Today In Baseball History: September

September 24th:

1916: In the Indians 5-3 win over the Red Sox, Marty Kavanaugh hits the first pinch-grand slam in M.L. history.

1925: With a doubleheader sweep over the Indians, the Senators clinch their second straight A.L. pennant.

1926: The Cardinals clinch their first N.L. pennant with a 6-4 win over the Giants.

1940: Jimmie Foxx hits his 500th career home run.

1957: The Dodgers defeat the Pirates 2-0 in their last game in Brooklyn.

1969: The Mets defeat the Cardinals 6-0 to win the first N.L. East division title.

1974: The Tigers Al Kaline records his 3,000th hit.

1975: The A's defeat the White Sox 13-2 to win their fifth straight A.L. West title.

1978: In the Yankees 4-0 win over the Indians, Ron Guidry ties the A.L. record with his ninth shutout of the season.

1984: With a 4-2 win over the Pirates, the Cubs win the N.L. East title and clinch their first postseason berth since the 1945 World Series.

1992: At 40 years old, the Blue Jays Dave Winfield becomes the oldest player in M.L. history to drive in 100 runs in a season.

1993: With a 9-2 win over the Reds, the Rockies set a record for expansion teams with their 65th victory of the season.

1998: In the Red Sox 9-6 win over the Orioles, Tom Gordon sets a new M.L. record with his 42nd straight save.

2004: The Braves defeat the Marlins 8-7 to win the N.L. East, their 13th straight division title.

2006: With an 11-4 win over the Royals, the Tigers clinch a postseason berth for the first time since 1987.

2006: In the Padres 2-1 win over the Pirates, Trevor Hoffman records his 479th career save, breaking Lee Smith's record.

2008: With a 6-5 defeat to the Angels, the Mariners become the first team in M.L. history with a $100 million payroll to lose 100 games.

2011: The Rockies defeat the Astros 4-2 in 13 innings. It marked the 200,000th game played in M.L. history.
 
September 25th:

1917: Hall of Famer Phil Rizzuto is born in Brooklyn, New York.

1929: During the fifth inning of the Red Sox/Yankees game, the teams are summoned to home plate and are told from a telegram about the death of New York manager Miller Huggins. Home plate umpire Bill McGowan calls for a moment of silence and the center field flag is lowered to half-staff.

1930: Joe McCarthy resigns as Cubs manager and is replaced by Rogers Hornsby.

1941: With a 6-0 win over the Braves and a Cardinals loss, the Dodgers win their first N.L. pennant in 21 years.

1955: At 20 years old, the Tigers Al Kaline becomes the youngest player in M.L. history to win a batting title.

1956: The Dodgers Sal Maglie pitches a no-hitter in a 5-0 win over the Phillies.

1960: With a 4-3 win over the Red Sox, the Yankees clinch the A.L. pennant.

1965: At the alleged age of 60, Satchel Paige becomes the oldest player in M.L. history, pitching three shutout innings for the A's against the Red Sox. He gave up one hit to Carl Yastrzemski.

1968: Mickey Mantle goes 1-3 against the Indians in his final game at Yankee Stadium.

1974: In the first operation of its kind, Dr. Frank Jobe transplants a tendon from the right wrist of Tommy John to his left elbow. The ulnar collateral reconstruction would become known as "Tommy John Surgery". The procedure would allow John to win an additional 164 games.

1979: The Angels defeat the Royals 4-1 to win their first A.L. West title.

1980: In a 5-3 extra innings loss to the Reds, the Padres Jerry Humphrey and Ozzie Smith both steal their 50th base of the year. Those two, along with Gene Richard, make the Padres the first team in M.L. history to have three players with 50 stolen bases.

1986: The Astros Mike Scott pitches a no-hitter in a 2-0 win over the Giants. The win and no-hitter also clinches the N.L. West title for Houston, making the first time a no-hitter clinched a title.

1997: The Astros defeat the Cubs 9-1 to win the N.L. Central title.

1998: With a 6-1 victory over the Devil Rays, the Yankees win their 112th game of the season, breaking the A.L. record.

2003: The Cubs Sammy Sosa becomes the first player in N.L. history to record nine straight seasons of 100 RBIs.

2003: The Blue Jays Carlos Delgado hits four home runs against the Devil Rays.

2008: The Dodgers defeat the Diamondbacks 12-3 to win the N.L. West title.

2010: A 5-0 Braves victory marks the 2,500th managerial win for manager Bobby Cox.

2014: In his final game at Yankee Stadium, Derek Jeter hits a walk-off single to defeat the Orioles 6-5.
 
September 26th:

1896: Cleveland's Jesse Burkett become the first player in M.L. history to have a .400 average in two straight seasons.

1954: With three hits, Willie Mays finishes with a .345 average, and passes both Don Mueller and Duke Snider to win the N.L. batting title.

1954: The A's lose to the Yankees 8-6 in their final game before moving from Philadelphia to Kansas City.

1961: Roger Maris ties Babe Ruth's single season record of 60 home runs.

1961: With an 8-3 win over the Cubs, the Reds win the N.L. pennant.

1965: The Twins beat the Senators 2-1 to clinch the A.L. pennant.

1976: The Phillies defeat the Expos in the first of a doubleheader to win the N.L. East title.

1981: In the Astros 5-0 win over the Dodgers, Nolan Ryan becomes the first in M.L. history to pitch five no-hitters.

1983: The Cardinals Bob Forsch pitches his second career no-hitter in a 3-0 win over the Expos.

1987: The Padres Benito Santiago extends his hitting streak to 28 games, setting a new record for rookies.

2007: The Cardinals Albert Pujols becomes the only player in M.L. history to record 30 home runs and 100 RBIs in each of his first seven seasons.

2008: With a Red Sox loss to the Yankees, the Rays clinch their first A.L. East title.

2013: Commissioner Bud Selig announces he will retire when his contract expires.

2014: With a 3-1 win over the White Sox, the Royals clinch their first postseason bid since 1985.
 
September 27th:

1898: In the Reds win over the Cleveland Spiders, first baseman Jake Beckley handles a record 22 chances on defense.

1905: Bill Dinneen of the Boston Pilgrims pitches a no-hitter in a 2-0 win over the White Sox.

1914: Nap LaJoie records his 3,000th hit.

1920: In an artice appearing the Philadelphia North American, gambler Bill Mahrag is quoted saying he and former M.L. pitcher Billy Burns offered eight White Sox players $100,000 to throw the 1919 World Series. It would become known as "The Black Sox Scandal".

1935: The Cubs beat the Cardinals in the first game of a doubleheader to clinch the N.L. pennant.

1938: Lou Gehrig hits the last of his 493 career home runs.

1940: The Tigers beat the Indians 2-0 to clinch the A.L. pennant.

1942: The Cardinals sweep a doubleheader from the Cubs on the final day of the season, clinching the N.L. pennant.

1949: Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt is born in Dayton, Ohio.

1952: In an 11-3 Braves win over the Dodgers, Eddie Mathews becomes the first rookie in M.L. history to homer three times in a game. It becomes the last win for the Braves representing Boston.

1953: The Browns lose to the White Sox 2-1 in 11 innings in their final game before moving to Baltimore and becoming the Orioles.

1954: Willie Mays is one of the guests of the first episode of The Tonight Show with Steve Allen hosting.

1964: The Houston Colt .45's beat the Dodgers 1-0 in their final game at Colt Stadium.

1973: Nolan Ryan breaks Sandy Koufax's M.L. record with 383 strikeouts for the season.

1989: The A's defeat the Rangers 5-0 to win the A.L. West. Across the Bay, the Giants win the N.L. West when the second place Padres lose to the Reds 2-1.

1993: In the Cubs 7-3 win over the Dodgers, Randy Myers becomes the first pitcher in N.L. history to record 50 saves in a season.

1993: The White Sox defeat the Mariners 4-2 to win the A.L. West title.

1996: Orioles second baseman Roberto Alomar spits in the face of umpire John Hirschbeck, which will result in a five game suspension.

1998: In the season finale against the Expos, Mark McGwire hits two home runs, finishing the season with 70.

1999: The Tigers defeat the Royals 8-2 in the final game at Tiger Stadium.

2000: Managed by Tommy Lasorda, Team USA upsets Cuba 4-0 to win the Gold Medal in the Summer Olympics in Sydney. It was the first for the United States in baseball.

2002: In the Braves 3-1 win over the Mets, John Smoltz sets a new N.L. record with his 54th save of the season.

2003: The Cubs Sammy Sosa sets a new N.L. record with six straight seasons of 40 home runs.

2005: The Braves win the N.L. East title, their 14th straight division crown.

2006: With Anibal Sanchez winning his tenth game of the season in a 7-2 victory over the Reds, the Marlins become the first team in M.L. history with four rookie pitchers winning ten games. Aside from Sanchez, the others were Josh Johnson, Scott Olsen, and Ricky Nolasco.

2010: The Phillies beat the Nationals 8-0 to win their fourth straight N.L. East title.

2012: In the Tigers 5-4 win over the Royals, Doug Fister ties the A.L. record with nine straight strikeouts.
 
September 28th:

1919: In first of a doubleheader, it takes the Giants just 51 minutes to defeat the Phillies 6-1, making it the shortest nine inning game in M.L. history.

1920: Eight White Sox players are indicted by a grand jury of allegations they threw the 1919 World Series.

1923: The Yankees set an A.L. record with 30 hits in a 24-4 win over the Red Sox.

1930: Babe Ruth returns to the mound after nine years, pitching a complete game in the Yankees 9-3 win over the Red Sox.

1941: With an official batting average of .399955, Ted Williams elects to play a doubleheader, instead of sitting and his average being rounded up to .400. He goes 6-8 and finishes the season with a .406 average.

1951: In the first of a doubleheader, the Yankees Allie Reynolds pitches a no-hitter in an 8-0 win over the Red Sox. The Yankees clinch the A.L. pennant with a win in the nightcap.

1953: The A.L. owners unanimously vote to approve the move of the St. Louis Browns to Baltimore. The team would become known as the Orioles.

1958: At age 40, Ted Williams wins his sixth batting title. He becomes the first to do so at that age.

1960: In his final at bat, Ted Williams homers off the Orioles Jack Fischer.

1962: In the first meeting in M.L. history of two teams with 100 losses, the Cubs (58-101) defeat the Mets (39-118).

1968: The White Sox lose to the Angels 1-0. It was the ninth time they lost by a 1-0 score, tying the A.L. record.

1974: The Angels Nolan Ryan pitches his third no-hitter in a 4-0 win over the Twins.

1975: The A's Vida Blue, Glenn Abbott, Paul Lindblad, and Rollie Fingers combine to no-hit the Angels.

1976: The Giants John Montefusco pitches a no-hitter in a 9-0 win over the Braves.

1979: The Cardinals Garry Templeton becomes the first player in M.L. history to get 100 hits from both sides of the plate in the same season.

1983: The Phillies defeat the Cubs 13-6 to win the N.L. East.

1988: The Dodgers Orel Hershisher pitches ten shutout innings to extends his scoreless innings streak to 59, breaking Don Drysdale's M.L. record.

1997: Tony Gwynn ties Honus Wagner's record by winning his eighth N.L. batting title.

1998: In a one game playoff to determine the N.L. Wild Card, the Cubs defeat the Giants 5-3.

2000: The Brewers lose to the Reds 8-1 in the last game played at County Stadium.

2001: In the first game at Wrigley Field since the 9/11 attacks, Sammy Sosa, after hitting his 59th homer of the season, pulls out an American flag and waves his on his home run trot.

2003: The Phillies lose to the Braves 5-2 in the final game at Veterans Stadium.

2005: The Padres, who were 79-79, win the N.L. West. It was the lowest winning percentage for a division champion during a non-strike year.

2008: In the Yankees 6-2 win over the Red Sox, 39-year old Mike Mussina becomes the oldest pitcher in M.L. history to record his first 20-win season.

2008: The Astros finish the season with just 67 errors, the fewest in N.L. history.

2009: With an 11-0 win over the Rangers, the Angels win the A.L. West.

2011: In one of the craziest days in M.L. history, the Cardinals defeat the Astros 8-0 while the Braves lose 4-3 to the Phillies in 13 innings. The Cardinals, who were 10 1/2 games behind the Braves on August 26th, overtake them of the final day of the season to win the N.L. Wild Card. Meanwhile in the A.L. Wild Card race, the Red Sox, who also had a nine game lead over the Rays at the start of the month, blow a 3-2 ninth inning lead and lose to the Orioles 4-3. In St. Petersburg, the Rays had trailed the Yankees 7-0, but tied it in the ninth when Dan Johnson hit a two run home run with two outs and two strikes. Minutes after the Red Sox loss, Evan Longoria hits a walk-off home run in the 12th to beat the Yankees 8-7 and capture the A.L. Wild Card.

2011: The Marlins play their final game at Sun Life Stadium before moving to their new ballpark on the former Orange Bowl site for the next season. Earlier in the day, the team announced Ozzie Guillen would be the team's new manager in 2012.

2011: The Braves Eric O'Flaherty ends the season with an 0.98 ERA, the lowest for any pitcher in M.L. history with at least 75 appearances.
 
September 29th:

1913: Walter Johnson leads the Senators to a 1-0 win over the A's, finishing the season with 36 wins.

1915: With a 5-0 win over the Braves, the Phillies win their first N.L. pennant.

1934: Babe Ruth hits the last of his 659 home runs he had with the Yankees.

1943: The Browns Vern Stephens becomes the first player to hit two extra inning home runs in the same game. He tied the game with the Red Sox with the first home run in the 11th, then gives the Browns a 4-3 win in the 13th.

1954: Willie Mays makes his famous over the shoulder catch, robbing Vic Wertz of an extra base hit during the Giants 5-2 win over the Indians 5-2 in Game 1 of the World Series. Dusty Rhodes becomes the second player in World Series history to end the game with a home run, hitting a three run shot off Bob Lemon.

1959: In the second of a best of three playoff, the Dodgers defeat the Braves 6-5 to win the N.L. pennant.

1963: In his final game, Stan Musial records two hits to help the Cardinals defeat the Reds 3-2.

1968: After a 4-3 loss to the Twins, A's owner Charley Finley fires manager Bob Kennedy on the final day of the season.

1973: During the Braves 7-0 win over the Astros, Hank Aaron hits his 40th home run of the season. He joins Davey Johnson and Darrell Evans as the first trio in M.L. history to hit 40 home runs for the same team.

1976: The Dodgers name Tommy Lasorda to replace Walter Alston as the team's manager.

1983: The A's Mike Warren pitches a no-hitter in a 3-0 win over the White Sox.

1986: Greg and Mike Maddux become the first brothers to face off against each other in M.L. history. Greg and the Cubs defeat his older brother Mike and the Phillies 6-3.

1987: The Yankees Don Mattingly sets a new M.L. record with his sixth grand slam of the season.

1993: George Brett plays his final game in Kauffman Stadium.

2001: The Mariners Ichiro Suzuki records his 234th hit of the season, breaking the rookie record held by "Shoeless" Joe Jackson.

2004: With the Braves 6-3 victory over the Mets, Bobby Cox becomes the ninth manager in M.L. history to win 2,000 games.

2004: Major League Baseball announces the Montreal Expos will move to Washington, D.C. for the 2005 season. Hours after the announcement, the Expos play their final game in Montreal, losing to the Marlins 9-1 in front of 31,395 fans.

2005: After having a 15-game lead over the Indians on August 1st, the White Sox hang on to win the A.L. Central after beating the Tigers 4-2. Their lead had shrunk to a half a game.

2013: The Rangers and Rays both win their games, forcing a one game playoff between the two in Arlington the next day to determine who will play the Indians in the A.L. Wild Card Game.
 
September 30th:

1926: Hall of Famer Robin Roberts is born in Springfield, Illinois.

1927: Babe Ruth hits his 60th home run of the season.

1945: On the final day of the season, Hank Greenberg hits a grand slam to help the Tigers beat the Browns and clinch the A.L. pennant.

1947: At 21 years, nine months old, the Dodgers Ralph Branca becomes the youngest player to start a World Series opener. The right-hander and his Dodgers lose to the Yankees 5-1.

1951: After the Giants defeat the Braves, the Dodgers rally from five runs down and defeat the Phillies 9-8 in 14 innings, forcing a best of three playoff for the N.L. pennant.

1961: With a 5-1 loss to the Cubs, the expansion Mets finish with a 20th century record 120 losses.

1962: The Cardinals defeat the Dodgers on the season's final day 1-0. The loss forces the Dodgers to play a best of three series against the Giants for the N.L. pennant, which they would lose.

1966: In his final at bat with the Yankees, Roger Maris hits a pinch-hit two run homer to lift New York to a 6-5 win over the White Sox.

1969: With a 3-2 victory over the Reds, the Braves win the first N.L. West division title.

1972: The Pirates Roberto Clememte records his 3,000th hit, when he doubles off the Mets Jon Matlack. It turns out to be his final hit, when he dies in a plane crash on New Year's Eve.

1973: The Yankees lose to the Tigers 8-5 in their last game at Yankee Stadium, before it undergoes a two year renovation that forces the team to play its home games at Shea Stadium. After the game, manager Ralph Houk announces his resignation.

1978: The Phillies defeat the Pirates 10-8 to win their third straight N.L. East title.

1984: The Angels Mike Witt pitches a perfect game in a 1-0 win over the Rangers.

1989: A 4-3 Blue Jays win over the Orioles to clinch the A.L. East title is the final "Game of the Week" aired by NBC. The traditional weekly game started in 1947 and the game in Toronto was the 981st aired by NBC.

1990: The White Sox defeat the Mariners 2-1 in the final game at the old Comiskey Park.

1992: George Brett records his 3,000th hit.

1995: The Indians Albert Belle becomes the first player in M.L. history to hit 50 homers and 50 doubles in the same season.

1998: Former Royals relief pitcher Dan Quisenberry dies of brain cancer at age 45.

1999: The Mets Rey Ordonez play his 96th straight game without committing an error, breaking Cal Ripken, Jr.'s M.L. record for shortstops.

1999: With 11 strikeouts in the Diamondbacks 5-3 win over the Padres, Randy Johnson records his 23rd game of striking out at least ten batters, tying Nolan Ryan's 1973 M.L. record.

2004: With a 6-4 win over the Twins, the Yankees clinch their seventh straight A.L. East title.

2006: Frank Robinson accepts the offer from Commissioner Bud Selig to be the Nationals manager for the next season.

2007: The Phillies defeat the Nationals 6-1 to win the N.L. East title, overtaking the Mets on the season's final day. The Mets had a seven game lead with 17 games to play.

2008: With a 1-0 win over the Twins in a one game playoff for the A.L. Central title, the White Sox become the first team in M.L. history to defeat three different opponents in three different days. The White Sox defeated the Indians on the last scheduled day, which forced a make-up game against the Tigers from an earlier rain-out, in which they won 8-2.

2009: With a 10-3 win over the Astros, the Phillies win their third straight N.L. East title.

2011: After the team's epic collapse which keep them out of the postseason, the Red Sox do not pick up the option on manager Terry Francona.

2012: With a 6-2 win over the Mets, the Braves win the 23rd straight game started by Kris Medlen, breaking the M.L. record for consecutive wins in games started by one pitcher.

2013: In a one-game playoff to determine the A.L.'s second Wild Card, the Rays defeat the Rangers 5-2 in Arlington.
 
Back
Top