September 12:

1914: At only age 23, Yankees SS Roger Peckinpaugh becomes the youngest manager in baseball history .

1947: Ralph Kiner hits 2 HR’s, giving him 8 round trippers in just 4 days.

1962: Tom Cheney of Washington fans a record 21 batters (in 16 innings).

1962: With the Giants just 1 game behind the Dodgers, superstar Willie Mays is hospitalized with ‘nervous exhaustion.’ The Giants lose 6 straight but upon Willie’s return, they run down the Dodgers and win the NL pennant.

1969: The Mets win a pair of games from the Pirates. NY takes both games, 1-0. The lone Mets run for each game is driven in by each starting pitcher: Jerry Koosman in the opener and Don Cardwell in the nightcap.

1979: With a base hit off of Jim Beattie, Carl Yastrzemski reaches 3000 hits.

1984: With a strikeout of Marvell Wynne, the Mets Doc Gooden breaks the single season strikeout by a rookie. The record of 251 had been held by Herb Score since 1955.

2006: For the 1st time in 14 years, the Atlanta Braves are eliminated from the division race as the Mets beat Florida, 6-4.

September 13:

1883: Cleveland’s one-armed pitcher Hugh Duffy no-hits the Philadelphia A’s, 1-0.

1909: Ty Cobb wins the AL HR crown…with 9. All 9 were inside-the-park.

1925: Brooklyn’s Dazzy Vance no-hits the Phillies, 10-1.

1934: Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis sells the World Series broadcast rights to Ford Motor Company. Prior to this, no fee had been charged.

1938: By special induction, two individuals are enshrined during a special ceremony at Cooperstown. The two are: Alexander Cartwright for laying out much of the games original concept and lesser known Henry Chadwick, who invented the box score.

1964: The Cardinals become the 1st team in 41 years to score at least 1 run in every inning when they defeat the Cubs, 15-2.

1965: With a HR off of Don Nottebart, Willie Mays reaches 500 HR’s.

1971: With a HR off of Detroit’s Fred Scherman, Frank Robinson reaches 500 HR’s.

1983: Mets catcher Mike Fitzgerald becomes the 48th player in history to go deep in his 1st ML at-bat.

1989: Fay Vincent becomes Baseballs’ 8th commissioner, replacing Bart Giamatti.

1995: Detroit middle infielders Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell set the AL record for most joint appearances (1915 games)

2001: MLB decides to postpone all games until 9-17 due to the terrorist attacks. In total, 91 games are cancelled, the most since the season was cut short in 1918 due to World War I. As a result the 01 season will be pushed back a week and for the 1st time ever, the World Series will be played in November.

September 14:

1878: The Cincinnati Red Stockings and Indianapolis Blues play a game in which every pitch delivered to the plate is called either a ‘ball’ or a ‘strike.’ Up until now, the pitcher, generally regarded as the least important position player, was supposed to throw down the center of the plate and allow the batter to hit it. Any pitch that would NOT be thrown over the plate would result in the pitcher being ‘warned.’ This new format of calling balls and strikes is generally well received.

1905: Teammates Joe Tinker and Johnny Evers, two thirds of the most famous DP combination in history, engage in a fist fight on the field before the game. The dispute was over cab fare to the ballpark and the pair do not speak to each other the rest of their careers.

1951: STL Browns rookie Bob Nieman becomes the 1st player to ever hit 2 HR’s in his first TWO at-bats in the majors. In his third AB, Nieman beat out a bunt for a single.

1968: The Tigers rally late and defeat the A’s, 5-4. This makes Denny McLain baseball’s first 30 game winner since Dizzy Dean in 1934. No one has won 30 since.

1986: The Giants Bob Brenly, normally a catcher but playing 3B, ties a ML record by making 4 errors in 1 inning. The Giants, however, win the game, 7-6, on a walk-off HR in the bottom of the 9th…by Bob Brenly.

1986: Royals rookie Bo Jackson hits his 1st ML Home Run. The 475 foot shot is the longest ever hit in the stadium.

1990: Ken Griffey SR and Ken Griffey JR become the 1st father and son in history to hit a HR in the same game. Both blasts come against Angels pitcher, Kirk McCaskill.

1994: Due to the prolonged strike, ML owners vote to cancel the World Series. This is the 1st time since 1904 there will be no World Series. In 1904, John McGraw, manager of the NL NY Giants, refused to play the AL, citing their players as ‘inferior.’