September 20

Events, births and deaths that occurred on September 20.

[edit] Events

• 1902 - Nixey Callahan of the Chicago White Sox pitches the first no-hitter in franchise history as he defeats the Detroit Tigers 2 - 0.
• 1905 - Chicago White Sox president Charles Comiskey orders a houseboat built for the express purpose of transporting and housing the team during spring training.
• 1907 - Nick Maddox of the Pittsburgh Pirates no-hits the Brooklyn Superbas, 2 - 1. At the age of 20 years and ten months, Maddox becomes (and still is) the youngest pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the major leagues.
• 1908 - Frank Smith of the Chicago White Sox throws his second career no-hitter for a 1 - 0 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics.
• 1919 - On Babe Ruth day at Fenway Park, the Bambino ties Ned Williamson's major league mark of 27 home runs in a season with a game-winner off Lefty Williams of the Chicago White Sox. Ruth also scores the winning run in both ends of the doubleheader. Ironically, it will be the last game he plays for the Boston Red Sox in Fenway. Four days later he will hit number 28 over the roof of the Polo Grounds.
• 1922 - Rogers Hornsby is stopped by Burleigh Grimes of Brooklyn after hitting in 33 straight games.
• 1924 - At age 37, Grover Cleveland Alexander wins his 300th game as the Chicago Cubs beat the New York Giants, 7 - 3 in 12 innings. He will finish with 373 victories during his 20-year career.
• 1927 - Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees hits his 60th home run of the season, breaking the record he set in 1921. Ruth homers off Washington Senators pitcher Tom Zachary.
• 1931 - Lou Gehrig drives in four runs to break his old American League RBI mark of 175, set in 1927. By the season's end he will have a total of 184.
• 1951 - The owners elect National League President Ford Frick as the third baseball commissioner for a seven-year term at $65,000 per annum.
• 1953 - Second baseman Gene Baker, the other half of the Kansas City Monarchs double play duo along with shortstop Ernie Banks, joins his former Negro League teammate making his major league debut with the Chicago Cubs. Ernie hits his first major league home run against Gerry Staley, but the St. Louis Cardinals win, 11 - 6.
• 1955 - New York Giants slugger Willie Mays hits two home runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates, giving him 50 for the year and making him the seventh player in major league history to accomplish this.
• 1958 - Recently-acquired Orioles knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm pitches a 1 - 0 no-hitter against the New York Yankees at Memorial Stadium, with the only run coming on a home run by battery mate Gus Triandos. It will be the last time in the 20th century the Yankees will fail to get a hit in a game.
• 1960 - Boston Red Sox outfielder Carroll Hardy pinch-hits for Ted Williams, who is forced to leave the game after fouling a ball off his ankle, and grounds into a double play. On May 31, 1961, Hardy will pinch hit for rookie Carl Yastrzemski, making him the only player to go in for both future Hall of Famers. Hardy also hit his first major league home run pinch-hitting for Roger Maris when both were at Cleveland, on May 18, 1958).
• 1961 - The 155th Yankees game of the season (including a tie) is Roger Maris' last chance to beat the 60 home run mark set by Babe Ruth in compliance with Commissioner Ford Frick's statement, for the record to be broken Maris must do it in the same number of games as Ruth. Maris' 59th home run of the year, off Jack Fisher, is short of the record, but helps the Yankees beat Baltimore, 4 - 2 to clinch their 26th American League pennant.
• 1968 - Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees hits the 536th and final home run of his major league career, a solo shot against Jim Lonborg of the Boston Red Sox in a 4 - 3 loss at Yankee Stadium.
• 1969 - Bob Moose of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches a 4 - 0 no-hitter against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium.
• 1973 - Dave Augustine of the Pirates hits an apparent go-ahead home run in the 13th inning. Instead, the ball hits the top of the fence to bounce back to Mets outfielder Cleon Jones. The relay of Jones to Wayne Garrett to Ron Hodges nails runner Richie Zisk at the plate. The Mets win the game in the bottom of the 13th and Augustine will never homer in the majors.
• 1980:
  • George Brett of the Kansas City Royals goes 0 for 4 in a 9 - 0 loss to the Oakland Athletics, to drop his average below .400. He is now hitting .396 and will finish the season at .390.
  • In memory of Thurman Munson, a bronze plaque in Monument Park is dedicated to the deceased New York Yankees catcher.
• 1984 - The San Diego Padres clinch their first NL West title since entering the league in 1969 with a 5 - 4 win over the San Francisco Giants. The key blow is winning pitcher Tim Lollar's three-run home run, his third of the season.
• 1986 - Tying the National League record for stolen bases in one game, San Diego Padres outfielder Tony Gwynn swipes five bases as the Houston Astros beat San Diego 10 - 6. During his 20-year career, the .338 lifetime hitter will only average 16 stolen bases per season.
• 1988 - Wade Boggs of the Boston Red Sox becomes the first major leaguer in the 20th century to get 200 hits in six consecutive seasons as Boston pounds the Toronto Blue Jays 13 - 2. Boggs also joins Lou Gehrig as the only players to get 200 hits and 100 walks in three consecutive years.
• 1992 - Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Mickey Morandini makes the first unassisted triple play in the National League in 65 years, just the ninth in major league history, in the Phillies' 3 - 2, 13-inning loss to Pittsburgh at Three Rivers Stadium. Morandini catches Jeff King's line drive, steps on second doubling up Andy Van Slyke and tags Barry Bonds to complete his feat.
• 1998 - Cal Ripken, Jr. takes himself out of the starting lineup and does not play in the Baltimore Orioles' loss to the New York Yankees, ending his consecutive games played streak at 2,632. After nearly 16 years, Ripken says he decided the time was right to end the streak, which began on May 30, 1982.
• 2002:
  • Mike Bordick of the Baltimore Orioles sets a major league record playing his 102nd successive game at shortstop without committing an error. Rey Ordóñez, playing SS for the New York Mets, had established mark from 1999 through 2000.
  • With a 9 - 3 victory over the Houston Astros at Busch Stadium, the St. Louis Cardinals clinch the NL Central Division title. An emotional on-field celebration includes Albert Pujols carrying Darryl Kile's No. 57 jersey onto the field in tribute of the pitcher who died unexpectedly on June 22nd.
• 2003:
  • Unlike this season when the Montreal Expos played twenty-five percent of their home games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the players vote to play their entire 2004 home schedule in Montreal. The major league owners, who collectively own the franchise, have been considering moving the Expos permanently to Washington D.C., Portland, Oregon or Monterrey, Mexico, or continuing the present format by having the team split home games between different locations. The players' vote will have no effect, as the team will once again play a number of home games in Puerto Rico in 2004, before moving permanently to Washington in 2005.
  • Second baseman Marcus Giles hits a home run off Brad Penny's 3-2 pitch, as the Atlanta Braves tie the National League record by having six players hit at least 20 home runs in a season. Along with Giles, Javy Lopez, Gary Sheffield, Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones and Vinny Castilla equal the mark established by Eddie Mathews (32), Hank Aaron (32), Joe Torre (27), Felipe Alou (23), Mack Jones (31) and Gene Oliver (21) of the 1965 Milwaukee Braves.
• 2005 - Alex Rodriguez hits his 42nd home run and Robinson Cano erases a four-run deficit with a grand slam, helping Aaron Small and the seven-time defending division winners rally to beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 9 - 5. Small goes to 8-0, becoming the first pitcher to win his first eight decisions with the New York Yankees since Doug Bird in 1980 and 1981.
• 2007:
  • In his sixth game in the major leagues, catcher J.R. Towles drives in eight runs to set the Houston Astros single-game franchise record. Towles had begun the year by hitting .200 in A ball before an unexpected promotion to AA, after which he caught fire. Towles goes 4 for 4 and reaches base six times in the game. The Astros clobber the Cardinals, 18 - 1.
  • Nyjer Morgan leads off the game with a triple against Brett Tomko. Morgan had led off the previous day's game with a triple as well; it marks the first time in the past five years that a National League player has done that.
  • Danny Rios of the Doosan Bears beats the Hyundai Unicorns, 4 - 2, for his 20th win of the season. He becomes the first foreigner to win 20 games in the Korea Baseball Organization and the first 20-game winner since Min-tae Chung in 1999.
• 2008:
  • The Tampa Bay Rays defeat the Twins, 7 - 2, to clinch a postseason berth for the first time in team history before a rare sell-out crowd at Tropicana Field. Scott Kazmir picks up the win while Fernando Perez and Cliff Floyd homer for the home team.
  • The Cubs also clinch, taking the NL Central with a 5 - 4 win over the Cardinals. It is their first time to repeat in the postseason since 1908. Ted Lilly gets his 16th win and Kerry Wood his 32nd save.
  • In what is believed to be the first 18-inning game in Dutch baseball history, ADO beats the Euro Stars, 2 - 1, in game one of the promotion and relegation tournament. Erik de Rijcke fans 19 for the losers; 25 ADO hitters whiff, yet they have a 19-4 edge in base hits. Alex Smith throws 17 innings and 244 pitches for ADO for the win.
• 2009 - The Cubs suspend OF Milton Bradley for the remainder of the season one day after he criticized the team in an interview with a suburban newspaper. GM Jim Hendry explains that the penalty is for conduct detrimental to the team and lack of respect for its fans. It is only the latest in a long series of brushes with authority for the fiery outfielder. The Cubs then go on to beat St. Louis, 6 - 3, in 11 innings at Busch Stadium, thanks to a two-run homer by Jake Fox.
• 2010 - After starting his career 0 for 33, Chris Carter hits a single off Chicago's Scott Linebrink to spark a three-run rally in a 3 - 0 Oakland win. Carter is just two at-bats shy of matching the worst start to a career by a position player in 100 years. Vic Harris went 0 for 35 for the Texas Rangers in 1972, while Lou Camilli took three years to get his first hit after 34 unsuccessful at-bats for the Cleveland Indians between 1969 and 1971. However, pitcher Joey Hamilton's performance leaves them all in his dust: over two seasons, he went 0 for 57 before getting his first hit in 1995.
• 2011 - The Columbus Clippers beat the Omaha Storm Chasers, 8 - 3, in the Triple-A National Championship. Joe Martinez goes 7 innings for the win and takes home the MVP award, while Luke Carlin hits a three-run homer and Tim Fedroff gets three hits. Sean O'Sullivan allows six runs in just three innings to take the loss. It is Columbus's second straight national title.
• 2012:
  • Canada opens the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in Regensburg, Germany with an 11 - 1 drubbing of Great Britain. Canada scores 8 runs in the 7th inning to end the game as a result of the mercy rule; former major leaguer Shawn Hill is the winner. In another qualifying group in Jupiter, FL, Spain defeats France, 8 - 0, as French starter Patrice Briones is pounded for five runs over the first two innings, and Mathieu Brelle-Andrade gives up two more in the 3rd. Paco Figueroa goes 3 for 4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI to lead the Spanish attack.
  • With Manager Dusty Baker still hospitalized with an irregular heartbeat, Cincinnati becomes the first major league team to clinch a postseason spot this year, thanks to a 5 - 3 victory over the Cubs. Johnny Cueto improves to 18-9. The Nationals then join them a few hours later, when they defeat the Dodgers, 4 - 1. It will be the first postseason appearance for the franchise since the then-Montreal Expos lost the 1981 NLCS, and the first postseason appearance by a team from Washington since the 1933 World Series.
  • Ichiro Suzuki continues his hot hitting as he homers off Aaron Laffey in the 3rd to open the Yankees' account, then hits a two-run double in a seven-run 4th inning, leading the Yankees to a 10 - 7 win over the Blue Jays. Nick Swisher adds a grand slam during the big outburst, as the Bronx Bombers move to one full game ahead of the idle Orioles in the AL East.

[edit] Births

• 1847 - Jim Price, manager (d. 1925)
• 1860 - Henry Boyle, pitcher (d. 1932)
• 1861 - George Pechiney, pitcher (d. 1943)
• 1871 - Bill Coyle, pitcher (d. 1941)
• 1878 - Larry Schlafly, infielder, manager (d. 1919)
• 1881 - Red Bowser, outfielder (d. 1943)
• 1893 - Jack Bradley, catcher (d. 1969)
• 1894 - Chuck Dressen, infielder, manager (d. 1966)
• 1899 - Karl Schnell, pitcher (d. 1992)
• 1900 - Nelson Greene, pitcher (d. 1983)
• 1908 - Zeke Bonura, infielder (d. 1987)
• 1910 - Eddie Hurley, umpire (d. 1969)
• 1912 - Tony DePhillips, catcher (d. 1994)
• 1912 - Al McLean, pitcher (d. 1990)
• 1916 - Red Juelich, infielder (d. 1970)
• 1922 - Vic Lombardi, pitcher (d. 1997)
• 1937 - Tom Tresh, outfielder; All-Star (d. 2008)
• 1939 - Bill Aker, college coach (d. 2011)
• 1941 - Dennis Ribant, pitcher
• 1943 - Rich Morales, infielder
• 1944 - Ed Phillips, pitcher
• 1945 - Mike Jurewicz, pitcher
• 1946 - Roric Harrison, pitcher
• 1947 - Pete Hamm, pitcher
• 1952 - Jim Wilhelm, outfielder
• 1954 - Bob Detherage, outfielder
• 1954 - Mickey Klutts, infielder
• 1956 - Mike Gates, infielder
• 1956 - Il-kwon Kim, KBO outfielder
• 1958 - Jim Siwy, pitcher
• 1960 - Dave Gallagher, outfielder
• 1960 - Randy Kramer, pitcher
• 1963 - Chiung-Lung Huang, CPBL outfielder
• 1963 - Doug Sisson, coach
• 1964 - Pat Bangtson, college coach
• 1967 - Ed Ponte, minor league pitcher
• 1968 - Donnie Elliott, pitcher
• 1970 - Dave Bigham, minor league pitcher (d. 2012)
• 1970 - Chris Snopek, infielder
• 1971 - Brian Rupp, minor league infielder and manager
• 1975 - Yovanny Lara, pitcher
• 1976 - Glenn Romney, Hoofdklasse outfielder
• 1976 - Kevin Walker, pitcher
• 1978 - Jason Bay, outfielder; All-Star
• 1979 - Erick Acosta, Guatemalan national team pitcher
• 1979 - Larry Galeano, Nicaraguan national team catcher
• 1981 - Jordan Tata, pitcher
• 1983 - Angel Sanchez, infielder
• 1985 - Ian Desmond, infielder; All-Star
• 1985 - Kevin Mattison, outfielder
• 1986 - A.J. Ramos, pitcher
• 1987 - Denis Kresnik, Croatian national team pitcher
• 1988 - Stephen Lombardozzi, infielder
• 1988 - Goran Matijasec, Croatian national team catcher
• 1988 - Audie Núñez, Division Honor pitcher
• 1988 - Joseph Paciorek, minor league infielder
• 1988 - Matt Scioscia, minor league catcher
• 1989 - Leon Landry, minor league outfielder
• 1990 - Luis Natera Jr., minor league infielder
• 1993 - Mitch Nay, drafted infielder

[edit] Deaths

• 1896 - Ed Crane, pitcher (b. 1862)
• 1904 - Jack Neagle, pitcher (b. 1858)
• 1910 - Lou Schiappacasse, outfielder (b. 1881)
• 1919 - Cy Seymour, outfielder (b. 1872)
• 1937 - Harry Stovey, outfielder, manager (b. 1856)
• 1946 - Wiley Piatt, pitcher (b. 1874)
• 1955 - Art Herman, pitcher (b. 1871)
• 1956 - Tom Gastall, catcher (b. 1932)
• 1959 - Tilly Walker, outfielder (b. 1887)
• 1961 - Jim McGinley, pitcher (b. 1878)
• 1970 - Oliver Hill, pinch hitter (b. 1909)
• 1970 - Fred Lamline, pitcher (b. 1887)
• 1973 - Jim Bishop, pitcher (b. 1898)
• 1974 - Al Huenke, pitcher (b. 1891)
• 1975 - Chuck Tompkins, pitcher (b. 1889)
• 1981 - Harry Fisher, pitcher (b. 1926)
• 1990 - Dick Gyselman, infielder (b. 1908)
• 1991 - Chet Morgan, outfielder (b. 1910)
• 1991 - Steve Peek, pitcher (b. 1914)
• 1997 - Jim Hickey, pitcher (b. 1920)
• 2001 - George Archie, infielder (b. 1914)
• 2001 - Joe Stephenson, catcher (b. 1921)
• 2007 - John Sullivan, infielder (b. 1920)
• 2008 - Nate Quarles, minor league infielder (b. 1955)
• 2010 - Jack Cassini, pinch runner (b. 1919)
• 2010 - Al Pilarcik, outfielder (b. 1930)