May 28
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 28.
Events[edit]
- 1892 - Jimmy Ryan collects five walks, helping the Chicago Colts defeat Amos Rusie and the New York Giants, 10 - 4.
- 1901 - Behind the shutout pitching of Jack Powell, the St. Louis Cardinals defeat Christy Mathewson and the New York Giants, 1 - 0. For Mathewson, it is his first loss of the season. His lone base on balls, in the 2nd inning, results in the game's only run.
- 1910 - Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants scatters ten hits and defeats the Philadelphia Phillies, 3 - 2, at National League Park. Fred Snodgrass hits a two-run double off Jim Moroney in the 5th inning to give the Giants the edge.
- 1927 - In his first starting assignment for the Yankees, Wilcy Moore loses a heartbreaker to the Senators, 3 - 2, in the nitecap of a doubleheader. Lou Gehrig is spiked at first base by Bucky Harris as Firpo Marberry scores the winning run. The Yankees win the opener, 8 - 2, as Babe Ruth hits his 12th home run of the year, a three-run shot. Tris Speaker plays most of the first game for the Senators despite fracturing his left thumb in batting practice.
- 1930 - Grover Cleveland Alexander of the Philadelphia Phillies makes his last major league appearance, giving up two hits and two runs in relief in the Boston Braves' 5 - 1 victory. The Phillies release the 43-year-old veteran a few hours after the game. In a twenty-season career, Alexander posted a 373-208 record with 2,198 strikeouts and a 2.56 ERA. He will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1938.
- 1941 - The New York Yankees defeat the Washington Senators, 6 - 5, in the first night game played at Griffith Stadium.
- 1946 - The first night game is played at Yankee Stadium as the Washington Senators beat the New York Yankees, 2 - 1.
- 1951 - After going 0 for 12 since his debut, Giants rookie Willie Mays gets his first hit, a 450-foot home run off Braves left-hander Warren Spahn.
- 1956 - Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Dale Long hits a home run in his eighth consecutive game, setting a major league record. This mark will be later tied by Don Mattingly and Ken Griffey, Jr.
- 1957 - With a unanimous vote, National League owners grant permission to both the Dodgers and Giants to relocate their clubs to the West Coast if they so desire.
- 1962 - Former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe signs with the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese Central League, becoming one of the first and most prominent Americans with Major League Baseball experience to play in Japan. Numerous Americans have participated in Japanese baseball in the prior three decades, including several star players of the 1950s.
- 1963 - Houston outfielder Howie Goss has the biggest day by far of his relatively brief big league career against St. Louis. With his walk, triple and two home runs in four at-bats, Goss drives in all but one of Houston's runs in a game that ultimately evolves into a 10th-inning, walk-off 8 - 7 defeat.
- 1968 - American League owners agree to divide the circuit into two divisions and reduce its schedule to 156 games. The following divisional alignment is set for the 1969 season: Eastern Division: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Washington Senators. Western Division: California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Pilots. The new alignment will be introduced the following season, but the season will remain at 162 games.
- 1971 - Clete Boyer, involved in a dispute with Atlanta Braves general manager Paul Richards and manager Lum Harris over alleged silly rules and mismanagement, is released and retires. Boyer hit safely in the last nine games of his sixteen-season career, including five home runs and 14 runs batted in. A Gold Glove third baseman, Boyer was a .242 hitter with 162 home runs and 654 RBI in 1,725 games for the Kansas City Athletics, New York Yankees, and Atlanta.
- 1986 - Chicago White Sox pitcher Joe Cowley sets a major league record by striking out the first seven Texas Rangers batters he faces, but still surrenders six runs in 4 1/3 innings and loses, 6 - 3. Cowley's record will be broken by Jim Deshaies of the Houston Astros before season's end.
- 1994 - Dave Winfield of the Minnesota Twins hits his 3,054th major league league career hit to surpass former Twin Rod Carew into 15th place on the all-time list.
- 1995 - At Tiger Stadium, the Chicago White Sox (five) and Detroit Tigers (seven) combine to set a major-league record 12 home runs, with Chicago winning the 14 - 12 slugfest.
- 2000:
- Homering in their 15th straight game, the Houston Astros set a team record in a 4 - 3 victory over the Braves, with Ken Caminiti and Lance Berkman helping Houston to establish the mark.
- For the first time in franchise history, the Angels hit four home runs in one inning, with Darin Erstad, Mo Vaughn, Tim Salmon and Garret Anderson supplying the fireworks.
- 2001 - Dodgers catcher Paul Lo Duca goes 6 for 6, including a home run, against the Rockies to tie a National League record for hits in an extra-inning game.
- 2003 - Rafael Furcal, Mark DeRosa and Gary Sheffield hit home runs off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Jeff Austin, who, incidentally, is appearing in his final major league game, in the bottom of the 1st inning, as the Atlanta Braves become only the second team in major league history to begin a game with three consecutive home runs. On April 13, 1987, Marvell Wynne, Tony Gwynn and John Kruk of the San Diego Padres did the same in the bottom of the 1st inning off San Francisco starter Roger Mason.
- 2004:
- Mariano Rivera posts his 300th career save in a Yankees' 7 - 5 victory over Tampa Bay. He also becomes the first Yankee and 17th reliever in major league history to reach the milestone.
- Matt Clement becomes the 21st big league pitcher and the first Chicago Cubs pitcher in over a century to hit with pitches three batters in one inning to tie a major league record. The victims plucked in the 5th inning of the first game of a doubleheader against the Pirates are Bobby Hill, Jason Kendall and Craig Wilson.
- 2006 - Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hits the 715th home run of his 21-year major league career to surpass Babe Ruth for sole possession of second place on the all-time list. Hank Aaron is the all-time leader with 755 home runs. Bonds connects on a 90-mph 3-2 fastball in the bottom of the 4th inning off Byung-Hyun Kim of the Colorado Rockies before a near-capacity crowed at AT&T Park. Colorado wins the game, 6 - 3, as Kim becomes the 421st pitcher to surrender a home run to the 41-year-old slugger.
- 2008 - In a rare big-name match-up in A ball, the Vero Beach Devil Rays beat the St. Lucie Mets, 2 - 0. Pedro Martinez, a three-time Cy Young Award winner on a rehab start, allows two runs in six innings to take the loss. The win goes to David Price, the top pick of the 2008 amateur draft, making his second pro start. Price allows two hits and no walks in six shutout frames, fanning nine. Martinez says: "He's amazing, that kid." Price will be pitching in the World Series at the end of the year.
- 2010:
- Corey Hart hits a two-run homer in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Milwaukee Brewers a 2 - 0 win over the New York Mets at Miller Park. The homer ends a string of 35 consecutive scoreless innings by Mets pitching.
- Matt Cain of the Giants pitches a one-hitter in defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5 - 0. The only hit is a 2nd-inning double by Mark Reynolds.
- The Tigers fail to take advantage of a three-home run performance by Miguel Cabrera, falling, 5 - 4, to Ben Sheets and the Oakland Athletics. Reliever Ryan Perry is the loser. The A's get some bad news after the game, as they announce that two-time All-Star pitcher Justin Duchscherer, who has made only five starts this year, needs to undergo surgery on a bothersome hip and will be out for the rest of the season.
- 2011:
- The Angels' Jered Weaver is still winless since notching a 6-0 record in April, but not for lack of trying. Today, he pitches nine scoreless innings, but ends up with a no-decision as the Twins' Anthony Swarzak gives up only a one hit - an 8th-inning double by Peter Bourjos - and the Twins win, 1 - 0, on Danny Valencia's bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 10th. Swarzak is filling in for a sore-armed Francisco Liriano but still manages to turn a 75-pitch pitch count limit into eight innings of brilliant work on the mound.
- In his 23rd season in the majors, 44-year-old Omar Vizquel gets to play first base for the first time. His untested defensive skills are called for in the 11th inning, after Carlos Quentin comes in as a pinch-hitter for the White Sox, and manager Ozzie Guillen must shuffle his remaining players to accommodate him. The Sox still lose to the Blue Jays, 9 - 8, on Corey Patterson's walk-off home run in the bottom of the 14th inning. Earlier in the game, the Jays' Jose Bautista hit a three-run homer to become the first twenty-home run hitter in the majors this year.
- 2012:
- The Cubs end a twelve-game losing streak, their longest since 1997, with an 11 - 7 win over the Padres at Wrigley Field. Alfonso Soriano goes 3 for 4 with a homer and three RBI, his 7th-inning homer putting the Cubs ahead to stay against Alex Hinshaw; Ian Stewart, Starlin Castro and Darwin Barney also homer for Chicago, while David DeJesus hits a pair of triples. For their part, the Padres hit four long balls on a day when the wind is blowing towards the fences, with Chase Headley connecting twice, and Everth Cabrera and Will Venable once each.
- The Angels lose their ace, Jered Weaver, after only 12 pitches when he is forced to leave his start against the Yankees with a back injury in the 1st inning, but they hold on for a hard-fought 9 - 8 win, capped by Mark Trumbo's walk-off home run. The win puts the Angels at .500 for the first time since April 9th. Howie Kendrick and Kendry Morales drive in three runs each and Mike Trout homers to lead the offense. Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira homer for New York, and Russell Martin hits a two-run double in the 7th to tie the game at 8-all, but Trumbo's 9th-inning homer off Cory Wade ends it, giving struggling closer Jordan Walden his first win of the year.
- The Sparta/Feyenoord head coach musical chairs game continues with the return of Dino Anasagasti. Anasagasti had stepped down just eight days earlier. His assistant Gershwin Hernandez replaced him for one game, then Marwin Kleinmoedig took over for three. The club had faced rumors it would have to withdraw from the Hoofdklasse and had seen a couple of players leave the team during this time.
- 2013:
- The Mets honor Yankees great Mariano Rivera, who has announced his retirement at the end of the year, by having him throw the ceremonial first pitch before the game between the two teams from the Big Apple at Citi Field, with retired Mets closer John Franco acting as his catcher for the occasion. However, the night doesn't end so well for Mo, as Daniel Murphy leads off the bottom of the 9th with a double and David Wright and Lucas Duda follow with RBI singles to turn a 1 - 0 deficit into a 2 - 1 win. It is the first time of Mariano's illustrious career that he blows a save without retiring a single batter; it is also his first blown save of the year.
- Hyun-Jin Ryu tosses a two-hitter for his first career shutout as the Dodgers defeat the Angels, 3 - 0. Luis Cruz hits his first homer of the year in support of the Korean's great pitching effort.
- 2014 - The Blue Jays are the hottest team in the majors after winning their ninth straight and 14th of 16th, 3 - 2 against the Rays. Tampa Bay hits starter Liam Hendriks hard, but a number of defensive gems by the Jays keep the score close, until the bottom of the 9th when Dioner Navarro leads off with a single off Juan Carlos Oviedo. Anthony Gose then lays a perfect bunt down the first base line, and Oviedo's throw goes into right field, allowing pinch-runner Kevin Pillar to race all the way home with the winning run.
- 2016
- In the 3rd inning of a game against the Dodgers, Mets P Noah Syndergaard is ejected for throwing at Chase Utley, in apparent retaliation for Utley's aggressive slide which injured Mets SS Ruben Tejada in last year's NLDS. Umpire Adam Hamari also tosses Mets manager Terry Collins for arguing his decision, then Utley gets his revenge when he opens the score with a solo homer off Logan Verrett in the 6th and adds a grand slam off Hansel Robles in the 7th. The Dodgers hit five homers in total as they win the game, 9 - 1.
- The Royals stage the biggest 9th-inning comeback in their history when they score seven runs to defeat the White Sox, 8 - 7. With a 7 - 1 lead, White Sox closer David Robertson seems to be cruising along when he strikes out Paulo Orlando to start off the bottom of the 9th, but Cheslor Cuthbert singles and Brett Eibner follows with a double. After the Royals have batted around, Eibner ends the game with a single off Tommy Kahnle, driving in Drew Butera with the winning run. One of the key hits of the rally is a two-run single by Whit Merrifield, and the win goes to Chien-Ming Wang, as players who barely contributed to last season's World Series win do most of the damage for the Royals.
- 2019 - Derek Dietrich continues his unlikely homer binge as he hits three, all two-run shots, in leading the Reds to an 11 - 6 win over the Pirates. With 17 homers this year, he has already topped his career high, and 12 of his last 17 hits have gone over the fence. For the Pirates, rookie Kevin Newman hits his first career homer, a grand slam off Lucas Sims.
- 2022 - UCLA and Oregon State engage in a wild game in the first game of a doubleheader in the 2022 Pacific-12 Conference Tournament as UCLA rallies from nine runs down in the 9th to force extra innings - with the score at 21 - 21. They then win the game in the 10th, 25 - 22, on a walk-off three-run homer by C Tommy Beres, who has already contributed two RBIs in the 8th and a two-run double in the epic 9th-inning comeback, after coming in as a defensive replacement in the 6th. The two teams combine for 53 hits and 47 runs in a game that takes 5 hours and 44 minutes. Beres' homer comes after Oregon State had taken the lead ion the top of the 10th, only to see its pitcher balk in the tying run before the game-ending blast. The two teams then face off again 45 minutes later, and this time Oregon State comes out on top, 8 - 7, to reach tomorrow's championship game against Stanford University.
- 2023:
- In a veritable slugfest, the Rays outpunch the Dodgers, 11 - 10, in the rubber game of a three-game set between the leaders of their respective divisions. The two teams combine for 27 hits and six homers in addition to the 21 runs. After the Rays take the lead in the bottom of the 8th, closer Pete Fairbanks is unable to enter the game as he feels tightness in his hip while warming up in the bullpen, and Jason Adam, who had pitched the 8th and thought he was out of the game, comes back to retire the Dodgers in order in the 9th - a rare clean inning that ends the game. Isaac Paredes goes 3 for 4 with four RBIs to lead the Rays' offense as they chase youngster Gavin Stone with a six-run 2nd inning.
- Spencer Strider of the Braves becomes the fastest starting pitcher to record 100 strikeouts in a season, doing so in his 61st inning in an 11 - 4 win over the Phillies. Last year, Strider set the record for the fastest pitcher to reach 200 Ks in a season.
Births[edit]
- 1854 - John Carl, catcher (d. 1927)
- 1867 - Pearce Chiles, infielder (d 1933)
- 1867 - John Lyston, pitcher (d. 1909)
- 1868 - John Bates, pitcher (d. 1919)
- 1881 - King Brady, pitcher (d. 1947)
- 1882 - Spider Baum, minor league pitcher (d. 1955)
- 1887 - Jim Thorpe, outfielder (d. 1953)
- 1889 - Jim Middleton, pitcher (d. 1974)
- 1889 - Claude Robertson, minor league catcher and manager (d. 1964)
- 1896 - Warren Giles Hall of Famer (d. 1979)
- 1898 - Claude Davenport, pitcher (d. 1976)
- 1899 - Bob Rice, infielder (d. 1986)
- 1900 - Bill Barrett, outfielder (d. 1951)
- 1901 - Norm Lehr, pitcher (d. 1968)
- 1907 - Marv Olson, infielder (d. 1998)
- 1910 - Willard Hershberger, catcher (d. 1940)
- 1913 - Dean Thomas, pitcher (d. 1945)
- 1917 - John Allyn, owner (d. 1979)
- 1918 - Bob Harvey, outfielder; All-Star (d. 1992)
- 1918 - Bob Malloy, pitcher (d. 2007)
- 1919 - Ray Kuhlman, minor league owner (d. 2003)
- 1919 - Art Lopatka, pitcher (d. 2007)
- 1919 - Steve Nagy, pitcher (d. 2016)
- 1921 - Charles Varnak, minor league outfielder (d. 2010)
- 1923 - Bob Kuzava, pitcher (d. 2017)
- 1926 - Frank Saucier, outfielder
- 1927 - Edward Black, minor league pitcher (d. 2007)
- 1928 - Ramiro Cuevas, minor league pitcher; Salon de la Fama (d. 1987)
- 1930 - Thomas Jenk, USA national team player (d. 2013)
- 1932 - Carl Thomas, pitcher (d. 2013)
- 1934 - Henk Hendriks, Hoofdklasse infielder and manager (d. 2020)
- 1934 - Bobby Gene Smith, outfielder (d. 2015)
- 1942 - Buddy Booker, catcher
- 1946 - Skip Jutze, catcher
- 1950 - Jim Cox, infielder
- 1953 - Rafael Landestoy, infielder
- 1953 - Pat McMahon, college coach
- 1956 - Randy Martz, pitcher
- 1957 - Kirk Gibson, outfielder
- 1957 - Tom Grant, outfielder
- 1958 - Bill Doran, infielder
- 1958 - Ed Olwine, pitcher
- 1959 - Steve Jeltz, infielder
- 1960 - Junichi Fukura, NPB infielder and manager
- 1964 - Duane Ward, pitcher; All-Star
- 1966 - Mike Maksudian, infielder
- 1968 - Eddie Muna, Guam national team infielder (d. 2021)
- 1968 - Ricky Rhodes, minor league pitcher
- 1969 - Mike Difelice, catcher
- 1969 - Shikato Yanagita, NPB infielder
- 1970 - Michele Gerali, Italian Baseball League outfielder
- 1970 - Randy Kapano, minor league infielder
- 1971 - Kota Kawaguchi, NPB umpire
- 1972 - Amador Arias, scout
- 1972 - Tilson Brito, infielder
- 1972 - Joe Rosselli, pitcher
- 1973 - Chul-min Oh, KBO pitcher
- 1977 - Alex Hernandez, infielder
- 1977 - Chien-Lung Kao, CPBL outfielder
- 1977 - Alexei Valyalin, Russian national team pitcher
- 1978 - Juan Cabreja, minor league manager
- 1978 - Boanerges Espinoza, Nicaraguan national team pitcher
- 1978 - Shogo Yamamoto, NPB pitcher
- 1979 - Ryota Igarashi, pitcher
- 1979 - Dae-hwan Lee, KBO pitcher
- 1979 - Atsushi Nomi, NPB pitcher
- 1981 - Daniel Cabrera, pitcher
- 1981 - Il-young Ma, KBO pitcher
- 1981 - Leo Rosales, pitcher
- 1982 - Alexis Candelario, minor league pitcher
- 1982 - Brian Meyer, minor league manager
- 1982 - Jhonny Peralta, infielder; All-Star
- 1982 - Heriberto Ruelas Jr., minor league pitcher
- 1983 - Cory Wade, pitcher
- 1986 - Jeremy Haynes, minor league pitcher
- 1988 - Justin Bour, infielder
- 1988 - Ryan Court, infielder
- 1988 - Craig Kimbrel, pitcher; All-Star
- 1988 - Lester Oliveros, pitcher
- 1988 - Carrol Servania, Netherlands Antilles national team pitcher
- 1989 - Shane Farrell, scout
- 1989 - Casey Harms, minor league coach
- 1990 - Mitch Fienemann, minor league pitcher
- 1990 - Aaron Northcraft, pitcher
- 1990 - Matt Stites, pitcher
- 1990 - Pongpun Yoopongpitak, Thai national team designated hitter
- 1991 - Winston López, Dominican national team catcher
- 1992 - Zach Kapstein, minor league catcher
- 1992 - Shogo Nakamura, NPB infielder
- 1992 - Will Schierholz, minor league pitcher
- 1994 - Denys Brechko, Ukrainian national team infielder
- 1994 - Ryan Burr, pitcher
- 1996 - Nate Fisher, pitcher
- 1996 - Ariel Martínez, minor league catcher
- 1997 - Noah Song, minor league pitcher
- 1998 - Pedro León, minor league outfielder
- 1998 - Huascar Ynoa, pitcher
- 1999 - Been Gwak, KBO pitcher
- 2000 - Yohelis Colina, Venezuelan women's national team infielder
- 2001 - Quentin Moulin, Division Elite pitcher
- 2003 - Emma Patry, French women's national team outfielder
- 2005 - Ralphy Velazquez, drafted catcher
Deaths[edit]
- 1919 - Jack Wanner, infielder (b. 1885)
- 1928 - Bill Smith, pitcher (b. 1861)
- 1929 - Ollie Beard, infielder (b. 1862)
- 1930 - Hal Carlson, pitcher (b. 1892)
- 1935 - Charlie Sullivan, pitcher (b. 1903)
- 1942 - Charley Bassett, infielder (b. 1863)
- 1942 - Mike Welday, outfielder (b. 1879)
- 1943 - Henri Rondeau, outfielder (b. 1887)
- 1958 - Oscar Davis, infielder/outfielder (b. 1896)
- 1958 - Doc Nance, outfielder (b. 1876)
- 1959 - Ed Kippert, outfielder (b. 1879)
- 1959 - Ken Penner, pitcher (b. 1896)
- 1961 - Fred Smith, infielder (b. 1886)
- 1962 - George Anderson, outfielder (b. 1889)
- 1962 - Paddy Mayes, outfielder (b. 1885)
- 1969 - Gus Getz, infielder (b. 1889)
- 1969 - Gus Tebell, college coach (b. 1897)
- 1972 - Al Gerheauser, pitcher (b. 1917)
- 1972 - Bob Hasty, pitcher (b. 1896)
- 1979 - Sig Jakucki, pitcher (b. 1909)
- 1986 - Taylor Douthit, outfielder (b. 1901)
- 1986 - Paul Florence, catcher (b. 1900)
- 1989 - Gaston Lewis, pitcher (b. 1903)
- 1991 - Roy Cullenbine, outfielder; All-Star (b. 1913)
- 1992 - Fumio Fujimura, NPB infielder and manager; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1916)
- 1992 - Kazuhide Funada, NPB infielder (b. 1942)
- 1992 - Charley Schanz, pitcher (b. 1919)
- 1993 - Fats Dantonio, catcher (b. 1918)
- 1994 - Fred White, minor league pitcher (b. 1968)
- 2002 - Wes Westrum, catcher, manager; All-Star (b. 1922)
- 2007 - Phyllis Koehn, AAGPBL pitcher and utility player (b. 1922)
- 2011 - Martha Rommelaere, AAGPBL outfielder (b. 1922)
- 2012 - Harry Parker, pitcher (b. 1947)
- 2014 - Tony Blasucci, minor league pitcher (b. 1962)
- 2015 - Skeeter Kell, infielder (b. 1929)
- 2015 - Rollie Schmidt, college coach (b. 1933)
- 2018 - Philip Edwards, Negro Leagues pitcher (b. ~1925)
- 2018 - Chuck Stevens, infielder (b. 1918)
- 2023 - Miguel de la Hoz, infielder (b. 1938)
- 2023 - Mike Young, outfielder (b. 1960)
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.