May 26
From BR Bullpen
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| Stats of players who died on this day | |
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Events, births and deaths that occurred on May 26.
Events[edit]
- 1892 - John Clarkson of the Boston Beaneaters loses a no-hitter with two outs in the 9th inning, when Hughie Jennings of the Louisville Colonels comes through with a hit. Clarkson wins, 7 - 0.
- 1900 - At West Side Park, the Chicago Orphans defeat the Brooklyn Superbas, 1 - 0, in just 95 minutes. Nixey Callahan is the winning pitcher and Frank Kitson the loser.
- 1911 - In one of the few games in which both pitch, Christy Mathewson and Grover Cleveland Alexander appear as relievers in a 5 - 3 victory for the New York Giants over the Philadelphia Phillies.
- 1925 - In a Detroit 8 - 1 victory over the White Sox, Ty Cobb becomes the first major leaguer to collect 1,000 career extra-base hits. He will finish with 1,139.
- 1929 - Pinch hitters Pat Crawford of the New York Giants and Les Bell of the Boston Braves hit grand slams in the Giants' 15 - 9 victory.
- 1930 - Joe Sewell of the Cleveland Indians strikes out twice facing lefthander Pat Caraway of the Chicago White Sox. It is the last time the Indians third baseman will fan this year, striking out only three times in 353 at-bats in the season.
- 1946:
- Four days after hitting a monster home run at Forbes Field, Josh Gibson hits another tape-measure shot, this one at Yankee Stadium, leading the Homestead Grays to an 11 - 8 triumph over New York Black Yankees and into first place in the Negro National League. This makes it four wins in a row for the Grays, three of them over the cellar-dwelling Black Yankees. The Baltimore Afro-American estimates Gibson's blast at 440 feet, hailing it as "one of the longest ever hit at Yankee Stadium."
- Mel Ott retires from playing and decides only to manage the New York Giants. He has amassed a total of two hits in his 42 at-bats, and if his resulting .048 batting average does not amount to "hitting bottom", Ott, understandably, does not want to find out what does.
- 1950 - The Philadelphia Athletics make some changes as a result of a front office coup. Connie Mack's son, Earle, who has been assistant manager, assumes the duties of chief scout. Earle, who had hoped to succeed his father as manager, is replaced by Jimmy Dykes. Mickey Cochrane is named general manager.
- 1956:
- Al Simmons dies in Milwaukee, at the age of 54. A former Philadelphia Athletics All-Star outfielder, Simmons hit .334 with 307 home runs and 1827 RBI in a 20-season major league career that included stints with six other teams besides the A's. Simmons gained induction into the Hall of Fame in 1953.
- Cincinnati Redlegs pitchers Johnny Klippstein, Hersh Freeman and Joe Black combine for 9 2/3 hitless innings, but lose, 2 - 1, in 11 innings, to the Philadelphia Phillies.
- 1959:
- Harvey Haddix of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches one of the most remarkable games in major league history. Haddix tosses 12 perfect innings, retiring the first 36 Milwaukee Braves batters he faces, before losing the perfect game in the 13th inning when Felix Mantilla reaches first base on an error. After a sacrifice bunt and an intentional walk to Hank Aaron, Haddix surrenders an apparent three-run home run to Joe Adcock. Aaron leaves the field, and Adcock passes him on the basepaths. Adcock's blast is called a double as Mantilla scores the winning run. Lew Burdette of the Braves goes all the way for a 12-hit, 1 - 0 shutout.
- In another of Bill Veeck's stunts, 3' 7" Eddie Gaedel returns to a major league field along with three other midgets. Arriving by helicopter and dressed as Martians, the quartet drops onto the Comiskey Park infield and shakes hands with second baseman Nellie Fox and shortstop Luis Aparicio, giving them toy ray guns as the public announcer informs the 40,000 plus in attendance that the "extraterrestrials" have arrived to help the somewhat short keystone double play combo in their struggle with giant earthlings.
- Ed Walsh dies in Pompano Beach, at the age of 78. Walsh started a brief but remarkable pitching career in 1904 with the Chicago White Sox. From 1906 through 1912, he averaged 24 wins with 220 strikeouts and posted an ERA below 2.00 five times. Walsh was selected to the Hall of Fame in 1946.
- 1962:
- Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax strikes out 16 Philadelphia Phillies to lead his team to a 6 - 3 victory.
- Al Kaline of the Detroit Tigers fractures his collarbone while making a dramatic game-saving catch in right field. Kaline helps preserve a 2 - 1 victory over the New York Yankees but he will miss two months with the injury.
- 1969 - Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hits his 500th career double, becoming only the third major leaguer to reach 500 doubles and 500 home runs.
- 1976 - In a scoreless game at Anaheim Stadium, Ken Brett of the Chicago White Sox has a no-hitter with two outs in the 9th inning when Jerry Remy of the California Angels hits a slow roller down the third base line. Third baseman Jorge Orta lets the ball roll and, in a controversial ruling, it's scored as a hit, though many think it ought to be ruled an error. Brett then gives up another hit in the 10th to former teammmate Bill Melton but wins the game, 1 - 0, in 11 innings.
- 1986 - Houston Astros pitcher Jim Deshaies records his first major league win, striking out ten in seven innings, in the Astros' 4 - 1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
- 1990 - Don Baylor, the only Angels player to win the American League MVP Award up to that point, in 1979, is inducted into the team's Hall of Fame. The OF/DH averaged 23 home runs and 87 runs batted in, while batting .262 in six seasons for California.
- 1993 - Carlos Martinez of the Cleveland Indians hits a fly ball that caroms off the head of Texas Rangers outfielder Jose Canseco and bounces into the stands for a home run. The unusual home run helps the Indians defeat the Rangers, 7 - 6.
- 1995:
- Ken Griffey of the Seattle Mariners fractures his wrist while making a spectacular catch against Kevin Bass of the Baltimore Orioles. Some observers call it the greatest catch they've ever seen. Griffey will undergo surgery on his injured wrist and miss the next three months of action.
- University of Southern California and Fresno State combine for an NCAA postseason baseball record of 39 runs in the Trojans' 22 - 17 victory in the West Regional. USC scores three runs in the top of the 9th inning to break the record of 37 set by the Trojans and Houston in 1990.
- 1996 - The Chicago White Sox become the 16th team in American League history to hit four home runs in one inning in their 12 - 1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Frank Thomas, Harold Baines and Robin Ventura hit consecutive homers and Chad Kreuter adds another in Chicago's seven-run 8th inning.
- 1997 - Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa and Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Tony Womack hit inside-the-park home runs in the 6th inning of the Cubs' 2 - 1 win. It's the first time two inside-the-park homers have been hit in the same inning in 20 years.
- 2001 - Curt Schilling of the Arizona Diamondbacks takes a no-hitter into the 8th inning against the San Diego Padres before Ben Davis breaks it up with a bunt single. Schilling allows a run in the 9th and finishes with a three-hit, 3 - 1 victory. There is controversy surrounding Davis's hit, as a few observers claim that he broke an unwritten rule by bunting late in a game with a no-hitter on the line.
- 2002 - Kansas City Royals reliever Cory Bailey wins both ends of a doubleheader against the Texas Rangers, becoming the first pitcher since David Wells in 1989 to accomplish the feat.
- 2004 - Daryle Ward of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits for the cycle and ties his career best with six RBI in a 11 - 8 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. The feat has been done 23 times in Pittsburgh history and 243 times in the majors since 1882. Ward joins his father, Gary Ward, to become the first father/son combination in major league history to hit for the cycle. The senior Ward accomplished the feat on September 18, 1980, for the Minnesota Twins.
- 2005 - Chico Carrasquel dies in Caracas, Venezuela, at the age of 77. Carrasquel, the first in a great line of Venezuelan shortstops that includes Luis Aparicio, Dave Concepción, Ozzie Guillen and Omar Vizquel, became the first Hispanic player to appear in an All-Star Game, in 1951, at Briggs Stadium.
- 2006 - Angel Berroa hits a three-run home run in the 8th, and the Kansas City Royals escape a jam in the bottom of the 9th after a near two-hour rain delay, edging the New York Yankees, 7 - 6, to halt a 13-game losing streak, and one of 14 games at Yankee Stadium since 2005. The Royals' 19-game losing streak from July 28-August 19 last season was the only mark longer in franchise history. Reggie Sanders hits his 299th career home run for Kansas City. Derek Jeter gets his 2,000th career hit in the contest, becoming the eighth player in Yankees history to reach the milestone.
- 2008 - The Tampa Bay Rays' record stands at 31-20, the best in the majors. This makes them the second team in major league history to have the best record on Memorial Day a year after having the worst record in the majors.
- 2009 - The Royals beat the Tigers, 6 - 1. Zach Greinke improves to 8-1, 0.84. No pitcher had posted an ERA under 1.00 after ten starts since Juan Marichal back in 1966.
- 2010:
- The Yankees take two from the Twins at Target Field. First, in a resumption of yesterday's game which was suspended by rain with no score, they win, 1 - 0, on a homer by Derek Jeter. They then win the regularly-scheduled game, 3 - 2, on a long ball by Nick Swisher against Jon Rauch in the 9th that gives Andy Pettitte the win. Mariano Rivera saves both wins.
- The Rays are hearing footsteps, as a result of the Yankees' wins and their own three-game sweep at home at the hands of Boston; they are now 3 1/2 games ahead of New York and 5 1/2 in front of Boston after losing 11 - 3. David Ortiz hits his tenth homer of the season - his ninth in May - against Matt Garza, while Adrian Beltre drives in six runs in support of John Lackey's pitching.
- With his team dead last at 13-32, Yakult Swallows manager Shigeru Takada steps down. He had gotten a vote of confidence from the general manager just six days prior, but a 20 - 4 loss on the 22nd and 15 losses in 16 games force Takada's hand. He is replaced by head coach Junji Ogawa.
- 2011 - New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon sells a minority stake in the team to investor David Einhorn for $200 million. Wilpon's financial troubles, stemming from losses incurred in the Bernard Madoff fraudulent investment scheme, and from a $1 billion lawsuit from other victims of Madoff's fraud, have been much talked about in recent weeks; the sale is intended to give him some financial breathing room, but it will fall through by September, reportedly because Einhorn wants to make extensive changes to the deal.
- 2012:
- Mets P Johan Santana shows his old form, shutting out the Padres on four hits and fewer than 100 pitches. Scott Hairston hits a three-run homer in the 1st, soon followed by 32-year-old Vinny Rottino's first big league homer to stake Santana an early 4 - 0 lead. The Mets put the game away with five runs off Dale Thayer in the 8th, topped by a grand slam by Mike Nickeas.
- The Cubs lose their 11th straight, 3 - 2 to the Pirates, their longest losing streak since opening the 1997 season with 14 consecutive losses. The teams are tied at 2-all in the bottom of the 9th when Jose Tabata leads off with a single off Rafael Dolis, who then issues a pair of walks around two outs to load the bases; Matt Hague takes a pitch in the ribs to end the game on a walk-off hit-by-pitch.
- 2013 - The Angels win their eighth straight game, defeating the Royals, 5 - 2, completing a four-game sweep. The Royals have a 2 - 0 lead in the 7th, but the Angels score three times in the bottom of the frame, highlighted by Josh Hamilton's home run, and tack on a pair of insurance runs in the 8th. Jerome Williams is the winner over Wade Davis.
- 2014 - One day after teammate Josh Beckett's no-hitter, the Dodgers' Hyun-Jin Ryu makes a bid to repeat the feat as he begins his start against the Reds with seven perfect innings before Todd Frazier doubles to lead off the 8th. No team has ever pitched back-to back no-hitters, but combined with the hitless 9th inning recorded by Paul Maholm on May 24th, the Dodgers tie a record set by the Angels in 2012 with 17 consecutive innings without allowing a hit. They win the game, 4 - 3.
- 2015 - Josh Donaldson has a great night at the plate as he reaches base in all five of his plate appearances, with four hits and a walk, scores five runs and drives in four. His first hit is a 1st-inning solo homer off John Danks and his last one a walk-off three-run shot off closer David Robertson, giving the Blue Jays a 10 - 9 win over the White Sox.
- 2016 - Major League Baseball hands out a suspension of 82 games to Braves OF Hector Olivera, following a domestic violence incident in April. It is by far the most severe penalty yet handed out under baseball's new domestic violence policy up to that point.
- 2017 - Hall of Famer Jim Bunning, who won over 100 games in both leagues, pitched a perfect game, and later served in Congress as both a Representative and Senator from Kentucky, passes away at the age of 85.
- 2018 - Mike Trout has the first five-hit game of his career and drives in four runs to lead the Angels to an 11 - 4 win over the Yankees. The hits include three doubles and a homer which ties him for the AL lead. For the Yankees, Brett Gardner and Aaron Judge lead off the bottom of the 1st with back-to-back homers off Jaime Barria, the second of these making Judge the fastest player to reach 70 career homers. He has needed 231 games, two fewer than previous record holder Ryan Howard.
- 2020 - The Players Association's initial reaction to the owners' latest financial proposal to re-start the season in one of "extreme disappointment". The owners are asking players to accept further salary cuts (in addition to being paid a pro-rated portion of their salaries, as already agreed upon) to compensate for anticipated lower revenues, with the players being paid the most taking the biggest salary cuts.
- 2021 - Commissioner Rob Manfred issues his ruling following the completion of the investigation regarding allegations of improper behavior towards a number of women against former manager and coach Mickey Callaway. Callaway is found guilty of violating Major League Baseball policies and is declared ineligible for the remainder of this season and all of 2022, after which he may apply for reinstatement. For their part, the Angels fire him from his position of pitching coach, from which he has been suspended since the allegations surfaced in February, and the Indians, who were Callaway's employer when some of the offensive incidents took place, state that they will take steps to ensure a more respectful environment in which employees feel empowered to denounce workplace harassment in the future.
- [[2023]:
- Craig Kimbrel becomes the eighth pitcher to record 400 career saves in Philadelphia's 6 - 4 win over the Braves, barely two weeks after Kenley Jansen became the seventh.
- The Pirates tie a franchise record by hitting seven home runs in an 11 - 6 win over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Jack Suwinski goes deep twice and Andrew McCutchen, Carlos Santana, Ke'Bryan Hayes, Tucupita Marcano and Bryan Reynolds once each.
Births[edit]
- 1864 - Pete Hasney, outfielder (d. 1908)
- 1867 - Harry Burrell, pitcher (d. 1914)
- 1872 - Stoney McGlynn, pitcher (d. 1941)
- 1874 - Jack Cronin, pitcher (d. 1929)
- 1874 - Dave Pickett, outfielder (d. 1950)
- 1880 - Jess McMahon, Negro League owner (d. ????)
- 1884 - Jimmy Lavender, pitcher (d. 1960)
- 1891 - Gene Paulette, infielder (d. 1966)
- 1894 - Bill Fincher, pitcher (d. 1946)
- 1895 - Ira Errett Rodgers, college coach (d. 1963)
- 1897 - Lester Patterson, minor league catcher and scout (d. 1967)
- 1900 - Milt Steengrafe, pitcher (d. 1977)
- 1902 - Herb Thomas, outfielder (d. 1991)
- 1904 - Frank Ragland, pitcher (d. 1959)
- 1904 - Bill Shores, pitcher (d. 1984)
- 1907 - Joseph Cairnes, executive (d. 1993)
- 1907 - Emil Roy, pitcher (d. 1997)
- 1910 - Jim McCloskey, pitcher (d. 1971)
- 1919 - Ora Lindau, USA national team player (d. 2014)
- 1925 - Dan Holden, minor league outfielder and manager (d. 1986)
- 1927 - Dutch Romberger, pitcher (d. 1983)
- 1927 - Betty Wicken, AAGPBL outfielder (d. 2011)
- 1931 - Jim Frey, manager (d. 2020)
- 1932 - Joe Altobelli, infielder, manager (d. 2021)
- 1933 - Ramon Lopez, pitcher (d. 1982)
- 1934 - Noboru Inoue, NPB infielder (d. 2012)
- 1934 - Jim Mahoney, infielder
- 1935 - Eddie Haas, outfielder, manager
- 1942 - Chuck Hartenstein, pitcher (d. 2021)
- 1945 - Jim McKean, umpire (d. 2019)
- 1946 - Dennis Pugh, college coach (d. 2020)
- 1947 - Darrell Evans, infielder; All-Star
- 1948 - Bob Hansen, designated hitter
- 1949 - Ed Crosby, infielder
- 1951 - Jim Dreyer, scout (d. 2006)
- 1954 - Kevin Kennedy, manager
- 1956 - Steve Stieb, minor league catcher
- 1958 - Wes Clements, minor league player
- 1959 - Dann Bilardello, catcher
- 1959 - Willie Brennan, Guam national team infielder and manager
- 1960 - Rob Murphy, pitcher
- 1961 - Jose Van Veen, Dutch womens' national team pitcher
- 1963 - Rob Lopez, minor league pitcher
- 1963 - Rob Swain, minor league infielder
- 1964 - Willie Fraser, pitcher
- 1965 - Mitch Gaspard, college coach
- 1965 - Ricky Jordan, infielder
- 1965 - Bob van Aalen, Hoofdklasse infielder
- 1967 - Stacy Jones, pitcher
- 1967 - Don Strange, minor league pitcher
- 1967 - Roberto Vizcarra, minor league infielder and manager
- 1968 - Shoji Arisumi, NPB umpire
- 1969 - Ron Agterberg, Hoofdklasse player
- 1969 - John O'Donoghue, pitcher
- 1969 - Jun-hyuk Yang, KBO outfielder
- 1971 - Jason Bere, pitcher; All-Star
- 1972 - Steve Thobe, minor league infielder
- 1973 - Junior Betances, minor league infielder and manager
- 1973 - Jair Josepha, Netherlands Antilles national team outfielder
- 1973 - Chris Latham, outfielder
- 1973 - Kirk Pierce, minor league catcher
- 1975 - Brian Becker, minor league infielder
- 1975 - Travis Lee, infielder
- 1976 - Shurendell Borgschot, Hoofdklasse outfielder
- 1979 - Michal Kočí, Extraliga infielder-pitcher
- 1980 - Sean Barker, outfielder
- 1981 - Mario Garza, minor league infielder and manager
- 1981 - Ben Zobrist, infielder
- 1982 - Joe Koshansky, infielder
- 1982 - Carlos Martinez, pitcher
- 1983 - Oneli Perez, minor league pitcher
- 1983 - Ying-Feng Tsai, CPBL pitcher
- 1983 - Yanchao Xing, China Baseball League infielder
- 1985 - Sean Hoorelbeke, minor league infielder
- 1985 - Kevin Mulvey, minor league pitcher
- 1985 - Lance Zawadzki, infielder
- 1986 - Heath Taylor, minor league player
- 1987 - Matěj Hušek, Extraliga pitcher
- 1987 - Matteo Ugolotti, Italian Baseball League outfielder
- 1989 - Brian Gaylord, minor league infielder
- 1989 - Josip Pribilović, Croatian national team infielder
- 1990 - Alex Dickerson, outfielder
- 1990 - Shun Ishikawa, NPB infielder
- 1990 - Paul Sewald, pitcher
- 1992 - Aaron Blair, pitcher
- 1992 - Mike Nolan, drafted pitcher (d. 2015)
- 1992 - Abubakar Virk, Pakistani national team pitcher
- 1993 - Garrett Stubbs, catcher
- 1993 - Gabriel Ynoa, pitcher
- 1994 - Sam Haggerty, infielder
- 1995 - Brandon Grudzielanek, minor league infielder
- 1995 - Roel Ramirez, pitcher
- 1998 - Julian Rip, Hoofdklasse outfielder
- 1999 - Sam Steigert, German national team pitcher
- 2000 - Jonathan Ornelas, infielder
- 2000 - Endy Rodríguez, catcher
Deaths[edit]
- 1889 - John Wildey, umpire (B. ????)
- 1911 - Billy O'Brien, infielder (b. 1860)
- 1914 - Juice Latham, infielder, manager (b. 1852)
- 1918 - George Bone, infielder (b. 1874)
- 1919 - Sadie Houck, infielder (b. 1856)
- 1921 - Walter Fisher, outfielder (b. 1867)
- 1921 - John Morris (b. 1857)
- 1924 - Ed McGamwell, infielder (b. 1879)
- 1927 - Herm Merritt, infielder (b. 1900)
- 1942 - Ed Gremminger, infielder (b. 1874)
- 1948 - Bill Sweeney, infielder (b. 1886)
- 1951 - George Winter, pitcher (b. 1878)
- 1957 - Stormy Davis, minor league outfielder and manager (b. 1900)
- 1956 - Al Simmons, outfielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1902)
- 1958 - Del Wertz, infielder (b. 1888)
- 1959 - Ed Walsh, pitcher, manager, umpire; Hall of Famer (b. 1881)
- 1962 - Neal Rabe, minor league catcher and manager (b. 1904)
- 1964 - Buzzy Wares, infielder (b. 1886)
- 1965 - Homer Norton, college coach (b. 1896)
- 1966 - William Rumler, catcher (b. 1891)
- 1967 - Bud Davis, pitcher (b. 1896)
- 1968 - Doc Ayers, pitcher (b. 1890)
- 1968 - Chippy Gaw, pitcher (b. 1892)
- 1969 - Harland Rowe, infielder (b. 1896)
- 1971 - Judge Nagle, pitcher (b. 1880)
- 1973 - Chicken Hawks, infielder (b. 1896)
- 1977 - Johnny Kucab, pitcher (b. 1919)
- 1981 - Bartolo Portuondo, infielder (b. 1893)
- 1981 - George Smith, pitcher (b. 1901)
- 1983 - Dutch Romberger, pitcher (b. 1927)
- 1985 - Alvin Kluttz, minor league catcher and manager (b. 1922)
- 1988 - Dick Strahs, pitcher (b. 1923)
- 1994 - Red Treadway, outfielder (b. 1920)
- 1996 - Don Bollweg, infielder (b. 1921)
- 1996 - Mike Sharperson, infielder; All-Star (b. 1961)
- 1998 - Charlie White, catcher (b. 1928)
- 2005 - Chico Carrasquel, infielder; All-Star (b. 1928)
- 2005 - Jim Ray, pitcher (b. 1944)
- 2007 - Isao Ito, NPB catcher (b. 1942)
- 2013 - Larry Johnson, catcher (b. 1950
- 2013 - Obedt Posadas, minor league pitcher (b. 1979)
- 2014 - Mike Gordon, catcher (b. 1953)
- 2016 - Lou Grasmick, pitcher (b. 1924)
- 2017 - Jim Bunning, pitcher; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1931)
- 2019 - Joe Russo, college coach (b. 1944)
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