On August 23 in Baseball History...

    1881 - Boston left fielder Joe Hornung makes ten putouts and one assist as the Reds beat Buffalo 4-3. This one-game record of eleven chances accepted by a left fielder still stands.

    1906 - At American League Park in Washington, D.C., the White Sox win their 19th consecutive game beating the Senators, 4-1. In 2002, the A's will string together 20 straight victories to establish a new American League record, but will fall one short of the major league mark established by the 1935 Cubs.

    1907 - In the nightcap of a twin bill at the Polo Grounds, Pirates right-hander Howie Camnitz tosses a no-hitter. Pittsburgh beats the Giants in a shortened five-inning game, 1-0.

    1910 - Fred Clarke makes a record four outfield assists for Pittsburgh against the Phils.

    1931 - In his attempt to break Walter Johnson's consecutive game winning streak of 17 games, Lefty Grove loses when Browns' hurler Dick Coffman throws a three-hit shutout, his only whitewash this season, against the A's. Reserve outfielder Jimmy Moore, playing in place of the absent Al Simmons, misjudges a fly ball which leads to the decisive run and subsequently to Lefty's meltdown in the locker room.

    1936 - The Indians' seventeen-year-old rookie pitcher, Bob Feller, makes his first major league start striking out the first eight batters he faces. 'Rapid Robert' will finish the game with 15 strikeouts, one shy of the AL record, as Cleveland beats the Browns, 4-1.

    1942 - Walter Johnson pitching to Babe Ruth is the pregame attraction that draws 69,000 for the New York-Washington game at Yankee Stadium that provides $80,000 for Army-Navy relief. Ruth hits the fifth pitch into the right-field stands, and then adds one more shot before circling the bases.

    1952 - At the Polo Grounds, in a Cardinals win over the Giants, New York third baseman Bob Elliott is thrown out of the game for protesting a second strike call by Jocko Conlan. Bobby Hofman replaces Elliott, takes a third strike, and is also thumbed for not liking the umpiring.

    1953 - Phil Paine, a former Boston Braves pitcher in military service with the U.S. Air Force in Japan, becomes the first ex-major leaguer to play in Japan. He pitches in nine games for the Nish-itetsu Lions.

    1958 - n a 10-1 win over Milwaukee, Gil Hodges hits his 14th career grand slam to establish a new National League record.

    1958 - Nellie Fox's streak of 98 consecutive games without striking out ends when he is whiffed by lefty Whitey Ford in the White Sox's 7-1 victory over the Yankees in the Bronx. The Chicago second baseman last struck out on May 16 against another southpaw, Cleveland's Dick Tomanek.

    1961 - In the 14-0 rout of the Reds at Crosley Field, the Giants score twelve runs in the ninth inning with 10 hits along with three Cincinnati errors. Orlando Cepeda, Felipe Alou, Jim Davenport (inside-the-park), Willie Mays, and John Orsino all go deep in the final frame to tie a major league team record for round-trippers in an inning joining the 1939 Giants and 1966 Twins.

    1961 - Dave Philley ties Sam Leslie's 29-year old major league record with his 22nd pinch hit of the season. The historic moment occurs in an Orioles 7-5 extra-inning victory over the A's as the 41-year old singles in the top of the 7th pinch hitting for Hoyt Wilhelm at Municipal Stadium.

    1970 - Pirates outfielder Roberto Clemente compiles his second straight five-hit game during an 11-0 pasting of Los Angeles. He is the first major leaguer this century to collect 10 hits in two consecutive games.

    1972 - Chicago's Dick Allen becomes the fourth major league player (Jimmie Foxx, Hank Greenberg, and Alex Johnson are the others) to hit one into the center field bleachers in Comiskey Park when he connects off New York's Lindy McDaniel. The ball just misses Harry Caray, announcing the afternoon game from bleachers.

    1975 - Making his first major league start, Indian rookie Rick Waits tosses a complete game beating Kansas City, 7-1. The 23-year old southpaw from Atlanta allows only five hits in the Royals Stadium contest.

    1980 - Oakland A's owner Charlie Finley sells the club for $12.7 million to the Haas family of San Francisco, owners of the Levi Strauss clothing empire, thus keeping the team in Oakland.

    1982 - Seattle pitcher Gaylord Perry is ejected in the seventh inning of a 4-3 loss to the Red Sox for doctoring the baseball. It is the first time in his 20 major league seasons that the self-proclaimed spitball king has been bounced for that offense.

    1989 - Cincinnati manger Pete Rose agrees to a lifetime suspension from baseball due to allegations of betting on baseball.

    1989 - In the 11th frame of an eventual 22-inning 1-0 loss, the Expos' Youppi! becomes the first mascot to be thrown out of a game when Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda complains to the umpires about the hairy orange giant's behavior at Olympic Stadium. The L.A. skipper takes exception to the loud noise caused by the hairy creature's running leap onto the visitors' dugout before sneaking back into a front row seat.

    1989 - The second-longest shutout in big league history ends when Rick Dempsey hits a home run in the top of the 22nd inning giving the Dodgers an eventual 1-0 victory over the Expos at Olympic Stadium. The Astros blanked the Mets for 24 frames en route to a 1-0 win at the Astrodome in 1968.

    1992 - Dennis Eckersley, who previously set the record for most consecutive saves (40), becomes the first pitcher to record 40 saves in four different seasons.

    1992 - There were no hits in Clearwater's 1-0 victory over Winter Haven in the Single-A Florida State League. In what appeared to be the first professional game in 40 years without a hit, Andy Carter and the Clearwater Phillies beat Scott Bakkum and the Winter Haven Red Sox. The only run scored in the seventh inning on a pair of walks and a pair of sacrifice bunts.

    1998 - Barry Bonds becomes the first player in major league history to hit at least 400 home runs and steal 400 bases. The Giants' left fielder crushes his 400th home run into the right field seats on a 1-1 pitch from Flordia's Kirt Ojala in the top of the third inning. Bonds entered the game with 438 stolen bases.

    1998 - At County Stadium against the Padres, Bob Hamelin hits his fourth pinch-hit home run of the season. It is the most pinch-hit home runs hit by a single Brewer player in a season and is also the all-time franchise record.

    1998 - With his 50th and 51st dingers, Cubs' slugger Sammy Sosa joins Mark McGwire (53) of the Cardinals in hitting 50 home runs making it only the second time two National League hitters have reach the plateau in the same season. Pirates outfielder Ralph Kiner and Giants first baseman Johnny Mize each hit a league-leading 51 round trippers in 1947.

    1999 - Joining Babe Ruth and Mark McGwire, Mariner outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. becomes the third player in major league history to hit 200 homers in a four-season span. Junior's 39th helps Seattle beat the Indians, 4-1.

    2000 - At Comerica Park, fans flee their seats as swarms of small insects invade the stands during the first inning. The six-legged pests do not affect the players, and the game continues uninterrupted with the Tigers edging the Mariners, 6-5.

    2000 - Team president Bob Graziano apologizes to a female couple who were asked to leave Dodger Stadium on August 8th because the two shared a kiss during a game. The pair felt the action of the eight security guards was discriminatory because the couple's friends, a man and a woman, also kissed but were not ejected.

    2001 - Arizona left-hander Randy Johnson becomes the first pitcher to strike out 300 batters in four consecutive seasons, The 'Big Unit's' 16-strikeout performance isn't enough as the Pirates beat the Diamondbacks, 5-1, ending the southpaw's eight-game winning streak.

    2001 - In his major league debut, Jason Jennings gets off to an impressive start by hitting a home run while tossing a complete-game shutout against New York at Shea Stadium. With his ninth-inning round-tripper off Donnie Wall, the 23-year old right-handed rookie becomes the only hurler to blank his opponent and to go deep in his first big league game.

    2003 - In front of a full house at Yankee Stadium, Ron Guidry’s uniform 49 is retired on the lefty’s special day. ‘Louisiana Lightning’, who played his entire career in New York posting a 170-90 record for the Bronx Bombers, is surprised the club hasn't just honored him with a day but have retired his jersey and placed a plaque in Monument Park in his honor.

    2006 - Carlos Delgado's 400th career home run, his second of the game, proves to be significant when his fourth inning grand slam dramatically closes the gap in the Mets' eventual 8-7 comeback victory over the Cardinals at Shea Stadium. The bases-loaded home run is New York's ninth of the season to establish a new club record.

    2006 - Joining the 1989 Pirates, the Royals became the second team in big league history to have a 10-run first inning and not win the game. At Kauffman Stadium, the home team takes an early 10-1 lead, but is defeated by the Indians in ten innings, 15-13.

    2006 - With his 16th bunt single of the season, Houston center fielder Willy Taveras extends his hitting streak to 26 games to set an Astros record. The previous mark was set by second baseman Jeff Kent in 2004.

    2007 - With his 1,150th victory as the Bronx Bombers skipper, Joe Torre passes Casey Stengel for second place on the Yankees all time managerial win list. Joe McCarthy compiled a franchise record winning 1,460 contests during his 16-year tenure in the dugout.

    2008 - A protest of parents and teammates is held demanding Jericho Scott be allowed to continue to pitch in the Youth Baseball League of New Haven. The nine-year old, a right-hander with pinpoint control of a 40-mph fastball, was banned from the mound for throwing too hard.

    2008 - At Beijing's Wukesong Baseball Field, South Korea, not favored to compete for a medal, upsets Cuba to win the gold in the Olympic final. The unbeaten squad, which finished with a 9-0 record, now will not have to report for two years of military duty due to their heroics on the diamond.

    2009 - After a shaky defensive bottom of the ninth inning at Citi Field, in which he makes an error and another poor play allowing a batter to reach on an infield hit, Eric Bruntlett redeems himself when he turns the Mets' attempted double steal into a game-ending unassisted triple play. The fourteenth single-handed regular-season triple killing, only the second one which results in the last three outs of a game, occurs when the Phillies' second baseman snares Jeff Francoeur's line drive up the middle for the first out, steps on second to double up Luis Castillo, and then tags the runner coming from first base, Daniel Murphy, for the last out of Philadelphia's 9-7 victory.


    2009 - The Boston Red Sox signed Xander Bogaerts as a non-drafted free agent.

    2011 - The Angels formally announce the signing of their #1 starter, 28-year-old right-hander Jered Weaver, to a five-year contract extension reported to be worth $85 million. The American League All-star game starter, who was eligible to become a free agent after the 2012 season, has compiled a 14-6 record along with a league-leading 2.10 ERA so far this season.

    2013 - At a Dodger Stadium press conference, LA announces Vin Scully will continue to broadcast Dodgers' games for 65th consecutive season season. Some the historic moments the Hall of Fame broadcaster has called include Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series, 19 no-hitters including four thrown by Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron's 715th home run, and Kirk Gibson's dramatic walk-off in the 1988 Fall Classic.

    2013 - The Washington Nationals traded Kurt Suzuki to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Dakota Bacus.

    2013 - The Washington Nationals traded David DeJesus to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for a player to be named later; the Washington Nationals received Matthew Spann (September 19, 2013).

    2013 - The Baltimore Orioles sold Freddy Garcia to the Atlanta Braves.

    2014 - The Miami Marlins signed Jon Link as a free agent.



    Baseball Birthdays on August 23...

    1849 - O'Rourke, John
    1850 - Andrus, Fred
    1870 - Davis, George
    1874 - Jones, Cowboy
    1876 - Lawson, Bob
    1883 - Richie, Lew
    1886 - Allen, Sled
    1888 - Hallinan, Ed
    1888 - Meloan, Paul
    1890 - Elder, Heinie
    1890 - Schwenk, Hal
    1890 - Crabb, Roy
    1892 - White, Sam
    1894 - Leslie, Roy
    1896 - Durst, Cedric
    1901 - Bush, Guy
    1905 - Page, Phil
    1910 - Frey, Lonny
    1911 - Potter, Nels
    1915 - Torres, Gil
    1917 - Cuellar, Charlie
    1917 - Prendergast, Jim
    1918 - Murphy, Ed
    1918 - Stone, Rocky
    1918 - Holcombe, Ken
    1921 - Mitchell, Dale
    1922 - Kell, George
    1924 - Lollar, Sherm
    1930 - Bella, Zeke
    1934 - Romano, Johnny
    1941 - Morris, John
    1941 - Martinez, Marty
    1942 - Murphy, Danny
    1942 - Dowling, Dave
    1943 - Montreuil, Al
    1943 - Barnowski, Ed
    1948 - Blomberg, Ron
    1952 - White, Jerry
    1957 - Boddicker, Mike
    1958 - Franco, Julio
    1960 - St.Claire, Randy
    1960 - Hearn, Ed
    1961 - Ghelfi, Tony
    1964 - Manto, Jeff
    1971 - McDill, Allen
    1972 - Casanova, Raul
    1973 - Blake, Casey
    1974 - Bellhorn, Mark
    1974 - Estalella, Bobby
    1974 - Freire, Alejandro
    1976 - DiFelice, Mark
    1976 - Liniak, Cole
    1979 - Redman, Prentice
    1979 - Roberson, Chris
    1980 - McBeth, Marcus
    1980 - Strange, Pat
    1987 - Braddock, Zach
    1988 - Mikolas, Miles
    1993 - Glasnow, Tyler
    1993 - Povse, Max



    Baseball Deaths on August 23...

    1916 - George, Bill
    1926 - Batch, Emil
    1930 - Twitchell, Larry
    1958 - Breckinridge, Bill
    1960 - Leiper, Jack
    1968 - Henry, Dutch
    1970 - Gautreau, Doc
    1973 - Ford, Gene
    1977 - Jonnard, Bubber
    1984 - Robertson, Charlie
    1993 - Reninger, Jim
    1994 - Prendergast, Jim
    1997 - Hassett, Buddy
    1997 - Curtright, Guy
    2002 - Wilhelm, Hoyt
    2003 - Bonds, Bobby
    2004 - Borowy, Hank
    2007 - Herrera, Bobby
    2012 - Myrick, Bob
    2016 - Clutterbuck, Bryan