A lot happened in baseball during the period May 24-30. Brevity was never my strong suit, so let’s see if I can cover it all without being my usual verbose self. No promises, though.
A Week of Firsts
May 24, 1935: At Crosley Field in Cincinnati, the first night game in major league history was played, with the Cincinnati Reds victorious over the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1. The lights came on once President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a gold telegraph key from the White House. National League president Ford Frick and American League president Will Harridge tossed out the first balls. The United Press reported, “The ball was easy to follow under more than a million watts of lighting sprayed from eight gigantic towers on which more than 600 lamps glowed in clusters.” Paul Derringer tossed a complete game, six-hitter for the Reds. The Phillies’ Joe Bowman was the hard-luck loser.
May 28, 1957: The NL voted unanimously to allow the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants to move west to Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively, after a four-hour meeting. A persistent rumor to the effect that the Cincinnati Redlegs sought permission to shift its franchise to New York was just that. The Dodgers and Giants team presidents had no comments on the matter and suggested they may stay put. Dodgers president Walter O’Malley told Associated Press that “we now have a chance to explore all possibilities.”
May 28, 1968: In a country divided over the Vietnam War and the civil rights and women’s liberation movements, the AL voted to create more divisions when it announced a plan to split the league into West and East Divisions when Major League Baseball expanded by four teams in 1969. The AL’s plan included a 156-game season and a best-of-five playoff to determine who would represent the AL in the World Series. Meanwhile, the NL was considering expanding its schedule to 162 or 165 games. NL president Warren Giles told the AP there was only “slight sentiment” for divisional play in the NL, but it was “shot down.” They had not yet had visions of big TV money for a League Championship Series dancing in their heads.
May 29, 1982: On a Saturday night at Three Rivers Stadium, the San Francisco Giants defeated the host Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-5. Giants right fielder Jack Clark, who hailed from New Brighton, a modest steel town 44 miles north of Pittsburgh, hit a grand slam and a two-run homer off Pirates starter Don Robinson. Former Pirates catcher Milt May was 3-for-3 with a two-run homer of his own. Robinson gave up all nine runs in 6.1 innings of work. He was a better hitter than pitcher on this evening, going 3-for-3 with a double and three RBI. Robinson told John Clayton of The Pittsburgh Press, “It seemed like we [Robinson and Clark] were in a hitting duel. I’m the one who gets to take the loss with me.” You might rightfully ask, what’s this doing under “A Week of Firsts?” It was this writer’s first date with his wife. After years of trying to impress girls with my knowledge of the infield fly rule and the difference between hit-and-run and run-and-hit, this time it worked.
Big Deals
May 24, 1961: The New York Yankees signed 22-year-old Jake Gibbs for a reported bonus exceeding $100,000, the highest the Yankees ever paid to a player at that time. From 1958-60, Gibbs had been an All-America quarterback and from 1959-60, a star third baseman at the University of Mississippi. As a college quarterback, he completed 53.8 percent of his passes for 1,850 yards, 19 touchdowns, and eight interceptions in 30 games. For those rare folks out there who understand the passer rating, it was 145.3. He led the Rebels to three bowl victories, before a time when bowl games were awarded as consolation prizes to every team that was slightly better than mediocre, and players didn’t opt out of them. As for his college baseball career, Gibbs hit .388 in his first year and .424 in his second year, leading the Rebels to back-to-back SEC championships. He never lived up to the hype in the majors, but he had a nice 10-year career as a solid reserve catcher for New York, hitting .233/.289/.321.
May 25, 1984: The Chicago Cubs traded first baseman Bill Buckner to the Boston Red Sox for infielder Mike Brumley and pitcher Dennis Eckersley. Within five years, Buckner and Eckersley both figured prominently in World Series defeats. However, Eckersley had moved on to the Oakland Athletics by then.
May 29, 1971: The Reds obtained left fielder George Foster from the Giants in exchange for shortstop Frank Duffy and pitcher Vern Geishert. The deal seemed innocuous at the time and barely registered with baseball followers. It took until 1975 for Foster to become “George Foster,” but when he did, he was the missing piece that turned the Reds into the Big Red Machine. For that, the Giants got 21 games from Duffy and none from Geishert.
The Unbreakable Record?
May 25, 1935: Babe Ruth finished his career in Boston where it started, albeit with another team, the Boston Braves. There was excitement when he arrived with the Braves in Pittsburgh on May 23. He was mobbed by children when he strolled through the downtown area. That evening, he spoke at a testimonial dinner at the Schenley Hotel for former Pirate and current teammate Rabbit Maranville. He met with a group of boys and girls who were guests of the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. They received autographs, as did a sick child in a hospital in nearby McKeesport.
By the time May 25 rolled around, it was amazing that the 40-year-old Ruth had enough energy to play against the Pirates at Forbes Field, let alone hit three home runs. In the first inning, Ruth stepped up to bat with a man on base against right-hander Red Lucas and hit a towering fly ball that barely cleared the right field screen before parachuting into the lower deck. If the late arrivals among the estimated crowd of 10,000 felt bad about missing that one, Ruth had more in store for them. In the third inning, Ruth stepped into the batter’s box against a new pitcher, righty Guy Bush, again with a man on base. Ruth crushed a full-count pitch into the right field second deck for his second home run of the day.
Although few home runs in the history of the venerable old ballpark landed where Ruth’s second blast did, it was his third home run of the game that had everybody talking. In the seventh inning, Bush tried to fool Ruth with a slow curveball on a 3-1 count. Ruth uncorked a mighty swing that sent the ball clear over the right field stands and into Panther Hollow, a small Italian community where, as far as I know, no panther has ever been spotted. It was Forbes Field’s longest home run. Pirates fans cheered as Ruth rounded the bases and tipped his cap at home plate. It was Ruth’s final home run, career No. 714, a record that was thought to be unbreakable. Ruth continued to the Pirates’ dugout and plopped down next to rookie Mace Brown. Legend has it that Ruth then disappeared for the day. That wasn’t true. According to my Uncle Jimmy, who was there, Ruth was replaced defensively but didn’t leave the dugout.
On this day in 1935, Babe Ruth hit home runs No. 712, 713 and 714 – the final three of his larger-than-life career. pic.twitter.com/TTpDN0DfuF
— ESPN (@espn) May 25, 2016
The result of the game was secondary. The headline in the Sun-Telegraph sports section read, “Ruth Smashes Three Homers, But Bucs Win, 11-7.” It varied only slightly in The Pittsburgh Press: “Ruth Hits Three Homers, But Bucs Win, 11-7.” In 1935, sportswriters often forgot they were supposed to be journalists rather than fans. Star-struck Volney Walsh of The Press repeatedly referred to Ruth as “the Great Man” in his account of the game. Overlooked was Pirates third baseman Tommy Thevenow’s five RBI.
May 28, 2006: OK, so it wasn’t the unbreakable record after all. Henry Aaron broke it in 1974. Now it was Barry Bonds’ turn to pass the Babe. The Giants superstar launched a 445-foot home run off Colorado Rockies pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim with no outs and a man on in the fourth inning at AT&T Park. Bonds rounded the bases as black, orange, and gold streamers shot down from the upper deck. “I thought the game was finished,” cracked Kim to Janie McCauley of the AP. “People cheer like that when it’s over.” The ball rolled off the roof to Giants fan Andrew Morbitzer, who was in line waiting for beer and peanuts, a rare instance where drinking paid off. It was another instance where the outcome took a back seat. The Rockies won the game, 6-3. Bonds’ achievement has been tainted by suspicions of performance-enhancing drugs, which he’s denied. Interestingly, Aaron also passed Ruth with a fourth-inning, two-run shot with none out.
The Pursuit of Perfection
May 26, 1959: Harvey Haddix of the Pirates pitched the greatest game in MLB history, but it wasn’t enough. At County Stadium, he threw nine perfect innings against the Milwaukee Braves. The problem was that his mound counterpart, Lew Burdette, didn’t allow any runs either. So, the diminutive lefty Haddix threw a perfect 10th. . . and 11th. . . and 12th, and still neither team had scored a run.
It was still scoreless in the bottom half of the unlucky 13th when Felix Mantilla hit a routine grounder to Pirates third baseman Don Hoak. Hoak’s low throw skipped past first baseman Rocky Nelson. Mantilla was safe on the error. Eddie Mathews bunted Mantilla to second base, prompting Haddix to issue an intentional walk to Aaron. The next batter, Joe Adcock, hit the ball into the right-center field stands for an apparent home run. However, Aaron wasn’t sure it was going out, and as he watched the ball, Adcock passed him on the bases and was out. The umpires ruled the final score was 2-0. The next day, the front-page headline in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette blared in big, bold capitaal letters usually reserved for declarations of war, “HADDIX RETIRES 36, LOSES, 2-0.” Later, NL president Giles ruled that the score was 1-0; since Adcock’s hit was ruled a double, only the one run necessary to end the game counted under the rules.
“No, I wasn’t sure I had a perfect game,” Haddix told Lester J. Biederman of The Pittsburgh Press. “When you go that long it’s hard to remember the baserunners. . . I guess I made a mistake to Adcock. I was tired. I wanted a low pitch and came in high with a slider. He really walloped it.” Haddix isn’t included on the list of perfect game pitchers. Why can’t we add him to that list?
The following video was shot by the author at Mr. Smalls Theatre in Millvale, Pennsylvania, on September 20, 2025. The Baseball Project is a taper-friendly band.
May 26, 2001: Then there was the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Curt Schilling. He was pitching against the San Diego Padres in Qualcomm Stadium, and he was five outs away from a perfect game. Padres catcher Ben Davis stepped to the plate with his team down, 2-0. Davis popped a short bunt past the mound. Second baseman Jay Bell fielded the ball, but not in enough time to throw Davis out at first. The angry Diamondbacks thought it was a bush league way to break up a perfect game, and shouted obscenities at Davis from the dugout.
Schilling was understanding about it, telling the AP, “It’s a 2-0 game, so I can’t really be out there being [mad] about that, because the tying run is at the plate from that point on, and you’ve got to get outs. But I was a little surprised, yeah.” Arizona manager Bob Brenly angrily said, “Ben Davis is young and has a lot to learn. That was just uncalled for.”
“I’ll let them worry about it,” said Davis, who Tony Gwynn assured that he did nothing wrong. “. . .I brought the tying run to the plate and Bubba [Trammell, the on-deck hitter] can go deep at any time.” This writer is with Davis. He played for the Padres, not the Diamondbacks. Why should he care about the other guy’s perfect game?
Schilling gave up a run on two hits in the ninth inning anyway and won the game, 3-1.
The Weird and Wacky
May 26, 1993: Let’s back up to 1988. The Athletics’ Jose Canseco finished that season hitting .307/.391/.569 while leading the majors with 42 home runs and 124 RBI, for which he garnered the AL Most Valuable Player Award. That earned him a five-year, $23.5 million contract extension effective in the middle of the 1990 season. Then, he stopped playing the game properly, overswinging at bad pitches, and playing the outfield indifferently. According to Buzz Bissinger’s book, Three Nights in August, A’s manager Tony La Russa called Canseco into his office and said, “What the hell are you doing? You’re not playing the game. This is not how we play.” Canseco replied, “I’m a performer.”
By August, 1992, the Athletics apparently had had enough of Canseco’s “performances” and dealt him to the Texas Rangers. On this fateful day in 1993, Canseco, playing right field for the Rangers, went back on a fly ball by Cleveland’s Carlos Martinez and let the ball bounce off his head for a home run. The fourth-inning home run turned out to be significant, as Cleveland won, 7-6.
After the game, it didn’t seem to bother Canseco much. He told the AP, “Hey, I’m an entertainer.”
May 27, 1981: In the top of the sixth in the Kingdome, the Kansas City Royals’ Amos Otis tapped a slow roller near the third base foul line. With no chance to get the speedy Otis out at first, the correct play was to leave the ball alone and hope it rolls foul. Seattle Mariners third baseman Lenny Randle had another idea. He plopped to his belly and blew the ball foul. Instantly out of the dugout popped the Royals’ spoilsport manager, Jim Frey, arguing that Randle illegally altered the course of the ball. The umpires conferred and agreed, awarding Otis a single. The play proved inconsequential as Kansas City won, 8-5.
May 27, 1991: Center fielder Rodney McCray of the Pacific Coast League Vancouver Canadians crashed through the center field wall in Portland to catch a fly ball, just missing bashing his head into a steel beam. The juice company that sponsored the sign through which McCray ran presented him with golf balls, a jacket, and a hat. It also donated $1,000 to the United Negro College Fund. Regular readers of this column saw Turner Ward ram through the right field wall at Three Rivers Stadium while catching a ball. Now you can compare the two catches.
May 27, 2021: It should have been a routine inning-ending groundout to the third baseman by the Cubs’ Javier Báez. The throw from Pirates third baseman Erik González was just slightly off line, taking first baseman Will Craig a step or two from the base toward home plate. Craig could have – should have – stepped on the bag to record the out. Instead, he tried to tag Baez and allowed him to get into a comical rundown between home plate and first base. By the time the Pirates got done throwing the ball around the infield like the Bad News Bears as the Cubs laughed hysterically from their dugout, the Cubs had scored a run, and Baez wound up at second base. Baez eventually scored on a single from Ian Happ. Those two third-inning runs were critical, as the Cubs won, 5-3, on a Thursday afternoon getaway game where Craig wanted to get away more than anybody in Pittsburgh. In a classic understatement, Pirates manager Derek Shelton told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “We have to know how to execute that.”
An Unassisted Triple Play – Part 1
May 30, 1927: No, it’s not really Pick On the Pirates Week here at Pitcher List. It’s just a coincidence that they were the victims of so many of the odd plays recounted here. In the first game of a doubleheader at Forbes Field, Cubs shortstop Jimmy Cooney pulled off a rare unassisted triple play in the fourth inning of a 7-6 Cubs victory. Lloyd Waner led off the inning with a single to center field off Tony Kaufmann. Clyde Barnhart followed with a walk. With Paul Waner at the plate, Pirates manager Donie Bush put the hit-and-run on. Cooney had crept up behind Lloyd at second base, as if a pickoff play were on. As the runners took off, “Big Poison” hit a line drive directly into the glove of Cooney, who stepped on second to retire “Little Poison” and tagged Barnhart out on his way to the bag.
It was the first of two unassisted triple plays executed in the majors on two consecutive days. The next day. . . Oops! That falls into next week’s column. You’ll have to look for it next Friday. Bet you can hardly wait.
