June 18
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
| Standings on this day | |
| Permanent link to Today's Entry | |
| Sources | |
| Baseball Library Chronology | |
| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on June 18.
Events[edit]
- 1938 - Babe Ruth signs a contract to coach with the Brooklyn Dodgers. "The Babe" dons a Dodger uniform the next day, entertains observers with a batting demonstration, and works the third-base coaching box.
- 1940 - Joe Medwick of the Brooklyn Dodgers is beaned by St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Bowman. Although Medwick will return from the injury in a few days, he will never regain his previous power-hitting form.
- 1947 - Cincinnati Reds pitcher Ewell Blackwell tosses a 6 - 0 no-hitter against the Boston Braves.
- 1950 - In the nightcap of a doubleheader, the Cleveland Indians score 14 runs in the 1st inning for an American League record as they trounce the Philadelphia Athletics, 21 - 2.
- 1953 - At Fenway Park, Dick Gernert's home run highlights a 17-run, 14-hit 7th inning as the Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 23 - 3. In the big inning, Gene Stephens has three hits, Sammy White scores three runs and Tom Umphlett also reaches base three times.
- 1961 - Eddie Gaedel dies from a heart attack in Chicago, IL, at the age of 36. In one of Bill Veeck's most outlandish promotions, the three-foot, seven-inch Gaedel had appeared in one game for the St. Louis Browns in 1951.
- 1967 - Houston Astros pitcher Don Wilson tosses his first of two career no-hitters. Wilson beats the Atlanta Braves and Phil Niekro, 2 - 0, facing 30 batters and striking out 15.
- 1972 - Colorful Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley holds baseball's first ever "Mustache Day." Finley agreed to pay $300 to each of his players for growing mustaches by Father's Day. Reggie Jackson had started the trend by reporting to spring training with a mustache, to became the first major leaguer to do so since Frenchy Bordagaray in 1936.
- 1975 - Fred Lynn collects ten runs batted in with three home runs, a triple and a single in a 15 - 1 win by the Boston Red Sox over the Detroit Tigers. Lynn's 16 total bases tie an American League record. It will be 37 years before Ryan Braun becomes the next player to hit three homers and a triple in the same game. Lynn will go on to win the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards in the American League.
- 1976 - Commissioner Bowie Kuhn voids the sales of Oakland Athletics stars Vida Blue, Rollie Fingers and Joe Rudi. Kuhn orders the players to return to Oakland, but spiteful Athletics owner Charlie Finley will not allow manager Chuck Tanner to use any of them in a game until June 27th.
- 1977 - New York Yankees outfielder Reggie Jackson and team manager Billy Martin become involved in a dugout confrontation at Fenway Park that is seen on national television. After Martin removes his right fielder for loafing on a ball hit to the outfield, Jackson questions his manager in the dugout. The two are eventually separated by coach Elston Howard.
- 1986 - Don Sutton of the California Angels pitches a three-hitter for his 300th career victory as the Angels beat the Texas Rangers, 5 - 1. The 41-year-old right-hander becomes the 19th pitcher to win 300 games.
- 1991 - Toshikatsu Hikono hits a game-winning homer in the 10th inning but falls down as he rounds first base and is unable to rise. A pinch-runner has to finish the circuit for him.
- 2000 - Mike Lansing of the Colorado Rockies hits for the cycle in a 19 - 2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, getting one of the four hits in each of the first four innings. It is believed to be the quickest cycle in major league history, as the game is not even official by the time it is completed! The Rockies set a team record with 23 hits, including five by Jeff Cirillo and four by Brent Mayne.
- 2002:
- Luis Castillo of the Florida Marlins ties Rogers Hornsby's 80-year-old record for the longest hitting streak by a second baseman, beating out a dribbler to the pitcher in the 6th inning to make it 33 games in a row. Florida beats the Cleveland Indians, 2 - 1.
- In interleague play, the Chicago Cubs defeat the Texas Rangers, 4 - 3, as for the first time in major league history four members of the 400-home run club play in the same game: Rafael Palmeiro and Juan Gonzalez for Texas and Sammy Sosa and Fred McGriff for Chicago.
- 2007:
- Sam Perlozzo is fired as manager of the Baltimore Orioles. Coach Dave Trembley replaces him on an interim basis; he will later be confirmed as full-time manager.
- Freshman star Yuki Saito pitches Waseda University to its first All-Japan University Baseball Championship in 33 years, beating Tokai University, 4 - 1. He wins the MVP award in the tourney, the first freshman to do so.
- The New York Yankees sign Chinese catcher Zhenwang Zhang and pitcher Kai Liu. It is wrongly touted as the first time a major league organization has signed Chinese players. However, the Seattle Mariners had signed Chao Wang in 2001.
- 2009:
- In a start delayed by rain for over five hours at New Yankee Stadium, Craig Stammen earns his first career victory when the Nationals shut out the Yankees, 3 - 0. It is the first homerless game at the ballpark since its opening in April.
- In a rain-shortened game, Carlos Torres of the Charlotte Knights throws a five-inning perfect game against the Pawtucket Red Sox. The last five-inning no-hitter in the International League was thrown by Mariano Rivera in 1995.
- 2010:
- In his third major league start, the Nationals' Stephen Strasburg strikes out ten opponents to set a major league record with 32 in his first three games, beating the mark of 29 held by J.R. Richard, but the White Sox hold on to inflict an 11-inning, 2 - 1 defeat to the Nats.
- The Mets extend their winning streak to eight games when rookie Hisanori Takahashi, with help from Pedro Feliciano and Francisco Rodriguez, shuts out their crosstown rivals the New York Yankees, 4 - 0.
- The Mets are not the only team on a winning streak: the Tigers extend theirs to seven games with a 7 - 5 win over the Diamondbacks. Brandon Inge delivers the key hit with an RBI triple in the 8th.
- 2011:
- A violent collision at home plate between Carlos Pena of the Cubs and New York Yankees catcher Russell Martin is the highlight of the Yanks' 4 - 3 win. With New York up 3 - 2 in the 6th inning, Geovany Soto hits a bases-loaded line drive to left which Brett Gardner catches as he is charging; he fires a one-hop strike to Martin, which arrives just before Pena crashes into him, sending his helmet flying and the catcher rolling on the ground. But Martin holds on for an inning-ending double play. A.J. Burnett is the winner over Ryan Dempster, with Mariano Rivera picking up the save.
- The Nationals have now won eight straight after Jordan Zimmermann beats the Orioles, 4 - 2. He gives up two runs over 6 1/3 innings, but a two-run homer by Michael Morse, a solo shot by Ryan Zimmerman and good bullpen work by Henry Rodriguez and Drew Storen secure the victory.
- 2012:
- R.A. Dickey throws his second consecutive one-hitter in beating the Orioles, 5 - 0. He is the first pitcher to do so since Dave Stieb in 1988, and the first in the National League since Jim Tobin in 1944. The Mets' knuckleballer has not allowed an earned run in his last five starts. Wilson Betemit gets the only hit against him with a 5th-inning single.
- Aaron Hill hits for the cycle in leading the Diamondbacks over the Mariners, 7 - 1. Hill had come up a double short of a cycle, striking out in his last at-bat, in a game against the Rockies on June 5th, but a 7th-inning homer completes the feat today as he becomes the fifth player in D-Backs history to turn the trick.
- The Yankees beat the Braves, 6 - 2, behind the pitching of CC Sabathia, for their tenth straight win. Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano homer. All 10 wins have come in interleague play.
- 2013:
- The city of San Jose, CA files a suit in federal court against Major League Baseball and Commissioner Bud Selig, arguing it has suffered millions of dollars in damages because MLB has refused to allow the Oakland Athletics to move to a new ballpark there. The suit explicitly challenges baseball's exemption from antitrust laws, which is the relic of a much-criticized Supreme Court decision dating back to 1922.
- The Mets get a pair of outstanding performances from young pitchers in sweeping a doubleheader from the Braves. In the opener, second-year man Matt Harvey, 24, takes a no-hitter into the 7th inning and strikes out 13 on his way to a 4 - 3 win. In the nitecap, rookie Zack Wheeler, 23, making his highly anticipated major league debut, pitches six shutout innings and strikes out seven as the Mets win again, 6 - 1.
- 2014:
- Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers throws the second no-hitter of the year, shutting out the Colorado Rockies, 8 - 0. It comes less than a month after his teammate Josh Beckett had pitched a no-hitter on May 26th. He strikes out 15 without giving up a walk, the only baserunner coming on a two-base error by SS Hanley Ramirez in the 8th.
- The Red Sox win a game in an unprecedented manner, as they turn a one-run deficit in the 10th inning into a walk-off win thanks to back-to-back solo homers by David Ortiz and Mike Napoli in beating the Twins, 2 - 1. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it is the first time a team wins a game by scoring its first runs of the day on back-to-back long balls in extra innings. Chris Parmelee had put the Twins ahead with a solo homer of his own in the top of the inning.
- 2015:
- Gerrit Cole becomes the first 11-game winner in the majors this year as he leads the Pirates to a 3 - 2 win over the White Sox. The Pirates have now won eight straight. Mark Melancon records his 23rd save, tied for the major league lead.
- Ned Yost becomes the winningest manager in team history as the Royals defeat his former team, the Brewers, 3 - 2. Yost's 411th win at the helm moves him past Hall of Famer Whitey Herzog.
- 2017 - Nolan Arenado hits a walk-off homer in the 9th to complete a cycle, leading the Rockies to a 7 - 5 win over the Giants.
- 2019 - Max Kepler only enters today's game against the Red Sox in the 6th inning, as a pinch-hitter for Marwin Gonzalez, but by the time the game ends, the Twins RF, whose bat has been scorching hot of late, will have gone 3 for 5 with three RBIs. He gets started by drawing a walk as a pinch-hitter, then singles in a run to tie the game in the 8th, homers off Hector Velazquez in the 13th to tie the game again, and finally singles with the bases loaded off Brian Johnson in the 17th to drive in Luis Arraez with the winning run as Minnesota finally prevails, 4 - 3, ending Boston's season-high six-game winning streak.
- 2022 - Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws the fourth no-hitter of the Nippon Pro Baseball season, setting a record for no-hitters in a year. He blanks the Seibu Lions, 2 - 0. The Japanese season has not even reached the All-Star break, but there will be no further such games this year.
- 2023 - For the first time in 17 years, the Red Sox sweep a doubleheader against their bitter rivals, the Yankees, defeating them, 6 - 2, in the afternoon game and 4 - 1 in the nationally-televised Sunday Night Baseball game at Fenway Park.
Births[edit]
- 1849 - Jim Tipper, outfielder (d. 1895)
- 1860 - John Grady, minor league catcher (d. 1893)
- 1861 - John Lawler, umpire (d. 1926)
- 1862 - Dick Blaisdell, pitcher (d. 1886)
- 1862 - Charlie Ganzel, catcher (d. 1914)
- 1866 - Varney Anderson, pitcher (d. 1941)
- 1867 - J.B. Roe, minor league manager and executive (d. 1942)
- 1874 - Fred Blank, pitcher (d. 1936)
- 1882 - Charlie Fritz, pitcher (d. 1943)
- 1888 - Marty Berghammer, infielder (d. 1957)
- 1893 - Gladys Goodding, organist (d. 1963)
- 1893 - Ben Shaw, infielder (d. 1959)
- 1896 - Newt Halliday, infielder (d. 1918)
- 1897 - George Armstrong, minor league infielder and manager (d. 1979)
- 1908 - John Balquist, college coach (d. 1991)
- 1910 - Russ Hodges, announcer (d. 1971)
- 1916 - Norris Phillips, pitcher (d. 1996)
- 1917 - Jimmy Pofahl, infielder (d. 1984)
- 1918 - Virgil Thompson, minor league pitcher
- 1924 - Erma Bergmann, AAGPBL pitcher (d. 2015)
- 1924 - Marie Kruckel, AAGPBL pitcher (d. 2012)
- 1924 - John Kuenster, writer (d. 2012)
- 1924 - Milton Ralat, minor league pitcher (d. 2005)
- 1925 - Edward Martin, college coach (d. 2002)
- 1926 - Raúl Mendoza Mancilla, writer; Salon de la Fama (d. 2004)
- 1927 - Irv Medlinger, pitcher (d. 1975)
- 1929 - Bill Upton, pitcher (d. 1987)
- 1932 - Ron Necciai, pitcher
- 1933 - Taylor Phillips, pitcher
- 1937 - Del Harris, college coach
- 1939 - Lou Brock, outfielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 2020)
- 1941 - Paul Brown, pitcher
- 1946 - Shinji Nakazawa, NPB catcher
- 1949 - Dave Schneck, outfielder
- 1959 - Frank Russo, researcher
- 1960 - Peter Wood, Australian national team infielder
- 1961 - Andres Galarraga, infielder; All-Star
- 1961 - Tom McCarthy, pitcher
- 1962 - Dave Leiper, pitcher
- 1963 - Mike Cupples, minor league catcher and college coach
- 1963 - Russ McGinnis, catcher
- 1964 - Tommy Hinzo, infielder
- 1965 - Anthony Scaglione, minor league pitcher
- 1966 - Sandy Alomar, catcher; All-Star
- 1967 - Freddy Zamora, Nicaraguan national team outfielder
- 1972 - Chad Tredaway, minor league infielder and manager
- 1974 - Carlos Mendez, infielder
- 1974 - Jorge Merán, minor league catcher
- 1974 - Susumu Otomo, NPB outfielder
- 1975 - Felix Heredia, pitcher
- 1976 - Akihito Fujii, NPB catcher
- 1976 - Jeremy Powell, pitcher
- 1976 - Wilson Sido, minor league pitcher
- 1977 - Henry Corniel, minor league pitcher
- 1977 - Jurriaan Lobbezoo, Hoofdklasse pitcher
- 1980 - Darren Heath, minor league outfielder
- 1980 - Jong-wook Lee, KBO outfielder
- 1980 - Felix Romero, minor league pitcher
- 1980 - Tommy Watkins, infielder
- 1981 - Ben Johnson, outfielder
- 1982 - Cory Patton, minor league outfielder
- 1983 - Jarrett Hoffpauir, infielder
- 1983 - David Wennerlund, Elitserien outfielder
- 1984 - Fernando Rodriguez, pitcher
- 1985 - Chris Beck, Bundesliga infielder
- 1985 - Chris Coghlan, infielder
- 1985 - Eammon Portice, minor league pitcher
- 1985 - Luany Sánchez, minor league catcher
- 1986 - George Brown, minor league pitcher
- 1986 - Steven Cishek, pitcher
- 1986 - Caleb Joseph, catcher
- 1987 - Jeremy Bleich, pitcher
- 1987 - Jason Castro, catcher; All-Star
- 1987 - J.B. Shuck, outfielder
- 1987 - Taylor Thompson, pitcher
- 1988 - Tao Li, Chinese national team catcher
- 1988 - Alberto Soto, Cuban league pitcher
- 1989 - Rolando Gomez, minor league infielder
- 1989 - Matt Moore, pitcher; All-Star
- 1989 - Myung-jun Yoon, KBO pitcher
- 1990 - Loes Asmus, Dutch women's national team pitcher
- 1990 - Lisalverto Bonilla, pitcher
- 1990 - Johnathan Ray, college coach
- 1990 - Kyle Winkler, minor league pitcher
- 1991 - Andospa Aldo Saputra, Indonesian national team outfielder
- 1991 - Tomas Telis, catcher
- 1992 - Malcolm Holland, minor league outfielder
- 1993 - Ian Delamarre, Hoofdklasse pitcher
- 1993 - Tayler Saucedo, pitcher
- 1995 - Robert Tyler, minor league pitcher
- 1995 - Jamie Westbrook, minor league infielder
- 1996 - Braxton Davidson, minor league outfielder
- 1996 - Nick Margevicius, pitcher
- 1996 - Jake Meyers, outfielder
- 1997 - Evan Lee, pitcher
- 2004 - Vansana Chansana, Laotian national team infielder
- 2005 - Victor Wahlberg, Elitserien infielder
Deaths[edit]
- 1879 - George Fletcher, outfielder (b. 1845)
- 1915 - Charlie Faust, pitcher (b. 1880)
- 1926 - Alex Gardner, catcher (b. 1861)
- 1927 - Jack Harper, pitcher (b. 1893)
- 1929 - Frank Bishop, infielder (b. 1856)
- 1936 - Al Nichols, infielder (b. 1852)
- 1937 - Willie Adams, pitcher (b. 1890)
- 1939 - Murphy Currie, pitcher (b. 1893)
- 1947 - Neal Brady, pitcher (b. 1897)
- 1947 - Lou Harding, catcher (b. 1865)
- 1953 - Buck Wheat, minor league catcher (b. 1896)
- 1955 - Jack Katoll, pitcher (b. 1875)
- 1957 - Milo Allison, outfielder (b. 1890)
- 1961 - Eddie Gaedel, pinch hitter (b. 1925)
- 1963 - Ben Geraghty, infielder (b. 1912)
- 1964 - Ten Million, minor league outfielder (b. 1889)
- 1966 - Rollie Naylor, pitcher (b. 1892)
- 1968 - Lloyd Bishop, pitcher (b. 1890)
- 1973 - Gerves Fagan, infielder (b. 1916)
- 1977 - Johnny Frederick, outfielder (b. 1902)
- 1979 - Hal Trosky, infielder (b. 1912)
- 1981 - Honey Barnes, catcher (b. 1900)
- 1989 - Steve Senteney, pitcher (b. 1955)
- 2001 - Sam Jethroe, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1917)
- 2002 - Jack Buck, announcer (b. 1924)
- 2002 - Jack Jenkins, pitcher (b. 1942)
- 2003 - Larry Doby, outfielder, manager; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1923)
- 2003 - Tom Fleming, umpire (b. 1918)
- 2007 - Johnny Bittner, minor league pitcher (b. 1915)
- 2009 - Palmer Muench, college coach (b. 1939)
- 2016 - Joe Schaffernoth, pitcher (b. 1937)
- 2018 - Gene Stewart, minor league infielder (b. 1927)
- 2019 - Gé van Berkel, Hoofdklasse pitcher (b. 1934)
- 2022 - Dave Wickersham, pitcher (b. 1935)
- 2023 - Dick Hall, pitcher (b. 1930)
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