TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

June 5, 1989 At the Kingdome.  Kansas City Royals outfielder Bo Jackson throws out Harold Reynolds trying to score from first in the bottom of the 10th on Scott Bradley's double Keeping the game tied 3-3. The Royals will eventually win the game 5-3.

Super athlete Bo Jackson knew enough baseball to forge an eight-year career with the Royals and White Sox, often breaking bats in frustration over his mammoth thighs when he struck out. A Heisman Trophy winner as a running back at Auburn, Jackson gained more than 4,300 yards and scored 43 touchdowns in his four seasons at the university. After his selection by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the number one pick in the 1986 NFL draft, Jackson chose to sign a baseball contract with Kansas City. After less than a year in the minors, Bo found himself in the major leagues for good in 1987. He belted 22 homers and displayed his speed and amazing throwing arm as an outfielder. On one occasion he hurled a ball from the warning track to home plate on the fly. After his first full big league season, Jackson played for the Oakland Raiders, gaining nearly seven yards per carry while finding the end zone four times in seven games. He played both professional baseball and football for four seasons. In 1989, in his only All-Star Game, he crushed a home run in his first at-bat and was named MVP. In the 1990 NFL PLayoffs, he suffered a hip injury that ended his football career. Defying his critics, Jackson returned to baseball after the injury and miraculously played two more seasons for the White Sox and Angels after hip replacement surgery.

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June 5, 1937, the St. Louis Cardinals sign 16-year-old Stan “The Man” Musial to his first professional contract. The Redbirds sign Musial as a pitcher but will eventually convert him to the outfield. Splitting his time as a first baseman and outfielder, Musial will forge a Hall of Fame career with the Redbirds.

June 5, 1949, Commissioner Happy Chandler lifts the five year ban on major league players who had jumped to the Mexican League. One of the main reasons was the result of the players’ plan to sue for reinstatement on the grounds of an antitrust violation, a courtroom challenge the owners do not want to defend due to the existing reserve clause.

June 5, 1955, at Comiskey Park Mickey Mantle batting right-handed slugs a 550-foot home run against Chicago White Sox left-hander Billy Pierce in the 4th inning during the second game of the doubleheader. The blast clears the upper deck in left field at Comiskey Park. The Yankees would go to win the game in 1o innings 5-4.

June 5, 1957, Brooklyn Dodgers right-hander Don Drysdale pitches the first shutout of his brilliant career. Drysdale handcuffs the Chicago Cubs, 3-0. Drysdale will pitch a total of 49 shutouts in 14 major league seasons.

June 5, 1959, Dick “Dr. Strangeglove” Stuart hits the longest home run in the history of Forbes Field. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ slugger hits a 457-foot blast over the center field wall, becoming the first player to clear the barrier in the ballpark’s 50-year existence. Stuart blast came in the first inning against Chicago Cubs pitcher Glenn Hobbie in a 10-5 loss to Chicago.

June 5, 1966, Cincinnati Reds shortstop Leo “Chico” Cardenas hits four home runs in a doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs. Cardenas hits two in the first game and two more in the nightcap. The Reds win the first game, 8-3, but lose the second game, 9-5.

June 5, 1966, at Forbes Field the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros 10-5, during the victory slugger Willie Stargell goes 5-for-5, includes two home runs and a double. The hitting spree gives Stargell nine hits in nine consecutive at-bats over the last two games.

June 5, 1974, Oakland A’s teammates Reggie Jackson and Billy North engage in a pre-game brawl in the clubhouse at Detroit’s Tiger Stadium, after North gave Jackson a verbal jab that set his superstar teammate over the edge. Ray Fosse, tries to break up the fight, only to suffer a damaged disc in his neck. Fosse will miss most of the balance of the regular season with a herniated disk.

June 5, 1983, Chili Davis hit a home run from each side of the plate in the same game, the first of nine such games in his career, and the first ever by a player from the San Francisco Giants.

June 5, 1989 At the Kingdome. Kansas City Royals outfielder Bo Jackson throws out Harold Reynolds trying to score from first in the bottom of the 10th on Scott Bradley’s double Keeping the game tied 3-3. The Royals will eventually win the game 5-3.

TRIVIA

TRIVIA: Who was the first Latin player inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame?

Hint: #1 He led his team to two World Series championships, but won a Most Valuable Player Award in a season his team finished third in the final standings.

Hint: #2 He was once presented with a scroll signed by ten per cent of his native country's population.

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 ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA