AUGUST 25:
1922: Leading 25-6 after 4 innings, the Cubs hold on to beat the Phillies, 26-23. The Phillies left the bases loaded in the ninth. The 49 total runs is the most ever scored in a single game.
1956: The Yankees pick up Enos Slaughter off waivers and in turn give an unconditional release to fan favorite Phil Rizzuto.
1983: The Louisville Redbirds (AAA-Cardinals) become the first minor league team to draw one million fans.
1985: At 20 years, 9 months and 9 days, Dwight Gooden becomes the youngest pitcher in history to win 20 games.
1986: With a prodigious blast off Detroit’s Walt Terrell, a rookie named Mark McGwire hits his first major league home run.
1997: Boston’s Nomar Garciaparra gets a hit in his 27th straight game, setting a record for AL rookies.
2005: With a 6-3 victory over the Pirates, Cardinals skipper Tony LaRussa wins his 2195th game, passing Sparky Anderson for third all-time. The only managers with more wins are Connie Mack (3731) and John McGraw (2763)
AUGUST 26:
1898: The Cleveland Spiders play their final home game of the year. Nicknamed ‘The Nomads,’ the Cleveland club plays 83 of their final 87 games on the road.
1939: At Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, NBC televises the first Major League game in history. Red Barber does the play-by-play as the Dodgers and Reds split a double-header.
1947: Dan Bankhead of Brooklyn becomes the first black pitcher in history. He homered in his first plate appearance that day, but allowed six earned runs.
1961: Roger Maris hits home run # 51, putting him ahead of Babe Ruth‘s record setting pace.
1965: After defeating the Mets in 13 straight starts, Sandy Koufax (21-7) loses to Tug McGraw (2-2).
1966: Vic Roznovsky and Boog Powell of Baltimore hit back-to-back pinch hit HR’s. It’s only the third time in history this has happened.
1980: At County Stadium in Milwaukee, Royals third baseman George Brett goes 5-for-5 and raises his BA to 407.
1987: The longest hitting streak in the AL since Joe DiMaggio‘s in 1941 comes to an end at 39 when Paul Molitor fails to get a hit. Ironically, Molitor was on-deck when the final out of the game was made.
2002: The first video streaming coverage of a baseball game appears on the Internet. The Yankees defeat the Rangers, 10-3.
2002 — New York shortstop Derek Jeter scored his 100th run of the season, joining Ted Williams (1939-49) and Earle Combs (1925-32) as the only players in modern history to score at least 100 runs in their first seven seasons.
AUGUST 27:
1911: Future Hall of Famer Ed Walsh of Chicago no-hits Boston, 5-0.
1918: Christy Mathewson, now retired, steps down as manager of the Reds and accepts the role of Captain in the US Army. While serving in World War I, Matty is accidentally gassed during a training exercise resulting in his premature death in 1925, at age 45.
1938: Monte Pearson tosses the first no-hitter in Yankee Stadium, a 13-0 win over Cleveland.
1946: At the annual Owners Meeting, the owners decide to continue ‘The Gentleman’s Agreement’ and ban black athletes from playing in the majors. The ludicrous reasons include that black players display “…an absence of skills necessary…” as well as “…a lack of fundamentals.”
1955: Making only his second start in the majors, a young lefthander named Sandy Koufax defeats the Reds, 7-0. Koufax allows only 2 hits and fans 14.
1974: Benny Ayala of the Mets becomes the first player in 13 years to homer in his first major league at-bat.
1977: Bump Wills and Toby Harrah of Texas hit back-to-back inside the park home runs on back-to-back pitches.
1978: Joe Morgan becomes the first player to reach 200 Home Runs and 500 SB’s.
1982: Rickey Henderson breaks Lou Brock‘s single season SB mark with his 119th swipe of the year. Henderson stole it against the battery of Doc Medich/Ted Simmons…on a pitch-out.
1997: As a joke, the Indians pull up their socks to just below the knees to celebrate the birthday of teammate Jim Thome. Cleveland would go on to win 17 of their next 27 games and ultimately, the American League pennant.
AUGUST 28:
1884: Mickey Welch of the NY Gothams fans the 1st 9 batters he faces. Welch wins 39 games this year and a total of 307 in a brief 13 year career.
1945: In a secret meeting in Brooklyn, Branch Rickey privately meets with Jackie Robinson and tells him of his plan to integrate the majors. During the long meeting, Rickey will get in Jackie’s face and shout an endless barrage of racial slurs just to ‘test’ the young player and see how Robinson reacts, knowing full well what lies ahead.
1977: Nolan Ryan fans 11 and reaches 300 K’s for the fifth time in his career.
1983: Greg Luzinski, ‘The Bull,’ joins Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams as the only players to hit a ball onto the roof of Comiskey Park.
1989: Frank Viola of the Mets defeats Orel Hershiser of the Dodgers, 1-0. It was the first ever regular season match-up of two defending Cy Young Award winners.
