On August 12 in Baseball History...

    1887 - At the Metropolitans' grounds on Staten Island, Athletic batter Gus Weyhing hits an apparent triple that right fielder Eddie Hogan kicks onto the stage of the play The Fall of Babylon. Since the ground rules at the park call for a double on hits into the theatrical set, the American Association umpire orders Weyhing back to second. After a futile argument, the Athletics leave and forfeit the game.

    1921 - In the nightcap of a twin bill, Phillies' right-hander George Smith gives up 12 hits, but manages to pitch a shutout, blanking the Braves in Boston, 4-0. In the first game of the doubleheader, the Philadelphia hurler wasn't as fortunate when he was knocked out the second inning after giving up three runs on four hits.

    1934 - Making a farewell appearance in Boston, Babe Ruth draws a record 46,766 fans, with an estimated 20,000 turned away, at Fenway Park, the place where he began his career as a pitcher twenty years earlier. Ruth leaves the field to standing cheers in the eighth inning of the second game of the doubleheader.

    1936 - The largest crowd ever to watch a baseball game, between 90,000 and 125,000, sees a demonstration game at the Berlin Olympics. The world amateurs beat the U.S. amateurs 6-5.

    1948 - In the nightcap of doubleheader, the Indians set a major league record when 14 different players get a hit in the 26-3 rout the Browns. The Tribe finishes with a total of 29 hits, including nine extra-base hits, in the Sportsman's Park contest.

    1954 - Eddie Yost of the Senators draws his 100th walk for the fifth year in a row.

    1963 - Stan Musial announces he will retire at the end of the year.

    1964 - Mickey Mantle goes deep from each side of the plate in the same game helping rookie pitcher Mel Stottlemyre win his big league debut as New York beats Chicago 7-3 at Yankee Stadium. The 'Mick' has homered batting both left-handed and right-handed in the same game ten times, a major league record. It's also the last time Mantle hits homers from both sides of the plate in the same game.

    1965 - At Candlestick Park, right fielder Jesus Alou homers in the sixth inning. Two innings later, another Giants' outfielder playing right field, also named Alou, goes deep when Jesus’ older brother, Matty, hits the decisive dinger in the Giants' 4-3 victory over Pittsburgh in the first game of a twin bill.

    1966 - Art Shamsky of the Cincinnati Reds hit three home runs in a 14-11, 13-inning loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Crosley Field. Two of the homers came in the 10th and 11th innings. The game featured 11 homers by both clubs. Shamsky entered the game in the eighth inning for defensive purposes. In the bottom of the eighth, Shamsky hit a two-run homer to put the Reds ahead 8-7. Shamsky hit a solo shot to tie the game 9-9 in the 10th. He came back the in 11th inning with a two-run homer to tie the game again, 11-11. The Pirates scored three runs in the 13th to win.

    1969 - Ed Kranepool becomes Mets all-time home run leader for the young franchise when he goes deep off Don Wilson in the fourth inning of the team's 8-7 loss to Houston at the Astrodome. The 24 year-old first baseman passes Jim Hickman, who had 60 round-trippers for the Amazins from 1962-66.

    1970 - Curt Flood loses his $4.1 million antitrust suit against baseball, as Federal Judge Irving Ben Cooper upholds the legality of the sport's reserve clause. Cooper does recommend changes in the reserve system, to be achieved through negotiation between players and owners. In fewer than six years, this recommendation would become a reality.

    1974 - En route to a 4-2 victory over Boston, Angels' right-hander Nolan Ryan strikes out a major league record 19 batters. It will be the second of three 19-K performances for the fireballer this season.

    1976 - The Directors of the new American League franchise in Toronto announce the team will known as the Blue Jays. The selection is made from a list of ten names presented by a 14-member jury that garnered their nominations from the 4,000 suggestions and 30,000 entries submitted in a "Name the Team" contest held by the club.

    1977 - For the second straight day, Oakland's Manny Sanguillen foils a no-hit bid. Today's single is off the Orioles' Jim Palmer, who settles for a two-hit 6-0 victory. Yesterday's hit was off Mike Torrez, who finished with a 3-0 two-hitter for the Yankees

    1980 - At Tiger Stadium, 48,361 fans witness the return of an injury-plagued Mark Fidrych. In what will become his last real attempt at a comeback, the 'Bird' loses to Red Sox, 5-2.

    1984 - When the first pitch of the game, thrown by Braves’ hurler Pascual Perez, hits Padres’ leadoff hitter Alan Wiggins, the stage is set for a literal ‘slugfest’. The benches empty for the first fight of the game in the second inning when Ed Whitson throws behind the Atlanta starter’s head, and the altercation will be followed by more brawls in the fifth, eighth and ninth innings with San Diego continuing to use Perez for target practice every time the pitcher steps to the plate.

    1984 - Harmon Killebrew, Rick Ferrell, Don Drysdale, Pee Wee Reese, and Luis Aparicio are inducted into the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York.

    1986 - Don Baylor of the Boston Red Sox set an American League record when he was hit by a pitch for the 25th time for the season, breaking the record he had shared with Bill Freehan (1968) and Kid Elberfeld (1911). Kansas City's Bud Black was the pitcher as the Royals completed a doubleheader sweep with a 6-5 victory.

    1987 - At Veterans Stadium, Juan Samuel hits a lead-off triple to right field off Rick Sutcliffe in the Phillies' 13-7 victory over Chicago. The Philadelphia second baseman's three-bagger makes him the first player to reach double digits in doubles, triples, home runs, and stolen bases during his first four seasons in the major leagues.

    1987 - The Braves send veteran pitcher Doyle Alexander to the Tigers in exchange for minor leaguer John Smoltz. Alexander will help lead the Tigers to the American League East title by posting a perfect 9-0 record.

    1988 - The Red Sox beat the Tigers 9-4 for their 23rd consecutive win at Fenway Park establishing a new major league record [the streak will end after one more home victory]. The 1931 Philadelphia Athletics had previously set the league mark with 22 straight home victories.

    1990 - The White Sox-Rangers game is finally postponed after a seven and one-half hour rain delay.

    1994 - Baseball suffers it eighth, and worse, work stoppage in 22 years. The 232-day player strike will lead to the cancellation of the World Series and the delayed opening of next season.

    1997 - In tribute to Rex Barney, who died of cancer today, the Orioles play their game against Oakland at Camden Yards without a public address announcer. The team's beloved PA announcer, who became well-known for such phrases as "Give that fan a contract!" after a patron caught a foul ball on the fly and for saying "Thank youuuuu" to the fans at the end game, had entertained Baltimore patrons for 24 years.

    2000 - Tim Raines is inducted into the Expos' Hall of Fame. The 21-year veteran outfielder, who is fifth on the all-time career steals list with 807, broke in with Montreal in 1979 and made the National League All-Star team from 1981-1987.

    2000 - At Shea Stadium, the Giants get two unusual runs in the fourth inning as the Mets outfielder Benny Agbayani catches what he thinks is the third out and gives the ball to a kid in the stands. The mental lapse of not knowing there was only one out in the frame allows both runners on base to score, but the Mets will prevail beating San Francisco, 3-2.


    2001 - When Braves' manager Bobby Cox orders an intentional walk to Steve Finley, Greg Maddux's National League record of consecutive innings without giving up a base on balls ends at 72 1-3. The major league record is 84 1-3 innings set in 1962 by A's hurler Bill Fischer.

    2007 - Retiring 41 consecutive batters, Bobby Jenks breaks David Wells’s American League record (38) and ties the major league mark established by Jim Barr of the Giants, who retired 41 straight batters in 1972. The White Sox closer reached the record book by pitching a perfect ninth inning against the Mariners.

    2007 - The Astros honor Craig Biggio with a pre-game ceremony for reaching 3,000 hits and his 20-year tenure with the team. The scrappy second baseman, who announced last month he will retire at the end of the season, adds to the special day by homering in the fifth inning of Houston’s 6-4 victory over the Brewers.

    2008 - On the day he would have celebrated his 69th birthday, Skip Caray's public tribute is attended by over a thousand fans at Turner Field. Known for his witty and sometimes sarcastic style, the Braves' longtime nationally acclaimed broadcaster, who started broadcasting games for Atlanta in 1976, died on August 3.

    2008 - After the Red Sox tally ten times in the first inning powered with a pair of three-run homers by David Ortiz, the Rangers rally back and take a 15-14 lead with eight runs in the fifth and five in the sixth. Kevin Youkilis's eighth-inning three-run homer over Fenway Park’s Green Monster gives Boston an eventual 19-17 victory, with the slugfest's 36 runs tying an American League record.

    2008 - The Detroit Tigers signed Freddy Garcia as a free agent.

    2010 - Milwaukee's Casey McGehee's last hit, a seventh-inning single, during his 4-for-4 performance in the team's 8-4 victory over Arizona at Miller Park establishes a franchise record. The Brewer infielder's ninth consecutive hit breaks the club mark set by teammate Ryan Braun in 2008, but is three shy of the major league record of 12 accomplished by Pinky Higgins (1938) and Walt Dropo (1952).

    2010 - Major League Baseball suspends Cincinnati pitcher Johnny Cueto, who kicked at players with his spikes when he was pushed against the backstop during a recent brawl with the Cardinals, for seven games for his "violent and aggressive actions". Managers Tony La Russa and Dusty Baker are suspended two games with fines being handed out to Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips and pitcher Russ Springer and Redbird backstop Yadier Molina and right-hander Chris Carpenter.

    2011 - It's V-Day for Detroit when the Tigers' 4-3 victory in Cleveland snaps a 13-game losing streak at Progressive Field. The team avoids being swept by the Tribe thanks to starter's Justin Verlander 100th career win and Jose Valverde's 33rd consecutive save, breaking a team record established in 1984 by Guillermo Hernandez.

    2013 -  Charlie Manuel, the winningest pilot in 130 years of Phillies baseball, became the 58th manager in baseball history to win 1,000 games. During his 12-year managerial career, the 69 year-old skipper, who will be replaced by Ryne Sandberg in six days, has compiled 780 wins with Philadelphia and had another 220 with the Indians to reach plateau.

    2014 - Tim Pinkard, attending his first game at Minute Maid Park, catches two home runs balls, both off the bat of the Astros' DH Chris Carter. In the third inning of Houston’s 10-4 victory over Minnesota, the Springfield (VA) resident gets his first souvenir of the night when the ball rebounds off a sign in left field, and then in the fifth frame, against astronomical odds, catches the second round-tripper stroked by the same batter, which a laser shot hit directly to his seat.

    2014 - The Giants honored longtime fan and friend Robin Williams, a cultural icon who died suddenly yesterday at the age of 63. The team pays tribute to the legend of screen and stage by having a moment of silence prior to the game against the White Sox and playing a clip from the movie Mrs. Doubtfire on the AT&T Park scoreboard.



    Baseball Birthdays on August 12...

    1866 - Dowse, Tom
    1867 - Lally, Dan
    1868 - Bell, Charlie
    1869 - Harrington, Jerry
    1870 - Scott, Ed
    1871 - Dunning, Andy
    1879 - Lee, Watty
    1880 - Mathewson, Christy
    1887 - Hall, Marc
    1887 - Lange, Erv
    1889 - Goulait, Ted
    1891 - Lathrop, Bill
    1892 - Schalk, Ray
    1893 - Michaelson, John
    1894 - Carpenter, Paul
    1899 - Black, Bill
    1900 - Harris, Spencer
    1905 - Hurst, Don
    1909 - Graham, Skinny
    1912 - Clift, Harlond
    1918 - Gassaway, Charlie
    1919 - Hutchinson, Fred
    1921 - Wallace, Lefty
    1928 - Buhl, Bob
    1928 - White, Charlie
    1935 - McBride, Ken
    1936 - McAvoy, Tom
    1936 - Burton, Ellis
    1956 - Bonner, Bobby
    1958 - McNealy, Rusty
    1962 - Lugo, Urbano
    1962 - Pavlas, Dave
    1963 - Anderson, Kent
    1965 - Manuel, Barry
    1966 - Hartgraves, Dean
    1966 - Millette, Joe
    1968 - Harris, Reggie
    1968 - Longmire, Tony
    1973 - Stechschulte, Gene
    1974 - Clement, Matt
    1974 - Monahan, Shane
    1975 - Ordaz, Luis
    1976 - Ford, Lew
    1976 - Villegas, Ismael
    1978 - Hernandez, Michel
    1979 - Houlton, D. J.
    1985 - Cozart, Zack
    1985 - Solano, Jhonatan
    1988 - Dunning, Jake
    1988 - Marinez, Jhan
    1988 - Tabata, Jose
    1989 - Lobstein, Kyle
    1990 - Walker, Keenyn
    1991 - Owings, Chris
    1993 - Wood, Hunter
    1994 - Happ, Ian
    1996 - Urias, Julio



    Baseball Deaths on August 12...

    1932 - Boyd, Jake
    1934 - Andrews, Ed
    1939 - Darragh, Jack
    1951 - McSweeney, Paul
    1956 - Miller, Warren
    1959 - O'Neill, Mike
    1959 - Goebel, Ed
    1959 - Burnett, Johnny
    1960 - Murphy, Leo
    1961 - Colliflower, Harry
    1971 - Dee, Shorty
    1975 - Riggs, Lew
    1981 - Lyons, George
    1990 - Thomas, Fay
    1991 - Starr, Bill
    1993 - Trouppe, Quincy
    1997 - Barney, Rex
    2002 - Slaughter, Enos
    2006 - Wooten, Junior
    2008 - Gick, George
    2011 - Johnson, Ernie
    2014 - MacKenzie, Gordon
    2017 - Casanova, Paul