Category: Baseball Library

On August 5, 1984, Cliff Johnson of the Blue Jays hit a hanging slider from the Orioles’ Tippy Martinez for his 19th pinch-hit home run — an MLB record.

Class-D teams Batavia and Bradford played a combined no-hitter on this date in 1952. Batavia player-manager George Genovese’s error allowed a run to score in the eighth inning.

Mickey Mantle hit three home runs in a doubleheader sweep of the Twins, August 8, 1961.

Nolan Ryan of the Rangers struck out Rickey Henderson on this date in 1989 for his 5,000th career K.

50-something Satchel Paige pitched 7-2/3 innings of two-run ball and hit an RBI double in an exhibition game at the Orange Bowl in Miami on this date in 1956.

Joe Niekro pitched three scoreless innings and doubled in the only run as the Astros defeated the Cubs 1-0 in 17 innings on this date in 1980.

The Giants’ Joe “Iron Man” McGinnity pitched three doubleheaders in 1903, winning all six games, including a sweep of the Dodgers on this date in 1903. He also went 4-for-7 at the plate and stole home for the winning run in the second game. He won 31 games and pitched more than 400 innings in 1903!

The Pirates’ John Candelaria no-hit the Dodgers on this date in 1976, winning 2-0.

The Giants’ Dave Dravecky completed his comeback from cancer surgery on his pitching arm on this date in 1989, defeating the Reds 4-3 at Candlestick Park.

At the Kingdome in Seattle, Oakland’s Mark McGwire set an American League record for home runs by a rookie when he hit his 38th at the Kingdome in Seattle, breaking Al Rosen’s record that had stood for 37 years.