May 30
From BR Bullpen
| Stats of players who were born this day | |
| Stats of players who died on this day | |
| Standings on this day | |
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| Today in Baseball History | |
Events, births and deaths that occurred on May 30.
Events[edit]
- 1894 - Bobby Lowe of the Boston Beaneaters becomes the first player to hit four home runs in one game, in a 20 - 11 win over the Reds in the second game of a doubleheader. Lowe hits two of his homers in the 3rd inning.
- 1909 - In the first game of a scheduled Memorial Day doubleheader in the Three-I League, the Decatur Commodores defeat the Bloomington Bloomers, 2 - 1, in 26 innings. It is the longest professional game played until that time, and won't be topped until 1960. Both pitchers, Ed Clarke for Bloomington, and Otto Burns, making his first professional pitching appearance for Decatur, go all the way. SS Mark Purtell, a .130 hitter for the year, drives in the winning run. The second game of the twinbill is postponed by darkness.
- 1911 - Umpires Jack Doyle and Bill Klem completely botch a call during a game between the Cubs and Pirates, leading National League President Tom Lynch, himself a former umpire, to order it replayed. With one out in the 8th and the Cubs' Dave Shean on first base, Jimmy Archer hits a pop fly to SS Honus Wagner, who deliberately lets it drop to the ground in the hope of getting a cheap double play. However, Archer is wise to it and hustles to first, beating the throw. This is when the silliness begins, as Doyle rules that Archer is out because Wagner dropped the ball intentionally, but Klem overrules him, saying Wagner never held the ball in his glove. Archer had started heading back to the dugout when called out by Doyle, and now returns to first upon hearing Klem's call. But before he can make it, Wagner tags him with the ball. Klem then declares Archer out and the inning over, his reasoning being that Archer should have known that Doyle had been wrong and never left the bag in the first place, so it's his fault that he was tagged out. Unimpressed, Frank Chance, the Cubs' manager, files a protest. By the time Lynch issues his ruling on June 7th , blaming both umpires, Doyle has been fired for not knowing the rules.
- 1913 - John McGraw joins Fred Clarke, Cap Anson, Frank Selee and Connie Mack as managers who have won 1,000 games.
- 1922 - Between the morning and afternoon games of a Memorial Day doubleheader, Cliff Heathcote and Max Flack exchange their Cardinals and Cubs uniforms respectively. The pair will both get hits for their new teams in the nightcap.
- 1925 - Rogers Hornsby is named manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, replacing Branch Rickey, who remains as general manager. Hornsby will be the only player-manager to win the Triple Crown, which he does by topping a .400 batting average for the third time in four years, hitting .403 with 39 home runs and 143 RBI. Hornsby assumes his new position halfway through a twin bill in Forbes Field, both ends of which are won by the World Series-bound Bucs, and each of which feature opposite field home runs from Rajah.
- 1927:
- In the 4th inning of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, shortstop Jimmy Cooney of the Chicago Cubs catches a line drive off Paul Waner, steps on second base to retire Lloyd Waner and then tags Clyde Barnhart coming from first base for an unassisted triple play. This is the second time Cooney has participated in an unassisted triple play; the first time came as a victim in Glenn Wright's triple killing on May 7, 1925.
- In his first appearance of the season, Walter Johnson pitches the last shutout of his major league career, number 110, in a Washington Senators 3 - 0 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
- 1935 - Babe Ruth makes his last major league appearance. He plays only the 1st inning of the opener of a doubleheader between the Boston Braves and Philadelphia Phillies at the Baker Bowl. Phillies pitcher Jim Bivin retires Ruth on an infield grounder in the Babe's final major league at-bat.
- 1940 - Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants throws 87 pitches in a 7 - 0 one-hitter against the Brooklyn Dodgers. Hubell faces the minimum 27 batters, as Johnny Hudson, who singles for the only hit, is caught stealing.
- 1956 - Mickey Mantle hits a home run that comes within a foot-and-a-half of leaving Yankee Stadium. It hits the face of the upper deck in right field, 370 feet from home plate and 117 feet in the air. Mantle also becomes the first player in major league history to hit 20 home runs by the end of May as the Yankees beat the Washington Senators, 4 - 3.
- 1961 - Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Bill Skowron each hit two home runs to lead the New York Yankees to a 12 - 3 rout of the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Yogi Berra also homers for New York. Ralph Terry is the winning pitcher, Gene Conley the loser.
- 1962 - Pedro Ramos of the Cleveland Indians pitches a three-hitter and hits two home runs, including a grand slam, for a 7 - 0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in the first game of a doubleheader at Memorial Park. Cleveland will win the second game by the identical score.
- 1967 - New York Yankees pitcher Whitey Ford announces his retirement from baseball because of an elbow injury. His final appearance was a start in Detroit on May 21st, but he lasted just one inning for the Yankees. He finishes his major league career with a 236-106 record and will gain lection to the Hall of Fame in 1974.
- 1970 - All-Star voting is returned to the fans, as computerized punch-card ballots appear in stores and ballparks coast to coast. Since 1958 the All-Star squads had been selected by managers, coaches, and players.
- 1971 - Willie Mays hits his 638th major league career home run with the Giants franchise, adding in the process his National League record 1,950th run scored.
- 1977 - Dennis Eckersley pitches a no-hitter as the Cleveland Indians beat the California Angels, 1 - 0. Frank Tanana, with three shutouts in his last four games, is the loser.
- 1982 - Cal Ripken, Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles begins his major league record consecutive games played streak by starting at third base (his position for the first 27 games during the streak), appearing eighth in the batting order against the Toronto Blue Jays.
- 1987 - Eric Davis becomes the first National League player to hit three grand slams in a month, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 6 - 2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. His major league-leading 19 home runs also breaks the NL record for most homers batted between April and May.
- 1992 - Scott Sanderson becomes the ninth pitcher to beat all 26 major league teams as the Yankees defeat Milwaukee, 8 - 1. Sanderson joins Doyle Alexander, Rich Gossage, Tommy John, Gaylord Perry, Nolan Ryan, Don Sutton, Mike Torrez and Rick Wise, as those who have defeated every club.
- 2001 - Barry Bonds hits two home runs, moving past Willie McCovey and Ted Williams into 11th place on the major league career list with 522. Bonds, with 17 home runs in May, surpasses the mark set by Mark McGwire in 1998 and Mickey Mantle in 1956.
- 2003 - Ken Griffey, Jr. hits a game-tying home run in the 9th inning and a go-ahead homer in the top of the 11th to lead Cincinnati over Florida, 4 - 3.
- 2006:
- Vernon Wells hits three home runs for the first time in his career and Troy Glaus homers twice to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to an 8 - 5 victory over the Boston Red Sox. It's the first time two Toronto players have had multi-homer games together since Carlos Delgado hit three and Raul Mondesi hit two on April 20, 2001, against Kansas City. Gustavo Chacin (6-1) is the winning pitcher, Josh Beckett (7-2) the loser.
- Jose Castillo hits two home runs and finishes with a career-high six RBI to help Pittsburgh rout the Brewers, 12 - 1.
- At Dolphin Stadium, slugger Miguel Cabrera hits a three-run home run and has four RBI as the Florida Marlins beat the San Francisco Giants, 5 - 3. Cabrera leads the National League in batting average (.346) and doubles (21) and ranks in the top ten in hits, RBI and total bases.
- Craig Biggio ties Hank Aaron for ninth place on the major league career doubles list with his 624th in the Astros' 6 - 3 victory over St. Louis. Biggio now has 2,850 hits, two more than Brooks Robinson for 40th place in the all-time list. Just yesterday, Biggio became the 23rd major leaguer to reach 10,000 at-bats.
- 2009:
- The University of Texas at Austin defeats Boston College, 3 - 2, in 25 innings - the longest game in NCAA history. 191 plate appearances, 171 at-bats, and 42 strikeouts are all new records established by the two teams. Texas' Travis Tucker and Michael Torres each have 12 at-bats; Texas first baseman Preston Clark has 33 putouts; each of these are new marks for individuals in a single game. Austin Wood pitches 18 relief innings for the win.
- The Phillies top the Nationals, 9 - 6. Ryan Howard hits his eighth grand slam, setting a new Philadelphia Phillies franchise record. Howard's shot helps make a loser of Shairon Martis. Martis had amazingly started the year 5-0 on a team that otherwise was 8-34.
- Thomas De Wolf of the DSL Mets becomes the first minor leaguer born and raised in Belgium. He goes 1 for 4 with a walk, run and RBI and will post a .432 OBP in the 2009 Dominican Summer League, leading his club.
- 2011:
- Bartolo Colon pitches his first shutout since 2006 in blanking the Athletics, 5 - 0. The 38-year-old Yankees pitcher has made a remarkable comeback after being out of the majors all of last year.
- Torii Hunter hits a dramatic two-run homer in the 9th inning off the Royals' Joakim Soria to collect his 1,000th career RBI and give the Angels a 10 - 8 win. Hunter has two homers and four RBI on the day. After the game, the Royals announce that Soria is being replaced by rookie Aaron Crow as the team's closer.
- The Tigers beat the Twins, 7 - 6, on a controversial 8th-inning double by Alex Avila. Avila hits a low line drive down the third base line that rolls into foul territory; two fans stretch over the railing and attempt to grab the ball, which goes past them, skips on the concrete base of the stands, and bounces into another group of fans, hitting one in the chest, before ending its run back in foul territory. Umpire Gary Darling calls fan interference and sends runner Jhonny Peralta, who was on first base, all the way home, ruling that the first spectators deflected the ball's trajectory and that Peralta would have otherwise scored. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire comes out to argue but loses the argument, is ejected, and Peralta's run is the deciding one in the game.
- 2012:
- Normally one of the weakest-hitting team in the majors, the Mariners explode for 21 runs in beating Texas, 21 - 8. Justin Smoak hits a pair of three-run homers, Dustin Ackley also hits a three-run shot, Jesus Montero homers, and Kyle Seager adds four hits and two RBI in the outburst. The 21 runs are the most scored by a team this season.
- Jason Hammel gives up four solo homers, then accuses the Blue Jays of stealing signs as they complete a three-game sweep of the Orioles, 4 - 1. Brandon Morrow is the winner.
- Marietta College wins the Division III College World Series for its second straight national title. In the finale, Marietta defeats Wheaton College, 7 - 2. It is head coach Brian Brewer's third title. Brian Gasser allows two runs in eight innings for the win while Aaron Hopper drives in three.
- 2013:
- The Mets complete a four-game sweep of the Yankees with a 3 - 1 win behind the pitching of Dillon Gee, who strikes out a career-high 12 batters in 7 1/3 innings. It is the first time the Mets have ever swept a Subway Series against the Bronx Bombers, as those are the only four games the two teams will play against each other this year.
- Russell Martin hits a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Pirates a 1 - 0 win over the Tigers at home. The Tigers strand 11 baserunners, while the Bucs have now won 16 of their last 20 games.
- 2014 - The host Houston Astros win the annual Civil Rights Game, 2 - 1, over the Orioles, for their seventh straight win. Brett Oberholtzer is a winner over Miguel Gonzalez. At the Beacon Awards luncheon which precedes the game, Major League Baseball honors a number of Civil Rights pioneers, including poet Maya Angelou, who passed away earlier in the week.
- 2015:
- Derek Fisher sets a league record in his California League debut with the Lancaster JetHawks, as he collects 12 RBIs. He hits a solo homer in the 1st, a grand slam in the 2nd and another grand slam in the 3rd, capping off his night with a bases-clearing double in the 7th.
- The Dodgers snap a 42-inning scoreless road streak in beating the Cardinals, 5 -1. They are held hitless for five innings by Michael Wacha to beat an unenviable club record dating back to 1908, until a run-scoring single by Howie Kendrick in the 6th puts the team on the board and a three-run homer by Yasmani Grandal gives them the lead. It is Wacha's first loss after opening the year with seven straight wins.
- The University of Tampa wins the Division II College World Series, topping Catawba College, 3 - 1, in the finale with a two-run triple by catcher Nick Tindall the big hit.
- 2018 - In his first game back since undergoing Tommy John surgery, Nathan Eovaldi pitches six hitless innings for the Rays against the Athletics. Manager Kevin Cash decides to remove Eovaldi in order not to overstress him and Wilmer Font gives up a single to Jed Lowrie in the 7th for the A's lone hit. Tampa Bay wins, 6 - 0.
Births[edit]
- 1864 - George Proeser, outfielder (d. 1941)
- 1869 - Tony Von Fricken, pitcher (d. 1947)
- 1870 - John Fitzgerald, pitcher (d. 1921)
- 1870 - Charlie Frank, outfielder (d. 1922)
- 1871 - Amos Rusie, pitcher; Hall of Famer (d. 1942)
- 1873 - Archie Stimmel, pitcher (d. 1958)
- 1878 - Mike Donlin, outfielder (d. 1933)
- 1879 - Jesse Whiting, pitcher (d. 1937)
- 1881 - Tom Dougherty, pitcher (d. 1953)
- 1884 - Rube Oldring, outfielder (d. 1961)
- 1885 - John Misse, infielder (d. 1970)
- 1886 - Jiro Morioka, NPB executive; Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 1950)
- 1894 - Al Mamaux, pitcher (d. 1963)
- 1894 - Twink Twining, pitcher (d. 1973)
- 1895 - Harry Salmon, pitcher (d. 1983)
- 1897 - Wally Kimmick, infielder (d. 1989)
- 1900 - Jute Bell, pitcher (d. 1991)
- 1902 - Lou McEvoy, pitcher (d. 1953)
- 1905 - A.J. Lewandowski, college coach (d. 1961)
- 1906 - Hugh Willingham, infielder (d. 1988)
- 1906 - Laymon Yokely, pitcher (d. 1975)
- 1910 - Frazier Robinson, catcher (d. 1997)
- 1912 - Eddie Dancisak, scout (d. 1966)
- 1913 - Jerome Abberbock, minor league pitcher (d. 1968)
- 1922 - Bob Hooper, pitcher (d. 1980)
- 1923 - Jim Eriotes, minor league player (d. 2012)
- 1924 - Fernando Díaz, outfielder/infielder; All-Star
- 1924 - Turk Lown, pitcher (d. 2016)
- 1925 - Charlie Luis, NPB and minor league catcher
- 1926 - Dixie Upright, pinch hitter (d. 1986)
- 1926 - Tsuneo Watanabe, NPB owner
- 1926 - Kay Webb, AAGPBL pinch hitter (d. 2011)
- 1931 - Mike Bycofski, minor league pitcher
- 1934 - Quan-Rong Gao, Taiwanese national team pitcher; Taiwan Baseball Hall of Fame (d. 2017)
- 1935 - Ed Rakow, pitcher (d. 2000)
- 1936 - Mel Nelson, pitcher
- 1941 - John Miller, pitcher (d. 2020)
- 1942 - John Felske, catcher, manager
- 1946 - Mike Sadek, catcher (d. 2021)
- 1949 - Riccardo Fraccari, Serie A1 umpire; Italian Baseball Hall of Fame
- 1955 - Fernando Hernández, Cuban league outfielder (d. 2017)
- 1956 - Dana DeMuth, umpire
- 1956 - Mike LaCoss, pitcher; All-Star
- 1956 - Jay Loviglio, infielder
- 1958 - Masaru Uno, NPB infielder
- 1959 - Fernando Villaescusa, minor league infielder and manager
- 1961 - James Steels, outfielder
- 1964 - Guadelupe Jabalera, minor league infielder and manager
- 1964 - Rick Raether, minor league pitcher
- 1968 - Chris Hanks, college coach
- 1968 - Lee May Jr., minor league outfielder and manager
- 1968 - Mike Oquist, pitcher
- 1970 - John Courtright, pitcher
- 1970 - John Eierman, minor league outfielder
- 1970 - Tetsuhiro Monna, NPB pitcher
- 1971 - Sean Holub, minor league infielder
- 1972 - Scott Eyre, pitcher
- 1972 - Manny Ramirez, outfielder; All-Star
- 1974 - Peter Dallas, minor league pitcher-outfielder
- 1974 - Brett Merrick, minor league pitcher
- 1974 - Logan Miller, minor league catcher
- 1974 - Guogiang Sun, Chinese national team pitcher
- 1975 - Adolfo Gomez, Italian Baseball League infielder
- 1977 - Kazunari Tsuruoka NPB pitcher
- 1978 - Arian Cruz, minor league pitcher
- 1978 - Rico Washington, infielder
- 1978 - Ryan Webb, minor league outfielder
- 1980 - Manuel Esquivia, minor league pitcher
- 1980 - Mark Kiger, minor league infielder
- 1981 - Reggie Willits, outfielder
- 1982 - Scot Drucker, minor league pitcher
- 1983 - Jairo Asencio, pitcher
- 1983 - Zak Farkes, minor league infielder
- 1983 - Jae-Kuk Ryu, pitcher
- 1984 - Frank Herrmann, pitcher
- 1984 - D.J. Wabick, minor league outfielder
- 1985 - Joe Billick, minor league catcher
- 1985 - Jos de Jong, Hoofdklasse pitcher
- 1985 - Fernando Salas, pitcher
- 1985 - Tony Watson, pitcher; All-Star
- 1986 - Tony Campana, outfielder
- 1986 - Kyle Landis, minor league pitcher
- 1987 - Mycal Jones, minor league outfielder
- 1988 - Yu-Chuan Tu, Taiwan womens' national team catcher
- 1990 - John Brebbia, pitcher
- 1990 - Eury Pérez, outfielder
- 1990 - Ariel Rainko, Polish national team infielder
- 1990 - Jonathan Schwind, minor league catcher
- 1990 - Zack Wheeler, pitcher; All-Star
- 1991 - Jesús Ugueto, minor league outfielder
- 1992 - Ho-Yin Tam, Hong Kong national team catcher
- 1994 - Brett Phillips, outfielder
- 1994 - Collin Wiles, pitcher
- 1995 - Christian Arroyo, infielder
- 1995 - Iván Castillo, infielder
- 1995 - Sterling Sharp, pitcher
- 1996 - Luis Escobar, pitcher
- 1996 - Tyler Marik, college coach
- 1996 - Alan Trejo, infielder
- 1997 - Will McAffer, minor league pitcher
- 1997 - Andruw Monasterio, infielder
- 1998 - Kyle Hurt, pitcher
Deaths[edit]
- 1914 - Frank Diven, pitcher/outfielder (b. 1860)
- 1932 - Tom Lipp, pitcher (b. 1870)
- 1933 - Burley Bayer, infielder (b. 1875)
- 1933 - Warren Briggs, umpire (b. 1850)
- 1933 - Charles McGeehan, minor league player and manager; college coach (b. 1878)
- 1942 - Lu Fyfe, umpire (b. 1879)
- 1946 - Billy Earle, catcher (b. 1867)
- 1951 - Brooks Gordon, minor league player and manager (b. ~1884)
- 1952 - Albert Lasker, owner (b. 1880)
- 1959 - Doc Tonkin, pitcher (b. 1881)
- 1960 - George Hildebrand, outfielder (b. 1878)
- 1963 - Joe McDonald, infielder (b. 1888)
- 1966 - Dick Ward, pitcher (b. 1909)
- 1970 - Howie Gregory, pitcher (b. 1886)
- 1973 - Jim Breton, infielder (b. 1891)
- 1975 - Bert Cole, pitcher (b. 1896)
- 1976 - Max Carey, outfielder, manager; Hall of Famer (b. 1890)
- 1979 - George Mucey, scout (b. 1912)
- 1979 - Joe Smaza, outfielder (b. 1923)
- 1982 - Charlie Gooch, infielder (b. 1902)
- 1982 - Johnny O'Connor, catcher (b. 1891)
- 1983 - Harry Weaver, pitcher (b. 1892)
- 1987 - George Blackerby, outfielder (b. 1903)
- 1988 - Curtis Hollingsworth, pitcher (b. 1916)
- 1991 - Walter Dilbeck, minor league owner (b. 1918)
- 1991 - Jim Magnuson, pitcher (b. 1946)
- 1991 - Len Riccio umpire (b. 1930)
- 1994 - Jack Krol, manager (b. 1936)
- 1994 - Juzo Sanada, NPB pitcher ;Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1923)
- 1995 - Glenn Burke, outfielder (b. 1952)
- 1996 - Franco Faraone, Serie A1 umpire; Italian Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1931)
- 1996 - Lew Morton, minor league outfielder and manager (b. 1920)
- 1999 - G.H. Fleming, writer (b. 1920)
- 1999 - Clarence Heise, pitcher (b. 1907)
- 2005 - Ziggy Ziegler, AAGPBL pitcher and infielder (b. 1918)
- 2007 - Mark Harris, author (b. 1922)
- 2008 - Ray Hoffman, infielder (b. 1917)
- 2015 - Lennie Merullo, infielder (b. 1917)
- 2015 - Vic Travis, umpire (b. 1951)
- 2016 - Tsuguo Goto, NPB outfielder and manager (b. 1924)
- 2016 - Dick Pierucci, college coach (b. 1929)
- 2020 - Chito Reina, Honduran national team outfielder (b. ~1935)
- 2020 - Arnold Umbach, pitcher (b. 1942)
- 2021 - Jacke Davis, outfielder (b. 1936)
- 2022 - Costen Shockley, infielder (b. 1942)
- 2023 - Joe Gaines, outfielder (b. 1936)
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