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June 24
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
Today's Daily Highlights
Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax and Rickey Henderson both made their MLB debuts on this exact date. Also: Mickey Mantle signed his very first contract — for $1,000 — on this day in 1949, plus 6 classic broadcasts and today's Vintage Commercial: Pepsi.
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June 25, 1968, At Candlestick Park - San Francisco Giant, Bobby Bonds, a 22-year old outfielder just called up by the San Francisco Giants, announced his arrival in grand fashion, clearing the bases in the sixth inning with a homer off Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Jack Purdin. The hit came in Bonds' third career at-bat and made him the first player in 70 years to hit a grand slam in his first major league game.
The only other player to hit a grand slam in his first major league game at the time was Bill Duggleby of the Philadelphia Phillies, who achieved the feat in 1898.
Bonds arrived in San Francisco hotter than a pistol, leading the Pacific Coast League with a .367 batting average before his call-up from Triple-A Phoenix. In his debut, he joined a powerful Giants lineup that included Willie McCovey, Willie Mays, and Jim Ray Hart. McCovey had just been voted the starting first baseman for the NL All-Stars by his fellow players on account of his .307 average (eighth best) and league-leading 18 HR and 48 RBI. Mays finished nine votes behind Hank Aaron and his .236 BA in the voting for outfielders despite having 12 homers; Hart also stood among the leaders, tied for second with 14 round-trippers.
The Dodgers-Giants rivalry wasn't much to speak of in 1968. On this night, fans saw a face-off between two pitchers who would share the league lead at season's end with 18 losses apiece: Ray Sadecki and Claude Osteen. Sadecki emerged victorious, racking up 10 strikeouts and allowing just two hits in the Giants' 9-0 victory.
Osteen did not fare as well, allowing six hits, three walks, and hitting Bonds with a pitch before giving way to Purdin in the sixth. Purdin was in the midst of the best season of his four-year career, finishing the year with a 3.05 ERA. But Purdin wasn't so reliable this time, and Bonds made him pay with a grand slam into the Candlestick Park seats.
BONDS' HOMER SIGNALED THE ARRIVAL of a legitimate offensive threat. Never one to wait for a home run, Bonds would set a major-league record (broken by Rickey Henderson in 1988) with 30 career leadoff homers. He would achieve 30 homers and 30 steals in a season, a record five times (matched by his son Barry in 1997), but consistently struck out at an alarming pace. At his best, he smacked 39 homers and swiped 43 bases in 1973; at his worst, he whiffed an unprecedented 189 times in 1970.
TRIVIA Sponsored by Classic Baseball Broadcasts — over 10,000 hours of original baseball radio history. Vin Scully. Mel Allen. Harry Caray. Start you free trial here.
Todays Trivia . . .
Who hit the only walk-off grand slam in World Series history?
Hint: #1 His first major league home run was off a pitcher who is now in the Hall of Fame.
Hint: #2 He signed a letter of intent to play for the local college team. He knew they had won the national championship when he was fifteen years old, just a few years prior.
Answer in a bit!
Quote of the day:
"They said I was supposed to be the next Willie Mays... I probably had more success than anyone they ever put that label on." - Bobby Bonds, talking about the pressure to reach maximum potential
Game of The Day:
Game of the Day — June 24, 1978 California Angels vs Texas Rangers
👇 Listen to the full game right here
🎙️ Did you know? Did you know? Rickey Henderson made his MLB debut on this day — and has 90 broadcasts in our library.
[Explore the Full Library →]
June 24 highlights and Historic Days!
June 24, 1911 In a Cincinnati Reds win in Cincinnati, St Louis Cardinals player-manager Roger Bresnahan is called out on strikes by Bill Klem to end the game. When Roger argues too long over the call, Klem belts him. An embarrassed National League president Tom Lynch will fine the arbiter $50 for the punch.
June 24, 1936 At Comiskey Park, 21 year-old rookie Rookie Joe DiMaggio ties three major-league records in New York’s 10-run 5th inning against the White Sox, hitting 2 home runs for 8 total bases. With 2 doubles, he equals the modern record of four long hits in a game. New York beats St. Louis, 18 – 4. He becomes the first Yankee and fifth player in major league history to hit two home runs in one inning.
June 24, 1946 A bus Traveling at dusk in a light rain on Washington’s Highway 10 en route to Bremerton, careens off a Cascade Mountain pass road, to avoid an oncoming car approximately sixty miles east of Seattle. The crash kill’s eight members of the Spokane (Western International League) club and their manager Mel Cole. Jack Lohrke, a young infielder, had gotten off the bus 15 minutes earlier at its last stop in at Snoqualmie Pass, before the accident, on orders to report to San Diego. The future Giant and Phil will be known ever after as “Lucky”. Ben Geraghty is also among the survivors.
On June 24, 1949, future Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle signs his first contract - a $1,000 deal with the New York Yankees. Yankee scout Tom Greenwade reels in the 17-year-old high school star, who will make his major league debut two years later.
June 24, 1964, collegiate star Rick Reichardt becomes the biggest “bonus baby” in major league history when he signs a contract with the Los Angeles Angels. Reichardt, whose bonus totals $200,000, will make his major league debut later in the season, batting .162 in 37 at-bats.
June 24, 1968 At Cleveland Stadium Detroit RF Jim Northrup becomes the 6th American League player to hit two grand slams in one game, connecting in the 5th inning off Eddie Fisher and in the 6th off Billy Rohr, as the Tigers bomb Cleveland, 14 – 3. Denny McLain is the victor. First baseman Willie Smith pitches the last three innings, walking just one and allowing one hit and no runs. Detroit’s Don Wert is taken to the hospital following a 6th inning beaning which shatters his batting helmet. He will miss just a few games.
June 24, 1970 In the last game ever played at Crosley Field, Lee May and Johnny Bench hit back-to-back home runs in the 8th off Juan Marichal to give the Reds a 5 – 4 win. After the game, home plate is presented to Mayor Eugene Ruehlman after the pick and shovel boys dug up home plate and it was transported by helicopter to Cincinnati’s new 51,000-seat stadium, which the Reds opened on June 30 against Atlanta.
June 24 1970 – At Yankee Stadium, Cleveland Indians first baseman Tony Horton calls for Steve Hamilton’s “Folly Floater” after fouling it off the previous pitch. The Indians first baseman crawls back to the dugout when his second foul ball is caught by catcher Thurman Munson. Cleveland, however, would win the game 7-2. The reason Horton crawled into dugout was he heard a boo Sensitive to fans’ booing during the season, Horton will be hospitalized, and at 25, this is his last season. In the same doubleheader, Bobby Murcer ties Lou Gehrig’s record of four straight homers. The Yanks lose the opener, 7 – 2, despite Murcer’s 9th-inning home run off Sam McDowell. Murcer next connects off the second game’s starter, Mike Paul, hitting a solo shot in the 1st inning. A walk in the 4th, then a two-run homer off Paul in the 5th, and a game-tying homer in the 8th, off Fred Lasher. New York scores in the bottom of the 9th to salvage a 5 – 4 win.
June 24, 1972 Culminating a long battle to reach pro baseball, Bernice Gera umpires the first game of a doubleheader between Auburn and Geneva (New York-Penn League). Several disputes take place and she ejects the Auburn manager, Nolan Campbell. Gera resigns before the second game, leaving in tears, saying resentment from the other umps was a factor in her decision. She will later work in the Mets’ public relations department.
June 24, 1977 Bob Watson becomes the first player to complete a cycle in both leagues, Watson belts a three-run triple off San Francisco’s Bob Knepper in the first inning. He then doubles and hits a solo homer. In the eighth, he singles home Cesar Cedeno to become the second Astro to hit for the cycle. Watson has five RBIs in a 5-5 tie. Jose Cruz doubles home Wilbur Howard in the 11th for the 6-5 victory at the Astrodome.
Joe Sambito picks up the win for the Astros. The 31 year-old first baseman, whose feat will be duplicated by John Olerud (Mets, 1997, and Mariners, 2001) and Michael Cuddyer (Twins, 2009, and Rockies, 2014), also collected a single, double, triple, and home run while wearing a Red Sox uniform in 1979.
June 24, 1984 Oakland’s Joe Morgan hits his 265th career home run as a second baseman, breaking Rogers Hornsby’s major-league record for that position. Morgan, who has 267 home runs overall, connects off Frank Tanana in the 1st inning of the A’s 4 – 2 win over Texas. Morgan, playing his final major league season, will finish his career with 268 home runs overall.
“I grew up collecting baseball cards like Hornsby. I got to meet him in Chicago when he was coaching. To think that I now have more homeruns than Hornsby is a special feeling. It is one of the highlights of my career.” Joe Morgan
June 24, 1983 Milwaukee’s Don Sutton strikes out Alan Bannister in the 8th inning of a 3 – 2 win over Cleveland to become the 8th pitcher in major league history with 3,000 career strikeouts. County Stadium is packed with 46,037 fans for the game, mostly to welcome back popular OF Gorman Thomas, who was traded to Cleveland earlier this month.
June 24, 1989, Vince Coleman of the St. Louis Cardinals in a 5 – 2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, sets a major league record by stealing his 39th and 40th consecutive bases without being caught. Coleman, who has not been caught since September 15 of 1988, breaks the record set by Davey Lopes in 1975…
June 24, 1991 California’s Dave Winfield goes 5 for 5 and hits for the cycle as the Angels defeat Kansas City, 9 – 4. In so doing, he becomes the oldest player in history (39) to accomplish the feat. He completes the cycle, the first of his career, in the 8th with a triple off infielder Bill Pecota, making his first pitching appearance. Winfield is the first batter faced by Pecota, who takes over when Tom Gordon’s hemorrhoids act up.
June 24, 1997 — Randy Johnson breaks Ron Guidry’s American League record for strikeouts in a game by a left-hander. The Mariners southpaw whiffs 19 A’s, but still losses the Kingdome contest, 4-1.
New From Around the League!
ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA
TRIVIA ANSWER: Freddie Freeman
Freeman ended Game #1 of the 2024 WS vs, NYY with a 10th inning grand slam.
- #1 His MLB HR #1 was on 21-Sep-2010 & came at the expense of Phillies’ ace, Roy Halladay in Halladay’s 1st year in the NL.
- #2 Cal State Fullerton, NCAA champs in 2004, was his intended destination, but he changed course when ATL drafted him in the 2nd round in 2007, just 2 picks behind Mike (A/K/A Giancarlo) Stanton.
Thank you Horsehide Trivia
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