TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

September 4 , 1974 -- At the Astrodome, Don Wilson is taken out after eight innings of no-hit ball. He is behind, 2-1. Two walks and an error have put Cincinnati ahead. Wilson's spot was to lead off the inning, Wilson had been hitting at a .206 clip the best of his career, The 15,840 persons in the Astrodome, watching their team going nowhere again this season, booed lustily when Tommy Helms was announced as an eighth‐inning pinch‐hitter for Wilson. Helms was retired on an infield grounder. Ironicly, the Astros next two hitters stroke singles and with first and third, and Gomez's questionable managing comes into play again as the Astros end the frame with a strikeout/thrown out stealing double play to end the inning, Cesar Cedeno strikeouts, and Roger Metzger gets caught stealing to end the inning.

Ironies abound. Wilson is approaching a rare third career no-hitter. The man who hit into the error is Pete Rose, who hit into the run-scoring error that made Ken Johnson a no-hit loser in 1964.

They booed again in the ninth when Tony Perez, after fouling off several pitches, got the only hit, off Mike Cosgrove in the 9th and Houston loses, 2 - 1. It's the second time Gomez has pinch-hit for his pitcher late in a game while he is throwing a no-no; Clay Kirby was the victim on July 21, 1970. Gomez hears the boos.

Wilson, with a 10–11 won lost record this season, had walked five batters, struck out three and hit one through his eight innings.

Todays Podcast

September 4, 1916 — Cincinnati Reds player-manager Christy Mathewson, pitching his only game not in a Giant uniform, beats his long-time nemesis Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown and the Cubs, 10 – 8. In the 25 contests in which the two legends have faced one another, Matty, by winning the last decision, takes a 13-12 advantage in their final meeting.

September 4, 1924, The Brooklyn Robins take a twin bill from the Braves, sweeping their forth doubleheader in four consecutive days. Dazzy Vance chalks up his 12th straight win, and 24th on the year. Dutch Ruether then wins the nitecap, 9 - 1. Four years later on September 4th 1928 the Boston Braves would begin a run of 9 consecutive doubleheaders establishing a Major League record that still stands. Unfortunately for the Beantown 9, they would drop 14 of the 18 contests during their twin bill marathon.

September 4, 1941, the New York Yankees become the earliest pennant-clinching team in major league history. The Yankees double up the Boston Red Sox, 6-3, to improve to 91-45 and guarantee another American League title. The Yankees will coast to a final ledger of 101-53.

September 4, 1960, the playing streak of future Hall of Famer Nellie Fox comes to an end at 798 games. The slick-fielding Chicago White Sox’ second baseman is hospitalized with a virus and is replaced in the lineup by Billy Goodman. Fox would have gone 1,072 straight games had manager Marty Marion not rested him on August 5, 1955. Goodman helps the Sox split a doubleheader with the Tigers, losing, 6 - 4, before winning, 5 - 4.

September 4, 1961 -- Mickey Mantle misses the Labor Day doubleheader with a painful and swollen forearm, but the Yanks don't need him as they sweep a pair from the Senators, 5 - 3 and 3 - 2. The sweep moves the Yanks six games up on the slumping Tigers, who lose, 6 - 3, to the Orioles and trail, 4 - 1, in a game that is suspended. Mantle's replacement, Johnny Blanchard, breaks a 3 - 3 tie in the opener with an 8th-inning homer. Members can listen to the Sept 4th 1961 game between the Yankees and Senators here

September 4, 1966 -- Philadelphia Phillies starter Chris Short shuts out the Mets, 5 - 0, the 5th complete game win in a row for the Phillies' pitchers. Members can listen to the Sept 4th game

September 4, 1969 -- After thirty-one games, the third longest consecutive game hitting streak in National League history (the longest since 1900) ends as Dodger Willie Davis is stopped by Dick Kelley and Gary Ross in a 3-0 loss to the Padres. Members can listen to this game.

September 4, 1985, Gary Carter of the New York Mets hits two home runs giving him a record-tying five over the last two games. Carter, who had hit three home runs in an 8-3 win over the San Diego Padres the previous day, becomes the 13th player to hit five long balls in two games. The future Hall of Fame catcher's offensive output, which also includes a run-producing single, contributes to the Mets 9-2 victory over the Padres at Jack Murphy Stadium.

In six games in California in the last week, he had 14 hits in 25 times at bat for a .560 average, he whacked eight home runs and drove in 13 runs. And he now has 25 home runs in his first season since the Mets traded four young players to the Montreal Expos to get him.

''I've always been a streaky kind of home-run hitter,'' Carter said, ''but this is some kind of streak. Since I hurt my knee this summer, I have shortened my stance a little, made some adjustments, compensated, and I feel a great sense of confidence now.''

September 4 - After more than three decades, the infamous asterisk next to Roger Maris’ 61 home runs could finally disappear. Commissioner Fay Vincent has recommended that Babe Ruth’s 60-homer mark no longer overshadow Maris’ achievement, and an eight-member committee on statistical accuracy will consider the proposal next month.

The panel, chaired by Vincent, includes baseball officials, statisticians, reporters, and professors. “To the extent there is a single record, I am inclined to support the single-record thesis,” Vincent said. “Maris hit more home runs in a season than anyone else.”

The controversy dates back to 1961, when Commissioner Ford Frick ruled that Maris’ record, set in a 162-game season, should be noted separately from Ruth’s 154-game total. While the “asterisk” never actually appeared in record books, it became a symbol of debate, with some feeling it diminished Maris’ accomplishment.

Maris hit his 61st home run in the Yankees’ final game of the season, and even his son, Roger Maris Jr., acknowledges the stigma. “We know what it is. It’s something someone put up there to diminish what he did,” he said.

Longtime baseball officials and historians now see the potential change as long overdue. Charlie Segar, who served as secretary-treasurer under Frick, believes the original ruling would likely have been different today. “Things have changed so much. I don’t think he would have felt so strongly,” Segar said.

Members of the committee include Seymour Siwoff of the Elias Sports Bureau, Jack Lang of the Baseball Writers Association, and professors George Kirsch and David Voigt. Siwoff publishes one of baseball’s two official record books and says the committee’s review reflects the sport’s evolving perspective.

Vincent credits a recent article in The New Yorker by Roger Angell for inspiring the proposal. If approved, Maris’ record will finally stand alone, giving full recognition to a legendary season long overshadowed by technicalities.

September 4, 1993, Jim Abbott of the New York Yankees throws a 4-0 no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians. Abbott, a one-handed pitcher, becomes the first Yankee to throw a no-hitter since Dave Righetti in 1983. In the ninth inning, leadoff hitter Kenny Lofton is loudly booed by the fans after he fouls off a bunt in an attempt to make the one-handed pitcher field a ball.

September 4, 1998 -- Defeating the White Sox, 11-6, the Yankees win their 100th game on the earliest date in major league history, besting the 1906 Chicago Cubs and 1954 Cleveland Indians by five days. The 1906 Cubs set the major league record for fewest contests to reach 100 victories, accomplishing the milestone in 132 games. Members can listen to the Sept 4th game

 ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA

TRIVIA ANSWER: Roger Maris

IIn the 3rd inning on 03-Aug-1958, Maris hit a IPHR off WSH’s Russ Kemmerer. Maris hit Kemmerer’s last pitch that day out of the park with 3 men on in the 6th. (Data originally provided by David Vincent.)

#1 Can’t believe he couldn’t even manage a single. Maris’ feat of 4 extra-base hits in 1 G for KCA was matched only by Gino Cimoli & Elmer Valo.

#2 Maris was the Yankees’ primary right-fielder between 1960-1964. His teammate and CF Mickey Mantle lauded Maris by claiming, "Roger Maris was the best all-around baseball player I ever saw. He was a Golden Glove right fielder with a howitzer arm and was an extremely fast runner.” Cardinal teammate Orlando Cepeda had similar comments about Maris.

#3 Maris is a native of Hibbing, Minnesota with just fewer than 16,000 souls when he was born. Bob Dylan (Rock and Roll HOF) & Kevin McHale (Basketball HOF) were also born there.

#4 Maris played for (not in thus order) NYY, STL, CLEL & KCA.

Thank you Horsehide Trivia

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