milton, pitcher (d. 1942)
- 1890 - Ralph Pond, outfielder (d. 1947)
- 1891 - Frank Bruggy, catcher (d. 1959)
- 1891 - Vic Saier, infielder (d. 1967)
- 1892 - Zip Collins, outfielder (d. 1983)
- 1892 - Jack Tobin, outfielder (d. 1969)
- 1892 - Ted Turner, manager (d. 1958)
- 1895 - Charlie Babington, outfielder (d. 1957)
- 1907 - Milt Galatzer, outfielder (d. 1976)
- 1912 - Sid Gautreaux, catcher (d. 1980)
- 1914 - Harl Maggert, outfielder (d. 1986)
- 1915 - Don Manno, outfielder (d. 1995)
- 1915 - Ox Miller, pitcher (d. 2007)
- 1919 - Cy Block, infielder (d. 2004)
- 1921 - Larry Drake, outfielder (d. 1985)
- 1926 - Bert Thiel, pitcher
- 1927 - Hal Hudson, pitcher
- 1931 - Lenora Mandella, AAGPBL pitcher and infielder (d. 2005)
- 1936 - John Tsitouris, pitcher
- 1938 - Howie Koplitz, pitcher
- 1943 - Dick Nold, pitcher
- 1945 - Rene Lachemann, catcher, manager
- 1949 - Pat Osburn, pitcher
- 1950 - Butch Alberts, designated hitter
- 1950 - Jack Baker, infielder
- 1952 - Fred Andrews, infielder
- 1956 - Ubaldo Heredia, pitcher
- 1956 - Ken Oberkfell, infielder
- 1957 - Rick Leach, outfielder
- 1960 - Tim Tschida, umpire
- 1961 - Ivan Mesa, minor league infielder
- 1966 - Mike Fiore, minor league outfielder
- 1968 - Tim Donahue, minor league infielder
- 1968 - Eddie Perez, catcher
- 1971 - Joe Borowski, pitcher
- 1971 - Brian Maxcy, pitcher
- 1972 - Manuel Aybar, pitcher
- 1972 - Håkan Börjes, Elitserien outfielder
- 1973 - Koichi Taniguchi, NPB pitcher
- 1974 - Miguel Cairo, infielder
- 1976 - Robinson Cancel, catcher
- 1976 - Ben Grieve, outfielder; All-Star
- 1976 - Jason Michaels, outfielder
- 1977 - Spike Lundberg, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - Steve Morales, minor league catcher
- 1979 - Landon Jacobsen, minor league pitcher
- 1979 - Ryan Jorgensen, catcher
- 1981 - Young-soo Bae, KBO pitcher
- 1981 - T.J. Stanton, minor league pitcher
- 1982 - Seung-hwa Lee, KBO outfielder
- 1982 - Matt Tolbert, infielder
- 1984 - Shaldimar Daantji, Hoofdklasse outfielder
- 1984 - Sam LeCure, minor league pitcher
- 1984 - Kevin Slowey, pitcher
- 1989 - Nick Noonan, minor league infielder
[edit] Deaths
- 1904 - Frank Quinlan, catcher/outfielder (b. 1869)
- 1910 - Pete Gillespie, outfielder (b. 1851)
- 1918 - Maury Uhler, outfielder (b. 1886)
- 1922 - Bill Daley, pitcher (b. 1868)
- 1935 - Dory Dean, pitcher (b. 1852)
- 1950 - Vince Molyneaux, pitcher (b. 1888)
- 1951 - Charlie Buelow, infielder (b. 1877)
- 1954 - Otto McIvor, outfielder (b. 1884)
- 1956 - Gus Dorner, pitcher (b. 1876)
- 1961 - Frank Jude, outfielder (b. 1884)
- 1963 - Dickie Kerr, pitcher (b. 1893)
- 1963 - Pat McNulty, outfielder (b. 1899)
- 1963 - Ray Pierce, pitcher (b. 1897)
- 1965 - Guy Sturdy, infielder (b. 1899)
- 1966 - Bob Elliott, infielder, manager; All-Star (b. 1916)
- 1971 - Billy Mullen, infielder (b. 1896)
- 1972 - Vic Sorrell, pitcher (b. 1901)
- 1976 - Bob Cooney, pitcher (b. 1907)
- 1985 - Bill Kunkel, pitcher (b. 1936)
- 1986 - Hal Luby, infielder (b. 1913)
- 1986 - Paul Richards, catcher, manager (b. 1908)
- 1990 - Jim Schelle, pitcher (b. 1917)
- 1991 - Bill MacDonald, pitcher (b. 1929)
- 1995 - Connie Wisniewski, AAGPBL pitcher (b. 1922)
- 1996 - Gus Keriazakos, pitcher (b. 1931)
- 1997 - Butch Weis, outfielder (b. 1901)
- 1998 - Sam Gentile, pinch hitter (b. 1916)
- 1999 - Minoru Murakami, NPB executive; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1906)
