Welcome to our weekly peek into the past, where we look back at the good, the bad, the ugly, and the downright bizarre from the annals of our national pastime.
The Letter
July 19, 1908: This was an era in baseball unlike what we know today. Fans were often on the field of play, lined up along the outfield wall and the foul lines. When the game was over, players rushed off the field to avoid the mobs. Thus, if a batter delivered what we call today a “walk-off” hit, once the winning run touched home plate, he and his teammates didn’t bother with any formalities; the batter might fail to touch first base or the other baserunners who were forced might skip touching the next base.
However, on this date, the Chicago Tribune published this letter to the sports editor from one Joseph Rupp: “In the last half of the ninth, with the score tied, two men out and a runner on third, the batter hits to left and the runner scores. The batter, seeing the runner score, stops between home and first. The ball is thrown to first baseman, who touches his base before the runner reaches it. Can runner score on this?
The sports editor answered, “No. Run cannot score when third out is made before reaching first base.”
Chicago Cubs second baseman Johnny Evers read this with interest and filed it away in the back of his mind. The significance of this event will be revealed later in the season in a crucial game. How? Sorry, you’re just going to have to keep reading this column every week to find out.
Three Years Later
July 19, 1911: In the Pacific Coast League, Vernon Tigers center fielder Walter Carlisle executed a rare unassisted triple play against the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels had Charley Moore on second base and George Metzger on first base when Roy Akin hit a line drive directly at Carlisle. Expecting the ball to drop, the runners took off. Carlisle came in and caught the ball on the run, touched second to retire Moore, then touched first to put out Metzger, who had already rounded second. It was the first unassisted triple play by an outfielder in the history of organized baseball.
Meanwhile, the Cubs, who had won four of the last five National League pennants, were breaking up the Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance double play combo forever immortalized in the Franklin Pierce Adams poem, “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon.” Cubs owner Charles Murphy declared that 34-year-old Frank Chance, who was also the manager, would step aside and install Vic Saier as the permanent first baseman. Chance was hitting .241/.430/.414 at the time, while the 21-year-old rookie Saier was hitting .327/.358/.449. Additionally, Evers, who would turn 30 in two days and was hitting .179/.368/.224, was sent off to a mountain vacation due to “nervous prostration” (or as we call it today, job burnout) to “woo natural sleep.” He needed to show “marked improvement” upon his return. Otherwise, his career was in jeopardy.
Johnny Evers, longtime second baseman mostly for the #Cubs, was born #OTD in 1881. Part of the famed “Tinker to Evers to Chance” infield, he won the National League MVP in 1914, and was elected to the #HallofFame in 1946. Evers was part of three World Series-winning teams. pic.twitter.com/4ouaCr8zV5
— Lost In Left Field (@LILFBaseball) July 21, 2026
Vern Lays Down the Law for 18 Innings
July 19, 1955: The next time you’re arguing that the won-lost record isn’t the best statistic for evaluating a pitcher, you might bring this game up as an example. At Forbes Field, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Vern Law pitched 18 innings against the Milwaukee Braves and left the game with the score tied, 2-2. Only one of the runs against him was earned. He gave up nine hits and two walks while striking out 12, and had just pitched 14 consecutive scoreless innings. The Braves used six pitchers while Law was in the game. When Pirates manager Fred Haney sent Roman Mejias to bat for Law in the bottom of the 18th inning, what remained of the Tuesday night crowd of 7,953 gave Law a standing ovation as he disappeared into the clubhouse.
In the top of the 19th, Pirates reliever Bob Friend surrendered a two-out RBI single to Chuck Tanner. Pittsburgh won the game in the bottom of the inning against pitcher Gene Conley. Dale Long’s one-out double scored Gene Freese to tie the game. After an intentional walk, Frank Thomas singled to center field, where Bill Bruton’s throw was in time to nab Freese. However, catcher Del Crandall dropped the ball and was charged with an error as Freese slid home. Friend was credited with the win.
Since we’ve been on the subject of triple plays lately in this column, it should be noted that Pittsburgh’s Johnny O’Brien hit into one in the second. With runners on first and second, O’Brien hit a soft liner to third baseman Eddie Mathews. The runners wandered too far off base as Mathews caught the ball before it hit the ground. He then fired to second baseman Henry Aaron (that’s no misprint), who threw on to first baseman Joe Adcock to force the runners.
Heroes Just For One Day
July 19, 1968: We like to celebrate the Everyman here whenever we can. After all, anybody can be a hero if he has the talent of Barry Bonds. But what if he’s Tommy Matchick, the utility infielder who hit .215/.254/.270, 4 HR, 64 RBI, and 49 OPS+ for five major league teams from 1967-72? On this day, the Detroit Tigers entered the bottom of the ninth inning at Tiger Stadium behind the Baltimore Orioles, 4-2. Detroit had runners on first and third when Baltimore manager Earl Weaver summoned Moe Drabowsky from the bullpen. Bill Freehan grounded into a force to drive in a run, but with two outs and the light-hitting Matchick scheduled to bat, the Orioles were probably thinking about the postgame meal. Matchick stunned the Orioles by hitting Drabowsky’s 3-2 pitch into the right field upper deck to win the game. Looking back at the game in 1997, Matchick told Jefferey M. Samoray of The Detroit News, “I was just trying to make contact. It was the biggest hit of my career.”
July 21, 1971: Before he gained fame as a manager, Tony La Russa was a backup infielder who played for three teams in the years 1963, 1968-71, and 1973. He hit .199/.292/.250 for his career. When asked about his career highlights as a player, La Russa mentioned that as a member of the Oakland Athletics, he recorded the first pinch-hit in the Oakland Coliseum and once scored the winning run as a pinch-runner. Indeed, the latter happened on this date in the bottom of the 12th inning against Cleveland, with the score tied, 3-3. A’s shortstop Larry Brown led off the inning with a walk. La Russa was inserted as a pinch runner. He made his way to third base with one out and Sal Bando at the plate. Facing Ed Farmer, Bando hit a fly ball to right field, and La Russa tagged and scored the winning run. Associated Press ran a photo of La Russa colliding with Cleveland catcher Ken Suarez, leading with his left forearm. Of course, this was before manager La Russa decided baseball should be a sissy sport and constantly emerged from the dugout to complain about inside pitches.
Inside-the-Park Grand Slams, Anybody?
July 20, 1965: The New York Yankees’ Mel Stottlemyer became just the third Yankees pitcher to hit a grand slam and the first to do it of the inside-the-park variety as New York beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-3. Stottlemyer came up to bat in the fifth inning with bases loaded and the Yankees ahead, 2-1. He cracked a pitch from Bill Monbouquette on a line drive to deep left-center field. By the time an outfielder retrieved it, all four runners had scampered home. Stottlemyer pitched a complete game to run his record to 10-5.
July 25, 1956: It remains the only walk-off inside-the-park home run in major league history. At Forbes Field, the Cubs led the Pirates, 8-5, in the bottom of the ninth when the Pirates loaded the bases with no outs against Cubs pitcher Turk Lown. Jim Brosnan was brought in to pitch to Pittsburgh right fielder Roberto Clemente. Brosnan’s first pitch to the young budding superstar was high, hard, and inside. Clemente drove it to deep left field, where it struck near a light tower in the field of play. It was too high for left fielder Jim King to catch and caromed all the way to center field. The three base runners scored as center fielder Solly Drake tracked the ball down. Coaching third base, manager Bobby Bragan held up his hands to stop Clemente, hollering in English and Spanish, but Clemente darted home anyway, slid past the plate, and touched it with his hand ahead of Ernie Banks’ relay throw. The Pirates won, 9-8, and many of the 12,431 in attendance, delirious with joy, stormed the field. Afterward, Bragan told Charles J. Doyle of the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, “Gosh, that guy had my heart up in my throat for a few seconds. Fine him? Definitely not. He’s winning for us, isn’t he?”
Umpires Make Mistakes, Too
July 20, 2010: With Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre and bench coach John Schaefer having been ejected, Don Mattingly took over the reins for his managerial debut of sorts against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. In the top of the ninth, the Dodgers were protecting a 5-4 lead with their closer, Jonathan Broxton, on the mound. When the Giants loaded the bases with one out, Mattingly came out to the mound to set up the infield defense. He left the mound, but when first baseman James Toney hollered a question at him, Mattingly returned to the mound, despite home plate umpire Adrian Johnson telling him, “No! No! No!” Giants manager Bruce Bochy was out of the dugout like a flash, saying that Mattingly’s return trip to the mound constituted a second visit, successfully arguing that Broxton had to come out of the game. (Rule 806(b), if you want to dazzle your friends.) Left-hander George Sherrill was brought in from the bullpen and was allowed only the customary eight warmup pitches. Not properly warmed up, he gave up an RBI double to Andres Torres. In came Travis Schlichting from the bullpen. Buster Posey added an RBI single off Schlichting, and the Dodgers lost, 7-5.
Under the rules, Broxton should have been forced to face Torres before coming out of the game, Sherrill should have been given enough time to warm up, and Mattingly should have been ejected for disregarding umpire Johnson. However, the Dodgers didn’t know the rules any better than the umpires in this situation and didn’t file a protest. After the game, Torre told reporters, “[Mattingly] didn’t know the rule. If he is the next manager, the guy he’s replacing didn’t know it either, so that’s the way it goes.”
July 24, 1983: It will be forever known as “The Pine Tar Game.” The Yankees hosted the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium, and Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles noticed that his Royals counterpart, George Brett, had pine tar on his bat up near the trademark, possibly past the legal limit of 18 inches from the bat handle, in violation of baseball rules. (Rule 101(b) this time.) Nettles spread the information around to the whole team, and manager Billy Martin saved it for when he needed it. When Brett hit a two-run homer off Rich Gossage in the top of the ninth to put Kansas City ahead, 5-4, it was time. Martin told the umpires to inspect the bat.
The umpires huddled. As umpires aren’t equipped with a measuring tape, they laid the bat against home plate, which measures 17 inches in width. Seeing the pine tar was well in excess of the 17 inches, the umpires disallowed the home run and called Brett out, causing him to charge from the dugout in a rage, bumping several umpires. While this was going on, the bat was in the possession of umpire Tim McClelland when Royals coach Rocky Colavito began chatting him up. At that point, Royals pitcher Gaylord Perry snuck behind McClelland, took the bat, and started to run away with it. Eventually, stadium security retrieved it. Off it went to. . . somewhere. Afterward, Royals manager Dick Howser told the press, “I saw guys in sports coats and ties trying to intercept the bat. It was like a Brink’s robbery. Who’s got the gold? Our players had it, the umpires had it. I don’t know who has it – the CIA, a think tank at the Pentagon.”
Kansas City played the game under protest. The result will be in a later column.
He Really Wanted to Catch That Ball!
July 21, 1906: In a game between railroad employees in Pitcairn, Pennsylvania, B.F. Hicks, who was playing left field, chased a long foul fly ball to the railroad track. As a train came barreling down, the players tried to warn him, but he was fixated on catching the ball. Just as he made the catch, the train struck and killed him. His lifeless body lay with the ball stuck in his glove.
Futility
July 21, 1975: At Shea Stadium, New York Mets second baseman Felix Millan had a great day against the Houston Astros, going for 4-for-4 with four singles. First base was as far as he got, however. The next batter, Torre, hit into four double plays, setting an NL record. The Astros won, 6-2, as pitcher Ken Forsch tossed a complete game.
7/21/1975 Joe Torre sets a National League record by grounding into four double plays in a game. After the game, Torre tells reporters he “couldn’t have set a record without” Félix Millán, who singled before each of Torre’s at-bats. pic.twitter.com/GWEvWyhlPv
— This Day in Mets History (@NYMhistory) July 21, 2026
July 24, 1948: A week after Chicago White Sox left fielder Pat Seerey hit four home runs in an 11-inning game (as dutifully reported here), on this day he struck out seven times in a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. He also hit a home run in the second game as the Sox split the two games with New York. He retired during the next season, telling Baseball Digest that he’d been done in by “curveballitis.”
Don’t Blame Haney
July 22, 1959: By now Haney was managing the fourth-place Braves, who were trying to “three-peat” as NL pennant winners. But they weren’t getting much offense from their second basemen, so the front office went out and purchased Bobby Avila from the Red Sox. The 11-year veteran Avila was at his best with Cleveland and won the 1954 batting title there for their American League pennant winners. United Press International asked Haney what he thought of the deal. He sounded like a man covering his retreat. “I’ve never seen him play,” said Haney. “Ask [executive vice president Birdie] Tebbetts or [general manager John] McHale about him.” Sheesh!
Coach Still Got It
July 23, 1968: Bill Virdon, the Pirates center fielder when they won the World Series in 1960, retired as a player after the 1965 season, and was now serving as their first base coach under manager Larry Shepard. There were whispers around Pittsburgh that Virdon retired because he didn’t like playing for then-manager Harry Walker, although Virdon was too classy to confirm that. In the spring of 1968, Virdon wanted to come back as an active player, but Shepard didn’t like the idea. However, with several Pirates and 18 Pirates farmhands away for military duty (Can you imagine Alex Rodriguez doing military duty? Me neither.), the Pirates had no choice but to activate the 37-year-old Virdon. Shepard planned to use Virdon as a pinch-runner and a late defensive replacement. However, on this night, he sent Virdon to pinch-hit against Ted Abernathy of the Cincinnati Reds in the bottom of the ninth at Forbes Field with a man on first base, one out, and the Reds ahead, 5-3. It was Virdon’s second plate appearance of the season. Virdon hit Abernathy’s 3-1 pitch over the screen in right field to tie the game, as the Tuesday night crowd of 8,739 gave him a standing ovation.
After the game, Virdon told Les Biederman of The Pittsburgh Press, “Abernathy thought I might be taking that pitch, and he was just trying to get it over. But the moment I connected, I felt it was gone.” Alas, it wasn’t quite the fairy tale ending one might expect. The Reds won the game in 12 innings, 7-6.
