TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

June 9, 1946, in the second game of a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers, Ted Williams made Fenway Park history. With one on and one out in the bottom of the first, the Splendid Splinter turned on a pitch from Fred Hutchinson and launched what would become one of the most famous home run of his career—and arguably the most iconic in Red Sox lore of Fenway Park.

The ball soared over the right field bullpen and into the bleachers, finally striking a fan named Joe Boucher, a construction engineer from Albany, New York. Boucher, who had snagged a bleacher seat only because grandstand tickets were sold out, was knocked in the head while the sun blinded his view. "I couldn't see the ball. Nobody could," he told the Boston Globe. "All we could do was duck. I'm glad I didn't stand up."

After the game, Red Sox officials paced off the distance: 502 feet from home plate to the seat where the ball hit Boucher. Today, that seat is famously painted red in a sea of green, marking where baseball’s version of a meteor landed.

Williams hit another homer in the first game of the doubleheader, and the Red Sox swept the Tigers 7–1 and 11–6 in front of 33,000 fans. Boston pitcher Dave Ferriss improved to 10–0, and the team pushed its lead over Detroit to 14½ games. Williams, who would go on to win the 1946 AL MVP, ended the day hitting .345 with 12 home runs and 43 RBIs.

But the real legacy of that day isn’t in the box score—it’s in the rafters, where a red seat quietly reminds fans of the day Ted Williams nearly hit a ball out of Fenway and into legend.

After being struck in the very center of his hat’s crown, Mr. Boucher went to the first-aid room, and it was there that he was “treated by Dr. Ralph McCarthy and two pretty nurses” before returning to his seat to watch the rest of the game. He did not recover the baseball. It was, however, suggested that he donate his hat to the Baseball Hall of Fame with the following inscription:

“Hat worn by J.A. Boucher of Albany, June 9, 1946, when Ted Williams of Red Sox bounced his longest Boston home run off owner’s head. Note aperture.”

Features well over 200 Games and highlights, including 46, 67, 75, and 86 World Series! Every ALCS through 1999!

June 9, 1914, at The Baker Bowl Honus Wagner becomes the first player in baseball’s modern era to reach 3,000 hits. The Hall of Fame shortstop collects the milestone hit, a double off Erskine Mayer, during the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 3-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

June 9, 1946, at Forbes Field Mel Ott is involved in a strange “daily double.” The New York Giants’ mild-mannered skipper becomes the first manager ejected from both ends of a doubleheader because of arguments with umpires Tom Dunn and George Magerkurth. To make matters worse, the Giants lose both games to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 and 5-1.

June 9 1946, At Fenway Park, Ted Williams clouts the farthest home run ever hit at Fenway Park, a shot estimated to have traveled 502 feet before striking the straw hat of a fan sitting in seat 21 in the 37th row of section 42 in right field. The seat will be painted red to commemorate the location of the Splendid Splinter’s Ruthian blast, although at the time of the homer the area consisted of bleachers, and not individual seats.

June 9, 1961, Ryne Duren of the Los Angeles Angels sets an American League record by striking out seven consecutive Boston Red Sox batters during a 5-1 win. Duren will finish the game with 11 Ks.

June 9, 1963, the Houston Colt .45s host the first Sunday night game in major league history. Due to the extreme heat in Texas, the Colt .45s play the San Francisco Giants in the evening at Colt Stadium. Houston wins the game, 3-0, in front of a crowd of 17,437. The Colt .45s will move into the air-conditioned Houston Astrodome two years later. 38-year-old castoff Hal Brown is the hero, relieving Dick Farrell in third inning and allowing just one hit the rest of the way for his first National League win.

June 9, 1966, the Minnesota Twins become the first team in American League history to belt five home runs in one inning. Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew and four other players-Rich Rollins, Zoilo Versalles, Tony Oliva, and Don Mincher-reach the seats against Catfish Hunter and Paul Lindblad in the 9-4 win over the Kansas City A’s.

June 9, 1968 — Unlike its decision in April to delay the start of the season after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Major League Baseball lets individual teams decide if they will postpone games when Robert F. Kennedy is killed two months later by an assassin’s bullet. When Houston decides to continue playing their scheduled home contests, Rusty Staub and Bob Aspromonte, both who will be traded at the end of the season, protest by benching themselves in today’s 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh at the Astrodome.

June 9, 1984, Greg “The Bull” Luzinski becomes the 10th player in MLB history to hit grand slams in back to back games. The day before, he had hit one off of Minnesota Twins pitcher Frank Viola in a Sox 6-1 win. On this day he would connect off Mike Walters of the Twins in the 7th inning at Comiskey Park scoring Julio Cruz, Carlton Fisk and Harold Baines to again lead the Sox to an 8-4 victory.

June 9, 1986 — At Comiskey Park, California Angels starter Don Sutton (298) throws a two-hit shutout, beating Tom Seaver (306) and the White Sox 3-0. The starters have the highest combined win total (604) for opposing pitchers since 1926, when Washington’s Walter Johnson (406) faced Chicago’s right-hander Red Faber (197) in a Griffith Stadium contest.

June 9, 2008. Reds’ center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. hits his 600th home run, a 2 run shot in the first inning off left hander Mark Hendrickson. the Red’s will win the game 9-4. The 2 run shot traveled 413 feet into the right field seats, Jr will say, “I don’t think I touched any of the bases. I just floated around.” He joined an elite group becoming the sixth player to reach that milestone, the only others are Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Willie Mays. His manager, Dusty Baker was also managing the Giants when Bonds hit his 600th on August 9th, 2002. Griffey received calls from both Mays and Aaron after the game.

TRIVIA

TRIVIA: What former manager's son represented the winning side in the first arbitration case in which a player was awarded $10M + ?

Hint: #1 He, not his son, holds a masters degree in Athletic Administration from Montclair State.

Hint: #2 He replaced John Roseboro behind the plate in the third inning in San Francisco on 22-Aug-1965.

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