This Weekend in Baseball History
September 24th, 1992: Dave Winfield's home run and two-run double -- in the Blue Jays 8-2 win over the Orioles -- makes him the first player ever to drive in 100 runs at age 40 or older.
September 24th, 1975: Tom Seaver comes within one out of a no-hitter before Joe WallIs singles with two out on the bottom of the 9th. But Chicago's Rick Reuschel shut out the Mets as well. Both starters kept posting zeroes through the 10th; Chicago wins it 1-0 in the 11th on Bill Madlock's walk-off walk against Skip Lockwood.
September 24th, 1974: Al Kaline becomes the 12th player to reach 3000 hits, with a 4th inning double off the Orioles' Dave McNally. Two innings, later, he makes it 3001 with an RBI single. But Baltimore goes on to a 4-3 victory at Memorial Stadium.
September 24th, 1971: Milt Pappas of the Cubs fires an immaculate inning against the Phillies as he strikes out the side, retiring Greg Luzinski, Don Money, and Mike Anderson on nine pitches.
September 24th, 1969: Gary Gentry tosses a four-hit shutout, while the Mets start fast with five runs in the bottom of the 1st en route to a division-clinching 6-0 win over the Cardinals. It's not only the club's first winning season, it's the first time they'd finished higher than next-to-last. Fun facts: the Mets jumped on future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton for those five 1st inning runs, and native New Yorker (and future Mets manager) Joe Torre makes the game's final out.
September 24th, 1960: Mickey Mantle leads off the top of the 10th inning with a home run as the Yankees edge the Red Sox 6-5 at Fenway Park to clinch their 10th and final pennant under Casey Stengel.
September 24th, 1957: Danny McDevitt shuts out the Pirates on five hits as the Dodgers beat the Pirates 2-0 in the Dodgers final game at Ebbets Field.
- Don Zimmer had the last Dodger hit (a 7th inning single)
- Gil Hodges was the last Dodger batter (in the bottom of the 8th); he struck out swinging. Earlier, his 3rd inning single drove in (Gino Cimoili with) the last Dodger run.
- Pirates 1st baseman Dee Fondy grounds out for the final out of the game.
September 24th, 1957: Hank Aaron hits his first grand slam against Cardinals righthander Sam "Toothpick" Jones. His major-league leading 44th homer of the season (and 110th of his career) is the big blow in the Braves 6-1 victory.
September 24th, 1950: It's Johnny Mize Day at Yankee Stadium. With almost 67,000 fans on hand to honor the future Hall of Famer, he contributes a single and double as the Yankees outscore the Red Sox 9-5.
September 24th, 1934: Babe Ruth plays his final game at Yankee Stadium. After walking in the bottom of the 1st inning in the Yankees final home game of the 1934 season, he's replaced by Myril Hoag in a 5 - 0 loss to the Red Sox.
September 24th, 1926: The Cardinals beat the Giants 6-1 to clinch their first National League pennant.
September 24th, 1925: Babe Ruth's 9th inning grand slam with the Yankees trailing 5-2 is only time in franchise history that a batter has hit a game ending bottom of the 9th slam with the team down by three. The blast, off Sarge Connally of the White Sox, gives the Yanks a 6-5 victory.
September 25th, 2015: With over 48,000 at Yankee Stadium for the Captain's final home game, Derek Jeter singles to right field in the bottom of the 9th inning to drive in Antoan Richardson and give the Yankees a walk-off 6-5 win over the arch-rival Red Sox.
September 25th, 2010: Bobby Cox, nearing the end of his final season managing the Braves, earns his 2,500th victory as Atlanta blanks Washington 5-0 at Nationals Park. He joins Connie Mack, John McGraw, and Tony La Russa in that select circle.
September 25th, 2009: David Wright becomes the Mets' all time leader in games played at 3rd base, when he appears there for the 836th time, passing the previous mark set by Howard Johnson.
September 25th, 2008: Roy Halladay reaches 20 wins for the second time in his career as he leads the Blue Jays to an 8-2 victory over the Yankees at Rogers Centre.
September 25th, 2003: Carlos Delgado hits four home runs, as the Blue Jays outscore the Rays 10-8 at Skydome. He becomes the 15th player and fifth American Leaguer with a four home run game. Delgado's first homer was the 300th of his career.
September 25th, 1998: Ken Griffey Junior caps his second consecutive season with 56 home runs in the Mariners 15-4 rout of the Texas Rangers.
September 25th, 1989: Wade Boggs reaches 200 hits for the seventh consecutive season, going 4-for-5 in the Red Sox 7-4 Fenway Park victory over the Yankees.
September 25th, 1986: Mike Scott fires a no-hitter as the Astros clinch the NL West title with a 2-0 win over the Giants.
September 25th, 1984: Rusty Staub becomes just the second player to hit home runs as a teenager and after turning 40. His two-run, walk-off homer off the Phillies Larry Anderson caps a four-run Mets rally as they win it 6-4 at Shea Stadium. (Ty Cobb was the only other big leaguer to homer as a teen and 40-something.)
September 25th, 1979: The Angels finish first for the first time ever. Frank Tanana pitches a complete game as they edge the Royals 4-1 in Anaheim to clinch their first ever AL West title.
September 25th, 1976: The Yankees clinch their first AL East title and punch their ticket to the post-season for the first time in a dozen years, scoring six in the top of the 1st, en route to a 10-6 win over the Tigers.
September 25th, 1974: The first ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery is performed, on baseball player Tommy John -- for whom the surgery is named, after it saves and dramatically extends his career. The lefthander will earn 164 of his 288 career victories after rehabbing and returning to action.
September 25th, 1973: The Mets hold Willie Mays Night, with a ceremony following their 2-1 win over the Expos. The beloved centerfield is honored by former teammates Bobby Thomson and Dusty Rhodes, and ex-rivals such as Stan Musial, Duke Snider and Pee Wee Reese. Speaking to the crowd of more than 50,000 five days after announcing that he'd retire at season's end, he refers to his teammates near the end of his remarks: "I look at the kids over here, the way they're playing, the way they're fighting for themselves, and it tells me one thing: ‘Willie, say goodbye to America’."
September 25th, 1968: Mickey Mantle plays his final game at Yankee Stadium. He goes 1 for 3 (with a walk) against Luis Tiant -- that 1st inning single is only hit given up by the Indians righty, who shuts out New York 3-0.
September 25th, 1966: In a matchup of Jewish pitchers, the Cubs’ Ken Holtzman holds the Dodgers without a hit for the first eight innings, outpitching Sandy Koufax in a 2-1 Chicago victory. Dick Schofield breaks up the no-hit bid leading off the 9th, advances to 2nd on a walk to Al Ferrara, and scores on a Maury Wills single. But the Dodgers fall short, when, with out one out, Willie Davis lines into a double play.
September 25th, 1965: Satchel Paige, at age 59, makes his first major league appearance since 1953, allowing the Red Sox just one hit (to Carl Yastrzemski) in three innings of shutout ball for the Kansas City A's. But the KC bullpen didn't hold up their end of the bargain, and Boston rallies for a 5-2 victory.
September 25th, 1960: Joe Torre makes his major league debut. The Milwaukee Braves rookie singles in his first at-bat leading off the bottom of the 8th inning against Harvey Haddix, as the Brooklyn native hits for another future Hall of Famer, Warren Spahn. The Braves beat the Pirates in 10 innings 4 - 2 on a two-run walk-off homer by (another Hall of Famer) Eddie Mathews.
September 25th, 1960: The Yankees clinch their 10th and last pennant under Casey Stengel. Roger Maris gets three hits and drives in two runs, while Ralph Terry and Luis Arroyo outpitch Boston's Tom Brewer and Mike Forneles in a 4-3 victory at Fenway Park.
September 25th, 1956: Sal Maglie of the Brooklyn Dodgers no-hits the Phillies at Ebbets Field. Four days later, the player nicknamed The Barber would fire another complete game victory, as the Dodgers move into first place with a 6-2 win over the Pirates. They'd clinch their final pennant for Brooklyn the next day (Sept. 30th).
September 26th, 2014: The Royals clinch their first division title in nearly 30 years, with a 3-1 win over the White Sox in Chicago. They'd go on to the World Series, where they'd fall to the Giants in seven games.
September 26th, 2013: Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte, with the Yankees one out away from a win over Tampa Bay, emerge from the dugout to remove Mariano Rivera, giving the sold-out Yankee Stadium crowd one final time to cheer the greatest closer ever, who'd previously announced he'd retire after the season.
September 26th, 2012: Milo Hamilton wraps up a 63-year broadcasting career -- capped by 28 seasons with the Astros -- calling Houston's 2-0 win over the Cardinals at Minute Maid Park, that includes an inspirational message to fans during the 7th inning stretch.
September 26th, 2009: Sonia Sotomayor, the Bronx native, lifelong baseball fan and the Supreme Court's newest justice, throws the ceremonial first pitch before the Yankees 3-0 victory over the Red Sox. In 1995, while a U.S. District Judge, Sotomayor issued an injunction that led to the end of the nearly eight-month-long baseball strike and lockout.
September 26th, 2007: Albert Pujols homers in the top of the 1st inning to become the first player ever with 30 homers and 100 RBIs in each of his first seven seasons. The Cardinals go on to a 7-3 Miller Park victory over the Brewers.
September 26th, 2004: Andy Phillips, called up from Columbus at the end of the minor league season, smacks a two-run homer over the Green Monster on the first pitch he sees from Boston reliever Terry Adams. It was Phillips' first major league at-bat and hit; it came in the 8th inning of the Yankees' 11-4 loss at Fenway Park He joins John Miller in 1966 and Marcus Thames in 2002 as the only Yankees with home runs in their first at-bats.
September 26th, 1998: David Cone sets a new record for the most years between 20-win seasons, as the Yankees beat the Rays, 3-1. The 33 year-old, who went 20-3 with the 1988 Mets, erases the mark set by Jim Kaat, who won 20 with the 1966 Twins and 1974 White Sox.
September 26th, 1998: Rickey Henderson becomes the oldest player ever to lead a league in stolen bases. The 39 year old swipes 2nd and 3rd in the bottom of the 3rd inning in as the A's beat the Angels 4-3 in Oakland.
September 26th, 1985: John Tudor fires his major league best 10th shutout of the season for his 20th victory as the Cardinals stop the Phillies 5-0.
September 26th, 1981: Nolan Ryan's fifth career no-hitter comes with 11 strike outs as the Astros shut down the Dodgers 5-0 a the Astrodome.
September 26th, 1979: Phil Niekro outpitches his brother Joe, in the Braves 9-4 win over the Astros -- to join him as a 20-game winner. Joe Niekro won his 20th of the season four nights earlier!
September 26th, 1976: The Phillies clinch the NL East, defeating the Expos 4- 1 behind Jim Lonborg, in the opener of a Jarry Park doubleheader. Greg Luzinski has the big hit, a three-run homer in the top of the 6th. It's the first time since 1950 they'll finish first -- and only the third time in franchise history. The Phils take the nightcap, 2-1, in the final game ever played at Montreal's first major league park.
September 26th, 1971: Ernie Banks singles off Ken Reynolds of the Phillies for his 2583rd and final hit.
September 26th, 1965: The Twins clinch their first pennant in Minnesota -- ending a run of five straight by the Yankees -- with a 2-1 win over the Senators, the club that took their place in Washington. Jim Kaat -- who pitched for club when it called DC home, authors the complete game victory.
September 26th, 1964: Yankees rookie standout Mel Stottlemyre pitches a two-hit shutout AND goes 5-for-5 (one of them a double), while driving in two runs in a 7-0 win over the Senators.
September 26th, 1960: Ted Williams finishes his career with a flourish – his 8th inning home run off Jack Fisher cuts the Orioles lead on Boston to 4 – 3. He then leaves the game... which the Red Sox would win in 10, 5 – 4.
September 26th, 1954: The Athletics play their final game representing Philadelphia, beating the Yankees 8-6 in the Bronx. Art Ditmar, who'd become a Yankee a few years later, earns the victory. Less than two months later, the Connie Mack family sells the club to Arnold Johnson, who moves the A's to Kansas City for the 1955 season.
September 26th, 1954: Willie Mays gets three hits in the season's final game, to win the National League batting title. The Say Hey Kid finishes at .345, three points ahead of teammate Don Mueller and four up on crosstown rival Duke Snider.
September 26th, 1953: Al Kaline's first major league homer comes against the Indians righthander Dave Hoskins, in a 12-3 Tigers win at Cleveland Stadium.
September 26th, 1912: Grover Cleveland Alexander and Tom Seaton each throw shutouts, as the Phillies sweep a doubleheader from the Dodgers, 3-0 and 6-0. It's the first double shutout in team history.
September 26th, 1908: Ed Reulbach of the Cubs becomes the only pitcher in major league history to throw shutouts in both ends of a doubleheader, as Chicago sweeps the Dodgers, 5-0 and 3-0 at Washington Park in Brooklyn. In this age before TV, radio and commercial breaks, the entire twinbill is completed in just under three hours!
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