TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

August 12, 1984 — In one of the ugliest brawl-filled games in major league history‚ the Braves beat the Padres, 5 – 3, in Atlanta. The trouble begins when Atlanta’s Pascual Perez hits Alan Wiggins in the back with the first pitch of the game‚ and the benches empty for the first fight of the game in the second inning when Ed Whitson throws behind the Atlanta starter’s head escalates as the Padres pitchers retaliate by throwing at Perez the next three times he comes to the plate.

From the SABR Games Bioproject:

The San Diego Padres, cruising 10½ games ahead of the Atlanta Braves in the NL West with 46 games left, arrived in Atlanta having just won the previous two games. What followed was one of baseball's ugliest afternoons — a game that produced 17 ejections, a bench-clearing brawl, and a decade of bad blood.

Braves right-hander Pascual Perez had been irritated the night before watching Padres second baseman Alan Wiggins repeatedly bunt for hits, yelling at him to "swing the bat." The tension carried into Sunday's game: Perez hit Wiggins with his very first pitch.

Retaliation attempts began almost immediately. In the second inning, Padres starter Ed Whitson tried to hit Perez but only managed a wild pitch — both teams received warnings. In the fourth, Whitson tried three more times and missed all three; umpire Steve Rippley had seen enough and ejected Whitson along with manager Dick Williams. His replacements didn't last either — reliever Greg Booker and acting manager Ozzie Virgil Sr. were both tossed in the sixth inning. San Diego went through a third manager (Jack Krol) and third pitcher (Greg Harris) before the game continued.

In the eighth, with the Braves leading 5-1, pitcher Craig Lefferts finally hit Perez, triggering a bench-clearing brawl. Lefferts and Krol were ejected — the Padres' third manager gone. Braves star Bob Horner, on the disabled list and in street clothes, suited up mid-game to join the fray but wasn't ejected since he wasn't officially on the roster; he ended up blocking teammate Champ Summers, who left the bench to attack Perez and was ejected. San Diego outfielder Bobby Brown and three Braves (Gerald Perry, Rick Mahler, Steve Bedrosian) were also thrown out.

The ninth inning brought more chaos. Braves reliever Donnie Moore hit Graig Nettles, and both were ejected, along with manager Joe Torre. Another brawl broke out, sweeping up Tim Flannery, Goose Gossage, and Kurt Bevacqua (who charged into the stands after being hit by a thrown beer). With ejections mounting — San Diego 12, Atlanta 5 — crew chief John McSherry ordered both benches cleared entirely to prevent further violence, sending players to their clubhouses rather than forfeiting the game. Police, stationed atop both dugouts, arrested five fans.

Gene Garber eventually closed it out for Atlanta, 5-1. By game's end, San Diego had burned through four managers, with bullpen coach Harry Dunlop finishing as the fourth. Neither instigator — Perez or Wiggins — was ejected; Perez even picked up the win.

Afterward, Torre called Williams "an idiot" and likened the Padres' conduct to "Hitler-like action." Williams insisted the Braves started it. MLB suspended Williams 10 days and fined him $10,000; Torre got three days and $1,000. Five players were also suspended and fined, plus additional fines for other participants.

Read the full article here.

Listen to a SABR panle here.

Todays Podcast

August 12, 1912 three men attack Ty Cobb on his way to the Detroit rail station. Cobb sustains a cut on his shoulder but catches one of his attackers and pistol-whips him. To no one’s surprise, Cobb then travels to Syracuse and gets two hits in an exhibition game.

August 12, 1930 – With 40‚000 fans on hand at Wrigley Field‚ Dazzy Vance gives up 14 hits and walks 4 but strands 16 Cubs runners. Vance pitching into the 11th, with the game tied‚ 2 – 2‚ in the 11th Riggs Stephenson bounces a single to drive in the winning run.

Brooklyn had its chances loads the bases in both the 9th and 10th but comes up dry; in the 8th Brooklyn adds up a triple by Babe Herman‚ a walk to Del Bissonette‚ and an Al Lopez single with no body out and could not plate a run. They load them again in 9th, with two outs and could not plate a run, and again in 11th, with runners at second and third could not plate a run. As starter Sheriff Blake held them at bay to pick up his 7th win pitching 11 innings giving up 12 hits and 4 walks stranding 14 Dodgers.

August 12, 1936 — The largest crowd ever to watch a baseball game turns out for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany, with between 90,000 and 125,000 fans watching the US amateurs lose, 6 – 5, to the world amateurs.

August 12, 1940 There was no joy in Mudville on August 12th, 1940 as Ernest Lawrence Thayer, author of “Casey at the Bat”, dies in Santa Barbara, CA at age 77.

August 12, 1956 — Mickey Mantle hits his 41st homer‚ and 7th in 8 days‚ to pace New York to a 6 – 2 win and a doubleheader sweep of the Orioles.

August 12, 1964 – Mickey Mantle sets a major league record hitting home runs from both sides of the plate for the 10th time in his career. Mantle hits a left-handed homer off Ray Herbert clear over the 461 ft. marker in centerfield that lands 15 rows into the bleachers, 502 ft. from the plate.

August 12, 1970, Judge Irving Ben Cooper rules against Curt Flood in his antitrust suit. the former All-Star outfielder had objected to being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies without his consent.

Cooper says “Decisions of the Supreme Court are not lightly overruled… We find no general or widespread disregard of the extremely important position the player occupies… Clearly the preponderance of credible proof does not favor the elimination of the reserve clause.” However, the judge says changes in the reserve clause should be made through negotiation, but denies Flood damages. Flood will appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, but in vain.

August 12, 1984 — Former Dodgers Don Drysdale and Pee Wee Reese, along with Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew, American League hurler Rick Ferrell, and perennial All-Star shortstop Luis Aparicio, are inducted into the Hall of Fame.

August 12, 1988 — The Red Sox beat the Tigers 9-4 for their 23rd consecutive win at Fenway Park, establishing a new major league record [the streak will end after one more home victory]. The 1931 Philadelphia Athletics had previously set the league mark with 22 straight home victories.

August 12, 1995 the Dodgers defeat the Pirates‚ 11-10 in 11 innings on the oddest play of the year. With the potential winning run at third‚ Mitch Webster of the Dodgers swings at a pitch in the dirt. Pittsburgh’s rookie catcher Angelo Encarnacion casually picked up the ball with his mask‚ leading Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda to appeal‚ citing the rule which awards a runner two bases if a fielder uses his mask to touch a thrown ball. The umpires agree and allow the winning run to score. Encarnacion is given an error.

August 12, 1996, Geronimo Berroa hits 3 home runs in the Athletics’ 11-1 win over Minnesota. He becomes the 10th player in history to have a pair of 3-homer games in the same season. Berroa accounts for 5 of Oakland’s runs and Mark McGwire accounts for 4 with a pair of homers himself. McGwire‚ who missed 30 games‚ now has 41 homers on the season.

August 12, 2000 — Tim Raines, who broke in with Montreal in 1979 and represented the team in All-Star Games from 1981-1987, is inducted into the Expos’ Hall of Fame. In 2017, the 21-year veteran outfielder will be selected by BBWAA for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

August 12, 2001 — The Braves fall to the Diamondbacks‚ 9 – 1‚ as Greg Maddux’s National League-record streak for innings without allowing a walk is ended at 72 1/3. Braves’ manager Bobby Cox orders an intentional walk to Steve Finley in the 3rd inning to end the streak. Arizona 2B Junior Spivey gets 5 singles in the contest‚ becoming the 5th rookie in 50 years to have a pair of five-hit games in his first season. His other such contest was on June 21st.

The major league record is 84.1 innings, set in 1962 by A’s hurler Bill Fischer.

August 12, 2007 — Retiring 41 consecutive batters, Bobby Jenks breaks David Wells’s American League record (38) and ties the major league mark established by Jim Barr of the Giants, who retired 41 straight batters in 1972. The White Sox closer reached the record book by pitching a perfect ninth inning against the Mariners.

August 12, 2011 — Dan Uggla extends his Atlanta-record hitting streak to 32 games as he belts a pair of solo homers off the Cubs’ Carlos Zambrano for a 10 – 4 Braves win. Zambrano gives up a career-high 5 home runs, as he is tagged for 8 runs in 4 1/3 innings. After giving up Uggla’s second homer and another by Freddie Freeman back-to-back, he throws two brushback pitches at Chipper Jones and is ejected by home plate umpire Tim Timmons. The long-time Cubs ace then cleans out his locker and leaves the ballpark, not informing manager Mike Quade or anyone else whether he is in fact retiring. The Cubs will place him on the disqualified list tomorrow. Before the game, the Braves officially retire uniform number 6, worn by long-time manager Bobby Cox who retired after last season.

 ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA

TRIVIA ANSWER:  DICK WILLIAMS 

- Ans. In the game on 12-Sep-1962, in Baltimore, Senators journeyman pitcher Tom Cheney pitched all 16-innings, allowed only one run, got the win and oh, yeah… He struck out 21 Oriole batters. The last batter of the game, Williams, who had entered the game in the bottom of the 16^th & with 2 outs, took strike 3, ending the game and establishing Cheney’s record.

Thank you Horsehide Trivia

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