This Weekend in Baseball History
June 12th, 2012: Alex Rodriguez ties Lou Gehrig's record when his 23rd career grand slam ties the Yankees game with the Braves 4 - 4. His 23rd grand slam -- off Atlanta's Jonny Venters -- was the first in his career that tied a game! Later that inning, Nick Swisher's two-run bomb gave the Yanks their winning margin in a 6 - 4 interleague victory.
June 12th, 2010: The leadoff batters for the Yankees and Mets -- Derek Jeter and Jose Reyes -- homer leading off the game for their respective teams. It's the third time that happened in New York baseball history. A year earlier, Jeter and the Mets Angel Pagan had done so; the first time was in 1986, thanks to Rickey Henderson and Lenny Dykstra.
June 12th, 2010: Red Sox rookie Daniel Nava hits a grand slam on the first pitch of his first at-bat -- taking Phillies righthander Joe Blanton's pitch into the right field bullpen of Fenway Park. He becomes just the fourth player in baseball history to accomplish that feat (the previous one was Cleveland's Kevin Kouzmanoff).
June 12th, 1997: The first regular season interleague game begins at 8:11pm Eastern Time in Arlington. As the Giants beat the Rangers 4-3, San Francisco's Darryl Hamilton picks up the first-ever interleague hit, Billy Ripken of Texas gets the first RBI and San Francisco's Stan Javier the first interleague home run. Most importantly ,the game accomplished its greatest goal -- drawing a packed crowd of more than 46,000.
June 12th, 1995: Alex Rodriguez hits the first home run of his career. The Mariners rookie connects off Tom Gordon of the Royals in the 4th inning of Kansas City's 10-9 win at the Kingdome. He'll eventually total 696.
June 12th, 1981: Major League Baseball's first mid-season strike begins. It will wipe out seven weeks of games as owners and players fight over free agency.
June 12th, 1979: Sparky Anderson, recently fired as Reds skipper, is hired by the Tigers. He'll spend 17 seasons in Detroit, highlighted by the 1984 World Championship.
June 12th, 1977: Tom Seaver earns his last win of the 1970s as a Met in a 3-1 victory over Houston. Three days later, embroiled in a dispute with club ownership, the Mets trade him to Cincinnati for four young players.
June 12th, 1959: Mike McCormick pitches a rain-shortened no-hitter as the Giants blank the Phillies 2-0 at Connie Mack Stadium. There's a lot of collective strangeness here: Richie Ashburn broke up the gem with a 6th inning single -- but since the game was stopped by rain before that inning could be completed, Whitey's hit was washed off the records and the contest reverted to the final completed inning (the 5th) preserving McCormack's no-hitter. But a 1991 redefinition of the rules by Commissioner Fay Vincent stated that a no hitter must go nine innings, thus removing the game's historic status.
June 12th, 1939: Before 23,864 fans at Ruppert Stadium in Kansas City, Lou Gehrig plays his last game in a Yankee uniform -- as he takes part in an exhibition against the their American Association farm club, the Blues. Clearly affected by the ALS that will take his life two years later, Gehirg plays three innings and hits eighth, a weak ground-out to second base in his only at-bat.
June 13th, 2012: Matt Cain of the Giants fires baseball's second perfect game of the season. It's 27 Astros up and 27 down in a 10-0 victory at AT&T Park.
June 13th, 2010: Jorge Posada becomes the first Yankee in 73 years to hit a grand slam in consecutive games -- it hadn't been done since Bill Dickey in 1937.
June 13th, 2003: Double milestones for Roger Clemens! At Yankee Stadium, he pitches 6-2/3 strong innings to earn his 300th career victory. During that 5-2 win over the Cardinals, he reaches a second milestone -- striking out St. Louis shortstop Edgar Renteria for his 4000th strikeout.
June 13th, 1999: Cal Ripken goes 6 for 6, including a pair of home runs, as the Orioles crush the Braves 22-1 at Turner Field.
June 13th, 1980: The Phillies start the 1st inning with seven straight hits en route to a 9-6 win over the Padres. Pete Rose went 4-for-5 and passes Honus Wagner on the alltime hit list.
June 13th, 1948: Babe Ruth's number 3 is officially retired as the cancer-stricken slugger makes his final appearance at Yankee Stadium. That afternoon, the Yanks defeat the Cleveland Indians 5-3.
June 13th, 1921: Babe Ruth pitches the first five innings and belts two home runs in the Yankees' 11-8 win over the Tigers at the Polo Grounds.
June 13th, 1912: Christy Mathewson notches his 300th career win as the Giants edge the Cubs 3-2 -- seven years to the day after he fired a no-hitter against Chicago. Mathewson would win another 71 games in his remarkable career.
June 14th, 1987: Mike Schmidt belts three homers in a game for the third time in his career. The second round tripper is also his 2000th major league hit, while the third one ties him with Mel Ott on the alltime list at 511, as the Phillies roll past the Expos 11- 6 at Olympic Stadium.
June 14th, 1978: Pete Rose has a pair of hits in the Reds 3-1 win over the Cubs -- as begins a career-best 44 game hitting streak.
June 14th, 1974: Nolan Ryan strikes out 19 Red Sox in 12 innings, but comes away with a no-decision. The Angels finally break through in the 15th inning for a 4-3 win at Fenway Park.
June 14th, 1969: Reggie Jackson drives in 10 runs on a pair of homers, a double and two singles as the A's put up a football score on the Red Sox, winning 21-7 at Fenway Park.
June 14th, 1963: Duke Snider's 400th career home run -- off Bob Purkey -- is a highlight of the Mets 10-3 win over the Reds at Crosley Field. The longtime Dodger star becomes the ninth player to reach that milestone.
June 14th, 1962: Marv Throneberry's first home run a a Mets comes off Houston's Bob Bruce in a 10-2 loss to the Colt .45's in Houston.
June 14th, 1956: The Cardinals and Giants pull off a shocking seven-man trade. The big names: Red Schoendienst heads to the Polo Grounds while Alvin Dark and Whitey Lockman are among a quarter moving to St. Louis.
June 14th, 1952: Warren Spahn strikes out 18 Cubs in a 15-inning complete game loss at Braves Field in Boston. Hal Jeffcoat's two-RBI double with two out and two gives Chicago the win over the Hall of Fame lefty.
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