June 17
From BR Bullpen
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| Stats of players who died on this day | |
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Events, births and deaths that occurred on June 17.
Events[edit]
- 1880 - John Montgomery Ward of the Providence Grays pitches a perfect game against the Buffalo Bisons, winning 5 - 0. Losing pitcher Pud Galvin makes the last out. This is the second perfect game in the National League in six days; the first one was pitched by Lee Richmond on June 12th. The next perfect game by a National League pitcher will not happen for 84 years, when Jim Bunning turns the trick on Father's Day in 1964.
- 1907 - The Boston Red Sox sign their fourth manager of the season, with Deacon McGuire replacing Bob Unglaub.
- 1915 - Zip Zabel comes out of the Chicago Cubs bullpen with two outs in the 1st inning to face the Brooklyn Robins. Zabel wins the game in the 19th inning, 4 - 3, in the longest relief effort in major league history. Brooklyn starter Jeff Pfeffer goes the distance, scattering 15 hits as he labors 18 1/3 innings, only to lose on a throwing error by second baseman George Cutshaw.
- 1916 - The Chicago White Sox pound Babe Ruth with 12 hits in eight innings, including three by Shoeless Joe Jackson, to beat the visiting Boston Red Sox, 5 - 0. The loss drops Boston into sixth place.
- 1917 - The Giants and Yankees play the first Sunday game in New York for a war charity in front of 21,000 spectators.
- 1931 - Longtime umpire and future Hall of Famer Tom Connolly announces his retirement. Connolly, who had worked the first game in American League history in 1901, will become the supervisor of AL umpires.
- 1935 - Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis rules that Alabama Pitts, a former convict, may suit up for the Albany Senators of the International League. Landis's ruling stipulates that Pitts may play only in regular season games, but not in exhibitions.
- 1936 - Red Ruffing of the New York Yankees sets an American League record for pitchers by recording ten total bases. Ruffing hits two home runs as part of a four-hit day, helping the Yankees to a 15 - 4 crushing of the Cleveland Indians.
- 1941 - Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees is credited with a hit in his 30th consecutive game when an easy grounder to shortstop Luke Appling bounces up and hits him on the shoulder. The Chicago White Sox beat the Yankees, 8 - 7.
- 1943 - Boston Red Sox player-manager Joe Cronin inserts himself as a pinch-hitter in both games of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Athletics - and hits three-run home runs in each at-bat, becoming the first major leaguer to pinch-hit home runs in both ends of a doubleheader. The Red Sox win the opener, 5 - 4, but lose the second game, 8 - 7. Cronin will pinch-hit 42 times this year with 18 hits, including an American League record five pinch-hit homers.
- 1956 - Milwaukee Braves slugger Joe Adcock becomes the only player to hit a home run onto the roof of Ebbets Field. Adcock hits three home runs during the doubleheader sweep of the Brooklyn Dodgers. He will go on to hit 13 career home runs at Ebbets Field, more than any other visiting player.
- 1958 - Ozzie Virgil, who became the first black man to play for the Detroit Tigers 11 days earlier, goes 5 for 5 in his first home game at Briggs Stadium. The Dominican's performance helps Detroit beat the Washington Senators, 9 - 2.
- 1960 - Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox hits his 500th career home run against the Cleveland Indians at Cleveland Stadium. Williams' two-run shot off Wynn Hawkins helps the Red Sox beat Cleveland, 3 - 1. Williams becomes the fourth player in major league history to hit 500 home runs, joining Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, and Mel Ott.
- 1962 - Chicago Cubs outfielder Lou Brock hits a home run into the right-center field bleachers at the Polo Grounds, 460 feet from home plate, in the first game of a Chicago doubleheader sweep over the New York Mets, 8 - 7 and 4 - 3. Known more for his speed than his power, Brock becomes the second player to reach that section of seats. Joe Adcock was the first.
- 1967 - A nine-hour and five-minute doubleheader between the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Athletics sets a major league record for the longest ever. The first game includes a rain delay, and the second goes 19 innings before a Dave Duncan home run gives the Athletics a 6 - 5 victory. Detroit wins the opener, 7 - 6.
- 1970 - At Candlestick Park, Giants legend Willie Mays (615) and Ernie Banks of the Cubs (504) both hit home runs making it the first time two big leaguers with 500 home runs do it in the same game.
- 1971 - Don Kessinger of the Chicago Cubs goes 6 for 6, with five singles and a double, in a 7 - 6, 10-inning decision over the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field.
- 1978 - Ron Guidry of the New York Yankees strikes out 18 batters in a four-hit, 4 - 0 shutout of the California Angels, to set an American League record for a left-handed pitcher in a single game. Guidry, who strikes out 15 in the first six innings, posts his 11th consecutive victory without a loss. The performance will help coin a new nickname for Guidry as the team's announcer, Phil Rizzuto, begins to refer to him as "Louisiana Lightning", inspiring a new Yankees tradition as the fans begin to clap rhythmically each time there are two strikes on the batter.
- 1987 - Former Kansas City Royals manager Dick Howser dies from brain cancer at the age of 51. The popular Howser, who led the Royals to the 1985 World Championship, fell ill during the 1986 season. He attempted to return to managing in spring training in 1987, only to give up the comeback because of his weakened condition. His uniform number, 10, will be retired by the club on July 3rd.
- 1993:
- Baseball owners vote overwhelmingly, 26-2, in favor of expanding the postseason for the first time since 1969. The new system, which is set to begin in 1994, will double the number of teams that qualify to eight by realigning each league into three divisions, with two teams qualifying as wild cards. The 1994 strike will delay its implementation by one year, however.
- San Francisco Giants outfielder Darren Lewis sets a major league record by playing his 243rd consecutive game without committing an error. It is also the most ever by any outfielder at the start of his career.
- Carlos Baerga of the Cleveland Indians hits three home runs in a 9 - 5 loss to the Detroit Tigers. Detroit hits five home runs of their own, including a pair each by Travis Fryman and Dan Gladden. Baerga, Fryman and Gladden also tie an American League record for three players with two or more home runs in a nine-inning game.
- 1995 - Relief pitcher Mitch Williams is released by the California Angels. Williams, who considered retirement last year after being released by Houston, ends his career with a unique statistic on his resume: 526 hits and 537 walks allowed in 684 2/3 innings pitched. He is the only pitcher in major league history with more than 250 innings to allow more walks than hits.
- 1997 - The Freeway Series hits the street in Los Angeles, CA, and the Dodgers drive home with the first victory in this interleague play on Todd Zeile's second home run of the game. The Dodgers trail the Angels by one run in the 9th inning, but tie the game on a wild pitch and win it, 4 - 3, on Zeile's homer.
- 2000:
- Darin Erstad hits a double to get his 100th hit of the season, in the Angels' 10 - 3 win over Arizona. Erstad's hit comes in his 61st game, and he is the fastest to reach 100 hits since Heinie Manush in 1934.
- LSU defeats Stanford, 6 - 5, to win its fifth College World Series since 1991.
- 2001 - Blake Stein of the Kansas City Royals strikes out eight straight batters, and 11 in 5 2/3 innings, but the Milwaukee Brewers beat Kansas City, 5 - 2. Only Nolan Ryan (twice), Ron Davis and Roger Clemens have struck out eight in a row in the American League. Tom Seaver holds the major league record with ten consecutive strikeouts, which was set in 1970.
- 2003:
- Pitchers Jae Seo, David Weathers and Armando Benitez combine for a one-hitter as the New York Mets beat the Florida Marlins, 5 - 0. It is the third straight game the Mets are involved in a one-hitter.
- The Philadelphia Phillies enter a 25-year agreement with Citizens Bank, one of the nation's largest commercial bank holding companies, which includes naming Philadelphia's new baseball facility, Citizens Bank Park. At the new ballpark, a gigantic Liberty Bell towering 100 feet above street level will come to life after every Phillies home run.
- 2005:
- In interleague play, the Arizona Diamondbacks give up ten runs in the 3rd inning of their 13 - 6 loss to the Cleveland Indians. The Diamondbacks, who allowed ten runs in the 6th inning on June 15th to the Cubs, become the first team since the 1969 Mets to allow ten runs in an inning in consecutive games. The Mets did it on one day, during a July 30th doubleheader against Houston.
- Miguel Tejada of the Baltimore Orioles plays in his 822nd consecutive game, tying Gus Suhr for ninth place on the all-time list.
- Former Red Sox Brian Daubach starts at first base for the Mets, drawing three walks and scoring two runs one day after being called up from Triple-A Norfolk. Daubach was drafted by the Mets in the 17th round way back in 1990, but this is his first big league game for the club.
- 2007:
- Brandon Watson of the Columbus Clippers hits in his 43rd consecutive game, breaking the 95-year-old International League record previously held by Jack Lelivelt. The record-shattering blow is a single off J.D. Durbin.
- Frank Thomas cracks his 244th home run as a designated hitter, going deep against Micah Bowie. He breaks Edgar Martinez's career home run record for designated hitters with that blow.
- 2008:
- In the small hours of the morning after beating the Los Angeles Angels, 9 - 6, on the West Coast, the New York Mets fire manager Willie Randolph and two of his coaches with the team in fourth place. Bench coach Jerry Manuel is named interim manager.
- Marcus Thames homers for the fifth game in a row for the Tigers. His last eight hits have all been home runs.
- 2009:
- Ivan Rodriguez catches the 2,227th game of his career, breaking Carlton Fisk's record, in Houston's 5 - 4, ten-inning loss to his former team, the Texas Rangers. For Texas, Omar Vizquel, the all-time leader for games played at shortstop, picks up his 2,677th hit, tying Luis Aparicio for most hits by a Venezuelan player.
- Matt Wieters of the Baltimore Orioles, the 2008 Minor League Player of the Year, hits the first home run of his career in the O's 6 - 4 win over the New York Mets.
- The Pirates beat the Twins, 8 - 2. Andy LaRoche and Adam LaRoche both homer, the first brother combo to homer in the same game for Pittsburgh since Paul and Lloyd Waner did so in 1938. Andrew McCutchen also hits his first home run as the league's weakest team (in terms of homers) rides the long ball to victory.
- 2010 - The Rockies' Ubaldo Jimenez continues to dominate. After today's 5 - 1 win over the Twins, he leads the majors with 13 wins (against only one loss) and a 1.15 ERA, drawing comparisons to Hall of Famer Bob Gibson's record-setting 1968 season. Since Lefty Gomez in 1932, only Roger Clemens had started 13-1.
- 2011 - Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and his wife Jamie reach a divorce settlement that will determine the fate of the team. A judge will decide at a one-day trial on August 4th whether the team is the sole property of Frank McCourt, as he claims, or community property of the former couple, as his wife pretends. If the ruling is the latter, the property will be split 50-50 between the two estranged spouses, forcing the sale of the team. But even if Frank McCourt's claim is upheld, his shaky financial situation, including an expected $100 million payment he is likely to be ordered to make to Jamie, could also result in the team's sale. The divorce settlement will become null three days later when Commissioner Bud Selig rejects a proposed television deal with Fox Sports on whose execution the settlement was based.
- 2012 - Denard Span's single in the 15th inning drives in Trevor Plouffe to give the Twins a 5 - 4 win over the Brewers in the longest game played at Target Field to date.
- 2013 - Max Scherzer of the Tigers improves to 10-0, pitching six innings of one-hit ball in a 5 - 1 win over the Orioles. He is the first major league starter to go 10-0 since Roger Clemens in 1997, and just the second in Tigers history, following George Mullin, who began the 1909 season with 11 straight wins.
- 2014:
- Shades of the 1980s? The Royals take over first place in the AL Central with an 11 - 4 win over the Tigers as they batter Max Scherzer for ten runs in four innings on their way to their ninth straight win. The Royals had not been in first place this late in a season since 2003, when they managed to ride a surprise strong start to a freakish winning record, although they finished well out of the postseason picture.
- Despite violence and unrest in the Ukraine, the country makes its first appearance in a European Cup in 14 years. KTNU Elizavetgrad is one-hit by DOOR Neptunus hurlers Misja Harcksen, Floris Timmer and Jorian van Acker in a 6 - 0 loss; only Roman Boyko connects safely. The team will do better tomorrow, topping France's Templiers de Sénart in extra innings.
- 2015 - Michael Pineda makes a bid for a no-hitter until Christian Yelich of the Marlins leads off the 7th inning with a home run; Pineda leaves after two more outs, getting credit for a 2 - 1 Yankees win, although, even if he had not given up a hit, he would likely not have had the chance to pitch any deeper into the game due to pitch count concerns. Miami almost ties the game in the 8th, but Adeiny Hechevarria's run on a fielder's choice by Dee Gordon is overturned after Yankees manager Joe Girardi successfully challenges the call. Alex Rodriguez has a pair of hits for New York, bringing him within three of the 3,000 hit club.
- 2016 - Michael Saunders leads the Blue Jays to a 13 - 3 win over the Orioles with three homers and eight RBIs. He connects twice for three-run homers off Mike Wright, then adds a two-run shot against Ubaldo Jimenez as the red hot Blue Jays move to one game back of first-place Baltimore.
- 2020 - As MLB is taking a public relations beating for its inability to come to an agreement on how to re-start the season that was suspended in spring training due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Commissioner Rob Manfred and MLBPA head Tony Clark meet for several hours in Phoenix, AZ to hash out a compromise. After the meeting, the Commissioner announces the two have developed a joint framework that they will now submit to their respective constitutents.
- 2021 - The Diamondbacks set a new all-time mark with their 23rd consecutive road loss, bowing to the Giants, 10 - 3. Two teams had previously lost 22 straight on the road, but Arizona now proudly stands alone atop that hill. The D-Backs have gone 2-28 over their last 30 games and have the worst record in the majors at 20-50, so it's not just road games that have given them trouble. Their last road win came way back on April 25th.
Births[edit]
- 1855 - Terry Connell, catcher; umpire (d. 1924)
- 1861 - Pete Browning, outfielder (d. 1905)
- 1877 - Pete O'Brien, infielder (d. 1917)
- 1879 - Ed Hilley, infielder (d. 1956)
- 1881 - Claude Rossman, infielder (d. 1928)
- 1887 - Bob Coulson, outfielder (d. 1953)
- 1890 - Phil Douglas, pitcher (d. 1952)
- 1891 - Zeb Terry, infielder (d. 1988)
- 1891 - Bennie Wilson, outfielder (d. ????)
- 1897 - Bill Hubbell, pitcher (d. 1980)
- 1903 - Ben Shields, pitcher (d. 1982)
- 1905 - Eddie Krajnik, scout (d. 1957)
- 1905 - Bill Outen, catcher (d. 1961)
- 1910 - Joe Bowman, pitcher (d. 1990)
- 1911 - Bill Humphrey, pitcher (d. 1992)
- 1911 - Antonio Ruiz, pitcher (d. ????)
- 1914 - James Adlam, minor league infielder and manager (d. 1999)
- 1915 - Robert White, minor league infielder (d. 1989)
- 1916 - Joe Burns, infielder (d. 1974)
- 1916 - Joe Linsalata, umpire (d. 2000)
- 1918 - Pete Elko, infielder (d. 1993)
- 1919 - Ray Scott, announcer (d. 1998)
- 1921 - Dave Pope, outfielder (d. 1999)
- 1923 - Eugene Okey, minor league pitcher (d. 2009)
- 1924 - Charlotte Armstrong, AAGPBL pitcher (d. 2008)
- 1928 - Willard Nixon, pitcher (d. 2000)
- 1930 - Jaime Pérez Avella, minor league executive; Salon de la Fama
- 1932 - Bennie Daniels, pitcher
- 1940 - Takashi Takagi, NPB infielder
- 1942 - Luis Peraza, pitcher (d. 2011)
- 1944 - Mitsugu Tanaka, NPB pitcher
- 1946 - Walter Koeck, Belgian national team infielder
- 1948 - Dave Concepcion, infielder; All-Star
- 1948 - Gary Ryerson, pitcher
- 1949 - Larry LaGarde, minor league outfielder (d. 2021)
- 1949 - Brian Ostrosser, infielder
- 1955 - Joe Charboneau, outfielder
- 1958 - Lester Strode, coach
- 1961 - Dave Allen, minor league outfielder
- 1961 - Mickey Brantley, outfielder
- 1961 - Victor Mata, outfielder
- 1962 - Lázaro Madera, Cuban league outfielder
- 1962 - Stu Tate, pitcher
- 1963 - Tom Drees, pitcher
- 1963 - Matt Kinzer, pitcher
- 1965 - Dermonti Dawson, minor league owner
- 1965 - Manuel Lee, infielder
- 1965 - Mike Magnante, pitcher
- 1966 - Shawn Abner, outfielder
- 1967 - Greg David, minor league catcher
- 1967 - Koichi Oshima, NPB infielder
- 1968 - Kazuya Harai, NPB infielder
- 1969 - Dennis Burlingame, minor league pitcher
- 1969 - Luigi Carrozza, Serie A1 catcher
- 1969 - Billy Hall, minor league infielder
- 1969 - Soo-hyuk Lim, KBO catcher (d. 2010)
- 1970 - Joe Furukawa, NPB infielder
- 1974 - Jeff Smith, coach
- 1975 - Mark Brownson, pitcher (d. 2017)
- 1975 - Donnie Sadler, infielder
- 1975 - Masanori Yasuda, Japanese national team catcher
- 1977 - Kanichi Matoba, NPB outfielder
- 1978 - Jory Coughenour, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - Dan DeMent, coach
- 1978 - Jeff Dillard, minor league infielder
- 1978 - Jens Heymer, Bundesliga infielder
- 1978 - Tai-Yong Kuo, CPBL infielder
- 1978 - Dernell Stenson, outfielder (d. 2003)
- 1980 - Yudai Kawai, NPB pitcher
- 1981 - Brad Correll, minor league outfielder
- 1981 - Young-sik Kang, KBO pitcher
- 1982 - Pei Wang, China Baseball League pitcher
- 1983 - Jesse Parengkuan, Indonesian national team infielder
- 1983 - David Pauley, pitcher
- 1985 - Phil Disher, minor league infielder
- 1985 - Mitch Hilligoss, minor league infielder
- 1985 - Csaba Rojas, Peruvian national team outfielder
- 1986 - Alfredo Despaigne, NPB outfielder
- 1986 - Quinn Wolcott, umpire
- 1986 - Won-sang Yoo, KBO pitcher
- 1987 - Keegan Swanepoel, South African national team infielder
- 1988 - Alessandro Ercolani, Italian Baseball League pitcher
- 1988 - Kyle Heckathorn, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Gilmar Pereira, minor league pitcher
- 1989 - Kyle McCrady, umpire
- 1990 - Matt Barnes, pitcher; All-Star
- 1990 - Andrew Chafin, pitcher
- 1990 - Yuhei Nakamura, NPB catcher
- 1990 - Matt Snyder, minor league infielder
- 1990 - Michael Snyder, minor league infielder
- 1991 - Aaron Griffin, minor league pitcher
- 1991 - Yusei Kikuchi, pitcher; All-Star
- 1991 - Daichi Osera, NPB pitcher
- 1991 - Hrvoje Toljanić, Croatian national team pitcher
- 1991 - Ryutaro Umeno, NPB catcher
- 1993 - Scotty Burcham, minor league infielder
- 1994 - Arvid Carlstedt, Elitserien infielder-pitcher
- 1995 - Aditya Muflih Mahmud, Indonesian national team catcher
- 1995 - Shane Priest, Bundesliga pitcher
- 1996 - Quan Gan, China Baseball League pitcher
- 1996 - Melvin Novoa, minor league catcher
- 1997 - Hendrik Clementina, minor league catcher
- 1997 - Blaine Crim, minor league infielder
- 1999 - Shane Baz, pitcher
- 2002 - Brock Wilken, minor league infielder
- 2004 - Syed Ali Shah, Pakistani national team pitcher
- 2004 - Syed Muhammad Shah, Pakistani national team catcher
Deaths[edit]
- 1887 - Hugh Gilgan, catcher/outfielder (b. 1852)
- 1901 - Bill Craver, infielder, manager (b. 1844)
- 1907 - Frank McCarton, outfielder (b. 1854)
- 1935 - Wiman Andrus, infielder (b. 1858)
- 1939 - Allen Sothoron, pitcher, manager (b. 1893)
- 1940 - Hugh Bedient Jr., minor league pitcher (b. 1916)
- 1945 - Joe Visner, outfielder (b. 1859)
- 1948 - Bob Couchman, minor league pitcher (b. 1888)
- 1951 - Bill Harper, pitcher (b. 1889)
- 1952 - Al Atkinson, pitcher (b. 1861)
- 1952 - Julio Bonetti, pitcher (b. 1911)
- 1959 - Dave Black, pitcher (b. 1893)
- 1959 - Jim McHale, outfielder (b. 1875)
- 1961 - Ollie Johns, pitcher (b. 1879)
- 1969 - Byron Houck, pitcher (b. 1891)
- 1973 - Fritz Scheeren, outfielder (b. 1891)
- 1974 - Roger Salmon, pitcher (b. 1891)
- 1974 - Walt Slagle, pitcher (b. 1878)
- 1975 - Sid Gordon, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1917)
- 1979 - Duffy Lewis, outfielder (b. 1888)
- 1984 - Jim Hegan, catcher; All-Star (b. 1920)
- 1987 - Dick Howser, infielder, manager; All-Star (b. 1936)
- 1988 - Ed Montague, infielder (b. 1905)
- 1992 - Keith Frazier, minor league pitcher/outfielder and manager (b. 1913)
- 1995 - Bruce Campbell, outfielder (b. 1909)
- 1996 - Motohiro Ando, NPB pitcher (b. 1939)
- 2000 - Joe Albanese, pitcher (b. 1933)
- 2002 - Bill Adair, manager (b. 1913)
- 2005 - Garth Neville, Canadian national team pitcher (b. 1948)
- 2006 - Brian Wilson, scout (b. 1972)
- 2007 - Kazuo Higasa, NPB outfielder (b. 1920)
- 2009 - Dusty Rhodes, outfielder (b. 1927)
- 2011 - Héctor Benítez, Venezuelan national team player (b. 1918)
- 2012 - Patricia Brown, AAGPBL pitcher (b. 1931)
- 2013 - Tom Turner, infielder (b. 1915)
- 2014 - Richard Durrett, writer (b. 1975)
- 2014 - Dennis Kissane, minor league pitcher (b. 1945)
- 2015 - Nelson Doubleday, owner (b. 1933)
- 2016 - Phil Hennigan, pitcher (b. 1946)
- 2017 - Bill Corman, college coach (b. 1925)
- 2017 - John Hagemann, scout (b. 1936)
- 2018 - Bill Connors, pitcher (b. 1941)
- 2018 - Lyle Palmer, minor league outfielder (b. 1925)
- 2018 - Dutch Rennert, umpire (b. 1930)
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