A good number of rare feats were crammed into the period July 12-18.
Lewis, We Hardly Knew Ye
July 12, 1890: The uncredited wire service writer called it a “disastrous experiment” when the Buffalo Bisons of the Players League sent “a young man named Lewis” to the mound against the Brooklyn Ward’s Wonders. Lewis’s full name has been lost to history. We don’t even know whether Lewis was his first or last name, but after this game, he probably didn’t want his true identity revealed any more than Batman did. In his only known professional appearance, Lewis pitched three innings, giving up 20 runs, all earned, on 13 hits, including three homers, and seven walks. He then finished the game in left field, going 1-for-5 with a run scored. He left baseball with some amusing career stats: a 60.00 ERA, 22.25 FIP, 6.667 WHIP, and 8 ERA+.
Brother Act
July 12, 1962: When St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Larry Jackson took the mound in the top of the ninth inning to protect a 6-3 lead at County Stadium, it probably didn’t seem like a big deal to him when Milwaukee Braves rookie Tommie Aaron hit a one-out, pinch-hit solo home run. Then, Jackson gave up a single to Roy McMillan, causing manager Johnny Keane to bring right-hander Lindy McDaniel in from the bullpen to get the dangerous left-handed batters, Mack Jones and Eddie Mathews. However, after McDaniel did the unthinkable by surrendering a single to Jones and walking Mathews, Tommie’s more famous brother, Henry Aaron, crushed a home run deep over the left field wall to win it for the Braves, 8-6. It was Aaron’s third grand slam of the season.
“No-Hitter, Home Run, You Got It All!”
July 12, 1997: Would Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Francisco Cordova suffer a fate similar to that of former Pirate Harvey Haddix, who pitched 12 perfect innings in Milwaukee on May 26, 1959, only to lose the game in the 13th? Long-time Pirates fans had to be wondering that when Cordova exited the mound at Three Rivers Stadium in front of 44,119 cheering fans after pitching nine innings of no-hit ball against the Houston Astros. Neither team had scored. The Pirates failed to score in the bottom of the inning, and manager Gene Lamont called on Ricardo Rincon to pitch the 10th. “[Cordova] had thrown enough, a few too many,” Lamont explained to Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette after the game. “If I send him back out there, he ends up throwing 135 or 140 pitches. Remember, the game is riding on every pitch. That puts more stress on the arm.” Rincon held Houston hitless in the 10th, and in the bottom of the inning, gave way to pinch-hitter Mark Smith with two men on base. Smith walloped the second pitch he saw from John Hudek into the left-field seats to win the game, 3-0. In the iconic video, principal owner Kevin McClatchy can be seen standing and raising his arms as soon as Smith connected. On the radio, Lanny Frattare’s “No-hitter, home run, you got it all!” call has endured. It was the first combined, extra-inning no-hitter in major league history. The following video has no sound for 32 seconds. Then you hear Frattare’s call.
Covering the Bases
July 12, 2005: Free-spirited pitcher Bronson Arroyo came up with the Pirates in 2000. In 2001, “Llegendary Lloyd” McClendon became the Pirates’ manager, and he didn’t like Arroyo playing the guitar in the clubhouse or wearing his dyed hair in cornrows. It’s OK for a ballplayer to have golf, huntin,’ or fishin’ as hobbies, but we don’t want them there musicians around, especially the ones with them there fancy hairdos. In 2003, the Pirates stupidly let Arroyo go to the Boston Red Sox on a waiver claim. In Boston, Arroyo proved to be a durable back-of-the-rotation starter and an important part of their 2004 World Series champions. On this date, he parlayed that fame into the release of his first CD, Covering the Bases, where he covers songs by, inter alia, Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters, and Pearl Jam. The album closes with Arroyo’s version of the Standells’ “Dirty Water,” with Red Sox teammates Johnny Damon, Lenny DiNardo, and Kevin Youkilis joining Arroyo in singing the refrain, “Boston, you’re my home!” It was a nice idea at the time, but after the 2005 season, Boston was no longer home to either Arroyo or Damon.
Double the Triples
July 13, 1946: At Shibe Park, St. Louis Browns center fielder Al Zarilla tied a major league record by hitting two triples in the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Athletics. Zarilla led off the inning with a triple down the right field line against Lou Knerr. He came up later in the inning with two on and two out, by which time Lee Griffeth was pitching, and hit another triple to right field. The seven-run inning propelled the Browns to an easy 11-4 victory. Cleveland’s Charlie Jamieson first accomplished this same feat in 1922. He was also the last until Zarilla tied him.
Double the Pinch-Hit Homers
July 13, 1973: Hal Breeden of the Montreal Expos became only the second player in major league history to hit a pinch-hit home run in each game of a doubleheader. The only other player to perform the feat was Joe Cronin of the Red Sox in 1943. When Breeden did it at Atlanta Stadium against the Atlanta Braves, it went largely unnoticed. In the first game, with the Expos ahead, 8-7, in the sixth inning, Breeden pinch-hit for Boots Day and connected off Tom House. The Expos won, 11-7. Fans who like scoring got their money’s worth. The Braves won the second game, 15-6. Batting for Tom Walker in the eighth inning with Atlanta ahead, 9-2, Breeden homered off Danny Frisella with two on.
Sign Him Up!
July 13, 1984: You had to like Braves owner Ted Turner. What he knew about baseball, you could put in a thimble, but at least he tried to help as much as he could, including naming himself the manager one day in 1977, until National League president Chub Feeney told him he couldn’t. Fast forward to July 7, 1984, when catcher Alex Trevino just completed a six-game stretch during which he went 9-for-24 with two doubles, a home run, and three RBI. Turner thought that was worthy of an extension. Six days later, they got it done, locking up the 26-year-old through 1988, at an estimated cost exceeding $1.5 million, a big contract for that time period. Trevino entered the season as a lifetime .252 hitter with two home runs in a little more than five seasons. For the 1984 Braves, he would hit .244/.289/.338, 3 HR, and 28 RBI, and get traded to the San Francisco Giants after the season for John Rabb.
Out of My Way!
June 14, 1970: Last week, we looked at All-Star Game highlights, but there’s one more that falls into this week. This is another one from a time when many star players played their entire career with one team and had some league pride, before the game became the hugfest it is today. This game at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati went into the 12th inning tied, 4-4. In the bottom of the inning, hometown hero Pete Rose hit a two-out single against the California Angels’ Clyde Wright. The next batter is the guy who nobody remembers, Billy Grabarkewitz of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who singled and moved Rose to second base. Next was Jim Hickman, who stroked a single to center field, from where Amos Otis uncorked a strong throw home. The ball arrived at home at the same time Rose did. Rose rammed into catcher Ray Fosse, sending the catcher, the ball, and the catcher’s mitt flying as Rose scored the winning run. Fosse separated his shoulder and was never the same player. Appropriately, Charlie Hustle came away with a Charley horse.
The play remains controversial. Afterward, Wright told the assembled press, “Why in the hell did [Rose] have to do what he did? I guess it was instinct. But from where I was standing, it looked like he could have gone around [Fosse].” Said Rose, “I didn’t think it was a dirty play. I’m playing to win, and that’s the only way I could get in there, because Ray was blocking the plate by straddling the foul line a few feet away from the base. I didn’t think the play would be that close, but I hope I didn’t hurt him.” Fosse and Cleveland teammate Sam McDowell had dinner at Rose’s home the night before. But to Rose, nobody was a friend when the game was on the line. Rose continued, “Wright said I could have gone around him, did he? Well, it’s his fault. He’s the guy who threw the [pitch to Hickman].” If you’re interested in this writer’s opinion – sure, you are – I think it was a good play. The fans pay exorbitant ticket prices to see a real game, and that’s what Rose gave them.
Different Kinds of Streakers
July 17, 1941: New York Yankees great Joe DiMaggio captivated a nation with a 56-game hitting streak that began on May 15. Some 67,468 packed Cleveland Stadium on a Thursday night to see whether the great DiMaggio could keep it going against left-hander Al Smith. It was the largest crowd ever to see a major league night game. In the first and seventh innings, DiMaggio hit hot smashes down the third base line that were stabbed by Cleveland third baseman Ken Keltner, who retired him with strong throws to first base. In between, DiMaggio walked, then batted one more time, in the eighth inning with the bases loaded and one out. Cleveland manager Roger Peckinpaugh signaled to his bullpen for right-hander Jim Bagby. DiMaggio rapped a hard grounder to shortstop Lou Boudreau. The ball took a bad hop, but Boudreau quickly snagged it with his bare hand and started an inning-ending double play.
DiMaggio recalled the game 28 years later, when he was an executive and hitting coach for the Oakland Athletics, to Herb Goren of Christian Science Monitor, and remembered that Boudreau smothered the bad hop with his chest. “No,” said Boudreau. “I got it with my bare hand. I know. The hand was stinging an hour after the game was over.” (I went with Boudreau’s version in the preceding paragraph, finding it more credible.) The Yankees took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth, when Cleveland’s Larry Rosenthal hit a two-run triple off Johnny Murphy. With no outs, it looked like Cleveland might tie the game and give DiMaggio another shot in extra innings. But Murphy retired the next three batters without the run scoring. After the game, DiMaggio told the Associated Press, “I can’t say I’m glad it’s over. Of course, I wanted to go as long as I could.” Keltner needed a police escort to his car.
July 17, 1991: After the sixth inning of the Braves’ 12-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, two male streakers ran down the left field line toward home plate. One slid head-first into home plate. (Writing that made my own male parts hurt.) He was nabbed by the police. The other escaped, running naked through the stands. Braves catcher Greg Olson told the AP, “If I had thought twice, I’d have put a nasty tag on him. I’d have probably made every highlight film in America.” I’d have loved to have written that headline. Runner Barely Safe Under Olson’s Tag? Olson Stops Runner’s Cheeky Dash Home?
Double the Triple Plays
July 17, 1990: The Minnesota Twins pulled off two triple plays at Fenway Park, despite losing to the Red Sox, 1-0. Both were hot grounders to third baseman Gary Gaetti, who stepped on the bag, threw to Al Newman at second base, who threw to Kent Hrbek at first. The unfortunate victims were Tom Brunansky in the fourth inning and Jody Reed in the eighth.
Seerey was Searing Hot
July 18, 1948: The AP headline referred to him simply as “Pat,” as though he were a household name. The United Press called him “the guy nobody wanted because he got too fat.” But on this day, Chicago White Sox left fielder Pat Seerey scored a victory for the weight watchers when he hit four home runs at Shibe Park to help his team beat the Athletics, 12-11 in 11 innings. The big blasts came in the fourth, fifth, sixth, and 11th innings, the latter the game winner. Two of the homers cleared the roof. It was the first time in 12 years that a hitter accomplished the feat, and the third time in the 20th century. Seerey, who played at 219 pounds and hit 86 home runs in his seven-year career, told Baseball Digest in 1974, “Anybody who hits four home runs in a game has got to be lucky.” For his efforts, he got $500 from Philadelphia battery manufacturer Charles Ziehler. Why anybody would reward a visiting player is a mystery to this writer. Today, Ziehler has a playground named after him. The battery business must have been pretty good.
Two Inside-the-Park Homers Not Enough
July 18, 1957: Cubs Ernie Banks and Chuck Tanner each hit inside-the-park home runs at Forbes Field, but a four-run rally in the bottom of the ninth gave the Pirates a 6-5 victory. Banks got his in the fourth inning when right fielder Frank Thomas misplayed his fly ball. Tanner got his in the eighth inning when his sharp line drive hit the grass, veered away from center fielder Bill Virdon, and traveled all the way to the wall, 457 feet from home plate. Forbes Field was known for an uneven playing surface. Just ask Tony Kubek.
“Sandlot Baseball”
June 18, 1961: The AP reporter’s annoyance with having to spend a long evening at Crosley Field practically jumped off the page when he wrote that the game had “all the aspects of sandlot baseball.” It was the Braves who prevailed over the Cincinnati Reds, 12-8. The teams combined for 22 hits, 10 walks, three errors, two wild pitches, and a balk during the three-hour and 25-minute affair. Milwaukee batted around in the second and third innings, but didn’t get an extra-base hit until the eighth. With the way the Braves were hitting, God only knows why manager Chuck Dressen decided to unleash the running game in the top of the sixth, when the Braves stole five bases. With Aaron on second and Joe Adcock on first, the runners pulled off a double steal. Pitcher Jim Maloney then walked Joe Torre, after which the Braves executed a triple steal, with Aaron scoring.
Twin Grand Slams Set a Record
July 18, 1962: At Metropolitan Stadium, the Twins set a major league record when Bob Allison and Harmon Killebrew hit two grand slams in one inning against two Cleveland pitchers. Minnesota was already winning, 1-0, when Allison stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and connected off Barry Latman. When Earl Battey followed with a solo home run, Latman’s day was done without retiring a batter. Jim Perry relieved him, gave up a seventh run, and loaded the bases again for Killebrew, who had walked and scored on Allison’s grand slam earlier in the inning. Then it was Killebrew’s turn to hit a big fly to add four more runs to the Twins’ total. After the 11-run inning, the rest of the game was academic, although Killebrew homered off Perry again two innings later. On the nightly news, fans had to look at the final 14-3 score twice and wonder whether it was a game between the Vikings and the Browns.
The Say-Hey Kid Reaches 3,000 Hits
July 18, 1970: Willie Mays became the 10th player in major league history to reach the 3,000-hit mark with his second-inning single off the Expos’ Mike Wegener. Mays entered the game with 2,999 hits. The 28,879 fans who showed up at Candlestick Park hoping to witness history booed lustily when Wegener walked Mays on four pitches in the first inning. The Giants scored five runs in that inning on two hits and three walks. Wegener apparently realized that walking guys wasn’t a good strategy. When he faced Mays in the second inning, he got ahead, 0-2, but then Mays got a piece of a low slider and sent the ball bouncing through the left side of the infield. Standing on first base, he waved his hat to the cheering crowd and was soon surrounded by teammates. A few Expos congratulated him as well. The game was stopped for 10 minutes as NL president Chub Feeney led a brief ceremony. Also on hand were 3,000-hit club member Stan Musial and Mays’ former New York Giants teammate Monte Irvin, from the commissioner’s office. Mays got another hit, and the Giants won handily, 10-1.
