TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

August 9 , 1965 — Robin Roberts, nearing the end of a Hall of Fame career, makes a memorable Astro debut. Before a cheering Astrodome throng, Roberts twirls a four-hit shutout against his old Philadelphia team, 8-0 . It is his 277th career win. The Phillies had let Roberts go back in 1961 because he was considered washed up. The Astros inked Robin after Baltimore released him. Roberts would finish the year 5-2 (1.89 ERA) in Houston.

Robin Roberts was a hard-nosed competitor, Roberts ranks as the winningest righthander in Phillies history. A baseball and basketball star at Michigan State, Roberts was disappointed when assigned to Wilmington of the Inter-State League his first pro season, 1948. He wasn't there long; the Phillies recalled him in June when he ran up a 9-1 record. In his first full season, Roberts won 15 games. In 1950, he helped pitch the Phillies to their first pennant in 35 years, going 20-11. When he won his 20th on the final day of the season at Brooklyn, in a pennant-deciding, 10-inning game, he became the Phillies' first 20-game-winner since Grover Alexander in 1917.
Roberts won 20 games six straight years, from 1950 to 1955, with league highs in wins for four straight, starting in 1952, when he went 28-7. Six times he led the NL in games started, and five times in complete games and innings pitched. He once pitched 28 straight complete games in an era when relief pitchers were regularly employed. He was able to get the outs he needed with men in scoring position, and he helped himself as a fielder and at the plate.

His Achilles' heel was the home run ball, but in his prime he rarely gave one up with men on base. He allowed 46 in 1956, then a major league record. Primarily a power pitcher until late in his career, Roberts had a smooth, flowing motion and threw strikes consistently. Though he pitched over 300 innings in six straight seasons, he never walked more than 77 batters.

All those innings may have taken their toll with shoulder problems that began in 1956. He went 19-18 that season, breaking his 20-win streak. No longer able to muster overpowering speed, he had his worst and most frustrating year in 1957. Though the Phillies were contenders for the first half, Roberts struggled, finishing with only 10 wins, and losing a league-high 22 games.

After going 1-10 in 1961, Roberts was sold to the Yankees, but was released in April 1962, without pitching an inning. But he had made the mental adjustments to become a finesse pitcher. He signed with Baltimore and had a winning record there for three years. Released in mid-1965, he signed with Houston, then moved to the Cubs in 1966, winning his final ML game that September. Roberts was not ready to hang it up at age 40, and joined the Phillies' Eastern League Reading farm club with hopes of returning to the majors.

In his prime, pitching was easy for Roberts, who used to say, "Too many people try to make it more complicated than it really is." He was active in the players' union during his ML time, and served as head coach of the University of South Florida in Tampa and roving minor league instructor for the Phillies. He was made a member of the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA in 1976.

Todays Podcast

August 9, 1904 “COME AT ONCE STOP VERY SORRY STOP YOUR FATHER DEAD IN SHOOTING ACCIDENT STOP HURRY.” –

Ty Cobb, playing for the Augusta Tourists of the South Atlantic League, receives a telegram sent by his long-time hometown Royston friend Joe Cunningham informing him that his father Professor W. H. Cobb has been killed in a shooting accident the previous night. The incident, which will have profound effect on the life of the 18 year-old minor leaguer, will become a sordid affair when it is revealed that his mother pulled the trigger.

She thought her husband was a burglar, and shoots and kills him, an incident. The “Georgia Peach” will make his major league debut with the Tigers later this month.

August 9, 1906, Jack “Brakeman” Taylor of the Chicago Cubs sets a major league record by hurling his 187th consecutive complete game. Taylor, whose streak began in 1901, earns the victory in a 5-3 decision over Brooklyn. I wonder what his pitch counts were?

August 9, 1918, Cincinnati Reds manager Christy Mathewson suspends first baseman Hal Chase for what he calls “indifferent play.” Mathewson believes that Chase is “throwing” games because of gambling connections. It’s not the first nor last time that Chase is accused of shady play

August 9, 1946 — In MLB’s version of Friday Night Lights, all eight games, scheduled in eight different cities, will be played under the lights. It is equally split 4 in AL and 4 in NL.

It will be the first time in the major league history that every team will participate in an evening tilt on the same night.

Games were hosted in- Boston, New York, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Chicago, Cincinnati and Philadelphia.

August 9, 1947, Larry Doby of the Cleveland Indians and Hank Thompson of the St. Louis Browns make history by becoming the first African-American players to oppose each other in major league history. Doby’s Indians earn a 5-2 win.

August 8, 1954, Bill Dickey, Rabbit Maranville, and Bill Terry are inducted into the Hall of Fame during ceremonies in Cooperstown.

August 9, 1961 — Cincinnati wins its 16th straight game against Philadelphia as Joey Jay blanks the Phils, 5 – 0. It is the 13th loss in a row for the Quakers, their longest string of defeats since 1936, a span of 25 seasons. they’ve won just one in 19 games. Elio Chacon hits his first major league homer, off Don Ferrarese.

August 9, 1975, Davey Lopes of the Los Angeles Dodgers breaks the record for most consecutive stolen bases without being caught. Lopes steals his 32nd straight base, eclipsing the record held by Max Carey. Lopes will swipe six more bases, shattering the mark, before being caught stealing on August 24.

August 9, 1976, two right-handed aces are among those inducted into the Hall of Fame. Bob Lemon and Robin Roberts, each of whom starred in the 1950s, are two of the six inductees. Also inducted are Negro leagues star Oscar Charleston, 19th century slugger Roger Connor, umpire Cal Hubbard, and third baseman Fred Lindstrom.

August 9, 1988, Rich “Goose” Gossage of the Chicago Cubs earns his 300th career save. The veteran right-hander pitches the final inning of the Cubs’ 6-4 win over the New York Mets, in what also happens to be the first completed night game at Wrigley Field. A crowd of 36,399 attends the evening affair.

August 9th, 1998 at Tiger Stadium. Ken Griffey Jr. makes an incredible catch off a Luis Gonzalez shot in the 3rd inning.

If you ask me about the most memorable play I ever made, it’s probably going back-to-back home runs. But my best play? That happened at the 415-foot mark, just below the Tiger Stadium overhang. If I close my eyes, I can still feel the ball rolling back into my palm.

August 9, 2007, Rick Ankiel made a dramatic return to the St. Louis Cardinals. In his first big league game in three years, Ankiel – a former pitcher – batted second and played right field. After going 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts, Ankiel hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to propel the Cardinals to a 5-0 victory over the Padres at Busch Stadium.

 ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA

TRIVIA ANSWER: . ANDRUW JONES

- Ans. Jones won GG 1998-2007 for outfield play, particularly center field.

- #1 On 17-Oct-1996, in the 7^th game of the LCS, his home contributed the Braves’ lop-sided clincher.

- #2 In his younger days in Curaçao, Jones hunted Iguanas with his father. It seems that once he became the hunted before really becoming the hunter and has scar to prove it. He told teammates of hunting iguanas as a child with his father.

Thank you Horsehide Trivia

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