May 12
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 | |
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| Baseball Library Chronology | |
| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on May 12.
Events[edit]
- 1910 - Albert Bender of the Philadelphia Athletics pitches a 4 - 0 no-hitter against the Cleveland Naps. Bender, who misses a perfect game by issuing a walk, will compile a 23-5 record during the season.
- 1915 - Using just 67 pitches, Red Faber of the Chicago White Sox throws a complete game victory, beating the Washington Senators on three hits, 4 - 1.
- 1926 - Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators records his 400th career win when he defeats the St. Louis Browns, 7 - 4, to reach the rarely-achieved milestone.
- 1932 - Carey Selph of the Chicago White Sox collects his ninth strikeout of the season. But it won't happen again. Selph will go another 89 games without striking out, to set a major league record, hitting .283 in 396 at-bats in his second and last season. Selph's record will last until 1958, when Nellie Fox sets a new mark with 98 consecutive games whitout striking out.
- 1937 - Joe Medwick hits two home runs and two doubles to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 15 - 3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
- 1941 - After five years of being called the Bees, the National League franchise in Boston is once again known as the Braves.
- 1955 - Toothpick Sam Jones of the Chicago Cubs becomes the first black pitcher in major league history to throw a no-hitter and he does it in the hardest way. In the 9th inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Jones walks the bases full and then strikes out Dick Groat, Roberto Clemente and Frank Thomas in a row to preserve his 4 - 0 victory. It is also the first no-hitter at Wrigley Field in the last 38 years. Unfortunately only 2,918 fans are on hand to witness the double milestone.
- 1956 - Carl Erskine of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitches a 3 - 0 no-hitter against the New York Giants. Erskine strikes out three and walks two. His masterpiece at Ebbets Field is the second no-hitter of his career. His first came in 1952 against the Chicago Cubs.
- 1958 - Willie Mays hits the first grand slam in the history of the San Francisco Giants. Mays also belts another home run in a 12 - 3 victory over the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. The Giants moved from New York to San Francisco prior to the season.
- 1959 - At Yankee Stadium, Yogi Berra commits an error as his errorless streak of 148 games for a catcher comes to an end in a New York 7 - 6 loss to Cleveland.
- 1962 - New York Mets relief pitcher Craig Anderson wins both ends of a doubleheader. Success will soon turn to failure, however: Anderson will lose his next 16 decisions on the season and 19 decisions overall. In fact, he will never win another game in the major leagues.
- 1966 - Lou Brock hits a RBI single in the 12th inning and gives the St. Louis Cardinals a 4 - 3 victory over the Atlanta Braves in the opening of Busch Memorial Stadium. Felipe Alou hits two home runs for Atlanta.
- 1969 - Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals becomes the seventh pitcher in National League history to strike out the side on nine pitches. Gibson enjoys his feat against the Los Angeles Dodgers, as part of a 6 - 2 win for St. Louis.
- 1970 - Ernie Banks hits his 500th career home run off Pat Jarvis in the Cubs' 4 - 3 victory over Atlanta at Wrigley Field. It is also his 1,600th career RBI. The ball, after it bounces back onto the field, is retrieved by Braves left fielder Rico Carty, who gives it to Banks. Carty, meanwhile, hits safely in his 30th consecutive game.
- 1971 - Heinie Manush dies in Sarasota, Florida, at the age of 69. Manush won the American League batting championship in 1926, and twice led the league in hits. A lifetime .330 hitter, Manush gained induction to the Hall of Fame in 1964.
- 1978 - At Royals Stadium, a potential game-ending routine fly ball becomes an Amos Otis walk-off inside-the-park home run as Reggie Jackson and Mickey Rivers collide in the outfield. The misplay turns a sure Goose Gossage save into a sour loss for the current World Champion New York Yankees.
- 1984 - Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mario Soto is one out away from a no-hitter when the Cardinals' George Hendrick hits a home run to tie the game, 1 - 1. Cincinnati then rallies for a run in the bottom of the 9th inning to give Soto a one-hit, 2 - 1 victory.
- 1989 - Rick Reuschel of the San Francisco Giants records his 200th major league win, beating Montreal, 2 - 1.
- 1999:
- Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez strikes out 15 batters for the second consecutive game in a 9 - 2 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
- The Angels shut out the Yankees, 1 - 0, behind the combined three-hit pitching of Chuck Finley and Troy Percival. Finley strikes out 11 Yankees in his eight innings of work, including four in the 3rd inning, to become the 33rd pitcher in history to strike out four in a single frame.
- 2000:
- Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez, who posted 17 strikeouts in his last start on May 6th against Tampa Bay, strikes out 15 in a 9 - 0 shutout over the Orioles, to tie an American League record set by the Indians' Luis Tiant in 1968 for most strikeouts over two games.
- 2001:
- A.J. Burnett pitches an unlikely no-hitter, overcoming nine bases on balls to lead the Marlins over San Diego, 3 - 0.
- Ramón Arano plays in a Mexican League game for the sixth different decade, the only player to do so. The 62-year-old pitcher allows one run in 3 1/3 innings for the Veracruz Eagle and leaves with a 1-1 score against the Nuevo Laredo Owls.
- Major League Baseball is ordered by arbitrator Alan Symonette to reinstate nine of the 22 "resigning" umpires let go two years before, and to grant back-pay for the time missed. The order also states that veteran umpires Frank Pulli and Terry Tata do not need to retire after the season, as previously planned.
- Carlos Delgado hits his 204th home run in a Toronto Blue Jays uniform, surpassing Joe Carter in the all-time Blue Jays career leader in homers.
- 2004 - In one of the most remarkable at-bats in major league history, Alex Cora fouls off 14 consecutive pitches and then hits the 18th pitch over the right field fence for a two-run home run off Cubs pitcher Matt Clement. The homer extends Los Angeles's lead to 4 - 0. The Dodger Stadium crowd cheers each foul ball as the total starts to be displayed on the scoreboard.
- 2008 - In the second game of a doubleheader, the Indians lose, 3 - 0, to the Blue Jays against Shaun Marcum and two relievers. The historic note goes to Cleveland, which is involved in the sixth unassisted triple play in franchise history (three for them, three against them) and the 14th overall in major league annals. In the 5th, Cliff Lee lets the first two men reach. Lyle Overbay hits a liner that is caught by a diving Asdrubal Cabrera at second. Cabrera steps on the bag to force Kevin Mench, then tags out Marco Scutaro to complete the trifecta. Also of note is that Ron Hansen, involved in a 1968 unassisted triple play against Cleveland, is at the game as a Phillies scout.
- 2010:
- Major League Baseball issues a warning to the Phillies after investigating allegations made by the Colorado Rockies that bullpen coach Mick Billmeyer used binoculars to steal signs from the centerfield bullpen in the game between the teams on May 10th. In today's game, Colorado wins, 4 - 3, as Miguel Olivo goes 5 for 5, capping his perfect day with a walk-off home run off Chad Durbin in the 10th inning.
- The Nationals continue to surprise, beating the Mets, 6 - 4, at Citi Field, thanks to Roger Bernadina's first two homers this year. The second is a two-run shot off closer Francisco Rodriguez in the 9th inning and comes moments after Bernadina makes a diving game-saving catch to rob Jeff Francoeur with the bases loaded. Nats starter Craig Stammen contributes the other three RBI but does not figure in the decision; instead, reliever Tyler Clippard picks up his major-league leading seventh win, followed by Matt Capps's 14th save, which is also a major league high so far this season.
- 2011 - Carlos Beltran belts three homers and drives in six runs as the Mets beat the Rockies, 9 - 5, after a two-hour rain delay. Beltran homers from both sides of the plate and to all three fields in his power display. Ubaldo Jimenez, who set a Rockies season-record for wins in 2010, falls to 0-3.
- 2013:
- Chris Sale of the White Sox throws the third major league one-hitter in three days in beating the Angels, 3 - 0. Sale takes a perfect game into the 7th before Mike Trout singles with one out; he needs only 98 pitches to record his first career shutout.
- Dè Flanegin sets a new Hoofdklasse record for games played all for a single team. He passes Jurjan Koenen with his 692nd game for the Pioniers, but his club loses, 3 - 1, to The Hawks behind a pitching gem from fellow veteran Elton Koeiman.
- 2015 - The Mariners tie a team record by hitting six homers in an 11 - 4 win over the Padres at Safeco Field. Nelson Cruz hits his major league-leading 15th home run, while Mike Zunino hits two, and Kyle Seager, Justin Ruggiano and Logan Morrison complete the barrage.
- 2016 - The Red Sox's bats are red hot as they score 11 or more runs for the fourth straight game in defeating Houston, 11 - 1. They are the first team to score in double figures in four straight games since 2007, and by also collecting 14 or more hits in all four games, match a feat last performed by the 1930 Philadelphia Athletics. Jackie Bradley extends his hitting streak to 18 games, longest in the majors so far this year. Boston has now won 14 of its last 18 games.
- 2017 - Buster Posey homers in the 17th inning to send the Giants to a 3 - 2 win over the Reds, in a game that takes 5 hours and 28 minutes. Posey's shot off Robert Stephenson is the latest walk-off homer in San Francisco's history, bettering a 16th-inning blast by Willie Mays in 1963. Umpire Tony Randazzo has to leave the game in the 13th, feeling the after-effects of having been hit in the face by a Johnny Cueto fastball back in the 5th.
- 2019 - George Springer has a great day, going 5 for 5 with two homers as Houston defeats Texas, 15 - 5, completing a four-game sweep. He starts his day with a leadoff homer off Adrian Sampson and caps it off with a two-run shot off Brett Martin in the 6th, also scoring five times. For his part, teammate Alex Bregman also homers twice and drives in five while Corbin Martin is a winner in his big league debut.
- 2022 - It's a game for lovers of the three true outcomes at Guaranteed Rate Field, as Dylan Cease starts the game for the White Sox by recording 11 strikeouts in four innings against the Yankees. But he also gives up two walks and six hits, five of them for extra bases, including a pair of homers by Giancarlo Stanton, and departs trailing, 6 - 3. The Sox manage to tie the game at 7-all in the 7th, thanks to a three-run homer by Yoan Moncada, but the Yanks come back with seven runs in the top of the 8th against Joe Kelly and Tanner Banks, with Aaron Judge and Josh Donaldson both contributing homers. In all, the Yankees walk seven times and strike out 14 times, in addition to the four long balls.
- 2023:
- Cedric Mullins hits the 12th cycle in franchise history, including their days as the St. Louis Browns, in the Orioles' 6 - 3 win over the Pirates.
- Chris Bassitt becomes the first Blue Jays pitcher to throw a nine-inning complete game since Marcus Stroman in 2017 when he hurls a two-hit shutout to defeat the Braves, 3 - 0. To find another Jays pitcher to have pitched a shutout by himself, one has to go back to Mark Buehrle, on June 3, 2015! The gaps between two full-length complete games and shutouts, of 889 and 1,176 games respectively, are both the longest in major league history.
Births[edit]
- 1860 - E.A. Griffith, umpire (d. 1914)
- 1862 - Jimmy Wolf, outfielder, manager (d. 1903)
- 1864 - Ed Creighton, umpire (d. 1928)
- 1864 - Doc Oberlander, pitcher (d. 1922)
- 1866 - Lave Cross, infielder, manager (d. 1927)
- 1868 - Harry Truby, infielder (d. 1953)
- 1877 - Knotty Lee, minor league pitcher and manager (d. 1962)
- 1887 - Casey Hageman, pitcher (d. 1964)
- 1887 - Gene Krapp, pitcher (d. 1923)
- 1887 - Milo Netzel, infielder (d. 1938)
- 1889 - Al Schulz, pitcher (d. 1931)
- 1889 - Alex McCarthy, infielder (d. 1978)
- 1893 - Hob Hiller, infielder (d. 1956)
- 1893 - George Kaiserling, pitcher (d. 1918)
- 1895 - Jim Poole, infielder (d. 1975)
- 1897 - Joe Dugan, infielder (d. 1982)
- 1898 - Earl McNeely, outfielder (d. 1971)
- 1899 - Tod Dennehey, outfielder (d. 1977)
- 1900 - Phil Voyles, outfielder (d. 1972)
- 1902 - Dutch Henry, pitcher (d. 1968)
- 1906 - Charlie Butler, pitcher (d. 1964)
- 1907 - Hans Pung, Hawai'ian national team outfielder (d. 1965)
- 1910 - Lefty Mills, pitcher (d. 1982)
- 1911 - Archie McKain, pitcher (d. 1985)
- 1915 - Doc Bracken, pitcher (d. 1994)
- 1915 - Harry Dean, pitcher (d. 1960)
- 1916 - Hank Borowy, pitcher; All-Star (d. 2004)
- 1916 - Gerves Fagan, infielder (d. 1973)
- 1916 - Dixie Parsons, catcher (d. 1991)
- 1918 - Ed Runge, umpire (d. 2002)
- 1921 - Carl Thompson, minor league pitcher and owner (d. 2006)
- 1922 - Johnny Hetki, pitcher (d. 2019)
- 1923 - Ed Lyons, infielder (d. 2009)
- 1925 - Yogi Berra, catcher, manager; All-Star, Hall of Famer (d. 2015)
- 1925 - John Whalen, college coach (d. 1998)
- 1928 - James Pomykala, minor league pitcher (d. 2008)
- 1928 - Dave Tarapacki, minor league player (d. 2019)
- 1930 - Len Riccio, umpire (d. 1991)
- 1931 - Tom Umphlett, outfielder (d. 2012)
- 1935 - Felipe Alou, outfielder, manager; All-Star
- 1938 - Norm Gigon, infielder (d. 2013)
- 1940 - Germán Águila, Cuban league infielder
- 1940 - Tom Timmermann, pitcher
- 1941 - Floyd Weaver, pitcher (d. 2008)
- 1942 - Ted Kubiak, infielder
- 1947 - Vic Albury, pitcher (d. 2017)
- 1947 - Bob Heise, infielder
- 1950 - Pat Darcy, pitcher
- 1951 - Joe Nolan, catcher
- 1951 - Dutch Weems, minor league pitcher (d. 1974)
- 1953 - Taylor Duncan, infielder (d. 2004)
- 1955 - Ralph Botting, pitcher
- 1957 - Lou Whitaker, infielder; All-Star
- 1958 - Atsuyoshi Otake, college coach
- 1959 - Kevin Bass, outfielder; All-Star
- 1959 - Fernando Diaz, Guam national team player (d. 2012)
- 1959 - Willie Lozado, infielder
- 1965 - Angel Escobar, infielder
- 1965 - Julio Franco, scout
- 1966 - Rafael Bournigal, infielder
- 1966 - Jim Hvizda, minor league pitcher
- 1967 - Kenny Greer, pitcher
- 1967 - Germán Mesa, Cuban leagues infielder and manager
- 1968 - Mark Clark, pitcher
- 1968 - Fabio Gomez, minor league player
- 1968 - Jutaro Kimura, Japanese national team pitcher
- 1969 - Pete Yarasavich, Hoofdklasse player and coach
- 1971 - Tom Nanne, Hoofdklasse pitcher
- 1971 - Dave Sinnes, minor league pitcher
- 1972 - Benji Simonton, minor league infielder
- 1974 - Alvie Shepherd, minor league pitcher
- 1975 - Hirokazu Ibata, NPB infielder
- 1976 - Dan Guillory, minor league pitcher
- 1976 - Wes Helms, infielder
- 1977 - Osvaldo Arias, Cuban Serie Nacional catcher
- 1977 - Shugo Fujii, NPB pitcher
- 1978 - Masahiro Abe, NPB infielder
- 1978 - Ching-He Chuang, CPBL player
- 1978 - Ian Holness, South African national team outfielder
- 1978 - Edison Lora, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - Josh Phelps, infielder
- 1979 - Travis Dawkins, infielder
- 1980 - Justin Hatcher, minor league catcher
- 1980 - Felipe Lopez, infielder; All-Star
- 1980 - Roberto Miniel, minor league pitcher
- 1982 - Jamie D'Antona, infielder
- 1983 - Evan Meek, pitcher; All-Star
- 1983 - Jack Egbert, pitcher
- 1983 - Blake Lalli, catcher
- 1984 - Chris Robinson, catcher
- 1984 - Jose Sanchez, minor league pitcher
- 1985 - C.J. Bressoud, minor league catcher-pitcher
- 1986 - Matt Gaski, minor league infielder
- 1987 - Adam Liberatore, pitcher
- 1987 - Lance Lynn, pitcher; All-Star
- 1987 - Nick Stanley, minor league infielder and manager
- 1988 - Usman Ali, Pakistani national team pitcher
- 1988 - Shaydron Buckridge, minor league catcher
- 1988 - Adam Gaylord, minor league infielder
- 1988 - Marleen Gómez, Puerto Rican women's national team outfielder
- 1988 - Shota Ishimine, NPB outfielder
- 1989 - Bradin Hagens, pitcher
- 1989 - Yuki Kawabata, Japanese women's national team infielder
- 1992 - Jonathan Davis, outfielder
- 1992 - Michael Fagan, minor league pitcher
- 1992 - Wilce Nieves, minor league pitcher
- 1992 - Hein Robb, minor league pitcher
- 1993 - Taylor Guilbeau, pitcher
- 1994 - Jesmuel Valentin, infielder
- 1995 - Camille Foucher, French women's national team pitcher
- 1995 - Callum Murphy, Bundesliga infielder
- 1996 - Tyler Ivey, pitcher
- 1997 - Jonathan Stiever, pitcher
- 1997 - Terrin Vavra, minor league infielder
- 1998 - Matt Brash, pitcher
- 1999 - Liu Xiangpeng, minor league pitcher
- 2001 - Yu-Hung Chen, CPBL pitcher
- 2002 - Kaito Yuki, signed pitcher
- 2004 - Robert Ogg, Hungarian national team pitcher
Deaths[edit]
- 1913 - John O'Brien, infielder (b. 1866)
- 1936 - Frank Zinn, catcher (b. 1865)
- 1944 - John Pappalau, pitcher (b. 1875)
- 1952 - Charlie Young, pitcher (b. 1893)
- 1953 - Ed Summers, pitcher (b. 1884)
- 1957 - Fred Bennett, outfielder (b. 1902)
- 1960 - Gus Felix, outfielder (b. 1895)
- 1971 - Atsushi Aramaki, NPB pitcher; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1926)
- 1971 - Heinie Manush, outfielder; All-Star, Hall of Famer (b. 1901)
- 1979 - Clyde Kluttz, catcher (b. 1917)
- 1987 - Den Yamada, NPB outfielder (b. 1914)
- 1988 - Hank Schenz, infielder (b. 1919)
- 1992 - Joe Burke, general manager (b. 1923)
- 1994 - Si Johnson, pitcher (b. 1906)
- 1999 - Douglas Dean, minor league infielder (b. 1915)
- 2007 - Horacio Veras, Dominican national team coach (b. ????)
- 2011 - Carlos Pascual, pitcher (b. 1931)
- 2013 - J.R. McKee, coach (b. 1914)
- 2013 - Chang-Gun Xiao, Taiwan Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1919)
- 2015 - Darrell Rodgers, minor league pitcher (b. 1962)
- 2016 - John Angelus, college coach (b. 1933)
- 2021 - Higinio Vélez, Cuban league manager (b. 1927)
- 2022 - Reiichi Matsunaga, college coach; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1931)
- 2023 - Don Denkinger, umpire (b. 1936)
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