TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

June 16, 1978, Tom Seaver hurls the first no-hitter of his brilliant career at Riverfront Stadium.

After 396 career starts and 211 wins, Tom Seaver—one of baseball’s most dominant pitchers—finally notched his elusive first no-hitter on June 16, 1978. But oddly enough, it didn’t happen in Mets blue. It happened in Reds red.

Seaver’s masterpiece came against the St. Louis Cardinals at Riverfront Stadium, as 38,000 fans watched the future Hall of Famer silence the bats in a 4–0 Cincinnati win. It wasn’t power that carried him—it was control, poise, and just enough heat to keep the Cards off balance. “He didn’t have overpowering stuff,” wrote Bob Hertzel of the Cincinnati Enquirer, “but made it look easy.”

Seaver had come close before—three times he took a no-hitter into the ninth, including the near-perfect game spoiled by Jim Qualls in 1969. But fate finally turned in his favor on this warm Cincinnati night.

The Reds staked him to a lead in the fifth with help from Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, and a rare starting appearance behind the plate by Don Werner, who called the game while Johnny Bench was sidelined. Solid defense helped too: Morgan, Concepcion, and Ray Knight each made highlight-reel plays behind the veteran righty.

Up 4–0 in the ninth, Seaver faced George Hendrick with two outs and a man on. One more out—and a dozen years of frustration would end. Hendrick grounded to first. Driessen made the play. The no-hitter was complete.

Despite only three strikeouts and three walks, Seaver had done what many assumed he’d already done: toss a no-no. He called the experience “momentary,” saying it didn’t compare to winning a championship. Still, it was a moment long overdue.

As manager Sparky Anderson said afterward: “That should silence all the people who thought Seaver was through.”

Todays Game of the day: June 16, 1978 St. Louis Cardinals vs Cincinnati Reds lets listen to that historic start!

June 16, 1916, At Braves Field Tom Hughes of the Boston Braves pitches a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates, winning the game, 2-0. Six years earlier on August 30, 1910 Hughes had pitched no-hit ball for nine innings against the Cleveland Naps, only to allow a hit in the 10th inning and then lose the game in the 11th.

June 16, 1933 — Last year’s National League batting champ, Lefty O’Doul, and pitcher Watty Clark, a 20-game winner last season, are traded by the Dodgers to the Giants for first baseman Sam Leslie. Brooklyn’s newest infielder will bat .311 during his three seasons with the team, before returning to New York in 1936.

June 16 1938 — At Sportsman’s Park, the St. Louis Browns walk Red Sox star Jimmie Foxx all six times he comes to bat. The Browns’ decision to pitch carefully to Foxx does not prevent the Red Sox from winning the game, 12 – 8. Being intentionally walked six times in a nine-inning game, Foxx sets an American League record and matches the mark set by Walt Wilmot in the National League in 1891.

June 16, 1961 — In his major league debut, 18 year-old Lew Krausse Jr., signed as an amateur free agent for $125,000 by A’s owner Charlie Finley, throws a three-hit shutout and collects two hits in Kansas City’s 4-0 victory over L.A. at Municipal Stadium. In 1932, the redheaded fireballer’s dad blanked the Red Sox in his final major league appearance, giving the father-son duo back-to-back shutouts twenty-nine years apart.

June 16, 1971, The Oakland Athletics hit five solo home runs in a 5 – 1 victory over the Washington Senators. Powerful first baseman Mike Epstein bangs out home runs in his first two at-bats, giving him homers in four straight at-bats over two games. Joe Rudi also adds a pair and Dave Duncan one. Vida Blue (14-2) is the winning pitcher and Denny McLain (4-12) the loser. Epstien ‘s feat comes against his former team.

June 16, 1984 — Mario Soto’s second suspension of the season is the result of the Cincinnati starter firing a baseball at a group of opposing players, striking Braves coach Joe Pignatano after he punched Claudell Washington, who was being restrained by umpire Lanny Harris as he charged the mound. The Reds suspended the fiery right-hander for three games due to this incident with Washington, who had been the target of his brushback pitches, getting five games off for pushing the home plate ump.

June 16, 1986, the Baltimore Orioles ended a 12-year relationship today when trade seemingly over-the-hill pitcher Dennis Martinez to the Montreal Expos for a player to be named later, Orioles General Manager Hank Peters said Montreal General Manager Murray Cook would give him a list of names sometime in the future, and the Orioles would pick one of them before the season is over. The announcement came as no surprise. The Orioles have been trying to trade Martinez for almost a month and were set to release him if no deal had been worked out.

June 16, 1989 — Sammy Sosa becomes the youngest Dominican to play in the majors. The Rangers’ leadoff batter, a twenty-year, seven months old rookie, goes 2-for-4 with a double in Texas’s 8-3 loss to the Yankees.

June 16, 1991, At Olympic Stadium. Atlanta Braves speedster Otis Nixon sets a National League record and ties the major league mark by stealing six bases against the Montreal Expos. Nixon matches the record set by Hall of Famer Eddie Collins in 1912. Nixon also picks up three hits in Atlanta’s 7-6 loss.

June 16 1996 – Legendary broadcaster Mel Allen dies at the age of 83. In 1939, Allen started doing play-by-play for both the New York Yankees and New York Giants. His “How about that” signature line will become familiar to another generation of fans through the syndicated This Week in Baseball show, which he hosted from the show’s inception in 1977. Allen received the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence.

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