TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

May 27, 1981 Lenny Randle of the Seattle Mariners says he did not blow a baseball into foul territory against the Kansas City Royals last night. But that's the way the umpires wound up seeing it, and the ruling went against Randle - and the Mariners.

The play occurred when Amos Otis topped a ball toward third base. Three Mariners, including Randle, the third baseman, converged on the ball, but all realized it was too slow a roller to allow them to throw out Otis.

All they could hope for was for it to roll foul. Randle got down on all fours and helped it go in that direction. Randle said he did not do anything physical, just mental.

''I didn't blow it,'' Randle said. ''I used the power of suggestion. I yelled at it, 'Go foul, go foul.' How could they call it a hit? It was a foul ball.''

After initially calling the ball foul, home plate umpire Larry McCoy reverses his call and awards Amos Otis of the Kansas City Royals with a controversial infield single.

Lenny had a few other run ins!
During a game in Arlington between the Texas Rangers and the Cleveland Indians on May 29, 1974, in the bottom of the eighth inning, Randle bunted off Cleveland pitcher Milt Wilcox, one pitch after Wilcox had thrown a pitch that flew behind Randle's back. But as Wilcox tried to scramble for the ball, Randle changed course and deliberately smashed into Wilcox. As Randle attempted to continue to first base, he was tackled by other Cleveland players and ruled out. A bench-clearing brawl ensued. This incident preceded the 10 Cent Beer Night riot in Cleveland six days later on June 4.

1977 punching incident
During spring training in 1977, first round draft choice Bump Wills earned the starting second base job over Randle. On March 28, the Rangers were in Orlando for an exhibition game with the Minnesota Twins. During batting practice an hour before the first pitch, Randle approached Rangers manager Frank Lucchesi. Suddenly, Randle punched Lucchesi in the face three times before the altercation was stopped by bystanders. Randle said that Lucchesi had called him a "punk", and, though Lucchesi denied it, he had done so to a group of reporters and insisted they print it.

Lucchesi was hospitalized for a week, needing plastic surgery to repair his fractured cheekbone which Randle had broken in three places. He also received bruises to his kidney and back. The Rangers suspended Randle for 30 days without pay and fined him $10,000. On April 26, before the suspension was complete, Texas traded him to the New York Mets for cash and a player to be named later; Texas later received Rick Auerbach.

Randle was charged with assault, and pleaded no contest to battery charges in a Florida court, receiving a $1,050 fine. The Rangers fired Lucchesi on June 21. Lucchesi sued Randle for $200,000.They settled for $20,000.

During the 1981 strike-shortened season, Randle laid some tracks on wax. Fronting Lenny Randle & The Ballplayers, he released (in 1982) the funky single "Kingdome" to benefit a young fan with cerebral palsy, using the proceeds from the song's sales to buy a vocal synthesizer for the fan. A full-length album, Just A Chance, was released in 1983 with help from Thad Bosley.

MLB Network documentary arm. The most compelling production is Lenny Randle, “The Most Interesting Man in Baseball,” which airs on Friday night.

Randle played for Ted Williams and Billy Martin as managers, and for coach Willie Mays in New York. Randle played in the final Senators’ game at RFK Stadium in 1971, and in 10-cent beer night at Cleveland in 1974, and was at the plate for the Mets at Shea Stadium when the New York blackout happened in 1977.

Fluent in five languages, Randle tried stand-up comedy during his playing days with the Cubs. During the 1981 strike-shortened season, Randle laid some tracks on wax. Fronting Lenny Randle & The Ballplayers, he released (in 1982) the funky single "Kingdome" to benefit a young fan with cerebral palsy, using the proceeds from the song's sales to buy a vocal synthesizer for the fan. A full-length album, Just A Chance, was released in 1983 with help from Thad Bosley.

Even if Randle was some ordinary Joe, this documentary is worth watching just for all the notable baseball moments he was a part of in the 1970s and early 1980s. But because Randle was and is a larger-than-life character, it makes the viewing much more enjoyable.

“I’ve had an exciting life,” Randle said.

Definitely one worth remembering.

Features over 66+ games

Interview vault includes:

8+ highlights and interviews!

May 27, 1923 — At the Polo Grounds, Philadelphia Phillies slugger Cy Williams hits his 18th home run of the season, and his 15th of May, to set a new major league record for the month. The homer comes off New York Giants pitcher Rosy Ryan.

Cy Williams Dan Carnevale (1997) Reflections on Baseball

May 27, 1937 — Carl Hubbell, working two innings in relief, wins his 24th consecutive game when the Giants beat Cincinnati, 3-2 at Crosley Field. The decisive blow was a Mel Ott 9th-inning home run. Hubbell streak has spanned two seasons his 24-win string started on July 17, 1936.

Carl Hubbell on Debut & Hall of Fame

May 27, 1941, Play is halted in the seventh inning of the Braves-Giants game at the Polo Grounds so the crowd of 17,009 and players can listen to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s radio address over the stadium’s P.A. system. After FDR announces the Proclamation of an Unlimited National Emergency, the tied 1-1 contest is resumed after a 45-minute delay.

May 27, 1959, National League President Warren Giles rules that the final score of the near perfect game thrown by the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Harvey Haddix should be 1-0, and not 3-0. Giles says that when Joe Adcock passed Hank Aaron on the bases after hitting a home run, both runners should have been called out, thereby nullifying the second and third runs.

Double Play Leo Durocher with Warren Giles

May 27 , 1968 – San Diego and Montreal are awarded NL expansion teams for 1969 and Dallasites were quick to blame Houston’s Judge Roy Hofheinz for the snub. Montreal doesn’t even have a minor league team at the time. One Dallas paper prints a picture of the judge with a bullseye over it. The Astros celebrate by clubbing the Dodgers, 10-1. Dallas-Ft. Worth would get the old Washington Senators team in 1972. The San Diego Padres, led by Dodgers GM Buzzie Bavasi, are helped by Walter O’Malley. O’Malley publicly: “We could only pick two cities and I’m glad San Diego was one.” Privately: “I’m voting for Buzzie, not the city of San Diego.”

May 27, 1983 New York Yankee Dave Winfield grabs Oakland A’s catcher Mike Heath by the throat as they fought in front of the mound when Winfield objected to a knock down pitch by Mike Norris in the 1st inning at Yankee stadium. Heath prevented Winfield from heading for the mound and pitcher Norris. Both benches cleared during the fight with Winfield being ejected from the game

May 27, 1986 — ” “It’s the spookiest thing I’ve ever seen. Hey, when you build a building on the ocean, what do you expect? You expect fog. They should blame themselves for building it on the ocean.” – Oil Can Boyd, after a game at Cleveland Stadium, located on the shore of Lake Erie, is postponed due to fog in the 6th inning.

May 27, 1987, At Fenway Park Cleveland Indians starter Phil Niekro pitches a complete game but loses to Roger Clemens and the Red Sox 1-0 and also becomes just the 3rd player in history to make 700 career starts and he joins Cy Young and Don Sutton on the list. The Red Sox-only run was scored by Jim Rice scores on a Bill Buckner sacrifice fly in the 5th inning.

Phil Niekro Highlights

May 27, 2019 Bill Buckner passes away at age 69 from Lewy Body Dementia. He played 22 years in the majors for five different teams. He was with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who drafted him in the second round of the 1968 amateur draft, and the Chicago Cubs for eight seasons each before joining the Red Sox.

Bob Elson Interviews Bill Buckner on April 19, 1980

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TRIVIA

TRIVIA: Who was the first native of the state of Alabama elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Hint: #1 He was once ejected from a World Series game for “snapping” an umpire's bow tie?

Hint: #2 He once had four straight seasons of exactly thirty-six walks each and in the fifth year had thirty-five.

Hint: #3 His career batting average is better than those of, for example, Joe DiMaggio, Cool Papa Bell and Rod Carew.

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