May 25
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 May 25.
Events[edit]
- 1876 - Philadelphia and Louisville play to a 2 - 2 tie in 14 innings. It is the first tie in National League history.
- 1899 - Deacon Phillippe of the Louisville Colonels throws a no-hitter against the New York Giants, walking two and striking out one in a 7 - 0 win over Ed Doheny.
- 1906 - Martin Dihigo is born in Matanzas, Cuba. Over the course of his career, Dihigo will make seamless transitions between all nine positions and play in several countries. As a hitter he will lead the Negro Leagues in home runs in 1926 and 1935; as a pitcher he will win more than 300 games and defeat Satchel Paige while touring Cuba. He will be elected to the American Hall of Fame in 1977, becoming the only player in history to be inducted to the American, Cuban, Dominican, Mexican and Venezuelan Halls of Fame. He will later add yet another honor as one of the inaugural inductees in the Latin American Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010.
- 1922 - After being thrown out at second base trying to stretch a single, New York's Babe Ruth throws dirt in the face of umpire George Hildebrand and then goes after a fan. Ruth is ejected, and eventually fined $500 and suspended one game by American League president Ban Johnson.
- 1929 - Pitcher Dizzy Dean signs a contract with the Houston Buffaloes of the Texas League, a St. Louis Cardinals farm team.
- 1935 - Babe Ruth shows flashes of his past glory by hitting the final three home runs of his career in the Boston Braves' 11 - 7 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. In addition to a 5th-inning single, Ruth hits homers in the 1st inning against Red Lucas, 3rd inning against Guy Bush and 7th inning off Bush again. In addition, his final homer is the first in Forbes Field's history to clear its right field roof.
- 1951 - Willie Mays debuts for the New York Giants, striking out in the 1st inning against Bubba Church. Mays goes 0 for 5, but makes three good plays in the field.
- 1953 - Ralph Kiner hits the 300th home run of his career, off Al Corwin of the New York Giants at Forbes Field. Kiner is the 12th player to reach the mark.
- 1956 - 3B Tommy Brown of the Nashville Vols sets a probable Organized Baseball record when he reaches base for the 20th consecutive time. He has ten hits and ten walks during the streak.
- 1958 - In a doubleheader sweep by the Pirates at Forbes Field, the Giants' Willie Mays acts as a peace-maker, preventing a berserk Orlando Cepeda from causing havoc with a bat during a bench-clearing brawl in the opener. The melee results from lingering bad feelings between the two teams after an exchange of beanballs in an earlier game on May 7th, and breaks out with P Ruben Gomez batting for the Giants. Mays tackles the bigger Cepeda, rushing to the defense of his countryman, and pins him down until things calm down.
- 1964 - Ground is broken for a new park for the St. Louis Cardinals. The stadium is expected to be ready in time for the 1966 season.
- 1965 - The National Brewery Co. buys 64,000 shares of stock in the Baltimore Orioles from Joe Iglehart. Jerry Hoffberger assumes the position of chairman of the board.
- 1981 - Bill Stein of the Texas Rangers hits a pinch-hit single off Doug Corbett to beat the Minnesota Twins. It is the seventh consecutive pinch-hit for Stein, breaking the American League record set by Bob Johnson in 1964.
- 1982 - Ferguson Jenkins of the Chicago Cubs fans Garry Templeton of the Padres for the 3,000th strikeout of his career. Jenkins is the seventh player to reach the plateau, but loses the game, 2 - 1.
- 1983 - Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers Jim Bibby and Jim Winn combine to walk seven straight batters, tying a 74-year-old record.
- 1984 - The Boston Red Sox trade Dennis Eckersley and Mike Brumley to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Bill Buckner.
- 1989 - The Montreal Expos, hoping to add the last piece to a playoff contender, trade three young pitchers, Brian Holman, Gene Harris, and 6' 10" Randy Johnson, to the Seattle Mariners for Mark Langston. Mike Campbell will go to Montreal in July to complete the trade, but he will never appear in a game for them. Langston will win 12 games for the Expos, Johnson 130 for Seattle on his way to the Hall of Fame.
- 1993 - Milt Harper hits for the cycle, the first player to do so in the Chinese Professional Baseball League. The CPBL is in its fourth year of existence.
- 2005 - The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2 - 1, in 12 innings, as manager Tony La Russa wins his 823rd game with the Cardinals, passing Whitey Herzog for second place on the franchise list. La Russa is 218 victories behind Cardinals leader Red Schoendienst.
- 2006:
- The Houston Astros steal seven bases, the most by any team in the majors in nearly four years, in an 8 - 5 loss to the Washington Nationals. The Astros, whose club record is eight stolen bases, last stole seven on April 13, 1999, against San Francisco. Florida was the last team in the majors to steal that many, on May 27, 2002, against the Mets. Washington third-string catcher Matt LeCroy is benched during the 7th inning after allowing the seven stolen bases and committing two errors. "If my daddy was managing this team, I'm sure he would have done the same thing", LeCroy said.
- The Kansas City Royals blow an early 6 - 0 lead and drop their 13th straight game with a 13 - 8 loss to the Detroit Tigers. The skid is the second-longest ever for the Royals, who lost 19 straight the previous season and are a major league-worst 10-35.
- Rick Guttormson of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows flings a no-hitter against the Rakuten Golden Eagles, winning 6 - 0. It is the first no-hitter in Japan during interleague play.
- 2007 - Jamie Moyer beats the Braves. It marks his first win against Atlanta in 20 years and two days, the longest stretch between victories against a team in major league history. Mike Morgan had been the previous record-holder.
- 2008 - In a doubleheader loss to the Marlins, Giants shortstop Omar Vizquel ties (in the first game) and then breaks (in the second) the major league record for career games played at the position. By reaching 2,584 games played, Vizquel passes a fellow Venezuelan, Luís Aparicio.
- 2009:
- The Pirates beat the Cubs, 10 - 8. Freddy Sanchez goes 6 for 6 with four runs, three RBI, a double and a homer, the first Pirate in 19 years to have six hits in a game. Jason Jaramillo and Andy LaRoche each go 3 for 5. The Bucs, fresh off an interleague series with the White Sox, become the first team in major league history to play consecutive series against the Cubs and White Sox in Chicago.
- Jim Thome passes Mike Schmidt for 13th on the all-time home run list, as the White Sox thump the Angels, 17 - 3.
- 2010:
- The old Vladimir Guerrero seems to be back, albeit in a new uniform. In a game against the Royals, the Rangers' DH hits two homers and a double on an inside pitch that almost hits him to lead Texas to an 8 - 7 win. Vlad is batting .347 with 12 homers and 42 RBI in 45 games after an injury-plagued season in 2009 with the Angels.
- The Padres continue to surprise. Sporting the best record in the National League, their starting pitchers have been outstanding. Today, Jon Garland throws seven shutout innings before the bullpen takes over from there to defeat the Cardinals, 1 - 0. It is already San Diego's ninth shutout of the year.
- 2011:
- It takes 6 hours and 10 minutes for the Phillies to beat the Reds, 5 - 4, in 19 innings. By the time the winning run scores with two outs in the bottom of the 19th, the Phils have been forced to use back-up infielder Wilson Valdez on the mound, in his first professional pitching appearance. He throws a scoreless inning, then picks up the win when Raul Ibanez hits a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 19th. Wilson is the first position player to earn a win since Brent Mayne in 2000. Losing pitcher Carlos Fisher does yeoman work himself, pitching 5 1/3 scoreless innings before giving up the game-ending run; for the Phils, Danys Baez had earlier pitched five scoreless innings in relief. The Reds almost end the contest in the 10th, when Jay Bruce hits a solo homer, but Ryan Howard replies with a long ball of his own, and nine more frames are necessary to determine a winner.
- The Red Sox make it a no-contest in the battle of baseball's two hottest teams. They crush the Indians, 14 - 2, while banging out a season-high 20 hits. Jon Lester earns his seventh win, tops in the majors, while Mitch Talbot is roughed up in his return from the disabled list.
- Jo-Jo Reyes puts his name in the record books with his 28th consecutive winless start, tying Cliff Curtis and Matt Keough, when the Blue Jays lose to the Yankees, 7 - 3. Reyes is 0-4 this season, but has pitched well: his ERA was 3.06 over his last six starts prior to last night's effort, yet wins have proved elusive. His last victory came on June 13, 2008 while a member of the Atlanta Braves and his record since is 0-13. Also in the game, Mariano Rivera makes his 1,000th pitching appearance for the Yankees; he is the 15th to reach the mark, and the first pitcher to do it with only one team.
- 2012 - Nelson Cruz goes 4 for 5 with a grand slam and eight RBI to lead the Rangers to a 14 - 3 win over the Blue Jays. Josh Hamilton hits his 19th home run as Derek Holland is the winner.
- 2013 - Angel Pagan gives the Giants a 6 - 5 win over the Rockies with an inside-the-park walk-off home run in the 10th inning. The hit comes off Rafael Betancourt with Brandon Crawford on second base, after Troy Tulowitzki had hit a solo homer in the top of the inning to give Colorado a 5 - 4 lead. It is the first game won on a walk-off inside-the-parker in Giants history, and the first in the majors since Rey Sanchez had such a hit on June 11, 2004.
- 2014 - Josh Beckett of the Dodgers records the first no-hitter of the year by blanking the Phillies, 6 - 0. It is the first no-hitter by a Dodgers pitcher since Hideo Nomo pitched one in 1996, and the first nine-inning no-hitter by an opposing pitcher in Philadelphia since Bill Stoneman of the Montreal Expos back in 1969.
- 2017 - On a rainy night at Fenway Park, five Red Sox pitchers combine their efforts to tie the major league record of 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game in a 6 - 2 win over the Rangers. Drew Pomeranz starts things off with 11 Ks in six innings; relievers Heath Hembree and Robby Scott notch two each and Matt Barnes one before Craig Kimbrel registers four in a wild 9th inning that features Nomar Mazara being awarded first base after striking out on a pitch that hits him on the back foot. Umpire Chad Fairchild misses that, calling a wild pitch instead of a dead ball. Of the six 20-K games, the Red Sox have recorded three, Roger Clemens being responsible for two of them; it is the second time the feat has been recorded by multiple pitchers.
- 2018 - The Mariners obtain CF Denard Span and P Alex Colome from the Rays in return for Ps Andrew Moore and Tommy Romero. Span will help out a line-up hollowed by the 80-game suspension handed out to 2B Robinson Canó and an injury to CF Dee Gordon over the past couple of weeks, while the Rays continue the youth movement started during the spring.
- 2019 - The Padres set a franchise record with seven homers in a 19 - 4 win over the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. Wil Myers and Hunter Renfroe hit two each while Austin Hedges blasts a grand slam off Edwin Jackson. Cal Quantrill is the beneficiary of this power display as he records his first career victory a short distance from his hometown of Port Hope, ON, while another local boy, Josh Naylor from Mississauga, ON, collects his first three big league hits for the Padres in the game.
- 2021:
- By working home plate in a game between the Cardinals and White Sox, Joe West sets a new career record with 5,376 games as an umpire, passing Bill Klem, whose last game was in 1941. Country Joe already held the record for most seasons worked, as this year is his 44th (Klem and Bruce Froemming had 37), but Klem's record of having been the home plate umpire for 3,548 games is untouchable.
- With almost their entire starting nine from Opening Day on the injured list, the Mets swing a deal with the Brewers, acquiring OF Billy McKinney in return for P Pedro Quintana, who has yet to make his professional debut.
- 2022 - Anaheim City Council votes unanimously to cancel the sale of Angel Stadium and surrounding land to Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno, following the resignation of Mayor Bill Sidhu on corruption charges a few days earlier. The $350 million sale had been agreed in December 2019 but not yet finalized, and was at the center of an FBI investigation that led to accusations that Sidhu had provided insider information to the team and in return demanded kickbacks in the form of campaign contributions. The city councillors are now no longer convinced that the proposed deal reflects the city's best interests, and are willing to risk a breach of contract lawsuit from Moreno in order to examine a potential deal again, starting from scratch.
- 2023 - Austin Riley is just the fourth player of the Statcast era to hit two homers over 450 feet in the same game in the Braves' 8 - 5 win over the Phillies - and two of his predecessors had accomplished the feat in the favorable environment that is Coors Field. Riley connects both times off Aaron Nola, with a 459-foot shot in the 1st and another one estimated at 458 feet in the 5th. Marcell Ozuna adds a solo shot off Nola, and Travis d'Arnaud drives in the go-ahead run with a two-run pinch single off Gregory Soto in the bottom of the 8th.
Births[edit]
- 1840 - Al Reach, outfielder, manager (d. 1928)
- 1845 - Lip Pike, outfielder, manager (d. 1893)
- 1850 - Charlie Cushman, manager; umpire (d. 1909)
- 1863 - John Hofford, pitcher (d. 1915)
- 1877 - Bob Wicker, pitcher (d. 1955)
- 1883 - Heinie Heitmuller, outfielder (d. 1912)
- 1884 - Bill Kellogg, infielder (d. 1971)
- 1884 - Bill Lattimore, pitcher (d. 1919)
- 1887 - John Daley, infielder (d. 1988)
- 1892 - Doug Smith, pitcher (d. 1973)
- 1893 - Everett Bankston, outfielder (d. 1970)
- 1894 - Joe Judge, infielder (d. 1963)
- 1895 - Jim Riley, infielder (d. 1969)
- 1898 - Jimmie Keenan, pitcher (d. 1980)
- 1901 - Bud Connolly, infielder (d. 1964)
- 1901 - Doc Ozmer, pitcher (d. 1970)
- 1904 - Buz Phillips, pitcher (d. 1964)
- 1905 - Martin Dihigo, player, manager; All-Star, Hall of Fame (d. 1971)
- 1906 - Chester Williams, infielder; All-Star (d. 1952)
- 1908 - Howard Craghead, pitcher (d. 1962)
- 1914 - Sungo Carrera, infielder (d. 1989)
- 1916 - Frank Drews, infielder (d. 1972)
- 1917 - Bert Hodges, infielder (d. 2001)
- 1917 - Kinji Uno, NPB infielder (d. 1997)
- 1918 - Johnny Beazley, pitcher (d. 1990)
- 1919 - Fred Blaylock, pitcher (d. 1967)
- 1919 - Charley Carter, pitcher (d. 1969)
- 1919 - Lindsey Nelson, announcer (b. 1995)
- 1923 - José Bache, minor league infielder; Salon de la Fama (d. 2016)
- 1925 - Don Liddle, pitcher (d. 2000)
- 1925 - Walter Snider, minor league infielder and manager (d. 2004)
- 1925 - Curley Williams, infielder (d. 2011)
- 1926 - Bill Sharman, minor league outfielder (d. 2013)
- 1927 - Dan Ramer, minor league pitcher (d. 2014)
- 1927 - John Schumann, minor league player (d. 2017)
- 1929 - Don Kohler, scout (d. 2022)
- 1930 - Rafael Avila, scout (d. 2023)
- 1931 - Dolf de Zwart, Hoofdklasse catcher (d. 2019)
- 1931 - Gonzalo Garcia, minor league outfielder (d. 2010)
- 1931 - Jim Marshall, infielder, manager
- 1932 - Jim Archer, pitcher (d. 2019)
- 1933 - Buddy Leake, minor league player (d. 2014)
- 1935 - W.P. Kinsella, writer (d. 2016)
- 1936 - Marshall Renfroe, pitcher (d. 1970)
- 1939 - Gene Budig, executive (d. 2020)
- 1939 - Urbano González, Cuban league infielder (d. 2021)
- 1940 - Darrel Bunge, minor league pitcher (d. 2018)
- 1945 - Bill Dillman, pitcher
- 1946 - Mike Corkins, pitcher (d. 2023)
- 1950 - Glenn Borgmann, catcher
- 1950 - Jim Eschen, minor league infielder and manager
- 1950 - John Montefusco, pitcher; All-Star
- 1953 - Scott Grinder, umpire (d. 2021)
- 1954 - Bob Knepper, pitcher; All-Star
- 1955 - Suguru Egawa, NPB pitcher
- 1955 - Andres Mora, outfielder; Salon de la Fama (d. 2015)
- 1957 - Frank Hardies, First Division outfielder-pitcher
- 1961 - Chris Baker, minor league outfielder
- 1961 - Kerwin Danley, umpire
- 1962 - Clay Daniel, scout (d. 2021)
- 1963 - François Colombier, Division Elite player and manager
- 1966 - Bill Haselman, catcher
- 1966 - Dave Hollins, infielder; All-Star
- 1968 - Will Pennyfeather, outfielder
- 1970 - Joey Eischen, pitcher
- 1970 - Toshio Haru, NPB outfielder
- 1970 - Luis Ortiz, infielder
- 1971 - Doug Drumm, minor league pitcher
- 1971 - Angel Echevarria, outfielder (d. 2020)
- 1971 - Sean Maloney, pitcher
- 1971 - Ji-hyun Yoo, KBO infielder
- 1973 - Melvin Rosario, catcher
- 1973 - Todd Walker, infielder
- 1974 - Mark Nussbeck, minor league pitcher
- 1974 - Miguel Tejada, infielder; All-Star
- 1975 - Sarfraz Ahmed, Pakistani national team infielder
- 1975 - In-sung Cho, KBO catcher
- 1975 - Adrian Johnson, umpire
- 1975 - Randall Simon, infielder
- 1975 - Mike Vento, outfielder
- 1976 - Lariel Gonzalez, pitcher
- 1976 - Tim Bishop, minor league outfielder (d. 1997)
- 1977 - Albert Garza, minor league pitcher
- 1977 - Fernando Lunar, catcher
- 1978 - Alvin Alcantara, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - Travis Hughes, pitcher
- 1978 - Mike Vento, outfielder
- 1978 - Phil Warren, minor league player and manager
- 1979 - Atif Dar, Pakistani national team player
- 1979 - Trey Lunsford, catcher
- 1979 - Denise Ramos, Venezuelan women's national team catcher
- 1979 - Chris Young, pitcher; All-Star
- 1980 - Scott Hairston, infielder
- 1982 - Jason Kubel, outfielder
- 1982 - Rodney Rodriguez, Italian Baseball League pitcher
- 1982 - Brad Snyder, outfielder
- 1983 - Roke Alcantara Jr., Guam national team pitcher
- 1983 - Adam Hamari, umpire
- 1984 - Nestor Corredor, minor league catcher and manager
- 1984 - Ben Lasater, minor league infielder
- 1984 - Graham Taylor, pitcher
- 1984 - Chao-Kuan Wu, minor league catcher
- 1985 - Jared Goedert, minor league infielder and manager
- 1985 - Brad Lincoln, pitcher
- 1985 - Heath Rollins, minor league pitcher
- 1985 - Eric Young Jr., outfielder
- 1986 - Cory Riordan, minor league pitcher
- 1987 - Katsuya Kakunaka, NPB outfielder
- 1988 - Nateshon Thomas, Bundesliga infielder
- 1989 - Pat Dean, pitcher
- 1989 - Michael Kramer, Hoofdklasse outfielder
- 1989 - Brent Powers, minor league pitcher
- 1989 - Neil Ramirez, pitcher
- 1990 - Baasandorj Batsukh, Mongolian national team infielder
- 1990 - Jarred Cosart, pitcher
- 1990 - Xiaolei Du, China Baseball League infielder
- 1990 - Ryan Sherriff, pitcher
- 1990 - Julius Uelschen, Bundesliga outfielder
- 1991 - Soo-young Bae, South Korean women's national team pitcher
- 1991 - Jake Eliopoulos, drafted pitcher (d. 2013)
- 1992 - Ryota Ishioka, NPB infielder
- 1992 - Duncan Izaaks, Bundesliga infielder
- 1993 - Vadim Balan, minor league pitcher
- 1993 - Alex Gounaris, Greek national team pitcher-infielder
- 1994 - Kyle Holder, minor league infielder
- 1994 - Donnie Walton, infielder
- 1995 - Jake Fraley, outfielder
- 1995 - Michael King, pitcher
- 1996 - Kodi Medeiros, minor league pitcher
- 1999 - Kotaro Kiyomiya, NPB infielder
- 2000 - Kamren James, minor league infielder
- 2001 - Erasmo Caballero, Panamanian national team catcher
- 2001 - Mohamed Afi Idraki Bin Mohamed Niza, Singaporean national team player
Deaths[edit]
- 1890 - T.E. Mosely, umpire (b. 1823)
- 1904 - John Hayes, outfielder (b. 1855)
- 1905 - Paul Cook, catcher (b. 1863)
- 1917 - Willie Sudhoff, pitcher (b. 1874)
- 1922 - Charlie Gessner, pitcher (b. 1863)
- 1924 - Carl Weilman, pitcher (b. 1889)
- 1928 - Max Fiske, pitcher (b. 1884)
- 1929 - Henry Blauvelt, pitcher (b. 1867)
- 1932 - Henry Boyle, pitcher (b. 1860)
- 1938 - Barney Joy, minor league pitcher (b. 1882)
- 1941 - Bob Higgins, catcher (b. 1886)
- 1942 - Bill James, pitcher (b. 1887)
- 1945 - Charlie Frye, pitcher (b. 1913)
- 1946 - Branch Bocock, college coach (b. 1884)
- 1953 - Ray Grimes, infielder (b. 1893)
- 1959 - Dave Brain, infielder (b. 1879)
- 1961 - Norman Patterson, US national team outfielder (b. 1886)
- 1963 - Leo Mackey, minor league catcher and manager (b. 1894)
- 1963 - Hi West, pitcher (b. 1884)
- 1964 - Joe Martin, utility player (b. 1876)
- 1965 - Harry Biemiller, pitcher (b. 1897)
- 1969 - Joe McCarthy, minor league infielder (b. 1947)
- 1969 - Jim Riley, infielder (b. 1895)
- 1972 - Charlie Henry, pitcher (b. 1900)
- 1975 - Bruce Hartford, infielder (b. 1892)
- 1976 - Al Lakeman, catcher (b. 1918)
- 1980 - Jesse Brown, pitcher (b. 1914)
- 1983 - George Wolfman, college coach (b. 1911)
- 1988 - Charlie Perkins, pitcher (b. 1905)
- 1991 - Esther Lyman, AAGPBL catcher (b. 1927)
- 1992 - Otto Denning, catcher (b. 1912)
- 2002 - Adolph Matulis, minor league pitcher and manager (b. 1920)
- 2007 - Elaine Roth, AAGPBL pitcher (b. 1929)
- 2008 - Geremi Gonzalez, pitcher (b. 1975)
- 2010 - Morrie Martin, pitcher (b. 1922)
- 2011 - Fred Aug, minor league infielder (b. 1931)
- 2011 - Dana Brand, author (b. 1954)
- 2011 - Eugene Smith, pitcher (b. 1916)
- 2011 - Paul Splittorff, pitcher (b. 1946)
- 2013 - Jason Ellis, minor league catcher (b. 1979)
- 2013 - Lewis Yocum, orthopaedic surgeon (b. 1948)
- 2021 - Toon Verzijlberg, Hoofdklasse infielder (b. 1927)
- 2022 - Jack Kaiser, college coach (b. 1926)
We're Social...for Statheads
Every Sports Reference Social Media Account
Site Last Updated:
Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction?
Subscribe to our Free Email Newsletter
Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREE
Your All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database
Do you have a sports website? Or write about sports? We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Find out more.