This Date in Baseball-Week Ahead (2024)

July 12

1901 — Cy Young of the Boston Red Sox won his 300th game with a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia A’s.

1921 — Babe Ruth sets a record of 137 career home runs.

1945 — Tommy Holmes of the Boston Braves went hitless to end his consecutive-game hitting streak at 37 games, an NL record that stood until Pete Rose broke it in 1978.

1949 — Larry Doby of the Cleveland Indians and Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe of the host Brooklyn Dodgers became the first black players to appear in an All-Star game as the AL took advantage of five NL errors to win 11-7 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.

1951 — Allie Reynolds of the New York Yankees beat Bob Feller of the Indians 1-0 with a no-hit game at Cleveland. Gene Woodling’s home run was the difference.

1955 — St. Louis’ Stan Musial hit Frank Sullivan’s first pitch of the 12th inning for a home run to give the NL All-Star team a 6-5 victory over the AL at Milwaukee’s County Stadium. The AL had led 5-0 after six innings.

1979 — In the most ill-fated promotion in baseball history, thousands of fans overran the Comiskey Park field during “Disco Demolition Night” and caused the Chicago White Sox to forfeit the second game of a doubleheader after losing to Detroit 4-1 in the first.

1990 — Melido Perez pitched the record-tying seventh no-hitter of the season as the Chicago White Sox beat the New York Yankees 8-0 in a game shortened to six innings by rain. That was one inning longer than the rain-shortened no-hitter pitched in 1988 by Melido’s brother Pascual, who watched from the Yankees’ bench.

1994 — Tony Gwynn barely slipped past Ivan Rodriguez on Moises Alou’s double in the 10th inning to give the NL an 8-7 victory and end its record six-game losing streak in the All-Star game. Fred McGriff’s two-run homer in the ninth off Lee Smith had tied it and earned him MVP honors.

1997 — Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rinco combined for a 10 inning no-hitter as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Houston Astros 3-0. Cordova pitched nine innings, walking two and striking out 10, before being removed with the score 0-0. Rincon pitched the 10th and got the win when Mark Smith hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the inning.

2005 — Miguel Tejada and Mark Teixeira led the American League to a 7-5 win over the National League in Detroit for its eighth straight win. Tejada, the game’s MVP, homered off John Smoltz to start the scoring and Teixeira added a two-run drive off Dontrelle Willis.

2008 — Greg Maddux became the oldest pitcher in big league history to steal a base at 42 years and 89 days when he stole a base in San Diego’s loss to Atlanta. Jim Kaat had the previous mark. It was Maddux’s 11th stolen base of his career.

2011 — Prince Fielder hit a three-run homer and Roy Halladay and his relief combined on a six-hitter to lead the NL over the AL 5-1, giving the senior circuit its first two-game winning streak in the All-Star game since the mid-1990s.

2016 — Kansas City’s Eric Hosmer homered and drove in two runs, Royals teammate Salvador Perez also hit a two-run homer, and the American League won its fourth consecutive All-Star Game, beating the NL 4-2.

2021 — The Korea Baseball Association announced that it is suspending its season due to a spike in COVID-19 cases.

_____

July 13

1896 — Philadelphia’s Ed Delahanty hit four home runs in a losing effort, a 9-8 loss to Chicago.

1934 — Babe Ruth hit his 700th home run in a 4-2 victory over Tommy Bridges and the Detroit Tigers. Lou Gehrig left in the first with a severe case of lumbago, the most serious threat to his streak. He returned for one at bat the next day.

1943 — The first night game in All-Star history, at Philadelphia’s Shibe Park, went to the AL, 5-3, despite a single, triple and home run by NL center fielder Vince DiMaggio of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The big blow was a three-run homer by Bobby Doerr of the Boston Red Sox, which gave the AL the lead for good.

1945 — Chicago’s Pat Seerey hit three home runs, a triple and drove in eight runs to lead the White Sox in a 16-4 win over New York at Yankee Stadium.

1954 — Pitcher Dean Stone did not retire a batter but received credit for the AL’s 11-9 All-Star victory at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium. Red Schoendienst tried to steal a run for the NL after Stone was summoned in the eighth inning, but the pitcher’s throw to the plate nailed the runner for the third out.

1963 — Early Wynn, at 43, registered his 300th and last victory, pitching the first five innings of Cleveland’s 7-4 triumph over the Kansas City A’s.

1965 — The NL took the lead over the AL for the first time since the All-Star series began, winning 6-5 at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minn.

1971 — Reggie Jackson’s mammoth home run off the power generator on the right-field roof at Tiger Stadium highlighted a barrage of six homers — three by each team — as the AL beat the NL 6-4 in the All-Star game.

1982 — The NL registered its 11th consecutive All-Star victory over the AL with a 4-1 victory at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, the first All-Star game played outside the United States. Dave Concepcion’s two-run homer off Dennis Eckersley in the second inning was the deciding hit.

1993 — Minnesota’s Kirby Puckett homered and doubled to win the MVP award in the AL’s 9-3 victory in the All-Star game at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

1999 — Boston’s Pedro Martinez pitched himself into the All-Star game record book, becoming the first to strike out the first four hitters in an All-Star game, fanning Barry Larkin, Larry Walker and Sammy Sosa in the first inning, and Mark McGwire to start the second. Martinez struck out five in the first two innings — tying an American League record — to lead the AL to a 4-1 victory over the National League.

2010 — Brian McCann’s three-run double in the seventh inning provided the NL all the offense it needed to capture its first Midsummer Classic since 1996 with a 3-1 victory.

2013 — Tim Lincecum threw the second no-hitter in 11 days, a gem saved by a spectacular diving catch by right fielder Hunter Pence in the San Francisco Giants’ 9-0 win against the last-place San Diego Padres. Lincecum, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, was the loser when Cincinnati’s Homer Bailey no-hit the Giants on July 2.

2014 — Madison Bumgarner became the first pitcher in 48 years to hit two grand slams in a season, and Buster Posey also hit a slam that boosted San Francisco to an 8-4 win over Arizona.

2021 — The American League wins the 91st All-Star game with a 5-2 win over the National League for their 8th straight win.

2022 — The Blue Jays, who had entered the season with sky-high expectations, fire manager Charlie Montoyo after the team has lost eight of its last ten games and is now barely ahead of the 5th-place Orioles. Bench coach John Schneider takes over as manager on an interim basis, and Casey Candaele is promoted from AAA Buffalo to step into the breach left by Schneider on the coaching staff.

_____

July 14

1916 — St. Louis Browns pitcher Ernie Koob went the distance in a 17-inning 0-0 tie with the Boston Red Sox. Carl Mays went the first 15 innings for the Red Sox and Dutch Leonard finished.

1946 — Cleveland player-manager Lou Boudreau hit four doubles and a home run in the first game of a doubleheader against Boston, but Ted Williams connected for three home runs and drove in eight runs for an 11-10 Red Sox victory.

1956 — Mel Parnell of the Boston Red Sox pitched a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox for a 4-0 victory at Fenway Park.

1967 — Eddie Mathews of the Astros hit his 500th home run off San Francisco’s Juan Marichal at Candlestick Park. Houston beat the Giants 8-6.

1968 — Hank Aaron hit his 500th home run off Mike McCormick as the Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2.

1968 — Don Wilson of the Houston Astros struck out 18 Reds in a 6-1 victory over Cincinnati in the nightcap of a doubleheader.

1969 — Oakland’s Reggie Jackson knocked in 10 runs in a 21-7 win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Jackson had five hits in six at-bats, including two two-run homers and a double.

1970 — Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds scored on Jim Hickman’s 12th-inning single after bowling over Cleveland’s Ray Fosse at home plate to give the NL a 5-4 victory over the AL at Riverfront Stadium.

1972 — In a major league first, Bill Haller was the umpire behind the plate while his brother Tom was the catcher for the Detroit Tigers.

1995 — Ramon Martinez threw the first no-hitter of the season as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Florida Marlins 7-0. Martinez was perfect for 7 1-3 innings before walking Tommy Gregg.

2006 — The New York Yankees snapped Jose Contreras’ winning streak at 17 decisions with a 6-5 win over the Chicago White Sox. Contreras (9-1) hadn’t lost since dropping a 4-2 decision to Minnesota last Aug. 15.

2008 — Josh Hamilton of Texas, with a dazzling display of power, hit a record 28 homers in the first round of the All-Star Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium before he was beaten out by Minnesota’s Justin Morneau in the finals.

2009 — The American League continued its dominance over the National League with a 4-3 win in the All-Star game. The AL is 12-0-1 since its 1996 defeat at Philadelphia — the longest unbeaten streak in All-Star history. Carl Crawford of Tampa, robbed Brad Hawpe of a go-ahead homer in the eighth and took home MVP honors.

2014 — Yoenis Cespedes successfully defends his title as Home Run Derby champion in the annual event held before the All-Star Game at Target Field in Minneapolis, MN. Cespedes defeats Todd Frazier in the final round, 9 long balls to 1, having hit 28 overall. Ken Griffey Jr. was the only other repeat winner in the event, winning in 1998 and 1999.

2015 — Mike Trout became the first player in 38 years to lead off the All-Star Game with a home run, and the American League beat the National League 6-3 to secure home-field advantage in the World Series for the third straight time and 10th in 13 years. Trout also became the first player to be selected the game’s MVP two years in row.

2018 — The Cardinals fire manager Mike Matheny just before the All-Star break, following a loss to the Reds that puts them just one game above .500. Hitting coach John Mabry and assistant hitting coach Bill Mueller are also let go, while bench coach Mike Shildt is named interim manager, with a permanent replacement expected to be named when play resumes after the Mid-Summer Classic in a few days. However, Shildt will do so well that he will be made permanent within a few weeks.

2023 — Brothers Josh Naylor and Bo Naylor both hit two-run homers in the 3rd inning in the Guardians’ 12 - 4 loss to the Rangers at Globe Life Park. It the first time that brothers hit multi-run homers for the same team in the sasme inning.

_____

July 15

1901 — Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants pitched his first of two career no-hitters, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 5-0.

1921 — NY Yankees slugger Babe Ruth ties MLB record of 138 career home runs (held by Roger Connor since 1895).

1960 — Baltimore’s Brooks Robinson goes 5-for-5, hitting for the cycle and driving in three runs to lead the Orioles past the Chicago White Sox 5-2.

1969 — Cincinnati’s Lee May hit four home runs in a doubleheader split with the Atlanta Braves. May had two home runs and drove in five runs in both games. The Reds lost the opener 9-8 but won the second game 10-4.

1969 — Rod Carew stole home off Chicago’s Gerry Nyman in the Minnesota Twins’ 6-2 victory. It was Carew’s seventh steal of home for the year and tied Pete Reiser’s 1946 major league mark.

1973 — Nolan Ryan of the California Angels struck out 17 batters and threw his second no-hitter of the year, beating Detroit 6-0.

1980 — Johnny Bench broke Yogi Berra’s record for home runs by a catcher, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Montreal Expos 12-7. Bench hit his 314th homer as a catcher off David Palmer. Bench had 33 home runs while playing other positions.

1997 — The San Francisco Giants scored 13 runs to set a modern NL record for runs in a seventh inning en route to a 16-2 rout of the San Diego Padres. The Giants set the NL record for the most runs in a seventh inning since 1900.

1999 — After 22½ years in the dreary Kingdome, Seattle finally played a home game outdoors, moving into a $517.6 million ballpark with a retractable roof. Jose Mesa wasted a ninth-inning lead by walking four batters and the Mariners lost 3-2 to the San Diego Padres in Safeco Field’s opener.

2003 — Anaheim’s Garret Anderson went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and a double, powering the American League past the National League 7-6 in the All-Star Game.

2005 — Baltimore’s Rafael Palmeiro became the 26th player to reach 3,000 career hits, curling an RBI double into the left-field corner off Joel Pineiro in the fifth inning of a 6-3 win over Seattle. Palmeiro joined Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray as the only players with 3,000 hits and 500 homers.

2007 — The Philadelphia Phillies lost their 10,000 game, 10-2 to St. Louis. The franchise, born in 1883 as the Philadelphia Quakers and later unofficially called the Blue Jays in the mid-1940s, fell to 8,810-10,000.

2008 — Justin Morneau slid home just in time on Michael Young’s sacrifice fly in the 15th inning, giving the American League a 4-3 victory in the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. The AL extended its unbeaten streak to 12.

2014 — With Derek Jeter going out a winner in his last All-Star appearance, Mike Trout drove in two runs with a triple and a double to lead the American League past the National League 5-3. Jeter started his 14th and final midsummer classic and went 2 for 2 before being removed in the top of the fourth inning.

2017 — Cody Bellinger became the first Dodgers rookie to hit for the cycle and Alex Wood became the first Dodgers pitcher in more than a century to win his first 11 decisions in a season, helping Los Angeles beat the Miami Marlins 7-1.

2021 — Tampa Bay catcher Travis d’Arnaud becomes first player in MLB history to hit 3 homers while catching and batting leadoff in the Rays’ 5-4 win over the NY Yankees.

_____