May 5

Events, births and deaths that occurred on May 5.

[edit] Events

• 1893 - Ed Stein pitches a one-hitter to lead the Brooklyn Grooms to a 3 - 1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
• 1904 - At Huntington Avenue Grounds, Cy Young of the Boston Americans hurls the second of his three no-hitters, a 3 - 0 perfect game against the Philadelphia Athletics and Rube Waddell. Young will eventually complete 24 straight hitless innings, still the record, and 45 shutout innings in a row, a record until broken by Jack Coombs' 53 scoreless frames in 1910.
• 1906 - Recovering from a case of diphtheria contracted before the season, Christy Mathewson makes his first appearance of the year for the New York Giants. He pitches seven solid innings against the Boston Beaneaters, allowing seven hits before being relieved by Joe McGinnity, who allows three runs in the 9th inning to turn a 4 - 3 lead into a 6 - 4 defeat.
• 1917 - Ernie Koob of the St. Louis Browns pitches a 1 - 0 no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox. George Sisler drives in the winning run and Ed Cicotte is the loser.
• 1922 - Facing the Detroit Tigers, Bill Bayne of the St. Louis Browns pitches a no-hitter into the 9th inning. Detroit manager Ty Cobb then sends up five straight pinch hitters, the first of whom breaks up the no-hitter. One of the pinch hitters Cobb inserts is Bob Fothergill, who bats for him and strikes out, becoming the only man ever to pinch hit for Cobb. The Browns win, 6 - 1.
• 1925:
  • Everett Scott of the New York Yankees is benched, ending his streak of 1,307 consecutive games played that started in 1918 while playing for the Boston Red Sox. Scott, who gives way to Pee Wee Wanninger at shortstop, has the longest playing streak to that point, but his record will be broken by Lou Gehrig.
  • Detroit Tigers manager Ty Cobb hits three home runs, a double and two singles, to lead his team to a 14 - 8 victory against the St. Louis Browns at Sportsman's Park.
• 1929 - The Boston Braves play their first Sunday home game in history, losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7 - 2, before 35,000. The winning pitcher is Burleigh Grimes, who helps his own cause by starting a 3rd-inning triple play. On a grounder by Al Spohrer, Heinie Mueller is run down, Spohrer is caught trying to reach second base, and Rabbit Maranville is caught trying to score. The Pirates hit four triples, one each by Lloyd and Paul Waner.
• 1930 - The Philadelphia Athletics beat the St. Louis Browns, 4 - 3, in 12 innings and score all their runs on solo home runs. Al Simmons' lead-off home run in the bottom of the 12th makes Lefty Grove a winner over General Crowder, as both starters go all the way. Joe Boley, with two homers, and Mule Haas, with one, provide the other Athletics runs, a record to date in the American League. The New York Giants will score five runs on solo homers five weeks from now.
• 1935 - At Braves Field, young pitcher Dizzy Dean of the St. Louis Cardinals faces the Boston Braves and 40-year-old veteran Babe Ruth. Dean walks Ruth in his first at-bat, then with two strikes on the Bambino, waves his outfielders back and throws a fastball down the middle that Ruth misses for a strikeout. Dean wins the game, 7 - 0, and in his first at bat, hits a home run over Ruth's head in left field. Dean will face Ruth again on May 19th, holding him hitless again, and winning that game as well.
• 1938 - Hal Kelleher of the Philadelphia Phillies faces 16 batters in the 6th inning as the Cubs score 12 runs. Both marks are National League records off one pitcher in a single inning. The Cubs win, 21 - 2, with Joe Marty collecting four hits, four runs, and four RBI. The loss goes to Wayne LaMaster, who throws just three pitches to leadoff batter Stan Hack before leaving the game with pain in his throwing arm.
• 1946 - Leon Day, pitching for the Newark Eagles, throws an Opening Day no-hitter against the Philadelphia Stars, winning, 2 - 0. It is the last 9-inning no-hitter in the Negro Leagues.
• 1949 - Charlie Gehringer, star second baseman of the Detroit Tigers between 1926 and 1941, is selected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America with 159 votes on 187 ballots. Two days later, the Veterans Committee will select Kid Nichols and Mordecai Brown.
• 1954 - Baltimore Orioles pitcher Bob Turley gives up two hits to the New York Yankees but is defeated by his former teammates, 4 - 2. It is Turley's second two-hit loss of the season; the Cleveland Indians defeated him on April 2nd.
• 1955:
  • Brooklyn Dodgers rookie Tom Lasorda makes his first major league start as he he throws three wild pitches in one inning, tying a major league record. After his pitching career, Lasorda will enjoy far more success as a Hall of Fame manager.
  • The musical Damn Yankees opens at the 46th Street Theater on Broadway, starring Stephen Douglass as Joe Hardy, Gwen Verdon as Lola and Ray Walston as Mr. Applegate. It will be a huge success, with 1,019 performances in its first run and will be turned into a successful movie in 1958. It is based on the novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant, published in 1954 by Douglass Wallop, a lifelong fan of the Washington Senators.
• 1962 - Bo Belinsky of the Los Angeles Angels beats the Baltimore Orioles, 2 - 0, with a no-hitter at Dodger Stadium. Belinsky strikes out nine and walks four and will become a short-lived star in southern California.
• 1975 - The Oakland Athletics release pinch runner Herb Washington, ending his unusual major league career. Curiously, Washington played in 105 major league games without batting, pitching, or fielding. He collected 31 stolen bases and scored 33 runs.
• 1978 - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds becomes the 14th major leaguer to collect 3,000 hits when he singles off Montreal's Steve Rogers at Riverfront Stadium.
• 1980 - National League president Chub Feeney suspends Pittsburgh's Bill Madlock for 15 days and fines him $5,000 for shoving his glove in the face of home plate umpire Jerry Crawford, after being called out on strikes with the bases loaded in a game a few days earlier.
• 1999 - At Wrigley Field, the Colorado Rockies become the first team in 35 years and only the third in the 20th century to score in every inning in a 13 - 6 win over the Chicago Cubs. The last time a team scored in all nine innings was also at Chicago, when the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cubs on September 13, 1964.
• 2000:
  • St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire hits the longest home run in the 30-year history of Cinergy Field, but the 473-foot shot is not enough as Ken Griffey, Jr.'s home run leads the Cincinnati Reds past St. Louis, 3 - 2.
  • For the first time in team history, the Texas Rangers overcome an eight-run deficit, beating the Oakland Athletics, 17 - 16. The two teams tie an American League mark set by the Boston Red Sox and Athletics on June 29, 1950, as 18 players score, including every starter.
  • Former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda is named manager of the U.S. Olympic baseball team. The Hall of Fame manager won four National League pennants and two World Series titles with the Dodgers.
• 2001 - Sammy Sosa homers and has four RBI, and Julian Tavarez pitches seven solid innings as the Chicago Cubs beat the Dodgers, 20 - 1, at Wrigley Field. Chicago scores eight runs in each of the last two innings.
• 2003 - Matt Stairs of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits a home run off Houston Astros pitcher Wade Miller which is estimated at 461 feet, making it the longest in the history of Minute Maid Park.
• 2004:
  • Mike Piazza sets a major league mark for home runs as a catcher, hitting No. 352, in the New York Mets' 8 - 2 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
  • Roger Clemens of the Houston Astros moves past Steve Carlton for second place on the career strikeout list with his 4,137th in Houston's 6 - 2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• 2006 - At Citizens Bank Park, Omar Vizquel of the San Francisco Giants plays his 2,302nd game at shortstop, catching Cal Ripken, Jr. for third-most all time. Vizquel is now behind Hall of Famers Luis Aparicio (2,581) and Ozzie Smith (2,511). He will eventually pass both.
• 2009:
  • The Dodgers tie a post-1900 major league record with their 12th straight win at home to open the season when they beat Arizona, 3 - 1. Detroit is the only other team to win its first twelve games at home, in 1911. Jeff Weaver picks up his first victory since 2007 for the Dodgers.
  • The game between Washington and Houston, both struggling in the basement of their respective divisions, is suspended with the score tied at 10 when heavy rain starts to fall with LaTroy Hawkins facing the Nationals' Josh Willingham with a runner on and one out in the bottom of the 11th inning. The sloppily-played game features 13 walks, 3 errors, 18 runners left on base and numerous blown leads. It will be resumed on July 9th.
• 2010:
  • Andy Pettitte earns his fourth win of the year against no losses in beating the Orioles, 7 - 5, but the veteran Yankees starter has to be removed from the game after only 77 pitches and undergoes an MRI on his left elbow. The test reveals no structural damage, but Pettitte will have to rest until the inflammation goes away. He will retire after this season, then come back in 2012.
  • Two very disappointing seasons after signing one of the biggest contracts in baseball history, Barry Zito is pitching like a Cy Young Award winner once again. The Giants lefty improves his record to 5-0 with a 3 - 2 win over the Marlins, with help from reliever Sergio Romo, who gets out of a none-out, bases-loaded jam in the 8th. Zito's ERA is now 1.49. Aaron Rowand hits a home run for San Francisco and Brian Wilson pitches the 9th for the save. Zito will soon cool down, however, and be back on the sidelines when the Giants win the World Series in October.
• 2011 - The Indians pull out a 4 - 3 victory in 12 innings over the A's to improve to 21-9, the best 30-game start in team history. The Tribe needs to use its entire bullpen to secure the win, obtained when Jack Hannahan hits a bases-loaded single off Craig Breslow in the top of the 12th. Cleveland adds another run, which will be needed, as its 7th pitcher of the night, Chris Perez, gives up a run in picking up the save in the bottom of the 12th.
• 2012 - Two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana wins his first game since undergoing shoulder surgery towards the end of the 2010 season, defeating the Diamondbacks, 4 - 3. Santana had pitched well for the Mets in his previous 5 starts this season, but the Mets failed to score in his first four outings, then his bullpen blew a 4 - 0 lead in the 8th inning in his fifth start.
• 2013:
  • Justin Verlander makes a bid for his third career no-hitter, keeping the Astros hitless into the 7th inning, before allowing a one-out single to Carlos Pena; he gives up another single to Carlos Corporan but gets out of the inning with a double play ground ball and then leaves. The Tigers win easily, 9 - 0. Verlander is now 4-2 with a 1.55 ERA.
  • Not known for his hitting, Marlins SS Adeiny Hechavarria has 7 RBI in a 14 - 2 beatdown of the Phillies. Hechavarria hits a grand slam and a bases-loade triple to help Kevin Slowey to his first win since September 18, 2010. Slowey's opponent, Roy Halladay, gives up 9 runs over 2 1/3 innings in one of the worst outings of his outstanding career and complains of shoulder discomfort after the game.
  • The Yokohama DeNA BayStars top the Chunichi Dragons, 9-4, with veteran Norihiro Nakamura going 2 for 4 with a walk and 3 RBI. Nakamura's double off Kenichi Nakata gives him 2,000 NPB hits, the 43rd player to that mark.

[edit] Births

• 1852 - Henry Kohler, infielder (d. 1934)
• 1857 - Lee Richmond, pitcher (d. 1929)
• 1858 - Bill Watkins, infielder, manager (d. 1937)
• 1863 - Paul Cook, catcher (d. 1905)
• 1867 - John Keefe, pitcher (d. 1937)
• 1867 - Tom Vickery, pitcher (d. 1921)
• 1871 - Jimmy Bannon, outfielder (d. 1948)
• 1876 - Frank Morrissey, pitcher (d. 1939)
• 1880 - Andy Oyler, infielder (d. 1970)
• 1882 - Pat Paige, pitcher (d. 1939)
• 1882 - Lee Quillen, infielder (d. 1965)
• 1883 - Gene Curtis, outfielder (d. 1919)
• 1890 - Dick Wright, catcher (d. 1952)
• 1891 - Bruno Haas, pitcher (d. 1952)
• 1891 - Jack McCandless, outfielder (d. 1961)
• 1896 - Joe Pirrone, minor league player (d. 1973)
• 1900 - Harold Funk, minor league catcher and manager (d. 1951)
• 1905 - Jack Ryan, outfielder (d. 1967)
• 1908 - Tony Freitas, pitcher (d. 1994)
• 1911 - Al Aaberg, minor league pitcher (d. 1976)
• 1912 - John Toncoff, minor league catcher and manager (d. 2005)
• 1916 - Alejo Peralta y Díaz de Ceballos, minor league executive; Salon de la Fama (d. 1997)
• 1917 - George Dockins, pitcher (d. 1997)
• 1917 - Lennie Merullo, infielder
• 1918 - John Leovich, catcher (d. 2000)
• 1919 - Ray Viers, minor league infielder and manager (d. 1996)
• 1923 - Jim Kirby, pinch hitter (d. 2009)
• 1925 - Bob Cerv, outfielder; All-Star
• 1925 - Johnny Rutherford, pitcher
• 1926 - Bing Russell, minor league player (d. 2003)
• 1928 - Spencer Robbins, minor league infielder and manager
• 1930 - Bill Beverly, Negro League pitcher (d. 1996)
• 1930 - Harley Grossman, pitcher (d. 2003)
• 1932 - Oscar Esquivel, writer; Salon de la Fama (d. 1986)
• 1932 - Chuck Locke, pitcher
• 1932 - Gust Vergetis, minor league catcher (d. 2012)
• 1933 - Joe McClain, pitcher
• 1933 - Billy Joe Davidson, minor league pitcher (d. 2009)
• 1934 - Don Buddin, infielder (d. 2011)
• 1935 - Hiroharu Okajima, NPB infielder
• 1935 - Jose Pagan, infielder (d. 2011)
• 1940 - John Swanson, Claxton Shield player
• 1941 - Tommy Helms, infielder, manager; All-Star
• 1942 - Silvano Ambrosioni, Italian Baseball Hall of Fame manager (d. 2004)
• 1942 - Agustín Arias, Cuban league infielder and manager
• 1943 - John Donaldson, infielder
• 1945 - Jimmy Rosario, outfielder
• 1947 - Ron Davini, minor league catcher
• 1947 - Larry Hisle, outfielder; All-Star
• 1947 - Michiro Sato, NPB pitcher
• 1950 - Doug Simon, Canadian national team outfielder
• 1953 - Gary Christenson, pitcher
• 1956 - Ron Oester, infielder
• 1958 - Jose Castro, coach
• 1958 - Dave Gumpert, pitcher
• 1958 - Sang-soo No, KBO pitcher
• 1959 - Stefano Manzini, Serie A1 outfielder
• 1960 - Julio Garcia, minor league manager
• 1962 - Ramon Pena, pitcher
• 1963 - Kimiyasu Kudoh, NPB pitcher
• 1965 - Earl Sanders, minor league pitcher
• 1966 - Reggie Williams, outfielder
• 1967 - Charles Nagy, pitcher; All-Star
• 1969 - John Mallee, coach
• 1970 - Juan Acevedo, pitcher
• 1970 - Paolo Passerini, Serie A1 pitcher
• 1971 - Mike Redmond, catcher
• 1975 - Jong-soo Shim, KBO outfielder
• 1976 - Keith Ginter, infielder
• 1977 - Hristo Dundalov, Bulgarian national team infielder
• 1977 - Tom Gregorio, catcher
• 1978 - Anthony Acevedo, minor league outfielder
• 1979 - Satoru Fujii, minor league pitcher
• 1979 - Pete Sikaras, minor league pitcher
• 1980 - Chad Bentz, pitcher
• 1980 - Kenji Suzuki, Japanese national team catcher
• 1981 - Chris Duncan, outfielder
• 1982 - Agustín Murillo, minor league infielder
• 1983 - Tyler Lumsden, pitcher
• 1984 - Jairo Asencio, pitcher
• 1984 - Jan Toman, Extraliga outfielder
• 1986 - Marlon Richardson, Virgin Islands national team outfielder
• 1987 - Ben Schmittaeusler, Division Elite infielder
• 1987 - Chris Shehan, minor league outfielder
• 1988 - Šimon Procháczka, Bundesliga pitcher
• 1990 - Aris Alcantara, minor league player
• 1991 - Maxim Shevchenko, Russian national team pitcher
• 1994 - Richard Sázavský, Extraliga outfielder
• 1994 - Yanyong Yang, China Baseball League outfielder

[edit] Deaths

• 1888 - Felix Moses, manager (b. 1853)
• 1892 - Pat Connell, infielder (b. 1862)
• 1900 - Denny McKnight, manager (b. 1847)
• 1907 - Sam Moffett, outfielder (b. 1857)
• 1931 - John Riddle, catcher (b. 1864)
• 1933 - Steve Dunn, infielder (b. 1858)
• 1936 - Bill Robinson, pitcher (b. 1865)
• 1936 - Lou Sylvester, outfielder (b. 1855)
• 1940 - Bill Wise, pitcher (b. 1861)
• 1947 - Ty LaForest, infielder (b. 1917)
• 1956 - John Godwin, infielder (b. 1877)
• 1958 - Ollie Chill, umpire (b. 1878)
• 1959 - Verne Clemons, catcher (b. 1891)
• 1969 - Eddie Cicotte, pitcher (b. 1884)
• 1973 - Bert Griffith, outfielder (b. 1896)
• 1974 - Tom McNamara, pinch hitter (b. 1895)
• 1974 - Vito Tamulis, pitcher (b. 1911)
• 1977 - Bill Marshall, infielder (b. 1911)
• 1979 - Virgil Cheeves, pitcher (b. 1901)
• 1979 - Bill D. Lucas, general manager (b. 1936)
• 1989 - Joe Batchelder, pitcher (b. 1898)
• 1994 - Tony DePhillips, catcher (b. 1912)
• 2005 - Charlie Muse, executive (b. 1917)
• 2008 - Cal Howe, pitcher (b. 1924)
• 2008 - Svend Jessen, minor league infielder, manager (b. 1922)
• 2010 - Kenjiro Tamiya, NPB pitcher-outfielder and manager; Japanese Hall of Fame (b. 1928)
• 2012 - Ramón Arano, minor league pitcher and manager; Salon de la Fama (b. 1939)
• 2012 - Noboru Inoue, NPB infielder (b. 1934)
• 2012 - Don Leshnock, pitcher (b. 1946)