May 17
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 17.
Events[edit]
- 1877 - Al Spalding's baseball is officially adopted for Major League use because it is "more lively" than the early "lemon peel ball" still being used.
- 1893 - Phillies outfielder Billy Hamilton becomes the first player to hit both a leadoff and walk-off home run in the same game when he blasts a two-run round-tripper off Al Maul, giving the team an 11 - 9 victory over Washington at the Philadelphia Baseball Grounds. The 27-year-old future Hall of Famer's performance will not be duplicated again until Vic Power accomplishes the rare feat for the A's in 1957.
- 1903 - Cool Papa Bell is born in Starkville, Mississippi. Bell will enjoy a successful career in the Negro Leagues from 1922 to 1946. An outfielder with blazing speed and the first Mexican League Triple Crown winner, Bell will be selected to the Hall of Fame in 1974.
- 1905 - Waseda University of Tokyo defeats Los Angeles High School, 5 - 3, in the first game of an American tour. It is the first baseball game ever played by a Japanese team outside Japan. Waseda started a powerhouse tradition at Japan's Big Six universities that continues to this day.
- 1906 - At Philadelphia's Columbia Park, Rube Waddell's bid for a no-hitter is broken up by a bunt single by Ty Cobb; he ends up with a two-hit 5 - 0 shutout.
- 1912 - Historic Fenway Park in Boston is officially dedicated, one month after hosting its first game, as the Red Sox host the Chicago White Sox. Playing in front of an overflow crowd, the Red Sox lose the game, 5 - 2.
- 1925 - At League Park, Tris Speaker of the Cleveland Indians collects his 3,000th hit off Tom Zachary of the Washington Senators. Zachary leads Washington to a 2 - 1 victory. George Uhle is the loser.
- 1939 - The first baseball game ever televised - Princeton against Columbia at Baker Field - is watched by a handful of viewers via W2XBS in New York City. Bill Stern announces the ten-inning victory of visiting Princeton, 2 - 1. Reviewing the game the next day, the New York Times reports: "it is difficult to see how this sort of thing can catch the public fancy."
- 1941 - The city of Philadelphia and the state of Pennsylvania declare a legal holiday to honor the Philadelphia Athletics manager on Connie Mack Day at Shibe Park.
- 1945 - For the fourth time in four days, every American League game is postponed because of rain.
- 1956 - Due to his slow start in his sophomore season, the Cardinals trade Bill Virdon, last year's Rookie of the Year, to the Pirates in exchange for Bobby Del Greco and Dick Littlefield. The 25-year-old outfielder will finish the season hitting .334 in 133 games for the Bucs and will play a vital role in the team's World Championship in 1960.
- 1959 - Roberto Clemente hits a two-out, 9th-inning homer that clears the diagonal fence behind the centerfield bleachers at Wrigley Field, barely missing being the first ball to hit the distant centerfield scoreboard. While no exact distance is recorded, it is one of the three or four longest home runs in the ballpark's history. Alas, it is not enough as the Pirates fall one runs short, 7 - 6, in the second game, splitting a doubleheader against the Cubs.
- 1961 - Roger Maris hits his first home run of the season at Yankee Stadium (and fourth overall) on his way to a major league season-record 61.
- 1963:
- Don Nottebart of the Houston Colt .45s pitches the first no-hitter in franchise history, leading Houston past the visiting Philadelphia Phillies, 4 - 1.
- A doubleheader between the Tigers and Senators in Washington is cancelled in the 2nd inning of the first game after a one-hour and twelve-minute rain delay. In the 1st inning, the Senators’ Bobo Osborne hit a grand slam off Don Mossi over the right field fence. In the top of the 2nd, Al Kaline hit a solo homer off Bennie Daniels into the Washington bullpen. Those two blasts account for all the runs in the game when the rains come to wash it all away. Like the homer he lost on June 1, 1958, this one could have given Kaline 400 for his career.
- The Giants win a fog-delayed game, 4 - 3, on an 11th-inning walk-off homer by Joey Amalfitano off Roger Craig of the Mets.
- 1964 - In Pittsburgh's 3 - 2 loss to Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers in the first game of a doubleheader, Roberto Clemente almost steals the show by smacking a triple, double and single. He also nails Dick Tracewski at second base with a throw to Ducky Schofield in the 2nd, keeps Ron Fairly from scoring with a great toss to the plate after a triple in the 7th, then completes his effort by getting Willie Davis, who is trying stretch a single, later in that inning. Pittsburgh then wins the second game, 8 - 3.
- 1968 - First baseman Rusty Staub visits Larry Dierker at the mound during a 6 - 0 loss in Los Angeles. Absent-mindedly, he spits on the ball while standing on the hill. Zoilo Versalles has a three-ball count and Staub's miscue becomes an automatic ball four. Versalles eventually scores.
- 1970 - During a 7 - 6 Atlanta loss to Cincinnati in the second game of a doubleheader, Hank Aaron collects his 3,000th career hit and his 570th home run. Aaron, the ninth man to amass 3,000 hits, is the first to also have 500 home runs.
- 1971:
- Roberto Clemente's two-out, two-run, walk-off triple transforms a frustrating 5 - 4 loss to fifth-place Montreal into a sudden-death 6 - 5 decision, pulling Pittsburgh to within one game of the New York Mets. After failing twice in crucial spots earlier in the game, Clemente clubs Mike Marshall's 1-1 pitch high off the wall near the 410-foot mark.
- Tommy McCraw of the Washington Senators hits one of the shortest home runs in major league history. McCraw's 140-foot pop fly falls in between three Cleveland Indians, shortstop Jack Heidemann and outfielders Vada Pinson and John Lowenstein. When the three players collide, McCraw circles the bases for an inside-the-park home run.
- 1973 - California Angels center fielder Bobby Valentine tries to scale a wall to prevent a Dick Green home run during a 5 - 4 loss to the Oakland Athletics. Valentine catches his spikes in the wall and fractures his leg. The injury will ruin his career.
- 1977 - The Chicago Cubs hit seven home runs in beating the San Diego Padres, 23 - 6, at Wrigley Field. Larry Biittner (two), Gene Clines, Steve Ontiveros, Dave Rosello, Jerry Morales and Bobby Murcer homer for the Cubs, with Biittner, Morales, and Murcer hitting consecutive shots in the 5th inning.
- 1978 - Lee Lacy hits a pinch home run to help the Dodgers to a 10 - 1 victory over Pittsburgh. It is Lacy's third consecutive home run in a pinch-hitting role, setting a major league record. His previous blasts were on May 2nd and May 6th.
- 1979 - With the wind really blowing out at Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies join in a wild ten-inning slugfest won by the Phillies, 23 - 22. Dave Kingman hits three home runs and collects six RBI for the Cubs while teammate Bill Buckner has a grand slam and seven RBI. Kingman's third blast is a tape measure shot, touching down at almost the identical spot as his already legendary April 14, 1976 moon shot. Mike Schmidt belts two home runs for the Phils, including the game-winner in the 10th inning. Bob Boone, pitcher Randy Lerch, and Garry Maddox also homer for the Phillies and Steve Ontiveros and Jerry Martin do it for the Cubs. The eleven home runs between the two teams tie a major league game record. The contest includes 50 hits. In 2010, the MLB Network will name it the 20th greatest game of the previous 50 years.
- 1984 - Alan Wiggins of the San Diego Padres ties a National League record by stealing five bases in one game. Wiggins joins three others who have performed the feat: Dan McGann in 1904, Davey Lopes in 1974 and Lonnie Smith in 1982.
- 1985:
- The Texas Rangers name Bobby Valentine as their new manager, replacing the fired Doug Rader. Under Rader, the Rangers had posted a record of 9-23, the worst in the major leagues. With Valentine at the helm, the Rangers will show some improvement, but will still finish last in the AL West.
- Lonnie Smith is traded to the Royals by the Cardinals in return for fellow OF John Morris. The two teams will meet in the World Series a few months from now.
- 1990 - Eric Anthony becomes the first Astro to reach the Astrodome's upper reserved seats in right field with a mammoth blast off Mike Bielecki in a 5 - 4, eleven-inning victory against Chicago; Cincinnati's Bernie Carbo was the only previous player to do it. Ken Oberkfell's sacrifice fly scores Ken Caminiti with the game-winner.
- 1992:
- Catcher Gary Carter, back with the Montreal Expos, joins Bob Boone and Carlton Fisk in the exclusive 2,000 games caught club.
- The Toronto Blue Jays surpass one million in attendance earlier than any team in major league history. It takes the Blue Jays 21 dates to draw 1,006,294. The previous record was shared by the 1991 Blue Jays and the 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers.
- 1993 - Mariners third baseman Mike Blowers becomes the 13th player in major league history to hit grand slams in consecutive games. The 4th-inning bases full round-tripper off Craig Lefferts contributes to Seattle's 16 - 9 victory over Texas at Arlington Stadium.
- 1995 - Luis Gonzalez goes 4-for-4 with three RBIs to pace a 7 - 2 triumph by the Astros over the Mets. Greg Swindell works seven innings for the victory. James Mouton adds a homer off Jason Jacome.
- 1996:
- In the Mexican League, Jesús Sommers of the Poza Rica Oilers connects for his 3,000th career hit. Elmer Dessens is the victimized pitcher.
- Chris Hoiles hits a walk-off grand slam off Norm Charlton as Baltimore defeats Seattle, 14 - 13
- 1998 - David Wells pitches the 13th perfect game in modern major league history as the Yankees beat Minnesota, 4 - 0. Wells, whose "perfecto" is the first by a Yankees pitcher since Don Larsen in the 1956 World Series, also sets an American League record by retiring 37 batters in a row, dating back to his start on May 12th against Kansas City. Minnesota shortstop Pat Meares flies out to right fielder Paul O'Neill to complete the perfect afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
- 2001:
- Ike Brown dies from cancer in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 59. A popular member of the Detroit Tigers for six seasons, Brown was one of the last Negro League players still active in the majors during the 1970s, and the last to make his major league debut. The versatile Brown played every infield and outfield position but center field during his Tigers stint.
- Mets free agent acquisition Steve Trachsel becomes the first pitcher in franchise history to give up four home runs in an inning, pitching himself out of the starting rotation in the process (one day later, he'll be off the roster altogether, off to Norfolk for a three-week Triple A stint). To be fair, the Met bullpen does not exactly cover itself in glory either, with Rick White and John Franco each contributing four runs to San Diego's 15-run total; an uncharacteristically economical Franco accomplishes all this in one third of an inning. The one Met bright spot is the performance turned in by a newcomer assigned mop-up duty in the 9th, super sub Desi Relaford, who moves over from SS to make the only mound appearance of his major league career. Sporting a tailing change-up and a fastball, which at 91 MPH is about 5 MPH faster than anything Trachsel was able to muster, Desi fans the opposing pitcher, then induces two consecutive Padres to fly out to the deepest part of the park.
- 2002 - Erubiel Durazo hits three home runs with a double and nine RBI to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 12 - 9 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Bank One Ballpark.
- 2007 - Yukio Tanaka goes 3 for 4. The veteran Nippon Ham Fighters player tops the 2,000-hit level for his career, joining the meikyukai.
- 2008 - With San Francisco's 3 - 1 interleague loss to the White Sox, Barry Zito becomes the first Giants hurler in 98 years to start a season with eight consecutive losses. Jesse Burkett opened the 1890 campaign without a victory, also losing eight straight decisions.
- 2009:
- A blunder by manager Joe Maddon in filling out the line-up card forces Tampa Bay to forgo the designated hitter and bat pitcher Andy Sonnanstine third. He hits an RBI double in the 4th on his way to a 7 - 5 win over Cleveland.
- Scott Feldman pitches six scoreless innings and three relievers complete the whitewash as Texas beats Los Angeles to complete a sweep. David Murphy drives in the game's first run with a sacrifice fly in the 7th, then Ian Kinsler and Marlon Byrd hit RBI doubles to seal the affair. Texas has now won seven in a row, and 13 of its last 15 games.
- In a 2 - 0 win by the Giants over the Mets, New York hurler Mike Pelfrey balks three times. It had been 15 years since Al Leiter was the last pitcher to have three balks in a game.
- 2010:
- It's another epic battle between the Yankees and Red Sox at New Yankee Stadium. The Yanks take a 5 - 0 lead in the 1st inning against Daisuke Matsuzaka, but the Sox storm back to take the lead with five home runs, two by Victor Martinez, and one each by David Ortiz, J.D. Drew and Kevin Youkilis. Then, in the bottom of the 9th, Jonathan Papelbon gives up a pair of two-run homers, to Alex Rodriguez and Marcus Thames, and the Yankees end up on top, 11 - 9.
- The Dodgers extend their winning streak to eight games with a 6 - 2 victory over the Astros. Rookie John Ely allows only one run in seven innings facing the worst offense in the major leagues; he has yet to allow a walk while striking out 25 in 25 1/3 innings this season. Blake DeWitt hits two triples for the Dodgers who have moved to within two games of the NL West lead after a slow start.
- 2011:
- Harmon Killebrew, one of the great sluggers of the 1960s with 573 career home runs, passes away from cancer at 74 in Scottsdale, AZ. The gentle and universally-liked "Killer", who spent the bulk of his career with the Minnesota Twins, was the 1969 AL MVP and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984.
- The battle for AL West supremacy ends in a knock-out. Oakland romps over Los Angeles, 14 - 0, as Gio Gonzalez pitches seven one-hit innings. Mark Ellis has three hits and four RBI for the A's while Tyler Chatwood has the worst start of his young career, giving up seven runs in 2 1/3 innings.
- Brian McCann becomes the 11th major leaguer to hit a game-tying pinch homer and a game-winning, extra-inning homer in the same game. He provides all of the Braves' offense in a 3 - 1 win over Houston.
- 2012:
- Yan Gomes becomes the first Brazilian player in Major League history when he is inserted in the Blue Jays' starting line-up at 3B in today's game against the Yankees, taking over for Brett Lawrie who is beginning a four-game suspension. Gomes goes 2 for 3, but it is homers by Jose Bautista and J.P. Arencibia which lead the Jays to a 4 - 1 win.
- Brandon Beachy throws his first career shutout for the Atlanta Braves, to improve his National League-leading ERA to 1.33. The Braves defeat the Marlins, 7 - 0.
- The A's dispose of the Rangers, 5 - 4, in a closely-fought ten-inning game. There is a controversial call in the 6th inning, when the Rangers' Craig Gentry scores from third on a squeeze bunt by Elvis Andrus. Oakland P Brandon McCarthy argues vainly that he caught the ball on the fly, but the only result is that his manager Bob Melvin is ejected for pressing the case too much. Mitch Moreland hits a pair of homers for Texas, but Oakland keeps fighting back, and in the 10th, Kila Ka'aihue drives in Jonny Gomes with a single off Mike Adams to seal the win. Winner Ryan Cook extends his scoreless streak from the start of the season to 19 2/3 innings.
- 2013:
- Justin Upton hits a 6th-inning grand slam to lead Atlanta to an 8 - 5 win over Los Angeles. Jason Heyward returns to the Braves' line-up after his April 22nd appendectomy and has two hits and an RBI. Scott Van Slyke hits two homers in a losing cause for the Dodgers.
- The Astros find yet a new way to lose. After blowing a 6th-inning 4 - 1 lead, they allow the Pirates to load the bases in the 9th, and with two outs, Edgar Gonzalez forces Russell Martin to hit an easy pop fly to shallow right field to apparently send the game to extra innings. But a backtracking 2B Jake Elmore crashes into RF Jimmy Paredes, who drops the ball and allows the winning run to score.
- 2014:
- The Diamondbacks set club records with 21 hits and 13 extra-base hits in defeating the Dodgers, 18 - 7. The D-Backs score seven times in the 2nd as they chase Clayton Kershaw from the mound, but the Dodgers charge back with a five-run inning in the 6th. Paul Goldschmidt has two homers and six RBIs, including one off C Drew Butera, who makes his second pitching appearance of the week. For Los Angeles, Yasiel Puig hits a two-run homer off Chase Anderson in the 3rd inning, extending his hitting streak to 16 games, and his streak of games with an extra-base hit and an RBI to eight, a club record.
- Danny Duffy pitches the best game of his career, taking a perfect game into the 7th inning before Adam Jones singles with two outs. His solid outing is necessary to make a 1st-inning Royals run stand up for a 1 - 0 win. Duffy is taken out of the game after allowing a lead-off single in the 8th, and the Orioles manage to load the bases in the 9th against Greg Holland before Nelson Cruz strikes out to end the game.
- 2015 - Shortly after coming within one out of being no-hit by the Braves' Shelby Miller, the Marlins fire manager Mike Redmond and bench coach Rob Leary. Justin Bour singles with two outs in the bottom of the 9th to break up Miller's bid, but the Marlins still lose, 6 - 0, completing a three-game sweep. Expecting to compete this season, the Fish find themselves with a disappointing 16-22 mark.
- 2016:
- The Braves fire manager Fredi Gonzalez and replace him on an interim basis by Brian Snitker, manager of the AAA Gwinnett Braves. With a record of 9-28, the Braves are off to the worst start in team history. Snitker will stabilize the team to earn the job on a permanent basis.
- Khris Davis has a three-homer game, including a grand slam as the Athletics defeat the Rangers, 8 - 5. His slam off Rangers closer Shawn Tolleson ends the game with two outs in the bottom of the 9th after a two-run homer by Ian Desmond had put Texas ahead, 5 - 4, in the top of the inning.
- 2018 - In a case of how the mighty have fallen, the Dodgers, coming off an appearance in the World Series and winners of five straight division titles, enter today's game against the Marlins, who have just gone through an off-season fire sale, with an identically bad record of 16-26. Worse, the Dodgers have just lost six straight against the two worst teams in the National League, the Marlins and the Reds. They manage to stop the bleeding with a 7 - 0 win, thanks to five RBIs from Justin Turner in just his third game back after missing six weeks due to an injury sustained at the end of spring training, and eight solid innings by Kenta Maeda. While they may look like they are already out of the postseason race given how much ground they have lost, the Dodgers will turn things around to win the division again and return to the World Series.
- 2019:
- Kris Bryant hits three homers in consecutive innings - the 7th, 8th and 9th - to lead the Cubs to a 14 - 6 win over the Nationals. He is just the 12th player to pull off the rare feat, and the second to do so in those particular innings. He goes 4 for 6 and drives in five runs in the game.
- Jorge Alomá is named the Cuban Serie Nacional MVP for 2018-2019 after the shortstop led the league in average at .376 and was second in OPS (just 64 points behind a DH, Frederich Cepeda). He split the season between Artemisa and Las Tunas, the first Serie Nacional MVP to play for two teams in an award-winning campaign and the first Cuban MVP on multiple teams since Adrián Zabala in the Cuban Winter League 68 years prior. Meanwhile, César Prieto is the first Serie Nacional Rookie of the Year on multiple teams as he shattered Kendry Morales' 18-year-old record for hits by a rookie; Prieto had spent the first half with Cienfuegos and the second half with Villa Clara.
- 2021 - The tug-of-war between Gerrit Cole and Corbin Burnes for the record for most consecutive strikeouts without a walk ends in Cole's favor. Burnes had brought the record to 58 before giving up a walk in his most recent start on May 13th, but Cole still had an active streak of 56 at that point. In tonight's game against the Rangers, the Yankees' ace adds five more strikeouts before walking Nathaniel Lowe in the 5th to end the streak, giving him sole possession of the record with 61 Ks. However, the Rangers come out on top, 5 - 2.
- 2022 - The Astros tie a major league record by homering five times in the 2nd inning of their 13 - 4 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. All five long balls are hit off Nathan Eovaldi. They are the work of Yordan Alvarez; Kyle Tucker, with a two-run shot; Jeremy Peña; Michael Brantley, who connects with two men on base; and Yuli Gurriel who gives the Astros a 9-1 lead with the shot that finally ends Eovaldi's outing. Tucker adds a second homer later in the game and Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez also go deep of Boston. The Astros are the eighth team to hit five homers in an inning, and Eovaldi is the third pitcher to give up all five.
- 2023 - The Astros, who have struggled so far in their defense of last year's World Series title, win their fourth in a row, coming back from a 6 - 1 deficit against the Cubs to win, 7 - 6. Seiya Suzuki homers in his first two plate appearances of the game to give Chicago its early lead, becoming the first Japanese player to homer in three straight PAs as he had also gone deep his last time up yesterday, but Houston comes back thanks to two runs in the 8th and four in the bottom of the 9th. Jake Meyers hits a two-run homer in the 9th and Kyle Tucker ends the game with a single with the bases loaded.
Births[edit]
- 1852 - Sam King, infielder (d. 1922)
- 1857 - Billy Reid, infielder (d. 1940)
- 1857 - William Russell, owner (d. 1911)
- 1858 - Henry Oberbeck, outfielder (d. 1921)
- 1860 - Frank Mountain, pitcher (d. 1939)
- 1865 - Al Mays, pitcher (d. 1905)
- 1868 - Fred Woodcock, pitcher (d. 1943)
- 1879 - Rube Vickers, pitcher (d. 1958)
- 1884 - Elmer Steele, pitcher (d. 1966)
- 1888 - Irv Porter, outfielder (d. 1971)
- 1892 - Hal Carlson, pitcher (d. 1930)
- 1894 - Frank Woodward, pitcher (d. 1961)
- 1899 - Del Webb, owner (d. 1974)
- 1903 - Cool Papa Bell, outfielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 1991)
- 1906 - Al Eckert, pitcher (d. 1974)
- 1906 - Red Treadwell, minor league catcher and manager (d. 1948)
- 1908 - Ted Norbert, minor league star (d. 1991)
- 1908 - Leo Norris, infielder (d. 1987)
- 1910 - Lou Chiozza, infielder (d. 1971)
- 1912 - Ace Parker, infielder (d. 2013)
- 1916 - Takeshi Nakayama, NPB catcher (d. 1975)
- 1917 - Les Burge, minor league infielder and manager (d. 1996)
- 1927 - Jim McDonald, pitcher (d. 2004)
- 1932 - Billy Hoeft, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2010)
- 1932 - Ozzie Virgil, infielder (d. 2024)
- 1938 - John Erickson, minor league infielder (d. 2020)
- 1938 - Gene Scruggs, Negro League pitcher
- 1939 - Dick Smith, outfielder (d. 2012)
- 1942 - Bob DeFelice, college coach
- 1944 - Orv Franchuk, scout
- 1945 - Jerry Lyscio, minor league pitcher
- 1945 - Mary Shane, broadcaster (d. 1987)
- 1946 - Dan Monzon, infielder (d. 1996)
- 1948 - Carlos May, outfielder; All-Star
- 1948 - Satoshi Takahashi, NPB pitcher (d. 2021)
- 1952 - Porfi Altamirano, pitcher
- 1952 - Mike Verdi, minor league manager
- 1953 - Stan Luketich, minor league coach
- 1957 - Don Nomura, agent
- 1957 - Pascual Perez, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2012)
- 1959 - Chikafusa Ikeda, NPB pitcher
- 1959 - Stan Leland, minor league pitcher
- 1961 - Loren Hibbs, college coach
- 1962 - Greg Mathews, pitcher
- 1963 - Tom Newell, pitcher
- 1964 - Rob Nelson, infielder
- 1966 - Jack Voigt, outfielder
- 1966 - Brad DuVall, minor league pitcher
- 1969 - Rick Huisman, pitcher
- 1969 - Juan C. Pérez, Cuban league pitcher
- 1971 - Trey Forkerway, minor league infielder and manager
- 1971 - Earl Steinmetz, minor league pitcher
- 1973 - Xavier Civit, minor league pitcher
- 1973 - Seika Shiragi, announcer
- 1974 - Wiki Gonzalez, catcher
- 1974 - Keith Horn, minor league pitcher
- 1975 - Eriel Sánchez, Cuban leagues catcher and manager
- 1975 - Scott Seabol, infielder
- 1976 - Marques Esquerra, minor league player
- 1976 - Jose Guillen, outfielder
- 1977 - Roddi Liebenberg, Great Britain national team pitcher
- 1977 - Juan Tellechea, Spanish national team pitcher
- 1978 - John Foster, pitcher
- 1978 - Carlos Pena, infielder; All-Star
- 1978 - Koki Watanabe, NPB pitcher
- 1980 - Hiroshi Kisanuki, NPB pitcher
- 1981 - Adeyinka Adewusi, Elitserien infielder
- 1982 - Matt Cassel, drafted player
- 1982 - Nick Masset, pitcher
- 1983 - Shao-Chun Lo, CPBL infielder
- 1983 - Gabriel Martinez, minor league infielder
- 1983 - Nobuhiro Matsuda, NPB infielder
- 1983 - Jeremy Sowers, pitcher
- 1983 - Josh Sowers, minor league pitcher
- 1985 - Dae-sung Choi, KBO pitcher
- 1985 - Todd Redmond, pitcher
- 1985 - Hee-sang Yoon, KBO pitcher
- 1987 - Brian Cavazos-Galvez, minor league outfielder
- 1988 - Rob Herrmann, minor league catcher
- 1989 - Yuliecer Arias, minor league outfielder
- 1989 - John Cornely, pitcher
- 1989 - Jordan Jankowski, pitcher
- 1989 - Dennis O'Grady, minor league pitcher
- 1991 - Oscar Carlstedt, Elitserien pitcher
- 1992 - Ben Gamel, outfielder
- 1992 - Eric Jagielo, minor league infielder
- 1992 - Brian O'Grady, outfielder
- 1993 - Po-Hsien Hsieh, Chinese Taipei national team pitcher
- 1993 - Jin-De Jhang, minor league catcher
- 1993 - Gabriel Lino, minor league catcher
- 1994 - Tyler Beardsley, minor league pitcher
- 1995 - Gabriel Do Carmo, French Division I catcher
- 1996 - En-Sih Huang, CPBL pitcher
- 1999 - Brayan Bello, pitcher
- 2001 - Matěj Grendža-Donský, Extraliga infielder
- 2001 - Leo Jiménez, infielder
- 2003 - Ping-Yang Huang, CPBL infielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1905 - John Abadie, infielder (b. 1850)
- 1908 - Harry Spence, manager (b. 1853)
- 1915 - Happy Hogan, minor league catcher (b. 1877)
- 1931 - Charlie Ferguson, pitcher; umpire (b. 1875)
- 1933 - Bill Van Dyke, outfielder (b. 1863)
- 1937 - Harry Horton, minor league pitcher and manager (b. 1887)
- 1940 - Spike Shannon, outfielder; umpire (b. 1875)
- 1941 - Bill Husted, pitcher (b. 1866)
- 1946 - Billy Stage, umpire (b. 1868)
- 1949 - Bill Swarback, pitcher (b. 1867)
- 1954 - Roy Parker, pitcher (b. 1896)
- 1954 - Earl Tyree, catcher (b. 1890)
- 1957 - Bill Deegan, pitcher (b. 1874)
- 1959 - Joe Donnelly, minor league executive (b. ????)
- 1961 - Otto Knabe, infielder, manager (b. 1884)
- 1961 - Barney Slaughter, pitcher (b. 1884)
- 1965 - Bill Bartley, pitcher (b. 1885)
- 1969 - Pants Rowland, manager; umpire (b. 1878)
- 1971 - Robert Mitchell, catcher (b. 1900)
- 1975 - Sig Broskie, catcher (b. 1911)
- 1979 - Bill Brenner, minor league pitcher/catcher and manager (b. ????)
- 1982 - Dixie Walker, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1910)
- 1988 - Ed Katalinas, scout (b. 1909)
- 1989 - Specs Toporcer, infielder (b. 1899)
- 1995 - Catfish Metkovich, outfielder (b. 1920)
- 2001 - Ike Brown, infielder (b. 1942)
- 2002 - Joe Black, pitcher; All-Star (b. 1924)
- 2002 - Bobby Robinson, infielder (b. 1903)
- 2003 - Joe Spencer, infielder (b. 1919)
- 2004 - Buster Narum, pitcher (b. 1940)
- 2004 - Takahisa Suzuki, NPB outfielder (b. 1963)
- 2007 - Bill Wight, pitcher (b. 1922)
- 2009 - Frank Stanek, minor league pitcher (b. 1934)
- 2010 - Dottie Kamenshek, AAGPBL infielder (b. 1925)
- 2011 - Harmon Killebrew, infielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 1936)
- 2013 - Ken Olson, minor league pitcher (b. 1921)
- 2014 - Cees Hiele, Hoofdklasse catcher (b. ~1931)
- 2018 - Ray Arra, college coach (b. 1941)
- 2020 - Ken Retzer, catcher (b. 1934)
- 2021 - Lee Landers, minor league executive (b. ~1917)
We're Social...for Statheads
Every Sports Reference Social Media Account
Site Last Updated:
Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction?
Subscribe to our Free Email Newsletter
Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREE
Your All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database
Do you have a sports website? Or write about sports? We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Find out more.